So We Don't Forget / Early Birthday Gift!!

So We Don't forget, Our First Home

Paul and I purchased our first and current home in Janurary of 2008. We moved two hours north of our previous location for a job opportunity for Paul. The winter moved was treturous but thankfully we had great friends and family to help us.

It's a ranch vaulted ceiling home with three homes and 1.5 bath. The bedrooms are split by the living room and kitchen. Our master suite is spacious, but feels small with our king bed. (That was something we weren't willing to compromise - Rise your hands for King sized beds!)

We have future plans to build out the basement with another bedroom (egress windows are available for a square footage gain) and bathroom along with a huge rec room. We will also be builing a deck off the back (not currently functional) patio doors. Currently, there is a 4 foot drop off to the back yard :) We love the house and there will be wonderful room to grow with our growing family.

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Early Birthday Gift

I bought a walker/rider for Jackson yesterday and assembled it ALONE! (Wasn't that hard really!) Of course I couldn't wait until his birthday, so he got to play with it early :) Well, I thought this would be "learning" tool for at first. He has walked great by holding our hands... but I had no idea how he would do with this walker. Well - who knew that Jackson would be just a pro! My goodness! I was amazed as his immediate skill.... guess I should have gotten him one sooner :)

This walking stuff just adds a WHOLE NEW level of BIG BOYNESS!

"So We Don't Forget"

I know that Lynnette's new idea of Wednesday's Walk, is now So We Don't Forget, which I totally love. I have not participated in a few weeks because I have been so busy getting my new blog store up and running.

However, I will yet again stray from Lynnette's idea for this week - because I want to share with all of you God fearing people - just how great is His love. I know you all will rejoice with my family when you read this of post today. Please take a moment, you won't regret it!

Here is a bit of background for you.

This is my husband's side of the family. His Aunt Joni and Uncle Rich have three children that they raised to adulthood and one daughter they named Shawna, who they gave up for adoption 38 years ago. They were only 16 when they had Shawna and we not ready to start their family yet.

Aunt Joni had battle breast cancer for a rough 10 years before passing on in 2006. Joni was the youngest of 4 daughters. The eldest was Anne, who passed away in 2002 of complications due to many factors, including lung cancer. Next is Mary, who has been battling a brain tumor for many years; then Kathy (my mother in law) who went through chemotherapy last year for stage 3 breast cancer. And lastly, Joni. Their mother has also been treated breast cancer. Because of this family's medical history, Aunt Joni and Uncle Rich were desperate to reach their daughter Shawna, if for nothing else than to give her the family facts - so she could be aware of the high cancer possiblity. Of course they were wanting to share in their daughter's life, but felt it would be Shawna's choice. There were several attempts over the years to reach her that all ended in the same results - dead ends, they just couldn't track down their daughter.

Shortly after Joni had passed, Rich tried again. And this time - new doors began to open. They located their daughter, who had been named Angela. Last week Angela, who now lives in Los Angeles, went to Las Vegas with her husband to meet Rich, her sister Chelsy and brother Luke. Angela's other brother, Matt, lives in Madison. Rich is absolutely ecstatic. The email he sent my father in law with the first picture of Angela was simply titled "I am fulfilled." Angela is a perfect blend of Joni and Rich. taken from an email I received from my father in law

"I know with Joni smiling down, they are a complete family now."

- Mike, my father in law

Father in Law -Mike, Mother in Law -Kathy, Aunt Joni and Uncle Rich

Aunt Joni (a few years before she passed)

Angela and her husband Jonny

Cousin Luke, Jonny, Angela and Eve (Luke's wife)

A Blessed Union

So I suppose my thoughts for today are:

Just So We Don't EVER Forget
Just how GREAT is Our God!

"You're Amazing,
You're Amazing You Are,
And We Praise You,
Lord, For What Your Hands Have Done.
You're Amazing,
You're Amazing You Are."

-Newsboys- In The Hands Of God

Wednesday's Walk - "Washed By The Water"

Lynnette Kraft's Wednesday's Walk

For this week's Wednesday's Walk Down Memory Lane, I would like to share with everyone my past Sunday.

After morning service, we went back home to get a nap in for my son before joining the rest of our church at Spencer Lake, Christian Camp for the annual Summer Picinic Bash. There were volleyball tornaments, frisbee golf tornaments, mini golf, walking trails, beach for swimming equip with an inflatable "rock" climbing wall, a water trampoline, rafts, an enormous launching balloon, padboats, kyacks - you name - it was there!

We had a wonderful turn out and I want to share with you the best part of the picinic (for me).

Washed By The Water

Wednesday's Walk - Our First Home / Give away Winner

First of all...

Happy 9 Months Jackson!!

Born 10.22.2008

His 8th month was a big one! He started to repeat "Mama" and has begun crawling!!

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Wednesday's Walk - Hosted by Lynnette Kraft

While I was looking through my photos (because you know I can't post with at least ONE photo!) I came across January 2008, we purchased our first home. We were aware in December of 07 that Paul was offered a job position almost 2 hours north of where we currently lived, Milwaukee. So our search began in Neenah and Appleton, WI. Of course we were in love with a house in Neenah, but someone got to the bid before us. So we kept looking until we found something we liked even more.

Yes, we moved in the freezing winter!

We discovered a new construction home in a subdivison just outside of Grand Chute. The neighborhood was still developing at the time (and still is). We couldn't believe what we could afford up here compared to Milwaukee and the Metropolitan area. Our dollar sure went A LOT further here. We were in a time crunch to purchase a home because Paul had already started his new job in the beginning of the year and for the whole month of January, he commuted the distance! We only had Sundays to make the trip up to Appleton to search for homes because I worked at the salon Tuesdays - Saturdays and Paul of course worked on Mondays. Our Realtor was great and made wonderful accommodations for us - like showing us several homes in the worst blizzard Appleton had seen in a long time. And like I said, we only had Sundays to search and Paul needed to stop driving back and forth!

Our kitchen roughly staged. This was the final walk through, so we didn't move it yet much less paint or decorate :) This is the bare bones my firends!!

The house we purchased is about 1520 sq. ft. Its a 3 bedroom (split bedroom style) ranch home. It has vaulted ceilings in the living room that carry over to the kitchen area. We have a patio off the kitchen that leads to a future deck. The living room is a bit on the smaller size that features a gas fireplace - our future plans is to built out the basement for a family room (move the tv down there). The lawn was not established when we moved in, so we had that planted in August 2008. We had to finish the rest of the concrete driveway which the builders leave half undone to keep housing prices down.

Final walk through - roughly staged

We have been here for 1.5 years and we love the neighborhood and have settled into our home. We have many plans for the future and try to put our money to good use. A new construction home is great because for the most part, our money is going to new things that we want, not old things that need to be fixed! And that if wonderful for a single family on one income!

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And now for the Give Away Winner!!

Congratulations to...

KT

I invite you to peek at this Sneaker Teacher's Blog. Katie is a motivated school teacher with great ideas that moms and teachers alike can take advantage of!

She has received this bracelet that I handmade. Thank you to all the participants who entered!

Wednesday's Walk - Our Honeymoon

Join us for this week's Wednesday's Walk Down Memory Lane, hosted by Lynnette.

Coming up on our 2nd Anniversary in September got me thinking about our honeymoon the other day. It will be quite a while until Paul and I make it to the ocean again soon, so I decided to share some photos of our trip to Huatulco, Mexico in September 2007.

Unfortunately, we added missing our connection in Mexico City and had to spend the first night of our honeymoon at a hotel near the airport to catch the next flight the following morning. I won't get into details about our horrific experience at the Mexico City airport, all I will say is that we will avoid that place like the plague from now on!!

The Gala Resort in Tangolunda Bay. There were only 5 resorts on the bay which was 1 of 10 in the Bahias de Huatulco. It was a remote area with the smallest international airport in Mexico.

This (along with the previous photo) was our view from our suite. The suite was huge and gorgeous! The view was amazing!!

Our balcony was complete with our own private jacuzzi. To the left of our balcony, was only the forest! We had 100% privacy.

My husband climbed the rock formation right off the shoreline. I just shake my head at this photo - so primal!



Nature was all around us :)

I could tell a million stories of our honeymoon, but I guess I will end with just saying that despite the major delay of losing a day on way there, and a massive spider bite that caused me to doze off on benadryl under an umbrella the whole last day... it was unforgettable!

Wednesday's Walk - God Finds A Way

Please join Lynnette and the rest of us for Wednesday's Walk Down Memory Lane...
This week I would like repost my Saturday's post. Saturday marked 21 years since we lost my baby brother and Jesus gained an angel.

GOD FINDS A WAY

Adam Michael was born on June 27th, 1988. He weighed over seven pounds and had a head full of dark hair. This pregnancy was the third for my mother, who already had my older brother and myself. There was no need for concern in the months that led up to delivery. But then, pregnant women didn't receive routine ultrasounds at that time either.

Adam came into this world a perfectly beautiful baby boy. He was whole and just as a baby should be when born. Except he wasn't fully whole on the inside. Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia is birth defect that effects 1600 babies in the US alone. The diaphragm, which normally closes in the third month of pregnancy, fails to completely form. This hernia then allows bodily organs to extend up into the chest cavity. More often seen on the left side of the body, the intestines and stomach enter up into the cavity and prevent the lungs and heart from forming properly. This was the case for Adam. His heart was pushed to the side and his lungs (which develop late in utero) were not developed enough to allow him to breathe well. Adam died shortly before 1 day old. He would have been 21 today.

God has touched our whole family with Adam's presence. I am still being touched today as I have brought my own son into this world. Jackson's middle name was in honor of my brother. Jackson Adam. Becoming a mother of my own makes me feel the impact in a whole new way. He was miracle baby because he was conceived after my mother's tube ligation. God finds a way!

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Search and Resource:

Twenty years ago, there were no screening tests to detect a disorder such as congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Thanks to today's research and funding, the success rate that was once 0% in 1988, has dramatically risen.

Sited from a website for Shands Health Care

http://www.realhopeforcdh.com/:

"CDH is a life threatening birth defect in which the diaphragm does not completely form, allowing some of the contents of the abdomen to protrude into the chest and hinder the normal growth of lung tissue. CDH affects approximately one in 3000 babies, and the national survival rate for babies born with CDH falls between 50% and 65%.

Dr. Kays and the pediatric surgery faculty at the University of Florida have a 92% SURVIVAL RATE for CDH babies born at Shands. He credits much of their success to being at the right place at the right time, to the "gentle ventilation" technique that they use, and to his training from Drs. Charlie Stolar and Jen Wung at Columbia University. He also acknowledges the critical support and guidance he has received from Drs. James L. Talbert, Professor Emeritus and Dr. Max R. Langham, Jr., Professor and Chief, Division of Pediatric Surgery."

While not all babies are eligable for the procedures that Shands offers, we have to rejoice that there have been medical advancements.

I read a story of a mother who opted for an experientmental operation. You can read this story in Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother's Soul, pg. 133, Miracle Baby. At the Fetal Treatment Center at University of California San Francisco - in Feb. of 1996, the mother underwent orthoscopic surgery in attempts to help the lungs form. She was 28 weeks along.

Here was the idea behind the operation:

"As babies develop inside the uterus, fluid forms in their lungs and flows out their mouths, contributing to the amniotic fluid that cushions and protects the growing fetus. Dr. Harrison proposed to use this very fluid to help the mother's baby's lungs grow bigger. The surgeon would temporarily close off the baby's trachea. The fluid would then build up inside his lungs, and the mounting pressure would cause them to expand like inflated balloons." pg.134-135

Dr. Harrison was able to use a sonographer to maneuver the baby face up and began his procedure orthoscopically. He proceeded to cut into the baby's throat and clamp his trachea with a titanium clip. The clamp would need at least 7 weeks to heal and allow time for the lungs to expand. While the mother and baby did have a few complications afterwards, the baby was born nine weeks premature. Baby Samuel did survive and is a healthy baby boy today.

"For nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:37

Amen

Wednesday's Walk - "I Saw God Today"

Brought to you always by Lynnette at Dancing Barefoot on Weathered Ground . I invite you to visit her website. If it has been awhile for you, she had her daughter redesign the layout and it looks great! She also has a new button!

I know most of my memories happen to be about my child or my pregnancy; I can't help it. So much has happened to me since I got pregnant that I don't feel like I really began living until then. Anyways, I just wanted to share a song that I heard on the radio this week. It was all over the Country Radio stations last spring (2008). It was song that would play while I made my long trip to Milwaukee for the three days that I worked part time. Leaving my husband back home for those days was really hard on me. I didn't like being away from him, we were newly weds and I was carrying his baby.

During those long drives, there wasn't much to do but listen to the radio and think. Well, I was thinking alot about my unborn child and everything that I didn't know about him. I imagined how be would look, what seeing his face for the first time would feel like. What being NOT pregnant after having been so for many months would feel like. Then, of course bad thoughts would enter my mind. Things like what if there were complications during the delivery, what if we didn't get to take our baby home. Thoughts of the scary unknown that more often than not, would bring me to tears... alone on the freeway, just me and my radio.

But this song always made me smile. Everytime I would hear it, I would put my hand on my belly and whisper to my child. I would tell him that I couldn't wait to hold him in my arms and that mommy would do everything she ever could to protect him. I would tell him how much he is wanted and how precious his is to us. I would thank my Lord for trusting me with such a treasured gift. I want to share the song with all my readers today. I am sure that many of you are aware of the song/lyrics.

It's about the joyous wonder that a children brings with them into the world. It's about seeing the face of God imprinted in your newborn baby. It's about seeing this world with new eyes, perhaps God's eyes and being completely and utterly transformed.

"I Saw God Today" - George Strait

I just walked down the street to the coffee shop
had to take a break I'd been by her side for eighteen hours straight
I saw a flower growing in the middle of the sidewalk
pushing up through the concrete
like it was planted right there for me to see
the flashin' lights, the honkin' hornsall seemed to fade away
in the shadow of that hospital at 5:08
I saw God today

Chorus:I've been to church
I've read the book
I know He's here,
but I don't look
near as often as I should
Yeah, I know I should
His fingerprints are everywhere
I'd just slow down to stop and stare
opened my eyes and man I swear
I saw God today

I saw a couple walking by they were holding hands
Man, she had that glow
yeah I couldn't help but notice she was starting to show
I stood there for a minute takin' in the sky
lost in that sunset
a splash of amber melted in the shades of red

Chorus:I've been to church
I've read the book
I know He's here,
but I don't look
near as often as I should
Yeah, I know I should
His fingerprints are everywhere
I'd just slow down to stop and stare
opened my eyes and man I swear
I saw God today

I got my face pressed up against the nursery glass
She's sleeping like a rock
My name on her wrist wearing tiny pink socks
She's got my nose, she's got her mama's eyes
My brand new baby girl
She's a miracle I saw God today

Wednesday's Walk - My Crazy Story of How I Found Out I Was Pregnant

Wednesday's Walk was designed by Lynnette Kraft. She tells her story of how she, along with her family, have found peace and happiness after loss and heartache. Lynnette has accepted God to take over her life and has allowed him to use her as His vessel.

As I was searching my endless photo archives in my computer files looking for a memory to tell, I came across the photos of my first positive pregnancy tests. I thought I would share the details of how I found out that were going to be parents for the first time. You can also read the actual first post I ever created, show casing these photos for the first time. However, I don't believe I had enough guts to tell the true story at that point in time.

Paul and I had decided that we were ready to start our family. We had purchased our first home and he had landed a good job that relocated us from Sussex to Appleton. We wanted to start trying for our baby in January of that year (2008), but thought it best to wait another month because my husband's health insurance had a 30 days waiting period after initial employment (Jan. 1st). So - that pushed us into February.

I had shared with my husband that I would be a tad disappointed if it didn't work the first time. Not so much for the sake of being impatient, but rather that we would have to wait an entire month before our next chance would come. That idea would be hard to get used to.

It was about 1 week after our first attempt, we had our friend over for a weekend visit. He had come to spend some time with us since his wife Allison and daughter were out of state visiting family. I was getting anxious to take a pregnancy test (I am not one for surprises OR waiting), and First Response Preg. Tests make it possible to find out 5 days before your missed period. So, on my way home from work on Saturday I stopped to purchase one. I opened the box in the parking lot and read the directions. I was getting nervous and excited at the same time. I had just went to the bathroom before leaving work, so I knew my next chance to take the test wouldn't be for a little while. I think my giddy emotions were getting the best of me, so I tossed the test in my purse and headed home.

Fast forwarding to dinner - Paul, our friend Joe and myself are all talking when Joe says that his wife is expecting another baby. We were ecstatic to hear their news and that Paul's goddaughter would be a big sister. I think at that point in the evening... my brain shut off to the conversation. I nodded and smiled, but all I could think about was that pregnancy test in my purse. Now, you can call me neurotic (and I probably am) - but who says I couldn't just walk into the ladies room and have a little pee on the stick, huh? I wasn't enjoying driving myself crazy about it, so that's exactly what I did. I pulled out the test in the bathroom stall and went for it! I sat and waited... and waited.

And what do you know, I saw the faintest - I mean faintest little pink line. Almost to the point where I thought I was imagining it. Again, this is 5 days before my expected period. (I didn't know at this point that the more the pregnancy hormone is present in your body, the darker that line would be) I wasn't super convinced, but couldn't help getting super excited. So - I put the cap on the test and walked back out to my plate of pasta and lemonade. I sat through the rest of dinner and a martini bar visit (drinking lemonades) without mentioning anything to my husband. I think I had a branded smile that I kept trying to hide.

I told my husband that night when we went to bed and he asked to see the test. He wasn't convinced at all! It was that light... So, I decided to wait until morning and I would drive back to Walmart and buy another one.

Did I sleep at all the night? Barely! I wanted to take another! Not that the results would look any different...

I wanted to save my "morning pee" - yeah! YOU know what I am talking about - for the test, so when I woke at 6am, I grabbed my keys and ventured out into the frozen terrain. Little did I know, it was the worse ice over that I have EVER seen! I had zero traction on my tires and couldn't go more than 10 mph. Their were cars on the side of the road (even at 6am!). But I was determined to get to the store to prove that YES, I was indeed pregnant!

Half way to the store - the bladder urge was started to get build up intensely! Crawling along the street like a turtle, I bounced my leg and sang to the radio - "Ignore the pain, April" By the time I made it to the store, I could hardly walk. I had to sprint to the pharmacy department to quick search and grab! Curse me for not buying the double pack the first time! I would not make that mistake again! I grabbed a double pack AND a ClearBlue digital reader. By now, my bladder is about to burst, my face is red, my eyes are watering and my muscles are working harder than ever before. (This was pre baby - so I actually HAD muscle control!) Also - I did my research a few weeks prior and found that most grocery stores keep their pregnancy tests behind the counter or at least in the pharmacy nuk, which are only available to sell during pharmacy hours. God Bless Walmart for having no such stipulations! So, I bit my lip and choked back the tears while smiling politely to the store clerk - realizing if I don't get myself into the bathroom pronto - I am going to go everywhere!! So - yes, ladies and gentlemen, I took the second pregnancy test in a store restroom. I couldn't waste the effort that I worked so darn for! Plus, at the rate I got there, it would have taken me days to get home !!

So - I peed on the stick again, and there was that tiny faint line again. Surprisingly, it was actually a bit deeper. More relieved to have my bladder emptied and to know I didn't have to walk to the car with my knees pinched together... I left the store! But not before noticing the sign on the wall that said "Walmart - Open 24 hours!" - Got to me kidding me! I could have stopped after dinner last night and saved myself the agony of possible bladder rupture!

I showed my husband the test and he response was, "Oh, April - that's pushing it!" I don't know if he was expecting bells and whistles or a pretty woman's voice to say "Congratulations!" but, he still needed more proof. I knew I was pregnant! I went back to sleep! When I woke up, I took the digital test to alleviate any more doubt... we were going to be mommy and daddy!

Wednesday's Walk - Through Loss, He created Life

Wednesday's Walk was designed by Lynnette Kraft. She tells her story of how she, along with her family, have found peace and happiness after loss and heartache. Lynnette has accepted God to take over her life and has allowed him to use her as His vessel.

For this Wednesday's Walk, I am taken back to a period on my life when loss lead to life.

My mother's father, Len spent the past few years as a resident of the Samaritan Health Center for senior care. After a couple trying years living at home with Alzheimer's Disease, it became clear that his needed care was beyond the control of my grandmother. And so after much deliberation, my grandma and mother moved him into the local nursing home. It quickly became a new regular routine to visit him several times a week and although the initial transition was difficult, grandpa soon got accustomed to the new living style.

There are plenty of aspects about Grandpa's life that I could talk about (his time with the Navy, his hobbies of drawing, painting, gardening, fishing, his love for football), but I will choose to keep that for another day. After all - the post has a deeper meaning that I would like to share.

As Alzheimer's Disease often works, Grandpa's health was on a steady decline for a few years while in the nursing home, but suddenly began to worsen. He stopped recognizing his family when we visited, he stopped conversing, and was confined to a wheelchair. However, he don't recall him every turning down a cookie if you placed it to his lips :).

Two floors above my grandpa - resided my Great Grandfather Lenor (I know that might be confusing). This was my grandmother's father - so she had her husband and father in the same facility. Great Grandpa Len, in his late 90s was in better health than his son in law who was in his late 70s. Great Grandpa was a tall guy! Mumbling his way through conversations and shuffling his feet to move along in his wheelchair. He always offered his guests candy orange slices coated in thick granules of sugar. :) By the way, his wife Great Grandma Evelyn is still living today. She is also in her late 90s. Strong bloodline!

In early February 2008, we lost both my Grandfather and Great Grandfather within 3 days of one another. It was definitely a sad week for our family and it hit my mother especially hard. This man had adopted her and raised her as his own child from the age of three.

Not two weeks after my grandfathers had passed, Paul and I found out we were pregnant. We had conceived shortly after their deaths. I believe I knew deep down we would be having a boy, at least if my grandfather's had anything to do with it :). We were so thrilled to tell our families.

At the same time we saw life enter into heaven, God repeated His amazing cycle and brought forth the life of my son here on earth.

Wednesday's Walk - The Humor of My Dreams

This Wednesday's walk is much much shorter than the previous ones I participated in. I believe I was due for more of a light hearted memory :)

I am remembering back 7 years to 2002, when my husband and I first met. Taking a chance on a "blind date" set up by my aunt and uncle (Thanks guys!) - Paul and I decided to meet one Saturday in September that year. We met at a very public place, Mayfair Mall in Milwaukee. We had spoken a few times first through email and then on the phone. So we were aquainted to some degree. I still hadn't seen what he looked like, so I was a bit leary walking into the mall - not knowing what I would find. HA! I figured since my family was setting me up with him, he couldn't have been all that bad, right? (Love you Babe!) Anyways, he found me and we decided to get something at the food court to drink while we sat to talk a bit. I found myself pretty well relaxed or as much as an 18 year old girl could be upon meeting a 22 year old boy who was "interested" in her. We talked for a while and then he did something that we still comment about to this day. There was an elderly lady sitting at the table next to us and her table was off kilter (you know the table... the one YOU always seem to get, with one leg magically shorter than the others...) Paul folded up a menu and stuck in underneath the lady's table to steady it from wabbling. She was grateful - and I was impressed :) Just for the simple jesture of kindness to a stranger. I wouldn't say that was what "hooked" me to him - but it was the start of it.

We spent about 12 hours that day together. I suppose we just didn't see a reason to leave each other when we were really enjoying ourselves and having fun. For the next two weeks, before I moved to Appleton, we spent every evening together. It was the building blocks for the pending 1 year long distance relationship we could encounter while I completed Cosmetology school. We had so much fun those early years (not that we don't anymore) but it was nice and refreshing to have someone silly to laugh with. I wasn't used to that - having a mature relationship but still having the element of laughter. Looking back, I know that his humor was something I needed and that same ridiculous humor keeps me grounded today. We will be married 2 years in September, been together for 7 years and have a wonderful baby boy to carry on daddy's sense of humor. Oh Boy! I am in for it!