Catching Up
I'm sure that years from now when I read through my blog books, I will very easily see the periods of time that were the busiest because a post will have three months worth of pictures and events. I know that the best way to do things is to keep up with the present, but I do not want to forget the past that has passed my recording method by. Therefore...all many things from the last several months that despite my best intentions, did not make it into their own blog post:
Jakob wrestled this year. It was his first experience with wrestling--other than the frequent, unofficiated wrestling that happens with siblings off the mat! It was our first experience with it too...none of the kids have ever wrestled as a sport. This season generated much more interest though for future years, especially with Ben and Joe!
I admit too, the singlet thing...the wrestling "uniform"...was a little bit challenging to get used to, but I got over it pretty quickly. It was thrilling to watch Jakob improve as the season progressed. He is strong, and did well, earning place medals in a couple of meets. He wrestled at 160 pounds. He weighed around 157-158. He had one meet that he wrestled 152 and while he did really well, and enjoyed the advantage of an opponent a good 8 pounds less than he was typically used to, I think he preferred not having to work hard to make weight every week and eat as he wished rather than like a bird.
Joshua played basketball for St. T's this winter. How I got all the way through a season with only a very inferior iPhone photo of the team and nothing more is a mystery! Did I just not take pictures for two months??? Josh is a great athlete, and despite his hesitancy to want to play basketball, I think he thoroughly enjoyed the entire season. Their team was handed only two losses on the season...the first because I think their heads were a little too big for the game, and the second because one of the opposing players was from the NBA. (Only kidding, but it wouldn't surprise me if he is in the NBA one day!)
We are blessed with musical talent through our children...Jonathan is playing the drums/bells in band this year.
The five oldest continue to play the piano. I love hearing someone playing at random times in the house. I know it will continue to get harder and harder to keep this commitment, but I'm also thrilled that they'll have this element of music in their lives.
Again with the lapse of photography, I have no record of the Christmas concert at St. T's! It was of course wonderful. :) I also don't have pictures from the Pius Christmas concert, but I did manage to record the audio for a bit of Handel's Messiah. (I've got a lot to learn about videos and YouTube...) I've said before that music deeply touches my soul, and this particular song does. My sister and my brother and I all sang it at the end of each of our Christmas concerts in high school in the same fashion that Pius does, by inviting all of the vocal alumni to sing with the choirs.
We also had the privledge of going to Mass on the Feast of the Holy Family with the CK community and their families. We were adopted into Sr. Mary Cecilia's family for the day and enjoyed dinner and the afternoon with them. Why God blesses us with opportunities such as these is a question, but we take them and run! Sister's brother is a Deacon and gave the homily, eluding to the idea that before they were a family representing religious vocations, they were and still are a normal family. I love that "normal" for our family includes friendships and relationships with many of these holy men and women. We are certainly blessed with this particular friendship!
We experienced our first Pinewood Derby this year. Tim was familiar, because he was a scout when he will a little kid. I'm sure the process has changed a bit since then...it's a laser finish with a computerized placing system! So glad I have other talents, cuz this kind of stuff is way over my head!!
Tim and Benjamin worked hard on their white truck. We got a kick out of all of the cars. Those clearly made with help and those made without. Several first-time dads admitted their wheels were turning in their brain for next year's design. :)
The three older boys stayed home with the littles one night so Tim and I could have a date night. When I came home, they were playing poker...
...with marshmallows! :)
Jonathan was so excited that he could finally play basketball with his classmates this year. (Historically, we've limited many activities for all of the kids because we lived far enough away that participating was incredibly inconvenient and often bordered impossible.) Now that we're closer, we want to offer the kids more of these opportunities.
Jon is fast...he always has been. I think he probably averaged 20 steals per game...break-away steals that took him all the way to the hoop uncontested almost 100% of the time...now he just needs to work on his layups! If I had to guess, I'd say he probably converted steals into points 10% of the time! :) Always room for improvement.
Mathilda was part of a theatre production through STAGE again this spring. She was a stone that was part of a wall around the giants garden in "The Selfish Giant and Jack". She amazes me with her ability to speak in accents!
There is much more that has happened during the same times as these events above, but they warrant their own post, so hopefully they will be published sooner than later!
