Happy Birthday Seth

I am a couple days late on this post but I still wanted to mark the occasion with an entry.

On Saturday Seth turned 9. He is really growing up to be a special boy.

We had his birthday party at Rangers Ballpark. I think everyone enjoyed it, especially me. We got a tour of the ballpark and got to see things like the press box, a suite and the underground hitting area. When we entered the hitting area my heart jumped a little because you could hear someone in there taking batting practice. Who is it? Josh, Michael Young, Mitch Moreland??? No, it was some high school kids whose Dad worked for the Rangers.

Despite that disappointment, it was a great tour that ended in the Rangers' dugout.

Seth had invited four friends to his party. Isaiah Brogan, Cameron Bitz, Mason Jordan and Holden Skinner. I got the duty of driving them around and having a car with five 3rd graders can be an experience. But, on the way home the boys started singing Chris Tomlin's "Our God" and then they went into Hillsong's "mighty to save." It really warmed my heart.

Having a 9 year old is making me feel old and I realize the time is going way to fast. It seems just yesterday when we were in the ICU unit feeding him with all these wires and sensors connected to him.

Seth, I love you.

Growing Up

Our boys are growing up and there is nothing I can do about it. It wasn't long ago (just a few months) that when it rained at night, the boys were getting in bed with us. I typically moved to the couch because there wasn't enough room and Shelley would often move to one of their rooms. But, they received some level of comfort by sleeping in our room even though neither of us were in there.

Well, last night we had some horrible storms with big lightening and loud thunder. They both stayed in their rooms all night. I happy they slept well but I already miss getting awaken at night.

Chase Rides His Bike

Yesterday I took Chase out to try and learn to ride his bike. It was going to be a nice day and we haven't given it a try in quite sometime so I thought it would be a good time to try. This was something Chase did not want to do. He has had a considerable amount of fear regarding this and I have had to practically force him to do it. He really was afraid of getting hurt so our past efforts were always very brief.

I knew that if he would ever give it much effort he would be able to do it because he was really close.

So, when I brought up what I wanted to do, he started to cry. He really did not want to go. I finally convinced him but he continued to negotiate. We were only going to try two times but I didn't give in to his demands.

Out we go with helmet, knee pads, elbow pads and gloves all protecting his vulnerable parts. I pushed him around a few times with him demanding that I don't let him go. Then Shelley took over and pushed him around just to give him a feel. Shelley went in so it just left the two of us out there. I pushed him and let go and he took off and went at least 20 feet on his in own. I was far more excited than he was because I'm sure he realized that I wasn't going to stop now that he had done so well. I sent him in to get Shelley and with her watching he rode his bike right to her. Again, Shelley and I were far more excited. He just wanted to get off and go inside to get the cookies Shelley promised to bake if he would just try.

But, he can now ride his bike.

A new year

We have started a new year and I suspect it will be a doozy. I am going to do my best to write more but I will always have Shelley's blog.

We will see what this year brings but I am committed to making it a great year.