Half-Marathon PR!

We are wrapping up the ultimate sports weekend, where we spent almost every waking minute outside! In fact, as I am writing this, Boomer and the kids are at the ballfield, fitting in a couple more hours in the sunshine. We all have rosy faces and tired bodies from a weekend well spent. It started on Friday evening, with a Friday Night Lights tournament for the Yadkin Ignite Black team. The tournament was in Mooresville at Cornelius Road Park, a little over an hour from our home. Like the FNL tournament in the fall, it took some careful coordination after the workday in order to be at the ballfield by 5:45PM. The team's first game was at 7PM, and they played again immediately after that at 8PM. Yadkin Ignite won both games, going 2-0 in pool play. Based on the run differential, the girls were seeded #1 and had a buy while the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds played. During that game, the threatening storm clouds unfortunately let loose, and after about twenty minutes of solid rain, the games were called off for the rest of the evening. Even though they didn't get to officially play the championship game, the girls still collected all the hardware as the #1 team. The early end to the tournament meant we got home a little earlier, but it was still a late night, and we had two sleeping kids in the backseat when we pulled into the driveway at 11:30PM. 

Even after the late Friday bedtime, Saturday started bright and early with the annual Bakewell sister half-marathon. The race had been on the calendar long before any other sports commitments, so unfortunately it meant running 13.1 miles on very little sleep. Also, over night, the temperatures plummeted almost 50 degrees, and the "feels like" temperature at the start of the race was 23 degrees. Brrr! Under these less than ideal conditions it is quite remarkable that both Megan and I ran as well as we did. In fact, Meg placed 1st in her age group with 1:51:08, and I had a personal best of 1:55:15! I looked back at my records, and during a 'virtual' half that Meg and I ran in Kernersville in 2020, I recorded a 1:55:11, but Saturday's time was the first one in an official race setting. Mom and Dad came to the start and collected our outer layer of warm clothing before we took off on our run. It was such an exciting sight to see our full crew waiting for us at the finish line. I saw Boomer first before I saw anyone else; he had come a little ways up from the finish line, and it made me smile to hear him cheering me through the last tenth of a mile. Meg and I were so thrilled to cross the finish line and have our 2026 half-marathon checked off. I'm proud of us and this goal we set each year! 

As soon as the race was over, I shifted right back into mom-mode and got to work on braiding Emmy's hair for her softball game. Boomer and the kids went straight from the race to Walkertown Little League for Opening Day. After a quick shower, I joined them there, with Grammy in tow. We got to the ballpark around 12:30PM, with Emmy's team playing at 1PM, and Eli's team playing after that at 3PM. Emmy's team played South Little League and won 11-6. Emmy got on base both times she was up to bat and had several good defensive plays at 1st Base. Eli's team played another Walkertown team (there are enough WLL teams in his division to make up their whole schedule), and they came from behind in the last inning to win 7-6. Eli was focused and solid at 2nd Base; he didn't let anything past him. It was exciting for both kids' teams to start off the season with wins. 

From the ballfield, I took the kids, still in their jerseys and eye black, over to Grammy and Grandpa's to dye Easter eggs. We had three dozen eggs, and while the boys helped to dye a few, similar to Christmas cookies, they preferred to play outside on the neighbor's basketball goal, so Emmy helped finish off the rest. We had some fun girl time around the kitchen table, while supervising the boys from the window. Check out Emmy's creative softball egg!

Oh and to add one more bit of excitement to the day, Emmy lost a tooth at the ballfield - her first molar! I didn't even realize it was loose, so after I got over the panic of thinking she had lost a permanent tooth, we kept it safe inside an empty water bottle until we could get it home and under her pillow. One thing I have learned about teeth - they don't come out at the most convenient of times! 

There has been so much to capture from the past 48 hours! As soon as I wrap up this post, I'll be taking a nap :) Here are a few other pictures from March that haven't made it into the blog yet: a Yadkin Ignite Pink tournament from March 21st, Emmy's field trip to the Forsyth County City Hall, purchases from the Scholastic Book Fair, and an action shot from rec time at Awana. We have squeezed all that we could out of the month of March, and we are looking forward to more fun in April. 

Emmy's Baptism

This past Sunday, March 22nd marked a special date for our family. After asking Jesus into her heart earlier in March, Emmy followed her decision by being baptized. We could not be more excited, and we are so thankful for the assurance of being together in Heaven one day. In one of my December blog posts, I mentioned the car ride home from the TBC Candlelight Service. During that car ride, Emmy spoke up and said that she wanted to be saved. I think it is through that service that the Holy Spirit was working and Emmy felt her heart being moved. After that car ride, there were many more conversations over the past three months, one-on-one with Boomer or me, together the three of us, and also with our Children's Pastor Mr. Tim. On one of the last days of Spring Break on March 13th, Emmy and I met with Mr. Tim in his office, and knowing that she was ready, she asked Jesus into her heart. I remember her sweet voice praying "Please accept me into your family." It brings tears to my eyes thinking of her precious faith, the simple faith of a child. We are so thankful to our family, our church, our children's pastor Mr. Tim, and all the many people who have planted seeds in Emmy's life. We have been praying for this moment for many years, ever since she was born and her dedication at church when she was just a few months old. We are excited to watch her grow in her faith. 

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."
- Proverbs 22:6

Emmy's Dedication at TBC - April 9th, 2017

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Debut of the Snackle Box

The spring softball season is underway! To cap off what was already an action-packed Spring Break, we headed to Burlington on Saturday for Yadkin Ignite's first tournament. This spring, Emmy will be playing on both the Yadkin Ignite Black and Yadkin Ignite Pink 8U teams, and yes, she will also still be playing on the Walkertown 10U team. AND of course there is Eli, who will soon to be starting up Little League with Walkertown. Are we crazy?! Needless to say, we will be playing lots of ball over the next two months! This first tournament for Emmy was with the Black team, and the girls had a solid performance, going 3-1 for the day, and finishing as the runner-up in the Gold Bracket to the DC Stars. Emmy mostly played outfield and had a strong bat, going 8-for-9. She even had a homerun (well, a solid hit with some fast base running), which earned her an extra medal for the day. All in all, out of seven teams, Yadkin Ignite finished in 2nd. Not too bad for the first Saturday at the ballfield! It seems likely that we will match up again with the DC Stars in future tournaments, so hopefully our girls will continue to have big hits at the plate and to make smart plays in the field. We have our sights set on that championship ring! One of the other exciting parts of the day was the debut of the Snackle Box. It seems to be a 'travel sports essential,' and with a combination of healthy and sweet snacks, the Snackle Box was a hit with the Kennedy kids and all of Emmy's teammates too. It will be coming along to our other tournaments this season. After leaving from Burlington and grabbing a quick dinner with Grammy and Grandpa, we caught the last two innings of the Wake Forest vs. Florida State baseball game. Boomer threw out the idea, and after some thought, I figured, why not?!  When you've already watched four ballgames, what's one more! It was a beautiful Saturday to be outside at the ballpark!

One of the other team moms, Jami, brought her camera to the ballfield at our scrimmage two weeks ago, and she captured some cool action shots of our girl. It is so sweet to have a community of other families, all supporting and cheering for each other. We are looking forward to the spring season ahead!