i ask of you a favor

So, I have these friends. And although they may not know how special they are to me, they both have a special pocket in my heart that they fit right into.

 

They've had a curve ball thrown into their life, that has and is causing great pain and heartache. 

I think about them constantly and I ask that you pray with me for them.

 

I found this poem that hit me in the stomach. I hope I can be this kind of friend.

 

"Don't tell me that you understand,

Don't tell me that you know.

Don't tell me that I will survive,

How I will surely grow.

 

Don't tell me this is just a test,

That I am truly blessed,

That I am chosen for this task,

Apart from all the rest.

 

Don't come at me with answers

That can only come from me,

Don't tell me how my grief will pass...

That I shall soon be free.

 

Don't stand in pious judgment

Of the bonds I must untie.

Don't tell me how to suffer,

And don't tell me how to cry.

 

My life is filled with selfishness,

My pain is all I see,

But I need you, and I need your love...

Unconditionally.

 

Accept me in my ups and downs,

I need someone to share,

Just hold my hand and let me cry,

And say, "my friend, I care."

 

                     J. Hendel

 

 

 

a little risky

Last night Cody had a crazy idea. He suggested we all, as in all 5 of us, go out for supper at Pizza Ranch and then attempt to get groceries. GASP!! What?!? What the heck was he saying?? Did he seriously just say those words out loud???  It gave me anxiety just thinking about it, but (reluctantly)agreed. Our family doesn't typically risk taking the kids into public.  The twins used to go everywhere with us when they were little. But as they've gotten older and we've added Paxton into the mix, we usually try everything in our power to do things without having to take the kids. It's a catch 22 really. They don't have a lot of experience because we don't take them anywhere. But the reason we don't take them anywhere is because they can't seem to keep their behavior in control. You might think I'm joking, but this is typically what an outing with all the kids looks like:

Do you get why I cringe any time I think about taking the kids with me when I need to get something done? But last night, for some reason I was willing to risk it.

And I'm glad I did. Because we had a great night. The kids did great!! We enjoyed our dinner and our grocery trip looked less like the above and more like this:

Ok, so maybe it wasn't quite this beautiful, but I would definitely call our evening a success.

Go us!  =)

catch up

I guess we better be playing a little catch up here!  Get ready, because this is going to be a L-O-N-G post.

Let's go back to mid-December...

*December 13th. We started our Christmas festivities with the Finke Christmas in Slayton.

*When you forget winter clothes, you gotta get creative if you want to play outside.

*December 16. The day of Kenley's scheduled tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy. Because Ken was having her tonsils removed due to sleep apnea, they required her to stay one night in the hospital to  monitor while she slept.

she did very well that first day following surgery

she was actually quite thrilled that she could eat whatever-she-wanted! She loved herself some popsicles and chocolate smoothies :)



a friend from preschool sent her balloons for a speedy recovery

 

Kenley had a rough first night in the hospital, but that was to be expected. They rotated pain meds every three hours. The next morning however, she was not drinking as much as they wanted her to be. The dr. said this was common, but wouldn't discharge her until she started getting some fluids in. We started a sticker chart for her. She sure put the liquids down when she knew she was going to get to pick a piece of junk prize from the prize box! We were discharged mid-afternoon. The dr. said to keep her home for the first full week. He said she would have ups and downs, but having your tonsils removed is not an easy surgery and she is going to be in a lot of pain.  I think they try to prepare you, but in my opinion we could have never been prepared for what the next two weeks brought.

lots of cold drinks!

 

Kenley absolutely refused to take the prescription pain medication because of the taste. But when she decided she was going to refuse Tylenol and Motrin as well, then we were in trouble. When her pain was not in control, she also was not taking anything orally. On day 6 post-op, all we had was horrendous screaming, uncontrolled pain, vomiting/nausea, and dehydration. After calling the nurse, she ended up in the emergency room.

I'm sure the ER nurses thought we were crazy when I told them "she's refusing meds." I'm sure some of you are thinking that too....Um, hello, she's only four, right?  But if you know our Kenley-girl, you have an understanding of what refusals look like.  I think the nurses agreed with me, when it took 3 of us to hold her down (and let me tell you, it still wasn't pretty) just to get her to take some medication. After a couple of hours, she started perking up, had a popsicle, went to the bathroom, and we were out of there.

 

Thankfully we were on Christmas break by this time, but it took a full two weeks before we could finally say we were "done" with recovery. I don't wish that on anyone :(

 

 

*December 17th. Preschool Christmas Program.  I was heartbroken that Kenley couldn't participate in her program, but even more heartbroken that I wasn't able to be there to see Kaden either. Daddy and the grandmas were able to attend, so he probably didn't even know I wasn't there :)



 

 

*December 19th.  My birthday.  After spending the week with Kenley, my parents offered to watch the kids so we could go out and I could have a break. So thankful for that!!  Me and Cody, my sister and my brother in law went out for dinner, followed by TheDistrict to watch the band Goodroad. I very much enjoyed my night :)

 

 

 

*The Larsons came home for Christmas.  For me, time seems to stand still in between our visits. However, even on the east coast, this little guy just continues to grow and changes so much.

 

 

*Cody's mom has always had Christmas on Christmas Eve morning. The past couple of years, we have spent the night there the night before. This seriously, is one of my favorite nights of the year. I love spending this time with Cody's siblings and then the kids get to crawl out of bed in the morning, still in their pajamas for the excitement of it all.



 

 

*Christmas Eve

 

 

 

*Christmas Day.  We had Christmas with my immediate family.



 

 

*December 26th. Christmas with Cody's dad.



I had a vision of new "pretend play" area for the kids. Cody and his dad were able to take my thoughts and build this fantastic farmers market. I couldn't have been more thrilled with how it turned out and the kids absolutely love it!

 

 

*December 26-28th.  As part of our family's Christmas present, my parents booked the weekend at the Ramkota in Sioux Falls. It was all about the kids, and they had a BLAST!   



 

 

*December 28th. Christmas at my Grandma's in Windom. It was a small gathering with pizza for lunch, but it was perfect nonetheless. 



 

 

After all of our Christmas excitement, we were able to be home for 3 days and try to get ourselves back together. But not for long :)

 

*January 1st.  Cody and I along with our friends, Marc and Jo, took a trip out to the Hills for a little snowmobile trip.  I'll be honest, I wasn't necessarily looking forward to this trip. Ok, I was DREADING it.  I hadn't been on a snowmobile since the winter before I was pregnant with the twins. My body has changed a good bit and my anxiety is also not where it was pre-mama. But the boys were great. They took it slow and it was a relaxing trip. I actually enjoyed it (shhh...don't tell Marcus).

 

*January 5th.  School resumed and it was back to getting that schedule into place...or so we thought. That week, due to weather, we had one early dismissal, two late starts, and a snow day.  In my opinion, it was an easy way to transition back into the routine :)

 

So here we are, mid January.  How did that happen?

 

 

***i told you it was going to be long.  hopefully you are all still awake ;)