Lets get real for a sec...

Ok. Confession time. Maddy's soccer team this year has been very very hard to watch. The very first game of the season, they lost 4-0 to a team that hadn't practiced yet. Yes. Let me repeat that. To a team that HAD.NOT.EVEN.PRACTICED.YET. Sigh.

Fast forward. Through the past, oh, 5 games. Scores: 10-0, 8-0, 10-0, 7-0, and FINALLY last nights game was 10-1. Mmmmhmmm. 6 Games. Only one goal made. Are you kidding me.

The reason for this post is NOT to put down those wonderful little girls who are running their little hearts out out there. So don't even go there. It's about me as a mom. And the lessons I am getting to learn through my daughter and her teammates attitudes.

To be perfectly honest, I am being HUMBLED by the grace they are showing. I have yet to see any one of those girls CRY, or YELL, or STOMP OFF THE FIELD. They don't have FITS, or get MAD. What I HAVE seen them do is congratulate the other team when they scored their 10th goal on them. High five their friends who are on the other team when they made that goal. All with a smile on their faces. And they show Grace. Every time.

Yeah. They are that AWESOME.

In the past month, I have learned so much about my daughter and the person she truly is, and I am proud. Proud to be her momma. Proud to show her off. Proud to be on the sidelines of the "losing" team. Because you know what? In the long run, they are winning. They are developing winning attitudes. Something that will carry through with them for the rest of their lives. They are learning Grace. They are learning to have fun, while not "winning"at games. And they are learning Dignity. I don't know about you but I see alot of people in this world who could use a little more of that.

Now, don't get me wrong. I would love to see them "win" a game too. Maybe tomorrow... I'll let you know how it goes. :-)

Ahem. Testing...Testing.. Are you there?

Well hey. Its certainly been awhile. Sorry for the lack of blogging. Pesky LIFE just keeps happening all around me. Just kidding. About the pesky part. I love life. But mine is sure keeping me busy.

I'm not going to lie. I have thought long and hard (ok, not really) about deleting this blog, but then I thought, what hurt does it cause my family? None that I can think of, so I am going to give it another shot. Now, don't expect back dated blog posts because I am pretty sure that isn't going to happen. But I can go from here on out. I'd like to start by showing you a photo of my BIG girl Maddy. Yeah, she's totally 8 now. YES, EIGHT. She is half-way to legal driving age. I think I'm having heart palpitations.

Maddy is far and away the best oldest child one could ask for. She's smart, pretty, kind, compassionate, WONDERFUL, and best of all, mine. She can usually be found doing one of the following things: Reading, playing her DSi while listening to either Taylor Swift or Justin Beiber, (Yeah, my house has totally been Beiberized.), or begging her Dad or I to call her BFF Peyton on the phone. She recently finished Harry Potter at school and UNDERSTOOD what she was reading. This my friends, is my happy place. To have my girl love books and reading, well, lets just say it makes this Momma want to do a little jig. Books were my haven as a child and I am glad she has found that same passion. She can also be found terrorizing her sister Alex and cuddling on her baby sister Peyton. But lets just ignore the terrorizing part. OK?

That's all I have time for right now, but I promise to be back soon! I have to tell you about Alex and Peyton.