The Rest of May

We enjoyed a nice Mother’s Day this year.  Mark made me a delicious breakfast, and I got some nice things from he and the girls, then we went to church and met up with the family for an official celebration.  The guys made a great dinner, Garland had a wine tasting for everyone, and we mothers enjoyed the evening with no duties attached!

I couldn’t be more grateful to be mom to these girls.  They are two of the greatest joys of my life and being in the front row to witness their growth from little girls to beautiful young ladies has been the ultimate privilege.

 

Likewise, I’m so grateful to have been raised by a mom who loved us unconditionally and gave so much of herself (and still gives) to see us happy, fulfilled and thriving.  We are the most fortunate to have her as our mom.

The very next day after Mother’s Day was the District Championship for track and field.  Independence girls easily crushed their competition to win the District title, then went on the following week to win the Regional title as well  

   

Amidst all of that, we celebrated the 17th birthday of our Ninster.  Her photography class friend took these photos of her and I thought they captured so well her inner and outer beauty, her joy, her thoughtfulness, and her kind heart.  She celebrated by getting her nails done (long acrylics, of course), getting her favorite dinner from our neighborhood Thai restaurant, then polishing it off with chocolate cake (her choice for as long she’s had a choice!!).  We are so grateful that God gave us Nina!!

   

    

Amidst all the busyness of May, Mark took on the big project of resurfacing our deck.  All the old boards had to go, and all new boards had to be cut, fitted, and secured down.  Pops was a huge help on the first weekend that Mark started the job.  If it wasn’t for his help, the project would have taken Mark so much longer.  He helped Mark transport all the boards from the hardware store to our house in his trailer, then they spent hours on Saturday and Sunday prying off old boards and screws, and measuring, cutting, drilling, and nailing the new boards in place.  We have another day or two of staining to finish, then the project will officially be complete, and we can’t wait!!

  

 

High School Soccer

Lyla finished up her first year of high school soccer on the Independence JV soccer team.  It was an interesting season in many ways.  She had a lot of fun with her teammates and being part of a team that represents her high school.  They had a great record - finishing with 13 wins and 1 loss.  Lyla, who plays defender for her club team, was given the job of playing striker for the high school team.  It was quite a role reversal for her and a combination of both fun and frustrating for her at the same time.  It was fun to play a position that allowed her to score goals (rather than try to prevent them), and she hadn’t played striker since she was like 9 years old, so there was also a sense of frustration at times at not being familiar with the position.  

 

All said and done, she ended up with 10 goals on the season (even having to miss the last week of the season with an ankle injury) and was the leading goal scorer for her team.

  

  

 

 

 

At the team end of season banquet, she was presented with the Golden Boot award which was a nice honor.  https://youtu.be/r9ffIMbb7Z8

 

With some time off before club starts again, she’ll need to be rehabbing and strengthening her injured ankle, but we were glad she had a good experience with her first year of high school soccer.