They are the champions

Lisbon 3rd & 4th grade parks and rec champs!

Cael, Dean, and Quiny

 

 

A 3 hour game that went 2 extra innings ends in a 17-15 win for Lisbon!!  Quincy had a fantastic game - 5 times at the plate, 5 walks, 5 runs scored, and 2 great plays at second base.  Cael pitched 3 innings and settled in real good.  He has been good at the plate all year, and it stayed the same for this game.  It was so much fun for me this year to watch the boys playing together.

Quincy, Cael, and Jarrett

You may wonder about the boy in the wheelchair.  This is Jarrett, my nephew, he started as the manager, and eventually became a player.  He played a few innings/games in the outfield, and was allowed to bat and have Uncle Dean pitch to him.  He put the ball in play most times and if a runner was on 3rd they would score.  It was awesome for him to get a chance to play ball.  Almost all boys dream of it, his dream was made true this season.

Congrats boys, it was a great season!!

Happy 4th of July

Well the 4th has come and gone.  We enjoyed the fireworks this year in Anamosa.  I enjoyed them from under a tree since Jaycie was a bit distressed over them.

Jaycie

Mackenzie and I on the 4th

Cael and Quincy's baseball team is in the finals of the park and rec baseball tournament tonight.

Quincy

Cael

Reegan and Mackenzie

Reegan finished up softball last week. She is off to Bible camp this week.

Addelynn

Addy will be 7 on the 14th of this month.

Cade

Kyler

The younger ones do a fantastic job of sitting outside, playing, and watching ball.

Mackenzie and Carter are working in the corn fields and Mackenzie still works at Kirkwood and takes a summer class there on Tuesday nights.

Carter is still wrestling and preparing for Cadet Freetsyle Nationals in Fargo, ND.

Carter (left)

Dean has stayed very busy with work.  He also is coaching the boys baseball team.

Dean kneeling down in the background. Quincy on 3rd.

Hope everyone is having a fantastic summer!!

Blogger or Slogger??

Blogger - someone who has a blog and writes in it.

Slogger - someone who has a blog, does not write in it, and gets reminder texts about it from her husband.

I am a slogger!!

We do still exist here in our happy little house.  Life moves on very rapidly, but with summer, it feels a bit more relaxed.

Mackenzie is taking a summer class, working, and socializing. (not in that order)

Carter is training for a larger national wrestling tournament and just finished drivers ed.

Reegan is wrapping up another year of softball.

Cael and Quincy play on the same baseball team.  They are adorable (I know not a word that they want used to describe them, but true)

Addy is loosing teeth and turning 7 in a few weeks.

Cade, Kyler, and Jaycie are so much fun, they make me smile and giggle so often each day.

Dean is coaching the boys baseball team.

I am still me; plugging away, thinking about school for next year, and enjoying a few reading books for pleasure.

The Greatest Mother's Day gift

Well, I would have to say the very best gift I have ever gotten from my children is the gift of being a part of the life God has planned for them.  This year my children gave me a gift they assured me I would love and were so eager for me to open it, they were asking if I would open it on Friday.

What I opened today was a deck of cards, it was hole punched and held together by a ring.  The top card said '52 Reasons Why We Love You'.  Each card on the inside has a typed message attached with clear tape.  They were touching and funny both.  They were like a reflection of our lives, how I love to live simple, enjoying what we have while we have it,  and it quite possibly the best material gift I have received. They worked together for the majority, and each one had a specific card.  Here are the reasons I am loved:

1. You live life to the fullest every day.
2. You're motivated.
3. You're adventurous.
4. You help us with boy/girl issues.
5. You give good hugs.
6. You're content.
7. You're hilarious.
8. You love us.
9. You're determined.
10. You give great advice.
11. You're beautiful.
12. You had Mackenzie.
13. You make good bread - Quincy
14. You wipe my butt - Kyler
15. You had Quincy.
16. You teach us how to save money.
17.You had Jaycie.
18. You buy Arnold Palmer - Cael
19.You drive us places.
20.You had Addelynn
21. You're our teacher.
22. You take care of us.
23. You love life.
24. You had Kyler.
25. You showed us King of the Hill.
26. You do our laundry.
27. You're buying us a moped - Carter
28. You take me for walks - Cade
29. You dance in public.
30. You give me medicine when I am sick - Addy
31. You had Carter.
32.You're patient with dad.
33. You're strict with neighbor kids.
34. You're my best friend - Mackenzie
35.You're always there for us.
36. You had Cael
37. You give great nicknames.
38.You get me juice - Jaycie
39. You had Cade.
40.You're a good cleaner.
41.You take me to Kacha's - Reegan
42. You have a great balance beam routine. (you would need to have been here to understand)
43. You're the best supporter.
44. You feed us well.
45. You help deal with drama.
46.You're a great cheerleader.
47. You make sure we have clothes.
48.You have a great taste in music.
49. You had Reegan.
50. You are a bad driver.
51. You're great at yelling across gyms.
52. You're a cowgirl hippie.

I am going to treasure this.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

The Circle of Life

It's a great song to go along with a great movie; The Lion King.  But this weekend, I had to really reflect on life in general.  Again, being reminded of what a precious gift life is, a true blessing.  What we do with it while we are here is our gift back to God.  We honored a man yesterday who took this to heart.  A man with a past, a man who spent time in prison, a man who turned his life around.  While in prison this man accepted Christ into his life, and his life began to bear fruit right away. We got to hear more about this on a personal level yesterday, about what a servant this man was, how on fire he was for God, what he meant to his brothers and friends.  Why did we get to spend a few hours yesterday honoring this man?  Because my step brother Wayne Hartman Jr passed away last week, at the young age of 34.  Make your life count, and be thankful for each day you are here.  God knows the numbers of our days here, live them out for Him.


 http://www.lunningfuneralchapel.com/obituary/91422/Wayne-Hartman-Jr-of-Cedar-Rapids-Iowa/

Who done it???

Raising a family has it's share of daily mysteries:

Who left the cupboard door open? (11 suspects)
Who left the empty box in the cupboard? (8 suspects)
Who left the toilet seat up? (6 suspects)
Who used the last of the toilet paper and did not put a new roll on? (10 suspects)
Who used the bathroom towel and left it on the floor? (8 suspects)
Whose wrapper is on the floor? (8 suspects)
Who clogged the toilet? (10 suspects)
Who did not flush? (10 suspects)
Whose pencil is on the floor? (5 suspects)
Whose clothes are on the back of the couch? (3 suspects)
Who ate my candy bar hidden in the freezer? (2 suspects)
Who put their vitamins in Jaycie's hair, behind the toilet, behind the couch? (3 suspects)
Whose socks are laying outside by the trampoline? (5 suspects)
Who tracked mud in the house? (8 suspects)
Who wrote poop on the wii remote? (according to Quincy - 1 suspect, Addy since she says fart and poop all the time)
Who left a marker where Jaycie could find it? (4 suspects)
Who unrolled the toilet paper? (1 suspect)

What I have come to discover through these daily mysterious events, is that we have a 12th person who lives here. Their name is 'not me'. Not me is responsible for the majority of the above events, in fact, maybe even all of them.

It's what memories are made of........

Life, memories are made out of the everyday ordinary life experiences and what we make of them each day.

Sure memories are also from big, and major events in our lives. Such as Mackenzie taking a trip to San Clemente CA, and a day trip to San Diego by train. Or Carter winning his 5th AAU state wrestling title and being a 6time finalist, winning MVP and going unbeaten in Danville, IL in a team dual, or even finishing 3rd at USA Nationals. Good memories being made.

Reegan going to the rodeo, Cael finishing 3rd at AAU, Quincy finishing 2nd, Addy getting close to loosing her top front tooth, Cade turning 5, Kyler and Jaycie thriving as #8 & 9 in constantly moving family.

But the real true memories are made in the day to day. I have been hearing my kids say "remember when" quite a bit lately. It is never followed up with "when I won the big match", "when I went on a trip", "when I had my birthday". Surprisingly, it is followed up with the more ordinary. More of the simple day to day. The conversations and funny things said at a meal. Something someone did outside. Something said at the wrong time. A funny recap of an event from years ago. Gatherings of family and friends. So many times of laughter very few times of tears.

When I see the pictures scroll across my computer, I think to myself we have had a great life thus far, we have seen a lot, and we have done a lot, and I have so many memories of it all. What I find more interesting though is what shapes the mind and memory making of my children.

Life is what we make it. I love how the living of life each day surrounded by the people you love most, and shaping your memories from those same people.