My Version of the Mormon Christmas Letter We All Know and Love

We have had such an incredibly blessed fall and Christmas season this year. We had some blessings that were very painful, and the absence of college football was the big one. We tried to keep busy each and every Saturday to take the focus off what and who we were missing, and fortunately Mykah had an accommodating soccer schedule to do so! However, we had a reminder in our church every Sunday of how football continued without us, and I struggled to keep myself together more often than not. Since Sunday follows our traditional game day, the emotions that I was feeling were very fresh. There were times that I wasn't able to control myself, and I knew Joe's heart was breaking, standing next to me with tears streaming uncontrollably down my face, thinking he had somehow failed me and our family. I also knew it was incredibly unfair of me to put my emotions on him when they were so much less significant than the ones he experienced during his first fall without football. I felt petty and selfish, but I couldn't seem to control my emotions, especially during worship time. There was something in the songs that helped me let go of the pain of unrealized dreams of a better future that I thought could only be reached by the next big coaching job. You see, there is a common belief that "the next big job" will make all the struggles most coaching families face worthwhile. In our case this was a myth, and I am starting to realize it is more a myth for the majority of coaching families than reality. The Urban Meyers and Kyle Whittinghams are the atypical coaches. The reality is that America is filled with coaches who coach out of passion alone because they know deep inside they may never end up with a Division I coaching job in the SEC. As usual, God knew exactly what I needed during this time, which was healing, patience, and a different perspective. I realized over the fall months that I wasn't mourning coaching, and all that I associate with it, as much as I was mourning that "the next big coaching job" was not going to provide us the financial stability we so long for. I also believe God placed the reminder I mentioned earlier in my church path to teach me grace through difficult times and to remind me weekly, in my most broken state, that He has a different path for us. I'm still working on trying to accept this "glitch" in my beloved church, but I can look now at my reminder without tears (although I still say the dumbest things around them), and in the heart of football season, even through my tears every Sunday, I had a reminder that we chose God's path over our own and that kept my heart in the right place, a place free from envy.

That said, we had a wonderful first fall together without coaching. Mykah played tons of soccer and scored her first goals, one was a penalty kick and one was just plain awesomeness! She struggled playing offense because our little princess HATES to run. However, the penalty kick that she made gave her the "I wanna do that against competitors" bug and she started playing offense more. Here's an illustration of how God was helping us through our football-less fall~ On the day of Tiffin University's first home game, Mykah was supposed to be playing across town. Instead, the soccer game got moved to a field one block away from TU's game and we could hear the entire game. (Insert a very quiet Joe and a tearful me here) As in all of God's perfect timing, however, this was the game that Mykah scored her first "real" goal.  Had it not been this particular fall, Joe would likely have missed Mykah's first goal, and all of her other soccer games this year. How beautiful is that?! We were there, together as a complete family, celebrating a soccer goal. It didn't erase the pain we were feeling, but it sure helped it feel less significant.

Another blessing because Joe is home in the evenings is that I have been able to be a small group leader for the youth group at our church. My small group is high school girls and they have no idea how much they are teaching me and helping me grow. The other leaders and the youth minister are simply amazing and I am so happy to be a small part of this important ministry. Mykah goes to youth group, as well, so it's fun to be there together, but from a distance, so I can both share in her memories that are being created, and give her the space she needs to develop her own relationships, with other followers of Christ and with God. It has been so difficult to give up Wednesday nights because of family time and homework, but so easy because it feels like I belong with these amazing kids. There is nothing like watching a group of middle- and high-school students sing in worship to God. I love what's happening to me when I'm with those girls in our small group. If I teach them one ounce of what they've already taught me, I will have done well. 

Joe is crazy busy with both jobs!  In case you don't know, he works full-time in the Registration office at TU and he is a fitness instructor at the YMCA, where he teaches a kids' fitness class and a beginning cycling class (spinning). He works at the Y in the evenings after TU, Monday through Thursday, and is simultaneously kicking ass in grad school at TU. He will finish in August 2012, so he is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We often wonder what we'll do with our nights when we both don't have homework! We can't even imagine next fall when we don't have football OR school- Whatever will we do?!

Speaking of school, Mykah is on the Tiffin Middle School honor roll, and presented me with my first window cling announcing this! I have truly accomplished soccer mom status with an honor roll window cling on the minivan! All I need are those little stick people on my back window ;) I am also blessed in the school department. I have just completed 60 credits in 17 months, and am on track to finish 3 months ahead of schedule due to an amazing opportunity that both Joe & I get to be part of in downtown Tiffin. With some creativity on the part of some wonderful TU faculty, I have a very busy January - April, but then I am DONE with my undergrad and I graduate with a Bachelor's in Business Administration in May!! WOOT-WOOT!!!!!!!

Our most incredible blessing this fall has actually been this winter and our Christmas-time. Our last two Christmases have been awful. We found out, each time just days before Christmas, that Joe was out of a job. Nothing quite like unemployment and uncertain futures to put a kink in holiday cheer. As a result, we did the best we could to make sure our kids had a great Christmas morning, but there was a gray cloud over our holiday season in general. So this year, we chose to celebrate the holiday season every way we could think of. Joe & I went Black Friday shopping, put Christmas lights on our house, and decorated inside and out like we haven't in a while. Max calls our house the Christmas house and the candy cane-lined sidewalk out front has been dubbed the candy cane forest. We have the lights on a remote control that Max practically hides from everyone so he can turn everything on, and an advent calendar to help him figure out why he can't dive in and start opening presents just yet. It's not much, but our kids love it and that's what matters most!  We have gone to holiday parties for the first time since Joe isn't recruiting, or somber and wondering how he's going to provide for us.  Last weekend, we made several new Tiffin memories. We went to see Santa and two live reindeer here in Tiffin and the boys sat on Santa's lap after an hour and a half in line with NO TEARS! (Of course, Max had to ask for something that Santa hadn't gotten him, so that had to be remedied) Then we drove to the Toledo Zoo to see the animals that have good winter coats or winterized accommodations and the Lights Before Christmas. This was a magical night-I don't know what it is about thousands of Christmas lights that fills me with awe, but it does! It was freezing outside, but well worth the trip.

Then Sunday was the kids' Christmas program at church...You know how there's always that one kid that refuses to participate? I was fully expecting it to be Max since Josh is such a social butterfly (like his sister). However, Joshie Bear's latest obsession is stuffed animals. On this particular day, he was toting around a stuffed baby chick. When that was taken from him, he was done. He had already refused to wear the shepherd's costume that I so cleverly fashioned out of a pack & play sheet and some rope (I couldn't find a small enough robe anywhere since he is still a little peanut), and would not go up on stage. That is until the program was almost done, when he ran up the aisle of the church calling for Max. Max was adorable, of course, and even though he fell off the platform right before his line (He's holding the star, is in all black, and gets his coordination from Joe) he recovered nicely and delivered it flawlessly! Since he and Josh had practiced their lines together for weeks, I almost expected Josh to yell his line, "hope," right after Max said his line, which was "S is for the star that shone so very bright" but he was too busy trying to figure out how to get up to Max! My apologies to the Cole family, who I barreled over a couple of times in my pursuit of Josh!


So this year, we have cherished our Christmas season, and it's not over yet! It was good for our hearts and our sanity to know (or at least be fairly certain) that no one would come to Joe 3 days before Christmas and tell him he was out of a job. That said, I have particularly enjoyed watching my beautiful husband blossom in his identity outside of coaching. Whether it's at TU, the Y, or at church, Joe is finally being seen for the wonderful and inspiring man of God that he is. There is no stigma attached to him and he is thriving with the realization that he is more than just football, and that he has so much to offer Tiffin, Tiffin University, or any other place we land for a time. Finally, the outside world is seeing in Joe what I see and thank God for every day of our incredibly blessed lives. During this, the Christmas season, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ as the miraculous beginning of His earthly life. At our home, however, we remember the death of Jesus Christ on the cross is the miraculous beginning of our lives and our salvation. So while our Christmas wreaths and nativity scenes have replaced our normal decorations, our crosses remain... reminding us of the true meaning of our lives while we celebrate the birth of Jesus. If you are reading this, we are praying for you. Since my blog is aimed at our family and friends, you are ALL in our prayers and our hearts always, even across the miles that may separate us. God bless you, for He has certainly blessed us, and continues to do so every moment of our lives.

Get ready for a picture storm!! Thanks to Taylor Elchert for capturing this special time in our lives, when we began our new journey through a fall without coaching... In case you are wondering why I haven't removed my old title, "The coaching life, by a coach's wife," here is the reason. We are finding that the coaching life sticks with us, and it is still a portion of our lives that didn't just go away after Joe left coaching. I know there will be many more posts that revolve around coaching, especially my recollections during this time, our first fall without football. Thank God we have Sammi to go watch during high school football games! We all need that glimpse into our old life because however painful it is, it is helping us to heal. We hope someday we will be able to walk into a TU game, but for now, it just hurts too much. I have a multitude of thoughts about this time in our lives, and I will get them on this screen one day (or maybe in a book titled The Coaching Life, by a Coach's Wife!), but school is still my number one priority for my non-family time, so the blog will have to wait just a little while longer! A coach like Joe doesn't just lose the qualities that make him a great coach because it is no longer his official career. Joe hasn't changed, it was just his job that changed. So I keep the claim to my title because I know I'm not done with it. Please enjoy these pictures, I know I will, just as I enjoy our new journey!

Thanks for stopping by to share in our blessings!

Touches of Love

The Boriches are blessed beyond words. We have spent our time together traveling across the states within this beautiful country. We have seen more in our last five years than some see in their entire lives. When we lived in New York, we saw beauty that we didn't know existed through the gorgeous array of the colors of nature. We saw Philadelphia, the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, Niagara Falls (New York and Canada), the stunningly beautiful Washington DC, and of course, New York City. We got souvenirs from each place so we would always have a token of our time there, a physical reminder of our memories.
Now that we live in Ohio, we are expanding our borders beyond Tiffin.  We've seen the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, rode Thomas the Train on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, explored the Seneca Caverns, the Bellevue train museum, and the Port Clinton African Safari. Recently, my parents came for a visit and we got to see even more! We went to the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, and the Cleveland Indians vs. Detroit Tigers game in Detroit, and Cedar Point, a phenomenal roller coaster park (Unfortunately, our day at Cedar Point was cut short by Maxie getting sick).

The first pictures are from the Hall of Fame, as I'm sure you can see, but Josh is hilarious in these. They are typical of pix of Josh~ he's either completely absent because we weren't fast enough, running away, or screaming because we caught him!

For ease of explanations, I'll call my dad "Papa" so I don't confuse you when I talk about he and little Max, who is not amused by nicknames. My parents call their grandsons "Dude." My son informed them "You can call me Max or Maxie or Maxie Joe. Don't call me Dude." So at the NFL Hall of Fame, the boys lagged behind listening to every tidbit imaginable on these phones. If it wasn't so cute, it would have been really annoying! Max never did accept that Papa's name is Max, too, and that is who he is named after.

Max's favorite NFL player is Troy Polamalu (mine, too, gotta love that hair) so he was really excited to see this Steelers helmet. He also picked a Troy Polamalu action figure as his souvenir.

Mykah loves Mark Sanchez (don't we all?! Yummy...), especially since we went to the Jets' training camp while we lived in New York. She has a bunch of autographs, but not Sanchez's. His agent stopped him from signing more when he was six kids away from Mykah. She has never gotten over it! (Another memory!)

We had never been to a baseball game and had a great time at the Indians/Tigers game. We will NEVER be Ohio State fans (Go Michigan!! You're welcome, Trevor.), but as local fans, we really have come to love the Tribe and it was so much fun to get all super-fanned out and see a game. I think the pictures speak for themselves...

We stayed in Detroit the night of the game since my parents were leaving the next evening. That meant some pool time for the kids, including Joe!

Unfortunately, when my parents flew home, they had to take Mykah with them. When we came home one family member short, my mind was reeling for a way to accept our time without her, yet again. I saw something that has impacted me tremendously since they left. Although my parents and our daughter are gone from our home for a time, there are touches of love everywhere I turn!   In a world where love is not always the motive behind physically or emotionally touching others, my family and I are surrounded by touches of love.  While my parents were here, my mom bought the kids bedding, my dad bought them all pillows~ the boys got Woody and Buzz and Mykah, a green fuzzy body pillow.  They also bought Joe and I a wine cork holder so we could save our special wine corks. I've been keeping them the whole time we've been married, but now we have something beautiful in which to display them.  It sparks memories of our own special celebrations and the time my parents were here, all in one!

Here's another way Nana and Papa left their mark on our house~  Maxie and I had colored one portion of the house by our backdoor with sidewalk chalk.  When we went outside to have dinner one night, we found this had been added to our coloring...it makes me smile every time I see it since it is still there.  In case you can't read it, it states, "Papa & Nana ♥ the Borich family"

Mykah was pretty anxious to leave this summer, and she was feeling particularly sappy the day we left for Detroit and caught Joe for a Daddy/Daughter picture.  awwwwww...

Nana and Papa also had to meet Sammi, our beloved babysitter turned honorary daughter, so the Rau family came over for introductions.  Sammi loves giraffes (Josh calls them giraps) and Nana and Papa also had to leave her a token of love from them.  She got a giraffe from the same collection of animals that the boys love at Tractor Supply Co.  (For those of you not on Facebook, Joe took the kids shopping for my birthday and told them they could pick out anything they wanted for me at Tractor Supply Co.  He wanted this birthday to be memorable :)  Very successful~ I got awesome cowboy boots, a t-shirt that reads Will trade husband for tractor, and a pink mesh/camouflage hat!)

Maxie is totally in love with Sammi, so he would not accept that Mykah got a picture with her and not him!

Mykah colored on the side of the garage, a tribute to her passion for soccer, and a physical reminder of her while she's gone.

This picture is from another Indians' game that we went to in Cleveland after our family left. Joe's boss gave us his tickets for the game since he was going out of town. What awesome seats! This picture shows the yellow line that designated foul from fair~we were right on it!  I could touch it with my feet stretched out.

The generosity of Joe's boss sparked even more thinking about this post, and a goal that I am setting for myself. I look around our house and see countless touches of love from people we have been blessed to have in our lives. The orange Dr. Seuss character on Joshie Bear's bed (Joshie calls him "Guy"), the bedding, the pillows, the cork holder, Barnum toys, Andrew toys, the crosses on the walls of our home, and my centerpiece bowl- these are only some of the things that make us smile with memories of all of our yesterdays and friends that have become family.   Some of these gifts lead to memories that cause tears for friendships lost, but when I look past the surface, I'm reminded of the good times. I'm sure that Joe's boss had no idea that his generosity would have such an impact on our family, but it did.
As each place we have lived has come to an end, we have realized that we have our souvenirs and our memories to remind us of where we've been.  Now I want to set my sights on being a person who touches others' lives with love. This will be harder than I want it to be, but I think it's one of the most worthwhile goals I have set for myself in a very long time. I will strive to touch others with love whenever I can, so that if or when it's time to move on again, I leave something positive for those with whom I have come into contact; something that will make them smile when they think of the Borich family.
Today marks one year since I started college.  (FYI~ it took me 10 days to complete this post!)  I have completed 42 credit hours in that year and I'm afraid that my priority has not been touching others with love.  I need to find a better balance between school and my personal goals and I'm hopeful that this post will create some accountability to do so.  I'm grateful to God for the way He has guided our lives, and I pray for continued guidance through this leg of our journey.  I pray for all of you, as you are all instrumental in our lives, whether you know it or not.  In addition, I'm going to ask for your prayers as I deal with the latest challenge in my life.  I won't share any of the details, but I know that with your help, I will overcome the pain in my heart, in God's time.  I know that when I accept my challenge as a blessing, I will be stronger and more receptive to the abundance of blessings that God has in store for me and my family.

Thank you for choosing to walk with us through this wonderful journey of life!  We are truly blessed to be traveling with you...

Immersed

Romans 6:4
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.


Hebrews 10:22
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

I was "sprinkled" in baptism in June, 2000, when I was pregnant with Mykah.  Fast forward to 2005- when Joe and I realized we wanted to be together forever, we began attending church at First Baptist in Pocatello (Idaho, for my out of state friends).  I never thought about the technicalities of my baptism until Joe got baptized at FBC on Father's Day of 2005, a month before we got married.  I didn't understand why Joe was baptized by immersion, while I was sprinkled, so I asked our pastor.  He explained this varies from church to church and they believed immersion is the way for them.  When I asked how my prior baptism ranked, he indicated that it was a personal choice, that if I felt my baptism was for the correct reason, I was good.   I had accepted Christ as my Savior prior to my sprinkling, but that didn't stop me from wondering every time someone else was baptized, or there was a sermon that mentioned "baptism by immersion."  I just didn't feel peaceful when the subject came up.

As you may know, Joe and I were blessed enough to find a church that we were comfortable with immediately after moving to Tiffin a year ago.  Because of the life we were living through Joe's career, we didn't bother joining the church, although we attend every week and have grown to love it.  Before January, it seemed like a lot of good-byes and another way our hearts would break if (when) we had to move again.  As God guided our journey, we discovered that we were not going to have to leave Tiffin.  My selfless husband gave up the career he loved and sacrificed so much for over the last 15 years for stability for our family.  So here we are!

It seems like our church family knew our hesitation, as well.  When we spread the news that we were staying in Tiffin indefinitely, our minister approached us about a class for new members.  In this class, baptism was addressed.  When I told our minister that I was sprinkled, not immersed, he told me he could fix that in about 5 minutes!  I cried.  Poor Joe thought I was upset.  It was just the opposite, however. 

As I reflected to my prior baptism, I thought of the incredibly hard journey I have taken over the last 10 years.  As the tears were streaming down my face, and the others in class had to be wondering why I was crying, I was thinking, "I get to start fresh."  How many people are so blessed that they get to experience two rebirths?! 

So, on March 27th, I was baptized by immersion by my husband, while our minister officiated.  Mykah and Max got to watch with the rest of our church family and although I HATE being in front of people, I was overcome with gratitude for my new beginning.

I literally felt relief wash over my body through the water, and I felt the strength of my husband's love through his strong and capable hands.  Most importantly, I felt the love of my Savior and the freedom that comes with letting go of all the troubles, failures, and regrets of my past.  This made me think of how many opportunities my family has had over the last year to experience different kinds of immersion...

We immersed ourselves in this community from the very beginning, but now that others know how much we love it and that my husband was willing to change his beloved career so we could stay, we have been immersed even more by friendship and acceptance and it feels wonderful!  In fact, we are now official members of Christ's Church at Tiffin!

We immersed ourselves into a new life, one that included actual simultaneous co-parenting.  My fellow coaching wives know what I mean by this.  Coaching wives establish routines for ourselves and our children to accomodate football season, recruiting season, long hours, and no days off.  As mothers, we get used to doing the majority of the parenting solo.  All of the sudden, Joe was home.  We had to get to know each other on different levels, and begin new routines, so we immersed ourselves into family time so we could get to know each other in a whole new sense. 

We immersed ourselves in trying to increase our family's activities together.  Joe was asked to teach a fitness class for kids at the YMCA that our family loves, and now has the highest kid's class enrollment they've ever had.  He's such a big kid anyway that the kids love him!  Mykah takes the class, and recently, Max started going, too.  Some of the games are over his head, but he has 45 minutes of running around like a wild man and he loves it!  Not to mention that he sleeps like a baby on Monday and Wednesday nights ;)  I still love my pilates/yoga class while they are in their class, and Joe & I recently added a circuit training class on Tuesday/Thursday that seriously kicks our butts and we LOVE it!  Mykah has incredible passion for soccer, so her games and practices keep her busy, but active.

Joe & I are immersed in school.  We are both doing well, but the combination of all this has affected our communication with the "outside" world!  Obviously, my blog has suffered from my lack of time, and my phone calls and emails have become almost non-existant.  But we know that we are where we are supposed to be.   Regardless of the decrease in the time we get to spend outside of our immediate family, we have increased the time spent doing the most important things in our lives- dedicating time to each other and God.

Just as I loved being immersed in the baptismal waters, I have loved being immersed in my family.  Despite immersion into total life change, we are immersed in blessings and love.

Update: As of May 16th, Joe began transitioning from the Admissions Office at TU to the Registrar's Office. He works 1/2 day in each until he can be replaced in Admissions. The details are still rough, but we'll let you know them as we find out. Here are the very latest pix (from Mykah's last soccer game today and one of Joe & I from date night about a month ago) My time is so sporatic that it has taken me 11 days to finish this one entry from when I started it! Very sad! I'll make up for it in a year when I have my degree :)

At least you can see how big the kiddos are!!

This picture made me laugh out loud despite the consequence...Josh & I were doing just fine on the slide by ourselves, but Max was feeling left out. Look at the delight on Max's face after he wedged himself between us and twisted Joshie Bear around! Poor Josh smacked his face on the slide on the way down, got a bloody nose, and he's such a little peanut that he wedged himself sideways in the slide! There was blood everywhere!!