Sweet Prayer

Tonight in Katie's prayers she said:

"Thank you for Mom...the sweetness"

Makes it all worth it :)

Seriously...

How can I not LOVE this baby...

This is how she is EVERY TIME she wakes up.
Oh how I love her.

Sorry this video is so dark...hopefully you can even see it!

Hiding Places

The house was awfully quite this morning - which usually means trouble - so I went looking for the girls. It took me a while to find them, but here they were...

The were playing airplane. (???)
They even asked me to bring them some snacks.
Like on an airplane...

Bend It Like Jensen - A Video Diary

Today was Katie's first soccer game ever.
Actually, her first any kind of game ever.
And what a first it was!
We saw both ends of the spectrum emotionally and everything in between.
Luckily we ended the game on a high note and we will be going back next week.

Because Dave is in California and couldn't be there, I am posting LOTS of pictures and video so he doesn't miss out. Watch if you want, but if you're going to watch only one, watch the last.

Katie is the only girl on her team, but I don't think she minds so much.


We're lucky she has such a great coach. The above picture was right after video #3.

Neighborhood friends Darren, Kyle, and Katie.

Feeling pretty good after the game.

Now for the videos:

Here she is warming up with the coach and team.
I had to include this one...I love our GIRL :)

Katie's first time on the field. Is it obvious at all that she has never been on a sports team before? Ok, I admit...she's never even seen a sporting event. You can almost hear her saying to herself "why are you all running around that ball?"

I debated on including this next video - it breaks my heart - but it's vital to the story. It will make the end even more sweet. I really do have to hold back the tears watching this. At the end (about 5 minutes into the game) she breaks down. You'll see. She then came running off the field saying "I can't do it, Mom." {{my heart breaking again just thinking about it}}

And then like a champ (after lots of hugs, tears, water, sitting in the shade, and words of encouragement) she has enough courage to go back in and try again - and makes a huge defensive play which leads to her team scoring.

And here is another big play of hers. I love how she steals the ball from that punk #11. Watch and see why he's a punk. He does that again and I might get myself thrown off of the field ;)

And the grand finale. Way to go Katie!

There's nothing like some sideline love & support. Way to go McKenna.
(who taught you to cheer like that?") :)

I couldn't be a prouder mom. Not because she scored a goal (even though that was AWESOME!) but because she overcame her fear & discouragement and got back in the game. She didn't give up. She learned the importance of sticking with it, not letting her team down, and cheering them on from the sidelines. I am so proud I could cry. Again.

Zucchini Anyone?

I cleaned out our garden before we left for our trip.
Even still, I came home to a baby-sized zucchini.
That's not to say that it was small...
It was literally the size of my baby.

Trot Trot to Boston Town

More about our trip here.

Take 4

Take 1:

Take 2:

Take 3:
(my favorite)

Take 4:

Oh how I love this girl.

Dawn

This is what I get to wake up to in the morning.

Glasses

Katie has initiated Brooke into the club