May 7

I looked out the window at some point this afternoon and my brain registered seeing Adam in the hammock and Isaac up on the hill pulling weeds from the joints between the stepping stones.

My initial response was to think 'aw, look at my boy up there pulling weeds all on his own. What a good kid.'

And he is indeed a good kid. An excellent one, in fact. 

But what my brain registered wasn't the reality of the situation, as I learned at dinner. No, the reality was that Adam was up on the hill pulling weeds and then Isaac eventually joined him. What I thought was Adam lying in the hammock was actually him walking by the hammock after depositing an armload of weeds in the green bin.

My initial interpretation was only partly correct; in order to get the full story, I had to ask about it -- I needed help. Life is so often like this: we think we know what's going on when we actually don't. We make judgments about people or situations without knowing the full story. So today I'm thankful for the reminder that I need to step back and see the full picture rather than jumping to conclusions.

May 6

It was cool, overcast, and intermittently drizzly all day long, but it's a Saturday so there was baseball to be played.

After Isaac's doubleheader wrapped, he, Adam, and Abby joined me and Adam's dad to watch Brady and the Phillies win their game at the Sports Park. We got an extra special treat when Brady launched his first triple of the season well into right center. It's always satisfying to see either of my boys really get ahold of a pitch, so it was a blessing to be able to whoop and holler and to feel that jolt of excitement over his achievement.

And beyond that, it's a blessing that Adam's parents are close by and that his dad was on-hand to see a good game. I love that he knows my kiddos and that they know him. 

So yeah, it may have been a chilly day, but my heart is warm nonetheless.

May 5

My one and only girl is home for the summer! 

Thunderstorms delayed her connector in Denver and Isaac's baseball practice ended early, so we were all unexpectedly available to load into the car to pick her up from the airport early this evening. And I had the honor of meeting her at baggage claim while Adam and the Brositos circled the terminal until were ready to go.

After her first choice for dinner --CPK-- offered up a whopping one-hour wait time, Abby opted for the Cheesesteak Shop instead, so that's where we went. And we sat around the table and ate and talked and just... were.

So today, I'm grateful that my girl is back under our roof for a few months so she can animate BearBear and watch terrible Lifetime movies and dance to the SVU theme song. And so our family can once again be as together as it's possible for us to be. Because that is one of the biggest blessings of all.

May 4

Brady had a game this evening and Adam finished work early, so we swung past the high school to pick up Isaac from his not-practice (apparently his teammates didn't feel like practicing so they didn't; he was bummed out and told me so repeatedly) and headed over to the Sports Park.

It wound up being a quick (1:20) but dramatic win for the Phillies. For his part, Brady went 1 for 3 and did some great work with the glove on defense at first base. 

It was a chilly evening out there on the bleachers, but I got to share a blanket with my middle son. And I got to hear his thoughts on the strike zone. (The second pitch that was called a strike during Brady's first at-bat? Totally a ball.) And I got to watch him hop up periodically so he could saunter over to the dugout to exchange words with his little bro.

Winning is nice and I'm grateful for the team's success, but the other stuff -- those things are the sugar cubes that sweeten life.

May 3

It rained on and off today which meant that the freshman game on the calendar was canceled. But otherwise, it was a normal Wednesday.

And that meat that this guy and I had our customary time at the Mother Ship this morning before I shuttled him over to the middle school for class.

Time is a blessing. And spending it with my kids doing little things like this is a blessed use of my minutes.

May 2

Brady had a game on the calendar so we weren't expecting to have a date night, but a late-afternoon downpour accompanied by a few flashes of lightning and claps of thunder led the city to close the fields. So off the boys went to Youth Group for the first time in several weeks and off we went to Strizzi's for dinner.

And I have to say, it was so, so lovely to sit there in that charming space downtown sipping my glass of Primavera prosecco --one of my favorite kinds-- as Adam shared about his day of work.

It was such a blessing to have a few unexpected moments to reconnect and just be. (And the yummy food didn't hurt much, either.) So for that, I am grateful.

May 1

It's been a challenging baseball season for Isaac. But today, he got a start. 

He began the game in right field and then platooned with a teammate between there and second base for the remainder of the game. Not a lot of balls came his way, but he did successfully turn a near-disaster into a great catch.

He also contributed to the winning effort from the plate by going 2 for 3 with a pair of singles (although admittedly, one of them was probably an error. But he made contact each at-bat, so that's something to be happy about given how few plate appearances he's had).

I'm proud of him and grateful to God for gifting him with a strong sense of perseverance. I'm proud that he's continued being a good teammate in the face of circumstances that would frustrate most. And I'm proud that he went out there (in this suddenly windy, chilly 50ish degree weather) and had a good time playing ball. Like he used to. And like I fully believe he will once again.