More than proud

This has been a year already!  I already posted about Beth's engagement...well, she is married now!  B and K were married on Feb 22nd and it was beautiful.  Pictures will be coming.

What I want to talk about today is Naomi.  She has been doing gymnastics for a few years now.  She has been competing for just two years.  She started out last year in Xcel Gold and moved up to Platinum this year.

Last year she did very well and ended up being Beam State Champ!  She qualified for Regionals in Galveston.  We went and she was so excited to compete.  God had other plans, though.  During the bars warm-up she lost her grip and did some roll or something(I did not see it bc I was coaching another girl) and landed on her head/neck.  By the time I got over there she was surrounded by people telling her not to move and the paramedics were coming.  She could move all of her limbs but they were worried about a break.

Beth and I watched as they put a cervical collar on her and then back-boarded her.  That is not something I ever want to see again.  We rode by ambulance to the hospital and tried not to think of the worst.

Once at the hospital we waited for more than 4 hours and never saw a doctor.  In hindsight I wish I would have been more with it and requested a doctor.  She had morphine, an mri, and more videos made of her antics than we can post.  She is quite funny on pain meds!  After waiting for another hour they released us.  No pain meds, no instructions, no nothing.

Again, I wish I would have been more aware and calm.  But I wasn't.

After the fall she did go back to the gym a few days later and slowly started training again.  She worked her way up to a kind of normal routine in a few weeks.  However, the pain never went away.  She was in constant pain.  She also dealt with constant fear on the bars.

When she moved up levels she moved up in skills as well.  (of course!) Unfortunately being afraid of the bars did not help the situation.  Her first meet of the season we all almost had a panic attack.  Okay, not almost.  We did.  She was shaking the whole time and Beth and I were crying and trying not to run and get her off of the bars.  She did it though.  She got up there and did a routine.  It wasn't good and the score was low but she did it.

She did it at every meet, for the entire season.  She conquered her fear every single meet and got up on those bars and did the skill she fell on.  Every.single.meet.

She also improved her performance and scores at every single meet.

Finally at our State Meet she had one last chance to improve on her routines and qualify for Regionals.

Ya'll, that was the best bar routine I have seen from her!  She did all of her skills, she connected them, and she got her START VALUE.  Meaning that the judges gave her credit for all the skills and she did them good enough that they gave her credit for ALL of them!  That hasn't happened all season.

I could not be more proud of her perseverance and determination.  She has worked so hard to overcome her fears and she is doing it every single practice.

What a great way to end the season!

That's What I Get

I just thought I would do a better job of blogging!  I guess I had no idea how busy I was about to become after my last post.

Naomi has had a great competitive gymnastics season.  She placed at every meet in at least one event and I believe she placed in the All Arounds each time as well.  She competed at State in March and placed on every event except for Vault-she was close to placing though!  She took FIRST on Beam at State!!  She also took 2nd All Around at State and qualified for Regionals in Galveston, Tx.  We are so proud and can't wait to see her growth over the coming years.

I have had some job changes this winter.  I started at Wichita Gymnastics doing classes and the Silver team and then in December/January I started training to coach the Gold and up teams.  So, I have been working every day of the week at the gym.  Plus, doing meets for both sets of teams.  It has been exhausting but I truly love it.  That scheduled changed a little when soccer started...it got busier!

Soccer started in February with Conditioning in the afternoons.  So, I would go to work right after Conditioning or come from work straight to Conditioning.  It was crazy but it worked.  Then we started our season and the Training times had to change.  So, then I would go to work on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after two hours of soccer training and once games started it changed again!  With games going I wasn't able to work as much but would try to go to work after games.  I am beat.  We only have three more weeks of soccer and I am sad and glad. lol  For work, I have been able to cut back on my hours and I am not coaching the Silver girls anymore-I am sad because I love them but I am glad to have some of my time back.  For now, anyway!

On the home front, life is moving along.  Sarah went to Thailand for 10 days with our church and loved every minute of it. Beth got a new job at Cocoa Dolce and adores it.  Hannah is driving everywhere and has three jobs, she is a starter for our High School team.  Naomi is in the off season for gymnastics but is a starter for Jr. High soccer and a part-time starter on our High School team.  Phoenix is still loving public school and thriving.  Steven is still amazing and supportive and crushing his job.  I seriously wouldn't survive without him.

I am looking forward to a trip to Al Fong's coaches training this weekend, a soccer tournament in Springfield, Mo, our trip to Galveston, another trip to Texas for a gymnastics conference, vacation, and probably more that I can't remember at the moment!

For now, I have to check my calendar to make sure I am not missing an event!

First Gymnastics Meet

Naomi had her first gymnastics meet last weekend!  She was so nervous and the last month before the meet she spent freaked out and couldn't throw her double back handspring.  She threw it last month and had a bad fall and lost it.  She wanted that and her back walkover on beam for this meet...

She got them both!  She worked hard and really focused in practices and it paid off.  We are so proud of her.  She placed on every event and got 3rd All Around!!  Her team took home 1st place!

We can't wait to watch her the rest of this season!

A New Job!

I started coaching gymnastics at the Y just about a year ago in September.  I loved it.  I loved being back in the gym(again) and I loved the kids.  I quickly added hours to my schedule and started helping with pre-team and then eventually team.  I was busy, as evidenced by several posts lamenting that fact!  I was really happy, though.  The kids were wonderful and I heard back that they were enjoying gymnastics.  

But then changes started happening.  I won't go into details but there were things happening that I couldn't support. And I kind of got in trouble for speaking out about something in a staff meeting.  Trust me, it needed to be said and I was the only real adult in the room.  

Anyway...since these changes were coming, I sought out other employment.  I found out that a local gym was hiring and it was a gym that I competed against when I was young.  I took Naomi over to try it out-I wasn't leaving her in a gym that I didn't agree with policies and procedures.  She loved it but was wary about switching gyms.

I talked with the manager and she told me that night that I had a job if I wanted it.  I did!  I gave my notice at the Y and told my classes that I wasn't going to be teaching there any longer.  Several families asked where I was going and decided to follow me.  Of course, I told them that they were welcome to come to the other gym but there were great coaches staying where they were.  They came anyway.  And then I heard that more coaches quit and girls I recognized showed up at the gym I was now at.

Naomi transferred over and quickly started moving up levels.  At the Y they told her she was at a lower level than this new gym and she was clearly ahead of what they indicated.  It took some time for Naomi to get fully comfortable at the new gym but she is loving it now and she has moved up to the Gold Excel team!

We start our competition season in a few weeks and I will be traveling with the Silver team  I am so excited to see the girls compete and improve throughout the season.  

I don't have as many hours at the new gym and it is working perfectly with our new addition to the family.  God has taken care of us and His blessing keep showing up when we least expect them. 

I only thought...

August of 2016...oh my.  I can not believe it has been that long since I have posted.  Well, yes I actually can.  Life seems to have gotten busier as the kids got older and I lost any semblance of control I ever had. 

I am just holding on. 

Barely.

What has changed since August of 2016?  Well, we got a new dog.  I started working again.  Sarah is a Senior in high school.  Hannah is a freshman.  Naomi started gymnastics.  And so many more things.  I wish I would have kept up and then we could look back on it and remember; as it is I have to use my oh so faulty memory to try and re-create the memories.  Looks like the girls will be missing a chunk of their lives to my brain fade!

The new dog.  Beau.  Bethany adopted him from a place in Kansas City that sold him to us sick.  We got past that and then he ate a lava rock.  I am not kidding.  He ended up needing emergency surgery or he was going to die.  We chose to have the surgery.  Many people have scoffed at us for that and even downright questioned our decision making abilities; but they are not in our shoes and have no say in what we do.  We did it and I don't regret it.  He survived the surgery and is recovering nicely.  And by that I mean he is huge and into everything!  He is a cutie patootie and I am sad to think about Beth moving out and taking him with her!!! 

My job...I started coaching gymnastics at the Y.  again.  It started out as a few morning classes and morphed into every morning but Friday and every evening except Wednesday.  I soon stopped working on Friday nights because soccer started and time evaporated from the schedule.  I actually love my job, the people, and especially the kids.  I love teaching them new skills and watching as they accomplish what they didn't think they could.  I am now teaching a competitive team and love watching them grow and get better as gymnasts.

On that note, Naomi started gymnastics in August and has since moved up the ladder and is getting ready to start on Team!  She works so hard and is determined to compete.  She also helps me teach in the mornings and is loved by all the kids. 

Sarah is graduating next month.  oy vey  She just recently got back from a missions trip to Canada and is planning on one to Peru this summer.  God called her to missions way back when she was a pixie girl with white curls and He has kept that plan for her.  She is excited to start this next phase of her life but I would be lying if I said I was just as excited.  I mean, I am, but I am also thinking of my momma's heart and how empty it will be without my Sarah in the house every day.  Why do they have to grow and follow God's path for them instead of staying with us forever?!  She is an amazing young woman that I am proud to call mine.

Hannah is a freshman and we are starting to look at college classes next year.  She is killing me with math and science!  I am glad that she loves them but I will be even more glad to have her ask the hard questions of someone else!  Oh yeah, she just broke her arm during soccer practice!  It is a minor break and will heal quickly but does make taking care of her extremely long hair a challenge.

Steven is still at his job.  Praise God he has stability and is doing something he enjoys.  We celebrate 25 years this May and it really only feels like 10 most days.  What a blessing to have someone willing to put up with me for this long. 

Speaking of my love, he bought me a new laptop to replace my ipad!  So now I can really keep up with the blog and not jump through stupid hoops to make it work on the ipad.  I love my ipad but blogging on it was infuriating.  We'll see how I do!

My girls and my man for Father Daughter Banquet.

My love and I. 

history repeats itself

Friday, lunchtime, found me sitting in a gym.  No, I wasn't exercising even though I need to.  I was sitting there on bleachers watching my two youngest participate in gymnastics classes.  They were beaming and loving it.

It was total deja vu though.  Especially since my youngest was wearing a body suit that I wore when I was her age and in gymnastics!  They have a great coach and I am looking forward to seeing what they learn about the sport and about themselves. 

Pictures will be coming, I just have to get them off the camera!