Our weekend

A rare photo of my boys together.  Jay is still taller than Nick but not by much.  Nick spent his weekend taking care of animals (dog/cats/cattle) and fishing.  He started a new job this morning!  

And here's my stock tank.  This idea came to me a year ago.  Mike was a great sport about it.  He spent all last week digging a trench for the electrical and getting the tank up and running for me.  I love him! 

 

A Night Out

This past Saturday Jay was doing his thing (which is typical for the weekends) and Nick was at a fishing tournament.  It also rained all day.  It was a bit miserable.  I didn't have any plans which for me is good and bad.  My sister called after lunch and asked if Mike and I wanted to go with her and Craig to a whiskey bar.  I jumped on the opportunity.  I think we were all glad to have each other and something to do and of course the cocktails were rather enjoyable also.  

 

Blessings

This morning I sat out on my deck and spent some time with Jesus and my coffee.  I'm convinced the only thing better is heaven itself.  As I looked out over my yard and into the trails, I could literally hear my boys laughing, covered in dirt, living their best lives.  I thanked God for the blessings He has bestowed on me.  Lately I've been really hard on myself (or rather Satan was up to his dirty tricks), convincing myself God must be so disappointed in me, but deep down I know that's not true.  I'm just thankful that each morning I can get up and God renews my spirit.  I will keep running my race, tripping along the way as only I can, but I will keep running to that goal (Philipians 3:14) because I know with every fiber of my being that goal is going to be awesome and so worth it!   

ICASSTT, Here comes Nick

I swear Nick is eating, sleeping and breathing fishing these days.  Last weekend he went up north with his fishing partner, Jackson and Jackson's dad.  They fished the ICASSTT tournament (whatever that is).  Of the 58 boats on the water, only 6 proceeded to state.  You guessed it. Nick and Jackson are headed to state.  They fish at Lake Springfield in early June.  Nick is loving life these days!  And as I always say it's Nick's world, I just live in it.  Love that boy of mine! 

 

How is Jay doing?

I don't blog about Jay much anymore because he's an adult.  I try to respect that truth, but he does still live at home which gives me a little something to write about.  Ha!  He moved back home in January.  As a family we picked up right where we left off.  He absolutely made the right decision in moving home.  Inflation is soaring and gas prices are through the roof.  I joke with Jay that living at home probably isn't all it's cracked up to be but he's a good sport and says he doesn't mind, and I believe him.  Me, Mike and Jay have an understanding, we don't have rules per say.  All we ask is that Jay use common sense and be respectful of our home and thus far he has been.  That's not to say there hasn't been some challenges along the way, but we've dealt with them and in true Jay form he corrects whatever the issue was/is.  He continues to work for the same employer and our hope is he'll get into the apprenticeship program in 2023.  The economy and where its headed makes me nervous but I simply have to trust in God's plan for Jay.  He and Gabby are still dating, and next weekend Jay will attend her H.S. graduation.  They seem very happy and content together.  

 

Olympia Anglers

 I can't remember if I have written much about Nick's fishing team (imagine that).  In 2020 I wrote a proposal to our school board about starting a fishing team at our school.  It must have been all in God's timing because other proposals had been presented in the past but this time the board approved it.  After it was approved me and other friends of mine put our heads together to come up with a plan.  I'll never forget that first meeting me, Ryan Komnick and Scott Boots had with our assistant A.D.  Sure we had some ideas of what we wanted the club to look like but getting it off the ground and running was an entirely different story.  We needed coaches, money and boats!  By the summer of 2021 we were meeting pretty regularly and we had the normal bumps in the road.  A few disagreements along the way but we worked through it and came up with a plan.  Ryan enlisted Jon Wise as our coach and it literally exploded (in a good way) from there.  Jon enlisted other men as boat captains and tournaments were scheduled.  Nick started fishing tourneys with this team in March 2022.  On May 9 we participated in our first ever IHSA sectionals and would you believe we came in first place?  Ryan was crying he was so excited.  Our boys were over the moon and our captains were thrilled.  Two of our boys are headed to state next week and although Nick isn't fishing at state he is going along to cheer his teammates on.  Of course Nick is in his element.  He has such a passion for fishing.  My prayer continues to be that God uses that passion for His glory and through fishing Nick can truly come to know his creator.    

Faith's big weekend

Sweet Faith graduated from UA this weekend!  She is going to be an awesome nurse.  She is kind, humble, beautiful and smart!  Any medical facility will be lucky to get her, and any patient will be blessed to be cared for by her.  

My sister is the best.  I did not want to drive to AL by myself so she went with me for a sisters weekend.  It was a whirlwind weekend.  We split the drive to AL and spent the night in KY on Thursday night, that way our drive on Friday was shorter.  We spent Friday afternoon with Faith, attended her graduation ceremony on Friday night and drove back to our hotel in Birmingham on Friday night.  On Saturday Kim and I spent the entire day at the pool.  It was heaven!  On Sunday we made the LONG drive back home.  

                                           An added bonus for me that I got to see Jenny!  
 

Birthday brunch

 I say it all the time and if I could shout it from the rooftops I would.  I have the very best girlfriends.  They all bring me great joy.  Yesterday Betsy and Calli took Laura and I out to brunch for our birthdays.  The day itself was dreary and cold and to be honest the weather is wearing me down.  It was a much-needed distraction to spend the morning with these lovely ladies.  

Nick is 16!!!

 Happy 16th Birthday, Nick!  My days of driving kids around is over, just like that.  It's hard to believe.  It feels like the end of an era, probably because it is.  Nick and his buddy, Chase (who turned 16 while in FL with us) went together to get their licenses.  The day was much like it was 16 years ago.  It was chilly and damp.  After Nick got his license his first solo trip was to get his fishing license.  I'm pretty sure we'll rarely see Nick now as he'll be fishing every lake, pond and river this side of the Mississippi.  But this kid.... he's a character.  His greatest gift is how he relates to people. Mike and I often joke that he could make friends with a bear.  During his driver's test yesterday he conversated with his instructor, asking her what training is needed to work at the DMV.  One might have thought he was just making small talk, but Nick told he had always wondered about that, so he asked.  His passion for fishing is evident in everything he does.  I've asked God to bless Nick's love of fishing abundantly and that He use it to glory Him.  I look forward to seeing what Nick does over these next two years.