The GOOD...The BAD....and the SAD

Hello everyone.

I just happened to notice that I haven't updated in a few days. And believe me, quite a bit has happened. Let's get started, shall we?

The GOOD: The half-time "performance" by Jayla's soccer team at the college went great! The girls had an awesome time. And the few girls that got to the stadium early, even got to walk out, hand in hand, with the players of the college teams...just like in the pros. So needless to say, Jayla really enjoyed that!

Here are a few pictures from the evening. (Jayla has on the red headband)

You can't really see Jayla in the above photo. But this is when the players were walking out on the field before the game.
This shot was taken just before the players were introduced.

Here's a short video of the scrimmage game the Lil Stingrays played during half time. Again, Jayla has on the grey shirt and the red headband. She's the one kinda hanging out on the left side of the video running after the ball when it goes out and jumping around a lot :-). And that's Coach "Daddy" is in the jeans and black shirt :-).


The BAD: As mentioned in my last post our U14 and U16 teams had a tournament this past weekend. Although the boys played REALLY well, they only won a couple of their games. Tied one and lost a couple. But that wasn't what made this my "BAD" selection. The referees for this tournament were AWFUL!!! I mean, they SUCKED!!! One of them in particular. I won't even go into detail as to why I'm making such harsh comments. I'll just say that, even the coaching staff of the opposing teams as well as the parents of the other teams couldn't believe some of the RIDICULOUS calls that this ref made against our boys. It was UNbeliveable! To give you an idea of what I mean...in our last game on Sunday, a kid from the other team made a very dangerous slide for the ball and kicked our goalie square in the chest with his cleats. But the ref didn't call it as a penalty or a foul. He said our guys was "alright" and that's just what happens when you play goalie. Some of that may be so, but NOT when the goalie has a freaking cleat print in the middle of his bare chest! Our goalie even had on 2 or 3 shirts and you could clearly see the red bruising from the other kids cleat on his chest.

It was so bad that our coaches almost pulled our team off the field and forfited the game. Needless to say, we will NOT be participating this a tournament at this location again.

The SAD: It is with a heavy heart that I write this next part of my post. This past Monday, the PE teacher at Jayla's school, suddenly passed away. And I do mean SUDDENLY! Coach J worked in the afternoon carpool line, helping the kids get in their vehicles. And on Monday afternoon, just as he has all school year, he helped Jayla in the van and wished us a nice evening. Not 5 hours later, I get a phone call from one of the mothers, saying that Coach J died in the parking lot of his 5 year old twin daughters dance class. Fortunately, his wife, who is also a teacher at Jayla's school, was with him. They are thinking it was from a sudden heart attack.

I decided not to tell Jayla bout this until yesterday morning. As I didn't want her to be so upset Monday night and not get any sleep. So through my own tears, I told her yesterday morning before I took her to school. She was VERY upset! I wound up walking her to class yesterday as I knew the atmosphere at the school would be a bit much for her, as she'd be wondering why everyone was so sad. And sad it was! There were counselors there for the kids and teachers, as it was very somber. Jayla's teacher told me that Jayla had a few "breakdowns" during the day...as did most of the kids.

Coach J touched the lives of EVERY SINGLE child that walked the halls of that school. As they ALL had PE at some point during the week. Markell even had PE with Coach J when he attended that school from K - 6th grade.

I will be representing our family tonight at the visitation. I spent almost as much time with Mrs. J last year as I did with Jayla's teacher. Their Kindergarten classes are right next door to eachother. So I feel like I need to be there to show my support and sympathy.

WELL...sorry to end this post on a sad note. But I will ask for your thoughts and prayers for, not only the "J" family. But for the school and the students.

That's all I have for now. Enjoy the rest of your week and I'll talk to you in a few days. Toodles!!

READY...SET...BLOG!!!

Well hello there! Happy Friday everyone.

What?

It's me...DAWN! Don't you remember?

Sheesh, you take a few weeks off from blogging and no one remembers you, lol.

Ok, that's not entirely true. Which leads me to one of the most important part of this post...the THANK YOU's! Thank you to all of you who have either left me comments, emailed or called to check on me...I thank you! Talk about a crazy last few weeks. WHEW!!!

Let's dive in, shall we?

~I think my last post was an "Ode to Mothers/Women everywhere, right? Well, I had a nice Mother's Day...sitting on the soccer fields. Isn't that what EVERY mother did? :) Really, it was fun though...the weather left a little to be desired. But fun nonetheless. Our U14 Stingrays won that tournament (YAY!!), which sent them to the State Championships last weekend in Columbus, Ga. The boys played great. We won 1 of the 3 games we played. But they played their little hearts out.

~Speaking of the State Championship...Oh my GOODNESS!!! We played this one team on Sunday morning and the parents/fans were some of the most OBnoxious group of people I have EVER seen! Before I go any further, let me just say that I have absolutely NO issues with people cheering for/supporting their team. I can cheer/scream/yell with the best of them! I mean c'mon...think about it...I don't even have anyone ON the team anymore and I still cheer and have fun on the sidelines. HOWEVER, when your cheering/supporting becomes personal, THAT is where the line should be drawn. After seeing how these people acted last weekend, I can understand how someone can get into a fight or even worse, shot/killed at youth sporting events...hence the videos and pictures that make for great TV watching...Most Amazing Videos :). But this group of people started off really nice. They spoke to us that morning and even made small talk before the game. But once that ball was kicked...it was ON!!! These people were yelling AT us, taunting us, calling us and the boys on our team names. They had made up "cheers" talking about how we were losers and that we were gonna get killed. Even at times when one of our boys may have been hurt on the field, they were making fun of them and making "whining" noises. Man, it was crazy. So much so that Jayla was scared to tears because of how these people were acting out. She'd ask me, "Why do some people have to be so mean?" What do you say to a 6 year old when they ask you that? It was pathetic. Unfortunately, we lost that game (3-1). BUT, WE were the only team to score on this team the entire tournament. So that in itself was quite an accomplishment. Once we got home, I wound up emailing the commisioner of that team to let them know how their club was being represented at the tournaments. Surprisingly enough, he responded and said he'd be addressing that issue...as my email was not the first he'd heard about this group of people.

~As most of you know, I don't get out much, lol. But I did get out last weekend to go see a movie. Me and my Girls Night crew went and saw this. It was really cute. You know, your basic chick flick :-). But very cute. As I mentioned, I don't get out much, especially to the movies. So when Stacey and I got to the theatre, our other friends hadn't arrived yet. So, we walked right up to the window to pay for our tickets. (it was a Sunday evening, so there was no line) When the lady told me how much the ticket was ($8.75), I told her, "Oh, I'm sorry...I'm not paying for her too!" (referring to Stacey). The girl just gave me this weird "I don't get it" look. Stacey and I, on the other hand, found it funny, lol. I was like, "$8.75 for ONE person?!?" DAWG!!! Anyway, I got over that "sticker shock" only to be shocked further at the concession stand. (Note to self: IF I ever go to the movies again, stop at the store for snacks first. Right! Got it!). Ok, first of all...why does ONE person need a drink that comes in a cup that's the size of a bathroom trashcan? WHY? Secondly, why do I have to fill out a loan application to pay for said beverage? $4 for a SODA! Are you KIDDING ME??? I can buy 2 cases of Dr. Pepper for $5! Oh...and that's another thing...they didn't even HAVE Dr. Pepper! What is this world coming to? $15 in refreshments and a breathing treatment later, our other friends showed up and we went to enjoy the movie. (another note to self...IF I ever go to the movies again, I should buy a little bit smaller sized drink. 2 1/2 hours is a LONG to have to wait to go pee. I'm just sayin...)

~Last week, Jayla's class had a shopping day at school. It was so cute. Each kindergarten class was set up like some sort of store. There was a jewelry/accessories shop, a book store, a toy store, a sweets shop, an art studio, a place to exercise & get massages and a movie theatre. The kids were given a bag of money (pennies) and were allowed to wander freely through the halls of the "school mall". They had an hour to spend all of their money however they wanted. Jayla LOVES to shop, so this was right up her alley. I wasn't too pleased by all the CRAP she brought home...but they had a good time. :-)

This 2nd picture is of Jayla using some of her money in the "exercise/massage" shop. You know, a lady has to keep physically fit for a day of shopping :).

~Guess what? The scrapbooks are DONE!!! Talk about a long and daunting task. SHEESH!!! I must say though, they came out really cute. I took pictures of Jayla's book (30+ pages), but needless to say, I'm not posting them yet. Being that there's so many of them, I still need to get them onto a slide show. So if you're interested, stay tuned for that one. Also, I've gotta figure out how to "blur" some faces. Don't want any lawsuits over a kindergarten scrapbook, lol. Speaking of the books, I distributed them to the class yesterday at their EOY celebration. Alright, how crazy is THIS...I was SOOOO nervous earlier in the week about these darn books, I didn't know what to do. I was so nervous about how they'd like them. C'mon Dawn...they're 5 and 6 year olds, for goodness sakes! I'm psycho...that's just all their is to it! But the kids, their parents and the teachers LOVED them. They were a huge hit. WHEW...what a load off! For the EOY celebration, the kids made ice cream sundaes and watched a short movie that was made from some of the pictures I took. They're so cute!

~I'm sad to announce that today, Friday, May 23rd, is the last day of school (sniff, sniff). Jayla looked SO STINKIN sweet today...just like a big girl.

She's also a little sad about it being her last day of kindergarten. But still very excited. I'm planning on going up to the school today to do all my farewells (sniff, sniff, sniff).

~Well, I think I've covered everything. Considering how long this post is, I'm sure you're all hoping I'm done ;). Sue me...it's been a long time and I had a lot to share, lol. Last but not least, how bout we end this post with a flower fix? It IS Friday after all.I hope you guys have had a wonderful week. I'm glad to be back blogging again. However, due to the fact that school is now out, I'm sure I'll be spending a bunch of time entertaining Jayla. But I won't let that keep me from my blogging duties. So with that, I'll be seeing ya! Have an awesome weekend and BE INSPIRED!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

My goodness, November is a busy month for birthdays in my family.

And today is a very special one. My baby, Jayla is a half-dozen years old today :-).

WOW...it's so hard to believe that on Tuesday, November 20, 2001, this beautiful child came into our lives.

Just as I've said over my past 2 years of blogging, this day is always so bittersweet for me. I'm thrilled to death, everyday, to see this little lady blossom, grow, and learn. She has the most amazing personality and her character simply oozes with tenderness, gentleness, and love.

For those of you who have had the opportunity to meet her, you've only seen just a small part of who Jayla really is. You don't have to be around her for long before she makes you break into laughter. She has the sweetest spirit. Words can't express how much I love this girl and how thankful I am to God for trusting US with her care. What a blessing she is.

Well, you've seen what a beauty she was when we first brought her home from the hospital...puffy eyes and all, lol. But check her out TODAY, at the age of 6 years old!

Sorry, but pictures of Jayla are just like Lay's potato chips...you can't have just ONE! lol

Happy Birthday, my sweet girl!!!

Today at Jayla's school was Grandparents and Special People day. Jayla wanted her Grandma to come and have lunch with her. But she said she wanted me and her daddy there too. Just so happens, daddy took the past few days off for our birthdays. So we were both able to join Jayla and Grandma for lunch.

When a child has a birthday at her school, they are given a special "crown" to wear. So today was EXTRA special for Jayla. It was so funny, last week, they sent home the form telling us about the upcoming luncheon. On that form, they also had the menu. Well, Jayla isn't much of an eater and I knew she wouldn't eat the basic Thanksgiving dinner that was being served.

Jayla proceeds to tell me that she doesn't like any of that and she wants me to bring her something else to eat :-). My MIL reminded me that she'd gone to G'Parents day with Markell a few years back and she wasn't too fond of the menu either :-). So it didn't hurt her feelings at all that Jayla wanted something else to eat. Long story short, we stopped at Chick Fil A and got lunch for the 4 of us :-).

The school has a rule that no outside (fast food) restaurant food can be brought in. However, as long as we don't bring it in the "original packaging", it would be fine. So on the way to the school, I was stuffing CFA sandwiches, nuggets and fries in foil and sandwich bags. The teachers said it was alright if we brought softdrinks in. It was fun.

Jayla even got to have a professional picture taken with Grandma.

Well, Jayla wanted me to share one more of her birthday surprises with you. Today is the last day of school for the Thanksgiving holiday. Last week, the teacher sent home a note saying that Jayla was chosen to be the caretaker of the class "pet", over the Thanksgiving break. Ok, if you're keeping up...that's a total of 5 days!!! :-) Needless to say, Jayla is VERY excited about being given this responsibility. Also, she's the very first one of this school year to be chosen. And how cool for it to happen ON her birthday.

Well, without further ado, allow me to introduce to you...SWIMMY the Beta Fish.

For the next 5 days, Swimmy will reside in Jayla's room. I ask that all of you take a good look at him for me. You know, just in case "something" happens to Mr. Swimmy the fish and he needs to be replaced, LOL! By the way, do dogs eat fish? I hope not.

Ya'll have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I hope you all have a great time with your friends and family. Save me a wing!! :-)

Birthday shout out, Not a BIT scary!!! Just plain ole CUTE!!! & Friday Flower Fix

Happy Friday everyone!!!

Before I get into this potentially long post, how bout a birthday shout out? Ya'll know Adrienne, right? Well, today is her birthday. Please join me in wishing Adrienne the happiest of birthdays. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Adrienne! Hope you have an AWESOME day!!!

Ok, now it's time to *finally* share some pix of my pretty little gobblin. And for the record, she's not a BIT scary...just plain ole CUTE!!! Check her out...



Below is a little taste of how many kids were at our neighborhoods annual hayride. Can you believe all these kids live in our sub-division? And this wasn't even ALL of them. Thank goodness we have less than 100 homes, huh? :-) The kids absolutely love this. And it keeps them so safe. My neighbor, Mr. Eric, rents a trailer, hitches it to his truck and drives the kids around to collect their tasty treats. The parents just follow behind the trailer and help the kids off and and on...oh, and one lucky parent gets to rake up the hay that falls off :-).

This is just a cute picture of my neighbors dog, Midas. Hmmm, wonder what Trae wants to dress up as next year? :-)

So, now, what's next? Thanksgiving, right? I can't believe it's time to start thinking Turkey :-). And Christmas will quickly follow suit. But in the meantime, I've got a Luau to plan. I've got everything I need for little Missy's party and I'm getting really excited. The stuff I ordered should be here today or tomorrow. YAY!!! And another exciting thing that may be happening the weekend of the party is, your friend AND mine, Lynilu will be in town. I REALLY hope we're able to meet up.

Oh, I forgot to tell you, yesterday, I went on a field trip with Jayla's *K* class. We went to a makeshift pumpkin patch (yes, AGAIN!) Needless to say, the kids were a little disappointed. But fortunately, they had a lot of other fun things planned for them to do. We spent just about all day there.

Oh, and you'll love this...we were up on this deck where the kids go to have hear a story and sing songs. As we were leaving to go to our next stop on the tour, Jayla grabs my hand and says, "Uh, Mom...I have a little problem here." And one of the other kids quickly dimes her out and says, "Ooooo, Jayla's shoe came off!!!" Well, not only did her shoe "come" off...it fell into a hole and fell under the deck! You're kidding, right? "RIGHT!" Jayla says :-). But yes, she did put her foot into a hole and her shoe did fall under the deck. Oh well, nothing I can do about it right now, let's move on. Long story short, as Jayla's hopping down the bunny trail (sorry, couldn't help that one, hee hee), she's complaining about the rocks hurting her foot. Too bad for you, sweetie...let's keep it movin', kid! I caught up to the lady who read us a story and she radio's to the maintenance guy. As we're wandering through the smelly make shift petting zoo, the guy brings me Jayla's shoe. Problem solved.

And to add to our fun filled day, we spent our lunchtime multi-tasking. By that I mean, trying to eat AND fight off yellow jackets! ARGH!!! Little girls sure do scream loud!!!

Alrighty now, you know the next question...what have ya'll got planned for the weekend? Something fun I hope. Jayla has a game and her EOS party tonight. We're having the party here...do these people love me or WHAT??? :-D Then tomorrow is her last game of the season. The boys play tomorrow too, but they're not quite done yet. Tomorrow is the last day of the regular season. But we're headed to tournaments next weekend. More on that later...with some hotel bed jumping photos, just for you Cheryl :-).

And NOW, ladies and gents, here's what you've all been patiently been waiting for. The Friday Flower Fix:So pretty, huh? It's actually a wedding bouquet from a Fall wedding. Hmmm, I don't think I ever would've thought of this. But I really like it. It's perfect for the season and to end this post with.

I hope you guys have a wonderful, fun filled weekend. And I'll holla atcha soon. TOODLES!!

Happy Monday!!!

Hello everyone! It's Monday AGAIN...where did the weekend go?

Oh my goodness, you guys...this past weekend was GORGEOUS!!! The sky was a beautiful shade of blue, without a cloud in site! Every once in a while, there was a nice breeze and the temp couldn't have been above 85. Perfect weather for soccer. Hey, I'm glad you brought that up...lol.

The Lil Stingrays played at 9am and let's just say they won :-). Jayla scored one goal, which was awesome. She seems to be really getting the hang of the rules and doesn't look so much to score all the time. She LOVES to be able to assist her team mates in scoring and loves to pass the ball. So she was very happy with only scoring once. Last season, it was so funny...every goal she scored she thought was worth 10 points each. So by the end of the game, let her tell it, she'd scored about 40 - 50 goals...LOL.

The Stingrays had their team pictures at 10:30 on Saturday morning. And this was a milestone in Stingray history. This was the first time in about 4 or 5 seasons that EVERY SINGLE player AND coach was there on picture day...AND on time!!! Now isn't it just our luck that this happens to be a season that Markell isn't there, so we may not get a team picture :-(. But all I can say is thank God for scanners! Doggonit...I'm gonna GET me a team picture!!!! After the pictures, we headed on up to the new fields that just opened. We were so excited that one of our games were scheduled there. The fields are BEAUTIFUL!!! The game got underway around noonish and it was ON AND POPPIN!!! LOL. I won't give you the play by play...I'll just put it in simple terms for you...the Stingrays ROCKED it!!! They won 10 - 3!!! What a game! It was so exciting. I just love watching those boys play together. It's amazing what playing with the same guys season after season will do for a team. I'm so proud of them.

After the game, several of us went out for Mexican food. I was so glad too, cuz I'd been craving a Fajita!!!

Then on Sunday, we went to Sunday School then listened to a wonderful sermon. Well, I only heard 1/2 of it. I don't know about you, but the smell of strong perfume gives me a headache. Two couples came in and sat near us (one in front of us and one behind) and the cologne/perfume they had on had a seat of it's own! Marque and I both sat there with our fingers across our upper lips trying to mask the smell. Oh my gosh, it was SO STRONG. 1/2 way through the service, my eyes were beginning to burn and the headache was kicking in big time. Marque looked over at me and said, "You and Jayla can go out if you want to!" Man, he didn't have to tell me but once! ARGH!!! Why do people do that? After church, we went out for a nice dinner. Oh how I love not having to cook on the weekends!

ANYWAY, today has been a fun day for me too. Today was my first day volunteering in Jayla's class. Every Monday for one hour, I get to help out in the class. Can you imagine...they asked ME to help with the "craft centers"! I had a really good time. And it was so cool to see Jayla being a "student". She's a really good kid. And her teacher says she's like that all the time. So I was glad that that wasn't a show for mommy :-). It was so funny, one little boy that sits at Jaylas table said, "Oooo, who's momma is THAT?" Jayla answered and said I was her mommy. The boy then said, "OH, I like yo momma!" Jayla quickly informed him of, not only how old I am, but how old I'll be on my birthday next month, LOL. Hmmm, I've still got it...even to 5 year olds :-).

Welp, that's about it for me today. Ya'll enjoy the rest of your day and I'll be talking to you soon! Be Inspired...I AM!!!

1st Day Update

Hello again.

Well, the first day of kindergarten for Jayla went off without a hitch. She gets out of school at 2:10 and I was in the carpool line at 1:35pm, lol. I couldn't help it. I just couldn't wait to hear how her 1st day went.

Now, we live about 1.3 miles (give or take), from the school. This girl talked from the time she stepped up in the van until we got home. And to her, the most exciting part of her day was playing some game called Doggie Dog. I have NO clue what that is. And the fact that she has tried to explain it to me for the past 5 hours isn't shedding any light. Oh well, as long as she had a good time. And the other highlight of her day was having salad for lunch. She LOVES salad but the exciting part was having "Blue Trees" dressing on it :-).

Another exciting part of the day was the fact that Jayla got to be the very first line leader. That obviously puts one in the best of circles in the world of kindergartners :-).

I was pleased to hear that kindergartners still take naps. But I'm thinking that wasn't quite enough rest time for our little princess. She crashed and burned about 2 hours after getting home, lol. They must've worn my baby out today. I think she went into this day so excited that she finally came down from that high. Hopefully she won't be as worn out in the days to come.

Thanks to all of you for your sweet words of encouragement, as we go into this new chapter of childhood. It's gonna be a fun ride!

Look out KINDERGARTEN...here she comes!

Hello everyone in blogland.

I am proud to announce that I did NOT cry this morning when we dropped Jayla off for her first day of Kindergarten :-). Oh my goodness you guys, she was bouncing off the walls this morning. She was a little unhappy about having to be awakened at 6:30am...but as soon as I reminded her that it was FINALLY Monday AND her first day of big school, she jumped out of bed. And quickly informed me that she'd be having her usual for breakfast (Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and milk...with a straw).

Jayla didn't even finish her breakfast of champions this morning, because she was so ready to "hit the road". After getting dressed in the outfit she's had picked out for 3 weeks :-), we got the hair done and she was ready for pictures. Isn't she cute?

We can't head off to school without giving grandma a big ole hug first :-). Today is also grandma's 84th birthday. So this is a special day for everyone.

Gotta have that "at the front door" picture every year :-). She sure makes Bermuda shorts look good, doesn't she? lol

"Mom, take one where you can see my Princess back pack!"

Let's not forget the one by THE tree. This one was kinda awkward to take. The grass was a little damp and little missy wasn't real happy about getting her new sneakers all "dewey" :-).

There is no way I can explain to you how crowded the school parking lot was this morning. There were people parked all along the street, in the parking lot and in the grass. We were able to get the ole van up over the curb and on the grass. Jayla asked daddy to carry her out of the van so her new sneakers wouldn't get dewey again :-).

Look how little she is. She's too small to be going to big school. But look at that big, proud grin...I know she'll be fine.

Jayla was glad to hear that her new teacher, Ms. Freeman LOVES morning hugs. Well, she got the right student in her class for that this year :-).

I can't wait to hear about Jayla's first day of school when I pick her up this afternoon. I hope the excitement she's feeling today stays with her throughout the school year.

I think I'm gonna forego the "Inspired to INSPIRE" today. I mean, I'm pretty inspired already by the fact that this morning wasn't as sad as I thought it would be.

Have a great day. And Be inspired...I am!!!

Friday Flower Fix & Last day of school

Happy Friday everyone!

"Nature is too thin a screen; the glor of the omnipresent God bursts through everywhere."

***
Well, today is the last day of school for our kids. What a L-O-N-G school year this has been. But it was exciting too. Jayla totally enjoyed being in school everyday and learned SO much. She's so funny...as she's NOT looking forward to the summer break. Poor thing, just has no real concept of time and doesn't understand why she can't go to school for 2 months. She said to me earlier this week, "But mommy, I don't WANT another Spring break!" lol. Little does she know, the upcoming break is alot longer than the week she had off in the Spring. I sure hope she keeps this attitude about school.


Yesterday, they had their last field trip and went to a local park to play. I met her there and ate lunch with her and her classmates. I even let her use my camera to take a few pix of her friends. I'll have to show those later, as I left the camera with her teachers this morning so they can take some pix of the kids enjoying an ice cream party on their last day.


Markell, on the other hand is really looking forward to getting out of school. He successfully survived 6th grade and his first year of middle school. Although it was a VERY rough road for him (more on that in another post).

Lastly, I ask that you guys keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the next few weeks. Not only because it's going to be a chore to keep both a 12 year old boy and a 5 year old girl entertained for 2 + months :-). But because some major changes are about to take place in our home. My heart aches when I think of what's forthcoming. But I know that God will take care and will see us through. I do plan to share this with you all soon...when the time is right.

Have a beautiful weekend everyone!!!