Badr dubbed Soccer phenom!

"Soccer phenom" article link

Our neighbor, Badr Seyam was featured in an article in The Augusta Daily Gazette. I've never seen him play a game, but we see him practice all the time and I no longer worry about him accidentally nailing Mary or a window when he kicks the soccer ball. He is also a great kid with a great attitude! I see a healthy balance of humility and confidence that will serve him well no matter where he excels.

Link to a YouTube video of Badr

Bean Bags and Denim

Thank you to the Salmans family for loaning us this bean bag. Josiah is spoiled with this customizable seating! Also, thank you to Huggies for their new "Little Movers" diapers that look like blue jeans (sort of). At least they blend in with his cast and don't call as much attention.

Mary's Quotes

Here are some random Mary quotes I've been collecting. Enjoy!

Mom! My bedroom is like a garage sale! It has lots of stangs (things) and toys!


"Mom! I'll be Willie Wildcat and you be the lellow (yellow) guy!" (Whoever K-State played at one of the games we went to wore yellow and some guy in a yellow shirt got tackled by Willie. The moment is forever etched in her mind.)


Mary, what part of storms do you like? "I like rain and lightning." What part don't you like? "I don't like the thunder and the cheetahs." Why don't you like the cheetahs? "They eat us."

"Mom! I'll be the teacher and you do what I do. Spin in a circle!" (I comply until I get dizzy and petition for a different instruction.) "Ok, now spin really fast. Ballerinas are supposed to be dizzy." Mary, do something different than spinning. "I'm going to go really fast and do dizzy. Hurry, you have to run really fast and be a cheetah!"

"How 'bout I dip my toast in my yogurt so its not too... too... daddy whiskers?"

scratchy?

"yeah scratchy."

Time Capsule Letters

Four years ago, on March 29th, 2006, Clarise and I each wrote a letter to ourselves. I hid them away in our bank lock box and just recently retrived them. I remember doing a similar thing when I was an eighth grader entering high school. It was fun to read our letters, remember what our lives were like then, and how accurate our predictions about the future were. Four years ago, I had one year left in my library science degree. I wrote "in four years I would love to be a mom. That is something I have desired for a very long time." I also wrote "It has been such fun to meet with Clarise weekly. She is always surprising me with her humor, her ideas, her thoughtfulness, and her perspective. It has been so neat to watch her grow over the past two years." Now, I won't divulge the contents of Clarise's letter on her behalf, but I will say that I loved the conversational voice she used in her letter to herself. It was very funny to listen to and I could just see and hear eighth grade her talking to 12th grade her. :) I look forward to reading these letters again in four years in addition to the new ones we will be writing this week!

Clarise Graduates!

Clarise graduates this Wednesday! This afternoon they had Convocation and afterward she celebrated with friends and family at a graduation reception. We are so proud of her! I'm so glad God put her in my life!

If the word "convocation" is new to you (as it was to me), be enlighted:
"Convoke" is to call together to a meeting.
One definition of "convocation" is: a formal assembly at a college or university, esp. for a graduation ceremony.
Never stop learning! :)

Great Friends!

This is one of Mary's closest friends, Emma. Her mom, Julie is one of my closest friends. Their family will be moving to Texas in about one month and we are going to miss them so much!

Our Ballerina

Mary has taken two ballet classes so far. She has been "doing her ballet stangs (things)" for over a month now whenever she finds enough space and time. At her first class, she stood frozen for 20 minutes taking it all in. She finally seemed to warm up a bit and we saw some participation during the last 10 minutes. I wasn't able to see her during the second class, but another mom reported movement early on. :)