Runners Take Your Mark....

Bethany
(in 2nd)
running
a 400 in
the 3rd
leg of the
distance
medley
relay.



It's that time of the year again! Track has started at Kennedy and Harding and the Koskamp's have two runners in the family. Bethany is competing at Kennedy High School and this is her 4th year of track. Hannah is out for track at Harding Junior High for the first time and she is enjoying it so far. Bethany already had her first indoor meet at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls on Monday the 19th. She ran the open 200 and a few 400's in relays. Between Bethany and Hannah there are about 18 meets to attend so Dan and I won't be at a lack as for entertainment this spring.

Family Fun in Florida

Hurray! Dan and I have arrived in Florida. The kids are still in Cedar Rapids so we have a few days to relax.

Dan has his own chair on the left but he likes the one I made in the sand better...or not. He did try it out though. I thought it was comfy-cozy.

The kids have arrived! We shared lots of hugs.

We saw pretty places.

We saw several softball games....CUI..ra.ra..CUI..ra.ra...who.ra.who.ra. Central! Central!

ra.ra.....

We took several walks along the beach...and even a run. Here Dan, Bethnay and Hannah are having a race.

Hannah is still smiling even though moments earlier she wasn't paying attention as a wave came in, knocked her off her feet and sent her nose first into

the sand. It was a funny sight but it really did hurt the nose. That salt water has no mercy.

We had fun in the waves!

Dan and the kids were much braver then I was. Even though the temperatures were in the 70's while we were there the water was only 60 degrees and it was COLD!

The waves weren't quite large enough to get a good ride on the boogie board but Dan gave it a try.

We were sad to see this beached beluga. Poor thing!

As we got closer we thought it had a familiar face.

Ohhhh! What an adorable little begula.

A family picture.

I don't feel like I have had a great trip to the beach unless I have played in the sand.

Dan, Bethnay and I had lots of fun building this castle.

Good-bye castle and good-bye Florida. Thanks God, for a precious family and the blessings you provide for us. Our trip to Florida was a wonderful gift from you.

Swimming with Indy and Largo.

Dan and I were going to surprise our kids but we were the ones who got the surprise.
The kind people at Gulf World gave us a wonderful deal and we all ended up getting in with the dolphins. Here we are with a sweet dolphin names Indy!

Jordan was playing with Largo but the girls each got kisses.

Playing with the dolphins sure is fun but their water was a little on the cool side...try about 70 degrees. The wet suits helped...but we were COLD!!

"Step It Up"

Our family just returned from a vacation in Flordia! Thanks to our daughter Bethany our entire family enjoyed a trip to Panama City Beach, Fl. to watch some softball and play in the sand. When our kids are seniors they get to pick a family vacation. If the Lord wills, Bethany is going to attend Central College next year and play softball there. So for her vacation she wanted to go to Florida to watch Central play in a tournament. We saw six games in three days! In one of those games Central's third baseman, Afton, made an error early in the game that didn't help the team at all. We were playing the defending National Champions and we were down 3-0 early in the game. Not a good feeling...especially when you are the one who made a big error. Aftons countenance and her body language told me that she was down on herself and apparently Central's catcher picked up on that too. As she motioned for Afton to come her way she gave her an encouraging slap and said, "Come on now, step it up." And Afton did. She chose to put the error behind her, she purposed to do better, and she did. It was an amazing game. Central was behind by 3 runs at 2 different times and by 4 runs another time and they came back each time. They ended up winning 14-13! Yes you saw that right....14-13. Not your typical fastpitch softball score.
As I was driving on the way home I was pondering the situation again. How many times do we see young athletes make a mistake that ends up ruining their entire game. Sometimes it even pours into the next game....and the next. They just won't let themselves move on. They dwell on that one mistake and pretty soon they can't do anything right. They are convinced that they are a Loser!
As I continued to drive, I was thinking about my spiritual life over the last 4-5 months. I have been disappointed. I have just been dry, not very passionate and even feeling kind of bored with where I'm at. Being bored with my spiritual life isn't something that I have experienced so it has really been bothering me. As I was thinking about that I heard a quiet whisper say, "suck it up!"
("Suck it up" was what I originally thought I heard Kelley say to Afton. My daughter Bethany informed me that Kelley said, "Step it up" which is much more like Kelley). Either way, it was true. I realized that I, like Afton, need to make a choice to set the circumstances aside and move forward. So what that my times with the Lord haven't been splashy, motivating and profound. He never promised that they always would be. I have been dwelling on it and I've ended up coming to His Word day after day expecting nothing. Certainly, there is no V-I-C-T-O-R-Y in that mentality.
Thanks Afton! I needed that reminder. I am already looking forward to meeting with God tomorrow and I know that it's going to be good!


(In the picture above Afton is in the back row, 3rd from the left, in front of the tall blonde.

Have You Played With Your Kids Today?

What would we do without our kids? I am going to be lost when they are all gone and I don't have an excuse to play. I will admit that as I get closer and closer to 50, I feel less and less like saying, "Let's go play." Thank God they still ask me and I hope they keep asking because everytime I say yes, I have no regrets. I'm awfully sore some mornings but still, NO REGRETS.

Nothing makes me happier then seeing my kids have fun with their dad. Here Jordan and his dad are fighting for position.....I don't know what for...usually it is just for the sake of puching one another around. It's a guy thing.

It is always exciting playing games with Jordan.

Being the competitor that he is he never lacks for something to say. This was a game of Apples to Apples on New Years Eve. Day. Obviously he disagreed with someone!!

Christmas Eve. Day was obviously beautiful in 2006. Here Dan, his sister Melanie, Jordan and Bethany enjoyed a competitive game of football.

For those of you who know us, you may think the gal in the grey stocking hat is Bethany but you are wrong. It is her Aunt Melanie. Yes..they look a ton alike. Bethany is along the right side of the picture and trying to get the ball to Jordan.

Here Hannah and her friend Susanna are dancing in the kitchen and I was invited to be the official photographer. I have been invited to be the photographer on several of Hannah's photo shoots with her and her friends. It is always a blast.

Jordan and I had a ball this day. We were at Walmart looking for a chair for his room at college. His was a nasty, bent up metal folding chair. We didn't want to buy a chair without first trying it out BUT that was almost impossible because all of the chairs they had were on the top shelf and bolted down to the shelf. Notice I said almost. Jordan decided that he was going to climb up to the top shelf and sit in that chair. I don't know how we got him up there but we did it. I felt like a naughty teenager, laughing as I shoved him up there. I was praying that nobody would see us as we took a few pictures, that we would get him down safely and get the heck out of there.

So the next time your kids ask you if you want to play...DO IT! You'll be glad you did.