From good to great...

Our weekend was just that... good to great. Fantastic, actually. 

Saturday began with our season opening soccer game, followed by lunch, long naps, and some general nothing doing. We ended that perfect combo with an evening at the Saturday portion of our annual church festival. We have been members of St. Thomas since before we were engaged and it has been home to us. This parish has seen us through the good, the great and even the bad and we love having such a strong church to raise our kids in. 

This was the first year for the Saturday Disco BBQ - which is exactly what it sounds like. And more. Ha! Several parishioners made their famous pulled pork which we were able to vote on with donations all while dancing disco complete with lessons. 

Ryan captured this delightful moment of me learning something. 

Emmy insisted on this outfit, the boots and the necklace. She was ready to strike a pose. And as corny as the evening was, we had such fun just being silly as a family of five. 

The festivities continued on Sunday with games, bouncehouses, raffles, and food. 

Oh, and smiles. And giggles. And lots and lots of fun. 

And yes, it's almost October and we are in tanks and flops. 

#texas

Radley was cracking us up - he is so stinking competitive. At this point, Kailyn is stuck on the "wall" and is scared to move up. We told Radley to help her and he gave us this look like we were crazy to think he should stop his mission. 

He did stop and attempt to help and what a relief that he still "won"... especially since he was racing no one. 

Emmy kind of rocked the thing, which would not be the only surprise she would give us that day. 

She is a Tough Mudder in the making. 

We walked around for a bit and ended up at the horse riding station. Radley was eager to get up and go. 

Kailyn insisted on being safe. 

And then this one. Y'all. She rode a horse.

Excuse me, a pink unicorn. 

I could not believe it. 

My money was on a last minute mind change, but little girl proved me wrong with her bravery. And will most definitely continue to do so throughout life. 

And then this happened.... 

The waving. Stop. I can't take the cute waving and delighted squeals I could hear across the "arena".

How is it possible that she is this big? 

And that's where the great comes in. Life is good for us, and we are keenly aware of that and ever grateful for the ease in which we get to live. The small obstacles that appear are just that - small. Life is good. 

And then these moments of greatness fly in as if a bottle rocket exploding as it's being lit. These tiny, somewhat insignificant moments of greatness. That to a stranger may seem mundane, but to me, are beyond good. They are the moments that I get to see them and witness their greatness that I know existed but they had not yet discovered for themselves. 

The pride. And delight. And accomplishment that all great moments bring. 

So hot, they're blue...

It's September which means the beginning of another soccer season so our Saturday's for the next two months you can find us in baby blue cheering on the Flamethrowers. Exactly. We decided that they are so hot - they're blue. 

Ryan is once again coaching the team and I love watching him almost as much as we love watching Rad. Seriously, such a gift to watch them enjoy something they love together. 

A few things have changed this year in U7 - they are no longer co-ed (unless a female player requests to be on a male team), the fields are bigger, the goals are wider, and they have an official on the field. 

They still don't have goalies (which Ryan is not a fan of) and the coaches can still be on the field directing play. 

Their huddle is pretty precious…

flame, flame, flame, flame, Flame, FLAME, FLAMETHROWERS!! 

;)

They all had to adjust to the bigger field, but even with the extra space there were times when the ball was stuck in the middle of everyone. 

But once it got loose…. 

#7 was headed towards the goal!

Landry was clearly impressed.

Luckily he had his entire fan club there to cheer him on!

(Thanks, HMMs for coming to cheer on our Rad-man! He LOVES his sign!)

We have a good team again this year and I'm starting to recognize families from each year. It's fun to be  in this community of parents and get to cheer on kids from near and far. Cameron and Radley are on the same team again and Alyssa and I decided that they have to play together until they graduate high school. Most of the kids on our team live close to our neighborhood, one player is in Rad's RE class at church and another is in the DL program at his school. I am so excited about all the connections we have with families on and off the field. 

Each kiddo played hard out there - whether this was their first game or third season and Ryan was beside them the whole time coaching them and encouraging them. 

They are so fun to watch and I love seeing all the skills that they are building on and off the field.  

Can't wait to see what the season has in store! 

Tiny Tales Thursday...

I love hearing stories about the kids' days. They come home with crazy stories, funny tales and little tid bits into their day. They tell me who was good and who was "very bad" today (which is hilarious to listen to from the mouth of babes). I just love hearing their side of life, their perspective, their thoughts. 

But sometimes, they forget to tell me the funniest moments of their day, which are the words they speak to others. They don't realize the humor because to them, it's just matter-of-fact. This is where their sweet teachers come in. 

I was talking to Miss Natali and she let me know Emmy's thoughts on what her Daddy does for a living.

Emmy: My Daddy works at UPS.

Miss Natali: What do you think he does at UPS?

Emmy: Ehhh... he just goes to work and plays on his phone ALL.DAY.LONG.

Yep. She speaks the truth.

:)

InstaKings...

The difference between kid 1 and kid 3 is exhaustion mixed with common sense. On this particular evening I was just tired and I didn't want to remake her bed after a 3rd straight night of accidents. We are in that weird in between of solid dry nights, she hates pull-ups and I like not buying them. So instead of making her bed - she got a fun pallet on the floor. So what if she sat in her room singing and reading books 25 minutes after I put her to bed? Who cares that she managed to get out every blanket and extend the pallet across her bedroom for her dolls? She was content and I got to listen to her imagination. Sometimes the third kid gets the least.... they get old toys, worn clothes and used up markers... but they also get parents that have eased up, choose our battles, and parent with a little more grace. 

We got to celebrate our big kid turning seven and kept it simple. He has been BEGGING for a bike and we had practically convinced him that it would have to wait for Christmas. To say he was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. Parenting is fun. 

His birthday was fun from start to finish - nothing elaborate, everything special. We topped it off with a DQ requested dinner with a travelling "you're special today" plate!

Our first Aggie #Sundaysweetness of the fall. 

Hand's down one of our best suppers to date. 

Grilled  pork chops over mashed potatoes with my secret sauteed mushrooms and grilled asparagus. I am mad that I don't make it every week. 

One of our first signs of fall - this sweet chalkboard pumpkin that has had the same thing written on it for four years! :) (Thanks, KK!)

We got to have an extra passenger on the ride to school a few days last week. Cindy was out on a business trip so Josh dropped Mills off with us for the ride into town!

Just some light reading in the carpool line. Most of the time my job is all smiles - but sadly, we have some real issues to deal with, too. 

Anna's bday celebration started out with dinner at Whataburger and I may make it a weekly rotation spot. Not one time did I have to ask someone to eat. Thank you, Whatabooger. Thank you.

I love this stage in life. I love surprising them with fun moments of getting spoiled. Big and small alike. A random stop to get toes painted after a quick froyo treat and everyone was so excited. I got hear "I love my best-friend" about 50 times in that 3 hour time period from school pick up to this exact snapshot in life. I wanted to remember just how fun it is to watch their faces light up with joy. 

The greatest thing about having awesome students is I get some pretty amazing friends for life. 

They lasted .5 seconds splashing in the puddles because it was "freeezing". Also known as 70 degrees in Texas. 

Did I mention how "suite" life was a few weekends ago?

Because it was really really really suite. 

And the company we shared it with wasn't so bad either!! 

Thanks for the invite, friends! We'll be happy to be the guests of the guests anytime!!

Moms, friends and students - go to HEB. Purchase some Hot Mama. Slice up some HEB sausage, brown in skillet. Pour sauce on top and heat through. Drizzle a little brown sugar on top to cut heat. Serve with whatever comfort food you choose. And be a winner at dinner. #youarewelcome

Meanwhile, in Aggieland.... 

#gross

#ew

#Ihidunderatableincollegewithmyroomiewhenbatsenteredthelibrary

#theONEtimeItriedtostudy

#itwasasign

#sothenwewenttothebar

And that's us in an instant!

Will you pray with me...

I have a prayer request today that is dear to my heart. One of my first friends (ever) has been fighting the battle of his life for the past nine years. His wife shared this news with our HS class this week:

After 9 years of battling, Bubba was told yesterday that his tumors have grown, and that the doctor didn't think he should do any more treatment. Unfortunately I was not by his side when he got this news, but his wonderful parents were.

Bubba is a fighter, and is my hero! He has done everything for our family, and I am forever grateful! He told the doctor he could not come home, and tell me this without trying something else. There is one other chemo that his body has not seen, that he will be trying. We then will be going back in November for results, unless needed to go sooner. The oncologist fills like the reason he is so tired is because where the tumors are pressing, and it has also gone into his cerebral fluid.

He has suffered so much these last 2 months, and it gets to a point where it is more about quality, not quantity of life.

We are putting all of our faith in The Lord, and relying on the power of prayer to give Bubba the strength to win the battle! Let the oncologist be in awe of His glorious hand, when Bubba is healed!

This text is very hard to send, we debated what we needed to tell all of you because Bubba does not want people to think he is giving up. We agreed we needed to tell everything, because right now, prayer is what is going to get us through this! We have one of the best groups of family, and friends out there, that can share this news, and get the prayer chains going!

Just please know, this is a very difficult time for us, and I'm doing my best to stay strong around the kids. It would be best if I didn't talk about it around them, because I don't want to worry them. I talked to Jordan a little last night, and he sent a text out to friends to pray for his dad too.

My request is simple - pray for strength. Pray for courage. Pray for peace. Please simply pray.

Our high school motto is three simple words: Rockets Never Quit. And Bubba (Roy) lives this credo. He has never quit - fighting, praying, even working throughout his illness. He supports his family through all of the obstacles that life has brought to him. He never quits smiling, loving, encouraging and praying. 

And we never quit - hoping, supporting and asking for a miracle. 

Our class is one of those crazy mysteries that even we can't quite figure out. We are small town through and through and though years and miles separate us, we are still connected. And one of our own needs us. 

Bubba is a great man and needs all the prayers that we can offer. This news shakes us, but our fear pales in comparison to the mighty hand of God. I ask that you lift Bubba and his family up in prayer. 

Move mountains with your faith. 

Because Rockets Never Quit.