It's That Time Again

Oh, no.....

not, again.

Is it really???










Yep!














Time to get ready....

colorful jersey?

just as colorful socks? (really??)

shorts?

shin guards?

cleats?




Did anyone think of water?








We've practiced and scrimmaged each other.

We are all dressed up! Lined up! Zipped up! Taped up!

Ready and waiting!!!

And here comes the ball!!

We've waited all summer. We're ready to work hard

to taste victory!

LOL!!

October is soccer month in our area!! I have 3 kids playing this year, Anna, Chris, and Lydia, on two different teams!

Brian is co-coaching an 8 and under team that Chris and Lydia play on. So far they have really shown improvement! I really like soccer, so I'm so excited that they love playing and are really working hard this year. And we have a really sweet group of kids (and parents) on our team this year which makes it even more enjoyable!!


I have to share a story about Chris as the goalie! We played a tough team this week that was constantly shooting at the goal. Chris scares me because he comes soo far out of the goal. Anyway, for one attempt, there was a crowd of kids and I saw one the forwards kick hard right towards the goal. And at first I couldn't see Chris in the group of kiddies. It was then I saw him behind everyone catch the soccer ball right in his chest and bear hug it! He ran it towards the side of the goalie box and threw it to a team member to take down field!! He's really done well as a forward and goalie this year!

And yes, there was picture above of Lydia in goal. I don't think she likes the goal as much as Chris, but she has done very well in there, too!! She's also doing well as a forward and mid-fielder... I would love for her to score her 1st goal this year:)

Anna is playing on a 10 and under team. Thankfully she has a great coach who we attend church with and are friends with (that was a BIG answer to prayer since she couldn't be on her daddy's team any longer). Her team played well for their first game:) I loved how she really went after the ball and got it down field twice to attempt to score! That's my girl!

And yes, it means a month of late night dinners (planned ahead so we can actually eat something when we get home). And some other, awesome events we miss (always a bummer!). Some cool, damp nights. Grass cuttings dragged into the van. Stinky uniforms that need to be washed in 24 hours.

But we always have a good time!!

Wordless Wednesday - Pool Prep, Little Brother Style

She's Double Digits

A few weeks ago we had some BIG celebrations!

The first celebration was Anna's 10th Birthday!!

10.. yes, really!!

I'm not exactly sure when or where 10 years have gone! I remember those first few moments of holding my first, tiny, little newborn wondering "how in the world do I take care of her and be the momma she needs?"

Those first few weeks (and months) of being a first time mother were overwhelming:/ And if I'm honest there are still plenty of days that I feel inadequate to be this girl's mother. And that's when I lean on the Lord's wisdom and ask seasoned God-fearing moms that have been put into my life :)

It's awesome to see Anna developing into a young lady. She is polite, very social, welcoming of new friends, insightful and hard-working. She can be found working on a craft project, riding around on her bike, reading a book, practicing piano, trying to train Jack or snuggling Mr Darcy (her rabbit).

 I see some of the "growing up" challenges already upon us. Sometimes they hit us square in the head (like "duh") and other times I can see the fruit of some of our conversations played out in how she thinks through different situations/issues. These challenges are different for a parent than the baby and toddler issues. Those are usually physically demanding on a Momma but the growing up issues are more demanding on a Momma's heart.

It's just a reminder that each stage of parenting has it's own challenges ... so enjoy the stage you're in:)

And there is a lot to enjoy at this stage! Anna is soo very independent and pretty reliable. Obviously she's not perfect, but she is the one I can usually trust to get the important tasks done. She can and will jump into the kitchen to cook a simple meal or help me by completing a few preparation tasks. Anna, Lydia or sometimes even Chris can be found in the kitchen before dinner preparing a tasty dessert (a great way they serve our family).

It's really cool to see all that she is accomplishing in her schoolwork. As I look through her math work, I am blown away at what she is already working on! As a Math person I love it! This year we worked through some demanding writing assignments, as I look through the completed assignments it really is cool to see how far she has come. And what she remembers from different units, books, conversations and even just the news amazes me... she keeps me straight sometimes.

Anna is also my craft-er! Oh, how I wish I was a little more into crafts or had an eye for details that coordinate like she does. Anna is often the person I go to when I'm trying a new outfit:) #1 because she has pretty good taste and eye for style. #2 because she is very honest with me!! LOL!! I have heard more than once " You're not going to wear that, are you?"

Although now I have to ask whether she's telling me that my outfit doesn't coordinate or if she is wanting to wear one or more of the items I had planned to wear:) It's fun to have her in my closet trying on my shoes or asking to wear a pair.... and I know this stage isn't going to last!! She's going to be taller than me soon and probably not in the same size!

Grandaddy and Grandma brought some Crocs for Anna. They fit both of us!

Everyone says that she's almost as tall as me! It will be soon that she'll be taller!

She started planning her party with invitations that she saw. From the design and colors on the invitations she was determined to have a "tie dye" party, to tie-dye T-shirts with some friends, eat lunch and then swim.

 For over a month we talked over details, dates, supplies... all.the.time!! But that is MY first born.... LOL!!

And finally the day came!

It worked out perfectly and thankfully the weather held out for us (although it WAS chilly) to accomplish all she wanted:)


Her favorites:


Color : Purple and Aqua

Food: Pork BBQ Sandwiches

Treat:  Chocolate Break-Up, Chocolate chip cookies, Snickerdoodles
Subject: Writing
Animal: Zebra, Bengal Tigers

Do inside: Crafts, TV and Kindle
Outside Activity: Ride Her Bike, Play with Mr. Darcy( her rabbit)
Toys: Kindle, Wonder Loom
Restaurant: O' Charleys, Zaxbys
Book: Angel on the Square
Movie: Star Wars
TV Show: 19 Kids and Counting
Interests: Animals

Goals for her 10th year: Riding a Horse and take lessons

When you ask her what she wants to be when she "grows up" she'll respond " a veterinarian"!

Happy 9th!

May is such a fun month...

between the beautiful weather, finishing schoolwork for the year, strawberries in season to pick, all the new flowers and birthdays...

there's a whole lot of celebrating going on;)

We celebrated Anna's birthday over the Memorial Day weekend with a trip to Grammies, a joint cookout party with Hannah Grace and lots of swmimming;)

Every year I am amazed at how grown up my Anna looks. How each day she seems to carry herself more and more like a little lady. And how together she keeps us... she is the typical first born:)

This year Anna completed her 4th year of home schooling. I'll be honest that it was a tough year for us... not the material or concepts (she's a quick learner) but the new amount of work and responsibilities a 4th year student begins to experience. We worked together and did what was necessary to get through without too much emotion.




As I look back through this last year, I am thankful for the start of friendships Anna has started to make through our church. Anna easily blended into her Sunday school, Children's church and GA classes this year and it has been sweet to see her building relationships with a couple other girls in the group;)  Wednesdays and Sundays our kids are always rushing us out of the house to get to their classes on time.... what a blessing to have classes for them with friends and sweet Christ-loving teachers.

Another fun "growing up" part of Anna's year has been her "research" :) This girl can find the answer to anything armed with her Kindle! In the story about Mr Darcy, I shared how much time she took in reading about pet rabbits (actually she wanted a Guinea pig first) online, library books, visiting pet stores and asking people who owned some.

I chuckle about another of her birthday purchases. She wanted some sandals and she knew exactly what style she was looking for. She receieved a gift card from her Grandma and Grandaddy from Belks and she started her research there:) She actually found a pair she really liked and asked if we could go to out local Belks. Since it's a SMALL Belks I reminded her that our Belks may not have that exactly sandal in her size. Her response to me was "I checked our Belks and it said that they have my sandal in my size"! Too funny:)

Here are some more pictures celebrating Anna's birthday this year!!

And now her 9th birthday stats and favorites;)

Anna is 52 inches tall and weighs 68 lbs.

Her favorites:

• Color : Purple, Green
• Food : Pork BBQ
• Treat: Energy Balls & Chocolate Break-up,
• Subject : Science
• Animal: Rabbits
• Do inside: Play with Mr Darcy
• Do Outside: Ride her scooter under the carport
• Toys: Kindle
• Song to Sing: Brown Eyed Girls
• Restaurant: Sonic (for slushies)
• Book: Cam Jansen books, Island of the Blue Dolphins
• Movie: Pride & Prejudice
• TV Show:  The Voice

Goals for her 9th year:
Play the piano and horse riding lessons!! Piano should start this month

When you ask her what she wants to be when she "grows up" she'll respond "take care of old horses when they are done racing and retire"!

And what is the coolest thing about being 9?? She responded, "I can ask Dad for a pocketknife!" Not sure if Dad (or Mom) are excited about fulfilling that request yet!

Another real question is when is she going to be taller than her Momma:) 
Or big enough to raid her Momma's closet:)

Happy 9th Anna!!

We look forward to another fantastic year as we see you grow more and more

 into a godly and sweet young lady!

Anna and Hannah

While with family 2 weekends ago....
I got some pictures of Anna and Hannah!

These two seem to pair off from the others more often!

Maybe it's the name and birthday connection??

Maybe they are just growing up..

and  enjoy  getting to spend time with their cousins:)

She's 8??? Yes, she's 8!!

Happy birthday girl and little brother drooling over her "cake"!

Anna celebrated her 8th birthday last weekend!!!!

I remember holding Anna at the hospital for the first time... this little babe in my arms! I felt soo inadequate to be her mom. She was soo small and just soo beautiful!

And now I have a little young lady! And still feel inadequate. Just thankful I have such a special gal to teach me to be a good mom;)

She loves to be a helper around the house and with her siblings (typical first-born and can be called bossy). She loves reading sometimes reading a small chapter book during one sitting because she wanted to know the ending:)

She's also beginning to navigate the worlds of friends and maturing! It's amazing to me the kind of discussions we've already had! I love being able to discuss things with her.... sometimes it feels like I'm talking to a teenager;) I'm soo thankful I had the example of my mom who was always willing to listen to my questions and not "freak out" when I hit her with some tough ones.

She is definitely my right-hand-man!! There are times I wouldn't be able to use the bathroom without her watching her active little brother! And I know I can trust her when issues come up between siblings or while playing outside! And I can count on her "look" when I have done something which requires an apology... gotta love kid-accountability;)

For her birthday, she was able to choose her cake;) And as you can see she didn't have cake...

 

but a cookie cake;) 

Since we weren't sure what stage we'd be in with the house and moving (and we had discussed the possibly of traveling to see family that holiday weekend) we didn't plan anything big. Like I mentioned before, she chose to go with the family to one of her favorite eating place with an outdoor playground. Unfortunately, it rained MOST of that afternoon it rained and rained. In fact we saw this on the way to her "special dinner"!

We made the best of it by telling her how special it was to see a rainbow... and on her birthday!! Very cool:) And we let her choose an indoor playground;)

She was also needing some more summer clothes;)

 So the girls (Anna, Lydia and I) got to go shopping :)  What a treat to be with just the girls for a little while! 

It was very natural to begin to have conversations about modesty with them as we looked through the clothing... kind of sad we are already in the section where these conversations are needed :(

But why not have those conversations when they are young and it's not a big deal for them to have a certain style! Anna loves the clothes that she did pick out... she has already gotten plenty of use of one of the outfits:)

Oh, and on our way out of "the city" we stopped to get them "slushes" !! So even with the rain, she was able to enjoy on of her favorite treats:)

We all definitely enjoyed Anna's birthday weekend:) From the cookie cake, fishing, shopping with the girls, rainbow spotting and some fast food eating (LOL!!).... we had a great birthday weekend:)

And now her 8th birthday stats and favorites;)

Anna is 52 inches tall and weighs 60.5 lbs.

Her favorites:

• Color : Light Purple, Dark Pink &  yellow
• Food : Pork BBQ
• Treat: Chocolate Break-up
• Subject : History
• Animal: Gorilla (at the zoo)
• Do inside: Play with Legos
• Do Outside: Play with Sarah ( a friend)
• Toys: Kelsey her 18-inch doll
• Song to Sing: "songs I make up"
• Restaurant: Sonic (for slushies)
• Book: Black Beauty
• Movie: Wizard of Oz
• TV Show:  Martha Speaks, Word Girl, and Anne of Green Gables

Goals for her 8th year: Ride a horse!

When you ask her what she wants to be when she "grows up" she'll respond "a horse trainer or a math teacher"!

And what is the coolest thing about being 8?? She responded, "That I don't have to sit in a car seat!"

Happy (belated) Birthday to my Amazing 8 year old!!

We love you, Anna!!

Linking up to Moments to Remember!

Tiny Talk Tuesday: Robots, Thugs & Judge Judy

Brian was working with Anna on a Lego creation for Chris. Brian has noticed that Anna does really well following the directions to make the figures and enjoys doing it... and will work on it for a long time.

She worked alone for a bit, then she asked Brian to help her with a step.

After a minute, he asked Anna, " Do you think you'd like to be an engineer when you get older? You'd get to build stuff like buildings, bridges, and or maybe even a space shuttle?"

Anna responded,"Dad, I can't even build this Lego robot, there is no way I can build a space shuttle!!"

*************************************************
Recently once of Anna's spelling words was "Judy".

We don't know anyone named Judy really well, so the name was a bit new to Anna. She gave me a strange, thoughtful look and kept saying,"Judy, Judy, Judy...."  (obviously the reaction of a genius... LOL!!)

After a minute she looked up at me and said,"You mean like Judge Judy??"

I was surprised she knew the name... if our TV is on in the afternoons it's on PBSkids:) So I asked her where she learned about Judge Judy.

Anna responded,"Oh, I watch it with Pey!"

**************************************************
We had a slug come into the house that has caused quite a stir:) LOL!!

The kids were all one-upping each other's slug stories...

Anna found it:)

Chris touched it:)

And Lydia responded," I've touched a thug before when we had one slugging around in the washroom!"

I always wondered what the movement of a slug was called.... slugging around sounds pretty good;)
And touching a "thug" sounds kind of dangerous;)

**************************************************
Often as I ask Chris to clean his room.... which he gets asked VERY often, the kid can be a walking tornado sometimes...

Chris shares with me,"I wish had a robot that would do my chores for me!" LOL!! And he was quite pleased when I responded that he should try to make one :)

No More Floaties:)

We have all sorts of things going on in the family, with us, with the kids....

But I have been wanting to share about Anna and Chris in the pool:) Chris is my adventurous one... so he's been asking all summer to go without arm floaties. When I have another adult with me (so it's not 4kids and one momma) he gets that chance;)

After attending a birthday party at a local pool and my kids seeing kids their ages (and younger) without floaties, they wanted to try too:) Gotta love positive peer pressure!

So they approached the deep end with caution (wise to have some fear of the water!!) and then swam to their Daddy:) Seriously by a few minutes the floaties weren't even asked for again:) And they were EVERYWHERE!!

awe... the floaties just sitting there;)


Here they are in action... my little fish:)


And Anna's new trick!! ( Chris "showed" her!!!)

More Wordless Wednesday at

5 Minutes for Mom,
Go Graham Go,
To Be Thode,
Serendipity is Sweet,
Mama to 4 Blessings,
and any other linkys I find !!!

mp3 and a 7 yr old

One thing Anna repeatedly requested for her birthday was a smart phone:) No really.... gotta love peer "pressure" :)

BTW...Brian and I carry around very simple Tracfones. We use them when we need them and save a BUNDLE not having a fancy phone and contract.... for now we are content!

We thought "maybe" she'd be ok with owning a simple mp3 player... one that could play music and had her favorite pictures/videos stored. We'd been looking around with NO luck on a reasonably priced device for our little techie... I mean, GIRL!!

Looking around a toy store the week of her birthday we found one!!
And our home will never be the same... LOL!!


I love her little heart of worship!! And grateful that it's a "joyful noise" that counts:)

And I just can't get over how much older she looks with her mp3 player!!
She brings it everywhere!!!




If you are interested....

*How Great is Our God was a free mp3 download from Amazon... here is a link to free and inexpensive Christian downloads.

She also has "pre-listened to" songs from these two spots... I listened to the songs I added first and I didn't listen to ALL or download ALL... so use at your own discretion;)
* The Chuckle Berries
* Free Kids Music

Anna is 7!!!

She's been soo excited:) We have some plans this weekend to celebrate that we're all very excited to do... which is very fun!!

Anna has continued to grow and mature this year!! On one hand I see her face and think,"She's 7 already??" and then I have a conversation with her and think,"She's only 7???" She's just always just seemed more mature (although she knows how to be silly too!!).

She is also an amazing help to me. Like helping to get Chris and Lydia to church:) She enjoys having simple responsibilities and helping her younger siblings. Just this week at the park I went to get our lunch... I had our two bags with our lunch and Nate in my arms. She saw that I was going to the picnic shelter and thought she'd help out by bringing the stroller that was next to the playground!! Without me asking... just soo helpful and thoughtful.

We am soo thankful and blessed to have such a sweet, helpful and kind daughter. I also love her compassionate little heart. This year as we've watched the Little House on the Prairie series together, I have loved that when I have tears in my eyes she does, too;)

So what is Anna like as a 7 year old???

Anna is 49.5 inches tall and weighs 53 lbs

Her favorites:

• Color : Red & Yellow
  
• Food : Pork BBQ
  
• Treat: SweetTarts & Chocolate Chip Cookies
  
• Subject : History
  
• Animal: Zebra (at the zoo)
• Do inside: Play with Legos
  
• Toys: Dinah (her doll)
  
• Song to Sing: "songs I make up"
  
• Restaurant: Sonic (for slushies)
• Book: Precious Girls Club
  
• Movie: Spirit, Little House in the Prairie series
  
• PBSkids Show: Curious George, Wild Kratts, Martha Speaks, Saddle Club, The Cat and the Hat
  

Goals for her 7th year: Ride a horse!

When you ask her what she wants to be when she "grows up" she'll respond "a babysitter"!

And what is the coolest thing about being 7?? She responded, "That I get to go visiting with Daddy!" She goes while the others nap in the afternoons:)

Happy Birthday, Anna,
my Awesome 7 yr old!!

a link to her pic last year... for comparison sake;)
a link to her 5th birthday montage with baby pics
and a link to her birth story