My Heart Breaks

I learned today that one of my students passed away yesterday. He was swimming at Lake Tellico and drowned. His grandfather also drowned trying to save him. His father is in the hospital having just had surgery for cancer. This is a student who I worked closely with to help. My heart is hurt.

I have been teaching for 10 years and this is the first student I have lost. I have been in schools when other students have passed away, but they have never been my students. I look back and wonder if an opportunity presented itself for me to share the gospel. I know this is touchy territory for a teacher, but my responsibility towards my students is so much more important than any law limiting my words. I pray that God will remind me of this and create those moments for ministry in my classroom.

Please say a prayer for the family.

Tyler's Last Game

Tyler had his final baseball game on Saturday. He informed me before the game that he only received a trophy if his team won the game. I decided not to tell him that everyone got a trophy. If he thinks he has to win to receive a reward, that is fine with me. He did really well. I have decided that four years old is a little early for baseball. We might take next year off.

Moo Fest

Saturday was National Moo Fest day at the Mayfield Dairy in Athens, TN. If you are not from the south, then you are not familiar with Mayfield milk or ice cream. They operate out of TN and distribute to the surrounding states. After taking the tour, we realized that it is the only dairy using the technology to remove the funny taste and smell from milk that comes from the cow's diet. No wonder I love their milk and ice cream so much and it is so expensive!

The dairy was nice but the festival was a little 'salt of the earth'. There was a milk chugging contest, a moo contest, and a milking contest, none of which we participate in while we were there. I did allow the boys to get their hair painted. Tyler decided to go with blue since it matched his baseball uniform. (He is on the Dodgers.) Ethan went with red and orange stripes and I teased him that he looked like orphan Annie.

We ended the trip with a huge scoop of ice ice cream. While we were there we met families from Lousiana and another family RVing their way to Alaska! What a small world. I'm still not sure why they stopped in Athens, TN.
Yes, that is Ethan eating an ice cream cone. He is allergic to dairy. He was born with this allergy and spent a night in the hospital as an infant because we were not aware of it. When he was a toddler, I fed him some pasta that I didn't know had cheese in it and he broke out in hives and his eyes swelled shut. After a mad rush to the emergency room and a lot of Benedryl, he recovered. The doctor said he may grow out of it, and praise the Lord, he almost has overcome it. After finishing the entire cone, he did complain of a tightness in his chest and difficulty breathing, but no hives or physical swelling. I monitored him closely and after about an hour he was fine. We are still not ready to dive into a glass of milk or have him eat it without one of his parents there, but this is a huge step for him.

Memorial Day Tournament

Ethan had a baseball tournament in Knoxville for Memorial Day. On Saturday, we played a team that pulls kids from all over the southeast. They were amazing! When the first three kids up to bat hit the ball over the fence, we knew we were in trouble. Ethan was the only one on his team to score a run. It was quite a humbling experience.

The second game was much better. Ethan's team won by 7 runs. Ethan played third base for the entire tournament.

We came back on Sunday and lost the final game. Ethan did have two great catches at third for two outs in one inning. I have to remind Ethan that the teams we play are at least a year older. It is hard to find a 7 year old select team. We are looking forward to next year.

The highlight of my day was watching Tyler hang out with his pals Trevor and Sloan. Their older brothers play in the organization with Ethan.
Tyler hanging out with the "big kids." This is the 10 year old D3 Stingers team.

Summer is Here

The last day of school for me was Friday. Since Monday was a holiday for everyone, it didn't feel like the official start of summer. Today was the first day off for me. Chris and I asked our neighbor to babysit and went to Atlanta with another couple to see the Bodies exhibit. The exhibit was offering a free day for teachers so one of the history teachers at Walker Valley and his wife went with us. They introduced us to a great mexican restaurant in Atlanta.



The exhibit was well worth the trip. We had the chance to see many bodies stripped to their muscles and organs. It was amazing! I highly recomment the trip if you are ever near one. The picture above is from the website. They didn't allow cameras in the exhibit. Hope I didn't gross anyone out with the picture.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Ethan was supposed to have a tournament in Knoxville last weekend. It rained out of course. We have had so much rain this year. The crazy part is that it is supposed to be sunny all of this week and rain this weekend. The tournament, of course, is rescheduled for this weekend. Hopefully we get to play. Ethan was so disappointed when he found out that he started crying. He just wants to play. He is supposed to play short stop this weekend. He is really excited. Last time he was on the pitcher's mound, he took a bad hop to the shin and ended up with a nice bruise. Being the sensitive mom that I am, I shouted, "Walk it off!" from the bleachers. I'm sure my kid will have a ton of issues! One of the team moms put together this picture of the boys looking tough.

Still Here

It has been a while since I have posted. I can't blame anyone but myself. It is the end of the school year and things are piling up around here. My high school had graduation last night and it was excellent. Shout out to Mr. Mann for reading the names so quickly! We were done with all of the seniors in 15 minutes. There was a thunder storm threatening overhead and lightning striking all around so he didn't have a choice.

Tyler is doing well in baseball. It is more of a social time for him and his friends. I constantly have to yell at him to stop playing in the dirt. He was awarded the game ball at the end of the last game. He told me before the game that he was going to hit the ball over the fence. We had to settle for past the pitcher's mound.


Ethan has a tournament in Knoxville this weekend. I am looking forward to it since my parents are driving down to watch him play. They have never seen him playing with his new select team. It is so much different when all the kids can hit the ball, catch the ball, and throw the ball. Pictures from that will follow.

Thunder Classic

Ethan had another tournament in Knoxville this weekend. We woke up early on Saturday morning to pack and get ready. Tyler had a baseball game at 11:00 at the local ball park and Ethan's first game was at 2:00 in Knoxville, so we were cutting it close. At 9:00 our power went out! I ran around like a mad woman with wet hair and wrinkled shorts. Finally I found a friend that had power who lived near by (thanks Tina, I owe you! Thanks, Douglass family for the open bathroom policy and the offer.) I made it Tyler's game and we jumped in the car and headed out of town only to discover that Ethan was in the wrong uniform! We drove back home and grabbed the correct uniform and made him change in the car. We made it to Knoxville in an hour.

Ethan's team won this first game! This was a huge success since the kids were at least a year older than the boys on our team. We play in a 8 and under division, but our kids are 7 and even 6. The boys were so excited. Ethan played second base and had a double that hit the fence in the outfield. We lost our second game by a lot. The other team had several boys that hit home runs over the fence.

We drove back to Knoxville on Sunday to finish the tournament. After a hard fought game, our boys lost. They played really good. Ethan was moved to left field since most of the balls were being hit there. I was upset to see him in the outfield until his coach pulled him aside and explained to him that he moved Ethan to the outfield because he can catch and throw the ball to the infield quickly. Ethan did make a great stop on the ball and threw a kid out at third base from the fence in the outfield. He is becoming such a great player.

We stayed a little after our game to watch the other teams play. There are four teams in our organization, the Stingers. There is an 11, 10, 9, and 8 year old team. Ethan's team is considered the 8 year old team. Our next tournament is not for two weeks. Hopefully our sunburns will heal by then.

Becoming my Mom

I remember when I was a teenager I swore I would never be like my mother. Even today, my dad will compare my sister and me to see which one is more like my mom. We both deny any similarities, even though my mom is a wonderful person. Tonight as I was getting ready for a weekend baseball tournament I realized: I am my mom!

I remember the many road trips that we took as kids, piled in the station wagon, driving cross country. (We drove from Louisiana to Alaska and from Alaska to Ohio.) My mom was very frugal and refused to let us eat out. I remember stopping on the Alaska highway and mom making sandwiches on the hood of the car. She would pull out the lunch meat, cheese and the loaf of bread. We would all gripe about how awful it was to have to eat homemade sandwiches.

With Ethan playing in baseball tournaments across the state, we do a lot of traveling on the weekends. I discovered that running through the McDonalds' drive thru every weekend adds up very quickly. (It costs a family of four $20 at McD's! Crazy!) Also, eating at the concession stands is outrageous. So, to save money I decided to make sandwiches and stick them in a cooler. I decided to make it easy and have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I started an assembly line on the counter and finished in no time and then it hit me: I am my mom!

The longer I thought about it, the more I realized that I am ok, and even happy about this. My mom taught me several valuable lessons including the value of a dollar. To my mom: I hope that over the years I model more of your traits including your undying devotion to your husband, your grace under pressure, and your rock solid faith. I love you and thank you!

Playing with the Big Boys

Ethan's baseball organization was invited to the local high schools to go on the field with the players. (It helps to work at the high school and have the baseball coach as a friend.) We went to Bradley High on Tuesday night. The boys had fun, but I was more excited about going to Walker Valley, my school, and showing up our competition. On Wednesday night, we went to Walker. The high school players were so nice to the little league boys. They ran out on the field with them and took time with each one. I'm so proud of my students. They also gave all the boys a free coke and hotdog. I know, I'm a cheap date and it does not take much to impress me. Ethan had a great time. I can't imagine the day when he too is on the big field and he is one of the 'big boys'.