Day 5 & 6

 Section V NYS Class B Champions!
The first time ever for Aquinas, and the 4th year in a row for Mike(Varsity Coach) and me.

It didn't quite go as planned.  It wasn't our best game to be sure.  We dropped the 3rd(playing best 3 of 5) and had to play a 4th, but in the end, we get the trophy so yeah for us:)

All of our kids worked hard this season so they deserve every accolade they get.  And I try not to single kids out since this is such a team sport.  Even if you took our top 8 kids, what would they be without the other 8 that challenge them daily at practice?  

 But...there are always exceptions.  These three are what I have called my favorite trifecta.  And this really has little to do with this year or this win.  It has more to do with 5 years ago when I had them with me as 8th graders.  It was one of my most enjoyable years due in large part to them and their friendships with each other, their work ethic(even as 8th graders!), their leadership, and their general good humor(a character trait highly underrated!).   There's a coach in each of them, should they ever pursue that.

The thing is, when they were in 8th grade, when I put on our coaching glasses(the ones that allows you to see the development of a player in the future), I knew, or hoped, it would be like this.

So today and yesterday I am thankful for our Sectional Title, for the great trifecta, and the coming together of two schools, to make one beautiful season.

Day 4

Today I am, of course, thankful for my darling Denver.  Born 8 yrs. ago today.  It was a Monday.  We had just finished up volleyball and I had just stopped working, thinking a few days of relaxation sounded good.  She had other plans and at 3:21 pm Denver Rene Kelly was born.   We watched Monday Night Football that evening.  Strange the things you remember.

She is a dear girl, rather type A, must get that from her father:)  She is kind and thoughtful, intelligent and creative.  And I am oh so thankful to be her Mom.

Day 3

Tonight, hands down, I am thankful that it is my last night as a 'single parent.'  Wayne comes home tomorrow for good and not a moment too soon.  This traveling husband routine got old rather fast but for a big chunk of it, I was so heavily involved with my own volleyball team that my mind was occupied.  Now that my team has ended(although Varsity continues to rock on), I find that I have 'spare mental time.'  And upon reflection I have come to a few conclusions...

I miss him.  For all the obvious reasons like help with the kids, and taking the trash out on Tuesdays(something that seems to vex me still, even when he put reminders on my calendar).

I miss him when I'm all jacked up on adrenaline from a game, but have no one to help me decompress and ramble on the way I do sometimes on the way to lala-land.

I miss him on Wednesdays, when no matter what I do, there seems to be a gazillion melt downs and everyone is so unhappy that he is not here.

I miss him at work, where we usually can communicate many times during the day or just glance up to catch each others' eyes.

I miss him when my feet are cold in bed.  Why do they take so long to warm  up?

We have missed him so terribly while trying to pretend that we were fine.  And I am so, so thankful that tomorrow, on Denver's 8th birthday, we won't have to miss him anymore.

Day 2

Tonight I am thankful for our win in the semi-finals round of our Section of NYS.  Finals will be on Friday, where I hope to be thankful then as well.  It's been an interesting year at the varsity level.  Since we were combining 2 different programs we had a lot of bodies.  Of course, not all Nazareth kids came to Aquinas, but a solid group of them did.  Altogether we have 13 Seniors.  13. Seniors.  Needless to say I won't be keeping much of my starters on JV next year.  I was nervous at the prospect of so many adolescent girls.  Together.  16 in all.  Mind you, we can only play 6 at a time.  But they have worked hard and are a solid cohesive team, with few squabbles.  So tonight, I am thankful for them and their success.  For the ones I've coached since Jr. High, how satisfying it is to see them now, for the ones I missed out on and only get to enjoy this one year, it's been a heck of a year.

30 Days of Thankfulness-Day One

Boy I sure hope I can keep this up.  We are a pretty thankful family in general but still 30 days of a post every day is pushing my limits, so be forgiving if I miss one or two days.

Thankfulness does not seem to be something our culture cultivates, too unglamorous, too non-materialistic.  Thankfulness does not come from a store which will automatically make it uninteresting to most of us as a whole.  

Even as I write this I have found several items that I wish I could counter with '30 Things I am NOT Thankful for.'  (Including the %^&*%^&* animals who reside in my house and leave hair, hairballs, and other disgusting goodies around for me to find.  Who also at this very moment are making loud noises after I finally, finally have all 3 asleep.

 Who also, not naming names here, just chewed up a doll that I will pray, pray, pray will not be discovered in the trash tomorrow).  Instead, see me focusing on our vast blessings.

Seriously, they are many.  It's hard to know where to start.  I could easily have 30 just this night.  But I will start with my top 3...

What would be cool is if I can get 29 more photos to go with them!

Halloween 2010-The Three Little Pigs

 Last weekend we carved our pumpkins.  Good thing since this weekend was packed full of Halloweeny fun.

Willa surprised us this year by carving her pumpkin entirely by 

herself(ok, a little help with the cap and the scooping).

The festivities then moved on to Friday where Wayne and I went into Denver's class to help with their harvest party and then hep the kids don their Halloween costumes for a small but fun parade.

This year held indoors due to rain:(

Friday night Willa had a Halloween party at a friends house.  Ady helped crash the event.

Then Sunday the Three Little Pigs had their last ha-rah for the season.  Denver, the brick pig, Willa, the stick pig, and Ady, though hard to tell, was sprinkled with straw, which she did not appreciate.  Easy simple costumes.  Due to crazy schedules, we were not up for the more challenging request for costumes of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a juice box, and a box of raisins.  Maybe next year. 

 We met up with some friends for some yummy pizza and then we were off to trick-or-treat in the SNOW!  Not much more than frozen rain, but still!  It made for a shorter trip than normal with wet shoes and socks and freezing cold baby hands since she wouldn't keep her mittens on.  All the better to help limit the vast amounts of sugar brought in to the house.

This is Wayne's last week of travel, Thank GOD!  Last week was interrupted by my nephew, a new hire training with Wayne, needing an emergency appendectomy in New Jersey.  Sleep was not high on Wayne's list and unfortunately had to share space here with an 18 month old who is having a hard time staying in her own sleeping space.  But Thursday he will come home and be able to put the suitcase away.  Just in time for a little girl's eighth birthday. 

Waxing Sentimental

Another season done.  I'm pretty sure we didn't skip September but I don't recollect a lot from it.  Maybe some bad volleyball.  Thank God it got better.

Forgive me as I take a reflective moment to...reflect.  If you're not into sports I guess you can just wait for the next post sure to be filled with adorable Halloweened girls.  I shall take this post to bask in the part of me that loves athletics, competition, and passion.  It has complete control over me still and to be sure it will until at least Thanksgiving.

I found  myself in an unusual mindset Thursday night after our last game.  Happy as a clam that Wayne was home, however briefly, but sad and...homesick?  That's not the right word but it is the right emotion.  Homesick for what I would not have.

I would not have 13 girls showing up day after day, with rare absences, try very hard in their own adolescent way to focus.  Focus on volleyball.  Oh I know I've gone on and on in previous posts about my love for this sport.  If you don't love a sport, you may just not get it.  But certainly you loves something.  You must know how it is to be consumed by that thing.  For 10-12 weeks every Fall, volleyball consumes me.

This group was special.  They worked hard(not so special there, lots of people work hard), for the most part were athletic(again, many athletic people out there. Thank God for good genes), but they liked each other. Some were very good friends but did not make it into a cliquey kind of set, like so many young persons are apt to do.   They joked, lost patience, were disappointed at times, were confused, were excited and proud.  All this they did cohesively.  Altogether a lovely group to have.  And once they got the hang of winning, seemed to be quite good at it.  We finished 8-6.

And it's not that I don't know what I'll do with myself.  My time, like 'extra money' is already spent and committed.  But this is my one thing that has nothing to do with parenting, runny noses, diapers, PTAs, church, glass...  Just me and some kids in a gym with a net and some balls, teaching them how to love a sport.