The Entertainers

Life's always fun & never dull with Clay around. Both boys keep us laughing daily! Chandler has a great sense of humor. Clay is always there to entertain. I guess we just take it for granted because it's part of our everyday life. But we were reminded of it the day of Elizabeth's 17.5 hour surgery. Chandler kept the entire Lawson Family & Friends entertained with so much that day. Mona has commented several times since that day that she thanks God so very much for Chandler because if he had not been there that day, she might have fallen apart into a puddle in the floor. God gives us all so many ways we can tough others and thankfully they're not all serious. I'm grateful for fun, loving young men because life is better with them around!

Tournament #2

This weekend we played in a tournament in Lonoke. One thing we've decided this year is that 14 year old baseball is very long. One game we played only 2 innings & it lasted for 1.5 hours. Whew...! The mom's have decided we need to pack a snack bag because we're going to get really hungry waiting on these games to finish. Our team came in first place!
Way to go Rage!Chandler batting!

Chandler pitching to one of his friends. I love the smile on his face as he's getting ready to throw the ball!
Someone learned a valuable lesson today....when you find a parking space up close at a baseball field....you should NOT take it, especially when it's next to the big boys field. Someone went home unhappy and unfortunately Chandler caused their unhappiness.

An Encouraging Letter!

Last Wednesday, Tom received this via email from an unknown man. I removed his name & just left his initials. Letters like this make you feel good about the paths you've chosen in life, so I thought I'd share. And remember, someone is always watching!

Coach Thompson,

My son and I attended the tournament in Little Rock this past weekend that your team played in. A friend of my son plays for the Warriors, so we decided to catch a couple of games on Sunday. I was able watch most of your game in the finals on Sunday.

I witnessed a couple of things that we typically don't see out of kids that are 13 and 14 years old. Both teams praying before and after the game, the opposing teams shaking hands with the other team prior to the start, and parents and coaches encouraging players from the other team. I have 2 sons and a daughter who have all played baseball / softball and I can't remember a game in which players, coaches and parents were so well behaved and showed that kind of class. At most games you typically get parents and coaches arguing with umpires and coaches who constantly yell and scream.

I also got to see a great game. Both teams are well coached and the defensive play of both was phenominal. Not often do you see 13-14 year old teams turning double plays and have pitchers who can throw that hard and well. You have a very talented bunch of young men playing for you.

In todays world with kids doing drugs, drinking and being disrespectful to adults, it was nice to witness the things I saw on Sunday. I got your email off of the Burns Park website but do not have a way of getting this to the coaches from Hot Springs. Could you please forward this to them for me. You might also let your players and parents know that people do notice their actions.

Good luck this year - Be blessed,

R. W.

Chandler's First Tournament of the Year

Chandler's team played in the Chris Marshall Memorial Tournament this past weekend. This tournament was one honoring a dear friend of ours who recently passed away! It was a great success & Chris would have been proud! Our team came in 2nd place. The boys played really well considering it is so early in the year & we haven't gotten to practice outside very much! This photo is of the team & coaches.

Prior to & after our games the boys have a group prayer. Immediately following the game, they ask the opposing team to meet on the mound for the Lord's Prayer. It's always nice to start & end the games with prayer. We are proud of the boys for making God important in their lives.
Our friend, Elizabeth, has been a fixture at our games for years. She loves to aggravate our boys. This time, she got the best of them though, especially Evan! Everyone laughed so hard at her kissing him on the cheek! Hilarious!

Elizabeth posing with the team!
Elizabeth asked the team to pray for her & her upcoming heart surgery. One of the coaches asked if he could pray & Elizabeth said, "no, the players had to!" So Evan prayed a really sweet prayer for Liz!
I am so very proud of our team. They played very well together. Had great comradery. Never gave up, even when they were losing. Continued to play hard. And most importantly I'm proud that they embrace others and show what gentlemen they are becoming! I feel this year will be successful, whether we win or lose, our boys are growing into kind, compassionate men!

Academy Classes

Clay's class at Academy!
There are a couple of kids missing but this is the main group!

Chandler's Art Class. The girl is the true artist. The rest of them are imposters! LOL

The 7th & 8th grade class.

Surprisingly they're all boys....which is VERY unusual in home schooling circles.

This group is a fun group but boy they can talk!

Skating Party

We recently had a skating party for academy. Chandler wasn't able to skate because he rolled his ankle & was in a walking boot/cast. So he and some other guys played pool.

The kids made Valentine Boxes to exchange Valentines. Clay created his alien monster out of a small pizza box. The mouth was a great place to stick Valentines!

Clay's box was one of 3 that won a prize. The really funny thing was the ones that won were all alien/robot related. The kids did a great job & their imaginations were amazing!

A really fun time was had by all!!!

Sandwich Anyone?

During the ice & snow, I would throw all of the crumbs & stale bread to the birds & squirrels. I asked Clay to throw some out & instead of breaking it up so everyone could share, he just threw the whole piece out. This is the result. A little squirrel with a whole slice of bread just hanging out. It was really funny to see him climb the tree with a slice of bread in his mouth!