Weekend Catchup Because Momma Needs It

Today it is pouring rain in our neck of the woods.  I do not like rain at all, but today it is a welcome relief to be home with all baseball games cancelled for today.

This time of year is really busy, but the last five days have been crazy.  Wednesday's trip to UVA wore me and David out and then Kyle had three straight evenings of baseball games.  We love both his travel ball team and his little league team and we love to cheer on these boys, but today I am so thankful to be home in my pajamas.

Yesterday we were in the sprinkling or drizzling rain cheering on Kyle in one travel ball game and one little league game.  Travel ball game was a win, but the little league game was not:(  It poured during the little league game and by the time Kyle got on the mound to pitch it was really a steady rain.   Hope and David mostly stayed dry but last night after being damp and chilly we were all ready for hot baths and warm pajamas.

As I have shared on here before, I am doing a Run for God bible study right now.  We are training to run  a 5K on June 1st.  Yesterday there was a local 5K to help raise money for a retired local law enforcement officer who is battling cancer.  Battling cancer is near and dear to my heart, so I attempted to run the race to raise money for his treatment.

We are only in week 7 of our training, so I am not quite race ready yet, but it was a good practice race for a great cause so off I went.  I was very nervous but excited.  The first mile was easy peasy, second mile started easy but then my legs went jelly. I had two great partners yesterday-a friend and a dog.  We were on the same pace so after I bagged my earphones, we enjoyed the race together. 

I was proud of myself for trying and finishing!!  It was a great practice for our June run but it was also humbling how much more training I need to do.  It would be so tempting to get frustrated at training because sadly it takes forever to build up your stamina and endurance but it takes very little time to lose it.  When I get frustrated I just keep reminding myself that David endured months of torture, I can certainly train to run a few miles in discomfort.  I also need to keep reminding myself that we literally sat in a hospital or clinic for almost a year and that I need to be patient with myself. 

I do not love to run.  I love how I feel after I run and I love that my body is getting healthier. I love the social aspect of running and I really love the cute running tights and clothes.  I know it will get easier as I train more.  The June run is the exact same course so I am excited to see if I can lower my time!  I am a very competitive person:)

Today is rest and more rest.  I am amazingly not that sore from my race but I am definitely tired.  Tonight the boys and I are going to snuggle in our warm bed and finish watching the fourth episode of the bible that we still have not finished.  Days at home at precious and priceless! 

Our Day at UVA

We are finally home after our long day of traveling to get to and from UVA.  The best news of the day is that his Creatinine is holding steady at .8, his blood pressure was perfect at 90/50, his weight was good, and there was no protein in his urine.  Basically his labs were very similar to last month's labs which means that he is stable. 

Our day on our road trip started at David's favorite breakfast spot-IHOP!  He loves their chocolate chip pancakes and last year we went often after his radiation sessions in Charlottesville.  We hit the Roanoke one this morning to break up our trip a little.  Silly boy.

We had a little drama at the restaurant where we visited the restroom to go potty while we waited on our food.  Some poor soul was throwing up big time in the bathroom and as we were washing our hands we realized it was our waitress who had brought us our drinks already....yikes!  That stressed this germ freak momma out but as one of my friends pointed out  that hopefully she is pregnant and not sick was some highly contagious disease!  Needless to say my breakfast went pretty much untouched:) 

A little further down the road we stopped for gas and I opened the door and saw that David was reading a Magic Tree House book to himself!  Be still my beating heart....

So apparently the rest of the world realized that Afton mountain has some major construction going on where traffic is stopped on the interstate six times/day for 45 minutes.  I had no clue.  People stopped their cars, got out and walked around, and visited with others nearby we were sitting so long.  As we started going finally a huge truck in front of me threw off a large rock that hit my windshield.  It cracked it about the size of a quarter.  This is a terrible picture of it, but by the time I got home it was a huge crack that was getting bigger by the minute.  I joked on the phone with one of my friends that we may end up driving home in our SUV convertible because I was worried it would shatter. 

David's favorite two people at clinic (Dr. Belyea and Ms. Meghan) were not there today.  David was determined to leave them both a note.  He had me write: Dear Dr. Belyea, I love you.  I missed you today.  Lets go to Lane Stadium to see the Hokies play.  Lets have a playdate.  Then he signed it Dave  Robinson,  I love you in his own handwriting:)

David always loves to see Nurse Pat.  They realized that they were dressed in the same colors so of course David had to have his picture with the famous Nurse Pat.  She is a veteran nurse who has the most outgoing personality and truly has seen it all. 

Here is silly David drafting his letter to MS. Meghan.  It basically says the same things that Dr. Belyea's did and I got so tickled that he signed it Dave.  Our baby is growing up. 

 

While we waited for labs we ate a late lunch int he cafeteria.  We ran into two beloved nurses from 7 Central (Lisa and Donna) and David insisted that they eat with us.  Bless their sweet hearts they did sit and visit with us.  David then announced that he wanted to see "the ladies upstairs" so up to 7 Central we went.  He went right to Hayley's room which is now filled with new occupants of course, and right beside her old room was our old room.  This is a terrible picture of the room where we were brought after he graduated out of the PICU post-op with his kidney surgery.  I can still picture all the balloons, the banners, the cards, and bible verses that filled the walls of this sacred room.  This is the room that we fondly called Party Central.  Two doors down is the bad room which is the first room we were brought to and heard all the bad and scary news.  I walked quickly by that room and could not bring myself to even peek in. 

 

Today was a great visit with the oncologist (Dr. Druzgal whom we adore) and Dr. Barcia the kidney specialist.  Dr. Barcia is always informative and we typically only see him every six months.  He said in terms of David's kidney that he is not concerned at all about his kidney now because his blood pressure, urine, weight, and labs are all stable and fine.  He is; however, concerned about David down the road in terms of this kidney.  That poor little kidney is working solo and it has taken a beating between the chemo, radiation, and antibiotics.  I cannot stress about something that could happen 15-20 years down the road.  I am just thrilled that we are talking about David's future.  Several times last year when he was in the thick of chemo and his port got so infected I often wondered if he would make it until the end of his chemo protocol.  I simply cannot stress about possible renal failure in a decade or two. 

 

We stopped off in Radford to pick up Hope and we found her spoon feeding my grandmother!  She spent the day with my Mom and grandmother.  I hear that she had candy for breakfast thanks to my grandmother:) 

 

David and I had a great day roadtripping together and visiting with all our favorite folks at UVA.  That place is so amazing that it truly feels like visiting a relative's house when you walk in.  The traffic was terrible, I could have done without hearing our waitress hurl, and I don't even want to think about how much a new windshield is going to be, but overall it was a great day because we left UVA with good news and thanksgiving in our hearts that David for today looked great to his doctors.  To God be the Glory. 

Bingo For Childhood Cancer

Our Weekend did not start out so great when I got a call from the school on Friday that David had a fever:( Hope and I went to get him from school and we all three spent the afternoon in bed watching a movie and snuggling.  He just was not himself Friday evening or Saturday morning. 

Sadly now that we are living our post-chemo life, every little headache and fever send me into a panic.  I always worry when he is not acting life himself (stubborn, lethargic, whiny) that he is relapsing.  I know it is totally irrational, but I cannot help it. 

We were suppose to go to Ashley's brother's wedding about 45 minutes from here, but David was not himself.  We love Adam and Amber and we wish them years and years of happiness and love. 

Saturday night we did get to go to a local event that raised money for childhood cancer.  A local family, The Shuler's lost their little baby girl to cancer several years ago and they still honor her memory by hosting several events a year to raise money and awareness for childhood cancer. 

Last night they had a Bingo event and 4/5 of our family went and we had such fun!  Kyle was at dinner and movie with his travel baseball team.  I hate to brag, but the Robinson girls both won a game of Bingo! Hope won a goodie bag and I won a picnic tote. 

Lynn was there with Caroline and Tommy and it was fun to catch up with them.  David and Caroline used our iphones and texted back and forth.  It was so hilarious and cute. 

 

Hope was good with that bingo dabber and she was so embarrassed when she won!  She really hates to be the center of attention.  We really had a great time playing bingo for a great cause. 

 

Sunday Mike and Kyle played in a benefit cornhole tournament to help raise money for a school employee whose daughter needs lots of medical care.  Our community is absolutely wonderful about rallying around those that have a loved one going through something out of the ordinary.  We were on the receiving end of all this love and support last year and we know how amazing it feels to know your community is behind you.

 

We are hoping that David is over whatever little ailment that caused the low grade fever Friday and him not being himself this weekend.  He and I will head solo to UVA this Wednesday not only for his monthly oncology visit but we will also meet with the kidney doctor as well.  Mike cannot go this time and my traveling partner Pops is at the beach.  Thankfully Hope can spend the day in Radford with GG and my grandmother so she will not have to make that long trip down the interstate.  We covet your prayers for this UVA visit.  We are really curious to see what the kidney doctor has to say about David's little kidney:)

 

Happy Monday!!  Is it summer break yet????

Night at the Ball field

Last night we had an awesome night at the field.  As I have shared before baseball makes me nervous and is not my favorite to watch.  After watching basketball all winter, baseball is tedious and slow for me.  I also get nervous for Kyle because he wants to do his best. Last night he got to be the starting pitcher for our little league team. 

It also happened to work out that my parents got to come watch him play last night.  He was so excited that they could be there.  When Kyle went on the field to warmup I gasped to my Dad that a year makes a huge different and that Kyle looked enormous on the mound:)

His first three pitches were balls and my heart sank for him.  He wanted to prove himself so bad, but the nerves got worked out and he went on to pitch a great game.  They won 10-0 and he pitched one of his best games ever. 

Watching Kyle pitch makes me nervous and proud all at the same time.  Kyle has the nerves of steel that a pitcher needs and this Momma always prays before he throws the first pitch.  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. Colossians 3:23. 

Mike met us at the ballfield and David was already playing with some other kids at the field when the game started.  He did not realize until halfway through the game that Mike was even there!  He gave him the biggest hug. 

My proud ball player earned the game ball for his pitching last night. 

Before Pops retired he was an accountant.  He has the gift of number crunching.  Before the game last night he was mad that he forgot pen and paper to keep up with Kyle's pitching stats.  We grabbed him an empty popcorn bag and pen from the concession stand and he faithfully kept every pitch stat during the game.  Here is Pops going over the game stats with Kyle:)  I love it! 

We have many more baseball games ahead of us this season but last night was a fun and memorable night at the field.  It was Kyle's first time to be the starting pitcher for his team, Pops and GG were there, and the weather was beautiful.  We celebrated baseball and family time with ice cream after the game.

Today we are home resting; however, because David came home from school with a low grade fever, headache, and cough.  It is just a nasty virus/cold and nothing we can really do about it, but thankfully he is still drinking to keep that kidney hydrated and happy.  Thankfully we have a low-key weekend planned so there will be opportunities for him (and us) to rest:)

Being a Sports Mommy

I love being a Mom.  I love Jesus.  I love cheering Kyle on in his sports.  I desperately try to be the christian witness that I want to be even in the heat of the game.  Sometimes I do well with this; other times not so:) Being a christian sports mom is one of the hardest jobs I have ever had.

I did not realize this until my baby was on a field, but I am a super competitive person.  Mike is a super competitive guy.  The other night a very human umpire made a wrong call concerning Kyle.  It rattled Kyle and upset him.  I saw that my son was upset on the field and the Momma bear in me was coming to the surface.  I really wanted that umpire to change his call so that my baby could stay on the base. 

About the time my mouth was about to overload me, I heard my husband's voice of integrity.  I heard him say "hustle in come on."  He was not stressed about it and neither should I be.  On the way home we talked about it and I was still a bit righteous about it.  Mike just shrugged his shoulders and said "great life lesson-life is not always fair."

But......  this is where I struggle.  I struggle with being righteous.  Life is very black and white for me and sometimes the world does not cooperate.  I got righteous with something I saw on facebook this past weekend and once again my very Jesus-grounded husband reminded me that our family is trying to live our lives for heaven not for earthly pleasures and treasures.  Oh yeah, I forgot. 

I pray the verse 1Timothy 4:12 will reign in our household

Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, you faith, and your purity.

I pray that when the game gets heated or when my competitive streak gets the best of me I remember this new verse that I have stumbled upon to remind me that my actions (even when I yell at umpires or referees) are a reflection of my heart. 

Weeknight Fun

We are so blessed to have Ashley Davidson (soon to be Moorer) in our lives.  Last night Kyle had a late ballgame and she took Hope and David and my camera on an adventure while I fed Kyle and got him ready for the ballgame. 

Dressed in old clothes, they went to the Herb House to paint pottery. I love that they were home in bed when the ballgame started at 8:00 after a fun night of painting and dinner out.  Kyle can handle the late night games, but these two are ready for bed by 8.

Their creations will be ready in a few days, but I love the concentration!

Local friends, Ashley raved about the Herb House.  The fees and pottery prices are reasonable and now looking at these pictures I want to go try lunch there very soon.  I have heard from other Mommy friends that there are group and private art classes for children in the afternoons.  I love this picture Ashley captured of our sweet, but stubborn middle child.  He truly is a rock star.

 I think Hope and David helped Ashley paint this new plate for her new home with new soon-to-be monogram! 

 

Mike and I headed to the ballpark to watch Kyle play in his little league game.  His true love is basketball but he really enjoys baseball. 

Last night he played second base and he made several great stops.  We won 11-1! 

I love sports.  I love the life lessons that you learn playing sports.  Last night Kyle was clearly safe at first base, but the umpire missed it and called him out.  My Momma bear wanted to break bad on that umpire, but it was a good life lesson for Kyle to walk off the field with grace and class.  Sadly life is not always fair and participating in sports can give you lots of opportunities to build character. 

 

Last night was a good night where David and Hope got to have an adventure thanks to Ashley and unlike last year, Kyle had both parents at his late night game cheering him on.  Missing so much last year because of David's treatment makes me relish every game and every opportunity to cheer my kids on in their endeavors.  Now if we can just get David to stop trash talking:)

Family Fun Weekend

Some weekends you are simply sad for it to end.  This was one of those weekends for our family.  Kyle had a travel ball tournament not too far away, and the tournament schedule allowed some much needed time at home in the sunshine and church today.

After the early Saturday morning games, we came home and played outside.  The kids played and played while we did some yard work.  One of the many awful things about David's chemo and radiation last year was that our yard was very neglected.  It is going to take us lots of work to reclaim our flower beds.  I will gladly work outside, however,  in the sunshine versus watching my baby lay in the hospital bed. 

Our kids are so fair so we had to pull out the sun hats.  David does not care for his, but Hope loved her hat! 

Not only did the kids enjoy the moon bounce, but David is obsessed with baseball.  He wants you to pitch to him all the time. 

This picture makes me belly laugh because Kyle set up his little golf ball stand outside in our yard.  We live on the 7th hole, so when golfers come by Kyle typically sets up his golf ball business.  While Kyle was gone, David worked the golf ball stand and made $1 off of the sweetest guys.  Look how proud he was of that sale!  He blew his dollar in the concession stand today on a gatorade:) 

I love seeing this little guy outside and having FUN!  This time last year he did not have the energy to play and run. 

This weekend Kyle had fun with his travel ball team.  He loves it and he is really enjoying his new teammates. 

His team plays U12 but Kyle is only 11.  That is okay, because it is getting him used to harder and faster pitchers.  Some of the guys on the opposing teams are giants, but that is okay.  Travel ball is all about playing, having fun, and getting better with higher levels of competition. 

Kyle playing second base and his buddy Luke is playing short stop.  These guys have been friends since preschool and they play ball together and even AAU hoops together.  Kyle played second base some, but he also played outfield which he really enjoys.  This is the first uniform that he has ever worn that has WHITE pants.  They are killing me.  I have used spray and wash on them and even Fels Naptha soap, and yesterday I had to wash them three times. 

Team prayer after the game. 

Spencer, kyle, and cute little David had to jump in the picture.  David has learned somewhere where to trash talk, and he made me laugh yelling for the other team to drop the ball!  We need to work on our sportsmanship with him before he starts Special Olympic in the next year or two.  Tomorrow is back to the real world but we certainly enjoyed the together time as a family this weekend in the sunshine.

Random Updates

Happy Wednesday!  We have had a busy week enjoying the beautiful sunshine!  What a treat to leave the house without coats and with capris and sandals on!  Over the last month we have had so much rain, snow and cold that these last few days of warm sunshine have been such a blessing. 

Today while downloading pictures off of my phone, I found these little gems of David and Hope sporting the Madagascar 3 wig. 

They took turns trying on the wig and then taking pictures of each other.  These two are hilarious together even if they do wear me out!   They are obsessed with playing "Jesus in the tomb game" and they create this tomb out of sofa cushions and then they drag out blankets and put them in the tomb.  Then they take turns playing peeking under the blankets and yelling "He's alive!" It is really precious even if it does get old deconstructing their tomb and folding all those blankets. 

We walked the preschoolers to the library on Tuesday and Hope and Sydney had to sport their shades!  Hope has made some precious friends at preschool this year and she has come out of her shell so much.

 

I am not really clear when Hope grew up?  She looks like a kindergartener in this picture?  Sigh. 

 

This has been a busy week for our family.  Kyle's baseball schedule has kept us hopping.  I am also still faithfully training with some dear friends for our 5K to run for God.  We are on week 5 of our 12 week workouts and we are finding that lunchtime at the gym is the best time for us to get it in. The workouts are getting harder but we are pushing ourselves to stay with it.  This has been a  challenge but I am so proud of the progress we are making and I can tell such a difference in my attitude, stamina, and energy.  When the workouts get hard, I just think of David.  He is my inspiration and I am dedicating the  5K to him.  If he can endure chemo and radiation certainly I can run a few miles?!

 

Mike has been busy at work.  This is the time of year that is ultra busy for him.  He manages it all beautifully with very little sleep.  He finished a board of supervisors meeting last night in time to make it to Kyle's late baseball game.  Last night while Mike and I cheered on Kyle at his late game, Ashley and Matt took Hope and David to Hungry Mother Park for a pizza picnic and playdate.  By the time the game started she had bathed them and they were fast asleep.  Late games are hard on little bodies and we were so blessed to have her help last night. 

 

The sad news of today is that David's school called and he felt bad with a headache after playing outside.  Shockingly he tested positive for strep throat?!  He has had an antibiotic shot and he should be on the mend in a day or two.  When the school calls me I truly panic.  On a good note he is now 10 pounds over his original pre-cancer weight!  We are simply amazed. 

 

Happy Wednesday!

 

A Night to Remember by Kyle and David

Last night me, Dad,  Pops,  and David went to see the Heat play the Charlotte bobcats.  We had a goood time.

We showed up before the game  to watch warmups. Dad took pictures like Mom told him to.

me behind the bobcat players.

James Jones warming up.

Hubie Brown before game.He is a newscaster and we sat seven rows behind him.  I almost got his autograph.

Lebron warming up but did not play, neither did Dawane Wade or Ray Allen.

Lebron

Lebron walked right by me and signed a ball for the people beside me.  He touched my ball but gave it back to me unsigned.  I was sad but it was cool to see how tall he really is.  He is a giant.  Chris Bosh is really tall too. 

After a dunk david would go crazy. David wore his lebron headband the whole game.

Chris Bosh and James Jones are in the Heat uniforms.  dressed in regular clothes is lebron and Dwane Wade.  When Lebron came out everyone cheered loudly. 

Injury Report.  Marion Chalmers was on it but he played some.

The cheerleaders. 


me and dave

There was a man who worked for the arena who gave out free tshirts and went around dancing with people.  Wherever he went people would get on the jumbotron.  We all four got on the jumbotron because he was in front of us. 

Thank you for the tickets we had a lot of fun! 

Love, Kyle

This is David's take on the night.  thank you. i love lebron james.  I went to the game and had fun then I went to McDonalds and got ice cream.  I love the dunks.  Thank you and I love you. I love the heat.  I love lebron james. 

As you can tell my boys had a magical night in Charlotte!  What a wonderful night that they will never ever forget. It did not matter that their two favorite players were on the bench due to injuries.  They thoroughly enjoyed their first NBA experience!