Life as a Leach

When I wake up in the morning, I automatically look over to see if you are in your bed. But you're not there. I get myself ready, then go downstairs to make coffee. I call for you to go out, not even remembering that You are gone. The house is so quiet. When I get home from work, Reality smacks me in the face When you aren't there to greet me with your whippy tail. I subconsciously glance out onto the deck To see if you are ready to come back inside. But no one is waiting at the door. The house is so quiet. There's a chill in the air, So I turn on the fire and look to see If you are in your favorite seat in the house. But it's empty. You loved that fire. I sit in your spot and cry. The house is so quiet. Daddy cleans up some toys in the playroom And the squeak of the wheels of a car Sends him sobbing. Why? Because it was the last thing you reacted to Before you were gone. The house is so quiet. Night time is the hardest for the kids, Whe...

I am a little late on this and had hoped to have this written for January 1st, but....at least it's still January!  2018 was such a time of relief and respite for our family.  After a very challenging 2017 that left us wondering if 2018 would be Abby's last year with us, she made outstanding improvement and is the healthiest she has been in quite a while.  We are so very thankful and the valleys we have experienced have caused us to be even more thankful for the mountain tops! January started with the promise of a new year and the hope that 2018 would be better.  Santa had brought us tickets to see Shrek the Musical at a dinner theater, and we were able to enjoy the rare occasion of taking Abby out of the house (armed with Lysol wipes, of course!)  We celebrated Caleb's 11th birthday with pizza and a movie with friends and he got tickets to The Spy Museum and to see Newsies in March.  Matt and Caleb thoroughly enjoyed the Spy Museum when they went later...

Now that we are nearly ending our first month of school, I figured it was time for an update: Caleb is slowly transitioning to middle school.  The first few weeks were a big adjustment, because lockers, combinations, dressing out for PE, navigating hallways, and an open lunch time are all very new and different.  After a few before and after school practice sessions for his locker, he is feeling good about it.  (Good thing for him that his school is one of my schools, so I could help him out before and after!)  He has at least one friend in every class, which isn't always the case in middle school.  He is happy about that and really likes several of his teachers.  He is enjoying "Nest," as they call it, which is where students can eat lunch anytime during this one block of time and can also go to various clubs and activities around the school.  He is able to hang out with his cousin during Nest and has already joined the Aquarium Club and Best Bud...

Those of you who are friends with me on Facebook most likely already saw Abby's excited video, but I wanted to share here as well.  Abby will officially be going back to school on April 23rd!! This start date has been a long time coming with many meetings and we have jumped through about 37 revolving hoops, but we did it!  Our poor pediatrician has been so patient with the paperwork that we kept bringing to him (the school system just kept requiring MORE documentation!) that I got him a gift card for Panera.  He really went above and beyond with all of the paperwork. Abby is absolutely ecstatic to go back to school.  She seriously cries every night because she misses school and all that comes with it.  Caleb and I secretly made her a chain link countdown while she had her piano lesson yesterday so that there was a visual reminder of how many days left.  He was so sweet and painstakingly decorated each link with her favorite stickers.  It was really...

Since we really only had 2 days off of school, it's really not a Spring Break...more a Spring Long Weekend.  However, I was thankful for a few days to spend with my lovely family! On Thursday evening, Caleb finally was able to see Newsies, which was his birthday present.  The performance was at a dinner theater and it was incredible!  They had some really talented people and it was awesome to see them do so much dancing in a small space!  They brought Caleb a special dessert and acknowledged him before the show.   Although Abby wasn't overly excited about going because there aren't enough girls in Newsies, she really enjoyed the dancing!  My sister watched the kids on Friday so that Matt and I could go out on a "date" to buy new kitchen chairs.  Ours were cheap and are literally falling apart.  I took one of the spindles that had actually broken off to match the color!  We purchased really nice, oak chairs with a stain that matches o...

I have some very exciting news!  My family will all be going on a Disney cruise to Alaska this summer and we are SO excited!! While this trip has been in the works for some time now, we were hesitant to get our hopes up for a while and didn't say much because we weren't sure Abby's health would allow us to go.  A few weeks ago, we got the okay from her pulmonologist and it is full speed ahead!!    Abby's #1 thing she is looking forward to is cuddling sled dogs.  Of course!! When our pulm said she could go, she told Abby to, "Go cuddle those sled dogs, Abs!"  Love her!   She did caution us that this wouldn't be a very relaxing vacation for us with multiple bipaps and respiratory treatments during the day and bipap, gtube feeds, and pulse ox monitoring overnight, but I laughed and said we are used to that.  We have been dealing with the vent, cough assist, and neb treatments for just abo...