Party in Nashville...

Last weekend I spent in Nashville with this amazing group of people! We were a room full of regular people who just happen to have the privilege of leading Mission Teams to share Christ's love to orphans, around the world. It was humbling, yet invigorating to hear incredible stories and share ideas. It left me enthusiastic for this summer's Visiting Orphans trip, anxious to see what God has in store.

Rockin the T-Dome!

This weekend was an amazing experience in the Tacoma Dome, and even more memorable than last year's experience. Why you ask? Because Joshua met his goal of a top three finish by ending up in second place! He lost the championship round just 4-2, and put out his best effort.

Friday morning he started out a bit rough, but a win is a win;) That evening he guaranteed a trip to the podium by beating the top ranked kid at state.  Saturday morning was a wild ride against a regional champ who had beaten the eventual champion just the weekend before, so Josh knew he would be tough. Watch this video clip of highlight's to see Josh's reaction (about 37 seconds in). He almost got pinned, then rolled the kid and wondered why the ref whistled to stop the play. Silly Josh didn't realize the ref had signaled a pin, catapulting him into that evening's championship round.



All the kids that medal for each school parade in before the finals. Since their are five classifications, multiple weight classes, and eight medalists at each weight, there are over 700 kids that march in. It is a very memorable part of the weekend. Here you can see Josh and his teammates marching in.

For the finals, Josh faced a kid who had beaten him twice previously this season, Morgan Smith. In the quarter finals, Morgan beat the kid who beat Josh the past two weekends at districts and regionals (Four of Josh's five season losses. The other one was against the kid who won the 2A championship Saturday).  Josh has known Morgan the past couple of summers from camp, and the two have a mutual respect for one another. It was a great match to the finale, and Josh held his head high when it was all over.  Dad was just of proud of Josh's fight in the loss as he was earlier that day in the win, and that's saying a lot!  I took this shot of Mike and Josh leaving the mat together for the final time. A bit bittersweet...

After many hugs and cheers, here he was on the podium...

Josh's number one fans, minus the two little ones that were up playing in the stands.....

Did you notice Josh's Aange haircut from Avatar? It's cut into a purple arrow. I think it gave him super powers for the weekend. If you can't see he has notches in his eyebrow too!  He and his team mates were coloring their hair and giving one haircuts Friday night for team bonding!  See the resemblance?

There's a nice article in the local newspaper that you can find here. If you are really bored, you can go watch his entire championship match at the WIAA site. You can fast forward through other matches to get to the 160 pound match.

Thanks to friends and family who have supported Josh this past weekend and put up with my proud mom and wife stories!

Spare A Rose, Save A Child...

Although Type 2 Diabetes rates are rising in China, Type 1 is nearly nonexistant. However, as I work with the children in the orphanage each summer, I can't help imagine what the future would hold for that child. No doubt their life expectancy would be cut short.  That's why I am excited about this Valentine Campaign, to raise funds for those children around the world who cannot afford the insulin and supplies to stay alive. Please consider joining me in buying one less "thing" for your sweetheart and investing in a life by donating to the Life for a Child campaign.

Early Valentine Post....

Since we will be traveling to the state wrestling tournament on Valentine's Day, I thought I'd do an early post.

Here's one of the simple yet many reasons I love my husband: He's not too macho to do his own ironing (thanks to the Navy for the training), while still manly and watching Walking Dead (yes, a zombie show Josh got him hooked on) while doing so!

That's My Men....

So in my last post I referred to Josh and Mike as "My Boys," so after another stellar weekend, I decided they earned the title of "My Men!"

Recognize the kid on top the podium? Yep, Josh lost in the finals to the same kid as last week. All four of these boys move on to next weekends state tournament. Brackets will be posted online later today, so we don't know who Josh wrestles yet. We are hoping for a possible rematch in the championship, because the third time is the charm, right?

Yep, Mike repeated last week's performance too, earning the respect of his fellow coaches to earn the Region 1 Coach of the Year Honors. And yes, he can have a chance to win at state too:)

Even better, the whole family got to be together to celebrate these honors. But with two silly girls, this was the best of the photos we got! State begins Friday, but with Kellen's work schedule he can't make it down until Saturday. Some grandparents and other friends are planning on coming to cheer Josh on too. Should be a memorable finish to his high school wrestling career.

To top it off, all nine boys wrestlers that made regionals made state, and we are pretty sure that's an OHHS record. Two girls also qualified for the girls state tournament, which is also held at the Tacoma Dome.

That's My Boys....

Spent this beautiful Saturday afternoon in a gym, but wouldn't trade cheering on my son and hubby for anything!  Josh ended fought hard and ended up second place at sub-districts today to a tough 170 pound kid that dropped down to Josh's 160 pound weight class for playoffs. Josh will most likely meet up with him again in the championship round of next week's regional tournament, so he and dad are already analyzing and planning for that.

Sorry for the far off shot, but they wouldn't let us on the floor and I only had the iPad. Josh is in purple;)

Speaking of Mike, for the second time in three years, he learned he was selected Coach of the Year this season! Way to go Babe:)

The only thing to bring us down is the fact that we came home to a house with no heat, as our heater is not igniting.  Going to be in the 30's again tonight...wishing I had an electric blanket!