Month: June 2016

Prediction Run

A few weeks ago, Audrey was invited to her first prediction run.  She ran 5k in the woods ahead of the friend who invited her.  Mark and Andrea have joined her for the last two weeks.

Mark said that when they get to the race, they write down the time they think they will take to run 5k.  After running, they write down their time and find out how close they were.

This was Andrea’s first time running the 5k and she took 28 minutes.  Since she only runs during soccer, that is not bad.  Mark was off by 28 seconds on his guess of 22 minutes.  Audrey however, ran it in 26.58, which was 2 seconds off of her guess and won this week!  She came home with a medal and a huge smile.IMG_4436

Blessings

kidsIt was our first weekend without a soccer game in months.  The kids asked what our plans were for the weekend.  We said there were a few things that needed done.  Then the kids took off.

Without asking, Mark and Audrey worked outside. They cleaned out overgrown weed beds and cut back some poison ivy.  After double checking what to save, Mark started on the front garden.  Adrian needed some direction, but cleaned out a hosta garden, and he helped clean up cuttings the older kids left.

Andrea asked what was the most important job in the house and cleaned out three drawers that have needed cleaning for months. When Allan got home from the store, she started cleaning off the patio so we could restain it.  She already volunteered to stain it for us.

Allan and Megan went shopping.  Megan helped Allan put together a pressure washer and then they worked on different projects.

A lot of work got done this week with very little input from me.  The lawn was mowed and gardens have improved a lot.  The wading pool was scrubbed out and moved to a new spot. The garage was cleaned on the sly. The house has been done. School work continues daily and the kids have summer jobs.

It is neat just standing back and watching everyone take responsibility for something and then get it done properly.  I am one spoiled Momma.

A Bird in the Hand

FleglingThis morning the children discovered a fledgling on our front ledge.  We needed to move him because we did not want the dogs to find him and we did not know how well he could fly.

Adrian tried to get him, but the bird hopped away.  Then Megan tried and he hopped right on her hand!  He perched for a very short while and then fluttered away.  He did not fly well at all.

The kids slowly tried to catch him again to move him and he fluttered to the wall and perched there.  Since he was safe there, we watched him until he flew away to another branch and then Adrian watched until he flew to a much safer tree in the woods.Fledgling

Here is Megan’s view of the story.

We found a fledgling.  She was very cute. I named her Rose. She is very pretty.  She is soft soft. I was glad to be able to hold her.  I wish Adrian could have too.

Relaxing

MarkMark and Andrea have been working extra hard at the neighbors this week.  The neighbors left to help their son move cross country and the children are in charge of the animals while they are gone.

Three times a day they go to bottle feed the baby, Fin. His mother got really sick last week and did not get well.  Fin is stubborn and fights Mark when it is time to eat, but that independence is a needed trait for him right now.

After wresting with Fin today, Mark and I went into the loft to see if I could get some updated pictures of him.  It was a nice way to relax and a fun way to spend a little extra alone time with Mark.

Relaxing

“Best Friends”

IMG_3351.smWe have been “babysitting” Oma’s dog. Flopsy decided that she did not like Thor when she first met him at my parents’ house.  She would growl at him and try to scare him off.  That did not bother Thor.  Finally, Flopsy decided Thor was not worth anything and refused to acknowledge his presence.  She turned her back on him and refused to look at him.

Then she came to stay with us.  She tried growling at him and snapping when he came too near.  But Thor was persistent and kept going up to her.  Flopsy started walking in wide circles around Thor, but slept in corners where he could not fit and under the table when all the chairs where pushed in.

However, I have five children who insisted that these two learn to be friends and like each other.  They have worked at it all week, and now, while not exactly “best friends”, Flopsy has decided that Thor is not so bad…

Especially when treats are involved.

Last Soccer Games

IMG_3019_shareToday was our last soccer games for the season.  Adrian tried hard and attempted a few goals.  They won, 2:1.

IMG_3033_shareMegan’s team had a harder time focusing because it was getting warmer and the kids were complaining they were too hot.  Megan made a goal, and her team won 5:1.

IMG_3071_shareFor the last period, the coaches were invited to play with the team.  Mark and Audrey both enjoyed being able to play.

After the games, we had a picnic and then an “awards” ceremony.  We ended the season with the sprinklers IMG_3149_shareturned on and everyone enjoying them.

 

 

Last Game

Game
Andrea defending the goal. Even though both girls went down, Andrea was up first and got the ball away from the goal.

Andrea played her last game with Flames on Saturday.  She will try out for high school soccer in a few days!

She has played with the same set of the girls–with few changes–for the last few years.  Her team has improved a lot!  Instead of a bunch of individual players, they work as a team now. Andrea has improved in her ability also.  She is a much more confident player!

Her coach wrote a note expressing how hard the team worked this season. He told us that this year the U14 girls’ team won 18 times.  They had 10 shutouts in a row (which is 700 minutes of scoreless soccer 🙂 ).  They lost two times and tied twice.  The team scored 44 goals, but only had 5 goals get past them.

As we watched Andrea improve, we also had the privilege to see a diverse group of girls from different schools and backgrounds grow also as a team. I am praying that Andrea’s new team will provide her with some strong friends that encourage and push each other to become better soccer players and young ladies.