Fourth Day

I have not been blogging because I have been gone. And when I say gone, I mean GONE. I spent Thursday night- Sunday night at Camp Sumatanga in Nowhere (fine- Gallant), Alabama. This is the United Methodist camp in North Alabama. Jason has been to church camp many times here growing up, but I had never been there. I was there participating in my Walk to Emmaus.

This is a spiritual retreat (for all Christians- you don't have to be Methodist) that I have been looking forward to for a while. Jason went in February and I had to reschedule my first planned trip in March. It tells you a little about how popular it is that I got rescheduled to SEPTEMBER! Part of the Walk to Emmaus is leaving behind the world to really focus on God. No phones, no watches, no TV, newspaper, BLOGS, you get it. Absolutely no link to reality. I don't know why I was SOOO resistant to this. (Maybe it's my control issue that I'm working on...), but once I got there and got settled, I didn't even notice it. I thought I would want to call home all the time, but I honestly didn't. And I didn't miss my e-mail... although I did reach for my iPhone about a dozen times on Friday- just a habit... I'm addicted.

The point of the weekend is to bring you closer to God and make you a leader in your home church. But I got so much more out of it. It is truly an amazing place and an overwhelming experience. Everything you do has a reason. Everything is planned, prayed over and practiced for up to a YEAR before you get there. I was super impressed with all the presentations, teams, food, food, food (there was a little bit of food- let's just say I haven't weighed myself) and people. But that wasn't what was so overwhelming. God was there. He truly was there. He showed up and showed off! Through songs, talks, amazing stories of His love and new women who I'm honored to call my friends. This is not just a retreat. If you know me in real life AT ALL, you know that I'm not hokey. I don't like cheesy things. I didn't even hold hands in public with boys until I met my hubby. So, I'm not exaggerating or sentimentalizing. This experience was unbelievable.

A lot of what you do at an Emmaus Walk is kept secret. Not because it is a cult or it is weird, but because everyone needs to experience it for themselves and there are several surprises that should not be ruined. Like I said before, Jason went in February and we stayed up until midnight talking about it all last night. I can't believe he kept so much a secret for 7 months!!! He just wanted me to have as wonderful of an experience as he did. And we could have talked longer if we weren't both exhausted!! But, if you are interested, just e-mail me and I'll be happy to explain or answer any questions that you have.

If you're interested in the Emmaus story, it's very cool and takes place at Jesus's resurrection. As you can imagine, I've heard a little about it this weekend. Here's the story.

There are many "Emmaus terms" that you learn about and learn what they mean. DeColores is a bumper sticker that you might have seen and that's an Emmaus thing.

The stickers we have look different than this, but before I knew about Emmaus, I saw these everywhere and had no clue what they where! Another big one is Fourth Day. I don't think I'm giving away any big secrets to reveal this one so you understand what the title of the post means. Since the Emmaus Walk is 3 days, you have to go back into the world on the 4th day. Every day after your walk can be considered your Fourth Day... get it? So, today is my actual 4th day and the rest of my days will be considered 4th days- what you do after this awesome experience. Today was pretty great as far as that goes, but I have a lot of work to do to get where I need and want to be with God. I'll keep you updated.

While I was gone, Owen had his first 2 soccer games! I know- sob, sob- but I didn't want to reschedule my walk again and I have a feeling that I will see about 4, 382 soccer games in my life. So, Jason (aka Superdad) got both kids to the games, had Owen dressed and ready- and they even had pictures on Saturday!! Talk about pressure! To top it off he took some great pictures.

Poor little brother is along for the ride- as always. I asked Jason how he managed his nap on Saturday morning since the game was during his normal nap time. He thought about it and said... "Hmmm. I guess he didn't have a morning nap." And since I'm working on my control thing- it didn't even bother me!

Owen in action- he's on the far left:

And this is Jason's favorite picture. Two of the kids on the yellow team fell on top of each other on accident. Owen saw it and thought it was a great opportunity for a dog pile! Hilarious! I wish I could have seen that!!So thanks to many people for making this wonderful weekend possible. I'd like to give a shout out to my sponsor (and dear friend) Gina and all the girls that took us down there and brought us home: Beth, Lisa, Amanda, Jenny and Heather. And my friend Trina who was there with me- we didn't sit together, but it was so nice to have at least one familiar face! And of course to sweet Jason who pushed me out the door to go- and Connie and Irv who helped him this weekend. (Have I gotten an Emmy and I didn't know it??) OK- sorry for the acceptance speech, but I am so truly thankful for the experience. It was awesome!

The First Soccer Practice

Well, it's finally here. An organized sport. Team moms. Uniforms. Minivans. That one thing you forgot. I have a feeling we're in this for the long haul.

Tonight was Owen's first soccer practice.

In case you don't know my hubby, Jason, he is a soccer geek star. He spent 3 of his elementary school years in Germany and played soccer over there, so he got some cool European training. He's a keeper- NOT a goalie- that's hockey. He's played since he was 4, all through childhood and was on the first soccer team his high school had. He's played for traveling teams, adult teams, indoor leagues, has coached all levels... you get it. This was a big day for him. Even when I was pregnant- before we knew we what brand of baby we were having {and it wouldn't have mattered}- he was already talking about tiny soccer balls.

This is Owen at 5 months old- he had just learned how to sit up and Jason was rolling him a ball. {Apparently we were feeding him steak. I had forgotten how big he was!!}

This is Owen at 10 months old watching the World Cup {it only happens once every 4 years} in a soccer uniform from Mexico {courtesy of Aunt Carrie and Uncle Izzy}.

And this is Jason trying to teach Owen how to kick... at 10 months old. FYI- he wasn't even crawling.Needless to say, there has always been a soccer ball around. This is July 4th, 07- Owen was 23 months. So, as I said, today was a big day. Jason was putting on Owen's shin guards and I asked him if he was tearing up. He looked at me and said he might, but then Owen said he was ready for the "baseball field". And we then realized AGAIN that this child is not quite 3 and doesn't understand any of this.

So, off to soccer practice. They did a few drills where they lined up and took turns kicking the ball in the net. Then they played a "game" with the team divided in half. Here's what soccer practice was like for Owen:

Okay, really it wasn't all that bad, but he didn't get the concept of going after the ball- or staying on the field. He was really good at kicking it in the goal when they did the little drills, but I guarantee you Jason will be working with him on the whole "game" idea. The whole practice lasted 25 minutes and then the coach said, "To the Playground!" and everyone ran to the playground. They were super sweaty and hot, but happy! Here are some pictures of Owen having fun before (and the last one during) the "game".

Looks like the U4 league at the Y will at least be entertaining! I'll be sure to keep you updated.