2nd Place

The World Series Baseball tournament is over. The Rangers got 2nd Place!! Seth fit right in with the boys as if he'd played with them from the beginning and he did SO well. I am extremely proud of him. The coach did an amazing job with the kids and we really like him. Seth is hoping to play with the Rangers again in the fall. There were some awesome plays made by every boy on the team and some amazing hits. Every single boy is very talented and it was an honor to get to watch them all play and to have my son included! The other parents made me feel so welcome and were so nice.

One of the games was particularly close and hard, and we ended up playing a couple of extra innings because we were tied. We fought very hard for the extra points we finally scored at the end, when one of our boys hit a grand slam! But we still had to get three outs since the other team was home team. They only needed 3 points to beat us after getting a couple of runs and had two outs and I believe at least one boy on base, if not more. I can't remember now, because I was shaking so hard, I nearly fainted. The batter was up and he hit a fly ball, and Seth reached up and caught it!!! I jumped up and down and screamed SOOOOO hard, I nearly peed my pants! It was so exciting! The coaches ran out on the field to greet the players as they came off the field and Seth was lifted into the air! The boys jumped up and down in excitement and we moved on to the next level!!! Here is a picture of the catch where you can see the 2nd baseman pumping his fist with excitement as Seth caught the ball, and a picture of Seth with his 2nd place trophy at the end of the very last game of the tournament.

If I may brag...

I am so very excited and proud that Seth was hand picked to be on a great team for a world series baseball tournament. This team is a very talented team that has been playing together for a while. They play fall, spring and tournament baseball. We have played against them more than once. They win every time!

I got an email on Friday from the coach that stated he would love to have Seth on his team for this upcoming tournament because a couple of his players had gotten too old, and he was missing his short stop(the position Seth usually plays). He said he had observed Seth make some great plays this season and said that he was such a great player that he is 100% sure having him on their team would take them to the next level!!! OMG!!! Now, I have confirmation that what I thought is really true. My kid is super talented!!!

I was surprised to learn that the selecting of players starts so young, but apparently, it is something that does happen. For this reason, we will likely start playing Seth in our local baseball league after next year so that his high school coaches will be able to see him play and know who he is. I never would have thought we would need to worry about this until I realized that the high school coaches from tri cities(where we play now) have been at several of our games, observing the kids. I mean, who would think that high schools start looking at age 7 and 8???

Seth is super excited to get to play for this team and a little nervous about playing with kids he doesn't know since he has only played with the same group of kids the last 3 years. We think it's going to be a great experience for him to work with another coach. It is important that he learns different styles of coaching because you never know what kind of coach you will get in school!

It never gets old watching him throw the ball so perfectly or catching fly balls while diving through the air. It never gets old to see him bust that ball to the fence and come running across home plate with a huge grin on his face. I love my little man and I'm so very proud of his talent. He came by it naturally and it's such a joy to get to see him do what he loves to do. To have other people ask for him to be on their team makes me burst with pride that I could never put into words for you to even understand!! Go Seth!!

There's No Place Like Home

Click your heels together and say it..."There's no place like home. There's no place like home." Well, we aren't in Kansas, but we're not in Oz either. But it sure did feel like we might be going there on Tuesday night!!

Tuesday evening, I put Stella to bed at her normal bed time, and then proceeded to sit on the couch and watch some recorded tv with Setharoni. We were just cuddling, and talking about how his day was when I got a text from my mother. "Are you watching tv?" it said..."There is a tornado coming your way." I looked outside and noticed it did look rather green...and put the tv on channel 5. There was good old David Finfrock talking about the tornado currently on the ground in Saginaw! WHAT? I began to feel a bit of panic. We live in North Fort Worth. We are on the very outskirts of Saginaw. The tornado there was literally just a couple of miles away! It hit the neighborhood right next to our good friends' house! No sooner than I opened the back door to get a better look, and see how green it looked, did the hail begin to pelt the ground. And then, horror upon horrors, the sirens went off!!!!

I ran into the bedroom where Joe was sleeping(he has started working a different schedule), woke him, and told him there was a tornado coming. He looked up at me, groggy, and said, "Huh?" I said, "A tornado is coming right now!!" He jumped up, ran to the back door and opened it, of course. We could hear something. It was loud. I ran upstairs and got Stella out of bed and we threw blankets and pillows into the tub, telling Seth to get in. The poor little guy was petrified. He was literally shaking and saying he didn't want to die. I felt terrible because I was also very scared and could feel the anxiety attack creeping up on me, but I had to stay calm for him. I told him it would not hit us, and we would not die. He asked if I was scared and I lied. I said no. Stella thought it was a fun game to be hanging out in the bathtub with her family. She was laughing and having a great time. We heard the hail pelting the house and we heard the wind swirling loudly outside the house. It sounded very strange. The sirens stopped. Joe went to investigate against Seth's protests. He cried, "Please don't leave us Daddy." It was heartbreaking. But he came back rather quickly. He said it looked ugly outside. We were receiving play by plays through text from my mom and our friend of what the news was saying and it didn't sound good.

It was then that I realized I could hear Daisy, our sweet little dog crying from the laundry room. I went to get her and I couldn't help but go sneak a peak. I went out into the front yard and looked up. I saw rotation. I ran back in and locked the door(like that would help)right as the sirens went off again!! I went back into the bathroom with my family and my dog. We stayed there for a while until we were told the threat was over. The sirens went off twice after we already vacated the bathroom, but according to the news, the tornadoes were all east of us by then. I learned later that the rotation I saw most likely formed the tornado that ripped through Keller and North Richland Hills. My poor Mommy and Daddy had a tornado less than a mile from their house, the one I grew up in. Here is a picture a friend sent me of that tornado. It terrifies me to think of what could have happened on Tuesday night and I feel so blessed that all of my friends and family are safe, with minimal or no damage at all. Seth slept in our bed that night. I'm glad that we are a comfort to him. Although I did feel terrible about how scared he was, I am glad that I did not admit to him that I was scared too.

Mom-mobile

I am now the proud owner of a brand spanking new mini-van and proud of it!!

Growing up, people would probably never expect me to ever drive a mini-van. I was quite the um...shall we say rebellious type...and was pretty free spirited. But ever since the birth of my amazing, beautiful son Seth, I have embraced the title of MOM and I love being one with every beat of my heart. Some would say driving a mini-van is not an exciting venture, but I am so happy to have one! I'm happy to have the room to lug my children around in comfort and excited to have room for any stowaways that may someday begin coming home with our kids. I am proud of being a mom, proud of who I have become and proud to drive my mini-van!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

A Poem by Nicholas Gordon:

Before I was myself you made me, me

With love and patience, discipline and tears,

Then bit by bit stepped back to set me free,

Allowing me to sail upon my sea,

Though well within the headlands of your fears.

Before I was myself you made me, me



With dreams enough of what I was to be

And hopes that would be sculpted by the years,

Then bit by bit stepped back to set me free,



Relinquishing your powers gradually

To let me shape myself among my peers.

Before I was myself you made me, me,



And being good and wise, you gracefully

As dancers when the last sweet cadence nears

Bit by bit stepped back to set me free.



For love inspires learning naturally:

The mind assents to what the heart reveres.

And so it was through love you made me, me

By slowly stepping back to set me free.

Happy Mother's Day to my Mommy! She is my mom, my best friend and the most amazing woman I've ever known.

Coming Home

The picture I posted on my previous post about Seth and his awesome baseball skills was from t-ball. I wanted to show off two pictures from the game when he hit a home run. The first is him hitting the ball and the second is him coming home. Great pictures by a great woman, Detta Owens. She's my Mommy. She takes pictures. So I Smile...

Happy Easter!!

The kids saw the Easter Bunny a couple of weeks ago. Here is the picture. Stella thought the bunny was quite hilarious.

Yesterday, as the kids opened their Easter baskets, Seth held up an item and non-chalantly said, "You gave me this," and then moved on to the next thing. I was so shocked, I didn't say anything at first so I waited until he picked up another item and said it again! I said, "What do you mean I gave you that?" He said, "I saw it in your closet!" Oh no!!! The secret's out! I countered with, "What were you doing in my closet?" but I already knew the answer. He always takes a bath or a shower in our bathroom. What is it about mom and dad's room that makes it so much better? Funny thing is, I also bathe Stella in our bathroom, just because it is easier. LOL. Perhaps it is my fault I got him into the habit. Oh well. I left it at that, and he didn't say anything else. Maybe he still believes a little. Ha ha.

Stella wasn't entirely impressed with the whole basket thing or hunting Easter eggs. She took things out of her basket, looked at them intensely and then either brought them to me, or threw them down on the floor next to her. It was quite comical. She definitely didn't care about putting eggs in her basket. She mostly took them out and threw them. She got a sweet little lamb from her Godmother and Godfather. I made it give her a kiss, which she promptly wiped off her face, but later in the day, she made Uncle Sammy(my uncle, her godfather)give it kisses several times and she did take it to bed with her last night. Perhaps she likes it. LOL.

I dyed eggs with Seth and we had so much fun doing it. It was my first time to do it on my own. I'd say overall, it was successful. We experimented with the colors and tried to make different ones. I then made deviled eggs out of those. They were so yummy! I put jalapenos in them. Best idea ever. Also, Seth got a kite from my Mommy, which is exciting because there is a is a huge field across from our house to fly it in!! I enjoyed spending time with my family on Easter. It was a great time!