I'm a fan of many things, but both baseball and justice top the list.  Yesterday, there was injustice done on the baseball field and I want to address it.  Armando Galarraga, a young Tigers pitcher, had retired 26 batters in a row without any errors, hits or walks.  Then Jason Donald hit a ground ball to the first basemen who threw it to Galarraga who was covering first.  Donald was out, but was called safe by the first plate umpire.  It created a huge mess.  But Galarraga then went back and got the next batter out.  But all is not right.  How can we create justice here?  The way I want to approach it is to take the individuals involved perspective and to see what provides justice for all.

ARMANDO GALARRAGA: A classy guy who was clearly robbed of having his name among some great names as one of only 21 guys who have pitched a perfect game.  After the bad call, he amazingly had a nervous smile on his face.  No angry words, just disappointment.  And nothing will take that back.  In fact, he will forever be honored by the unique situation that happened.  Giving him a perfect game won't change what happened.  What's done is done.  However, what happened should not have happened.

JIM JOYCE: Another classy guy.  This guy made a mistake.  And he had to publicly admit it.  He cried in front of America for one call he got wrong.  His family received death threats.  In one call, his whole integrity was under scrutiny - his job was under question - and his reputation was tarnished.  This guy tried to make the right call and realized that he was wrong.  But by the time he figured it out there was nothing he could do.  What's done is done.  Thankfully both those guys are classy enough to move past it.

BUD SELIG: The bad guy.  He throws people to the wolves and then makes little changes to policy that don't prevent things like this from happening in the future.  With current technology, plays like the one that tainted the perfect game could easily be reviewed quickly in order to ensure that the call on the field was correct.  But Selig always talks about the "human element being a part of baseball".  Being human means not only that humans make mistakes, but also that we need accountability and help to make good decisions.  Resisting change that helps to aid people making good decisions is foolish and should be punished.  What happened could have been prevented had Selig listened before.  If Selig had considered how to protect his umpires and players.

FUTURE UMPIRES & REFS: What would you rather have?  A system that if you make a mistake chews you up and spits you out, or a system that helps you make the right call and if you don't make the right call, helps to correct you and gives you relief.  For me, I want to know that the place I am working and the people in my life are all about accountability - pointing me in the right direction when I make a mistake so that I don't have to make huge mistakes that jeopardize my integrity, my job, and my reputation.

YOU: Do you have structures and people in your life from making mistakes that could destroy your life?  None of us are perfect, and often all it takes is people helping to right us in the situation that completely diffuses these situations.  Make sure you have accountability in your life, in your job, in everything!

Here are some pictures of Maddox's 3rd birthday party. He had 6 friends come and we had such a fun time! We did it at our church because our house a little small for a wild kid gathering.







He's got his gifts packed and ready to go. He hated having to wait for us to clean up!


I can't believe he's already 3! It has been 3 VERY fun years!

A couple of new videos - sorry about the lag in content, but its good stuff - worth the wait!

This is a short video of Maddox and Juliette's favorite past time. I just wish it was as simple as that...



Each time they get to one side of the house they have to have me come and turn them around. Juliette never wants the game to end.


I have to say that I love that they are playing together, it's very sweet.

It's a new year and I've been thinking a lot. Maybe way more than I ought...but, those thoughts are there none-the-less.

I want this year to be FULL! Full of fun, family, adventure, creativity and happiness.

I become to discouraged when I think of all the money we don't have. But, I'm trying very hard this year to thankful for what we do have and to enjoy life with all of that fullness.

When I talk about full, I don't mean busier. I want to enjoy my kids A LOT. They are growing up so quickly (Maddox is going to be 3! *gasp*) and I want to enjoy them the very most.

So, what does this mean for me?
1. It means getting organized. Very very organized and working on a daily moment by moment basis to keep it tidy and organized. We've been in this house for a year now and it has everything that we need and I love it. It's just taken me a year to figure out what works and doesn't in the space that we have.

2. It means running less errands during our week days (Monday-Thursday). When I run too many errands, I spend money I shouldn't on things I don't need. So, I'll menu plan and grocery shop once a week on Kyle's day off so I can stay focused and remember everything that I need in that one trip. On our week days home, I plan to take the kids out of the house on fun walking trips (who cares if we get a little wet!). I'd like to walk to the library and go on nature walks to look at all of the beautiful nature that we have around us.

3. It means spending quality time with Maddox and Juliette. I want to start teaching Maddox his alphabet and numbers and I want to read 3 good books (not little board books) to them every day.

4. I want to create more. I love having my Etsy shop and I would love to expand it to include other things than just kids hats.

That is where my thoughts have been and I'm sure that they will include many more things over the next few weeks.

I'm happy to say that my early hour awaking is a habit! I only slept in until 8 one day and that felt like such a treat :-) The disappointing part is is that Maddox has woken up around the same time as me 4 days in a row. Maybe I need to start getting up earlier. *gasp* I'm not ready for that!

The toys have even mostly been put away at the end of each day, too!

Hm..now it's time to incorporate something else. The next thing I'm going to tackle is after breakfast completely cleaning the kitchen. I tend to leave it half done because the kids need to be dressed and played with, etc. So, here's to completely cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast, including sweeping the floors and spot mopping! The same will go for after dinner. I don't just want the dishes done, I want everything wiped down and "company ready"!

Here it goes!