trick or treat 09

Look what I found growing outside...At two months old you...
-are eleven pounds and ten ounces and twenty-one inches long
-are out of the preemie clothes and into 0-3 months
-are happiest first thing in the morning
-smile for your daddy the most
-have turned mommy's perfectionism world upside down (house is always a mess it seems...and the funny thing is...I don't care! :)...laundry is still a challenge to keep up with...and there is a layer of dust on all the furniture...if you know me well, you know that this is not me at all. It's been good for me to let go of the perfectionism and enjoy this stage of life that I'm in right now...a challenge, but good for me. :)
This was your sweet little Halloween costume I found at a resale shop...just your size.With all the adjustments and craziness around here already...why not throw in a knee surgery.

Kevin has been dealing with pain in his knees for quite some time now and it was time to do something about it. I had both the girls with me that day in the waiting room along with all our gear...diaper bag, car seat, Thermos to hold hot water for baby's bottles, my purse and kaiya's busy bag. I'm sure we looked like quite the parade...you do what you have to do...right? Since I wasn't sure what to expect with the whole surgery thing, I was quite relieved to see a nurse with a familiar face...thanks Cheryl for all your extra attention and care that day...it meant alot!
Surgery went very well and very fast...thankfully. Baby slept the whole time and Nurse Cheryl kept Kaiya content with peanut butter crackers in the recovery room. We got everyone home and our patient settled and comfortable. I was a good nurse for maybe a day...then it got really old fast. :) I don't think either of us realized how difficult this all would be with baby only two months old. I think in my mind I was thinking "it's only an outpatient procedure...he'll be fine by the weekend." Boy, was I wrong. Kevin had to use a CPM machine for six hours a day for 21 days...which meant laying down with his leg on a machine that went up and down...which meant no more help from hubby with much of anything. He had to be on crutches for four weeks...which meant I had to make about a thousand trips in and out of the house whenever we would go anywhere and had to drive (I don't enjoy driving). I crashed in bed every night...exhausted. All that complaining though was really quite selfish of me...and I did complain a time or two or three or four. When I took the focus off myself, I was reminded of how much he helps me and how thankful I am that it was something that could heal....I take our health and mobility for granted. I'm sure it was only a taste of what some have to go through on a long term basis. He was a good patient and helped whenever he could...probably doing more than he should at times because he knew how tired I was. The laundry stayed caught up during that time because I had a good folder. :)

We had planned a date night only three days after his surgery...we had a babysitter lined up and everything. I told him we should cancel, but he wanted to go ahead. I was glad we did. It was just what I needed. Here we are at Target doing some Christmas shopping. Baby got to come along too.

The kids were so proud of their brother/sister shirts I found.

Trick or Treating 2009Kaiya(chicken), Caedmon(firefighter), Lexi(princess ballerina), Rylie(go go girl), Emmi(little bo peep)It was a rainy evening, but warm. Kevin stayed in the van with our little daisy baby since he was on crutches...then joined us at Wal-mart to finish.

The Hilarious Heart Patient

Thanks for your prayers for my nephew. Surgery lasted three hours and everything went great. We stopped by the hospital yesterday afternoon for a visit and Jake was his old self...cracking us up with his usual humor. Kevin was playing around with the latex gloves...blew one up...it popped loudly and Jake threw his head back and pretended the loud noise caused him to have a heart attack. If everything looks good today, he will be released this afternoon. We're so thankful that this is behind us now...Christmas is next, then on to working on getting our baby home.

Twelfth Anniversary Weekend

On Father's Day morning, we got a call from my mother-in-law that Kevin's Dad had just had emergency surgery that morning to remove his appendix. Not the Father's Day present he was expecting I'm sure...he spent most of the next week in the hospital recovering. Caedmon had lots of questions about Grandpa that week..."Did he have a heart hole?" "Does he still talk?" "Are we having a funeral?" "Well, for crying out loud!". So funny what goes through the mind of a four-year-old. He was released from the hospital that Thursday and thankfully we didn't have a funeral. We picked up pizzas on our way to see him and to help with yard work on Friday. These pictures were taken that night. You'd think I would have gotten a picture of the injured, but I guess the kids eating their ice cream that night stole the show. Sorry Dad.

Our plans for that weekend were originally to leave the kids with Kevin's parents and celebrate our anniversary (just the two of us) with a nice quiet dinner and an overnight at a nice hotel in South Bend. With dad just getting home from the hospital, it was just too much to expect them to take the kids. So we cancelled those reservations and made new reservations at the inn at Pokagon State Park for the whole family. I always love going there...a beautiful place! We loaded up our bikes and left Saturday afternoon. It poured and stormed the whole way there, so after settling our things in our rooms, we headed to the indoor pool and hot tub. After an hour or so it cleared up very nicely for the rest of the evening and we biked all over the park. It was soooo nice! We rode through all the campgrounds and the smell of the campfires really gave me the fever to go camping. On Sunday morning (our anniversary) we took a hike to Hell's Point. Kaiya wasn't feeling so well...she had a cough and constant run to her nose, so it was a little rough for her.

A long climb, but worth the view at the top. Poor Kaiya, just not feeling like herself. After our hike, it was time to hit the beach.

It doesn't matter how bad this girl feels...if she's in the water, everything is great.It really ended up being a wonderful family weekend after I got past my disappointment of our changed plans. After tucking the kids in bed that night we lit some candles, had some sparkling juice and a wonderful time talking on the couch and relaxing together. We have so much to be thankful for...twelve years of memories together. Spending that day making memories with our whole family is what it's all about. I loved it and I love you honey! Happy Anniversary!

Surgery #2

Well, Kevin thought that my surgery sounded like so much fun and decided that he wanted to have one too. So today he did. He had two lipoma's removed...one from his abdomen and one from his back. It was a minor surgery and he had what they called a "conscious sedation". He was somewhat awake, but it also had an amnesia effect. He convinced me to drop him off at the hospital and pick him up when his surgery was done. I felt kind of bad not staying there with him, but he insisted. So, the kids and I went to Wal-mart & Wendy's to pass the time. Everything went well and besides feeling a little tired and having a little incision pain, he is back to his ornery self. The kids pretended that they were Doctors tonight and took good care of their patient getting him anything he asked for. Hopefully there won't be any more surgeries in the near future for our family. Two in a month is plenty.

Post Surgery

Everything went well on Thursday for my surgery. I was a little weepy when I had to tell Kevin goodbye right before they wheeled me back to the ice cold surgery room. It seemed like we waited forever for the Anesthesiologist to get there, but as soon as he did, I was in la-la land. This time has been the hardest for me in the recovery area. I woke up with my whole body shaking and with a lot of pain. I remember thanking God that it was over at that time. The nurse gave me something for the shakes and morphine for the pain...then onto the next recovery room where Kevin would be allowed to see me finally. I threw up a couple of times in that room. Before I could leave the hospital, I had to drink something, have my pain at a tolerable level and use the restroom. I was guessing that we would be home somewhere between 5 and 6, but it wasn't until 9pm when we arrived home because of my inability to use the restroom. I was finally able to go when they threatened to use a catheter...scared the pee right out of me. :) Thanks a ton to my sister for keeping the kids a few extra hours for us. My mom was here yesterday and cleaned my house. Thanks mom! Thanks also to all who prayed, called, sent cards & brought meals. What a blessing my friends & family are to me!

Surgery Day

Today is surgery day...if I could kidnap my family and take us all to Mexico right now I would. I know I'm not having major surgery, but just the thought of being cut open sends chills down my back. It's different too, now that I have my kids...I feel a loss of control, I guess, thinking about laying there in the hospital and not being able to take care of them. It's a good reminder that I'm not in control...God is and that brings me comfort. I know that the kids will be well taken care of by my mother & sister and will have a great time. When I told Caedmon yesterday that he was going to Aunt Shanna's house, he wanted to go right that instant. Thank you all for your prayers...I have felt them. I've had a peace about it all week and even today I'm surprised how peaceful I feel. I still want to go to Mexico though...maybe I'll go there in my dreams during my surgery...Cancun sounds nice. Surgery is at 1:30...keep praying.When I am afraid, I will trust in you. Psalm 56:3

Rough Monday

Yesterday was not such a great day for me. I was in pain most of the day. What I usually take for monthly cramping was not allowed this time because of my surgery coming up on Thursday, and I usually live on Aleve for a week. I was on the couch for part of the day. My son showed me some sweet empathy which pleasantly surprised me. The constant reminders I give him about thinking of others must have sunk way down in there somewhere...thankfully. He was truly concerned for me and kept giving me hugs and asking if I wanted a blanket. Later that day, I had to drive to a clinic to get blood drawn. He asked where we were going and I explained it to him and told him about my surgery. He said "I have a surprise for you when you get better" and then asked "Are they going to take your stomach out, mommy?".

I'll include a picture of him eating his breakfast this morning. Lucky Charms was a favorite cereal of mine when I was a little girl. I probably buy it twice a year for a treat and the box is usually gone within a couple of days. Last week I picked up a couple of boxes in the bargain bin at the grocery store. Caedmon asked me this morning if he could have "chops" for breakfast. Now I need to go get a bowl before he eats it all.

Endometriosis

Last Tuesday, I was supposed to have a Dr. appointment with an ultrasound to check the endometriomas (like a cyst) on my ovaries. They've been monitoring them for the past three years. As I was pulling out of the driveway, they called to say that the ultrasound technician was ill and I needed to reschedule. Well, I was glad that I had only made it that far when they called because it's a 45 minute drive there and I left an hour early so that I could drop the kids off at a babysitter. This ultrasound also required that I drink 32 ounces of water an hour before, and I hadn't started that either. So I decided to go shopping that day instead. Yesterday was my actual appointment and I had both kids in the car ready to go...turned the ignition...nothing...turned the ignition again...nothing. OK, Lord do you not want me to go for some reason? I called my hubby, but he didn't answer. To make a long story short, my mom came and picked us up, I dropped her off with the kids at her house and headed to my appointment chugging down my water. I did arrive right on time and my husband was there waiting for me. The feeling of having an ultrasound with a full bladder is not a pleasant experience at all so I was glad when that was over. The ultrasound revealed that the endometromas have grown. I have one on the left the size of a large marshmallow and two on the right...one the size of a walnut shell and the other the size of a large marshmallow. No wonder I've been feeling so bloated. The endometriosis has also spread across my uterus, so next Thursday I will be having laparoscopic surgery as I had suspected would be happening...just didn't think it would be next week. Yikes! Not excited about that at all.

On a happier note, we put up our Christmas tree this past Sunday. Caedmon has been noticing more and more Christmas things being displayed at the stores and has been asking if we are going to have Christmas. So needless to say, the kids were sooo excited when we hauled all the decorations out. It's so fun to see their excitement grow each year.