West coast trip

No, we aren't traveling, but the Reds are out west this week. It really throws my evening routine off...I'm used to turning on the TV at 7 and catching the game. I obviously can't actually sit and watch it, but at least I can keep track of the score. And after the kids go to bed, I can give the game my full attention. This week, the games aren't starting until about 9:30. I haven't seen the end of either game yet, but I'm still staying up later than I'd like. I'm dragging a little today!

Mother's Day

Happy belated Mother's Day to all of the moms out there! I am very blessed to have not only my mother, but both of my grandmothers and my mother-in-law still in my life. They are all wonderful people. After church we headed north to spend the afternoon with my parents. Dad brought fried chicken for lunch and it was delicious! After the meal we headed over to my grandmother's retirement community where Dad and JR could fish. JR loves, loves, loves to fish! Neither my husband nor I really enjoy it, but I'm so grateful that it's an activity that can be shared between my father and my son. My grandmother also enjoyed visiting with the kids, and I also enjoyed getting to see my aunt who was in town as well. The day was so peaceful, and I couldn't help but think back to a Mother's Day several years ago where I had the exact opposite feeling about the day. My husband and I had been trying for two years to become parents and we knew it wasn't going to happen the "old fashioned way". My best friend had become a mother two months earlier so it was her first Mother's Day as a mom, and another very good friend was expecting her first child two months later. It just felt as though I was being taunted by Mother's Day everywhere. It was a rough day to get through, but of course I did get through it. And it is because of days like that day that I am so aware of the three little, beautiful blessings in my life, and I know that it all works out exactly as it is intended. Blessings to all moms!

Ball games

All of our kids have started their ball games. My wonderful husband is coaching our daughter's team, and he's really enjoying that. Our daughter is definitely not the most talented athlete, but for the most part she enjoys sports. I suspect her talent lies more in dancing though. Regardless, my father and grandmother came down to see her first game last week and she got a really good hit. She was even able to go around and score a run and they won that game. Saturday's game was a loss, but the team was really short handed since it was an unscheduled make up game. JR played catcher for his entire game on Saturday, which was also a victory for his team. He's moved up a level, and now the games take about 2-1/2 hours to play. It was the first time he'd played catcher for an entire game, and the first time he'd ever played in a game that took that long. He was TIRED that evening! We were very proud of him though because he did a very nice job. And little HT just loves hitting the ball and running the bases. I love seeing pure joy on a child's face!

Another week

Another week absolutely flew by! Last week was full of ball games, meetings, homework, etc. Not only did I not really have time to write, but I didn't really feel that there was anything terribly exciting to write about. My husband and I felt like we needed to reintroduce ourselves to each other by the end of the week. We work well together as a team though, and I'm grateful for that. This week will be another crazy week because we are hoping to have a garage sale on Saturday, and my wonderful husband is in charge of some fundraisers for a local community group. Only 22 days of school left though!

Chickens

For the last several weeks, HT's preschool class has been incubating chicken eggs. Yesterday, about an hour after school, his teacher (also a close personal friend) called to say that one was near hatching. I threw the kids in the van and rushed up to the school. We were there waiting, and after about 45 minutes we got to see the new chick come into the world. We rushed home then because there were two games last night. Although it meant dinner after the game instead of before, I didn't mine because how often do we get an opportunity to see that? I had told the kids that I would bring them up before school this morning to see the chick again. However, HT's teacher called again last night, saying that when she had checked on the chick a few hours later, she found it drowned in the water bowl. I explained to the kids this morning what had happened, and our little neighbor was over at the time. HT was sad for a moment, especially since he had been watching the eggs for weeks. The neighbor ,though, added his words of comfort, "It happens all the time in nature. It's the circle of life." Pretty profound for a 9 year old!

A wonderful Sunday

Yesterday was an absolutely wonderful day. It was supposed to rain, but it never did. We were especially grateful for this right after church. Yesterday was the last session of Sunday School, and after Mass there was a church picnic. We absolutely love our church. We love the fact that we know so many of the families there, and we love the fact that the children (all children, not just ours) get to be so involved in the church. There were activities and prizes for the kids during the picnic yesterday, and I was actually able to visit with other adults...as a stay at home that is always a treat! The weather was really ideal...not too hot or cold. After the picnic we went to look at some open houses. We might be putting our house back on the market this fall, but we'll just have to wait and see if I'm really willing to live like that again. Anyway, we didn't see any houses that we fell in love with, but one of the houses had property that I fell in love with! It was five acres of the most peaceful and quiet spot on Earth. The front yard had these beautifully mature trees. I told my wonderful husband last night that I could just feel myself starting to yearn for that setting. Unfortunately, the house was not ideal. Doable, but not ideal. It had potential, but at the price they were asking (a very fair price) we wouldn't have any money left to tap the potential! It does motivate me to clean my house though...just in case! My wonderful husband also got the garbage disposal replaced last evening. I was impressed with his handiness. I just felt very relaxed yesterday about life. It doesn't last long when I look at our calendar of baseball games, meetings, etc., but I'll take what I can get!

Opening Day

Today was opening day for the little league baseball group. The parade was held right on time and it's a really nice day for baseball. Alas, however, not a single game was played. The rain we received Thursday and yesterday was just too much, and the games were actually called off last night. Apparently they are going to try to play them next weekend instead.

My wonderful husband is off to buy a new garbage disposal. Ours gave out on Monday, and I've been hand washing dishes ever since. He is convinced that if he buys the exact same one he'll be able to replace it himself. We shall see. I suspect there is a future post in this!