Read that again! Wow! It’s a new year full of possibilities!
I’m always so thankful for new years. New seasons, new months, a new week every Sunday morning, a new day every sunrise… newness always reminds me of the opportunity God gives us to make a new start.
Our possibilities this year look amazing!
Laud got a tooth for Christmas (just one, two more are sitting there in the wings where we can see them but they haven’t popped through just yet). He’s growing so fast! I’m so blessed to watch this fast-moving change from totally-dependent-baby stage to exploration-baby-stage!
Thea has learned to read! She’s officially started her “schoolbooks” aka book work. We don’t really start books until they can read. Her favorite school book is “The Beginner Book of Words” – the Dr. Seuss “kid dictionary” that belonged to her dad and uncles! She announced to me, “mom, since I can read, I need real schoolbooks to do work in.” I’m not sure if I’m ready for that!
Lucas can do some crazy cool gymnastics stuff! His favorite thing is to show off his muscles – Kimberly consistently reminds him of the proper muscle names as he’ll flex and say “look at this one.” Lucas told me his favorite thing he wants to happen this year is “work with Dad and build our house.”
Jillian has her first gymnastics competition of the 2024 spring season January 13th! She’s competing Xcel Silver again this year with WGV Gymnastics and is super excited about her routines. Her confidence has grown with her strength and flexibility the past few months. Her self-discipline is growing and took a huge jump right at the end of 2023 when she decided to apply herself seriously to both gymnastics and academics. I’m so excited for what 2024 will bring in Jillian!
Jaquline has set her mind on a goal at the end of 2023 and I’m excited to see where it takes her. She’s refocused her study path toward law. She’s been devouring history, literature and debate, and the history of founding documents like our Constitution. She says she wants to learn the laws, how and why they were written, and how legal changes are made. Jaquline has been learning a lot about household management in the last bit of 2023 and says she will continue that in 2024. She’s also deepening and polishing her collegiate writing skills. She wants to write informational reports and persuasive (as she calls them, “enlightening”) papers well.
Kimberly has her first gymnastics competition of the 2024 Spring season January 14th. Kimberly competes Xcel Diamond with WGV Gymnastics this year. I’m so excited to see her perform with all the training she’s persevered through in the past year. This girl’s strength continues to astound me as she grows. Kimberly also starts her first official college classes this semester. She’s both excited and terrified – probably in the reverse order – about this. I love seeing her set and accomplish goals!
Rebeccah returns to her college a little early this semester for work. I’m both selfishly sad because I will miss her smile, watching her exercise patience with Thea, quietly observing as she paints (oh, by far my favorite thing to watch is someone create a masterpiece in front of my eyes – I got to watch her paint on canvas over this break), hearing her laughter, hearing her gaming; in short I will miss everything about her and there’s a Rebeccah-sized hole when she leaves home. But I love hearing her adventures and chatting with her in her tight breaks between chapel, work, study, and classes. She has such precious little free time and I’m honored when she chooses to use that time for me!
Christina will be taking steps into her career path! I’m so excited to be a part of her next adventure! Resuming flight training is only the start of her 2024 adventures. I am thankful she still shares her hopes and dreams and plans with me. (And I get to borrow her car)
As a family, we bought property and cleared it in the last few months of 2023! This is our first step toward building a home of our own! Our designs are hopefully finding an architect willing to perfect a small, compact plan; hopefully we can start utilities and building soon!
Butterflies swam in my heart, stomach, mind… anywhere… everywhere all at once.
I’m sitting in one of the folding seats in the Ocean Center with a baby nursing… I’ve been here, done that before, but never have I been in this venue for the event that is unfolding before me.
A cycle of pictures of young men and women in more childish images showed on the screen that usually displayed my gymnasts’ scores.
My gymnasts are sitting in the row behind me because our group of twelve takes almost two whole rows. They are not in warm-ups cheering teammates, but keeping siblings entertained as they all wait for Christina.
Marching Music!
There they come! Hundreds of young people in black gowns and caps. Christina has a decorated cap with a quote from The Hobbit. Her cap is bright green – and that makes her easy to pick out of the sea of black gowns and caps.
Christina is graduating with her 4-year-degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University! Her graduation from high school with her AA degree from St Johns River State was the first college graduation ceremony I’d attended. I look around me at six of my other seven children and my niece. I smile; it definitely won’t be the last!
Everyone is waving and trying to get Christina to see them. Christina’s fiancé was also watching along with some of his family a little higher up in the arena! Kimberly is impressed with this use of the floor that she’s been competing on for three seasons and will be coming to again in 2024.
The keynote speaker starts: Rebeccah’s plane hasn’t yet landed. Louis is monitoring that. The keynote speaker’s last encouragement? “Adapt and overcome” – my Daddy said that all the time. It almost made me feel like he was watching.
A text. Rebeccah’s plane landed. She’s getting a taxi from the airport. It’s a couple of miles. She’d managed to get out of her college classes and work early so she could catch the earliest flight from Pensacola to Daytona. I had prayed she would get to the venue to see Christina walk.
I walked out to change Laud the same time as Louis said Rebeccah was here but not sure how to get in. I walked to meet her; she is very enterprising and self-reliant so had discovered the entry herself.
We took our seats.
Christina’s group of graduates stood. My crew waved and Christina looked up to see Rebeccah here.
We were all present.
Louis, me, Rebeccah, Kimberly, Jaquline, Jillian, Lucas, Theadora, Laud. Grandma Tina. Aunt Becca and Anastasia. Louis had his mom on video phone or something like that. She said she was watching it live-streamed. All of Louis’ and my little Tart clan was here to cheer on our Christina as she graduated.
Our determined, ambitious, perfectionist whose smile lights up rooms. October had been her 20th birthday. My mind flew backward to that box of confetti in plane shapes. She’d been accepted to the only university she wanted to attend: and Louis and I wondered how we would pay for it. Scholarships, grants, loans, and flight training on a few credit cards – she’d worked as much as possible to make it happen. We’d helped some. Christina had made it happen.
Christina walked up to get her diploma. With honors. (My perfectionist was bummed she didn’t make “with highest honors”) She did her little dance move she did at her “high school” graduation. She looked up and beamed at us. I am so proud of her! (And Thea yells “you got this!” – even though it wasn’t a gymnastics meet)
All of us were there. Sure, our baby won’t remember it. He actually slept through the keynote speaker and woke just before Christina walked. Thea and Lucas will remember playing and being bored, respectively. From Anastasia up to Rebeccah though; they know it’s a big deal. They know, with varying degrees of understanding, how much work Christina put into getting to this goal. They watched, with varying degrees of understanding, as she studied, worked, stressed, complained, forced herself to take fun breaks once in a blue moon, prayed, and pushed on.
With Little CousinMom, Graduate, GrandmaWith Littlest SisterOur Graduate!Sister-Cousins
We all celebrated with Christina.
I am so thankful for miraculous appearing of funding at needed times. I am so thankful for my determined young woman who made her goal happen. I will cherish this memory.
Soar high Christina! Remember what your determination and ambition made happen! God opens doors but you have to choose to walk through them! Your graduation didn’t happen “just because” – there were lots of late nights, missed sleep, forcing yourself to go to work when you wanted to sleep in, exams you stressed far too much over, budget cuts to pay for the next simulator, and other challenges you rose to and overcame.
Keep on flying high – you are “forever an eagle” now!
It struck me with a text I sent: I have the littles at gym with me
I had Jillian, Lucas, Thea, and Laud.
Half of our “biggers” are actually adults. That’s a strange place to realize I am at. I paused a moment, glancing at my phone on my work desk. The notice underneath my text went from “sent” to “read” and I smiled. I thanked God for the honor of having so much time with my growing young women. I thanked Him for getting to mother so many of His children. (My heart reminded me that we get them for a short time.)
I don’t want to think about that.
My heart loves that they love to do stuff together. Like when they got a “big girl trip” for their combined birthdays. Such happy faces!
Now we are nearing the end of Rebeccah’s winter break. (I didn’t want to think about that, either.) Soon those giggles across the table at meals, board games, and roblox and minecraft shenanigans, the gamer shouts from the newly re-setup PS1 and Xbox in the playroom, and the kitchen laughter will again be missing our Rebeccah. I am so thankful for her beautiful life! I love the connectivity and humor she brings. I miss her when she’s gone. I thanked God for Rebeccah. I pray she will always choose to talk to me when she needs to. I pray I am keeping our communication open. I pray she chooses wisdom.
Kimberly and Jaquline go back to their respective schedules (as does everyone else) and move forward in their busy study, work, and training lives. Kimberly recently found a friend who encourages her in faith and sports commitment; a very good thing for her at this time. I thanked God for Kimberly. I pray she chooses wisdom as she keeps moving toward her long-term goal of studying sports medicine or physical therapy. She has such a heart for healing (and preventing injury) and an intuitive understanding of how the body works.
Jaquline has recently started to focus her studies on law and debate – her new goal is to be a lawyer. She does have a way of getting people to see merit in her direction. I laugh sometimes at her logic. She has such a wonderful attitude about life and her cheerfulness is catchy. She takes the responsibility of helping raise children so seriously – she assists in the nursery and I often hear her say “my babies.” She has a helpful heart and wants to see everyone treated fairly. I thanked God for Jaquline. I pray she continues to seek God and chooses wisdom in her life’s path.
Christina, our first with a Bachelor’s degree, is stepping forward toward her career. She continues to live with us. I am so thankful that she stays close. I feel honored that she chooses to keep talking with me. I thank God for Christina. I pray she seeks God in all aspects of her life. I pray she chooses to chase her dreams and grab opportunities that arise. I pray she chooses wisdom and can live with no regrets. Christina has a mothering soul. Her determination and ambition have served her well so far!
I love all stages of our family life. Today I’m grateful for being able to watch our little girls grow into vibrant young women. I am thankful I still get to be a part of their lives. I am reminded that just as we can contain multiple emotions at once, our homes can contain multiple stages at once. Thank you, Jesus, for the honor of being a mother.
*Author Note* Wow, I didn’t realize I have not posted all summer! To say this summer has been busy is a severe understatement; this summer has been a crazy roller coaster jam-packed with life craziness. Hopefully, this happy little story of a new miracle will make you smile! *
August 7, 2023
The Miracle of Laud
There was a day Louis and I took off of work and decided to celebrate our anniversary. As I was reserving tickets for our gym’s Parent’s Night Out for my kiddos who weren’t working it, my boss laughed and said, something to the effect of “no more babies!” Louis wanted to try for a boy and I was not against it! (I love being pregnant!)
Almost two months later we took the last opportunity to let all the kiddos know in person (Becky was home from college). Our teenagers had various hilarious reactions we should have filmed (ranging from “ya’ll are crazy” to a slamming door to “are you kidding?”). Jillian was super excited. Lucas started cleaning a spot in his room for the baby; which Louis was convinced would be a boy since he used “Dr Jack’s method” that worked with Lucas. Thea asked a million questions and kept trying to hear the baby’s heartbeat and talk to the baby.
My babies like to hang around and I love being pregnant. This time around was so different. I was measuring large, but there are lots of factors that impact fundus measurement so it is more just a guide to make sure the baby doesn’t stop growing. I’m forty and my last pregnancy to term was four years prior. Even though, yes, I’m in what I consider really good shape, my body has been stretched out and back seven times. I actually wore maternity clothes a friend gave me this time like normal! I actually looked like I was pregnant from about 5 months on, a real first for me. I loved that!
We went to the team banquet, it was the first one Christina got to come to, and the girls teased me saying I didn’t have any formal clothes… I surprised them with what I considered the cutest maternity dress ever (gift from the same friend – they just hadn’t seen it yet). It felt so cool to show off the baby. Friends who had seen me pregnant before asked if I was sure on the date or if there were two in there. (Louis loved this, the baby inside was doing some movements that I still can’t explain, and secretly, I would have loved twins.)
My “official” date from LMP would have been August 28, 40 weeks from the baby’s start would have been September 4th. I just told people September or early October. I honestly thought early-to-mid-September because most of my babies were about 42 weeks old when they came; I usually carried closer to 10 months.
July 31st started braxton-hicks contractions, the baby was still sitting up high right under my ribs and had not yet “dropped”. That was spot on for me because braxton-hicks contractions usually come 4 to 6 weeks (even 8 weeks, in two instances) before the baby comes. My babies tend to drop 3 or 4 weeks before. The baby-mapping information, which is super cool to research if you have time and want to be amazed, was telling me the baby was up to one side. My milk usually starts leaking a week or so before the birth too and there was no sign of that yet,
We went to the beach in the late evening of August 2nd. It was beautiful! I always feel like praising God for everything when I watch the majesty of the ocean, hear the laughter and joy of my children enjoying the water, and slow down to consider how honored I am to be so blessed. The others did gymnastics drill competitions in the soft sand (handstand holds, perfect Ts, candlestick holds, etc.) while Becky and Thea made a sandcastle from dripping sand – absolutely breathtaking.
(beach shenanigans and laughter)
On the way home, it felt like the baby shifted to sit sideways. I mentioned that I would like the baby to drop soon so sitting in a car wasn’t so uncomfortable. Christina laughed. The sing-along music at the top of their lungs and windows open made it so no one else heard.
I woke up on August 3rd a little after midnight. I thought my body was doing Braxton-Hicks contractions; it had been off and on since July 31st. These stretch-and-prepare contractions came and went in tiny spurts and historically clusters of three to ten stretches that disappear after I move around, shower, or stretch was “normal” for my previous births. I remembered seeing a facebook post about one of my best friends getting home from the hospital with her son; she often didn’t have night nursing and I hadn’t meshed schedules with her in a very long time. I texted to see if she was awake and able to chat. God knew I needed to hear her voice and we chatted for a couple of hours. Just after 4:15am, what I thought was Braxton-Hicks contractions about midnight (I had showered and they went away completely), became an intense contraction that came in a wave. I paused talking to breathe through that one and mentioned that it was different. I said, “this is early,” or something to that effect and told Hannah I was going to wake Louis & call Misti. As I stood up – or tried to – another contraction came in which the baby shifted from sideways inside me to “in position” and dropped all in the same intense contraction! I’ve never felt that before!
I made it from by the couch to the just inside the bathroom (didn’t get to my bedroom to get Louis) and another seriously intense contraction came. Someone had left two of the deep soft towels laid out flat on the floor on top of the bath rug (a nice, soft place to pause where clean up would be easy). I heard Christina coming out of the barracks and she asked, “mom, are you dead?” I was in full relax through the contraction mode and answered “I’m fine” with a tiny voice she knew meant baby was coming. She woke Louis and went to get mom. Louis came in the bathroom and rubbed my back, “this is coming fast” my bones were doing the separate-thing they do at transition (feels like my spine is coming apart). With the next contraction, my water broke. I texted “my water just broke” and called. Misti ended up being on speakerphone with us the whole birth. I remember wanting to double check my “official” LMP due date that was in my phone memo with all the other baby measurements for this pregnancy (my phone appears to be my notebook for everything to keep me straight on facts– I sometimes call it “my memory” because I upgraded from a purse-calendar-planner to that). I couldn’t focus on anything but listening to my body because I didn’t want to move too fast; my brain kept trying to slow my body down – nope, body wasn’t listening.
One more contraction at total relax and the next one came with a burning urge to push. I felt the baby moving to crown and said something, likely incoherent at this point, about the baby crowning. I heard what I thought was Louis repeating what I thought I said. I heard Misti say something too, but I was focused on listening to my body and slowly (in my head it felt slow, but time is so relative when you are in concentration on something – it was likely fast) pictured what the muscles in my body were doing and focused on working with them instead of fighting against them. I remember praying and feeling God say, “listen” like a soft ocean breeze in my ear. He made my body to do exactly what it was doing now. I relaxed – rested – in my trust of Him.
Louis told me the baby crowned and to push, I didn’t feel a contraction but refused to panic, I waited and breathed deep to calm and listen; another contraction came and pushed our little one out. There was a cry followed by a choking sound. As I looked to see the baby in Louis’ hands, the baby’s fingers then arms and toes then legs started to turn from a bright pink-red to blue! The baby had come out with the umbilical cord wrapped and Louis unwrapped it.
Time here slowed for us. It felt like an eternity.
“What happened?” Misti seemed to be able to see everything though she was just on the phone, we said he was turning blue like he choked, she said to suction his mouth. I remembered that from Kimberly’s birth – her cord was really short and the midwife had stopped me from pushing to unwrap her cord, then used a long tube to suction out her mouth – she had been blue. I couldn’t see using a nose suction thingy, it was too short. I had heard Louis say he was a boy as he first cried. Now my mind said “he” instead of “baby”. “How do I do that?” I remember not panicking although the back of my mind was screaming at me “he’s blue! Not breathing! He’s going to die!” Misti said to hold his nose and suction him with my mouth. It was like she could see that I wasn’t pulling strong enough, I remember, “no, pull like you’re sucking a milkshake through a straw,” I prayed and sucked up a ton of mucus which I just spit on the floor. “Blow into him, firm but gentle,” I heard. I blew a breath as I prayed again. He shuddered and breathed in and cried out! I cried.
Christina had called 911 when he started turning blue. He’d been not breathing. It had really been less than a minute between choking sound and his next full cry. It had felt like ten minutes. It had felt like eternity. Everything had happened so fast but in my mind it had happened in slow motion.
Fire rescue came in. My mom said one guy heard the baby crying and whispered, “thank God,” as he entered. Misti told us to rub him so we had been rubbing on Laud all over to get the circulation back. We’d recently watched Thea’s “pongo dog” aka “101 Dalmations” and one of the kids mentioned, “just like the puppy.” I didn’t know which of the girls were awake just yet. I did suddenly realize when there were strangers in my house that I was naked and bloody and there was a giant mess in the bathroom – I made a mental note to throw out the towels on top of the rug and I didn’t care if they were the big nice ones or not. I had been focused on Baby Laud. Louis covered my shoulders with a big towel. The Fire Rescue guy looks at the cord, which was wrapped around my leg, the placenta hadn’t delivered yet, and Laud is at my chest height being rubbed. He said, “wow, that cord is long.” They waited a moment for the pulsing to stop so all the blood from the cord went into Laud. Cord was cut and they did some stuff checking out Laud. I told them, “we called for him, not me,” because “blue and not breathing is scary” and I told them what I needed to do for me (deliver placenta, get blood off to see if I am actively bleeding, etc). The guy agreed and said the baby was good asked if he’d urinated. Yes, with his first big cry after I suctioned him, he’d peed all over, which honestly had made us laugh. Since Louis and the rescue people had Laud, I washed to get most of the blood off and stimulate my body to contract again and get the placenta out. Misti was still on the phone and had all the times and such. Someone (likely Louis, Mom, and Christina) cleaned up the mess on the floor (I hoped the towels just got tossed).
One of the rescue guys said they couldn’t leave until they made sure baby and I were good – for me, that meant delivering the placenta and not actively bleeding. Placenta delivered along with huge blood clots. Louis goes, “I know what to look for.” He says the placenta is a fascinating organ and knows what the whole one looks like. The placenta was whole. I’ve seen them too, but usually I’m a little occupied with the baby and only once do I remember examining one because I was curious. No active bleeding. Sweet. Just that drainage, which honestly appeared too light to me.
All Laud’s vitals were good! His little fingers and toes were pink by the time the placenta delivered and I’d cleaned up a little so I felt ready for the baby. They checked my blood pressure, which was “a bit low” so I had to explain that my blood pressure is always low, stress makes it “normal.” They were so nice and it was amazing how quickly they arrived. Everything was good so we opted to stay home because I never sleep in hospitals anyway. Laud was perfect!
From the “my water just broke” text at 4:36 to when he was born at 4:43 was literally 7 minutes. I am still in complete awe of how quickly everything went. Rescue guys and lady left somewhere before 6am (that was when I texted someone, Misti or Hannah likely)
Our little Laud Arik “stole” Christina’s title of “lightest” at his new 6lbs 4oz. He tied Kimberly for the shortest at 19 inches. His name means “Praise” and “Lion of God” in Hebrew. The teenagers pointed out he is a Leo. He is such an amazing blessing! The girls of course, are vying for who gets to hold him. Lucas commented, “you have two brothers, he’s my only brother.” (Although that is literally true, it’s also a little funny that he decided that was why he should be able to hold him more than the girls.)
Our littlest love is here!
He’s ready to be loved on and spoiled by big sisters, his big brother (who has been his shadow since birth), family, and friends. We’re so awed and blessed and honored to have another little “arrow” to raise up! Thank you, Jesus for friends, family, quick rescue workers (even though he was all okay when they got here, it was provision in case he wasn’t – not breathing is scary to watch)! Thank you, Jesus, for Your perfect timing! Becky gets two & a half weeks with him before she’s gone until November, Christina gets a week & a half before her final senior semester craziness, I only missed the last two days of camp at gym and will be ready for driving with the start of school, my mom travels over summer and was here for just a four-day stay in between visits & got to be here… I have always teased that babies don’t read calendars… and my cumulative experiences with births keeps showing me every time is different and God has all of it in His hands!
Thank you, Jesus, for the miracle of love and life! Thank you, Jesus, for the miracle of Laud!
*Pictures because my girls say I can’t write about him without sharing pictures! (photo credit to Grandma Tina, Christina, Becky, and Kimberly because I was way too busy to think of pictures!)
Probably the first oneChristina, Laud, and TheaBecky and LaudChristina and Laud (she made him a “burrito”Grandma Tina and Laud (with a hat)He’s all dressed up!Mom and LaudHappy Big Brother (Lucas and Laud)Lucas and LaudJillian and LaudMy preemie clothes fit, Mrs. Hannah!Anastasia and Laud
Sister-Cousin Spring Camp & Making Memories! #2023 #Family #Sister #Cousin #Blessings #Connections #SistersAndCousins #TartSpringBreak2023 #SpringBreak2023 #Friends #WateringFriendships #PurposefullyBuildingRelationships #FamilyAndFriends
March 27, 2023
Sister-Cousin Spring Camp
The week of Spring Break for our county was also the Spring Break week for one of my nieces!
While I had an adjusted work schedule because rec classes were taking the week off, Spring Break Camp at WGVG was in full swing and my also-on-break-college driver wanted to make her own “cousin camp” with fun trips, crazy baking escapades, and lots of memories made!
The girls spent time making crafts, dropping in to Spring Camp to do fun stuff, took at least one beach trip, at least two “mushroom park” trips (aka Trout Creek Park, where there is a mushroom you can swing from), chased the escapee bunny that they let loose quite a few times, used the big floor blocks to make several castles and rooms, baked all kinds of egg-free Anastasia-safe goodies (I got to taste some), Christina and Jaquline made unique suppers and lunches, Christina went to a Celtic Festival,
I love that Christina is making these amazing memories with her sisters, brother, and cousin! She doesn’t have many limits on where they can go – and just like we’ve always done, everywhere is usually “free” (aka just the cost of gas). Christina filled her few days of break with loads of “taxiing mom and gymnasts” back and forth (competitive team didn’t take off spring break). She also got to drop all the siblings and cousin at gym one day to spend a perfect day with her best friend – who was also home from college!
When I was watching Katy, Buddy, Becca, Charley, Stacy, Dorothy, and Mary doing special outings and making memories with my oldest girls, I dreamed of my older girls continuing with their siblings, cousins, and friends. There were memories like “Monster Truck Show outing,” shopping with aunts, Alligator Farm trips, “Special Day” outings, long walks to the ice cream shop, beach days, park days, camping nights, firepits and roasting marshmallow visits, and other just “visit” days.
Now I see my not-so-littles being purposeful in their connections to their friends, younger siblings, and cousins – continuing to water those friendships. It makes me so happy! (A few pictures included to enjoy)
Random faces at the Mushroom Park
Hair SweepingSpider-Swing gone oopsLaughing!
Swinging Antics
KimmyJaqJillyAnastasiaLucas & Thea
These were their “look like yourself portraits” that crack me up! Christina perfectly captures each of their respective personalities in these funny pics!
Beach Trip…
…and they are always at the top of something or trying something daredevilish….
Each one is now looking forward to summer and the next trip(s) they get to do… even if it’s just friends and cousins over at the house playing with critters outside, swinging, reading, having a mega Frogger challenge, or the fifteenth Among Us game with every mobile device in the house, or the next life, monopoly, clue, or catan board game and resulting laughter! And food… my family does revolve most everything around cooking, eating, and cleaning up food (who really doesn’t?).
Dress-Up Meet and Impromptu Visit – Sometimes we need to reconnect and slow down! #2023 #Family #Friends #Friend #Blessings #Blessing #FriendshipIsAwesome #ILoveImpromptuVisits #GymnasticsMeet #WesleyChapelTrip #CharityChallenge2023 #GodsHandIsInEverything #SpecialVisit #IHaveTheSweetestSisters #TheaShowsOff #SistersAndCousins
March 24, 2023
Dress Up Meet And Impromptu Visit
My kids are a little strange (don’t we all think that at one point or another?). Sometimes, even my 19-year-old likes to dress up. Today’s story has my competitive gymnasts dressing up for their final meet before states!
The final meet before states was the Charity Cup Challenge. One of the longest drives, but the girls got to dress up in cute tutus and thought that was fun. Kimberly’s team of teenagers even started dancing in them – that was cute! Louis took Jillian down for Friday. I didn’t get to see their antics, but I can imagine from the pictures…
WGVG Silver Team at the 2023 Charity Challenge in Wesley Chapel, FL
Jillian came home saying the “entire place” smelled like fish nets. I couldn’t stop laughing at that!
Kimberly, Jillian, Thea, and I drove down in the wee hours of Sunday morning for Kimberly’s meet. Most of the time they slept and I listened to “My List to Joy” (a youtube mix I created ages ago).
We passed a sign that said “50 miles to this city” (where a sister lives now) early in the morning and I wondered if texting this early was a good idea. Nahhh… I’ll wait until normal nightowls have had coffee.
At the meet, Jillian found Ellie (another Silver Team member whose sister is also Platinum) and Thea got into the gym-sister encourager mode. Girls weren’t even doing anything but dressing up and Thea was like, “Marie’s got this!” and “Go Ellie!” (this made Jillian and a random team mom or grandma from another group laugh) Thea didn’t see how funny it was being a sideline cheerleader while the Platinum Team was wiggling around in their tutus.
WGVG Platinum TeamOur CharityWGVG Platinum TeamThe three travelersJust Kimmy and the mascot
We watched the girls do their amazing thing! Honestly, as my youngsters move up in skill and level, the competitions get more and more interesting to watch. Thea keeps going, “wow! I want to do that!” I had to grab this wanna-be-future-gymnast from hurting her neck as she was showing off on the awards floor trying to push up in her bridge again – she sang as she did: cartwheel, cartwheel, handstand, bridge! (but bridge arms were not straight!) It’s the mom clash between, I let my kids do stuff and I am not watching you break your neck, toddler! I pulled a protesting Thea into my lap with, “careful, your arms have to be straight first.” My just-4-going-on-teenager-attitude goes, “I know mom, I know,” with crossed arms. I heard quite a few chuckles from other random experienced moms on the benches behind me! Thea is definitely part of the entertainment wherever she goes.
On the ride home, we stopped to visit Aunt Becca and Anastasia!
I love visits when we can. It’s so easy to think things like: it would be bothering her, she’s not expecting a visit, maybe she’s not in, maybe they have plans… etc. Every one of those and many more popped into my head trying to prevent me from considering the visit – and we were literally passing by!
NO! Don’t think that way!
Text, call, or just drop by! It’s the human connection part of us that loves that!
(Yes, I did use my car’s voice-text to have almost an hour texting conversation with her letting my sister know we were coming – which was funny because my Platinum in the back seat was so engrossed in her texting with friends and totally ignoring my Silver in the front and our conversation that as we stopped she went, “wait, this isn’t a gas station, why are we stopping?”) And this is why in the wee hours when my moody teen snapped, “I don’t want you to come” to Jillian, I responded with, “well I do; she’ll talk with me instead of disappear into her phone.” I always try to stop and see family if we travel close to their home (close to me is like within an hour – more if we’re traveling far).
We chatted, Jillian ended up staying over with Anastasia (next day started Spring Break and Anastasia was coming to stay with us anyway), Kimberly, Becca, and I played a nice game of Upwords, we snacked on stuff (my sister being a chef, even her “thrown together” snacks taste amazing), and enjoyed each other’s company. I got to see the grand tour of the lovely oasis my sweet sister and niece call home. The girls played basketball – of course, as they are our children, it got competitive very quickly!
I love just being together! I love car trips because usually, the people trapped within play word games (i.e. I’m going on a trip, Famous People First-and-Last, Alphabet or Numbers game) or talk to each other. I love visits where we just “hang out” – nothing planned, nothing crazy, just board games or talking over food or watching the kids play. Becca said it was a “God-timed visit.” I love it when God lines everything up to fill our spirits with reminders of His provision. I needed the dollop of Becca time too – God knew it. We needed each other’s encouragement and smiles. The cool part was that I didn’t realize I was missing her so badly until we got to connect for those few hours, but God knew.
Sadly, a bad thunderstorm cell was coming our way and Louis warned us to “please not get stuck in that driving” so we said goodbye and Kimberly, Thea, and I headed home less one passenger. At least now, Kimberly was in a very chatty mode and we were able to talk about all kinds of stuff all the way home!
Go visit! Find or make a break in your schedule to pay a visit to someone you have been missing. There is so much work and schedule and life that sometimes we miss the part of our soul that whispers slow down and sometimes that close connection is just what we need to help us reset. It gives us a recharge to jump back into the craziness of life and makes a happy memory we cherish – and it can be so simple as a quick lunch, a brief hello, or even a phone call when visiting isn’t practical.
The Conquistador Classic is our annual local meet! It happens in Saint Augustine less than ten minutes from our gymnastics facility and most of our team parents and siblings volunteer there. The insanely long driveway from the welcoming “World Golf Village” stone marquees on either side of a beautiful bridge over a ditch across from the Costco/Bucees light is one of the most stunning natural tunnels to drive through. Large oak trees with scattered spanish moss touch branches together over the well-kept roadway. Yes, when this Florida writer pens, “tunnel,” it means treetops over the road.
Jillian is competing Xcel Silver this year. Her WGVG team took 3rd place! She loves her team sisters and gets super proud of what they do – I hear all about Olivia’s amazing floor or how straight Sera’s form was on bars. She got to volunteer after her meet as mom was carless at work & Grandma had to start work before Jillian’s meet was complete. (All Photos are thanks to my amazing fellow Silver Moms!)
Kimberly is competing Xcel Platinum this year. Her team is much smaller than it’s been in previous years. She loved volunteering at her home meet this year.
One of our observing grandpas said, “I couldn’t tell our girls apart out there with all the matching outfits and hair – they all look alike!” I love that! We have matching leotards and warmups and an absolutely stunning (and fun!) hairstyle that I think makes them all look so professional. One of my favorite parts of watching a meet is when the team steps forward and waves at their introduction – the girls are all smiles and glowing faces! (see “Introduction wave” in photos above)
I can’t help but get excited for them when meet season is on. They travel, enjoy their teammates’ company, show off what they’ve been learning, and encourage each other. Competition brings challenges that my girls have different feelings about. Jillian loves the spotlight. Kimberly gets nervous when she sees me watching her in practice. Jillian gets a little goofy in front of a crowd, she’s working on that. Kimberly overthinks and freezes, she’s working on that. Like everything in life, there are challenges to be faced: time management (like planning 15 minutes of traffic delay for every hour of travel), overcoming nervousness (no freezing and looking stern, and no goofy giggling and going limp like a noodle), encouraging others and finding joy even when you haven’t had the best day (keep smiling and no complaining or blaming), getting up and doing it again when you fall (I was so proud of Kimberly in the first meet – she got back up and finished the beam skill), always doing your best in that moment, always having fun with the breath you’ve been given!
I get to see Kimberly’s third meet! It’s a Sunday in the early morning – which means mom & Kimberly & tag-along car ride to Kissimmee. I love hanging out with my kids! Long car rides are perfect because we have nothing better to do than play road games, talk, or car karaoke along with favorite songs. (I’ve learned some newer songs this way – long car rides and PNO are the only reason I know all the words to every Descendents song)
I get to see both of their fourth and fifth meets! We’ll all be riding together for the fifth one because it’s on the same day for both of them. I’m excited to do meet hair! (Crazy, I know, but I love it!) I choose to enjoy every breath I’ve been given, wonder in every moment I get with them, and encourage them to whatever they want.
Lots of crazy off-road travel for this writer’s brain today… but back to the amazing local meet that Grandma got to watch (because, it’s local!)…
I pray for their hearts to be edified and encouraged by their coach and teammates. I pray they are the lights to encourage and edify others. I pray they always smile and enjoy what they love. Kimberly loves “being in the air” and Jillian loves anything fast and strong.
Meet Season 2023 here we come! Long car rides, friendship bonds, encouraging teammates, and even little brothers stinking up the car…
January 20, 2023
First Meet of the Season
On January 12th I was working, but Jillian was on a long car ride down to Tampa with her teammate (I love the bonds our team sisters get!) to rest up for a 7am arrival at her first meet of the season!
First off, I was coaching so my ten-year-old actually left the gym without even telling me bye! No wave, no nothing, just run out with Kate and load her stuff in her friend’s mom’s car and go. (My mom-self wasn’t sure what to think of that – but, I do raise my kids to be independent.)
Secondly, I’m so thankful for my other Silver Moms at WGV Gymnastics! Our girls practically live together and they love each other like sisters! They do so much together. We moms help look out for each other – even if its texts like “I4 is a nightmare, take xyz exit and get off” or how to navigate the strange new parking garage.
This meet, I wasn’t physically there. So two of my friends were sending me videos, pictures, and scores! Did I mention how blessed I am to have my Silver teammate moms?
Louis drove Kimberly down for her 1:30pm time. They left at 9:30 with a very exuberant Lucas. His choice was “go to gym, do open gym, then come home and hang out with Becky and play video games” or “7 or 8 hours stuck in the car.” Lucas squealed with delight and said, “7 or 8 hours in the car with you, Daddy!” (My Mom heart almost exploded on that one… although I do know he really just wanted to fart Kimberly out of the car and eat everything on any billboard he could talk Louis into stopping for.)
Jillian got to watch Kimberly (she got dropped back off at the meet for Louis to drive her home). Louis was giving me a play-by-play.
Pictures because why not? (all photo credits are either Kate’s Mom or Saedi’s Mom)
Fun memories and challenges! I love the start of Meet Season! *Actually, today, Jillian and Kimberly are at the Conquistador Classic (our local meet, yippee!) one competing and the other volunteering. Jillian will finish the day volunteering after she’s done showing everyone how much she loves gymnastics. Can’t wait to see pictures from this one!
We hosted Thanksgiving at our house for those who could come. It lasted from November 22 (our 20th anniversary) to November 27 (Sunday). This was our “vacation” from gym/work. It included lots of traveling (for me, Becky, Christina, Jaquline, Lucas, and Thea), lots of fun, and lots of food!
For my anniversary, we still had to work (thank you, Hurricane Whatever in September – I don’t commit names to memory) because we had school and a make-up day at gymnastics. This started our Thanksgiving Break because I started out just before midnight on 11/22 with Christina to go pick Becky up from college.
This car trip was super fun! Christina and I drove. Lucas and Thea went with us as Kimberly had early practice (Xcel Platinum) on the 23rd (a friend played taxi), Louis still had work like regular, and Jaquline & Jillian were cleaning and cooking with Grandma Tina.
We got home to take naps, help finish cooking, cleaning, and such. The table was set so pretty! (Yes, that is a marble chessboard that we use as a hot plate to set the turkey on! – Louis had it when we were dating and after some “accidents” happened to the pieces over the years, it was just too pretty to toss so was repurposed.)
Uncle Buddy came. Anastasia came. Gavin came. Aunt Becca sent yummy desserts! We had so much fun! Louis brought in new chairs. (our table was used when we bought it and was missing chairs – we originally used the piano bench, but since the piano & bench are in storage for lack of room…) We played games. Okay, yes, most were group video games or Frogger Challenge (two players, winner takes on next player…), but there were a few Boggle games and it seems we can’t have Thanksgiving fun without a campfire!
Uncle Buddy wanted to play Age of Empires with Lucas & Becky; even Louis and I joined in on a 5-person hot-seat Heroes 3 game that lasted all day (and we didn’t finish). The kiddos (will leave anonymous which adults joined in as well) did a super-multi-player Minecraft / Imposter with phones and computers. The shouted directions in the living and dining room had everyone else laughing!
My Angel Eggs were a different story. I made two platters. I love making food look beautiful but most of the time we are short on time so I can’t. (I used to even make everyone’s birthday cakes from scratch & even made two wedding cakes!) Today I made beautiful piped eggs.
One platter was gone in T-5 minutes! Jaquline did warn us she was going to eat more than the eggs she shelled! I love making food people enjoy.
Being around my family when we aren’t rushed always reminds me to be thankful for them! Uncle Buddy had prepped his head for military service (more on that next time) and Lucas thoroughly enjoyed playing video games with and snuggling with his uncle. I am super thankful for this life God has given me and I pray my home becomes the gathering point for family and friends always on any Sunday we have family day or any holiday. Food and good company is always a reason to gather together!
Our textbooks are usually a medley of what works best.
This year Christina and Becky have college books only. Christina still digs into our American Government high school textbook this semester because it “makes it easy to understand” as she’s taking a law course.
Kimberly is officially 10th grade. She has A Beka Book (consumer finance) and Teaching Textbooks (geometry) for arithmetic, Apologia Science, Literature Coursework from A Beka Book, a typing and writing class that uses A Beka Book Grammar & Composition as a textbook requiring paragraphs or essays on daily science and history work, and A Beka Book as her main history text. She’s already done geometry previously, but this is a new way of looking at it that helps her understand it better. Our educational philosophy is totally for repeating subject matter that allows for better understanding.
Jaquline is officially 7th grade. Her textbooks include: A Beka Book Arithmetic 6 (yes, this is completing a repeat; she has done both the 5th and 6th grade books twice), A Beka Book Creative Writing, A Beka Book Language C, Apologia Science, Military History of the United States (it’s an children’s encyclopedia set and they write a report after each letter study), A Beka Book History Coursework, and Money Management Skills (a middle-school version of “Personal Finance” that incorporates their personal savings account, teaches them to set goals, observation of household finances, budgeting, etc.). Her textbooks are officially scattered grade levels from 6th to 8th and she reads books voraciously – her reading level is far higher than her scholastic level is supposed to be.
Jillian is officially 5th grade. She is almost done with A Beka Book’s Basic Mathematics (rebranded a couple years ago as “Intermediate Mathematics” but we bought one textbook for each of the girls on our second order so we could use the same tests; Lucas and Thea will have the new book unless I can snag an unused Basic Mathematics edition) and will move into Pre-Algebra with either or both Teaching Textbooks and A Beka Book next month, she just completed A Beka Book’s Investigating God’s World last week and started Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Anatomy and Physiology and Health for the Glory of God (because her goal now is Sports Medicine or Physical Therapy), History is reading and writing reports on biographies of U.S. Presidents along with Bauer’s The Story of the World, A Beka’s Book’s Language C, A Beka Book’s Cursive Writing Skillbook (that one gets repeated until they master cursive writing), Business and Money Management Skills (in addition to our normal course, Jillian has started a business with her friends and that has been incorporated into our regular coursework on finances), and she is studying art mechanics, various mediums, and art history. Jillian’s textbooks range from 3rd grade to 8th grade depending on subject.
Lucas is officially 2nd grade. His textbooks are any book he wants to read at the moment, A Beka Book’s Handbook For Reading, A Beka Book’s Writing With Phonics, A Beka Book’s Arithmetic 1, Practical Money Math, A Beka Book’s Language 1, A Beka Book’s Letters and Sounds 1, Life of Fred Fractions, Life of Fred Decimals, Phonics and Language 2, and his Manuscript Writing Tablet which makes for amazing work-on-the-go. I have him copy stuff wherever he is and try to read it. My Daddy used to have be copy my favorite dinosaur books when I was learning to write. Lucas is still what I consider a “pre-reader” (meaning when he does “read” it is choppy and he gets frustrated with not remembering the first part of the sentence). I tend to not move into more complicated textbooks until my student is a fluid reader. Lucas understands Mathematical concepts very well but gets frustrated very easily with words. He thinks math. Once he sees the patterns in English letters, he’ll be a fluid reader.
Theadora thinks she’s in school. She does WGV Gymnastics Gym-N-Learn on Fridays (it happens Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays, but she only listens on Fridays right now) and calls that “my real school.” She is obsessed with writing “T”s lately. She can write T and t in cursive and “like Coach Michelle” (that means very beautiful manuscript like calligraphy because she heard me mention once about how beautiful Coach Michelle’s handwriting is – Thea calls it “coloring letters”). Thea has to have a “school book” because the others do. It’s in her “school box,” because everyone else has a school box. Hers is a writing textbook with three lines and occasional letters along it. Grandma Tina gave her a color-by-number book and a numbers workbook which she calls “her school books” too. I don’t do anything formal with her yet.
Just a tiny peek at what we have this semester. We just move from one book to another as they complete the first (like from Language 1 to Phonics and Language 2) and repeat some books or portions of books occasionally. I want them to understand it is perfectly okay to go back and reread something to better understand a subject. (Have you ever had to go back and look up a grammar rule or algebraic formula?) Learning is our family lifestyle. Textbooks are tools to reach the next step.
