So yesterday afternoon I received a phone call from my insurance company that my appeal for surgery had been denied. I'm bummed because I have sooo much documentation since Cayden's birth of my continual problems relating to my stomach diastasis. It's hard for me even now to do daily tasks as simple as picking up my kids to getting out of bed. I fear that if I'm already having back problems now that it will only get worse as I get older.
I'm mostly disappointed because I just want this to be over...so I don't have to worry about it anymore. It's taken up a lot of my time & energy in the last couple months. I do have one more appeal...but it's the final one that I have. If this one comes back a no then I have no more options. That makes me really nervous. I'm not sure if I'm even ready to hear that yet.
So...please keep me in your prayers as I await this final decision. They sent it in today & will get back with me in the next 7 days. Hopefully it will be a good answer before I leave on vacation...but I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much. So we will see.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
My Boy on his Bike
Cayden is officially riding a 2 wheeler! Last year at the end of the summer we took off his training wheels & he did wonderfully...until he fell. And the training wheels went right back on. So on Sunday we took the kids to the park down the street & took Cayden's training wheels off again...but this time we told him that there was no going back...they were off for good. Eric took him in the big parking lot to run beside him a couple times & from there on he was good to go! We were sooo very proud of him! He circled around the school about 5-6 times by himself, rode through the grass & ball field, all the while beaming with pride!! That night Eric took the kids around the block & Cayden is officially a pro. It's like he's been riding like that for ages. I think he just needed the confidence to do it. It is a little difficult for me to take the kids on a "walk" by myself now though...Cayden is usually out of sight now & Addyson, Kamryn, & I are trying to play catch up the whole way. I think we are definitely going to need some bikes for Eric & I!!
So here are some pictures of my boy...
beaming with pride as he should be.
So here are some pictures of my boy...
beaming with pride as he should be.
When it rains...it pours
That's a little bit how I've been feeling lately. Sometimes it feels like we go from getting over 1 problem to starting the next. The same day that we found the kittens we also came downstairs to find that there was water all over our laundry room floor as well as our family room(which has new carpet). While Eric tried to figure out the source of the water problem, more & more water was seeping from the ground up into our carpet. We had to move everything out so it didn't get water damaged. We figured out that our sump pump was broken, so a guy came right out to fix it. But then we were left with all the cleanup as well as drying out the carpet. And this happened the day before Addyson's birthday party...so not ideal.
And have I mentioned that Eric's busy season is not really over??? In the last 2 weeks he has actually been more busy & more stressed out than he was during busy season. Working until 2 am some nights is more than tiring.
And that's not the end. :) The last 2 mornings Sadie has pooped in the laundry room. Yesterday am I went downstairs to let her out & found 2 big piles of juicy(sorry) poop on the cement. I took the girls downstairs with me, put the gate at the bottom of the stairs so Kamryn couldn't go up, & closed the door to the laundry room to clean up poop. I think I gagged no less than 15 times...it was smearing all over the cement & the smell was awful! I will take baby poop anyday over dog poop!!! Not fun! I come out of the laundry gagging to find Kamryn on top of my desk playing with my computer & writing all over everything. Uggghhh!!!
Now last night Eric had an E&Y work function to go to & called me afterwords to say that his car won't start. His buddy tried to jump the car but it absolutely wouldn't start. So Eric left his car in the parking lot & got a ride home. Now we have to deal with that too.
Oh my word!!! I am soooo ready to go on a vacation!!! This vacation is coming at the absolute right time in our lives. I pray that Eric & I can both just relax & have some fun together! I will miss my kids dearly, but I am more than ready for a break. Florida here we come!!!
And have I mentioned that Eric's busy season is not really over??? In the last 2 weeks he has actually been more busy & more stressed out than he was during busy season. Working until 2 am some nights is more than tiring.
And that's not the end. :) The last 2 mornings Sadie has pooped in the laundry room. Yesterday am I went downstairs to let her out & found 2 big piles of juicy(sorry) poop on the cement. I took the girls downstairs with me, put the gate at the bottom of the stairs so Kamryn couldn't go up, & closed the door to the laundry room to clean up poop. I think I gagged no less than 15 times...it was smearing all over the cement & the smell was awful! I will take baby poop anyday over dog poop!!! Not fun! I come out of the laundry gagging to find Kamryn on top of my desk playing with my computer & writing all over everything. Uggghhh!!!
Now last night Eric had an E&Y work function to go to & called me afterwords to say that his car won't start. His buddy tried to jump the car but it absolutely wouldn't start. So Eric left his car in the parking lot & got a ride home. Now we have to deal with that too.
Oh my word!!! I am soooo ready to go on a vacation!!! This vacation is coming at the absolute right time in our lives. I pray that Eric & I can both just relax & have some fun together! I will miss my kids dearly, but I am more than ready for a break. Florida here we come!!!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
To our surprise...
one morning Eric was walking out the front door & saw a little furry face peeking out of our bushes! There under our bay window were 5 little kittens! They were sooo cute! 2 tabby cats, 1 bright white, 1 gray, & 1 black...such a beautiful mixture.
Now I have to admit, neither Eric or I are cat lovers. I am allergic to them, and we've both had a couple experiences with not so loving cats over the years that tainted our feelings towards cats. So needless to say we were both a little leary about the Momma cat that was laying under our window along with the kittens. Eric likes to mock me about this, but the first day I told the kids(& the neighbor kids who were over) that if the Momma cat comes out and attacks you, to cover up your face and run screaming into the house. I can attest though that I said this very calmly. :)
The day of Addyson's birthday party, my brother-n-law, Jason, was over and befriended the Momma cat. He is wonderful with animals and had a cat growing up, so we were more than happy to let him take over for us. Once he befriended the Momma cat the kids all had so much fun taking each of the kittens inside & petting them.
Cayden is such an animal lover, and he has always had a special love for cats since he was little. Even though Eric & I aren't especially fond of cats, we have always held our thoughts & feelings inside so that our kids can decide on their own what they like or don't like. We didn't want to put our feelings towards cats onto our kids. Cayden especially was so very gentle & loving with all of the kittens. He too befriended the Momma cat, and one day I saw him out there petting the Momma cat & then every time one of the kittens would venture too far from the Momma, he would gently pick it up & put it back by it's Momma. He would tell the kittens when they cried "it's okay, it's okay". And every day he told us that we were going to keep ALL of the kittens.
We knew that eventually we would have to get rid of the kittens, but we didn't think it would be as soon as it was. Last Sunday evening we arrived home and both the kids ran to go pet the kittens. I came to look out the front door to see Cayden holding his head screaming, & running to the back door. I have to admit that I panicked. I completely thought the worst thing possible. We got him calmed down enough to finally hear that the Momma cat had bitten him on the head. We looked and sure enough, there were 2 puncture wounds on the top of his head. We decided that I would take him to the med center right away.
When we finally saw the dr. she told us that he would have to go on antibiotics for the bite and that the cat would have to be picked up by animal control. They needed to watch the cat for 10 days after the bite to make sure that the cat wasn't infected with rabies...and consequently passed it to Cayden. When the dr. left, Cayden asked if they would have to pick up the kittens too, and I had to tell him that yes, they probably would. He laid on my shoulder & just started sobbing & sobbing, saying "no, they can't take the kitties". I sobbed along with him & all I could tell him was that I was so sorry. I know that this won't be the last time that my heart will break for one of my kids...but my heart hurt so badly for Cayden. He had grown to love these kitties so very much.
Throughout the night I tried to communicate everything with Cayden about the reasons why they had to take the cats, and also to make sure that he knew it wasn't his fault. I don't think the bite actually hurt him that badly, I think it was more the fact that he didn't understand why the Momma cat had bitten him. I tried to make sure that he knew that she wasn't bad, but that she was probably protecting her kittens.
The next day we called the animal control to come pick up the cats. We told Cayden to say his goodbyes to the kittens and we let him hold a couple before he left for school. He seemed to be handling it pretty well. Well...when he got home the animal shelter still hadn't come by to pick up the cats. So...because I was a little leary of the Momma cat now, we fed her some food by the garage & managed to get some of the kittens inside to pet. The longer the day went on the more the kids & I got attached to the kittens. We made a box up in the house with a blanket & let a couple of the kittens sleep there. And the kids were noticing the different personalities of each one...as well as naming each & every one of them. Blacky, whitey, tiger, & shy(for the gray one).
After several phone calls to the animal control, they finally arrived at about 4:30 in the afternoon. The Momma cat wouldn't even come near the guy, so he ended up setting a cage with food inside that would close when the cat got inside. He told me to call him when we caught the cat. Not 20 minutes later the cat was caught inside the cage, so I called the guy to come back. Cayden & Addyson gathered up all the kittens & put them inside our house in a box. Eric ran to get supper with the girls & soon after the animal control guy showed up. I told Cayden to start saying his goodbyes & ran into the living room crying. I then told him that I needed his help taking care of the kittens while I went outside to talk with the guy. That seemed to help him a lot.
Here is where my emotions got the best of me. I was really thinking hard about keeping a couple of the kittens & then later finding homes for them. I was just so upset that Eric was gone & that I had to make this decision by myself. I just wanted him home to make the decision for me...because I knew that I was just making an emotional decision. I asked the guy to stay until Eric got home with Addyson, because I knew she would be upset if she didn't get to say goodbye. When Eric showed up neither of us could decide what to do & were very close to keeping all of them. So I told him that I just needed him to decide what was best for our whole family...and that was easy, we couldn't keep any of them. I knew in my head that this was the right decision, my heart just wasn't there yet.
So the kids said goodbye & Cayden helped put the kittens in the cage. When the guy left Addyson & I went into the living room & she just started sobbing in my arms. I really didn't think that this was going to affect her as much as it did Cayden, but I think she had really gotten attached to the kittens that day too. Eric & Cayden came into the house & there Addyson & I were on the chair just sobbing. We actually couldn't get Addyson calmed down for about 45 minutes, she was so upset. But we finally got her to eat supper. That night before bed we didn't dare mention anything to Addyson about the kittens for fear of her getting upset again. But right before Eric got to her door she started crying again. No matter what we did or said she couldn't stop crying...I felt so bad for her. Eric finally got her to sleep by him and when he came out into the living room he said he was "emotionally exhausted".
We all miss our little kittens. For 4 short days they were a wonderful & fun part of our lives. But we talk a lot about how much fun we all had with them & what great memories we will have. About once a day Addyson will start crying out of the blue & say that she misses the kitties. And Cayden says he misses them too & wishes he could hold them again. And he is still holding out hope one day that we will get a kitten, and who knows, maybe that day will come.
But the most important part is that we got to see how much love our kids have in their hearts for animals. And that is the good that came out of the hurt. So here are a couple pictures of our adorable 5 kittens.
Now I have to admit, neither Eric or I are cat lovers. I am allergic to them, and we've both had a couple experiences with not so loving cats over the years that tainted our feelings towards cats. So needless to say we were both a little leary about the Momma cat that was laying under our window along with the kittens. Eric likes to mock me about this, but the first day I told the kids(& the neighbor kids who were over) that if the Momma cat comes out and attacks you, to cover up your face and run screaming into the house. I can attest though that I said this very calmly. :)
The day of Addyson's birthday party, my brother-n-law, Jason, was over and befriended the Momma cat. He is wonderful with animals and had a cat growing up, so we were more than happy to let him take over for us. Once he befriended the Momma cat the kids all had so much fun taking each of the kittens inside & petting them.
Cayden is such an animal lover, and he has always had a special love for cats since he was little. Even though Eric & I aren't especially fond of cats, we have always held our thoughts & feelings inside so that our kids can decide on their own what they like or don't like. We didn't want to put our feelings towards cats onto our kids. Cayden especially was so very gentle & loving with all of the kittens. He too befriended the Momma cat, and one day I saw him out there petting the Momma cat & then every time one of the kittens would venture too far from the Momma, he would gently pick it up & put it back by it's Momma. He would tell the kittens when they cried "it's okay, it's okay". And every day he told us that we were going to keep ALL of the kittens.
We knew that eventually we would have to get rid of the kittens, but we didn't think it would be as soon as it was. Last Sunday evening we arrived home and both the kids ran to go pet the kittens. I came to look out the front door to see Cayden holding his head screaming, & running to the back door. I have to admit that I panicked. I completely thought the worst thing possible. We got him calmed down enough to finally hear that the Momma cat had bitten him on the head. We looked and sure enough, there were 2 puncture wounds on the top of his head. We decided that I would take him to the med center right away.
When we finally saw the dr. she told us that he would have to go on antibiotics for the bite and that the cat would have to be picked up by animal control. They needed to watch the cat for 10 days after the bite to make sure that the cat wasn't infected with rabies...and consequently passed it to Cayden. When the dr. left, Cayden asked if they would have to pick up the kittens too, and I had to tell him that yes, they probably would. He laid on my shoulder & just started sobbing & sobbing, saying "no, they can't take the kitties". I sobbed along with him & all I could tell him was that I was so sorry. I know that this won't be the last time that my heart will break for one of my kids...but my heart hurt so badly for Cayden. He had grown to love these kitties so very much.
Throughout the night I tried to communicate everything with Cayden about the reasons why they had to take the cats, and also to make sure that he knew it wasn't his fault. I don't think the bite actually hurt him that badly, I think it was more the fact that he didn't understand why the Momma cat had bitten him. I tried to make sure that he knew that she wasn't bad, but that she was probably protecting her kittens.
The next day we called the animal control to come pick up the cats. We told Cayden to say his goodbyes to the kittens and we let him hold a couple before he left for school. He seemed to be handling it pretty well. Well...when he got home the animal shelter still hadn't come by to pick up the cats. So...because I was a little leary of the Momma cat now, we fed her some food by the garage & managed to get some of the kittens inside to pet. The longer the day went on the more the kids & I got attached to the kittens. We made a box up in the house with a blanket & let a couple of the kittens sleep there. And the kids were noticing the different personalities of each one...as well as naming each & every one of them. Blacky, whitey, tiger, & shy(for the gray one).
After several phone calls to the animal control, they finally arrived at about 4:30 in the afternoon. The Momma cat wouldn't even come near the guy, so he ended up setting a cage with food inside that would close when the cat got inside. He told me to call him when we caught the cat. Not 20 minutes later the cat was caught inside the cage, so I called the guy to come back. Cayden & Addyson gathered up all the kittens & put them inside our house in a box. Eric ran to get supper with the girls & soon after the animal control guy showed up. I told Cayden to start saying his goodbyes & ran into the living room crying. I then told him that I needed his help taking care of the kittens while I went outside to talk with the guy. That seemed to help him a lot.
Here is where my emotions got the best of me. I was really thinking hard about keeping a couple of the kittens & then later finding homes for them. I was just so upset that Eric was gone & that I had to make this decision by myself. I just wanted him home to make the decision for me...because I knew that I was just making an emotional decision. I asked the guy to stay until Eric got home with Addyson, because I knew she would be upset if she didn't get to say goodbye. When Eric showed up neither of us could decide what to do & were very close to keeping all of them. So I told him that I just needed him to decide what was best for our whole family...and that was easy, we couldn't keep any of them. I knew in my head that this was the right decision, my heart just wasn't there yet.
So the kids said goodbye & Cayden helped put the kittens in the cage. When the guy left Addyson & I went into the living room & she just started sobbing in my arms. I really didn't think that this was going to affect her as much as it did Cayden, but I think she had really gotten attached to the kittens that day too. Eric & Cayden came into the house & there Addyson & I were on the chair just sobbing. We actually couldn't get Addyson calmed down for about 45 minutes, she was so upset. But we finally got her to eat supper. That night before bed we didn't dare mention anything to Addyson about the kittens for fear of her getting upset again. But right before Eric got to her door she started crying again. No matter what we did or said she couldn't stop crying...I felt so bad for her. Eric finally got her to sleep by him and when he came out into the living room he said he was "emotionally exhausted".
We all miss our little kittens. For 4 short days they were a wonderful & fun part of our lives. But we talk a lot about how much fun we all had with them & what great memories we will have. About once a day Addyson will start crying out of the blue & say that she misses the kitties. And Cayden says he misses them too & wishes he could hold them again. And he is still holding out hope one day that we will get a kitten, and who knows, maybe that day will come.
But the most important part is that we got to see how much love our kids have in their hearts for animals. And that is the good that came out of the hurt. So here are a couple pictures of our adorable 5 kittens.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Our Little Girl
turned 4 years old on April 1. I can hardly believe it. She is such a sweet & loving little girl, and she melts our hearts when out of the blue she runs up with a big bear hug and says "I love you Mommy...I love you Daddy". She does this several times a day, and it makes me tear up each & every time. I always tell her that those are my favorite words to hear.
This year Addyson got to have several different birthday celebrations. She got to go birthday shopping with Grandma B. all by herself...which she loved!! She also got to pick out her birthday dinner while Grandma B. & Great Grandma W. were in town visiting...and much to Cayden's delight picked Chuck E. Cheese. We all had so much fun there. Then there was of course donuts for breakfast on the official day of her birthday. The kids got quite a kick out of the fact that Addyson was born on April Fool's Day...they were playing pranks on Mommy in the car. Then a trip to Applebee's for lunch with Grandma & Grandpa Dykstra. And finally the celebrations ended this past Saturday with her official party. We all headed over to Playworld, along with friends Grace & Ellie & my family, for a couple hours of play. The kids all had such a great time running around!! Then we headed back to our house for dinner, birthday cake, & presents.
Addyson actually requested this year that we not sing Happy Birthday to her. When we asked her why she replied that it makes her feel shy. She definitely does not like to be the center of everyone's attention. Hindsight...in past years when we brought the cake out and sang Happy Birthday she always clung to us and didn't want anyone to look at her. This year it went so much better b/c she wan't at all self conscious...I'm so glad that we know this information now!!
The attraction of the party was actually the cute little kittens that all the kids had to take turns passing around. I will post later about these adorable little kittens that were part of our family for a very short time.
Well...on with a couple pictures of our birthday girl! I hope to send more later of all her celebrations through Kodak.
Happy Birthday baby girl!!
This year Addyson got to have several different birthday celebrations. She got to go birthday shopping with Grandma B. all by herself...which she loved!! She also got to pick out her birthday dinner while Grandma B. & Great Grandma W. were in town visiting...and much to Cayden's delight picked Chuck E. Cheese. We all had so much fun there. Then there was of course donuts for breakfast on the official day of her birthday. The kids got quite a kick out of the fact that Addyson was born on April Fool's Day...they were playing pranks on Mommy in the car. Then a trip to Applebee's for lunch with Grandma & Grandpa Dykstra. And finally the celebrations ended this past Saturday with her official party. We all headed over to Playworld, along with friends Grace & Ellie & my family, for a couple hours of play. The kids all had such a great time running around!! Then we headed back to our house for dinner, birthday cake, & presents.
Addyson actually requested this year that we not sing Happy Birthday to her. When we asked her why she replied that it makes her feel shy. She definitely does not like to be the center of everyone's attention. Hindsight...in past years when we brought the cake out and sang Happy Birthday she always clung to us and didn't want anyone to look at her. This year it went so much better b/c she wan't at all self conscious...I'm so glad that we know this information now!!
The attraction of the party was actually the cute little kittens that all the kids had to take turns passing around. I will post later about these adorable little kittens that were part of our family for a very short time.
Well...on with a couple pictures of our birthday girl! I hope to send more later of all her celebrations through Kodak.
Happy Birthday baby girl!!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
My Life
So here it is...my very own blog. My life. My hopes. My fears. My frustrations. My funnies. My kids. My husband. And of course....My pictures. I hope this can be a place where I can share these things with family & friends both near and far. And most importantly I hope to share this with my children when they are all grown up, and they will be able to know Me. And we can all look back and smile, laugh, and maybe cry in remembering the years gone by.
So picture this...
My Life
So picture this...
My Life
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