Lots of family time!

September 

Being a parent can be such a hectic adventure, but stopping each month to blog provides the opportunity to reflect on it all!  One of our biggest hopes we have for our children is that through all their activities and adventures hopefully they are learning how to work hard, be a good teammate, and always respect their coaches/teachers.  

 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 13:34-35

Reeve transitioned this year from 4 on 4 soccer to 7 on 7.  It has been a joy watching her get after it out there.  She is very laid back so she does not get too worked up and is grasping the understanding of spacing.  Looking forward to seeing what the future holds for her soccer career :)

 Joden is now in 10U and it has been enjoyable to watch him also.  All the boys are understanding the game more and more, which makes it even more exciting to watch.  He has still been given the opportunity to play lots of positions so it will be neat to see which ones he ends up focusing on later in life.  So far it appears his favorite sports are gymnastics, soccer, and baseball.  

 He enjoys flag football, but does not act like he loves it....my mom heart would not be too sad if he chooses to get rid of football.  It is very physical--although he can get hurt in any sport he plays!

 State Fair fun with friends!  We allowed each of them to bring along a friend, which ended up being awesome because then they had someone to enjoy the night with.  

 In lieu of the first Husker game I opted for a healthy snack!

 These two fill my heart up!  I sure do love being their mom:)

 Picture day hair.  She had quite the request and I tried...not the best, but her pictures turned out just fine!  

How cute is she?  I know I am biased:)

Look at that little kindergartener on the left!  Oh man these school years are flying along.

 Went to a Husker party at a friends and all the boys, ages 11-1 were playing together:)

Coach Ray, one of our assistants, did a basketball skills camp.  We had a great turnout and Reeve joined in on the fun.  She does not seem crazy about basketball yet, but of course I hope she plays.  She is a pretty darn good dribbler for 6 so I of course think she has some skills:)

 Again, I am biased, but these two have one of the most patient and loving dads.  He has spent so much time progressing through going to the woods to create a love for it.  Love too that they have an activity they do with Mike and I that are each different!  Hopefully they get to carry some of the same experiences over to their own children.  

 So this is where my title comes in to play.  The last four out of six weeks we have got to spend with Mike's family.  It really has been making me exhausted during the week-ha ha-but it has been so worth it.  Our nephew Grant is a senior and luckily has had games close to Grand Island so we can go watch!  This one was in Hastings and they won.  As you can tell Joden enjoyed trying on his helmet:)

 Snuck this picture in and sent to dinner group friends.  We had already gone to dinner group and ate, but left early to hang out with Mike's family some more.  Therefore, Mike thought two dinners were necessary.  Ugh-wish I could eat two dinners and not gain weight!

 Hard to see, but I love decorating the front for fall with my pumpkins.  Especially the ones I put in my planters!  

 Took these two Junk Jaunting with me for a short bit.  It was hot and the only item we purchased was this gun in Joden's hand that cost $1 :)  

About a year ago I told Mike that I would love to get a 'forever' table that our grandchildren can sit around one day!  After seeking out several different options we found one that was doable financially.  Looking forward to the many memories to come around this table!  

Finally, Miss Reeve participated in a two day after school deal at Gates where she got to basically be creative.  This picture was on Facebook and I thought it was a good one:)  

Life is Busy!

Sometimes I wonder why we lead chaotic lifestyles, but at other times my heart tells me God leads us down the many paths in order to be his servants.  This month has felt like a whirlwind between a basement remodel, starting school, the kids' activities starting up, and the state fair.  Most nights I do not crawl into bed until 11pm with my alarm going off at 4:50am to workout, but our life here on earth only occurs once-being a mom of a 8 and 6 year old only occurs once-therefore through the exhaustion I remind myself to enjoy each day that God blesses me with because as we all know we never know when God will lead us home!  

This girl sure amazed me this summer!  This was all her idea one day at the pool and even better her brother ran over immediately because he wanted to help her.  There are times when I wonder if I have done anything right as a mother and then these moments happen reminding me that I(we) have done something right:)

 Garage sale time!  Hopefully next summer we can go without one.  Luckily though we had great weather for our sale!

 Later in the day my neighbor from down the street came by.  She whipped this beer out of her purse and told me that this is how you do garage sales:)  I of course did not decline her offer!

 The next day Mike and Joden ran the mud run together.  Joden has been begging for the last few years to do this with his dad.  To say they had fun would be an understatement!

 Date with mom!  We rode our bikes all the way out to Hall County Park and then enjoyed playing at the park for a bit.  Looking forward to the many adventures together in the years to come!

 Miss Reeve is working on learning to ride her bike!  She is so close, but not quite there.  Thanks to Mike for teaching the kids this skill:)

 This was my second 10 day shred that I have done.  It is basically where you put good food in your body.  These were a few pictures I took of what I was eating.  

 Of course that is Joden up there!

 Community wide cleanup with my kiddos!  They started out pretty pumped, but by the end they were awfully whiny.  In the end though, hopefully they realized they should not litter!

 Nothing makes me smile bigger than when you find that your child has taken a chunk of selfies of themselves:)

One night my dad was sending pictures of my mom when she was younger.  They got to saying how they see Joden in my mom.  I have my moms eyes and Joden has mine so I think that is where the similarity comes into play!

 She was pretty pumped that she got to have her hair washed.  This was her request:)

 Basement remodel in action!  Got the kids to help for a short while and we went with the no clothes to avoid ruining clothes:)  Also, this is as close to shiplap as I will ever get!

 Random night out with great friends!  Coaching basketball has led us to these two and in my heart I know God knew we would get along well!

 First day of school excitement!  I surprised the kids with Paradise donuts:)  They were excited if you can't tell!

 Cannot believe they are in 1st and 3rd, but I think all moms say that!  

 My first day also!  The kids in my class were getting to know each other:)

 Birthday fun with my sister for her birthday!  We went down to my parents' place at the lake.  It was a beautiful day and we all had a great time:)

Leah joined in on the fun!

When mom is away this is how dad entertains the kids:)

Softball camp for Reeve and she won $20.  They a did this camp this fall, but most of her softball will not kick off until next spring!

 Solar Eclipse day!  Here are some of my 6th graders checking it out:)

 Thanks to Leah I got to see my own kids enjoying this amazing sight!

 Mike and I had heard of the marathon relay and were wanting to try it out one of these years.  This year we decided to go for it and had a blast!  

Note to self:  Do not wear grey pants when running 6.8 miles because it may appear you peed your pants:(  Luckily I had time to run home and change before we crossed the finish line!

 My kids love playing with Leah and Alex's son Miles.  This was them playing together at Alex's running spot!  They had a blast together:)

 Waiting for Alex so we could finish with him!  We placed 7th out of 28 teams which we thought was pretty good:)

 After the race I had to go watch some volleyball out at Fonner Park.  Grand Island girls-some of the girls I coach-were playing my hometown of Sidney.  Odds of this happening are very slim so I had to go check it out!  It was just an exhibition game and they split 1-1.

 Later on everyone else joined me and we checked out a bit of the state fair!  

Each year I have my kids set goals for what they want to be when they grow up!  It is never to early to start thinking about it!

 Then we had the kids trace their hand/arm and decorate it with information about themselves.  Thought it turned out pretty awesome!

 Next up we took them to the state fair!  I had a great group of kiddos and enjoyed my time with them:)

 Then finally I took my own kids to the state fair with one of their friends.  The weather turned out perfect and the kids had a blast!

 Ending the month gearing up for the first Husker football game!  

Although it has been a hectic month my heart is overflowing with some pretty amazing memories!  Looking forward to hopefully slowing down a tad in September😏