Spring sports have officially begun and we are crazy busy....I love it! Cade is playing soccer on Saturday mornings and baseball in the afternoons. He and Gracie are on the same soccer team.....trouble for the other team! Ha! And Halle is playing volleyball. She LOVES it! Last weekend was crammed with more events than one person can get to.

Friday- volleyball game

Saturday- 5k road race, I ran

10:15 soccer game

1:00 baseball game

1:30 gymnastics mock meet

5:00 dinner plans

*It doesn't look all that busy in print, but I promise it was. So til the end of May we will be doing what we do best, watching the kiddos play, play, and play.

Halle never missed a serve in her first game!

Cade getting ready for his 1st baseball game!

Cade---#3

Gracie

Halle and I running in her Girls on the Run race Sunday afternoon! It amazes me that a third grader wants to run for fun. Now I'm a big time runner but I wasn't until after high school when I could do it for fun. I am so proud of her!

Gracie and Halle after their mock gymnastics meet. Halle got 1st all-around. I think Gracie was 3rd. She did get first on the beam though and nailed a cartwheel on the beam. LOVED IT!

We've got 3 active kids but they love what they do and they are good at it. I can't imagine a day when they are grown and gone....what will be do? where will we go? what will we talk about? It's not a day I look forward to. I love every minute of all the special things they do. And if you think they don't remember..... A classic Gracie story: I was on the phone Sunday evening with Sprint's customer service rep. So the kids went to bed and I didn't get to tuck them in...daddy did. So by the time I got off the phone, they were asleep. Gracie creeps to my side of the bed at 2:00 am and says 'momma, why didn't you tuck me in tonight.' It made my heart melt. Kind of a silly story, but the fact that she woke up and that was on her mind at 2:00 am. So of course I let her jump right in bed with me and snuggle. That was only fair right?!

It's Official- It's SPRING!

It's officially spring which means it's time for spring cleaning! And this 9 year old going on 19 wanted to add to her chore list. That's my girl! Of course there was a monetary incentive on her behalf, but I'm ok with that. Although I do believe kids should be responsible for certain things no matter what, I also believe they should be able to pay for certain things. And how else is she going to pay without an income! As if I would expect anything less, I gave her a list that consisted of weekly chores and daily chores....things she's expected to do each day. She of course copied it over and had it color coated with boxes beside it so she could check them off as she goes........LOVE IT! She has really done a great job. We came home from church the other day and she had gone straight to her room to vacuum and clean the bathroom (on the list) before going outside to play. Now sure I will be going back over the bathroom to make sure it's clean, but that's ok. The fact that she's doing it is great in my opinion!



And along w/ spring cleaning, comes spring sports. It's fair to say we are busier than ever in the sporting department. Halle is playing volleyball. Her games will be on Friday nights. Gracie is playing soccer, games Saturday mornings, and Cade is playing baseball and soccer. Games for baseball are Saturday afternoon and he's on Gracie's soccer team so that'll get done in the morning....wow...I'm tired just typing that! Busy, yes....but they love it and as long as they do, they can play ball!

Halle has really enjoyed volleyball....we had to go out and buy one last Friday and she hasn't put it down since! She's pretty good at it too. Of course we'll see how the games go, but so far so good!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day: It's really not that big of a deal to me, but I know kids love it! It's really their only day at school to have a true party----so enjoy! The kids made us special cards and I love them.

This is from Gracie!

Gracie wrote this to Chase one evening when he wasn't the recipient of a box of chocolate, as I was! He claimed to feel sad that he didn't get any chocolate, but truthfully he doesn't each chocolate! It clearly pulled on Gracie's heart strings so she ran to make him something to 'cheer him up.'

This was left on our dresser from Halle!


Cade's front cover!

......And the inside!

Basketball Season Ends

Sadly there are no pictures to post this time but we end this basketball season wishing it didn't have to end! My crew played their hearts out all season.



Gracie---look out is all I have to say. This kid has got it together. She understands how the game is played, she's aggressive, she's poised, she's determined, she's smart, and she wants it! All the perfect attributes of a basketball player. With each game she got better and better. It was so much fun to watch her. She would get steal after steal and run down and score at will. She's just good! I know next year it'll be harder when she moves up, but, I know she'll succeed.

And yes I coached all 3 this season. It sounds easy but it's really not easy to coach your own kids. You have to have that balance where you focus on everyone, and not just your kid. You have to be fair and not 'pick' on your kid for not doing it better. It's hard! You see the potential but you have to guide them ever so carefully to keep them confident and having fun! I'd say it was a success this season.



Cade---- the fastest, quickest kid I know of any age, and I mean that! Sure there are quick kids even 9-10 years old, but I think Cade is quicker. This kid doesn't know how quick and fast he is. And he wants it bad too. He's not quite as poised as Gracie b/c she's not as fast. So he has a little work to do on his shot, b/c he often bangs it too hard against the backboard. He'll get it though. And he's in the driveway playing about every chance he gets.



Halle---probably the most improved player this season! She started the season off very passive, not aggressive at all, would watch things blow right by her, and frankly just make bad choices! It killed me as her coach, and her momma. I would try so hard to explain every chance I got. She's such a coachable kid...she listens, she takes it in, but she's not aggressive, or shall I say wasn't! I can remember the first half of the season she'd make a bad pass and turn straight around to head down the court and stare right at me as if to say "ok mom, sorry, help." It broke my heart. But about 2 games ago a light bulb went off....it was actually in practice. All of a sudden she scored and something hit her and she got it. She started rebounding, and actually trying to shoot and score. She's always been a good ball handler and a good passer, but she never tried to score....well that has ended my friends. She scored 4 points in her last game and I literally jumped off the bench and threw my arms up to cheer her on! She was so proud, but I was more proud, that I am sure!



So we close this season on a positive note and now begin the spring season. Cade will be play coach-pitch baseball, Gracie will player soccer, and Halle will play volleyball. She's never played before but I love her for wanting to try new things! Sports was a huge part of our lives growing up and it builds character, I truly believe that....you learn to work with others, you learn to be committed, you learn about work ethic, you learn about winning and losing. They will always have my support no matter what they choose to play or not play!

Happy 6th Birthday Cade!

This was the picture of perfection 6 years ago. Halle had just turned 3, Gracie was 14 months, and Cade was just born. It seems like a lifetime ago, yet it seems like yesterday! It's ironic that Gracie is smiling in this picture because most of the time, she was screaming! God love that child, she was a mess, still is, but at least now we can use words to explain ourselves. There was not much sleep going on in the Wilson house back in these days. Cade was the happiest baby and honestly he never required any 'extra' attention for months! He would just sit in his swing and watch the chaos. It took him forever to crawl, and even longer to walk. I had the poor guy in physical therapy b/c I thought he'd never walk....finally at 18 months he started running down the street one day while we were outside. Of course he hasn't stopped running since! Today Cade spends his free time playing the sport of the season, so right now that would be basketball. And I know I'm his momma and I brag, but he is awesome! He is fast, quick, coordinated, smart, funny, friendly, kind, and loving! He is amazing and although I do miss my babies, I love to watch them grow into compassionate and loving children!

Now this is what life was really like!?!?

Coordinated at a very early age.......


This was probably one of my most favorite toys because I could keep somebody still!

Snowed In!

Well the blizzard of January 2011 has come and gone. Halle has been studying natural disasters in school and she was convinced we had a blizzard. It feels like we are just now getting into a routine now after the Christmas break. We missed 3 1/2 days of school. Cade started out throwing up, then Halle and Gracie ended up with the flu. Now I'm sick----I'm so sick of winter! We did manage to get outside though and enjoy the snow.


Cade and his pride and joy! The Gamecock football!
Cade and momma.....

Halle and Gracie

Halle and Cade!

Christmas 2010/New Year's 2011

Christmas has come and gone and it was a GREAT 2 weeks at home w/ the family! It is always the hardest break to recover from b/c it's just enough time to really enjoy and get used to being at home, and then it's BACK TO REALITY! Plus, it's winter, cold, dreary, and I'm not fan of cold weather. And it's a long haul til spring break---the good news is spring is around the corner! So in the meantime we have basketball to keep us busy and the kids love it! Sadly, no real photos of Christmas morning, but it was the traditional Christmas day. We woke up and celebrated, went to Gram's and celebrated, had lunch w/ the Wilson crew, and followed up w/ Christmas with my family. The kids brought in the New Year in a BIG way. They spent the night w/ their Gram and Grandaddy and had a big ole' time as you can see. Chase and I spent the evening w/ only adults. It was a little weird, but nice! It's always nice to have a child-free evening but it also reminds me of how quiet it will be when they are grown and gone---it will be a happy day b/c I know they are going to do amazing things and I can't wait to see what they accomplish. But at the same time, when you've spent years chasing, running, fussing, praising, teaching, helping, nursing, loving....I'm not real sure how you just stop, or at least stop it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Gracie, Jules, Gram, and Halle

All 5 of the cousins!

Crazy man Cade!

Apparently there was a show!

Watching the ball drop!

Grandaddy and Cade