Back to the Manger

Becca was in her 6th grade musical this past November - she worked really hard before the auditions and was blessed and excited to receive exactly the part she wanted. She LOVES performing in musicals...I think she would do it year-round if she could. 

The story of their musical was a present-day Christmas Eve Caroling benefit at a church...but there's a janitor who has made a time machine...and the main character kids turn it on and go back in time to several decades...the 70's, the 80's, the 50's, 20's, the 40's, and eventually all the way "back to the manger"...and they learn the true meaning of Christmas along the way. It's your typical sort-of-cheesy adolescent story-line, but the music was great, the directors fantastic, and the kids outstanding!

Becca was even suffering with a bit of a cold...and almost lost her voice! We nursed it with lots of tea, honey, and prayer, and while she had to lip-sync some of the chorus numbers, she was able to nail her biggest solo. You can watch it by clicking here. She's the one in the striped sweater with the straight brown hair.

 

We were really thankful my mom could come...she hurt her back a couple days before, spent two days in the hospital, and couldn't walk. We brought her in early in a wheelchair (thankfully sitting was the only comfortable position for her) and she was able to see the final performance! It's a long road to recovery for a bulging disc that's pinching a nerve, but she is walking again, so we are very grateful for that!

State XC 2015, part 2

After the yummy pasta dinner, the XC kids went to see a movie, and these four musketeer siblings made posters for ALL the runners! 

The next morning it was foggy and cold, but good running weather. Below the team is huddled in prayer for the last time this year. Such precious moments.

And they are off!

The race was not the amazing race Sarah had always dreamed of having at state, but she ran well and she led her team in superb ways. And she was OK...no, she was even better than OK. She was good. I had only a few tears right at the end of her race, and I was pretty happy and thankful that there was no ugly cry happening as I had feared. XC has been (& hopefully will continue to be) vitally important in Sarah's life, and therefore it's important in our lives. Watching her run has been a joy and a gift, and watching her grow and mature as she fought through disappointments and celebrated triumphs has been both gut-wrenching and joy-filling for me.

My parents have come to as many meets as possible - cheering on both Sarah and Bethany and displaying their pride as well. We are so grateful.

The boys were next and "little brother" ran GREAT! He placed 14th, putting him on the podium as a sophomore, his first appearance at state! 

Those are some great coaches. We adore them and they are greatly appreciated by us and the rest of the team and parents. Coach Postma was even awarded Women's XC Coach of the Year for Whatcom County!!

 

On the way home from state, we carbo load again (to regain all that energy we expelled cheering on the runners, I guess...) at The Spaghetti Factory. Another memory. I am thankful Bethany is running XC as we have a chance to continue these traditions!

State XC 2015, part 1

So, about that “finishing strong” comment in my last blog post…I had really good intentions. I really did. But then the sprint to Christmas began and I finished that part of life pretty strong…just not the blogging part. But now!?!?! Now! It is Christmas break. I am *determined* to “catch up” in my blogging…...

Bethany & her running friend, Lucya.

The little sisters did not want to be outdone…

Coach Josh tying “little brother” Eric’s tie…

The Team – those that ran at state AND those that did not…though we were missing several of the boys, because they did not qualify as a team, but these were all those that came to state.

The girls…

And those boys…

Senior girls…I just think this is so stinkin’ classic, but you’d have to know Sarah’s relationship with “the twins” in order to agree with me.

The Sophomores!!!

A great moment…one of little brother’s REAL big sisters surprised him at state – flew in from college in Iowa!!

Running sisters

These are so funny!

Little brother’s family…we love them so much – they’re family to us.

Co-captains!

And runners with their siblings who were there to cheer them on – or run with them!

This one makes me laugh and cry all at the same time.

So those pictures above are all from the night before the meet…after the team has arrived in the Tri-Cities and run the course, they get all dressed up and wait two hours for dinner at Olive Garden (because every state XC runner from every school in the state – large or small – is also trying to carbo-load – all the state races are held in the same location on the same day). It’s a fun tradition and the kids look so forward to it.

I’ll save the race blog for tomorrow.