Cross Country

We are finally going through the sports pictures this season.  These are from Savannah's cross country season.  We are finalizing our order of Zach's action shots from football.  Savannah's photos did not cost anything as one of her coaches is the photographer.  Zach's photos are very reasonably priced, but I have chosen so many that my checkbook may need a tourniquet.  I think we will buy them in batches.

When I told Savannah that Coach Dixon got some shots of her smiling while running, she insisted that was impossible.  Nobody looks good while running, she argued.  Well, there's a good photographer for you.  Savannah smiles easily in general.  He probably shouted something encouraging to her and then captured her reaction.

All photos courtesy of Derrick Dixon Photography

So far this week...

Zach coached the lines for the senior girls' powder puff team.  We went to the game on a night so cold that they started running the clock just because everyone was freezing.

We visited Julia's class for a Thanksgiving play that was really fun.  My dad got to see it a day before we did when they performed it just for the grandparents.  They memorized lots for this and did it all at school.

Of course this is Julia, so we have also visited the mall for a new dress for the play.  Of course she had nothing (eye roll here) in her closet that would do.  Honestly, she would not have pulled that off except that she tried on several dresses that we had at home only to learn that they were all too short. She probably truly needed a new dress even though she did have one appropriate dress, and we hit such a great sale combined with a coupon that she scored a dress and a spare.

a wonderful teacher

We also learned today that Zach made the football all-star team for our city.  He will join three of his teammates for the game.  We are so excited to get to see him play again!  While there is no way to be sure, I believe that Zach may be the best nose tackle in the state, if not the best, he is likely in the top three.  So proud of him!!

Kinsley - Hospital pics

I have visited Kinsley three times since she arrived on Thursday.  This much I know: she is strong.  Kinsley has already rolled onto her side a couple of times.  hmmm reminds me of a strong girl I know - remember how I prayed for a strong girl when we were in process to adopt Julia- as you know, God gave me She-Ra. 

 Kinsley also knows what she wants, and she lets you know if you are not giving it to her.  That reminds me of Regan at her age.  Regan is strong-willed to this day.  Won't it be fun to watch these two girls grow up?  

Her gown says - "Every good and perfect gift comes from above." -James 1:17

I think it came from Etsy.  I love Etsy.

What might have been,,,

Our football season ended last night when we became regional runner-ups instead of regional champions.  It is hard to not think about how the game may have been different if our starting quarterback had been able to play.  He was injured in the same game that Zach was.  While the play that caused his injury was not illegal, it was cheap and unnecessary as it came during the last play of the game when our opponents went after him instead of the ball with an intent to make him hurt.  They succeeded when he went down with a deep knee bruise which is incredibly painful as we have learned from witnessing two players suffer that same injury in the last few weeks - cheap shots both times.  We thought  our quarterback would return to action last night, but we learned this week that the injury appears to be worse than originally thought.  He got a little action last night, and the receivers caught the ball better with him on the field.  They just have that history together even though our back up quarterback is solid.  Our special teams really lost the game last night.  

We have phenomenal coaches who have worked hard to build this program, so we hurt as much for them as we do for the seniors.

We have no excuses, but it was a difficult loss to our biggest rival, a team we handled solidly in regular season play.  Our defense did their job last night.  It is hard to lose to a team who has fans as obnoxious as this team.  One lady (a term being used very loosely here) joined our fans on our side of the field and vocally sought to insight a fight.  When one of our moms told her to just leave our side, her big boyfriend started acting like he would defend her.  Really, is this big guy going to fight a girl?  Ironically, I think this particular team mom would have laid him on his back before he knew what happened if it came to that.  

In the end we had the greatest season in school history, so we will take that with us.

Zach's club.  That wrapping on his cast is huge.  He came out after the game in just one shoe.  We learned that his shoe blew out prior to the game, so he borrowed one from another player to play the game.  The borrowed shoe was one size bigger than his and a different brand.  What a kick we got out of that story!

His helmet always tears up his forehead.  

They supported him all season.  I had to get a shot of all of them together.

This senior has the best mom.  She has loved on these boys well all season, and he makes Zach laugh.

Savanah's FB post after the game: Congratulations  BoneCrusher on a fantastic football season! I've had so much fun watching you this season, and I'm so proud! Love you!! 

Zach's response: thank you i love you too, its great having a sister like you

 If you have two teenagers living under one roof, this is the kind of love for each other you want to see. They amaze me!

Football would not have been the same without Trevor and his family.  We just love them so much.  He and Zach have had such fun together.  Trevor left the only school he had attended for ten years for the opportunity to play football.

Zach played his heart out last night.  He left everything on that field.  He personally had a terrific season and was complemented by the opposing coaches and players after last night's game for his amazing ability on the field.  We are so very grateful that Zach's season did not end three weeks ago.  Had he not worked so hard to strengthen his wrists this year, that fracture might have been a wrist fracture which would definitely have ended the season.  Training pays off!

We waited for a long time in very cold conditions for our seniors to leave the field house. They were slow to remove those pads for the last time and wanted a moment together.  Some of these boys (including Zach) have played together for seven years or more now.  Football has been so much more than just a sport for this family.  It saved Zach when we thought we had lost him.  We will miss these years.


Zach made 10 tackles in his final game of his senior year with one hand wrapped in a huge cast and wearing two different sized shoes.  Way to go Zach!!

We hope that Zach's success in football takes us on another adventure.  Bring on college football!!

Oh Happy Day!

Kinsley Noelle arrived this morning.

8lbs 6oz, 20 1/4 inches
 red hair

That's all I know for now.  I hope to meet her today and update with more pictures.

Kinsley is my third niece.  I have seven nephews.

Evening Update

The following pictures are from my visit with Kinsley.  

She likes to keep her hand up against her face.  Apparently, they witnessed this several times on ultrasounds before her birth.

strawberry blonde hair

I just have to share this little bit of information about her name. Noelle is the middle name of my sister and Tessa's twin, Tasha.  Tasha died two weeks after her birth.

She's pretty and wonderful.  I will be visiting again tomorrow.  

Congratulations to John and Tessa!

Taking a risk

As adoptive parents, Andy and I feel very strongly that physical injuries heal better and faster than emotional ones.  With that in mind, Andy took Zach back to the hand surgeon ready to to persuade the doctor to allow Zach to return to the football field this Friday night.  Whatever the outcome of the game, this is likely to be the last home game of Zach's senior year.  It is also a playoff game, and Zach was certainly missed in last week's game.

The doctor agreed to allow Zach to play, but that agreement followed stern warnings about the potential for further injury and longer recovery, much longer recovery.  While that warning makes me nervous, we will go forward with the plan to allow Zach to play.  I was actually very surprised we got the release.  The healing looked a little off on the x-ray today, so I would ask for prayer that  Zach will still have a full recovery.  Whatever happens, I would also ask that God receive the glory.  My anger over this situation has really challenged me lately as this injury was the result of a cheap shot that was not likely seen by the refs as the play was on down the field, but the refs ignored several cheap shots prior to this one which set the player up to feel like he could get away with it, and he did.  In my opinion one player, line coaches, and refs are all guilty of jeopardizing Zach's senior playoff season, and given his role on one of the best defensive lines in the state, they jeopardized the season for the whole team.  So, I must now work to forgive, and forgiving comes a little easier with the knowledge that Zach can play again.

I am asking for prayers that there will be no further injury.  The team we play on Friday night has a long history of playing dirty, but they were pretty clean this year in regular season play.

We are doing the happy dance here in celebration that Zach gets to return to football action on Friday night!!!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year - at least musically

I like this picture, but it was a total accident.  I was playing with the settings to make sure I had the camera ready for manual mode, and snapped it on accident.

I love Christmas music, and not just any Christmas music, I love the music that reflects the true history of Christmas when a Savior came into the world.  Saturday night I was treated to a mixture of traditional Christmas music performed by two school choirs, a men's choir, a chorale, a symphonic orchestra, a chamber orchestra, a regular orchestra, and a wind ensemble.  What a treat!  Even better was watching a beautiful red-headed teenager stretch to reach the chimes for her parts in this production. The school secured a wonderful venue, and we had a great time!

Show me a miracle

On Wednesday, my sister called to tell me that my uncle called my dad that day and urged us to visit my grandma.  Grandma by the Lake has been practically incoherent for two years.  In fact, when Mom died almost three years ago, no one told my grandma because she was not with it enough to grasp the reality.  Unfortunately, in her coherent moments, she thought Mom stopped loving her.

I last visited my grandma in March.  I went with my sisters, and she seemed to be more inconvenienced by us than anything.  She could not speak, and no emotion registered on her face.  Prior to that visit, whenever I saw my grandma, she would just light up.  While I could not be sure she knew who I was, I could be sure that she was glad to see me.  After the March visit, I made lots of excuses not to go.  We have a crazy busy schedule, and I have to be Mom first.  I don't like going alone.  She is in good hands, and the last visit seemed to do nothing for her.  In fact, it seemed to just disrupt a routine.

Then my uncle called my dad.  He said she was coherent - talking even.  Huh?? I went with my siblings (all six of us) and one sister-in-love, and five of our children to see for myself.  Wow!  Just Wow!  She talked.  She laughed.  Her face lit up.  She even cussed the staff.  Did I mention that she was always feisty?  I had a great time.  Is this a last hurrah for my 96 year old grandma?  I wondered.  My brother spoke with the staff.  She has been like this for weeks.  All of her medication has been changed.  So, we lost almost three years to medication.  On some level I understand that.  She gets anxious and paranoid, and they start medication to control that.  It works.  They don't take her back off of it, and then we lose her to a trap of mind altering medicine.  My mom fought that battle all the time when she was alive.  My uncle fights it now. Whatever the case, I will take this precious time with my grandma and enjoy it for as long as I can.  I think I will take the big kids, the ones who remember her best, to see her tomorrow.

As a side note, I have to brag on Wyatt.  He willingly, without being asked, gave Grandma by the Lake random hugs and cuddles while there.  He walked the hall without complaint with a resident who is clearly not in her right mind, but definitely sweet.  He even went to tell her goodbye when we left.  That boy has a gift with the elderly!

Typhoon Yolanda

As most of you are aware, a typhoon hit the Philippines last week and caused unprecedented destruction to that country.  What you probably don't know is that this family sponsors a nine-year-old girl in the Philippines.  We are still awaiting word on if she and her family are okay.  We sponsored another child who is now an adult from the Philippines for several years, and she has not been able to make contact with her aunts, cousins, and grandmother.  Her mom is searching for them. Please pray for this devastated country, and if you can, donate to the relief effort. I have added a widget to the upper right hand corner of my blog (under the banner) which you can simply click to reach a donation page for Compassion International.  Compassion already has boots on the ground in the Philippines, and their centers are making every effort to confirm the safety of Compassion sponsored children and to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the community.  Samaritan's Purse also has experience with disaster relief, and I am sure they are already have boots on the ground there too.

It does not take a lot of money from one person to make a big difference.  It only takes a little bit from many people, so even if you can only spare $5, it will help.

XC comes to an end

Savannah finished the cross country season recently, and the team held their annual banquet last night.  

While she still hates running, Savannah absolutely loves the team.  These girls are just fun-loving, sweet people.  The coaches are comedians.  Really, they are.   We spent three hours at a banquet last night for about 30 kids.  The coaches shared lots of stories, laughs and encouragement for these kids, and I have come to know that giving up an evening for a long banquet is worth it when you have fabulous, encouraging coaches.  We have experienced this in football, for the swim team, and now for cross country.  It makes a HUGE difference when the coaches love the kids.  Way to go, Coach Stallings, Coach Dewey, and Coach Dixon!

playing with the camera

out of 2 sessions, this one is still my favorite picture

may need to try again - unbelievable how hard it is to get a good shot of the four of them together

love this

In honor of National Adoption Month

profound and true


borrowed from Love Without Boundaries  http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com


Remember that clicking on the picture makes it larger.

Guess who made the Beta Club...

This girl!

and these girls

and this girl

celebrating with ice cream after the ceremony (yes, the boys made it too)

Zach's injury

Zach finally saw the hand surgeon this morning. 

The football prognosis is this.
He cannot play in our first playoff game which is a week from this Friday.
He has a 50/50 chance of being able to play in the 2nd game of the playoffs.

Zach's formal senior pictures

courtesy of Darwin's Photography

I love this one, but it makes me laugh every time I look at it.  It looks like a Realtor's photo to me.