Christmas Candids

We had a blessed Christmas.  Here are some pictures of the joyful season.

One Dozen Years

Our Drakester turned 12 this past Friday. 

We are so pleased with the young man he is growing up to be.  He enjoys sports and the outdoors and is a hard worker like his daddy.  

We celebrated with Drake's soccer team as we gathered for a Christmas party.

They sang to him with their worst voices. Hope you had a great birthday Drake.  We continually pray God's favor over your life.  

She's a Perfect 10!

Corinna turned 10 on December 3rd!

How can my baby girl be growing up so fast?  What a lovely young lady is becoming.  Our family does not do big birthday celebrations but we did go out to eat.

Corinna wanted a Brookie (brownie+cookie) sundae instead of a cake.  We look forward to watching Corinna grow into who God created her to be. I am sure the next 10 years will go by even faster.

Thanksgiving Tradition

Our Thanksgiving Tradition might sound awkward but it works for us. I usually go to the beach and JJ goes hunting.  We miss time together, yet we both do what we like to do.  I am thankful for a place to go to relax.  JJ enjoys his time in the woods. We both take in God's creation, just in separate locations.

In recent years, Drake has opted to stay home and hunt.  Unfortunately, neither one harvested a deer this weekend. They had a good time nonetheless.

Hayden, Corinna, Kay and I came to the beach to relax and unwind. We had a nice meal.  We got the turkey an dressing from a caterer in High Point but cooked the rest.  We read and lounged around and watched Christmas movies.  We saw Frozen at Surf Cinema.

We walked on the beach, collected

 shells, watched the sunset. 

We communicated with our hunters via text and face time.  We were together, even though apart.

We are packing up and about to leave.  I like what has become our tradition, but love reuniting.  That will happen in just over 4 hours! 

The Difference A Day Makes....

I have been hesitant to write this post, but here goes.  The day after my last entry, the life of a family changed forever. A fellow soccer mom was traveling to work on Monday morning, October 21st, and did not make it there.  She died in a head-on collision at 36 years old.

Her name was Melina Hernandez.  Her daughter is Emily.  Corinna got to know his family last year as Emily and Corinna were on the same team.  Melina loved to cheer the girls on.  She had a distinct laugh.  She loved to give to others.  Corinna spent the night with Emily.  Melina took them to a nail salon.  We recently went to Emily's 10th birthday party at a local skating rink.

Melina's life was cut short.  None of us are promised tomorrow. Corinna and Emily play on different teams this year.  Yet, the teams practiced together twice a week.  In fact, the day before Melina died, the date of my last post, the sister teams played one another. We were all together at the field.  Now when we all gather as a NC United soccer family, we are missing a soccer mom.

Corinna spoke at Melina's memorial service. I was unable to attend but she spoke from her heart.  The teams got arm bands with Melina's initials.  They finished the season keeping her memory alive. 

This past weekend out soccer club held a coaches tournament.  The games had been scheduled before Melina's death but ended up being played in her memory.

Monetary donations were collected for the family and nearly $1,000 was raised.  We continue to do our best to support this family.  Our hearts ache for them as they will forever mourn the loss of Melina.

When we see Emily's smile we will think of the legacy of life Melina left behind.

Soccer Season

Soccer season is ending in a few weeks but it has kept us on the go.  Both teams are playing well. Last weekend, Corinna's team took first place in their division at Challengefest.

Here are some pics of the past several weeks since I have failed to blog in over a month:

Here are a few more after the girls' championship game. 

Drake's team always runs to the fans after each match.  They have won a lot lately and the following collage depicts  their signature style.

Corinna's team finishes their regular season next weekend and Drake's ends the following weekend.  Then we will head to Autumn Blast in Hickory, which is also (of course) the same weekend of Hayden's play, Shrek the Musical.

Fast Fifteen

JJ and I celebrated 15 years of marriage last Thursday.  Where has the time gone?

Here we are on our wedding day, September 12, 1998.

The Lord has blessed us beyond measure.  After soccer practice we went for a late dinner.  We returned to the Gatlinburg area for our 5th and 10th anniversaries but were unable to do that this time.  We just had one weekend soccer game that we combined with a family camping trip.

The weather was nice and got cooler in the evenings so we sat out by the fire.

The kids missed camping with friends but we had a relaxing time. Got some biking in too.

Here is a pic from Corinna's game.  Her team played great and won 6-2.

I often get frustrated with our busy schedules during this phase of life.  Soccer practices and play practices take up many afternoons and evenings.  Then we factor in homework, school and church activities.  We are almost always on the go. Yet, the big picture is what the next fifteen years will hold: children driving, graduating, attending college, them entering the workforce, potentially getting married and having children of their own.  

In a blink on an eye we will be empty nesters trying to figure out how to live in retirement.

Then....

Now....

Now...

The next 15 years and beyond....

Our sovereign God has it all mapped out.  Our days were written in His book before one of them came to be.

Return to Hungry Mother

Over Labor Day weekend, we camped at Hungry Mother State Park in Virginia.  There were seven families in our camping crew.

The skies we encountered on the drive were a sign of what was to come.  Rain.  Lots of rain.  But I must say we've camped in worse weather.  We did have nice breaks with no rain and still had a fun time.

We were thankful that the evenings were dry so that we could gather together at meal time.  We always eat well.

A new camping game was discovered and corn hole was tossed to the side.  

There was also bike riding and playing in the creek.  The creek was quite deep by the end of our trip.

Just hanging out with one another was relaxing and enjoyable.

We always gather together on Sunday mornings for a time of worship and in the word.  Some other families not in our group joined us.

The rain did not come until after our Sunday morning gathering.  Finally it cleared up late in the afternoon and we hit the swim beach.

Check out Drake's back flip!

Sunday night we were finally able to keep a campfire going to make s'mores and listen to some "scary stories."

Here's the story about how the state park got its name:

We will definitely return to Hungry Mother. Rain or shine, it makes for a great time. Until next time....