SWEET 16!

Photo by: David Leaser

Kindergarten Graduation



First Grader!

Sixteen years ago today Mike and I became two for two in God's gift of creating boys! The joy that entered our lives on this day can not effectively be put into words. By far it will go down as one of Tod's proudest days. He so lovingly took baby brother, Craig..named chosen by HIM, into his arms minutes after delivery...and has cherished his brotherhood/friendship ever since. For us, Craig was such reward. Just using the word "reward" seems strange in context...but if you know Mike and I well, you get it. Much time.....five long years to be exact.....were spent attempting to figure this balance of marriage and parenting out after Tod's birth. We still don't have that down but God gave us Craig at such a perfect time! Happy baby...a little older and wiser parents...and a big brother who had prayed and prayed for a baby brother!! How blessed we are!

Craig, you have given more to us than we could ever thank you for. Your tenderness, compassion, empathy, and determination are qualities that will enable you to SOAR through this gifted life. To say we are proud of the man you are becoming is such an UNDERSTATEMENT. From your academic successes at Jesuit, your determination to achieve EAGLE, your loyalty to friends, your determination to make the basketball team, and your unconditional love towards ALL of God's creations....put that together with all of the character traits you have... and WOW, what a winning combination. We pray, son, that you continue to give God the glory for all of these gifts, and always reach out for His hand to guide you as you become a Man for Others.

We love you, Craig-o, more than you know!

Happy 16th Birthday!

You + Tod + AAC + Dallas Mavericks in Finals =

F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S way to spend your birthday night!

Baseball

I love baseball. Been coaching it for about 15 years at various youth levels and always love it. We've got the 2 youngest still playing, both are very good and hopefully will keep playing and having fun for years. An added bonus this year is that I am able to coach T-ball with 2 of my brothers. Reed is playing with Ian (John's son) and Christian and Patrick (Steve's sons). It has been a great experience to have them all on the same team (Our folks love it because they can see about 9 grandkids at 1 T-ball game). Cole is on the Lugnuts and continues to amaze. Diving from his shortstop position to his left, fielding the ground ball from is knees, rolling over, popping up and throwing a dart to first for the out. Immediately after letting a slow roller go right through his legs. (ed. note: In case he reads this I don't want him to get a big head.)

Our T-ball team, the Dodgers, is pretty good. We hit well and field pretty well and have a record of 7-1-2, but the best part is that every player (14 kids) has played every position. Our coaches are proud of that because we keep all of the kids engaged. Which leads to the reason for this post.... This week I had to attend a T-Ball coaches meeting to discuss rules and player rotation. T-BALL!!

Apparently some of the coaches were leaving the same kids in the infield for the entire game and some others did not play infield at all! Some coaches were changing the rules in the middle of the game or adding things to give their team an advantage. Makes me scratch my head. Personally, being the manager of a 1st place T-ball team is not on my bucket list. It's much nicer to have a kid run up to you in a restaurant 2 years after you coached him, give you a big hug and say "Hi Coach!". Those little guys don't remember who won or lost, they remember that they had fun and got a game ball for making a great catch. I'm not the greatest coach in the world, and I make plenty of mistakes, but at least I remember that T-ball is for the kids. Doesn't seem like a hard concept to grasp.