Happy Anniversary!

May all your days be filled with shared smiles!

Father's Day!

It is rewarding and awe-inspiring to watch these young men with their children.  They give them time, attention, and provide the necessities and more for their families.

They are devoted to making certain that their children understand responsibility, courtesy, and honesty.  They honor their children's mothers and treat them with love and respect.

I am proud to have the opportunity to watch them in action and to see the wonderful job they are doing to raise our grandchildren. 

Happy Father's Day, Bryan, Corey, and Stephen!

Welcome to the world, Abby Lee!

We are so excited to welcome this little lady to our family!  How can any family be so blessed?

Abigail Lee entered our world this afternoon just after three o'clock, weighing 7 pounds and 5 ounces and 19 3/4 inches in length.

Her brothers, Levi and Easton, are excited to have a new baby sister and so are her parents, Stephen and Bonnie!

I think the one who might be most smitten by her, though, is her grandpa.  He just keeps repeating, "That precious little thing is just perfect!"

And, she is.

Happy Birthday, Bonnie!

Hope it is all you wish for!

Boys and Girls of Summer - Part 6

It takes a village.  When one member of the family is involved in a team sport, there is so much that goes on behind the scenes to make that team member be all that he or she can be as Boys and Girls of Summer.

When Levi and Easton signed up for T-ball, Bonnie and her dad were shepherding little fellows during practices while Stephen was running the family store.  Then, during many of the games, Bonnie was the dugout mom getting players' helmets on, helping them with their gloves, handing them their bat, tying shoes, wiping sand out of their eyes, and countless other tasks. (Sorry I didn't get a photo of a very pregnant dugout mom doing her duties!)  

When not playing or coaching in games of their own, family members sit in the stands to cheer for the ones who are playing and coaching.  Sometimes that might be just an aunt and a couple of cousins and sometimes it is an entire entourage.  

 

One grandpa sends money for snacks and colorful sports drinks to take to the park when he is in the hay field and Paw Paw makes trips to the concession stand for sweet treats. Mawmaw and Granny provide wet wipes to clean up the drips from snacks or hold a snow cone so you can get that last sweet slurp.  Grand B makes photos to capture the memories and heckles the coach in a loving manner.  

Sometimes one has to offer to serve as dugout mom to encourage a friend to be the coach.  Sometimes the other coach might be at another game coaching his older child's team.  And even when one doesn't know how on earth to hit the ball toward positions and just feels lucky to toss it up and hit it at all - at least she knows to get a good assistant coach who can!  Then, she just concentrates on positioning the batter knowing from hours at batting lessons that penguins can't hit but ducks can. This is when Moms and Dads step in to coach or provide support so that there can even be a team to take the field.  

Sometimes it requires suiting up the catcher.  Sometimes it requires finding a good chest protector to go with your own child's shin guards and gathering up extra gloves so the team can have full gear.  Sometimes it is just those hours of playing catch or pitching to a batter in the back yard.

Sometimes it is a matter of making certain everybody's team shirt is clean, and uniforms are laid out at ready, and littles get naps for a late night game.

Sometimes the most important thing is packing plenty of trucks for everybody on the sidelines to play in the gravel. 

Sometimes the toughest job is keeping up with the snacks, the stroller, and the drinks.  And sometimes the toughest job is keeping quiet when there is chaos.

Sometimes it means showing up a little late because finishing up that last patch of mowing or the store closing time is the same time as first pitch.  Then, arriving just in time to see your little player standing on the base after a big hit.

Yes, sometimes it takes the entire village to keep all these little athletes and their teams going.  What goes on in the back yard, outside the fence, in the laundry room, in the kitchen, and behind the scenes is equally as important as what happens between the chalk lines.  I'm sorry I don't have photos of each step, task, person, and job input to keep the teams going.  Ah! Boys and Girls of Summer! Aren't we fortunate to have such opportunities?

Boys and Girls of Summer - Part 5

Lest you think that all of our family is a competitive lot of athletes, I feel compelled to let you know that indeed we are not.  However, that doesn't mean we are not Boys and Girls of Summer.

You may have noticed the photo above in a previous post.  Linley was sitting in on the post-game conference - as well she should.

You see, while some people are pitching to the batters, or coaching the batters into the best stance, or keeping the line-up ready in the dugout, or giving the team a pep-talk, or cheering on the team, or standing on the sidelines contemplating a call to the bullpen, Linley is also doing her part.  There's important work like checking in on the littles to make certain nobody is throwing sand.

Somebody has to give a little guidance to her star slugger just before he goes out to the on-deck circle.  (Knowing that she was not allowed in the dug-out, she eased up to the end of the bench and gave a little shout, "Bubba! Bubba!")

Somebody has to keep PawPaw out of trouble because you know he could get into something in a flash!

And then there's Granny!  Linley has to keep her busy so that rabble-rouser doesn't get out of hand.  Plus, she needs to be right there with the peanut gallery in the stands to keep them focused and supporting the team.

After all, somebody has to do the hard, behind-the-scenes jobs at the ball park.  Right?

And then, there's the snacks.  Somebody needs to be certain that there are plenty of snacks for everybody.

Somebody has to test out the popcorn and candies and snow cones.  Right?

This is scientific research here.  Does a snow cone really cool you down on a hot summer night?  Will red snow cone syrup cover every part of your clothing and Granny from fingertips to elbows?

After all, some things have to happen long before the post-game conference and somebody has to do it.

Right?  Ah!  Girls of Summer!