Sporting shots

 

I thought I'd take a minute to share some sporting photos since these opportunities have been so much fun for my kids. They go back a few months but have sat here long enough.  :)  Above is a shot of my guys on a dodgeball team.  It was only a one day tournament but they had such a great time I'm sure we'll do it again this year.

 

On a much more regular note, my kids are so thankful to have a home school basketball team to learn and practice with each week.  They all were reluctant to begin playing basketball in previous years but now that they're comfortable, they really even love to compete in the games.  The photo above and below are of the 7th & 8th grade basketball teams.  They had their games in the fall against the local Catholic school.  As we have a limited number of participating kids, we did have some younger kids help out with these teams (including Goose and Spiderman). 

 

 

 The 5th & 6th grade teams played their games in February and March.  You can see there are some similar faces in the photos below.  My kids just love to play and even Boo began learning some skills at practice and she hopes to play on the team next year.

 

This boys team had the added opportunity to play in a tournament with some small town public school teams.  It was fierce competition and they did very well.  They lost to the winning team by only one point but it did light a new fire under their feet.  I loved watching my man coach these boys and relive his own fond basketball memories.  What a great year in sports.

Goose is now 12!

 

 

Look at that smile.  This is my girl who can't wait to grow old so she is pleased as punch to turn 12.  On her birthday she opted to make her own no-bake cookie balls instead of having a birthday cake.  What a change from the years I stayed up til midnight to decorate some elaborate cake in her favorite theme.  I've seen her maturing in many other ways as well and I'm proud of the heart for Jesus and the love for life she shows me every day.

 

Knowing that age 12 is the last big sleepover party, Goose decided to have one this year.  You can see a good group of her friends up above and there was lots of laughing in the house.  I actually thought I might pass out from the fumes of all the nail polish and remover that was so popular that night.  :)  

Below you can see the dessert we attempted.  We recreated Goose's favorite vacation food memory and made fondue.  You can see an assortment of fruit and goodies that we dipped in our chocolate flavor choices.  It was absolutely delicious!! 

 

Our First Teenager

Yep, it's actually happened.  Jaybird turned 13 last month and there is no going back.  We took this opportunity to change the way we celebrate his birthdays, to do it in a more "manly" way.  We took him out for lunch, just Murph and I, and he chose McD's as he loves Big Macs. :)  We had a fun time with him but also had some more meaningful discussions about growing up, what is to come in his responsibilities and expectations, how we saw him maturing and so on.  We really wanted him to be affirmed that we saw his unique giftings and wanted the best for his future. 

That evening we had his special dinner with the rest of the kids and presented him with this"certificate" to place in his room.  It is based on a book called The Blessing and it basically expresses that we are thankful to be his parents, we see his good qualities and we commit to always love and support him.  It also has a scripture passage we turned into our prayer for him and our signatures.  With such a silly and fun loving guy, I wasn't sure if this was too formal for him but he LOVED it!  After dinner, we all prayed specifically for him and it was heartwarming to hear his siblings praying for God's blessing on his future.  Can you see the joy on this guy's face (or the trace of mustache that has been growing there)?

He really is a special guy and we love watching him mature and develop into the man he will become.  What a gift to have him in our home.