Friday Night Baseball

"A critic once characterized baseball as 6 minutes of action crammed into 2 1/2 hours."

The boys had a Little League game tonight.  The weather was just beautiful to be outside, even though the game was really slow.  I left during the 3rd inning, 1 1/2 hours into the game.  Cole started at short and ended up pitching. We were winning 13-1.  Carter started at left field.  For those of you who know Carter, make sure you look closely at his picture in the outfield.  It's hilarious even though his coach didn't think so.  He was so bored!

Take Me With You

"Love is missing someone whenever you're apart, but somehow feeling warm inside because you're close in heart."

"If I could just somehow get in your suitcase, I could go along home with you."

My Little Nurses

"Nurses dispense comfort, compassion, and caring without even a prescription."

Today Chloe said to me, "Come on Mam, let's snuggle."  So we cuddled on the lounge chair and took a nap.  When I tried to get off the chair, while it was still reclining, I somehow cut the back of my calf.  Chloe said she would take care of it for me.  Into the bathroom we went.  She got out the antibiotic cream and bandaids.  She said "Big girls get big bandaids."  It took her awhile to get the bandaid open.  She must have sensed that I was getting tired of waiting and said "Sometimes you need to be patient when you're waiting for a bandaid, right Mam."   I had to agree.

Soccer Ball In The Belly

"Of two sisters one is always the watcher, one the dancer."

Poor Cali got hit in the belly with a soccer ball at Cole's game.  She said, "I cried."   A few minutes later she was fine, but is still talking about it today.

Teamwork

"Teamwork divides the task and multiplies the success."

It was really cold today during Cole's game.  We all had on winter coats.  Chloe was carrying her umbrella around just in case it started to rain.  I think she was disappointed that it didn't.  Cali got hit in the stomache with a stray ball,  cried a little bit and then was back to her smiling self.

The boys are playing pretty good right now.  They are learning to do things the right way, by passing and being a team.  I just wish they would keep the ball on the outside a little more to open up things in the middle.  Christopher keeps telling them about it, but for some of those little legs,  the ball doesn't quite make it there.  They have improved so much over the past 3 years and are now giving the beatings instead of taking them.

Cole reminds me so much of Christopher on the soccer field.  He controls the middle and gives it everything he has.  He works hard and is understanding the game more.  It helps that he likes to watch the English Premiere League on FOX SOCCER.

My Beautiful Butterfly

"Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life.  And everyone desrves a little sunshine."

We played outside for a long time last week.  She was chasing butterflies, one of her favorite things.  Watching birds is also a favorite of hers.  She was telling me that the robin we were watching probably flew to it's next of babies in the tree.  They have a bird feeder in their back yard so she can watch the birds.  It upsets her when the big birds chase away the little birds. Collecting little stones is fun too, there is a collection in the garage that she needs to show me now and then.  We had so much fun together, it was hard for me to leave her. 

Flowers With Faces

"Help one another, is part of the religion of sisterhood."

The girls love flowers!  After our Thursday Breakfast at McDonalds, we went shopping for pots and flowers.  I told the girls about Pansies, the flowers with faces.  Chloe was so excited to see what they looked like and she was talking the whole morning about the colors that she wanted.  Cali wanted them all but settled for just 2 and carried them safely to the checkout.  Other shoppers were smiling at the girls because they were being so careful and just looked so darn cute!

When we got home, they had to plant them right away!  Cali wanted to "help" her big sister, but Chloe didn't really appreciate the help.  We had a few "words" and then got things done.  They are so proud of their plants, I just hope Cali doesn't drown hers with all the watering!

Earth Day

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."

Chloe's Pre-school had a field trip to celebrate Earth Day.  All of the kids planted pine trees and learned more about Earth Day.  The Forest Ranger just happened to be a high school friend of Christopher's.  He did a great job with the kids and gave them each a seedling to take home.  Now Chloe needs to decide where she is going to plant it. Decisions, Decisions!

Update on Baby Luke

"Grow flowers of gratitude in the soil of prayer."

Baby Luke has come through his surgery just fine.  For several updates, go to http://stinkytofuandotherthings.blogspot.com/    This is the personal blog of the lady that runs the Morning Star Foster Home.

What Is That Thing!

"Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain."

Camryn kept looking at PopPop and wasn't quite sure if she wanted to smile.  Later they were playing on the floor and she crawled over to touch his mustache.  After that, she was fine.  She just wanted to know what that thing was on his face!

Baby Luke

"We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another."

Please go to http://morningstarproject.blogspot.com/   and pray for baby Luke.

Finally, I Have The Bubbles All To MYSELF!

"Never be afraid to sit awhile and think."

His sister was still taking a nap and I think he enjoyed just being outside by himself.  No need to share the bubbles!  No one to boss him around, even though she does is in that sweet little voice!

She Loves To Dust!

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."
Unlike her MamMam, this precious little girl loves to clean.  Green is her favorite color, so the first chair she cleaned was the green one.  It's also the one that she likes to sit on.  She is very diplomatic if someone else wants to sit on it.  She will say to me,  "MamMam, would you like to sit on the blue one?"  Of course, I wouldn't think of sitting on her green one.  When they were hunting easter eggs, she looked for all the green ones first!  Funny, her daddy's favorite color is green also!!

My Favorite Tulips

"Look at us, said the violets blooming at her feet, all last winter we slept in the seeming death but at the right time God awakened us, and here we are to comfort you."

These are my favorite tulips.  I brought them home from Holland when we were there on a soccer trip. They are so different from anything else I have seen.  Thank heavens they survived the wrath of Cali!

0-0

"We didn't lose the game, we just ran out of time."

Cole's team tied their game on Sunday 0-0.  They had plenty of chances to score and should have many times.  Sometimes I wished Cole would have just taken the ball and scored, like I know he can.  However, his coach, his Dad , teaches him to do the right thing and pass the ball to the open man.

Helping With Yardwork

"If we were all like angels, the world would be a heavenly place."

Last week when the weather was so warm, the girls wanted to be outside.  I thought while they enjoyed the sun, I would get some yardwork done.  Well, they wanted to help.  Cali tried, but the rake was too heavy for her.  She decided to "babysit" the dog.  At least she wasn't pulling apart my tulips!

Bubble Fun

"How wonderful it must be to speak the language of the angels, with no words for hate and a million words for love!"

Camryn just loves bubbles. 

Tanks Season Debut

 "There aren't enough days in the weekend."

  Saturday was Carter's first soccer game of the spring season.  It was cool, but the sun was shining and made it such a nice day for a game.  He played most of the game as a forward, but got a chance in the goal for the 3rd quarter.  He did a great job!  He may have just found his forte.  He didn't back down from those big kids and made several saves.  I was so proud of him.  Best game I ever saw him play!

Happy Birthday Cole and Cali!

"Because time itself is like a spiral, something special happens on your birthday each year:  The same energy God invested in you at birth is present once again."

Today is Cole's 10th birthday.  Our family celebrated with him last weekend at Easter.  He is such a loving boy and is a wonderful big brother.  I loved his cake.  It was decorated with Midd-West Soccer!  Our gift to him was a USA National Team jersey.  Happy Birthday Cole, love you lots.

My "JellyBean" is 2 today, although sometimes she tells you she is 4.  I think she says that because her sister is 4.  Since going to Disney World, she loves Mickey Mouse.  So of course, her cake was Mickey Mouse. Every morning, she needs to watch him on TV, even when it isn't time for him.  She says "find him." She is a precious, beautiful little girl and I enjoy being with her every day. Happy Birthday Cali, love you lots.

My Poor Tulips

"Bread feeds the body indeed, but flowers feed also the soul."

This WAS one of my favorite tulips.  I had been waiting for them to bloom for the past several days.  Cali thought it would be nice if she picked it for me!  I sent her to the dandelion patch.  Anyway, enjoy the beautiful picture of my dogwood tree.

Cousin Fun

"A cousin is a ready made friend for life."

The cousins had so much fun playing together.  I know they miss each other alot, but that makes it even better when they do get together.