OWEN SAYS...

Dear Mommy and Daddy's Friends,

This is Owen. My mama and dada have not done a good job keeping you up to date on our life in Texas. So, I've decided to write you myself and let you know about all the cool things I'VE been doing lately in Fort Worth, Texas! That's right... I'm a Texas boy now!



If you look carefully, you'll see ME in the Uhaul. I thought it was pretty cool being in that big truck! It made me smile. But I quickly grew tired of the long drive from Florida to Texas.



Good thing I had Tyson to keep me company! And my snacks. And my Toy Story movies. Mommy says I was overall a very good boy!

After we got to Texas, I started preschool for the first time. Daddy was sad because I didn't even cry. He thought I'd want to stay with him all day, but I was super excited to explore my new classroom and meet my new friends. Here I am at my new school...




Oh and this is me in front of our new house. I love living in a house. I have my own room AND a playroom! I'm allowed to make the biggest mess in that playroom!



So the reason we moved here is because my daddy got a coaching job with the TCU baseball team. He loves it and I've gone to the field a few times. I always have fun at the field. Check out these pictures of me having a blast... and I'll even show you a couple pictures of my mama and dada at the field.



Me running in the clubhouse.



Me running in the batting cages. I love to run!






Those are some more pictures from us at the ball field.

I've also been swimming at our neighborhood pool and the lake. That's my mimi and papa in the picture with me. They came to visit. My other grandpa came for a visit too. I always have fun with them!






And since I told you my other grandpa came to visit me too, I have to show you a picture from his trip. We had fun at the baseball field of course!




Oh, and while I'm showing you some baseball pictures... here is a picture of me watching my daddy coach his first college game!



I've also been having fun at the Fall Festivals and Pumpkin Patches! I can't wait for Halloween. I'm going to be a TIGER! I still love Aubie even though I also love TCU!














Well, I think that's it for now! Oh wait... one more pic... it's of my best buddy and me!



OK, it's really past my bedtime! I will be back tomorrow to show you my super cool bedroom and my big boy bed! And lots of other things happening in my Texas life...

Love,
OJ - The Juiceman :)

Way to go Dada!!

On Friday, April 30th, Chuck went to Pennsylvania to accept his Atlantic League Championship ring with his teammates. I got to watch it on the computer and he had someone take some pictures/video of the ceremony. For those of you who might not know, we're still not sure if Chuck will ever play ball again. Our life changed so much after the birth of Owen (all for the better... but also for the "crazier"), and Chuck decided it wasn't the right fit for him/our family to go back and play at the beginning of the season. It is so bittersweet.

I'm so thankful to have our family together right now when usually he'd already be many, many miles away. I'm thankful he's getting to experience these precious moments with Owen that otherwise he would have missed out on.

.... I'm thankful that if last year was his final year of playing, he ended on such a high! His team was unstoppable. He got to play with some of his best friends from the previous seven years of playing professional baseball. He's an Atlantic League Champion - what a great way to go out!

.... I'm thankful, too, that he has a very strong passion for something else besides just playing baseball. He LOVES coaching the sport. And boy, does he have a gift for that! He's got some very strong supporters all pulling for him when he does make that final decision to enter the world of college coaching. It speaks volumes to me to see men like Andy Etchebarren (a big-time ex major league player and then a successful coach), as well as many other high-profile college coaches, be so confident in his ability to not only play, but also coach in the sport. I am just so proud of my husband.

.... And I'm thankful for how hard he's worked to earn his degree. (I did tell him he was in BIG trouble if my little sister got her degree before him!! Lucky for him, he beat her!) If you aren't aware, Chuck got drafted by the Red Sox after his junior year at Auburn. Therefore, he left school without ever earning his degree. So, the last two years he's worked extremely hard to finally graduate. He needs his degree in order to coach in college and he's only one test away, which he'll be taking later this week... so pray for him!! :)

.... And lastly, I'm truly thankful for the time we've had in the baseball world. Baseball has been a huge part of our life together for so long. I started dating Chuck right before his sophomore season at Auburn. We've been through practically every up and down together. In fact this might be our first full year together since starting our relationship eight years ago. Our marriage consisted of five months together, seven months a part. But looking back, I wouldn't have traded it for anything. Watching Chuck play was, and will always be, one of my greatest joys in life. That's why this is so bittersweet. To think I may never see Chuck play another game brings tears to my eyes. However, I, too, have a great support system. My baseball girlfriends from all phases of the game are the best! And many of them are or have already gone through the same thing. Again, these life-long friendships thanks to baseball are just another thing I'm thankful for!






We'll keep you updated on our journey... :)

The Jerolomans

Happy Easter

Easter was absolutely wonderful. We had such a great long weekend and did so many fun things.

On Friday, we took Owen to the Miami Seaquarium. He had a blast. I'm not sure if the animals or the music that they played during each show was his favorite! :)







On Saturday, Owen participated in his first Easter egg hunt. It was so much fun! He definitely had the most eggs... and he needs to be thanking this sweet little girl who refused to put eggs in her basket and instead insisted on placing them all in Owen's. It was so stinkin' cute. :) We also took Owen to meet the Easter Bunny. He LOVED the Easter Bunny... as long as he was NOT sitting on his lap!! So we basically waited an hour in line to have him giggle and be silly while watching the bunny... and then have him scream and cry when it was finally his turn to sit on the bunny's lap!! Oh well... the picture we got will give us many laughs for years to come. :)






On Sunday, Owen and Tyson got their Easter baskets. We went to an Easter brunch in Boca. The Easter Bunny was there and once again Owen showed what a TOUGH boy he is... as long as the bunny didn't try to hold him! He loved pointing and poking the Easter Bunny... but that bunny better not even think about getting TOO close. :) After brunch, we went to church. The service was amazing. That night we headed to Chuck's parents house for dinner.








It was such a wonderful, long weekend. And though it's fun to give our child an Easter basket, take him to an Easter egg hunt and visit the Easter Bunny... we'll never forget the real significance behind this very special day.

Until next time...

The Jerolomans :)

On The Go!

I'm on the go, and there is no stopping me!!




Owen started walking a few weeks ago. He is very proud of himself and so is his Mama! :)

Prayers Answered

Let me first start this post by thanking all of our family and friends who prayed for us. Friday, April 1st, was a dreaded day for our family. Owen and Tyson were both having surgery. My mom came down for the weekend to help us out - thank goodness for her! We were a nervous wreck, especially for Tyson... BUT our day went better than we could have ever expected!

The day started at 5 a.m. Chuck, Owen and I headed out to West Boca for Owen's eye surgery. We had to be there by 6 a.m. Owen didn't even know what to do with himself... if you know him, you know he is a sleeper (great for mommy and daddy!)!! So, despite him being a little cranky since we woke him up super early, overall he was great. The whole entire thing only took two hours. And during recovery, he got to try his first popsicle ever. He loved it :)

So, since we were in and out in two hours, we called my mom to tell her to meet us with Tyson, our dog. She was going to be the one to take him to the vet for his surgery because we thought we'd still be in Boca with Owen. We were so happy we'd be able to see him before he had the procedure done. We were warned that this was an invasive surgery that takes a 15 day recovery... and for the first two days he would need to be kept in a very quiet place as he would be in a great deal of pain. He also needed to stay overnight at the vet. So knowing all of this, we were very upset for him and nervous. Again, if you know us, you know that Tyson is a MAJOR part of our life and has been for 7 1/2 years.

Anyways, let me get to the amazing part of this whole day - Four hours after dropping Tyson off, I got a phone call from the vet. Initially, I was scared to death when I first heard her voice because I knew she shouldn't be calling for at least another few hours... so of course I thought something must have gone wrong. BUT, to my surprise, she told me that following some routine procedures before the actually surgery, they decided against the surgery!! They said the medicine started to actually work and they could see improvement!! So,she decided that she would instead put him on perscription food and he'll be checked every two months for I guess the rest of his life as this condition can be life threatening. However, just knowing that there has been improvement (without surgery) was such wonderful news to hear.

PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED!!!!!! :)

Here are some pictures from this day...







And so our weekend ended up being a fun one...







Blog again soon,
The Jerolomans :)