Dodger Baseball with the Cook Boys

Colby and Carson

It's that time of year and Carson is almost done with his regular season of baseball with the Dodgers- complete with his dad as Head Coach and Colby as the official bat boy! We are going into the last 2 games undefeated and have had a blast with a lot of our teammates from last year, along with some new ones. Colby was not quite ready to play organized sports, so we decided that the bat boy position would be a perfect entry into all of it. He has loved it and when he is not too hungry or distracted in the dug out- he really does a great job running out to get bats! He is part of the team and makes sure anyone who asks knows that! We only had one wack in the head (of course he wasn't wearing his helmet) and coincidently it had to happen while I was away on my girls trip. No stitches were needed and after a little apprehension, Colby is back in the game!

Colby with his new helmet after getting hit in the head!

He is very serious about being bat boy!

Carson is quite a little ball player!

Coach Rod does an amazing job with these boys! He really loves these kids and has a "ball" with them!

Nothing better than getting the game ball and having a bag of chips!

Carson, Zach (next door neighbor) and Colby before a game!

Spider Monkey

Cooper has officially been given the nickname "spider monkey" by my husband!! A few weeks ago when the historical flood hit the Nashville area, my sweet hubby was on full-time duty with our 3 boys while I was away on a girl's trip with some dear friends. It was during this time, that my wild little almost-2-year-old, rocked daddy's world and hence received the nickname. I received a text from Bunky saying, "Cooper is like a caged spider monkey who has been cut loose". Cooper truly is into EVERYTHING! When I say everything, I don't mean toys, baby Einstein movies, or anything that little boys his age "should" be into- I mean toilets, coloring on the walls, destroying everything in sight, trash digging, climbing on tables, staplers, screwdrivers........ and the list goes on and on. He is non-stop and runs everywhere looking for the next thing to destroy!!

I came back from my trip to an exhausted husband, who truly has a new-found appreciation for my daily routine with the kids. And although I want to pull my hair out most days, I sit back and truly marvel at all God has done in his little life. I can't help but be thankful for his "high energy" and know that things could be very different with this little "Spider monkey", so I just try to remind myself of that on those days that I want to flush him right down the toilet along with all of the toys, food, toothbrushes, etc that he himself has managed to flush down!! :)

How many pieces can I tear this into??

In Daddy's office with the stapler!

The Impact of Teachers

Well, Carson officially finished Kindergarten last week! He had a wonderful year and the progress he made with reading, writing, and even math are simply amazing to me. Holding him back one year was, no doubt, a right decision. His teacher, Miss Mackenzie Riggs, complimented him so much on how well he focused and took responsibility throughout the year. I am so very proud of him! We are truly blessed to have had, what I believe is the BEST kindergarten teacher EVER! Unfortunately, she will be moving to New York City, so we won't get to see her next year. Carson's last day was truly devastating for him as he said his goodbye's to her. It was like a scene from a movie. We said goodbye and as we walked down the hall the flood gates opened and with tears streaming down his face, he said, "Mom, I might not see Miss Riggs again, I need one more hug", then proceeded to run back down the hall and grab her, bawling his little eyes out. He then cried the whole way home, telling me that when he got to Heaven, the first thing he was going to say to God was, "Can you help me find my Kindergarten teacher...her name is Miss Riggs"- how precious is that??

Being the kind of wonderful person she is and knowing that Carson's birthday party was the next day- she took a break from packing and she came to his party!!! Thank God for teachers who REALLY do love their job and care about their kids! OH, and Carson has a framed picture of him and Miss Riggs on his dresser and he prays for her every night- she had quite an impact!

Another Clear MRI and Perspective

Well, first of all.... Cooper's MRI was completely cancer-free!! I can't begin to describe what it is like to answer the phone call from his Oncologist after an MRI. I almost feel like I can't breathe as I wait for the words to come out of her mouth. It is truly a relief like nothing I can put into words, to hear good news. I think for so long we continued to get one set of bad news after another, that the good news we have been getting more regularly now is almost unbelievable. I have to pinch myself. So, Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your hand in all of this!!!!! We are filled with JOY and happiness and even more hopeful of what lies ahead for our sweet boy.

Cooper with 3 of the nurses in Radiology- they know him well in there!

He is still coming out of "happy land" from the anesthesia here.

This morning as I was spending a little time in prayer and reading God's word, I just kept thinking about how so many things that seem so big to me at times and consume my time and energy are just so completely worthless. As I thought this morning (before I got the "good news" call), I just had a renewed perspective about life. I tend to draw closer to God when things are tough or uncertain, but He wants me there at all times! I have definitely learned that aligning myself with God's plan- spending time with Him, listening to Him, crying out to Him, stepping out in faith, and taking my focus off of all the craziness of this world we temporarily live in is a practice I should continually walk in- NOT just when life is hard. He reminded me that HE NEVER CHANGES- He is a constant, steady, ROCK, in a world of waves crashing all around. If I will just cling to that, my perspective on life really is different! The things that are sometimes seeming so big are really so small.

Psalm 17:1-2
"I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

II Corinthians 4:17-18
"For our light an momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Basketball

Carson played basketball again this year and really loved it. He was on the Tigers team with Coach Jeremy and Coach Mark for the 2nd year in a row, with a lot of his teammates from last year. It is so much fun to watch these boys develop over the season in their confidence and in their skills.

The Tigers ended up winning the EWA Championship for their age group and beat a team who had been undefeated for 2 years! We were some proud parents! Carson and another teammate were selected as "All Stars" for their team. He was so proud.

I also got to experience some of what is to come with having all boys and sports events. The last game of the season, I was videotaping and saw someone go down..... as soon as I heard the scream- I knew it was Carson. I turned off the camera and looked up to blood on the gym floor and Carson's dad carrying him off the court. I waited for a little while, trying to be a tough mom, knowing that Rod and our sweet friend, Dr. David Whetstone, could handle it. Then after about 10 minutes with no one coming out of the room they were in off to the side of the court, I had to check on things. I walked in to blood all over Carson's arms, legs, jersey, etc. His nose was bleeding pretty bad. Apparently, he hit someone pretty hard with his nose. Well, you know noses can really bleed and his certainly was and didn't want to stop. The sight of all the blood freaked him out. However, in the midst of all of us trying to stop the bleeding, he kept yelling out, "It's probably already the 2nd quarter" and "I've got to go play, dad, they need me out there". He also informed Dr. Dave to "hurry up and stop the bleeding so I can play". David just looked at us and said, "he is one tough kid"- I am glad he is tough, but I think I am going to have to be on some medication to handle all the drama, if this is going to be how it is!!! Needless to say, he got to go back in the game once we stopped the bleeding- they made him take off his jersey because it had so much blood on it! Oh, the fun of being mom to boys!

Boys can dress up too!

Carson's 100th day of school was a big event at Trinity Elementary! The kids were supposed to dress up like they were "old". Of course, I scrambled around trying to find something and ended up just putting white baby powder in his hair (which had gone away by the time we took this picture), drawing glasses on his face (since no one here has any eyeglasses) and he wore one of dad's ties. He ended up being in a video they did- it was cute! The link to it is below the picture!

http://video.wcs.edu/100_days_2-4-10.wmv

Colby also had a "dress up" opportunity at his Mom's Day Out program- it was a 50's Valentine's Sock Hop! He was really cute in his button down shirt with slicked back hair and a comb in his pocket. Check out his cute shoes and rolled up jeans! Oh, and I heard that he did a little dancing at the sock hop!

THE HILL

Well, we ended up having quite a few SNOW DAYS the last month or so! We have an awesome hill behind our house for sledding! Typically, most of the neighbors come over and sled and everyone is in and out of our house to warm up with hot cocoa! I love having all of our friends over.....even though my carpet looks fabulous the next day! Ha! :)

We have actually started having people from anywhere and everywhere, who have heard about our hill, drop by on snow days! Anyone is welcome! We actually counted how many people had come and gone one day at the end of January and it was over 50!!! There is a lake at the bottom of the hill, and although there have been a few times some of the kids have gotten a little too close for my liking- it has never been a problem! Well, unfortunately, after ice fell on the snow- the hill was probably competitive with some of those in the Winter Olympics, and we had a friend sled right into the lake. Scary stuff- but he was fine after a warm bath and was out sledding again an hour later..... this time with about 5-6 adult men standing at the bottom of the hill to "catch" those sledding a little too fast! I think Bunky and I will start having parents sign waivers before they sled after that experience! Just kidding! It really is a lot of fun so I wanted to post a few pictures!

Carson, Bunky with Colby, Mark, Brett with Alex, Matt with Alexandra

Yes, that is me going down the hill- so much fun!

Carson, Thomas, and Cooper Allen

Carson with Dustin and Nate coming up behind him!

Luke, Caroline, Madeline, and Holly