Reaching Soccer Status

The day arrived, all too slowly in the time frame of an almost five year old.

We've been waiting for what seems like years to be old enough to play soccer.

Today, it happened.

Soccer Status has been reached.


With one practice under his belt, he headed to the field with all the confidence of a kid much older than him. He allowed me to snap a picture before telling me he needed to "warm up" before the big game.



As proud parents will say "he did awesome." No, really he did.

Soccer just may be his sport. He cracked his knuckles to warm up, he stared down the opposition and he ran his little legs off. He only touched the ball once, but it was just to move it so the others couldn't kick it. We all would have done the same thing.

He even scored a goal! Check out that face. We were all beaming! This kid has talent. It may be the shoes {Jared informed me that he had to have soccer shoes, gym shoes just wouldn't do} and I think I now agree with him. Gibson did run super fast in his new shoes. 

Family Picture. This is as good as it gets. We're happy, healthy and love the soccer status that we've now obtained.  

Perspective

I had a tough weekend with my kids. We couldn't seem to find a balance with anything which led to lots of fights, lots of needy moments and a  tired and short tempered momma.

Granted. My kids are 4 and 2. I should expect moments like these and in fact I do.  Most of the time I can handle it but for some reason this weekend I was even at my breaking point. 

Today I was grateful for the invite for Gibson to go to a friends house for a few hours. However, it left me a very sad Easton whom screamed, cried and threw a tantrum that he couldn't go as well. Oh, the balance. Oh, the injustice for only being 2 and having an older brother. I couldn't console him, which brought on a forced nap for both of us {yeah for Creed who jumped on the bandwagon and took his nap at the same time.}

My emotions have already been near the surface for a few days as my patience has been tested and as I have struggled with finding the balance of being a good mom and not giving in to every whim which then sets off a whine or a cry.....balance.

However, when I learned of the passing of Anne Creager I was stopped in my thoughts. The tears flowed freely and I had to say a prayer of thanks to my Heavenly Father for my children and for my health.

I met Anne when we lived in Cleveland. We were second year dental students and the Creagers were fourth year students. Anne and I were partnered up as visiting teachers in our church and so I had the privilege of being with her one on one every month.

Anne was honest, sincere, beautiful and radiated the love of Christ. She cared for the sisters we visited and it showed. She found a connection with each one of them and they opened up to her and allowed her to care for them and pray for them. I learned a lot from Anne just by observing her.

It's been over 6 years since I have seen Anne but the impression that she made on me has stuck. When I found out she was battling cancer I cried. I started following her blog and was uplifted and inspired just as I had been when I got to see her more often.

My heart breaks to learn that Anne lost her battle with cancer over the weekend.  The tears won't stop flowing as I think of her husband and her three beautiful little girls.

The time I had with her was so short but the impact she had on me will be with me forever and I hope that I too will take her example and pass it on. That I'll be a little kinder, a little more compassionate and a little more patient.

For me and this day, I'm going to start with my boys. I'm going to remember that they are young and learning. They are energetic and full of life and it's up to me to teach them the importance of living and just how short our time on this earth is.

So thank you Anne for touching my heart the way you did. You will be missed.

Homemade Goodness

I've seen the ice cream ball in several catalogs over the years. The description makes it very tantalizing by suggesting you get together and roll it around a campfire or an afternoon at the park and after a few minutes, you have ice cream for all to share!

I was absolutely delighted when we got this ice cream ball as a gift for the 4th of July. There was an abundance of cousins here so I filled it up with the required cream, sugar and vanilla and envisioned the cousins sitting in a circle and gently rolling it to each other all the while singing patriotic songs.

Oh, that couldn't have been farther from what happened. I'll just say that wars erupted and threats were made and uncle Doug who is 6 ft something ended up holding it over his head so no one could fight over it. He passed between his two hands until it was done.

When it was done, it was delicious but there was enough in there for, well, one adult or maybe three children. The turmoil and tears that it caused just wasn't worth it.

Lesson Learned.

Or so you'd think.

Yesterday it was hot and we had cousins over to play. The troops were getting restless but I was trying to keep them outside since there was sleeping babies inside. "The ice-cream ball" I said to myself. Once again, I envisioned the boys lightly bouncing it on the trampoline all the while the cream, sugar and vanilla working it's magic and becoming a yummy goodness.

Nope. The ball sat alone on the trampoline. Somehow during the few minutes of interest by the boys, it became ice cream. I handed each kid a plastic spoon and they devoured it.

As you can tell by the picture. Easton was the last kid standing. He scooped out every frozen piece of cream and enjoyed it as much as he did the first.

So, the ice cream ball isn't a total loss. The process isn't as peaceful and fun as I imagined it would be but the end product is delicious and after all, isn't that what matters!

Foodsaver Friday 

{except today is Saturday}

I've had a few people ask me about my foodsaver and what I actually intended to use it for so I thought I'd show you. Yesterday as I was preparing to make THIS banana chocolate swirl bread, I found my half eaten, opened bag of chocolate chips. This was the perfect situation to throw those chips into a jar and seal in the freshness.

Of course I couldn't stop there since I had the foodsaver out on the counter so I sealed up some peanut butter chips {which by looking at them should have been sealed months ago, they've lost their yummy color}, some rice and some apricots.

It took all of 30 seconds for each container and they fit nicely on my shelf and I actually can see how much of a certain product I have. {Plus those jars have measuring marks on the side, thank you Ball Mason Jars.}

When I get my large storage room {which I'm certainly getting} I have plans to seal a lot more things like flour, sugar, salt, and some spices. I'm just in love with the concept of buying in bulk and sealing in the freshness. It just makes sense. Unlike using coupons which I still don't get. That's a post in and of itself!

Yes, that is my newborn in an exersaucer! When did he get big enough to do that?  Time is cruising by.  We've been having too much fun this summer that I haven't taken the time to blog. I have some great things to blog about, like Gibson's preschool graduation BACK IN MAY! Hello, it's me, slacker!

As you can see in this picture. Creed is just the cutest, happiest little tike. He's loving the fact that he can sit upright in his exersaucer and after just two days figured out how to spin himself so he can take advantage of all the toys.  

 Just in case we get ourselves into a sticky situation, I've secured the help of two super heroes who are on call anytime I want them to be!  I found these Buzz Lightyear costumes at Costco and couldn't resist them.  Gibson and Easton are in utter love with them and they sport them several times a day. It's very cute to watch but I have a feeling that they won't be in good condition come Halloween.

Seeing their faces and hearing their imaginations at work I must say they were worth every penny!

Our summer has been great. It's gone far to quickly but we're going to enjoy the final few weeks before preschool begins and maybe, just maybe I'll blog about it!