SHE DID IT!!!

First let me say this.....GOD is Faithful and HE is awesome! He cares about the big stuff, and oh, does He care about the little stuff too!

Natalie just played her last games on Saturday. Their team ended up with 12 wins and 2 losses. Pretty good for a first year team! All season, Natalie has struggled with confidence, while the other girls seem to have a double dose. (one day I will blog about that) While she'd get her hands on the ball, she'd merely pass it along to the one who scored the basket. Sometimes, lacking aggression and confidence, she'd have the ball stolen by some sneaky chick. A few times she'd actually shoot, only to have the ball swirl around teasingly, and then miss the mark. A big "Awwww" from the crowd would follow, with a big "Rats!" from me, her biggest fan. She's clearly not the most athletic on her team. Everyone on the team (except for naturally athletic Aieren) play other sports, while Natalie excels in swimming. I can tell you with assurance that she did her very best! I am so proud of her for not giving up, when sometimes it would have been easy. She didn't whine or complain that she wasn't as fast or as agile as the others. She knew she had to work twice as hard. While I know her scoliosis plays a factor in her balance and coordination and speed, she certainly never used that as an excuse. What a kid.

So, it wouldn't probably surprise you to know that I actually asked some friends to pray for Natalie this past week. I asked that God would allow her to make one basket. Just one. Just give her one moment of glory before the season is done. Everyone else had scored but her. She wasn't dwelling on it at all, she just simply said one day, "I hope it happens." This was my opportunity to teach her something! I said, "Ask God to help you. Then do everything you can to get those rebounds and shoot it right back up there!" I also told her Saturday morning that I could just sense a ferociousness coming out of her that I'd never seen before! I told her, "Today is your day! You are going to get that basket. I just know it!" She smiled and said, "I hope you're right!" I said with confidence, "I know I am!" Then I prayed some more!

I invited people to come since it was in our hometown, and I was so touched to have so many people care to come out and support not just Nat, but the whole team. Thank you Mom, Dad, Jim, Jean, Pam, Aimee, Fred, Amelia, Brayden, Serena, Meagan, Emi, Allison, Toby, Tucker, Lori, and Vince, and for those who couldn't come but prayed for her. With our big group of fans watching, Nat got hold of the ball. I held my breath and clenched my hands. She threw it up there with ease and she scored!!!! Steve jumped to his feet and threw his arms up into the air. The crowd went wild! I stamped my feet on the bleachers just like I told her I would and screamed my head off for my baby!! Grandpa Rogers whistled his ear-piercing whistle for good measure. Let me tell you...It was the best feeling in the world! I quickly gave praise to God for knowing just how important this was to His little girl too. He still manages to amaze me even though I know just how good He is. I truly felt He was there, watching that game with us. Oh, man, that was cool!

Needless to say, Nattie was pretty happy with her one basket out of all those games. Surely her defense and passes and efforts helped her team score too, but at least for us, that one basket will be remembered forever as the "one that won the game".

Thanks again for cheering on our Nat....your love means so much to us!!

Just Call Me "Dino"

I'm not much of an abbreviator

LOL is just not me

Don't care too much for "twitter"

Maybe it's just my "nerd-ity"

Who reads this silly blog of mine

I don't even know

What's the point of all of this

What happened to "hello"?

When friends were "real"

And didn't end in "book"

That's where I want to be

Real faces,

Real voices

Real talking

Over ordinary tea.

Texting, email, instant chat

Blue tooth, i-phone, who really needs that?

A letter in the mailbox, homemade calls,

No cell phone ringing in bathroom stalls.

That's just me. Not a popular view,

But funny, I'm still happy

Without all the "whoop-de-doo"!

If that makes me a "dinosaur"

In your screen-reflecting eyes,

That's a title I can handle

And one that satisfies.

Girls and Dads: A Dynamic Duo

"It is admirable for a man to take his son fishing, but there is a special place in heaven for the father who takes his daughter shopping."

My dad certainly never offered to take me shopping. That was my mom's job! Steve's dad probably never took any of his sisters shopping either. Maybe they were too busy working non-stop, I don't know. More likely, they never thought it was important. Oh, but it is. Take it from this daughter.

Steve loves to hunt, fish, watch sports, and all that other "guy" stuff. You'd think "too bad he didn't get a son". Well, I used to feel bad about that until I saw him with our daughters. They love to hunt and fish with dad, though watching sports on tv may never happen with them. But even if they didn't enjoy those things, Steve has found a way to include himself in their lives. He knows all about their favorite shows, even going as far to laugh at i-Carley (which I can't stand!) with them. He engages them in whatever he is doing, although they don't think taking out the trash is all that much fun. Just last weekend, he and Serena geared up to go shoot with the 22. Serena hit a couple trees (oops), and brought back a leaf with a hole shot right through the center. Daddy did that, and was she proud!

When they were little, he used to play their little girl games: tea party (pinkies up!), and the princess games where you have to keep your tiara on. Sorry, Steve, I just took you off the "cool throne" on that one. The important thing is, Daddy is cool to those girls! Though he can't possibly relate to all the workings of a girl's mind (please, he's married to me!), he puts forth a valiant effort to stay involved. Yes, that includes shopping with them. He has been in many clothing departments with them, helping them pick out clothes and being happy for them when they find what they want. When they were younger, he wanted them to have pretty coats for church, and went and bought them the most beautiful brown fuzzy coats. They looked like little dolls wearing them, and he just beamed. I kinda beamed too. :)

Every little girl has a hero, and most will tell you it's their dad. Little girls say they are going to marry daddy when they grow up. Mine went from saying that to telling me they want to marry someone just like daddy one day. And though my dad never took me shopping or shooting or any of those things, I did know he loved me, and for him, it was the best he could do with what he knew. I married someone with my dad's values, and it worked out pretty well, even without the shopping!

Dads need to understand just how influential they are. From early on, I encouraged Steve to tell his girls they are beautiful, be there for them, talk to them about everything, yes, everything, and they will always talk to you. Don't be afraid to get personal with them, they need that from a male figure! They need to compare every sweaty, pimply-faced boy with their dad and ask if he is worthy to fill those shoes. Girls need to get their love and attention from dad, and chances are, they won't need to seek it in dark places with boys who don't care.

Dads are such a blessing in a girl's life and I hope they really know how much they are needed. I know it "emasculates" some men to have to wear a tiara or have an occasional fingernail painted pink, but to girls it says, "You want to be in my world and I need you there". I think some of the best dads are those with daughters, because they are stretched to be more than who they thought they could become.

Yes, we daughters make those men better men! :) And to dads who shop or put their pinkies up or make deliberate attempts to spend time with their girls, you rock! Keep on rocking, and keep on loving those future well-adjusted, loving women who will one day marry someone just like you.