I hate that baby!

I hate that baby was the greeting that Will gave to his baby brother Joseph Dean every morning for the first 6 months I think. Joey was born July 19, 1988 and was such a sweet baby or at least compared to Will. Joey loved his big brothers and was very quiet more like Andy then Will. In the car we always had to have Will sit between Joey and Andy because they fought and aurgued, Will would fall asleep and since he was such a grouch no one needlessly bothered him and therefore the trip was much more peaceful. Joey or Joe-bear as I nicknamed him, was and still is my hero. If you ask his friends they will describe Joey as fair, nice to everyone and that he never spoke mean or bad about anyone. Joey always wanted to be a teacher, he loved school and taught everyone about faith and spirituality. When Joey was about 3 we moved across the street from Matt Landrum. He was just a few months younger then Joey and they were best friends throughout elementary. Joey was extremely shy and Matts' mom Lynda told me that when Joey first began going to their house to play with Matt she would speak to him and he would leave so she just didn't say anything and he would play. JOey and Matt were so cute when they played or fought, when they got mad at each other they would each stand in front of their houses across the street from each other and yell that the other was not their best friend anymore. This usually only lasted a short time but I found it extremely cute. As they got older they were almost inseperable and when it came time to eat they would find out which parent was cooking the best meal and that is where they would both eat, sometimes they ate at both houses if they liked what we were both having. When Joey was in the 5th grade our family moved to Alliance and Joey and his brothers with the addition of their new little sister, began school in Hemingford. Joey became sick and the Dr.'s decided that it was due to stress of moving and starting a new school. We moved him to Alliance schools so he would be closer to his dad and his little sister who was in kindergarten in Alliance. Joey made great friends and began to feel better then in May 1999 he became sick with what everyone thought was the flu but in actuality it was a brain tumor. Joey was flown to Denver Children's Hospital where he underwent surgery, chemo and radiation. After 6 weeks of treatment we returned home for his 11th birthday party with his best friends especially Matt and TJ Cline then we flew to Disney World in Florida where we attempted to enjoy our family time together. Joey was extremely sick most of the time, all the chemo and radiation was apparently still in his system and he felt awful. His funnest time I think was picking the fastest, scariest rides to make his Dad ride on since Dad does not like heights, or fast carnival rides. The trip was memorable but not great. The family returned to Alliance and in the fall Joey began 6th grade half a day. He loved school as I mentioned and therefore he loved being back into his routine with his friends, his dad or I attended everyday with him as by now he required a wheelchair to get around and other assistance. October 31, 1999 was the saddest day of our lives as we lost our angel Joey when he joined Jesus in Heaven.