Chocolate bubbles!!!!!!

Last week, during Jill's visit, we had the "Lehman" side of the family over to eat and visit with Jill's family. Jenna (almost 6), Luke (4...today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY), and Rylee (3) had lots of fun playing together outside. They started out playing on the swings. At one point, I asked if anyone wanted to go out front and play with chalk and bubbles. Rylee said "YEA! Chocolate bubbles!!". I think chocolate bubbles might have been a little less messy!! They started out playing with bubbles, and then moved on to chalk. Somewhere in the middle, Rylee tried to pour bubbles from a gallon jug and poured them all down our driveway. Immediately all three were stomping in the bubbles.....and then they decided it would be fun to color in the bubble mess with chalk!! By the end, the three of them AND our driveway were colored with bright blue bubble chalk!!

Look who came to visit....

Jill, Marc, Luke and Mia arrived at our house last Tuesday afternoon and left this morning. We loved having them stay with us. Jacob and Jenna loved having Luke and Mia here. It was so fun to have a baby at our house again...even if it was for just a few days. AND Aunt Amy loved taking photos of them!

During their visit we got together with family, watched Jacob's baseball game and Jenna's t-ball game, went to the zoo, played in the sprinkler, went swimming, and of course ate ice cream!! I have lots of photos from their visit....so be sure to check back over the next few days!

These are photos of all of us spoiling baby Mia. Even Uncle Chris managed to hold her a few times during their visit. As usual, I didn't make it into one single photo. UGH! I wish I would have thought of it while they were here.

Tag....I'm it

I was "tagged" by Andrea (thanks again for visiting my blog...come back anytime!):

Four of my favorite jobs:
1. teacher (especially right now during summer vacation)
2. Photographer
3. Mommy
4. nanny/babysitter

Four of my favorite local places
1. Rocky Top (ice cream)
2. Smiley Park during baseball season
3. my neighbor's pool
4. Our new High School

Four of my favorite foods
1. ice cream
2. lasagna
3. garlic bread with cheese from Myle's
4. chocolate

Four of my favorite international places
(I've never visited any...but I'd like to go to....)
1. Italy
2. Greece
3. Paris
4. Australia

Four names of people I am tagging:
1. Brenda
2. Jill
3. Lisa U.
4. Kara

Jenna's turn....

Jenna decided she wanted to play t-ball this year. Tuesday was her first game. For those of you who have never experienced t-ball, you just don't know what you're missing. It's quite entertaining! Jenna did pretty well and had lots of fun! She tried to hit the ball when it was pitched to her (by an adult), but missed. She ended up using the tee and got a hit right away. She was really excited about her shirt and hat. Here are just a few photos from her first game. I think she looks like "Chicken Little" in the last one. :)

A decade....

Today Jacob turns 10 years old. It's hard to believe that he is 10 already....that sounds too old! HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY TO THE BOY WHO HAS BECOME A.......
-baseball player
-reader
-straight A student
-sensitive boy
-competitor
-basketball player
-music lover
-playstation player
-Yankees fan
-brown eyed boy
-big brother
-Cougar fan
-ESPN watcher

-piano player

-perfect kid

Happy 10th Birthday Jacob!

Still more baseball photos....

Just a few more baseball photos to share. The first 2 are Jacob catching. I was nervous about him being catcher, but he really loves it...and does a good job at it. The last 3 are photos I took during one game when I went into the dugout to get some up close and personal shots (Chris loved that!!) Jenna has her first t-ball game on Tuesday...so be sure to check back for t-ball photos!

We want a pitcher, not a belly itcher....

As promised, more baseball photos! Jacob has been pitching in almost every game. He absolutely loves it and does a pretty good job. It's been fun to watch him! AND...stay tuned for still more baseball photos.

The last 3 photos were taken during the same pitch - I like the way they show his whole process. And, yes....he is crying in the picture where Chris is talking to him on the mound. I know...there is NO crying in baseball (which is what Chris is telling him), but it had been an emotional day.

For those who asked, here is a list of his remaining games. Unfortunately, the season starts early and ends early, so there aren't many games left. He may play in a few upcoming tournaments though.
5/30 - 5:30pm
5/31 - 6:30pm
6/5 - 8:00pm
6/7 - 6:00pm
6/12 - 6:30pm
tournament - 6/14, 6/15, 6/20

Take me out to the ball game.....

It's baseball season at our house! Jacob is playing in the "on deck league" for the second year. His games started the beginning of May and will end in mid-June. This kid LOVES baseball - he loves to play, loves to practice, loves to watch it, and loves to sit and study his baseball cards. It's so fun to watch him play because you can tell he really knows the game and knows what he's doing. This year he has gotten to pitch in almost every game. I think he would pitch every inning of every game if the rules (and his Coach - who just happens to also be his Dad) would let him!! When he's not pitching, he is either playing shortstop or catcher. He does a great job at all 3 positions. Right now his team is 3-4. They have a very young team this year, so next year their record should improve.

Of course, I have taken lots of baseball photos. In fact, I have so many I want to share that I am going to have to share them in multiple posts over the next few days. So.....we'll start with batting. He has done really well this year and has had at least one hit in every game. He's really improved in hitting since last year...but of course he and Chris work on it a lot.

BATTER UP!!!!

.....on base after hitting

....and he scores!

So proud of this guy.....

Each year the top students in the senior class choose a teacher who has had an impact on their education. The write a letter to the teacher, which is read during a banquet honoring Van Wert teachers. This year Chris was chosen as one of those teachers. This is actually his second time receiving the honor - he also was chosen 4 years ago. The timing was perfect - we really needed something positive to happen. I knew about it ahead of time and had to keep the secret, but Chris didn't find out until the day before the banquet. It's hard to keep a secret when you have good news to share!! The student who nominated him, Sarah, had Chris as a teacher for freshmen English and has been in journalism for the past 3 years and they have developed a close relationship. Her letter was very complimentary and described Chris perfectly. During the past 4 weeks, Sarah and her family have been very supportive to us. She has babysat several times while we've made trips to the hospital, they provided a meal, they've visited us at the hospital, and have been keeping us in their thoughts. It's so nice to have students (and their families) who genuinely care....and to have them recognize awesome teachers like Mr. Covey.

5.23.07 - Update

Ryan and Becca's brother in law has set up a website so people can check on updates on Becca. Please check it out: www.prayers4becca.com

We went to visit her last night and she was the most alert we have seen her since her surgery. Her eyes were open during the entire hour we visited. She seemed to track us and tried to focus on the person speaking. It was good to see her doing that. At the same time, we also saw her display emotion for the first time - she looked like she was trying to cry. It's sp very hard to watch her go through that!! We are a little more encouraged each day and hope that this pattern of small improvements continues. She is going to be moved to a different hospital later this week to begin rehab, which will be pretty intense.

We are constantly asked "What can I do to help?" Our answer has always been to continue praying.

Pray for:
-Becca - pray that she continues to show signs of improvement and pray for strength as she begins rehab

-the entire family - pray for patience and strength as we support her during the rehab. It's already been a very long road for us...and there is still a long way to go.

-us (Chris and Amy) - pray for us as we continue to try to balance our schedule of hospital visits, teaching, time with Jacob and Jenna, and every day things around the home. We are constantly trying to juggle our schedules, and even though it is exhausting at times, we know that we are doing the right thing.

-Jacob and Jenna - pray for patience - they have been waiting a long time to see Aunt Becca, and they are going to have to continue to wait even longer. It's difficult to explain everything to them. Pray that they will have a small sense of understanding and not be afraid.

-the doctors - They have been amazing so far. Pray for continued guidance as they work with Becca, especially since she will be working with a whole new set of doctors, nurses, and therapists once she moves to a different hospital this week

It's been a while.....

Wow...it's been a while since I've updated. In fact it's been a while since I've even taken photos. But this weekend I finally took out my camera and snapped some photos. I won't even begin to go into all the details of why I haven't been updating. I will say THANK YOU for all overwhelming amount of support and prayers for Becca and our family over the past four weeks. I truly believe that prayer is very powerful. Please continue to keep Becca in your prayers. Also please keep Ryan and the rest of our family in your thoughts and prayers as we support each other and deal with everything - we continue to need strength, patience and faith.

Jacob asked tonite how he could find verses in his Bible about praying for Becca. I showed him how to use the concordance in the back of his Bible and he looked up verses about praying. I have heard this verse many, many times before, but I really liked the way that it was worded in his Bible. I think it pretty much says it all:

Phillipians 4:6 Don't worry about anything; instead pray for everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all He has done.


PS I finally updated with some new photos below and plan to post more updates over the next few days.

Dance, dance, dance

Jenna's dance recital was this weekend. She has been looking forward to it since dance classes started again this past fall. She was in three dance classes this year - jazz, tap, and ballet. She couldn't wait to put on her costumes and perform. She did a great job! She knew every single move to each routine and had great rhythm! We were so proud of her (and glad to know that we got our money's worth out of the classes - ha ha!). Below are a few photos from Friday's dress rehearsal. I apologize for the quality of some of the photos....I haven't yet mastered photography in dark auditoriums with lots of movement!

Jazz - "Born to Be Wild" (She's in the back row/middle - behind the boy)

Tap - "Johnny Be Good" (She's in the front row - 3rd from the right)

Ballet - "You'll Be In My Heart"