Adventures in the Life of a Mother of Eight!

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Wait.  What?  There’s a rake in the tree?  Are you serious?  Not under the tree.  Not laying against the tree.  In the tree!

Not only is there a rake in the tree, there is a baseball bat in the tree.  And…a big stick up there.  I know, I know.  Sticks belong in trees.  But believe me, this particular piece of wood did not come from that tree!

What is going on?  Ahh ha!!!!  The culprit!  A soccer ball!  Don’t worry.  I know that the soccer ball didn’t put the foreign objects up in the tree!  My boys did.  Thing is, if one of their soccer balls gets stuck up in the tree, then it’s on! Everything is game.   It doesn’t matter what it is, it might be sacrificed to get that all-important soccer ball down. After all, they have to play soccer.

It does keep

life interesting!

How did that ball get up in the tree to begin with?  That’s easy.  They were probably having a competition to see who could kick the ball the highest!  This is a constant theme at our house.  Who can kick the ball the highest?  Who can throw the ball the furthest?  Which son can run the fastest?  Who can burp the loudest?  Who can…well, you get the idea!  And yes, it does grate on that last nerve sometimes.  But it does keep life interesting!

Anyway, back to soccer.  My kids are serious about that game!  Sometimes I feel like we eat, drink, and sleep soccer. On the other hand, they are good!  Real good!  So, we are hoping for some possible scholarships.  This is one of the reasons we stopped homeschooling and put them in a school where they could play competitive soccer.

Soccer balls everywhere!

We have flat gone through some soccer balls at our house.  At times, we have had all three size balls out in our yard somewhere.  Oh, you did know that there are different size soccer balls, didn’t you?  I’m sure some of you are going, “Duh!” right now.  But many years ago, when my kids first started playing, I didn’t have a clue.

Here’s a simple breakdown.  If your child is under 8 years old, they would most likely use a size 3.  If they are 8 to 12 years old, they would use a size 4.  And, kids over 12 and adults would use a size 5.  Now, you may not think it is important. But once you see a six-year-old defend against a size 5 ball, you will understand very quickly that you need to use the appropriate size ball for your child.

Now that my kids are all over 12, we have size 5 soccer balls…everywhere, including in the trees.   And when they get stuck in the trees, they have to be knocked down…the ball that is, not my kids!  My boys get pretty determined about this.  Because of this, everything becomes an instrument to get that ball out of the tree.  Sticks, baseball bats, rakes, even other soccer balls.  I have seen them kicking a ball up in the tree to try to knock down the ball that is stuck in the tree.  Yep!  You guessed it.  That one got stuck too!

My favorite soccer ball rescue

But my favorite soccer ball rescue was completed by Ryan.  As I mentioned, my kids have been homeschooled up until recently.  This means we have done some fun learning projects, especially with the help of my older kids (who were all homeschooled).  Anyway, my son Timothy taught his younger brothers how to make a bow and arrows.  So, Ryan attached a string to a homemade arrow and shot it up into the tree where the ball was stuck.  And, it worked!  That ball came tumbling down!

You have to admit that this was pretty creative!

It worked!

You know, things don’t always go the way they are supposed to go.  Ordinarily rakes and soccer balls don’t belong in trees.  In fact, throwing a rake up into a tree could be dangerous.  Fortunately, no one got hurt…this time. 

I am glad, however, that my boys didn’t come crying to me that the ball was stuck in the tree.  And then expect me to go buy them a new one!   They understood that it was their job to get it down.  After all, they were the ones who got it stuck.  It’s important that they understand that they are responsible for their actions.  And, they need to learn to accept the consequences of those actions. 

We really just can’t rescue our kids every single time they mess up. I’m not saying we don’t bail them out occasionally. But they do have to learn. And it’s best they learn at home, in a safe environment. Once they are out on their own, it will be a lot harder for them!

We all mess up sometimes!

We all mess up sometimes…every single one of us.  Part of growing up is accepting that responsibility and not always blaming someone else or expecting someone else to fix it.  And no, we can’t always “fix” the situation.  No matter how creative we may be, the ball isn’t always going to come down out of the tree.  We sometimes just have to accept the consequences of our actions and go on.  That’s when we fall back on the grace and mercy and provision of God and trust that He will make good come from it.  If we follow Him, He has promised to do that!

Romans 8:28 (NIV)

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Hang on to His promises when things get tough.  Hang onto Him when you mess up!  Because He won’t let you down! He may not get the ball out of the tree for you. But He will see you through whatever He allows to come your way.

And finally guys, don’t throw the rake in the tree!!!! PLEASE!!!