Angels Among Us

I've been having a rough few weeks with my kids, with life & with homeschooling. Today I took 4 of the 5 out to Aldi with me. I was pausing to add items up on my calculator when I saw an older lady waiting to get to what we were standing in front of. I asked my oldest daughter & son to move aside so the lady could get what she needed. I apologized with a sheepish smile to the lady for being in the way. She leaned in to get her item and then suddenly came up and half hugged my shoulder. Her touch was gentle & kind. She said softly, "Homeschoolers, right?" Immediately my defenses went up but I relaxed as her next words reached my ears. "You are so blessed!" I have to admit I was startled. "Me, blessed?" I haven't been feeling that much lately. More like tired, defeated, unappreciated, a failure. Yes, those are words I'm familiar with especially these past few weeks. She talked to me for at least 10-15 minutes. She encouraged me telling me what a blessing I was to my children to choose to have them at home with me. How I was showing an example of love to them for how I ministered to them daily. I felt my spirits lifting. Her eyes sparkled with joy as she shared these words & thoughts. She told me how she raised 8 children in Japan as a missionary. And how blessed she was to have done so. We talked about her children a bit & then a little about homeschooling. She was an elegant woman and her joy gave her a rare beauty. The love that she had for her children, her life and her Lord shone from her eyes. The loving looks she gave my children. She saw them as treasures. Their chatter delighted her, it didn't annoy her. Seeing them in and around my cart didn't make her swing wide to avoid us but rather drew her in. Like a cold drink of water on a hot day her words & actions refreshed me. It was only for a few minutes but it was exactly what I needed. I hope I meet this charming woman again one day. I want to tell her how much her words encouraged me. They wrapped around my weary mind & heart like a comforting hug. I know she was sent by the Lord. One of those rare angels that live among us. I'm thankful for her. Her precious gift. A gift of loving words, a smile & a moment taken to minister to an overwhelmed mama. Thank you, Lord for sending her my way today.

Coaches

We have been fortunate that in our 4 seasons with One Goal the kids have always had great coaches. This year we were blessed again. Don Bartch was the head coach for both Boo Bear's & Elvis' teams. He is a great combination of expecting the best from his players but able to laugh at mistakes and not take it too seriously. He has a great sense of humor and is always coming up with one liners as he coaches. He was Boo Bear's coach her first season & we were very happy to see him again.


Elvis' assistant coach was great too. Coach Linebarger really encouraged the boys to play as a team & do their best. He was always encouraging the boys no matter if they won or lost. He always took pride in them.

Bugsy loved his coach so much he stated that he would like to go live at his house! Coach Keith was full of energy, humor & encouragement. One thing he did that was new to us was to give out patches to the players. He would find different things to praise them for & award them a patch for it. They earned a patch when they recited their weekly Bible verse as well.

Coach Shannon is a very kind man. He is on the quiet side and so good with all the kids. He would always get down to their level to help them out or give them an encouraging word.


This is Boo's assistant coach. Coach Todd was always there for the girls cheering them on & building their self esteem. He never had a harsh word and was always smiling. He and Coach Don were a fantastic team.

Here is Coach Don again. He is great at building his players skills and teaching them to play as a team. There are no favorites or hot shots on his team. He is kind & encouraging to everyone. I love watching him coach especially when there is an exciting play. He jumps up and down on the sidelines cheering them on taking pride in his players.

Thank you, Coaches for another fantastic season! And thank you for sharing your talents, your love for the game, your love for kids & most of all your love for our Lord!

An Amazing Day at TKD

Steven's Family Tae Kwon Do is one of the best things that has come into our lives this past year. I can't say enough good things about Mr. Stevens. My kids have grown in confidence, in skill, in respect & in many other ways as well.

Today the oldest three tested for their next belts. One of the things they had to do in their testing was to break a board. All were nervous but Sweet Pea was really feeling the fear and doubt. I talked to her and told her unless she believed she could do it she would guarantee her failure. Mr. Stevens had told her basically the same thing. Needless to say they all made me extremely proud. Here are some pictures. I think after these you will see why.

I literally sprinted to get my camera when I saw they had started while I was chasing down Princess. This was right after Elvis kicked the board & split it in half. His face was priceless. It was a mix of "I can't believe I did that!" and "That was AWESOME!"

Bowing to respect & thank Mr. Stevens & the other black belt.

He did yell out after he broke the board, "I DID IT!" Everyone cracked up & started clapping and cheering.

Next was Sweet Pea.

Winding up for her kick........

.......and she broke the board!

I was sad I didn't get the actual break on camera but I did see it in person.

Last of our 3 was Boo Bear.

Here she is lining up her kick before she actually puts power behind it.

This time I got the shot!!!!!!

She broke it on her first kick and man did she hit it!

Mr. Stevens talking to everyone afterward.

All the kids that broke boards were allowed to keep them. This made my kids VERY happy & proud. Princess came over to give them hugs once they came off the floor.

After this Mr. Stevens, at the kid's request, signed & dated their boards. How cool is that? They are going to keep them in their rooms as a kind of trophy. I was bursting with pride for them. Their self confidence rose a thousand notches today.

Thank you, Mr. Stevens!

Can You Believe It?!?!?!?

I WON!!!!!!!!

Today Boo & I stopped in at Kroger's to pick up a few groceries for our special dinner tonight. We saw they had a little tent set up right inside. They had Titan paraphernalia all over. We looked around but there was a big crowd so we went shopping. Later we heard over the loudspeaker that they were giving away Titan's tickets. They announced the first giveaway and then the 2nd. I started thinking I would kick myself later if I didn't' at least check it out. First I went up to see if it cost anything to enter. I finally made my way through the crowd and found out no purchase was necessary. Yay! Then the guy saw me & gave me a ticket. I made my way back to Boo & less than a minute later they were reading off the winning numbers. I couldn't believe it! They were calling out MY numbers!!!!!!! I thought I was misreading it at first and the lady started reading the numbers again. By then people were looking all around for someone to claim the tickets. I squealed, " I think that's ME!!!!" and went running up through the crowd with Boo right behind me. They gave me the envelope with the tickets, had me open it up & took our picture. We were ecstatic!!!! I could hardly wait to get home & tell Dave! We quickly finished our shopping bubbling over with excitement. I drove the 5 minutes home with the tickets clutched in my hand. We burst out of the van once we reached our driveway & I told Dave. He couldn't believe it! I told him they were his. An early anniversary gift.

I can see God's hand all over this. I know God timed this entire blessing from start to finish. I am deeply thankful that He gave me these tickets so I in turn could give them to my sweet husband. Dave even asked me to go with him. It will be so neat to see an NFL game in the stadium. We can hardly wait!

And THANK YOU, Kroger for this giveaway!

Our local YMCA had a week of free soccer camp. We were blessed that another in our homeschool group let us know about it. The kids have been missing playing soccer. We skipped last fall & the past 2 springs because of our move. They were thrilled to be back on the field running drills & shooting goals. Even though it was very hot & humid it did not slow them down one bit.

Dave & I volunteered at the camp to work at the registration table. It was crazy the first day but kind of fun. We got to meet a lot of people and help out. It felt good to be able to give back.

We were even blessed to find some used cleats in Boo's size for only $3.99! The kids all received new shin guards from Mommy & Daddy as they were the same price as the used with the coupon I found online. The boys both inherited cleats from the girls early soccer years. It made Dave & I smile to see how happy they were with their new-to-them cleats.

Boo on the field.

A new friend.

I went over to take pics of Boo & of course that was when they took a long break. They finally started up again playing a game of tag with the soccer ball. Here she is with a new friend having a great time.

I love his facial expression.

Running drills

The two teams were racing to see who could go up & back the fastest.

Bugs just loved his first soccer experience. He was extremely happy to be included in the camp just like the big kids.

Kicking a goal

Boot it!

Waiting for the ball

Elvis dribbling the ball.

Ready, Aim, Fire!

We really enjoyed soccer camp & are very thankful to the YMCA for giving us the opportunity to particpate.

Summer Blessing

We have been blessed again this year with a CSA Family Share. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. We were given this both last summer & this summer by our local WIC program. Isn't' that amazing? With all the chaos of putting the house on the market & Dave leaving for his new job we missed some of the first pick ups. We have attended the last 2 weeks and are enjoying the tasty produce. This week the kids went with us. They love it at the farm. We are enjoying it even more so this year as time has not allowed us to have a large garden this year. We miss our garden but do enjoy tooling around in the farms' huge garden. They even have flowers we can pick & take home! This week in addition to the flowers we brought home broccoli, 2 kinds of lettuce, peas and fresh basil.





Elvis called to the chickens as we descended from the van. They must have understood his clucking b/c one immediately came running over. Soon another followed. We got a big kick out of it!


Doesn't it look like Dave is protecting the children from the lone chicken? Lol! Really they were stopping to watch & "chat" with it.



The shed is where you go to select your picked produce. There is a white board listing all that you can pick for yourself in the garden.

The boys thought these were quite beautiful.

While we stopped for a picture Dave & the girls trooped on ahead to pick peas.

One of the barns

A Perfect Place for the Boys to Run Freely

Sharing freshly picked peas with her brothers.

Picking peas to take home.

I was thrilled to find this little guy.

Bugsy found an insect on one of the flowers. He proclaimed, "It's a bumblebee, Mommy!"

A View of the Garden

The Boys Had a Great Time Picking Flowers

Beautiful Bouquets

Hanging Out in the Shade

Daddy & Bugsy Check Out the Chickens

Walking Back to the Van with Our Harvest