John is the one getting ready to kick the ball and has red plaid shorts on.

John started soccer tonight with YMCA. I had Open House so I didn't get to go but Matt said that it was really good and really organized (which I secretly love :)).

John had a blast. His coach instantly new his name because he was constantly talking and answering the coaches questions. Is anyone surprised?

His team's name is The Royals. He was proud that he came up with the name and the team picked it. He had another name that he said and this is the conversation that we had about it...

John: My first name for the team was Blue Balls.

Me: Oh...well that is an interesting name. 

John: Yeah. Because we have blue shirts and we have balls. (I believe he meant soccer balls.)

Me: All I can do is smile. I finally get these words out "The Royals is a good name."

Oh I love little kids!

I then had this conversation with Sophia...

Me: Sophia, did you have fun at John's practice?

Sophia: Yup

Me: Do you want to play soccer?

Sophia: Nope

End of conversation :)

The Beginning of School

I missed these little kiddos while I was at work today...

 A few pictures I never posted of the kids dressed up for Abbey and Brant's wedding. 

Being Sick

Most of the time I blog about my kids but not tonight. 

So I woke up last night throwing up (sorry for sharing that) and when I got up this morning, I felt like I had ran into a brick wall. My body ached and my head was booming. We were suppose to go to Lamar to see Aunt Linda, who is visiting from PA. I could easily tell that I was not going to make it to Lamar. So my sweet husband, loaded the kids up and let me rest all day long. I must say, that before going to Lamar, he went to the store and picked me up chicken noodle soup, bread, crackers and Sprite, because we had NO food in our cabinets. 

So while my husband has been wrangling children all day...I have been laying on the couch reading books and watching Law and Order (don't judge). I did make it outside today, in the evening time, to sit on my deck and read my Bible. I have been studying the book of Jeremiah and let me tell you...it isn't the most interesting book of the bible but I had really felt let to read it. Tonight I was reading a commentary about the first 2 chapters. It explains that Jeremiah didn't want his job as a prophet. He told the Lord that he didn't think he could do it. However, God put words in his mouth and he did it for 40 years. In the commentary, it talks about how Jeremiah was suppose to be a Priest, like his father and grandfather, but God called him to be a prophet instead. 

So my conclusion is that sometimes we have a plan of what we think we should be doing and God changes it. God made us and gave us skills but we have to make sure that our skills are being used for God. My mind and heart have been full lately of questions and no answers. I have been full of doubt of the things that have been laid on my heart but tonight, as I sat on my deck, I started to bring those doubts to God. All of a sudden in the midst of my doubts, the verse Psalm 66:10 - "Be still and know that I am God" came to my mind. And so for that instant, my heart was calm and I realized that sometimes God's plans don't make sense and he does things out of the ordinary - and that is simply okay because that is what faith is all about. 

For those of you that read my blog (when I actually blog) or you just happened to run across the blog, feel free to pray for me and my family as we see what God unfolds before us. 

Have a great night. 

Catching Up

Whew...what a year. School is finally out and as I look back and think about this school year (and what I didn't blog about) I get a little overwhelmed. There is so many things I wished I would have blogged about but didn't because of time and being exhausted. But here are a few things..

• John had an awesome year at preschool. He loved his teachers and his friends. He was very sad about having the last day of school and leaving his friends and teachers. 
• Sophia finally is potty trained. Whew...that was quite an experience. That girl does things on her own time! 
• I get to stay at the same school as I was located this year I am very excited to get to continue learning under my principal and continuing to be with the same staff. 
• Sophia still doesn't like to go to bed and we have decided she is a night owl. We are learning to adjust :) 
• Abbey (Matt's little sister) and Brant got married! I hope to pictures of this up soon. Unfortunately I didn't take a lot of pictures because the day was sort of a whirlwind but I did capture a few. Matt, Sophia and John were all in and did a fantastic job. 
• Mark and Barb found out they are moving to Lamar to be at another church. This means that we will not have any grandparents in the area next year. It is going to be very different but we are excited to see what God has in store for them. 
• My brother Scott and his wife Emily have their house on the market in NC (please let me know if you are moving there and want to buy a house...I can hook you up!) and are wanting to move to the KC area!

Well those are just a few things but I know there were more. That is the nice thing about blogging each day. You capture the small things. :)

Now to blog about today:

Since Mark is no longer preaching at Liberty United Methodist, the family has been coming down to Lakeland. It is nice to see them each Sunday. Today we had family Sunday lunch at our house. As I looked around our house (which is fabulous to host in now since the remodeling), it hit me that we are so lucky to have a loving family. Matt and I are both blessed, which makes are kids doubly blessed, to have families that love spending time with one another. 

We caught a nap after everyone left and headed to the Lake Jacomo Campsite to meet up with our dear friends, the Denglers. There were a few other families there and once again I caught myself thinking about how blessed we are to have such a great church community. Our kids love playing with their friends they have met through Lakeland and the conversation with the adults is always a fun one. We are also lucky to have the Denglers in our lives. Even though they moved to Colorado, we consider them part of the family. 

After we got home, I was putting the kids to bed and we said our prayers. John prayed for Sophia's imaginary friend Daisy and that the Denglers would have a safe trip back home to Colorado. Sophia prayed for all the people in the world and for Aunt Abbey and her wedding (then she started to retell the whole wedding scene, especially her part as a flower girl).

When I was praying for each of them and said Amen, Sophia stopped me and told me that I forgot to pray for her hair and that it would get as long as "Tangled".

I love their simple, sweet prayers. I love their innocence and worry free minds. 

It was a great day. 

A New Friend

We have a older neighbor named Claire and she is always working out in the yard. We say hello and good bye. We have short conversations such as "How was your day?" 

Tonight John saw Claire working in her yard and he went over to the fence. The conversation went something like this...

John: Hi Claire

Claire: Hi John. How are you? 

John: Good. We should go somewhere and do something sometime since we are friends now. 

Claire: She smiled and said "Well I guess we are friends."

As John walked away, he looked at me and said "I guess I have a new friend now."

It was a sweet interaction and it made my heart warm. John loves being around people and he loves having friends. He has such an innocent way of interacting with people. If you talk to him, he considers you a friend. 

I hope his love of people stays with him. 

Brotherly and Sisterly Love

A few nights ago, Sophia was finished taking her bath and it was hair brushing time. This usually ends in whines and crying because of the tangles and her not liking to have her hair brushed. So John decided to take it upon himself to brush Sophia's hair. It was adorable. He got right in her face and told her that he wouldn't hurt her. He was "oh so careful" as he brushed her hair. 

As I watched from the couch, it was a sweet moment in my heart. It's funny because at their age, it is fighting over a toy one minute to being best friends the next minute. 

Trashy the Trash Can

We got a new trash can a couple months back and the kids are in love with it. You would think they have never had a trash can before this one. They love it so much that they named it "Trashy the Trash Can". Each morning after they eat breakfast, they go over to it and say "Wake up Trashy. I have trash for you!" They have a voice for the trash can. It is this low, growling sound that says "Yum". 

It makes Matt and I bust out laughing every time. I have this guilty feeling that they have adopted the trash can as a pet because we won't get them a dog or cat. Oh well...I really don't have to clean up after it. 

Have a great night!