another crazy day in the albers house!

I am so very proud of Dominique! He has really come through for me with the kids! 12 hours yesterday and then today for about 7 hours. He even cleaned up the house and washed the dishes before I got home both days!
I began my day riding in to Des Moines with my brother. On his way to work he dropped me off to pick up Scott's car which we had left at the doctors office. I'm trying to figure out how I can pull off the story I told Scott about cloning myself and my other self took his car home yesterday. He is so dopey right now when I told him that he actually thanked me! ;)
Then I came home and worked on laundry, and phone calls, and breakfast, and kids, and fixed lunch so all Dominique would have to do was give it to them. At 10:00 Isaiah and I were ready to take off for a "fun filled day" at the hospital. I think Joy was right! It did Isaiah a ton of good to be at a hospital without being the patient for a change! He had a ball of fun making fun of Daddy who was still quite dopey today! Then Isaiah discovered the bed controls and amused himself for a very long time sending Scott way up in the air then way down to the floor. He would say, "going up.....and going down," then he would crack up laughing and do it again and again. I don't know what was more enjoyable for me watching Isaiah have so much fun or watching Scott who had absolutely no clue what was going on, that is until he got motion sickness....LOL!!!
Congrats to Jake and Amber who had a new little baby boy last night, welcome baby Tucker!! I ran into Jake and Wyatt and Jake's parents in the hospital today. Amber is resting comfortable and every one else is so very excited!
Isaiah and I headed for home around 4:00 so I could fix dinner for the kids. Then we headed off again because Dominique's phone is acting up.........THAT is a whole other story! for later!
Then we stopped and picked Elijah up from Wendi's house. They spent the day at the pool. Boy is he a grouch!!
Yeah finally we got home around 8:45, called and checked on Daddy, had baths and kids were in bed by 9:45.
AHAHAHAH quiet! I love quiet!!!
Maybe Scott will be home some time tomorrow, hopefully he will have gotten the stones out before I have to bring him home! I don't want to have to take care of that too! LOL!
Good Night for now!

What is going on?!?!?!

So this morning at around 4am my hubby comes in to say goodbye, (that is when he gets ready to leave for work) he says to me "Angela I don't feel very good, I think I might be pale." In my ever so compassionate way I respond by saying (eyes still closed) "you don't look pale to me, I love you have a good day." Fast forward to 7:30, I returned from my morning walk and Scott called he was in a lot of pain and sick to his stomach. Of course I told him to get a Sprite. Not thinking....Then at 8 I talked to him again he was feeling worse, so I told him to call the doctor, well he didn't want to do THAT! So I called and made him an appointment. For 9:30. LONG story short:
Scott is in the hospital trying very hard to pass kidney stones....
Moral of the story:
When hubby comes in and tells wife that he is sick and might be pale; turn on the light and check!
Can I tell you how funny he is on morphine????? Pee your pants funny!
Poor Elijah misses his daddy so much he cried his little heart out tonight!
Did I mention that I don't have time for Scott to be sick like this? Never Never Never think your plate is too full. Because that is when God hands you a bigger plate!
Bless Dominique's heart he took very good care of all his siblings for 12 hours today!!!!! I am stealing Pastor Lori's saying: THATS MY BOY!!!!!!!!
Thanks to Uncle Cowboy for checking in with the monsters!

Look kids...

LOOK KIDS! ITS A BUFFALO AND A BABY!!!!
This one is for Pastor Lori!
Hee!hee!

Made our day...Isaiah's week!

A huge thank you goes out to Pastor Lori for picking us up this morning and taking us with her to Montezuma for Pastor Keaton's VBS. When I told Isaiah we might go he was so excited! He was up before the chickens this morning. Had eaten, gotten dressed and even had his hair combed and shoes on before 6:30! Watching the clock!!!
Isaiah got a little tired walking around the field and his legs were feeling a little weak but he was so happy to visit his old friend! He didn't even care that he could only play one of the games, (not counting the cheer leading station). Then we even got to have lunch with Pastor Keaton and Pastor Lori after. We all had a great time!
It was good to see Pastor Todd and Jennifer again too, I haven't seen them in a long time. It was great! I am so glad I didn't let my headache stop me from going. We definitely need to go visit again soon!
Pastor Lori, I hope your knee is feeling a little better now that we are out of the crazy van....AND after how goofy my little monsters were on the ride home I hope you let us catch a ride again sometime soon! I always enjoy chatting with you!

Exciting new addition to Runnells

After more than a year of prayers, patience, waiting, and anticipation our friends were finally able to bring their beautiful new daughter home to Runnells from Guatemala. They arrived on Wednesday evening. I was so very disappointed that we were unable to greet them as they got off the plane. I know there was quite a crowd waiting with signs and balloons and everything. I can't wait until we will all be able to get to know Rosie! We have heard so much about her I feel we already know her. I think this calls for a welcome to the Runnells family party!!
Deb I don't know if you read this or not....but, I am so happy for you and your family. I can't wait to hear all the stories over coffee or GNO.

update on Noah

Noah came home from the hospital earlier this week and is getting stronger every day. His family is waiting for reports to come in from Mayo. He was able to make an outing to Wal Mart today. Yeah Noah! Please keep praying for a complete healing for our little friend.

Random things..............

So a good friend of mine 'tagged' me and I am it. I am not sure who will really care about the 10 random things about me but I am sure some of you will be surprised. These are in no particular order. Here goes.....
1. I have always wanted to go back to school and get a degree, I just can't decide what I want to be when I grow up. I think maybe I would like a degree in counseling. or maybe finish my degree in special ed. or maybe a nurse.....SEE?????
2. Purple is my favorite color and has been ever since I can remember.
3. All through High school my nick name was Stripe and one person still calls me that, as I still call her Gizmo which was her nick name way back when...
4. I drove a moving truck from NJ to Iowa and several years later I drove another truck from Iowa to California and I loved it! When I got home I told my kids when I grow up I want to be a truck driver.
5. Someday I want to write a childrens book and my mom is going to Illustrate it for me.
6. I would love to own a coffee/dessert shop with a teen center attached.
7. I have 6 kids but if I had a bigger house would have more.....adopted not birthed!
8. I took care of my Dad for 3 years while he was dying, and would do it again if I had to.
9. I call my Grandmother every morning at 9:00, on Fridays she gets her hair done at 9 so we talk after that.
10. I would love to go on a missions trip, but I am afraid I would want to bring all the children home with me.
So, that is 10 random things about me...Did you learn something new?

Sure Sign....

Sure signs of summer coming to an end...
1. We had registration for school this week.
2. School supplies are out in stores and the sales are ON!
3. The Iowa State Fair is right around the corner.
4. AND..............My kids are beginning to say 'I'm bored'

There are going to be lots of changes this year. Dominique will be a senior (boo!Hoo!hoo!) He will be taking 3 classes at Grand View college the first semester. I doubt we will have him work during the school year, I would rather he focus on school and not work. Madison has been classified by Heartland as a child in need of services and will be attending the high school for some specialized classes every morning this year and then home for the other classes. I am praying this will be the break we have been praying for her. In light of the new restrictions and other medical issues Isaiah is facing we have made the decision to home school him this year. However we will take him to the school for art, media and other fun things so he can stay connected with his friends. Elijah will be in second grade and Amaris will be in first. We have one more year before Sam goes to school, which will be good. That will give us more time to try and figure out what is going on with him. I have a call into Heartland for some evaluations and hopefully some answers. So........................change is sometimes good, sometimes difficult. But I am looking forward to this year.

An Elijah moment

Scott was telling me a story of something that happened while I had Isaiah in MN. I have to share....
Elijah was on the computer playing a game, Scott and Amaris were sitting on the couch together. Amaris says, "Daddy when I grow up I am going to have a shop and give massages to people and you can come in any time you want to."
Elijah responds, "Amaris when you are old enough to have a job Daddy will be dead."
To which Scott says, "WHAT???"
Elijah, "Well you will wont you daddy? You will be dead when Amaris is old enough to have a job."
My poor husband didn't realize he was so OLD!

laugh of the day....maybe year!

Are you all ready to laugh???
As you all know when she is home for break from college we have my cousin Joy baby sit for us. Earlier this month we had her baby sit so Scott and I could attend an IEP meeting at our district office. When we got home I wrote her a check for $20.
Fast forward...I got home from MN last night and was looking through mail, I opened a letter from our bank and about fell over...
Dear customer, your check for $4,000,020.00 has been returned for non sufficient funds, please deposit $3,998,298.10 to cover the item we paid. WHAT??????? Who writes a 4 million dollar check for baby sitting services??
I called the bank today, they cancelled my $34 dollar fee for non sufficient funds and said it was an error on their part. They did a reversal already. YOU THINK SO??? Then I called Joy. She called her bank and guess what????? She was a millionaire for 3 days. My bank actually transferred that much money into her account for 3 days before anyone realized it was a mistake! where did they get the 4million from?? I wish I had that kind of money! Let me tell you Joy is definitely worth that kind of money but seriously I don't have it!
joy warned me to be ready for phone calls of enraged parents because effective immediately her rates went up to $1 million an hour...

This is for Isaiah

Psalm 139:13-16
"For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are so wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be."
Isaiah was born with Klippel-Feil Syndrome, His body is full of many things we consider to be 'deformities malformations or even disasters' but this passage from the Bible reminds me that God created him....God made him unique and special from the moment he began to develop God had a plan...
This does not mean that there will never be times when I am afraid or worry or wonder why...
this one is for me...Psalm 73:26 'My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.'

Treatment Plan

I love Isaiah's doc! She is wonderful. We see her at the Shriner's Hospital in Minneapolis. Dr. Dunn has a private practice in St. Paul and donates some of her time to the Shriner's Hospital. We found out yesterday she made a special trip for Isaiah. Not only that, she spent well over an hour with us explaining all the test results and why she wants to do what she wants. She sat down with Isaiah and talked about his golfing and all the other details of his life. She stepped out of the room at one point to compare some imaging and Isaiah looked at me and said "Dr. Dunn loves me mom" Its true she does!!
So this is what we learned and the plan...The fluids are running without obstruction at this point, there is no obstruction at the base of the brain, the left ventrical is larger than the right and we will keep an eye on that. She gave him more restrictions of activities and gave us a list of symptoms to watch for. If we notice any changes we are to call her right away. She calculated the growth rate and thinks it is safe to return October 15 for a complete spinal study and repeat of all tests we did this time. I have many mixed feelings right now. Part of me is so very thankful he doesn't have to go through all this again right now, the other part of me just wants to fix it and begin healing, after all he is still a little boy who wants to play and have fun with his siblings and friends, now with the new restrictions I may go crazy...
This morning I was reading my bible and came across this verse in Isaiah...how appropriate!
"...I am He, I am He who will sustain you; I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." Isaiah 46:4
I am counting on that!

Tuesday

Today we have to check out of the hotel at 11 and our appointment with the team is not until 2pm. So, we will have to find something to do for the bulk of the day...It seems so strange only being 2 of us. Isaiah is such a trooper. He just takes everything in stride never complaining about any of it. I just checked in with the home front all is well for them. I know I say this all the time but seriously, I don't know what we wold do with out Joy. And a big thanks to Philip for coming over when Scott leaves for work at 5:30 so Joy could come later, I know she really appreciates that too! Our plan is to head home after our appointment this afternoon, however, last time we ended up having to stay an extra day to see another doc. I have mixed feelings about this appointment today. Part of me wants them to say we need to take care of this now just so we can get it over with and begin healing again....part of me hopes they say we can wait because I don't want him to go through this again....I will be very happy when we have a plan and I know what to expect...Thanks for all the continued prayers. Love to all from MN.

What a day.

I will try to explain the mystery test. I still don't know exactly what it is called, but I know what it does. They hooked Isaiah up to electrodes at several pulse points, then wrapped him up in a sheet and strapped him in so he couldn't move. These electrodes track the heart beat and when they are hooked up to the monitors and MRI they are able to trace the cerebra fluids as they flow from the brain down the spinal canal and back. What they are looking for is to see if the cyst has grown to the point where the fluid can no longer pass efficiently, if that is the case, then we will be facing surgery sooner than later. If the fluid passes efficiently then we may still have time to wait. He was not allowed to eat or drink anything after 7 this morning so by the time we left the hospital at 5 he was starving! I was able to get the tests transferred to a disc to take to our appointment tomorrow. I am hoping we will be able to make a treatment plan tomorrow.
I am so very thankful Scott bought a Garmin navigator for the car, with out it I am absolutely positive I would still be driving around Minneapolis looking for the new hospital. As it is we are blessed to have made it in one piece. We seriously came closer than anyone would ever care to getting hit broadside by another car, that guy came barrelling through a red light and very nearly hit Isaiah's side of the car, my Super Spidey Senses kicked in and I was able to swerve out of the way just in time...Isaiah said "Mommy it sure is a good thing we prayed before we left the hotel this morning huh?" Ok so maybe I don't have Spidey Senses, Thank goodness I do have Angels watching out for us!

Elijah

Hi Elijah, Mommy misses you buddy, and as soon as we are done at the doctors Tuesday we will be heading home! Don't forget to draw my pictures. Tell your brothers and sisters I miss them too OK? You are in charge of passing out all my hugs and kisses.

Thanks Joy!

Joy has a tough job corralling the troops at home....she is doing a fantastic job, what would we do without you???? I am still praying you will study from home this fall so if we have surgery scheduled I wont have to worry about my little monsters! I know you are thinking about it........

Please Pray for Noah

For those of you who do not know him, Noah Brown will be a 4th grader at our school this year. His brother is in Isaiah's class. Noah's family learned late last week that he has a brain tumor, today the little guy spent much of the day in surgery having it removed. So far as I have heard he is doing well in the PICU. No labs yet. Please pray for his recovery, good news from the lab, and pray for peace for his parents and sibs. It is really tough having a child in the hospital. It is hard on the whole family so please join us in lifting this family up in prayer!

made it....

OK so let me start with last night....my darling hubby decided he really wanted some home made chocolate chip cookies...so, I sent him out o HyVee at 11:45pm to buy the ingredients. I got up this morning and made chocolate chip cookies...of course Isaiah needed to bring a few along for the trip. Then....we discovered Scott's alternator in his car was bad and needed to be replaced. I am so thankful for Philip who dropped everything on his only day off and came up to help take care of the car. I couldn't leave town until Scott's car was running properly. While they worked on the car I put lunch in the oven for them and finished packing. Isaiah and I got on the road around 11:45a.m. We made it about 3 hours in before Elijah called me crying because he misses us already.....We made great time arriving at the hotel at around 4:15p.m. Only to find that the credit card t was reserved with needed to be in my possession and being that Scott and I don't have credit cards....we had to use someone Else's card in order to reserve the room. Not knowing I actually needed a card. Frantic calls were made a few faxes sent back and forth and by 5p.m. we were handed keys and a smile. The people here are really quite nice. We thought we wanted to find a movie so off we went, changed our minds and found a Burger King (yuk) for dinner and headed back to the hotel. The hotel has a restaurant (The outback) so we ordered dessert....(YUMMMY) I am very proud to say that I successfully changed a fuse in the car....we blew one with the Garmin navigator and dvd player at the same time. I think something is wrong with the adapter. Thanks again to Philip for the pointers on how to fix the fuse thing! We will be off to the hospital tomorrow...I will update again tomorrow night!
Thanks to everyone for the prayers!

A plan??

So, finally yesterday afternoon after several calls back and forth we have a plan for this trip. Dr. Dunn was not kidding when she said she wanted to see Isaiah on the 17th of THIS month. Postponing things was not an opption. This time around Scott will be staying home. He is running out of time off from work and we need to save as much as we can for when surgery is scheduled. Isaiah and I will leave Sunday at noon. We do not have a hotel yet...Shriners offices were closed when the plan came into place. So this time we are on our own for hotel. YIKES! He will have the mystery test done at a different Childrens Hospital up there on Monday. I will hand carry the results with me on a disc as I usually do to Dr. Dunn on Tuesday. At this visit we should have a clearer picture of a good time line and how long we can safely wait for surgery to be scheduled. So, that is the plan. I will keep you up dated along the way. My brother is letting me take his lap top with me so I will be able to have access to internet. THANKS PHLIP!

Apologies!!

I need to clear things up a bit...When I vented yesterday, it was not directed at any person who I know regularly read this space...Please do not feel like it was you I was venting about. The people I was upset with, don't know about my blog. And if they did know, after yesterday I truly believe they would not see themselves in my vent anyway. I am sorry if any one felt like I was talking about them...

Sam got stuck!

Sam got stuck in the bucket and then decided he was a duck and waddled around quacking...the only problem is that when he says 'quack' it comes out sounding like 'crap'...so he was crapping duck...LOL

Amaris the ballerina...

Amaris had to get in on the role playing action and decided to be a ballerina!

Elijah the Robot

Elijah is a Rock star!

and a super hero....

he got very creative with my tin foil!

sorry....moment of weakness

Sorry, I had a moment of weakness, I have had 3 phone calls in the past 12 hours. I know people mean well. But it bothers me when I am asked how things are going and as soon as I begin to explain I get cut off or they start talking about them self. I like to listen to others when they need an ear, if that is what they really want they should just skip the part where they ask about me. Normally it wouldn't have bothered me so much, but to have 3 different people do the same thing one right after the other...I am much better now...I just needed to vent a little. Thanks for listening and not interrupting...

WARNING you may not want to read this one

Do you want to know what makes me CRAZY???

I am not the kind of person who just opens up and shares all of my feelings, thoughts and emotions with people easily. But what makes me crazy is when someone calls me, asks me if I am OK and if they can do anything for me. Then for some reason I decide to share....WHY? I have no idea, because then I get cut off, interrupted, and then the conversation turns to them and their problems and they want my sympathy and comfort and advice. Which normally, I am very willing to listen and offer an ear or shoulder or advice...I don't mean to sound whiney but, why even ask if you really don't want to hear me or comfort me...then people wonder why I never open up and share my feelings....there are precious few people in this world that I know unconditionally love and care about me and what is going on with me....unfortunately, they are just as busy as I am or they live FAR away...

I am not a high maintenance person, just like every other human being in the universe I need someone to genuinely care, ask and listen. If you don't have time to listen or you don't really care, then please don't ask...

Not so much of an update

Here is what we know as far as the docs and hosptial trips for Isaiah...The neurosurgeon still wants to see Isaiah on Tuesday July 17. She still wants him to have these mystery tests done prior to our visit. We have been told it would be a good idea to have the history and physical done this week in preparation just in case all falls into place. So, today we go to our family doc for H and P. I am not doing blood work since we don't have a plan as of yet and see no point having him get stuck for a maybe. I have tried to find hotel for Sunday through Wednesday and am having a difficult time finding any open. If this gets put off then his H and P will expire in 7 days and we will have to do it over. I am beyonde frustrated at this point and am barely holding it together. I am definately a planner and need to have things in place not only so I will know what to expect but also for the kids to know what is going on too. Hopefully we will hear today, so I wont waste a copay for the H and P. Thank God for Joy's willingness to be on standby for child care this summer!!! I don't know what we would do with out her!! I am still trying to convince her to study on line next semester so she can take care of the kids should we end up scheduling surgery soon...she hasn't responded in a positive way yet, but....you never know...maybe we will send a couple kids out to Pastor Kevin and Miss Trudy!!!! Yeah that is a great idea!!!!

Summer Reading Program

Every summer we do the reading program up at our library. Today was supposed to Zoo Keeper day but for some reason the kopo people did not come. We had I Spy instead and made some fun crafts. When the kids reach their reading goals they get prizes. At the end of the summer all the kids get to go to the zoo. We have a ton of fun!

Earrings

Lisa, you asked for me to post pics of the rings....here they are in all their glory. He was a little difficult and wasn't cooperative for pictures. Its as good as it gets for now.

He did it!

Isaiah started building his new ship Monday afternoon, recruited a little help from Dad Monday evening. He reluctantly stopped to go to bed for the night about 9:00.

This morning Isaiah woke up at 5:45am and tried to turn on the lights so he could continue building. I, being the party pooper I am, put the Kabash on the early morning build and told him he had to wait until Elijah woke up. Needless to say, he checked on Elijah every 10 minutes until he finally woke up at 8:00.

He took a lunch break and of course various potty breaks. We had one moment of frustration and tears late this afternoon, his eyes were even bloodshot from concentration. I decided he needed to take a break for a while and wait for Daddy to get home from work. The ship must have been calling his name because with in an hour Isaiah came to me and asked if his eyes were still red. Because if not, he was going to go back to the build, and that is exactly what he did! When Scott got home he was barely in the door before being summoned to the table. I convinced them to take a dinner break. The announcement came at 7:00pm tonight. We are done! Come look and bring the camera!

He is very excited. And announced he is already saving for the next build....we have a lego monster on our hands...but he is the cutest monster I have seen in a while!

Back Yard Fun!

Last week we had a camp fire in the yard and made smores. The kids lit sparklers and we had a ton of fun hanging out in the back yard. Unfortunately, Dominique was out with friends that night so he missed out on all the fun!

WAY TO GO ISAIAH!!!

So, after getting paid for scooping poop, saving Christmas money, collecting pop cans, and the money he earned from the garage sale...Isaiah had $101.89 not quite enough for the Star Wars ship...I thought maybe I would surprise him and just give him the last $4. Then this morning in the mail he got a coupon for $5 off any toy over $25 at Toys R Us. So after his doctors appointment this morning we went to Toys R Us. In the parking lot he prayed, "Dear Jesus Pleases let there be just one left. Thank you Amen. Lets go mom!" We got in there and there were 2 on the shelf. I wish I would have had the camera in the store....That picture would have been worth a million! He practically ran to the check out line, and was pleasantly surprised that the total was $100.69 he actually had money left over...He was a little disappointed to learn we had a couple stops to make before getting home.

As soon as we got home he had to call his daddy and tell him all about his treasure. I then spent the afternoon hauling tables and desks and rearranging bedrooms so he would have a safe place to build to his hearts content. All the while he sat on the couch holding the ship and grinning ear to ear! He is building now as I type. I am sure he will be done in a day or so! I will post a picture or two when he is done.

Disappointing day

I kept the sale open until 5:15 tonight. When it was all done we only made $97 including the money the kids get for their stuff. I think a couple things played a role in the out come. First it was beyonde stinking hot today!! Second the town blocked off our road this year, they have never done that before. So all the traffic I was counting on passing my house on the way to the park was detoured so...I am sunburned, hot, sweaty, smell, exhausted, and very disappointed.
I know God will somehow provide for us a way to pay for all the expenses surrounding the hospital.....I just can't see it right now.

End of Day One

So today was the first day of our big sale...considering that it is not city wide sales this weekend as it usually is during our town celebration. I think I did OK. We are a small town and had very little traffic going through town today. I had around 7 or 8 customers not too bad I suppose. I sure hope I do a lot better tomorrow with all the festivities in the park less than a block from my house. It was very hot today, I think I got a little sun, no maybe a lot of sun...I was blessed today by Isaiah's first grade teacher she donated a lot of very nice items for our sale, she has been a blessing to us over the years we have spent at Runnells. She taught both Isaiah and Elijah, sadly she has taken a postion with AEA, although she will be amazing at her new job, we will miss her very much! Pray pray pray for good sales on Saturday!!!!

I have been very busy working on the garage sale. I pray it goes well.
I decided to take a break and do some research on line. I had a brain storm about travel options. Does any one know anything about free medical flights for children in need of medical attention long distances from their homes?
Would that be wonderful if we could find a way to fly to Isaiah's appointments and find a way to get really cheap transportation while there? It costs so much money each time we go...I was thinking and tallying up all the expenses...child care for those here, gas, food, maintenance for the car or van, hotel if we are not at Shriner's, no hotel if we are at Shriner's. So, I was thinking, if we got there for free, and got a cheap rental car then that could save us a boatload of money couldn't it???? I guess maybe I really don't know what I am talking about. In put from anyone would be great! Unless........any of you wouldn't happen to either BE or KNOW a pilot........

Thank you Pastor Lori!!

You are so wonderful to think of my kids the way you do, when you have a church full of little darlings you have to think of. Isaiah and Amaris got mail today! They were both thrilled and excited to be encouraged by someone they know loves them very much!!

Pizza party in the park

Elijah's baseball team had a pizza party in the park on Sunday to celebrate a fun season of ball. It was for the whole family, we had pizza, played at the park and had a friendly game of baseball, parents against the kids! Of course I forgot my camera! Bad mommy! The coaches handed out medals and a coupon for a free round of putt-putt! we love putt-putt! I can actually say, I am going to miss watching my boy play ball! I can't wait for next season!