The Days Of Our Lives

time off

2009-09-27T09:38:00.002-05:00

so sorry i have had to limit my time spent on reading and writing blogs lately...too many other things demanding my attention. i don't want to close the door forever so i am leaving the blog out there, but my entries will be few and far between. rest assured the boys made it back from camp safely, and had a great time. we went on two world series trips this summer before starting back to school and getting into fall. it is almost time for the leukemia and lymphoma society's light the night walk again so i'll direct you to joy's blog where you can link to join our group and the walk. james is progressing well and there is less than one year left of his treatment. our family is doing well and enjoying life...and we hope yours is too!!

camp...to break my silence!

2009-06-11T11:44:00.003-05:00

Casey and Cody have gone away to church camp for the first time ever!

We miss them, but we know that they are having a great time and enjoying some independence (among other things)!

GOODNESS

2009-03-30T11:58:00.005-05:00

(this is a pic from the Light the Night Walk ...James and Coleman)

A refreshing change from some of the yuk we often see in news headlines and in day to day humanity. It is amazing when people come together to do something nice for a family facing a tough challenge. Celebrate with me two events that are so appreciated by their honorees!

Here is an article published in the Woodlands Online about a 1/2 way 5K that some special friends are organizing for James.

http://www.woodlandsonline.com/npps/story.cfm?nppage=29978

If you wish to make a donation to James' 5K...leave a comment, email me or contact me on facebook and I will send you an address. All of the proceeds go directly to help with the financial burden associated with caring for a child with cancer.

(here is a pic from yesterday of Stacey and I...you'd never know she had a bad day two days prior!)

And yesterday was the golf benefit in honor of my friend Stacey. It was a gorgeous day for it and I can't wait to hear the official word on how very much it is going to bless their family through eliminating some of the financial burden that cancer treatment has brought their way!

Cancer strikes again

2009-02-16T10:56:00.006-06:00

Please join me in praying for my lifelong friend, Stacey as she faces the battle of her life. At this point a diagnostic ultrasound has revealed that a mass found in her breast is acutally two masses with additional abnormalities found between the two masses and in the lymph nodes as well as thyroid. Tuesday she meets with a surgeon and a biopsy, diagnosis and treatment plan should follow. She is a precious friend, sister, daughter, wife, mother to two boys and teacher to first graders. Pray for strength for her and for her sweet family. Thank you so much for your prayers. When she starts a blog or carepage I will add it to my sidebar.

Update: February 17 , 2009

www.caringbridge.org/visit/staceygaecke

I added her caringbridge site to the sidebar under please pray for...

My forever friend Stacey

Parents of the Year

2009-01-25T15:30:00.007-06:00

WARNING: This post contains content you are not accustomed to being subjected to on this blog. Please make sure your children under 13 are not reading over your shoulder.

All-righty folks. Here is how Chris and I have moved to the front-runners as Parents of the Year for 2009.

We are all in the living room last night just hanging out. Chris was working on the message on his laptop. I was snuggled up next to him with Coleman in my lap. Casey and Cody were under blankets on the other couch and on the floor next to the fire. I think we were watching the final moments of the Miss America pageant live. This is where the heartwarming part of this story ends.

Casey, our 10 year old, gets up and walks over to where we are sitting and says "Oh, I have a joke!" We look over at him and he begins...

"A boy and his dad were in the shower and the boy pointed at the dad's privates and asked him what he called them. The dad answered the boy...my limousine. Another time the boy is in the bathroom when his mom is getting out of the shower and he points at her privates and asks her what she calls them. (top to bottom) She answers the boy...my headlights and my garage. The boy is sleeping in his parents bed one night. He realizes something is not right and screams to his mom...quick, turn your headlights on, dad is parking his limousine in your garage."

omg

After the first line, we looked at each other and literally busted out laughing. Oh, at first we tried to hold it in and keep our stern and solemn "that is not funny young man" faces on. To. no. avail. Here we are, two mature adults, doubled over, side stitching, belly laughing, crying kind of tears popping out the corners of our eyes...i was even blushing, and this went on well after the joke had ended. Of course all of the boys had followed along with us and were just cracking up. (hopefully not really knowing why)

Okay, what on earth was that? You have got to be freakin' kidding me. Does he even know what he is talking about?

So since we missed the opportunity to respond the right way the at first, we scrambled to make up for lost time. Collecting ourselves and doing our best to put our stern faces on, we say..." that joke itself is not funny, what was so funny to us was just YOU, busting out with it out of the blue...so don't think that is a funny joke." Thinking to ourselves that he must be thinking, yeah right, I will be telling that one again based on the marvelous response I just got. Who doesn't love to be the funny guy? And so we proceed to say, "You cannot re-tell that joke to your friends." To which he replies, "Too late! I already told so and so and so and so and so and so." (protecting the innocent here)

So we come out with the next logical set of questions, behaving more like parents every minute. "Who told you that joke? Where did you hear it?" His response absolutely floored us I am telling you, it floored us. Lesson learned here concerning the friends...never trust the quiet and really cute ones. Again, I will protect the Innocent (or not so innocent in this case), but I can no more see the kid who told him that joke uttering those words than a man in the moon. He swears it to be true, however. And I really hope that so and so and so and so and so and so's parents feel the same way when in response to those questions, they hear, "Casey Ryan." Perhaps their jaws will drop in astonishment? Please.

Gosh, this parenting stuff just entered a whole new arena of hard. HELP US, LORD.

I will say I am thrilled that he told us. He has been very much like his daddy to this point in his personality and Chris tells me he told his parents everything. Keep it up, baby, keep it up.

Patriotism over Politics

2009-01-20T12:13:00.003-06:00

I heard a reporter on FOX use that phrase. Truly, that is how I feel today. What an amazing moment in the history of the world. I am strangely overcome with emotion, sitting in front of the TV folding clothes and crying intermittently. I enjoyed it all. Watching the miracle of a peaceful transition of power. It is humbling to be so privileged to live in this great nation. History has always been so fascinating to me and a chance to witness it as it unfolds makes me feel so blessed. I wish I could taste the historic meal they are serving. I wish I could have been there to wave my flag and pay my tribute and honor to the Bush family and the Cheney family. I fell to my knees and earnestly prayed with Rick Warren, then laughed and cried at the prayer of the reverend who actually attended the speech Martin Luther King made so many years ago. I wonder how George and Laura really feel at this moment. How bittersweet watching them board the helicopter, and then I wonder if he was blinking back tears or if it was just the wind in his face as he waved farewell upon boarding Air Force One (Special Air Mission). I imagine them holding it all together for the cameras today, then spending the evening finally alone leaning on one another as they have so many times, and then perhaps indulging in sleeping in just a bit tomorrow. All the years of service to our country, the stress that was a part of every moment of their lives for the past decade...imagine when they finally get to the place where it is just the two of them at the conclusion of today's events. I loved seeing Barack and Michelle's beautiful daughters celebrate for their daddy. I really even enjoyed the moments when the past presidents and their wives were introduced. And hearing the musical arrangements that have stood the test of time and are played proudly by those chosen to play today. I think the speech was well written and eloquently delivered, though I think that just the moment in history itself speaks loudest regardless of the words. I really wonder what kind of president Obama will turn out to be...how I pray he will continually be equipped supernaturally for the job. So for me today, way above my politics, I am focused on patriotism and stand totally in awe of the hopes of history being fulfilled today when a man whose father could not even drink from a common water fountain stepped into the highest office in our land.

Happy New Year !

2009-01-01T10:16:00.003-06:00

I absolutely love all the promise that a new year holds. Really, a new anything is nice. Think of the idea. A new book the first time you open it up...the sound of the pages opening up to be read, a whole new concept or story to explore. Or a new house with its fresh paint, clean baseboards, and spaces waiting to be neatly and creatively filled. Or best of all a new baby... all bathed and ready to be loved and so full of life and promise for the future.

Today we all celebrate having a fresh start...a brand new calendar year for us to fill with learning new concepts, writing our own stories, cleaning up, getting creative with and organizing both our physical lives and our spiritual lives, and loving God and those around us. Everyone longs to get something right in the new year, to resolve to do something better. We want to try to eat right, to exercise, to be better at our jobs, to be more patient and consistent as parents, to be a better friend, to spend and save our money more wisely, to master whatever it is that is our weakest attribute.

The truth of the matter is however, that we are all human. We are going to make a mistake, some of us sooner than others, that sullies our fresh new outlook. The real difference will be made in our lives when we realize that in every moment we have a choice to start over. God designed it that way...his mercies are new every morning. So let's set our goals to be better in 2009, but let's not get discouraged at our failures along the way, but remember what they say and fail forward, continuing on our journeys to make this year better than the last....and every moment better than the one before!

So Happy New Year to you!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T14:54:00.002-06:00

Have a very Merry Christmas with loved ones near!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T14:23:00.004-06:00

It has been a while since I posted, so I wanted to wish you all a great day tomorrow. I hope you spend it with family and/or friends and get lots of relaxing done! I plan to!

Nothing much new to report...we are finished with football for this fall. The Titans made it all the way to one game before the superbowl before ever losing a game. Division champs with a record of 8 and 0.

Cody's baseball is over for the fall. (which means more specifically that they have a week off before "voluntary" practices start for the month of December once a week, but no tournaments until next year.) They took first place in our last tournament to end their fall season 18 and 0. Not one loss...makes for a promising spring season!

God Bless America

2008-11-05T11:45:00.002-06:00

Crossed Flag, originally uploaded by kitskub.

Well, there are so many things that one could say at time such as this.

The thing I mostly want to say is that I hope that the wonderful man who has served our country for an entire lifetime with wholehearted devotion can feel just a fraction of the respect and admiration I have in my heart towards him this morning. After his speech last night, I thought to myself what a missed opportunity we as Americans had to be led by such a class act. I pray that somehow, some way ,John McCain feels some encouragement today from those who love him most and are closest to him.

And I hope and pray that the man who has not done anything to speak of as far as serving and sacrificing for our country can step up and serve our country well for the next four years.

I do so love America and it's people and I know God does too. I know who holds the future and who is the KING of KINGS. I pray His mercy falls fresh on America.

Proverbs 21:1 The King's heart is in the hand of the LORD. He directs it like a watercourse wherever He pleases.

happy halloween

2008-11-01T09:40:00.003-05:00

michael phelps, napoleon dynamite and buzz lightyear hope your halloween was as happy as theirs!

Our Weekend

2008-10-27T14:52:00.003-05:00

This past weekend was a pretty typical weekend for us, but we did have some highlights for sure! One highlight was that the Titans scored more points in a single game than they ever have before. Casey was able to catch a long pass for a 1st down. (there is not too much passing that goes on in 10 year old football, mostly just running the ball) They played against one of Casey's good friends from his baseball team. They were good sports and posed for a picture at the end!

Another highlight was that Cody's baseball team won their very first FIRST place trophy in a championship game at their tournament this weekend! Last year, they won many second place trophies, and a first place in consolation. This time they were the champions of the Mr. October Tournament in the 8 year old division. Go Kings!

One of the best parts of the weekend was the grand finale...The Light the Night walk at Market Street to raise $ for blood cancer research. The participants held lit balloons of one of three colors. The gold balloons were for loved ones who lost their battle, the white ones were for the survivors and the red ones for the supporters. It was a powerful experience to see the lives touched by this horrible disease, and to be a small part of raising money to help find the cure. The event was also designed to be fun for the kids and I know James had a wonderful time running and playing with cousins and friends who were there in his honor. At the end of the 2 mile walk, James released some of his team members' balloons. What a special way to end the weekend.

The Impact of Ike

2008-10-04T10:19:00.003-05:00

look at all that debris....about every other driveway looks like this!
yard of the month... a neighbor with a sense of humor
coleman and his buddy...
casey doing what he loves...
and not the best, but the only campfire shot of cody enjoying a s'more and listening to one of the grownups stories...

If I were the type to think ahead, you would have seen a few posts on my blog leading up to Hurricane Ike informing you that the storm was projected to hit our area. Perhaps you'd have seen some before pics of some towering trees around our home. But alas, I am who I am and I was doing good to get a little stash of water and batteries for the fam. So what you guys get will be an update on our lives after the storm, uh, three weeks after the storm. Cut me some slack when I say that we were very busy leading up to the storm getting back into the swing of fall. We were adjusting to going to bed early for school, making it to practice every night of the week for baseball or football, playing in games Saturday and Sunday, and beginning ladies Bible study leadership for me. Not to mention, Chris and Fellowship of the Woodlands were planning and making preparations to open a Northwest campus of the church. And as for after the storm, we were among those without power from September 13 until September 26. Yes, 13 days with no power! So there is my excuse for being absent from the blogging world. On to my report of the Impact of Ike....

We had the Friday before the storm off of school not knowing exactly when the dangerous winds would pick up. The day was gorgeous as they always say, the calm before the storm. The kids had a wonderful day outside riding bikes, scooters, and playing various games, just being kids. The parents hauled in lawn furniture, fountains, grills, yard art and the like, stuffing our garages full and enjoyed hours of watching our kids have fun while visiting with one another and lending each other hand as we prepared our area for the coming storm. We went to bed "as usual", but kept and eye on news reports and out the windows. We lost power a little after 1 am, and I was awakened by that strange silence that falls on the house when everything shuts off. The wind was what we heard at that point. It was unlike anything I have ever experienced in my lifetime, hearing that storm pass through and watching the trees behind our house bend with the winds. WOW. The heavy rain continued well into the next day, but when we went out to access the damage, we were so thankful. No trees on our house. Only two of our immediate neighbors had huge trees on their homes. A secondary storm blew through the next night bringing lots more rain, but by Monday morning the neighbors all got up and came out with work gloves on. The men had a few chainsaws and wheelbarrows and went house to house taking care of the larger trees and hauling them to the curbs where like a machine, they stacked the debris neatly to await it's eventual pick up. It was an amazing effort and really a cool thing to see guys who usually just get a chance to wave to one another on the way to and from work from their cars join together and really get to know one another.

Once the work was finished, which did take quite a while, no one went back into our homes. The weather was simply beautiful. We counted that a huge blessing knowing that it could have been so much hotter. The kids continued to play. The adults dragged their patio furniture out in the street to sit and visit. The grills were on the front lawns, all the meat from our freezers being prepared and shared. A few streets over there was even a RV parked on the side of someones home. Not sights one usually sees here in these prestigious parts. We literally learned a new way of life. No technology, no busy schedules, just pulling together and enjoying our families and each other. At night we stayed out way past dark, lighting a fire in a fire pit and roasting marshmallows for s'mores. We put glow bracelets on the kids ankles so we could see them in the darkness and they continued to run around and play. What a wonderful world. There's nothing like knowing you dodged a major bullet to make you thankful too. Realizing how bad things could have been was part of what fueled our thankful hearts. After power was returned to many of the other parts of our area, some folks began to sour a bit. But not our little street. The party continued and we all admitted we would be kind of sad to see power restored signaling and end to our fun.

We all did laundry in our bathtubs and hung things all over the patios and dining rooms to dry. We did dishes in our sinks and played board games in the early morning before going outside for the day. I think I was born in the wrong generation. The simple life is for me!

Honestly, the next week got a little more complicated with school starting back up and sports practices. And the heat and humidity rising with the arrival of an insane amount of mosquitoes. But again, who could complain when we knew there were still people whose homes had been demolished and who had lost loved ones. And we had water. Even hot water. Some had generators. (we did...and once the heat came back, we ran it at night and installed a window unit into our bedroom where the whole family slept in the cool) A whole new definition for the phrase, "count your blessings".

Now, the Friday when the power came back on, the kids were admittedly chanting in the streets! However, we had already planned a hot-dog cookout for that night and one mom actually made her son a birthday cake in a dutch oven with coals. Very pioneer-ish. It was awesome! So on the night power was restored we all spent it outside where we had been all along with our fire pit and our friends. We will never forget the lessons learned. We have new, closer relationships with neighbors. Our family plays more games together. Our TV is not on nearly as much. I have not revisited the blogosphere until a week later. And the neighbors still sit outside together, minus the patio furniture and grills. Life has gone on now, with school and work and practice and Bible study and meetings and church and whatever. But we will never forget the Impact of Ike on our lives. Big sigh!

Light the Night

2008-08-17T09:13:00.004-05:00

Every once in a while, there is an opportunity to be a part of something that can really make a difference in someone else's life. Here it comes....

Since last July, the life of our family has been forever changed by leukemia. Chris's younger brother Greg and his wife Joy have been immersed in a world that no one would ever hope to be a part of. When their 13 month old was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic or lymphoblastic leukemia, they entered the world of pediatric cancer. At the risk of being redundant for those who have followed my blog a while, I will bring the newer readers up to speed just a bit. You can get the full story on their blog by clicking the link in my sidebar for my nephew James under "please pray for". For my purposes in this post I will say that God has brought so many rays of hope into their situation over the last year through the love and support of family and friends. One of the sources of our hope on this journey has certainly been the miracle that God has provided through modern medicine. The treatment plan that is in place for James is used in cases like his all over the world. He has been blessed enough to be a patient at MD Anderson whose reputation precedes them. His little body has been through more than most of ours will ever go through in a lifetime, however, all of it will be worth it in the end when he will be able to say that his blood and his body are free of leukemia. In part, this is owed to the research and developments made possible for the treatment of this terrible disease funded by donations to organizations like "Light the Night" through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

The walk here in The Woodlands is in October and our family along with a team Joy has organized will be walking and raising funds in honor of James. Joy is also working with Team in Training to do a larger scale walk/run later in the year. I believe that she is required to have a larger fundraising goal for the Team in Training event, but the light the night walk is happening this October and I do have an opportunity to raise a smaller amount here. As I budget for charitable donations, I am keeping in mind that the larger donation will go to her larger goal, though both events fund helping cancer patients in variety of ways. If you would like to consider making a donation to this effort, please follow this link.

http://www.active.com/donate/ltnHousto/2327_theryanfamily93

There is also a homepage for Team Ryan where you can see his picture and see who is walking in his honor, etc... I think you can navigate the Light the Night website from my donation page to find that. We are doing the Market Street walk. I am not technologically savvy enough to load that photo onto this post or I would do it!

Thank you so much for your prayers for James, Joy, Greg, and Adrianne. It is your prayers that we covet more than anything, but we also thank you for any financial contribution you may feel led to make.

A Boy and His Bike

2008-08-05T12:10:00.003-05:00

The older two got money to get new bikes for their birthdays so we went out and picked them out this past weekend. (thanks grammy and pops...great idea!) Coleman has been practicing and has become quite proficient on his little bike right out in the court. We also got one for mom with a handy seat on back for Coleman to use when we go the distance. If you know me, you realize this is because I am not about to send my boys out on their bikes to cover much territory without me being along for the ride. I figure they are too old to ride in circles on the culdesac now. The only thing Cody wanted to do for his birthday was to go on a ride to the dirt hills as a family. As a bonus, our next door neighbors were available and rode along with us making it all the more fun for everyone!

8 Years Old!

2008-08-05T11:22:00.003-05:00

There's one theme that rings true for me in the last few weeks and it is how time flies! I really cannot believe Cody is 8 years old. Something about having a couple of boys close together lends itself to feeling like you haven't had much chance to just sit and savor the moments. Oh, I try. And much of them time I do stop, slow down and just soak up whatever little thing happens to be going on in a given moment. It seems that doesn't happen enough, however, and so I woke up yesterday with an 8 year old.

What fun it has been to have Cody in our lives. Right from the start, he was determined. Of course back then we thought maybe it was colic. He just made sure we did not forget about him for long! Cody loves the simple things in life. Having a day to take it easy in his boxers all day long, playing cards or board games, being outside exploring or getting a chance to go fishing. On the flip side of that, things are rarely simple when it comes to competing. Cody can get pretty intense, and there is no need to test him, he does mean business and he does have a line that shouldn't be crossed. Never fear though, you won't have to wonder if you've crossed it. He is also quite the observer of both people and happenings around him. As a result, no one finds more stuff than he does. If you've lost it, he will find it...especially if it happens to be money! Of the many sides of Cody, one of the dearest to me is his tender and sweet heart where his intensity spills over. His sensitivity and capacity for caring knows no bounds. It is such a privilege and a joy to have been chosen to parent Cody. Chris and I look so forward to seeing the man that he becomes and being a part of the process along the way!

My day on the Plaza

2008-07-29T18:21:00.002-05:00

The bigger boys are spending some time with Granny and Grandad, so Coleman was able to attend the preschool function at church today. We had a great day singing and playing in the pop fountains. Cousins Hallie and Hayden were there as well as Coleman's good baseball buddy Maddox. It was Maddox's 4th birthday and I think he had a great time, as did everyone else who attended! Aunt Stacie was singing and dancing on stage and my hat goes off to her and the whole children's ministry for pulling together such a fun event!

Family Party

2008-07-29T18:09:00.003-05:00

the three lone girlies in the crowd...
the ryan cousins minus our james...
little miss walker!!
hudson and hayden waiting to attack wesley (such a good sport)
chocolate hallie...

We got a chance to celebrate Casey's 10th and Cody's upcoming 8th birthdays this past weekend. Most of the family was able to come and we had a great time together...what a blessing to live near family. We were missing James and Joy and Greg since James was battling a fever that day and had to go down to MDA instead. Remember to pray for him faithfully...he is one of my links on the sidebar if you need updating. July marks the one year anniversary of his diagnosis with leukemia. He is doing remarkably well and is such a champ, as are his mom and dad!

Ringling Bros

2008-07-29T17:55:00.004-05:00

We went to the circus for the first time since the bigger boys were like 2 and 4 years old. Grammy took Stacie and I and all the kids. Everyone had a great time. It is really pretty amazing what those circus performers can do. That old Christian song by DC Talk stuck in my head with the phrase shoveling elephant dung, since we actually saw a guy doing that. Nice. Guess there can be an ugly side to most things, even the brightest and most amazing things! Could be a life lesson. Oh, but this is really not meant to be a deep thoughts post, but rather an update on summer fun post. Just watching the little ones sit on the edge of their seats and clap their hands was enough for me!

Double Digits

2008-07-21T22:19:00.003-05:00

It is hard to imagine that it has been a whole decade since we were first blessed with your entrance into the world and into our family. Looking back, we were so inexperienced and young when we became your mom and dad. It is a good thing you are forgiving. There is nothing in this world that is more important to us than fulfilling God's call on our lives to be your parents. We look forward to the years to come with great anticipation. We love who you are and who you are becoming. If I was ten, I would want to be your best friend.

HAPPY TENTH BIRTHDAY CASEY!!

9AA World Series!

2008-07-20T12:20:00.010-05:00

USSSA WORLD SERIES 3RD PLACE

TEAM EXTREME KINGS 9AA

Coach Chris

The family

picked off...and ticked off!

the Ryan boys

after scoring during a rally...

a comeback celebration...

rally cap!

the go ahead run comes across the plate!

And it's Casey celebrating the victory!

the team prays before a game...

in the dugout staying cool...

SAFE!!

Dogpile!

he tells me this one was a ball, oh well, it looked cool to me!

Ironically, the last out of our final game was Casey...the agony of defeat (and one tired boy after nine games in the hot sun!)

Casey's baseball team is made up of some boys who played together as long ago as last spring in little league and all stars, as well as a few who started in with us at the beginning of the fall kid pitch season, and one or two who came aboard just early this spring season when we began as the Kings. They were fortunate enough to not get moved into the AAA class before world series, and were able to compete in the AA bracket that was well suited for this team this year! They did an amazing job during pool play and secured the #1 seed for the bracket/double elimination tourney. Our first game ended up being against a team that hit the ball well and was not an easy victory. We lost our second game to team that should not have beat us, but came from behind to beat us in the last inning. Something happened in the hearts of those boys after that loss. They became determined to never give up. At this point, it was win or go home. Our very next game was immediately afterwards and they had to fight from behind with time expired and score 5 runs to win the game. The next day they played three games to continue to the final day of the tournament and play in the semi-final. Two of those games were time expired, last at bat, come from behind battles. We called them the Cardiac Kings because we were all just dying that they could not just get a comfortable lead. In one of the games, the other team scored 9 runs in a 30 minute first inning and they still fought back to win it in the end! So needless to say, even when it our journey ended up at third place, we couldn't have been prouder of all that team accomplished. They had trophies for third place too, and third out of eighteen is not too shabby!

7 AAA World Series

2008-07-20T11:47:00.004-05:00

The whole team waiting on a rain delay

Opening ceremonies...dancing crazy and the skydivers...

fun times with friends...

our star left fielder...

one sad boy after our final loss...

Cody's team, the seven year old Kings, started playing together for the first time in January of this year. Many of the select baseball teams they faced this season have played together for almost two years. The Kings were bumped from AA ball to AAA ball in May. This was a challenge for our boys to compete at this level being such a newly formed team. At first they really struggled, but they really started to click as we headed off to World Series. They hung in there with the best teams in the league. Of the three games they played in pool play, they only won one. The teams they lost to were probably the best two in the tournament. The team that went on to win it only beat them by 2 runs. They played well as a team defensively, but could not get their bats going. For a first year team, they certainly made a name for themselves and I feel sure other teams will be watching out for them next year as eights when they have another year under their belts!!

What? No more Baseball?

2008-07-20T11:36:00.004-05:00

We have officially finished baseball season 2008 in the Ryan home.

It is such a strange feeling. What on earth are we gonna do with ourselves? (no worries, folks, tackle football starts in a few weeks...Chris is at the draft as I type)

I wanted to share a little bit of our "grand finale" with you guys here on the blog. I probably have too many pictures to share on here, so I will split it into separate posts for each week. It rained quite a bit the first week, and I had my cameras tucked away safe and dry too much of the time. So I have more pics from the second week to share. Hopefully, another parent was more brave than I during all those wet games and got some good ones to share with me. To end the season, both boys' teams earned a trip to the USSSA World Series. Cody played in Sulphur, Louisiana the week of July 6-12 and Casey played in Baton Rouge the week of July 13-20. We loaded up the suburban and left early Sunday the 6th. We pulled in and unloaded late last night, Saturday the 19th. We couldn't have asked for a better two weeks of family "vacation"!

Happy Third Birthday Coleman Jack!

2008-07-01T11:21:00.004-05:00

At the last minute, we ended up with a free evening for Coleman's birthday. We put together an impromptu family celebration for whomever could attend on short notice. It's hard to believe our littlest man is three! He is such a joy to be around...always making us laugh in one way or another!

Tough Guy

2008-07-01T11:04:00.004-05:00

This weekend in our final game as the sun was setting, poor Cody was playing left field and lost a line drive in the sun. The result was a hard knock to the upper lip/nose that sent him to the ground. The coaches from both teams surrounded him (as the two runners on base just kept running to score). After a long examination by a guy who was a paramedic fireman on the other team, our coach scooped him up and carried him to our dugout where he asked me to join them. We iced it down with a sno cone and cleaned off the majority of the blood, then gave him a dose of children's motrin. Thankfully, a father on our team is a pediatric dentist, so he briefly examined the bone structure and damage on his gums up front. When the sno cone was gone and the motrin had kicked in, or one inning later, Cody rejoined the game! We were proud of him for getting right back in it and so grateful that the injury was not as bad as I imagined!

A call to prayer

2008-06-27T11:44:00.007-05:00

Hello faithful readers! My sister's dear friend Karri has kept her in the loop on a situation with her sister in law and in turn, Stacie has kept me in the loop. Her experience has weighed very heavily on my heart this week and the Lord has been faithful to remind me to pray for her, but today I felt it was time to involve all of you. As you may have noticed, I have some links on the sidebar for people who need ongoing prayer (don't we all, really? but these folks are facing some extenuating circumstances at this point in their lives and could use all the prayer they can get!) I wanted to add a new link and highlight it here in a post so you could all read her story and pray for her. Karri's sis in law's name is Shelli Ward. Briefly, she has been battling breast cancer for over a year and has had some huge victories. Recently she had a setback in that a lesion was found on her brain and she underwent surgery to remove that. She is an amazing person and her strength, faith and courage in the face to this terrible trial has been an inspiration to me. Please check her link out and read up on her situation as you can but mostly pray for her complete recovery! And while you are over there surfing the links, don't forget to read up and pray for the others on the list. Thank you so much for your prayers!

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/shelliward

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-17T14:37:00.006-05:00

We had a wonderful day at the ballpark for Father's Day. Can't imagine a better way to spend the day for this family's dad! (unless of course, we could have won the first place trophy instead of the runner up one) We played in our old neck of the woods on a field right next to our high school ball field so the entire family was able to come out and support Casey and spend the afternoon together.

Special time with Pops and Grandad...

All the Ryan cousins in one place at one time!

Two sticky, dirty boys....

And fun times with the Barnhart(Ildebrando) cousins as well....

Hope everyone was able to enjoy your day and appreciate your dads !

Summer Berry-Pickin'

2008-06-13T16:43:00.005-05:00

In a valiant effort to keep the gang entertained, we all loaded in the burb today and went to a local orchard where you can pick seasonable fruits and veggies! Some of our neighbors had the great idea and invited us along. Even the quick little rain that fell on us as we drove over was not enough to cool down the berry orchard. It was crazy hot. But we all had a great time and we have some delicious "fruit" to show for our efforts! I was even able to pick a few salmonella-free tomatoes, though they were not quite yet ripe. Guess in a few days we can enjoy a half recipe of the fresh salsa we're used to around here!!

Blackberries and Blueberries.....YUM!!

The Last Day of School!

2008-06-05T14:51:00.004-05:00

I really love the blogs that some of you did with the nice photos showing how your kids have grown over the course of the school year. You know, the first day of school shot alongside the last day of school shot. I just set out to copycat you and realized that I, supermom herself, do not have a shot of my boys on the first day of school this year. I was running behind (you're all shocked, I know) and did not have time to capture the moment. Oh, I fully intended on reenacting it for the camera a day or so later. It would appear that I forgot.

So these shots are just of the last day...take my word for it, they've grown and changed a whole bunch! We are anticipating a great summer ahead of us...stay tuned!

Go 'Stros!

2008-05-28T17:08:00.002-05:00

We had a blast at the Astros game courtesy of a generous friend! We were the winners that night if you were asking the boys who got to eat hotdogs, cheese pizza, cracker jacks, ice-cream and drink dr. pepper. (if you know me well, you understand what a special occasion that had to be!) However, the Astros were not the winners that night. Oh well, we got to see some good baseball!

Field Day Fun

2008-05-28T17:01:00.002-05:00

Field day is always a special memory when I think back on childhood days. My boys were by the luck of the draw in the classes that were assigned the colors pink and purple for their shirts. I never dreamed I'd see those clothes laying out on a school morning at my house!

The ABC's of ME

2008-04-12T14:36:00.007-05:00

I have been officially tagged for the first time in my blogging history by my friend Sarah. Many thanks to her, I think this stuff is fun and I have not blogged in sooooo long...so this will break my dry streak! (Okay, I admittedly once took a tag upon myself on a Holiday Quiz, but that was last year!)

A- Attached or single: Forever attached.

B- Best Friend(s): Chris, many old, tried and true, and some new from different parts of life.

C- Cake or Pie: coconut cream PIE

D- Day of Choice: believe it or not, Mondays since they are Chris' day off!

E- Essential Item (s): Cell phone, computer, moisturizer, and white noise to sleep by.

F-Favorite type of music: not sure what the exact genre is, but like Robbie Seay Band

and David Crowder, Mercy Me, Third Day

G- Gummy Bears or Worms: only Haribo bears will do for me

H- Hometown: Cypress, TX originally...now The Woodlands, TX

I-Indulgence(s): extra sleep, pajama days, iced chai tea

J- January or July: July (independence day, my first baby's birth, my mom's birthday and

good old sunshine!)

K- Kids: 3 and counting (hopefully)

L- Last movie: We all watched "RUDY" (how many times will I watch this movie before I stop

bawling when the crowd begins to chant...?) And I DVRed the Lifetime movie, The Memory

Keeper's Daughter since we read it in book club...so it will be my next when I get the chance.

M- Marriage Date: December 18

N- Number of Siblings: 1 sister, and a few brothers and sisters in law.

O- Oranges or Apples: Both, Clementines and Braeburns.

P- Phobias or Fears: major germaphobic, and I try to avoid fear, but when it hits it usually

pertains to life and death issues concerning my kids or Chris. (the bad stuff, kidnappers,

cancer, auto accidents, stuff I can't control)

Q- Quote(s): from a song....it goes something like "I will praise you in this storm....for YOU

are who You are, no matter where I am." (lots of extended family trials this past year)

R- Reason To Smile: The people in my life. And baseball.

S- Season: Summer, my kids are home and our days are less scheduled.

T- Tag : any of you on my sidebar who want to, I am a terrible decision maker...I wouldn't want

to leave anyone out, or make someone feel obligated, but then I personally was so happy to

be tagged specifically that maybe I should....oh, you see what I mean?

U- Unknown Fact About Me: I like to watch the history channel. (yes, I love studying history)

V-Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals: is 'oppressor of animals' the opposite of vegetarian?.

How could I keep my figure without eating meat for protein? Call me an oppressor.

W-Worst Habit: I almost stole Sarah's about being a pack rat, but my heart has changed on that

to where I actually want to clean stuff out but don't have the time. So I will go with thinking

I can do more with a block of time than is humanly possible. (especially for someone who is

a dilly-dallier like myself)

X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: I'd prefer neither, but at least an ultrasound has usually meant a

pregnancy for me, so that would be good.

Y- Your Favorite Food: Chips and Salsa.

Z- Zodiac: Pisces, I think.

He Is Risen!

2008-03-24T09:46:00.003-05:00

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

Celebrate Jesus!

The Season's First Swim

2008-03-24T09:36:00.003-05:00

It is nice to live in a place where the warm weather and sunshine abound in springtime. Oh, yes, it is true that if you happen to blink, you may miss the 30 minutes of nice spring weather in our lovely Houston climate. However, it is really invigorating while it lasts and is not lost on this native Texan. I know all too well that temperatures in the 90's are right around the corner. We initiated our pool/spa this past week. (okay, I only ventured into the spa where I had the water heated to a nice 95 degrees...but the boys were back and forth between that and the 60 something degree pool water...brrr....)

Third grade Field Trip to the Zoo

2008-03-13T14:26:00.004-05:00

Coleman and I just waiting on the buses to arrive.
Here is what we got when we had to ask the boys to calm down a little.
And here are some of the monkeys in action.

Coleman and I crashed the third grade field trip to the zoo yesterday. We couldn't have asked for a better day for it. I must confess I have serious anxiety issues about sending my kids off on field trips without me or Chris as a chaperon. He was planning to go and got called into a mandatory meeting at the last minute, so Coleman and I packed our lunch and set out. I suppose at some point, I am going to have to lighten up a little, but for now....

Walt Disney at the Living Museum

2008-03-13T14:19:00.004-05:00

Casey's class did a living museum recently....he drew Walt Disney. They had to memorize a little auto-biography they prepared on their person and dress up like them. The parents and other classes could walk through the classroom and look at the set up on their desks with all of their research displayed creatively and push a "button" to hear their presentation. The kids all did a wonderful job. It was really precious.

Snaggle Tooth

2008-03-13T14:15:00.003-05:00

Cody just pulled yet another tooth...he held on to it as long as he could. It was painful to watch.

Comment Moderation

2008-03-03T07:55:00.003-06:00

Just FYI, I have not become a blog-snob, but I had to start moderating comments because all of a sudden I began to get comments with suspicious links on them from weird sources. This may be a new thing or just new to me, but I don't want any weird stuff on here. So please don't stop with the comments, just know that it won't appear on the blog until I get notification to approve or reject it. And no worries, I won't reject any except the weird ones with the suspicious links so don't get comment anxiety. I tried to go and trash all the ones left on previous entries, but I could have missed one, so please be advised not to "click here" or "pay attention" as they instruct you to do. I will be back later with a more interesting post, this is just business.

It's a Wonderful Life

2008-02-25T10:40:00.005-06:00

I would love to be able to convey adequately with words on a page just how much I love being a baseball mom. I could not be more fulfilled. To give you a glimpse into this wonderful world is my goal with today's post. Our team was formed this spring from families we have played with in previous seasons through little league, families we met during special tournaments and families we have just met through the new venue we are playing through. We are the Team Extreme Kings. We spend lots of time together watching our boys practice both at our home practice field (a little field called Dream Catcher's field out in the country surrounded by horses, cows, a barn, and a little pond) and at the batting cages. Our boys' siblings ranging in age from 2 to 16, learn to look forward to spending time together with wiffle balls and bats off to the side, digging in the dirt, coloring in their shared "to go" coloring books, pushing toy cars around, sharing snacks,tossing a football, or just plain running around being kids. It is so fun to see the personalities blending as they all pair off and find ways to enjoy their time both at practice and at games. The parents (a mix-matched bunch from all different walks of life brought together through our children's interest in baseball) chat about all sorts of stuff from the light topics to the heavier stuff as special bonds are formed for us grown ups as well, all the while paying close attention to what goes on with our team. We get to meet many members of extended families as aunts,uncles, grandparents and cousins come to watch the boys play. We all share so much from the simpler emergency band-aids or benadryl, peanuts or kettle korn, sunscreen or bleacher blankets to the more complicated life stuff like how to handle our toddlers when defiant, or our players when they pout about getting out, or advice for a daughter facing the tough choices during her teen years, or even prayers for a family member diagnosed with cancer. I have such fond memories of the same scene way back when Chris' parents and I drove all over the south following Chris' college team, forming the same kinds of bonds, weathering the cold, enjoying the sunshine, just watching the game of baseball being played by someone we love. I hope that our Kings team stays together a long time. It is a very special blessing to be a part of this world.

Here, our team prays together before the game...

Here, Coleman and cousin James work to get a hat on that sun vulnerable head.
Here, father and son, Chris and Cody work "together" coaching the team and cheering them on...
And here, my sleepy baby takes a break from a very full day at the ballpark.
Oh, and here are our boys with their first rate coaches after the trophy presentation....

If I could have a string of a million weekends just like this previous one....it was perfect! We had so much fun at Casey's tournament. The newly formed team played in their first of many to come and brought home the 2nd place trophy! Life is good.

Just call me a Baseball Mom

2008-02-19T08:43:00.001-06:00

My friend Lorren did this quiz on her blog, and I took it and was dubbed a soccer mom hen. I prefer baseball.

What type of Mother Hen Are You?
by Montessorimom.com: Educational Resource

My Valentine

2008-02-14T10:40:00.008-06:00

I love you because.....

You love Jesus.

You love me, our boys, our parents, our siblings, their children...you love family.

You are balanced in your approach to life.

You care about staying fit.

You care about me staying fit, but don't criticize me when I don't.

You make friends wherever you go.

People (including our boys) listen when you speak.

You love change.

You are always trying to better yourself in some way.

You are also confident in your greatness just like you are.

You are creative, and yes, innovative.

You are the only man I have ever been attracted to both inside and out.

You are our family's fearless leader.

You are our family's provider. (above and beyond)

You support me being home with the boys as a full time job.

You have common sense.

You are always thinking and planning.

You rarely have idle time.

You are a talented athlete.

You are intensely competitive. (you're intense, period)

You are a perfectionist.

You respect your parents, and mine.

You never drag your feet about anything, you dive right in.

You are not embarrassed to admit failure (that one time it happened)

You succeed at most everything.

You will admit when you are wrong.

You misplace things and ask me where they are.

You love to eat out.

You will quietly eat oatmeal when dinner is a flop.

You are not afraid to face life's toughest challenges head on.

You make our marriage pretty easy.

You are strong.

You invest in our future.

You love road trips.

You are the perfect role model for the boys (we should feel we've done our job if they turn out just like you.)

You are completely honest. (even when honesty is the difficult path)

You can be trusted completely.

You don't run from conflict.(you are actually pretty good at it)

You are really good looking.

You are a trendsetter.

You are an individual, never trying to blend in with the crowd.

You have an exceptional eye for detail.

You have impeccable tastes.

You make things beautiful.

You are decisive.

You drive a 2003 Ford Taurus instead of a big Dodge Ram.

You are the all time BEST coach ever. (the perfect balance of discipline and fun)

You are the BEST dad in the world.

You have grown compassionate towards people.

You always know the right thing to say.

You really don't like weddings, but you go to one now and again to humor me.

You cast great vision.

You dream big.

You can accomplish more in a day than anyone I know.

You also know that you need days where all you accomplish is rejuvenation.

You like to stay up late and sleep in.

You cannot sit still long.

You get cabin fever in a hurry.

You hate potluck dinners and casseroles.

Your standards for cleanliness are catching.

You always make me laugh.

You make everyone laugh.

You don't really care what others think of you, but most admire you anyhow.

You let our boys be boys.

You allow football, baseball, and basketball in the house...even the living room.

You don't even notice when the house is a mess.

You will indulge me when I worry over little things where the boys are concerned.

You exude confidence and inspire it in those whose lives you touch.

You are amazing in front of a crowd. (inspirational and entertaining)

You are a hypochondriac, yet at the deepest level you trust in the Lord.

You admire your dad.

You always go to bat for those who work for you, even if you have to privately reprimand later.

You are a great employee with a hard working, get things done kind of attitude.

You are fun to be around.

You are ever so patient with my weaknesses.

You are faithful.

You are a great man of faith.

You are building an incredible legacy.

You are truly one in a million.

You are mine.

Weekend Sports Update

2008-02-11T10:01:00.000-06:00

It was a great weekend. The weather was beautiful and both boys' baseball teams had tons of fun at a warm up tournament. If this weekend was any indication of the coming season, then we have lots to look forward to watching these teams play! Here's one of my favorite shots of Casey trying his hand at pitching.

Here is Cody on his way back in to the dugout at the end of an inning.

Their basketball team won their first playoff game earning a chance to play in a semi-final next Saturday morning and quite possibly make it to the championship game. It has been great having them on the same team this winter! I have included a couple of photos just to give a glimpse, but I can't seem to get good shots in the gym lighting.

It's 2008 already

2008-01-30T08:57:00.000-06:00

OKAY!! I am getting tired of looking at the Christmas photos at the top of my blog, but I have not been inspired to write anything lately! Or maybe there has been too much going on, or not enough, I can't be sure. I have been doing a lot of reading. I finally got the last of the Christmas decos put away on January 26th. Three of the boys have had a flu-like bug that thankfully they are now over. We are finishing basketball season and have already started baseball practices. I backed up all my photos on disks that were stored on computer. This, that and the other....but it is time to break the silence!

When New Year's Day comes, I have never been one to officially make big resolutions. My theory being if you don't make them, you can't break them. It is all really very overwhelming to me. I do think about goals and in an unofficial sort of way I ponder and plan the things I would like to see in my life over the next year. You know the stuff....I would like to grow closer to God, I would like to be the a better wife, mother, sister, daughter, neighbor, community member, and friend this year than ever before, I would like to make out and stick to a budget, I would like to be on time, I would like to have birthday gifts ready at some point other than 5 minutes before the parties, I would like to make appointments for the dentist, dermatologist, and a haircut before next year, I would like to get a shower every day, I would like to have an organized home with clean and put away laundry, all beds made, no dishes in the sink, no dust bunnies, no clutter, and no mounds of various treasure that needs to be donated someplace, for everything to have it's place and dinner to be on the table every night, I would like to not forget something every single time I do the grocery shopping, I would like a tidy garage and car, I would like to have date nights on a regular basis, I would like to have lunch with friends, I'd like to see more of our extended families, I would like to volunteer more time at the boys' classes, I would like to take more families who need it a nice healthy and delicious hot dinner, I would like to watch more friends' kids while they do something they need to do, I would like to lose weight and get physically fit, I would love for my kids to generally behave perfectly and to not lose my cool when they don't, I'd like to have a consistent family devotional time, I would like to have my taxes prepared by the end of February, and the list goes on. WHEW!

So here is what I've been reading lately....I will keep you posted on how much progress I make.

One Month to Live: Thirty Days to a No Regrets Life by Kerry and Chris Shook
Desperate Households: 10 Life Changing Family Management Makeovers by Kathy Peel
Scream-Free Parenting: The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool by Hal Runkel
The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George (not sure where that one fits in...)

I hope your 2008 is off to a great start and you have not forgotten your "resolutions" already. It is never too late to take action. One step at a time!

A little more Christmas....

2007-12-27T08:51:00.000-06:00

It is such a blessing to have so much family living so close by. As a result, we get to extend Christmas one more day in order to spend leisurely time with everyone! Here is a glimpse of more Christmas fun.....

Christmas Morning

2007-12-25T11:07:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas Everyone! May you be blessed to spend time with loved ones doing what you love to do!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

2007-12-25T10:58:00.000-06:00

When life gives you LEMONS....

2007-12-25T10:49:00.001-06:00

EAT THEM!!

Granny and Grandad have a lemon tree and we are thouroughly enjoying it's fruit this year!

Christmas Eve~Eve

2007-12-25T10:37:00.000-06:00

This year the Ryan family gathered on the eve of Christmas Eve to enjoy a traditional lunch and then exchange some gifts and attend our church service together. A good time was had by all and we especially enjoyed having our cousin James with us as his counts were high enough for him to join us...our own Christmas miracle.

'Tis the season

2007-12-13T10:20:00.000-06:00

As mentioned in the holiday quiz, I have been working on getting the perfect (and ever-so-evasive) Christmas card photo. So very soon you should be receiving yours in the mail. In between cookie timers yesterday, I went online and ordered the cards and they will be ready to pick up today. I will race to process the addressing and stamping and get them to you sometime the week before Christmas. Yay! I thought you may enjoy some of the photos that led up to the one we finally chose (which you shall see when it arrives is far from perfect, but fun nonetheless!)

Holiday Quiz

2007-12-05T14:45:00.000-06:00

Kathryn had this on her blog and asked all her fellow blogging friends to answer this questionnaire. I have seen dozens of variations of this type of deal where bloggers "tag" each other to answer random questions about their husbands and various other topics and I have ignored them to this point, but I have not blogged about anything recently, so, here I go:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?Both, but when you do most things last minute like I do, gift bags are lifesavers!

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial, it lasts longer. Maybe if we lived someplace where we could hike up a mountain in the snow and chop down our own and have sap sticking to our fingers as we try to read in bed that night....

3. When do you put up the tree? As soon as i get around to it, usually soon after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down ? As far into January as I feel I can get away with...one year it may have even been February. I have a hard time letting go.

5. Do you like egg nog? Never tried it. What exactly is it? May have to google the ingredients.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Hands down, it was 1974. My mom was expecting and delivered my very own sister on Dec. 23. They brought her home in a stocking. She was the gift that keeps on giving.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? I have one nice one that is ceramic and broken in places from kids and so many moves. As a result of that, I also have 3 for the kids to play with. Little People, Veggie Tales (we lost the baby Jesus this year, wish you could order replacement parts. There's gotta be a lesson in that...keep Christ in Christmas or something), and Playmobil(lots of little pieces all over the family room each night, you should get it)

8. Hardest person to buy for? With Woodforest Visa giftcards, how hard is it anymore, really?

9. Easiest person to buy for? Again....Woodforest Visa giftcards. I used to hold on to ideals of finding something special for everyone on my list, but the truth is, money works in almost any situation. Everybody's doing it.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. I have a not so wonderful tradition going of waiting until like December 15 to get a good snapshot of the boys. Then I race to the photo shop at Sam's and do overnight development of hundreds of cards asking for an advance on the envelopes. Then I race against time to get labels printed and have the envelopes ready to stuff by the time I pick up the photo cards the next day. It is very merry. At least this year I can do some of it via computer instead of standing in the store.

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? My spiritual gift is mercy, people. Like I could identify any gift as "worst". Please.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? CHRISTMAS VACATION, and all the sappy Lifetime and Hallmark Channel movies. So bad, but so good. Kind of like when 'Gran' Alice Horton puts the 'Tom' ornament on the Horton family Christmas tree and they use that little computer generated sparkle when they pan over all the ornaments with names on them quite dramatically ending with Tom and Alice, or maybe this year she will have to have someone else do it because the sweet thing can barely be represented anymore just sitting in her chair as the matriarch of the show glancing lovingly at her family and the photo of she and Tom on the side table as the snowy computer video effects close the show for that day and the "in memory of" message appears on my screen. Good stuff.

13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Again, mercy. No way would I ever be able to give away something someone gave me.

14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Sugar cookies with frosting. Yum.

15. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear.

16. Favorite Christmas songs? I really like a variety. An old favorite is the Amy Grant album I have on cassette. I love the musicians at our church and all the songs they sing at our Christmas Eve services.

17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home, our families are all here! I would love to go to New York and Disney some time during the season though.

18. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Who cannot? Thanks to the song. You know Dasher....

19.Open presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning. And whenever we do "Christmas" with our extended family.

20. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Honestly , and this is gut-level here, the bell-ringers for Salvation Army outside the stores. I get a guilt trip every time I brush past them. From the minute I see them while parking, the mental anguish begins. Then I resolve within myself to look them in the eye and smile knowing that I decide which charities I give to in advance and give to them not because of mounting pressure as I come out of a store with things for me and my family who feel very blessed, yes, but can not stand feeling guilted into giving. AAGGGHH. Maybe I should just drop a dollar in.

21. Favorite ornament theme or color? I like the ones the kids make. We have two trees though, and one is 'Patriotic" (red,white and blue, stars and stripes) I started it the year after 9-11. As we decorate and enjoy it, I talk with the boys about the soldiers who are away from their families at Christmastime and how thankful we are to be Americans and have the freedoms we do, thanks to the brave men and women who sacrifice for us. It makes me cry. They think I am nuts. Being the only woman in house full of boys is really fun. And I mean that.

22. Favorite food for Christmas dinner? Look at me....I like it all. Traditions are really so satisfying.

23. What do you want for Christmas this year? To continue teaching my family the true meaning amidst all of everything else going on, and for them to "get it". The things I really want and can't have are not concrete. Lots of hard situations our loved ones are dealing with this year, and I wish I could fix them all. Is the question referring to something material? Oh, I can never think of anything.

24. Who is most likely to respond to this? What kind of question is that? Probably someone who doesn't have/take the time. Silly.

Another Champion in the family

2007-11-18T17:36:00.000-06:00

Casey and the Lumberkings won their first tournament this weekend!

They were the # 1 seed after the pool play on Saturday night, but did not get to compete on Sunday due to a rainout. They were named the Fall Ball Classic Champions.

In two games they scored 24 runs to the other teams' 6. Not bad!

All I want for Christmas....

2007-11-18T17:33:00.000-06:00

Well, okay, maybe not ALL I want for Christmas.....

Cody pulled his second tooth today, only two days after the first!!

Hey Tooth Fairy!!

2007-11-15T18:41:00.000-06:00

Cody's face will never be the same....he's lost his first tooth today! It's a first grade tradition in our family. Casey lost his first in the fall of his first grade year, both of them just over seven years old.

A night for Victory

2007-11-15T18:34:00.000-06:00

Both Cody's Sundevils and cousin Hudson's Jayhawks won the championship game last night for their respective divisions! It was a big night!

We are the Champions, My Friends

2007-11-15T18:28:00.000-06:00

WAY TO GO SUNDEVILS!!

Championship Bound!

2007-11-11T10:13:00.000-06:00

Dogpile!!!

Cody's fall baseball team, the Sundevils, are headed to the championship game on Wednesday of this week. Here are some pics of the team after winning the semi-finals on Saturday.

Happy Fall, Y'all!

2007-11-01T11:28:00.000-05:00

Hope you all had a fun evening with your family!

Napoleon Dynamite, Andre Johnson, and Spiderman as they appeared on October 31, 2007.

Lucky!

On a sugar high with all our loot!

Mission Organization

2007-10-26T14:15:00.000-05:00

I must confess I have a secret longing to one day have one of those Pottery Barn looking laundry rooms with the cute little cubbies, hooks and lockers. (see something along those lines here: http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p6436/index.cfm?pkey=caccstrlnd )
Maybe even cute little wooden framed names for each of the children identifying their own personal space for their own things. A nice front loading washer and dryer in some really cool and trendy color. Ahhhh, the things I aspire to! I am not sure that if we budgeted for and bought all that nice organizational stuff and got it all just right if I could even keep it that way, but it is a nice dream. I think I could. (until someone leaves a pack of gum in their pants and I have to scrape it off the walls of my new dryer, it would be downhill from there!) Oh, to make my laundry room a happy place! But for now......

Toddler TV

2007-10-19T11:16:00.001-05:00

Thank goodness for good old PBS. Curious George,Clifford, Super-Why, Big World, Sesame Street (ending with Elmo's World) Dragon Tales, Word World, and Barney. That has sadly been our lifeline the past few days. First, I was sick. You don't want me to go into that. Suffice it to say, don't eat raw cookie dough when baking if you don't first check the expiration date on your eggs. Then my internet was down and I spent, oh, the whole doggone morning on the phone with AT&T.
Calling utility companies and the like has moved into a new era. How we all hated talking to machines when they first replaced the human operators. If that was not bad enough, they added the menus where you have to press 1-5 depending on your need and jump through four thousand hoops before you can figure out how to get to a representative. Well, whoever came up with the latest deal where you have to 'verbalize a short response indicating your need' did not have children in the background making noise or a terrible ragweed allergy prompting them to clear their throat every few minutes. The machine replies repeatedly, "I am sorry, I did not understand your response. Let's try choosing from this list...blah, blah, blah..." This was only the beginning of my frustrating experience yesterday. To top it all off, when I finally did reach a real live person the first time, she 'accidentally' hung up on me while transferring me to another department. Now tell me why on earth I had to give them all the preliminary info if not to direct my call to the right place? Then, the second time I called and endured the machine to get to the real person, I finally got a guy who called himself "Bob". I must say I have never heard a "Bob" with that particular accent before, but whatever. I could understand the machine better than I could understand him. UGGGHHH. Like I said in the beginning, thank goodness for PBS so Coleman was too busy zoning in to hear my choice of words and tone especially when talking to the machine. (no one hears what you say then, right?)

So this morning I have lost time to make up for on the internet! Thanks PBS!

In the meantime....

2007-10-19T10:19:00.001-05:00

Okay, so I have been a little silent on the blog. Fall sports have kept our family running and I have barely had time to keep up reading the blogs I love. So sorry. Hopefully when I am inspired with some little something soon, I will make the time to come and write about it! But in the meantime, don't miss these posts on other blogs I read:

'A Great Cause' on Joy's blog (find out how you can help)
'Every Mother's Worst Nightmare' on The Quad Family blog
'30 Compressions, 2 Breaths' on The Quad Family blog (scary, but better safe...)

Legacy

2007-10-03T14:22:00.000-05:00

There are times when the minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and even years seem to march ahead at a pace that affords us little time to reflect. But really, what is life without the special memories and defining moments that make us who we are? Yesterday I had the chance to pause and look back.

A dear and wonderful soul went to be with Jesus on Saturday. Tuesday we remembered his life. His name was Jay Sills. Husband to Ruth, father to Gary, Cheryl, Cindy, Callie and Sallie, a grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend to many. The service was truly a celebration of a life well lived. The music and message were the most inspirational I have ever heard. A life like his lends itself to an amazing memorial. Some of the things that were said about him bear recording and remembering, though I am certain this is just the beginning of a list that could go on and on.

he was a family man, who put his family first (after only His Lord)

he taught his family what was important spiritually, physically, morally, and otherwise

he was dependable

he was a man who could admit when he had made a mistake

he was fun

he had a way of putting a positive spin on things

he made time to be involved in the lives of those he loved

he served the Lord diligently

he served his country

he was an overcomer

Needless to say, even when the pause was over and my life came at me full speed as we picked up Coleman, Chris headed off to work and the boys got off the bus with homework to do, mouths to feed and practices to be taxied off to, I spent the afternoon pondering things in my heart. What kind of legacy am I leaving? What can I do to make the most of every moment that I have? What kind of wife, mom, sister, daughter, friend or neighbor am I? When my life is said and done, what kind of things will the people I leave behind have to say about me?

All of that thinking took me to another place. A place of gratitude. I am so grateful for the life God has given me. I am so thankful for the wonderful people in it. So many wonderful influences.

The influence that Jay Sills had on the life of his son Gary and his daughters has impacted me directly. You see, Gary served as the student pastor at my church during some of the most impressionable years of my life. I had the privilege of learning about being a disciple of Christ under his and Mona's leadership. Chris made the comment on the way home from the service of how thankful he was to Gary for making such an effort to get him to fully commit his life to Jesus. Gary, Callie and Sallie introduced me to what it really meant to worship the Lord in song. Gary and Mona were working at our church during the years that they were adding children to their family and I looked up to Mona as a wife and mother. She was a fabulous role model, and I am sure did not even know it. Gary so graciously led worship at our wedding and helped to make it the type of day we wanted it to be, a day where God was glorified. And when it came time for us to choose where we would serve the Lord in ministry as a couple, there was Gary again. He was filling in for his brother in law at a brand new church in The Woodlands ministering to the four students they had attending. I am not sure how things went down, but Kerry called Chris and I to come to Fellowship and serve as Gary would be moving on.... and the rest of that is history.

All of that to say, we have no idea how God wants to use us in the lives of others. When the time comes, may I be found available to Him to use as He wills. Lord, be the center of my life and what my legacy becomes.

the song of my heart (lately)

2007-09-25T14:54:00.000-05:00

you know how sometimes a certain song will just really hit you in a different light for reasons you cannot explain? maybe it is just me. the boys and i have been listening to 'a collision' dvd by david crowder for months on end since i never take the time to switch dvds in the suburban. yesterday evening on our way out the song "wholly yours" was playing and casey was singing along which prompted coleman to join in, repeating after him. suffice it to say that i wept. just like that, right on research forest in 5 pm traffic. over a song i have heard a million and one times. perhaps hearing the words fresh and new out of the mouths of the boys just got to me. a friend recently wrote in her blog about how her children have been instruments of God in her life on many occasions. this was one of them for me. and now that song echoes in my mind all day long. i thought you might enjoy seeing the words in print and pondering on them yourself. i don't know the rules of printing someone else's song in your blog, but i am giving the credit to the author, and i know he wrote it to encourage believers and to bring glory to God, so hopefully it will be okay.

i am full of earth. you are heaven's worth.

i am stained with dirt, prone to depravity.

you are everything that is bright and clean, the antonym of me. you are divinity.

but a certain sign of grace is this: from the broken earth

flowers come up pushing through the dirt.

you are holy, holy , holy.

all heaven cries holy, holy, God.

you are holy, holy, holy.

i want to be holy like you are.

you are everything that is bright and clean

and you're covering me with your majesty.

and the truest sign of grace was this:

from wounded hands redemption fell down, liberating man.

but the harder i try, the more clearly can i feel the depth of our fall and the weight of it all.

and this might could be the most impossible thing: your grandness in me

making me clean.

glory, glory, hallelujah.

so here i am, all of me. finally everything.

wholly, wholly yours.

i am full of earth and dirt and You.

Are you ready for some football???

2007-09-22T14:45:00.000-05:00

Casey is playing flag football at the YMCA this fall. Here is some of the action from today's game. Okay, it is not all about winning, but since you're wondering....I guess I'll mention it, his team dominated. He has got some great moves!

Compelling Advertisement

2007-09-22T14:36:00.000-05:00

I think Coleman wins the bid for

advertising Domino's new OREO Dessert Pizza....

(fyi...contrary to the way it appears, it was not too big a hit at our house.

I just think it made for a great photo op!)

DON'T BLINK!

2007-09-20T16:40:00.000-05:00

We have implemented a brand new budget this fall, courtesy of Dave Ramsey. I have found it easier to stick to when I limit myself to as few "errand" days as possible. With my new found time at home, I am finally getting to some long ignored projects. For example, I have been taking old photos from the boxes they are stacked in and at least stuffing them into albums with photo sleeves. I once had high hopes of becoming a scrapbook queen, and on some level, I am holding on to those hopes. In the meantime, I want to be able to enjoy the photos with the kids.

So today I am feeling nostalgic. Why does it have to go by so fast????

Among the best advice I have gotten as a mom is the encouragement to enjoy every stage and so I do try to soak it all in each day and then embrace the next phase as it comes my way.

But give me a break!!

A blog of my own

2007-09-19T11:12:00.000-05:00

So, I have been slowly enticed into the world of blogging. It started with a friend or two who moved far away and I just needed to keep in touch with them and all they were doing. Then, through links on their blogs, I became a blog stalker. I read the blogs of people I have never met. I have always loved people and since becoming a momma there seems less and less time to be really involved with lots of people as much as I'd like on a daily basis, so the world of blogging is like a way for me to feel like I have a life outside of my house and all the responsibility inside.
I have ultimately decided that I can no longer sit back and read all of my daily blogs. I am going to push aside the questions that loom in my mind of who in the world will read my blog and what kind of material will I have and just start writing. Of course, I would like to start with a bang. I have been pondering what funny story to tell, what photos to add, etc. But since I made the decision to start blogging, things have been rather busy. That is what brings me to the following conclusion: I am just gonna start it up. No bells, no whistles. Just me, getting that first blog out of the way so I can get on with this already. Done.