Project 365, Week 38

This week marks seven years (SEVEN!) since I was diagnosed with cancer. Time heals, new normals become just normal and with each year its less and less hard to process the big anniversaries. Mostly I just recognize, with gratitude, that I'm still here. I get to watch my kids play soccer on a beautiful afternoon. I get to delight in babies and toddlers (my grandkids, for lack of a better term). And I did lots of that this week!

September 13

New morning, new mercies.

Last day of middle school soccer tryouts. Last year Aiden went out for the team and got cut. I admire him so much for failing and then getting back up and using that failure as motivation to work harder. He and his dad put in tireless hours on the field. Early mornings, just the two of them. Weekends with his sisters, too. He spent the off season being faithful to the discipline of practicing and working out.

Shaun and I held our breath, waiting to hear. I watched him walk across the field and the stinker didn't even give me a thumbs up or down. But....he made the team!! And Dakota and I were there with a little gift to celebrate.

The Teen Bible Quiz middle school earned an event. We had pizza and s'mores.

September 14

The girls opening game, and we had visitors!

September 15

With all the rain, Amy and I saw water in places we'd never seen it on "our trail".

Aiden's first game for his school. He started at back and then played goalie the second half with a save that "made the crowd go wild".

Pop and Kiki were part of the fan club.

September 16

More soccer. :)

This makes me laugh every time I see it. Dakota has amazing social skills and he loves people. Anywhere we go, he reaches out and makes friends and he does it in a manner that people can't help but include him. This day it was three young girls doing backbends and cartwheels. :)

September 17

So much joy.

September 18

Aiden hopped out of the car at the roadside flower stand around the corner from us and picked out some pretty flowers. When we got home, he put them in a vase for me. In boy fashion, he placed the dead flowers right there on the table.

We borrowed this little lady for the day. She's so sweet and such a good baby.

The moon, on the way home from church.

September 19

We sold a house this month, the one that we moved from three years ago.  The one that we bought eight years ago and remodeled from the basement on up to the third floor.

We stopped by to get one last load out of the garage and to give our former tenants (the new owners) a house-warming package, part of which was a photo book I put together of befores and afters. Creating it took me down memory lane, for sure! I made the book generic, all photos without people but people is what made that house. 

One of my favorite things about that place was the yard. The house was on a double city lot, which provided a great area for the kids to play. They made forts and a treehouse, they spent hours upon hours sledding down the slope, it was a quiet street for bike riding and the sidewalk was good for chalk. There were mud pits for toy tractors, space for a kiddie pool. It made for great football games and a zipline and a swing hanging from the hundred-year old tree out front.

At that house we fostered dozens of children...there were six bedrooms and six bathrooms and we often had them all full. We battled cancer. We birthed a business that's now thriving and closed out others. We walked the kids up and down the hill to school in their sweet little jumpers and tie. So many holidays and birthdays and just-because gatherings. The house served us well and I'm grateful for our time there.

And then we were off to soccer!