Relaxation

 

This is relaxing to me....sitting on the back porch of my In-Law's cabin, feeling the fan blowing down on me & a gentle breeze through the screen, rocking in a rocker,  reading a book, looking at the beautiful lake below.

 

 

 Just look at that view! It was a gorgeous day.

We decided to go for a walk with the boys, so we walked down the railroad tracks to the tunnel.

 

 

I enjoyed watching my boys & husband act like kids. They walked the tracks, picked up rocks & railroad spikes and took in all the sites along the way.  I just stayed back to take in the sites of the them doing so. :)

 

Nothing quite brings my boys together as brothers as some fun loving competition and time in the outdoors. Maybe that's why we love it so much. There's no cell phone in the hands or arguing, just pure enjoyment!

 

They are MY guys and I would follow them anywhere!

 

We saw some beautiful animals along the way, like this hawk. I think I may have found what he was looking for.....

 

See the mouse hiding in the rocks? He knew the hawk was there and it was lunch time. Of course, he may have been hiding from this guy!

 

 

 We saw several other creatures along the way such as this spider

 

and this lizard--can you see him. He is hiding and trying to camouflage himself from the surrounding danger.

There was also some GREAT beauty we saw along the way....like this beautiful blue sky above the tunnel

 

The blooming dogwoods in the yard.......

 

The gorgeous Red Buds along the walk....

 The tunnel was an inviting darkness....cool in the hot spring sun, mysterious, quiet

 

Then we took the long road back home. It was a beautiful walk on a beautiful day.

Blessings and secret funds

Lately I've had a harder time counting my blessings. I know I shouldn't because I've certainly been able to look around me and find LOTS more people who have MANY more hardships than I've had. I wouldn't consider mine hardships actually, more like stepping stones. 

One of my first stepping stones was my camera getting stolen at my Father & Mother-In-Law's 50th wedding anniversary party. I was hurt, sad, mad....all the emotions you feel when something happens beyond your control. I actually needed to learn the lesson that God is in control of everything....even my camera.

This is the camera I had....

It was an extension of me...part of who I was, what I loved and something that helped me make money for my family. Very rarely did anyone see me out without it. :)

I knew that God would provide the means for me to replace it one day, I just wasn't sure when that one day would be. (I'm still not exactly sure, but am a lot closer!)

Brian's family has secretly been taking up a collection to help me replace my camera since this happened in January. Imagine my thrill when I realized that people have given to this "fund" to help me replace something that wasn't even their fault.

I am overwhelmingly BLESSED today! I can't thank them enough and hopefully soon I will have put enough money with it (or found a great deal) on a new camera. Until then, I'm satisfied to be excited about looking again!

God richly blesses us beyond what we are worth.....moreso than just this for me. I just sometimes need to be reminded to count the blessings I have.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (The Message)

"But blessed is the man who trusts me, God, the woman who sticks with God.  They're like trees replanted in Eden, putting down roots near the rivers—Never a worry through the hottest of summers, never dropping a leaf, Serene and calm through droughts, bearing fresh fruit every season.

I am new.......you can be too

 Okay, if you are friends with me on Facebook or Twitter you already know about my water leak. As I was driving off from my house this morning to go to work--and watching the workers get out of their van in my rearview mirror--this song came on K-Love "I Am New" by Jason Gray.  It made me equate the complete transformation my upstairs bathroom is going through to our lives in Christ.


We start out ugly.....like what was behind the walls in the boys' bathroom.

 "Now I won't deny
The worst you could say about me
But I'm not defined
By mistakes that I've made
Because God says of me

I am not who I was
I am being remade
I am new
I am chosen and holy
And I'm dearly loved
I am new"


And if you see the red & blue lines, those are new pieces that repaired the lines that were broken. God brings things a little at a time to repair our broken lives.

"Who I thought I was
And who I thought I had to be
I had to give them both up
Cause neither were willing
To ever believe

I am not who I was
I am being remade
I am new
I am chosen and holy
And I'm dearly loved
I am new"
 
Piece by piece, God gives us what we need to be made new......like the boys' new shower. See the new wall that was built to hold the side of the shower? Sometimes God builds new things to replace things that we have to give up.

"Too long I have lived
In the shadows of shame
Believing that there
Was no way I could change
But the one who is making everything new
Doesn't see me the way that I do
He doesn't see me the way that I do

I am not who I was
I am being remade
I am new
I am chosen and holy
And I'm dearly loved
I am new

I am not who I was
I am being remade, I am new
Dead to the old man, I'm coming alive
I am new"


Here is where the picture of the bathroom will go when it is completed. Even once it's "done", it won't be completed. I will have to decorate and add finishing touches--just like Christ does to us. Just remember when you're going through hard times or the enemy is telling you that you ARE who you used to be--God is still putting the finishing touches on your life. He won't be done until you are with Him forever, so don't be discouraged when you think it's taking a long time. Construction takes time.....God's construction is even better than any here on the earth. 






"Forgiven beloved
Hidden in Christ
Made in the image of the Giver of Life
Righteous and holy
Reborn and remade
Accepted and worthy, this is our new name

This is who we are now..." 

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! "


John 3:16 "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in Him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life."

The lion & the prey

So, last night we had our devotional time in Choir. I felt like it was especially for ME, but I wanted to share with YOU. Sometimes we tend to think that we are the only ones who are dealing with hard times. We don't take the time to look around and realize that there are so many other people who have issues as well. As someone repeated something I read on Facebook this week: "I'm fairly certain if you were in a room filled with other people's problems all piled in the middle, that you would be content to pick your own problems back up and leave the room with them." That's really true if we think about it!

I'm sure I'm not going to tell this as eloquently as Michael did, but here goes my retelling of the "devotion". I hope I don't mess it up too bad, but I'm probably going to give you more of what  I  got out of it. :)

The Lion--Beautiful isn't he?  

He looks so.....Majestic.....Peaceful.....Intimidating even!

 Here is a Gazelle. They run in packs---like friends. :) That's how we are. We run around in little packs. We have so many people (often times LOTS more than we realize) who will come alongside us and "graze" with us, help hold us up when things get tough, or just listen. 

It's peaceful here....we enjoy being here....but sometimes we wander away from the group. Things get tough, we get busy, we don't want to burden people with our problems. What happens when we get so far away is that we begin to feel ALONE?

 

Alone is NOT where you want to be when the lion starts prowling. 

The lion doesn't go after the entire pack hoping he can catch one....he goes after one knowing it's a sure thing!  When we have wandered off, been distracted and feel alone.....THAT'S when he's ready to pounce!

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8 NIV

We were asked last night if any of us had felt alone this week. I raised my hand along with several others. I have actually had that sense of "aloneness" for a while now. Mainly because SO many things are distracting me from my true purpose and pulling me away from the pack.  

I am NOT alone--never have been, never will be. God tells me that in His Word and His Word is Truth!

 We have to stick together! Lift each other up! Pray for each other! Help each other!

 

 The devil isn't going after the whole pack hoping he can catch one--he's waiting on us to feel alone and go after the sure thing! Don't be his supper!

Writing

P.S.  I posted this yesterday, but it put it somewhere else, so re-posting just because. :)

How I wish I could write so eloquently as other bloggers. They seem to always say the right things, use beautiful fonts and choose just the right photos. Well, I may not do that, but I do love blogging (even though I don't so it near enough). There's something therapeutic about it....writing down your thoughts. So, if I'm not one of those blogs that you check every day or just can't wait to see what I've written next, that's ok. I'm really writing for myself. You may just happen upon a "good day" where you might get something out of it. ;) Happy Blogging friends!

I think I can.....I think I can......

That pretty much sums up how I feel lately. Getting out of bed every day, smiling at people I interact with, talking to people who call or are in and out of my office at work.....I just SMILE and act like everything is wonderful! You know, that fake smile you put on on Sunday mornings when you've just spent the last 15 minutes yelling at your kids and/or spouse on the way to church, you're already 10 minutes late, and you rush into the church and realize that you got there just in time for the welcome so you start shaking hands, put on your best smile and when someone asks you how you are you say "I'm great! How are you?" Yeah, THOSE times! That's how I feel right now.

Let me start by saying there are TONS upon TONS of things for me to be thankful for--AND I AM THANKFUL! :) This is just one of those times in life where all the little pebbles that have been thrown my way lately have been compressed into a boulder. Now, I have to learn how to chip away at the boulder to turn it back into little pebbles that I can skip over the Water! Sometimes that's easier said than done, but I know God is with me. He will I have nothing that is never leave, nor forsake me and He is my rock, my strength, my fortress!

NOW! I feel lots better even just putting this in writing! If I have been a "downer" to you today, I hope you just pray for me and come back soon to see a better/more interesting/happier post! :) You know they're coming and I hope and pray I don't have my "fake Sunday smile" on when they do!

Psalm 18:1-3 The Message

I love you, God--You make me strong. God is a bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight. My God--the high crag where I run for dear life, hiding behind the boulders, safe in the granite hideout. I sing to God, the Praise-Lofty, and find myself safe and saved.

Hmmm....Can I stick with this

Okay, so a woman whom I consider to be an inspiration to me asked me the other day at a baseball meeting IF I was still blogging. Well, not exactly! I have a hundred reasons why not, but I also have a gazillion Facebook posts during the time I haven't blogged that I have "had time" to do. Really I don't have a good excuse. It's been a crazy few months and I KNOW I am not alone in that. :)

I'm going to TRY to get back to blogging. I honestly need an outlet for my frustrations and I know there aren't people lined up to read my blogs, so this is probably the safest outlet for me. LOL!

Now, to try to decide what my first actual blog will be about......that may take a while. I'll get back to you on that one! Just keep checking back every so often and maybe I will be able to pick this back up and stick with it! Until then.....I love reading your blogs when I can!

Running, running & more running

Hunter is enjoying track so far this year--and unfortunately for Dr. Christopher he hasn't been injured! LOL!!!

Track is definitely new to me & something I'm learning to enjoy, but it's a little harder to become engrossed in the meet like a baseball or football game. I think the main reason for that is that you have NO idea what the score is until the end. You know your team won this event or that event, but there's nothing in bright lights telling you who's ahead. There's no "edge of your seat" comeback in the last inning to tie it up and force overtime.

So, each track meet I sit around until the running events start. Hunter doesn't do field events and to keep it going (even though it still takes forever) they do multiple field events at the same time...high jump, discus, shot put, etc. are all going on. It actually kind of seems unorganized, though it is really more like organized disorganization! :) The kids even have time to play games in between events....like this "ninja" game the boys have made up.

Once the running events start, then you can cheer on your team, but since A-team & B-team from each team that is competing are lined up together, you really don't know what place everyone has. Yet, the cheering happens.

Another thing I've learned about track meets is that the parents are more subdued. That can be good & bad, but I'm used to cheering your team on! "Let's go!"  Yet, for the most part the sidelines are quiet, so I sit there not knowing whether to cheer or be quiet. Well, if you know me...quiet doesn't last long! I cheer for my son regardless, then I just say "Go Westview!"

This is a short season sport and it's almost over. I know that Hunter will probably never run track again since he wants to focus on baseball & football in high school, but I can say I'm glad he decided to run this year. He is a good runner and it has helped get him ready for baseball season. According to him he likes it because he "rocks the short shorts"! LOL! That's my (conceited) boy! ;)

Camera, oh camera, wherefore art thou camera?

Many of you who know me, know that my camera is pretty much a package deal with me. It travels with me--always safe in it's seat beside me or behind me. It's always in its case, protected from the mean outside world. It gets wiped clean regularly and babied. I love to take pictures of everything from flowers to barns, pets to people, and especially sports. So here's my story!

The day before track season officially began--and this is Hunter's first track season EVER--I get home to find that my camera is not working. I don't want to say on a public forum exactly what happened because I'm still praying the warranty will cover it, but let's just say one of my children did something they shouldn't have. Now, the camera from the outside looks great. Same as every other day....nothing wrong....UNTIL you try to turn it on. That's when it stops! DEAD!

I try to resist panicking (or killing my child), so I gingerly pick the camera up and carry it into my bedroom. I call the local camera shop only to find out the "problem" is going to cost me $150-$200 to fix. Then, I call Canon to hear them tell me it's going to cost $190 to fix. Pretty much the same story from both and I learned that this is why they don't make this particular part on the new Canons. GREAT! Thanks for telling me that now!

The next step is relaying that information to my dear husband, who is less than thrilled to hear it. He starts off by saying "I shouldn't have.....you know better....., etc.", but when he hears me tearing up decides I already know ALL of those things. We talk when he gets home and he even looks at it to see if there is a possibility he could fix it. I can't even find the part online, so we pretty much decide I'm out of a camera until I save enough to fix it. Even if I could send it off it can take 3 weeks or so to repair and get back, so track season is gone almost by that time anyway and baseball will have already begun. :(

I begin to think of all the opportunities to take pictures that I will miss---track, baseball, Chris' graduation from Army Basic Training, Charley's football kick off, possibly Chris' wedding, my is my head getting heavy! Here is what I will have to take pictures with for the next however long......

Yeah, like that will capture the memories!!!!!! :( 

So, then I had another thought. Check online to see when I bought it. I knew I had a 1 year warranty with it, but was almost sure my 1 year was up.  I checked and guess what?  I had purchased it on March 31 last year (the day it happened was March 29). 2 days! Really, God? 2 days?

I sent an email as fast as my fingers could type (which is pretty fast), but after checking it before bed a million times, there was no reply.  I jotted down the phone number and called it as soon as they opened the next morning (the 30th---1 more day!!!!). The lady I spoke with was very nice and sent me an email with the information I needed to send it back.

Now, here's where it gets interesting.....I have sent it back today (31st--last day of warranty) and am waiting to hear if it will be covered. I am praying that it will and would love for anyone who doesn't feel silly praying for a camera to pray with me. I saved for SO long to purchase this camera and was so sad to see it go in a box away from me. I posted on Facebook the other night that I loved that camera ALMOST as much as I love my children. :)

Yesterday, I had a friend loan me her Nikon to take pics at Hunter's 1st track meet because she couldn't be there. That was 1 out of 8!  I have another friend who offered to loan me her Canon to take to GA for Chris' graduation also. Just trying to make myself believe that I will survive if I don't get pictures from EVERY event (although I can't say I believe it yet). :) So, I will keep you posted. If you see me with a bummed look on my face, you'll know it's because my poor camera is travelling all alone to NY and back & I can't even go with it to take pictures. HA HA!

I know all my "camera buddies" will understand--even if the rest of you think I'm crazy. LOL!

Spring = New Beginnings

Spring brings about a busy time for everyone. We want to do "spring cleaning", there are spring sports and all the flowers and trees are trying to "spring into action".

This little flower is one of many in my flower bed, but they are always the first to bloom (and the first to die). It's kind of funny how all these flowers know when they're supposed to come out of their hiding place. This year has been kind of unusual because of all the snow we have received, but still my flowers are all breaking ground and trying to get ready to illuminate the flower bed with their beauty.

I do NOT have a green thumb.  Give me a house plant and it will be dead in no time because I forget to water it. Give me a bunch of flowers that God gets to water and provide sunlight and I have to do very little but watch and take pictures....then I'm good. :)  I love their beauty, but don't really "enjoy" working in the dirt and weeding. I just like to pull up in my driveway and see the pretty colors and different flowers welcoming me home each day. I especially love this time of year when I can leave for work with 2 flowers out and come home with 6 more out! It's exciting.

Hopefully I will have the time to get some pictures of my flowers again this year and share them. I hope you share yours too!

Saturday maintenance involved cutting down some trees in the front yard.  We had 2 trees that needed attention. One of them was dropping limbs on our privacy fence and the other was dropping "whirly birds" in my flower bed---and I don't want to grow any more trees.

Brian sawing away on the first tree.

Charley getting in on the action. Brian told me Charley was only in the tree (when I left to go to the grocery store Brian was in the tree. When I came back, this is who I found.) because he weighed less and the tree didn't move as much. Charley really enjoyed it.

Hunter was the log carrier......he got to carry the logs/branches to a pile by the road.

Look at those strong, handsome men I have! If any of you have young ladies, I have the 2 eligible young men (on the right) for the taking. :)

That's a pile 'o wood. We have a friend coming by to chop it up and use it for firewood...it should keep them warm.

Baseball=Springtime

"BASEBALL is Life....everything else is details". I saw that on a shirt once.

Baseballs sitting in the dirt....just waiting to be played with. They seem to be calling you to come throw!

.

A glove & ball---could have been discarded because we were finished or could be waiting because we hadn't started yet.

This is Hunter's sport! He LIVES for baseball. He plays lots of sports, but his favorite is baseball. He's hoping for a great season this year. We're hoping for a great season that doesn't involve any broken bones!

Baseball is exciting to watch. Especially when your children play it. I realized when I signed Hunter up last week that it was the last time he would be signing up for Rec League. Next year is high school. That made me just a little sad.....but happy too.

See ya on the field!

Hen Wallow Falls--Cosby

Today we decided to go on another waterfall hike. The weather was beautiful and it was a perfect day for hiking. I pulled out my waterfall map and picked a spot for us to go. The map said it was moderate in difficulty and a 4.6 mile hike, so we thought it would be great.

The hike up was more strenuous than we thought. In addition to the tree roots and mud from the recent melting snow, there was at least 3/4 of the trail that was snow covered. The snow wouldn't have been so bad except for the fact that it had been packed tight by hikers and was super slick!
The falls were most definitely worth the hike. It was beautiful! There was ice on the sides and it was gorgeous in the sun.

The boys beat us back down the trail, but we all had a great time. Now we're looking forward to the next time we get to hike. I think it's going to be a great Spring!

Falling for the Falls

After hiking some trails last year (including the VERY TOUGH for beginners Chimney Tops), we decided this year we would try to focus on trails that included waterfalls. They are lovely creations of God that we want to take the time to enjoy. There is something very peaceful about the sound of the water rushing over the rocks.

The first hike we took this year was to Laurel Falls. It is a very easy 2.6 mi round trip hike right off the road about 3 miles past the Great Smoky Mtns Visitor Center. We hiked it on Feb 20th, but that day was unseasonably warm (note the short sleeves). It was in the mid 50's and it was absolutely gorgeous. There was ice and snow on the trail in spots on the way up and lots of ice around the waterfall.

We have several more waterfalls that we want to hike this year. I'm not sure which one will be next, but I know some that are on our list are Abrams Falls @ Cades Cove (5 mi round trip & 20' high), Grotto Falls (3 mi round trip & 25' high falls), Mingo Falls (less than 1 mi, 120' high), and probably the most difficult will be Ramsey Cascades (8 mi round trip & 100' high).

Hopefully I can be much better at updating the blog and you can come along with us.

Okay, so I admit that blogging has been on the back-burner for a while!!!! Sorry to all of my friends who "follow" me since I've given you nothing to follow! :)

Fall is such a great time of year and we are always busy in the fall. It seems that there are just never enough hours in the day to update all the things we do---calendars, facebook, blogs--in addition to keeping up with daily activities. So, the blog has been left alone in the cold!

One thing I really want to work on is getting better at putting my feelings & thoughts into written words. That's why I started this blog to begin with, but I let time just get away from me. I know fall is a time where we should slow down and enjoy the time and that's exactly what I want to do.

All I can say is that I will try to be better about writing down some things and getting some thoughts put on paper. I would LOVE to write a book, but I'm not an eloquent writer and use rather simple words instead of elaborate ones, but it's something I would like to get better at and you can't get better at anything unless you practice! ;)

Hope to see you again soon with some more updates and maybe some good "short stories". Some of the things we've had go on in our house over the years would make for some great "laugh 'till you cry" stories. Any of you who have known us a long time would agree! ;)

Thanks for reading and I'll be back in touch soon!
Rebecca

Purple Mountain Majesties

I have been on vacation with one of my best friends for the last few days. She lives in Colorado Springs, CO and it was a trip that's been planned for a while. I have been in awe at God's creations! I want to share some of my favorite pictures of the Rocky Mountains and other places of interest. I will blog more about my visit as soon as I get back home, but if you are a friend on Facebook...check them out.

Weekly Adventures

Okay....so I'm slacking on my blog writing again. :) It's been a fun and eventful summer so far, but I've not had a lot of time to blog. Sorry to those of you who follow me!

I am just going to write today about the fun things that have gone on this week. If you get bored, feel free to stop reading anytime. ;)

Saturday we went to Kevin & Brandi's cook-out. I took TONS of pictures and we had a great time. If you want to see the pics, click on the following link http://photo1.walgreens.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=247913003/a=9377000_9377000/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=walgreens/

Sunday we went to church and visited a new Sunday School class....we've really been slacking in this area, so we are trying to find the right fit for us. Charley had been invited to a friend's house for a party, so he rode home with him. Hunter had been invited to Destiny's house (the girlfriend), so we went to eat lunch then took him there. Brian & I went to Bass Pro & Wal-Mart (I know...how exciting!) and then told Hunter we were coming to get him. Well, he didn't want to leave yet, so we decided to go to the Wright's to pick up Charley. I had brought my camera and had decided that I would love to get some pics of these teenage boys riding the jet ski or boat.

We went in and they had just started eating supper, so we joined in for grilled hot dogs, potato salad, corn on the cob, baked beans & fresh watermelon! Then we were heading outside and Brian said how it had been a long time since he'd been on a jet ski. So, Ron offered him some trunks and a t-shirt and he went out and had LOTS of fun (and now wants one!). ;) I went out on the boat with Ron & the boys to take pics of them knee-boarding! It was so much fun and I got some great pics there too. If you want to see them, click this link http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025183&id=1099266288&l=007cea7888

Monday I went to work (like every week), but when I got home Brian had already started cutting the hole in the wall. We've been going to do this since we moved in almost a year ago! There is a big door that leads from the front room (which we use as a dining room) into the kitchen, but coming from the den you can't see into that room. It makes that area feel very closed off. So, he'd done it.....the chair rail and baseboards were off and one side of the sheetrock was cut to the studs. I was kind of nervous about it, but I couldn't wait to see what it looked like when you could see through it! Here are some pics of the beginning stages....I will put up more later! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025266&id=1099266288&l=7fea8666f9

It was so great! Brian let me walk through the doorway first--such a gentleman! We worked until almost midnight last night and almost have 1 side completely sheetrocked. Hopefully we'll get the other side done by tonight or tomorrow and I can paint it before I leave on Friday.

Brian & the boys are at the airplane museum in Sevierville today. They are giving rides in a B-17 today and if you know Charley at all, you know airplanes are his "thing". I can't wait to see pics. I sent Brian off with my camera, so I hope I get some good ones!

Hunter goes back to have his wrist checked and either get a short cast or brace on Friday. He's very excited! I'll let you know how that goes too. Just pray we're good. He's done great with the cast and is very inventive with ways to do things with that hand/arm. ;)

Pray for my family also....they will probably eat LOTS of fast food, sandwiches & ramen noodles this weekend. I am leaving on Friday around 4 to go to Atlanta with 3 of my friends--Sabrina, Sandi & Bev. We're going to see a Braves game on Sat night and going to eat at the Cheesecake Factory! I've never been to CF, so I'm very excited about that.

Well, that's the last week in a blast! If you've quit reading by now, I don't blame you. It's our life and we love it, but not sure other people find it interesting. ;)

More to come......

Snap, Crackle, Pop

Okay, so I've been just a bit preoccupied to blog for a little while. Last Thursday, while Hunter was playing a great game (he was 3 for 3 with one being a double, had 4 RBI's and had scored all 3 times on base) he had a play at the plate that turned that great game into something else.

If you closely look at the pictures below you will see how it happened. I was taking pictures as usual--trying to keep my mouth closed, remember? :) So, I got it ALL on digital pictures.

A play was made at 2nd base and that boy got back safely. The 2nd baseman then threw the ball to Hunter at home plate because the boy on 3rd decided he might be able to make it home. You must understand--we were winning the game 20-2 at the time. Although the boy was running home and Hunter clearly had him out and he couldn't get out of the tag, he did probably what most boys who watch baseball on tv would do if they didn't know better.


Hunter's got the ball and is getting ready to make his play.

The ball has kind of bobbled, but he still has control, so he is actually transferring the ball to his open hand (left).


Hunter is blocking the plate (like he should since he has the ball) and is getting ready to apply the tag.

The tag is applied, but the boy doesn't slow down or stop--he keeps going. This is when the break occurs. It actually bent Hunter's wrist backwards. OUCH!

Hunter is falling, but still hangs on to that ball.

Still got the ball, but now realizes something is terribly wrong.

At this point I don't know it's not good. I just know he's been knocked down.

Now I realize that something is wrong, and unfortunately I was right. Hunter's wrist is broken, but he has the great Dr. C taking care of him! Poor Ron has treated everyone in my family....I think we're on the "frequent flyer" list! Ha! :) Obviously this is the point where I stopped taking pictures!

As far as baseball, I think we're definitely done for the year. That is sad...Hunter was having a great year! His batting had come on as well as his catching ability. He has grown and learned over the last year. What we have to concentrate on is getting better, getting stronger and getting back to the game. He still goes to every game and hypes up the team from the dugout! He's very tough! Mom on the other hand just gets sad when she's watching the team play. I gotta get my game face on! :)

I'll update more as we find out more. We go back on Friday and the following Friday. Hopefully we get good news!

Winning isn't everything, but it's fun!

We teach our children that winning isn't the most important thing in any facet of life. We want them to succeed (or to win), but sometimes it just doesn't happen that way. Sports are hard because the focus is on winning--and secretly, you want to win too. Don't lie! It's true. We all have a very selfish nature to want to win.

We've been on those ball teams that we lost almost every game in a season. Seriously, one year we only won 1 game!!!! How sad. Well, this year has not started out great. It's been a far cry from last year where we only lost 1 game and we won the City Championship. That said...we have some talented players on our team, they just don't know it yet. They've got to learn to work together and build each other up.

They're getting lots better. Last night was proof of that. We had a tight game which we won 8-6. I love a game that just goes back and forth--except that part deep down inside me that wants to win. ;) That's part of the reason I take pictures because it's easier to keep my mouth closed if my camera is in front of it!!! Our boys did great and kept working hard to win the ballgame. We had two very closely matched teams playing and it was a great game to watch.

To see my son doing an awesome job his first year in this league and see how much better he is as a ballplayer is great! Is he the "best"? No, not compared to the entire league. Does he have the heart and determination and use his skills as a ballplayer? Absolutely, so that makes him the best in my book! Last night--a double, 2 singles, 3 RBI's and scored all 3 times (thanks to someone else's bat!)