Great News from our Children.....

I've had a hard time typing lately. My hands get numb, tingley and shakey and I'm usually just too tired to get on here and update and I'm sorry for that. I'm not going to go on and on about myself though, other than to say that I'm doing allright, I'll have results on Friday from a Cat Scan I had done today and I hope to post more then.

My grandma and grandpa are visiting this week and I have to say that their visit has really cheered me and just having them here seems to kick in some sort of adrenilin which keeps me awake, alert and in a good mood - I'm really grateful for that because I was afraid I would be too tired to visit much with them.

I just had to get on and post our good news though.
1) Alexander won the Pokemon State Championship last week and we have all just been flying high all week on that great news. Pictures and more details to follow.

Just when we were thinking how blessed we are and how much joy our children bring us...

2)My step-son, (okay, Robert's son, but he is just like a son to me too) Scott dropped by with his girfriend Brooke on Sunday and let us know that they are engaged. We couldn't be more excited and happy for them. Scott is getting a really beautiful, smart, sweet, talented wife and Brooke is getting a wonderful, loyal, funny, smart husband. Scott is much like his father in very many ways and I can tell you that you can't ask for more in a husband.

It is going to be a summer wedding (this summer) and we are just thrilled. I'm so excited for them to go to the Temple and I'm so grateful they are getting married here in VA. Robert's daughter recently got married in UT in a place that didn't allow children so we weren't able to go to the wedding with him. I guess we still haven't got over missing her blessed day and we are so thrilled that we can both be there to see Scott married. I'll post some pictures of them whenever I can. Read on for more on our other great news.

I must say again, that I am so grateful for all of our children ( 8 in total). Each one has enriched our lives in their own unique way and they are the ones who bring us joy untold - even when it feels like there is no joy upcoming!! I'll post more about my health later, for now, please just revel in all this excitement with me.

Look at all the people....

It has been a week of great news for our family. These photos are of the Pokemon State Finals in Virginia. There were hundreds of people there and if you think it is a game just played by little boys, no, no, no. There are boys, girls, teenagers of all types, moms, dads, and yes...grandmas and grandpas. You would be surprised to see how widespread the appeal of this game is, I'm not surprised and one day soon I'm going to have Alexander finally teach me how to play. I'm interested to learn but also, I just need to know how to participate in something my son loves so much!

It was such a thrill when Alexander called to say he thought he might win. For the first time ever, the tournament was held close by. We usually have to drive for hours each way to get Alexander to these games. Anyway, he was very close by --just around the corner at the local fire station and Robert jumped into the car and was there to see the big win. Alexander was in the local newspaper the next day and we have all been just as happy as can be - after years of trying hard and putting most of his allowance into cards and asking for cards for every Christmas and birthday, after pouring all his extra time into his passion, finally, he took home a big trophy as the Virginia State Champion.

All Walks of Life...

I truly am a Poke-mom. Alexander has been interested in Pokemon since he was about 7 years old. He started out loving the cartoons and movies, he then added the games when he got a gameboy. As he grew older he started to play the GameCube and Wii games, but around 5 years ago he became interested in the card game. The cards are trading cards but there is also a complex card game that is played with them. As I learned more about Pokemon, I came to appreciate it more and more. We would take Alexander to games wherever we could find them. We lived in Europe at the time, but no matter. Alexander managed to find a couple of leagues that played in Germany and then he would find tournaments in different countries. The first one we went to was in Salzberg, luckily Alexander spoke a little German already and it was a very interesting event for me. Later, he found more tournaments, we even drove to Italy for one. As we got close, I asked Alexander how he expected to communicate with the people there. He just shrugged his shoulders- he wasn't worried about it at all. And so, we got to meet lots of other people, all over the continent, who shared a love with my son. Eventually, he taught Daniel how to play and Daniel too enjoyed travelling around and going to leagues and tournaments. He never developed the love and passion that Alexander has, but still, it is enough that they get to play together and enjoy a common interest. After the games are played, the players all gather together and trade cards. It is very interesting and has been quite a journey for our family.

Whom were you expecting?

And you thought it was just a bunch of nerdy little kids who played Pokemon!
Did you know that there are even adults at these competitions?

Deep in Thought

Alexander going for the big win.
He played for around 13 hours.
First, he had to win in the top 4 out of 8 rounds in his age division.
Then he had to win best 2 out of 3 in the top cut.
Whew, he was exhausted when he got home.

And the winner is.....

Alexander Baxter, age 14
Pokemon State Champion, Senior Division
Virginia 2009