Madison

Madison has been a very busy girl! She has finished up her 2nd grade year and did very well. She is a smart young lady. I was very proud of her for scoring a 4 in Reading, Writing and Math! That was her first time!

Madison tried out and made the Academy team for Twin City Soccer. She will start that in the fall. It is a little bigger commitment then past soccer teams. She will practice twice a week and have a game once a week.

Madison also joined the swim team this summer at Waterford pool. She has had two meets so far and did really well for her first time. She swam 5 events in both meets. She has gotten two 3rd place ribbons and one 2nd place ribbon. She is really good in the backstroke but says breaststroke is her favorite!













Madison also had her dance recital this week. She was a part of In Motion Studios. She did a ballet routine to the Love Boat and a tap routine to Hannah Montana. She did a great job especially for having just starting dance mid-January!

Soccer and Football

Last Saturday, started our busy day of sports....

Madison had her soccer game. Her team is the Mustangs. They have really come a long way this year and played quite well. Madison got to do the coin toss.

She scored her first goal of the season. Madison tends to be a more defensive player so Stephen and I had encouraged her to move forward. She did a great job of being aggressive and not staying back in front of the goal so much. I am very proud of the soccer player she is becoming. She will be trying out for Twin Citys more competitive team. I am not sure if she will make it or not but I am proud of her trying and I love that she loves soccer.

Next, we headed off to Flag Football for Tanner. This was his first game. It was a little slow going as the kids were having to try to learn out to even play the game. Tanner enjoyed it even though he didn't score a touchdown like he wanted to!












And here is the sweet little guy who had to sit and watch his siblings play all day.....

Easter

We started our day at 7am. The kids were excited to see that the Easter Bunny ate the carrots and ranch they left for him! We have tried to focus on the resurrection this Easter moreso than the bunny. They did enjoy hunting for the eggs and getting the money he left for him along with yummy candy.

We made our way to church by 8am (after a stop at Starbucks for Mom who gave coffee up for Lent). Church was expectantly crowded but a good service!

Next we headed to Ammaws for lunch and another Easter egg hunt. Bills son and daughter in law were there with their son Zander. The kids enjoyed a fun game of baseball in Ammaws backyard.

Kids...

I am trying to keep a dialog of what each of the kids are "up to" so I can look back and remember. The only problem right now is I can't find my USB cord so I can't download any pictures. This will have to be fixed soon because my memory card is full and I need to take pictures of the kids.


Jayden .... is a sweet boy, I can't believe in two short months he is going to be 2!!! Just amazes me. He has just started to notice the tv. He loves Yo Gabba Gabba ... he will tell you "Gabba Gabba." He loves to wear hats and shoes. He will put on anyones shoes he can find the bigger the better. He will even sleep in them if you will let him. He loves to play outside and keep up with Sissy (also calls her Madisey) and T. He is a true joy. He also loves to torture the dog Lucy or "UCY" as he would say.

Tanner ... turned 4 in February. He just started Flag Football and is very excited about that. He is a very good kid and does great at preschool. Today he was watching tv and a commercial came on about Noggin helping families who didn't have books and he called me in to tell me that "shocking" news. He seemed very upset about it. Makes a Mama proud! He loves the color green, loves to play any sport. His favorite tv show right now is Wow Wow Wubzy. He and his sister have a very special friendship.

Madison ... turned 8 in January! How is that possible??? She is a wonderful daughter although she keeps a very messy room :)! She loves the color pink, very into the Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana. She is starting to want to do her own style of dress and loves to dress up and wear chapstick. She is all ready asking when she will get a cell phone (Not for a LONG time!!) She is a very good sister to her brothers and has a lot of patience.

Spring Break

I am going to try to do a better job posting!

Last week was Madison and Tanner's spring break (Wed - Fri). Stephen and I took the kids to Myrtle Beach. We stayed at a really nice place called Dunes Village. We got an excellent deal and it had an indoor water park. The kids loved it. Hopefully I will be able to add pictures.

On Thursday, we took them to Le Cirque Grande. It was soooo good! All three of them sat mesmerized the entire 2 hours. I was very impressed. The kids even had their pictures made with a dog in a tuxedo. It was a great day to do this since it was very rainy1

On Friday, the weather was beautiful so we spent a lot of the day on the beach. It was a little windy so we eventually moved back to the pool and waterpark. Madison and Tanner participated in the limbo contest. Evidently they did a great job! That night we had dinner with an old high school friend and her family. That was a lot of fun.

On Saturday, the weather was again pretty and so we spent a lot of the day time out at the beach and pool. The kids enjoyed playing tug of war and water balloon throwing.

Jayden also had a very good time! He loved the pool and didn't mind getting his face wet at all. He was able to wear his ring float and swim by himself. He is going to be a fish. Usually in the afternoons Stephen would stay at the pool or beach with the kids while I "sacrificed" and went up stairs to read my book so Jayden could nap!

Nothing Exciting

I follow several blogs atleast daily (more like several times a day) and I am so inspired. I think WOW they are such good bloggers and they have so much more interesting lives to share. I guess that is why I don't blog more often, I don't feel like I have anything exciting or earth shattering to share. No words of wisdom or great inspirational examples of this Christian woman I call myself. But I figured since it has been almost a month I should share something.

Halloween brought fun for my kids .... Madison was Madeline because her costume that she wanted never came (thanks to the Freiberg's letting us borrow the costume), Tanner was a part of the SWAT team and Jayden was Squirt (turtle) from Finding Nemo. I will try and post some pictures. On Halloween, we (with my Mom) traveled to my sisters house. She lives near DC. We got to Trick-or-Treat with my two favorite nieces. I love them and wish I could see more of them. On Saturday, we went to DC and did lots of walking. Madison really loved seeing all the "sites." She was very excited and came home and made a scrapbook. She is such a good writer and artist. She amazes me. Those are not talents she got from me!

So, now the month of November is on us and I am spending time thinking of all the things I am thankful for. Without a doubt I am thankful Jesus died on a cross for me! Although, I struggle daily to walk in His ways I am proud to call myself His follower. My prayer is that when others see me they get a glimpse of Him. So this month, I will focus on my example. At church, we have been doing a study on sharing the gospel. This is hard for me but I know it is what I am called to. Secondly, I am thankful for a husband and three children who forgive me for ALL my shortcomings (and they are many). I love them with all my heart and can't imagine life without them. Okay, so enough of that. Let me see if I can post some pics of the kids!

Blessed Be Your Name

There is a song by Matt Redman entitled Blessed Be Your Name. It talks about no matter what life's circumstances are God is good and He is Blessed. It is a song that I have always liked on the radio and sang hundreds of times at church. I never spent a whole lot of time thinking about it - I just sang it over and over. There is a verse that says: You give and take away, You give and take away, My heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be Your name. Two years ago today, this verse came to life for me. It totally describes my Mom. You see 32 years ago today God gave my Mom the gift of life (Me) and 2 years ago today, God called home another life (my sister), and still today my Mom would tell you Blessed be the name of the Lord.

I wish I could tell you without a doubt if God chose to take one of my children any day (much less on the birthday of one of them) that I could write Blessed Be Your Name. The truth of the matter is that God is Awesome despite the circumstance. It's just easier to say that during the good and blame during the bad. I know He knows the bigger picture - that's just hard for my finite mind to understand. So, in following my Mom's example, I will say Blessed Be Your Name!

Stef - I miss you and I love you. I wish I could tell you one more time. I wish my phone would again ring at 2am because you were bored and couldn't sleep; I wish one more time you would beg me for Madison to come over; I wish you could see Jayden and what a joy he has brought to our lives. I know where you are and that I shouldn't wish you back but some days I honestly do!