Busy Summer

Summer is flying by! We have been super
busy and I can't believe that the school
year is almost here again! Luke starts
his new pre-school in 14 days! Jake and
Drew start in 3 weeks. I'm so excited
for some of the classes they will take
through the charter school: computer,
Spanish, Art, PE, Book club, and more!

I will continue to teach them at home
3 days of the week. Jake just got his
test scores back and he tested very
well! I am so proud of him and thankful
that we are in a position to homeschool
and have him learn in a really good
environment. I'm looking forward to
teaching Drew this year too.

Jake just got back from his first
time at church camp last Friday.
It was a big step for him to be
away from home for 5 nights and
to have no contact at all with us
during that time. We were so proud
of him when we picked him up from
camp because his counselor said that
Jake was such a great kid. He said
that Jake has the gift of encouragement
and that he was so helpful the entire
time.

I went to Florida a couple weeks ago
for the 4th Annual Under Armour All-
American High School Softball Game.
ESPN Rise puts the event on in
Orlando, FL and it was my 4th time
coaching in the game. They also
televise the game on ESPNU. It's
fun to see the upcoming stars before
they head to the top colleges in the
nation for softball. My team FINALLY
won in the 9th inning! My team lost
the past 3 years!

I was in Midland, TX this past weekend
speaking to 104 Softball Teams from around
the nation competing in the 14U ASA
Nationals. The 1st Nationals I ever
competed in was 14U and we won it all
and I was the winning pitcher, so it
brought back a lot of memories to speak
to this group. I even saw one of my
Olympic Teammates (Michele Granger).
She is coaching her daughter's team.

Last night I was in Huntington Beach
speaking to more softball teams (ages
14-18) competing in Premier Nationals
this week. These Opening Ceremonies
were right on the beach so it was a
fun place to be! Today I spoke to
a group of Chinese students who are
visiting the United States for a
couple weeks. It was the 3rd group
of students I have spoken to this
summer. I spoke about the Olympics
and shared my medals with them and
also told them that God is the
most important part of my life! They
love to take pictures with the medals
even though most of them have never
watched softball before.

We have been busy! We have also been
spending time swimming with friends,
going to the beach and just hanging
out. We also have continued to feed
the homeless and be blessed by helping
others. I am so thankful for my life-
for my family first of all, and for
every opportunity I have to speak!
One thing I love about traveling is
that I get so much uninterrupted quiet
time on the plane reading my Bible
and doing my Bible study. I have been
reading the Old Testament this year and
one thing that stands out is how people
were known for either following God and
his ways, or for doing evil in the eyes
of the Lord and not following Him. In
the end, we will also be known for one
of those. If we are not following God,
many times we are doing evil in His eyes
and don't even realize that we are
following the ways of the world. We
need to know our Bible so we can know
truth. I encourage you to pick up your
Bible today if you haven't lately. It
will encourage you!