The Number 5

The number 5 infiltrated every aspect of our weekend. First and foremost, David scored 5 goals in his soccer game on Saturday! I think we were all in a bit of shock. He went from being a bit timid to this aggressive little player this weekend. After the game, he told me that the first and third goal kind of made him a little nervous, but the rest were pretty fun.

His teammate Tyler, who just happens to be the only girl on either team, scored 7 goals. I think having a girl on is team has been good for him because he tends to be a bit chauvinistic at times; however, he has quickly gained a good measure of respect for Tyler. :)

Now back to my other 5's. My boys are all happy to say that Alabama beat Arkansas by 5 touchdowns. During half-time of the game, David put on an Alabama uniform and Nathan put on an Arkansas uniform, and we had our very own Alabama vs. Arkansas game in the backyard. According to David, Alabama won that game too.

Now for my final 5 story. In our children's church, the kids have been going through the 5 steps of salvation this month. The leader asks different kids to say each step, and one by one, they list out the steps Hear, Believe, Repent, Confess and Be Baptized. Then they always add on a final one that is Live Faithfully. He had already asked other kids the five steps, and then he asked David what else we need to do. Instead of live faithfully, David responded, "Live safely."

If you know David at all, then you completely understand the irony and why I laughed so hard. :) I can honestly say that I hope that we all live faithfully and safely this week!

Hurricane Ike Damage

I guess to be accurate I should title this post Tropical Storm Ike damage, but I just wanted to share what good ol' Ike did to our tree.





These pictures don't show our car, which was parked right in front of where the limb fell. We think that our car was probably grazed by the limbs because there are a few scratches and a little dent on the trunk possibly caused by it. However, we were very fortunate that it didn't fall a foot the other direction.

We also lost a few shingles, but our greatest loss (besides the time Sunday afternoon to chop down our tree) is our air conditioner. We don't know if a power surge zapped it or exactly what happened to it, but it does not work in the least little bit right now.

In spite of everything, it was an unusually fun day cutting down the tree. Brian got the manly job of running the chainsaw, and the boys and I hauled the limbs to the curb. I will try to post pictures tomorrow of our huge pile of limbs and wood, as well as our cute little tree stump that will soon be history thanks to the stump grinder people. Our neighbor and his son helped us out too, which was also very, very cool.

Have You Been Wondering What We Are Up To?

Nathan was superstar last week. As you will see in the pictures, he dressed up as Darth Vader, which is very appropriate for the week that they are learning about the letter D. The superstar kid makes a star sharing 5 things about himself on each point. Nathan's star was not easy. When I asked Nathan what he wanted to share, he really didn't have any ideas. So I told him that the note said that he could put his favorite things on it (i.e. color, candy, restaurant, vacation spot, etc.) Nathan told me he wanted to put a picture of his favorite door. I asked him where his favorite door was, and he replied, "The door to my room." I told him that was not exactly what we were supposed to be doing, and so he asked if he could put a picture of his favorite room. (Yep, you guessed it...his bedroom.) Needless to say, the task of making the star took a long time, but we ended up with Handy Manny tools, Lego Star Wars game pictures, a picture of Nathan on a fast ride from an amusement park, a picture of Nathan with Mickey Mouse, and a blue crayon for his favorite color.

Here are some pictures from his special day:









David and all the other first graders are Kingdom Kids this year, and they had a concert one day a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, my new teaching schedule has made me miss some of the boys' stuff at school; however, Brian got to go see David sing and took pictures for me.





And now on to what has kept us hopping the most lately: Soccer. Both boys are playing soccer and are having a great time. David didn't know anyone on his team but has made some new friends. There is a girl on his team that is by far the best player on the team, but David is doing pretty good considering he hasn't played since he was 4 years old (and even then he never wanted to get on the field to play). He is great on defense and is just incredibly fast.

Nathan, on the other hand, is just Nathan. He seems to be having fun, but spends a lot of time acting silly. At his last game, I overheard his coach telling him that there is no hugging in soccer. Yeah....that about sums it up.

David has practices on Thursday and Friday, and Nathan has practice on Thursday. Both the boys play games on Saturday. There is an option for a Monday night training session; however, we decided three days were enough for the boys at this age, especially with homework and life in general.

Here are some pictures of the boys from their first games:















Besides all of these things, Brian started a masters program, and I am now teaching 4 classes and studying for the CPA exam. Life is hectic, but also very nice right now. I am thankful for my sweet boys who keep me laughing, and my sweet husband who randomly brings me flowers for no reason at all. I hope life is going just as well for all of you!