We had a weekend of basketball (the norm) and I must admit, this was a tough one.  We played some of the best teams in the state - one of them is ranked nationally.  We got our rear ends handed to us, but if we were looking for competition - we found it.  BIG TIME! 

The best part is we love this team and the coaches.  So... if I am going to have to spend all weekend with people, these people are great!  Jacob really has learned a lot under these coaches and we are encouraged at how well he is doing along with his team.  I know it doesn't sound like it, but once we are down on the right level, we will do great. 

Wow - long time since I have been on here.

Can't believe that it has been so long since I have written. Life gets going and I just don't make time to write.

We are all doing great - ok, maybe great isn't the right word, but we are all learning to lean on God a little right now. Stephen's job is very dicey right now and we are not sure how long he will be employed. Stress is very high for him and I am doing my best to keep a calm and peaceful home with no additional stress on him. I am so praying daily for peace, rest and strength for this awesome man I have in my life. He has done nothing but provide a wonderful life for us and I know he feels like if he loses this job, he will be letting us down in some way. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Timothy has been under attack pretty consistantly lately. My heart breaks every time his does. He has had some people in his life really let him down lately. Betrayal is a very hard thing to deal with and he has had to deal with so much of it lately. For some reason, he has been betrayed as the "bad guy" in a situation and we still are not sure why. He has been purposefully left out of a ministry that he has invested in. He has been lied to and shoved aside. The saddest part is the person doing this is suppose to be his mentor. Some one that he has looked up to and respected immensly for years. I on the other hand am very mad - but I guess that is the natural mother response. There are others involved and to say that this has been hard, is not even coming close to how it has felt. The really good part is that it has driven Timothy down to his knees and has made him take a good look at himself and what he wants to be and he has learned some things. Wonderful things and so God has taken ashes and turned them into gold for Timothy. Isn't it amazing how faithful God is and how he is always there for us who believe in Him. the other really neat part is that he has been able to encourage Stephen along this rocky road they are both on right now. Stephen and I have been in awe how our 19 year old has such wisdom and can encourage us - even though we feel like we should be encouraging him.

Matthew is forever amazing me. He is such a goof ball and is always there for a good laugh when all you want to do is cry. But then it moments that just creep up on you, he says something deep and insightful and I am so very proud of the man he is becoming. His faith is strong and is deeper than you would think, because most of the time he is goofing off making you laugh. He will be spending his summer working with a trainer for football, 8 days in Haiti on a mission trip, and a week in Oklahoma on a mission trip. He will be busy, but he wants to do all of this and is looking forward to the things that God will do through him during this summer.

Jacob - my spirited and serious boy. He is busy playing on his travel basketball team. He is becoming a great little basketball player and plays most day and night. He is really coming into his own person and it is fun to watch. I have such 3 different boys and yet all of them are fun and love spending time together. Whenever Timothy is home, they spend most of all that time together.

I think i will end it there - I will add more later - I promise not to wait a year.

Summer

Summer here has been so quiet. A reall change from our normal everyday life. On one hand I have so enjoyed it and on the other I struggle with the down time. I am so use to going, and going that down time is hard for me.


I did start going to the gym. I am taking the body sculture class and zumba.. I have lost no weight, but I do enjoy the classes and do feel good, so I will take that for now.


The boys have been real low key this summer. They had one football camp that was one night. That is all. Football starts in a couple of weeks. So all this down time will end and the craziness will start.


Matthew will be playing Varsity football and Jacob will be on the middle school team. Timothy will play on the JV team at Birmingham Southern. They are giving him a Varsity number (different that JV number because different position) So we will see how this year goes with him. He is looking forward to it. So our weekends will be all football. Jacob on thursday or sat, Matthew on Friday nights, and Timothy on possibly sats and suns. I am true fooball mama, so this will be fun!

Me and Stephen are going away this weekend. We need some along time before football sets in. With his job and coaching varsity football, we get no "couple" time during football. So this weekend is going to be about us. I am so looking forward to it. Time alone with my sweetie!

thats all for now,

June

We are back from vacation. We had such a blessed time on the cruise. We had so much fun as a family and with friends (which are really more like family). The boys shut the boat down every night while us old people went to bed. It really was a great time and we enjoyed it so much.

Baseball ended with a surprise. Matthew's team that had only won two games in the season, came back and won the tournament. Not sure how - but we sure were an excited team! Jacob's basketball team ended up going to the state tournament and ended up 6th in the state and invited to nationals. It was a great way to end the season.

Timothy is off in Athens. He seems to be really enjoying himself and starting to have some fun again. I am very excited to see where this will all take him.

Here are some pictures from the cruise...........................

Wow - Time Flies

It is already mid may and I am not quite ready for what is coming at the end. One thing is a blessing and I am so looking forward to - our cruise. We are as a family going on a cruise! Our best friends, the Keelings are going also. This will be so much fun.
The sad part is on Wednesday after we get back, Timothy heads to Athens for the summer. He is interning with a youth minister friend we have there. It will be a great thing for him, after all he has been through lately. He will be there until he reports for football in August. Then he is at school until Christmas. Momma is having a very hard time with this. She is going to miss her oldest born very much!! I have dreaded it for a while, but I really had no idea that it would hurt so deep. For a mom, this is like cutting off part of you she is. He has been a part of our lives, day and night for so many years that it will feel very much not complete around the house if he is not here. Oh, I know that this is a good and natural thing and he is a great man and has a great head on his shoulders. It isn't that I am worried he will screw up real bad - I just plain will miss him and his presence around the home.
I guess I just need to keep myself busy and try and think of it as another stage of life we must go through with God's help. Once again I am thankful for God's faithful mercies everyday.
We are finishing up baseball (thank goodness, they have won only 2 games), football is done until summer camp, and basketball will finish up at the end of May. Jacob's team finally made it to the championship game of one of the tournaments. They lost - but got second - so we are very happy about that! I have VBS the week we get home from vacation. That will be a lot of fun and am looking forward to it.
That is about it. More later,

Michele

Life in the fast lane

Well, it is picking up here at the Howard household. We have travel basketball going on, baseball, and now spring football. To say we don't have a night off is putting it mildly.

The baseball team finally won a game - thank goodness. I thought Stephen was going to never sleep. The basketball team wins about once a weekend. They play some very good basketball teams and have been getting better and better. The most important part is Jacob is getting better. Football- it is weird not seeing Timothy out there.

Timothy and I went and met his new team - Birmingham Southern Panthers this past Saturday. It was nice and he left very anxious to start. He is so looking forward to starting fresh somewhere and keeping busy with school and football. He will be interning at a church in Athens this summer, which also will be nice to keep him busy and focused on more important things.

That is it - we have no time for anything else. Crazy, I know!

Spring Break

We made our annual spring break trip this year. We go every year now for 6 years with my two girlfriends, Tricia and Susan. We take our kids (minus Timothy) and head out somewhere. We try and go somewhere with a little bit of history (for me) and some science (for others). Some years we have had others come with us and the past 3 years Susan's husband and tagged along. This year we headed to Virginia - now for anyone that knows me - (sorry, Tricia) - you know that I want to live there one day. I love Virginia and think is a very beautiful place. I was not disappointed on this trip. We headed to Williamsburg on the first day. We met up with Susan and Marvin in Jamestown and spent the afternoon there. The next day was rainy so we did the Ripley's Museum - which was awesome and then headed to Norfolk to see the Nauticus Museum and the USS Wisconsin battleship. Loved both of these and got to walk along the waterfront and stop and have dinner. The next day we headed to one of my favorite places - Colonial Williamsburg. I just love this place. I so want to work there one day. It helps remind us of where we have been and what brought us to the place we are. I truly believe that the men that lived there in the 1770's really must be looking down at us and wondering how we could mess something up so badly. There was re-enactment and we got to see the drum and fife play. Yes, I was in heaven and so enjoyed the whole day - did I mention the weather was absolutely gorgeous!? On Thursday we headed to Richmond and went to the Holocaust Museum. This museum is free and so well done. The kids got so much out of it. One of the kids said he thought he knew about the Holocaust, but he found out he didn't. Real eye opener. I am so glad that we as a country thought it important enough to fight that war. Millions of Jews were killed but so many were saved because we were there. My grandfather included. We headed to Appomattox the next day and enjoyed that. We actually were there on the anniversary of the surrender by Lee. We also went to the Natural Bridge and Foamhedge. All and all this trip was so much fun and we enjoyed being with everyone. We have had some difficult things to work through here at home and it was nice to get away and just now worry or think about it for awhile.