Can I get you a Motrin?

     Shoot.... Sickness abounds in our home so far this summer.  Russ began with this chesty cough while we were camping, Anthony started it on our return home, Chas developed a somewhat milder version (though the cough persists) last week, and Starks' began yesterday culminating with a fever at and through the night. :(  Double :(  I do try to tell my kids that we need these moments of mild sickness so that we can better appreciate when we are healthy and feeling like ourselves.  However, this plague altered our summer plans a bit.  I had envisioned summer being beach trips, lots of Great America rollercoaster rides, and friends.  Although our summer has taken a different path, I appreciate it!  I'm thankful they're not missing school...  They're not missing anything!  I'm glad Starks didn't get sick until after his baseball tournaments!  (More on that to come.)  I'm glad I get to baby the baby.  ;)  I'm thankful that my body has fought hard to keep it at bay.  Granted, this battle has meant two hour naps after breakfast at times, a decrease in workouts, and early bedtime, and caffeine in the afternoon to keep me going.  Wow... reading that back sounds it hasn't cost me anything but instead has afforded me good rest- and more coffee!  I've actually enjoyed just being at home more and a little more able to stay on top of the every day chores that I complete while they're in school.

     The little guy watching TV, coughing, fighting a fever, and resting this morning.   

     Saturday was our last baseball game of summer- as we'll be on the East Coast during the last tournament for the Belmont Brigade.  We're considering a possible fall ball team, but fall is when gymnastics ramps up in preparation for meets from Jan-April.  I think we're just having a hard time letting it go.  In fact, I can't seem to hang up his baseball bag in storage.  I don't want to admit that it's over.  Like in gymnastics, when we see these huge advancements in his capabilities over a few months before competition season begins, I've seen the same kind of growth in these two months of baseball.  He's so much fun to watch.  I get the same kind of butterflies in my stomach before he gets on the rings that I do when he steps up to home plate or moves to make a catch in the field.  I know how much he wants to do well, and I get a little nervous for him.  I have to say that the best sound is a fly ball hitting the leather of his glove, or the crack of the bat when he hits a home run.  He's awesome.  It's been fun how Russ has kept up with all of his stats and made sure to tweet them for family.  Russ even cancelled a dentist appt. at the last minute last week because he KNEW Starks would hit a home run with his new bat that game, and he wanted to see it.  And, he did.  Starks hit his first out of the park home run that game and one in each of the two games after that.  The 1.5 hrs Russ and he put in at the park on Monday working on Starks' swing and his throw from third to first really paid off!  Even Chas and Anthony, coughing up a storm, wanted to come see his games last week.  They saw those special moments, too, and it meant a lot to Starks.

     Now that baseball isn't filling our time, we've got 10 days to kill before we leave for Cape May. :D  Obviously, these next few will be spent close to home because of Starks' being sick.  Who knows what God has in store for us this week.  I do know that I'll be taking it one day at a time and soaking in the "sick love" while I can with Starks.  Poor kid.  I hear him coughing now, and it's that barking cough that somehow has sent us to the ER every year since he was 6 months old.  Keep him in your prayers for us!  For now, I'll run some errands (I've got his t shirts from his first baseball team to now + these last two gymnastics seasons in a bag for www.ProjectRepat.com to make a quilt for his bed.  HIGHLY recommend these guys.) and start some chores.  I'm enjoying this relaxation and time of life when my kids are old enough to enjoy me yet be without me should I want to work out, leave the room, or run an errand.  I'm feeling full lately, and it's wonderful.