Happy 13 Z-Man!!

Zach at a few months old. Who knew he would grown into the meat head he is today. He was a good baby. The only really hard times we had were the many nights sleeping in the recliner because he had such bad ear infections it hurt to much to lay flat. We survived to move onto new challenges.

This is Zach today. The Big 13. It is hard for me to believe he is officially a teenager today. It is a mixed emotion day for me. I am glad he has survived to this point, (LOL) and I miss those sweet times when as a little boy he held my hand and when I was pregnant with Hayden and had so much morning sickness all day, he would sit with me and brush my hair. I guess as a four year-old that was all he could do to try to make me feel better. However, it is a proud day for me too. I look at this boy in an almost man's body and see how he is conducting himself. Granted he has the teenage emotional, moodiness thing going, mostly around us, but at school, church and sports activities he is taking care of business. He is probably one of the most respected kids in those areas. I know I am his mom but other adults that deal with him on a day to day basis are always very complementary of him. He works hard at school even though he suffers with severe dyslexia. He tells me everyday that if Jesus comes today, he is ready to go but until then he will do his best to serve him in the right way. Then when it comes to sports, we know he does what he needs and sports make him very happy. So even though he is growing up and I know it won't be long until he is grown and gone, I have a peace that between God and us that maybe he will reach his full potential. Happy Birthday Z-man. We love you and cherish the young man you are becoming.

Day 113(63)Cast Is Gone, More Basketball

April 22nd: If you are looking for day 111 and 112 of my 365 project, sorry they don't exist. I did not take one picture those 2 days. I was just not with it. Tuesday was a long day. Zach did get his cast off but we waited in the Drs. office waiting room for 3 hours, no joke. Once the doctor made it in to see him it took all of 5 minutes. He said it should be healed and said we didn't even need an x-ray, cut the cast off and we were done. Hope it is healed, makes me a little nervous. After baseball practice we enjoyed playing some basketball. Hayden is becoming the little hoopster of the house!

Miss California, Carrie Prejean, My Hero

Carrie Prejean may have cost herself the Miss America title after the answer she gave to Perez Hilton's question about same-sex marriage but I commend her for her answer. This country is way to worried about political correctness instead of moral and biblical correctness. If more people were willing to be more morally and biblically correct then maybe our country wouldn't be in such a mess. As for Perez and all his whining since Carrie's answer....get over yourself! You asked her her opinion and well, she gave it. She was not rude or demeaning in her answer she just gave her belief. Mr. Hilton, you want people to be tolerant and accepting to your opinions and way of life yet you are not willing to give Miss Prejean the same courtesy. Get a life dude!

Day 110(60) All It Took Was A Woman.....Just Kidding!

April 18: After a frustrating evening of trying to change our old basketball goal out for a new one, Shawn was tired and decided to wait on me. Together this morning we got it done in about an hour. We work well as a team like we always have even though we can have some rough spots. The boys were happy with the finished product and we are just glad it is done. Hope to enjoy a peaceful day with my boys. We actually have no baseball today which is great. Hope you all have a great day too!

Day 109(59) The Meeting Of The Minds

April 17th: This is the scene in my driveway as I type this. This is Shawn and his co-worker Chris trying to put a new basketball goal up for my boys. I wish I could say it was going smoothly but they are looking a little frustrated. I will keep you posted!

Day 108(58) Like He Has Done It All Along

April 16: Yes, that is Zach playing center field with Shawn's glove on his right hand. I am proud to say that even though our team didn't win, Zach played an awesome CF with the wrong hand. He also was batted clean-up but due to the lovely storms our game was stopped and he only got to bat once and got thrown out at first. Hope his team gets better because Zach is getting a little frustrated.

Day 107(57) Another Bat

April 15: With Zach's thumb injury it has been hard for him to use his Sr. league size bat so he had been using one of his old little league bats until it cracked on us last week. Knowing he was going to need to use a lighter bat for awhile we made the decision to purchase a new one. We found a great website that sells last years bats at a really discounted price. That is the only way we will ever purchase another bat. That way they have been out for a year and all the reviews from others users are available and you know if you are getting a decent bat or not!

Day 106(56) Not So Tough

April 14th:Zach's cast after only having it for 1 week is looking a little rough. Had to take him back to our friendly ortho tech, Jay, today to get some repairs done on the thumb. With Zach playing baseball all the batting is taking a toll on the thumb part. We see the doctor on the 21st. Hopefully if he can't get out of his cast then they can put a new one on. I don't think it will hold up much longer.

Day 105(55) One More For The Road

April 13th: OK, I know Easter is over but I had to post this picture of Hayden with some real little bunnies from his school. This kid just loves animals and I have no doubt he will be that vet someday that he wants to be.

Day 104(54) Fun With The Boys

April 12th: My boys after the big egg hunt. Hayden is so happy with his collection of eggs and Zach... well Zach I think is trying to look really tough posing with his stash. How tough can you look posing with a yellow easter basket? I love the fact that even though he is growing up he is still willing to do things with Hayden. As I make them say to each other often "Brothers forever, brothers for life," because you are after all, your brothers keeper.

Day 103(53) Lightening Delay

April 11th: Zach's team had baseball pictures bright and early @ 8:30 then a double header starting @ 10:00. The first game had 2 lightening delays. Shawn tried to catch some sleep during one of them. Zach is back playing as a designated hitter. They actually had him batting clean-up with a broken thumb. That is crazy. He did get walked twice and struck out once but did manage to cross the plate once in the 2 games. It was a long morning. Zach's team is young and inexperienced and are really missing his pitching and fielding. Hopefully his thumb will heal quickly so he can get back at it.

Day 102(52) Good Friday

April 10th: Good Friday....I think of this day a lot. I try to put myself back at the time of the Crucifixion of Jesus. I think of his disciples. What was going through their minds that whole week. The fear, confusion and craziness of it all. Would I be like them? Would I have frozen in my shoes and defied him? I would like to say I wouldn't but how many times have I done it in my own life? People say things against him and I decide that it is just easier to ignore them than to say something. Maybe it is my own fear, confusion and craziness of my own life that I push him away sometimes to do things my way. Sweet Jesus, continue to work with me in my walk with you, Amen.

Day 101(51) The Making Of The Eggs

April 9th: My boys coloring Easter eggs. I always have a picture like this from every year. This makes me think of my dad also because one of the last pictures I gave him while he was in the hospital was of the boys coloring Easter eggs.

Day 100 (50) Big John

April 8th: Seven years ago to the day is the day I lost my dad, John. After a long battle with kidney cancer the day came that God called him home. It is funny that no matter how many years pass, I think I miss him more today than ever. As children we need our parents to provide food, shelter, clothing and lessons learned. However, I think as adults we need our parents more for friendship and knowledge. As an adult, I have come to understand why our parents did the things they did and how they did them. There is a respect and different kind of bond that is formed. I know there are very few days that go by that I don't think of him. I wish my boys could have gotten the chance to know him too. Miss you Dad. (Dad holding Hayden the day he was born with Zach by his side.)

Day 99(49) He Got It

April 7th: Zach got what he wanted. A cast instead of a splint. This offers him a better opportunity to play baseball. He can't stand to sit still. Good thing Shawn is left handed, that way Zach uses Shawn's glove to catch with, gets the ball out with his left hand, throws the glove off and then throws the ball. It is quite entertaining to watch. He will probably be limited to right field but he is all for it. The scary thing is that he seems to be hitting better with the cast on then he did before he broke his thumb. To him, he will do whatever it takes to play. He has realized when he couldn't play that you can't take playing for granted. I always say, everything happens for a reason and this has been a good lesson learned.

He really wishes he could pitch but don't think we can work that one out.

Day 98(48) If The Wind Doesn't Kill Them

April 6th: Our pansies in the front flower bed had been looking great until all the crazy, dry wind. Hang in there guys!

Day 97(47) No Picture

April 4th: Sorry guys, I was so ill this day that no pictures happened. I will try to make it up with 2 pics in one day sometime.

Day 96(46) Me and Raisin

April 4th: Saturday afternoon. My little Raisin keeping watch over me. Yes, that is me crashed out on the couch. I had worked the night before and was not feeling well at all. After I got off work, I took Zach to his teams 8am game and then I came home and crashed out. I think the house could have burned down around me and I would have never known.

Day 95(45) The Pink Was Just Too Much!

April 3rd: When I walked into work this was the bright, pink patient board that greeted me. It was way too much. I already was starting not to feel well. My other co-workers agreed it was way to bright. My great friend Jenny decided to assist in making a change in the board.

Hear is the nice, soothing, gray tape we agreed on to replace the awful pink. It is much easier on the eye!

Day 94(44) March of Dimes

April 2nd: Some of my great co-workers worked a bake sale as a way to raise money for the March of Dimes from our antepartum unit. Here is my attempt at more cupcakes. Our unit did an awesome job and raised over 900.00 dollars.

Day 93(43) For Darla

April 1st: Not an April Fools Joke Darla, I actually made cupcakes for the boys. They loved them>

Day 92(42) No Surgery, But This Is Painful

March 31st: Got to see the orthopedic doctor, Dr. Lehman. He is an older gentleman that was very nice to Zach. He told us he didn't want to do surgery on Zach because of the area of the break is in the growth plate and he said it would destroy the growth plate where he would need to put the pin. He put him in this hard splint and we return in 3 weeks to see how its coming along. Looks like he may be back in the game in 3-4wks. Thank goodness because his not getting to play is not only painful to him, but us too. He is driving us crazy!

Day 91(41) Our Wayward Yogi

March 30th: This is our silly lab, Yogi. Last Friday during all the snow and wind, our side gate got blown open and he decided to roam the neighborhood. Thanks to some really nice Tech kids, he was in a warm house for the night. By accident we found a found ad on Craigslist.com and it was Yogi. We were able to get him back on Saturday night but it was stressful until we did. Crazy dog.