Baseball in Bryant

Baseball is a big deal here! That is an understatement. Not being from a sports family nor from a small town, I don't know how it compares with other places. All I can say is that they take it seriously. A mom told Chip last Fall that "this is when they decide if they will play college ball or not!" Chip said, "Really, I wasn't thinking anything about college when I was 6!" Chip could not coach Streed's team this Spring so he recruited a friend to do it and he helped when he was in town. Our little team was sweet! Does that statement tell you of their skill level? We finished probably 10th out of 14 teams. That's right folks, 14 teams of 6 & 7 year olds!

Streed loves the game! That too is an understatement. He talks about baseball all the time. He talks about his team for this Fall, he talks about rules for the Fall such as bunting and stealing, he talks about his uniform for the Fall etc. I have to cut him off sometimes and tell him to talk to his Dad about it. I hate to squish his excitement but I can't take it. And I don't know the answers.

All-Stars are a big deal here! That too is an understatement. You would think that at the end of the season the best kids would be chosen from tryouts. Not so much. About a month and a half before the season ended the selected All-Star coach put together a "tournament team" to play in a few tournaments before the real season ended. They practiced in addition to these kids' normal team practices. Streed was not recruited for this team. But, we asked a few weeks before the season ended if Streed could practice with them in case he wanted to actually try out for All-Stars. They agreed. The head coach coached with Chip in the Fall and Streed knew a lot of the kids on the team. I took him to two practices that lasted 3 hours each. Yes, Ella Nate and I braved the ball park and no bathrooms and other bratty kids for those 6 hours. Chip took Streed to two other practices. After those 4 practices we helped Streed decide that All-Stars was not for us this year. This team literally practices 4 nights a week for 3-4 hours a night! And plays tournaments every weekend. Chip is becoming good friends with one of their coaches and he has said numerous times they were disappointed Streed did not try out because he would definitely have made the team.

Another summer tournament team (mainly 5 year olds) needed a few players to fill in one weekend and asked Streed to play. We figured,"Sure, that would be fun for Streed. Who cares that Chip will be out of town from Thurs through Saturday and would only able to take Streed to one of three practices and make it to only one of three games." So, we (the kids and I) took him to practice. I was in shock the first night. Two dads were coaches. But, their wives (really one of them) really was the coach. And she was crazy. Apparently she played softball for 14 years and this qualified her to YELL A LOT at the kids, mainly her own. It was kindof comical at first. But she was literally crazy. This was why on facebook one day my status said to keep my mouth shut if I could not say something nicely. Chip and I don't like any of the coaches yelling at the kids but she was to another level. She demanded way too much from her 5 year old. Never once did she say good job. It was always a criticism. I almost pulled Streed out of the 2nd game that Saturday because of her. If we did not have to play that Sunday I was going to say something. Chip came with us that Sunday. He made me hush once when I wanted to defend Streed. Later in the game Chip literally said outloud, "She is a stupid woman!" After I quit laughing, I looked at him and said, "It's hard to sit out here and keep your mouth shut isn't it?" After that Chip went and stood near the fence as close as he could get to Streed and coached him from the sidelines. He told him the opposite of what those coaches were saying and Streed made lots of outs. He was playing short-stop and caught 2 pop-ups and 1 line drive against the 6 year old All-Star team.

Here's the little sweetness in his Bryant Blue!

Well I feel better.

Well, while I am on the subject, and just to give you a better picture of "Baseball in Bryant", here's another story for your reading pleasure. After this you will wish you lived in a small town! So, I (along with Ella & Nate) took Streed to one of these practices again. This was probably Fri night before the tourny started on Saturday. We were all getting set up on field 1. All of the kids were there. I was setting up our chairs in the shade and getting my Subway sandwich out, along with all of our water bottles. So, three chairs, dinner, water bottles etc. 10 weeks pregnant and very hormonal. I see this other coach whom I don't know walk up and say to his team, "We can't practice on field 2 so we will just practice on 1." I am confused because we are on field 1. I watch him march himself onto the field, past our coaches and kids and set up their equipment. One of the mom's asks what he is doing since we are obviously on this field. Without stopping what he was doing he said, "There are no sign-ups for fields. We are 8 year old All-Stars and we take presedence over yall. We are practicing for District!" I immediately started CRYING and called Chip at his conference saying, "I hate this place! I hate Bryant baseball!" Everyone was furious and we did have to pack up all of our stuff and change fields.

Ok. No names were shared. I just wanted to give a little glimpse into the life and times here in good ole Arkansas. And yes, we miss Louisiana terribly!

where to begin?

My mind ocassionally does rattle off blog posts. Somehow though they never make it to the actual computer. It is July. It is hot! We are finished with baseball for a few months (another post needed here!). We have been continuing to "do school" throughout the summer, mainly working on reading. I just can't see how a 5 or 6 year old who just finished Kindergarten can take off 2-3 months and remember anything once school starts the next year! Reading is still challenging for Streed but seems to be getting easier if we go really slow. So, I want him to be as ready for school as he possibly can be. His co-op starts back Aug 1st. Here they are back in May making some trapazoids during Math!



We did join a pool. The first week it opened Nate and I did swimming lessons every morning and then we would stay after and swim till lunchtime. He loves the water but was not really into lessons. Go figure, he and Ella are very similar. She hated swim lessons last year till she decided on one of the last few days that she would swim by herself along the steps. Nate did not do that but he did start swimming on his own a few days after class ended.

Here he is swimming by himself, face in, eyes open!
There were days in class he would not even put his face in. Now he jumps and jumps in the shallow end and rarely wears any type of floatie.
Oh yea, back to the pool. It has been a lot of fun. All of the families from our community group go there as do a few firefighter families and some families we know from other places in town. However, it is so hot, that we go late in the afternoon/early evening. Ella and Streed love jumping off of the diving board!

Besides finding out we are pregnant with baby #4 it has been a quiet summer!

selling the beauty

Chip is selling his truck. He has put 49,000 miles on it since last March! That being said, we are in the market for something with a little better gas mileage. He is ok with it but occasionally says, "It sure is a nice truck." And I have to agree.

what we do

Our street is great. I get nothing done on the weekends or as soon as the neighbor kids get home in the afternoons. The parents park our chairs together and watch the kids play/referee the arguements. Streed is the oldest. There are typically my three plus another two together everyday. There are two more down the street (4 & 3) that play occasionally. There are also two next door (4 & 3) that are here every other weekend. This particular day almost everyone was out as well as two boys (3 & 2) who live around the corner. Our yard seems to be the host yard (which is why our grass takes a beating). After hours of baseball they decided to trace each other with sidewalk chalk and build things with scrap wood in our garage. I just had to get the camera!

my birthday

Chip had to go out of town on my birthday to a place in AR that I wanted to visit. So, the kids and I piled in his truck and went with him. Before we left he gave me an orchid plant for my bathroom. I have always wanted one of these. He made a mental note a few weeks ago when I subtly commented on it at Lowes.


The first day while Chip was at his meeting we all napped and then the kids swam in the pool at the hotel.


The next day Chip had some paper work to finish with a Fire Marshall. He was so great. He invited us all in to his office while they worked. Then he showed us around a botanical garden and new museum being built in North AR. He even snapped this family picture for us. It was a great little getaway.

answered prayers

Before we moved to AR and before we moved into our house I prayed for friends for Chip and I and the kids. I prayed for friends from Godly families for the kids. I prayed for people on our street that know God and need God. He has done all of this and more! This is Ella finishing preschool for the year and with her good friend Gracey who just bought a house about 5 minutes from us. They are a sweet family with a son around Streed's age.

Classical Conversations

I am thinking about changing co-ops for next year. Below tells about our new option. Classical Conversations (CC) (below is copied from their website)

It’s a Mission
The purpose of education is to know God and to make Him known.
Our purpose is to lead the home-centered education movement by equipping parents and students with the classical tools of learning needed to discover the order and beauty of God’s creation and to inspire others to do the same.

We believe parents are their children’s primary teachers not because parents know everything but because each child is uniquely (and wonderfully!) made and because the people who know and love a child best are the ones most motivated to help that child succeed.

We empower and support parents not only through our Classical Conversations Communities across the country but also through our specially designed C3 online community, Parent Practicums, academic retreats, and our Certified Instructor Program. All of these services ultimately equip parents to educate their children with the classical tools of learning and a biblical worldview so that they might impact the world for God’s glory.

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i am seriously contemplating doing this. i was going to do Classical Conversations in Baton Rouge. for some reason when we moved it never crossed my mind to see if it existed anywhere nearby. randomly the other day i googled "classical conversations", found the website and a campus 30 minutes from my house. i was ecstatic. i still am it just rearranges most of "my plans" for next year. currently we are part of a classical christian co-op. however, there are lots of things i like about CC. one being it is national and been around for about 14 years. secondly, we have friends in other states doing it so we would all be studying the same exact things which would be really fun. anyway, i wanted to share this because it is occupying what is left of my brain!

post i promised

So in January my mom found out her cancer had come back. She also had some severe back pain so the docs were afraid it had spread. After numerous tests they found a compression fracture in her spine. As they repaired it they biopsied the area and found that there was cancer in that compressed vertebrae. They were able to repair the vertebrae and administer a strong and concentrated dose of radiation to that portion of her spine. She continues to have back pain but does go to work a few hours here and there. She is currently pretty weak and taking it easy. The chemo combined with the radiation combined with working a few days last week wiped her out. This is a picture of her with the kids when we visited in March. If you know her at all you can tell she has lost quite a bit of weight. It is mainly due to not wanting to eat because of the back pain. She has not had much sickness associated with the chemo but she has little desire for food. Prayers for strength and healing are coveted.

back track

As I was doing the baseball post I noticed a lot of pictures in my March folder that I had never posted. (reason to follow in the next post--which i realize will appear above this one :) )

Some sweet families we have met through Streed's co-op invited us to a picnic on day. Here are some of my favorite pics from that day.

the boys were able to take off their shoes and walk a little ways in a creek!


all three kids looking at the same time!


sweet legs in cowboy boots on the swing. i gotta chronicle these things. he may not always be a little cowboy. but i do have a sneaky suspicion he may!

spring baseball

Streed started some preseason tournaments in March. His season officially starts with Opening Ceremonies this weekend. To say he loves it would be an understatement. We are all having fun watching and getting to know the other kids and their parents.

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!


This was his first hit. Chip calls it an out since he got out at first. But, he struggled hitting so much at the beginning of the season that, as his Mama, it's a hit!


With his coach. This is Chip's friend that we met soon after moving to AR last spring. His son and Streed were on the same t-ball team. He was getting a pep talk to "see the ball, hit the ball!"


Sweet Streed!


Coach of the year! I followed Nate as he wandered from the stands to climb on the fence. And this is what I found. Chip hanging out in left field on his phone. He saw me take a picture and thought, "I feel a blog comin' on!"


Here are our great coaches. They were bumbed as we lost 8-6 in the preseason tournament. They were definitely more upset than the kids!