Saturday, August 27, 2011

Swim Team Movie


We recently found out that the movie our kids participated in as part of the 48 hr. film festival was the overall winner! I debated about posting it here on my blog because my parents were somewhat offended by it. In truth, this film was meant to be a comedic spoof. Our swim team coach was the lead male actor and the lead female actor was involved in a car accident the day before the team received their assignment. They were assigned a "film de femme" which meant that their film had to have a strong female lead. It was the worst possible situation, since they no longer had a female actress who could carry this role. The team was brainstorming and came up with the idea of using the male actor to portray a female role. So, that being said, if that might offend you, then don't watch! Oh, and see if you can find anyone you know in the movie!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Turkey Time!

This post is beyond explanation.....it just goes to show the lengths I will go to to do fun and exciting things with my kids when we travel ;)













Saturday, August 20, 2011

Saying Goodbye.....



I remember my mom telling me when I was in the midst of crying babies and the chaos that comes when you have little ones around that it was mind boggling how quickly the time passes. I didn't believe her at the time....how could I have known? There I was muddling through never ending days and sleepless nights and time seemed to be moving so slowly.

Surely she was wrong....


This week I realized with shocking clarity how right she was!


It seems like not so very long ago that I brought this sweet baby home from the hospital and fell in love with motherhood for the very first time. And now, here she is, heading off to college!

There has been alot of drama this summer.


Parenthood isn't pretty....


it is not for the faint of heart....


there were days when I didn't want to get out of bed and face it.....


but this week reminded me of all that is good about being a parent.


Saying goodbye to my (big) little girl, helping her set up her dorm room, reminiscing about growing up together.....(yes, I do believe I have grown up too!)



It was all good.



And so rewarding.




Shelby is still deciding who she wants to be. She is growing and learning, re-examining her values, reaching and stretching.

There are days when it is painful....

And there are days when it is oh so sweet....


I saw a quote recently that I would love to post in my house where everyone can see it several times a day. "IN THIS HOME--We do second chances. We do grace. We do real. We do mistakes. We do "I'm sorrys". We do loud really well. We do hugs. We do family. --WE DO LOVE."


So, for now, we are celebrating the oh so sweet, we are acknowledging mistakes and revelling in second chances, we are finding the joy in love....


And amidst it all, we are saying goodbye.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Swim Champs



We finished off our summer swim team with 3 kids making it to the Championship meet! It was an exciting time for everyone.....except mom.....because Joshua aged up to the older group so we now have Champs TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW!!! Not fun!


Samuel got 3 gold medals in his individual events and then a 4th and 5th place in his relays. Savannah (with her buddy Cole) was so excited to be at champs! It was her first time making it and she couldn't stop smiling! She was scheduled to compete in breastroke and one mixed relay, but by the end of the night when they realized that one of the members of the freestyle relay team had gone home early, they drafted Savannah to take his place. Now, she is not a great freestyler, but Savannah swam her best ever and hopped out of the pool still smiling!

The very next night we returned with Joshua for another fun-filled night of swimming. He swam the freestyle and medley relays and then an individual medley and breastroke. He is a great swimmer and as soon as he gains some weight, we are expecting great things from him!