Saturday, May 30, 2009

Reflections

It has been a heck of a week. We got a phone call early last Sunday morning from Jamie's father informing us that Jamie's grandma passed away in the middle of the night. It was rather unexpected and sudden. We drove to Denton on Wednesday after Elise's recital to be there for the viewing. Then we came back home Thursday for a playoff game. Friday we attended Elise's graduation in the morning, the graveside funeral service in the afternoon, and our final game here at Friendswood High School in the evening.

It feels like every time we turned around this week, we were saying goodbye to someone. And it's been hard. We are leaving the preschool where Elise has attended since she was 3 months old. I've watched her grow up with the same classmates for nearly 5 years now, and even though the move to Kindergarten is going to be a great one, I know I'll miss the teachers and kids from preschool. We thanked Elise's dance teacher and said goodbye to her as well. Jamie's been out of school all week due to the death of his grandmother and our traveling to the viewing and attending the funeral - so he never got to say goodbye to his students. He went into the classroom early yesterday morning to leave notes for his substitute and found written notes from students all over his chalk board. They had written messages such as, "We miss you!" and "Don't go!". I know that was hard for him to see.

Then yesterday we said goodbye to Jamie's grandma. I read a poem at her service, and Jamie's cousin spoke briefly. It was a tough afternoon, obviously. I only met her once, but I'll never forget how accepting she was of me and Elise into her family. She picked Elise up and put her on her lap, and you would never have known that Elise wasn't her biological great grandchild. I really appreciated her, and I know she will be missed.

By the time we got to the game last night, we were just so emotionally drained that our loss to Nederland and elimination from the playoffs just left us feeling numb. Our kids played really well, and we just ran into a better team. It happens. But yet another round of goodbyes was so hard. This group of seniors is extra special to Jamie, because they were freshmen during his first year in Friendswood and he's been with them all 4 years of their high school career. They arrived together, and now they will leave together.

Some pictures from our last series here at FHS :(

Game 1









Game 2











Jamie leaving Friendswood has been harder than we thought. I think he's getting more sentimental as he gets older. He used to have no problem picking up, moving to a new town, and starting a new job. I think it was an adventure to him. But Friendswood has been so good to him - this is where he was working when we met & married. His life has totally changed since he arrived here. Not to mention the trips to state in football and baseball! Plus all the great kids he's met both in the classroom and on the field. Being a Friendswood graduate myself, I am obviously attached as well. It's going to be so strange to cheer for another school next year.

So, that's it - several big chapters of our lives are coming to a close. I know most of the change is going to be positive, but Jamie and I don't do change all that well. Our lives are going to be a bit upside down for the next few months until we get Elise started at her new school and Jamie at his new job. We need to get settled into our new arrangements and get into a routine. Then I think we'll be just fine. It's just the anticipation of the unknown that is hard in the interim.

My Graduate

Elise graduated from preschool yesterday. It was a cute ceremony and much more than I expected! The kids marched in, said the pledge of allegiance, sang a song, counted to 100, and read a poem. Then each one came to the front to get a diploma. I'm a proud mommy!













Friday, May 29, 2009

My Dancer

Elise's dance recital was held on Wednesday of last week. Jamie and I attended, along with Grandma, PaPa, PaPa Wes, and Darlene. We all enjoyed seeing the product of Elise's hard work for the past school year. She was so excited to wear her costume and make up! :)

**To watch the video, go to the very bottom of the blog and turn off the music before playing.**















Elise receiving her certificate, goodie bag, and balloon



We did it!

I am behind, but trying to catch up!!

We ended up defeating TX City in the regional quarterfinal playoff last Saturday. It was a great game and a decisive victory with a final score of 18-5! Here are a few pictures.







Friday, May 22, 2009

You win some, you lose some.

We are currently in the middle of our third playoff series (the regional quarterfinal). We won Thursday night's game in extra innings - 10 to be exact - by a score of 9-3. Tonight we lost game 2, unfortunately. Both games have been close right down to the very last inning. We will play the 3rd and deciding game tomorrow.

Pictures from Thursday:

Ready to cheer on the Mustangs!



Cody running to home after hitting a grand slam in the 10th inning!







Pictures from Friday:

Our 2 cutest fans



Twinkies!







Monday, May 18, 2009

A narrow escape

Tonight was one of those nights where you realize you were outplayed and VERY lucky to have won the game. We beat Houston Davis in extra innings tonight by a score of 2-1. It wasn't pretty, but as I always say - a win is a win. If the pictures appear a bit blurry, it's probably because my hands were shaking!





Jamie & Kevin



Sunday, May 17, 2009

Some action shots of my love

Okay, I am really going to bed after this! But I just adore a man in uniform! He can coach me anytime! ;)



Just because I think it's cute

Since everyone knows how I love to watch Elise as she sleeps, I thought I would share a photo that I just snapped about 5 minutes ago. We were on our way to bed, so I went up to peek at Elise as I do every night.




A few observations:

  • She's tucked all the Barbies, babies, and stuffed animals into bed.
  • She is sharing her pillow - love it!
  • She's gotten into her bow collection and fixed the hair of each Barbie doll.

    Although you can't see them all in the picture, she had 3 Barbies (all with bows in their hair), one baby doll, a stuffed horse, and Spiderman all in bed with her! Yes, I said Spiderman. I have no idea why, but she loves Spiderman. And I love her.

Life is crazy

This time of year is crazy in our house. Now that I'm completing my 4th baseball season with Jamie (third as his wife), I think I'm finally adjusting to the hectic nature of playoffs and not feeling as flustered and stressed as I did in previous years. Baseball playoffs are incredibly unpredictable, because after each round there is a coin toss to determine when and where the next series will take place - so it's literally impossible to plan ahead. For a compulsive planner like me, that is a recipe for disaster! But for some reason, this year it's coming a lot easier for me. And that is a good thing! Maybe I am finally mastering the art of not sweating the small stuff. It's about time.

Jamie and I scouted our potential 3rd round opponents on Saturday. He taught me how to chart the game using the palm pilot, and I felt totally in my element. As Jamie moves up in the ranks, I am wanting to learn more and more about the games he coaches. How stupid would it look if the head coach's wife didn't know what the heck was going on?? I love all sports (seriously, I could watch just about anything that involves a competition), so learning how to scout baseball teams has been really fun for me. I think it was a definite bonding experience, and I loved helping him. Plus, now when we play the 3rd round - yes, I said WHEN :) - I will know a lot about our opponent. :)

Of course, life wouldn't be exciting enough if we didn't have other things going on in addition to baseball playoffs. In the next few weeks we have a baseball banquet, dance recital, preschool graduation ceremony, birthday party, and a wedding to attend! I've become rather forgetful lately, so I'm actually using the calendar alerts on my phone for the first time ever in order to be sure I won't forget anything - including buying gifts for the birthday party and wedding...you know, in my spare time.

Isn't it time for vacation yet???

Saturday, May 16, 2009

It's that time again

Mustang baseball playoff time!



We had a great first round against Terry High School, winning the bi-district title in 2 games last Thursday and Friday nights. Read about Thursday's game here.

Normally playoffs are a best 2 out of 3 series, but round 2 will be a bit different this year due to the suspension of UIL sports over the swine flu scare (insert eye rolling here). UIL has dictated that all 2nd round playoffs will be 1 game that must be played by Tuesday night - winner takes all - in order to get caught back up to the proper schedule. The normal 2 out of 3 series format will then resume with the 3rd round games, which will begin later in the week.

Our 2nd round game will be Monday night in Manvel vs. Houston Davis High School. With a 1 game playoff no one can afford to have an off day, so we will be ready on Monday!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Now *this* is love!

I just adore him for stuff like this. A man who plays Barbie...How did Elise and I get so lucky??

Good Grief!

I don't know which computer is funky, but when I was choosing my new background color on my laptop it was not nearly as bright on the screen as it appears on the other monitor we have. I nearly went blind looking at it! LOL

I'm going to try out this more muted yellow. Although I did want something brighter and more summery, I wasn't exactly going for the school bus look. :)

Sunday, May 10, 2009

A great day

Thanks to Jamie & Elise, I had a fabulous Mother's Day today. I love my family so much! We went to church this morning with my parents and had a relaxing afternoon. Wes & Darlene came over around 2-ish and we went out for BBQ and then came home for dessert and coffee. Jamie and my dad got together and bought mom and I gift certificates for the spa. They said they will entertain Elise for us when we go. All in all, it was a perfect day.

Elise was so cute and sweet. She kept picking flowers from the yard and bringing them to me and telling me she loves me. I felt very loved, peaceful, and happy all day. Thank you to my loves!

Mom with the flowers we gave her today





Me & my girl



My loves



The grandmas