The Rest of September

We have a BIG weekend coming up. I've spent many days preparing for it, but details will have to wait until my next post. :) For now, we're wrapping up the end of the soccer season. We're having parent-teacher conferences at school. We're busy with weekend football games and visits with friends. Life is good and very, very full!

I love the tongue in his cheek. Such concentration!

Aaron is on the Blue Lightning team this fall. He's had a blast playing soccer. Lately his favorite position is goalie. He attacks the ball and falls on it naturally! One of his teammates complimented him on how good of a goalie he is. This boy, K, is such a nice kid. When I told Aaron that K has 9 older sisters his response was, "Oh, trad-e-gy!" (tragedy) "That must be why he wants to play soccer. So he can hang out with a group of boys for a change!"

Braylen's had fun playing soccer too. I admit, it sure is a change to watch 7 year olds play soccer and then watch 12 year olds! Braylen's strength has always been his speed, and he keeps getting faster. His kicks are bigger too, as he can kick the ball way past midfield when he plays goalie. He's made a few new friends in middle school who happen to be on competitive soccer teams. More pressure for him to join. I know he'd excel in it, but our decision remains unchanged. Recreational soccer is a good fit for our family. It gives our boys 6 weeks of games, and allows us to do other things too. Like hunting, parades, and church activities, to name a few. Speaking of parades...

We enjoyed the annual pancake feed at the fire station last weekend, followed by a parade! Shawn and Rebekah and their kids joined us for the day. The day couldn't have been more perfect. Perfect weather and fun times for all. Derek and Shawn took Braylen and Devyn out to set up a tree stand. Kaleb played with a friend in the afternoon, while Rebekah and I each took our youngest children and went shopping. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to have Aaron at the mall with me. Really! He's such a persistent little shopper! He told me he only likes three things at the mall: soap, ordaments (ornaments) and candles. :) Good thing we had plenty of those things to look at on Saturday. When Kaleb heard his list of three things he said, "All I like at the mall are cookies." :)

Last but not least, today I went to Aaron's first Reader's Theater. I remember doing this with Braylen and Kaleb in first grade too. :) Aaron was the narrator, while the other kids in his reading group read parts of a Johnny Appleseed script. That explains the pot on the boy's head in my photo. :) All 3 of our boys had excellent reports from their teachers at conferences this week. Middle school could not be going better for Braylen. I feel very blessed and thankful for that. He ran the mile this week in 7 minutes, 11 seconds. And he actually looked forward to it. That must come from Derek's side! :)

Now...it's time for our BIG weekend!!! :)

A date with my son

I love date nights with Derek. I wish we had one every week. But last Friday I went out with someone else...Kaleb. :) This time with him could not have been more perfect. Hamburgers & Sprite, unlimited bowling, go-kart rides, & mini-golf. What a perfect mother-son date night! It's like our park and rec department created this night just for the two of us. While we were bowling, I enjoyed looking across the lanes at all the other mom & son pairs. There was much noise and laughter, and it felt good to be part of it. Kaleb didn't bowl his best game, but he had a rocking good time driving the go-karts. He likes to tell people he won every single race, no matter which kart he drove. We even won when I drove the double-seater. Kaleb coached me from his seat. "Floor it on this straight-a-way, Mom! Take the inside lane in this turn!" I thought of him as my own personal crew chief, riding shotgun. We had the mini-golf course to ourselves, since most of the others chose the inside course. Again, Kaleb gave me lots of encouragement and golfing tips. I'm thinking one of his gifts is encouragement.

For one evening, I had Kaleb all to myself. And he had me. No brothers to fight with. Or compete with. No meal for me to prepare. No need to spread out my attention. It was a night to do nothing but enjoy my son. Kaleb summed it up best when he said, "This is the best day of my life so far!" Mine too. :)

Soccer & Stuff

This year all 3 boys are playing soccer. That means Derek and I do plenty of driving around town for practices and games. We haven't quite figured out how 2 parents can be at 3 different places at the same time... As busy as it is, I LOVE being a soccer mom. :) I like to watch our boys attack the ball, learn the art of passing, and it's really fun to watch them score goals. Kaleb kicked a nice one into the corner of the net on Monday. Afterwards he described it in detail to Aaron, who missed it because he was playing his own game that night. Fun games like that one make all the busy days and nights worth it.

I hope to feature Aaron and Braylen's soccer teams in future posts, but this one's all about Kaleb. He's on the Maroon Cobras this year. Last week his game was all tied up at halftime, and then they got smoked in the second half. Kaleb played with his whole heart, even in defeat. (That's what I was told, since I was at curriculum night.) This week his team won 7-0, and he scored twice. I don't think I'll ever forget his smile on the field. It sure helped boost his spirits to have a game like that one.

This is the team that has lots of Carsons, Kalebs, Cales, and Kegans. Those poor coaches get all tongue-tied when it's time to make substitutions. Grandma and Grandpa have made it to a few games, which helps us out when we're watching multiple games at the same time. I think this soccer season is fun, and we're only half-way through.

I have another photo flashback. Aaron, like his brothers once did, had his 1st grade outdoor education field trip this week. I went along this time, since my goal with Aaron is to attend the field trips I missed with Braylen and Kaleb. The 1st graders rotated through 4 stations to learn about insects, rocks, an archaeological dig, and Indian life inside a tepee. Aaron's favorite part was the dig. He sure was excited to "find" two bones all by himself. He also liked the obstacle course set up to mimic the life of migrating birds. I liked the tepee experience, for no other reason than it got me out of the cold wind for a bit! Here's the photo flashback.

Braylen's 1st grade outdoor field trip

Aaron's 1st grade outdoor field trip

I like to compare how they look at the same age. Aaron reminds me of Braylen in many ways. I think that might be why the two of them often struggle to get along. They're two of a kind. But we love them uniquely. Tonight I'm taking Kaleb to a mother-son night at our local activity center. All the bowling, go-carts, and mini-golf we want! Derek plans to take Braylen and Aaron turkey hunting. I think I got the better end of the deal on this cold September day. :)

My Own 9-11

September 11th, 2001.

There are no words needed to describe that day.

I didn't lose any loved ones on 9-11. I was no where near New York, Washington, or Pennsylvania. But 9-11 still touched me. It's one of those defining moments that each generation has, yet would gladly give back if given the chance.

Someone told me to write down what I remember from that day. Braylen was only 2 years old, and some day I might want to share the details with him. I am so thankful I followed that advice. This week I found my written account of 9-11. Derek and I talked to the kids about it. Today we remembered. Here's our account of that day, written from me to Braylen...

"September 11th, 2001 started out as a normal day. We woke up together, enjoyed a slow morning routine. Daddy was sleeping downstairs after working all night. You and I read books and played cars on the floor that morning. We never turned on the TV or radio. At 9:30 am we climbed in the car to go to Walmart. When we drove past the mall I turned on the radio, and this is what I heart: 'The Sears Tower in Chicago is being evacuated.' I don't know how I made it to the parking lot. When I did, I turned off the car and we listened to the radio. It was all very confusing, and nobody really knew what was going on. I heard the announcers speak of a possible car bomb in front of the capitol building. Then they talked about an explosion at the Pentagon. I remember wondering what happened in Chicago, since the Sears Tower was evacuating. Again, it was very confusing.

I remember rushing you into the store from the car, telling you to hurry and stay close to Mommy, let Mommy carry you. Inside the store people were wearing headphones to listen to the news. I wanted so badly to see someone I knew so I could find out what was going on. Through all of this you were very quiet. You knew I was scared, and that made you scared. You asked me if I was okay. I told you that yes, Mommy is fine, but we needed to get home soon and find out what was happening in the news. We left the store with a few groceries and went straight home. I wondered if I should wake Daddy up for this, but when we got home he was already awake with the TV on. He was worried about us because I didn't take the cell phone and I didn't leave a note. I reminded him he was supposed to be sleeping. This was supposed to be a normal day. We watched the TV in horror. You saw the planes crash into the World Trade Center over and over. Later we made sure you didn't see it anymore. The attacks never really sunk in for you, but from that day on, sometimes you'd make a comment about a plane crashing into a building. Like it was a normal thing. A lot of people died that day, and all I could do was thank God for our lives. You, Daddy, me, and the baby boy in my tummy--we were safe, healthy, and together. That blessing became magnified on that dark day in American history."

A few weeks before 9-11, we flew to Nashville to visit my brother and sister-in-law. Then over Labor Day, Braylen and I flew to Chicago to be with my parents and grandparents. We come home just days before all air travel halted. When I think of how different life is now, it's more than just changes in airport security. We didn't have camera phones back then. No high speed internet. No facebook. No blogs. It's amazing what a difference 10 years makes. Here we are at the Nashville airport, 3 weeks prior to 9-11.

Eric, Amber, Sarah (with Kaleb inside), Braylen & Brownie, Derek, Mom, Dad

And then one year later, on the first anniversary of 9-11. Our church had a special service honoring all firemen, police officers, and military. Braylen was 3. Kaleb was not quite 10 months old. Our two sweet little boys. :)

And that is my 9-11. It wasn't an ordinary day after all.

"We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you."
Psalm 33:20-22