Fall Ball

Baseball this Fall has been a great experience for the boys.  This year they were on the same team, and that was so much easier for us!!  Mason has begged to be on a team with Carson and sweet Carson has tried to show him everything he needed to know.  He has been a neat to watch them learn and grow together.  It is always very heart-warming to see the patience that comes from Carson.

This was our first experience with Fall Ball, and I have to admit that it was a wonderful learning experience.  The purpose was much more focused on learning the necessary skills and having fun while they learn.  Anyone that knows me knows that I am competitive.  However, I want kids to have more fun than anything. I want my boys to look back and remember the good experiences in their childhood.Several times this season, Carson has said "it is not always about the win, it is more about how you get there that matters."  Of course, a win is nice but we all want to just do our best.  Right, moma?"  Um, yeah...I think he got the idea.

Our boys had a great group of coaches.  They were always so patient and kind(this moma bear gets very angry and very impatient with adults that do not know how to talk to children).  I never experienced that once with this group.  I saw other coaches yelling at kids and those kids hang their heads in disappointment.  That seems so ridiculous to me in the little leagues of America.  The single most impressive thing that these coaches did with our boys was pray.  Yep, they prayed with the team before each game.  They also prayed before we had pizza at the team party!!

Carson has grown and changed and matured right before our eyes.  He has such a baseball build about him now and he is so excited to be 70lbs now!!  As for Mason, he has also grown and matured and told us 20+ times that he hates playing the out field and only wants to play on the pitcher's mound.  He was a little discouraged when it came to hitting off the pitching machine during a game.  He could hit off of it at practice and at home, but he struggled during game time.  We tried to continue to praise him as much as possible.  And, he always did a good job of shaking it off.  I could tell by the look in his eyes that he really wanted to prove that he could hit the ball.  Honestly, I doubted our decision a little.  He still has another year of tee ball, but he begged to play with Carson.  Should we have allowed it??  Well, I think we will doubt our decisions as parents sometimes but it did not hurt him.  He wanted to play with Carson and was always excited to at game time. And, we talked with him about it and he said "well, I could just quit."  And, then we discussed joined a team and always finishing, never giving up.  He looked at us and said "then, I need to stick with it."  So, he got the idea as well. 

Good learning experiences, fun times with 10 little boys, great memories!!

Play ball!!

24 hours in T-Town

For the past 2 years, we have tried to make it to an Alabama football game.  Something seemed to always get in the way.  Once, we had tickets given to us and Tony could not get off of work.  We would begin to make plans and something would always happen.  So when Tony came home last week with tickets to the Bama vs. Miss. State game, I was not even sure it would happen.

Anyone that knows me, also knows I LOVE Alabama football, always have and always will love the Crimson Tide.  The experience of walking the quad, the walk of champions, seeing the Denny chimes, and literally saying "ROLL TIDE" to complete strangers has a certian feel and excitement about it.  I grew up watching the games on Saturday and I can always remember good food and fun memories that we would make on family football days.  I actually really enjoy watching the game, especially at the college level(side note I would love to commentate for ESPN, it is on my bucket list).

So, we leave our boys witht the inlaws and head to T-Town.  It was very much needed...a short ride in the car with my significant other, especially in anticipation of Alabama football.  We were able to walk around the university, ran into several people we know, visited the Bryant Musuem, and tailgated with new friends before the game every got started.  And, I visited several vendors and did a little shopping...of course I did, because Tony will say "she can shop anywhere!"

The sun goes down, the temperature drops and the wind begins to blow.  It is a chilly night, but a most amazing atmosphere for football.  We grab yummy stadium dogs and nachos and settle in for pre-game activities. The giant TVs show clip of the the rich history at the university.  A few clips of former coaches and then the Bear Bryant comes on the TV.  You hear his voice and the crowd goes WILD! Homecoming festivities are in full swing, and the Million Dollar Marching Band takes the field while spelling BAMA and RTR.  I LOVE every minute of it!!  Maybe I am a little partial but Alabama football has a beautiful field and the most loyal fans!! 

A most wonderful time was had....watching the TIDE roll right over STATE.  It was absolutely picture perfect.  We leave the stadium around midnight and while we are walking to the truck people are still walking past us saying ROLL TIDE!  It is a way of life in T-Town, and for me there is no other team that I would rather cheer, sing, chant, dance or yell than the Alabama Crimson Tide! Always bleed crimson, fun night of football!

Summertime favorites

Our Summer favorites

In no particular order.....

~watching dolphins jump and play
~jumping from the dock
~swimming in the ocean, pool, lakes, and even the bathtub!
~building super-duper sand castles not just ordinary ones
~making new friends
~fishing...any kind, any where(Carson enjoyed it all, and was the "master" angler on several trips catching snapper.  He says his favorite is fishing for black fish-triple tail.  Mason learned to be patient, set the hook, and was able to reel in his first snapper....he was overwhelmed with joy) and would NOT let anyone help him :)
~riding bicycles, Mason was determined to learn to ride Carson's bike this year and he did and he did it very well
~learning to skip a rock in the water, and then see who can get the most skips :)
~boogie boarding
~jet skiing(thanks to some sweet friends)
~body surfing(Mason Cade will absolutely, positively scare anyone that is watching!!)
~enjoying sweet treats -snow cones and ice cream or BOTH in the same day cuz it is SUMMER!!
~lunch time with my Nanny, eating yummy seafood.....crab claws were the boys favorite treat!!
~rock climbing
~homemade peach cobbler
~visits to Sand Island and to Sand Island Lighthouse
~late night talks around a campfire with some fabulous friends & family
~s'mores ;)
~sleepovers
~attempting to catch birds
~playing with cousins
~music, singing like no one can hear
~boat riding
~catching sand crabs
~fireworks
~Cast netting, catching mullet for my nanny(she only wanted 3) :)
~swimming pools and  slips n' slides
~scooter riding

New School Year

A new school year in in full swing.  The boys are so very sad to see Summer come to an end, and I am sad too.  So I say to them: "all good things must come to an end...for now anyway."

Going and growing seems to be the theme around here,  Carson has grown 1/4 of an inch and Mason now gets us to measure him daily to see if he is catching up to Carson.  We now have a third grader and a kindergartener!!  Growing as I type this......I can see it!  They both have started this school year with an ease about them, and that is half the battle. 

 I have 2 children that seem to feel the need of perfection in a school setting and that feeling makes them a little nervous.  Carson has this tendency much more than Mason...especially when taking tests.  But, Mason's teacher stopped me and said that she sees some of that same behavior in Mason as well.  I am going give Tony more credit for that....I was very busy socializing at school and came home with more than one note for talking excessively...probably just 2 notes. ;)

On a serious note, Tony said something that made me think.  He said think about your mom working at the school where you teach.  That cannot be good, it has to be intimidating to know that your parent is down the hall.  I am not saying that it is true for our boys but Tony said he would have dreaded his mother being at school.  Just a thought.  Of course, always positive praise for all the good and a consequence for any behavior that we do not want repeated.  Both boys understand the consequences they will have to face for misbehavior.  Hopefully, mom being at school is never an issue.

  As always, I read a book to the boys before their first day of school.  It was a book about sibling bears starting school, the youger bear was starting kindergarten.  Half way through the story, my eyes begin to water a wee bit and I realized that I may not be able to hold back the tears.  I did well and held it back and then Mason puts his hand on my arm and says 
"moma, I am going to be okay tomorrow......it is just kindergarten, no big deal."  The water works began to flow in full force.......

this moma of these 2 boys is holding on to these precious moments, she is so very proud of the little people that they are.....

Living, Laughing, Loving every minute of it....even through watery eyes.

35 and counting....





“And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.”

~Abraham Lincoln

 

 

 

Yesterday, I celebrated my 35th birthday.   As it was approaching, I had this thought "oh my word, I am 35, the downhill slide to the big 40....where has the time gone?!?!" And, then my second thought was so what, 35, embrace it and roll with it!!!  Honestly, I had those 2 thoughts back-to-back.  I think that might be a sign of maturity or something like it.  :) 

 

I received so many sweet messages from emails, texts, facebook messages, and even snail mail(by the way...I love the snail mail, it is warm and fuzzy to open a note and a sweet message).  Blessed beyond measure with a wonderful family and the absolute best of friends from all walks of life!!  And, that was truly evident with all the serious and silly but loving messages yesterday.

 

I received a birthday text from a dear friend and I responded "thanks, and we are getting old."  Her response "yep, good thing we don't act old, because that would be BORING!"  I laughed out loud as I read it and then I had this thought.......her statement is so true.  Life is not about how many years we live but what we do with the years that we are given on this planet.

 

So, I am good with 35.  I am grateful for it and all that comes with it!!

 

 

 



Because God gave me powerful blue eyes

Riding bikes in the summertime is much like breathing in and out for this crew.  Both boys learned to ride their bikes while on Dauphin Island, and that is a memory for me that I will never forget.  Carson was almost 6 and Mason was 4 years old.  They both hop on the bike and never looked back. And, they were both so very proud to ride without any training wheels.  We ride several times during the day and night.  At night, we all turn our lights on so that others can see us. Just an extra safety precaution that Tony thought would be good.

So, on this particular evening we all jumped on our bikes to go for a ride.  I reminded Mason to turn on his lights and he quickly realized the battery was dead on his light.  I told him to run in and ask his daddy for a new light.  Without any hesitation at all, Mason responds "mom, I do not need a light." I quickly respond, "yes, I think you do." Of course, this witty little 5 year old had a response and it went something like this......
"mom, what I think you do not realize is that God gave me blue eyes and these blue eyes have a speciality and that is to see in the dark. AND since you do not have blue eyes and you have green eyes, you probably didn't realize the power of the blue eyes."

And with that explanation....how could I argue?!?
And, I have to add Carson was very impressed with this explanation. We all laughed and rode our bikes following the boy with the blue eyes.

a real boy

Just a few days ago, I look down the beach and I see Carson running.  He is chasing birds and then reporting which type of bird he thinks just flew away.  We have spent the majority of our Summer at the beach, but on this day I look up and I see him running and I see a real boy......

Real Boy definition:  broader shoulders, muscle defintion, growing 1/4 inch tall & gaining 7 pounds in no time at all, concern over hair and not wanting it to stick up, whispering to me about needing to go to the bathroom vs. yelling it, embarrassment over the little brother yelling about going to the bathroom, voicing his concerns about his appearance but still wanting to skip a bath!!!!!

So the last one will totally embarrass him and the truth is he really hates taking the time to wash his hair(the bath he does not fight).  He has not quite realized that when he asks EVERY night, my answer is always "YES, wash your hair!"  For any and all that know me and know me well....there is no skipping of daily bathing.  There are only 1 to 2 extenuating circunstances.

This is what I know without a shadow of a doubt:
Carson is a wonderful, amazing kid!!  He thinks of others, and truly cares about their feelings.  He has always listened well and been a great helper.  He is smart, in a scary kinda of "think outside of the box" kinda way.  He is a generous, thoughtful, determined little boy that worries way too much. He is an EXCELLENT big brother.  He has taught Mason more than I can type on this blog.  He is an encourager. But most importantly, he loves God.  He understands scripture, and he asks many questions about the bible and when the trumpet will sound.  He will also share what he knows with anyone that will listen. 

Carson is such a blessing, such a joy to be around and I could not be more proud and I am so very thankful God chose me to be his mom.

Now, prayers for me as he is growing into a real boy....broad shoulders and stinkiness and all :)