So the 4th of July weekend, 2009, proved to be one the best! I seriously think it was one of my most favorite camping trips ever, simply because it was so NEEDED! There's nothing quite like the sound of pebbles and dirt beneath your feet, the memorizing spell of a camp fire, and sleeping in a tent with your whole family. The thought came to me when we were up there that it didn't really matter where in the world you were, as long as you're with your family, you're happy...you're home. Claire and Benson enjoyed every waking minute they had filling their buckets with dirt, moving logs in Benson's dump truck, searching for ladybugs and caterpillars, playing ball games together, and just being outside where it's okay to be dirty all day long! Claire was NOT so fond of the 4-Wheeler ride we went on. She patiently tolerated it (as she does many things in her life) but wouldn't crack a smile for nothing, nobody, no way. Benson was, of course, thrilled about the wheeler and would have ridden all day if it was up to him! We hiked a huge hike up Devil's Head mountain and had a well-worth-it view to behold at the top. It was 9,748 feet in elevation!
Benson and I went on a small hike by our campsite while Jared and Claire were at the hospital for dialysis Saturday morning. During our hike, we were looking for bugs and mushrooms in particular. I looked down and saw a grasshopper and quickly told Benson to come see. A closer-up look revealed that the grasshopper only had one leg. Weird, I know. He must have had some kind of grasshopper accident, fight, or amputation. He was trying to hop out of the path, but could only hop sideways because of his missing leg. As we noticed this one-legged-grasshopper, Benson came up with a great idea.
"I know, momma. Maybe while we're out hiking we can look for another grasshopper who has died....but whose leg isn't dead. Then we can take the leg off from him since he doesn't need it anymore and put it on this grasshopper so he can have a new leg and hop straight again. How about that?! That's a great idea, isn't it momma?!!"
A few steps later after leaving the grasshopper, he then said..."Or maybe we could just go to the grasshopper store and buy him a new leg. Do you think they would have one for him at the grasshopper store?"
One more reason I've always called him my sweet boy!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Lots of camping fun deserves lots of camping pictures!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
simple update
Claire has another infection. I feel like I could just copy and past these posts now, since these infections just keep-a-comin'!! SO NOT GOOD!! It's in her PD catheater again and they wonder if the last one just didn't clear up 100% because it is the same organism as her last one was. She's on a different antibotic this time, Tobermycen, because she built up an immunity to the last antibotic she was one and it won't be effective anymore. Unfortunately, I think this new med makes her tummy hurt. She just doesn't seem to feel well/happy/herself since she's been on it....and her bowels have been rather loose. Poor princess. But something to be grateful for is that the infection site it starting to look better since they started the meds this past week...so that is a great sign that it is clearing up.
On a happier note...we get to go camping over the 4th of July weekend! I am so excited just thinking about it!!! We got permission to not do the night time/PD dialysis for 2 nights, but we will still have to come back to the hospital each morning for the Hemo dialysis. Can't wait to spend the weekend, in the woods, in a tent, eating out of a cooler, cooking on the camp fire, riding our 4-wheeler, and just being away from the normal routine!! SO FUN!
Still showing our hose...just about nearing the 100th showing! Claire is about 9.4 kg now so she's definitely nearing that 10 kg mark. Still at least a few more months down the road, but getting closer every day.
We're up to 93 showings on our house now! IS THAT NOT TOTALLY INSANE!! I guess we're just not supposed to move quite yet.
On a happier note...we get to go camping over the 4th of July weekend! I am so excited just thinking about it!!! We got permission to not do the night time/PD dialysis for 2 nights, but we will still have to come back to the hospital each morning for the Hemo dialysis. Can't wait to spend the weekend, in the woods, in a tent, eating out of a cooler, cooking on the camp fire, riding our 4-wheeler, and just being away from the normal routine!! SO FUN!
Still showing our hose...just about nearing the 100th showing! Claire is about 9.4 kg now so she's definitely nearing that 10 kg mark. Still at least a few more months down the road, but getting closer every day.
We're up to 93 showings on our house now! IS THAT NOT TOTALLY INSANE!! I guess we're just not supposed to move quite yet.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Randoms
Benson got a fish at a birthday party last Saturday. He named him Fubsee Me Benson. Fubsee for short.
Claire decided pulling out her hair is a fun thing to do. When she's board (driving in the car) she reaches up to her hair, pulls it out, and looks at it. Drops it and does it again. Not the elastic band in her hair...although she does that too if there's one in....but the hair itself! Hope she doesn't run out.
I'm getting over another round of strep throat. Feeling better after a little amoxacilin.
I joined facebook but have yet to decide the point of it.
It rained every day this week. Didn't mind it at all.
6 more showings this week. Every time we leave the house for a showing Benson asks, "are we moving today?"
Got some fabulous roll/bread/pizza dough/cinnamon rolls recipes from Enrichment Tuesday night and I can't wait to try them!
There's nothing quite like America's Funniest Home Videos for a good laugh.
My husband is amazing.
Claire decided pulling out her hair is a fun thing to do. When she's board (driving in the car) she reaches up to her hair, pulls it out, and looks at it. Drops it and does it again. Not the elastic band in her hair...although she does that too if there's one in....but the hair itself! Hope she doesn't run out.
I'm getting over another round of strep throat. Feeling better after a little amoxacilin.
I joined facebook but have yet to decide the point of it.
It rained every day this week. Didn't mind it at all.
6 more showings this week. Every time we leave the house for a showing Benson asks, "are we moving today?"
Got some fabulous roll/bread/pizza dough/cinnamon rolls recipes from Enrichment Tuesday night and I can't wait to try them!
There's nothing quite like America's Funniest Home Videos for a good laugh.
My husband is amazing.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Back again
I've decided my posts are either feast of famine. Short or long. Not very often or often. Here's a feast.
So let's just be honest here. I'm really getting tired of leaving the house for over 70 showings...1-2 hours per showing!! Not that it's a bad thing...it's in fact a very GOOD thing, to have so many showings....but it's just hard being gone all morning at the hospital and most afternoons for showings!!
We did get an offer last Saturday night, but it was a low baller. We countered, but they didn't keep playing the game with us. We're hoping another one comes in soon. Our house has never been so clean...never been vacuumed so much (Jared is a mad vacuumer)....and the kids have never wanted to "just go home" so often!! It's hard to explain to them why we can't be in our own home. On the bright side, we've done a lot of things together as a family that we probably wouldn't have otherwise done. Good family bonding time. Lots of drives (so they'll sleep). Trips to the library. Parks. Eating out, which is very unusual for us. And parking down the street so we can spy and see when they're gone! Good times.
Claire is a happy girl. She is starting to talk a lot more. Almost to the point where you can have some-what of a 'baby-talk' conversation with her! We can't believe how much she learns from Benson...at times she's just a little mini-Benson because of how she acts and the things she says. They both Grrrrrrowl when they don't like what you're doing. She loves to call for Momma and Daddda in the same tone Benson does. So fun to see.
Benson is having a little bit of a harder time going to his friends house each morning. It's almost been a year since Claire's been on the hospital dialysis and we've had this type of schedule. I think he's just getting tired of getting up and leaving each morning. The little breaks he has when family comes are a life-saver for him. Some friends he's still okay with going to, but other times, he just wants to come with me and Clarie or stay home and watch movies while Dad works upstairs. I took him with me twice this week...and he stayed home with Jared once. We'll see how the upcoming weeks go. He's a trooper. He's a sweet boy. And as I've said before, he knows how to sacrifice for his sister.
And me...I got spoiled this week. A few weeks ago, The Oxford Spa in downtown Denver sent some girls to do pedicures and manicures for the patients doing dialysis. Claire would have NOTHING to do with that. And didn't really even want them near us at all. She's not so fond of strange faces. The manager of the kidney center had the fabulous idea to see if they would allow me to come to the spa at a later time to do a pedicure/manicure. After she explained our situation and to both of our surprise, the spa actually has a "parent of the month" program and they wanted to invite me to come to their spa as their guest!! Sweet. I'm in. So Wednesday was my spa day!! I got to have a Swedish massage, a facial, and the best hair cut and style I've ever had!! It was so fun!! Definitely spoiled...and all for free! Can't beat it!
Until the next feast....
So let's just be honest here. I'm really getting tired of leaving the house for over 70 showings...1-2 hours per showing!! Not that it's a bad thing...it's in fact a very GOOD thing, to have so many showings....but it's just hard being gone all morning at the hospital and most afternoons for showings!!
We did get an offer last Saturday night, but it was a low baller. We countered, but they didn't keep playing the game with us. We're hoping another one comes in soon. Our house has never been so clean...never been vacuumed so much (Jared is a mad vacuumer)....and the kids have never wanted to "just go home" so often!! It's hard to explain to them why we can't be in our own home. On the bright side, we've done a lot of things together as a family that we probably wouldn't have otherwise done. Good family bonding time. Lots of drives (so they'll sleep). Trips to the library. Parks. Eating out, which is very unusual for us. And parking down the street so we can spy and see when they're gone! Good times.
Claire is a happy girl. She is starting to talk a lot more. Almost to the point where you can have some-what of a 'baby-talk' conversation with her! We can't believe how much she learns from Benson...at times she's just a little mini-Benson because of how she acts and the things she says. They both Grrrrrrowl when they don't like what you're doing. She loves to call for Momma and Daddda in the same tone Benson does. So fun to see.
Benson is having a little bit of a harder time going to his friends house each morning. It's almost been a year since Claire's been on the hospital dialysis and we've had this type of schedule. I think he's just getting tired of getting up and leaving each morning. The little breaks he has when family comes are a life-saver for him. Some friends he's still okay with going to, but other times, he just wants to come with me and Clarie or stay home and watch movies while Dad works upstairs. I took him with me twice this week...and he stayed home with Jared once. We'll see how the upcoming weeks go. He's a trooper. He's a sweet boy. And as I've said before, he knows how to sacrifice for his sister.
And me...I got spoiled this week. A few weeks ago, The Oxford Spa in downtown Denver sent some girls to do pedicures and manicures for the patients doing dialysis. Claire would have NOTHING to do with that. And didn't really even want them near us at all. She's not so fond of strange faces. The manager of the kidney center had the fabulous idea to see if they would allow me to come to the spa at a later time to do a pedicure/manicure. After she explained our situation and to both of our surprise, the spa actually has a "parent of the month" program and they wanted to invite me to come to their spa as their guest!! Sweet. I'm in. So Wednesday was my spa day!! I got to have a Swedish massage, a facial, and the best hair cut and style I've ever had!! It was so fun!! Definitely spoiled...and all for free! Can't beat it!
Until the next feast....
Thursday, May 21, 2009
update
Well I guess now is as good a time as any to catch up a bit. Life has been pretty busy around here the past two weeks. We had some wonderful, surprise visitors show up on our doorstep a week ago Monday. Ryan, Megan, Torsten, Brysen, Brice, Aleena, Mom, Breon, and Grandma Waite!! WOW!! What a fabulous week we had together. It's been about a year since we've all been together and we enjoyed every minute we had. We packed A LOT into a short amount of time: playtime at the parks, Chuck E Cheese, Golf, Rockies Baseball game, "nature" visit to Colorado Springs to the Garden of the Gods and waterfalls, BBQ Birthday celebration for Mom, Denver Aquarium, and laughs, fun, games, and memories galore!! Brice, Megan, and Grandma Waite also took turns coming to the hospital with me for Claire's dialysis and seemed to enjoy seeing what our daily mornings were really like....and I DEFINITELY enjoyed the company there with me!! It was just all around an exhaustingly GREAT week! Wouldn't have traded it for anything! Benson was in heaven, playing with Torsten and Brysen each day. Whenever I referred to them as "friends" he reminded me that they were more than friends, they were cousins!! Right he is. That meant TWICE the fun!! One other cute thing about Benson....when we told Benson we were going to Garden of the Gods in CO Spgs, Benson asked..."Is that where Jesus lives?" Too Cute!
Alas, the fun came to an end as we said our good byes. But this week we've had a little switch up too. Jared and Benson went to Idaho for Jared's brother's graduation from High School this week. Congratz BEN! So Aleena stayed out here with me to help me out and give me some company while they're gone. What a fabulous, giving sister I have. She is amazing. Life is much quieter around here with the boys gone. Can't wait for them to get back, but glad they're able to spend some time with family. Wish we were there.
Still no change with our home. Showing it like crazy...nearing 50 showings now...but still no offers. All is good time.
Claire's infections are doing better. The one in her blood has been cleared...YEAH!! The other one in her PD catheter wasn't completely cleared by the end of last week, so they extended the antibiotics another week to see if it will go away. The infections site is 'looking' better, so we're hoping it will be gone when they test it again this week. She's still on antibiotics for both infections until Tuesday of next week. How nice it will be to come home after our regular 3 hr session instead of staying an extra hour after for antibiotics! I just can't be grateful enough for the miracle of modern medicine, though. It has literally saved Claire's life over and over again. And speaking of saving Claire's life, she did get another blood transfusion on Tuesday which also literally saves her life each time she receives blood. What a miracle.
So now I'm just trying to relax a little with the company gone and the boys in Idaho. It's been a nice week to wind down and enjoy some quiet time.
And just have to say what a sweet husband I have to write such a sweet Mother's day letter in behalf of Claire. Made me cry. He's my everything.
So since I'm supposed to be relaxing, I think I'll go read a book and fall asleep when my little heart desires! Well, not exactly...after I get the medicine ready for tomorrow, start Claire's nightly milk feeding, and make sure the house is clean for a showing tomorrow...then I'll go do my thing! Night.
Alas, the fun came to an end as we said our good byes. But this week we've had a little switch up too. Jared and Benson went to Idaho for Jared's brother's graduation from High School this week. Congratz BEN! So Aleena stayed out here with me to help me out and give me some company while they're gone. What a fabulous, giving sister I have. She is amazing. Life is much quieter around here with the boys gone. Can't wait for them to get back, but glad they're able to spend some time with family. Wish we were there.
Still no change with our home. Showing it like crazy...nearing 50 showings now...but still no offers. All is good time.
Claire's infections are doing better. The one in her blood has been cleared...YEAH!! The other one in her PD catheter wasn't completely cleared by the end of last week, so they extended the antibiotics another week to see if it will go away. The infections site is 'looking' better, so we're hoping it will be gone when they test it again this week. She's still on antibiotics for both infections until Tuesday of next week. How nice it will be to come home after our regular 3 hr session instead of staying an extra hour after for antibiotics! I just can't be grateful enough for the miracle of modern medicine, though. It has literally saved Claire's life over and over again. And speaking of saving Claire's life, she did get another blood transfusion on Tuesday which also literally saves her life each time she receives blood. What a miracle.
So now I'm just trying to relax a little with the company gone and the boys in Idaho. It's been a nice week to wind down and enjoy some quiet time.
And just have to say what a sweet husband I have to write such a sweet Mother's day letter in behalf of Claire. Made me cry. He's my everything.
So since I'm supposed to be relaxing, I think I'll go read a book and fall asleep when my little heart desires! Well, not exactly...after I get the medicine ready for tomorrow, start Claire's nightly milk feeding, and make sure the house is clean for a showing tomorrow...then I'll go do my thing! Night.
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