Yes, I was volun-told I was a coach for our girl’s T-Ball team. Its OK though, I enjoy baseball and played a lot of it when I was a kid. Its fun(ny) and rewarding and more than just a little amusing to coach kids at this age and this skill level.
But it doesn’t mean coaching these youngsters is all fun and games!
It seems every day I have to put on my Tom Hanks hat to coach and council some kids on this….
Its not the big leagues after all.
Every day we see some of this…
…and a lot of this….
No, actually most of our team doesn’t throw that well.
But its all good.
Its all fun!
Its no stress.
Everyone bats, and everyone hits.
Everyone scores.
And everyone wins.
Smiles, cheers, and high-fives abound every play.
Dylan actually hit the ball the farthest in their game last Friday…not that anyone is measuring such things. (atta girl Dylan!)
Did you see that Daddy?
And while Dylan seems to be a natural behind the bat the way she whacks the ball, Skye seems to be a natural in front of the camera, never missing a chance for a cute pose…
Say Cheese!
Here she has just scored her run. Aunt Sue has trained her well!
All in all, it seems to be a great experience for the kids.
Participating in sports can teach youngsters a lot I learned growing up. And this coach just wants them to try their best and have some fun.
Happy End of the Week Everyone! It appears you survived another one.
We were Skye High here last week. We celebrated Skylar’s 5th birthday week. Yes, our littlest girl is getting older.
I hate to say this post doesn’t have as many pics to help commemorate our week-long celebration. I am trying to be more ‘part of the moment’ and less the paparazzi outsider taking the pictures. Being in the moment is so much more fun than trying to capture a moment it seems.
So, yes, Skye is getting older. She just finished her inaugural attempt at basketball with surprisingly good success.
Her naturally aggressive tendencies severed her well.
So next she asked to try play T-Ball in the local town rec league.
This will be her first attempt a T-Ball and still trying to work out the kinks…
Both her an Dylan are working on their throwing and batting. Again, Skylar is all over the place trying to pic up grounders hit her way. So we will see how this progresses.
But they do have the world’s most greatest baseball coach!
What do you mean, “Who”?
We celebrated Skylar’s birthday Easter weekend when her Grandparents and the Great Aunt Sue were down with truck loads of birthday presents for both our girls. Again, sorry no great pictures here in 3D from the mounds of unwrapped wrapping paper
…trying to stay in the moment
…and pick up a bit.
We took little 5 year old Skye to her favorite dinner for her birthday. The Outback was her choice this year.. She appeared to have a good time and was all smiles.
Happy Birthday Skylar!
Including the presentation of the bloomin birthday sundae…
And the Outback version of the birthday song, sure to make any bloke, or blokette happy!
We had a little bit of a birthday party for her on the weekend then at her favorite place, Skylar Zone!
Flying Skye High!
She enjoys jumping and flying and dodge ball at this Skye-High zone.
Happy Birthday Skye!
Maybe one of her biggest thrills during her birthday week came in the mail from her absolute most favorite celebrity;
a mutual fan of hers it appears and my 300th follower! (Thanks Miss Nina!!)
….Thanks so much for adding to the birthday celebration and helping to make our little Skylar feel special!
Ms. Nina pointed out that Sprout.comis featuring a Be In The Momentcontest for Mom’s. They are running a month-long contest where Mom’s submit candid pictures of themselves “Sharing the moment of being a mom” with their children leading up to Mother’s Day.
It’s a great contest, honoring the most important and deserving person in each of our lives.
Check out the celebration here. Or on Instagram at #MomIsHere and #NoFilter30
I know what you are thinking, and YES, I have put them in touch with Hans On MarketingCompanyto help ensure their promotion is a success!
So that’s about it from 3D-Landthis week. We are moving through the birthday season here. Only two more big ones to go!
Then it’s time for the beach, vacations and running out doors again…
or all three at the same time…
Have a great weekend! I’ll try to do better next time!
I wanted to step back from my what I normally try to do here in 3D for a moment. Like many of you, I get many proposals from outside people and companies offering to write Guest Postsfor my blog. Normally I quickly dismiss these requests; unless they want to pay me large sums up money upfront.
But I did receive one request last week that I seriously did consider. After all, as you look around, you certainly can’t argue with the success of this company. Its ideas and concepts are practically household items that are cleverly reinvented to help others sell, move, and distribute their products for the benefit of all.
I know many of you have outside companies or projects you maintain on the side, whether it is a book publishing company, fitness services or products or software companies that you are always looking for more sales from.
So, with that in mind, I thought this Guest Post might be beneficial to you, or all of you. The rest of you I hope you please don’t hate as I try to spread a little good will for some of my readers.
So without further delay, please let me introduce you to Hans, of the Hans On Marketing Company (HOMC) from the European country of Arendelle. Take it away Hans!
Hello everyone in 3D Land, as Andy said, my name is Hans and I represent the marketing company of Hans On Marketing Company, where we promise you we can sell ANYTHING! That’s right, I said my staff can sell ANYTHING you can imagine.
We have had success with many companies, large and small, selling all types of products and services all over the world. And we think we can do the same for you!
Companies have come to us to sell bedroom suites, food, clothing, vacations, linen, family activities, and much more. And we have sold these items. HOMC has increased sales for many companies 10 fold and gotten rid of unused or out dated inventories.
It’s true. You can believe Hans!
We have even sold things as impossible to sell as used birthday cakes for a small bakery by putting our simple spin on them from our motherland of Arendelle.
In a different situation a large cereal company asked us if we could help them sell some of their old, unsuccessful inventories of cereal that were aging in their warehouses.
We took a look at it and found it fit into our Marketing model and guaranteed success to that company; throwing a “Collector’s Edition” logo on the box for good measure.
We have similar success with old board games, ones that everyone knows but whose sales are sagging and in TROUBLE. Revamped their outsides, put some Arendelle twists on the insides and voila…brand new board games and tea sets:
One company concerned with kid’s health and fitness came to us. They were concerned kids today were spending too much time inside, playing these same board games or computers, and asked us how we could get kids outside again to run and exercise.
Our Marketing minds put their thoughts together. We agreed to the challenge. We said, “Trust us!”.
So we took old sneakers, forgotten in the backs of closets and made them trendy, sparkly and ‘fun to run’in using our patented Arendelle marketing:
Plus we revamped some kids bikes, made them everyone’s favorite Arendelle colors, and lined them with the faces of our lovely models creating kids bikes they will never let go of, keeping the kids outside having some fun…
We have also worked with parents and kids in the Back To School theme, making coveted items that will be the envy of all youngsters going back to school with bags, lunch boxes and book covers:
We created other novelty, must have items with our Arendelle niche marketing. Items such as purses, diaries, and very coveted chapter books….
Also we created and marketed….Back To School fashionsfor all the ‘in-crowd‘…
…to even night-time attire for young ones, making going to bed fun again.
Bedtime fun?
Why we have actually created entire bedroom designs for the little girls who have everything, where just not any gift will do for the young heiresses. Take a look at our designer sheets, blankets and pillow cases:
That last particular marketing campaign ended with such success for our clients that the Bed Bath and Yonder actually came to us, asking if we could help capture some of the money spent in a younger market segment for them in their stores.
Never one to turn down a challenge, or big company contracts, we told them,
“Trust us!”
Our marketing geniuses came up with new twists on common items that would have the younger market stereotypes standing, waiting in line at the door, being the first to buy these great ‘new’ bathroom items. Items such as shower curtains:
Shower curtains and matching bath towels with hoodies:
We even put our unique twist on getting kids to wash their dirty little faces with Arendelle soap and wash cloths:
Need further proof of our marketing supremacy?
Look what we did when a local candy company came to us and told us about their marketing problem.
This age old family business told us there was no way to sell their surplus of Jelly Beans this year in the always competitive shelf space for Easter candy.
We said, “Trust usand your trusty family recipe jelly beans will be not just stocked on the grocery shelves but flying off of them!
And it worked! Here are some laying on the floor…
We have since reached out to other forms of media, such as TV, and extended one of our wonderful Arnedelle models to help revamp ratings of struggling or inconspicuous TV shows. Here one of our models struts her stuff and graces one unknown dancer into stardom. Yes, even with TV, helping our clients reach top sales is an Open Door. We are even considering doing a movie featuring our two top models from Arendelle.
So that is our portfolio of proof on how our Hans On Marketing Company can help you and your goods or services. Don’t delay! Contact our Customer Service staff and we can tell you how we can help you increase sales and revenues with our Arendelle niche marketing.
Additionally, as our global models, Anna and Elsa, continue to grow in popularity we can promise you an exclusive TV or Internet commercial.
The world can see our models endorse YOUR goods or services, live, for everyone to take note.
Trust me..
These girls will stand behind your product and work tirelessly for the good of our great customers. They love all the world-wide attention and notoriety they have achieved, as well as for the success for the companies they have marketed. The world can’t get enough of seeing them on anything and everything that can be sold, bartered or traded. They feel their dedication to selling your product far out weighs their own personal time or taking vacations to see family and friends. They won’t be satisfied until their pretty faces adorn every product out there world-wide.
I thought Easter was a great time to repost an article I wrote for LifeLines,Bethany Christian’s Adoption magazine several years ago on our journey through starting our family. Easter gives us rebirth and that is what adoption did for my family, rebirth, when it appeared we could not have one without God’s grace.
Amid all the struggles with infertility, numerous expensive and highly emotional IVF procedures, doubts, fears, and worries, adoption was the perfect solution for my family, allowing a rebirth or sequel for my family when my wife are merely an epitaph.
Parenting two great little girls and all the trials and tribulations that go along has been such a blessing! If you want to read my story I penned LifeLines and how 3D got its start, adoption and the blessings of an ‘open adoption’ read on! And always remember, “the more love the better”!
Happy Easter everyone!
A Dad’s Perspective: Our Journey Though Open Adoption
My wife, Sabrina, and I got married in 1996. About eight years later, we wondered why she had never gotten pregnant, so we went to a gynecologist and found out it was impossible for us to conceive naturally. Undaunted, we went down the uncertain road of IVF procedures. Anyone who has been down this road knows how emotional the trip can be—with extremely joyful highs and tearful lows, not to mention the agony of giving your wife shots a few times a day.
Feeling frustrated amid our third IVF attempt, we attended a local adoption information meeting. Sabrina felt we were meant to adopt; I wasn’t so sure. Call me crazy, but as we left that meeting, I saw a rainbow in my rearview mirror. That was my sign, and so our adoption journey began.
We researched adoption programs and agencies and chose Bethany. We went to meetings, paid the fees, got our physicals, and completed the paperwork. We were ready to start our family!
Probably the best advice we got along this journey was not to paint the new baby’s room just yet. It was a year later when we got our first call that some birthparents wanted to meet us.
Sabrina and I were nervous before our first meeting, but it left us more worried than excited. One of the birthparents had some diagnosed emotional disorders that we knew could emerge as their son got older. With no training about or prior exposure to these disorders, we reluctantly decided this was not the adoption for us. We wondered, Was this part of God’s plan or did we just sabotage it? We had waited so long!
Our First Adoption
A month later, we received another phone call. We met a quiet, pretty young lady. The meeting went smoothly with the help of the adoption specialist. We really liked the expectant mom but felt like we had botched the interview.
A few days later, we received a second phone call saying that the expectant mom wanted to meet us again. That meeting went fine, and we laughed and cried together. Her reason for getting together was to establish ground rules for an open adoption.
The expectant mom wanted us to send her photos frequently. She was a sweet, Christian young lady, and she needed to be sure that she was making the right decision. If all it took to realize our dream was to e-mail some pictures, it was an easy decision for us. What ever it takes, we thought.
Some people ask us why we said yes to an open adoption. We say, “Why not?” Try to put yourself in the shoes of the birthmother. To say this is a “life-altering” decision is an understatement. As I see it, adoption is an act of love and selflessness for these women. They love their children more than they love themselves. That’s what great mothers do. If we were to ruin that equation by being selfish as adoptive parents, what message would that send to our kids?
Have I told you how wonderful our two daughters are? We adopted our second child through open adoption in 2010 from another special young lady.
All that waiting. All those tears. It all was worth it. What a wonderful plan God had for us. Our daughters are awesome! Each day we tell them how much we love them and thank God for his gifts.
The More Love, the Better
Our journey continues to evolve. We feel like we expanded our family twofold, and the girls are the benefactors. Can you imagine growing up with four grandmothers? What could be better to a child at Christmas?
Our relationship with each birthfamily is unique. One family calls and visits more often. The other e-mails and sends gifts in the mail. But when they send gifts, both families send packages for both girls! These families have embraced us as parents. They do not intrude. They do not preach to us about how to raise our kids. They are simply happy to be included in the process.
Both birthgrandmothers are wonderful ladies, and we feel blessed to have them in our lives too. They love our children so much. One of the grandmothers caught us off guard when she said, “You are like family to us now.” Wow! The more love the better!
All this for two little girls at Christmas
The Future
When our daughters receive gifts and cards in the mail, we try to explain who they are from. We save and date the cards to show them at a later time. We tell them that the ladies who sent them love them very much.
We will explain open adoption to our daughters at the right time. To us it is not a moment but an ongoing conversation. You answer the questions as they come up and at a level they understand. The adoptions are not to be seen as dark or dramatic moments. Its more about how God put our family together. We actually have a “Family” cheer we do at the dinner table! We speak openly to friends about adoption in front of the girls, so when the subject comes up the girls will not be unfamiliar with it.
We are not sure what the future holds. It comes on so fast and can change in many ways. We do hope to stay in touch with our birthfamilies. We want to share birthdays and milestones with them. My personal hope is that, as we get older / they get older, our girls will know and be close to each birthmom. They can be a source of “family”, moms and siblings, after we are gone. The more love the better!
We will always be indebted to our two birthmothers for entrusting their children to us. And we thank God for our wonderful journey, and we will be sure that our daughters know that He brought us all together.
OUR LIFE IN 3D 