Has it really been that long?

Well, since I finally checked my blog and realized that it's been a little over 3 weeks since I've written, I decided that I better tell you all that I'm still alive and that we're all doing fine!

In brief: We traveled back to Southern Oregon the Saturday night before Easter and stayed through Monday morning, arriving in back in Gresham in time for Mikael's practice at the batting cages. Between baseball practices and games, we're pretty swamped, and then add in Wednesday morning Bible Study, Theology class and church service on Sunday, Friday School (homeschool co-op) on Friday:) and then occasional entertaining and play dates. Oh, and I forgot to mention that we're trying to get a garden in, meaning that we tilled up the sod and are trying to amend the soil, plot it out and also build 2 large raised beds and one large planter (2'x 2'x 12'), and then of course, plant it. Oh... and we're doing a bit of work on the back porch - installing a post and beam system from which we'll hang our porch swing.

I think that pretty much covers what has kept me away from my blog for the past 3 weeks. So, now a positive update. For those of you who know about our situation, you would know that it's tenuous at best. The Sandy Hatchery had lost all funding beyond June 30, 2009 and would be shutting down and we would be moving again to who knows where, yet, we know that God is sovereign and He can and will do what He chooses. It's our job to get our will in line with His and rest in His care. I'm sorry to say that I wasn't resting nearly as well as I should, but God is faithful always, especially when I can't deserve it! Tuesday of this week we found out that our funding is back and we will not be moving!!!!

In case you don't know me well enough yet, I really don't like the whole "move" thing. It just throws my life into chaos, and despite having chaos in my life at frequent intervals, I despise it.

Anyway, looks like I'll be blogging from Sandy, Oregon for a while. What a relief for me! The boys both cheered, as well, when they heard the news. Now I can garden and landscape for the long-run. The boys can make friends without fearing they will lose them shortly, and we can all heave a collective (might I add, faithless) sigh of relief.

Well, Friday School is quickly approaching and I still need to get everything loaded up, so I'll go for now, but try not to take 3 weeks to post again:)

Did I mention that baseball season has begun?!

Just in case any of you were wondering, baseball season is here. And even though I can say that I "know" what that means, I guess I forget the reality of it until it actually hits. I have Nathanael's game schedule in front of me, with some guestimated practice dates inserted (2 games plus 2 practices per week). I also have a practice schedule for Mikael for the next 3 weeks (4-5 practices per week with optional Sunday batting practice). We'll be getting Mikael's full schedule this Saturday at his 4th practice of the week. I'm also looking at the regular weekly schedule that's in place -Women's Bible Study on Wednesday morning, Growth Group on Thursday night, Friday School on Friday morning, Church and Mini-Church on Sunday morning- and then thinking of adding regular stuff in like dentist appointments, grocery shopping, field trips, etc. So, what I'm saying is that even with Charles and I each coaching a team of our own last year, our lives definitely didn't seem this busy! I suppose I'll get used to the schedule in time (something every night of the week with some nights double or triple booked, and Saturday games or practices, or both, from now until May 30th,) but for now it sure seems daunting!

Yet, even with all this, I'd still sign them up for baseball again. Nathanael seems to finally be getting into a groove, bringing it all together and getting some confidence. Mikael is super excited to be able to show all his skills to his new coach, and proud that now he's not afraid to be hit by a pitch (he took a wild pitch on his hip this evening while we were at the batting cages)! They're both getting to know some kids and make good value judgments as to what kind of friends they want. So, even though we're all going separate directions most of the time, and my head's already spinning from the schedule, I'm glad we're doing this.

But, you can still pray for my sanity! I'm absolutely certain that there will be days that I'll need it!

Baseball Season has begun!

For the last two years, baseball season means that, in order to feel like our kids are in a safe environment, Charles or I, or both of us, need to coach the team that our boys are playing on. So, with a bit of trepidation on my part we signed the boys up with the local Sandy Cal Ripken League. The only reasons that I didn't demand to be the coach of one of the teams is that this seemed to be an, get ready for this, organized league (meaning: trained coaches with real experience and a passion for kids), and I was tired of being Mom, Teacher, and also Coach. It just gets to be too much of me with the kids. They really need a break from me in charge! So, we signed them up, they had their try-outs, which were skill evaluations in order to place them on a team that will fit them best. We had been told that every kid plays and it's really all about learning here. I thought, "yeah, right. I'll believe it when I see it." Well, tonight I saw it. Nathanael's age bracket teams were chosen last night, and we got the call from his coach telling us that we had a quick team meeting and short practice tonight at one of the local schools. And, would you believe it? One of the first things he said was the "First, baseball is about having fun. Second, it's about learning the game and skills. Third, if we win then great, and if we don't, we learn. It's still all about having a good time." Now, I can see from what he said that it may sound like it's all about making the player feel good, but that's not what he meant. He meant that it's about the right attitude and always giving 100%, never giving up, being a good sport. Then he said another thing that threw me for a loop. He said to the kids, "The most important thing is minding your Mom and Dad, doing your chores, and definitely, do your homework. School is really important, and if your parents come to me and tell me that you can't play because your grades are down, then I will respect that, and you won't play." No kidding. This guy really seems to be a good guy and a great coach. As I was driving back to Starbucks for coffee to warm me up while the kids finished practice, I was thinking just how refreshing it was to feel like my son was in a situation that wasn't imminently harmful, mentally or spiritually. What an amazing gift from the Gift Giver Himself! Here we are in a place where we know relatively few people, needing to have an outlet for the boys to meet other kids and continue in their chosen sports, and then God just happens to heap blessings on us by providing a league that truly does seem to emphasize learning skills, not punk attitudes, fair play, not steal it home if you can, and respect for your parents and coaches, not foul language and constant disrespect. Over all, it seems like the good of the player comes first. Now, look at that, "the good of the player." That doesn't mean the good feelings of the player, but what is truly best for them. Just like God does with us, He gives us what is good for us, even if it doesn't feel good, but it has our future best interests at heart. I'm thinking I can support this team philosophy!