Tough Guy Update

Last night Cole rolled his ankle (again)! Sometimes I wonder if his desire to play ball is greater than his ability to think beyond the gym floor. We never thought anything in his life would take the place of food but sports seems to have literally outweighed the food since he's now 25 pounds lighter than when he began sports in the public school arena. After a whole lot of ice packs, ibuprofin, and 'discussion' between Cole and his father, it was decided to take him to the local clinic just to make sure something wasn't broken or torn. Our local clinic was sure he had broken something so we ended up in another town for ex-rays. Cole seemed to lose some of his steam once she began talking about surgery, etc. Thankfully, nothing is broken or torn! He has a severe sprain which she suggested he stay off of for a week. The swelling was severe enough that she said it showed up on the ex-rays. After more discussion, she did say he could play if he wants to, as long as he is as protected as possible. This afternoon called for another trip to our most local sports store for these 'adorable' ankle braces that he will be wearing from now on.

There was a time (wasn't it yesterday?) when he would run for hours all over our farm letting his imagination run wild. I still see that wonderful spirit when I watch him on the court doing what he loves, he's just a whole lot taller, older, and if possible, loved.

Trying to Process

The tech cordinator at school gave me access to all the photos she takes. So, I spent several hours going through masses of photos. By the time I was done, the dizziness from focusing on the computer screen was kind of getting to me but all in all it was fun to see the photos and enjoy this part of Cole's life. I was even able to go through the football photos and found some with Dirk and our friend Matt in the background. :)

High Point Scorer!

Ally had an awesome game today and ended up being the high-point scorer, actually the only scorer, for their second basketball game. She played a really great game in spite of having what we thought was food poisoning. (Now we know it wasn't the fish sandwich from Wendy's.) She was coached by some really sweet girls from our high school basketball team and had a great time in spite of the fever, chills, and junk she's going through now.

They lost their games but Dirk always tells the kids that he comes to see them play and winning is just a bonus.

We finished off Dirk's birthday with pizza and xbox. Happy 44th, Dirk! We love you!

A New Vehicle!

Our one-vehicle family was beginning to go through a great deal of stress in the transportation department. Dirk has been very busy with church activity, the kids are needing to get to practices, games, and other activities, and it's just been putting a big cramp on our lives in general. We took a major step and a local salesman brought by a car for us to test drive. It was a great car and Cole even thought he wouldn't mind driving it. We just didn't have complete peace with it so as we continued praying, we were given the opportunity to go to an auction. Dirk and a friend took off with no real specifications from me on what type of vehicle I would want and came home with a wonderful vehicle that was four years newer and over $1,000 less than the other vehicle! Yay, God! We love our new vehicle!

Tough Guy

Cole had the usual basketball games this week but what was unusual was the severity of his sprained ankle. He rolled it during the JV game on Tuesday, but was afraid he wouldn't get to play in the varsity game so didn't mention to his coach what happened. When he got home, it was at least twice the size of his usually-sized rolled ankles. Being the concerned parents we are, I threatened him with coming to visit the school if he didn't show it to one of the coaches the next morning at school. Thankfully, he took me seriously (even though I wouldn't really have done it--don't tell him, ok?) His teacher made him ice it through the class and then made sure they taped him for practice, etc. It's doing much better now although we are in the process of getting ankle braces for him.
I'm so glad he has a great work ethic and wants to play that badly. The theory of it escapes me, but I'm happy for him.

Tournament Time

It seems like our life is continually revolving around basketball right now. Cole had a game Friday night and Ally's tournament was all day on Saturday. I wish I could be one of those mom's that didn't feel like her heart was out there on the court but then again...
Ally played great games and had compliments on her game not only from those who know and love her but some of the other coaches and refs. I'm not so sure that she doesn't have little basketballs flowing through her veins.

I'm Off To See The Wizard

Well, not really. But I am going back to Kansas in a few weeks. :) My sisters and I are planning a sister's get-away for a few days. I don't remember when the last time was that we were together just the five of us. I am blessed with little slips of time when I get to see them individually, which is good, but all five of us together is going to be interesting, and regardless of what happens it will be memorable. The Wizard of Oz thing kind of happened to us when I moved to Belize. I gave all the sisters a figurine and a letter about one of the main characters in the movie and why they reminded me of that person. Mind you, we are all old enough now that NONE of them received the wicked witch figurine. :) My sisters may not have always appeared to have what the characters desperately wanted from the Wizard, but the magnificent thing was that God had provided it to them all along, and maybe they just didn't realize it until later. Since then, it's been a special thing we've shared and enjoyed along the way. So, when we get together, we're adding little touches from the Wizard of Oz, and hopefully the flying monkeys will be far, far away.
You know, I never liked that movie growing up. It scared the sleep right out of me. Sometimes, under duress, I would watch it with one of my sisters who really liked the movie. I still don't like the movie all that much, but I love the memory of having shared it with her.

Basketball

We never realized just how hard it would be to get into the 'back to school' spirit after such a great and wonderful Christmas break. Ugh! It was almost as bad as sending Cole off to school for the first time but not quite. I realize that most people who have never homeschooled probably think I'm certifiably crazy (in so many areas) but having my whole family home just being family was like a dream come true and we had a great time.

Inevitably, life intruded and school returned. On the up side, we love to watch our kids do things that mean a lot to them. Cole's basketball is something we all get pretty wrapped up in. The team is improving by leaps and bounds and we are thrilled each week as we see number 12 suit up for something he enjoys.

I'm In LOVE!

Last week, after many, many long unending months, (ok, it was only 4 months) I finally got to meet Lily. I'm not sure I can adequately describe our meeting to you, but it was beyond words. Sometimes, when life hurts and we don't understand God's ways, babies make the load a little lighter. Babies are so wonderful and since I'm done having my own, I take special joy when my loved ones have theirs so I can cuddle them and pour copious amounts of love on them. I had pre-warned Lily's mom and grandma that it was going to happen and to their credit, they stood back--either out of fear or love for me--and let me cuddle Lily for most of the day. It seems like just yesterday, I was taking care of Lily's mom. She was my little buddy and her and her brother spent quite a bit of time with us when they were little ones. So when Lily entered the world, I felt something twist in my heart that made me fall even more in love with babies while at the same time, thank God that I am not ready for my own grandbabies yet. Lily has a really great mom, you can see her in some of the photos. I especially like the one where she is gazing into her momma's eyes as if her life depends on her mom. There is also another photo of Lily where she's gazing at her grandma. She's got a wonderful grandma too. I have become convinced at this point in my life that one of the best things about having a LARGE family is that, eventually, we siblings grow up and God's beautiful plan of creation continues through our children. In the past year, God has blessed me with FOUR great nieces! And I just found out there are more on the way!!! *Thanks, God!*

A Piece of Infinity

One of my gazillion great-nephews recently called my family the "infinity family". It's pretty great to be a part of an infinity family and I was really blessed to get to spend a couple of days with them. We aren't quite that large, but there are many of us and there is so much love for one another. Some are going through tough times, and yet, we just pray harder. God is so good in hearing our prayers and even when we don't understand His timing, we thank Him for HIS will.