Sometimes we get so busy with our terribly busy schedules to really take a few minutes and sit back and enjoy the good moments in life. We are truly blessed to have the children God has blessed us with on this earth. There are so many reasons to be proud of them. 

We have Robert the budding entrepreneur.  He has been brainstorming for a while how to make himself some more money.  He came up with the idea of working with the local cafe owner to play his trumpet outside the cafe at some point in time for “donations” for passers-by.  Friday night at the neighborhood picnic he took the iniative to sit down with Mary and work out an agreement that included him doing just that with patriotic songs on Saturday morning for an hour.  He even exceeded his income goal and we were all overwhelmed by the generosity of the community.  He’s already brainstorming for his next great idea.  Robert, we are so proud of you.

Thomas, well, as those of you that know him personally know, he’s not the largest athlete on his team 🙂  We’ve always tried to teach our kids that even if you aren’t as big or as talented as those around you, the thing you can control is your attitude and hustle.  Thomas has really taken that to heart this summer and has seen incredible results to prove it.  Every ball game he comes to play and uplift his teammates.  He’s always hussling and moving toward the ball.  He’s got a great attitude at the plate which earned him a lead off spot this summer with his team.  His hussle and attitude earned him the title of Captain!  He didn’t understand at first what that meant, but once explained to him, he was so honored to be recognized by his coaches.  His team remains undefeated heading into the last week of the regular season, and he couldn’t be happier.  Thomas we are so proud of you!

Jaclyn had a little different story this summer. Her team struggled a little more than the boys. In fact they ended the season this weekend with one win for the season.  However, she showed us all what it’s like to be proud of what you do.  She just enjoyed the heck out of each game and worked at improving herself and encouraging her teammates.  The afternoon of the last game, she could be found out in the yard working on some skills her coach had suggested to her and looking for suggestions on how to improve.  She’s such a trooper and we’re so proud of her as well.

Ben and Ali have shown great attitude this summer as well. They have continued to travel to games and practices here there and yon, with hardly ever blinking an eye or event putting up a foul attitude.  Ben and Ali we’re so proud of you waiting your turn until we can take the Janssenmobile to see you play as well!