Improvement

 I have learned a lot over time about improvement. As time goes on and one continues to work hard at something, there will most likely be an improvement. Sometimes it takes longer to see, like a few years at least, or sometimes it will take a lot less time. 

I have seen some improvements in areas of our lives that are so rewarding to see! 

Jason works hard in our yard and our grass is definitely improving. Overseeding, fertilizing, mowing, and watering have taken high priority in his schedule. It has paid off!

Victoria's foot has been improving and from what she tells me, her jumps in dance and her throws at track are becoming even better than they were before her injury. I can't wait till competition season and track season to see the fruits of her labor!

Erik's soccer team, I just learned yesterday, is at level A, rather than level B like they were last season. Since they came in 2nd last season, they moved up a level. I had no idea till I overheard him and his friends discussing it at church yesterday. They're still at level B, so we won't be playing them this season, but probably next season since they're 1st at their level. That also explains the losses in the last few games. We've been playing so well, but are playing really hard teams, so we have lost the past 3 or 4 games. Those losses will help us improve next season!

Go Sharks!

Kai is in the second year of color guard and has already improved so much! There are some new tosses that she's learned with the flag that are really hard. Also, her confidence level is so much higher in her performances! I can see it in her moves and facial expressions. The best example of that is the competition from last weekend in Novi. I went up the 20 minutes to watch the performance and was so glad that I did. During the final section, Kai was the only color guard member on the field with the rest of the band, twirling her flag like a pro and performing her heart out. I wasn't planning on taking any pictures during that particular performance, so I didn't sit in a very good location for that. When I realized that she was performing a solo, I started snapping a few pics real quick. When I returned home, I exclaimed to Jason that I had no idea that she had a solo! When Kai returned a few hours later, she told us that the accidental solo she performed was because the rest of the color guard, minus her and another guard member, have a quick change, and apparently none of them got changed quickly enough. So Kai went out when they were supposed to and did her thing, all alone! The other member who didn't have a quick change is a freshman, so was a little nervous to go out without the others. I don't even know when the rest went out, but you couldn't tell that anything was unplanned. Kai did it with her head held high! They even got 3rd place last week! Two days ago, they came in second!

Here's when I realized she was the only one out there. I was in the very front, but had these bars in my way!

You can see her flag there on the left. She travels 30 yards through this section of the performance as well, so not only was she alone with her flag, but she went from the 20 to the 50 yard line!

I posted on social media about Austin's great improvement: the most improved cross-country male runner of all five middle schools! I knew he had been improving because at each meet he PR'd and the first one was a few minutes compared to last year. I was so proud of the effort he was putting into it. He set a good pace for each run and then would kick it in gear for the last leg to the finish line. After the district meet, I commented on how he was probably one of the most improved at Discovery Middle School (he has a friend who was always in the top 5 or 10 last year and is the very first this year, so I think he improved a lot as well). The day after the district meet, Victoria's history teacher, who is the high school cross country coach and knows all the stats, especially of the kids going to the high school next year, pulled her aside and told her that her brother was "the most improved male cross country runner this season"! He went from 106th place last year in the district meet to 17th this year.

It was a cold and wet day, so I didn't get many good shots during the race.

He also improved his hair! (We liked it before, but the perm is fun too!)

Everyone has done so well in keeping at their hobbies! So proud of everyone's efforts!