August started with the Crimson Tide’s Fan Day at Bryant-Denny Stadium on the 4th. We got there at around 2:30 and watched the first hour of the team’s practice. Then we lined up outside of the stadium for autographs. Once we got onto the field, we made our way around and got several autographs from the players. We love Fan Day and have made it a yearly tradition to go every year.
We had orientation night at the kids’ school on the 8th. We picked up schedules and got locker combinations in addition to talking to all of the teachers. Katelyn got her first locker this year and was so excited! She caught on pretty quick and had her locker combination memorized before we left that night.
We spent the 10th at one of Hunter’s friend’s house to celebrate his birthday. A few of their classmates joined us and the kids had a great day of swimming and playing video games.
I can’t believe that my kids are in 5th and 10th grades this year, but on the 13th they both started school. I tried not to be too embarrassing this year, but I did cry again as I left them that morning. I thought this first day of school stuff was supposed to get easier as they got older, but now I find myself realizing that Hunter only has 2 more first days of high school and that gets me. Watching them grow up has been the most wonderfully heartbreaking experience. I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s amazing and sad at the same time. I read something recently that said we only have 18 birthdays, 18 summers, 18 Christmases, etc. with them. I am becoming painfully aware of just how true that is. More on that later…
On the 14th, Katelyn went back to her ENT to get her nose checked from the chemical cauterization she had done a couple of weeks earlier. Thankfully everything looked good and the nosebleeds have stopped. Hopefully she won’t have that problem again.
With the beginning of school comes the beginning of our favorite season – football season. On the 17th, the NRCA Chargers had a party to celebrate just that. Since we left the conference we were a part of last year and decided to play independent this year, homeschoolers joined our team. The party was a way for the NRCA families and the homeschool families to get to know one another before the season started. The kids had a great time playing games and the parents socialized. We also had a special treat. Daniel Geddes, a cornerback for the Tide, gave his testimony and spoke to the kids. His story is a great one, the only walk-on to ever be cut from the team twice, and the boys really listened to his message about perseverance and never giving up. Most importantly, he emphasized the power of prayer and faith as he told them how he eventually made the team and even got to play in the National Championship game. Afterward, he stayed and talked to the boys (and parents) individually and took pictures with them. He really is a fantastic young man and we will be watching for him during the Tide’s games this fall. All in all, it was a great night and we are all looking forward to watching our boys hit the field this season.
The Chargers had their first game on the 23rd. We travelled to Montgomery to play Ezekiel Academy. The Chargers were picked to win, but unfortunately it didn’t go our way. The boys played hard, but they definitely need to improve in some areas. Hopefully they will take what they learned from this game and come back stronger next week.
Hunter’s birthday was on Monday the 26th. Since we knew he would be in school all day and then have football practice until at least 7:00 that night, we decided to celebrate a little early. On Saturday night, he decided he wanted to go to Hokkaido for his birthday dinner. We ate (too much) delicious food and then the staff sang Happy Birthday to him and served him his birthday dessert. The next day, I gave him his present – a brand new laptop. Since he has a computer class at school this year, I thought that would be the perfect gift. He LOVED it. Mom did good. On Monday, he officially turned 15. 15! How is that possible? He should still be that sweet little smiling boy running around the house with his toy football. Instead he’s now running down the field with a real football. 15 of my 18 birthdays have come and gone in the blink of an eye. When he was little, it felt like we had so much time and now I am amazed that it has gone by so very quickly. Don’t get me wrong. I have LOVED every second of watching him become the incredible young man that he is. I just wish time would slow down. Just a little. But I know it won’t, so I have to make the most of it. And hope that I haven’t totally messed it all up. That’s every mother’s fear I think. In spite of what I have messed up, I could not be more proud of my son. He really is a great kid and I know he has a bright future ahead.
On the 27th, the JV Chargers played Hope Christian at home. This will be Hunter’s last year of playing JV. Next year will be Varsity only. The JV team came out strong and won the game. Hunter had a great catch and ran for about 15 yards. Unfortunately, it was called back due to a holding penalty but he did his job. He really is becoming quite a good player. Katelyn also got to cheer with the NRCA Jr. Cheerleaders at this game. They will be cheering at all of the home games this year. They did a great job as usual. Since Katelyn is the oldest member of the squad this year, she’s the captain and gets to call out all of the cheers. She’s done a great job so far and has become quite a leader by teaching the cheers to the younger ones. I have 2 athletes to be proud of!
We ended the month with the Chargers second varsity game of the season on the 30th. We travelled to Birmingham to play Hope Christian. We had high hopes since the JV won their game against them, but the varsity didn’t have the same luck. We lost (big), but Hunter had another great catch for a first down. And this one wasn’t called back. Hopefully the season will get better from here.
Football is just getting started, so September will be a very busy month for us. Hopefully I have many wins to tell you all about next time. Until then, Go Chargers and Roll Tide!!
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