Swim Team Banquet

Every year at the end of summer league season, our team has a banquet. There is lots of good food, awards and a slide show of our season. This year's banquet was a lot of fun. John, Sr. couldn't be there because he had an elder meeting at church, : (

Coach John

He's got that rock star grip on the microphone

Each swimmer gets a participation trophy. 

 Here's Abbey with the other 6 and under girls.(Emily is on her left)

Then they give out the special awards. First, for most improved. Guess who won the 6 and under girls' most improved?  Miss Abbey!

Two trophies!

Coaches Amiee, John and Most Improved 6 and under girl, Abbey

 When we got home, she sat in the den with Beth,(she was home doing wedding stuff), Daniel for quite a while. She would stand on the hearth and say things like, "This person has a great life and has worked hard. Come on up here, BETH!" Or another one I heard her say, "I taught this person to do the backstroke, breathstroke and he's worked real hard. Come on up here DANIEL!" It was such a hoot to hear her take/re-creation on the banquet.

That night when I went to do my final tuck in this is what I saw...

Trophies for bed partners

Daniel won the high point for the 15-18 guys

Here he's getting his participation trophy

He's 2nd from the right

Watching from the sidelines, as usual, Elijah (with Anna)

I love summer league swimming. It always makes me sad when it's over. It means that summer will be ending all too soon!

Summer Swim Season Winds Down

Another summer league season has come to an end. This was Abbey's first, and I can say she thoroughly enjoyed it. From the start...

All the way to the end of her swim, she has a tremendous grin on her face, every time she swam. 

When the team comes in they chant our mascot's name, "Amberjacks, Amberjacks..." In the car one day, Abbey starts to chant, "Jamberjack, Jamberjacks!" Wonder what kind of fish that is???

She has a special friend, Emily. 

She would bring Abbey to me, take her to the bathroom and generally take care of her, while they waited to swim.

Abbey even got to swim in a "first heat" at the last meet. 

John did a wonderful job coaching the team. I've heard nothing but great things about him from the other parents. He has had a hard time, though. Our team got moved up to the second division and had to swim the "powerhouses" of the league. So, we only won one meet. To a guy that thrives on competition (or I should say, winning), this was a hard pill to swallow. 

Leading the cheering before the meet

He and assistant coach, Aimee made a great team

Daniel did very well, losing one race the whole season. He swam against an 18 yr old year round swimmer and lost in butterfly. He also didn't swim the last meet, because it was too close to his State Champs meet and could possibly mess up his taper.(John wasn't at all happy about that choice). 

Parading into the meet with the team

Nana and Grandaddy even came to see one of the last meets.

Elijah only had to sit through a couple of meets. 

We were blessed with friends that agreed to let him stay with them, or Anna was able and willing to keep him at home. Swim meets are no fun for the non-swimming siblings.

"Mommy, that girl's from China"

I had a very interesting insight with Abbey the other day. While checking out at the grocery store, Abbey pointed to the girl that was ringing up our groceries, and said, "She's Chinese." I said, "I don't know, you can ask her." So Abbey did and the girl said that she wasn't Chinese, but actually was Vietnamese. I told her that Abbey and Elijah were from China, and she said, "Well, we're all  Asian!"

We have often wondered if Abbey "caught" the fact that she and Elijah look a little different from the rest of us. In China, we looked for some indication that she noticed that people looked like her, and different from us. But, we never saw or heard any indication. So, it's very interesting that she now notices an Asian face and automatically thinks they are Chinese.

Today we were playing on the bed after nap and for no obvious reason, Abbey states, "I'm American and Chinese!" I'm sure she is mostly parroting what she hears us say, but nevertheless, I'm glad that she is proud to be a Chinese American.

It begins...

Yep, that's gonna be me. It's really quite hard to believe. My firstborn is getting married. It really is going to happen. These thoughts were a few that were going through my mind as Beth and I were going to check out a reception venue and church for her wedding.

All went well and we now have a church and a place for the reception.

It's quite surreal. But I can tell you one thing....

This Mother of the Bride will NOT be wearing one of those frumpy, old looking, mother of the bride dresses!!

I'll let you in on a little secret..You see, I'm really too young to have a daughter old enough to get married.

Sisters- A "Want To" Kind of Love

I've talked a lot lately about Elijah and Abbey's love for each other. It has taken time to develop, but Abbey's love for her sisters and their reciprocation has been there from the time they laid eyes on each other.

The first time Anna held Abbey

 Abbey many times tells me, "You aren't a sister, you're just a Mommy." Obviously, she realizes that sisterhood has a very special bond.

From the beginning,  Abbey has always tried to copy her sisters

She looks up to her sisters

and loves them both intensely

and they love her just as intensely

That love was evident yesterday.

Daniel has been in the middle of swimming at State Championships, which means that we, (me, John, Abbey and Elijah) are at the pool a lot. Our neighborhood swim team had its swim team fun night scheduled for last night. I asked Anna if she would take Abbey to fun night while we went to finals. She joyfully agreed, (ie, I didn't have to beg) and said she would take Abbey shopping before and they would have a "sister" night.

About a hour after I left, my phone rang. A friend of Anna's had offered her 2 free tickets to see the band, "Paramor", which was a much coveted ticket. I told her she could bring Abbey to me or take her to a friend's to play, if the mom agreed. The mom did agree (thanks Kristi). Also, swim team fun night was canceled because of thunder.

When I got home from the meet, there sat Anna and Abbey at the kitchen table putting a puzzle together. When Anna told Abbey she was going to play at the friends' house, she cried and said, "but we are supposed to have a sister night!" Anna couldn't let her down. She turned down the tickets and stayed with her little sister. What love!!

It's times like this that I'm so grateful that God brought Abbey and Elijah into our family. These former little orphans now have many family members that love them sacrificially. I'm also very proud of the love that my older children bestow on their little siblings.  A love that isn't there because of "have to", but because of "want to".

July 15th, 10 months since Elijah's "Gotcha"

Thursday, July 15 marked 10 months since Elijah became our son. During this month, I think I've seen him grow a little bit. He has gotten taller, but not much fatter. He has gotten much more agile. I have seen an increase in his spoken vocabulary, but I'm afraid that most of the time someone else wouldn't understand his speech. This does sometimes cause frustration on his part. He still is incredibly loving, wanting to be held a lot of the time. He sleeps wonderfully (when Abbey doesn't wake him). Eating-wise he has gotten less picky, although he still is a slow eater. As I stated in previous posts, he absolutely adores his big sister, and copies everything that she does. Elijah enjoys the pool and doesn't mind us putting his head under. Everyone who meets Elijah says two things:  how beautiful he is and how sweet he is. We wholeheartedly agree!!

"Smiling for the camera"

Out of Abbey's mouth

A three year old's reaction to their world is fascinating, to put it mildly. It never ceases to amaze me when I hear the things they come out with. Sometimes our three year old comes out with something, and we wonder, "Where in the world did she get that from?"

We had a couple of those moments on our trip to NY.

During nap time one day, John was lying down with Abbey and I was with Elijah, trying to get them to sleep. Abbey had wound the blanket around her legs, mermaid-like. She looked up at John and said through gritted teeth, "Mermaids. Don't. Sleep!"  Even though he was dying with laughter on the outside, he kept his cool, and much to her chagrin, our little mermaid did sleep that day!

During our travels, she and I were going to the potty. As I stood there helping her to "go", she suddenly said, "Did you know you can use Clorox regular bleach?" Then she continued, "I tell my Moms, be picky when choosing baby formula." Then and there, I knew, as I had suspected, that this girl watches waay too much tv!

As we were traveling home, John said something she evidently agreed with and we saw this face:

as she loudly exclaimed, "Yeahhhh"

Then there are those times when she could be a recording of something that has come out of my mouth:

When Elijah was in the car and fussing, she said, "Elijah, I'm not in the mood of it!" 

Or another time, she looked at John and said, "He's (Elijah) just whiny butt today... I shouldn't have said that, but I did!"

We have to go to Cary to take and pick up Daniel from swimming 4 days a week. Often it means I have to wake her and Elijah up and put them in the car.  One day she exclaimed from the back of the car, "I'm so sick of going to Cary!" My sentiments exactly!

Sometimes, she gives us a glimpse of her own insecurities. Today in the grocery store, Abbey took Elijah's face between her two hands and said, "I'll never let anyone take you away. I promise." I have no idea what precipitated this remark. But, it was a very poignant moment.

We praise God for this little wonder!