Jacob+Soccer

Four year-old soccer.  There's really nothing like it.  Fun, chaos, a few goals.  Mostly, just having fun with friends and learning about teamwork.  Jacob sure is fun to watch!

passing the ball

 practicing before the game...

 sometimes, they forget who's on their team :)

 fancy footwork!

 shoes come untied lots in 4 year old soccer...

 there's always a little chaos...i wonder where the ball is???

 he gets a little serious sometimes...

Around Here

Life is busy.  There are so many times that I just want time to slow down!  We are in that season where we have something each and every night of the week.  It's a dance to make sure that everyone's homework gets done, dinner gets on the table, and still have time to play and enjoy each other.  Here's some photos of life as we know it right now.

Sam and Jacob with the marble roller coaster.  A favorite!

Homework

Jacob is working so hard on writing 

Sam is such a hard worker...just look at that concentration!

Golf Tournament

Sam had his first golf tournament a few weeks ago and had so much fun.  I think that he had the best caddy in the world, too!  It was a fun time, and Sam ended up winning his division.  More than winning, I was so proud of the way that he handled himself.  Golf has taught him so much about integrity, honesty and sportsmanship.  In each group, they kept the other player's score and had to sign their scorecard, just like the real golfers.  I snuck up to watch his last hole and loved seeing these little guys all take their hats off and shake hands at the end.  When people asked how Sam did, he didn't respond with "I won,"  he simply told them his score.   It is fun to watch this group of young golfers spend time together each week and begin to really care for one another.   I don't know if Sam will win anymore tournaments, but I hope that the lessons he's learning will be on his heart for a long time.

Brothers...

Sam and Jacob....

they still call each other "brother"

people refer to the as  "the brothers"

they play superheroes together

they fight and argue

they work together to hide that they have fought so they don't get in trouble for fighting

they stick up for each other

they know how to push each others' buttons

they love each other

no one can make the other laugh like his brother

jacob adores sam

sam is challenged by jacob...in the best way...jacob makes sam try harder at everything

i hope they will be the best of friends throughout life

Second Grade

This young man is growing up too fast....

...His little brother is going to miss him so much!

Sam is so ready for second grade and has already loved his first two days.  He was sad on Friday night because he didn't have school until Monday!  I would say that's a pretty good beginning!

Rise Up

"Mom, can I pick the song we listen to?"

"Sure...what song"

"27 million"

We listen to this popular song about the tragedy of there being 27 million people living in slavery in this very day. The most ever in the history of mankind.  As we are listening, I hear my two boys, practically yelling the words of the song:

"We've got to rise up, open our eyes up.  Be a voice, be a freedom,  come on and stand up!"

Tears roll down my face.

My biggest fear is them growing up and realizing what this song is really about and asking:

"Mom and Dad...what did you do to stop it?"

Will I tell them that we listened to a really popular song a lot?  That we knew human trafficking was a real problem in our lifetime and we decided to spend our prayers, resources and time on something more fun and less dangerous?  I want to be a part of this horrendous evil coming to an end.  When you look at a such a huge number, you often want to think, "what can I possibly do?"  or "someone else with more power, influence, etc. will do something."  I know of a couple of things that I want to do:

1.  Pray about this every single day.  Battle for these precious ones to be set free.
2.  Go on a mission trip to minister to people coming out of slavery.
3.  Give to ministries that battle.
4.  Help people in my very own town, one of the biggest hubs of human trafficking.

I may seem foolish to think I can make a difference, but I don't really care.  I recently read this blessing:

by Sr. Ruth Fox, OSB (1985)

May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.

May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.

May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

And the blessing of God the Supreme Majesty and our Creator,
Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word who is our brother and Saviour,
and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide,
be with you and remain with you, this day and forevermore.

AMEN

I want to make a difference.  I don't want to sit on the sidelines and watch someone else change the world.   I want to be able to tell generations after me that I was brave and did something about the biggest thing going on during my own generation.  I want to be a part of what God is doing in this generation.  

I pray that we will all be foolish enough to think that we can make a difference.  Maybe, if we are, we actually can.

Zoo Day

The zoo was on the list of places that the boys wanted to visit this summer and this was the week we chose to do it!  I was honestly a little reluctant to go because of the heat.  But, one of my friends told me that there are lots of places to cool down and that it is worth it.  I totally agree!  They have redone so much of the Houston zoo.  If you haven't been in awhile, I suggest you try it.  We had such a lovely day together there.

The day before we went to the zoo, Jacob had a bad fall and ended up with staples in the back of his head to help the wound heal.  I was a little nervous about all of the germs that could be at a zoo, so we wore hats and I drenched the boys in sanitizer after each exhibit.  He just took everything in stride and didn't complain about his head (or his worrisome mother) at all!

We started out in the aquarium part of the zoo and really enjoyed it!  The boys especially loved going through this tunnel...

Jacob didn't know what to think of the jellyfish :)

I'm sure that Sam was explaining what each fish is like here.  His memory amazes me constantly and he recalls information from many books that he's read.  He has always loved learning about marine life, so he really enjoyed this part of the zoo.

 Next, we went over to the new elephant habitat.  We got to the zoo pretty early, so the elephants were eating breakfast and getting baths.  It was a treat to see them up so close.  There were two baby elephants that were so cute!

 After a little while, it was time for a rest and a little drink...

 We walked around almost all of the zoo and saw the lions, the tigers, the primates, and the reptiles.  There is a tunnel that you can walk through and see the lions at eye level.  I didn't get a picture with my camera, but the lioness was chowing down on something while we were visiting her.  I would never, ever want to encounter a lion without some type of wall in between us.  They are intense!  The boys were amazed.

My favorite part of the day was going to the giraffe area, where you can feed the giraffes.  Jacob walked up to the biggest giraffe there was and fed him.  Sam saw a giraffe all alone and said he noticed that no one was feeding it, so he fed that one.  Such is their personalities!  Jacob-100% going for it all.  Sam-compassionate and observant.  Loved that moment.

This is the big guy....

 You simply can't go to the Houston zoo without riding the carousel...

 After a very wonderful day, we stopped in the gift shop for a little souvenir.  What a fun day!