MOLD and SHAPE!

It is SO exciting to see who God puts in my children's lives to help Mold and Shape them into the AMAZING little people they're becoming.  Whether it is a teacher, friend, coach... I LOVE to see how GOD uses these people to assist in the development of my kiddos characters.  I like to take those opportunities and REALLY express my gratitude for their POSITIVE influences in my kids lives.  I recently sent a letter to Makinzi's Softball Organization sharing my thoughts and THANKS to their board of directors for an 

AWESOME Assistant Coach!  

...A definite way to a this Momma's ♥ heart ♥ is the kindness given to my little ones from someone else.   :) 

SO.... SOFTBALL is EXCITING to watch! The dynamics that create a TEAM: the parents, players, coaches, assistant coaches, etc are amazing to watch evolve into life-long friendships, lessons learned, etc...  We all had a GREAT Season! It is a FUN sport and it's FUN to get to know different people!  It's also COOL to be able to cheer on our lil sweetie playing Catcher, Left Field... or wherever! - Erik and I (and Madi) aren't real SPORTY people... so we are really enjoying this spectator sport! I'm afraid we may have reached that

CRAZY ,SUPER FAN status! :O) ha ha!

 We are already EXCITED for the NEXT Softball Season to Start - already looking for GREEN AND ORANGE things! :) ...Here are a FEW FUN pictures from my Dear Friend JUNE who took such AMAZING care of my little one at Nationals in Bloomington, Indiana!
(THANKS JUNE!) :)

A Letter of THANKS:

As a Mom of two kiddos, I always think it is important to highlight any POSITIVE influences in my kids lives.  Besides the impact we make on our kids, as parents, there are SO many people that help shape and mold our little ones. Kinzi, my  11 year old, played up this year on Bruce H.’s  Second year 12U team.  Bruce had a lot of dad helpers, assistant coaches, score keepers, cheerleaders (that’s me ha! ☺) etc… But, I just wanted to mention one person in particular – one person that really stood out to our family!  From tryouts to the very last practice before the girls hopped on the plane to Nationals, DAVE left a lasting impression on our family and with our little player!

Besides all the awesome contributions he made ALL year – at the very last practice he pulled Kinz aside and told her how proud he is of the progress she made this year, hitting, catching, fielding and the player that she is becoming!  He praised her for being one of the most improved players on the team and encouraged her to keep working hard. (THANKS DAVE!!! ☺)  I think there is a fine balance of barking at the girls when they make mistakes (which they DEFINITELY need… to make the necessary corrections to help them become a better player) and then affirming the things they do well! ☺ I am thankful for Dave – in keeping this balance.  Also, this is the first year Makinzi spent any time playing in the outfield.  Dave would stand out in Left or Right field with her and help her by giving her technical skill advice, tips, tricks, additional reps, etc – to help her become a better outfielder. 

Dave is an AWESOME volunteer with no kid of his own on the team – showing up to all the practices, games, etc… because of his PASSION and LOVE for the sport – WOW! - I don’t know too many people who would make such a substantial time dedication! Dave lifted my daughter up, encouraged her, pushed her and most importantly, he BELIEVED in her!  It is amazing what sort of transformation can happen in a player when someone believes in them. ☺ As mentioned before, Dave also has a nice balance of correcting the kids and then adding some much needed affirmations. He didn’t have favorites, he was AWESOME to ALL the kids.  He has a wonderful, caring, giving, and kind character! He was always excited to see the girls, joke with them, understand them, work with them…  At game time he always showed up with a smile on his face, ready and excited to conquer our opponents!

As Kinz steps down from this team and plays at her age level next year on a different team, our family will definitely miss Dave’s positive influence on our little player – he has made us all ENJOY softball even more (…and we are total die hards! ☺)  We believe he brings so much LIGHT, enthusiasm and HOPE to each player trying to reach their utmost potential… and we have appreciated him BIG Time!




THANK YOU DEAR JESUS - for the positive and the not so positive people that you put in our lives - to learn and grown from!  Thank you for Molding and Shaping us to GLORIFY you God! ♥