the beginning of the beginning

OMGsh.  This is what it is like in the Land O' Sports.  A place where our time is no longer our own.  It belongs to coaches.  It belongs to the sport.  Our family time in the evenings are pushed back till 7:45 when we finally roll into the garage after practices or training...usually 4 nights per week...and always in separate cars.  And this is only 2 of our 3 chicks.  Not sure how we will pull the third one off and not willing to think about it yet.  =)

Julia is in club but a non-traveling team.  This is key...non-traveling.  It's still club and she is getting many of the benefits of a club team (skill & technique training) but we don't have the time commitment of the serious traveling club...yet.  We know that day will come, probably in jr. high but for now its low key but still good training...a good balance.  Twice a week for five months.  Do-able.  But what's really cool...we have only one more week!  Wheew!

Basil, because of his age, is more involved.  He recently made a football team that is essentially club - serious training and most certainly more time commitment.  His practices start a week after school lets out, twice a week for the first month then 3/week in July and then it gets serious after that.  =/'  HA!

Those are the evenings.

In the mornings, he has speed and agility training 4/week...all summer.  Which he actually needs...when racing a turtle, the turtle would win every time.
{Not really.  But you get my drift.}

And Helena's art class is Monday afternoons...easy-peasy.

This is something we have waited on for quite some time.  But the time has come.  So here we are...the beginning of this life in sports/activities.  But it's all good.  We know that this phase of our lives will come and go...and when it goes, that means our kids will have flown the coop {tear, sniff, sniff}...so we are trying to savor every moment, no matter how long and drawn out they can feel sometimes.

~Oh yeah, that's what my husband looks like!~

As I mentioned above, we roll into the garage around 7:45p...and if you know us, this is late, we are usually getting ready for bed at this time.  But since our schedules are changing, our bed times have had to change too.  We are going to bed later anymore, between 8-9p now so we can have some time to reconnect as a family.  This means that we are allowing the chicks to wake later...which means the morning chores have been exed from our morning routine. This all is not ideal in my mind but I'm learning to be flexible...and really, I guess it is in these new circumstances.

We see these times as also keeping them out of potential trouble.  The more they have to do, the less time they have to ride the neighborhood with their friends, messing around.  Hey...I'm all about keeping things quiet but I also know that when kids have too much time on their hands at this age, it's just askin' for trouble.  It's just finding that balance that can be difficult...although, God is leading us, he is giving us the discernment we need...and we are so thankful for that.  I just don't know how anyone does it without Him!  You know, with all of the pressures that society puts on families anymore...do this, do that, it's all sooooo good for you and your kids.

blah, blah, blah.
whatev.

The questions are for us, "Where will these kids shine for You the brightest?"  and "What will get them to that place?"
Cause in the end, isn't that what it's all about?