Gymnastics season is over...

I have neglected this blog-- not on purpose, just based on time! :)

Nicole's gymnastics season is done for this year!! (the time involved in that is why I haven't written here!) We have been to Boise two times, Pocatello, ID, Eugene, OR, Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, Seattle, and most recently, Whitefish, MT for the Regionals meet. She has placed so well this year and did a GREAT job! At state, she tied for 2nd on floor, received 3rd on bars, and placed 3rd overall.... At regionals, she took 1st on bars!! HURRAY. She has worked hard and enjoyed it all.

I enjoyed the travels quite a bit. It is a bit disruptive, but we figured out how to make it work for us. I think we survived. :) LOL

I do have more pictures and videos... one of these days.. :)

Home again...

Nicole and I went to Boise this weekend for the BSU Open gymnastics competition. We had a wonderful time. While there, we stayed with a good friend, Saundra. It was nice not having to stay in hotel! Nicole got to hang out with her good buddy both days in Boise, go swimming, cozy up with warm blankets and watch movies at Saundra's house... very relaxing weekend! (okay, other than the meet.. those just aren't relaxing!!! haha)

The meet went very well. I have no pictures.. but she earned a 36.625 overall score- her best yet. Nicole's goal each meet is to raise her score a bit each time, and she has done it. The competition was really tough and the age group she was in included ages 7-11! So in that, she placed 8th overall for the kids in that age group, level 7. Another good meet...

Jason took the older two skiing yesterday. Jessica has become quite a skiier and does so well!! She even braved a black diamond trail yesterday... had to take her skis off for part of it, but I'm proud of her for even tackling that trail. :)

These weekends are busy with travels, but such a blessing to find ways with each child to make the weekends special. I wouldn't trade this for anything

However.. I will say getting up at 3:30 AM Friday, then 4:30 our time Saturday, then a time change meaning getting up today at 5:30 our time has made for one very tired me! Whew.. LOL

Nicole's winning beam routine...

On Saturday, Nicole competed at the Great West Gym Fest-- a big gymnastics competition held here in Coeur d'Alene. She placed third overall in her age/level division, but the highlight of her meet was this beam routine. She earned a 9.575 score for this routine, giving her first place in this event. It was a very exciting moment!!!!

I was so proud of her as this routine came after a disappointing bar event for her. She has learned a new, more difficult level 7 routine and Saturday was her first time to compete with it. She made the most difficult part of the routine beautifully, then somehow missed the part that is usually the easiest for her. She was SO disappointed (even though she still placed third on bars), but stepped up to the plate and competed so well on the beam. It takes a lot to let go of one disappointment and tackle the next event. I'm sure there is something deep to learn there, but for now-- here's the video. :) Enjoy!!!

Moseying along...

Hi! That is life right now.. we are "moseying along". Nothing too exciting happening.. all three children were sick for a few days with Nicole getting it the worst. She missed a gymnastics meet due to being sick, but since her competition season is January through March, it's bound to happen! She has four more meets, possibly five, coming up, so it was not the end of the world missing this one.

School is going well. we have FINALLY settled into a sort of routine after Christmas break. I know - this is the second full week of FEBRUARY and we're finally settling in. Whew.. that took some time.

Piano lessons are going wonderfully and I am enjoying teaching now more than I ever have before! I have four students, not including my daughter, and hope to have more soon.

In a couple months I will get to play the piano for a program done by the local Christian Youth Theater (CYT). I am VERY excited about this!!!! A friend of mine from church will be the director..... very cool!!! There might even be possibilities for Michael and Jessica to be involved in one way or another. I enjoy playing for theater like this and haven't done it in SO long..

That's our update! Jason is in the midst of restructuring (AGAIN) at work.. had some rough months there.. we are grateful he has a job still!

Today I am just breathing a sigh of relief at the routine we have settled into. I know it won't stay "calm and routine", but I'll enjoy it while we have it!!! :)

My Three Gifts

Here they are! Sometimes I call them my Little Rascals. :) I used to call them munchkins, but for some reason they aren't liking that as much now.. LOL I love this picture.. it really sums it up some days. :)

Michael is a joy- 14 years old, learning to play the electric guitar, really likes helping with audio/ video at church..... Great sense of humor and enjoys hanging out with friends from youth most of all! Skiing and snowmobiling... does not get much better than that.

Jessica, 9, so sweet... plays piano and enjoys reading, art, writing stories... lately swimming. Getting to swim at lessons and also one evening a week has been a highlight for her lately. One of her very favorite things is church camp! She's already making plans for this next summer. Sweet and extremely loyal to friends.

Nicole the monkey at age 9... Monkeys and the color green are her favorites and truly, bars are her favorite event at gymnastics. What fun! Life is one big adventure for Nicole.. the Olympics in 2016 is her dream and she will be 16 that year... hmmmm... love dreams!

I am daily reminded to delight in them. I never would have dreamed life could go by this quickly and they could be these ages already. Wow. We are so blessed by these gifts from God.

The Birthday Girl...

Yesterday was Nicole's 9th birthday!!! I can not believe she is nine... these years have passed by so quickly and I am constantly reminded to delight in my children and treasure every single day I have with them!!!

Nicole loves green... everything she got for her birthday is green. :) That made her so very happy!!!!! She is very enthusiastic about life and has no problem showing her excitement over whatever she chooses to be excited about. Did you know that a bottle of sparkling cider can make a 9 year old clap for joy??? Little green digital cameras can practically make one speechless and blue and green lava lamps are a constant source of delight!

May we all live life with enthusiasm and find reasons to clap our hands for joy!!!

Traveling with Garmin...

I think Garmin could become a fabulous traveling buddy. My children were so polite to Garmin, saying "Yes, Ma'am" every time 'she' spoke. She very politely and consistently told us where to go. Garmin is, of course, a GPS road map.

My Dad let us borrow 'Garmin' as we traveled north of Seattle for Nicole's gymnastics meet. We programmed in the destination, listened to the mostly clear directions and made it there in great time, as if we knew where we were going!!! We didn't.. and the funny thing about traveling with 'Garmin' is that I still do not know how to get where we went... I would have been lost without her.

The day was also very foggy as we drove... it was such a blessing to not have to try and find road signs in the thick fog. 'Garmin' made the travels much more pleasant. "Drive .9 miles then turn right"... "exit left, drive 1.2 miles then turn right"... or whatever. Just follow 'Garmin' as she is completely unaffected by the fog.

Why am I writing this??! Because it struck me that the Bible is our 'Garmin' in life. Life on earth is quite foggy at times and often I have no idea how to get to a specific destination. But the Bible is God's direction for us.. how to live... and even our final destination for eternity will be arrived at through God and God alone. I was so encouraged by 'Garmin'... looking at it in a Biblical sense.. and knowing that God provides the direction we need in life and we can trust HIM when we can hardly see in front of us!!! And He never fails.

And sometimes we have to take the next piece of direction without understanding why or where it is going to lead! If we take a wrong turn, 'Garmin' recalculates to get us on the right path again. I do believe God has the same grace and mercy!!

Perhaps a lot to get out of a trip with 'Garmin'.. but we sure got a kick out of it. :)

I have another buddy called 'Griffin'. :) Perhaps I'll explain in another blog..