Humbled and honored...

to get the privilege of baptizing Heidi last week during the 5th and 6th grade Serocks baptism celebration.  Heidi served as Sarah's soccer coach last year (and Paris' this year) and her small group leader on Wednesday nights during youth group.  She is a close friend of our entire family, well loved by us all!

Sweet Sarah held the iphone for Bo to Facetime the baptism from Georgia.  Love this pic of Sarah holding the phone with Bo looking at Heidi!

Sarah with Heidi after her public declaration of faith in Jesus.  So thankful Heidi desires to follow and obey Jesus!

A boy of action...

Fletch had another great season in which he worked just as hard passing it to teammates as he did scoring.

We were super proud of Fletch's Christ-like awards for stellar sportsmanship and going out of his way to lift his teammates up encouraging them and giving them opportunities to score.

Fletcher led his team in assists and even asked his coach privately to take him out on one occasion to let his only teammate who had never scored try to get his first goal.  We melted when he told us quietly on the car ride home that he had done that to help his teammate feel successful. 

I thought Fletcher reminded me of how my brother played soccer until Tommy started this year...Tommy somehow always made it to the horizontal position on the field time and time again.  Tee would always top off his fall with a dramatic log roll for effect.  Not sure Pays went to that extent, but Mom did always joke that Payson spent more time horizontally than vertically while playing.

Fletcher experimented with lots of foot work this year trying out some new skills.

Noah, Twenty-one months old

Loving his curls! 

Finally(!) getting more toofers...

Too stinking cute!

Mommy LOVES this shot from the last Upward soccer game.

Man on a mission...probably nothing more than to seek out any Gatorade bottles hoping to consume "big juice" as my cutie sis called soda as a child.

Our Defense Queen

Paris LOVES to play defense!

The POWER of the girl...

She was BOOTING these balls with intensity throughout the entire game.

She told me after the game, "Mom, my legs are aching from how hard I was kicking the ball!"

Leaping or kicking?!?!  On a side note, both she and Sarah asked to take dance lessons in the fall.

Not afraid to get in the mix...

Good D, Parie!

Tommy's Last game of his first Upward Soccer Season

Wide open for a shot on goal...

Love his pre-kick stance here...

All bunched up...Not unusual!

More power with Super-hero arm action?!?

Had to work for the next goal...

Tommy's Post-goal face..."Yeah, I scored but I'm not gonna look up because I might smile!"  I love how he quickly glances at us after he scores to see if we saw it, and then when he sees our thumbs up sign he looks down as if he's trying to be humble.  Pretty cutie!

Tommy was excited to score three goals for his team in this last game.

Noah "snapping" pics of his best pal, Jessie Ann

Towards the end of Sarah's bday party, Jen and I found Noah and Jessie Ann taking pictures of each other and posing hilariously as if they really knew what they were doing!

Tommy "helping" his little brother who seems to be doing just fine on his own!

Our little photographer!

Now it is Jessie Ann's turn to "snap" pics with Sarah's little camera!

Chocolate Slip-n-Slide, May 16, 2012

Cue the chocolate...

Next, some mayo...

and finally, the sardines!

Tommy and Paris joined the throngs of middle school students sliding down the Chocolate Slip-n-Slide garnished with ANCHOVIES and MAYO! 

When Charlie saw this picture, he said, "Grasshopper!"  :)

The kids thought they were BIG stuff for sure!

Our Ar-tee-st at work...

The kids' Options school has a building contest each year, and our kids decided to participate using paint and clay.  Fletcher's clay project was titled "Nostalgia" and was a Native American scene including a brave with a quiver of arrows, a tepee, fire with meat roasting on a rotisserie, and a large buffalo with an arrow in his side and a smaller one running away.  He did an excellent job, was quite proud of his creation, and won a prize for his grade level.  Sarah decided to "build" a New York building using two canvases and paint.  Her building spans both canvases and took her most of a day to complete.  She painted from breakfast to lunch with no interruptions and was exhausted and starving by the time she finished five hours later!

Sarah's finished "Building" project.

Our favorite part of this piece was the sky.  She would blurt out as she worked, "I love my sky!  Mom, don't look!  It's a surprise!"

She loved using her easel.

I thought her people crossing the street turned out really well.  I was so proud of her tackling such a challenging project and working totally from her own head (no picture to look at while she painted).

May 9, 2011

Sarah turned 11 on Wednesday...ahhh!  A rising 6th grader, Middle School REALLY?!?!

Tommy was super excited for his sister's birthday breakfast.

The kids woke to find a trail of bubble gum balls leading down to the breakfast table.

Fletcher, our resident chef, sporting his new apron while he cooks breakfast for all of us.  Yesterday he made the most delicious oatmeal with diced Granny Smith apples, coconut and raisins.  The presentation was fabulous...he greeted me with this beautiful bowl of oatmeal he'd made as soon as I came out of my room after showering.

Today is homemade doughnut day for Sarah's birthday.  Fletcher loves the powdered sugar  ones best.  We also make Nutella ones, cinnamon sugar ones and some with just honey on top.

Tommy was so excited to help just like his big brother, Fletcher, who does it all by himself.

Sarah wore her new Aeropostale skirt, Toms, and grey ruffle shirt with her green hair flower to celebrate her special day.

Sarah bought me a pair of sunglasses on her birthday!  She loves them and wants to borrow them, too!

We had such a fun day with her!  She crawled into bed bawling after we got home from youth group that night.  I asked her if she was sad.  She said, "No, Mommy!  I just feel so loved and significant (a phrase we use a lot in our family because we believe all of us want to feel both loved and significant)!  I've had such a special day!  Thank you, Mommy!"  Ummm, precious!  My heart melted that she'd be brought to tears in thankfulness.

Sarah's breakfast table waiting to welcome her.

Sarah's birthday started as it has the past ten years when we wake up our children on the hour in which they were born.  Sarah was born a little after 1 a.m.  Charlie was so funny trying to wake her up by tickling her and pegging her with the rubber balls I bought with her pool party in mind.  

After all the siblings woke up during the slumber party in Paris' room, Sarah got to open one present from us and then Charlie prayed a blessing on her before we let them all go back to sleep.