When I was a child, legos were my thing. I was very proud of the fact that I could build anything, especially when the box had a suggested age far above mine.
Pre-teen to teenager: it was the Sauder stuff, you know, that really cheap particle board furniture you bought at Wal-Mart and it might last through one move if it wasn’t damp. I had a coffee tin full of spare Sauder pieces because the same locks, nuts, screws, and bolts were used in all kinds of furniture. I was so confident in my wood-building ability that I charged people to put their Sauder stuff together. Basically, if it had instructions, I was on it. (Even mistranslated instructions, because I had intuition!)
Wednesday, the plan was to get off before 2pm. The kiddos and I were supposed to have an afternoon with my sister and niece. Her internet guy stole the late afternoon (you know, “I’ll be here between 2pm and 5pm”). I went home. Laud, Lucas, and I pull up to… wait, I thought Louis was bummed out because they canceled his order?
This crate, just a little too heavy for Lucas and I to team lift into the garage, was sitting outside the garage. “Stump Grinder” was stamped on the thin plyboard it was packed in.
I couldn’t wait for Laud to load up and get full! I haven’t gotten to build anything solid since the Guinea Pig cages! (The silly three-chicken-run was made of scraps and hurried; not something I was proud of and definitely not solid.)
Bingo! Laud is out and building is on! It came with almost all the tools needed (sweet! 13, 15, 17, and 19 mm wrenches! – yes I’m nerdy enough to love tools.) I love spare 9mm and 13mm wrenches because they are the most commonly lost in my toolbox.
Lots of parts and bolts with locknuts later, I’ve almost finished with the star performer for Saturday and Sunday’s adventures! I enjoy the thrill of completing something practical. I can’t wait to build the giant bird aviary for Becky’s parakeets, our guinea pigs, and baby chicks. I am super excited about the prospect of building! I laughed at my own thoughts while I was building the machine because I actually like the smell of the bolts – weird, right?
I handed the user’s manual and engine manual to Louis – “tada! The machine is all yours.”
This year it may be a little premature, but I’m super excited about the amazing things. #Thankful #Gratitude #PensacolaChristianCollege #EmbryRiddleAeronauticalUniversity #LifeJourney #Children #GoodNewsChurch #WGVGymnastics #Education #Thankfulness
Thankfulness 2022
September 27, 2022
Each year I try to reflect on what God has done in our lives this past year.
This year it may be a little premature, but I’m super excited about the amazing things. I love to brag on what God has done!
I’ve been working for WGV Gymnastics (dream job I wanted my whole life but didn’t know it). Louis is coming up on two years of working for Heritage Funeral Home. I am super thankful for our Christian work environments and Christian bosses.
Christina is happily pursuing her dream with passion, determination, and enthusiasm. She is still at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University full time, working at WGV Gymnastics part-time, and babysitting, dogsitting, and housesitting on the side. She is an amazing big sister! Her little gymnasts love her! She serves in the nursery at Good News Church at least three times a month and loves “her babies” – yes, they become hers for an hour or so. I am so thankful for Christina!
Becky has thrown some shocking curveballs at us and is away at Pensacola Christian College. Same state, yes, but an hour earlier in time than we are. (Different time zone, as she’s under Alabama on the panhandle – Lucas and Thea point out on the big map on the wall at church every morning when we get their lemon tea “there’s Becky!”) I am so proud of her! She’s exploring and learning and growing – such an amazing young lady I am so blessed to be her mom! Thank you, Jesus, for Becky!
Kimberly can legally drive… (REALLY??? I can’t believe she’s 15!) She’s learning so much in schoolwork academically, in gymnastics physically, and in life with maturity as she grows and takes on so much responsibility! Kimberly’s plans are impressive. Her determination is a trait so many people comment on to me – as a youngling, it was labeled stubbornness, but now that she knows how to focus, it’s determination. Kimberly is a competitive gymnast at WGV Gymnastics, a gymnastics coach part-time at WGV Gymnastics, serves in kid’s ministry at Good News Church at least twice a month, and dogsits occasionally. (She is working toward her claimed goals of saving for a computer for college this spring and a car next fall.) I am so thankful for Kimberly!
Jaquline is Christina’s twin. Sometimes Christina’s gymnasts see Jaquline and give her hugs saying “hi! Coach!” which makes Jaquline smile proudly and Christina jealous. “You’re stealing my hugs!” Christina has been known to say later. Jaquline has grown in her relationship with Jesus so much in the last year. She serves in the church nursery at least twice a month. She occasionally volunteers at WGV – or works cleaning to “get Christina out faster.” Jaquline continues to work toward her goal of team gymnast someday – she loves Beam and said she wished there was a Beam only competition. Thank you, Jesus, for Jaquline!
Jillian is facing the challenges that come with entering double digits. The want of being treated as an adult yet the want of continuing childish foolishness. She’s maneuvering that with the cornerstone of knowing that Jesus can lead her through anything. She loves her kid’s ministry leaders at Good News Church. She loves her coaches at WGV Gymnastics (she’s a competitive gymnast). She loves her friends and I see her making some lifelong friendships, if she can hold them. She is leaping forward in academics! I am so thankful for Jillian!
Lucas is an unstoppable force of limitless energy! He is always running a one-man football game where he is the quarterback, receiver, kicker, lineman, and fullback all at the same time. When he catches his own forward pass, I’ll have seen everything. He begs me for a brother almost every day. He is super thankful for his “gym brothers” and his “best friends.” I am super thankful for these young boys and young men God has set around Lucas to help him enjoy being a little boy and slowly teach him how to be a young man. Lucas gives 110% to everything he touches. His passion and enthusiasm will help fuel his discovery stages as he grows. He loves gymnastics. He loves being strong. He loves mud and football and big trucks and being like dad. Thank you, Jesus, for Lucas!
Theadora is no longer the baby. She is a “big girl” or a “young lady” all the time. Though she loves snuggling (I’m so glad she hasn’t grown out of that yet), she is quick to say “I’ll do it myself!” and proceed to do just that. Theadora has a bold confidence that comes from running the gym at the age of two. She doesn’t care to keep up pretences, what you see is what you get – at times like that I think of her as “Becky junior.” This confidence and determination will carry her far. She “signs her name” as TTT and says, “see, I’m triple T,” they are left all over Coach Heather’s desk as “swips” for Coach Heather along with who-knows-what-it-should be doodles. I am so thankful for Theadora!
I love the stage God has us in! I’m so thankful to be here and alive and enjoying every minute of our time together and apart. I love our family. I’m so grateful to see our younglings grow and become young women (and eventually, a young man)! Thank you, Jesus, for the honor of giving life and raising children! I’m so overwhelmed with gratitude to you, Jesus, for my totally amazing family!
Enjoy each moment! We know our children are “on loan” from God for a little while & then they take flight! Enjoy this adventure, Becky!
Stretching Her Eagles’ Wings
August 28, 2022
Part of our educational philosophy is never to hold anyone back. That is sometimes the hardest part of being a homeschool mom, at least for me.
Friday, Christina, Louis, Thea, and I drove Becky to Pensacola Christian College for the start of her next level.
The car trip was fun. Louis and Christina kept playing songs Becky likes and saying, “oops, that’s not classical or hymns” which made everyone laugh and several discussions of songs and lyrics and morality erupt. We didn’t stop as often for potty or snack breaks as Louis thought we’d have to (Thea was too entertained with her big sisters and Christina, Thea, and I packed a bunch of snacks).
The campus was huge and iconic. Beautiful brick and magnificent stately trees reflected tradition and integration. I’m a bit nerdy; I loved the architecture and old fashioned style. Everything was electronic though! I had received an email asking for a physical copy of a specific document – and being leery of electronic access as I am, I brought the actual paper. Didn’t need it. The electronic version of the printed paper in my purse “transferred” perfectly from St Johns River without a thing from me. As Becky’s “authorized parent,” I was able to load into a portal on my phone that allowed me access to maps, her mailbox information, orientation information, even schedules and everything as if I were the student – Becky said it was creepy, I thought it was cool!
After crossing off the seven things (five on the “welcome” list, but with Becky under eighteen there were two paperwork drop offs and as she’s in the work program, she had a task for that as well) Becky had to do and being as much help (okay, Becky would call it hindrance) as possible, we decided (not precisely accurate, Louis decided) to go have a late lunch together just off campus.
Someone likes Becky’s new spot!
Mellow Mushroom. In Pensacola? I thought the one on Anastasia Island was the only… oops.
Finally, I ended up with a picture of my college girls. They thought it cool because both are Eagles and blue & gold & white. (Kimberly got in on that because she took her SAT at Pedro Menendez High School so she considers herself a “Falcon” and even has a Pedro Menendez Vystar card! She pulled it out and showed them the blue & yellow colors – “A falcon is a type of eagle” Kimberly claims.) Becky laughed because she and Kimberly plan on being Gators when they head for their Masters & Doctorate. (“trading the gold for orange” they claim) Remember that mustard yellow skirt? Becky’s pairing it with her beautiful navy blue blouse turns her outfit into her college colors!
I’ve been listening a lot to college plans since we encourage studying the path to what they want to do and finding various ways to access that final goal. There was a lot of path and plan discussion on that road trip.
I’m so proud of Becky for taking flight! I pray she has a wonderful experience and learns a lot. I pray she makes friends and connections that will last a lifetime! I pray she does her best. Her best right now is amazing me. I’m truly excited for her entering this stage.
Thank you, Jesus, for making it possible for us to help our children pursue their dreams! Thank you that each of them wants to help the other. Thank you that each wants to invest in their own education by working for it both financially and mentally. I’m so thankful for the blessing of Becky in my life! Thank you, Jesus, for allowing me the honor of being her mother!
As I’m driving back home, chatting with Christina as Thea and Louis sleep in the back, I think on how parents only really get to father or mother their children for a few years – they are on loan from God anyway as all of them are God’s children entrusted to us. “21 years” by TobyMac came on the radio followed by “Cinderella” by Stephen Curtis Chapman… God knows how music touches me. One bit in the “21 years” song that makes me smile is “21 years, what a beautiful loan,” (I thank you Jesus, for trusting us and “loaning” Becky – and the others, but this thought was really about Becky – to us) and in “Cinderella” the bit is “but I know something the prince never knew,” [meaning they grow up and go] and yes, girls become young women, make their own decisions, and I pray mine know they can still talk to me about anything.
Enjoy your “loans” with your littles! Enjoy every bit you can. God has trusted us with training and raising His beautiful children! Just like I love watching “my little gymnasts” (those I’ve coached, usually as preschoolers) as they rise, I love watching my girls become young ladies.
I love you, Becky! Let your light shine! Enjoy this adventure called life! Every day is a gift from God; that’s why it’s called the present!
Remember how we did a tour at Embry-Riddle University back in January? Christina told the tour guide that she was going there. She’s spent years dreaming of it. She’s focused all of her college classes at St Johns River College toward the basic degree requirements at Embry-Riddle. Her entire track since her freshman courses of Algebra has led toward her goal of Aeronautical Science with Flight. She wants to fly. She wants to go to what (according to her) is the best university for flight careers.
Well…
Today, I was taking stuff to the sink, and said, “Hey, there’s a box outside the gate that says Guess What? want to go get it?”
Christina screams “WHAATTT?” and jumps outside to grab it. I first thought oh, they ordered some Christmas present from Guess. But as I leaned out and yelled through the screen, “grab the rest of the mail while you’re out there, please?” I noticed the colors. Blue and Gold. Embry.
Christina had been finishing her application months ago, worried that we moved during her application process, worried that the address on her Transcript didn’t match the new address for mail, worried that her scores (really?) didn’t make it, worried that they were going to restrict the number of students and it wouldn’t be her. I just told her then, God will take care of it.
“No mom, let me check inside first! It might be a no.”
I wanted to take a picture – she was like, “no, let me check it first! It might be a no.” They send a box that says “you did it” on the side for nos? But I didn’t say that. My phone is not a great camera, but I got a couple pictures. Everyone who was home gathered around and squealed, playing with the confetti popper and hugging their excited big sister. I sent one picture to all the grandparents, aunts, and uncles. “She got accepted!”
She’s still sitting here, going through the box, shaking and grinning. In 9 months, my oldest baby is going to be taking classes at her dream university. Education goal #1, check!
I am so excited for Christina!
All I want is for each of my children is for them to set and accomplish the goals they strive for. I want them to reach for their dreams: flying, drawing, orthodontist, marine biologist, veterinary medicine, collegiate gymnast, avian vet, or whatever the future holds. I want it to be their dream. I want to guide and help them as much as possible, but it has to be their dream. You will only succeed when it is your passion and desire.
I’m so excited for her! I’m excited to be a part of her success. I’m excited to see her work so hard toward one goal and accomplish it! This is what I love to see!
Congratulations, Christina! I know this is just the start for you!
Do what you love. Work hard for what you want. You will accomplish what you dream!
(Oh yes, and enjoy the confetti mess because, according to Jillian, that is the fun part of big sister getting accepted!)
Please help me (Kimberly) with my gymnastics fund-raiser!
August 1, 2020
Support Me!
Hello, I’m Kimberly Tart. My mom runs this blog site but I get to write about this (with a little, okay, maybe a lot of grammar and editing help). I’ve never done a fund-raising thing – volunteered at a lot of stuff, but not tried to fund raise myself.
Here goes…
I have been learning the sport of gymnastics at WGV Gymnastics and recently made the Xcel team! (My name is on the official roster here!) My goal is to go all out – I love gymnastics! I plan on competing as high as I can possibly go and when I get to college to study veterinary medicine, I hope to be on a college gymnastics team!
Right now I’m doing some fundraising to help offset my costs and provide businesses with an outstanding advertising and charitable donation opportunity! (Regular people still get the donation benefits!)
Our gym has a 501c3 Booster Club for our athletes to raise funds to help offset our competition costs. This is WGVABC (WGV Athletic Booster Club). Information on their sponsorship packages can be found at https://www.wgvabc.com/become-team-sponsor. A portion of your sponsorship funds go directly into my booster club account (if there is no name attached, it goes to the general team fund). Plus your business receives a powerful advertisement package that begins the day your banner is hung (click <- link to see an example of displayed banners) – so you get 365 full days of advertisement! We have thousands of athletes and family members coming through our gym weekly and all see our sponsors’ bright banners.
I totally appreciate your time reading this and any sponsorship level you choose!
(Pictures added by mom)
Please choose a sponsorship level or donate and mention my name, Kimberly Tart, when you do!
(I know, picture is Kimberly w/Baby Thea, but it’s one of my favorites and this loaner computer wouldn’t load the gymnastics one…)
Kimberly has been working so hard for the past almost two years in the hopes of making the gymnastics team at our gym.
Well, our gym is recruiting talent for the 2020-2021 season and on Monday night, Kimberly got an invite!
Talk about excited!
She giggle cried and asked Coach Heather if I was kidding (Heather let me tell her, but wanted to see her reaction) – kidding? I’m not a practical joker like some of my children may be…
She giggle cried almost the whole way home.
When Kimberly gets excited, she cries with happiness but tries to hide it with giggling. I call this giggle crying.
We get home and her siblings are all there, Louis comes in right behind us and says, “so what’s the big news?”
Kimberly couldn’t even tell them! She hid behind the wall in the kitchen and said, “Mom, you tell them! Hurry up!”
What followed were lots of congratulations, lots of high-fives, and a few teases about how her height is just perfect for gymnastics. Kimberly is on team!
(And yes, Mom is super excited for her!)
Since I like to use real life to teach, Jillian and I talked the next day about how hard work pays off and used Kimberly’s advance to team as an example. There are many others to pull from in our family, but that is the freshest achievement.
With all the things that have been canceled this year, making team has made Kimberly’s year – and as Christina mentioned, “it’s your turning-teenager year too!”
I want to squeal with excitement for her too (okay, maybe I did!) I love it when I get to share in someone’s celebration of reaching a goal!
Today we planted okra. Three long rows of okra plants just far enough apart to walk through the rows with the mower for easy weeding, pruning, and harvesting.
Yesterday and Tuesday were the 6 by 4 corn patch. The 5 by 4 corn patch already has rows of little green stalks pushing up and it was planted Saturday! We also did a patch of mustard greens and our trio experiment over the weekend. The “trio experiment” is onion seed, three inches, beet seed, three inches, carrot seed in a patch 3 by 3.
Oh, all numbers are in feet… so far.
And my favorite of my blooms at this house (since my gardenia has been reluctant to bloom) is this –
– it’s a bulb with a single straight stalk that ends in this fiery flower! We call them fire-lilies but I know that can’t be their official name. It’s a takeaway from Grandma Jeanette… a little piece of history carried along and the blooms make me think of her every time I see a new one exploding with color.
(oh, and if you know what it is, please comment! We’d love to know what it really is!)
Lucas and Thea ate all six ripe tomatoes themselves before they got inside. I managed to sneak one away for the egg scramble I made for brunch. (I eat shakeology breakfast at 5:45 so at 11am I was practically starving and had to grab something filling and nutritious!)
Worked at gym yesterday… REC CLASSES OPEN MONDAY!! Camp fills up quickly & starts June 1st (I can’t wait to see my gymnasts!) and we get to have gym party (Parent’s Night Out) this month!! (Third Saturday of each month: our coaches entertain and feed a boocoodle of kiddos so their parents can have a night kidfree… here)
I’m excited about coaching again! I’m thrilled about our garden! I even got to play Age of Empires with Jillian and Lucas today while big sisters went shopping!
Not only did our little Thea officially turn two months old on Easter, but neither Louis nor I was working, neither of us was tired, and we had the whole weekend to ourselves!
Baby Thea dressed up (minus her cute socks and shoes) in her Easter dress from Aunt Becca & sister-cousin Anastasia!
Louis and the girls dyed eggs – our brown and pink eggs made some unique color experiments and tasty “angel eggs.” (Grandma Joanne started that; she redeemed the deviled eggs so they are “angel eggs” now.)
Louis was waking me up almost every night in the week before Easter as he excitedly told me about the newest item he got for the girls’ baskets – crazy plastic grass, cool candy, a bag of change for the plastic eggs and such.
We love family time! On Easter, we got up early, went to church, and talked all about the first Easter Sunday and Jaquline decided we had to watch a Jesus story movie – “The Greatest Story Ever Told” is the go-to for us. About lunchtime, we snacked on angel eggs and fruit while Louis crafted an amazing ham – this would be early dinner.
And… Egg hunt. The girls learned that Spring Egg Hunts were a result of people letting their hens and ducks out to range in the spring grass and then having to find their eggs for food – young children were tasked for this job and finding the eggs meant the end of winter harshness and the beginning of spring’s bounty.
But for us, Easter Egg Hunt means “see who can hide it best” (for the hiders, adults and teens) and “see who can find the hardest eggs” (for the younger ones). Kimberly decided she is still a youngling for Easter and joined the hunt as a hunter!
Becky took some pictures.
Christina’s hardest eggs were teal, Becky’s were green, and I hid the hard-boiled ones. Mine I wanted found quickly, so most were just rolled in the patches of clover so their stickers showed.
Down to four remaining eggs… One Teal, one Green, and two Boiled! Mom ended up winning with the “hardest” egg being inches from the walkway in plain sight!
Becky made up some adorable pictures with the baskets. Check this link to see her Guinea Pigs in the Easter Basket pictures!
I’ve always been a watcher. I watch the world around me and (most of the time) analyze it. I look at a beautiful blue sky and my mind says “wow, how pretty,” and quickly follows with “it won’t rain for the next few hours.” (Yes, hours, we live in Florida – if you walk outside and don’t like the weather, go brush your teeth and check again.)
Honestly, I analyze too much.
I shouldn’t catch a glimpse of something and try to analyze it.
In relationships, that is nosy. See someone and instantly turn on your inner Sherlock Holmes… (Four different cat hairs on her skirt, four cats – her house must be smelly… unless she uses that whatever-name-it-is-I-saw-on-tv multi-cat litter. Is her purr-fume laced with tuna?)
That just isn’t nice.
In normal life, it can suck out the joy.
I catch this glance of my angel sleeping. Instant thought: “My Mom will love this.” Second thought: “She was two months old on Easter Sunday.” Third thought as I’m sending my mom the picture: “Daddy never saw her.” Followed quickly by a flood: Daddy didn’t get to hear about Christina flying, Lucas will not remember his Grandfather, they won’t get to learn how amazing Daddy’s brain was – like talking to an educated encyclopedia with an open mind. He was always listening, always talking, always making connections where we couldn’t see them; always the analyst.
Within two minutes (from the time I took the picture until Mom texted back), my mind had sent my mood from joyful to sorrowful. From excited about young life to regretting the passing of my Daddy. I had just rode an emotional roller coaster at work and nothing had changed on my face.
I forced myself to refocus.
Daddy always expected Christina to achieve her dreams – he once told me to “look out, she has your determination and a friendlier world; just you watch what she does!”
Lucas loves watching family videos and listening to stories of his “Santa Boompa” told by his big sisters.
I inherited Daddy’s knack for soaking up knowledge (probably why I can make myself learn any new job rather quickly) and if you want to start me talking… (yes, the girls call it lecturing) enter at your own risk because I’ll make strange connections, see beyond what is easily seen, and read into situations for what “could be.”
I remind myself that we can always shift our focus to the positive, and that’s what Daddy would have wanted. He didn’t want anyone sad when he left us. He always wanted the joy, smiles, and laughter that he tried to cultivate. So, now I’m back to joyful.
Then music runs through my head: “I Choose Joy!” (For King & Country – I love that song!)
“Parents Night Out” aka Gymnastics Party no child wanted to go home from!
January 22, 2019
Gymnastics Party!
My gym hosts a charity event once a month they call “Parent’s Night Out” – the kids participating call it “Gymnastics Party.”
Every third Saturday, or 4 or 5 hours, depending on the month (February and December are 5 hours), parents can drop their child(ren) off at WGV Gymnastics so they can enjoy a supervised gym party while the parents enjoy some alone time. Each event has a different theme: from Luau Night (September 21, 2019) to Superhero Night (July 20, 2019), Pirate and Princess Night (April 20, 2019) to Glow Mania (March 16, 2019) each event is sure to entertain!
The proceeds benefit the WGV Athletics Booster Club (a non-profit group whose primary purpose is to provide financial support for WGV gymnasts during their competitions).
The partiers loved the gym, fun games (“Night at the Museum,” “Alligator,” and “Freeze Dance” were the favorites!), a dance party, pizza, and encouraging camaraderie!
As our time came to a close, partiers tried various methods to pretend they didn’t have to go home – one of my nieces was stiffly sitting in her line after noticing mom. I whispered, “your mom is here,” and her reply was made without moving her mouth, “I know, I just wanted to pretend I didn’t see her yet.”
My teenager who wasn’t participating this time (she’d been babysitting for a family friend from about 6:30am & it was about 6pm when she arrived with Grandma) took a few pictures and videos of the cousins at the event:
JJ hung out with Grandma watching the older kids play.
Anastasia was very excited!
She got to jump on Tumble Track!
Isaac almost didn’t come out of the foam pit!
He spied Becky’s candy-striped leggings!
Sweet T standing in line – we found her most at the Tumble Track!
And a tiny video of Tory on Tumble Track doing her “twirls” – so cute!
My girls have decided to “come to work” with me every Parent’s Night Out since they had so much fun!
