Season comes to an end.....

***Remember to pray for Laura Grace. I posted an update earlier today. See below.....***

I have always hated when fun things come to an end. I used to feel huge letdowns whenever my ballet performances were over. You put so much time and effort into something and it seems like it ends just as quickly as it begins. The girls soccer season for 2006-07 has officially ended. I am a little sad about this. I really enjoyed this team. I also really enjoyed the U10 level. They have played for four years now and this is the first year where it really was competitive and interesting to watch. Of course, half the time I was about to have a mild heart attack, but overall I loved every minute. Madeline and Meredith's team 'The Soccer Rockers' were quarterfinalists in their final tournament. They finished up 8th out of 20 teams. I think they did great. The girls were so disappointed that they didn't advance farther and I got my first taste of consoling your child when their heart is breaking. I tried to be encouraging but I don't know if I succeeded. Losing IS hard. Losing ISN'T fair. Losing IS part of life and Losing BUILDS character and makes you try harder IF you don't give up! I hope and pray that I passed that along to my girls through our little talk! Since I am sooooo sad about the close of our season, I thought I would name FIVE reasons to be glad that it is over until August!!! Here we go:

1. No more sitting on a cold field, freezing my derriere off, and all the while wondering why I didn't have the forethought to go through the drive-thru at Seattle Drip!!!

2. No more wondering where the heck Noah is, all the while trying to keep my eye on the game. ( oh there he is playing in the ditch!!!;) )

3. No more rushing off to practice when we have TONS of homework to finish, and realizing halfway to the field that we only brought one ball, forgot to pack water, & oh yeah, the girls need to go to the bathroom BAD!!!!

4. No more picking up shin guards, balls, soccer shoes, & all other items that go along with the game, from all areas of my house!!! Apparently my children have the "it stays wherever you decide to take it off" theory!

5. MOST IMPT....No more listening to annoying & rude parents who have forgotten that it IS just a game and most of their children are not going to end up being David Beckham or Mia Hamm!!! :)

Friday Update on Laura Grace...

I spoke to Christy this morning. Laura Grace is visibly better...PRAISE GOD! Her fever has come down and is now low grade. Christy said that if it remains this way, she should be discharged as early as this evening. Keep praying for that and also for Christy. She sounded very tired and I just can't imagine how overwhelming this week must have been. I think she would just love to get in her own bed and just get her life back to normal. Her inlaws are staying through the weekend so pray that they would be able to help out with kids and the house!!!

2nd Update on Laura Grace...

I just spoke to Christy. Laura Grace is doing better. She ate a little bit which was good. The only concern right now is why the fever won't go away. It is still going up to 104 but that is better then 106! They have done tons of tests and are continuing to rule things out. Right now, they know she has strep and think she has some sort of viral infection. She will remain in the hospital until she is 24 hrs fever free! Please pray for Christy. I gathered that the most difficult part of this is keeping Laura Grace in her bed. She has an iv in and is under medication, so you can imagine how difficult that would be to keep a 3 yr old still without losing your mind! Continue to pray that they can determine the cause of this, and just for peace during the storm for Christy and Clay. I know this is hard!!! I will keep updating as I get info!

Update on Laura Grace...

I spoke with Christy, and Laura Grace is still running a high fever. They will be in the hospital at minimum another 48 hrs. I don't have alot of news because I wasn't able to speak with Christy for long. She sounded very tired, as you can imagine and I know this is quite frustrating. I will update when I hear more. KEEP PRAYING!!!

Please Pray for Laura Grace....

I just wanted to ask everyone to pray for little Laura Grace ( Christy from Mommy Brain's daughter)! She continues to have a very high fever and is being admitted to the hospital today. Please pray for Christy and Clay and that the Lord would give them peace. I know that this is a very trying time. The dr thinks it is some type of bacterial infection so let's just agree together in prayer that the Lord would give the doctors wisdom on treatment and that Laura Grace would be back to normal soon! Christy is supposed to call me when she knows more, and I will update! Thank you and I know it will mean alot to her to know that we are all standing behind her in prayer!!!

Wednesday ( hump day)...

First off, Greg is home...YAY! Yesterday ended up being a longer day then I expected. I had to take Noah to the ped and he has strep throat. Thankfully, he seems better already today. He hasn't been sick since before Christmas, so I was sad to break our healthy streak....oh well! ;) The girls had their (most likely) final soccer game of the season last night. I was upset because I had to drop them off, but God has worked it out. The game was called in the second quarter because of lightening so they will resume tonight, assuming it doesn't rain. We have some realtors coming to "look" in a little while, so the house is clean. I am hoping that Noah will take a nice long nap and that way I can lay down too. I hope everyone has a great day! :)

I have a new respect for single moms.....

I can handle when Greg goes out of town a few nights during the week. In fact, I am a pro at it. I have my routine down and I actually enjoy one or two nights of quiet. However, weekends are another story! Greg has been gone since Friday and I did everything alone. That included two soccer games ( and chasing Noah at one of them), a Spring Fever Festival at school ( and chasing Noah as he slid down a slide a zillion times in the HEAT), church, playing outside (and chasing Noah), breaking up sibling fights, homework battles, and the list goes on. I haven't slept well and I think I am just so exhausted from doing everything that I could probably go to sleep now at 6pm! So, I don't know how single moms do it. I am talking about NO BREAK and NO HELP whatsoever. A tropical island with a book and a drink is sounding really good right now............hey I can dream, right? ;)

God Knows What I Need:

It has been a long two weeks. The girls surgery, and taking care of them. Errands, getting the carpets cleaned,Greg left for FIVE days Friday & yesterday we switched realtors! I am TIRED! I have also been a little down since hearing about my friend, BUT isn't it amazing how the Lord always blesses you when you need some encouragement? Thursday night, my sweet husband arranged a babysitter for the kids and took me to dinner. Getting the babysitter on his own would have been enough, but when we pulled up to the restaurant, he handed me a gift bag and he had bought me a gorgeous pair of earrings. He gets big points for paying attention to the fact that I like BIG earrings and they were just perfect! We had a great meal ( sushi of course) and it was so relaxing to be out on a WEEKNIGHT and NO kids! As we were driving home, I was just thanking God for blessing me with a break in the midst of a tough few weeks.

About the realtor: We have had the same realtor for SEVEN months now. She was a very nice woman but lives in a completely different area (big mistake on our part). We also feel like she didn't really give us much attention. So, in another act of the Lord, last Sunday, I was outside and a neighbor walked by. We started talking and she suggested someone that she knows that lives in our area and absolutely LOVES our neighborhood. I told her to have this lady call me. Well she did and we arranged to meet yesterday. Turns out, she and Greg went to highschool together. She is a very nice,Christian woman. We immediately felt at peace to sign with her and I am excited to try something new. Please pray with us for God's will and direction. This has been a frustrating wait, but just maybe God wanted me to be here so I could minister to my friend ( who is my neighbor by the way)! Timing is everything and I feel like this is a FRESH start. The new realtor has at the very least given me hope and I feel like she is going to really push our home. We weren't getting that before. I will keep you updated! :)

UPDATE to Prayer Request....

Finally heard from my friend via email. The cancer is evasive(or invasive..not sure how it is spelled), and she will have to have a masectomy and chemo. She goes today for a CT and bone scan. She said she is surprised at how well she is holding up. Thankfully she has parents nearby to help. PLEASE PLEASE keep her in your prayers and if anyone has any ideas of ways I can help, I am open. I already told her I would be happy to help with the girls,etc but her parents are helping in that way. I definitely want to bring her food, but I was thinking she would probably like that when she goes in for the surgery. I am planning to go to Lifeway today and get some sort of scripture encouragement book. I am open to any suggestions. I feel like God wants me to minister to this lady and I am just trying to figure out the best way to go about it. I can't imagine going through something like this when you are not necessarily walking with him! :(

*Urgent* Prayer Request

Please friends, I need prayer warriors again! I got an email yesterday from another friend. She has breast cancer. They removed the lump and now she waits to see if the cancer has spread. She has two daughters and I am not sure if she is saved. PLEASE lift "D" up in prayer. Also that she will come to know Christ if she hasn't already. Thanks!

New Pics of Noah

I haven't had a chance to practice my photography lately. So when it was a beautiful day yesterday, I grabbed my camera, and shot a few of one of my favorite subjects. Be sure to click on the photos to see the actual shot! :) By the way, it was a very windy day. I was trying to get candid shots and clear ones! Let me know what you think. I can handle it!

Tonsils No More.....

Yesterday was the big day. Madeline and Meredith both had their tonsils and adenoids removed. They were so brave and I am quite proud of them. They were nervous which is totally understandable. Hey, I cried before I had my wisdom teeth removed! ;) As I sat between their two *beds*, looking from one to another, I couldn't help but remember the last time I had done that. I told them that when they were born, I will never forget after all that I had been through, and finally able to sit in my hospital bed and look from one side to another and there they were.....my two little girls! That brought a slight smile to their faces. They were also thrilled to be able to pick out which flavor *gas* they got to smell before dozing off. Meredith went first and we waited with Madeline until her turn. I got to see the tonsils! They were HUGE!!!! The dr said that we made the right decision to have them removed and this should help with the strep incidents and snoring! I think they are going to sleep so much better at night and feel alot more energetic. When Madeline came to in the recovery room, she sat up immediately and looked around and said "is it done, is it done"! I was happy to be able to tell her that "yes honey, it is DONE"!!!!

Soccer Rockers.....

A few pics I was able to snap before the *incident* with Noah. NOTICE...he is not anywhere near the team!!!! GO Soccer Rockers ( actual team name ;) )

Fashion...ya gotta love it!

I love clothes! I don't think that is a surprise to anyone around here. I just love getting cute, in style things. I try very hard to stay current but classic! Unfortunately, I don't particularly love all the ways that the fashion industry is going right now. Everything is TIGHT and low cut and the jeans practically sit on your hip bone. It can be very frustrating to shop in some of the stores that are in the mall. I have one favorite place ( the Loft) that carries very fashionable but classic clothes. I buy what I can afford from there but then I like to fill in from a few other places. I was reminded today though how hard it is getting. I stopped in 'Express' just to see if I could find a few casual t-shirts. I found two cute ones and a camisole ( I wear a camisole with just about everything...........there my *secret* is out). When I got to the checkout the cute little blonde girl tells me that it is buy 2 for 29$ so I could get another t-shirt, tank, or cami for about 10$. Well you know me and the fact that I can't pass up a deal. She came over to help me pick out something else and she suggested a sheer, SKIN TIGHT tank to go over the cami!!! Uh, hello, I can't wear that. She told me how cute it would be with jeans, for when I just want a casual look!!! I told her that was a little *young* for me. She asked me how old I was and once I told her, she said I wasn't old. OK!!! She said I could totally wear that look. So, I told her that maybe I had used the wrong word. I said " modest" is what I am looking for. This poor girl who was wearing a halter type knit top ( with her breasts hanging out) looked at me like I was from MARS!!! Yes, I realize that I am part of a dying breed but I also think that I am proof that you can dress cute and tastefully! I ended up getting another cami! I can never have too many of those. I shudder to think what the clothes are going to look like by the time Madeline and Meredith are teenagers. Can you imagine???

Monday...Monday.....again!

Here I sit again and it is Monday.....AGAIN! The weekend just flew by. It was an ok weekend. The girls had an early soccer game on Saturday. Unfortunately, they lost and a bunch of us parents are really frustrated with the coach. Of course, there were other *exciting* things that happened at the game:

~ I got told by one of the parents that I should get my son off of the soccer field because he was going to get hurt. Ok, well he did get hurt but that was on the SIDELINES. He and another boy were just playing around with an extra ball while the team warmed up! They were not in the way of any of the players, and I fail to see the problem in this? Maybe since this particular mother only has girls, she doesn't understand the amount of energy that little boys have? I didn't know how to respond to her comment and I felt very uncomfortable sitting next to her the entire game. This same mother, I have gone out of my way to compliment her on how good her daughter plays, how much we miss her when she isn't there, etc etc!

~ Noah fell and hurt his mouth on a metal chair. Blood was gushing out and he was screaming *loudly*. I am sure every parent there was eyeing us with an evil glare, like "why can't you watch your child better then that?"!!! He was fine, thank the Lord but it was chaos for a few minutes.

~ I wanted to go knock one of the parents out on the other team. She kept loudly screaming which is understandable but at the end when the kids were giving congratulations to each other she very rudely proclaimed how great they were and how they had beat us, nah nah nah!!!! ( Yes I have a bad attitude).

So here I am again and in a Monday *funk*. Nothing seems to be going right and I am dreading this week. One good thing is that Greg doesn't have to leave until tomorrow to go out of town. He informed me that he would take the twins to their Upwards pizza party AND to their soccer game tonight. Good thing cause I DO NOT want to go. I will let the other parents sit in peace and quiet and watch their kids play. I will just be silently supporting my girls from home! :(

I have a serious problem!

I really do and I am wondering if I am the only one? Here is the problem: I simply can't get clothing store coupons in the mail & not turn around and rush out my door to go use them! I am seriously my favorite stores IDEAL customer. I am the one they are targeting when they send them out! I ABSOLUTELY cannot ( unless we are just flat broke) NOT go find some little something or other in order to take advantage of that terrific ( ha ha) deal! Please girls tell me I am not the only one! Today's confession: I got one to my absolute favorite store. This is a no brainer that I will go shop there. I told myself that I would be good and only shop the sale rack! HA! That is tough to do when the only things on the sale rack are sweaters and you want to buy all the cute spring stuff. So, I got a *few* things and I go up to pay and guess what......I got TWO MORE coupons to use at the next visit! HOORAY...more coupons......this means another "HAVE TO GO" shopping trip. It is an endless cycle! I simply must get ahold of myself. Some people are addicted to scrapbooking supplies, some to crafts, some to sports....I am addicted to clothing store coupons! Wait a minute...I guess that means I am addicted to shopping! ;) Please someone get me the number to shopaholics annonymous but whatever you do, don't tell Greg about my little problem, ok? ;)