How we get the crazy out

I love, love, love hanging out with these guys! After school, when all the older kids are off at activities or playing with friends and Allie is napping, I get to focus on these crazy little boys of mine.

We play hard, and it’s always a blast! There’s nothing like energetic little boys to force a mommy to be energetic herself! The trampoline is a great place to burn up energy playing, giggling, tickling, and jumping together!

I love this line up: Jacob with his inside-out-and-backwards shirt, Asher as Spiderman, Braden in Josh’s old football “cold gear” (when it’s 90 degrees out), and Drew with his crazy trampoline static hair!

Love that hair, Drew!!

Another Lock Box

Braden has built at least ten lock boxes in the past few weeks. Each one is unique with a different locking system. Some open with keys or the removal of pins. Some slide open or have extra secret compartments. This is his newest creation:

It has two secret compartments. I’m not allowed to photograph the system for unlocking these compartments because Braden doesn’t want that information to get into the wrong hands. But the compartments are large enough to hold a lot of loot:

I love this creative boy!!

State Championships 2013

We spent two days at the Freestyle and Greco State Championships. Josh wrestled both styles, while Braden and Asher just wrestled Freestyle.

Asher wrestled so well! He did a great job. His finals match was awesome and he won by tech, taking first place. We have a cute little four-year-old state champ now!

Braden wrestled well too. He was up against some really tough, talented wrestlers, but he worked hard and did his best. He took fourth place at state.

Joshua wrestled in both Greco on Friday and Freestyle on Saturday. He took first place in both styled and came home with two gold medals and two state championship titles!

I am amazed that he’s come so far in the last month! Two months ago he was still dependent on a feeding tube, and now he’s doing so well! I am very thankful!

The younger boys are done for this season. Joshua will have a two-week wrestling blitz in June and he can hardly wait. Congrats on a great season, boys!

Flowers

It’s stuff like this that makes all the craziness worth it!

Lego Lock Box

Braden is so smart and creative when it comes to his Lego’s. He builds elaborate vehicles and structures, often with creative motors and moving parts. Today he built this awesome little lock box:

It is impossible to open… unless you remove the right pins!

There are three pins that must be removed, the middle one on this side and two more from the other side. Then the box slides open to reveal a hidden compartment.

Braden included a sweet little “I love mom” note inside for me.

Then we closed the box, and secured the pins.

Life with Boys

Braden made quicksand. He worked for a long time to find the perfect ratio of sand to water. He was so delighted by his creation and he warned all his younger brothers to stay back because the quicksand was “incredibly dangerous.”

He told me, “Mom, I’ll never sell this quicksand! … Well, maybe for three dollars…”

They are constantly wrestling. It’s good-natured (for the most part). Right before I snapped these pictures, Rick mused, “What do you think life would be like if they were all girls?”

Asher looks guilty, and the chocolate on his face totally gives him away!

Josh took the crib in the little boys’ room apart for me. It’s the first time in ten years that we only have one crib up instead of two. I’ll admit that I was a little sad as I watched my big ten-year-old take apart the crib that he slept in as a baby! He did a thorough job, and removed every screw!

Ash and B after swimming lessons.

He’s proud of his recent wrestling accomplishments.

Little guys close in age and close in size. Jake is taller but Drew is wider!

Josh with his frog.

Asher the wizard!

Life with boys is messy, noisy, and exhausting, but it’s also hilarious, delightful, and the best adventure ever!! I am so thankful for my five amazing sons!

Littlest Ones

Braden and Asher wore some of Joshua’s old wrestling t-shirts to practice tonight. Was Josh ever really so small?! It’s crazy how fast time passes!

And little Allie looked so grown up with her jeans, shoes, and a big girl bow! She’s almost ten months old already, and I can hardly believe it!

Drew is hilarious lately! He says “right” at the end of most sentences now and I giggle every time. After slipping at the park and dangling precariously for a moment before I caught him, he gasped, “Woah! Dat teepee.” (Woah! That’s creepy.) Drew has got to be one of the best two-year-olds ever! He’s rocking that crazy white ‘fro of his!

Nationals and a Gym Meet

When Josh got sick, we ended up skipping several big national tournaments. Last weekend we finally were able to get the boys to a big event. It was Joshua’s first national tournament since he got sick and it was Asher’s first national tournament ever. The boys were so excited to go to a big tournament, eat lots of food, stay in a hotel, and swim.

Joshua battled through a large 32-man bracket, the biggest of the entire event. He did get more tired as the day went on, but he wrestled well and took first place.

Braden wrestled hard, but ended up losing some matches, including a very close loss that bumped him to consolation. He took fifth place and was very sad because he wanted a plaque like his brothers.

Little Asher did awesome! As a four-year-old in the 5&6 year old age division, he wrestled all the way through to the finals. He lost his finals match and took second place. Very impressive for such a young guy at such a big tournament!

The boys had a wonderful weekend together!!

While the boys were gone, Brenna also had a gymnastics meet. She did so well! Her routines were beautiful!! She competed in a higher age group than usual. She got 9.1 on vault (1st place), 9.4 on beam (1st place), 9.35 on bars (1st place) and 8.7 with a fall on floor (3rd) place. She ended up with 2nd AA, only 0.05 behind 1st. She looked amazing!

Warm Puppy

When you’re feeling sick, a warm puppy to snuggle sure seems to help…

So much for the “no Ruby on the couch” rule. But in this case, I think I’ll make an exception.

Super State

Whew! What a weekend! The boys wrestled for five hours on Friday and eleven hours on Saturday. I’d booked a babysitter, but things didn’t work out and I ended up needing to take all the kids. So, yeah, it was a very long weekend for all of us!

Asher was quite the underdog in his group. He was the youngest by several years and the lightest by an entire weight class.

Ash is a very talented wrestler. He’s a natural when it comes to mat awareness and learning moves. At the beginning of the season he was beating boys who were older and heavier than he was, but he hasn’t wrestled for two months now and he was very rusty. At Super State, he sort of wrestled like a slug. Only ten kids signed up in his division and he was able to take sixth place, even as the cute little slug that he is. Not bad for a four-year-old!

Braden… I was honestly a little worried about him. He had 21 kids in his bracket, and a lot of them were very, very good wrestlers. It was the biggest and most competitive event he’d ever attended and I was worried that he wasn’t up for that level of competition (especially because he has also missed two months of wrestling).

His first match was very close. He was winning and put the kid on his back, but then he let go and stood up, thinking the match was over. This cost him the match.

Braden did great in consolation though. He won a really competitive match in overtime, pinned a kid, and beat someone who has always beat him in the past. He lost his last match 10-12 and that, being his second loss, put him out one match before the medal rounds. He was so disappointed, but he has new resolve to work hard and be ready for his next big tournament.

And then there was Joshua. He really wanted to go to Super State. Because his GI and physical therapist had both cleared him for physical activity, we agreed that he could go, but we were both really worried about him. We estimated that his strength and stamina were only about 20% of what they used to be.

Josh wrestled so well. His entire team came to watch his matches. They were all so proud and so supportive. His team has always said that the wrestling room is not the same without Josh there. Several people told us what an inspiration he was.

Josh pinned his first two kids easily. He teched his third opponent 13-0. His fourth match was a very close one. He lost on a penalty point and was crushed.

He was so tired and defeated by that point and his elbow was hyper-extended during his last match and he could hardly move it. We urged him to just withdraw from the tournament, but he refused. He nailed his next match and pinned the kid easily, while totally favoring his left arm.

That win put him into the medal rounds for 3rd and 4th place. He lost a very close match against a kid who has never beat him. The kid has a habit of “running” for the edge of the mat so three of Joshua’s moves didn’t result in points because they happened right on the line. Josh’s elbow was bent completely backwards at the end of the match. We thought it was broken at first, but thankfully, it’s just fine!

So our very brave boy took fourth place, out of 37 kids and in a very competitive division. I have no doubt that he would have taken first if he’d been healthy, but it was also an absolute miracle that he was even wrestling at all after all he’s been through!!

Here’s a recap of the last few months:

Four months of constant, severe nausea and vomiting due to gastroparesis.

Ten full weeks without eating any food.

12% of his body weight lost.

Three weeks (and counting) on a feeding tube.

Many, many, many doctor visits, tests, days in the hospital, and trips to the ER.

Lots and lots of daily medication.

Cleared for physical activity just five days before the state tournament.

I’ve never seen a person waste away like Joshua did. It was terrifying. When things were at their worst, he didn’t even look like himself and he could barely stand.

The change in him over these last few weeks is a miracle in my eyes! It’s absolutely amazing to me to see how far he’s come in such a short time!

This tournament was about so much more than getting a trophy. It was about an amazing, strong, sweet, sick boy who was finally well enough to do what he loves most!!

Josh has a long way to go. His strength and stamina are only a fraction of what they used to be. He still is a liquid/feeding tube diet. But he has come so far and I know the worst is over now!

I am SO proud of my boys!!!