This Spring, Jared got off the bleachers to play baseball on his first team! Two years ago, I could not see this ever happening. What a great blessing and what an exciting season!
His team was the Redwings whose home city is Rochester, NY. It was ironic since Uncle Wayne, who is from Rochester, had just sent the boys a bunch of Redwings merchandise, so we the fans were all set. He played Babe Ruth machine pitch with rubber balls. This
increased the safety level and helped my nerves, but he still wore the
best chest protector on the market. Also his father was one of the
assistant coaches (by my demand :-P and Chris' desire).
Throughout the season Jared played many positions. His first game he played First Base one inning and I had to smile as I watched him play concierge. He was high-fiving everyone who made it on base and continued to talk to and encourage them while they were on base. Later in the season he had a number of great plays protecting 3rd Base.
His friendly nature was appreciated by his team as well. At the year-end celebration another team mom came up to me and told me how thankful she was for Jared always being friendly and encouraging to her son. This too made my heart swell. That's the kind of thing you want to hear about your boy. Then his coach topped that compliment when he gave Jared his participation trophy. Coach Brian said that on the days he was really tired from work, the thought that seeing Jared at baseball with all his smiles and enthusiasm made him excited to go. He also said that Jared was the most consistent player on the team, he hit the ball nearly every at bat and frequently on the first pitch. The first compliment was appreciated most by his parents but he later was a great second for all.
Though there was no score keeping by the league, the kids and parents kept track. His team finished the season with one of the best overall records at 8 wins and 2 losses. As a bonus the team's last game and party were today on Jared's birthday. So the season-end party was part birthday celebration as well!
As if the game and party weren't enough baseball for one day we added a bit more. Lance, Jared and Will (Who is on Jared's team and whose birthday was the next day) went to the College Division Championships at USA Baseball that night. It turned out to be quite the game going into so many extra innings that Chris called the game at 10pm. The boys had a great time!
It's hard to believe my Super Boy is nine years old. The time has passed so fast and it has been such a road of blessings. This year he did many new things he had never done before.
Since he was really excelling at swimming over the summer and had already made great strides running in the spring; he decided to participate with Lance and Matthew in his first triathlon.
Last fall we had gotten a one year extension on him doing the Brevard Zoo rope course the boys had won for selling Boy Scout Popcorn, hoping he'd grow enough. Well he did, plus a bit more, so he and Dad tackled the course September 10th. He did awesome and had a wonderful time. It was neat that the rest of us could see them and cheer them on as we walked around enjoying the animals.
We moved to North Carolina shortly after and Jared was a trooper through it all. Tackling our new chores with gusto.
Using his incredible creativity to add joy to everything and enjoy time with his siblings; be it his "Beach Parties" in the creek or one-on-one time with his little sister.
He also uses his imagination to make incredible Lego creations, drawings (now displayed in the Art Gallery he suggested), and even his own music videos (His piano teacher is sure he'll write his own music some day).
Speaking of piano, this is another area where he has really come into his own. His playing is amazing; check out this sample from earlier this year.
In February, we had one more first. Jared and I took the train together on a whirl-wind trip to Florida and back in 48 hours. We went for his check-up with Dr. Carson and I'm happy to report that they said he's doing great. Jared did so awesome on the train, enjoying talking and getting to know everyone we sat with at each meal on the train. It was really neat to have that special time together.
Inside our sleeper cabin on the train.
In addition to all he has done and experienced this year, there is also how much he has grown as a person which is infinitely more important than all these things. Jared has such a loving and sensitive heart, a heart for people.
Daddy and I are so proud of you, not just for all you have done but for who you are becoming as a young man of God. May God continue to bless you abundantly in your needs and your wants!
PS. Jared had one more big first this year but that's the subject of my next post.
Part of me wishes I meant a quiet weekend at a Bread and Breakfast but it wouldn't have been nearly as fun.
The first "B" is for "Baseball", no surprise there but this time the boys weren't playing they were watching. The College Championships were being contested out at the USA Baseball fields in Cary only about 20 min. from the house.
Chris took our three boys and two of their friends. When they got there they met up with other friends from homeschool and baseball. The park was quite beautiful and the game exceptionally played. Lance and Connor hung out to watch the game, the other boys divided their time between watching the game and playing on the lawns surrounding the fields. Everyone had a great time! They came home to a very big surprise.... Grandpa Harvey was at the house waiting for them! I had told them we might have company to encourage their enthusiastic support in cleaning the house on Friday but I hadn't told them whom might be coming. They were all very excited.
After relaxing a bit we all piled into the car to go to the Booth Amphitheater to listen to the symphony play our second "B", Beethoven's 5th Symphony. We had been studying Beethoven, all the boys have been learning to play Beethoven on the piano this spring and the boys had nearly memorized the Audio CD "Beethoven Upstairs" but we had never had the opportunity to hear the entire 5th symphony, so the boys had really been looking forward to this event. The Amphitheater is only 15 min from the house, and you can bring whatever you can carry. The kids are always free to the Summerfest Concerts so we were pleased to see lots of them (then I didn't have to worry as much about Little Miss and Titus making a little noise). It was a truly enchanting evening, such beautifully moving music and surroundings.
Our life has been busy in bunches lately. The amount of activity on Thursday rivaled the previous Saturday.
First up from 10am till 1pm was a "Field Day" with our homeschool group. I didn't know what to expect but was really impressed at how things worked out. They had a schedule of activities for the kids and they really kept them moving the whole time. Here was the schedule:
Opening Ceremonies
Parent/Kid Ultimate Frisbee (Lance made, two points, Jared fielded well and Titus kept moving)
Potato Sack Race
Wheel Barrel Race
3 Legged Race
Capture the Flag
Kick the Shoe Off Contest
Water Balloon Toss (Lance's team won)
Running race (for anyone who still had energy like my three boys)
While the boys were actively engaged, there was a nice playground for Amber and her best bud Lily to spend their time playing and teleporting to keep me on my toes.
Everyone had a great time and could have easily rested the rest of the day but there was no time for idleness. We went home ate, rehydrated and took off for Golf Lessons. Lance did skip this event out and stay home with Amber and Chris to eat and get ready for then next activity; his baseball game.
Per our normal routine we show up 45 minutes before the game for Lance to warm up with the team and for the rest of the kids to play at the playground (as if they hadn't played enough).
Once the game started we moseyed over to the stands and I took out my new secret weapon to keep Amber in the stands....Playmobile horses. At one of Jared's game she was kept entertained by another little girl's play horse but frustrated that the doll couldn't ride the horse. So Chris and I had spent our date time on Mother's Day going around town looking for a toy horse WITH a rider. We could only stay at the game for the first half because Jared, Titus, Amber and I had a concert to attend across town. Our friend/neighbor/babysitter really wanted us to come to her high school band concert. The concert was exceptionally good and they were happy to see us there. My kids were exceptionally good as well. Now we were all truly done. We had survived an enjoyed another full day.
Saturday was a wonderful day, stress on the "ful".
The morning started out with Lance's 9am baseball game. Lance had been working on some improvements to his swing and was eager to see how it would pan out in a game. It panned out very well, he got his first triple with a line drive between third base and the short-stop. As an extra bonus the team won the game. But there was no time to sit around and celebrate we had to go see chickens! Saturday was the Tour d' Coop, an event we had been looking forward to since the fall when we first heard about it. Basically its a backyard chicken keeper parade of coops. Even the girl was excited, when we got started she cheered with her hands in the air and yelled "We go see CHICKENS!".
Our first stop had an extra bonus, from the preview pictures, of an elaborate outdoor train set. The children, I think, were more impressed with the train and miniature horses but either way it was a hit. Time was limited though so we headed off to our second coop. The appeal of this one was that the coop had been built adobe style. We learned a lot about the process, cost saving of building such a coop and the boys may consider this design. The only down side is its too heavy to be elevated. This keeper was in downtown where predators are scare.
Our third stop was a coop that also boasted an orchard and bees. After recently finding a way to protect my trees from the deer, they began to succumb to fire blight. I was eager not only to talk chicken but also fruit trees. To my delight we had a well informed host that was more than willing to talk. There is definitely an advantage to having your own bees to assure pollination of your orchard and he is even looking into feeding them a pro-biotic to stop the spread of fire blight on his trees. Another thing I liked was there use of sand in the coop instead of wood shavings; this is both economical and appeared to be cleaner. They basically treat the coop like one big kitty littler box.
Next we were back to baseball, this time it was Jared's game. Jared did great hitting every time he was up to bat and made a good play at third. To everyone's delight his team won as well. The boys then thought the day was over but I'd been planning while the girl took a nap in the car. I calculated we could hit one more coop before the tour closed for the day. To my delight I didn't get a bunch of "we're tired" but instead "Cool, lets go!" and of course "More Chickens!" from the girl.
This coop was on a more rural piece of property and they too had fruit trees. But what was most exciting to the boys was that on our way we passed a U-Pick Strawberry Patch. When we got back in the car the boys were begging, Chris was hesitant due to exhaustion but agreed to one more stop. We all split up and ended up picking two big buckets. I'd like to say they lasted all week but as this is only Monday, I'm sorry to say the locus (ie. my children) managed to eat them all in two days! They were so sweet though who could blame them.
That was our wonderful, fun filled day of baseball, chickens and strawberries.
We have been making great progress on the homestead. So far all nine of our fruit trees* are still alive and so are our six blueberry bushes but it hasn't been easy. The waking of spring is beautiful to behold. It had been so many years since Chris or I had witnessed spring we were in awe as each new leaf and flower came forth; the kids have joined in our excitement. As the trees got their foliage the birds doubled in number. When we take a walk around the block its like taking a hike in the woods, half the bird calls I don't ever remember hearing before. Yesterday, I even got to see a "cute" brown rabbit on my walk with Sarge.
I put "cute" in quotes because I have a hunch my feelings about rabbits may be changing. My feelings on deer already are. I still find them beautiful when, like on Saturday, they go leaping silently through our backyard....closely followed by a loose dog. You see the more they snack on my apple trees the more I see them as stomachs with legs that need to be eliminated....well maybe not eliminated but at least taught some manners. We have purposely left a large portion of our property natural where we know they like to sleep. It is full of all kinds of plants for them to eat. I hear they like to eat poison ivy and I encourage them to eat all they want of that. Seems there must be some way for us all to live together but the more research I do the less hope I have. We went so far as to looking into electric fences but when Chris heard the were notorious for starting fires that idea went out the window. We have Irish Spring Soap hanging from all trees, they don't seem to mind too much or maybe they do since they are only doing drive by munches instead of eating my trees to the ground; as I've heard they can do. I ordered some "stink" that's suppose to keep them away but I think we'll be playing this game as long as we both live here.
Then there's the squirrels. Watching the antics of the squirrels on the back porch has been a source of great entertainment. So much so, we were willing to let them have a feeding hour once the birds were finished each day. Chris loves it when I go outside and announce that they've come too early and must wait, but it generally worked. The girl was better at chasing them away though than the dog; he's useless in that way. Then I learned that squirrels can strip a tree of peaches in a day. So I guess we'll be at war too. Some say feeding them till they burst with nuts will keep them out of your fruit trees but I don't think I have the budget for that. So instead I have egg shells and blood meal under my fruiting peach tree and a realistic looking Kingsnake in the tree that I move each morning to keep them guessing. Which brings me back to snakes, the original purpose of this post. Generally, I do not mind snakes. I say generally because there is one group of snakes I feel is best on a belt loop; pit vipers. Thankfully in our part of the woods only one pit viper exists, the Copperhead and as pit vipers go they are the least venomous. That's all fine and dandy unless you are the mother of one precocious Titus and a fearless Amber. Things were cooling down shortly after we moved here so the danger of snakes went away quickly and it gave me the winter to research the best way to keep them away. The best solution I found was to populate the yard with constrictors; specifically Kingsnakes since they are territorial, immune to Copperhead venom and really like to eat Copperheads. Next I just needed to figure out how to get them in my yard. I looked into buying a couple but that was cost prohibitive. Then realizing many people are afraid of any kind of snake (beneficial or not) I came up with a plan. I called the local critter control company and asked what they do when they remove snakes from a property; did they dispose of the snakes or relocate them? When I got the relocate answer I took a deep breath and asked if they took requests for relocation. Turns out I'm not the only crazy person out there. The kind lady on the phone said they get a couple people a year who are interested in taking the snakes and that she'd put my info on a sticky note to call when they got a snake. That was back in January. Fast forward to this Tuesday and low and behold they called us and told us they had a snake for us. Not sure who was more excited when we got the call. Chris was working from home so he took a break and drove up with us to pick-up Otis/Major (kids couldn't agree on name).
Titus really, really wanted to hold the snake (which is why I have to get them, it's really a safety issue). Thankfully, they have two domesticated corn snakes in the office that they use for school talks, so he and Amber were able to hold and touch a snake. Yay! Otis/Major turned out to be a five plus foot long Rat snake. Not the ultimate Kingsnake but still helpful for the job. He was very docile when they moved him from their pillow case to ours which was another reason he was a good first snake (I hear Kingsnakes are a bit more aggressive).
Lance held him in the pillow case in the office. I held in my lap on the way home, hoping to calm him with the heat of my lap but ended up moving him to the floor since he was squirming around too much. Then Jared and Amber took turns caring him into the back yard. Titus insisted on being the one to release him. As we were expecting heavy storms that day, Chris cut a small entrance hole into one of the old tree pots. The idea was to put him in that and turn it over on the leaves under the porch. However, when Titus let him out he stretched most of his length up the side of porch post and high tailed under the porch next to the house. Once he was there he calmed down again because when Titus (determined to give him his home) climbed under the porch with the pot he didn't move as it was gently placed near him.
We have not seen him since we let him go, we hope he's under the pot but don't dare look and scare him away. By the way, I saw my name on the sticky in the office and asked them to keep it there, I'm still hoping for a couple Kingsnakes. Now fast forward to today.... In my bargain hunting mode I found out I could get rain barrels and a compost bin at cost from the City, so we got both a couple weeks ago. Lance took out the kitchen scraps to put in the compost bin and then as directed he used the cover to scoop leaves up on top (brown matter to decompose the green). On his first attempt he accidentally gathered up a large salamander and on the second a snake. He came running into the house calling for us to come quick. This is what we saw:
A Brown snake (that's a type of snake, not just a color and it was about full grown). I went to grab him out of the bin but lost my grip and he wiggled way down. We tried to find him, moving the compost with a shovel but no luck. I'm hoping he can wiggle his way out or at least come back to the top so we can try to lift him out again. One thing is for sure I've never been so busy in my life and life has never been so full. *In case your wondering we planted a Gala Apple, Fuji Apple, Winesap Apple, Orient Pear, Kefir Pear, Belle of Georgia Peach, Russian Pomegranate, Mulberry and Brown Turkey Fig. **Oh, and I did talk with my neighbors after implementing my plan to educate them on importance of black snakes, so they wouldn't kill any that may happen into their yards. Once they understood the trade off of black snakes for Copperhead they were all on board with my plan.
