Beach Trip

My babies and I need a restful few days to reconnect and enjoy each other’s company before school starts again.  So, we’ve headed to the beach!  There is just something very soothing about the ocean waves and how constant they are.  Waves going in and out, in and out, splashing at my feet while I sit in my chair and watch my kiddos play in the water and sand. It’s good to be here.

Oldest Girl will be starting high school in a few weeks and I know life is about to get very busy for her again. Only Boy will start his last year of elementary school.  He is getting so tall and has already passed me by in height.  Middle Girl and Baby Girl are both looking forward to starting ballet classes.  Life is about to be full of car rides, schedules, and routine.  The beach was calling us.  We need to recharge before these big changes in our lives again.  We are also praying that God will prepare us to welcome new foster children into our home this year.  We would be so pleased to get “the call” very soon.  

The beach is my happy place!  Quiet, calm and peaceful, but full of fun and memories at the same time!  Life is good at the beach! 

Soccer

So, I’m kinda scared.  Our Oldest Girl just tried out for and made her very first “club” soccer team.  She’s played for the YMCA, for military teams, and school teams, but this will be our family’s first experience with “travel ball.”  My husband played soccer up until his freshman year of high school and he played pretty competitively until he decided football was more fun for him in high school.  Two of my three sisters played soccer and one went on to play in college and now coaches.  I danced.  I was never real “sporty” as a child.  I was a dancer.  I did tap, jazz, ballet, and hip hop and loved it!  I was on a college dance team and I danced all the way up until Oldest Girl was born.  I don’t do soccer.  I’m “soccer stupid.”  I know absolutely NOTHING!

So, tonight as I stood there in the very first club meeting with my three little ones and my Oldest Girl I felt, um well… out of place.  The room was filled with “soccer people” filling out paperwork and getting it notarized.  I had to provide a copy of her birth certificate to prove her age!  This stuff is no joke!  What have I gotten us into?  I know Oldest Girl has a future in high school and maybe even college sports.  She’s amazing and everyone tells me that she’s a natural, but I’m not a “soccer mom.”  I don’t know the rules, I don’t know the coaches, I don’t know the “right” teams to be on, I’m just a mom of an incredibly talented 13-year old girl.  So, wish us luck!  Practices start in July and I’m terrified!

He’ll be here in 4 hours!

I can barely stand it!  I’m so excited!  My hubby and the father of my precious children will be home in four hours!  He’s surprising the kids!  I’ve got to play it cool!  I don’t want to give the surprise away!  All day he’s been calling me as he’s been on the road.  He’s coming home for Oldest Girl’s soccer tournament this weekend!  He’ll get to see her play in at least three games.  That is three more games than he’s seen her play in over a year!  Being the daughter of an Army Dad is like that.  I teach my children that what Daddy does is incredibly important.  What he’s doing would have to be to keep him away.  He takes amazing care of us and because of his job, I get to stay home and be at all of the events, games, recitals, etc.  I know it doesn’t help when they miss him, but at least they understand and know that he would be here if he could be!  So, soccer games and a social worker visit on Monday and he gets to be here for all of it!  I am super pumped!  

A knee to the stomach

I guess when you are raising five kids and your husband is overseas, you should expect a bit of drama. I had no idea yesterday as I dropped our oldest girl off at her soccer game that it would end up the way it did.

I dropped our soccer star off thirty minutes early for the game and headed to pick up dinner for the other four kiddos. We drove home, ate, I changed the baby’s diaper and we were headed back to the truck to go get sister when my cell phone rang. “Your girl is hurt, you need to get down here now,” said the voice on the phone. “Sister is hurt,” I yelled, “everyone in the truck!” The kids did great! No shoes, no questions, we all ran outside to go get her! We arrived minutes later at the field less than a mile from our house. Now, there is something you need to know. Big sis does NOT cry! She is rough, she is tough, she is an athlete! So, when I drive up and see her flat on her back, not moving, and crying, my heart drops into my stomach! My baby girl! I jump out of the truck, run across the field and hear, “it is bad, she needs to go to the ER now!” Okay! Let’s go! Two men carry her to the truck, she still cannot move. I dial my phone, calling neighbors and friends. “I am on my way with the littles, our big girl is hurt,” I tell them. I arrive home, people are already there. I drop the little kids off, blow kisses and speed away.

I drive as smoothly as I can, but with every turn, she cries out in pain. It is breaking my heart! We arrive at the ER. We need help getting her from the truck to a wheelchair. EMTs meet us at the door and carry her in. I park the truck. When I get inside, they are already checking her out and I fill out the paperwork. Pain killers are ordered and given to her and a CT scan will happen next. We’re all worried about internal bleeding.

She was playing such a great game and had already scored 3 goals for her team when she and a young man on the opposing team both jumped into the air for the ball and his knee went into her stomach. She fell flat on her back, wind knocked out of her, and unable to breath. Once air filled her lungs again, she felt as though she may vomit and sat back, light headed. She laid down, the world was spinning and then she just couldn’t move.

We take her for the CT scan and then we wait. Three pastors from our church are there with us and several friends. Thank The Lord for our beautiful church family! We are all praying for my girl! The doc comes in and kind of smiles. I think good news is coming, but instead I hear, “The CT scan showed contusions on her pancreas and liver. We cannot treat her here. We are transferring her to the Children’s Hospital. The ambulance will take you now.”

To be continued…