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Our spring began with Stephen taking on another round of swim lessons. He learned how to float and has been perfecting basic strokes. This makes me feel better as he becomes safer in the water. Rhea will get her chance after the first of the year due to her sensitivity issues. Her confidence has improved greatly, but she's not quite ready for group lessons.
Once swim lessons were over, we all headed to church on Saturday mornings for soccer practice. The first three weeks are inside since it was WAY too cold outside. I was especially grateful for this decision. All of the coaches have a chance to get to know the players during this time before choosing teams. Stephen was off and running on the first day and has made many friends that are involved in all the Calvary activities that he attends. Rhea, on the other hand is still in preschool and was pretty much attached to my leg for the first three weeks. The coaches were great and assigned her the perfect coach for the season. Coach Joyce has been incredible with her. Rhea has not only improved with her soccer skills, but her confidence with who she is has improved. Loud sounds still bother her, but she works through the sensitivities with a little help from the people we put in her lives.
Stephen's time with soccer took a different route. He played against his sister's team on the first game and scored five goals. He was pretty excited about that, but his luck turned there. It was a beautiful spring day, which is unusual since it's pretty cold here in the spring, and we decided to take a family bike ride. We thought it would be nice to take the children along in the bike trailers so Tom and I could get a nice ride, and then stop at a playground on the way home. The bike ride was wonderful, but Stephen ended up falling off of one of the playground platforms resulting in a badly broken arm. I spent the rest of the night with him in the emergency room since the break was so bad. The doctors had to wait for the right specialist in order for us to go home. He ended up breaking his arm just above the elbow in three different places and had surgery a few days later. He was such a trooper!! He was very excited about showing off his green cast and telling people that he had three pins in his arm. Surprisingly, the doctor cleared him to compete in the state Junior Bible Quiz (JBQ) finals just two days after the surgery. We proceeded to drive to Springfield, IL where Stephen took home first place in his division. We are all very proud of his hard work this year in JBQ and I was so happy that he was able to go since I didn't know what the outcome was going to be for the rest of his activities.
Stephen healed quickly and had his cast off just three weeks after the surgery. After another two weeks, he had full range of motion and mobility. An answer to many prayers that were requested! His speedy recovery allowed him to participate in his Royal Rangers (boys scouts at our church) program again AND play soccer. His coach was VERY excited to hear of his return. It has been fun watching both kids play soccer this year with only a few games left before finals. Calvary Church has offered so many wonderful opportunities for the kids, and soccer is one of many.
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Stephen has had a GREAT time in Calvary Royal Rangers this year. One of the big activities was the Pinewood Derby. We had never been to one before, so there was a lot to learn while we were there. Stephen's car did very well and he even won a few races. He was disappointed to not win a ribbon, but I told him that he should be excited with all that we were going to get to learn this coming year about how to build a fast car. He finally came around to the idea after about a week when I ordered a few plan books and researched all of the cool tools for our next car. Santa will also be leaving Pinewood goodies in their stockings!!
The latest Calvary Church activity that the whole family has started has been the martial arts program. Stephen had been taking Karate through the home school co-op, but we decided Stephen needed more of a challenge. We contacted the dojo at our church and after giving it a trial run, we never stopped. It's great to have the whole family involved and it makes mom and dad work harder with the kiddos staring at you. I'll never forget being nervous about my first board break. The kids were very specific with us to break it on the first try without help. No pressure!! Tom and I were successful on our first attempt which really wowed the kids. It was cute to see. We are all challenged by our new endevour. Stephen excels and loves achieving the next level, while Rhea tested and learned the boundaries of her new environment. She has grown so much in all the Calvary programs, but it warms my heart to see her eyes twinkle when she is successful in Karate.
