It is raining again

And I am a little sad. When I was finally able to get online, Briana was online but didn't have long to be on. It seems that either the internet isn't working properly or she doesn't have long to talk. She had an asthma attack and her inhaler didn't work. She got other medication from the medico. It makes me sad that I can't help her. I guess that's what growing up is all about, learning how to take care of yourself. She really is doing that. I am proud of her, but I miss her tremendously. I do hope I get used to it, I have three more children to let go.

Another busy week

I fell a little strange today. We have been all pumped up for two weeks about going to the state tournament, and now it is all over. It was a very cool experience. We went last year to the class 1A final tournament. This year Andrea played at Ed White and went to the class 3A final tournament. She played in doubles and singles. We were very excited that she drew a bye. She was the only unseeded played to get a bye for the first round. The second round she played Andrea, pronounced like the spanish pronounce it. She was a great player and beat our Andrea. Our Andrea played well. She just doesn't get enough practice with that kind of hitting. They played their doubles match, which was fairly easy, and won. Today they played the semifinals doubles match. Andrea only had one unforced error, and they still lost. Her serve was awesome. We are very proud of her. We have got a lot to work on this summer. I love tennis.

47 sounds really old

I had another birthday yesterday. When I turned 40 I said I was not celebrating any more birthdays. My family won't let that happen. My husband had to work. The girls and I went to a baby shower in the morning. It was for a young lady that was very close to Briana. I am struggling with Briana being so far away. This shower was especially difficult. It reminded me that my baby has grown up, my others are rapidly growing up and it makes me very sad. I don't think I will be a very good empty nester, but that is for another blog. Back to my birthday. After the shower we went to the tennis courts. Andrea is training for the state championship. We got there at 12. When I went in my purse to get my phone to listen to the mp3 player, it wasn't there. I knew it was there and I didn't take it out, or at least I didn't remeber taking it out. I'm sort of ranting and raving about not having a phone, daddy couldn't reach me, I couldn't listen to music etc. I was frustrated that I was so stupid to once again go out without it. My daughter said "oh we answered it and I didn't put it back in your purse". Well at least I'm not getting so old that I forget where I put it. Now without my phone, my husband can't let me know when he is getting off to take me out for my birthday. Fortunately, my nephew was with me and had his phone. Well it wasn't that fortunate, it was very close to dead. We used it then turned it off. I did get hold of Jimmy when he was leaving work. The girls weren't ready to leave the courts but daddy was hungary. I got them a ride home and I rushed home. We went out for seafood (5 minutes from our house). When we were throught, he asked what I wanted to do. I said that I would like to go hang out at a bookstore or coffee shop. We don't get alot of solitude. He said, how about the library (also 5 min from our house). He had a lesson to prepare in spanish. There was one problem, the library was only open for about 1 hour and 20 minutes longer. It was okay, I was just expecting to spend a little more time away from home. We went by the house and got my computer and his books. I tried to talk to Briana on skype but the internet in South America was not working well. At least we did get past the Happy Birthday.
I was a little disappointed over the day. In my disappointment I thought of my missionary friends in other countries and how they may celebrate their birthday. In the busyness of their lives, they probably don't do much celebration either. Their daily grind is alot more than mine. Even with my girls growing up and one moving on, I still have a great relationship with them and we do have contact, just not like we used to. God's grace will get me through this and maybe I won't be so disappointed over little things.

What a week

I haven't posted in a while. I have been writing long emails to Briana in Argentina. This is a difficult time for her. She has just started her Bible classes...all in Spanish. Also, this is tennis season. Briana played tennis and enjoyed it. But most of all she has enjoyed cheering her younger sister in all her sport endeavors. We have always played spring sports, softball and now tennis. Last year, they both were on the same team. Andrea played and Briana was an alternate. The team won districts and went to the state tournament. That was very exciting. She has been a little sad because she has been missing all of the excitement this year so I have been trying to keep her posted.

Andrea is the singles and doubles champion for the district 3A-1 in Jacksonville, Florida. The tournament was not without its drama. Suffice it to say, Andrea was the stronger athlete this year. She has always been good at anything she does athletically, but she has lacked in conditioning. Not this year, she outlasted her opponent. She has also had mental issues that affected her game. She overcame them all and played some of the smartest tennis I have ever seen her play. I am so proud of her. She has had many major victories at the end of this season. We have made many wonderful friends on our new team. I hope they feel the same about us.

Grandma Tyson's 95th Birtday

Grandma Tysons hearing is gone, she is loosing her eyesight and sometimes she forgets, for just a moment, who you are, but she is still very sharp. I hope I am doing that well after living nearly a century. Kenny Chesney sings a song "Don't Blink". He talks about a man turning, I believe 101, and he gives the advice "Don't blink, it goes faster than you think". I will turn 47 next month and in close to half a century I feel the same way. It seems like just yesterday the only "children" we had were Dusty and Butch, our dogs. Those were simple days. It wasn't that long ago that Briana joined the family, now she is 19 and going to school in another continent. Andrea just turned 16, Joanna 14 and Krista, the baby, is 12. There are many days I just wish time would slow.

Speaking of Briana, we talked with her twice on Friday. We used the webcam on my computer and she was on with her friend who also has a webcam and we got to see each other. There was a little delay but it was still nice. While she was talking to Andrea I had a major mishap. I was frying eggrolls. When I finished, I was pouring the grease into a mason jar and the jar cracked sending grease down the front of my cabinets and all over my floor. This was a canning jar made to withstand high temperatures, but it still broke. What a mess to clean up. Needless to say when I sat down and looked into the camera, I was a sight to see.

These are busy times for the Tysons. Busy times don't bode well for slowing time down, it only makes things go faster.

Pete Sampras

I Saw Pete Sampras

I thought I was too tired to post...but I saw Pete Sampras. It was quite exciting. He played Todd Martin. Martin actually won the match, but that doesn't take anything away from the fact that I saw Pete Sampras play. Todd Martin is from Ponte Vedra. When we were returning from Mexico, he was on our flight from Atlanta. He stood out because he is so tall. He is 6'6". He actually had more aces than Sampras. He also had the most awesome service return. But....Sampras was cool. Of course his serve is incredible. He was playing the old school serve and volley...Conners and MacEnroe style but only for the first set. He lost that set and quit going to the net. He won the second set in a tie break. He is much better with the volley. It doesn't matter that he lost. He dropped completely out of tennis when he retired. He did other things which makes him a well rounded man. It also reminds us that there is more to life than tennis. With Pete Sampras' 43 million dollar earnings there can be much, much more to life.