Boys.....not mine and mine.

This one is not mine, but I love him all the same....Tyler....loved getting to know him so well this last year. When he's at the house, he's just part of our clan and fits perfectly with our family. Not knowing the status of what we will be doing with baseball next year or where we will be playing, one of concerns is that I will miss this boy if he and Creighton aren't playing together :(

My cute lil pitcher.......

Running......sort of :) If you have seen Creighton's speed, you know what I mean :) He can run fast, when he's on the basketball court, etc, but when he gets on the baseball field for some reason he seems to be in a slow motion shuffle. Yeah, somehow we need to work on that?!

Got this pitcher all figured out. Timing is down and he puts one into left field hard on the ground this at bat. Yeah!

Softball, Baseball, Volleyball.....this is the story of our lives.

Foul Ball

And a hit

Someone forgot to put her visor on and seen here struggling with the sun at first base

And yes, they think they are all that and a bag of chips! And they are.....

Boy Stuff

The boys went to the Monster Jam. Colby and I stayed home :) Creighton was so excited to see the trucks he plays on his Monster Jam Wii game! They had pit passes so they could check um out up close and personal!

Beautiful

My boys.....

Hottubin Silly Boy

Volleyball

Im not sure how much I blogged about volleyball this winter--I'm assuming not much since I didn't blog much of anything. But, it was THE highlight of my winter. I loved coaching these 12 year olds more than I ever dreamed I would. I loved being on the court with them, directing them, teaching them, watching them love the game I love and just loving them. I will admit it was most difficult to coach my daughter, but all in all it was a good experience. Considering these girls had only had a very limited exposure to volleyball through the YSF program, they had an INCREDIBLE season. They had a lot of good tournaments. The improvement throughout the season was tremendous. It was a pretty significant time committment and very tiring at times, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. The tournaments are LONG. Most weekends we had to leave the house at 6am or so and wouldn't be back until 7pm that night. Volleyball tournaments are LONG, LONG.

And now, I am coaching at 13U team in a Bettendorf league for the summer. We are practicing Friday nights and playing in Bettendorf every Monday night. It stretches me pretty thin during an already hectic summer schedule. But I could.not.say.NO!

I didn't get to take any pictures this season because I coached the girls by myself most of the year. I had an assistant for a few tournaments, but not most. But, my mom got a few during the Mount Vernon tournament. Love, love, love all these girls.....

Colby is #8

Colby at the net with the poofy pony tail
And Colby with very poor passing form (I didn't teach her THAT! :)
Colby hitting outside
And all the girls
Colby hitting outside

Colby hitting at the net--looking like she's flailing a bit :)


Fun, fun, fun....Love it!

I can't blog....but I can steal/link posts pretty efficiently :)

Read THIS about the upcoming fundraiser!

It's obvious

So, it's pretty obvious that I have no time to blog. Or should I say, it has taken a backseat to the millions of other priorities in our lives.

But I can 'link'!! :) And, since Cassie and Jody have already blogged it, no need to re-invent the wheel, right?? Here they are......go here and here to check out the cool event Cassie will be hosting.

I will be donating all of my Scentsy commission from this event to the Adventure Project. You can shop for the event online as well! Go here and click on Cassie's 'Water' fundraiser and shop knowing that 100% of my commission will go to helping the water crisis!

For more info, just click on the above links--you should be able to find out all you need to know in order to support this cause! ;)

Test

Test

Baseball Fever!

So, I think I am getting more excited than ever for ball season to start. I just love seeing how far the kids have come over the last year. They are always faster, stronger,bigger and so much better than the previous year. I am still shocked at the development that happens between seasons. I am getting super anxious to see them on the field.

And today, I bought Cubs/Cards tickets for the July 29th game in St. Louis. So we're going to take a few days to run around St. Louis and go to a game. Super excited for that as well!

So, lots of baseball and softball games in the near future for us. Hard to believe its all just a couple weeks away! Love it, can't wait.

We've still got two volleyball tournaments left too. Then I was asked to coach a summer team in Bettendorf. Of course, I can't say no, so as crazy busy as we are this summer, I will SOMEhow fit in a volleyball practice and game in Bettendorf each week too :)

Lots of things going on, lots to do and soooo much to look forward over the next few months!

Happy Spring!!!!!

Valentine's Day Math....

In the arithmetic of love, one plus one equals everything, and two minus one equals nothing.
Mignon McLaughlin

And, a couple Valentine funnies from our house: Creighton has always been inFURIATED if we ever ask him if he has a girlfriend or if he likes so and so, etc. So, the other day we were talking about Valentine's Day coming up. He said he made his Valentine box at school and wrote on it "I, and then a heart, Drea. Twice" It was SO cute. I couldn't believe he told me about that and he was so serious! Then I asked him about Drea and he said she is "tiny with blonde hair". Hmmm. So,my son is going for the cute little tiny girl with blonde hair. Wish I could have recorded our conversation--it was way cute!

And, my husband, the romantic... :) Got up this morning...told me goodbye somewhere around 5am, I kinda fell back asleep, but woke up when I heard the hot tub lid slam shut. A few minutes later he appears back in our room and says this "Happy Valentine's Day. I didn't get you anything." Oh my gosh it was so funny--brought a smile to my face. Because that's how he rolls. Upfront and matter of fact. Heck, I thought it was special that he even bothered to tell me Happy Valentine's Day! And then letting me know that he didn't get me anything was a nice courtesy as well. At least I didn't have to sit at work all day and wonder if I was going to get flowers :) And, I did smile everytime I thought about it. It was just so Greg like. Too funny! (And for the record he did take me out for a nice dinner last Saturday night:)

Happy Valentine's Day.

so far.....

with regards to the storm.....
1 - winter pool cover, no longer on top of the pool.
2 - front door wide open (north facing door nonetheless) when the kids got home from school. creating snow drifts going down the hall and up the steps. yes, it's carpeted.
3 - no water. something went wrong with the well pump and we have no water. No flushing toilets or showers at our house. never mind that i took the day off tomorrow and planned to hang out with the kids and get all the laundry done and everyones bedding washed in order to free up some extra weekend time :)
4 - Greg needed a watch battery for a tool he needs to check the electrical to the well pump. So he is currently out in this horrible storm going to wal mart for a battery.

None of this is good news. And that's all I got right now :)

Brody Boyd Shooting Camp

Creighton soaked up EVERY.SINGLE.THING Brody taught him. He hung onto his words like none other. He came home every day so EXCITED about what he learned and now has a newly inspired interest in basketball. Which means...either Greg or I has to take him to the Y to shoot EVERY night that he doesn't have baseball :) Love it!

just loaded christmas pics :)

Birthday Girl!

Puke Boy

So...we got puke at our house. And, we have our only home volleyball tournament this Sunday. I can't be sick. And, I can't have Colby sick. Praying for health around here.....

Cowards do that!

Like this quote.....I'm probably alone, but parts of it struck a chord with me. And it might have a little something to do with the fact that I think the Rocky movies are the greatest of all time :)

"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But, it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done. Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that!" Rocky Balboa

I just ran across this today. I like it, and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE every single Rocky movie--we watch them all the time!!!!

Attitude Check

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.

I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes. Swindoll~


My attitude has been changing lately. I'm letting things go. Things that aren't important--things that will never matter in the long run. Things that normally I would stress about, frett over--I'm letting them go. Things that 10 years from now, I don't want to regret wasting my time with. Gone.....just go.....away. Keeping a close eye on where I am investing my time. It's hard work. But, I feel it. Feel the freedom of being released from the grips of things that will never matter in 5 years, 10 years, or more importantly...eternity.

Will my daughter ever remember what she got for Christmas in 2010? No, but will she remember the year her mom worked so hard at developing her and her young friends into ball players and the bonding experience that comes along with it. Will she remember hanging out in the barn with her dad getting her pitching arm back in shape or playing with the kittens. Probably...more than likely.....indeed. Will my son ever remember the electronics that he had when he was 8 years old...probably not. But will he remember sitting at the dining room table every night playing board games with his mom and dad or last Saturday's 'dad and me' night at the Harlem Globetrotters game, laughing and laughing. Good chance of it.

When I look at where I want to be, where I want to spend my time, who I want to be with....it's with these kids and my husband. And right now I just can't soak up enough of them. Years of my time being spread so thin has made me miss out on a lot of things by just 'going through the motions' but not really 'being there'. But now, as I am slowly emerging out of that way of life, I am far more appreciative of the value of my time, where it needs to be spent and the importance of giving my time to my favorite people versus 'things'.

Needless to say....my plate is still very full. But as I examine the elements on my plate, its looking a whole lot more like it should.

I'm right where I want to be. And, it's so good.

Colby is turning 12!

My first baby girl is now entering her last year of life before becoming a teenager! Not sure how that can be possible??? She is a beautiful young lady and we are so, so proud of her. She is amazingly smart and such a special girl. And a little sassy too :)

The year she was born I had spent the day shopping for groceries, etc getting ready to be snowed in for a few days as they were predicting up to 18 inches of snow. Shortly after Greg got home from work at 11pm we sat down to watch a movie when I thought, "oh crap, I just peed my pants or my water broke!" After determining that it was time to go have a baby (nearly SIX WEEKS early, mind you), we hit the road at about 1am. The roads were terrible as we made our way to Mercy Hospital. A normally 30 minute trip took an hour and a half! About 12 hours later after a very difficult delivery we had a precious baby girl that rested peacefully in the NICU for the next week. So, so thankful then and even more now, for our firstborn.....Happy Birthday Colbers!

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