Graduation

My niece Lauren Jones graduated this weekend from Hiram High School. We are so proud of her! She will be going to Gordon College this Fall. Yes, the same Gordon College as Brian! He will be looking out for her, making sure all boyfriend prospects pass his approval first! Mom and Dad came for the festivities as did my sister Karen and her family.

Lauren's dad, my brother Larry, had a cookout for her on Sunday. It was a great weekend for a graduation as well as a family get together. Next year we go to Charlotte for Karen's daughter, Natalie's graduation. But I'm sure we'll all be together before then.

This is Lauren, her brothers Daniel and Patrick and dad, Larry. They are all proud of her, and they should be. She has worked hard and I know she will go far in life. She is strong willed, and it serves her well. She has a level head on her shoulder, knows what she wants from life and isn't afraid to go after it. You go girl! Congratulations, and good luck.

(check out the Yahoo photo link to the right for more pictures!)

New Generation of Ball Players

Saturday, I went to a double header, and it wasn't Brian's! My niece and nephew, Juliann and Jeremy are playing Upward baseball for our church. I haven't been able to go to any of their games because I'm always at Brian's. This weekend, I was free, and am I ever glad. I had a great time taking pictures and rooting them on. I even got upset with some of the calls, and then had to remember where I was! As you can see from the pictures, the kids had a great time also. Jeremy played outfield, pitcher and catcher. All I can say is, thank goodness for protective equipment! Juliann is running as hard as she can for home, her helmet is coming off and if you look closely, her cleats are on the wrong feet! Ya gotta love it. I have never seen pink baseball helmets before. But that's not all, she has a pink and blue glove and they use pink bats!

Juliann waited patiently for the ball to roll into her glove, while Jeremy is going to attack it as it's lying still in the grass! One thing they have in common with their Aunt Pam, they can't do anything without using their mouths! Obviously you've never seen me putting on mascara.

I'm not sure Juliann can see the ball when she's batting, but she's determined. Aunt Pam closes her eyes when she hits the ball too, so I guess it's in the genes. Thank goodness Brian didn't get that one from me! The look of pure joy on Jeremy's face is worth it all. I don't know if anyone knows who won or lost, or how many runs were scored, or how many errors there were. All that matters is that they were playing ball and showing off for Aunt Pam and her camera. I was running late and Juliann made her daddy call me to make sure I was coming. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Jerry was actually Juliann's coach this year. How sweet to see him congratulate her on her hit as he coaches first base. Brother and sister forever, baseball players for a season. God bless!!

GJCAA CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND

DOUBLE PLAY FROM LEFT FIELD!

What a weekend! The boys from Gordon came in second place in Region 17. They played five games this weekend winning two in extra innings, one 13 and one 11. They fought hard until the very end and never hung their heads in defeat. They played their hearts out! They won their first game on Friday against Middle Georgia. Wanda went to Douglas, GA with me on Saturday morning. It is a four hour ride. The first game was at 3:00 against Young Harris (they lost) and we didn't leave the field until 11:00 pm after the second game which went 13 innings against Andrew. (they won) Sunday they played in the championship, taking the first game from Young Harris in 11 innings, but lost the final game. Not only did the boys have to compete against the other teams, at times they had to compete against the umpires also! After one of the games, Brian's coach said he'd never won a game against the umpires before :), We left the field at 10:00 pm Sunday after being there since 2:00 and got home around 2:00 am. I then had to go to Gordon Monday to move Brian home. It was a very exciting weekend!

I love the fact that before every game the boys huddle up an pray. No one tells them to, no one stops them. It is an awesome sight to see them join together this way, and an awesome sound to hear their quiet utterances to the Lord.

This has been a great first year of college for Brian. He made many good friends, has a 3.55 GPA after his first year, and we found out yesterday he got offered the Resident Assistant position at school next year! This will cover his housing expenses and part of his meals. What a huge answer to prayer! He will also get to room with his friend, Martin, who is from Germany. I'm known as "Mama York" to Martin and am excited he and Brian will room together.

This summer, Brian will be working at Diamond Starz Academy, teaching 7-12 year olds at baseball camps! He will do a great job and is looking forward to it. He came home Monday and started American Legion practice on Tuesday! I think their season starts Memorial Day weekend. A couple of weeks off for Mom, and here we go again!


Joseph is still doing well at the academy, passing all his tests with flying colors. Sai and the baby are doing well. She continues to grow and grow!
Michael is working hard at work and Spring football. I think he will be coming home next weekend for the holiday. That is also the weekend of my niece, Lauren's graduation. The whole family will be around, so there should be many photo ops! I can't wait.
Have a safe holiday and God bless you all! I will keep you posted on all the York family happenings!

We're Going to the Playoffs!

Gordon College has made it to the final four in Region 17! They will be playing next weekend, currently scheduled to play at So. Georgia Junior College in Douglas, GA. There is some talk of moving it to another location because of the forest fires nearby. This is the first time ever, I believe, they've made it to the final four. The boys won two games yesterday against Truett McConnell 5-4 and 5-4. Brian is very excited, to put it mildly. He said yesterday, "If we can win the next five games, we're going to Colorado!" That's where the Junior College World Series is played. If they can keep their momentum going, they just might make it.

This is the team. If you look dead center, in the back, you will see Brian. I do believe he's the tallest on the team! They are a great bunch of young men who constantly build each other up and encourage each other when in a slump. It's fun to watch them play together. There are no "superstars" on the team, everyone contributes.

This is a shot of their pre-game prayer. They start every game this way. It gives me goosebumps every time I see it. How great to know that God is being recognized by these young men.

This is a cool action shot I captured. That's our shortstop, Joe Wilson, getting ready to catch the ball as the TMC guy takes flight to try to beat the throw from Brian. You can see the ball right behind the runner, but the ball beat him, and he was tagged out! Go Brian & Joe!

I'm not sure if I'll be able to make the games next weekend, but I'm working on it. Even if I don't go, I'll give you an update on the outcome.

Also, there is a link I've added to a photo page that not only has photos from the baseball season, but some family photos as well. Feel free to take a look. I hope you enjoy these updates and the photos as well.

God bless!

Weightlifting Records

Michael maxxed out this week in his weightlifting. His power clean was 345lbs, bench press 485lbs, and squat 665lbs. This is the most he's ever lifted. Tuesday when he attempted 500lbs bench press, his right shoulder popped out of place. He had an MRI yesterday to make sure there wasn't any damage, and everything was fine. Football Spring workouts start next week.

Brian called today to say, "Well, mom, I officially finished my first year of college." He took his last final today. He doesn't get to come home until the baseball season is over. They play the first round of playoffs this weekend. They will play Truett McConnell and have to win 2/3. They've already beat them 2/3 earlier in the season, so we know they can. I'll be there on Saturday to watch the action and let you know the results.

All else is as normal as possible for us. Thanks for reading, and let me know what's going on with you!

God bless.