Oh, Wow!

Wow! I didn't realize it had been a year since I posted anything on my blog. Time slips away too quickly. This time of year at our house is usually very busy because it's basketball season. This basketball season has been overwhelming, to say the least. Hannah began her season in November, playing middle school and junior varsity. For the first few weeks of January, she had 4 or 5 games a week. This year we decided to let Alli play for the Rec. Department, since she will begin middle school ball next year. She is on a 10 and under team from her school. Then we discovered that there was an 8 and under team for boys from the school, so we switched Aaron to the Rec. Department as well. With each having a different schedule for games and practice, it has been a little bit of a circus. I have found myself, for the first time, having to depend a good bit on others (parents of team mates and friends gracious enough to help) to get my kids where they need to be. I have also had to accept the fact that I can't be at everyone's games. Take for instance our schedule this evening. Hannah has a game two hours away at 4:00. Aaron's game is at 5:30 south of town and Alli's is at 6:30 north of town. Hannah gets to ride the bus to the game and back. I will take Aaron to his and Kevin thankfully gets off at 6:00 and can take Alli to hers. She will have to spend about an hour at the ER waiting on her daddy. Oh, how I love to watch my kids play ball and I hate the fact that I won't get to see Hannah and Alli play tonight. But I will be with Aaron, who definitely needs some support from his basketball loving mama!

I love watching my kids grow and improve in all they do. Hannah's team had a great season. They were undefeated in their league and last Saturday they won their league tournament championship game by two points. Their defense and team work won the game for them. Hannah put up a lot of shots, but for some reason the ball just wasn't going in for her. It was the kind of game that makes this mama want to stand the whole game. Oh, it was so close. Hannah fell on the floor one time and didn't get up for several minutes. She fell hard on her hip. Of course, Kevin wasn't going to go check on her but I told him to go. He went out there and told her she hadn't broke anything, to get up! She got up, sat out for a minute or two and then went back in. It was a fight to the finish! I just wish I had a picture of a rebound Hannah made where she jumped really high to get it. I would love to show her how high she got off the floor! Amazing! Can't believe my girl is finishing middle school basketball and will be playing for the high school team next year.

That's my #24 for the Lady Lions!

So proud of these girls, playing for an audience of 1!

Alli and Aaron are improving as well. They are playing about two games a week. Alli is working on getting more aggressive and using her height to her advantage. I can't tell you how many times the word "rebound" has come out of mine and Kevin's mouths the last three weeks. I should just make a sign with the word on it! Aaron is working on these same things and he wants to score so bad. He needs a dose of confidence and I so want to see him looking at me in the stands with a big grin, knowing he has just scored a basket for his team. He came really close last week and he made some great assists. I love to see teamwork. It's a glorious thing! This year Hannah's team has worked so well together. I love to see my child make a goal, but I love it even more to see him/her work with a team mate by making a quick pass to them and letting them shoot.

Aaron is #24 in the navy.

Alli, #35, is the tallest on her team. She gets to jump for the ball!

Well, enough about basketball, because I could go on and on. I always hope every year that I am going to do better with this blogging thing, but it usually doesn't happen. My plan is for this blog to be more about pictures of the kids, so that our family and friends can keep up with what they are up to. I may occasionally share a story. I am praying about a personal blog for myself that I can share my journey with others. The past 13 months have had a lot of ups and downs. Thankfully, my God loves me and is with me through every trial. Makes me think of that childhood song, "He's Still Working on Me". I could think of so many things worse than being diagnosed with celiac disease; however, change is not easy. Dealing with depression is not fun. I know the Lord has brought me to a place where dependence on Him is the only thing that will get me through. So, we will see about the new blog. I set up one last year, but I never found myself ready to share. My purpose in life needs to be letting others see God's glory thru me. I always come back to this one verse that the Holy Spirit whispers to me on a daily basis. It's the verse that gave me the name for this blog. In 2 Corinthians chapter 2, Paul is talking about his thorn in the flesh in verses 7-10. The first part of verse 9 says, "And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."