And You thought Baseball was Over!

So did I but guess what???? We are still going strong. Kota is in his final tournament (I think and I hope) this week. He has played the last two nights an hour away and he plays again tonight. If we win tonight he plays either Thurs. night or Friday night. Then we're officially done!(I think and I hope).

Joel also has a concert Friday night. He plays in a band with his brother who is an Elvis impersonator. Joel plays guitar and sings.

Grandparents

A few weeks ago when Kota was playing in an all star tournament my grandparents (Kota's great grandparents) came to see him play in three games in two days. I was so happy to have them there. They braved the heat and sat in the sun to see Ko play his favorite sport: baseball! Grandpa Sonny and Grandma Bessie are the best! Kota asked me if they were gonna come and I said Grandma Gloria (my mom) told them about the games and I called them and they said they would be there. They came as they said they would and cheered Kota's team on to a 3rd place victory. Here is a picture of them with Kota after his last game. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Wolf for loving my boys as much as you do. You are important not only to me but to my children as well. They will be better men for having you as grandparents! Love you tons!

The Worst Feeling

I had the worst feeling in the world this afternoon. I went outside and called for Dakota since he had a friend call to see if he wanted to come over and swim and when I yelled for him he didn't answer. I yelled and yelled and yelled at the top of my lungs and still no answer. I called his friend and said I would bring him over as soon as I found him (since they were on their way to pick him up) but Kota was no where to be found. Usually when he's outside he's right by our house or within earshot to hear me when I call for him. This time he was not! I went in the house and told Jordan I couldn't find him. Jordan said he was on his scooter when he went out to bring the garbage cans in. I went back out and yelled for him again, still no answer! I ran back in the house with my heart in my throat at this point and told Jordan I was getting in the van to go down the street to look for him and if Jordan heard from Kota to call me right away. I did the drive down the road and yelled out the window for him...."KOTA, KOTA" and he was still not answering me. At this time I really began to get upset. In my mine I'm thinking do I call the police? If I do I can't remember what he was wearing. Do I call my friend Missy and have her come help me look? Do I call Joel at work and have him come home and be mad at me that I don't know where our son is? Do I call my mom and work and upset her so she can't think and have her come over? Do I call Pastor Chuck and Pastor Sharon and have them pray?

I did tell my angles to go find him and bring him back right away. As I drove back home I was hoping Kota was in the house hiding from me thinking it was a game, and not a funny game at that! I walked in the door, hollering for him and Jordan said he wasn't in the house. I looked in his closet thinking he might still be hiding and checked all the rooms but still no Kota! I told Jordan I was really getting worried. Actually, I was yelling at Jordan and crying at the same time. Jordan got up, put on his shirt and went outside to start looking. I got back in the van and drove down the hill by our house and was yelling out the window for him. No answer! I turned the van around, went back up the hill, asked Jordan what I should do. He told me to drive over to another street and look in the sub-division. I told him Kota wasn't allowed to go that far and he said it didn't matter but to look in that area. He also said Kota was stupid for going too far and making me worry but that's beside the point! I did as Jordan suggested and got the the end of the street and who do I see riding their scooter without a care in the world????? KOTA!!!! I told him to get in the van right now. Then I broke down in a full fledged ugly cry. Kota was looking at me like I was crazy and said he didn't think his scooter would fit in the van. I told him to make it fit and get in the van right now! He did as he was told for once and then I turned around and headed for home. I asked him who gave him permission to go so far from home. He said no one did. I asked him since when has he been allowed to go this far by himself? He said no one did. I told him how worried I was, that I was ready to call the police, that he had me scared to death that someone had taken him, that I loved him too much to live my life without him and that he's lucky he's not lost! When we got home I went into his room and told him I was really, really upset at what he did and how worried he had me. He started to tear up and knew I was very upset. I told him to never say I didn't love him again ( he does this when he's mad at me) and he said he wouldn't (we'll see about that!). Anyway, that was my scare for the day. I think it aged me about 10 yrs. I did take him to his friend, Adam's house. When I got there I told Adam's mom, Missy, what had happened and I started to cry all over again. It actually took me about an hour to compose myself.

Thank you Jesus for watching out for my son. Thank you angles for bringing him back to me safely and thank you Missy for listening to me blubber about almost losing my son! She's a mom and she understands! If can live the rest of my life and never feel that way again I will be very thankful! To never see this face again would shatter my world! I love you Kota!

So Busy!

I have been so busy lately! I feel like I'm meeting myself coming and going. Kota is still playing in all star tournaments. He is in the last tourney for the season this week. He played Monday night and they won 4-3. He plays again on Friday night at six, but we also have an old fashioned Weiner Roast at Joel's gramma's house. Guess we'll have to take Kota to his game early, go to Gramma's to eat then head back to the ball field to watch the game. He plays again on Sunday then we can officially say good bye to the 2009 Baseball Season! I have enjoyed each and every game but I think I'm ready for it to be over. Kota will have two weeks off then start soccer practice on Aug. 10th!

Jordan has kept me busy the past two days! Yesterday we had to go to Peoria to see his hematologist and surgeon. Jordan has to to see the hematologist once a year for sickle cell and he had a follow up appt. with his surgeon from his hernia surgery. He got the green light to play sports which means he can start soccer practice as soon as his cleats come in. I had to order them online. He has missed some conditioning days due to basketball camp, vacation and surgery. Thank God these days weren't mandatory. His mandatory practice starts some time in August. He also had to have a base line EKG and another test that I can't remember the name of. When I go for my yearly check up with my gastric bypass surgeon Jordan is scheduled that same day for two more tests to get done. Dr. Saving, he specialist, wants these tests done now and then repeat them in 3 yrs. to keep an eye on his heart, lungs and other organs due to having sickle cell. It's just routine I guess.

Today Jordan had an orthodontist appt. and Kota had to have sealant put on his back teeth to protect from cavities. After the dentist we went to get the boys haircuts. Then it was lunch at McDonald's then on to Aldi's to get groceries. We then came back home, put groceries away, went hunting for wiffle balls since I banned baseballs in our yard and the neighbors yard due to a crabby neighbor and was unsuccessful in finding them. Stopped to pick up a few things at Kroger's that I can't get at Aldi's. Stopped at the Dollar Tree to pick up odds and ends then came home and put groceries away again then made breakfast for supper. I cleaned up supper dishes, watered my plants and did some laundry. Now I am able to blog about my day. Joel just left to take Kota to the YMCA to swim. Jordan didn't want to go so he's in the family room on the computer. I am off to surf the internet, fold laundry and just relax with Sunny in my lap. I plan of going to bed at a decent time and sleeping in tomorrow morning. My dog days of summer relaxing are almost over. School starts for me Aug. 24th but I have to be there before then to get my classroom ready for my students. I enjoy summer but always enjoy heading back to school in the fall.

My Life has gone to the Dogs

Hey all, I have been busy dog sitting this week for my sister's dog. I watch their dog when they go on vacation and she does the same for us when we're gone. It works out nice but the only drawback for us is that her dog sheds (a lot) and my dog does not (at all). My sister, Shannon, usually gets Charly groomed before she brings her to our house but this time she didn't and boy did I have tons of dog hair in my house! They picked Charly up yesterday afternoon and then I went to town cleaning up dog hair. I vacuumed and lent rolled the entire livingroom. Charly is such a great dog and she doesn't cause a problem at all. Sunny was sad to see her go but was worn out. She slept really good last night.

Charly


Charly and Sunny playing


Again playing!


More playing........


Sunny

More Pictures

Evidence of Jordan's clean room!


Kota and Rina


Jordan on rock climbing wall


Kota on rock climbing wall

Vacation Pictures

My Boys Plus nieces and nephews


Dakota, Rina, Isaiah, Gabriel


My hubby relaxing


Isaiah in wave pool


Rina loving the wave pool. Can't you tell by the big smile!

Back from Vacation and the Hospital

I haven't been blogging for the past week due to both above mentioned things. We left to go the the Wisconsin Dells on July 1st and came home on July 4th. We stayed at the Kalahari for the second year in a row and the kids absoultely love it there. We went with my two brothers in law and their wives and kids. There was 13 of us all together and we stayed in a beautiful 3 bedroom, 3 bath condo with a full kitchen and livingroom. It was so beautiful! We had three balconies and they looked out over the outdoor pool. We had such a peaceful time. There were six adults and 7 children. We went to the indoor waterpark. It was actually cold when we were there. Too cold to use the outdoor park two of the days! Bummer, but the kids enjoyed the indoor one as well. They have an indoor theme park with rock climbing walls, go carts, rides and games. Some of us went to see the Tommy Bartlett Show. Kota went and he loved it!!!!

When we got back on the 4th we went to pick up Sunny at my sisters house. It was raining here at home and we weren't sure if there would be fireworks or not. Needless to say, there was much to the kids delight. We only live one street over from the high school football field where they do the firework show so we always have people come over and sit in lawn chairs in our front yard to watch them. Joel pulls the truck around to the front of the house and the kids sit in the back of it to watch. We had a great time.

On Monday Jordan and I headed to the hospital over an hour away for him to check in for hernia surgery on Tuesday. Since Jordan has sickle cell, he had to go in the day before and have a blood transfusion. The transfusion went well, he slept good thru the night ( I however did not!) and he had surgery at 10am Tuesday. His surgery was smooth sailing (Thank the Good Lord above) and he was back in his room by noon. He had to stay again thru the night so they could watch for any complications and make sure he stayed hydrated so he wouldn't go into a pain crisis. We started for home at 11 am Wednesday morning. I cleaned his room which I will show you pictures of in the next post. I had to take pictures of his clean room since it never looks like this when he's feeling fine!

I cooked pot roast in the crock pot today and we had that with corn, potatoes, carrots and green beans. It was super yummy. I am now finding the time to blog about all of it for the first time since I came home. Laundry has a way of tying me up for hours at a time. Anyway, I'm all caught up with my house work and plan to chill out the rest of the night.

Play Area for smaller children



Posts with African Pots on them


Wave Pool


Kota in Wave Pool


Wave Runner