too much to do

Way to much to do.....
After two soccer games today, we came home, and got busy. Unfortunately, most of the stuff was regular Fall clean-up stuff, not so much towards the end of moving. Matt and Ben worked in the yard--lawn mowing, pulling large dead summer plants, cutting down tree like weeds that seemed to sprout up over night.....Jake picked up a backyard full of sticks, and Nate was on dog poop patrol. I was outside too, for some of the time. I was trying to take advantage of the beautiful warm Fall weather...it was almost 60 degrees and sunny today. I repotted some mums I got a few weeks ago, into bigger matching pots--trying to keep our front stoop looking cheery. That job took much longer than I expected! I also did some work inside, basic long overdue cleaning, and also tackled a pile of mail, and got some Goodwill stuff bagged up. Not sure what I'll take on next---the list is just too gigantic!
I am wishing I had a week off from work to just put my head down and get busy! But alas-no such luck! Instead, I will have to try this house preparing whenever I can squeeze it in--I can't imagine there will be enough time to accomplish it all! Sometimes I pray for the minutes to last longer, or that God will help me work faster.....it is a goofy prayer, but I think He understands! :0)

Another matter for parayer--sadly, Matt's car is not doing well. The last few days it was kind of choking while starting. Today, it decided not to start at all. At first we thought it was a battery problem, but when we jumped it--nothing. So, Matt went out and bought a brand new battery.....nothing after it was installed, either. Now--I am not sure what we are going to do. Matt thinks it might be the car's computer. Not good. Big huge expensive thing. Of course, with the goal of moving sometime soon....extra expenses are just not good. Matt is NOT a happy camper, let me tell you.

action mode

This what we are in right now.....action mode! We really liked the house..... so now we have to figure out to sell ours! Anyone want to buy a house??? :0)

big things

We are going to take a look at a house today. We weren't necessarily wanting to deal with this right now.....even though we have been talking about moving for a while. We were planning on preparing our house more to sell, and thought for sure it wouldn't be 'til spring until we'd be looking seriously. So-I guess you can never completely plan these things out. We have targeted a neighborhood, that we have been carefully watching. It is right next our home soccer fields, has all the same schools we are currently in, and is filled with many of our family's friends. Anyway, the house we are going to look at has everything on our list (except a front porch) and more. It was a model home--so it was all decked out from the start--and then the owners even put an extension onto the Master to include an additional sitting room and walk-in closets. It is completely dog ready (fenced in yard).....and has a bedroom for everyone, plus an office for Matt, a guestroom for visitors, and a finshed basement to entertain the kids and their friends. The best part is, while it was out of our price range when it first came on the market...it is now priced well under the appraisal value for a quick sale. The owners are very motivated, and the realtor says the price is negotiable. Of course, that also means we might be moving a whole lot sooner than we expected! Not sure how I am going to fit a move in to my already way too busy life!

We have been praying a lot about this whole thing......and I know that if it is meant to be, God will work out the details. And if it is not---than He will close doors.

proud mom

We have been anxiously awaiting for an interview with Luis Mojica to be posted on the Campton United Website. Luis is our neighbor and family friend. He has been a wonderful role model for our kids, and has always had a special relationship with Jacob, as they both have always had a love for soccer. It didn't seem to matter that there is an almost 10 year difference between their ages. Luis and Jacob have always hit it off, and would spend hours kickin gthe ball around on our front lawns. Luis is a sweet kid, and I am glad he is gettin gthe props he deserves! He is now a freshman at Northern Illinois University and has recieved a full scholarship there for soccer. He starts for their Huskies Men's Soccer Team, and has also been selected to play with the Chicago Fire PDL team (preprofessional). Needless to say, he is Campton United's pride and joy, as he has played with them since he was ten and not only has been successful--but has always displayed good sportsmanship
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Anyway--we were given a heads up by the webmaster that the interview with him would be posted soon, and that he mentioned Jacob. Tonight the interview was posted. Once on the homepage of the site, there appears a very nice "note" from Mark MacKinnon the club's director. It is worth the read. Then under "club news" there is a link to a "Q&A with club alum Luis Mojica". Please click on that to read the interview. To our surprise, Luis speaks of Jacob Sterling as his favorite Campton Player. (WOW! He knows ALOT of Campton players!) Then there is a picture of Jacob playing on the field, and a sentence or two from Luis. Can I tell you how thrilled Jacob is?

Also on the homepage--under "snapshot" at the bottom of the page, is a picture of Nathan kicking a ball at one of his tournaments. And scrolling right next to that is "Team News" where Nathan's team (Roteiro) is mentioned. Also, under "club news" is a link to "tournament results and pictures". If you click on that, there is a nice picture of Jacob's team, and a write up by his coach about how they played in the Nike Cup- and under that, a team photo of Nathan's team with write up for their performance at the Glen Ellyn Classic Tournament.

PLEASE humor me, and go to the website... www.camptonunited.com and read about Luis Mojica and my boys. I am a proud mom! Can you tell??

who trained who?

My dog definately has me well trained. I know this is not a surprise for most of you......I just don't like admitting it! I am a sucker for puppy eyes. Emmy is really a sweet dog. She is a lovey, she is obedient, she is just a great dog. She also has completely figured out how to get exactly what she wants and how to get me out of my seat, or up from the laundry room, in split seconds. What started out as a way for us to know when she had to go out, has turned into a way she can manipulate me!
We have put jingle bells on our back door, and left them there while she was a puppy and being trained. Everytime she needed to go outside to pee, and we opened the door, and the bells would ring. Soon she was ringing the bells with her nose to tell us when she wanted to go outside. Worked great.
NOW--the stinker just rings the bells on the back door to get me to notice her. She'll ring the bells, sit there looking pathetic, and when I come near her to let her out, she gets up, and walks to her other designated areas to let me know what she wants. It really is quite smart. I have to give her props. BUT, it is also annoying! There is no way of distinguishing whether she is really desperate to pee, or if she is just bored and feels like having a bone. At least she is clear about those things, too---and she doesn't just stare at me expecting me to figure her out. She is very purposeful. Ring the bells, mom comes in, go walk to the bone cabinet and sit. Or go to the kitchen sink and sit for water. Or go to the food dishes and sit for food. Or go to the refridgerator, and HOPE it is time for her medicine (which gets put into hotdog pieces, thus the fridge clue). Sometimes I get so annoyed with her....especially if I was in the middle of something and she keeps ringing the bells over and over again (like it is really urgent).....and then she just saunters over to the bones. Then I just walk away and say NO! But most times, I just end up getting her what she wants. No wonder she keeps it up! It is working for her!

YES-I admit it. I am well trained. How embarrassing.

unexpected blessings

My life is so crazy these days with running around nonstop, that being able to carpool with someone willing to take my boys to soccer for the 4:30 start time was a huge blessing! NOW-I just have to take Ben to his Bass Lesson at 5pm, drive him home at 5:30pm, and then pick up Nathan at his soccer practice at 6pm. Usually, i'd also have to wait around for Jake to finish at 6:30pm before I could drive home.....but today-whew!-Jacob is being driven home, too. I only have Nathan and Ben driving duty today! It's the little things like this that I truly can appreciate!

I also had a good day at school--as I felt useful in helping my 3rd grade teacher develop her guided reading group plan. The district has taken on a new Language Arts program and everyone is scrambling trying to figure out how to fit it all in. Unfortunately, the plan she iniated just wasn't working. It is a matter of trial and error for everyone right now, and sharing knowledge, and ideas, etc is huge and invaluable. Anyway-I am thankful for those opportunities when I am asked for my opinion in how to carry out lesson plans. Who, me? I sat with Mrs. S today and between the two of us, tried to determine what assignments really fit into the objectives, what questions were purposeful, and what "fluff" could be weeded out. Then we discussed what plans could be done on what days--what the other students would be working on while the reading groups were meeting with the teacher or myself, etc. All in all- it is good practice for me to get my brain working through some of those things.

I spent a half hour in Mrs. C's class also, observing. (she's the prego one, and the class I may find myself teaching in this spring) It is nice to have the option of observing occasionally--just to see how the class flows. I am learning her expectations, her procedures, her record keeping practices, etc. Now I just hope it pays off come interview time. I am only able to get a half hour here, 15 minutes there, and trying to make every visit worthwhile. It is really amazing how every class has it's own personality. i am praying our "personalities" are a fit.

final results

So- the Nike Cup is over, and we are drained, but feeling okay. Both Jacob's and Nathan's teams came in second place. Jacob's team had a very tough time in the Championship game, and they just couldn't pull off a win. It was a difficult game to watch, as they just weren't playing their best. Jake personally had a fairly good game....he did some pretty footwork, megged a guy, (which always makes him happy) made some dependable crosses to our strikers, and even got a shot off himself, but unfortunately hit the post.

Nathan's team played okay, but won their last game, 5-1. It was almost a shutout, but the opposing team scored their first and only goal in the last minute of play. They came in second, because their overall points earned in the tournament were a little short of the team they lost to.

All in all, it was a good weekend.



This is a shot of Nathan in goal. He plays in goal pretty consistantly for at least half of each game. The other half, he is usually playing defense.