This Is All I Have to Say...

Only 10,798 84 more days to go, give or take a few.

Play Ball!

Christian had a t-ball game tonight, and it's the first time that I have both had the camera there and had a battery that was charged enough to take pictures of the whole game, and not just one whole game, but two.  Oh yes, a double-header, with the first game starting at 5:30.  The second game would end around 7:30.  Mike had a meeting.  I took all three kids to the field.  I was a little less than enthused.

We were there a little early for warm-up. This is Christian...

Seriously.  Earlier in the day we were leaving a friend's house and I'm pretty sure I heard him say,"Boo-ya!" "Boo-ya"? Really?

In spite of my worries, it turned out to be a fine evening.  Michaela took it upon herself to watch over a troop of little girls who delighted in her stories and general tutelage, and all of them had great fun coming up with many different things to do including making sandcastles.  These little girls got good and dirty.

Where did my daughters come from?  They like to dig their fingers into the ground.  They like to play outside no matter what the weather is like.  These are things that come from their daddy's genes...it rounds things out, I'm sure.  Otherwise my little bookworm would be as white as salt and as muscular as a wet noodle.

Christian had a great time...the team played very well.  It was amazing to see them working together, throwing the ball to one another in an effort to get the other guy out, and cheering one another on.  He played pitcher first.  (Why, yes, there is a pitcher in t-ball.  Funny, no?)  He was getting ready for the first batter...

Early on he fielded a ball and threw it over to first base; the first baseman tagged the base and the runner was out!

Great play, guys!  They thought so, too...

I love Christian's intensity when he is playing a sport...

He has the ability to check out the ball's whereabouts while hot-tailing it to the base...he's speedy.

Safe!

Back on the field, he played third base. He caught a ground ball, watching his base the whole time...

and moved onto third quickly...

You can see the other team's coach telling the runner to stay put.  He didn't have to go, it wasn't a forced run.   I was proud that Christian did what he did, though, I thought it was smart.  (I can't think fast on my feet like that.  Watch; ask me what is 7 x 8...53!  No!  56!  See?   I'm no good...and I'm not even on my feet.)   And just because I haven't shown you enough pictures already... another first base run...

Second game, first time at bat (I like the action)...

Well, it wouldn't be baseball otherwise, would it, now?

Another at-bat...eye on the ball!

They tied the first team, but they won the second game 15-13.  Since it is a 6-run per inning game (or however you want to say it) it's hard not to tie.  The second game actually had several outs on both sides.  It was an exciting win.

Now it's the bottom of the ninth, and the bases are loaded...I'm up and the pressure is on; that's the way it is when you are known for batting 1,000. (Read..."It's late and all the kids are in bed.  I'm still up, but I need to get to sleep, although it's as sure as peanuts and baseball that I'll get it all wrong tomorrow, too."  Why mess up a perfect record?)

Disappearing Act

Will someone please tell me who put this big kid in Eliana's bed?

I put my baby girl down for a nap today and when I went in to wake her up (I know, who does that?  Today, I needed to.) I discovered this big girl instead! Where did my baby go?!

Worship

This morning two of the worship services in our church met together, The 11:05, our contemporary service, and All Nations, which is a service made up of mainly African folks, who sing in Swahili and dance at the same time! By the second song it was all I could do to hold back tears.  Watching all those Presbyterians clap their hands and move their hips, hearing so many people praising God in two different languages but all together...it was a taste of Heaven.

Raise your hands, all you nations;

Shout to God, all creation.

How awesome is the Lord most high!

Great are You, Lord,

Mighty in strength.

You are faithful,

You will ever be.

We will praise You

All of our days.

It's for Your glory

We offer everything.

Raise your hands, all you nations;

Shout to God, all creation.

How awesome is the Lord most high!

Where You send us

God, we will go;

You're the answer

We want the world to know.

We will trust You

When You call our name.

Where You lead us

We'll follow all the way.

We will praise You together

For now and forever.

How awesome is the Lord most high!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

How awesome is the Lord most high.

(How Awesome is the Lord Most High-Chris Tomlin)

Indeed, how wonderful it was to raise hands offering God glory and praise alongside white-haired ladies clapping and lifting their own hands as well as Kenyans moving their bodies joyfully worshiping the Lord of all of us.  And to hear Michaela's voice calling out those words,"How awesome is the Lord most high!"  Well, there are no words for that.

Fun Times and Swimming Lessons

I took the kids to the pool today, and while I can't say it was the most fun I've ever had, they had a great time.  Christian splashed right in...

while Michaela took Eliana in slowly.

Eliana wasn't sure what to think; I believe she was having memories of her time in the pool learning to float.  She was a bit dubious until she got used to the water.  After that, she was quite brave.  Because she is in diapers I had to stay in the kid pool area, but it's a pretty large pool.  It has a long sloping entrance and eventually gets to the depth of two feet.  There is a circle at the deeper end with a fountain in the center; I'm not sure of the depth of this ring, but it's not much more than two feet.  She went in until only the very tops of her shoulders and head stuck out.  She just kind of bobbed and hopped about, watching for Christian and Michaela to swim around and come up out of the water in front of her.  She laughed, and called for them, and flapped her hands, and wiped the splashes out of her eyes, and squealed.

We didn't stay very long because I learned that you should never shave after a long period of time and then go straight to a swimming pool and get in.  My legs were so itchy that I thought I was going to lose my mind; they were so itchy that I was having hallucinations and weird visions about them.  And it's really hard to discreetly scratch all of both of your legs while standing in the middle of a pool that is one and a half feet deep, two at most. The kids' lips were also turning blue; even though it was hot outside, the water was getting to them.  I asked Christian if he was cold and ready to go, and he shook his head yes, while shivering, holding his hands and arms together in front of him in a "V" shape, and said,"No," at the same time.  I decided it was time to head on home. We had a few minutes  of resting and drying off before we left...

I wish I had more pictures, but our camera requested to stay dry. Now it is the end of the day and I have to figure out how I'm going to get the dishes done, because Eliana is having a hard time sleeping, and it looks to me like she's having nightmares about some of her time in the pool.  There was one instance when she lost her balance and she went into a floating position!  She did a great job, and once she floated I picked her up and told her she did well.  And then she had a blast.  While trying to go to sleep tonight, however, she would seem almost there and then she would sit up on her knees and flail a bit.  It looked like she was trying not to fall!  It was kind of strange to watch her swim in her bed.  I usually stay in there until she falls asleep, but tonight I stayed a little longer; I was worried she was going to be sick.  She did have a yucky diaper...pool water?  Pizza sauce?  Who knows?  She has no fever, and is sleeping just fine in my lap!  Hence my dishes dilemma.  Thank you for listening to that ramble.