Wow! Twenty-Four Years - Half of Doug's Life!

Today Doug and I celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary.  This morning he greeted me with "Happy Anniversary, we have now been married for over half my life!"  I had never thought about that, but he was correct.  I definitely am at the point where I do not remember life before Doug.  Sometimes I forget that we did not grow up together, and  I cannot imagine life without him.  He has been the rock in our family providing us with support throughout the years.  He has solved more than one Heinisch problem and has worked hard to provide us with a wonderful life.

I love that we decided several weeks ago not to give each other gifts this year.  Buying flowers and planting them were our weekend plans and by the end of the day our yard looked beautiful.  As a bonus, Meg even helped this year.  Doug did buy me a beautiful bouquet of roses for the inside of our home as well and we all enjoyed dinner together as a family with HM, Mom and Dad joining us.  Next year we will pass half my life.  Can't wait to see what the year brings to the Heinisch family.

Happy Birthday Cal!

On my blog I have never stolen from someone else's writing, but I feel like this post for Brett sums up exactly how we all feel about Cal.  I remember one of Cal's teachers/coaches told me years ago that "Cal is an enigma."   I know that must be true according to those who do not live in the Heinisch home as he definitely walks to his own beat and embraces life at every moment.  Inside the Heinisch home, however, he brings so much energy and enthusiasm to it.  From his friends that stop by to borrow an envelope to his never-ending discussion on why he should be allowed to have a dog, we embrace his excitement for life.  Happy 19th Birthday, Cal!  Don't ever change!

Now, if only we could talk Cal into cleaning his room!

4th Grade Rock Star

Today the 6th grade left early in the morning for their annual trip to Dearborn.  Since one of the 4th grade teachers wanted to go I offered to teach her class for the day.  I didn't think much about it until the past couple of days.  That was when the panic set in.  I hadn't subbed in someone else's class for at least six years and I haven't had students younger than 5th grade in all that time.  In my mind I was sure that it would be total chaos.

I am happy to report that my nightmare of everyone running wild was just that - a dream.  The students were great and we accomplished all that we set out to do.  I did have one student ask if he could bring a bottle of water into the classroom.  I said sure as several other students had them until I saw what his "bottle of water" was - A & W Root Beer!!  I explained to him that the drink wouldn't work.  He couldn't believe that I busted him.  From that moment on, all went well, especially once  I reminded them that having 6th graders prepared me for anything. My favorite part of the day was when one of the girls hugged me and said, "You are the best sub we have ever had!"

There are big differences between teaching 4th grade and 6th grade.  The 4th graders had a lot less behavior problems, but they were needier.  Their instructional time was all in the morning which made the first four hours long, but I actually liked it a lot better.   Once we got to lunch, the day was pretty much over except for math class.  There was also more down time during instruction time as students spent a portion of their day reading.  I don't think that I am ready to change to elementary, but it was fun for the day.  The best part was that I got to teach across the hallway from Mr. Larson.  I haven't laughed that much at school in quite some time.

An Epic Match

The WHS girls tennis team drew the bye in the sectional tournament.  That meant that they would have to play the winner of last night's Whitko vs. Columbia City match.  No one thought that Columbia City would win, and they were correct.  Thus, tonight's matches would pair Warsaw against Tippy Valley and Wawasee against Whitko.

Meg talked about the match all week.  She had played Whitko's number 1 singles player on Monday losing in straight sets.  Meg felt that it was not her best match of the season as the heat was really bothering her.  She wanted redemption as she knew that she could do better.  She proved that to everyone tonight.

Meg started on fire in the first set.  It was by far the best Doug and I have ever seen her play.  She put away more winners in that set than she had all season.  She won it fairly easily at 6-4.  I know her opponent was caught off guard by Meg's play.  Not only had she play against her Monday night, she had also been in drills with her at the racquet club.  I am sure that Whitko thought it would be an easy match for them, but Meg surprised them all.

Doug reminded me during the first set that tennis is a game of runs.  He was right.  Meg ran through that first set, but that changed in the second one.  She found herself down 5-2 when lightening struck.  The girls were the only court left as Wawasee's doubles easily beat Whitko's and their number 2 and 3 singles won in straight sets over Wawasee's girls.  As the lightening delay drug on and the clouds looked as though they would open up at any minute, Doug decided to go to Cam's band performance. I had hoped to make it as well and had arranged through the athletic director to take Meg with me, but it wasn't meant to be.  Doug promised me he'd video tape the Jungle Books songs and my parents made sure that Cam got to his program for his call time.

Meg started off slow after the hour long delay.  She was anxious and hungry.  Shane had the managers get her some fruit snacks after she lost the second set 6-2 and she said it helped.  I thought the match was going to end quickly during the third set.  I know that it is hard to rebound once you have lost a one set lead.  Meg was down 1-4 when all of a sudden her adrenaline kicked in.  She played methodically, moving her opponent around the court.  She served several ten minute plus deuce games and slowly came back to tie the third set at 5-5.

I hoped that the momentum would stay on Meg's side of the court, but it just wasn't meant to be and Meg lost the third set after three hours of tennis 5-7.  With her loss Wawasee was knocked out of sectional play as Warsaw and Whitko will now play in the title match.  Meg's loss ended her sophomore season of tennis, but there were no tears on the way home.  Meg played a fantastic match and we couldn't be more proud of how she improved this season.  She held her own at #1 singles proving in her last match that she could compete with a senior that was college bound to play tennis.  What an awesome way to finish up.

The Track Star

Cal and HM have been dating for almost two years.  We have enjoyed getting to know her.  She blends into our family well as she is intelligent, quiet, and a high achiever.  Last night Cal was able to attend her sectional track meet while the rest of us were at Cam's music program.  We knew that she had had a fantastic season at hurdles and in the long jump winning the conference in that event.  We were hoping that sectionals would be her chance to shine once again.  I texted Cal multiple times during the night and kept track of Wawasee Track on Twitter.  By the end of the night we found out that Hannah-Marie had not only qualified for Regionals in both hurdles event, she even won the long jump.

What an exciting time for her!  Track is not a sport that any of the Heinisch children have participated in.  It's been fun following HM's success.  We hope that regionals next week is just as rewarding for her.

Middle School Choir

Tonight was the last middle school choir concert of the year.  The Agape Bell Ringers started the program off with three beautiful songs.  I was so proud of him for being a part of the group this year.  He has learned a lot and had a ton of fun.  There was one comedic moment during the bell performance.  One of the boys couldn't find the correct bell.  He kept looking at Mr. Thomas, and finally Cam figured out that he was the one who had it.  Everyone got a chuckle out of that.

After the bells finished the 6th grade choir was up next.  They sang four songs and we all enjoyed listening to them.  Cam takes choir seriously and enjoys Mr. Thomas immensely.  We celebrated the evening by eating dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings.  It was a wonderful evening and I was glad to be a part of it.

Last Week of Tennis

Tonight both Meg and Cameron had an away tennis match.  I asked Meg if it would be ok if we all went to Cam's match.  I have been to almost all of her matches and I have only been to one of Cam's. I also knew that I would struggle to drive all the way to Whitko by myself.  I was thankful that she was understanding.  It was a challenging match for her.  She was playing one of their toughest competitors who was a senior.  It was also the first time Meg had to play in the heat.  She did well, hanging in there to finish with a loss at 6-2, 6-4.  She was proud of the fact that she didn't give up in the second set when she was down 4-1.  Her coach wasn't supportive, but we have gotten used to that.  We were proud of her for finishing out the regular season.  She has been an important part of the team this year, and even if he doesn't appreciate that, we do.

Cam's match went well tonight.  He played with Caleb once again.  They started slow, but got it together in the end.  The match was tied at 4-4 when Cam won the next three points of his opponents serve to put them ahead, 5-4.  Cam then was able to serve out the next game at love giving the boys the win at 6-4 and putting Cam undefeated for the season.  It was a great way to finish out his second year of middle school tennis.  Next year will look different for him as Caleb will be in Malaysia, but I was glad that they could enjoy this adventure together this year.