Hang in there!

Only 5 more days til summer for the Deal girls!

Our All-Stars

These are our All-Stars!

Brenna was on the T-ball team called the Bears with Daddy and Mr. Chad as the coaches. We liked the name Bears for these little guys...but not because of Bad News Bears or anything ;)

We had lots of friends on this team...L to R: Kaleb, Landry, Weston, Garner, Brenna, Trent, Brady, Marlie, Keira, Kylie

We had some awesome coaches and fans, too!

I was dugout manager for this crew. It gets a little busy with gloves and helmets and hats and bats and sunflower seeds and gum and rocks and water bottles flying around, but I loved it. For any future dugout managers...a Sharpie at the first game is key to a great season.

This girl has focus, eye on the ball.

This was the first year that Audrey has played "big girl" softball. She was on Mrs. Amy's team called the Blaze. She had some sweet friends on her team, too, including Danica, J'Lee, and Jade.

This is J'Lee. She is already an amazing athlete and very sweet girl!

Softball was challenging for our girl. The pitching machine was very fast and intimidating. She began the season with lots of tears and jumping out of the box. But now she is finishing with a strong stance, big swings, and smiles. Very proud of her for hanging in there because I am not very impressed with the expectations in the jump from t-ball to softball!

Someone got tired of me distracting her by taking her picture...But she will want to remember her costume uniform down the road. It was her favorite part of the game ;)

Whether they end up playing softball or not, we had fun this year and are proud of their efforts and attitude. And I am proud to type this post on the evening that the Comanche Maidens have advanced to the State Championship!

Reflecting on Treasures

Another Mother's Day snuck by this year--my 7th one. Kind of like how my girls are trying to get all big and grown up so fast without me realizing it. Very sneaky life can be...

I let myself look at old blog posts this weekend. Bad move on my part...It makes my heart literally ache for those little baby faces and hands...and fear this growing up process.

Brenna is going into Kindergarten in 3 short months.

Audrey is now in 2nd grade.

I don't like the realities of school and grades and sports and awards and hurt feelings and hard choices. I miss our days at home in our own little sweet sheltered world where we played and saw God all day long together.

The girls gave me a glimpse back into those days when they "pampered" me on Mother's Day weekend. They gave me flowers to hold so they could take my picture...

They took turns posing with me...

They brushed and fixed my hair...

They made me laugh...

And they gave me lots of lovin'!

It made me realize that our pace of life is different, our conversations are different, our activities and messes are different, but our love and our God will never change. These girls still teach me things about God daily, and I must likewise reflect Him as they begin to imitate me.

"Children teach us things. Life's pace is relentless, and if we allow its speed to usurp our pause and reflection mechanism, then we miss out on its treasures." Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God

What a treasure it is to be a mom...their mom.

Casa Crew

We finished a magical season at Casa Manana this year (thus the enchanted Magic Mirror)!

The girls were especially enthralled with the plays this year since they were Snow White, Charlotte's Web, Cinderella, and Wizard of Oz.

Wicked Queen with a poisoned apple...

A young, sweet Snow White...

The Wicked Witch of the West! Brenna wanted no part of this.

Tin Man...part of a very talented cast

Scarecrow...he got brains!

Munchkin girls :)

Layton wouldn't get too close...ha!

And my favorite season finale picture...the Casa Crew with the cowardly Lion and Glenda the Good Witch (notice the little sweetie she's holding!) Thanks, Nana, for always helping us to go to Casa and for being our photographer!

Railroad Museum Field Trip

We boarded our bus to the Lehnis Railroad Museum in Brownwood recently.

 We were pleasantly surprised to find lots of fun model trains...

 real engines and cabooses to explore...

 and a mini train to ride!

 Then we picnicked and played at a fun park down the road.

 We even had Nana as one of our "conductors"!

It was the perfect Pre-K field trip.

Ev turns 1

Hello blog! Feeling neglected these days? I have so many special memories to share...

We got to celebrate Everett's 1st birthday last month. We love and miss him so much.

We also got to witness his first haircut.

 He loves his car we bought! His daddy pulls him with a rope around their block apparently, ha!

 Brenna read his book to everyone. Lander liked it :)

 Audrey wrote Everett a little note and he clutched it all afternoon and put it in his truck. So sweet.

 We are getting more and more attached to this little guy, and we can't wait to go see him in Kansas in a few weeks!