Soccer Summary

Celebrating after a win!  She has learned so much over the years from playing soccer with the same group of girls.  They truly like one another, support one another and with that comes playing well with one another.  It was Ellie's choice for lunch after a soccer game.

To date the have played three games.  Two Saturdays and a Thursday evening.  These have resulted in 2 Wins and a Tie - no losses!  And the team they played on Saturday were 11 & 12!  Not like the 10-year olds on her team.  They were taller and bigger than all our girls, but ours were quicker and played together like a team.

So proud of they way they listen to the coaches, and talk to one another on the field to ensure they know who to pass to and who is where.  There's a maturity I see when I watch her play.  Perhaps its from years of dribbling, passing and kicking that ball around .. since she was 3.  But the confidence seems to have come overnight.  Several parents have commented how good she is at her position.  She plays it with ease and with determination to do the right thing for the team.

In the sky

The Texas sky is the most fascinating thing both morning and evening.  It provides colors and shapes like no other sky we've seen before.  We love the wide open spaces to watch sun rises, sun sets and the moon and stars.  Its also put us closer to wildlife .. and the beauty of nature.

The other day Ellie and I were riding in the car and a beautiful, big red-tailed hawk fly right in front of us.  We both saw it and squealed!  No one was harmed during the course of this adventure, I promise.  Not us or the hawk.

"Mommy, did you see that?!??!"  she cried.

"Yes, wasn't it gorgeous," I responded.

"What do you think it means?" she wanted to know.

So we looked it up in the book when we got home.  It was profound that we saw it on the Autumnal Equinox according to the book and it means to keep on the lookout for new ideas and begins a season of hope for those who see it.

More than anything I was thrilled that instead of getting excited when Justin Beiber comes on the screen, that my girl was so excited to see a red-tailed hawk!  So, so proud!!

Girls' Best Friend

Ellie's homework from her Language Arts (English) class each day is to read for twenty minutes.  She and I often talk about how I wish someone would assign me to read for 20 minutes every day - as its one of my favorite things to do!  But Ellie on the other hand would rather do so many other things than read - her iPad, her phone, television, sing loudly, dance in the rain, sort socks into pairs ... you get the picture.  Anything other than read!

Until she read the first book selection of the year for a grade.  Mrs. Sloppy has them choose a library book and then a project to share with the class about what meant the most to them about the book, and why another student would want to read it.  The book kept her interest - sometimes reading for 45 minutes in one sitting!  And as she got closer and closer to the end she was getting anxious - because she didn't want the story to end.

Boy, was I familiar with that feeling!  The day after school that she finished she got up and came to me in the kitchen.  There were tears in her eyes and she was holding the book close.  "Mommy, I finished my book," she said quietly.  When I asked how she liked it she said she loved it and asked if she could read the last paragraph to me.

It was then that I knew she would love to read.  She got it.  She understood the ending and most of all felt a loss that the story was over.  With that grows a hunger for the next story.  What book will fill the hope in my heart left by the one just completed?

Such a proud mom moment to be raising a reader!

Girls' Weekend

Bill was in New York for a Fathers & Sons Yankee weekend, which left Ellie and I to make our own fun!  Friday night we read, watched a movie and ate pizza.  Saturday was her first soccer game of the season - but it was rained out.  Plan B.

What better to do on a rainy Saturday then go to the library!  Which is exactly what we did.  She said, "I'm 10 now so I'm going over to the kids' section by myself.  Come find me when you're done."  And so she did.

I browsed audio books for the car, movies for the weekend and browsed the new releases.  When I arrived in the kids' section to find her she was working the card catalog!  What a girl  - I said, "Aunt Maureen would be proud of you!"  And she smiled.

She found exactly what she was looking for .. and then some.  So we brought our movies and books home to enjoy our sushi lunch and look forward to chicken nachos for dinner!

And a good time was had by all!

Begin.

Sometimes that's all it really takes.

One word.

Begin.

I found this awesome misshapen mug with just that word stamped into the ceramic.  Begin.  And it reminds me that we need to keep putting one foot in front of the other.  And if it doesn't work out.  Okay to begin again.  It doesn't say begin only 4 times.  It says begin.

And that's exactly what I did again this week.

Memorial Day Weekend

We spent the long holiday weekend in Houston with Aunt Di, Uncle Bruce and Garrett.  As with most plans that we make - we take it one day at a time and enjoy whatever it is that we do!

Ellie loved spending time with Garrett.  With his toys, books and favorite things to do when he's at his Grammy and PaPa's house.  I can't type that without sharing that each time Bill said Papa all weekend he said, "PawPaw" like Ree Drummond does on The Pioneer Woman's cooking show.  He cracked himself up - every time!

We enjoyed the back patio with the hot tub, ceiling fans and all those wonderful birds at the feeders!  Snacking and laughing between games of bananagrams was what we did best.  It was, after all, a holiday weekend!

We also visited the Johnson Space Center in Houston.  It was awesome!  So much to see, to remember and to appreciate with our space program.  Ellie's love of the sky, the stars, planets and the moon made it prime for her appreciating how we learn what we do from space.

We also got to see AJ and meet Avery.  Ellie had never seen a baby quite so small .. and at just over 5 lbs, she is quite a little peanut!  So adorable!

As always, it was wonderful.  A relaxing few days - always finding something new to do when we're together.  Until next time ....