We went on a whirlwind trip home this weekend! And nothing helps a long road trip like caramel, double brownie fudge blizzard!!!
We went home for an event as Gunnar's church which was AMAZING!! But it just so happened that CVG was hosting their meet the same weekend so I got to go watch my old level 5s compete and see all my kiddos! I even ended up entering scores for beam and getting to hang out with the new Mrs Gomez!
Taylor, level 8, is the oldest girl still on the team and I got to have a good catch up conversation with her! I've been keeping up through texting but it was good to have a real conversation! I sure love that girl and I know the Lord has good things for her life!
Apparently the cool thing to do that weekend was to "fishtail" your ponytail!
G-Money!! I sure miss that girl! She got to show me her new level 7 routine though which made me really happy! It was really fun getting to see everyone and have them all excited to tell me all the news and their new skills, crashes, and stories! The current level 5s. Sure am proud of those girls! Especially, Mary Grace (the one in my lap)!
So Penny got a new friend and he has a strange thing going for him.....
...............................He has two thumbs on each foot!! or maybe he has 6 fingers?!?! Not really sure... Kinda cool looking huh?! Oh and yeah totally didn't even think about taking a picture of the whole kitty! haha
Two posts in two days! What is this world coming to?!?! Last night Gunnar and I and the boys had some fun cooling off and chillin out in the pool! Gunnar showin' some skillzz
And as per usual with any group of normal healthy guys there will be wrestling, dunking, tackling, ganging up on the girl, and ball chunking involved!!
And a certain amount of acrobatic feats to impress each other....
(he said he smashed his head and is pretty sure his feet touched his head about .5 seconds after this picture was taken)
So we all had a lot of fun and of course I was the only one who thought to pick up the camera but I was there I promise! Gotta love being the only girl/woman (this is still being determined and may never be fully figured out) in a group of rowdy boys/men!
This is the Sullenger's windmill that I got to help put up (I still plan to write a post about that some day). As you can see there is a black storage tank beside the mill. Well the plan is to build a tower to place another storage tank on and by tower....... ......I mean TOWER!! This thing is huge and HEAVY!! I got to come out the other day while Gunnar was still welding the top pipes on that will hold the water tank and watch him weld.
They always keep a water hose on hand so if a spark starts a fire they can get it before it gets out of hand...
This part of the welder is called the "stinger"
Just for the record unless you want your eyes burned you never look directly at a the flame while someone is welding so to get this picture and a few other ones I just guessed where to point my camera and got lucky!
I really like this one and am bummed that its blurry....So when they figure out how to stand that heavy thing up and get it over the windmill I'll let ya know.
House of Faith runs a sports camp every year. A week long camp of sports, bible lessons, memory verses and sweat! This summer all the kids participate in the sport of their choice for the first half of the day then after the bible lesson, huddle group time and some water they split up into classes they get to sign up for. There is games, golf, hip hop dance, and, thanks to yours truly, gymnastics! Now let me explain this process.... I load mats of various sizes and purposes, a mini tramp, a small beam and various other pieces of equipment into a small bus and sit in a puddle of sweat as I drive over to Glenn Jr High and unload everything and set it up in the girls gym.
Now, even though I am no longer very involved with HOF it is still very close to my heart and I love the kids they are aiming to reach. Namely "that kid." That kid is the one I spotted the first day. He didn't want to do anything I asked including taking off his shoes and socks. He was the one that had to prove that HE didn't have to do what I said. The one that instigated all the other boys goofing off but then acted "cool" and not goofy like the rest of them. THAT kid is the one who had to prove he was tough and no one could tell him what to do. As far as disciplining goes he seemed to be my hardest/slash worst kid in the group but ultimately that merely depends on how you choose to view "that kid."
I seem to always fall for THAT kid. That's the one I want to reach. To crack through the defenses they have built around their hearts just a little bit. To keep my word when I set boundaries and to show them that they deserve respect as a person.
Anyway back to that kid a little later in the post. As I got to the gym today Logan walked up and I asked him to help me unload some mats to which he responded "on one condition.... if I help can I play on the trampoline" I laughed and said "Sure!"
Well here is a small example of what he meant by "play on the trampoline" and believe me this is just a taste of what he decided to try!
And this.... He invented all sorts of ways to crash onto the mats but these were all I caught on video.
I even got involved in the fun and discovered that I still have some of the old skills left...
So back to THAT kid. Well he signed up for gymnastics the first two days and fought the rules the whole time. He was pretty athletic and I knew he secretly enjoyed all the skills I was asking them to try. As I was driving to Glenn today I was thinking about him and sorta had a bet with myself that he was going to be back today. Yesterday right as we were finishing I had asked all the kids to come off the mats and go to the other side of the gym. Well he didn't and tried one more flip on a mat just to show me he could. I knew letting it slide would be going back on my word and ultimately disrespecting him by not requiring him to adhere to the standards I had set. I asked him to go sit against the wall. I could tell by the way he looked that he knew he had done wrong. He knew he was caught and he looked kinda shocked that I backed up my word. It seemed almost like he was testing me. Is she really going to make me sit out if I try a flip? Will she keep her word? Does she actually care about me enough to enforce the standards she set? Before I started the class I told the kids that there were two main rules. No flips and do what I ask you to. I told them them that there would be no warnings with these rules. Gymnastics is dangerous and so I wasn't going to give them three warnings or something like that. They flip and they're done. So when he did that last flip and I made him sit against the wall he knew that I was only sticking to what I had said I would do. Anyway back to today.... I was explaining what we were going to do today to the kids and that kid wasn't in the group. As I'm explaining Rachel walks up to me and that kid is beside her. She says "Kelli I know you're already a little over 20 kids but (we'll just call him Pablo) Pablo really wants to do gymnastics again today if that's ok. He promises he will listen and do what you tell him to" Well of course I let him come! He stood there looking rather sheepish like he couldn't believe he was allowing himself to be so vulnerable and actually showed that he cared about something but he really cared so much he just had to ask to come. I said of course he could and kinda shook his shoulders and told him he better behave and got him to laugh a little bit!
Pablo asking to come to gymnastics today was a huge victory in my eyes and he honestly did great! There are several other boys like him in that group and all of them keep coming back! They all did awesome today and I told them that if they worked hard I would let them flip! Well man you would have thought I hung the moon the way they got excited about that! One of the boys another kid kinda like Pablo yells "Come on everyone we have to work hard!" haha Pablo did better today than he has all week and yet he still seems to feel the need to test the boundaries. Today was a victory though! I cracked the shell just a little bit into his heart and gained the right to be heard in his life. That makes me so excited! Several other of the wilder boys let me in a little as well. One of the crazier ones worked really hard today for me compared to the first day. As we were finishing I noticed that he waited until everyone else had walked off then came up to me and asked "Hey miss, I did good today right?" It touched my heart! He was looking for someone to affirm him, to let him know that he can be somebody or something! And honestly he had done awesome that day, both in gymnastics itself and in how hard he worked and listened! It gave me great pleasure to look him in the eye and tell him "Yes you did awesome today! I am really proud of you!" and watch as his eyes light up as he ran back to his friends!
As I am not involved in HOF much anymore it was so good to stop and invest in something bigger than myself. To pour some life into some kids who need affirmation! Having the opportunity to use gymnastics as a channel into the hearts and lives of "that kid"s makes it even better! Here are some pictures of the kids today!
Teaching a cartwheel
The tramp was definitely the favorite!
Jenny helping kids try round offs
Explaining how to place your hands on the beam when attempting a handstand
For those of you who might not have facebook here is a link to the wedding photos. He only has some up so far but you can at least look at what he does have up.
As for me... Well today marks day 5 with no feeling in my chin or lower lip. Quite the strange feeling actually and it makes eating rather a challenge. I had all four of my wisdom teeth out Wednesday. The one tooth (lower left) that they predicted would be no trouble because it had already popped out of the gum and was straight, ended up causing the most problems. They put me to sleep and all that and next thing I remember as I started waking up was that I was FREEZING and shaking and that they were telling me I was alright and they had one more to tooth to go. A combination of the medicine and cold had my legs shaking like crazy. I couldn't talk so I started signing C-O-L-D with my fingers over and over again. I heard a nurse ask "is she doing sign language?" Then another nurse, with a victorious tone, yells, "COLD she's cold!" to which I grunted or something and they got me a blanket and the shaking slowed down some. Turns out that that tooth that was not supposed to be a problem actually was. It was straddling a nerve and the roots were curled around it. They said I was flailing some in my sleep so they had to wake me up so I would be still while they got it out as to not sever the nerve. In spite of theirs efforts turns out they nicked it anyway but all have assured me that I will get complete sensation back, I just hope it hurries!!
Recovery has not been the best and I ended up with a fever for several days causing me to just feel gross but I'm starting to feel a lot more like my old self, in spite of a numb chin and lip, and hopefully am on the rebound. Tomorrow its back to work and I'm just praying that I won't get a kick to the mouth.
Sorry no pics......just a list of recent decisions and observations.....
Weddings are exhausting and make eloping seem very appealing.
Losing the maid of honor dress and finding it only 15 minutes before the group is supposed to leave for pictures causes all the other small problems to pretty much be non-existent.
Rope swings are fun!
Goats are elusive and aren't necessarily predictable
I love Gunnar Sullenger
I have a brother-in-law.......strange.
Having your wisdom teeth out 4 days after your sister's wedding is a good excuse to keep resting after everyone else has pretty much "recuperated"
Having the Dr wake you up because you are flailing under the anesthesia so they can get your last tooth out without damaging the nerve it's twisted around is a very strange feeling.
Apparently Gunnar and I's new thing is to match!
Shellac is amazing and I totally recommend it!
I love family!
Borrowing over 650 place settings of china and not losing or breaking one piece.....a miracle!
Men of character are so enjoyable to be around.
I don't want to see another piece of glassware for a very long time.
Feeling like you look like a million dollars, and having you boyfriend tell you so is an awesome feeling.
Naps are wonderful uses of time.
I still can't feel my bottom lip or chin....its been 3 days...they think they nicked the something nerve. This has been a blessing of sorts as I haven't had any pain, haven't even taken an ibuprofen, but I would like to be able to feel my lip again.
Mrs Kristi is the best friend, prayer partner, mentor ever!
Baby goats are pretty much one of the most entertaining things to watch!
I get really into Britain's Got Talent!
Walking into a group of groomsmen when they aren't expecting you is never a safe idea.
My sister's last name is now Terral.....cool!
The Last American Cowboy is a good show, surprisingly.
A good band sure helps put the final touches on a good wedding.
I like to dance.
Ty and I are both a little, ok a lot, out of practice when it comes to dancing a polka!
And to quote a good singer in my opinion, "I love this crazy, tragic, sometimes almost magic, awful, beautiful life!"
