Fun Scout Activity for Trey

Trey is really lucky to have a great group of friends his age!  I'm glad he's got so many buddies!  They all play on the same basketball team. 

Thanksgiving already here and gone.

November went by so quickly I can hardly believe it.  Kory started basketball and is enjoying it. He tried out and was sure he was going to make A team or B team, but actually made C team.  This was a major disappointment to him and he didn't hold back his emotions.  It's was pretty hard to watch him cry and go through the emotions of disappointment., and fear of a lack of self worth.  I think so often we attach our worth to a letter, or a number, and have to be reminded that we are not a letter.  We had many talks with him and shared our advise that he should go out and do his best and his worth had nothing to do with what team he made.  We were proud that he decided to keep playing and make the best of the situation.  He's a pretty good shot and continues to improve with each game.

He is funny to watch.  While he is on the sideline he doesn't like to sit down.  He is so anxious to win.  He also gets really excited when he sees a member of his team do well.  I love that about him.  

 Kory is now 14 and therefore he is old enough for church dances.  Last weekend was his first church dance.  It was fun to send the three older boys  go off to a dance together.  Afterward, they went to a friends house and hung out and I know they enjoyed just being together.  It's time for Kory to hang with the older boys.  It's a good, necessary transition. 

Kory is not taller than Kyle, but was standing on his tip toes and Kyle was leaning, however, he is getting up there and is easily 5 inches taller than me!   

There was a cancellation at the surgery center and they were able to get Kyle in this week for Surgery.  First he had to have a pre-surgery appointment.  He doesn't ever remember getting his blood drawn as a little boy, but he was pretty brave this time. 

Kyle being brave

 We feel really blessed that someone cancelled right before Thanksgiving because that meant that Kyle would have a few days to recover before having to go back to school. 

He loved the outfit.  

Lauren, Kyle's nurse, was really sweet.  She took such good care of him and was very helpful in answering questions because a year ago she had a very similar surgery.  She has three boys so she just called him sweetie and treated him like one of her own.  

 The surgery took about 2 and 1/2 hours.  The doctor originally told us it wo,uld take 2, so of course the last half hour I was getting a little antsy.  However, Dr Conroy came out and told us all had gone well.  He made three small wholes and fixed him right up.  I guess there was not as much tissue to work with as he thought there was going to be, so that is why it had taken a little longer.  

When we went to see Kyle after surgery he so still so tired he could hardly keep his eyes open.  However, he was just kind and gentle, like always.  He did say, "Heated blankets are awesome and these cookies are amazing.  Do you want some?"  His post surgery nurse was a guy and he knew a lot about Kyle.  I could tell he'd talked to him for a while.  He knew all about Kyle's love for Taco Bell and his gold van. 

Kyle is a pretty good patient.  He tries so hard not to be a burden to anyone and is thankful for any help he receives.  His track coach came over with a goodie bag to help him feel better and Friday night a friend from school came and brought him lunch and hung out for the evening.  They played video games and talked about next football season.  It was a welcomed evening of fun. 

Thanksgiving morning Tyler stayed home with Kyle, because Kyle wasn't allowed to be alone, and Monty and I took Trey and Kory to deliver meals for the Salvation Army.  It was a perfect way to start Thanksgiving morning! 

This is such a fun act of service.  It wasn't hard, but made them feel good.  These boys had huge smiles before, during and after delivering the food.

 For Thanksgiving we went to the Huefners, a family from our ward.  They were enjoyable to be with and we all had a nice time.  Thanksgiving was relaxing and a great day to reflect on all we have been blessed with.  We have so much to be thankful for. 

Saturday I cut Trey and Makai's hair.  It was time to the blonde to be cut off.  Makai looked a little like a mushroom.  He just looks better with shorter hair.  I couldn't believe how thick his hair is.  It isn't only thick, but each strand is thick as well.  Now we just have two kids with bleached hair.  I'm giving them one more week.     

It has been a nice Thanksgiving break.  A few days off is good for the soul.  Last week was a little stressful for Trey.  School is a little hard for him and when he doesn't do as well as he could do because he doesn't try as hard as he can it causes him to melt down.  These melt downs are draining.  However, right now we are doing a 'science experiment'.  We are seeing if he has mom and dad look over all his work before he turns it in, if his grades will go up.  Often we see his work after he turns it in and it's obvious it's not his best work.  These are the growing pains of middle school.  We all have to go through the if/then growing pains.  I have no doubt he'll figure it out. 

Tyler has a disappointing Thanksgiving.  An old friend came back from college for Thanksgiving.  He was really excited to meet up and catch up with this friend.  However, this friend didn't make time for him.  This caused emotions to swell within him that he has never felt before.  We tried our best as parents to talk him through those emotions, but interestingly enough he worked through them by writing a poem/rap.  It was amazing!  I told him he should see if he can submit it somewhere.  I think it is wonderful he can express his feelings in this way.  Sometimes I worry Tyler doesn't feel very much because at home he is pretty even tempered, but this poem/rap shows that his is very in tune with his emotions.  Although the weekend was a let down, I feel like it was a growing experience. 

It's hard to watch your kids go through hard things, but it's rewarding to watch them rise above the adversity and come out stronger.  Life is a journey that I'm glad we are on together! 

Already November

It's hard to believe it's Already November, but...November is here!!

Sunday night I had to go downstairs to get something out of  the basement and was thrown into a bad mood.  With Kyle having one arm and having two teenage boys living down there it was not a happy sight.  I asked Tyler and Kyle to go clean their room.  They told me they were 90% done.  Ha!!  That was when I went down and decided they needed help.  This pile is just stuff we pulled out from between Tyler's bed and the bookshelf.  Why boys have MOM's

Thankfully, we didn't find anything living in this stuff.  

I know some people can handle dressers that look like this, but I am not one of them.  Why do you need to keep a deodorant cap?

Kyle's laundry pile!!  Being the nice mom that I am, I did it all for him the following day.  I admit, one are makes laundry NO FUN.  I can see how taking this upstairs with one arm would be a challenge.  NOTE TO KYLE'S WIFE!!  He hates doing laundry so if you marry him that will be your job!!  And he has a LOT of clothes!  But, he is helpful in everything else.  

 When the boys football team won their first playoff game Tyler had to dye his hair.  He promised his buddy on the team he'd dye his hair if they won.  So, Sunday night we dyed his hair.  And Kyle's hair and of course, then the three little boys wanted to dye their hair too.  It didn't turn out as blonde as they had wanted, but when you have dark hair it's not easy to turn it blonde in one shot.  It look a last minute trip to the store to try and make it more blonde to look presentable, but he stayed true to his promise.

His hair is so thick!!  

This is the only week my sons will ever have blonde hair.  The top is actually the exact same color as the ends of mine.  Monty says they look like Filipino gangsters. He is not a fan.  But, for this short time they are enjoying it.  

Tuesday we learned that Kyle will need surgery on his shoulder.  He was pretty upset about it Tuesday night, but by Wednesday morning he accepted the reality.  We have it scheduled for November 21st.  I guess we will be spending Thanksgiving being thankful we have doctors who can fix our bodies when we mess them up!  

Wednesday we Halloween.  Halloween is not my favorite holiday.  When the boys were younger it was more fun, but the older they get the more I don't like the holiday. Wednesday Makai woke up and we had no costume for him and I felt bad.  In about 5 minutes we decided he could go as an army guy.  He put on his camouflage hat, shirt and then reminded me Monty had dog tags he could wear.  Thankfully, he was happy. 

When I got home from school he was waiting at the corner of the house to sabotage Trey and I.   

Yikes!!

Trey was a good sport!

Instead of Trick-or-Treating we decided to just have snacks.  Makai wasn't completely happy, but we felt like this was a good thing for our family this year.  We just don't need the candy, nor do we need it in our house.  We did buy one bag of candy, but the boys didn't really like it, Kit Kats that are pumpkin pie flavor.  I think they are good, but the kids didn't love them.  We went downstairs and watched some shows together as a family and all was well!  

 Friday night was the boys second playoff game. 

Tyler, going up against Bellevue West.  

They ended up losing the game by one touchdown, but they played a good game.  I'm thankful to a friend who got these fun pictures of Tyler.  They are priceless!!  It may be Tyler's last football game ever.  He loves football and we are so glad he was able to have the chance to play.  Final score was 31-38.  Elkhorn played better the first half, but Bellevue played better the second half.  It was pretty emotional from him and Kyle at the end of they game.  I guess they were crying and hugging as they realized that was their last game together.  Bitter sweet--at least they got the chance.  A good year.  

Saturday we went to a birthday party for a friend of ours.  Makai loved the pinata.  He wore this 

unicorn the entire rest of the party.  It's moments like this that I remember he's still a kid.  I forget sometimes because he is so big that he is still just a little boy.