Wilkins World

2012-02-11T07:29:00.002-06:00

I figured out how to add more people so if you're still interested, comment, text or email me your current email address and I'll get you added :)
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Lock-Down

2012-02-01T06:43:00.000-06:00

I'm going into lock-down mode: on the blog, FB and in real life. I'm not sure how long it will last. There won't be anymore posts on this blog, at least for a while. I have, however, created a new blog which is open by invitation only. I just have to enter an email address for anyone who wants to read about our lives. I can also be much more open again on that blog if I chose to because I have control over who sees the information. If you've expressed interest in the past and sent me an email, I'll probably give you access. (Up to the first 100 people because that's how many emails it take) Just give me a few days to get it done. I'll send an email giving you the link to the new site. If you don't get an email and want access, just send me a text or an email with your information.
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2012-01-31T06:53:00.000-06:00

Thinking of my younger brother today who is having surgery in Florida. I don't get to see him very often because he lives so far away but he's always close to my heart. :)

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Only Bullet Points

2012-01-30T06:06:00.000-06:00

Everything I want to write about today, I can't. Here's the bullet points......
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My brother-in-law Dan's sister died yesterday.
Court for the little one is on Wednesday.
I'm extremely disappointed about something important to me.
Brittney's been obnoxious and throwing teenage tantrums for about three days.
I found out some current disturbing information about the boys' birthmom.

It feels like too much this week.
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Riley

2012-01-28T08:50:00.000-06:00

This is just for the relatives that were interested:

Riley's grades were awesome! All A's & B's
Math - B
Reading - B
Spelling - B
Language - A
Science/Health - A
Social Studies - A
Art - S+
Music - S
PE - S+
Technology - S
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Emotional Day

2012-01-28T08:30:00.000-06:00

I had a complete meltdown yesterday. Crying and everything. Thankfully, it was near the end of the day and not at the begining. I think it was a combination of personal issues I'm dealing with, combined with listening to case after case of children who need their parents to step up to the plate and be parents. Uggggggg. I was angry and my heart was heavy at the end of the day anyway and then Dawn reminded me that it was her last meeting with us. I think it was the final straw to my day. I don't do well with change and I certainly don't do well with losing someone. So I went home and had a meltdown. Later, I saw my mother-in-law and she asked me where Dawn was moving and I had to tell her she wasn't even going out of town. She just accepted a new position and I won't be working as closely with her anymore. Good grief. Thankfully, I texted a friend who knew exactly what my real issue was about. She picked me up and listened to me vent for an hour or so, offered a sympathetic ear and good advice. Then I was able to go back home, accept a big hug from my husband and parent my children. Now this morning I can function normally again.
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My Amazing Husband

2012-01-27T05:48:00.000-06:00

My husband is amazing. I'm lucky to have him. And no, he isn't hacking into the blog. I work with challenging kids almost 24/7 and sometimes I just need a break. Even if it's just a small one. Yesterday was an especially difficult afternoon at work and at the end of the day I informed my husband that I was going out for supper with my friends/co-workers. He didn't even flinch. He stayed home, fed the kids and got them ready for bed. I wasn't out late but it gave me back just enough sanity to go into the Social Service meetings today with a clear head and a refreshed heart.
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High School Orientation

2012-01-23T21:14:00.000-06:00

So I was sick last night and Steve was sick this morning. I guess everyone got it but Brittney. We gave it to her friend who spent the weekend with us instead.
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I survived the day, all the kids after-school events and even made it to Brittney's High School orientation tonight. I actually felt pretty good by about 3pm this afternoon so everything after that was easy. It was fun to visit with other parents and some of my previous teachers at the high school. We were some of the last parents to leave because I kept chatting. And I claim to be anti-social :)
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Good News/Bad News

2012-01-22T19:13:00.000-06:00

The good news is that Brittney's cheer team took 3rd place at the competition today.
The bad news is that Anthony got sick and threw up at the competition.
The good news is that with each kid the flu has only lasted for about 12 hours.
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Today :( and :)

2012-01-22T15:35:00.000-06:00

Today didn't have the best beginning with Riley and Taylor both throwing up. They've continued to sleep and throw up all day. I sent Steve's mom with him to Brittney's cheer competition in Sioux Falls and they also took Anthony. My sister came and picked up the little one because she kept trying to get into the bathroom with everyone else. She'll keep her until Steve gets back from SF. That means I was only left with 2 sick kids and Zeke. Everyone's asleep now except for me so I thought I'd get some laundry done and post a quick update.
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Riley spoke to his birth mom yesterday for the first time in 5 years. It went well. It looks like we'll be able to continue the conversations and possibly meet with her this spring. I didn't get involved in the conversation other than to be in the room with him in case he needed me and to monitor his end of the phone call. At the conclusion of the call, he gave me a big hug. Later in the day he told me he really misses his mom. He's got a lot to process and I only hope I can give him the support he needs.
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Riley

2012-01-21T06:37:00.000-06:00

Our oldest son Riley is 10. We adopted him at age 5. He had been in foster care for almost a year. He wants to talk to his "old" mom. I understand. So last night, I requested her phone number and today he'll call her. I'll post about the response but I probably won't get too specific because ultimately it's between him and her.
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2012-01-20T17:30:00.000-06:00

Intervention

2012-01-20T08:52:00.000-06:00

After some wonderful intervention by family and friends, I'm definitely not crabby anymore.
*My co-worker gave me a hug for no reason other than she knew I was having a rough day. Anyone who knows me well knows I don't generally do hugs but there are a few safe people out there who hug extremely well and Laurie is one of them.
*My mother-in-law made me an entire banana cream pie (my favorite!) just because she knew I was having a rough week.
*My mom babysat last night so Steve and I could spend some time together after my board meeting. We don't have much time together and what little time we have is either taken up with children or we're too tired to talk. We were able to just sit and visit for a little while.
*Later last night, I was able to spend time with a friend that understands exactly what I'm going through. It was nice to have an understanding ear and some good advice.
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Today it's snowing and blowing so I cancelled our two Sioux Falls appointments and the little one and I are just hanging out at home today. We might clean and organize, we might snuggle and play, we might do nothing at all but stay warm and read a book :)
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Crabby

2012-01-19T06:18:00.001-06:00

I'm officially still crabby. At least I finally figured out exactly what's making me irritated. Turns out, it's something that makes me sad but I didn't even realize it at the time. Anthony's therapist told him one time that anger is what happens when sad and afraid are hiding and can't come out. Pretty smart therapist.
Without getting into specifics, someone important to me won't be around anymore and it's apparently affecting me more than I thought. They weren't terribly accessible before but now they will be even less so, and I will probably never see them again in person (not by my choice). Before anyone panics, I'm not refering to the little one.
So that's the gist of why I'm having a bad week. If I had my choice, I'd stay home and bury myself in bed with a good book until spring :)
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Taylor's Cheerleading

2012-01-18T06:06:00.001-06:00

On Saturday, Taylor and 144 other girls participated in a cheerleading clinic put on by the high school cheerleaders. Her teacher is the head sideline cheerleading coach, so that made it extra-special for Tay. Then last night, they were all invited to attend the boys basketball game and cheer at half-time. That's them in the sea of white shirts! I won't even try to tell you where Taylor is because she's so hard to see. She's the one in the white shirt and black pants. lol!

Thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law, Steve and I used the game as an excuse for a date. She watched all the other kids and Taylor sat with her group, so we got to sit together without any kids and enjoy watching Taylor and the game.

More Pictures From St Paul

2012-01-18T05:56:00.000-06:00

Zeke & Taylor playing Wii in the waiting room

Messing around in the exam room

On the computer in the exam room,

the intern played some of the older videos of Zeke's analysis

Just waiting for the doctor

Gotcha Day

2012-01-16T07:05:00.002-06:00

Sometimes I'm vague in my posts because legally I have to be and sometimes I'm vague because I've been hurt by blogging to openly. Even though someone reading may not always know exactly what I'm discussing, God can still use the words to speak to something other than what I'm directly refering to. An example would be the verse that I posted yesterday. I intentionally wrote it without any explanation or reference because what I needed to hear from God yesterday might be different from what someone else needs to hear from God when they read it.
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That being said, sometimes I'm not vague at all and today is one of those days. Since Steve and I both have the day off and I have a few minutes and only three kids awake so far, I intended to answer the question that has been posed to me many times - How do you keep up with so much laundry and not have it laying all over your house, especially when you're working almost full time? Good question. And someday I might answer it. But yesterday someone asked me a simple question that I had a hard time answering so I decided to write about it. If you don't like what I say, tough! Read someone else's blog :)
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The question was refering to our boys and was something to the effect of "What was their gotcha day?". For anyone not well-versed in adoption lingo, "gotcha day" can refer either to the day that the adopted child came into the home or the day the adoption was finalized. In the adoption community, it's considered a wonderful and happy event to be celebrated year after year like a birthday. We never celebrated "gotcha day" while I was growing up but I had friends that did. While they were little, they seemed to like it. What kids wouldn't like being celebrated, right?
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We don't celebrate a "gotcha day" in our current household either and I'm about explain why. First, let me reiterate that it's only my opinion and if you don't like it just cruise on to another blog. Also, I arrived at my opinion with 37 years of experience as an adopted child, friendships with other adoptees, 6 years as an adoptive parent and quite a few years in the foster parenting world working with biological families. This post won't leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling about adoption.
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So let's really think about "gotcha day". What does it say to the child? We are celebrating our gain and someone else's loss. You should be happy that you are in our world, whether you wanted to or not. On this day in time, as a celebration is going on here, someone else's heart may be breaking. And I'm not just refering to biological parents who may or may not have made some bad choices (involuntary termination of parental rights as is usually seen in foster/adopt) or have had to make some hard decisions (voluntary termination of parental rights in infant adoption). I'm also refering to biological siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc who will never get to experience the life of that child and who may not have even had a say in where that child would end up.
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Am I happy that my parents adopted me. Yes!
Do I still have an enormous feeling of loss concerning my biological family. Yes!
Do my boys feel the same way? I know for a fact Riley does. We've talked about the conflicting feelings many times. He knows it's safe to talk about his family with me. I never say anything negative about his family.
Do members of their biological family miss them incredibly? Definitely! They didn't think they'd ever see them again after termination. Fortunately, we've been able to bridge a lot of that gap with letters, phone calls, visits and even Skype. We try to maintain connections.
Do I currently see the incredible pain that is associated with termination of parental rights, regardless of the situation? Yes!
Do I think our boys and our foster child are better off in our family? I really don't know. I hope we are giving them some good tools to help them grow into adulthood. As an adoptive parent, it would be easy to see the bright side of adoption and how we are giving them a better life. In fact, I get that response a lot when people find out we've adopted and are doing foster care. But it isn't about us. It's about the child. And all I know right now is that along with the happiness, there's a lot of pain. But I firmly believe that by acknowledging the pain, it helps everyone involved.
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So that is the long version of why we don't celebrate a "gotcha day". We DO tell all of our children that we're glad they're a part of our family. We DON'T tell them that we're happy God gave them to us. I don't need any children angry at God for ripping their family apart. Sometimes things happen as a result of choices being made by people and God simply lets his people live with the consequences. It happened the first time in the garden of Eden and continues to this day.
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Sometimes our kids like being a part of our family and sometimes they don't, both bio and adopted. That's all part of being a family. At the end of the day, all of our kids will know they have a warm house, enough food to eat and somewhere safe where they will always be accepted.
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2012-01-15T08:00:00.001-06:00

II Cor 12:9-10

But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you,

for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,

so that Christ's power may rest on me.

New Arrival

2012-01-14T19:01:00.000-06:00

Our family thankfully welcomes a new cousin into the family today after a day of prayerfully waiting!!!
Baby Anna Johnson was born at 5:30pm to my cousin Cory and his wife Tabatha.
She arrived a couple months before her due date and is a tiny peanut weighing in at just 3 lbs 15 oz but both mom and baby are doing well!
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Priorities

2012-01-14T06:19:00.000-06:00

It's been said that anyone can easily tell where your priorities are by looking at your calendar and your checkbook. I think you could also add by checking the history of your computer. It's true - check it out! You might learn more about yourself than you care too :) What would someone learn about you by checking those three places? Is that how you really want to spend your time and money? Is that how you want to be remembered when you're gone? Are the things you're investing in long-lasting or just temporary? Are you investing in things or people?
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Sometimes I have to remind myself what life is all about, regardless of what anyone else does.
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Today

2012-01-14T06:10:00.000-06:00

Brittney has been dropped off at the high school to head to Pierre today for a Varsity Gymnastics meet. They left at 6am and will return sometime tonight. Brit thinks it won't be too late since there are only 6 schools competing today.
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Taylor will be going to the high school at 8:30am for a cheerleading clinic.
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Zeke has a special date tonight with one of his special olympic coaches. She's taking him out for supper and then to a hockey game.
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Steve's working at the bank from 8-12 today but has the weekend off from Swiftel.
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My goals for the weekend are few: clean the office and finish lots of laundry!
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Stir with a Knife

2012-01-14T05:09:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I think about the oddest things. I wonder if my children will grow up thinking that the correct way to stir coffe is with a knife?
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I remember having coffee with some of my friends at Perkins last year, back when we used to meet every Friday morning. Without even thinking, I grabbed a knife to stir my coffee and then found myself explaining why. The simple reason is that spoons are a commodity at our house. Between all the breakfast cereal and regular meals, there aren't a lot of spoons left at the end of the day. So a few years ago when I couldn't find a clean spoon I just grabbed a knife. By the next day, I was convinced that it was just as easy to stir my creamer with a knife - and there was always one in the drawer! So from then on, I've used a knife to stir my coffee. But I've never taken the time to explain why to my children. This morning as I was stirring, I was having visions of my adult children arguing with a spouse about the "proper" way to stir coffee!
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Appointment Recap

2012-01-13T06:07:00.000-06:00

Now that I've had some sleep, here's the latest:

Zeke's appointment with his orthopedic surgeon went really well. She's pleased with how well he's doing and how everything looks. I can discontinue his physical therapies at the hospital, unless we decide he needs them again. I turned in the wheelchair since he doesn't need it at all anymore and he has clearance to go without his walker. He'll continue physical therapy at school twice a week and will use the walker for longer distances if he needs/wants to use it. He'll also be playing basketball once a week and I'll continue to do stretches at home with him. I'll take him to his doctor in Sioux Falls in a couple of months for his next checkup and just to check in with her because we don't have to go back to St Paul until August!
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Both Zeke and Taylor had a good time on the trip. We arrived in St Paul around 6pm Wednesday evening and left town around 4pm Thursday. Zeke's appointment wasn't until 1:15pm Thursday and were out of the clinic by 2:30pm so I was hoping to connect with someone while we were there but they couldn't make it work. If I was being honest, I'd say that I was really disappointed. But since I don't feel like being honest anymore because it hurts too much, so I'll say that it didn't bother me at all and go on with life.
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The roads were ok driving back so we were home by 8pm last night. All the kids were excited to see me, except Anthony, who is spending the night with Grandma Connie & Grandpa Larry. I have to admit, my favorite was the little one, who jumped right into my arms and kept saying, "Mommy, mommy, mommy!" She wouldn't let me put her down. Everytime I tried, she cried. And I thought she didn't miss me! I fell into bed soon after we got home and didn't get up until 5am this morning.
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Now to get all the kids ready and off to school and daycare so I can make it to Headstart by 8am. I'll jump in with my co-workers and we'll head to Madison for our in-service training all day.
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Wednesday night in St Paul

2012-01-12T11:08:00.000-06:00

Watching TV while waiting for Dominos pizza

to be delivered to our hotel room.

Time in the hot tub after supper.

Now we're off to the hospital.

St Paul

2012-01-11T20:41:00.000-06:00

After a rough start on icy roads with lots of blowing snow, Zeke, Taylor and I all arrived safely in St Paul, MN. The trip that normally takes us 4 hours ended up taking 6 hours. Zeke's checkup with his surgeon is scheduled for tomorrow at 1pm.
I'll post more tomorrow when I'm not so exhausted.
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Thankful

2012-01-10T06:46:00.000-06:00

This morning, I began to get frustrated about all the kids items that had been left laying around the house. Then I came upon this little pair of shoes.

I realized how lost I would feel if I came home one day and there was no little girl to leave her little shoes by the door.

So today I'm thankful, even for items left laying around.

2012-01-09T06:18:00.001-06:00

Riley at the rink

Taylor iceskating

Anthony at an SDSU basketball game with me

Staci & Sandy with the cake Staci made.

Part of Brittney's gymnastic team at the last meet

Brittney getting an award.

She's the one in black.

Waiting for competition

My dad playing Just Dance 3 with Riley on Christmas Eve

Family Updates

2012-01-08T08:13:00.001-06:00

I've been very sporadic about blogging lately. I decided with the few minutes I have this morning, I'd just give a few updates on the kids:

Brittney competed in floor in the Varsity gymnastics meet yesterday. She scored an 8.5 and felt like it was one of her best routines. She has practice every night after school until 6pm and competitions most weekends and sometimes on weekdays. Her next gymnastics meet is in Madison on Friday evening.
Brittney's also on the senior team for Wildfire Cheerleading. She loves it but sometimes feels alone as the only 8th grader on the team. Her first competition for cheer is in Sioux Falls on the 22nd.
Brittney's new sport is hockey. No, she isn't playing - just watching. She purchased a hockey season pass this year and has definitely gotten her money's worth. There just might be a special someone that she goes to watch but I'm not allowed to say :)
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Riley has been playing basketball on Mondays and Tuesdays, going to piano lessons on Mondays and just signed up for Little League Baseball again in the spring. We're debating signing him up for wrestling or hockey. Brittney took him to open iceskate at the rink the other day for the first time and he was skating like a pro. The older kids there asked if he played hockey. I'm just not sure if our family could handle the financial and time committments of hockey, so we'll see.
Riley's done amazing this year in school and loves to help in the nursery at church. He's so good with the little ones and they love him!
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Taylor is also participating in basketball and piano. She and Riley play on the same days but at different times, so it's sometimes a challenge to get everyone to their spot on time. She loves to read books, listen to music and help in the nursery at church and hang out with me, but her all-time favorite activity is still socializing with her friends.
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Zeke will be starting Special Olympics basketball on Monday. In addition to his therapy at school, I take him to the hospital twice a week for physical therapy. He and I will go back to St Paul on Thurs 12th for a check-up. He seems to be doing amazingly well after surgery. We no longer use the wheelchair and he only uses the walker for long distances and at school when he might be easily distracted and fall down. I still do exercises with him every morning and some nights (I should be doing them every night, but sometimes life gets in the way) We try to keep him as active as possible to speed the recovery process along. He continues to wear his leg/foot braces when he walks.
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Anthony is doing excellent at school academically. He's smart and most subjects seem to come easily to him. The other day, Taylor asked me how to spell a long word and before I could respond, Anthony spelled it for her. He still struggles with authority and getting along with others. Ironically, all the kids in his class really seem to like Anthony, and thankfully, he doesn't seem to have any really violent tendencies. Which is good because he is a very angry little boy right now. In fact, if you ask him why we take him to Sioux Falls every week to see his therapist, Christine, he'll matter-of-factly tell you it's "because I have anger issues."
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The Little One is doing well but of course I can't say much about her. Here's what I can tell you. We just got to celebrate her second birthday. She's still with us and still in foster care. The next court date is in a month. She isn't able to be adopted at this point in time.
Isn't that just a ton of information?
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Steve is loving his job with 1st Bank & Trust. He works Mon-Fri from 7:45am to 4:45pm, with an hour for lunch. He's recently started working out over his lunch hour since the bank will pay for the membership. He's also been putting in quite a few hours at the Swiftel Center. Friday, he went right from the bank at 5pm and worked at Swiftel until 1am, then turned around and went back to Swiftel at 10am. So yesterday and today, he'll be at Swiftel from 10am until 10pm. He's saving the extra money to find a different vehicle for himself.
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ME.......I don't know what I'm doing. I told the physical therapists at the hospital that I was taking off my Super Mom cape and throwing it away. That was after missing two of Zeke's physical therapy appointments in a row. This whole Christmas vacation I was scrambling, trying to cover everything with all the kids. Obviously, I didn't do a very good job.
After a two week Christmas break, I'm back working at Headstart with kids who have special needs, although I seem to work with all the kids in the classroom at one time or another. Even if they're not on IEP's, a majority of the kids enrolled in the program have some sort of special need. I'm blessed to work with some wonderful teachers and I continue to learn new techniques from them every day. I'm there Mon - Thurs from 8:15am - 3:45pm, and occasional Fridays. This past Friday we had class and this Friday we have an in-service in Madison.
It's been a bit of a struggle (ok, a big struggle) for me lately because I'm trying to work through a lot of emotions concerning our little one. When something consumes my thoughts, all I want to do is curl up in my bed and read a good book, hoping that will keep my mind off all the things my mind wants to dwell on. Which would probably work well if I didn't have 6 kids :)
So a big thank you to all the friends and family that have chipped in and help deliver kids where they need to go and those who have had to listen to me vent about life. I couldn't do it without you!
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PS: My amazing husband willingly spent Thursday evening with 9 kids, including feeding them supper, so I could go out to eat with my friends!
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The Real News

2012-01-06T06:45:00.002-06:00

The news clip of our family the other day showed a peaceful family playfully enjoying a board game together. If there was a camera in our house this morning, it would show:

Brittney pounding on the bathroom door and screaming at the top of her lungs at Riley to get out of the bathroom.
Taylor yelling at Zeke because he's not using the right bowl for breakfast.
Anthony telling Riley to "shut his butt" and then screaming and crying that everyone is calling him a baby.

Etc.........

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Back to School

2012-01-05T06:10:00.000-06:00

The kids are back in school and so am I. Headstart began just one day after the older kids went back to school. I've got some stories and lots of pictures that I need to post but time seems to be getting away from me again. I told Steve last night that I'm having to slip back into my SuperMom cape and I feel like I'm not making it! Yesterday I forgot Zeke's physical therapy at the hospital for the second time and I still haven't picked up Anthony's birthday snacks for school.

Tonight, Steve's watching our kids and a few more so I can go out for pasta with a friend. I think he knows I really need some extra sanity right now! Plus, he's working at Swiftel all weekend so I'll basically be single parenting until Monday.
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PS: Brittney has a gymnastics meet at the High School in Brookings on Saturday if anyone is interested in watching her.
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Party at our House

2011-12-31T18:10:00.000-06:00

Things have been very trying lately so we've decided to have a party.
It's for a special reason but I can't post about it.
What else is new!?
So anyone who wants to join in the celebration is welcome at our house tomorrow at 3pm.
Expect cake, ice cream, friends and laughter. :)
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Taylor Says

2011-12-31T18:04:00.000-06:00

As Steve was ushering Taylor into her bedroom for screaming at the table and talking back to him, she was arguing about why she was able to do whatever she wanted. He firmly put her in her room anyway and she began singing at the top of her lungs, "I'm proud to be an American where AT LEAST I KNOW I'M FREE!!!!"
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Interview with our Family

2011-12-28T07:45:00.001-06:00

Here is the link I promised earlier of the interview:
KELOLAND.com Foster Children Needing Adoptive Homes

You can click on the video on the right of the article to play the actual story.
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Life

2011-12-27T19:45:00.000-06:00

Tonight I am emotionally drained. Life took an another unexpected turn again today. Sometimes when life doesn't go my way, that is exactly when God seems to develop my character the most. How do I react when situations are not what I want them to be? Do I become bitter or can I claim the prayer of Jesus when he cried out, "Not my will, but Yours be done." As much as I'd like things to work out the way I want and to happen in my timeframe, life is not all about me. God has a much bigger picture. My prayer for tonight is for peace and patience for myself and my family, for wisdom and peace for others involved and ultimately for protection for our little one. Please join me in bringing these petitions before God.
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God is in Control

2011-12-27T07:43:00.001-06:00

"My soul, wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him."
Psalm 62:5
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"O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven?
You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations.
Power and might are in your hand,
and no one can withstand you."
2 Chronicles 20:6
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"I sought the LORD,
and he answered me:
he delivered me from all my fears."
Psalm 34:4
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Today our family faces a difficult day. Regardless of the outcome, we choose to hold tightly to a mighty God. No matter what twists and turns come our way in life, we trust that God will hold us securely in his grasp. Sometimes life doesn't go the way we hoped but God is still in control. We have peace because we know that God's plan will ultimately be fulfilled and that holds the real meaning in life We choose to cling to God and his plan even if it isn't what we think we want.
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Today we ask specifically for wisdom for those making important decisions and peace for everyone involved.
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Home For the Holidays

2011-12-21T15:36:00.002-06:00

Looks like our family will be on KELO tonight. They came by our house this morning to talk about foster care and adoption for their Home for the Holidays special. Might be on at 5, 6 or 10pm. I'll link to it after it airs.
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2011-12-19T08:49:00.000-06:00

In Computer Class With Miranda.
Brittney Marie

2011-12-18T21:12:00.000-06:00

I forgot to mention that mom got released from the hospital on Friday afternoon!

Yay!!!

Christmas Baking with the Wilkins

2011-12-18T21:06:00.000-06:00

Better!

2011-12-15T06:05:00.000-06:00

Mom is feeling much better. I stopped at the hospital yesterday before work and again after work. She's been up walking around and things are looking good! We haven't gotten a release date from the doctor yet so she'll be there at least a few more days and even when she's allowed to go home, she won't be able to be back at work for a while.
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2011-12-14T06:21:00.002-06:00

Mom was feeling good enough late last night to post on FB!
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Update on Mom

2011-12-13T20:16:00.003-06:00

During the testing last night, the doctors discovered that her apendix was swelled to the size of a baseball. At that point, they weren't sure if she had a perforated bowel that was causing the apendix issues or if the apendix itself was the issue. They scheduled a scope for 11am this morning, anticipating that they would then go in and take out/fix whatever they found to be the issue.

My sister Heather and I went to the hospital this morning and stayed with my parents until they wheeled mom to surgery at 11:20am. One of the doctors let us know that if everything went well, the surgery should last about an hour. I went to work for an hour because our two head teacher needed to be gone today so I went in to help with transitions between classes. Dad and Heather waited in the waiting room.After the first hour, we were begining to wonder what was going on when one of the nurses called. They let dad know that it was, in fact, mom's appendix. It was so swelled and attached that it was challenging to remove but they were going to try to use the scope to get it out. About an hour later, dad received another phone call to let us know that the appendix was out and mom was in recovery.

While mom was still in recovery, the surgeon visited with us. I figured he might use some medical jargon but was a bit taken aback when his first and almost only words were, "It was bad."

They removed the appendix and think the infection was contained but are watching her very closely for signs of the infection spreading. She was in a lot of pain initially after surgery but by this evening, the pain medicine seemed to help cover most of the pain. She's really not in any shape for visitors yet but I'll head back up in the morning before work and check on her again. She'll be in the hospital at least three days, possibly longer.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers today! Mom and our whole family felt a sense of peace prior to surgery and we know that it came from being covered in prayer. Thank you!
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2011-12-13T07:36:00.002-06:00

Exploratory surgery scheduled for 11am this morning.
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Mom

2011-12-13T07:00:00.000-06:00

My mom's been really sick for a little over a week now. She thought it was the flu but couldn't seem to get over it and the pain was getting worse. She finally went into the ER last night where they ran lots of tests and discovered an apendicitis. She was admitted to the hospital and we're anticipating they will do surgery. I'll post as I know more later today.
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2011-12-12T19:24:00.000-06:00

Brittney's Floor Routine

from the Aberdeen Varsity Gymnastics Meet

Randomness

2011-12-12T06:12:00.001-06:00

Most Friday's, Anthony has an appointment in Sioux Falls with his therapist. It's going really well and he likes her a lot. When I was researching counselors, I found two that I thought were qualified to help with Anthony's specific issues (adoption, grief, loss, anger, defiance). The one I chose actually came highly recommended by another therapist that I trust. We played tag by phone for a week or so and when we finally connected, she informed me that she knew our family from the adoption camp that we attend each summer. When I saw her in person, I remembered her immediately. I knew she would be the perfect fit for Anthony. She worked at Children's home for quite a few years with children with attachment issues and was more than qualified to work with our son. But it got even better! At the first appointment, she let me know that she was a Christian counselor and asked if we were ok with that. Am I ever!!! I knew then that God is the great orchastrator.

Because I sometimes have meetings or training on Fridays even though I'm not working with kids at headstart, Anthony gets to travel to Sioux Falls with Grandma Connie, Grandpa Larry, Grandma Sandy, Steve or me. It's worked out really well and I don't think any one of us has taken him more than once a month even though he goes every Friday.

This Friday was my turn. His appointment is at 9am so we dropped all the other kids off by 8am and hit the road. He's done by 10 so we usually get him back to school by 11am. This particular day, I decided to just keep him all day. I didn't have to rush back for anything, he obviously needed time with me and we both had some shopping to get done.

I let him pick where we would eat lunch. He decided on Red Lobster because he loves shrimp and he had never been there before. At first I told him no (because of the cost) but then decided it was early enough in the day that if he ordered from the kids menu and I ordered from the lunch menu, it probably wouldn't be much more than if we went somewhere with fast food. So we went to Red Lobster and he loved it!

Then we hit the mall for a little shopping.

Anthony had to take a break in one of the massage chairs. He didn't realize that you're supposed to put money in it - and I didn't tell him!

I told him that once we found all the gifts we needed, he could stop at the arcade.

We finally got the Christmas tree up this past week.

Two of my friends, Leila and Holly, looked so cute together yesterday that I had to take their picture!

And the other project for the week, the shower is now complete and working!

We still need to install the toilet, the vanity cabinet, the sink/countertop and the mirror and then we're done!

Gymnastics Meet, Aberdeen

2011-12-11T15:18:00.000-06:00

The Amazing Song The Gymnast's Made Up On The Way Back.

On the 12th day of Gymnastics my coaches gave to me. 12 leotards, 11 pairs of shoes, 10 bobipins, 9 ponytales, 8 pairs of spandex, 7 pounds of chalk, 6 water bottles, and 5 hours of Insanity. 4 pairs of grips, 3 wristbands 2 bags of Ice and a knee brace that goes on my knee.

We Sung All Kinds Of Music The Whole Way Back Home From Aberdeen.

P.S. We Got 5th Out Of 12 teams with Jenna, Alexis, and Sammi Gone.And Krishna Was The Only One On Our Team To Place.
*** Insanity Is A Crazy Workout Program
*****By The Way IF You Didnt Notice This Isnt Written In Green Because Of The Song

Brittney Marie

Molly's Birthday

2011-12-11T08:12:00.000-06:00

We finally got the Christmas tree up yesterday and Steve and my dad finished installing the shower in the downstairs bathroom! Since Steve was working at the Swiftel Center last night, I anticipated staying home with all the kids, until I got a text from my friend asking if I could go out. I really needed a break anyway and her birthday was a great excuse. So I divided up the kids and delivered them to various places (thank you Heather and Sandy). We had a reserved table at Cubby's at 6:30pm. It was great to chat with friends that I hardly ever get to see anymore and also meet some new people. Steve actually made it home before I did! I never stay up that late intentionally anymore but we had so much fun I laughed until my stomach hurt. What a great way to spend an evening!
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2011-12-08T22:32:00.001-06:00

Zeke & Taylor ready for their concert.

Zeke stood through the whole concert and both of them sang beautifully.

Taylor had a speaking part and Zeke got to play the bells in one of the songs.

Brittney's gymnastics team for tonight's meet.

Brit competed in every event and placed in beam, vault and floor.

I can't remember her scores or places but I do know she placed 5th in All-Around and 2nd on Floor.

Ashlyn & Brittney

Bits & Pieces

2011-12-08T06:26:00.000-06:00

Zeke's hospital therapy went well yesterday. I'll be taking him to the hospital two days a week for the next two months, in addition to the two days a week of therapy at the school and the exercises we do at home in the morning and at night.
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Taylor and Zeke have their school concert tonight. Taylor still needs something to wear since she's grown out of everything dressy that she owns.

Brittney has been cleared to compete tonight at the gymnastics meet, which is great but a bit complicated. I assumed she wouldn't be cleared yet but since she is and it's her first meet, we'll have to figure out how to be in two places at once. Nothing new with 5+ kids.
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I was out of coffee yesterday and had to use the leftover grounds from the day before to try to get some caffine in my body. It didn't taste very good but at least I could function. Last night, my wonderful mother-in-law gave me a gigantic container of coffee!
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I'm Reminded

2011-12-07T06:02:00.000-06:00

It's amazing how a few small things can change my whole outlook. I was really down this week and was ready to throw in the proverbial towel. Then last night, we got a phone call offering us SDSU basketball tickets for the game. For anyone who knew us in our old life, you'd know that Steve and I used to attend every home basketball game and quite a few of the away games. Needless to say, we don't get to go to many games anymore simply because of money and children. So we were really excited to be able to go last night. Then as we were heading out the door to drop off the little one before the game, someone stopped by with two big boxes, one containing frozen lasagna and the other containing frozen chicken strips. The kids were so excited and so was I!
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I'm reminded again how gracious God is to allow me to have my little pity party and then still provide for me through his people. So perhaps the answer to my current looming issue isn't what I can do for Anthony but rather what God is going to do for Anthony.
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Another Interesting Day

2011-12-06T06:27:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was another interesting day. Besides school and work, Anthony had detention, Riley had piano and basketball, Taylor had basketball, Zeke had GAP, and Brittney had gymnastics and then went to an orchastra concert. Oh, and I had my sister's two kids for a while.

The stuff with Anthony is driving me crazy! He can't keep his hands to himself and he's not responding well to authority. Great. I'm seriously thinking I should quit my job and go to school with Anthony full time. His teacher is amazing this year but she has 22 other kids to try to teach. I'm getting really worn down by the whole situation. I'm still making sure he gets to Sioux Falls to a therapist once a week but it seems like his behavior is getting worse. It makes me want to withdraw from him emotionally more and more because I'm so frustrated with him. Which I know is the complete opposite of what he really needs, which is for me to remain attached to him regardless of the behavior. Much easier said than done.

The only thing that made me smile yesterday was when our little one climbed into the partially finished shower downstairs and pretended to wash herself. It was adorable! I wish I could post the picture! It would make you smile too!
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Have I Mentioned?

2011-12-04T07:05:00.000-06:00

Have I mentioned lately how much I love being a mom?......said sarcastically as I clean up puke. I was pretty sure the little one wasn't feeling good this morning but it was confirmed when Riley knelt down to give her a piggyback ride and she threw up all over his hair and down his back. I told them to stay and I ran for towels but she ended up following me all the way to the bathroom. So now we have a mess on Riley, a mess in the hallway, a mess in the kitchen and a little one who doesn't want me to leave her long enough to clean anything up. Anyone want to come over and hang out with me for a while? :)

Anthony

2011-12-03T20:15:00.000-06:00

I actually had the day off on Friday. I thought I'd get a lot done, especially since the little one was gone from 9:30-11:30. Then I got a call from the elementary principal. At least he gave me the good news first. Zeke was chosen to be a Medary Kid of Character for the month. Then he hit me with the not so good news, Anthony was in trouble again. They had a substitute teacher and Anthony wasn't following directions, wasn't doing what he was supposed to and was mouthing off to the teacher. The principal made me talk to Anthony on the phone........like I'm supposed to control him from home over the telephone when they can't seem to do it at the school? Anyway, I talked to him. Then later that afternoon when I went to pick him up, I found out that his afternoon didn't go any better. He was still uncooperative and then he was pushing and kicking other kids. They finally sent him to the teacher next door to his classroom. Zeke had her a couple of years ago and I have a lot of respect for her control of the classroom. She had Anthony apoligizing within a few minutes. I went and thanked her after school and told Anthony right in front of her that she and I were on the same page.

That boy makes me want to cry sometimes! He looks so "normal" on the outside and he has so much defiance and anger on the inside.
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On a good note, I did get to go out for lunch with a friend that afternoon and the little one behaved beautifully the whole time! One of the fringe benefits of having the little one is that I've gotten to know some great people involved in her life who I plan to stay in touch with.
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Bathroom Project

2011-12-03T19:57:00.001-06:00

Thanks to lots of amazing and talented friends,

our downstairs bathroom project is nearing completion!

Here are some of the photos of the progress

over the past three months.

Initially, we tore out everything in the bathroom.

The shower was original to the house and was really disgusting.

That was the only thing we were going to replace but when we removed it,

we discovered that the insulation and studs behind it needed to be removed and replaced too.

When we measured for a new shower, we realized that the shower drain wasn't standard distance from the walls. That meant we would either have to special order a shower ($$$) or dig out the drain and move it (more $$$'s).

Then our friend Dave offered to move the drain for us.

He not only did that, but he moved the plumbing for the sink to the more ideal spot I wanted it in.

He also helped Steve dig out the cement and then found a plumber to move the toilet drain.

It was a very labor intensive job!

After everything was moved, Dave cemented in the floor again.

My dad came over and installed the new shower base.

Our friend Jon moved the outlet and rewired it for us

so that we now have two outlets and they are safe for a bathroom.

Dave came back and removed the old shower plumbing and replaced it with new pipes in position for the new shower.

Steve and my dad put up the sheetrock.

My dad came and sprayed on the primer and texture

and then Steve got busy painting.

My dad came back to install two sides of the shower.

Next, Dad put up the light fixture.

Our friends David and Sandy came and laid tile for us.

We need to wait until the grout is fully dry on Tuesday morning

before continuing to work on anything else in the bathroom.

Next will be the sink and cabinet,

then the baseboards,

then the toilet,

and finally the shower doors.

I'm hoping we get it done this week.

Our house appraisal went through just fine and our house is worth lots more than we owe on it. All the paperwork is done for our refinancing, we just need to finish the bathroom so the underwriter will sign on the dotted line! :)

2011-12-02T06:10:00.000-06:00

Daniel 11:32
The people who know their God will display strength and take action.
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This past week I've been studying about Deborah and Jael, two women who displayed incredible faith. They were asked to step out of their comfort zone to follow God's plan, not only for their lives, but for the entire nation of Israel. (For more on their stories, see Judges 4-5)

When God places a call of action on my heart, do I listen and take action? Or do I contemplate whether or not it will benefit me. The older I get and the more I study, the more I realize that God's plan WILL BE accomplished, with or without me. So I might as well get on board with the program because it's much more fun to be included in God's plan than struggling along behind it :)
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2011-12-01T20:12:00.002-06:00

Pictures as promised.

Lunch break while traveling.

You guesssed it. Cheese Pizza!

1st Appointment - Casting

They removed Zeke's cast.

Waiting...

2nd Appointment - X-Rays

Zeke wanted Grandma to help.

3rd Appointment - Orthopedic Doctor

Here you can see the two pins holding the bones of Zeke's foot in place.

The doctors distracted him and yanked them right out of his foot!

We always get to talk to the nurse first, then the resident doctor and finally, the orthopedic surgeon.

4th Appointment - ATD

This is where they fit Zeke for his new braces.

They were already molded from the last time we were there

so they just had to make some adjustments.

Waiting.....

Having a juice and donut break while waiting for the completed braces.

Showing off the new braces.

5th and last Appointment - Physical Therapy

Zeke & St Paul

2011-11-30T23:57:00.001-06:00

Just got home from St Paul. Since it's already almost midnight, here are the highlights, with details and pictures tomorrow...

We left Brookings at 8:30am
My mom went with us :)
Zeke got his cast removed
Everything is healing well
Zeke's been ok'd to begin walking again
It rained, sleeted and snowed on our way back
We safely arrived home a few minutes ago.

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This and That

2011-11-28T21:30:00.001-06:00

I'm feeling guilty about my lack of blogging lately. It's not for lack of anything to say. There just aren't enough hours in the day right now. Zeke's cast is coming off on Wednesday so I'm making a quick trip to St Paul. Thankfully, my mom has offered to go with me. Steve and a lot of good friends and my dad are trying to finish the downstairs bathroom we tore apart a few months ago. We're refinancing the house because of the low interest rate and have an appraisal on Thursday, hence the quick finish to the bathroom.

The little one is really excited about potty training, which is great except for having to run to the bathroom every time she yells, "Potty!" I try to keep the bathroom door shut so she doesn't play in there and tonight for some reason, she was convinced her friend Sara was in there. So she kept knocking on the door and hollering, "Sara!" I finally had to stop what I was doing and open the door to the bathroom just so she would understand that Sara wasn't there.

Brittney has missed the last two gymnastics meets because of an accident at cheer practice where the girls on the bottom didn't catch her correctly and Brittney ended up being thrown over their shoulders. She landed on her neck and back and now the athletic trainers won't let her practice or compete in either sport for at least two weeks. She's hoping to be allowed to compete on Dec 3 in Sioux Falls.

Taylor and Riley are both still taking piano lessons and Riley is wanting to start playing the drums. They are both signed up to play basketball soon too. Zeke's next Special Olympics sport is basketball, if he's cleared by the doctor to be able to play this soon after surgery. I guess we'll find out later this week.

Most of the kids are already in bed but I really should get the little one tucked in now :)
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Brittney Says

2011-11-25T09:59:00.002-06:00

When Steve and I were discussing Black Friday, Brittney piped up and asked, "Isn't that the day Jesus died?"
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2011-11-25T09:58:00.000-06:00

My friend Rick shared this and I thought it worth repeating!

"Ungrateful people live under the deception that they are always entitled to more. The food is never prepared well. The weather is never to their liking. The policies are inadequate, and the leadership is incompetent.

True gratefulness is more than token appreciation after receiving a gift. It's the state of your heart before anybody does anything for you." ~Wayne Cordeiro

Thanksgiving Pictures

2011-11-25T06:02:00.000-06:00

2011-11-24T07:14:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

We're heading to my folks for the day for some good food and great company. It only takes about 20 minutes to get there so don't really have a specific time this morning we're leaving. The kids are still practicing our little play that we'll be performing this afternoon. I'll try to video it and post it but no guarentees. It's called Soup Opera. My friend lent me the book and CD. Should be a lot of fun.
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Today I'm especially thankful for:

A family who sticks together
A warm house with enough beds for all our children
A God who loves me inspite of my failings and never leaves me
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It's easy to complain about what I don't have or what I think I need. But today is a day to help us all realize and remember that we have so much to be thankful for!
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You Might Live in South Dakota...

2011-11-19T21:20:00.000-06:00

South Dakota... through the eyes of Jeff Foxworthy:

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you might live in South Dakota...
If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't even work there, you might live in South Dakota...
If you've worn shorts and a jacket at the same time, you might live in South Dakota...
If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you might live in South Dakota...
If "vacation" means going to Sioux Falls for the weekend, you might live in South Dakota...
If you measure distance in hours, you might live in South Dakota...
If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you might live in South Dakota...
If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' in the same day and back again, you might live in South Dakota...
If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you might live in South Dakota...
If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both doors unlocked, you might live in South Dakota...
If you carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you might live in South Dakota...
If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you might live in South Dakota...
If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you might live in South Dakota...
If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, you might live in South Dakota...
If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you might live in South Dakota...
If you find 10 degrees "a little chilly", you might live in South Dakota...
If you know how to pronounce Ipswich, Belle Fouche and Pierre you might live in South Dakota...
If you actually understand these jokes, you might live in South Dakota!

Frustration

2011-11-19T09:20:00.001-06:00

My biggest frustration this week concerned Zeke. Get ready for a long story. It has lots of positive points and a few big negatives.

My kids get out of school at 3:20pm but because I don't generally leave work until at least 3:45pm, I had to figure out what they were going to do in the meantime. Brittney has gymnastics practice after school and Riley, Taylor and Anthony can take the bus to Headstart but because Zeke is now in a wheelchair, it's complicated to get him anywhere.

I put in a request to have the special education bus with the wheelchair lift pick him up after school. They accepted the request with no problem but we had to wait for the paperwork to process through before they could actually transport him. They expected it would take about a week.

Zeke's resource room teacher suggested we check out the GAP after-school program, which is located right in Zeke's school building. I immediately made some phone calls. The GAP director knew us from when we had Taylor in Kindergarten GAP, so we had already established a good relationship with her. She then called the director of the Medary site where Zeke would possibly attend. The director there knew Steve from somewhere (Ok, I don't remember - I think he said Swiftel but maybe it was Dak) and she was anxious to help out in any way she could. She spoke with her staff on site and they knew Zeke from recess supervision and were super excited to have him in their program. So the GAP director called me back and we enrolled Zeke for $9 per day until the special ed bus could take him to Boys & Girls Club. I was so thankful that God worked out all the details and I was also reminded that how we interact with others in our day to day lives can come back to help or hurt us. Thankfully, in this situation, it helped!

After the paperwork processed through, Zeke was picked up after school by the bus with the wheelchair lift and then transported to Boys & Girls Club. We were really happy with GAP but needed to utilize The Club because of price. GAP has a set monthly fee, which is out of our price range, while The Club has a yearly membership fee of only $20.

The only problem with The Club is that every time our kids go there, they are missing items when we pick them up. The open-faced lockers are in a common area so anyone can grab anything they want. After losing numerous items, including many hats and pairs of gloves, I talked to the staff. They apologized but didn't offer any real help. Once a few weeks ago when Zeke's backpack was lost, I finally located it on top of the lockers where he couldn't possibly have reached it in his wheelchair. So we know he didn't put it there.

Riley's backpack was missing from The Club for about a week. We finally got it back the other day. The final straw was when I picked Zeke up last Tuesday night and no one could find his winter coat. There weren't many kids left by that time and we looked everywhere. So I had to take him home in the freezing cold without a coat on. Which, by the way, was a really nice Colombia coat someone had given us that had both a zipper and snaps so he could put it on by himself. It also had Wilkins written in black permant marker on the inside.

I had had it with chatting nicely about what we could do because obviously the problem was not only continuing, it was getting worse!

So that night I chatted with the Program Director at the Club, who was actually very helpful. Then I went home and called Zek's teacher to see if she had any suggestions. They were already keeping a set of gloves and a hat at school so it wouldn't get sent to The Club at all. She volunteered to call The Club in the morning and talk to them about options. Finally, the next morning, I texted one of my friends on the Board of Directors for The Club to see if she had any imput. She called me back right away and offered to make some phone calls and help us figure out a solution.

As much as I hate to do it, sometimes I turn into a mama bear when my children are concerned. But I think I can honestly say that I remained polite during the entire episode.

The Boys & Girls Club is now going to take all of Zeke's belonging when he arrives at The Club and keep them behind the desk until we pick him up. Nothing has been missing since then. We still haven't found his coat and I finally broke down and purchased him a new one yesterday. He's been wearing one of Steve's for the past few days and it's way too big. But at least we're confident that his new one won't go missing. It's a cheap Walmart coat but at least it's warm for the snow we're getting today!

So a BIG thank you to all the people who helped us figure this out!!!! Because our boys really do love spending time at The Club :)
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Exciting News!

2011-11-19T06:56:00.000-06:00

My cousin Matt proposed to his girlfriend and she said YES!!! They live in Florida now but she's from Minnesota so the wedding will be there. They haven't set the date yet but whenever it it, we're going! I'm so happy for him because she's definitely a keeper :)

Aren't they cute!!!

Meetings and Headache

2011-11-19T06:45:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was supposed to be my day off but because I am working so many hours during the rest of the week, I have to schedule meetings for Friday. So it seemed like I was jumping from one meeting to the next yesterday. All of them went well but by the end of the day I could feel a migraine coming on. I took quite a bit of tylenol and then ended up taking something stronger before I ended up in bed. The hardest part of headaches like that is that I can't even stand light or smells. I was starting to get really sick to my stomach. The pain I can deal with but I feel incredibly guilty for not helping my kids when they need me. Thankfully, I have a really understanding husband who took care of the kids last night- even the friend who was spending the night with Taylor - and let me go to bed. I feel much better today :)
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Exotic Fruit

2011-11-19T06:29:00.000-06:00

Last week we received a box from Aunt Brooke and Uncle Nathan. The kids helped me open it and inside we found Asian Pears and Feijoas. We cut some up and tried them right away.

The Asian Pears were kind of a cross between a pear and a yellow apple. They had the sweet delicious taste of a pear and a bit of a crunch like an apple but were really juicy. The kids loved them!

The Feijoas were green and shaped like a kiwi. The kids weren't sure about them because they also have a unique smell. They said it smelled like medicine. But everyone tried it and like the taste, although the Asian Pear was the definite favorite. Next month, I'll try to remember to take pictures. This time the fruit was gone by the time I thought about it :)
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We're excited because we'll get a new box every month with two different kinds of exotic fruit. This is such a great gift because the kids are able to try fruit that we wouldn't normally buy, or possibly even have access to. We're already looking forward to the next box!
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Tay's Drawing

2011-11-19T06:11:00.001-06:00

When Taylor saw that I had posted a drawing of Riley's, she had to sit down and draw something too.

Then she insisted I post it on the blog.

So here it is.

Riley's Drawing

2011-11-17T16:14:00.002-06:00

20's Diner

2011-11-13T07:45:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a fun day!

Steve worked on the downstairs bathroom with my dad and I worked at the church with some friends.

We cooked and deboned 8 turkeys, peeled and mashed 40 lbs of potatoes, made jello fruit salad and mixed up lots of green bean casserole. It sounds like a lot of work but with the right people, it's a ton of fun. I don't think we stopped laughing all day! We even snuck off for lunch together while the turkeys were cooking.

Every year we seem to have one "mishap" and this year was Becca's turn.

Inspite of the mess, we had a great time cooking together and it's for a good cause.

The college kids at our church will eat well today.

And it's free!

Riley's Party

2011-11-12T06:14:00.000-06:00

I'll admit I was a bit nervous about having a bunch of boys over.

Turns out Brittney's the one who should have been worried.

We started the evening out with pizza & pop.

Then Riley opened his gifts.

Then they ran around the house like crazy men, shooting each other with nerf guns!

I didn't get any good pictures of that because every time I tried, all I'd get would be blurs.

Later, we slowed them down by letting them make banana splits.

Boys! ;)

Riley and his friends.

Here is Brittney trying to bring some calm into the house.

It didn't work!

Eventually, the boys decided to gang up on Brittney.

Riley really has a great bunch of friends.

I'm actually very proud of the choices he's made and the quality of friends he spends most of his time with. He's really growing up.

2011-11-12T05:56:00.000-06:00

Brittney in her cheer uniform.

A bit skimpy, isn't it!?

The skirt actually has shorts under it and she said they'll probably wear a long black shirt under the top.

At least her arms won't get cold!

Happy 10th Birthday Riley!

2011-11-06T23:43:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Riley! (plus some random stuff)

2011-11-06T22:38:00.000-06:00

Yesterday Steve took the kids to an SDSU football game. It was pretty cold so I stayed home with Zeke and Sophia. The tickets were thanks to DSS, who received tickets to the game from a sponsor and then gave some to our family. The kids loved it!

Although yesterday was Riley's birthday, it was also homecoming for our local college team so there was a parade and football game. Because of all the other activities, we're celebrating Riley's birthday next weekend so he can have some friends over.

I'm hoping today to post Riley's pictures in honor of his birthday, like I have for the other kids. It's fun to do but very time consuming because not all the pictures are in the same location.

And for anyone who thinks I'm a good mom, sorry but here comes another story to prove otherwise. Remember when I said I would post pictures of the kids in their halloween costumes? Apparently I only took one of Brittney and her friends and some of the little one, which I can't post anyway. All the kids in the middle didn't get in a picture! I almost made the kids put their costumes back on yesterday just so I could take a picture. I might still do that.

Here's the one of Brittney and some friends.

The other day Brittney saw my wedding dress in the closet and wanted to try it on.

It fit!

I was a little sad remembering that I was skinny once too.

I have the cutest picture of our little one in her costume and it's killing me not to post it! I was telling someone the other day that my entire life seems to be confidential.

I have a foster child, whose life is confidential.

I review foster case files, which are confidential.

I work at headstart with kids whose files are confidential.

And now there are some things going on with Headstart that are confidential.

Not only do I not have time for my friends, I feel like I couldn't tell them anything even if I did have time. So a big thank you to all my friends who accept that I have to be vague a lot of the time.

Training

2011-11-06T06:18:00.001-06:00

Last Friday the 25th, Steve and I attended an all day training in Sioux Falls at a counseling center. The information was based on Beyond Consequences, which focuses on developing and maintaining relationships with children who have behavior issues. We've taken other courses from Children's Home which centered around the same material but I've found that 1)it's good to have the information as a couple to make sure we're parenting on the same page, 2) it takes a lot of repeating to make sure the information sticks in our heads, and 3)it's good to network with other parents who have challenging children. The best part of the day was that we splurged and went out for supper at Olive Garden - by ourselves- before we went home!
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This Friday, I attended an all-day training in Madison. We started with information on tax preperation, which might have been informative, but within the first five minutes, the speaker informed us that it applied to every area except Minnehaha and Brookings counties. So it didn't apply to me or the families in our area at all!
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The next session was about autism, which again could have been interesting because the presenter was a good speaker from Parent Connection, but the information presented was very general and I didn't feel like I was learning anything new. I was really hoping for some new information or some new techniques for intervention.
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The third session was about internet security. The presenter was awesome! He's originally from the middle east and looked like some kind of long-bearded terrorist but he spoke English without even an accent. He was trained in computer security and not only did he know a lot, he was able to pass the information along to us in a way we were able to understand. And his sense of humor made the presentation go really quickly. I would highly recommend him for anyone who would like to ensure their employees are aware of all aspects of computer security, which is pretty much anyone who uses a computer or phone. He also brought along a detective from the FBI who spoke to us for a few minutes.
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The fourth session was about conflict resolution with children, based on material from Conscious Discipline. This was the one that most specifically applied to me and my ability to work with children. Plus I love the presenter - she's my boss! Someday when I have a bit more time, I'd love to share some of the information that I've been learning over the past few years. It works in the classroom and it works at home. For all you Love and Logic parents out there, that works too if you have a child who is logical and comes from a place where their needs have been met in the past. Lots, if not most of the kids I work with haven't had that advantage. If I ever get to the place in life where I have time again, I'd love to help present some of these strategies to parents and teachers.
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I think I'm done with trainings for a while :)
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Blah Blah Blah

2011-11-04T06:24:00.000-05:00

As always, when there is much to blog about, I don't have the time to be on the computer. In a busy world, there are only so many hours in a day and I am making a conscious decision to try to use the hours I have wisely. I've been getting up early (as always) but instead of getting on the computer while it's fairly quiet, I've been studying in my echo room. I really needed to get back to my bible study and hadn't been making time for it lately. I'm also trying to be much more intentional about being with my kids when they are here. That's impossible when I'm trying type on the computer. But it really came down to the fact that if I had an extra half hour to spend on the computer, that meant that in reality, I had an extra half hour to spend on my family, if I would choose them over the computer. So I did. Which means it's even harder to find time to blog. I think instead of blogging every day I'll try to blog on Saturday's and Sunday's (and maybe a little bit in between :) Unfortunately, it may mean I miss some things but that's the way it needs to be for now.
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So here's a bit of what's kept us busy:

Zeke is still doing awesome. No pain and loves his wheelchair! His school friends take turns pushing him around and reading to him. The cast is scheduled to be removed on Nov 30 so we'll be taking another trip to St Paul.
We had conferences for all the kids and everyone is doing great academically. All A's or B's. Anthony still has some issues we need to help him with - see other Anthony posts - but his grades are high because he's such a smart kid. The other day he and Riley were fighting over a school library book because they each though it was theirs. Turns out that they had both checked out the same book. The book was at Riley's 4th grade reading level, so I had Anthony read me a page just to show him that it would be too hard for him to read and he should pick a book that was at his level instead. I'll be darned if that kid didn't read me an entire page of a 4th grade book! My mistake Anthony - pick any book you want.
The little one is still with us and will be until the next court date the end of December. We'll see what happens after that.
My husband decided that with the great low interest rate, it would be a good idea to refinance our house. So we are. Then he decided it would be a good idea to add on to our house, since we already had the plans drawn up last year and it won't cost us any more than what we're already set for a mortgage payment, since we had built up so much equity in our house already. Apparently we close on the 18th of Oct for the refinancing and then construction will probably start shortly after that.
I could go on and on but I have to leave for a meeting in Madison this morning and now I'm 20 minutes behind my own schedule :)

Halloween

2011-10-31T16:39:00.000-05:00

We're going trick-or-treating tonight and Brittney has tryouts for the high school gymnastics team. Pictures later :)
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Rambling

2011-10-28T04:50:00.000-05:00

Why do I wake up at 4am everyday? No wonder I'm tired by 8pm. Expect a rambling-type post due to lack of sleep.
I really want to go downstairs and organize the storage room before we leave town this morning. Steve and I are going to Sioux Falls to attend a seminar and need to leave town by 7:30am because the class starts at 8:30am and goes until 3:30pm. The class has to do with parenting children with challenging behaviors. I know both of the presenters so I already know it'll be worth our time. The other benefit will be the hour down and hour back that Steve and I can use to discuss things we haven't had time to talk about lately. I'm hoping we even have time for supper together in Sioux Falls. All the kids are taken care of all day and evening except for Zeke, who needs to be picked up by 6pm, which won't leave us much time after the seminar. On the drive down, I'm going to try to figure out something for him so we don't have to come back right away. It's complicated because of his wheelchair. Although I just remembered that Steve said it only costs $2 for the BATA bus for one way so maybe I can get someone to watch him if get him delivered to them. Told you this would be a rambling post.
I'd love to tell you why Anthony was in deep trouble with me yesterday afternoon but I'd rather go organize. It makes me feel like I have control over something and my life is in order. Very calming! So I'll write later about Anthony. Plus, I need to think through the whole confidentiality thing before I type about it because it involves someone besides just Anthony. Don't worry, I'll post about it - just not sure how detailed and when :)
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I'm Tired and Crabby

2011-10-27T05:20:00.000-05:00

I'm tired and probably crabby this morning so it's not really a good blogging day. Then I noticed I haven't posted since Monday and thought I should update.
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Zeke is still doing well. I had a bit of a glitch yesterday because of his wheelchair. I'm not done at work until 3:45pm and on Wednesdays, my kids get out of school at 2:15pm. I've already arranged for Zeke to ride the bus with the wheelchair lift to the Club after school but because of logistics with paperwork, that won't start until Monday. With some help from Zeke's teacher at school, I made some phone calls and he was temporarily accepted into GAP (Great After School Place) although technically it should be called GASP. Thankfully, the staff was excited to work with Zeke since they knew of him already from school so the only problem was that Zeke didn't want to leave when I finally picked him up.
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I was so frustrated last night with a situation involving one of our kids (not the kid's fault at all - but involved poor decision-making by an adult who was in charge of said child) that after Steve and I put all the kids to bed, we watched two episodes of "I Love Lucy" just so we could laugh for a little while. I think I need to laugh more often. And sleep more often. I really just need 3 more hours in each day and maybe I could get caught up.
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Anthony Says

2011-10-24T06:27:00.000-05:00

The following is from an email my mom sent while I was gone:

On the way back to Brookings today after we dropped Grandpa off at home, Anthony was telling me I needed to get a really cool pickup. Then he said, “Grandma, when I get older, I am going to buy you a really hot pickup, would that be ok? Of course, by then, you’ll probably be dead!”
I just laughed on the inside because it was so sweet and innocent. Then he said, “In fact Grandma, a week after the 19th, you’ll probably be a goner”.
Let’s hope he doesn’t have the gift of prophecy!!! What a cute kid!
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Church & School

2011-10-24T06:20:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the lack of updating yesterday. It's terrible when I say I'll update later and then later is the next day. It gets a bit hectic around here sometimes and there isn't much computer time left so I sneak it in early in the morning. Anyway.......
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Zeke is doing awesome! He's not in any pain and is now completely off all medications - and it's not because he doesn't have feeling in his feet either. When I ask him to wiggle his toes, he can. When I ask him which toe I'm touching, he can tell me. He'll also let us know if we move him the wrong way and it's painful. But, thankfully, for his everyday activities and for sleeping, he feels fine.
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He wanted to go to church yesterday to socialize. It was easier to walk his wheelchair down the street than it was to load him into the van, drive three blocks and unload him. So we walked. Zeke sang his heart out during worship and then went to class and had all his friends sign his cast. I think he needs a bigger cast for all his friends! Then everyone headed out to lunch at Pizza Ranch with Grandma Connie and Grandma Sandy. When we made it back home, Zeke, the little one and I took a nap. Mine lasted three and a half hours. I think I was a bit tired.
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Side note on our little one - she keeps asking to wear underwear and use the toilet so Brittney helped her last night and she actually pottied in the toilet! What a smart little girl! She was so excited about it. I said I was going to wait until after Zeke's surgery to potty train her but maybe we'll be out of diapers before I thought.
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Today Zeke will be going to school. I visited with his teacher last night and I'll take him in this morning to get him settled. He's so excited to go! I don't think the wheelchair is going to slow him down at all.
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Home

2011-10-22T05:25:00.000-05:00

We made it home last night around 6:30pm. Zeke was comfortable the whole ride home and everyone was excited to see him again. More later.

2011-10-21T12:11:00.000-05:00

Zeke had more x-rays and everything is cleared for us to leave! We're just waiting on the prescriptions to be delivered and the nurse to go over discharge instructions with us. The timing is actually pretty good because Zeke's lunch will be delivered shortly (he ordered pizza again) so by the time he eats and we get in the van, we'll beat rush hour and he'll probably sleep most of the way home. I can't wait to see the kids again!!!

Message from Brynn's Mom

2011-10-21T10:05:00.000-05:00

Our friend Dixie, who we met three years ago when we spent seven weeks at this hospital together, wrote these words this week on their caringbridge site and I thought it was worth sharing.

Dixie's then 7 year old daughter, Brynn, was in a car accident in 2008 and barely survived. After fighting just to stay alive, they discovered that Brynn was paralized from the waist down. Here's what Dixie has to say after being on this new journey for 3 years....
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"For those of you who might be going through a tunnel now, take note of this wonderful quote from Corrie Ten Boom, “When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.”

We have learned many lessons these past three years. And most importantly we have learned that you can trust the Engineer!

“The Father is with me. I've told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I've conquered the world." John 16: 31-32. The Message
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Yay!!!!!!

2011-10-21T09:32:00.000-05:00

We get to go home today!!! We're just waiting on a few more things. We meet with Physical Therapy at 11am, the resident on duty needs to write discharge orders, our wheelchair and prescriptions needs to be delivered and I need to haul our stuff to the van. Then we're on our way!!! Don't tell the other kids; we're going to suprise them tonight!
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Casting - Don't Look If You're Squeamish!!!

2011-10-21T09:20:00.000-05:00

Pictures

2011-10-21T09:06:00.001-05:00

Waiting before surgery.

The buzzer that the hospital uses to let us know when we need to check in at the next appointment of the day.

Zeke messing around before surgery waiting for the doctor.

One of the nurses checking Zeke's blood pressure.

We've worked with this nurse before

and I think it's cool that a nurse in a wheelchair helps Zeke!

Gowned up before surgery.

More messing around.

He's telling you that I keep talking too much!

The bear and blanket that he got before surgery

from Child Life at the hospital

The actual technical terms for the procedures he had done.

After surgery

A look at his Robert-Jones cast.

That's the big white cushy cast on his right foot.

They put it on after surgery until the swelling goes down in a few days and they can put on the real cast.

Happily eating pizza the evening of surgery.

He was done with the 4+ hour surgery at 2:30pm

and this was taken at 6:30pm!

Costumed pet show in one of the lobbies last night.

I met a dad there from Mitchell, SD who's little boy was badly burned in hot bathtub water. His sister started the tub and I think their waterheater wasn't working correctly. The little guy is not even 2 years old yet. They've been here a couple of months now. The dad is hoping they'll go home in a few more weeks. Please keep them in your prayers.

Zeke sleeping. They finally decided to give him his meds every 6 hours, so he was able to sleep more last night and so was I.

Hanging out watching cartoons this morning.

The chair I pull out and sleep in.

I won't miss it!

Thursday

2011-10-20T19:22:00.000-05:00

Zeke is still doing well but continues to ask when he can go home. They have disconnected him from most of the wires and tubes and have him on oral medication only. He hasn't been in any pain yet even though they keep lowering the amount of medication he is on. He did get mad at the nurse taking his blood this morning and told her she was mean. I got to visit with my mom and nephew today! They brought me lunch and books and made me laugh for a while, which I really needed. This evening we had a visit from our friend Rick, who recently moved to Minneapolis. I'll blog more tomorrow morning and see if I can post some pictures. I'm just using the hospital's computer for now. Zeke is up in a wheelchair and wanted to go to the vending machine for more chocolate. He stopped by the TV in the lobby for a minute so I stopped by the computer right next to it. He fell asleep again so I'd better take him back to his room.
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2011-10-20T06:53:00.000-05:00

"I think a lot of us need to forget about "God's will for my life". God cares more about our response to His Spirit's leading today, in this moment, than about what we intend to do next year. In fact, the decisions we make next year will be profoundly affected by the degree to which we submit to the Spirit right now, in today's decisions." ~Francis Chan
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After Surgery

2011-10-20T06:27:00.002-05:00

Brittney is correct - Zeke is fine! The surgery began at 9:27am and ended around 2pm. They were able to accomplish everything they needed to do. While he was in the recovery room, he was a bit crabby. Not because he was in pain but because he just seems to come out that way after being put under.
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Once he was fully awake, he was asking to eat. He hadn't eaten anything since 7pm the night before so I'm sure he was hungry but all they gave him was a popsicle. He chomped into it and had it gone in seconds. They wanted to give him more time for his stomach to "wake up" but he insisted on eating so they brought him some apple juice. He was supposed to sip it slowly but he downed that too. He kept asking the nurse in his sweet little voice,"Can I eat? I'm starving." I think she felt sorry for him. She brought him graham crackers and another popsicle and finally ordered him supper. When it came, he downed the entire little cheese pizza, chocolate pudding, a dinner roll and a rice krispy bar. The nurse and I both looked at each other and hoped he wouldn't be sick! He kept it all down and within a half an hour, he was asking us when lunch was. Poor boy had slept through breakfast and lunch so he thought we had given him pizza for breakfast. His sense of time was all messed up!
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Zeke didn't appear to be in much pain at all after surgery. He continues to amaze us with his tolerance for pain. I know he has feeling in his feet because they doctors and nurses continue to touch his toes and ask him questions about which toe they are touching and if he can move his toes. All motion and feeling appears to be fine.
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Zeke and I both enjoyed a visit from my friend Holly last night. It was good to see a friendly face from home. Zeke entertained both of us and especially loved the little stuffed animal she brought him that had a secret compartment with candy!
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Zeke slept really well last night, except for all the visits from the nurses to check on him and move him in bed. I'd forgotten how little sleep you get in the hospital. I slept on a pull-out chair in Zeke's room and will probably continue to stay with him until he's released. When they wake him up in the night and it's dark, he gets scared and wants me. Maybe tonight they won't need to check him as often.

Right now he has a big cottony cast around his right foot to just below his knee. The other spots for incisions just have wrap around them. If there isn't too much swelling in his right foot, they'll put the regular cast on Friday or Saturday. Zeke can't wait because he gets to pick out the color. Providing things go as well as they have been, they'll release us after the casting and a visit with the doctor and physical therapy, most likely on Saturday. He'll be in a wheelchair for 5-6 weeks since the doctor doesn't want him to put any pressure on the right foot until the cast comes off and he's back in braces.
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Zeke was peacefully sleeping in the room when I left so I'd better get back before he wakes up!
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Tired

2011-10-19T21:36:00.000-05:00

My mother is too tried to Blog so I got stuck doing this dirty work!
Zeke is fine well i think he is because i talked to him on the phone.

Love Brittney

Super Quick Update

2011-10-19T13:31:00.001-05:00

Surgery going well. Zeke went in at 9:27am. They've removed all the hardware, reconstructed his foot and are working on the toe now. Hope to be in recovery within the hour.
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Surgery Day

2011-10-19T05:42:00.002-05:00

Today is surgery day. Here are the specifics:

Check in at 8am
Surgery begins at 9:30am
The two orthopedic surgeons will remove the plates and screws from his previous surgery last year. The plates are in his upper legs and lower legs.
They'll give him a shot of botox directly into his muscles. He's had it done before and it works really well. We don't have it done anymore unless they're already inside his legs. In layman's terms, it helps relax his muscles for a few months.
The surgeon will do some work on his right foot. She'll be cutting out a wedge of bone on his right foot and some other reconstructive work. She worked on his left foot last year and we've been so happy with the results. His left foot rests flat on the floor now (his heel used to be up) and he isn't crouched over at all! Right now, Zeke's right foot curves inward, which makes it harder for him to balance.
The surgeon will remove a bony growth on the fourth toe of Zeke's right foot. She's sure it's not cancerous so they won't be doing the biopsy. It appears to be cartilage that has broken off from his toe and started growing on it's own. Technically, it's a tumor but it won't spread and hurt him. It's been there at least three years and hasn't moved or grown. She's taking it out so that it doesn't bother him.
Surgery should take 4+ hours.

Lots of people have asked if Zeke is aware of the surgery because he seems so happy. The answer is yes, he knows. He knows he's having surgery and will be staying in the hospital. He still loves it! He's excited about the pre-op because he gets to pick out a chapstick w/scent to put inside his mask - and he gets to take the mask home. He's excited after surgery because he gets to stay in the hospital bed with the TV that swings right over him and he gets to watch whatever he wants. He's excited for Friday because he gets a cast and gets to pick what color he wants. He's excited later because he gets to ride in a wheelchair. These aren't things I've reminded him of to make him feel better - he really is excited all on his own!
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I got to talk to all the kids on the phone last night. Even the little one. When I talked to her, she tried to look into the phone to see me. I think Tay is doing better and Brittney seems to finally over the flu. After we got off the phone, Zeke and I were both so tired that we crashed in bed at the hotel before 8pm last night. I tried to read but I was falling asleep too so we just turned off the lights and said good night. Which is probably ok because we've got an early start this morning. Zeke can't eat or drink anything so that means we'll both be avoiding the breakfast area, except for some coffe, of course!
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Afternoon at the Hospital

2011-10-18T19:53:00.000-05:00

The first set of X-rays

Looks like a mug shot but it's actually for an x-ray of his spine

Checking out the spine x-rays on the computer while waiting for the doctor.

A closer view of his spine x-ray.

You can see the slight curve of his spine.

Right foot x-ray.

This is the foot they'll be working on tomorrow.

Happily eating pizza AGAIN!

I couldn't stomach it again tonight so I stopped and picked up Chinese for myself.

I received a call on the drive over yesterday informing me that the surgery time had been bumped up an hour. So now we'll check in at the hospital tomorrow morning at 8am. The surgery is scheduled to begin at 9:30am. It will probably take about 4 hours but Zeke is the only one on the schedule so she told me they'll take as long as they need to to accomplish everything they need to. Two surgeons again so that one will remove the hardware on the left side while our primary surgeon will work on the right side removing hardware and then the foot reconstruction.

He'll be in a soft cast until Friday, when hopefully the swelling will be down enough to put on the hard boot cast. There's a chance we might get to go home on Friday :)

Gait Analysis

2011-10-18T11:31:00.000-05:00

Zeke's finished with his morning appointments and we don't have to be back at the hospital until 3pm so we're resting at the hotel for a while. Thanks to our special sponsor for providing the money for the hotel. This is so much better than hanging out in the hospital waiting room for hours!

Here's some pictures from this morning.

Nothing happened to his head.

He wanted more red cobane wrapped everywhere and the doctors humored him.

Yesterday

2011-10-18T06:48:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was really hard on me. Anthony had tears in his eyes everytime we talked about how long I would be gone. Riley just got mad. Brittney was too sick to care. Did I mention that the flu has been going through our house? First Tay, then two days later I woke up to find that someone had thrown up all over the bathroom. When I tried to figure out which kid it was, they were all peacefully sleeping. When Riley woke up, he told me it was him. That was on Saturday morning. He was fine by Monday but then Brittney started throwing up. Anyway, I digress. I haven't had any coffe yet this morning so my mind is still sluggish!
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The hardest two kids by far were the little one and Taylor. I dropped the little one off at daycare and she happily went to Christina and then proceeded to tell all her little friends, "Hi!" She went around the room to each of them to give them a personal greeting. I asked her for a hug and she came back, gave me a hug and went to sit in her little chair for snack. I really struggled with leaving her. She has no concept of time and even though she didn't seem to care right then, I knew she would miss me as the days went on. I knew I would miss her. I had totally irrational thoughts of taking her with me. I got another hug from Christina and left before my emotions got the best of me.
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I went in to work at headstart but only stayed until 11am. Then I finished up prep for the trip and was at the school for Zeke by 1pm. He was so happy! He's been telling everyone who would listen that he gets to go see his doctor. When I went to tell Taylor good bye, my heart nearly broke. We started off with a hug and gentle reminders that I'd be back next week but soon her tears started. Eventually she was clinging to me and sobbing, telling me she wanted to go with me and begging me not to go. I stayed with her for a while and then eventually her teacher and I had to pry her off of me. Thank goodness for wonderful and understanding teachers! I couldn't do it without them. Anyone who knows me well knows that it takes a lot to make me cry. And Taylor almost had me in tears. So my prayer today is that God uses people to comfort and support my other kids.
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Today Zeke and I will have breakfast at the hotel and then check in at the hospital by 7:30am. Today is the gait analysis. It'll take most of the morning. Nothing painful for Zeke today :)
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2011-10-17T20:53:00.000-05:00

I'm way too tired to write anything tonight so I'll post these pictures instead.

For anyone who thinks Zeke is worried about the surgery, he's not.

He's totally happy he's here and loves going to the doctor!

What a kid!

Arrival in St Paul

2011-10-17T18:11:00.000-05:00

Zeke and I arrived safely in St Paul and checked in to the hotel by the hospital. Zeke is happily watching Spongebob and waiting for his cheese pizza to be delivered. After that we're going swimming. I'll write more about today after Zeke goes to bed. :)
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Zeke's Week

2011-10-16T19:46:00.000-05:00

Here's the plan for Zeke this week:

He and I will leave tomorrow afternoon (after work and school) and drive to St Paul. We'll be staying with my sister-in-law and her kids that night.

Tuesday we check in at the hospital at 7:30am for a gait analysis. In the afternoon, he'll also have more X-rays and we'll meet with the orthopedic doctor. We'll check in at the hotel that night and head to the hospital in the morning by 9am for surgery.

The actual procedure is scheduled to begin at 10:30am Wednesday morning and will probably take 3-4 hours. I'll keep blogging throughout the day, if possible. Once the surgery is over, he'll be in recovery for a while. From previous experience with Zeke, it takes him quite a while to wake back up. Then they'll transfer us to a room upstairs and the waiting begins again. I'll probably just end up staying on the couch in Zeke's hospital room until he's released (hopefully Friday but probably Monday).
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