Peek Into My Life As A Sports Mom

Archive for the ‘The boy’s’ Category

Christmas is a great time of year for everyone, but it’s the best for children. I love putting the tree up, decorating it and putting decorations up throughout the house. It makes the house look beautiful and cheery. Now that I have kids there is something different about the decorations. Our boys are 15 and 13, so they’re old enough to do the decorating themselves and that is awesome to watch. I love to see what they think because in my eyes it’s perfect no matter what they do.

This year we put our tree up on Friday afternoon because Chris had to work. The family room and living room look awesome. They did a great job!

Saturday morning Kevin, Chris, and Josh went to my mother-in-laws house to help her put up her village. They did an awesome job as you can see in the picture below.

Saturday afternoon Josh went to my mom’s house to help her, my niece Shai, and my nephew Caalab decorate the tree and house. Chris had to work so he was not able to go. They did a great job there too as you can see from the pictures.

I love this time of year and when I see my boys doing what they think is perfect, it’s even better. My boys make this time of year awesome and I’m so glad God gave them to me. Love you Kevin, Chris, and Josh!!

My oldest is almost 16 years old and I’m so proud of him. He has become quite the young man. He works hard and good things come his way. He has always been this way and I pray he will always be this way because it’s a wonderful trait.

Chris got a job on October 29th and he’s doing such a great job so far. He’s working as a dishwasher at a restaurant here and town. Since he’s only 15 that’s about the only thing he can do, but they’re already talking about what he’ll be able to do when he turns 16 in February. They can’t wait for it to happen and neither can he. LOL

Chris got his first pay check on Friday and he was VERY happy when he got it because it was more than what he was expecting. Kevin calculated it and we told him it was lower, just to be safe. Now that he knows the calculations, he’ll be able to get it closer so he’ll have a better idea.

Chris is saving his money to purchase a transmission for his car. He needs to save $150 each check in order to have enough money before his birthday. With the hours he’s getting so far, that won’t be a problem. He’s loving his car and that’s wonder. He’s paid for everything himself and that’s awesome in our eyes.

We’re so proud of you Chris. Keep up the hard work as it will pay off each time!

Yesterday I posted a picture of our boys in the water standing on their hands. For Easter this year we took the boys to Las Vegas. It was a great time and the weather was just perfect. The pools were open and so on the last day we were there we took the boys swimming. This is a video of them standing on their hands in the water. This is something Josh couldn’t do at first, but after a few minutes of help from his big brother Chris, he was able to make it happen. Great job boys!!

Here is the short video of them standing on their hands.

Today is Josh’s 13th birthday and it’s a very special day. He’s been looking forward to this day for a long time, but I’ll tell you if it weren’t for the doctors and nurses at the Wyoming Medical Center and Presbyterian St Luke’s hospital in Denver along with God, Josh wouldn’t be with us today.

Josh was born five weeks early and his lungs were not fully developed. Praise God for putting the idea of giving me the steroid injection to mature his lungs in the mind of my doctor, because the doctors in Denver told us that was the only thing that saved Josh. The other thing that helped Josh was his size. At 35 weeks, Josh was 5 pounds 6 1/2 ounces. Most children at that age are around 2 or 3 pounds. My doctor said if he would have gone full term he would have been over 10 pounds.

Right after Josh was born he was taken away to an incubator where they worked on him. I’ll tell you it was one of the scariest things we’ve gone through, but it was by the grace of God that we made it through. Minutes after he was born he was taken to have a chest X-ray done so they could put a tube in him to help him breathe. He would have another one while he was in Casper just to make sure it was in properly. He was put in the nursery and stayed there until the doctors and nurses from Denver could get here. Josh was in Casper for 7 hours and then he was flown to Denver.

We decided Kevin would go with him, but I would have to stay behind because I had a fever and they needed to find the source of it so they could help me to get better as well. The ambulance came with the doctors and nurses from Denver and they loaded Josh up and headed to the airport. After getting a mile or two away from the hospital it was discovered that Kevin was not with them, so they made a mad dash back to the hospital for him. Once they arrived at the airport Josh, Kevin, the doctors, and the nurses were loaded into a jet and they were on their way to Denver.

Once in Denver they would take a helicopter from the airport to the hospital but there wasn’t enough room for Kevin so they called ahead for a cab to take Kevin to the hospital. The cab driver got lost and Kevin had to walk a good while down the road before the two would meet. By the time Kevin made it to the hospital Josh was settled into his incubator in the NICU. We were able to get Kevin a room in the attached retirement community that the hospital had. He would make numerous daily trips to the NICU to be with Josh.

Meanwhile I was back in Casper stressing and feeling horrible. I was not able to hold Josh and that broke my heart. My doctor put me on antibiotics and my fever went away. After spending four days in the hospital I was finally able to go home, but I couldn’t bring myself to go by myself so Chris and I stayed at my mom and dad’s house until I was able to make the trip to Denver. After an additional two days I couldn’t handle it anymore so I made a call to my doctor. I told her one way or the other I was going to Denver and I’d hoped she would give me the ability to go. She gave me some medicine and sent me on my way. My mom and dad drove me and Chris to Denver so we could be with Kevin and Josh. After five days I was finally able to hold my little boy. He was so little and had all sorts of wires and cords attached to him.

While we were at the hospital Josh had lost a little over a pound. We were told he couldn’t leave until he was back up to birth weight so we were going to have to wait for him to get back up to the 5 pound 6 1/2 ounce mark as well. They did tell us he could go home on oxygen, but he might have to go back to the hospital in Casper if the level of oxygen he was at was at a certain amount. We prayed that would not be the case, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if it was the case.

Day after day we would visit Josh multiple times a day. We hated the thought of him being alone even though he had his own nurse to take care of him. There was a time or two where I’d wake up in the middle of the night and Kevin would be gone, but I always knew where he was. I woke up a few times, but couldn’t find my way so I wasn’t able to go. There were also a few times where both of us would be awake so we’d go together. The one thing that helped us was the place we stayed at was connected to the hospital so we had the ability to walk the halls to get to him.

After a week of being in the hospital and continually being with him, the nurses told us we needed to get out and do something. So we decided to go to Casa Bonita for dinner. We had to be back by a certain time so we could get in the hospital where we parked at, so we were limited on the time we had for dinner. We enjoyed our dinner, but truly missed Josh so we decided to go back. We could see the hospital but with all the one way streets we got lost. We finally made it back to the hospital with one minute to spare. What a relief!

During Josh’s stay in the NICU he had an IV in his head and needless to say that was horrible. He still has a scar from that IV and the hair won’t grow in that spot. He also had a feeding tube and the tube to help him breathe. Each time they tried to remove the tube he would stop breathing so the tube would have to be reconnected. He spent 7 days on a breathing tube before he was able to be taken off and put on oxygen.  At that point he was moved to the regular nursery. It was an exciting day to say the least.

On the 8th day we were scheduled to go home. We were so excited. In the final hours they were monitoring things and Josh had what they call a brady. This is where the heart skips a beat. We all have those but when they are caught on a monitor the hospital won’t let you go home. You must go 24 hours without one before you can leave. So the going home status was changed and we were stuck there again. Approximately 18 hours later, he had another brady so again we weren’t going home. While we understood why he couldn’t go home, it was frustrating and we were sad. Finally after 10 days of being there we were finally able to go home.

We put him in the only car seat we had and he looked so little. We had to put blankets and towels around him so he would fit. Thirteen years ago that was ok to do, but that’s probably not something they would allow to happen now. LOL  The trip home was scary, but God was there to protect us all along the way. Since we were both worried about him, I road all the way home in the back seat. Josh did a wonderful job and slept almost all the way home.

Thirteen years later, Josh is a wonderful child and you’d never know he was born five weeks early and spent time on a breathing tube. He’s energetic, loves to play basketball, soccer, and run in track. He loves playing games and is very good with a computer. He’s a happy and very funny kid and that’s wonderful to see.

Today I want to say happy birthday to a wonderful young man. I’m proud of you Josh and I love you so much. Have a great day buddy!

Saturday was an awesome day. Not only was it Kevin’s birthday, but it was also the very first time Chris played JV football. Even though KW lost 14-26, it was the best game Chris has ever played. The majority of the game he play on the offense and was on the kick return team. Both positions are somewhat new to Chris but that didn’t stop him from doing as the coach said and following through like he was supposed to.

Chris made a number of awesome plays, he blocked just like he should, and he protected his quarterback as planned. While he played on the kick return team he blocked the other players so they couldn’t get to his ball carrier. It was picture perfect!

With minutes left in the game they put Chris in on the defense which is the position he loves to play. If the other team wouldn’t have sat on the ball that last play Chris would have sacked their quarterback because he was inches away from getting to him.

One of Chris’ favorite plays is one the coach says is just for him. He rolls to the left or right to throw the other team off and to get a player that may otherwise not be blocked. He is really good at this play and so he is the only one that does it. Below are pictures of some awesome plays Chris had during the JV game.

Chris, dad and I are so proud of you. You’ve worked hard over the years and it’s starting to pay off. Keep up the hard work because it will continue to work in your favor. Don’t forget the Bible verse Philippians 4:13. “I can have all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

We’re proud of you and we love you!!!!

We came up to the mountain last night to do some camping. It’s perfect up here this time of year. Usually it’s between 15 and 20 degrees cooler on the mountain so it’s a great way to escape the heat during the summer.

We were sitting around the camp fire laughing and having a good time when a bug came along and freaked us out. He was huge and made a strange sound. After he came to visit each one of us we decided to put the fire out and go inside the camp trailer. LOL

Once we got inside we found a huge black bug on the floor in the trailer so one of our son’s came to the rescue and got him out. He loves bugs so it was all good to him. Hehehe

So once we got him out things were good. We stayed up for a bit and then decided to go to bed. Kevin and I were in bed waiting on the boys to finish up. All the lights were off except for the one in their area. The next thing we know one of the boys jumps out of bed and starts jumping up and down making strange sounds. Needless to say it was funny and we were all laughing.

What ended up happening was a bug decided to come into bed with him. So once again the bug was removed and all was well. Well not until three bug checks were done. Sleeping bag, bed, blanket, pillow, everything had to be checked.

It’s the funny things we have happen that make camping trips like this fun and memorable. More than likely it will be a long time before we forget the bug check story and that camping trip. LOL

During that same camping trip I mentioned yesterday, I could just tell my oldest wanted to have a blog post written about him too. He didn’t flat come out and say it, but a mom just knows. Hehehe

This post is all about my oldest son Chris. He’s 15 years old and he’s a wonderful kid. He was born three weeks early but the doctor did a gestational age test on him and he was actually two weeks late. He’s been a big boy all of his life but that hasn’t stopped him from doing what he enjoys. He loves to play football and basketball. He also likes track but had to stop due to a back injury.

He’s a very busy kid. He lifts weights and works out with the football team three days a week during the summer. He does a lot of work for a very nice lady down the street, he’s learned to long board (that’s a long skate board), and he enjoys being with his friends. He’s always on the go, but is a typical teenager in that he sleeps a good portion of the day away. LOL

He’s very helpful and strong which makes it nice when we need something heavy moved. He’s always willing to help no matter what you need or want him to do. Those are wonderful qualities that any mom would be proud to say her child has and it makes me happy to say my son has them. I love you Chris!

We’re doing some camping this weekend to have some down time so I decided to write some blog posts. I asked my family what I should write about and my youngest one said, “write one about me”. LOL So here I go.

What do I say about Josh? Josh is my youngest and he’s just three short months away from officially being a teenager. Lately I’ve really been asking myself where the time has gone? I just can’t believe my baby is almost a teenager.

Josh was born 5 weeks early and he started out his life on a breathing machine. We spent two weeks in Denver at Presbyterian St Luke’s hospital. Those people over there were just awesome. They took good care of Josh and us too. Once he overcame the problem of immature lungs, he was off and running. He spent the first 6 weeks of his life in preemie clothes, but that was the end of that. He would be taller than his older brother at all checks. One I remember specifically is the three year check up. Chris was 3 ft tall at that visit while Josh came in at 3 ft 1 1/2 in. If the doctors are correct, Josh will be 6 ft 3 in.

Back to present time, Josh is a happy and tall 7th grader. He enjoys playing basketball and doing track. He struggles with school, but things changed when he went into junior high in 6th grade. I don’t know if it had to do with the IEP we did with all of his teachers or if it’s a maturity thing. Nonetheless, he’s improving and that’s what counts the most.

Josh is an awesome kid and I’m so happy to call him mine. He’s pleasant and caring and those are wonderful traits. I love you Josh!

We went camping at the lake this last weekend and I’ll tell you, we had a blast. It was nice weather and we had a great time with the boys and Kevin’s brother’s family.

We went out Friday night and came back on Sunday. The majority of the time was spent talking and fishing. On Sunday we spent most of the day on a boat and needless to say it was a lot of fun. We spent the morning fishing and then the afternoon we went to the canyon and around the water looking around and enjoying the water.

Fishing this time was a lot better then it was when we went over Father’s Day. Chris caught three fish, Josh caught two fish, Kevin caught two fish, and I caught one fish. Here is the information on each of them.

Chris

13 ounces and 1 foot
8 ounces and 11 inches
1 pound and 13 inches

Josh

1 pound 4 ounces and 14 ½ inches
13 ounces and 13 inches

Kevin

1 pound 6 ounces and 16 ½ inches
1 pound 5 ounces and 15 inches

Corrie

1 pound 4 ounces and 14 ½ inches

Needless to say the fish we caught this time were pretty good in size. Several of them put up a huge fight and that was wonderful. We had a great time bringing them in and the smiles were wonderful.

This weekend we’re going to the mountain for some relaxing time. It will be nice to be in the cooler air and not spend the time watching a fishing pole. LOL