Cohen's first soccer game

Well the rain has finally stopped and after 2 rained out games this past weekend Cohen was finally able to play his soccer game!! And boy was he excited!! My mom had taken the girls earlier in the day to give me some uninterrupted cleaning time around the house. So after hours of asking if it was time to stop cleaning and go to his soccer game, Keith, Cohen and I headed literally across the street from our house to the middle school where all of his games will be held. He couldn't get out of the car fast enough. He was so cute in his uniform shirt that comes down to his knees, the socks that come up to thighs and his little soccer cleats. I wanted to cry when I looked at him - he looked so grown up!!!

When we arrived at the field we found where he needed to check in and we waited for the other games to finish. For his age group it's like an introduction to soccer. So they break up the group into 3 separate fields. They start with a couple of drills - pairing the kids with one of their parents. Then after about 20 min or so they play 3 on 3 games - trying to encourage the kids to use their new skills.

All ready to go!!

Getting instructions from the coach

Lining up

Cohen and his friend from school Maddy

Practicing dribbling 

Dribbling around an obstacle

Mom's turn

ALL RIGHT GAME TIME!!!

Kick off

Instructional time with dad

Celebration hug after he scored his first goal!!!

Look at those faces!! Cracks me up!!!

Water break

I am really looking forward this season of soccer for Cohen.

He had so much fun and the look on his face when he scored that goal will forever be ingrained in my head!!!!

with love from the zoo 

  

Kendall's first dental visit

It was that time - time for my kids dental visits. I have often been asked if I clean my own kids teeth. I don't. I want them to hear dental advice from someone other than their mommy - more for in the future when they won't take my advice about anything :) Plus I like to sit back and watch how they handle themselves with other people.
I scheduled their appts after Cohen got out of school. HE LOVES THE DENTIST! So much so that he told me that morning that he couldn't go to school because he had to be ready to go to the dentist :) He was a little confused when we weren't at our usual spot. I had to remind him that mommy worked for a new dentist and that he was going to have a new person clean his teeth. After playing with the different toys at this office and seeing the tv/video games they have for the kids he told me he liked this place much better :)
Cohen went first in the chair to have his teeth cleaned by Mrs. Jody. She is excellent and so good with kids. Kendall wanted to hop right up in the chair with Cohen but I made her stand next to him so she could see all the tools Mrs. Jody would use for her too. When it was her turn I was amazed at how well she did. She kept her mouth open the entire time and did really well with the paste - which is Cohen's hardest part - his texture sensitivity. It didn't seem to bother Kendall at all. But the favorite part of course was picking a new toothbrush and prize and entering their names for the "no cavities bike contest."

Cohen and Mrs. Jody

"Whatcha doing Mrs. Jody?"

Cohen getting a chipped tooth fixed

Have I said I love my job recently?!!! 

This was in my op just to say thanks for being a part of the team!!

with love from the zoo

Rain, Rain Go away!!

Once again time has gotten the better of me!! We have been suffering from colds and dealing with being cooped up inside with multiple days of rain!! We were really going stir crazy!!!

I truly felt we were experiencing this again :) A lot of people where we live wished they had one of these boats :)

Even my flowers were depressed :(

So mom had to come up with some fun indoor activities

Chef Cohen

Playing dolls with friends

Time at the library

Playdoh

Dr Kendall

Lots of naps

Playing with toys

Little stinker did this all by herself while mommy wasn't looking!!

All in all we didn't have it too bad but really looking forward to better weather and less sickness

With love from the zoo

God answers even unspoken prayers

There is an article going around Facebook about "Dating for Moms." And this is sooo true!! For a few months now I have been kinda struggling with this idea - the idea of friendship. It started when I was younger I think. I had a really close best friend and for some reason (kids change I know) we grew apart. I remember it being really hard for me. Wondering what I did wrong that this person didn't want to be friends with me anymore. The same thing happened in high school shortly after I started dating Keith. It was the same kind of hurt - wondering what I did wrong and why things had to be different. Again while in hygiene school I "lost" a good friend. I don't say this to throw a pity party for myself but as I was reflecting on this I realized I have a bad history with friends :(

This weekend our pastor was talking about The Journey of Trust. He was talking about the life of Abraham and how Abraham didn't have the Bible or really any history with God when he began his journey of faith. But he had enough faith to start his journey, enough trust that God knew what he was doing. He had enough faith and trust in knowing God was enough for him. Maybe that has been my problem in the past. Putting too much trust into imperfect people to make me feel worth something.

So I began to look back at the past few years and especially the last few months. A few months ago when I was struggling with this idea of friendship I asked God to show me what he wanted and for me to be content with that. And He has. I have great friends. I may not have a large group of friends but I have some amazing core friends. I have a best friend who I get to celebrate her wedding in just a few short weeks, I have neighbor who I have become really close too and am so excited to see how our friendship grows in the future, another neighbor who I know would do anything for me or for our family, a new connection to Godly women thru Thirty-One, a group of girls I went to hygiene school that still stay in contact. And I am sure if you are reading this you too are a friend :) I am blessed!!!

This encourages me. That while I may not have said anything to anyone or really even verbalized my struggle - God knew. And He is showing me daily that He cares and He will provide :)

Proverbs 17:17

A friend loves at all times

with love from the zoo

Kirsten is 8 MONTHS!!

Wow!! 8 months already!! Where does the time go? I really want to know sometimes!!!

Look at that - 8 months!!

Sisters!

Well Ms. Kirsten

8 months

You are getting so big

Your personality is showing more and more every day

Sleeping is getting better

Naps are never a problem - neither is food :)

YOU LOVE TO EAT!!

Your siblings still make you smile and laugh just by walking past

You love your momma - she can never leave your sight or watch out for the scream

You have 4 teeth not in the right order but mom says only a hygienist would know

We love you so very much

with love from the zoo

Keith's surgery

A few months back Keith had an accident at work that injured his knee. His doctor told him he could try and live with it or it would require surgery. He tried to see if he could put it off for a bit but after a game of basketball he realized that if he wanted to resume any form of sports he would have to have the surgery.

So Wednesday morning, Stacy, my sister, watched the kids while I took Keith to the Spectrum Outpatient facility. We checked in and got set up into one of the rooms. His nurse came in and told him he would need to put on his gown and they would start he I.V.  The color of the gown was his favorite :)

Let's do this!!

Getting weighed in and Id

Gown model

They were really cool gowns. They had a hook up that could attach either warm or cold air that would circulate over the body. Where were these during my hospital stays?!!!

Look closely and you will see Keith's sticker his nurse gave him to make his gown more masculine :)

But that didn't last long because the next step was shaving his knee - I requested to have both entire legs done

But she did add "tights"  :)

Oh and the anesthesiologist added some "accessories" to Keith's stickers :)

The patient doing well and having a little breakfast

This pop is really good - and so are the drugs

The doctor gave to give me a report after his surgery and showed me some pictures of what they found inside. He told me the original "hole" in the cartilage was smaller than they thought. But while he was in there the camera caught some fracture lines on the backside of his knee cap and the knee cap was off to one side by about an inch and a half. So he released some tissue and moved in back into alignment. The doctor didn't think this would affect the recovery at all but the fracture lines will have to be something we keep an eye on. But we were sent home with some fun contraptions.

The ice cast that can be pulled in to constantly bring ice cold water to the knee

Another fun machine that that sends little "shocks" to the nerves and veins around the leg to help with swelling and pain. He is also in a CPM machine that flexes his leg for 8-`12 hours a day.

We are so thankful for all the prayers and support we have had and ask for continued prayers for quick  healing. Life has been a little stressful this week but hopeful that things will slowly get better as he heals.

with love from the zoo