Admiring C

And last but not least, Colin in all of his baseball glory! Five months ago I went to sign Pryce up for baseball. Pryce has always had a liking for the sport and has quite the natural talent for it. Colin, however, has been involved in other sports and has succeeded in those so I never once really considered baseball as a game he would like to play. Plus, C played t-ball and hasn't played the game since....THREE years and those three years are like dog years in our county's baseball program as it is very, very competitive. Imagine my surprise when C announced that baseball was, in fact, something he would like to take a chance on. As a parent, I wanted him to do a sport that I knew he would and could excel in. However, he talked me into it and 5 months later I find myself sitting at each of his games and admiring my son. Every practice he takes to heart. Every game he is there with bells on and with an attitude to please his coach. C comes home from baseball and announces his plans for next season, shouting out how much he loves baseball. After today's game, Colin was given the "game" ball. C made a bunt that allowed his team to advance and score even though he was deemed out during the play. Ryan and I asked him after the game how he was feeling. In Colin fashion, he simply stated that he was so nervous (we could not tell) because he watched his coach give him the sign to bunt the ball and then he panicked.....he has never hit a bunt before during a game. C said that he "fought with himself" as he made the decision to think positive and attempt to do what his coach was asking. C bunted beautifully and his team went on to win the game! I admire C because he could so easily get discouraged, he could so easily give up, he could so easily say "I can't do that", but he doesn't. Amazing what one can learn from a 9 year old child....

Post-Op One Year

Oh yeah, today marks one year since palate surgery. Ha, look at me now!


In fact, I think I will take a moment and clean my palate with this nice, clean backyard pool water....sanitary for sure :)


Don't tell me no....(we get this look a lot!)


Why does my mom keep taking all of these pictures?!


Maybe she will stop with the pictures if I turn on the water.


No, probably not. She thinks I am toooo cute!

Life Behind The Fence

I had the privilege of escorting Pryce to his baseball game last night. He is so sweet. On the way there he asked if anyone else was coming to watch him. I told him no, just me, good ol mom. He asked why and I explained to him that Colin unfortunately had a game too (at the same time, at a totally different field in a totally different ballpark) and we all had to split up and go separate ways. He thought about it for awhile and then he said "I will watch out for you in those stands....but I do wish you weren't all alone.".....how sweet is that?! So, he played a great game, spent a lot of time thumbing around in the GA clay, and hit the ball to the fence! He loves baseball, loves getting dirty and loves cheering for his team.

Happy Mother's Day

First thing Saturday morning, we attended a baseball game. Then we came home, everyone changed into their bathing suit and off to the grand neighborhood opening pool party we went. I expected the boys to jump right in, they did. I thought MK would hesitate seeing as the pool was somewhat chilly. However, she was probably more excited to be there than anyone...."Me, pool mommy?" she asked as she grabbed my hand and walked me over to the steps. So into the pool she went, she played, she splashed, she giggled, she was right at home in the water. Later, I gathered the three up, quickly went home to get dry clothes on and off to my parent's house we went. My niece, Emma, was there too so the crew was complete. The children had a grand time as they were catered to by my parents, eating whatever they wanted, watching whatever they wanted, playing whatever and wherever they wanted, it was their time and they wallowed in it. Sunday, Mother's Day, we all attended the church that I grew up in. When we originally moved to the town that I grew up in, there wasn't even a stoplight. Now there are stoplights aplenty. And the churches, there was one church to accommodate each denomination. This still holds true but my church has transformed into this beautiful array of buildings and services and parking lots and people. It even has a balcony which the children immediately found a seat in, took their shoes off (sigh) and listened to the entire service without asking once to go to the bathroom. Mason-Kate found her home for the hour in the deluxe nursery accommodations. It was during the time that I dropped her off that I took note of my Mother's Day gift from her. It wasn't a card or a material item, it was the joy of watching her go into this unfamiliar setting, one that she has never seen before with people she has never laid eyes on and, though she didn't want me to leave, there were absolutely no tears. I told her I would come back and she trusted me and knew that I would. With a newborn baby, you watch their physical milestones that they hit during that first year of life. With a toddler adoption, at least for us, we have watched MK's emotional milestones throughout our first year with her. Knowing that we have provided her with a stable, secure, loving environment, one that she is growing in and thriving in, seeing that she can trust, that was her gift to me this Mother's Day. As for the boys, they had some pretty nifty gifts up their sleeves as well. Colin wrote the most delightful poem that describes me, how I love to cook, stated that I was "epic" and "bountiful" and how I love to volunteer. Pryce brought home a painting that we did in his class a few weeks ago....I am so excited about this because I can frame it to go along with a similar painting that Colin did in Kindergarten. Pryce also brought home a questionnaire thing that he had done with his teacher. It describes me in his words....those things are always interesting. I smiled as I read that my favorite color is red, true, my fav food is ice cream, eat it every night, true. I then gasped as I read that I am best at "watching tv".....whattt???? For the record, our tv is never even on when they are awake, UNLESS it is a Saturday morning OR we have family movie night....of course, he made up for it at the end of the questionnaire where he stated that his mommy was as pretty as a "flower"....he is such a sweetheart! Hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day 2009!

Our Busy Life Story of the Week

Once again, the only word to describe our life correctly would be BUSY! With school nearing its end, baseball and golf in midswing and swimteam on the horizon, we are crazy busy. This is not a complaint, we signed up for it and, though it is chaotic at best, we are enjoying the crazy. Mason-Kate has adjusted to the crazy....she now takes a look at her dinner plate and says "bye-bye" to Ryan anticipating that she will be getting in the car to eat as we drive to and fro. Gone are the Walton days of having dinner around the table, talking about our day. Thursday was the kicker for us. The boys arrived home from school, we got one changed into his baseball uniform while the other did his homework. We ate quickly, ran everyone into the car and sped off to be early to a baseball game. Plenty of time. We are on the road and Ryan says, "B, there goes Pryce's coach".....hmmmm, he was going the other way. So, we made a quick, very legal :) u-turn, and instead of going by our house to grab a schedule to see exactly where the game was to be held, we went on assumption and traveled to the field that we THOUGHT the game was to be played. We get to the field. No coach, no team, no nothing. We zoom around, fly to the original field that we were headed to and, again, no coach, no team, no nothing. At this point, we were going to be late so instead of making the effort to find the correct field and arrive late, what did this mom do??? What I always do in a desperate attempt to make everyone smile when their parents have messed up, offer Brusters, of course. So off to Brusters we went and we had a beautiful time, just us, no game, no ball, no tears, just us. It was nice. Lesson learned, always look at the schedule, don't assume.

Taking a Chance

We are going to take a chance. It will not be the first and it surely will not be the last chance that our family takes. I took a chance with Ryan....I was originally supposed to date his best friend (set up on blind date), decided to take a chance and told my friend (the one that set us up) that really I didn't like Ryan's best friend as much as I liked the other guy, Ryan. Ryan took a chance with his job. He was rising fast in a huge company with many praises. Ryan took a chance and stepped down from that company so that we could be closer to our home (and family) in SC. Together, Ryan and I took a chance creating our family, we knew what we wanted but there were no guarantees. So, my point is, we all take chances. And you never know until you take that "chance" what the outcome will be. Decisions, choices, those "chances". Together, our family will take a chance next year. We are going to homeschool. Everyone on the street has a different reaction to this. The first question that I am asked is always "What made you decide to homeschool? Are you not happy with your school?" And my response is always the same.....we are choosing to homeschool because I, personally, would like to see what I can do with the boys, what I can teach them. Homeschooling has always been on my mind. A brother-in-law of ours once said to me that one of the reasons he is so successful at what he does is because he has taken chances in his career, he felt like he would never know his capabilities unless and until he gave different opportunities a try. That is my thought on homeschooling - I, we, will never know what homeschooling is like without trying. So, we are going to give it a go....the boys know the deal, commit to a year and then re-evaluate. As for liking their school? I love, love, love their school. I love their teachers even more. We have had such a great experience in the public school system. Honestly, I am going to miss their school. And, as long as I am being honest, the closer the END of school gets (we only have 2 1/2 weeks left), the more sad I become. I hate (for lack of a better word) goodbyes. I hate that the boys will not be seeing their friends everyday next year. I hate that the boys will miss out on events at school. I am sad for them. But, we are taking a chance. A chance that we will all learn from no matter what the outcome. We will meet new friends and keep the old (old Girl Scout song), we will be a part of new events with new groups, we will learn what homeschooling is like. And if it works, great. If not, we can say we tried. We are taking a chance, learning from an experience.

Happy Birthday Pryce!

Today is Pryce's 7th birthday! WOW! Lucky for him, we have been celebrating all weekend long. Friday was party day. 14 children plus 14 Coke/Mountain Dews to drink plus Crazy Frog (loud) music to dance to plus a limousine to cart all of the above around equals some very happy times! Our driver gladly drove us to a most glorious, kid friendly destination, Chick-Fil-A. We were quite the scene and we were most definitely heard! We ate, the Cow appeared, we sang Happy Birthday, Mason-Kate spotted the Cow and could not breathe due to her fear of the friendly monster, we played and then the limo was back to return us home. Good times and, most importantly, Pryce felt like a king. Saturday was Open-Every-Present-That-Had-Been-Given-To-Pryce-At-His-Party day. The boys built Lego pirates, they fought many battles with new swords, they played in the sandbox with a new truck contraption, they had a Silly String war and then they took to the Slip-N-Slide for a little fun in the water. More good times! Today is the big day, though, and we are going to begin our celebration once Pryce awakens from his slumber. When asked what he wanted most for his birthday, he commented that he would like to be the "boss" for the day, make all of the decisions and give all commands. So, in between all of the celebrating today, Pryce will be our boss. And speak of the birthday boy, he just appeared and is already giving his first command...."I would like to open my presents now please!"....

She learns a lot from her brothers.....