Nick met Josh Hamilton!

The Texas Rangers have a program called the Texas Rangers Kids Take The Field. It is sponsored by RaceTrac gas stations. At the beginning of the season we were at a Rangers game and noticed that they would be having a Kids Take The Field sign up at the RaceTrac by our house. So the day came and Marty took all of the boys and Nick got picked! He was so excited.

They gave us really good seats at the game and Nick got to go on the field before the game started. They pick 9 kids for each game to take the field and each kid gets assigned a position and they get to meet the player at their position and get an autographed baseball. But they don't tell the kids which position they will be at until right before they go on the field. Nick got center field. You don't realize just how big a major league ball park is until you see an 11-year-old kid run all the way out to center field! But he did great! Here he is hanging out in center field waiting to meet his player.

The Texas Ranger center fielder is Josh Hamilton. He's a pretty big name player so it was really cool that Nick got his position. Here is Nick meeting Josh Hamilton and getting his autograph.

Josh Hamilton is a great baseball player and has overcome some issues in his life to stay in the game. Mainly he overcame a drug addiction with the help of his belief in Jesus Christ. It's a very inspiring story. You should watch his testimonial on the I Am Second web site. Click here to see the video. Here is the baseball that Josh autographed for Nick. It has his signature and the verse 1 Peter 2:24. This verse reads, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."

Then we stayed and watched most of the game. As I said earlier, they gave us really good seats on the 1st base side. Pretty much right by the Rangers dugout. Here is Josh Hamilton warming up before it was his turn at bat.

And here is Nick back at our house with his autographed baseball. He is very proud of it and this is a day he will never forget.

And you know I had to take a video of this event. It's pretty long but watch it all. It's amazing how big that field is!! I'm so proud of Nick!

And here is some music. This is Josh Hamilton's walk-up music (the song that plays when he goes up to bat). It's Phillips, Craig & Dean: Saved The Day

Nick's Pottery Class!

It's been a busy summer. That's the only excuse I have for not putting up one single post this summer. I can't believe school starts in just two weeks! We've done so much this summer. Lots of Six Flags, Hawaiian Falls and camps. I'll try to get you caught up on everything over the next couple of weeks.

I'm going to start with a post of Nick. He and Austin attended College For Kids again this summer (I think it was their 5th year to go). It's held at Tarrant County College and the kids pick out 4 classes that they take for 3 weeks at the college. One of Nick's classes this year was Pottery/Ceramics. It was his favorite class. And on the last day, the parents get to go and attend classes with the kids. This was a fun one for me to watch.

It was really cool watching him do the pottery wheel. Here are a couple of videos.

There is a lot more to come on our summer. But for now I'm gonna take some kids to Six Flags. I'll leave you with some music. And what else could I play today? Here's Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers from the movie Ghost.

Happy New Year! ... and a Trip To Terabithia

Today was a great start to 2009. It was a very fun, productive day. Marty and I spent a couple of hours taking down Christmas decorations (that's why I'm not doing a Christmas post today ... I'm all Christmased out ... but I promise the pictures are coming soon.) It was a beautiful, sunny day and about 70°.

We live right by a lake and there is a finger of the lake that comes behind the houses and you can hike around the woods. It's pretty muddy and the kids always come home filthy but they love it. They call the spot Terabithia. (Like the book/movie Bridge to Terabithia.) Lauren came home today with a tadpole. I asked if she would take me to Terabithia and she was so excited so I put on my boots and we headed out the door. We went with one of her friends and the boys all wanted to go with us but I had told Lauren it was just going to be the girls. But while I was putting on my boots, the boys left and I was pretty sure we would be seeing them!

Lauren was so sweet. She kept asking if I wanted to go the long or the short way? ... The easy or the hard way? ... The muddy or the rocky way? (There are many ways to get to Terabithia apparently.) But I told her that I was going to follow her whichever way she wanted to go. So we went through the creek. Here are Lauren and her friend Mackenzie in the creek.

I knew it wouldn't be long before we ran into one of the boys. We heard some rustling in the bushes and out popped my son Mackenzie!

So we asked him to take a picture of the three of us and then we were on our way again. The boys went their separate way.

And then we made it to Terabithia. This is the first picture I took. The sunshine makes it look magical ... just like in the book!

We spent a good hour or more walking around the woods and by the lake. I was really glad I had worn rubber boots. Lauren weighs about 43 pounds and does not sink in the mud. I am a different story! Here are some miscellaneous pictures of Terabithia.

And then we saw them again ... BOYS! I think they were spying on us the whole time. But this time we decided to stay together and head over to the bridge. My son Mackenzie had gone home. Nick told me that Mackenzie had found some trash and said he wanted to clean it up like WALL-E (Mackenzie has a slight WALL-E fascination at the moment). The boys in the picture are Nick in the glasses and our neighbor Jonathan (Lauren's friend Mackenzie's brother).

And we finally made it to the Bridge to Terabithia. Here it is. And the kids wanted to go under it. They are convinced that a "hobo" (Lauren's word) lives under the bridge because there's some carpet under there.

Christmas pictures are coming soon. I promise. But for now we need some music. How about a bridge song? Here's the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Under the Bridge.

Nick got glasses!

We knew it was coming. Both Marty and I got glasses when we were still in elementary school. About a month ago, Nick went to Shreveport with Marty and he noticed that Nick couldn't read some of the road signs. So we took him to the eye doctor and sure enough, he needed them. It took him a long time to pick out the perfect pair but he ended up with dark blue metal frames. I think he looks great and he loves them. Now Austin wants some, too. And I may take him to get tested because he squints sometimes. Here's a layout I did with a picture I took yesterday. Doesn't Nick look all grown up? (See credits here.)

I let Nick pick out the blog music today. Rob Thomas: Little Wonders

Happy Birthday Nick!

My oldest son is 10 years old today. I just can't believe it! This picture does not seem so long ago. I still remember the thoughts and emotions I felt so clearly. This is the first picture of me and Nick taken together (my first picture as a mommy!). He'll always be my baby!

However, he has to grow up. He looks a little different these days. We gave him his birthday present a little early yesterday because today we are really busy with Vacation Bible School, swimming and Six Flags. But I just wanted to say, "Happy Birthday Nicholas!" I'm very proud of the boy you have become.

Thanks for the prayers!

Thank you to everyone who expressed concern about Mackenzie. His surgery yesterday went well. They just cleaned out his very clogged ears and he did not have to get tubes again and that is a VERY good thing for a boy who wants to swim this summer. However, the doctor ordered a CAT scan because he thinks Mackenzie might have something called a cholesteatoma. This is a small growth in the ear which, if left untreated, could cause serious problems including permanent hearing loss. So we're just going to wait for the results of the CAT scan and go from there. The doctor didn't give me any reason to believe this was a huge deal but that it can turn into one if we ignore it, so we are thankful that he has recommended the CAT scan so we will know what we are dealing with. We go on Friday to the Children's Hospital for the scan.

I loved having all of those layouts of Mackenzie in one post so I thought I would do that for each of my children. Most of you know that I have a daughter because she makes frequent (too frequent!) appearances in my layouts. But, I also have 3 sons. After putting all of their layouts in individual folders, I realize that I need to stop doing Lauren layouts and focus on the boys for a while! Today, I am going to show off my layouts of Nick. He's our oldest and the one most like me. I have a hard time believing he will be 10 this year. How did that happen? Nick is such a special boy and we are so lucky to have him. All his life, he has struggled with his shyness and it's so nice to see him starting to come out of it a little. I was the same way and didn't really get very outgoing until high school. I bet he will follow a similar pattern. But enough philosophizing (Is that even a word? If not ... I like it anyway!) ... here are some layouts of Nick. Click on the thumbnails if you would like to see larger images.