60.

On Monday, January 14th my dad turned 60!  The weekend before that, my two uncles (Stan and Tim) and my Aunt Betty surprised my dad in Ames for his pre-birthday weekend.  He had no idea they were coming and he was super surprised.

They all stayed at a hotel in Ames, so Jenna and Brody swam, we had cake (before supper!) and then headed to Hickory Park for a late supper.  My uncles brought my dad a ton of stuff making fun of how old he now is.  Can you see what that koozie says?  Ha!

 Blakers just couldn't keep his eyes open.  Betty and Bowen.  We didn't let the twins swim because Blake couldn't, so we thought it would be easier to keep them both out of the water.

 Jenna and Brody swam for a couple hours.  They were EXHAUSTED that nite. 

 Brody was scared to death Uncle Tim was going to let him drown.  He was seriously freaking out.

 Me and my dad.  If he's 60, that must mean I'm getting older too, huh?!

 And, in case you're wondering, I'm his favorite... :)

 The Hunecke boys Tim, Stan and the birthday boy.  When we were at Hickory Park, Bowen was thoroughly confused about my Uncle Stan ( in the middle).  I think he thought he was Grandpa Larry, but he kind of knew he wasn't.  He looked at Stan.  Then at grandpa.  Then at Stan again.  He didn't know what to think! :)

Even though it was only for a few hours, I was glad we could help surprise my dad for his 60th.  Wishing him many, many more birthdays!

10 on 10/Blake's Clinic Day

Thursday was Iowa City day.  Nothing too major, just our typical scheduled clinic day.  It was also the 10th of the month, so I took 10 pictures throughout the day.

Coffee. Is. A. Must. Amen. 

  Labs were brutal.  The gal poked his left arm first and kept grinding around and couldn't find a vein.  After about the fifth time of her pulling the needle halfway out and then shoving it back in, I just held Blake as tight as I could and closed my eyes.  She then moved to the right arm and on the fourth try she got it.  It is the most helpless feeling for me and I'm not even the one who is in pain.  

Sidenote: why do they put smiley faces on this wrap post-blood draw?  It's not happy!!

Overall, Blake's appointment went well.  Here are some highlights:

1. Increased his feeds to try to get him to gain some more weight

2. Tweaked some meds, as always

3. Changed his dialysis prescription

4. Exit site infection.  Again.  Anti-biotics to the rescue.

5. Had the social worker ask me if I was getting enough sleep.  Seriously.  Code:  Wow, Jamie, you sure look like hell today.  I won't even elaborate, but let me tell you I wasn't too happy with that question!!

And this...

 

...our homework from Dr. Jetton.  I really and truly love our doctor.  I know she loves Blake and will do anything in her power to keep him healthy and be the best little Blake he can be.  She has broached the subject of growth hormone shots a couple of months ago.  I wasn't too excited about giving Blake a daily shot, so she brought us some articles about post-transplant and growth.  His height is 0 percentile.  Yes, 0%.  He has totally leveled off.  Dr. Jetton wants Blake to reach his potential in height, since he does come from the land of tall people. :)  I think she finally has me convinced.

Lunch.  With the biggest Diet Coke they had.  I don't drink a lot of pop, but I needed some caffeine after the appointment.  I don't know what it is about Iowa City that makes me drink caffeine like it's my job, but that's what I do when I'm there.

 

My tired boy.  I think to myself sometimes, 'Isn't it crazy that the bravest person I know is 20 months old?"  Crazy, but true.  

  Our friend, Sara, kept Bowen and on our way through Marshalltown we had to stop and get important things.  Like diapers.  And coffee.  Funny story, when I was checking out an older gentleman behind me looked at the twins and asked if I got them on a 2-for-1 special.  Ha!  Made me smile. :)

 After supper Jenna practiced her book she had to read to the class on Friday.  All reports say that she did great!

 Aaron went to take some photos at a wrestling meet, so it was just the kiddos and me.  I wanted to load the dishwasher and asked Jenna and Brody if they could occupy the twins.  They asked if they could take the cushions off the couch and I told them they could.  Jenna responded, "You're the best mom ever!!" Hmmm... and all it took was cushions off of a couch. :)

My mother-of-the-year moment: the living room was a disaster and I took the twins up to put them to bed.  I told Jenna and Brody if they picked-up without any fighting I would make them a chocolate malt.  Worked like a charm! I'm not ashamed of this bribery...

 A tired, tired Brody.  Good night!

It was a crazy, chaotic, day.  Traveling, school, doctor's appointments and just everyday stuff.
On days like this I remember this quote, 'Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day."  Love that.
P.S. I had to take all of these photos with my phone, so please don't mind the bluriness!

Christmas Break

As I type this, it's the last night of Christmas break.  With the two added snow days, plus the two professional development days the teachers had, it's be a really LONG break.  I'm ready for the kiddos to go back to school and I know they are really ready to back.  I think they are just bored of me!

We took some time to burn off some energy recently.  That was one of the best ideas we had all break!

 Aaron and Jenna worked on some defensive stuff. 

My workout that day included a lot of running up and down the court. How did I do that back in the day?!  I was dying. Yikes!

 Jenna and Brody and I took turns dribbling up and down the court.  Jenna clearly couldn't see her open teammate. Ha.

Brody loves to dribble.  Seriously LOVES it.  Does it in my kitchen all the time.  But only with the right hand.  You cut that off, he would quite certainly starve. :)  We still have time to work on the left hand.

 Monkeys just roaming around...

 Aaron and I played horse.  We had to stop before we finished because the twins had had enough of the gym.

 

We tried to bring the kitchen chairs back around the table.  Bad idea.  There is climbing.  And dancing.  And scaring the crap out of the mom.  This was a calm moment...

These two have really started communicating with each other.  It's the cutest.

 

 Peek-a-boo Blake.

 Our friend, Jay, painted his semi to look like this.  Very awesome shout out to Blakers and kidney awareness. 

If it has a steering wheel, Bowen will love it!

 And, we even got in a little sledding.   Or more like we played on some hills behind the school.  Definite downside to living in this flatland called Central Iowa.

Overall, we had a great break!  The upside to January is that we still get to celebrate Christmas with my mom and dad in January.  That's something we're looking forward to. :)

2013 Resolutions

I'm a little behind here, but I have actually been thinking about my 2013 goals and resolutions.  I feel like I have a lot of them, which is probably bad since most of them end up failing anyway.  I figured if I put them on the blog, I might be more apt to follow through with them.  Probably wishful thinking, but here goes...

1. DATE NIGHT!  I would love for Aaron and me to go on a date once a month.  It's hard.  Really hard to find time with our crazy life, but I know that it's so important.  We have so much fun when we do go.  We act like we're 17 again. :)  

2. READ MORE.  I love to read and always have.  With my limited time problem, this will also be challenging.  My goal is one book a month.  I know you "readers" out there probably just laughed at me, but there are only so many hours in a day!  

3. LAUNDRY.  This is my Achilles heel to the upmost.  I hate laundry.  Despise laundry.  The thing is, it's not actually the washing or drying of laundry.  It's the folding and putting away.  Emphasis on folding.  Oy.  Again, it's the time thing.  The twins are at the point where I can't fold when they are awake because they mess up my piles, pull the clothes off the table, etc.  My goal when I'm home on and not at the office is to do one load - washed, dried and folded.  

4. ORGANIZE MY PAPER PILES. As a rule, I'm terrible at organization.  However, I'm really, really bad at organizing any sort of papers...mail, bills, work related things, the kids' paperwork from school.  My goal is to sort this stuff right away and throw away immediately what we don't need.

5. MEAL PLANNING.  See above comment about organization. :)  This was one of my resolutions for last year and I think I did it about 60% of the year.  When I did it, it worked awesome!  It was so nice to know exactly what to put on my grocery list and exactly what I was going to fix for supper each night.  This is a must!

6. TAKE TIME FOR ME.  This is also hard.  With our crazy, busy lives  a lot of times I get put on the bottom of my own list.  The thing is, whether it be running or baking or reading or whatever, I think I'm a better, less-stressed mama when I do take a little time for myself. 

That's where I'm at so far.  I'm trying to figure out some more specific running/workout/health-related goals.  I know I need something on the list pertaining to those, I'm just not sure what yet.  I will let you know what I figure out. 

Do you make resolutions?  What are some of yours?  I'm always interested to hear what other people's goals are!

Instagrammers

I realized I hadn't posted any Instagram photos for awhile, so here you go...

The sunrise on the way to our December Iowa City appointment.  I knew it was going to be a long day of appointments, but drinking my coffee and seeing this made me grateful I got to witness this beauty.

My whole life I never knew that a place called Steak 'n Shake existed.  When we were in the hospital after the twins' birth my friend Kate took us there for supper and I hadn't been back since.  I decided a trip was needed after the long day at the hospital.  It's definitely not the healthiest food, but it was so stinkin' good!

We bought the kids a belated Christmas gift and got Just Dance 4.  FUN!  I absolutely love it, although it just confirms the fact that it is not my lifelong dream to be a dancer because I am so uncoordinated. :)

 

You heard of No-Shave November?  My husband did No-Shave Christmas Vacation!  He literally went two weeks without shaving and I the only reason he decided to shave was because he had to start reffing again.

 

These two monkeys (Bowen on the left; Blake on the right) saw their older siblings outside and were giving me a not-so-subtle hint that they wanted to go outside too.

This came in my email as my thought of the day.  Isn't this the truth?!  That Benjamin Franklin was one smart guy...

A post-church snapshot of Aaron and myself. 

On Christmas Day my kiddos cooperated for this photo.  I was feeling an enormous feeling of gratitude for these four gifts that God has blessed me with.

I will leave you with this.  I saw this on our post office bulletin board.  You have to love small town Iowa, right?!  I hope it makes you smile today.  Happy Weekend!!

The way I see it...

Kindness

Have you all seen on the news what has happened in response to the 26 deaths in Newton, Connecticut?  Ann Curry from NBC News challenged people to do 26 acts of kindness, one for each of the children and adults that were so tragically killed

It's been quite an amazing movement.  I've been following along on Twitter.  People have been posting the nice things they have been doing.  It is just so inspiring.

I have to share with you that I have been the recipient of not one, not two, but THREE acts of kindness directed at me the past week.

First of all, Jen Nason with her 12/12/12 birthday surprised me at the office with a donation to help with our family's expenses.  She said that many people requested that the money be given to our family.  It was so unexpected and thoughtful and I cried because it was just so nice.  Thank you Jen!

Secondly, I received the nicest card with a gas card and restaurant gift card.  The card said something about me being a terrific mom and that they hope this helps a little with a doctor's visit or hospital stay.  And, the most important part to me?  They are praying for us.  And then, that made me cry.  I'm so thankful for these people that made my entire day!

Finally, some sweet lady offered me to go ahead of her in line at Wal-Mart the other night because I was alone with all four kids.  She had already unloaded her cart, so I thanked her, but told her she could go.  It was such a small thing, but super thoughtful!

I have been so inspired by the 26 acts and things I have experienced personally, that I wanted to do something to pass it on  I called the Ronald McDonald House in Iowa City and anonymously donated a couple nights stay for a family.  It wasn't much, but I hope it helped a family that really needed it.

Here's the thing.  There will, unfortunately, always be those selfish people in the world.  The ones that only think about themselves and how other people can help them and what they can get from other people.  I have no time for selfishness.  None.

I think, by and large, people have amazing, generous hearts.  The human spirit is quite an awesome thing to witness, don't you think?  Wasn't it Helen Keller who is quoted, "Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much?"  So true.

It's such a great feeling to be on the receiving end of somebody's thoughtfulness.  But, as good as that is, it feels even better to do something for somebody else.  Be kind.  Do something thoughtful and pay it forward, but that's just the way I see it.     

Two years.

The week of Christmas was the two year anniversary of what I like to refer to as the doctor's appointment from hell.  In case you're new to the blog, you can read about it here.  I thought about that terrible day two years ago and I thought about it last week.

 It's a hard thing to fully explain to people what that day was like.  How our whole world felt like it was crashing down around us.  It's hard to explain to people what our life is like with Blake.   Our good friend Emily Morgan asked me if I had ever read, "Welcome to Holland." I hadn't so she gave me a copy.  It's the BEST metaphor for what our life is like.

Welcome To Holland

by Emily Kingshy

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to

try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to

imagine how it would feel. It's like this.......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip to

Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The

Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You learn some

handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.After months of eager anticipation,

the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later,

the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland".

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy! All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy!"

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there

you must stay. The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible,

disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different

place.            

So you must go out and buy new guidebooks. And you must learn a whole new

language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would have never

met. It's just a different place. It's slower-paced (or faster-paced) than Italy, less

flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your

breath, you look around, and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills.

Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts. But everyone you know is busy

coming and going from Italy, and they're all bragging about what a wonderful

time they had there. And the rest of your life, you will say, "Yes ,that's where I

was supposed to go. That's what I had planned." And the pain of that will never,

ever, ever, go away, because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss.But if

you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never

be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.

 

Isn't that amazingly written?  It's so true.  Life isn't terrible with Blake.  It's not what we would have ever expected, but we have adjusted.  It's not bad.  It's harder, for sure.  Look at the alternative.  There was a 90% chance he wasn't supposed to be here.  Sometimes, I let myself try to imagine what would have happened if that a-hole of a doctor would have been right.  That Blake wouldn't have made it past birth.  It is unimaginable.

 

Blake is who he is.  I have adjusted to this life.  Our family has adjusted.  You know what?  I think we are better individuals and better as a family because of Blake.   I thank God for this wonderful blessing named Blake every single day. :)