Livin’ On A Prayer

 If you know me, you know I love music.  You also know I listen to a few things I wouldn’t let Chelsea listen to (Meatloaf, for example).  I know people have different musical tastes and as long as I don’t have to listen to Helmut Lotti, I’m OK if you do.   I’m not OK if you are not considerate about it.  I have an iPod and I don’t force you to listen to Bon Jovi, Meatloaf, Dr. Hook, Billy Joel, John Cougar or the B-52s (yes, all on my iPod).  Which brings me to the reason for this post.  

We attended a soccer game a couple of weeks ago and heard the raunchiest music ever.  The home team had an entire hour of trashy, foul language warm up music.  One of their team members climbed up to the press-box and palyed it for all of the world to hear.  It was so loud we couldn’t talk and the words were so filthy I can’t repeat them. 

After talking to some other soccer parents, I found out that this school was one of two private, Christian schools in town blasting this junk during warm up.  Now I know there are other songs out there.  Why can’t they use the theme from Rocky?  Or Eye of the Tiger?  I asked Chelsea if she had any ideas for warm up songs and after considering her team’s record, she said …

Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer”.     That’s my girl !!! 

Lost and Found

This year it looked as though high school soccer was going to be as frustrating as last year.  The first game was scheduled for tonight and yesterday after practice the coach told Chelsea that her physical was not on file.  I called the school first thing this morning and asked the secretary to look for it.  We had it done last Spring at school so everything would be in line this year.  It was not found before the end of the school day.  Her coach asked her to show up at the game to be with the team.  My child is really compliant when it comes to things like this and takes it better than I do.  We went to the game and she sat the bench for the first 25 minutes or so.  Sometime during that 25 minutes another player mentioned to her that there was a paper with Chelsea’s name on it in the coach’s desk.  The coach gave Chelsea his keys and we went on a hunt in his office.  Sure enough, physical found.  Chelsea was so excited!  She ran back to the field, physical in hand and gave it to the coach.  She immediately put on her shin guards and cleats and got a few minutes of playing time before the end of the first half of the varsity game.  She also got a fair amount of time in the second half.  The varsity team lost 3-2.  The JV game followed and she did not have as much playing time in that game.  She did make the most of the time she had though.  The JV team won, 1-0, and the goal was off of Chelsea’s assist!!!

Been A Little Busy

It has been a long time between blogs for me.  The junior high schedule has been an adjustment for all of us.  Things are going smoother now, but it has taken an entire month.

In August, Chelsea started school and soccer practice.  Both of these “events” were positive but they did come with a new set of challenges.  We received the first progress report and have played in the first tournament.   Chelsea likes her soccer coach this year, so that has been a huge plus !  Chelsea’s favorite subject right now is Life Science.  The guy who teaches it has his degree in sports medicine specializing in the sciences.  Chelsea finds his teaching style fun and easy to understand.  Algebra is at the other end of that spectrum.  She is struggling through and we have called in some help.  The good thing is, when it is explained by someone other than her teacher, she understands it.  The bad thing is the teacher, not the tutor, is the one teaching the class. 

Chelsea taught her first Bible Class this week.  She practiced at home and I am guessing she did a good job.  She had a tough passage to teach.  There was not a lot to work with and she could not really expand because all of the girls in the class were working in the same area.  She worked on it and went to school prepared.  I was very proud of her.

That’s it for the update.  I hope to get back to more frequent posts soon.

Soccer Camp Notes

Chelsea has been in soccer camp all week.  She has a new coach this year and a few new teammates.  She is having a great time (her words) and I am so happy for her.  Last year was so tough and I’m proud of her for hanging in there even though she hated the entire experience.  All she wanted to do was play and she showed up and put in the time, but saw very little time on the field.  This year has already been night and day different!  She is practicing from 9-3 in the Louisiana heat and comes home happy everyday.  She is remembering why she loves the game.  She loves it so much that she is using tape and/or band-aids to cover the 19 blisters on her feet and ankles!  Yes, 19.  And she has not complained once.

Last night she was asked to play with a high school “super 7″ team that did not have enough players.  She and 3 of her teammates went out and ran circles around some high school girls.  It was fun to watch.  It was also fun to listen to parents on the sidelines talk about the 4 of them like they were superstars.  Because I think they are.  When the game was over I told the parent next to me that the 4 of them were going in to the 7th grade.  Great, proud moment for me.  The girls worked well together and I can’t wait to see what this season holds for them.

Game Over.

Chelsea’s soccer with the U12s is over.  It has been a long, frustrating year.  She will have two more practices with the team and the coach so that all of the players can receive their evaluations.  This will not be fun for her.  She looks at the evals like a report card.  If it doesn’t show all top numbers, she feels like she failed.  I have tried several times, unsuccessfully, to explain the difference. 

This past weekend was the State Cup Prelim tournament.  I wanted so much for our kids to come away with a win.  They did not.  They did have 2 very hard fought and well played games.  Some of the kids really stepped up.  Unfortunately, some did not.  And in all honesty, there were just some things that did not go our way.  That happens.

End result.  Chelsea played well while she was in the game.  She made the most of her opportunities.  She left happy. 

Try outs for next year are in a month!

Birthday, Youth Rally, Soccer Game

Chelsea turned 12 this past Saturday.  WOW!  We celebrated with a birthday dinner at DeAngelos.  Her guest list included Lauriand family, of course.  What’s a party without Aunt Lauri?  Her party with friends has to be delayed until later this month.  She had a youth rally and soccer games out of town this weekend.

It was great for me to watch Chelsea enjoy the youth rally hosted by our congregation this weekend.  True to form, I did sneak up into the balcony to look down over the group of kids and check on her.  She looked happy and involved.  Praise and worship time was led by Watershed and she has not stopped singing.

On Sunday we traveled (imagine that) to Mandeville for two games.  She did not get any playing time in the first game.  She did play in the second game.  Our team lost the second game with a score of 5-1.  Guess who scored the 1 ?  That’s right!  Chelsea has now scored a goal in each of the past three games she has played in.

In closing, I would like to take an idea Sandy had and list 12 things about Chelsea:

1. She has a sincere heart.
2. She loves unconditionally.
3. She is innocent in her thoughts.
4. She is a good friend.
5. She is funny, funny, funny.
6. She always cheers for the underdog.
7. She sees the good in people first.
8. She is smart.
9. She is athletic.
10. She is kind.
11. She loves to accessorize (which cracks me up!)
12. She’s crazy about soccer (how could I not mention that one?)

I am blessed with an awesome little girl!

Pensacola Part 2 and Part 3

Part 2 – The Team Dinner

Our team of girls always eats together on Saturday nights during tournaments.  The girls sit at a large table by themselves and the parents and any siblings along on the trip sit close by.  Oh wow!  I was sitting at a table with the parents of 3 other girls and the siblings of 2.  The 13 year old boy’s behavior shocked me beyond belief!  He never stopped moving, reached for everything first, spit lemon seeds through straws, blew straw paper across the table, was rude about how long the food and service was taking (we were a group of 40!) … the list goes on.  This kid’s Mother repeated told him to stop, but it was for show.  She obviously didn’t mean it.  The entire dinner from showing up through leaving took a little over 2 1/2 hours.  It was a long time to be with a 13 year old who did not know how to behave.

Part 3 – THE FINAL GAME

Chelsea scored the winning goal in the final game!!!  Am I sure it was the “winning goal”?  Yes, I am.  The score was 1-0.  She was on the receiving end of a well placed corner kick and used her left foot to kick the ball into the net.  What a great day for her.  All of the parents congratulated her when the game was over.  It was good to see her smile and share her joy.

Prayer Requests

I am interrupting the Pensacola story to bring you two special prayer requests.  Please remember Vicki in prayer today.  She is scheduled for surgery at 10:30.  Vicki is a remarkable woman and a true servant.  Please pray that her surgery is successful.

My second request is for a member of our “soccer family”.  Hannah is a good friend of Chelsea’s and they have developed a special friendship throughout the past two seasons of soccer.  Hannah has been to camp with Chelsea as well as a few youth group activities.  Hannah’s older sister, Kasye, was in a car accident yesterday and was air lifted to the hospital.  Today she will see an ortho doctor and a plastics doctor.  She has a broken pelvis and lumbar spine.  Please remember this entire family in your prayers.

***********UPDATE *******************************************************

SUCCESSFUL SURGERY FOR VICKI – NO CANCER – REJOICE! ANSWERED PRAYERS !

Pensacola Soccer

Pensacola Soccer Part 1 -

Friday morning I was rushing around trying to get just a few more things done for our weekend trip to Pensacola.  I grabbed a jar of peanut butter to make Chelsea a sandwich for lunch and that is when I saw it… the 2111 code on the top of the jar. We had one of the jars of peanut butter that has been making the news.  I opened it, looked inside at the tablespoon of peanut butter remaining in the bottom of the jar, and threw it away.  I gave Chelsea $5 for lunch at school that day.  I know we had already eaten most of the jar, but what if the contaminated part was in that last tablespoon?

The rest of the day seemed to drag on as I watched the clock.  I was excited about getting to Pensacola.  It was about 4:40 and I knew the office was about to close and my 4 day weekend was about to begin.  That’s when it happened; a customer came in to write life insurance.  Now, this is what I do.  It’s what I work for and think about everyday.  I gave her my full attention and ignored the clock.  I was out of the door at 5:15.  Not too bad.  Pensacola here we come!

We arrived at our hotel Friday evening at 10:55pm.  I was asleep before midnight.  Chelsea need to be on the soccer field at 7:30 the next morning. 

I woke up Saturday morning at 5:30 and was greeted by the 29 degree temperature.  By the time Chelsea was dressed and ready to go, the temperature had risen to 31 degrees!  We arrived at the field 15 minutes early and she had a great warm up session.  The first game started at 8:00 and she played the entire first half !  She also had some good minutes in the second half.  When the game was over, the coach told her to eat whatever she had for breakfast, for lunch.  This was a great morning!  If you have been reading long, you know this soccer season has been a struggle. 

We came back from lunch ready for a great second game.  I believe she played all of 6 minutes.  So we experienced everything from high to low that day.  We lost the first game 5-0 to a team from GA and the second game 2-1 to a team from MS. 

Coming Soon: Pensacola Soccer - Part Two: The Team Dinner

Soccer Time

On Monday Chelsea started spring soccer practice with her Premier team.  We encouraged her to go in to this season with a new attitude and leave all of the things from the fall season behind.  She did OK with that until the ride to the field.  Once she got there, she loosened up a little and at the end of the practice she declared she had fun.  She received positive feedback from her coach and from the new assistant.  It helps that the new assistant plays for LSU and Chelsea has known her and watched her play for about 3 years. 

On Tuesday Chelsea did her usual work out at CAP Elite and received many compliments on her work ethic.  One guy who works out there is called “The Rock”.  He’s a pretty fit, muscular guy.  At the end of Chelsea’s work out when she was making sit ups look like a walk in the park, The Rock came over and told her she ran through her work out like a beast.   A woman waiting for her work out to start called Chelsea a machine.  I know this may seem to some as a bit much for a child, but I also know how much she loves it. 

All in all, Chelsea has had a good 2 days getting back into the swing of things.  I am hoping and praying for a positive soccer experience this season.  She loves the sport and I love to hear her say she had fun playing it.