UCA Cheerleading Camp 2012

 Bonnie attended UCA Cheer Camp at JU this past week.  She loved it and had a total blast!  It was a little brutal having to get her up and ready and to the bus by 7 AM everyday but totally worth my extreme exhaustion!  She casually told me that her coach recommended her to try-out for the All-American Cheerleading Team.  She said she was so honored but didn’t think she would make it because there were so many awesome cheerleaders.  I prayed for her and told her to just have fun and not to worry!  I was at a concert that night and got a call from Bonnie saying she made it!  Then she texted me a picture of her medal!  I was beyond proud!  To me, I think she looks about as All-American as you can get!!!  I was so excited for her accomplishment! She has grown as a cheerleader so much over the past couple years!! She has been blessed with awesome coaches!  First was her Upward Coach, Amy Reese. She started cheering when she was 6 years old and cheered for Upward for 4 years.  Then she moved into STARS and was coached by Carrie Wyatt. Last year she had Coach Janie!  Each Coach loves the Lord and are such good role models for Bonnie!  I am so grateful for the people that God sovereignly brings into my children’s lives to lead them and help them grow in their talents! 

Friday, they were performing and I headed out to JU.  I was surprised by my reaction when I watched their first cheer.  I started crying!  I had a trifecta of emotions that I wasn’t expecting.  I was reminiscent of my cheer camp at JU when I also cheered for BCS.  I was also reflecting on my 4 years attending JU and being at the beautiful campus everyday.  It still shocks me that Bonnie has grown up so quickly and is rapidly growing into adulthood sooner than I wish.  She did such a great job and is turning into a great role model for the younger girls on the team. She is Co-Captain and takes it very serious!  I was really stunned at how awesome our squad was.  The difference that I saw was mind-blowing!  I am very thankful for Coach Janie and her spirit of excellence!  She not only technically trains them well, but she also insist on modesty and positive, Christian attitudes as well!  As I watched some of the other public school teams bootie shaking around, I was again so thankful for BCS!!!  I look forward to seeing what God has in store for my All-American Cheerleader!  I sure hope it includes some serious patriotic wear!!! :)

More Swimming Fun 2012

This whole swimming experience has been so much fun!  For a person who hates the sun and avoids it, I have loved being at the pool, watching my Annie swim.  Last week at her swim meet, she blew our minds.  We got there and she was signed up for the 50-yard freestyle and the breaststroke, which she has never done.  They didn’t have her swimming the backstroke, which is her best stroke.  We were kind of freaked out because her regular coaches weren’t there and we were kind of on our own.  

We found the advanced Coach and told him that she really doesn’t know the breaststroke very well and he was like, oh well, she needs a time and it doesn’t matter how she does.  I felt so sorry for Annie because her eyes filled up with tears in fear of swimming a stroke she has no confidence in.  She is really strong but was so nervous about swimming 50 yards, which she had never done either.  I felt a little nauseated when she got up on the block. That’s another thing.  She had never had to start a race diving off the block either.  I was a stress bomb.  Dan was so sweet and encouraging to her and held her hand and prayed for her!  She dove off the block like a real pro and was leading most of the way. She has never taken a turn for a race and lost a little ground because she stopped instead of pushing right off. She finished strong but came out of the water sobbing because she didn’t win.  We were so amazed at how well she did and were ecstatic!   And I thought Bubba was the competitive one in the family! :)  

Relay Race Results

Next was the breaststroke and Dan was cringing for Annie hoping she didn’t look too awkward.   We couldn’t believe it. The child led the whole way and won the darn race!  We were hugging her and I told her I couldn’t believe how well she did and she calmly said, “I guess when I’m nervous, I just do it!”  I love that girl!  We were so thankful that our neighbor Cameron, who is a college swimmer, had taken the time to work with her and teach her the basics!  She learned at her regular lesson but needed some one on one for sure!  Thank God they put her on the A Team for the Relay for the backstroke and she got to start the race doing her best stroke!  It was so awesome having all these strangers from BAC cheering for my baby!  She was amazing and won with ease!  Her relay team took first place and beat all the other teams by 4 seconds, which apparently is a ton in swimming!  I was so proud of her!

Swim Buddies

Dan and I talked about it later in the week and even though we were really proud of her, we didn’t like her being so scared and nervous swimming strokes she wasn’t confident in.  I was telling my friend about it and she said her son, who is a great competitive swimmer, would come work with Annie and help her get the breaststroke down!  Clay was so cute with Annie!  He helped her and tweaked a few things and she looked great! I sent Dan a video and he was amazed what a difference 10 minutes of a lesson could make! Clay also helped her become smoother with her side breathing.  

Annie really listens good and applied everything he told her!  I think if she has to swim the breaststroke again she will do it perfectly now!!!  Clay walked out to his car and Ed got a look at his “super fast race car!”  Clay has a refurbished classic Camaro and Ed was very impressed.  Clay took Bubba and Ed for a ride and I am pretty sure it was a highlight of Eddie’s life!!! When Clay left, Ed said when he gets big he is going to drive that car!  I have no doubt about that!   I was very blessed that a high school student would take time to help a 7 year old and also give a couple young boys a ride in such a cool car!  He chatted with Bubba about moving up to youth group.  I don’t think young men like Cameron and Clay have any idea what an impact they have on younger kids!!  I think the day was a great success and I hope the results show up this Saturday at Annie’s Swim Meet!  Annie just asked me, “When can Clay come over again!” :)

Eddie and Bubba taking a ride

Happy Father's Day to Dan 2012

We started getting ready for Father’s Day with the kids making special cards and writing notes to their Dad.  I love it when they are thoughtful without me suggesting it! They all worked very hard and I was very impressed!  We cleaned the house and were ready to celebrate with Dan!  He wanted Burrito Gallery take-out and he picked out a man movie to watch.  Dan was tucking the little kids into bed and I promptly fell asleep FOR TWO HOURS!  I jolted awake at 9 and stumbled downstairs and our take-out was still on the counter :(  I felt so bad!  He had the backyard tiki torches on and everything!  We ate and I apologized profusely!  We started the movie and it was HORRIBLE.  It was about a bunch of guys who survive a plane crash to be picked off and killed by wild wolves in the arctic.  I lasted about 45 minutes and then had to leave!  This was not the way I wanted his weekend to kick off!  I called my mom and told her how I had fallen asleep like I was in a coma and she said she did too and we decided it was probably from the chocolate cheesecake we had for lunch LOL!

Saturday, we made Dan French toast for breakfast and opened gifts! We worked hard all day in the yard.  We realized it’s been months since we have been home on a Saturday!  I was so very impressed with the kids.  They worked their tails off.  Annie was incredible.  She loppered branches off that I couldn’t have done!  Bonnie weeded beds, Bubba hauled branches to the trash, Maggie helped her Dad clean out a bed and Eddie racked leaves INTO the grass! :)  Our poor yard has been very neglected but is looking much better after some TLC!  We ended the day with Dan’s favorite dinner, Chick-fil-A and swimming in the backyard!  We may or may not have had a family dance party too!

The best part of the weekend is the kids taking turns telling Dan all the things they appreciate about him.  They were so sweet, insightful and true!  They said he is a hard worker, funny, buff, a great cook, loving, fixes everything, supportive, and best of all from Maggie was that he still has his hair!  LOL!  Eddie kept saying that Dan is the best Daddy in the world and I agree!  He has sacrificed pretty much everything he loves for his kids.  Golf was his passion and the poor guy may play once a year.  I don’t know of many men that could handle the pressure and stress of raising all these kids and keeping up with all their activities!  I am so grateful that God put us together.  We have a very happy life together and I wish Dan a very Happy Father’s Day!  No one deserves it as much has him!!

Happy 9th Birthday Maggie

Once again, we have strung out a birthday for as long as possible!!  On Monday, Maggie’s grandmother picked her up and took her shopping and then they had a fabulous Italian dinner out!  Maggie was looking sassy in her new outfit!  On Tuesday, (her actual birthday) she had a few friends over for a pool party.  I am surprised that she hasn’t had a pool party before now.  She is our only kid who has a birthday in the summer and we have always said how lucky she is to be able to have pool parties!  The girls had a blast.  They ate pizza, swam and went to the park behind our house.  They were so cute together and chit chatted the whole time! 

Maggie wanted to go to Smashburger for her birthday night dinner.  We really love that place!  They are so nice to us!  It may or may not be because Dan tips them!!  We have found that when you have the vast amount of kids that we have, restaurants sigh when we come in.  A tip seems to help them not avoid us all together.  I told our server we were celebrating Mag's birthday and he brought her out the most ridiculously big dessert ever.  It was 4 HUGE scoops of ice cream with whip cream, chocolate and Oreo crumbles on top. We all had some!

We went home to have left-over cake from her party!  She opened her presents from the family and ended up with some nice spending money!  She got some really nice outfits too and was the most enthusiastic model I have ever seen (and super cute too!)  

On Friday, she went to the Town Center with my mom and they had a fabulous time in Justice and Claire's!  She was so proud of her $4 pink purse she got on sale and also picked out two adorable bathing suits!  They also enjoyed cheesecake factory! 

Maggie was one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen.  She was a chunky, healthy looking baby, which is hard to believe now because she is so thin.  I always marveled at her beautiful eyes.  The rest of my kids have a lighter complexion like me and Maggie has always looked like she has mascara on with her dark lashes.  She had the brightest blue eyes and would raise her eyebrows up and down when she was happy which was most of the time.  She was such a blessing to our family.  I remember being so afraid to have her.  Bubba never slept and I couldn’t wrap my brain around having two non-sleeping children at the same time.  She loved her pacifier and her gigi (blanket) and would just lay in her bed, watching her mobile and go to sleep all by herself.  

I remember being so nervous when I was about to have her.  She was due on 4^th of July.  My doctor that I loved was going out of the country and I was sad that she wouldn’t be with us for this birth.  Her practice was no longer going to be delivering babies.  The day of my last checkup before she left town was 22 days before my due date.  I woke up early with an intense contraction.  I started having contractions at 17 weeks pregnant with Maggie and had them the whole pregnancy so I just ignored them but this one was different.  I sat on the couch for an hour and had them just a few minutes a part.  I was pretty scared because I didn’t know if Maggie was ready or big enough to be born.  I woke Dan up at 7 and told him I thought I may be in labor and of course he was like, “GET DRESSED!  CALL THE DOCTOR…”  I had an early appointment and told him to relax.

The doctor came in and we talked about her trip and then she asked me how I was doing.  I told her I thought I was in labor and she seemed concerned because of how early I was and how fast I delivered.  Sure enough, I was already 7 centimeters dilated. She sent me to the hospital and put me on a monitor to see how fast my contractions were.  After a couple hours she came in to have a heart to heart talk with me.  She confirmed that I was in active labor and she didn’t feel comfortable letting me go home.  She was also concerned that the baby was too early and that her lungs may not be fully developed.  She was going to have an ambulance waiting in case we needed to rush Maggie downtown to NICU.  I was so very scared. I couldn't fathom having my baby wisked away from me and taken to a different hospital.  This is not the way I wanted to deliver my baby.  We prayed and got prepped for delivery.  I could see the ambulance drivers outside in the hall waiting for the word.  I quickly delivered Maggie and when I heard her cry, it was the best sound ever.  They gave her to me and I knew she was totally fine when I saw her chunky little legs. She weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces and was a beautiful girl in everyway.  

The first thing I did was to pop a pink pacifier in her mouth and she took right to it. Bubba never took one and somewhat traumatized me.  He kept me hopping to feed him (and now that I think about it, he still does! LOL)  Maggie was the last baby my beloved doctor ever delivered. She was a University of Miami graduate and I love the picture of her wrapped in our Miami blanket holding Maggie!  I gave it to her in a frame and it's still on her bookshelf.  I seem to always bond with my doctors and we turn into friends.  My doctor even participated in a skit with my friend Paulette. They filmed a video of my doctor training Paulette to deliver my baby since she was going to be out of town.  It was the best surprise ever and cracked me up!  I was so blessed that God orchestrated me having Maggie in the nick of time before my doctor left town!

I was so happy that Bonnie had a sister.  I have always been thankful for my two sisters. They have always been there for me! I pray that when Maggie, Bonnie and Annie are adults, the will be best friends!  Blood truly does run thicker than water! There is a bond like no other with sisters! 

Happy 9^th Birthday to Maggie May!  You are so helpful, capable, smart and talented!  I know God has great things ahead for you and I am so grateful that God gave you to our family!!

Miami Hurricanes Football Camp 2012

I am not sure who was more excited for Bubba’s football camp, him, Dan or I.  It was a little nerve-racking getting the 4 other Wog kids and dog situated but we finally got on our way!  It was a nice, peaceful, enjoyable trip!  We stopped in Daytona at Chick-fil-A for breakfast and got down to Miami by lunchtime!  We checked into our hotel and walked to the Miracle Mile for lunch!  Afterwards, Dan took Bubs and I down a couple blocks to this beautiful historic building called the Colonnade Hotel. It was so gorgeous with a rotunda foyer with a balcony, Corinthians columns and marble designed floors.  It was breathtaking. 

We then road through Coral Gables and I was overwhelmed with how gorgeous the area was. I spent my childhood going to Miami to visit my mom’s family but never saw such incredible beauty!  We were definitely in the million-dollar section!  My grandmother had a huge ficus tree in her yard and I was telling Dan and Bubba how my cousin Tammy and I would play for hours in that tree!  I was so excited when we started seeing trees just like my grandmothers.  The branches twist all together and make wall type areas.  We were on the way to the campus and I saw a sign for the Venetian Pool.  I freaked out.  My mom has told me my whole life about her and her friends swimming in the Venetian Pool. Dan was so sweet and parked and we walked all around and marveled at the beauty!  I couldn’t wait to text mom a picture!

Venetian Pool

The moment that I have envisioned for years finally arrived. We turned into the University of Miami campus and I was totally immersed in orange and green!  They had the U printed everywhere, on light poles, garbage cans, phone booths and more.  It was total U heaven!  I got weepy even as we walked through the tropical campus filled with palm trees and hibiscus!  It was like paradise.  I know it will be tomorrow that I pack my boy up and move him to Miami!  I want to enjoy every second I have with him. I imagined my Dad walking this campus when he attended school there and almost broke down in full blown tears because my heart ached so for my Dad. I could visualize him decked out in Canes gear, giving me a tour of the campus and telling me stories about his beloved Canes back in the day!  I knew he would be on this trip with us and beyond excited that one of his grandsons loves Miami as much as he did!

We went straight to the bookstore and thank God we found some awesome stuff on sale! It was over the top Cane hysteria in that store!  Bubba even managed to pick out a Father’s Day present for Dan to surprise him with!  Then we headed over to the pool to take some pictures for Annie who says she wants to swim for Miami!  We saw the School of Law and took pictures of Bubba by the sign and sent it to his Gator cousin Zach who is in law school at UF.  Bubba said he is going to be a lawyer and become a sports agent so he can represent only U players that are going into the NFL!  LOL!  Figures Bubba would figure out how to make a law career surrounding Miami football!

We headed back to the hotel and the sky opened up and it rained like crazy.  We rested for a couple hours, I read, Dan napped and then we went out for dinner!  Dan surprised Bubba by finally getting him a cell phone. We got Bonnie one when she graduated from 5^th grade and Bubba has been waiting for his.  He was ridiculously ecstatic and kept hugging and hugging us!  I was loving it!  People think it’s too young for a cell phone but it’s mainly for me to communicate with him.  He walks the dog and I get nervous if they are gone too long.  He is starting youth group soon and will be out and about doing things without us and it makes me feel better.  

Hurricanes Weight Training Room

The next morning we got up early and headed to the Miami Athletic Center.  Bubba was nervous when he started seeing HUGE kids go in and Dan and I kept reminding him that he is the youngest there and would be separated into age groups.  It was pretty surreal walking into the gym and seeing all the U championship flags hanging on the walls. We checked in and were sent to get a t-shirt in the work out room for the Hurricane football players.  Dan and Bubba were in awe.  It was really beautiful!  They allowed us to walk around freely, to come and go and it blew our minds.  They called all the kids out on the Canes practice field and started doing stretching exercises. Bubba looked like an ant amongst giants.  I was so proud of him.  Then we saw Al Golden, the Miami coach and they called all the 400 kids in and introduced all the coaches that would be helping with the camp.  

They separated the kids into groups and Bubba was with middle school quarterbacks. It was so organized and ran like clockwork.  Bubba was really gaining some confidence when the FIU coach was using him as an example for the other kids of how to do a certain drill.  He asked Bubs how old he was and told him he would be keeping an eye on Bubba in the future!! They did all kinds of things and rotated every 30 minutes to a new station.  Dan and I hung on the fence and followed Bubba’s group wherever they went.  My favorite part is when they took Bubba’s group and had them throwing to the older receivers and tight ends.  Bubs was looking really good!

Warren Sapp

I told Dan I wanted to meet Warren Sap, a former Hurricane and NFL player, who was helping coach.  I also wanted to meet Al Golden the new coach.  Dan rolled his eyes and was like yeah right!  I prayed and asked God for favor over us and I was very expectant!  I went inside to get some water and was standing by the water fountain, and Warren Sapp walked out right next to me.  I got a picture with him and texted it to Dan and he called me on the phone in disbelief LOL!  Al Golden was on the far side of the field all day scouting the senior players and I didn’t think I would ever get close enough to talk to him.  Low and behold, he started walking right over near us and I quickly introduced myself and I could just imagine what Dan was thinking, my crazy praying wife!! LOL  God was good to us!

Al Golden, Miami Head Coach

We ended the day going through the Miami Hall of Fame and marveled at all the champions that Miami has produced.  For a school smaller than UNF it is truly mind boggling.  It was like holy ground seeing the Heismans, the old jerseys, game balls, trophies and every other thing imaginable!  It felt like an honor to be there walking among sports heros!  I just pray that the Canes will come back and win a National Football Championship for my dedicated, faithful son!  

National Championship Trophy!

I savored every moment of this trip and even though I sweated more than I ever have in my life, it was so worth it to have this first experience with Bubba as he walked the sacred grounds where the Hurricanes work out and practice!  I don’t know what the future holds or what’s God’s destiny is for my son, but I know for sure it will be good and perfect!  I have a feeling that it will include the Miami Hurricanes too! The []_[]

Annie's 1st Swim Meet 2012

At my age, entering new worlds and having first time experiences are far and few between.  Today was one of those days.  Annie had her first swim meet and she was a little nervous not really knowing what to expect.  I was nervous too and hardly slept having never been to a swim meet myself. We had to leave the house before 7 AM and when we arrived at San Jose Country Club, I was a little surprised by the mass quantity of people of all ages.  There were little tiny kids up to seniors in high school competing. Parents and grandparents were everywhere  Annie swims with the Beaches Aquatic Center team and they all looked really cool in their black bathing suits and black BAC swim caps.  We found a place to set up our chairs, up on a deck, under a tree and waiting until it was time for Annie to warm up.  She dove in like a pro and swam her heart out!  Then the waiting began.  She waited almost two hours until her first race, which was going to be the backstroke.  I don’t know what it is about Annie, but she is a tough little thing, but I still see the tender, shy side and I just want to hug her.

Yesterday, our neighbor Cameron, who was a champion swimmer at Fletcher and now swims in college, came over to work with Annie a little bit.  I was so very impressed with how sweet and patient he was with her.  It’s definitely a gift that some people have.  Dan said he really saw such improvement later at practice.  Dan is a great swimmer but doesn’t want to technically teach Annie anything wrong on the strokes.  Cameron was working on the breaststroke and had a great way to teach the arm stroke, “Get the water, bake a cake and put it in the oven!” We really appreciate him taking time for her!

 

The moment finally came!  They line up the kids behind their lanes and move them up when it’s time.  Annie was finally in the water, the horn blew and off she went swimming the backstroke.  She had a big lead at first and beat all the kids she was competing with.  I will never forget watching Dan’s face.  He was so intense and then started fist pumping when she clinched the victory.  I almost cried with joy!  Annie’s face snapped into focus with this determined look and she swam her heart out.  It was awesome to see that competiveness that I see all the time in Bubba.

Coach Cynthia and Mr. Paul were so proud of her and gave her beads to wear for finishing her race.  They are such a blessing with their calm, positive encouraging words.  They exude true love and want every child to be a success. Cynthia came over later and got Annie and sat her next to the pool so she could watch the older kids race. As she was walking away, I heard her tell Annie, that one-day she was going to swim just like those kids!  It was pretty phenomenal watching Paul and Cynthia’s senior high daughter win her first race.  She is a powerhouse swimmer in a little body.

Annie swam in the 11^th event and then not again until the 41^st.  It went faster than I thought and I thoroughly enjoyed this whole new experience for our family.  Finally it was time for her freestyle race and she won that as well!  Her last event was a relay and Cynthia called her the anchor.  Unfortunately she had a few slow swimmers in her group but she definitely won her leg of the relay!  Annie hugged and thanked her coaches and it was off to Chick-fil-A to feed our little champion.  On the way to the car, I asked her if she liked seeing all the big kids swim and she said "Yes, but I didn't like seeing that guy in his swim panties!" (speedos) LOL!! She made us so proud and I am so grateful for the day I ran into Cynthia at the store.  I have known her since I attended Young Life with my friend in high school, when her and Paul were the leaders.  Years later, I was her older kids Young Life Leader. I hadn’t seen Cynthia in a long time and as we were catching up with the 11 kids between us, I told her how Annie has joint issues and how the doctor suggested swimming would be good to keep her strong.  Low and behold, Cynthia is the beginner’s swim coach for the BAC.  It was so a divine appointment and I am so thankful to God for setting it up for me. 

 

A while ago, I was praying and talking to God about how stressed out I was about raising these five kids and the pressure I felt to help them find their way in life.  God spoke to me so clearly and told me that it wasn’t up to me.  All I had to do was trust God and he would sovereignly bring people into our lives that would help us train and raise our kids.  I have watched God do it over and over again and I am in awe of how God truly orchestrates our life, if we ask Him and let Him.  It’s too overwhelming for any parent to feel like it is all up to them to successfully raise a child. We need the Lord’s help for sure.  I even smiled a couple nights ago, when I saw Jacksonville was bidding to hold the Olympic Trials for Swimming.  Of course, I think we will get it and that God is doing that for my convenience LOL!!  I am now a veteran swim meet mom and I look forward to all the times ahead cheering for my future Olympian!