Everything Is Relative

The end of the lacrosse season brought a surprising victory and a surprising loss.  Both Joshua and Kathryn had great seasons and learned so much about this exciting sport.  Kathryn's team was almost completely composed of rookies, so it was no surprise that they went 0 and 8 in the regular season.  But the girls never gave up and their hard work paid off in round one of the playoffs. The underdogs had a great victory over a much higher ranked team and proved that one win in a completely "defeated" season can be almost as sweet as bringing home the first place trophy. Unfortunately their season did come to an end in the second round, but for one sunny day in May-they were champions!

Kate running with the ball..

 shooting and scoring!

She's a feisty defender too..

look at her throwing that elbow!

Team hug after the last whistle announced their first win of the season.

Finally, smiles in the post game huddle.

Taylor, Gabbie and Sydney all had come to cheer her on and were so excited for her.

And she had Jessica to share this fun moment with.

The next day she also played great,

and although it wasn't enough to take down the experienced Hawks, we still had reasons to celebrate.

Joshua on the other hand had a very different first season.  His team also had some first time players like him, but the presence of some of the best lacrosse-playing 11 year olds in the state of Georgia gave his team the edge they needed to go undefeated this year.  They were the number one seed in the tournament and fought their way to the finals. It was certainly the toughest team they faced all year and despite a tying goal by the wolves in the last minute, the other team pulled off one last winning shot with 2 seconds left on the clock.  And with that we saw our first loss.  I don't know who cried harder, the boys or the coaches.  That one defeat was as devastating to Josh as Kathryn's one victory was elating.  Lots of lessons were learned through those games, and in the end, Joshua's teammates were respectful losers and the other boys were gracious winners-but they know that next year, will be coming for that trophy!

Lots of friends were there to cheer Josh on too!

Medal ceremony for the second place team.

Great playing Joshua!

Easter 2014

This Easter Sunday was filled with sunshine, rest, good food and million blessings we don't deserve-which of course is the whole point of the Easter story anyway.  Thank you Jesus for taking our place and rising from the grave.  May every day be an act of worship in honor of Your Perfect Sacrifice and the free gift of salvation to undeserving sinners.

This year involved the traditional egg-dying

and making "resurrection rolls"

that are empty after they come out of the tomb (oven).

We did teams this year for our basket hunt

which included unscrambling clues...

and team "Jack and Kam" finding their baskets first...

running to go rub it in....

and a sore loser.

But we still had a fun egg hunt, even if Josh had to wear goggles because his allergies were so bad.

Happy Easter!

The Swimming Hole

Our big investment for the year? I mean the decade?  You guessed it!  Momma got a swimming pool and it is certain to become the favorite family hang out.  Spring has been teasing us with a few warm days here and there, which has been just enough to start enjoying it.  Hopefully soon it will be filled with friends and family and late night bonfires!

He made it!

Tough life

Thanks Darling.

Happy Birthday Joshua!

Every year over Spring Break we have two things to celebrate-being off of school for a week and Joshua's birthday.  Well, our Spring Break plans this year did not go exactly as planned (it involved terrible traffic, pouring down rain and someone throwing up all over the back seat of a car-but we will not get into that), yet Josh's 11th birthday was as special as ever.  We started the celebration the week prior as he took in doughnuts to his class, followed by the famous doughnut cake that night-a family tradition.  On his actual birthday we went to a trampoline park, out to dinner and finished it up with a little late night hot-tubing.  It was a great day for all of us.

Josh and his friend, Hunter

We are so proud of you Joshua.  You are smart, fun-loving and kind-hearted.  It has been so much fun this year watching you mature into such a little man.  Your leadership abilities, compassion for others and love of the outdoors is growing as fast as your shoe size and it is a privilege to be your parents and love and take care of you every day.  You make us laugh and are a blessing to our family and everyone you meet.  Thanks for being such an awesome kid and keeping our lives full of adventure!

A Little Song and Dance

Over the past few months we have had the opportunity to watch Kathryn and Kamryn perform in several chorus productions.  Kate was a hippie in the 70's style spring musical and Kami's Kindergarten class was again featured in a program, not as farmers this time, but as patriots.  We had a great time watching her and signing along to some of our favorite american folk songs.

Kathryn and her friend Gabbie

Kami never misses a photo op.  By the way, Kathryn won best costume.  You're welcome.

Kathryn and her best buddy, Taylor

Kamryn was excited that all her "bigs" were there.

These crazy kids turn every event into a party.

Lax Bro and Lax Lady

We have a new favorite sport in the house!  With basketball season wrapping up and no sports Joshua and Kathryn on the calendar for the spring, we decided to maintain our insane schedules and learn to play lacrosse. They are both on the Buford recreation teams and Jackson is registered to play over the summer.  It has been a great experience for all of us, except for poor Kamryn whose lot in life seems to be searching for a playmate at each of these sporting events to help her pass the time while the rest of us cheer on her siblings.  

Joshua is #48

Kathryn is #53 and easy to spot because she is usually the tiniest one on the field.