My Dad

Dad visiting in 2005 to help renovate our bathroom.

When I think about my dad I remember this huge man, standing in the kitchen, beside the microwave after a day at work, waiting for dinner.  I remember myself coming into the kitchen to hug him and wrapping my arms almost all the way around him from the side, then pausing to pat his belly.  In some ways, things were simple then, to me anyway, I was probably in middle school.

Mom and Dad on Vroman's Nose in NY fall 2007

It's easy to see now that things were never really simple for him... oh maybe when he was lettering in football, basketball and baseball in high school or in football and baseball at the Coast Guard Academy... but after that life has certainly had its share of challenges.  Honorably discharged from the Coast Guard because of epilepsy and sent home from his life's dream to find a somewhat mundane job repairing photocopy machines, he found his pleasures elsewhere.  He married my mom and I came along quickly and was quickly followed by my brother and then my sister.  Our family has had our share of difficulties too, cancer not being the least of them as we lost Dad's dad to cancer when I was only 6  years old and struggled through my mom's eventual victory over cancer when I was in high school. 

My wedding June 2004

I have always admired my dad because through all those challenges- he was always there for us.  We didn't necessarily talk all that much.  Mom was decidedly the bigger talker.  Even with few words it was evident through his actions that he loved us and he would always be there.  Yes, if you knew him much at all, you knew he had a love for the computer and especially role playing games and was quite practiced at shutting out the world around him to tune in to the machine- a skill I think I've acquired from him myself, I'm not into role playing games though, for better or worse.  His ability to tune us out didn't change the fact that he was home, everyday at 5:30pm, after spending the day working to support us.   When we got in trouble, when my parents fought, when money was tight, he never left, he just kept right on working.  He was always there for us.

Dad goofing around with Scott- Christmas 2010.

Of course, he loved to have fun too, so he found a way to play and work at the same time- umpiring baseball and later officiating football.  Sports were always a priority for him.  I loved going with him to watch him  umpire baseball games.  I mostly went to the Little League games, where I could raid his car for cash to buy candy at the concession stands.  I know he enjoyed his fan section.  He continued to enjoy his fan section in 2010 when it had grown to include my then pregnant self and 3 of his little grandsons and even Stage 4 cancer couldn't keep him from officiating football.  I realized how important the fan section was to him back when I was in high school.  I played field hockey, was on the indoor track team, and played softball.  At almost every game, towards the end, right around 5:00pm, I could look over to the stands and there he was standing behind everyone else having come straight from work to watch me play. 

Dad officiating at Indian Land, August 2010.

Cheering for Scott at one of his first soccer games, fall 2010.

He also loved to have fun with us, by taking us places.  His umpiring money took us to Disney World when I was 9.  I know it was hot, though that's not what I remember about the trip, where we tent camped, in July, in Orlando.  I remember his excitement about everything.  Space Mountain, which despite the love of roller coasters he had instilled in me by age 3, turned me off to roller coasters for 3 years.  I hope I didn't let him down too badly- I love it now.  We had a blast on the Pirates of the Caribbean, Spaceship Earth, seeing the "Laser Light" show at Epcot, and spending a day at one of the water parks- where I braved the vertical slide and didn't let him down.  My most distinct memory though is of walking around World Showcase and trying all kinds of new foods at the different "countries" with him- he did always enjoy food too.  This past week my family took our annual vacation to Disney World and tried something new, in memory of Dad we got Churros from the Mexico Pavillion in World Showcase in Epcot.

 

Teasing each other over whip cream and pumpkin pie, Thanksgiving  2011.

There was so much more to Dad than just fun and food, of course.  I can trace my Christian testimony to my early childhood as I remember him reading to us from The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes- I can still remember the pictures, without looking at the book- which is still on the bookshelf at my parents house.  I also remember him reading the scene from the Hobbit where Bilbo and Gollum have a riddle war (I was around 6 years old at the time), but I suppose that's a separate story.  Church was always a priority for Dad.  He loved to sing.  He was always in the choir and usually had solos to sing during the summer months when the choir didn't practice regularly.  I liked riding to church early with him, just the 2 of us, when he had to be there for choir practice- come to think of it, I enjoyed riding with him all kinds of places, we spent a lot of time together in the car.  He would talk about his Bethel Series study, the memory verses he was working on when the Billy Graham Crusade came to Albany, or we would listen to the Bible on tape- and I could never understand why anyone would want to listen to the instructions for how to build the ark - it's all in cubits - or really any of Leviticus, but he seemed to like to, and now I understand there are important lessons for us even in those parts of Scripture.

At Riverbanks Zoo, having fun, September 2009.

The biggest impact he had on my personal commitment to Christ, he probably never even knew about.  His love for singing and his love for Christ came together when he performed in a musical drama (depicting the life of Christ) called "The Witness."  It was when I was watching one of the performances that the weight and magnitude of Christ's sacrifice, for me personally, became something real.  Sure I knew all the answers, long before that, but that was when it became real, when I realized it was all my fault, but Jesus loves me anyway.

 

Clemson vs NC State, November 6, 2010.

That's why this past week, when I sang (or croaked, I can't sing anything like Dad can)When We All Get To Heaven, with my boys, who are all less than 6 years old, and talked about how Papa will "see Jesus and sing and shout the Victory!" I was astounded that they insisted that Papa doesn't sing.  They've known a different man than I did, but I was determined to convince them otherwise.  Thankfully, I have a video of my wedding, where he sang and sang well, though maybe not quite so well as he is singing today. 

Passing on his love of football to Blaise, November 2010.

  

Yes, Dad will be missed, terribly, by many.   I have no idea who I'll go to when I have a question about the rules of football now, and my boys won't get to hear him sing or play and wrestle with him, but it is a great comfort to know that he is in heaven and we will see him again someday and we'll be able to sing with him.  And so I want to celebrate his life and his arrival in that blessed place more like a wedding party than a funeral, though the tears have come and will continue.  

Christmas 2010.

Sorry for the randomness with the pictures... I wish I had some older ones, but haven't ever bothered to scan anything.

   

Meeting Daniel, November 2010.

Hanging out with baby Michael, September 2009.

  

Meeting baby Michael, July 2009.

 

Playing with Blaise at Christmas time, 2007.

Meeting Blaise, May 2007.

Being silly with Scott, Christmas 2006.

The family August 2006.

Meeting Scott, March 2006.

Baby Man Turns 1

Baby Daniel about a week old.

It's been a whole year?  He was so little, when he was born, he had big hands, was a little jaundiced and he didn't open his eyes much... quite the surprise coming 2 weeks early on us instead of a week late.  We were so unprepared and then I was tired for the birth, but it was a good one anyway and Grandma and Grandpa were in town to take care of the big brothers and meet him right away.  

We really weren't sure how to celebrate his birthday... Grandma and Grandpa are out of town on their own vacation and the other side of the family is busy getting ready to celebrate Uncle Mike's graduation from University of Phoenix and his 30th birthday.  Naturally we kept putting off deciding what to do, knowing that it makes little difference to a 1 year old how you celebrate his birthday.  

The final verdict- celebrate Clemson style.  We needed to make a trip to Clemson anyway to pick up some licensed merchandise and we weren't going to be able to get the game at home.  The first plan was to find some friends in Clemson and watch the game at someone's house.  Then Friday night we snagged tickets for less than half face value and figured we'd just go to the game :)  

Daddy wanted to know why no one else got chocolate.

Tailgating downtown - boys love their Chic-fil-a.

Happy Birthday Boy during the whole 1st half

 We had a great time in Clemson.  We met up with 2 of Cullen's college roommates, saw the band, made our purchases, and had fun watching the game.  That "most exciting 25 seconds in college football" thing still gets my heart going fast.  Daniel was happy and smiley and thoroughly enjoyed the whole 1st half of the game- then it was nap time and he was tired... I walked him to sleep way up at the top, but my back was killing me, so I couldn't be still enough, long enough for  him.  Cullen took a turn walking him and he survived the 2nd half- thankfully, so did our Tigers!

After the game as we headed out of the stadium Blaise provided quite a bit of entertainment for us.  As Cullen and I were loading the stroller and buckling Daniel and Michael in he stood towards the middle of the walkway and held out his hand for high fives, big grin and all.  I can't resist putting a picture of that here too.

Blaise high-5ing

By the time we got back to our car and out of town and stopped for dinner... we didn't make it home early enough to do cake and presents.  No worries though- we can always have cake for breakfast right?  Cullen's Papa would enthusiastically agree, so that's what we did.  Presents first though, because the big brothers couldn't wait any longer on that one.

Daniel hitting his present.

Michael helped a little and so did Blaise.

Oh look, now everyone is playing with it.  I think I convinced them to let Daniel play with it a couple of times today.

Smiley baby.

 Finally breakfast... they ate their eggs quite quickly.  Wisely, I decided to strip him down to his diaper before giving him his football cake.   Please ignore the boogers.

First tastes...

Yeah, this is good.  

Oh, wait, I don't think I really want it on my hands...

When can I have more of that?

This required a bath, which Daniel couldn't be more thrilled about.

Daniel's other birthday present- his big chair from Grandma and Grandpa came this week.

Mostly pictures today, but that takes less time to read anyway right?  At a year, Daniel is still the happiest most content of our children.  His smile still lights up the room.  He does know how to hold onto things tightly, in order to prevent them being grabbed by someone and he holds his own around his brothers.  He's always ready to get right into whatever they are doing.  I've seen him climb into the pile when they are wrestling and crawl right up and knock down their towers.  

Daniel seems younger than his brothers did at a year... I have a few theories.  #1- he's supposed to be the baby, so he better stay young.  #2- he's not walking yet?!  He cruises and will walk holding onto your hand or a toy.  He stands up, but there too, he still likes to hold on... guesses as to when he'll take his first steps?  #3- he's only had 1 haircut, compared to the 4-6 his brothers had had by their 1st birthdays.  #4- still nursing regularly, where everyone else had weaned or was very close.  It wouldn't be a bad thing if we could keep that up through flu season.

I think he's pretty average sized, around 30 inches and probably just a tiny bit more than 20lbs.  Things he loves and does often/well include being with his brothers, being outside, the bath, the toilet- specifically flushing it to hear the sound, waking up early, eating peas, smiling for the camera, pushing cars, banging on things, playing with blocks... yes, he's a boy.  

We are excited to see his little personality develop more and more over the coming year and are so grateful to God for blessing our family with our smiley Baby Man.  We pray that Daniel would know Jesus intimately at a young age and that God would use him powerfully for the kingdom.

Soccer

Soccer season is officially over, now we can go back to having dinner on Tuesday nights with only the typical amount of chaos.  Closing day was supposed to be October 29th, but got delayed due to weather until yesterday.  Both Scott and Blaise played this fall with Victory Sports Outreach, which is a really great league that I can't say enough good things about. (Check them out at www.victorysportsoutreach.org.)  Teams practice once a week for an hour, with a devotion afterwards, then they play Saturday mornings with a devotion beforehand, going through the colors of the wordless book - Gold stands for God's Glory, Black/Darkness stands for sin, Red stands for Jesus' blood, White stands for Cleansing, and Green stands for GROW- Go to God in Prayer, Read the Bible, Obey, Witness.

Blaise played in the 4K league for the Flames- the red team.  Blaise had a blast. His whole team was such a great group of good natured little boys.  They really had fun playing and enjoyed themselves.  Blaise liked playing goalie and was pretty good at it too.  He did a fair job running up the field and chasing the ball as well.  Cullen got to be the assistant coach, whenever he wasn't traveling for work.

The Flames

Blaise

Blaise in action, running with the ball.

Scott's 5K team was the Chargers and they were the green team- which was perfect for Scott.  His favorite color is green, in case you didn't know that.  Scott had a fun season.  His team only had 5 players, so they all got to play for the entire duration of every game.  They started the season pretty strong... although one player was missing for the first game and then one other player had butterflies and refused to play at all.  I filled in for the coach that day, since he was out of town, and told the team they would just have to play without a goalie and keep the ball at the other end of the field.  They were pretty excited about that idea and did a really great job.  I whispered to Scott that if the other team did get away with the ball, he would have to outrun them and be the goalie- he was thrilled.  He ran so hard that game- refusing to even stop for a water break.   For the record he had at least 4 saves during that game.  Scott seems to be a defender, or at least he understands a few things about defense: if the ball gets near your own goal, kick it out of bounds quickly.  He's really come a long way with soccer this fall and is willing to get in there and play.  Most importantly, he's come a long way with sportsmanship.  He really hates to lose.  The Chargers won their first 4 games this season, then lost the last 3.  He refused to talk about the first loss at all.  During the 2nd loss, he got knocked down (it was a pretty rough team they were playing) and he didn't want to go back in the game because they were losing and he knew it.  Yesterday, at the closer, they were losing and he still had a smile on his face and was having a good time.  One thing I found entertaining... soccer in the mind of a 5 year old is really about food.  There was one Saturday when no one brought snack for the team (do the math, there are 5 players and 7 games), Scott was not the only one who had a minor melt-down after the game, when the kids realized there was no snack.  Again, yesterday, as we were going to the game Scott says from the backseat, "This is a really fun soccer day, do you know why?"  We have a few guesses, which are all wrong.  He finally tells us, "Today we get to eat lunch at soccer!"

The Chargers

Scott

Scott going for a goal.

 The fan section... was a little more limited this season.  Closing day was rained out and postponed, but that was the game that all the grandparents were going to be able to come to.  Nana and Papa still made it to one game early on and of course, the brothers and I were always on the sideline cheering them on.  Michael can't wait for his turn to play.  I have no idea what we're going to do next year, when he is still too young to play.

Getting ready to watch Blaise's game... which hasn't started because the players are all at the devotion in the back of the picture, so I have no idea what they are actually watching at this point.

Scott's games were during nap time... Daniel FINALLY learned to sleep in a carrier!

Now for some thoughts regarding children's sports...  I've been thinking about why we sign our kids up for sports.  I love sports- just in case you didn't already know that about me.  That might be reason number 1.  Other reasons include: the kids are interested in playing, either asking to play or saying yes when asked if they would like to, for our family to be involved in the community, making friends, to learn sportsmanship, to have fun, to try something new or learn more about the particular sport...  For us, it has really very little to do with how good they are at a particular sport.  Thinking about this I realize that maybe this applies to other areas of life as well.

As a kid I was never very musically gifted... okay, even now I'm not musically gifted.  My mom made me take piano lessons in 1st and 2nd grade.  Later I wanted to play saxophone (I don't remember exactly why, but I remember it was somehow trendy and probably a stupid reason) and I was told I had no ear for music and it was a waste of everyone's time to even let me try.  This was 5th grade.  Fast forward to 8th grade.  My sister started clarinet.  I still wanted to try saxophone, so my mom got me private lessons- outside of school, because they still thought I couldn't play.  In less than 3 months I was playing in the 7th grade band.  Those piano lessons from 1st grade helped a lot, I already knew how to read music.  No, I never did much with it- played in the school band for 3 years and continued private lessons for another year beyond that.  Yes, I still play occasionally, mostly hymns and Christmas music (although I did download music for Tiger Rag and the Clemson Alma Mater this fall) and only for my kids.

Back to sports... play for fun and the other positive things you'll get out of it rather than the pride.

Football.  Did you know that I played Pop Warner Football when I was in the 7th grade.  Full pads football with the boys.  I was a lineman, on both sides of the ball.  Played linebacker at least once too.  I don't have daughters, and I'm not judging my parents, but I would NEVER allow my daughter to play organized tackle football like that- looking back and weighing the positive things about it, I'm drawing a blank and I'm pretty sure I just wanted to play for prideful reasons.

Scott's been talking about playing football and he can't wait til he can play flag football.  Now that it's my son that's talking about playing football.... the very physical and dangerous nature of it has become much more real.  I noticed that there were a fair number of girls on the flag football team that practiced after our soccer team and I wondered where I would draw the line.  Most of the concerns I would have with tackle football are not relevant to flag football in the early grades.

Next book... Happy 1st Birthday Daniel- coming to a blog near you,  hopefully on Saturday, unless I'm too busy celebrating with him :)

On The Go

Nope Daniel is not walking yet... he's only 11 months.  Wait, only 11 months?  How is he this close to a year old already?  He is supposed to be the baby.  He does cruise and is very efficient at crawling- he now not only knows where the hall bathroom is for his flushing pleasure (hasn't put anything in yet, just likes the sound), but has also ventured far enough to know where the master bathroom is.

September was such a whirlwind of travel that it seemed to pass in a blink of the eye.  October is moving a bit slower, thank goodness... I've been absorbed in projects, with any luck I'll post again and tell you about it.  Our travels started the first of September this time, well technically August 31st.  We went to one of the most pleasant places I have ever been to and am now a renewed believer that it's the most peaceful place I will probably ever go.  I reflected to my sister as we were getting ready to head home that I can't remember a time I have ever wanted to leave there.  Got any guesses yet?

Michael on a rock, if you've ever been there, you probably recognize it.

The Adirondacks.  More specifically Grandma and Grandpa's lake house on Simon Pond, which is off Big Tupper Lake.  Grandpa always kept a sign there that said Neverest, which was his name for the place.  While it might have been appropriate for him, as he was always renovating, adding on, building something, or digging some rock out of somewhere- the irony of the name kind of struck me, since the rest of us find it a place of wonderful rest.

Michael and Daniel with Aunt Jesse and Bones

Daddy hiking with the big boys.

Can't go to the Adirondacks and not have some good soft serve!

We had a great several days there... swimming in the lake, playing with the paddle boat, canoeing a bit, hiking, walking, fished a little, had a campfire, enjoyed some blueberry pancakes, and got to share some memories with my boys.  One of the highlights... finding out that my sister is expecting :)  We missed Grandma though, it was definitely weird to be there without her, but then, it almost felt like she was there.

After that vacation we headed to Clemson to see our Tigers play.  As you probably know, and if you don't then you don't follow college football at all and that's your loss, we're still undefeated.  What a year.  We went to the Wofford game.  Daniel's first.  Scott was very engrossed in the entire game, while Blaise watched a lot of it, and had a good time just being there.  Michael was begging food, well ice cubes, from a friend we brought with us- so glad she could come, we don't see her enough.  Daniel loved the balloons and running down the hill.  He doesn't like it when we get excited, but he settled down eventually and fell asleep on Cullen's lap.

The family in Death Valley 2011

Next on the agenda... Indiana.  We have really good friends who moved there 2 years ago, so we are trying to make sure we get to see them at least annually.  Last year, we met halfway, but this year, with the addition of a new baby each, we just went all the way to them.  What a great time.  Almost makes me want to move to Indiana to be close to them again- except for the whole moving thing... and the winter thing... and the lack of mountains.

What a crowd.

The kids working on their fort- this is an ongoing activity.

Daniel and Elias, buddies already!

 
Finally... home.  Soccer season in full swing.

Ouch

It's been a rough week around here... Daniel is working on cutting 3, yes 3 top teeth, all at the same time. Poor little dude came down with a fever during church on Sunday (our apologies to GCC and prayers that no one else catches anything). He had a considerable fever, with no other symptoms, aside from those swollen lumps where he'll soon have teeth- from Sunday all the way through Wednesday and finally on Thursday woke up fever free and we got to see his sweet smile again.

This little man smiles all the time. It makes me wonder if he's heard that the baby of the family is supposed to be the clown? Oh, wait. He has heard that. Nana was just telling him that on Thursday. Then, that very same evening he was making a noted effort to make Michael and Scott laugh at him during dinner. He succeeded. It was a funny trick with his eyes and blinking and that smile- you really had to see it and everyone knows that the camera is much too slow to catch such things.


At any rate, the frequency and the level of cuteness contained in this one little face has earned the nickname, "Smiley Baby." Ask anyone and they'll tell you it's true... the checker at Aldi, the librarian...
Ahhhhh that's better. To sooth the swollen gums, we gave him his first whole piece of watermelon to chew on. He's had it cut up plenty of times, but this was the first time we handed him his own slice. I think he liked it.

First Day of School!

Scott officially started kindergarten on Monday. He is quite excited... still deciding on a name for our school, so far we think it should include the word Keen, I'd love to have Adventure in there somewhere (like the name of this blog) and Scott has demanded that the word school be in it as well... which effectively eliminates Cullen's suggestion of Keen Institute and my tendency towards Keen Academy. Ideas?

Blaise started K-4, which means I have a very simple math program from Singapore that I loved doing with Scott last year and I'm planning on starting to teach him to read, however slow it ends up going doesn't matter, he's only 4. He was thrilled to inform Daddy when he arrived home on Monday night that he gets to do school now too!!!!

We're off to a good start. I've changed our daily routine, most notably to not include the computer at all until after lunch, it's helped tremendously with MY focus. I really wish I could function without a computer, it would save me hours every day. I don't understand why it is such a distraction for me to stare at a computer screen... catching up on other people's blogs, browsing facebook, and just reading whatever there is to read... oh and sometimes finding some logic puzzles to zone out.

Michael is kind of stuck in the in between... he doesn't understand why Scott and Blaise are getting so much of my attention and wants to be involved, but doesn't have the attention span to necessarily sit with us. He's getting used to our new routine though... I give him a coloring book, a puzzle or something to do close to us and try to include him. Of course, he misses his best buddy Daniel, who naps during school time... see they like to play together :)

Daniel, doesn't know what's going on, because he's asleep for the whole process... which takes about an hour during his morning nap and about an hour during his afternoon nap. But he's making strides of his own... crawling fast, cruising some, putting EVERYTHING in his mouth- see lint, put lint in mouth, see tiny piece of leaf, put tiny piece of leaf in mouth, gag, etc... I think he's cutting some more teeth, at least I'm hoping that's why he's been fussier than usual lately. Although, even fussy, he's still a smiley baby and mostly happy.

I have almost the same video somewhere of Blaise at about this age pushing a laundry basket across the living room floor. They grow up too fast.

Child-like Faith

A few weeks ago a friend mentioned that her 4 year old daughter wanted to ask Jesus into her heart (or something like that.) A conversation (Facebook) ensued about whether or not that would be real and at what age it would be real. I've been thinking about this very frequently.

Here's the rub- can a 4 year old have saving faith in Christ? I think they can, but certainly I'm willing to consider other opinions. I think they can, partly because I've been there... if I were to rehash my whole testimony in 4 sentences it would be as follows- There has not been a day in my memory that I have not known Christ as a friend and Father. At around age 12, I came to understand a bit more clearly the huge sacrifice Christ made on my behalf. Shortly after high school I realized that I had a bigger role to play in maintaining a real relationship with my Savior and I began living a changed life. I continue to see my shortcomings and understand His grace more fully daily.

I don't think a 4 year old can really grasp the magnitude of the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf, but that isn't to say that they love Jesus any less or that that same sacrifice doesn't count for them. Besides, doesn't Christ himself call us to child-like faith?

I remember a camp skit... yes, it always comes back to camp... The President Skit. It was from my first year as a counselor. There is a President sitting at his desk and various persons come in to speak with him. One doesn't consider himself worthy, one tries to use only very complex vocabulary, one has a list of what they want from him, one doesn't have time to be there talks quickly and leaves immediately, one is too tired and falls asleep... you get the idea. Finally a little child comes in with a teddy bear, sits down talks, listens, asks questions, enjoys being there... great skit.

At any rate, I'm thinking a kids as young as 4 could sincerely ask Christ into their hearts. Their faith would certainly grow over the years as they mature and can grasp more of the greatness of God, just as ours does as adults. Paul, in one or more of his letters mentions needing milk as babies and then needing meat as we grow. On the other hand though some 4 year olds are very likely to say such a thing, because they know it's what you want to hear... same thing with 7-12 year old campers really. In the end, you never can know someone's heart for certain, so it's our role as parents, mentors, and friends to just keep on praying and just keep on living for Christ everyday.

What do you think?

Is God Wet?

We had a conversation on the way home from Aldi this afternoon, that I just don't want to forget. As we were pulling out of the parking lot, Blaise asks/observes, as he's looking out the window, "Mommy, God is in that cloud." I'm pretty sure he had a specific cloud in mind...

I answered, "Yes, he is, but you know what, he's also in our car." Blaise was okay with this statement. Scott added, remembering some of the 1st catechism questions we looked at in Sunday School this spring, "Yeah, He's everywhere."

Blaise went on babbling about the clouds. Scott got thoughtful... which usually means a hard question is coming. He didn't disappoint. A couple of minutes later he asks from the way back seat, "God is in the clouds, so is God wet?"

I thought this was a great theological question and we pondered that God might or might not be wet, we suppose it's up to Him :) We talked about Jesus walking on water, and about God protecting Rack, Shack and Benny from the fiery furnace. Of course, now that I'm sitting typing it, it's a great scientific question too, coming from a 5 year old. It's amazing how much he knows and how much he's always thinking and figuring things out.



Picture is from the beach early in June. We went to Ocean City to pick up Blaise from his week-long stay with Cullen's parents. This was out on Great Grandma's dock.

Baseball

Baseball season is in full swing... and we are loving almost all aspects of it. Almost, because as Scott informed me at lunch a week or so ago, "Mommy, I don't like pollen." Nope, pollen is no fun. Allergies seem to have hit him pretty hard this spring and he is now taking Clariton regularly, hopefully only until the pollen settles down in a few more weeks and not year round like Daddy.


The good... we get to play outside more. We've been walking the neighborhood fairly regularly again and have gotten to spend several afternoons playing with neighbors. The boys really like it and ask everyday now if we can walk to so and so's house. Specifically, Daniel's house, and they always clarify, "Not our Daniel though, the other Daniel." As if I didn't understand.

Then of course, there's the baseball. :) Scott's tee ball season kicked off last week. It was supposed to start the week before that, but it rained... talk about a disappointed little boy.
So, we started last week. I am coaching. It's crazy, but I love it. Playing with little kids and listening to them and watching them try and figure out life is still one of my favorite things... and I am really missing my camp days this spring.

Scott is enjoying playing baseball too. Though, I think we have a problem... since we don't own a tee, he's never hit off of a tee before... he's not very good at it. He can hit a pitch, no problem, but the tee he's just not used to. Hopefully he can figure it out before the first game, but thankfully, this is the most non-competitive league I've ever heard of. I love it. They are passionate about baseball and introducing it so that kids learn to play and really like it, but more importantly, they are a ministry and the real purpose is to share the gospel, through the "wordless book" or in this case, the "colorful ball" and of course, through modeling the love of Christ for the players and their families.


Oh, and it's not just playing baseball, but also watching! We took a trip down to Clemson this past Sunday, for the baseball game. It was hot in the stands, but we enjoyed the 5 innings we stayed for. The boys, all 4 of them watched the game for almost a whole inning. The bigger ones enjoyed the game, the littler ones got sick of sitting in the stands, they were hot and tired and kind of cranky... apparently we still need to teach them "There's no crying in baseball."


Of course, by the time we were ready to take a nice Clemson family picture Daniel was asleep. The boys were very excited when we headed over to the 55 Exchange for some Clemson ice cream after the game... Blaise chose pink, and Scott chose mint chocolate chip (green), then they gave each other a taste (Blaise even shared a bite with Michael too) - I love it when they do sweet things for each other :)