Belmont Abbey Soccer - Spring 2022 - Games 1 & 2

Games 1 & 2:

Belmont Abbey played its competitor (I don't even know who they were to be honest) at Saturday's matches in back-to-back games. They played 35-minute halves with only an approximately 10-minute break in-between games. 

Josh played the entire first game and then all of the first half of the second game. We had to leave to go to Elizabeth's game at half-time of the second game, so we did not get to watch it, but Joshua later told me that he was pulled about 10 minutes into the second half of the second game to allow some of the other boys a chance to play. 

Our boys lost both games. The first game was a bit more reasonable than the second as we lost 2-0 in the first game and 5-0 in the second game. I could definitely tell a difference in skill as a lot of bench players received play time in the second game leaving in only a few of the starters (such as Josh) to help support them. 

It was so good to see Josh on the field. He played lights out. Gosh, I love watching this kid play soccer. He just sees the game so well. What he lacks in speed and bulk he makes up ten-fold in game smarts. 

It has been a little while since I have been able to see him play in person, and man, was it awesome. I know that as his mother I probably tend to see him through rose colored glasses (isn't that how all mothers see their children?), but he was hands down the best player on that field yesterday. He is just a talented, talented kiddo and I am so humbled that I get to be his mom and get to watch his passion for the sport unfold on the field. 

Spring Soccer Game 1 - Elizabeth

Elizabeth played in her first soccer game of the spring season on Saturday (03/19/22). This is her second season with this team, and she is so excited to continue her soccer experience with them. This is by far her most favorite team she has ever played on. I feel that Elizabeth has grown a lot as a player while being a member of this team - I credit her coach for this.

 Bobby is also helping the team out by being an assistant coach again this season. It means a lot to me (and Elizabeth) that Bobby has chosen to be a part of this team. He knows very little about soccer (besides being a spectator) but stepped up to be a part of something that Elizabeth loves dearly. I love that they have this time together and it is an experience I know that Elizabeth will remember for many years to come. 

I have always enjoyed watching Elizabeth play - not because of her skills (although she is getting to be a pretty solid player), but because she is probably the best teammate that I know of. She is such an encourager and cheerleader for the other girls on the team. She is kind and genuinely wants them to do well even if it means she needs to take a step out of the spotlight in order for them to shine. She truly has a heart of gold, and it is clearly on display when she plays with these girls. I have found in my years of watching my children play in competitive sports that players like Elizabeth - the ones who want others to shine and are happy for them when they do - are rare. It makes me so proud to watch Elizabeth's kindness ooze out of her when she plays. 

Corner kick

Elizabeth is the girl in the blue jersey all the way on the left of the field standing right at the goal. She is waiting for the other team to kick a corner kick. 

Elizabeth is a defender and is challenging the ball in this pic. I wish I had gotten a closer shot. 

Elizabeth is amazing at goal kicks and throw-ins. She displays amazing power and can really move the ball far. 

Getting ready for another goal kick. 

Hand up in the air getting ready to take a free kick. 

I love this shot. 

Taking a quick break bent over catching her breath. 

My girl. 

 

Family Meals: Week of March 20th

 I actually have no game plan this week. I am behind in just about every area of my life, but felt that it was important for me to document this because I want to be able to look back on my life years down the road and see that even though things didn't go as I had planned them I made it through anyway. 

I actually hate when I fall off of my rhythms. Hate it. Because life doesn't stop and so when I fall behind it takes such a great effort to get back on track. I don't know if it is due to my own age or how long I have been doing this homemaking/homeschooling gig, but whatever the cause I find it harder and harder to get things running smoothly when I get off balance. 

Maybe someday when I look back upon this post I will have found a magic fix-it potion, but until then I am just going to do what I have always done - keep putting one foot in front of the other - trudging through until I get caught back up. 

Homeschooling 2021-2022 - Week 19/36

 We took off the week of March 6th - 12th in order for me to rest my brain for a few days between semesters. Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting myself back into the groove of things which caused our week 19 to be one of our weakest, if not the weakest weeks of our school year. We touched on our Math, Science, Geography, Languages, and Language Arts a bit, but focused mostly on reading our read-a-loud books. 

This upcoming week will be better for sure. I just have to give myself some grace and realize that this is probably the strongest school year we have had to date and that sometimes there will be an off week. It's part of every school year and I need to remember that. 

Ordinary Moments - Week 10 of 2022

Another drawing and painting of Elizabeth's. 

I am going through the house donating our unsused items to goodwill. I needed the girls' help while going through our books and games. I had an empty container that Moose tried to fit his fat butt in. Obviously, he is bigger than he thinks he is because his body was hanging out of the basket big time.

One of my most favorite of simple pleasures: the smell of clothes that have dried on a line. 

I have said it before and will say it again - Whole Foods has the best flowers ever. They are very, very well priced and they last for around 2+ weeks. If you love flowers like me and have a Whole Foods nearby - I would encourage you to purchase some for yourself to see what I am talking about. 

Moose "helping" me go through all of the cubbies in our living room looking for items to donate. 

More proof that my cat is too large for this basket. 

Over a decade ago, when I quit my job and decided to make homemaking my full-time ministry, I decided to invest in some housewares that I had considered by-gone. One of those items was cloth napkins. These three sets were my first three. They aren't particularly useful because their material is/was  too slippery to actually absorb anything, but they were what I had and so I used them.  I have since collected a better collection of napkins and knew that I could let these guys go. I wanted to have a picture of them though because they remind me of my beginnings as a stay-at-home mom and an era of having a house full of little children. 

Sometimes I splurge and buy myself two bouquets of flowers - one for my dining room table and one for beside my sink. I spend so much time in my kitchen - cooking, baking, cleaning up - that I love having something beautiful like flowers to constantly smell and look at. 

Per the request of one of my children I baked chicken pot pie for dinner one night. Homemade crust and all. 

My backyard brings me such a sense of peace. It is not the backyard that I want forever, but it is a good backyard for right now and for that I am thankful. 

I have been walking almost daily on a good portion of a 9 mile (round trip) trail near our house. The trail also brings me a sense deep peace as it follows a decent sized brook and is almost entirely surrounded on both sides by woods. I saw this guy spying me, Bobby, and Maxi yesterday while we walked the trail and wanted to take a picture of it. 

 

Getting ready to begin our seeds indoors this weekend!

 

Ordinary Moments: Week 9 of 2022

Yes, I am a completely crazy cat lady. I totally own it. 

My first batch of homemade bread in a while. It turned out pretty good, and an added bonus is I am saving a ton of money making it verse spending $6 for my Dave's Killer Bread

Andy's hair is getting so long and his curls are back! When he was a baby he had this curly, curly hair. Andy is growing his hair out because his hair is thinning pretty good and he wants to make good use of the time he has left with hair on his head. 

A warm March day. Getting ready to collect laundry. 

My girls and I taking a creak from school work to have a snack and enjoy the warm spring weather. 

I could spend all day taking photos of this cat - I am so obsessed with him. 

Most mornings I sit at the kitchen table to prep for my day. And most mornings Moose comes to the table and sits on whatever I am trying to work on in an attempt (almost always successful) to get my attention back on him and away from what I am trying to do. 

I LOVE clotheslines. I love them. One of the best things in life to me is laundry hung up and dried on a clothesline. I haven't had one since Jennings Ave in Ohio. I am trying really hard to get back to enjoying small pleasures in life and this is a big one for me.