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Yes, I Got Taco Bell for Dinner Last Night…

Posted on by Meghan Garcia

You know that baseball is back in season in our house when:

 1. I am consistently scrubbing grass stains out of every load of laundry I do (which mind is about 500 loads per week!)

2. All you see thrown about my floor are cleats.

3. I am running (strike that, driving) all over Austin to get the kids to practice or tryouts or sporting goods stores for equipment. 

4. All we eat is some form of take out!

I know Rick has touched on sports and coaching a lot already (yadda yadda), meanwhile I am here trying to hold all my ever loving you know what together. Trust me I love that my children play sports and I absolutely adore watching them learn, grow and play while with friends on the field or court. I do not want it any other way. But shoot it takes a toll on me that is for sure! 

With Grace starting softball this past week and also about to start soccer, Ricky finishing basketball and about to start baseball – our lives are busier than usual. Hence, why I have been pretty quiet on the blog front. I am trying my hardest to find a couple extra minutes here and there but not gonna lie it can get hard to find that time for anything extra really. 

For example, this past Sunday we left our house at 8:30am for Church school and did not return back home for the night until after 9pm. (Actually we did have about an hour where we stopped home to care for the pets and change.) Yesterday, I ended up keeping Olivia home from school because I thought she might have come down with something, I had to work a full day, then take all the kiddos across town for Grace’s 5:30 softball practice. Here is the rest of my week’s after school/ work schedule: 

Tuesday = Ricky’s 1st baseball practice

Wednesday = Ricky’s basketball practice at my house

Thursday = Ricky’s basketball practice at the gym

Friday = (I don’t want to jinx anything, but I think I get a break!)

Saturday = Ricky’s baseball practice

Sunday = Ricky’s basketball playoffs

Y’all, big Rick might be trying to kill me LOL! And I know the stress and pressure lies even more on Rick, since he is the coach and all, but trying to plan or manage anything around these schedules is pretty brutal. My silver lining is that I get to watch the kids play sports obvy, but also that my life ‘might’ return back to normal in the summer, ha! 

Ok so going back to me getting Taco Bell for dinner last night. First, I will admit that I do like Taco Bell. Yes, I said it! I do NOT think it is Mexican food by any means but sometimes I like eating a Crunchwrap Supreme just like I sometimes need a Big Mac in my life. Just saying! #sorrynotsorry Anyways, I got myself and the kids some Taco Bell for dinner because we left the field at 6:30pm and didn’t get home til 7pm, still had to eat, bathe and do bedtime routine. 

I’d love to be that mom that always has everything together like clean house, folded laundry, perfectly fed kids all the time – but that’s not me. My house is usually clean cause I’m a neat freak, so I guess at least I have that going for me? But I never have the perfect trifecta, and usually it is dinner that gets let go. Even though, I actually love cooking! So any advice from people on what I can do here. How do I manage an insane school/ work/ sports schedule and still have a good meal plan in place? I know, I know meal prep on Sundays…would be great if I had time, but I really don’t. Or subscription boxes, I could see those being a good option but honestly I don’t like subscription things …. so I probably will not go that route. What other options do I have, any and all suggestions are welcomed!

Thanks all for listening to me rant a little, learn a little bit more about me (like that I enjoy Taco Bell lol) and for any advice you can share on managing time and feeding my family well. 

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Baseball Family!

Posted on by Rick Garcia

I hope you all had a great weekend wherever you may be and also enjoyed Meg’s Valentines Day post, I sure did 🙂 However, I did have to ask her what a lobster meant? Lol. We had a great Valentines Day and long weekend with the crew. We started the weekend with a family dinner. On the way to a Japanese Hibachi style restaurant, which Olivia and the kids loved, she showed me the Lobster Friends episode and we both started cracking up. After dinner, we surprised the kids with their “Nonny” aka grandma flying in from Chicago for a weekend visit. It was short but sweet, Ricky mentioned he couldn’t wait to get home from practice Saturday to play with her Nonny all day. We picked her up at the airport an hour later as her flight was delayed, we then hustled home because Meg and I had reservations for a movie date night. We saw The Gentleman and we both loved it, warning there were a lot of curse words but it was action packed, great actors and story. We were entertained from the start.

Now back to the main topic, baseball! This weekend was a first for Gracie as she had her first two t-ball practices ever (well 3 if you count our session haha) and she loved it! I swear I didn’t force her to play, haha. Meg and I both asked her if she wanted to play baseball or soccer this spring and she said both! I was definitely excited to see she wanted to play and be like big brother. So, we are going to try to do 3 kiddo sports this spring, it was almost 4 smh but we came to our senses as I have to coach one of these teams and it is very time consuming which I will touch on in this post. This spring she will be on the 6U Lake Travis Ice Queens and her colors will be “Cubby” colors as she put it. However, she told me “dadda, I want pink cleats.” She will get pink cleats! That’s my Gracie girl!

I was off Presidents Day and it was a beautiful day here in Austin! It got up to 80 degrees on 2/17! As a kid from Chicago where it’s usually ~10 degrees with the wind chill if we are lucky in February, I enjoyed it even more than most here. Meg’s feedback from her first practice is she needs to work on t-work and I said perfect, I love t-work. I took Ricky and Gracie in the back and we started with the basics. I had to take a step back a few times and recognize Gracie has never played and she is my baby girl so I have to be extra patient. She is a quick learner! We set up her feet, hands, batting stance and swing. We got a lot of work to do but the foundation is being set, Rome wasn’t built overnight. At one point, she said “Coach said hit like this with elbow up”, but that is not what I recommended. This will come up at her second practice which I will get to. After our practice in the yard, I took little man to his training/practice session to keep working on his game. Little man is really taking some big strides. I am so proud of the work ethic he is developing and he is starting to see the fruit of his labor in all his sports but especially baseball. Kid is a natural middle infielder/second baseman. My job now is to not screw up his love for the game. I was talking to my assistant coach who was also there and we just said these boys are better than us when we were 10/11 and they are 7. After a great training session, we went over to Hat Creek (burger place with playscape) for a small break before we all had to go to the fields. As a coach, I had to assess the kids that day, Ricky had to asses and Gracie had practice as well. Trifecta!

Ricky did great at assessments and I was just so proud of him. I wish I could have seen Gracie’s practice but I had to stay and assess the rest of the kids trying out. Meg said she did great and listens very well. It was also very cool to see our friends and Ricky’s friends see Gracie in her baseball uniform and so happy and excited that lil Gracie is playing the sport they love. I know for a fact Ricky is excited to see her play and cheer her on as Gracie is Ricky’s biggest fan. During our practice in the yard, half the time, Ricky was the one instructing and I loved it. Meg mentioned that during hitting drills, Gracie told the coach that my dad said to hit like this and not like how you told me, haha. That’s my Gracie girl, the get it get it get it girl! After practices, our little party animals invited a few friends to pizza and we had a nice meal to cap off the long weekend. I can’t wait to see Gracie play baseball/softball. I hope she falls in love with it, most importantly has fun playing it and making new friends. I will be there to support you, cheer you on and help coach you if you want me to, Gracie.

On a side note, as an 8U National League LTYA coach, which you need to be voted into, I am so glad assessments are over! Time consuming and dedication. Yesterday was the last day of assessments, that caps 211 kids that came out. It was a big commitment and a glimpse into the sacrifice us good coaches put in for the love of teaching the game. However, I am ready to pick my team and get to work! At least I can relax tonight…..nope I have basketball practice at 6:30, ha, Love it! We have to finish hoops season on a high note. We have two games on Sunday and hoping to go 5-1 before the playoffs! Go Thunder!

Enjoy your day!

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My Forever Valentine

Posted on by Rick Garcia

I would like to dedicate today’s post to my husband. He is the hopeless romantic, mushy-gushy type and I am so not. Hopefully I can surprise him a little bit with a nice post;) All our friends back in Chicago and all our family knows how Rick and I met, but for those who do not know I would like to share a little bit about our history. Rick is my High School sweetheart, we met at a spring break party circa 1999 and started dating back when we were merely 15 years old. People either think that’s super weird or super cute, maybe it’s kinda both!?

We grew up together, we changed and grew as individuals but always together. He is my sole mate and we were just lucky enough to have met at a young age. I mean trust me we have had our ups and downs (several million times) but we always come out stronger because of it. I know personally that everything that happened to us with the girls gave me a completely different view of Rick. I knew he has always loved me and would show me or tell me often. However, I specifically remember something he said while the doctor asked if they should do everything to save the babies, even if it meant putting their lives before mine. That was because I had a greater chance if dying than they did living. I immediately said, “yes, absolutely, you do whatever you need to do to save my babies!” But then Rick jumped in, crying uncontrollably, and said, “NO, you will save my wife. We need her, Ricky Bear and I, need her with us!” I remember turning and seeing the fear of him loosing me in his eyes, and thought OK he really does love me. I think too, the situation with us and the girls, could have easily been something that a lot of couples might not be able to get through together. It took a toll on us, but thankfully we were able to pull through and continue to move forward.

Rick knows me inside and out and has always known that I am an animal loving, neat freak, crazy Gemini. So the good thing is that nothing I do ever truly surprises him – like when I bring home a couple kittens or waking him up in the middle of the night to fix the sheets. He gets my quirks, just as I get his. I may be forever doomed, because I know he will never put his shoes away and will always leave that pile of clothes on the floor. Or his love and obsession with sports, it is who he is and I accept all of it. He is my Lobster, my one and only, I love you hun!

This is the very first gift Rick ever bought for me, on our first Valentine’s Day together!
(It is 20 years old!)
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My Sweet Boy: Ricky Bear

Posted on by Rick Garcia

To date I would say majority of Rick and mine’s posts have been about either Olivia or Grace, with a sprinkle of Ricky Bear here and there. However, Ricky Bear is probably one of the most important pieces of the puzzle in Our (Crazy) Special Kind of Life. And I would like to explain why. Here goes!

Since Rick and I have started writing down our past stories and experiences here in this Blog, I have started a new nightly routine that I hope to always continue and will always hold near and dear to my heart. Every night before bed, I read and share one of our posts with Ricky Bear and Grace. They love it! They beg me to read more and ask me questions about everything I read. For example when I read them the story about Gracie Girl, Ricky Bear was extremely concerned about her time in the NICU and how she had stopped breathing. These are obviously things I typically do not share with the kids. However, I am glad that they are starting to learn more and more about their past and that they feel a kind of way about them. Ricky Bear said to me, “I don’t like that she stopped breathing, that is really scary. I don’t want Grace to ever be sick like that again.” While this was definitely a tough topic to explain, I think he grasped the severity of it and liked learning about it.

One thing that stuck out and actually made me somewhat sad, was the other night Ricky Bear asked me where his story is. So, I did show him the ones about Reconciliation and how daddy mentions being his coach and that did make him happy. While he seemed content by those stories, I was not since they were not written by me. I know that recently my main focus has been on Olivia or Grace, but what Ricky doesn’t remember is that for two and half whole years before the girls entered this world he was my #1 and only. I want him to know that and understand that I would never have been able to survive getting through all of the things with girls, without him.

What makes Ricky Bear so special? A lot of things, and not just because he made me a mommy. That is most certainly a special bond that me and him will always share, that no one can take away. He will forever be my baby boy! But something that is beyond special is that he was only 2 and half when the girls were born and the way he held himself together allowed Rick and I to focus on getting the girls healthy. I really do not know how things would have been had Ricky Bear been too needy or was attached at my hip. He went with the flow, never complained and was always a ‘good boy’. (I also need to give a shout out to my family, especially my parents and sister, who stepped up and took Ricky Bear with them so I could visit the girls. – I will touch more on support another time!)

Seriously, though! Ricky Bear had to have been the easiest, most kind-hearted, sweet boy I could’ve ever been blessed with. I always joke that he was a trick baby, and made it so easy to be a mom so that I would want to have more kids soon after. HA! While I talk about how he was when the girls were born, it still holds true to today. Anyone who knows him, knows that he is a gentle and sweet big brother. He gives 110% in anything that he does. Thankfully he has my artistic abilities, lol. He truly has a secret skill that many people probably don’t know about him, his art skills are way above mine at his age. He also started his 2nd grade year reading at a 3rd grade level, he is now somewhere in the 4th grade level. Needless to say, while you typically see Rick post a lot about his sports accomplishments, he is excelling academically and it makes me one #proudmomma.

I thank God every day that he blessed me with a son like Ricky Bear, as He knew that I would need a special boy to help me get through some tough times ahead. Rick will forever be Ricky Bear’s coach and mentor but I will always be his biggest fan, cheerleader and support system. He knows he can come to me with anything and I will always do what I can to guide him in the right direction. But one thing I do know for certain is that I will never have to worry about Ricky Bear, he will always do good and go far in life! (But if he ever does fall off track, I will be there to help guide him back.) I truly think that Ricky Bear is the sticky glue that holds us all together. I think he may like when he reads this post later tonight;)

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#GirlDad

Posted on by Rick Garcia

Happy Friday followers! I was going to have Meghan share a post as we like to alternate so you can read both perspectives navigating our special kind of life but then a special memory popped up. I often get flack for posting photos on Facebook but I always tell people, I don’t do it for likes, I do it for a repository of memories and a location to house some precious photos and moments. The memories section comes through yet again! This weekend I will be the one writing as I will follow suite to what Kobe mentioned in an interview in which he said “Girls are the best…Just be grateful that you have been given that gift because girls are amazing”. If you haven’t seen the interview, do yourself a favor and take 3 minutes to listen and watch it. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q570KiV_IFk

I feel you Kobe, as a girl dad, I know what you meant! The crazy part is our doctor once told us we were going to have at least 1 boy after looking at the ultrasound, therefore, you can imagine the shock I was in when a week later the nurse said congrats you are having two girls lol. Man, I am so happy that doctor was wrong, I love being a girl Dad!

Today, I’d like to focus on my Gracie girl. The photo below was 5 years ago and my Gracie girl was 2 months old and until that day, I only saw her through her incubator. Can you imagine having twin girls born and the only way to see them is essentially through a glass window?! I was scared to even try to grab their hands through the incubator as their immune system was basically non existent and this was peak time when every day they fought for their lives. I would love to go visit them but I remember being extremely nervous walking up to the NICU afraid of what the doctors and nurses would say. It was the worst roller coaster of emotions. As you can see in the photo below, I look mentally and physically exhausted. Meanwhile, my girls were fighting for their lives so I had to stay strong, strong for the girls but also for Meg. I still remember the first moment I got to hold Gracie like it was yesterday. I was able to do Kangooring, for those that don’t know what that is, it is where where the premature baby is placed in an upright position on your chest allowing tummy to tummy contact. The baby’s head is turned so that its ear is positioned above the heart. I never heard of that until that day. Hearing and feeling her heartbeat and warmth was the best feeling in the world. I wanted to hold her for as long as I can as I didn’t know the next time I would be able to hold her. I kept talking to my Gracie and would say breathe with me sweetheart, breathe with me and daddy loves you over and over again.

I was told how important kangaroo care is for premature babies as it has been shown to help them regulate their body temperature (preemies need help maintaining body heat because they have little body fat). Furthermore, it helps them feel less pain and stress during medical procedures, such as blood draws. Lord knows they got plenty of blood draws and medical procedures, smh. It also helps them gain weight. Talk about the best winning scenario ever. After learning all of this, I said can we do this every day and they said as long as they are healthy and having a good day. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to kangaroo care that much and I had to wait even longer to hold Olivia for the first time. However, this day was a good day. I will never forget this moment, she was soooo little, she had the prettiest eyes, she was perfect, she’s my Gracie girl.

If you have a baby in the NICU, kangaroo away and stay strong and positive. Pray, cry, ask questions and never give up because your baby will never quit! Also, if you feel like you are missing out on having a boy, be grateful you have healthy kids and instead of wishing for a boy or girl, wish for a full term pregnancy and a healthy baby and that mama bear is healthy. That is what is important. Kobe also said; “I would have 5 more girls if I could, I am a Girl Dad!” I feel you Mamba, I love my son to the moon and back and I also love my girls and I love being a #GirlDad!

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A Diagnosis Will NOT Define us cont… Dad’s take

Posted on by Rick Garcia

Hello friends and fam! Sorry I took so long to respond or have a new post, it’s been a crazy and busy time in the Garcia household. Work has been really busy lately and hectic. I thought I was changing teams and dealing with what all that meant. Then, turning out it’s not going to happen and then several game features that I had to kickoff. I kicked off 4 features last week! For those that don’t know, I am in the mobile gaming business. I’ll touch on that later on, it’s a great story on how I pivoted from Finance to Gaming. Combine work with coaching basketball, practicing basketball and baseball with my son, plus our social events – it’s been tough to find an hour to sit, reflect and post but here we go!

Meghan had a great post last week regarding hearing the news approximately 4 years back in Chicago, when Olivia was first ‘officially’ diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. Meg, mentioned she wasn’t surprised and although I knew there was a chance she would have more long term issues than just being deaf, I didn’t spend too much time thinking about it and hoped she didn’t have any more issues. I still remember the day Meg called me and told me what the doctor said. She called and I am pretty sure she was crying or maybe she wasn’t, that part I don’t recall as I was focused on what she was about to say but I do recall where I was and how I reacted.

Let me take a step back as to why I wasn’t there. I didn’t go to the doctor’s office as I already took a lot of time off, I mean a lot shortly after Meg went into premature labor and I simply couldn’t go to every doctors appointment as it was 2-3 appointments a week for a long time. It was at that time, that I recently went from a Slot Machine Gaming Operations role into Game Development and learning the game development process. I was in that role for about a year when this all happened. My new bosses and those who knew what I was going through were amazing! I will never forget their support, they told me to take as much time as I needed, spend time with your family and get your twins where they need to be. I will never forget you guys. Meg didn’t really talk about it but she had a really good job with a lot of responsibility for a very successful company located in downtown Chicago. Without thinking twice as soon as the twins were born, she told me, “Rick I need to quit my job and focus on keeping our girls alive.” I 100% supported that idea, knowing I will support our family and the doctor bills and therapies that were going to come. Her boss was also supportive and understanding. Meg willing to put her career that she had worked so hard for on hold shows how dedicated Meg was to our girls. Also, at that time she was making more money than me, I am not ashamed at that, rather I was proud as she was making a name for herself in the Affiliate Marketing business. Meg works hard at everything she does and has always gone above and beyond in her roles, that applies to her favorite role, being MOM. She didn’t care about the money, knowing we would be fine with my salary and staying within our means. With that being said, I had to start going to work and continue to grow as Game Producer.

The Call. I was sitting at my cubicle and Meg goes “she has CP”. I said, what is that? “Cerebral Palsy”. I put my head down, started crying right there at my cubicle, pretty sure I hung up on Meg. I wasn’t trying to be nasty, I just needed some time alone to comprehend or try to make sense of what I was just told. I started crying for Olivia. Up to this point she hasn’t caught a break. I would be lying if I knew what CP was, so I Googled it and learned more about it. I was thinking to myself being Deaf is hard enough but now she has CP?! I was angry, I was sad, quite frankly I was afraid of the unknown. How serious is her CP? Will she go to school? Do we need a special car, house? I kept picturing my baby girl with these issues as a toddler, kid, adolescent and knowing this cruel world, I was scared for Olivia and her future. Can she go to recess, how can she play sports, can she use her legs, arms? All these questions were bouncing in between my ears as tears were bouncing off my keyboard. I gathered myself, wiped the tears away and I started thinking to myself, well she has issues yes, serious issues yes, BUT she is here so let’s focus on today and short term goals for our baby IYA as we like to call her. Thank God that she is here and everyday she is here is a good day. I called Meg back and said, “Well Meg, we will make sure she gets the best help she can get.” She made me feel better as she told me what the Doctor said, CP as we like to call it is simply a diagnosis and it does not define Olivia and it certainly will not determine her future. A diagnosis will help her receive the support and services she will need to gain strength and surpass all goals set for her.

On that day we knew we would do anything possible to have Olivia hear, communicate and walk. Little did we know the CP effects, that’s a different topic and another story for a different day. Little did we know how hard it would be for her to crawl let alone walk. Also, at that time, little did we know how determined and strong Olivia really is. Ever since Olivia was little she’s been moving and breaking barriers. One of a key responsibility of a good Game Producer is to remove roadblocks from the game team. Olivia would make a great producer as she literally navigates and removes daily roadblocks that stand in her way of getting where she needs to be. I love this quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, it really resonates with us and I hope it does for you as well. “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” Olivia can not walk without help or a walker, we are hopeful and knowing Olivia she will walk one day right into daddy’s arms. I dream of that moment and oh what a moment that will be, tears will be shed, tears of joy. Happy tears. Until then, we will keep moving forward and I will keep lending a helping hand and guide her the best I can.

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A Diagnosis Will Not Define Us

Posted on by Meghan Garcia

While I contemplated what my next post was going to be titled, I remembered something a doctor once told me. Something that has truly stuck with me and something that I now fully understand and work to live by. Back in Chicago, when Olivia was first ‘officially’ diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, I was sitting in a downtown hospital room waiting for the doctor to come in and tell me what I (we) already knew. She was the most gentle, kind and honest doctor I think I had ever met and she hopped up on the hospital bed next to me and Olivia and broke it down like this. She said, “I am sure you are already aware that Ms. Olivia has Cerebral Palsy. And I am also sure that you are worried about what that means.” I quietly shook my head and nodded, fighting really hard to hold back big crocodile tears that I did not want her to see. She continued to say, “Cerebral Palsy or CP as we like to call it is simply a diagnosis. It does not define Ms. Olivia and it certainly will not determine her future. A diagnosis will help her receive the support and services she will need to gain strength and surpass all goals you set for her.” I sat for a minute, fought off the tears and agreed to use this diagnosis just as that, a diagnosis and not a definition of who Olivia is or what she can and will do.

Rick unfortunately was not with me at this appointment as we needed him to work hard and ensure that our future was going to be ok with him having a good job. So on the way home I remember driving down Lake Shore Drive explaining to Rick that Olivia does have what we feared most, but that everything was going to be ok and that this will help us get her the help she so dearly needs. He probably thought I was nuts because I was so calm, but I felt like I had to be in order to get through to all the things I was going to need to do next – to keep track of all the therapies, the equipment, speciality doctors, medicine and so on.

So why am I bringing this up today? Well, many reasons but I think it is important for friends and family to understand me and where I am coming from better. Rick and I try our hardest to give our children the best lives possible, we want to give them every opportunity to live life to the fullest. Therefore, we try not to treat Olivia too much differently than Ricky Bear or Grace. She goes and does just about everything with us, from sporting events both little league and professional to dinner dates to vacations to movies to neighborhood parties and list goes on and on. Our family is very social and we love every second of it, however, it is definitely not easy for any of us by any means.

When we go places we need to think if it will be easily accessible for a walker, wheelchair or stroller (depending on what we bring that day). Then we have to make sure and bring all the necessary things with to keep Olivia entertained for hours on end, because unlike our other two children and pretty much every other child in the group, Olivia cannot just run around and play. If we go to a restaurant with a playscape or a neighborhood block party, it usually means she may need to entertain herself in the stroller or in a seat because it might not be safe for her to use her walker. This also means, that Rick and I will take turns holding Olivia which can get very tiring for all involved. Needless to say, we have many things to consider and think about than the average parent making plans to take the kids out. I am ok with that, and you should be too.

I am not complaining and by no means want any sympathy. Rather, I ask that our family and friends know that we want to be included in all activities and bring Olivia to as many as things as possible. That we are not trying to be difficult if we need to change plans or do something differently to better accommodate our family’s needs. We want to make sure that Olivia can enjoy as many of these activities too. Also, I will totally admit that sometimes I can seem frustrated or maybe not as social as others at some events. Try not to hold it against me, I am a mom to a special needs kid first and probably have a million things going on in my head that is distracting me;) But as the title of this post implies, we will not let a diagnosis define this family and hold us back. We promise to give Olivia every opportunity to just be a kid and enjoy life just like the rest of us.

Also, I should note that as I try and write this post after I have worked a full 8 hours and have dinner cooking on the stove, I am also chasing Olivia around the house because she somehow stole a pen without me seeing and is writing all over my walls! {insert hand over face emoji} Olivia certainly thinks of herself as a typical 5 yr old and is not letting her CP define her, therefore neither shall I.

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Kobe

Posted on by Rick Garcia

I don’t know why but I feel the need to share my thoughts on Kobe and try to make some sense of it all and what we can take away from it, not as sports fans but as people. Like most, I couldn’t believe the news that Kobe died in a helicopter crash. I received the news as I was preparing to coach my son’s basketball team, oddly enough. I couldn’t even think about the game as I was just trying to find out on twitter what was going on and hoping it was a hoax. I was stunned, sick to my stomach and then it got worst as his oldest daughter was in the crash as well and then that really hit home as a father. To find out there were even more people in the helicopter that lost their lives, the news just kept getting worst. Here one moment and gone the next, just like that. Earlier that day in our parent session at church our table topic was how do we prepare/protect our children from the crazy world around us and how do we answer some of their tough questions. Well, little did I know Meg and I would have a difficult conversation with 2/3 of our children later that night which I didn’t plan on having. We discussed what happened to Kobe, his daughter and the rest on board and why we were so sad. They obviously don’t grasp death and mortality, they were just sad because we were sad.

To be honest, I respected Kobe the basketball player but never was a big fan of the player, just wasn’t my team and I had MJ bias. Most of it stemmed from the MJ comparisons. In my eyes, Michael Jordan is the GOAT and any comparisons was just silly. Kobe quickly became a super star and was well known for his Mamba mentality. There is no doubt he was an absolute beast, a unique combination of talent, work ethic and competiveness and I did enjoy watching him play. He wanted to destroy teams and his opponent. He wanted to guard the best player and shut him down. He was a winner but what I admired the most was he went from being a boy to a man and learned from his mistakes and he was from all accounts a great father. That’s the saddest part, a wife lost a husband and daughter, and 3 little girls lost their dad and sister. Nine lives taken way too soon! After retiring, he was still using that Mamba Mentality for all his business ventures but he was most excited to be a dad and his daughter’s basketball coach.

That’s the part where I can relate to Kobe. Coaching Ricky is one of the greatest joys in my life and can’t wait to coach some of Gracie’s teams. I love our one on one time and coaching him and his team mates are some of the best moments in my life. I also have a special father/daughter relationship just like he did. I can only imagine their final moments, what his wife is going through. If anything, this tragedy teaches all of us to love those who are close to us every minute of every day and not take each day and health for granted. Strive to be great and go get your dreams. Be the best person you can be, seize the day, always! Yesterday, I made sure to tell my kids and wife I love them over and over again. I gave them extra hugs and kisses. At dinner, I appreciated the beautiful sunset and even gave a toast to some friends we were with at dinner to appreciate this moment and to love your loved ones.

In conclusion, my thoughts and prayers go out to the Bryant family and to all the victims. This one will hurt for a long time. I hope you find happiness and healing knowing they are together in heaven. Kobe, you are a legend and legends never die. I will talk to my children about you and your Mamba mentality to apply to not just sports but life. May all the victims rest in peace.

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Gotta Have Faith!

Posted on by Rick Garcia

Happy Friday! Yesterday was a big day for Ricky Bear in the Catholic Church and for our family. In our blog, I will try to not talk too much about religion but I will from time to time as my Catholic faith plays a big part of my life and it has helped me a lot during the girl’s time in the NICU. However, we definitely will not be talking politics! Yesterday, Ricky received the Sacrament of Reconciliation and we were so proud of him! He’s been preparing for this and for his First Communion (coming this upcoming May) for 2 years now in Catholic Church school. For those not familiar with the Catholic Church, there are 7 sacraments and this is the second sacrament Ricky has completed. Baptism was the first. “The Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of the most unique and beautiful aspects of Catholicism. Jesus Christ, in His abundant love and mercy, established Sacrament of Confession, so that we as sinners can obtain forgiveness for our sins and reconcile with God and the Church. The sacrament “washes us clean,” and renews us in Christ. The kicker is you have to be truly sorry and remorseful. It was a great time for Ricky to reflect on what he is sorry for and how he can do better.

To quote scripture. “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’” (John 20:21-23).

Before we talk about yesterday, let me take a step back and talk a little bit about my Catholic faith formation. Like most kids in Chicago, I went to a Catholic grade school and then to Catholic High School. I am first generation Mexican American, my parents came to the US and settled in Chicago at a young age and started working right away. They worked blue collar jobs, they worked long hours and very hard to give me and my brothers opportunities they never had. They worked hard and did not want to put us in public schools as most inner-city schools weren’t great and they wanted us to get the best education possible. In school, we had religion class every day but most of my faith formation came from our household. We went to church every Sunday, prayed the rosary, all this was supplemented by what I would learn in religion class. I had religion class from 1st grade to my senior year in high school. My parents taught me the importance and power of prayer and being a good child of God. This foundation shaped my faith even when it was tested in the NICU. To this day, I pray every day and try to be the best person I can be. I want to pass that same Catholic foundation on to my kids. My wife also went to a Catholic grade school and high school. Being Catholic is a part of our family and that is why it was a big day for us! This is Ricky before basketball practice on Wednesday preparing for Reconciliation and writing down his sins that he got absolved.

Upon moving to Austin, I quickly realized that Catholicism isn’t really a thing here. Most Texans in the area are Christian but not Catholic and it’s been hard finding fellow Catholic friends. I found this odd coming from Chicago where all my friends and family for the most part were Catholic. I had to do a lot of research and get a game plan together so Ricky can get his sacraments. We looked for a parish and then when the time came I set Ricky up for church school, this was 2 years ago and yesterday he had his first reconciliation. We are so proud of him, he took his preparation very serious. He goes to church school every Sunday, loves it and especially looks forward to donuts after. We have weekly talks about what he learned in class and while we did our church homework. He took it serious, he prepared and he understood what was going on and why we were doing them. Afterwards, we let him pick anywhere he wanted to go out to eat and celebrate and at first, he said Chick Fil-A and I said pick something nicer so he picked his favorite food, gyros haha. I am proud of my son and I will be there to show by example and be there every step of the way in his Catholic spiritual journey. God Bless.

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Gracie Girl – isms

Posted on by Meghan Garcia

I need to take a minute to talk about my sweet baby girl, Grace. She was the first born of the twins, only by two minutes, but has absolutely taken on the role as the older, protective big sis. Gracie Girl, as we call her, is one of the most kind-hearted, fearless, playful, outgoing, loving kids I have ever met. While Olivia will melt your heart with her beautiful smile, Gracie will swoon you with her highly contagious laugh!

Grace has always been on the go, even in the NICU. She would always amaze the doctors and nurses by hitting all her milestones either ahead of schedule or bypass them together and move on to the next goal, which ultimately helped her leave the NICU one day before her actual due date. For an extreme preemie that is basically unheard of. They said she was setting new standards for all the babies in the NICU. While Grace did come home early and with minimal equipment or issues, she did have some bad days too in the hospital. Ugh, I specifically remember after her first eye surgery, we were there to be with her and she stopped breathing, she turned blue and needed to be resuscitated in front of Rick and I. Talk about an intense, scary situation and something that unfortunately I will never be able to forget. However, it is moments like these and those when she did great that make me cherish every single moment I get to spend with my beautiful Gracie.

For those who know Gracie now-a-days, know how fearless and fun-loving she is. Always ready for ‘what’s next!’ and spontaneous howling, especially at people she likes most. She is also known for her love of all things pink and dresses, but at the same time has the same amount of love for dirt and rough play. Last weekend after Ricky Bear’s basketball game and after we went out to a late lunch with a big group, Gracie proceeded to invite the entire team over for a party at our house. Trust me I am just as worried (as everyone who’s reading this) for her later teenage years…my little party planner!

So what prompt me to write about my Gracie Girl tonight? It was my 20 minute school pick up conversation I had with her while I was in the car today. Parents to little girls will understand just how many questions and words can stumble out of a 5 year old, but no one will actually prepare you for it. One other thing that you will also need to know about Grace is that she has an extremely great vocabulary, however her speech is slightly behind it and can sometimes be difficult to understand her. We call Ricky Bear her interpreter, ha! Anyways, put the 5 million questions, the way she talks, her beautiful little voice and that giggle together – what do you get? You get Gracie Girl – isms. Here is a 2 min snippet of what y’all missed in my car today…

“I really, really want to go back to Disney World Mom! Like tomorrow and all my friends have to go too.”

“When is it Easter, already?! Is it on Friday or a Sunday again I can’t remember? Is it in like 4 days?”

“I want to go on boat, when can we go on a boat again?! You promised we can go on it today.”

“Addy is my cat, not yours. Just so you know.”

(Randomly starts singing Jingle Bells – yes, it is January)

“When I get older I want a rainbow car.”

“Hey Mom, guess what it’s not froggy outside anymore!”

This literally will go on all day if you just pay attention or strike up a conversation with her and I absolutely love it! Trust me, I know first hand what it is like to have a strong willed, vocal, outgoing little kid and how tiring it can be. So any time I start to feel frustrated or just want silence, I remember how much of a little fighter she was way back when and think to myself how beyond blessed am I to be able to have these wonderful non-sensical little conversations with a little person who’s brain just will not stop thinking! I hope my Gracie Girl never changes and continues with all of her little -isms for as long as possible.

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