All Stars

 All 3 boys made the All-Star teams!  Eli played 2 tournaments last week.  One was rained out before completion and the 2nd one was this past weekend.  He did well.  It's difficult at the 8U level because there are rules that they have not played all year long that are in effect for tournament play!  

He played Short Stop, 3rd and Outfield and did well though. His batting wasn't his best, but he did well - and He had fun!

This past Saturday we had 6 games in 1 day!  Talk about crazy!

But these 3 look great in their All-Star uniforms!

Love these Adkins boys!

It was a long day and a hot humid one too, but the boys did well!  Ronnie pitched and had 6 good innings.  Nathaniel did a fantastic job in the field and Eli did well too!  All 3 boys were exhausted after a long day of games!  

Love watching them play and I hate missing their games.  

Have a feeling there will be more and more of multiple games at the same time! 

 

Here Eli and Maddie are watching the big boys!  Maddie borrowed a Bat Boys shirt for the tournament!

Didn't get a picture of the Pee Wee All-Star team, but here is the Little League team.  The boys have played with these boys for 5 years now!  Good group of guys and fun to watch!

 

So now we have one more Little League tournament this weekend and then we can wrap up the 2015 Baseball Season!  

Next year we will add softball into the mix....let the craziness continue!

Lesson in Economics

Ronnie got his first paycheck - which means he also paid his "workers".

They were all pretty excited about the money they had earned!

What followed was an economic lesson from Daddy and then some dividing up!  Each boy decided what percentage they wanted in each category (tithe -minimum of 10%, savings, college, spending).  Below Eli and I are getting a system together!

 After dividing up the money they made - money started coming from all over.  Not sure how long they had been saving it all, but we divided all they had and now they have a system!  Hopefully a lesson this afternoon that will guide them in the years to come!

Update on life

There is always something going on around here!  I've been without access to the Internet for a few days, so I thought I would just email on the last couple of weeks!

 Ronnie was super excited to get this in the mail!  He is official and ready for his 1st Missions trip this summer to El Sembrador, Honduras!

With Ron being on sabbatical this month, we have had the opportunity to visit some of our friends who Pastor and their churches.  Last week when I snapped this picture, the boys had to travel to Ligoneer alone as Maddie was recovering from strep!  Love these handsome men!

There has been some shoveling going on around here too!  Ronnie got his first shoveling job this year and is employing his younger brothers to work with him!  :)

The 3 of them make a pretty good team!

Last weekend we celebrated by Dad's a.k.a. Pap's birthday!  He has been preaching at Ney and Farmer this month for Ron and so they spent the night with us on Saturday.  I made his favorite, beef and noodles and mom made the cake!  We had fun looking through pictures and reminiscing!  

The kids are off school again today!

Race to Play

Yesterday, the boys all three ran in the Ney Park Race to Play (an annual fundraiser for the Ney Park).  This year was different from the last 3 years.  Ronnie and Nathaniel decided to run the 5K.  Eli ran the Kids Run (1/2 mile).

One thing that might be worth mentioning...the temperature!  It was 20 with the windchill on Saturday morning and we woke up that morning to a dusting of snow!  The boys bundled up and were ready to go.  The snow was gone by race time, but it was still very cold.

First was the Kids Run!  Eli ran a fabulous race and surprised us all when he came blazing to the finish line in first place.  He grinned the whole way through the race and had so much fun!

It really was a surprise how well he did - we were very proud!  He didn't train or anything, but did fabulous!  He says next year maybe he will do the 5K!

Ronnie and Nathaniel were next!

 You can see them here with the 2 brown carhart hats at the finish line.

This race was for all ages and while Nathaniel's training has been running with football pads for the last 2 months, Ronnie had been training in running, so we weren't sure how they would both do!

We watched them begin at the finish line and then we drove to the halfway point to check on the boys.  They were both doing well and keeping up their run!

Then back to the finish line. 

Nathaniel came in 9th (28.14) over all and 2nd in the 13 and under age group!  He even got a medal for 2nd place.  He did so well!

Ronnie was just a few behind at 13th (28.51) overall, and 3rd in his age group (13 and under).  He did great, his training paid off.

We are so proud of all 3 boys.  They ran hard and did their best!

Today Eli is complaining that his legs are hurting, but hes talking about starting training now to run the "big race" (5K) next year!

Camping Trip

A couple of weeks ago now, the boys were excitedly preparing for a camping over-nighter!

Eli had gotten this tent for his birthday and other than setting it up, it hadn't been used, it was past time to pull it out!

It took a little bit of time, but finally they were packed up and ready to leave!

And several hours later, their camp sight was set up!

I think they look like "old timers" sitting around talking! :)

They discovered they like to fish!

 

From what I hear, Daddy spent a lot of time untangling lines and fixing poles, but the boys had a blast!

 

 Ronnie even caught this little guy and held onto it just long enough for a picture!

They made memories that will last a lifetime.  Stories that will be told for years to come about crossed lines, the color purple and fun times!

So glad the Adkins boys could enjoy a fun camping trip together!

Week One Wrap Up

Our first week of Baseball this year is down and ended with 3 wins and an unfinished game!  Not a bad start!

Eli's Pee Wee team won their first 2 games and did pretty well!  Eli enjoyed it!

Then on Friday night the Minor league ("brothers") team was to play.  Just before we walked out the door I thought I should check my email.  Turns out to be a good thing.  A parent had emailed and one of our boys had broken his arm.  He's out for several weeks.  We already had 1 boy who was going to be gone for Friday's game, so now we needed a second replacement.  I was worried, but Eli was "called up".  He is VERY young for this league, but we didn't have much choice with only minutes until game time and down one player!  My last instruction was, don't get hit, especially in the head!  

Why I said that, I don't know!  

He got up to bat and of course... "Took one for the team", right in the helmet!

  

He was OK, but it didn't do good for my heart!  

He was so excited he got on base both time up to bat!

 

Nathaniel started out the night on the mound!  He did well until he faced his best friend, Kolton!  He allowed one hit in the 2 innings he pitched (it was to Kolton).  :)

 

The game ended up being called at the top of the 3rd inning.  Not sure when we will finish, but it was a nasty hail, thunderstorm that came through.

So the minor boys won their first game and didn't finish their second!

This week there are 2 minor games and 1 pee wee!  Maddie and I will miss some due to Mother/Daughter banquet and a discipleship meeting.

We're for sure off to a good start in the Adkins home as far as Baseball goes!

Baseball Officially Underway

Officially we are underway!

Ronnie and Nathaniel had their first game last night!  Eli was Bat Boy, but has his first game tonight!  Daddy is coaching both (never again, but we're in it for this year).  Maddie and I are the boys biggest fans!  I hope she still is after 2 months of games, that is yet to be determined!

They had their opening day in Saturday while I was away at the Summit, but a friend took a few really good pics!

He's honestly not that into the game, but he is so stinkin' cute and has such a good attitude!  I think it's just the social part of it he loves.

Maddie was ready last night with her new "Madison" cup and her t-shirt!  I'm just thankful the little 1 yo that we babysit came and sat beside us!  Perfect!  Maddie had company and I could watch the game!

Nathaniel and Ronnie both struggled a bit at batting.  The whole team did.  They were use to faster pitching and that threw them a bit, but  they did well!  Ronnie did so well in fact that his 3rd time up to bat he went left (he's a switch hitter) and nailed it down the 1st baseline.  So far out that he was able to round the bases - GRAND SLAM!  That's the way to start the year!

Ronnie was our lead off pitcher last night and had 5 strike outs in the first 2 innings.  2 batters got on, one a single and one on an error.  This little man looks so confident on the mound.

Nathaniel didn't get to pitch.  He was going to close, but the game was called for time before our final inning!  

They both did well and had fun!

Now tonight it's Eli's turn!  So yes, we are underway with ball season!

Baseball

It's that time of year again!  The big leagues have begun and the little ones are practicing too!  Spring is in the air...finally!

Eli is old enough this year to be on a Pee Wee team (or Pee Weed, as he says it :) ) Although with his broken arm he hasn't been able to do quite as much as he would like.  The plan is to go for the final x-ray on Friday, we'll see!

He is still pretty excited to be the Bat Boy for his brothers team!  That was one of his first questions when we talked to him about playing this year, "can I still be bat boy for brothers?"  Love this little man!

Ronnie has been getting ready to pitch for a while now.  He has some amazing skills (and I'm not just saying that cause I'm his mom).  He really is talented!  

Somehow I didn't get a close up of Nathaniel when Maddie and I went to watch last week, but he is doing great too.  Has a very strong and accurate arm and may even see some outfield this year.  He has been working on pitching again too!

So Baseball is underway around here!

I know it has been a LONG time since I updated the blog, especially when my Dad asks when I'm going to update.  I didn't even know you read this Dad, thanks!

Anyway, A lot is going on around here and continues to go on.  With 4 kids, 2 churches and babysitting 6-8 kids - it's really never calm!

3 weeks ago now, Ron's parents came for a visit.  We hadn't seen them since July and we were all happy to hug them and spend a little time together!  

 Then last Tuesday Ron's dad had an outpatient surgery.  Frances has been home to take care of him and he is improving and doing well.  We take off this evening to spend a few days with them, celebrate Thanksgiving and haul fire wood  for Grandpa! :)

These 4!  

They are so much alike!  

All 3 boys wanting to be like their Daddy!  

All 4 adorable and fun and crazy and just boys! 

(their eating apples in the picture)

Last weekend the boys went on their first ever hunt - they went coon hunting!  Despite how this picture looks (I was holding them up for my picture) they were so excited!  They went with a friend and his kids!  By the time they got home they were cold and had lots of stories.  Unfortunately, Ronnie was helping out another little boy and got soaked feet (inside his boots) his toes were purple when he got home.  Thank the Lord, He was watching out for these guys and there are no long term effects!

Maddie has been by little helper this fall.  We have 6 kids on a regular basis and then 2 more that come before and after school!  It is a lot, but they are really good kids.  This picture below is so cute.  Maddie is "reading" to the kids.  She has begun reading some, but in this pictures she is making up her own story to a new library book and the others are just taking it all in!

All 4 of mine love this little gal. This is Aubrie.  She is 8 months old and so cute!  It's kinda weird having a baby in the house again!

We had a little Thanksgiving celebration today with Pilgrim hats!

They really are great kids and we have a lot of fun together.  Hopefully they learn a little bit too!

So now, we are 2 days from Thanksgiving and planning to spend some time with Ron's parents!  I'm looking forward to snuggling up in front of the wood burning stove!  Then on to have another Thanksgiving meal with my parents and brother's family.

Ryan remains in the hospital, in fact was sent back to ICU just yesterday for what they believe to be an infection.  We're still waiting on test results.  He continues to need prayers as He fights!  We continue to seek the Lord and ask for healing!  Thank you for praying with us.

As I mentioned, life is busy!

We are good, I'll try to be more consistent in keeping everyone updated, (even you Dad)!