So Long October

 Well, October certainly flew by quickly.  Lillian and I are meeting my buddies at Christmas Village tomorrow, and I just can't wait.  Reed and I had a quick trip to Mobile.  In between there were lots of sports events.  No judgement please, but I will soon be decorating the halls here, and can't wait!!!!  

Lillian shared this picture of the cutest 3 year old in the whole wide world!

Chances are very good that you are looking at my Christmas card this year.  It's straight from the soccer fields of Anniston.

If there is a playground, we will find it!  I love watching the big kids with the little ones!

Another great season has ended.  So proud of Reed and Coach Josh!

He had an excellent tournament!

Jack and John Sawyer loved watching him.

All I can say is that we stopped for a bathroom break, and left with LOTS of goodies!

Back to the tournament-I truly love watching him play.  

Trick or Treat!

The view from our room.

Next up, Cross Country sectionals.

October Happenings

 Whew!  I am currently in Alex City, but am heading home later today.  Lindsey is actually being honored today at the Governor's Mansion for her accomplishments in Language Therapy.  She is a certified Academic Language Therapist, nationally certified by the Academic Therapist Association and the International Dyslexia Association.  So very proud of her! I am doing car pool and all the fun things.

I met Taylor and Caleb at Peach Park recently to get the boys. (They were coming back from the beach and headed to Birmingham).  This place is so much fun!  The boys and I stayed a couple of hours and played and enjoyed ice cream.

Pop enjoyed watching these three at their Beta inductions.  Lillian and Maddie moved up to new divisions.  Reed was inducted for the first time.  Smart and cute!!

Fall baseball season is winding down.  He will be finished this week. He has gotten to be quite the little hitter.

The doctor wanted to put Maddie in a boot for a few weeks, but did give her the option to continue running.  Guess what she decided to do?  She's a tough one.  Next up, sectionals and state.

After running in a Cross Country meet during the morning, these guys hosted a Glow Run at their school.  They are such a fun group.  I loved getting to be a small part of this. Fun times at the registration table!

R

Over the past 15 years, I have met lots of great people over on this side of the state.  Have you ever met someone, and just instantly thought how special that person is and realized how much you genuinely like them? I see you Andria!!  I am also thrilled that Shana and Lindsey have ventured into this coaching experience together.  I think they are good for each other and the team! They both are hard workers and totally dedicated to this team. 

I am heading home this afternoon for a day. Next up is a quick trip to Mobile, and soccer All-Stars in Anniston.  One day, I am going to be home and complain about being bored-just not anytime soon.

Good Grief!!

 I decided to blog this morning and quickly realized that I never finished or posted my last blog!  Life is moving at a rapid pace these days, and I often don't know if I am coming or going.  I love it though!  This is going to be a quick catch up.

We are still enjoying quite a few flowers in the yard.  I have planted 17 flats of pansies and other fall/winter plants, so hopefully we can enjoy them all winter.  That brutal cold spell last year killed lots of our flowers last year.

This girl is still battling an ankle injury, but she just keeps running along!  So proud of her.

That's a wrap on our first volleyball season.  Lots of volleyball and life lessons were learned.

The weather lately has been perfect for afternoon trips to the park.

Lllian took these pictures on our way to the Cross Country Meet in White Plains.  Beautiful!

More to come!!

Busy Week

 I feel like all I do is update our sports events during this time of the year.  However, I love these memories.  I know how quickly this time while pass, and I am so very grateful for the opportunity to be able to travel and attend their events.  I spent a couple of days in Alex City to watch everyone play, and I even got to squeeze in a dentist appointment with the big kids!  I'm back home now enjoying a little yard work.  I have managed to get 16 flats of pansies and fall plants in the ground.  It is always so hard to pull up the summer annuals, but I actually love the change and can't wait to watch the new plants grow.  We left one bed filled with Papa's chrysanthemums.  The are just about ready to pop open, and are always so pretty. The roses, ginger lilies, cannas  and even a few day lilies are still blooming.

Volleyball was a new adventure for Lillian.  I am amazed at how much progress she has made in such a short time!  I love watching her. She's just a tad competitive, and I like that!

Maddie played soccer when she was younger. She decided to refresh herself with rec soccer this fall, because her school is going to have a soccer team this season.  Let me tell you, the girl's got game.  They are so much fun to watch at this age.  If you had told me pre-Josh that I would be a soccer fan one day, I would have laughed.  I'm still learning, but I love watching!

Regular season ended this week for these two, and we are now headed to All-Stars.  Josh and Reed have made lots and lots of memories over the years with many more to come. Love watching him, too!

We had an all boys weekend last week.  So much fun!  Fishing, going down the hill, building forts, one last swim and more were on the agenda.  Reed actually spent one night with John Sawyer and Jack, and had a ball.  

Our big wheel adventures began when Lindsey and Caleb were little, and have continued with all of the grandchildren.  We have a different hill to go down now, and I think this one may be even more fun. Reed has just about outgrown the big wheels, but he was a great helper with the little ones.

Jack is the very best supervisor around! Love these boys so! 

This is actually somewhat of a slow week. I will be back in Alex City for a few days the end of next week.  I plan on enjoying this cooler weather and getting a little yard work done.  Look out bulbs-some of you are fixing to be on the move again!!

What a Week!

Another busy week is in the books, and we are starting this week with even more adventures.  As I have said before, I do not take these times for granted.  I am very thankful for every opportunity that I get to spend with my people!  I have been a little under the weather for a few days, and that has been a little challenging, but this too shall pass!

This little slugger got the game ball last week.  He had several great hits and chased the ball down in the outfield several times.  He almost got a player out a home!

That's a hit!

One my favorite people in the whole wide world retired this week.  I'm not quite sure what the town of Aliceville will do without her in the post office.  I'm counting on her remembering all those addresses I need for a long time to come.

This little one was sick and spent the day with me.  Even though he doesn't look too excited here, I promise we had a great day!

Have you ever tried pumpkin spice cookies with spring colored sprinkles?  Delicious!!!

Another Grandparent's Day is in the books.  I love these sweet days. Maddie didn't actually have Grandparent's Day, but she helped as part of SGA.  I enjoyed the best muffin ever!

I love that Lindsey is able to be with her babies from grades K-12.  

Sweet Reed!

Pop and I left at 4:15 Saturday morning to travel to Munford to watch our girl run.  She had another great meet.

I am very proud and impressed with her work ethic and desire to always do better.  However, the picture below is what makes me happier than I can explain.  After she finishes every race, she runs to wait for and cheer on her teammates.  She does this for the other girls on her team and the boys team, too.  To me, this is the epitome of a leader and what a teammate should be. I could not be more proud.

I'm not sure what to say about this picture.  Quite frankly, even after 39 hours of labor that I will never forget, I'm not completely sure she's really mine.  Not in this lifetime would I ever, ever hold one of Satan's hand puppets.  She however is keeping the hallways of her school safe.  Carry on!

More baseball, soccer and volleyball to come!