Soccer Mom!

It's happened again! I'm a soccer mom! My sweet Lily has decided to play soccer this year with her friend, Ally. What's good for Ally is good for her! Ally's daddy, Micheal McBroom, is their coach. This weekend was the first game and Micheal went out of town, so Lily's daddy got to be thier coach! Sean doesn't know anything about soccer and really melts around 6 year old girls! So, he hired Emma and Hanna to help out on the sidelines. (Emma played one season of soccer when we first moved here and was pretty good. It didn't fit into her ballerina lifestyle, tho!) So, GAME ON! Lily's first game, Sean's first coaching experience..... I knew it would be interesting! And, it didn't disappoint!

Lily was so excited....we had the pink ball, the pink shoes, the pink shirt.....and when we got to the field and they handed out team shirts.......we got black! It's ok! It really works good for pictures! :) Sean's first task was picking which four would play first and which 2 would sit out! That was the hardest thing for him to do and ended up letting Lily sit out first, because he didn't want to disappoint anyone! Lily was really great with that, too, because all of that running really isn't her cup of tea!!!! And, Sean thought it best for her to sit and watch for a little bit to see what really happens in a soccer GAME! (turns out, that is very different from soccer PRACTICE!) The game was fast, lots of substitutions happened.....lots of substitutions were begged for! We scored, they scored, we scored, they scored.....you know the drill in youth soccer.......then it was halftime! Everyone was tired, the black shirts were very HOT! in our late September Indian Summer, all of them wanted more water and more time out.......and noone wanted to go back in to play! So, the second half was much like the first, but their team endured more and scored more. We lost our first game, 12-8, but those 6 girls won Sean's heart right from the start! We are addicted! It doesn't take long! Lily did good, once she realized her teammates were not the ones she was supposed to play defense on like they had done in practice, and she is ready for the next game! So, I guess "soccer mom" can be added to my many list of titles.....at least for the next 5 weeks! :) Game on!

More good things.....

I'm singing that "Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted" all the day long! I have found it! A cleaning product that makes me happy to be cleaning! And, I leave it on the counter and clean all day! It's Mrs. Meyers Clean Day countertop spray..............in Basil! Are you kidding me?! It comes in several scents and several products (like laundry det., dish soap, shower and tub spray). But, I LOVE the Basil! I love the smell! Everytime I walk into the bathrooms and the kitchen (and anywhere else that falls victim to the spraying), it smells awesome! It makes me so happy! I'm not kiddin'! I find mine at United....but, I am sure it is sold elsewhere. They'd be smart to have it at every store in America! You must give it a try! There is a cute little drawing of a happy little lady cleaning on the front of the bottle......and I tell my family, "See, it's me, happy to be cleaning!" It's a good thing! :)

The Biggest Cheer....

Last night at the WT football game, cheerleaders from all over Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas were invited to participate in "The Biggest Cheer". They needed 1,201 cheerleaders to show up and cheer for 5 min. to make the Guinness Book of World Records and beat the record that was set this Spring in Bejjing. Well, Hanna got to participate with Cheer Texas and they had a bunch of cheerleaders on the field, but they fell short of the record by almost half! It was an amazing bunch of cheerleaders! I don't know how they all would have fit if they all would have shown up! They thought it was a Texas record, for sure! And, it was a record high for my little cheerleader.....we are pretty sure she is addicted! She tumbled out onto that field like she owned it......and shined!

Lily and Ally.....it was sooo loud! :)

Seth and Sean enjoying the game! We love WT games....it is so much fun and reminds us of KState games many years ago!

Good things.....

I love fall! I love the way it smells. I love the colors that splash all over the earth. I love the treats from Starbucks.......pumpkin spice latte is my addiction and the pumpkin loaf is very tasty, too! I love the cool air in the morning and how it covers the ground with a fog. I love that warm breeze at the football game that is gently mixed with a little cool breeze. It makes me happy! It is good for my soul and refreshes me. There is a time for everything, a time for every season! God knows what I need......and I love that, too!

God's Roller Coaster Ride

We are back in the full swing of things after almost a month of school and a whirlwind of activites! I just feel like I have been on a roller coaster ride and I can't get off! My emotions have been high, along with the emotions of 3 girls that are going in ALL directions, and lots of yelling has been going on in our house of late! I feel like every morning starts calm, for about 10 minutes, and then the hurricane hits! (yes, those pictures of devestation is how I feel when everyone finally gets out the door!) Then, after-school happens.......craziness all over again! The homework, the snacks, the practices, the meetings, the meals, the baths, bedtime, homework that was forgotten, notes that weren't read, tests that were forgot and now remembered and NOW needing studied for.........I am about spent!

Well, God has a plan for me, I don't deny! It's fair week and every kid in this town knows it! Our crazy weeks don't stop because of fair week! But, we decided to get off of our roller coaster ride for one night this week and go to the FAIR! We decided one night of fun away from our schedules was just what we needed.....and we were right! We had a blast! We laughed and ate good (bad) food, rode rides and then really laughed! It's been a long time since our family laughed so hard together! It's expensive to take a family of 6 to the fair......but, it was worth the sacrafice! (No pedicure for Mommy this month! :)

This reminds me of God's roller coaster. His plans are not ours. I got to step out of my crazy, rigid, full of yelling pattern that I spiral down everyday and get on God's ride for a night to see how it really should be. I read in James 1 this morning, verse 19-20, "be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires." NOW, I am not saying the fair is what God desires, He just used that for me this week......to break a pattern of anger. I think I truly get mad and start to pity myself everyday and that is where all of the yelling comes from! God used our night out to show me the joy on my children's faces and their laughter and how that ministers to me so deeply! We need those smiles and that laughter everyday to make our days better.....to make life righteous......the way God desires it to be......HIS roller-coaster ride!

I know these are a little blurry, but that is the point! Get a little dizzy, go real fast and laugh out loud....it's good for the soul! :)

Too Busy to Think! (or post, obviously!)

Life has just blown by these last few weeks! There has really just been too much activity to even begin to write about! We've had a couple of sick kids on top of that (yes, I know, already! that's what school is good for!) and, all of you mommy friends know how sick kids makes you loose your days (and your mind!) However, I had promised many in our family that I would post pics from Seth's birthday party at "The Mouse", so, here it is! Better late than never! (That is my life motto these days! My sister always says, "You'll be late to your own funeral!" .....I say, "Better late than never!" and, I always follow up with, "I bet they will wait on me!" Thanks for waitin' on me! :)

The Birthday Boy!

........the fun! ......the rides!

......and the antics of 4 year old boys! LOVE IT! (and, love you, too, Brock!)

....the cake (Spiderman, 2 years running)

......the face! I don't know if the sugar was too much for him or he was reacting to April, his little friend from MDO! :)

I love this face!

..........the gifts! And, after he opened

each one, he said, "It's MIIIIIIINNNNNEEEEEEEE!"