Ethnic Scrapbooking

AWESOME GOALIE

I was trying to keep my posts this month related to Black History...well in a sense this post is...at least my son is making Black History in our immediate family by being the first to play soccer and play goalie...come to think of it, outside of his team mates he's the only black goalie I've seen on the field for the past three years.

Any wooo...this is a post to brag on my JONNY.  He's playing in an indoor league (crazy club plays year round soccer that keeps me on the road 5-6 days a week) and it's challenging because of the small space.  Tonight, he was on FIRE...yes it was a close game with boys a couple years older than our guys, but it was exciting.  Jonathan played his butt off!

Jonathan's confidence was so high tonight, he steps out of the goal box and from this spot on the field, 3/4 of the length of the field mind you, he kicks the ball straight into the goal for a score!  The GOALIE scores a GOAL!  His team went wild!

note to self:  scrapbook this historical event

 

End of a season

Jerin's first season of being a Bowie High School POM (drill team for us old schoolers) has come to an end.  Practices started back in the spring, went through the summer and were 4-5 days a week through the fall.  It was grueling for her and me.  The rules and regulations surrounding the 23 team members will make basic training at Parris Island seem like Vacation Bible School.  I'm not sure I would have survived at her age.  (Come to think about it, I did have my own character building sophomore year when I didn't make majorettes)

I'm so proud that she hung in there, performed in every performance and actually had FUN...for those of you who know Jerin that was a biggie.  She grew as a teenager, having to deal with the "girl drama", maintaining her studies (all Honors and AP classes), taking the PSAT and a slew of other



 
standardized tests, a babysitting job as well as the chores at home, attending family events and sibiling games.

As a reward to memorialize this high school experience I did a photo shoot of her in the yard.  It was fun to do, the neighbors all came out and congratulated her and I've never seen her smile  so much as she has in the last few months.

Vesta and Candy, thanks for coming to the games, the last one was a killer...it was about 40 degrees in the sun!

 

GO SHARKS!

My five year  old's soccer team finished up the season undefeated for the SECOND YEAR IN A ROW!  These little guys are fierce!!!  They may fuss and fight at practice and cry quite a bit, but they know and love soccer...they beat everyone no matter their size.  Only two goals (I think it was only one) were scored on them all season!  This weekend they take on 7 year olds in a tournament! (Pray for dry weather)

Front page photo of the SPORTS section!

Note:  To all my scrapbooking friends...I need some shark stickers and embellishments!

 

A Day in the Life

I'm back...it's getting harder to blog...I envy those who can keep up with blogging everyday.  Praise God, the only thing I do consistently everyday is wake up and brush my teeth.

I have so much to share with you though...about life, race relations, Michael Jackson, scrapbooking and more...

To all of you who have sent me questions about scrapbooking, I'm trying my best to get caught up on responses, to those who sent messages to get blogging...here goes.

Today, it was Soccer, Soccer and Cub Scouts (10:30 am - 8:00 pm) quite a full day!  Life has been extremely busy around here with Jerry's new position with the State of Maryland, my consulting business and speaking engagements, Biology field trip to Florida, Vision Therapy, Violin practice, sleep studies, knee problems, soccer 7 DAYS A WEEK, my Dad's minor stroke (last week), cub scouts, a new reader in the house, Sierra, Tavien here and there and to top it off I signed up for a six week online scrapbooking class.

 
GOALIE KICK (my latest soccer term) Jonathan is enjoying his half of being the goalie...no goals scored on his watch today!!

 
Joseph is a goalie too!!!  His team is so good, he didn't even get to touch the ball.   

 

S'MORES with the cub scouts...my absolute FAVORITE ACTIVITY!
 

Family Support

Well here's part of the crew wearing the Leah shirts I made for her meet last week.  They were quite a hit.

I think Joseph summed it up...or should I say thumbed it up.

It's official!

I'm  bonfided soccer mom.  Last weekend was the first time I watched my child in a real soccer game.  He's very good...but that's coming from his mom....soooo....

I can't wait to create a scrapbook page about how this activity can connect you to so many other cultures who love futbol too.

Customizing T-shirts

On our way to a gymnastics meet.  I made all of us t-shirts with Leah on the front (and a few tote bags too) to show our support.  She's super nervous at meets and I just want to help boost her confidence.

Had to make a customized shirt for baby Joseph too...he was feeling left out with everyone else's Spring sports.  So you can see I got my craft on last night!

Making News Again!

I've had a number of conversations with my kids this month regarding Black History Month.  I'm trying to convey to them that it's not just only about celebrating the "heroes" of our past, but those that are still making history today.  They asked my Dad if he met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and I commented that by them meeting Dominique Dawes, they've met someone who was a "First/Hero" in their field.  To really bring it home, I told them about how there Dad was the first black volunteer fire fighter at the Takoma Park station, how there mom was the first black featured baton twirler in her high school...how my book is the first multi-cultural inspired scrapbooking idea book and how Leah's Gymnastic team is making "first history" in our county and state in the competitive gymnastic world.

My daughter Leah is mentioned in an article about the success of her Gymnastics team.  Being a predominantly black team in competitive gymnastics...now that's being a part of Black History.

CLICK over to my book website and take a peek about my interview with a local newsreporter.

Finally! - First Gymnastics Meet

Leah has been training in competitive gymnastics for 2.5 years without ever competing.  This past weekend was her very first meet, although she didn’t get to do the floor exercise, she did her best in the three other events (Beam, Vault & Uneven Bars). 

As a parent, I was thrilled that she has stuck with it…the grueling 15 hours conditioning she does a week, the late nights of practice when she starts school at 7 a.m., the events she misses while she’s at practice.  I am thrilled that the siblings endured all the trips to the gym, the waiting, the half day long meet to watch her perform a minute and half routine, and the hour long award ceremony without complaining.  Being in a competitive sport is a family affair, it doesn’t just affect the participant, that’s the main reason why I tell my kids to pick a sport and expect to stick with it for a while.  We are all invested in each other (kind of like a Presidential Candidate). 

This sport has been a learning experience for my husband too, he didn’t experience childhood with a sibling nor the dedication of a parent to get you to/from practices and pay all the heavy fees.  I’m probably more open to the realities of kids and sports because I was a competitive baton twirler for 13 years and then coached a team for another 10 years.  Much of who I am today is largely in part to those experiences…when I want to give up on so many adult things (like parenting, career, marriage, my BOOK) I remember what I went through and what I overcame to be the best baton twirler my high school ever saw…no lie, at least that’s what my band director said 20 years later.

Football and memories?

Now how do those two really go together?  Especially if you are not at the stadium seeing the game live?  Well last weekend as I watched my two favorite football teams lose playoff games, I tinkered around in my scrapbook room.  My 7 year old son, Jonathan sat and watched the Steeler game with me and asked if he could help make some cards with me.  I was just using up scraps from a previous project and really didn't have anything for him to do.  He saw me inking the edges of paper and said he could handle that, so I turned over the ink pad and my perfectionist attitude and he went to work.  Here's what we made together as we talked about school, football, sports and anything elese that was on his mind. We had some real mother/son bonding time...which he asked for months ago.  What a precious memory that was.