Our Crazy Life

I have so much to catch up on blog wise that frankly, I am overwhelmed. Do I attempt to write it all out? Do I post it all in one long post or do I make them all separate? What if I don't remember everything? What to do, what to do? THE PRESSURE!!!!

Okay, it isn't that bad. Here's a quick run down of the past, oh, I don't know how long.

I still have tons of pictures to post from our trip to Nevada and Wyoming. I miss my family. So does Emmalee. She asks about them all the time, especially her cousins. She sure had fun getting to know them. We went primarily to celebrate with my oldest niece, Miranda. She graduated from high school. Personally, I still cry thinking about it. I'm not exactly sure how my sister functions. I mean, her girls are growing up. FAST. How can it be possible that Ranny is heading to her first year of college? COLLEGE! Wasn't she born about five minutes ago? She turned eighteen in July. Merissa is nearly seventeen. Marriah will be thirteen. I watched her come into the world. How can that possibly be thirteen years ago?

I can't even explain how much I love my nieces. I love them like my own children. I miss them every single day. Living so far from them is beyond difficult. When Brent and I got married and I moved away I left a piece of myself with those girls. No matter how old they get, I will always see them as they were the day I got married. I will always treasure the years I spent as their nanny. Most of all, I will always be thankful that I have the privilege of being their aunt. I love you, girls!!

Okay.....what else.....

Thankfully Brent did not end up having the Swine Flu. He did have the flu. Just not the Swine Flu. Our doctor said that the regular flu is just as nasty and I have to agree. He was pretty miserable. Thankfully the kiddos seemed to escape it.

Brent still struggles with MRSA and the horrible side effects of having that infection. As I type this, he is at the doctor because he has a new sore on his foot. I wish I could wave a magic wand and get it to heal. Tyler, Emmalee and I also struggle with MRSA but not to the same extent. Hopefully Brent will get some relief quickly.

Tyler has been doing well. He is holding steady health wise and we haven't, (knock on wood,) had a Strong Vacation in several months. That is always good news. His counts have been great and he has been pretty healthy minus some cold symptoms and the like. We just pray that it keeps going like this.

Ty LOVES school. He has enjoyed every single day. He wakes up in the morning and the first thing he says when I open his door is, "okay, shoe shoes, go, the bus!" He is having such a good time. I am so happy about that! I was worried that he would be nervous or timid. I should have known better. He jumps into the bus drivers arms. He waves goodbye. He is sad when he gets home. My favorite part of the day is when he gets home and goes on and on about his day. Of course, I can't really understand what he's telling me but I love it none the less. What an amazing kid he is!

Ty will be going to kindergarten starting in September. After much deliberation, Brent and I decided that we were going to go ahead and start him at the regular elementary school. We debated quite a bit about weather or not to keep him at Mary Cariola or to send him to a typical school. We LOVE Mary Cariola. They know him there. He loves it there. It was not an easy choice. We visited the elementary school's special education classroom, met the teacher and checked out the school. We loved it also. The teacher actually got her start at Mary Cariola and taught there for several years. The classroom is very cheerful and the special education curriculum is exactly what we had hoped it would be. Ty will receive all his therapy at school. He will be in a class with very few students and many aides. There is a strong focus on language and that makes us very happy. There will be many opportunities to spend time with his typical peers. All in all, we think it is going to be a great choice for him. We are also comforted by the fact that if it doesn't work out, we can go back to Mary Cariola. But we feel like we need to give him the chance at the regular school. We'll hope for the best and pray a lot. :)

Emmalee has been having a good summer. That's my opinion. From her perspective, it is boring. She's such a hoot. She did attend Vacation Bible School for a week and she had so much fun. She is very ready for school to start again. She is still a total crack up and still keeps me on my toes. She will go to pre-k again in the fall. She is going back to the same class she was in last year. I am so happy for her. She loves her class and her teacher. The only difference this year is that she will go three days a week instead of two. She is so excited!!

Nathaniel is doing well. He went back to the doctor and is taking some additional medicines to help with his constipation issues. He also had a gastric emptying study done. That determined that his tummy doesn't empty quickly enough after he eats. This is the reason his tummy resembles a pregnant woman. We added a new medicine for that and it seems to be helping. He is getting a little more regular. We'll just keep going and see if these steps make a difference. Lucky for us he is such a trooper. He just sort of takes it as it comes.

In other Natey news, he is WALKING!!!! I love it! I love seeing him toddle around. He is too cute. I'll have to try and post a video. He really gets a kick out of being able to get around. Sometimes he gets so excited about walking that he tries to run and then he just topples. It's pretty funny. With walking has come climbing. That's the not so cute part. LOL I don't so much mind that he can get up on stuff but he can't always figure out how to get off properly. He either falls or stands there screaming until someone comes along and gets him down. What a goose.

In further Nate news....he is going to start school in the fall. Yep, it's true. He is going to attend Mary Cariola. It seems strange to think of sending my two year old on the bus. But the fact is that when Tyler got sick, Nate's therapy sessions took a nosedive. There were many, many cancelled sessions because Tyler was neutropenic and we couldn't let anyone in the house. That put Nate behind on his therapy schedule. He is playing catch up pretty well but after careful consideration, we realize that he would benefit much more from doing a center based program. He will get OT, speech, PT, music therapy and any other therapies they think he would benefit from. Brent and I are so excited for him! We aren't sure yet if it will be a three day a week or a five day a week program. Either way, I am so thankful to know that he will finally have the opportunity to get all the therapies he needs. He is still very delayed in many areas and knowing that he will be able to get all he needs is a blessing. I know he will love going and I also know that he is going to be everyone's favorite. :)

Collin was home for a whole month!!! It was fantastic. He has grown and changed so much. I can't believe it had been two years since I saw him last. He is way taller than I am, which isn't saying much. But he is also taller than his dad. He is so much like Brent in so many ways. He is very musical and plays the piano by ear, just like Brent. He is a very good big brother and the kids loved having him home. I think they were a little overwhelming for him at times since he is used to being the only one at home at his mom's. But he handled it well. He was very patient with them....most of the time. :)

While Collin was home we had a chance to do a few fun things. We saw a couple of movies and he and I went to the Hill Cumorah Pageant. We had such a good time.

Brent & Collin were able to spend about ten hours in New York City. It was a fast, tiring trip but I think they enjoyed it. We were able to get some buddy passes from a good friend of mine who works for JetBlue. So Brent & Collin flew to NYC on Monday night & took the subway to Time's Square. Brent had enough reward points from all his work travels to get a hotel for free right in Time's Square. They did a lot of walking and picture taking, got about an hour of sleep and took the subway back to the airport for Collin's very early flight to Phoenix on Tuesday morning. Then Brent flew home. Not much of a trip but since neither of them had ever been there before, I think they had fun. Someday we'll have to take a real trip to the city.

We attempted to get some pictures of all four kids together while Collin was here. It was interesting. Imagine trying to get three small children to smile and look at the camera at the same time. We have about 200 pictures of Collin looking at the camera and smiling while the other three are in various poses, facial expressions, etc. It was a riot. I think I'll have to order a collage for Christmas cards this year. Either that or learn how to edit the pictures.

We also have a new family member. Jenny is about four months old and she is our new fur baby. She is a lab, retriever mixed with either some sort of spaniel or setter. Not sure. We don't care. She is a very sweet puppy. Although I must admit that having a puppy is about like having a new baby. Thankfully Jenny was already house broken. I will, however, be thankful when she is past the chewing, jumping phase. She is very smart and is learning quickly. She loves the kiddos and they adore her, most of the time. :) She is a great addition to our family and even Brent likes her. We are hoping to work towards training her as a therapy dog for the boys and even for Emmalee.

So I guess the only person I haven't updated about is me. I had a birthday....turned 34. Collin thought it was funny to put my candles on in the opposite order and make me 43 instead. I didn't find the humor.

I will be honest....I have been struggling lately. I have some health issues that I have ignored for a very long time. I can't ignore them any longer. I am going to the doctor on Monday and praying that we can come up with some answers. Life is never dull, for sure.

Well, if you have made it this far, I commend you! Thanks to everyone for your continued love and support of our little family. We love you all!!