January Happenings

Once we were back from Costa Rica, the kids immediately jumped back into their full schedules of school, sports, and activities. We hardly had a chance to catch our breath before the early morning workouts began bleeding into late evening/night practices. For Kaitlynn, she was at school most days before dawn with basketball practices and stayed up late many nights with cheer, while Connor was up early for school commitments and stayed after school into the night for preparation of the upcoming Katy baseball season. 

On the 2nd weekend in January, Kaitlynn and I had a quick getaway to Galveston for the Cheer Power cheer championship held at Moody Gardens. We were excited about the fun weekend, but the competition left little to be desired for our Nighthawks. Coach Devin was none too happy and called MANY extra practices as a result of the team's disappointing performance. But at least we had fun with cheer friends while we were there, ha!

While Kaitlynn and I were in Galveston, Jeff and Connor enjoyed some downtime with ping pong and yardwork, and Connor had the opportunity to attend an Aggie basketball game at Reed Arena. It was a chilly but beautiful January weekend, and Connor was gearing up for his baseball tryouts later in the month. Little did we know that his tryout weekend would be the last time he would wear the Katy uniform, because he soon learned that he had been cut from the team. It was a complete shock to our system, but especially Connor's. His coaches had such amazing words of praise and encouragement when they let him go, but it was a tough conversation and an even harder adjustment to make in the weeks ahead. 

As Kaitlynn and I were in Galveston for the cheer competition, I was dealing with a nagging toothache from a tooth where I'd just had a cavity filled followed by a crown in the prior month. By the time I got home from the competition, the entire side of my face was throbbing and I was in miserable pain. Despite heavy doses of pain medication, the pain had escalated to excruciating. My dentist referred me to an endodontist for a root canal, but even after that procedure the pain was back with a vengeance. I was then quickly referred to an oral surgeon where I learned I had a badly infected tooth and would have to undergo emergency oral surgery to remove it. It was NOT the way I thought my week would go, as I was days away from flying out for Kaitlynn's next cheer competition. I was sent home with pain meds and ice packs, and we prayed I would be recovered enough to travel in less than 2 days.