First Injury

Within the final seconds of baseball practice last Tuesday (9/3/13) Jase was stepping off of 3rd base and some how twisted {or popped as he will tell you} his ankle. He could not walk on it right away, but eventually could wobble to the car. {Shawn was not at that practice to carry him.} He favored it the next day or two and we iced it down. We decided he better take it easy, so he sat out on practice Thursday evening for both baseball and gymnastics. He had a game on Saturday and suited up and played it in. Since I was at the wedding, Shawn told me that he was favoring it some and you could tell that he was having trouble running on it.

If you asked him if it hurt, he would tell you no and was fine during the day. Monday came around and we scheduled him a make-up class for gymnastics and he seemed ok. Shawn could tell that he was struggling a little, but you couldn't tell based on the smile on his face. Then on Tuesday this week he had baseball practice again. Poor thing, I guess it got to a point where it really hurt him because the last 10 minutes or so of practice he was sitting on the bench.

Last night Shawn and I decided we needed to do something. This is really his first injury and he hasn't been able to just "shake it off." I called the doctor's office and spoke to the nurse and scheduled him a doctor appointment. I explained the appointment to Jase and told him that if needed to we might have to go get x-rays afterwards, depending upon what the doctor says. He started asking some questions and we went over what x-rays were and that it would not hurt at all. From then on he kept saying "I just know I'm going to get x-rays, I know I'll have to." 

Our doctor checked him out and said that if it was a sprain it would be hurting all around his ankle, but his only hurts on the ankle bone. She said she thinks that it is ok, but would hate to misdiagnose it if it were broken. She told him that he needed to stay off of it until it is completely healed, regardless if it is broken or not. It is visibly swollen right now. She said if it's a sprain {which is actually a torn ligament and is kind of a big deal, when most people down talk sprains} that it may take up to 1-2 weeks to heal and she's actually seen it take up to a month. Her prescription was: Rest, Ice and Elevation. Ok, we can do that.

We headed down to Clear Lake for x-rays. He wasn't too nervous and I kept reassuring him everything would be ok, even if it was broken, we would get it taken care of. We prayed for his foot and the situation in the car.

Can I just say that the Texas Children's Health Center was so nice! I mean they have everything to entertain the kids: play kitchen, books, toys. First class for sure. We broke out our snacks and made ourselves at home.

They called us back in no time, which was a surprise. The nurse said that we could stay in the waiting room or sit outside the exam room, whichever Jase wanted. He said he wanted me in there. Me and the two younger kiddos waited outside the room and the technician left the door open while she set everything up. He was so brave. Super proud of him!! When they finished up the x-rays she said they would e-mail my doctor the results and I should know that evening or in the morning.

We took a pit stop before leaving the facility. I so need one of these installed in my house!! He just looks too big in this picture! Oh and the spoon Finn has is from our house. Another fetish of his. He loves carrying spoons around.

Before leaving the parking lot, I looked up a frozen yogurt place and found Orange Leaf. It was super tasty and their yogurt was so creamy! I had non-fat blueberry and it was so yummy!! Jase had cookies and cream and it was better than Tutti Frutti's. Allyson had to have pink: strawberry! And I got wedding cake for Finn. We enjoyed our little treat.

As I'm driving home my phone rings and it's the doctor's office. Results are in and his ankle is normal, no fracture or anything. Great news!! Thank you, Jesus! Now, we just need to keep him off his foot. Do you know how hard that is for a boy that is constantly moving, jumping, running?!? I think after today he better understands the severity and realizes if he wants to participate in baseball and gymnastics then he better lay low for while.

That's a wrap

Well, it wasn't a W tonight. The boys played really well in the first two innings and then we couldn't hold them or make any plays offensively. We fell short in the 5th inning with a final score of 15-9. Oh well! So proud of them for advancing this far and getting 2nd place!! Go Blue Jays!

And Jase, Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you and how well you have progressed over the season. You made so many outs at 2nd base and your knowledge of the game continues to grow! I love all of our talks about situational plays at the table or in your bed right before bedtime. :) You're a great ball player with a wonderful attitude and you will always be our All-Star!

Another W

"I said a boom chicka boom. I said a boom boom chicka boom. I said a boom chicka rocka chicka rocka chicka boom!!"

So tonight we played a team that has beat us all 3 times this season. And we had a chance to beat them at least 2 out of the 3 times, but couldn't pull it off. Tonight was the night we did it!! So proud of Jase and the boys on his team. And even after devotions, Jase was still saying "man I still can't believe we beat the Giants!!" So cool!

This means we move onto the final game tomorrow night...the championship game!! Bad News Bears here we come! Lol! We are playing a team tomorrow night that also beat us all 3 times during the season; they have a great team, but so do we. {For the record, we got 3rd in league play behind these two teams...so we didn't lose to everyone!} But tomorrow would be a great time to break that losing streak against them!

Super game boys!!! "We are proud of you say we are proud of you"!! Do you have these chants in your head now?? Me too!

Coach talking to the boys and congratulating them on a great game!

So last night I helped out on the field, and I look up and I see my sister out there tonight! Haha!! I had to snap a pic real quick! She was catching balls for the coach.  Not sure if she volunteered or he asked! Too funny!  It wasn't 5 seconds later and I was out there as well, helping them get warmed up.  Come game time we were off the field this time though. Which was completely fine because I was a nervous wreck at the beginning of this one!! So neat that we pulled it off!  Final score was 22-16.

Game Ball

Last night playoffs started for the Blue Jays.  We were playing a team that we have beaten 3 times before, but hey you never know.

The first inning our boys held them to 1 run, but then they held us to 2 runs...YIKES!! Shortly after that we started hitting the ball and making outs and we never looked back!!  We ended up winning 17-10!!  Go Blue Jays!!  Jase made some great stops at second base and caught at least 4 balls from the short stop for force outs at 2nd! He hit the ball well this game too.  I was super proud of him!! At the end of the game, the coach awarded him with the game ball...Jase was so happy!!  We were all so happy for him as well!!

Oh and one other thing...I helped coach this game!!!  They needed one more coach tonight, so I stepped up to the plate and helped out!  I actually loved it!  I enjoy the sport and love this age of kids, so it was a win-win!  All of the boys are great kids and it was so funny to hear each of them tell me these lengthy stories in 5 seconds until the next ball was hit. You better watch out, I might be getting my own team together this fall!  Kidding!!

Only thing that would have made this night better is if Daddy was here to see it.  I know he is working hard to provide for us though.  Love and miss you, Dad!

Frenchy

During last night's game, Jase slid into 3rd base and the ball was thrown and hit him square in the mouth. While he cried, he was quite the trooper and ended up staying on the base and scored shortly after that! We got some ice for him and I tended to him for a few minutes in the dugout. My sis got a few shots of us! :)

This morning his lip was a little swollen and you could actually see some red marks above his lip from the stitches on the ball, but for the most part he was A-ok!

After our game tonight, Finn put on Jase's "Frenchy" baseball hat, so we all ended up doing it!

And look at this doll! Just love her to bits!

It's hard to believe that we are wrapping up baseball within the next week.  While we have been going strong  with practice since February, it just doesn't feel like it should be over.  Jase has done a great job this season and we are so proud of him!

Play Ball?

Originally back in the fall I thought we would have been packing up the house and getting ready for Angola at this point in time. Well, things have not happened as fast as we thought they would have. And really that's ok, it just gives us more time to spend with friends and family before we go. But if I'm being completely honest, it would be nice to know a departure date.

We went back and forth and back and forth on signing Jase up for baseball. We did not want to sign him up and then end up leaving in March and he would not even get to play a game. And then on the other hand we did not want to be here in late April/May and he could have played. We waited so late to make up our mind that it was past late registration!

We finally decided: let's do it, let's sign him up! So, that's just what I did on Friday! Then on Saturday we got outside and threw the ball and hit some as well. It's been a while since he's practiced, but it was coming back to him for the most part, which was a good sign!

Shawn, Jase and I are really excited about baseball season!  Shawn won't be coaching this year, so we are waiting to hear what team Jase will be on {they had the draft this past Friday night}.  Can't wait for Opening Day and hear the words "Play Ball!"

Opening Day Parade

We started the day off early this morning.  Don't laugh, but it was 5:50 am, and that was SUPER early for me!  I ran and got donut holes and kolaches from Shipley's . . . super yummy!!

Decorating the trailer went pretty well.  We kept it simple and didn't end up opening up half of the balloons and streamers.  You'd rather have too much than not enough, right?  The baseball plates that I found turned out super cute I thought.

The boys really enjoyed seeing their friends and family in the crowd.  I was in the truck with four of them and their little faces lit up when I told them that their family was coming up and to throw candy at them.

Since Daddy was driving his truck and I was riding in the back of the truck, Allyson stayed with my Mom, Aunt Alisha and Uncle JoJo while the parade was going on.  My mom said that she had a great time and loved picking up candy.  She also got a huge collection of necklaces; Miss Mardi Gras!

The boys had a blast throwing candy out to the crowd.  It was so funny to see some of them throw like 8 pieces of candy at a time and then others (my son being one of them) only throw a piece here and there because he didn't want to run out!!  Haha!! He is SO me!!

What a great start to a wonderful day!  LET'S GO ASTROS!!

So sweet

It is just me and the kiddos again this Friday night. Shawn went on a short mens retreat with our church today and will be back tomorrow evening. I pray that the holy spirit surrounds them and gives them exactly what they need to hear.

Jase had practice tonight so I asked my mom to watch Ally for me so I could help out at practice. Since we are actually on a real baseball field this practice, we do real game situations with the boys. I help out in the field and tell the boys what to do if the ball comes to them. I don't know what it is, but it seems like I have way more patience with all of the other boys than with Jase. Or when the others are playing in the dirt I can tolerate it, but when my son is not paying attention it becomes a serious issue. And it's not always that he's goofing off at practice, but he is always TALKING. If we tell him to throw the ball to first, he responds with "what if . . ." and starts giving me scenarios. No Jase, just throw the ball to first. And then I catch him telling other kids what to do, not in a mean way, but trying to help them out, but that is definitely not his role. We had a "talk" on the way home from practice about listening and hopefully we are on the same page. If not, it will be a long season.

We picked up dinner afterwards and came home and ate. Jase was complaining that his feet were hurting him, so I let him sit on the couch for a while and watch some shows we had DVR'd. I offered to rub his feet, but he said he was ok. :-) Aunt Alisha also went to practice with us and was still at the house at this time. It was getting late, so after his last show, I told him he was going to bed. We walked Alisha out and I walked him upstairs to tuck him in. As we were walking upstairs he asked "can we do my devotion?" It was so sweet. Here it is after 10:00 pm and he wants me to read a bible story to him. I just love him. And this is the same boy I wanted to knock up side the head (but I didn't) just a few hours earlier. We read about Joseph from the old testament getting thrown into a hole by his brothers and then they later sold him to some traders that were passing by for 20 pieces of silver. The gist of the lesson was to remember God's blessings, especially during the hard times. What a lesson we could all apply to our lives.

Dear Lord, thank you so much for blessing me with my children. Please let their hearts stay tender and I pray that they never stray from you. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.