BIRTHDAY-PUMPKIN PATCH WEEKEND..........

Every year the family gets together for our annual trip to the pumpkin patch and then to celebrate Sherri and I's birthday.  This year was no exception and we had a blast!  When Raelynn was little, Aunt Sherri  lived close and they would always do crafty things or cook treats with her.  Since they moved to Scott City though, they never get to do that anymore.  This weekend Sherri decided to make Halloween goodies with the kids.  They loved it.  As I cleaned up the house today after they left, I couldn't help but smile as I cleaned "sticky" up off the floor.  They had so much fun and I think Sherri did too.  That is worth any mess!  We had fun at Schaake's as usual.  It is a great place!So great family weekend for sure!!!  The pictures show just that!!!

Hunter and Daddy

Cody and Steph

Steph showing off Baby Harms-Halloween Style!

Hunter found his pumpkin

The Smith's

Coop and Daddy

Karli and Mom

Group Hug!

Off to find the perfect pumpkin

Granny and the Grandkids

The Harms

The Smith's

The Keefer's

The Whole Gang!

And Let the mess begin!

Last week was a busy week!  Coop had his first basketball practice on Monday and he was sooooo excited.  Terry helped with practice and I think Coop really loved that!

Tuesday was Raelynn's Light's On performance.  Through the Boys and Girls Club all sites compete for the "Trophy".  This year was "Through the Decades".  Deerfield performed a GREAT dance!  This was Raelynn's first year to compete and she did great.  It was a lot of fun to watch.  I continue to be surprised how much more outgoing Raelynn is becoming.

Notice the tongue, hmmm who does that remind you of?

Thursday was my birthday, yaaaaaaaay!  I turned 29 again this year!  It was a pretty good day and I got a little more spoiled which I always like :)

Tonight Terry and the kids had to carve those pumpkins we got!  They did great and we will post more pics of their talents on Halloween!

The past week has wrapped  up and the new week begins............

Oh and if you didn't notice.....our little girl is growing up!

WONDERFUL WEEKEND OF APPRECIATING EVERY SECOND...........

There is a family that contacted me through CCF.  They had a beautiful baby girl in September, born with heart defects.  She had already undergone 2 open heart surgeries and was on ECMO.  I corresponded with the Dad a few times on Facebook and had stopped by CMH to drop them off a little gift, but I have never met them directly.  The day Raelynn and I dropped off the gift I guess we passed them in the hall but I did not realize it until we had left and I received a facebook message from the Dad.  They are a young but strong couple who you could easily tell LOVED their little girl with all their hearts.  I am always especially touched by those who are currently going through surgeries and who have had to encounter ECMO because I think my heart relates to them so much.  If you remember, ECMO is a full life support system they use for heart kids when needed.  It is not something you ever want to have to rely on and usually used in the dire of cases.  Coop was on ECMO for 6 days.  When he went on he had a 25% chance of survival.  Coop was 6 months old.  When he was on ECMO, there were 4 other kids also on ECMO.  One by one, we watched as each little one was weened from ECMO and died.  Coop was the last to come off and I don't think they really expected him to make it.  I remember one day in particular while he was on ECMO when they had the hospital parishioner come in and talk to me.  It was by far one of the most difficult days we spent there.  Miraculously Coop did survive and he never looked back, but I can't say that there aren't times I still think about that day and the tears still flow.  On Friday night I learned that this sweet, strong baby girl was now a beautiful angel and I could not help but cry.  They had posted many pics of her and her beautiful eyes just smiled.  I cried for them, knowing that she was in a better place and no longer in pain, but I cried for her Mom and Dad.  It brought back all the fears we have felt over the last 5 years.  I brought back all the pain we felt thinking about the unthinkable, but most of all it screamed to me that they were facing what I feared most in this world and that was the loss of a child.  I wanted to hug them and I wanted to tell them how sorry I was for them and I wanted to tell them that she was in a better place but I know those are just words.  Most of all I wanted to thank them for giving us all one more angel to watch over us.  She looked like an angel here on Earth, I can only imagine what a beautiful angel she is now.  I hope these two young parents find strength in her and each other.  I hope they realize that what they have learned in the last month is more than they have ever learned in their lifetime and more than most people will ever learn.  I hope they remember to think of each other and remember they are the only 2 on Earth that share this exact experience and even though others can relate, they are the only 2 who share the love of their beautiful angel as parents.  I pray for them both and thank them for yet another reminder of how lucky we really are.

I really think it was because of this that Saturday was such a great day.  We started the day out bright and early.  I got up and ran as usual but Saturday we had to be in Topeka by 8:30am so Raelynn could join Aunt Bonnie for a fashion show and horse demonstration.  We had just got on the road.  I was enjoying the kids and we were being silly and crazy.  We had the radio cranked and were singing and car dancing.  Unfortunately our fun was ended abruptly when the car coming towards me flipped on his lights and flipped around behind me.  Yep, a cop!  I was so embarrassed to be stopped with my kids and knew I was going 5mph above the speed limit bur REALLY?!  Weellllll, I guess the speed limit wasn't what I thought it was and instead of 5 over I was 15!!!!!!  On top of that, I couldn't find my insurance nor could I  pull it up on my phone.  The Police Officer was so sweet.  I was laughing and told him what I did for a living and he found that funny!  As he took my license and headed back to his car I told the kids I was sorry and that this was going to put a little damper on the shopping we were going to do later that afternoon.  Cooper responded by saying, "Well if he gives you a ticket you deserve it.  You shouldn't have been having so much fun!"  Sometimes that little goodie-2-shoes really annoys me!  Hahahaha!  Raelynn's only response was, "I am sooooo going to tell Dad!"  Anyway, the Officer came back with a smile on his face and told me he just gave me a warning because my birthday was in a few days!!!!  How do I get so lucky!?  Anyway, needless to say I thanked him, the kids thanked him and I drove the speed limit the rest of the way! Raelynn had a wonderful time with Aunt Bonnie as usual and Coop and I got to hang out with Aunt Steph and Uncle Cody.  It was truly an awesome day.  I love being with them and it just seemed especially nice to be there.  We spent all day and really didn't even want to leave when we did but it was getting late and we were getting tired.  Raelynn stayed and then went with Aunt Karli to a late movie and sleep over.  About 10:30pm, after Coop was in bed and Terry was asleep on the couch, I got this horrible feeling.  I was terrified about Raelynn being at a late movie in Topeka.  I began to cry and text Karli to see how they were doing.  Finally about 11:30 or 12 she text me back and they were crawling into bed.  I cannot tell you how relieved I was.  I have no idea what came over me but I was so scared.  I just kept thinking about all the bad things that could happen and I got carried away.  At one point I thought about how we have prepared ourselves so many times in regards to losing Cooper, but I never think about losing Raelynn which could happen just as easily.  I think my emotions just got the best of me.  I know we can't approach every day and every event in our lives with fear and I would never allow myself to, but sometimes, those fears are hard to push back.

Today has been a good day too but went by entirely too fast!  I have a long list still incomplete but what is not on the incomplete list is time with my family, showing love to my children or telling them how much I love them.  Those things will never be on my list of what did not get done but they will ALWAYS be on my daily To Do List.  They will always sit right on top and be the first to be checked off.

MULTI TASKING..........

I live and breathe multitasking.  From the second my alarm goes off until I crash at night, I am constantly doing multiple things at once.  I feel blessed to be able to do so but also wonder how one would manage without the ability to multitask.  Today was one of those days that I felt like I was doing 100 things and to my amazement I almost managed to complete them all.  Tonight, while sitting on a hay bale in a barn with Raelynn giggling as she had her riding lesson, I manage to return 13 emails, reply to multiple text messages, research some medicine alternatives for Coop, schedule 4 appointments and make 3 phone calls!  I LOVE TECHNOLOGY!  This is the time of year I start to go on overload. I mean we have Halloween and all that goes along with that, Thanksgiving, Coop's Bday, Karli's Bday, Steph's Bday, Christmas and ALL that goes along with that and that is just the holiday stuff!  Don't get me wrong, I love every second of it but tonight in a matter of 20 seconds I made 7 separate lists of "To Do".  Anyway, my point is things are about to get crazy business and although it is all awesome, it makes things like updating this blog harder to do but more important than ever!

Raelynn is having such an outstanding week.  It is one of those weeks that it seems she is applying every suggestion/advice I have ever given her.  She is being so mature and taking responsibility for everything.  She is coming home and getting everything done without even being asked or reminded.  We have had some very grown up conversations about government, gun violence, her brother's medical condition and much more.  I asked her tonight why the change in her this week and she said, "What?  I just decided things were a lot easier if you just got things done.  Besides, you let me watch a lot more TV when I act like this!"  Well I don't know if I liked that I was letting her watch more TV but to know that she was finally recognizing the benefits of good behavior was a relief.  Even watching her at practice tonight, I found myself just watching loving what I was seeing but also realizing how much she is growing up.  I really think this age is a big transition period and I didn't realize it would be.  I also find myself wondering if my Mom would just sit and watch in awe at our development like I find myself doing with Raelynn.  I find her so interesting and am always re-evaluating situations we have been through to think how I could have handled it better or differently to hopefully prepare myself to situations we will encounter in the future.  I find myself fearing the preteen years but I think it is just because I cannot imagine our relationship to be strained.  I just hope I can continue to look at every situation from her prospective as much as from mine.  It always helps me to find the right words and feelings to relate to her.  I consider everything we go through just practice for the years ahead.  They say practice makes perfect but I don't want perfect I just want good enough that at the end of the day, we still hug and laugh and know that we are each others biggest fan!

Regardless what I have learned from my parenting Raelynn, with Cooper it is like starting with a blank slate.  He is amazing.  He is so happy and full of life.  He is sweet and caring but rough and tough.  He loves life and a big part of his life is school.  He is doing great and every day there is a new friend or story or experience for him to share with us.  He, too, is growing up.  He is such a miracle and I try never to forget that.  It is hard sometimes to eve remember Coop's medical challenges.  There are other times that his medical challenges seem to consume a lot of my time. The funny things is, I never really mind.  I often wonder if that is because I don't really get too worked about anything when it comes to the kids or if it is because when I look at him I see the miracle he truly is.

As a family we have had some really fun times in the past couple weeks.

JDRF Walk in KC

FUN FALL WEEKEND.......

And here we are again, facing a Monday and starting the count down to the weekend once again.  I cannot even imagine how hard it would be to go to work if I didn't like my job!  I love my job, it's just that I really love my family.  Weekends=Family and Friends and well, how can anything compare with that?!

This weekend was great.  We started our Saturday off with a Lemonade, Hot Apple Cider and Cookie stand at our neighbor's garage sale.  The kids had a blast and it really was a pretty good time.  They raised about $100 to donate to CCF which we are all pretty sure may have had a few extra donations from our neighbors than just based on their sales.

After that we headed home to clean and the fall decorations out.  With a Cinnamon pumpkin candle burning, a cool day and the kids running around it was a perfect fall afternoon!

Coop had a sleepover with Aunt Karli, who of which he now calls "your sister" when he is talking about her to me.  They went to a fair and then played.  He had so much fun.  That left Raelynn, Terry and I to entertain one another.  The funny thing is that just removing one factor from the equation makes it all very different.  About 7pm we went to Chipolte and brought dinner back home.  Then we watched a scary movie and then laid around for another hour.  About 10pm Raelynn wandered to bed.  It was like we didn't even have a schedule and we did all the things Coop did not like.  We had a fun night but also realized that if Raelynn was an only child she would be really spoiled because she had our entire attention which doesn't happen very often.

Today started off bright and early at church and then it was off to the pumpkin patch with Raelynn's Brownie Troop followed by Orange Leaf for one of our dearest friend's birthday.  It was a great day but like most great days it went by way too fast.

Looking ahead we have a crazy busy week.  Raelynn is back to riding lessons every Wednesday, Monday is Brownie Meeting, Tuesday is an after work appointment and PTO.  Beyond that I am not looking!  I have been slacking a little on my own nutrition so I am turning my focus there again and with the kids' constant laughter and our crazy schedule it should be plenty of motivation and other things to focus on.  Raelynn is focusing on her Math studies and good behavior.  Coop is focusing on........well I never got a straight answer from him but I am pretty sure it was on his progressive silliness!