T-Ball

Let the catching up begin...

Stage 1: T-Ball

T-Ball got started a little later than normal, which means it lasted a little longer than normal. One word to describe it...HOT! By June 1st it was in the 100's here with heat advisories out and humidity like crazy. You can imagine.

John Reagan was SO ready. He started asking us about it well before Christmas. We could really see a lot of improvement in him this year. We ALL had lots of fun.

We loved John Reagan's coaches. They were absolutely great and have coached baseball on many different levels. They were great about being "hands on" during the game and explaining the process every step of the way.

John Reagan hit at least 90% of the time without the tee. He even grounded several balls and threw to first. Let's just say Daddy was very proud this year. And I think Daddy had more fun than John Reagan. He was a lot more hands on himself. They got out and practiced a good bit this year.

The fun has begun for Daddy!

Averi girl enjoyed watching brother play. I have no idea why so many of the pictures are blurry.

We would have a picture of Evie girl participating in the t-ball festivities as well except for the fact that she was too busy socializing. She is normally our quiet one who hides from everyone, but she came out of her shell at the games. The grandmother of one of the boy's on the team was at quite a bit of games. Evie heard him call her grandma and decided she was her grandma as well. She was telling her, "Grandma, come sit," and was patting the bench beside her. It was too funny! Of course "Grandma" was eating it up. Evie even wanted to go home with her and talked about her the entire next week. It was very out of character. She did this with the coach's wife too. Needless to say she had a blast during t-ball herself.

The highlight for John Reagan was getting his second trophy. He instructed me to sit it beside his trophy from last year as soon as we got home. He is very proud of the "trophies!" He had them both down the other day saying to Evie, "Look Evie, I have two trophies because I played two years." I just love his enthusiasm and positive spirit.

We are happy to be back indoors now though. The only outdoor activity we get excited about at this point is swimming.

The Three Amigos

As I look over our pictures we finally got downloaded, I realize we had a very busy May. T-Ball started, Pre-K graduation, Crawfish Boil, and Birthday Party. All of this is to come, but for now I will stick with my Three Amigos!

Sorry about the blurry picture. There were lots more options, but I love this one. It is Evie to a tee.

Brother and Sister had one of their "we want to hold Averi" moments recently.

Thankfully Averi had lots of fun!

Evie cracks me up. She is unintentionally funny, which makes everything even more funny.

I don't know what was going on here to cause these two to be so loving to each other. They play very well together, but here lately they have needed a mediator more so than normal. Stress levels have been high here.

I love how children keep us grounded, especially in the times when we need it the most.

Do You Remeber This?

October 2008...

...has expanded to look like this.

How do you like the "looks" on Greg's face? And the naked baby?

It's a good thing Greg never looks at the blog, since his face is hilarious in both pictures.

I had to add this one for good measure because she was not being cooperative in the family photo. She kept covering her face with the bowl.

Proverbs 27:17

"As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."

We have been asked many, many times why we love Tennessee so much, and we have never been able to communicate the fullness of our hearts on the matter. However, a friend summed it all up in an email the other day. I hope this friend does not mind me sharing a little piece of their story that has been such a blessing to our family. This particular set of friends have been on a journey to adopt not one, but two children from Rwanda. They traveled in May to bring their children home to their forever family. Their homecoming proved to be a great blessing to them, and this is a piece of the email we received the following day:

"Just wanted to let you all know that your kindness and generosity has blessed us greatly. The welcoming crowd was amazing and we certainly appreciated seeing so many familiar faces after a long tough journey emotionally and physically. Our home and car were professionally cleaned, our refrigerator/freezer and cabinets were fully stocked. We had diapers, wipes, pull-ups, clothes, toys, beds, car seat, booster seat, high chair, baby gates, strollers (2 doubles) swim diapers, baby monitors, swim suits, picture frames and a beautifully painted canvas with our names on it and so much more not only at our house but set up. Our yard was mowed and our flower beds mulched. I had new candles waiting to burn (i love candles) and new sugar scrub and lotion... no detail was left undone or not thought of. I am still very tired and not sure I have processed it all but it was overwhelming in good way, we felt the love that was poured out and know that was the love that Christ gives so freely. We have meals set up for 4 weeks 3 time a week... amazing friends. The process of cleaning our pool was started and all the chemicals purchased. We truly have been blessed beyond belief. We want to and will thank each of you personally but wanted to just let you know that you efforts and sacrifices were a true gift that are appreciated."

After reading the email, Greg's exact words were, "The next time someone asks us why we love Tennessee so much and would love to move back, we need to show them this email."

"As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."

There is no better way to say it. When you are daily sharpened and lifted up by the friends that surround you, it makes life a little easier and lots more enjoyable. What our friends came home to was a collective effort of friends and family alike. We do not know all of the people who helped and contributed, but we are blessed to call many of these people friends. And they live this type of servanthood daily, not occasionally.

What a privilege it is for us to call you friends. We love you all and want to say thank you for the blessings you are to our lives and family.