A Monday and a Funeral ...

Today I started out very energized and I feel like I got a lot done and I am not even tired yet, strange but good :)

The boys and I had school in the morning and then they went outdoors to play in their Forest with Apple and Tasha and I got some housework done as in laundry and vacuuming, PLUS paying bills.

Now, last week one of the boys school projects was learning to read different kind of maps as in a World Map, USA Map, City Map and a Blue Print of a House. Then to finish up they had to draw a map of the area where they live and write a sentence as to where their home is. Connor wrote 'We live in the middle of nowhere' and Alexander wrote 'We live on top of a mountain'. So here you have it. If you try to look us up you can find us in the middle of nowhere on top of our Mountain :)

Today of course was Sandy's Funeral and the boys were very much looking forward to it. They were truly fascinated about the Service yesterday and to see how it all ended was a big deal for them. I admit I lived in Lake George now for almost four years and this was the first time I actually saw the Cemetery and realize where is was. The sad truth is that I drove past it many, many times and I never realized it. It is of course a small cemetery but in a very nice and quiet location.

Connor and Alexander were as expected extremely fascinated on seeing the process of the casket being lowered in the ground and they had to ask the Funeral Director as in how far down it was going.

We got home about 45 minutes later and both my dumplings have been sitting down making drawings of the whole Funeral, including the Service and the last time they saw Sandy.

I also got an interesting treat as in Connor wanting to hold a Church Service for Mr Morgan in our living room. Alexander and I were the congregation and he was our Pastor. We were handed each a Bible that also functioned as a song book. It started out with him singing a song as in "Mr. Morgan you are lovely and we love you sooooo.... We know you are happy and you will be happier now ..... " and on and on for about 10 minutes. He had us recite the four prayers our boys know by heart:

'Lieber Gott sei unser Gast, Danke was Du und bescheret hast'

'Muede bin Ich geh zur Ruh, schliesse meine Auglein zu. Vater lass die Augen dein ueber meinem Bette sein'

'Ich bin klein, mein Herz ist rein, darf niemand drin wohnen als Jesus allein'

'Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Guide and Guard me through the night and wake me with the mornings light' .... AMEN.

Can you imagine the irony if one of my son's became a preacher? ;) Well, at least I could give them a run for their money trying to answer all the questions I would throw at them and then they really should be prepared to take on the masses :)

Hugs,

R A C A

P.S. the pictures are from Connor. One is of Mr. Morgan still at home but dying, one of him at Church for the Service and one of the Burial.

Remembering Rev. Sanford (Sandy) Morgan

Today was Sandy's Celebration of Life Service and it truly was a wonderful Service remembering and honoring a most wonderful man.

In no way or form do I want to even attempt to make justice to the wonderful words that were spoken today from six different Pastors to honor Sandy. What struck me the most is that the Sandy/Mr. Morgan, the boys and I came to love in the last four years was the same person everyone else was talking about. Here was a man that lived his whole life to honor God, and not just like some Pastors who are excellent in preaching, he lived by his believes and therefor showed us what a true Christian should be all about. Now there was one other person in my life prior that showed me the same conviction and that was my Mother In-Law, Connie Smith. She was raised Catholic and was committed to the Church until the day she passed away. Both of them were always kind, patient and not judgemental in any way or form. Both were also great listeners, which is a rare gift in today's world. They had the gift of making you feel loved and they made you feel that your thoughts and ideas mattered.

The boys and I went to Church this morning at 10 am and we got home at 3 pm. Leave it up to Sandy to get us back into a Church and then for this large amount of time. For someone who has not been to Church in a long, long time, the boys and I jumped in with two feet. We reconnected and saw many familiar faces again and the whole atmosphere was warm and kind. It was great having a few minutes talking to Rev. Carlson and his beautiful wife and I can see where he might be as great a force as Sandy was :)

Connor and Alexander also made me proud in how well they did today. It was precious for me to watch them in front of the open casket saying goodbye once again to 'their' Mr. Morgan and the only challenge I really had today was getting them away from the casket so others could pay their respect. Of course they also had a million and one questions and it was fun for me to see other Adults at the Church take on the challenge to answer some of them :)

Naoma looked beautiful and I so hope that she found comfort today in being surrounded by her family and so so many friends.

It was not just the Services today that were very touching, it was also touching to see how well the whole day was setup. I know there were a lot of people that worked hard to make this happen and I want to Thank Kathleen Mezack as well for keeping me in the loop this week.

I am glad we went today and I am not sure what the exact cause is but I felt like going straight to bed when we came home. I figure my boys are not up to going to bed at 4 pm so it is a movie for them and hopefully I can talk them into going to bed early today after we had Dinner.

Ron is in Paris tonight and will be home tomorrow night. We look forward to having him HOME for three days this time.

I hope your weekend was pleasant!

Hugs,

R A C A

One more week down ....

So I have to point out that February 21, 2011 was a HUGE stepping stone for my husband! He now has 25 years of flying with AA, and this is wonderful news for us as a family as well in regards to our travel benefits. His next bench mark will be Retirement ..... so we keep counting down and hoping for everything to fall into place this year!

Well, as to this week, it is Tax season and we are trying to get our Taxes put together. I am grateful that the majority of this work Ron takes care of, but some numbers are for me to get together and that would be the medical line-up for Connor for 2010. Now, we had a lot of expenses as in Medical Costs, Travels etc etc, but it is interesting to show you two numbers I came across. One is that the miles put on our cars for pure medical purposes as in traveling back and forth to the Hospital, Therapies and Doctor Visits for Connor alone totaled 11,000 miles. Put that together for wear and tear, gas and add that one top of your normal routines it is a bit of a hard pill to swallow. Now here is the second number, which I am glad to post we did NOT have to pay ... $1,200,000.00 Million ... this is the part our Insurance, UHC, payed for Connor's care alone last year. Now can you put a price tag on what this disease with no Cure will cost him or insurance for the rest of his life if no Cure is found??? So, you know that there are cases like Connor out there that might not have Insurance coverage or are low income and now I ask you who will pay the bill for them? You think your taxes might? Well, this should motivate anyone who cares about this even just a tiny bit to make finding a Cure a priority once again.

Looking back I might still cry and cringe about the bills that make it into our house and those that were out of pocket, like traveling to Chicago, but in the end I am grateful we have the insurance coverage we have. So far, and I hope this will not change, we had no argument in regards to treatments as I have heard others had.

Hippo Therapy went exceptional well again this week. I watched Connor sitting on Blinkers, his Therapy Pony, up on his knee's, straight back with his arms stretched out to his side parallel to the floor, for a whole lap around the arena. Blinkers was going at a good speed and it just blew us all away, including his Therapist Amanda. She kept smiling so big and kept telling me that she never had a patient do this and that his core body strength is just amazing. This makes me happy to no end and I am so proud of Connor. I know the medications do their part but he put in the work and effort!!!

Following Hippo Therapy we had an Appointment with Dr. Mynard for Alexanders ADD/ADHD assessment results and we were told that he scored very high in being Hyperactivity-Impulsive and being Inattentive. We were told about the different 'treatment' options and it came down to Diet, Therapy and/or Medication. Dr. Mynard told us as much as there is known for treatment options, and in his experience the medications had the most success. He also mentioned that he has several patients that have been adopted from Russia and that this diagnosis is not to surprising for him to see. NOW, here is the hick-up for Ron and I ... we are still not sure if medications are the answer, and I am not even sure now how much this past year has been an impact on Alexander and that we just need more time and patience to get back to 'normal'? Of course we know for a fact that Alexander would have a huge challenge in a regular class room right now, just know that he falls of his school chair at least once each day at school, and if I was not there constantly to remind him to get back to his work or focus on his pages he would not finish them. It would break my heart to see him get lost in a class room with 10 or 20 kids in it. So having to Home School for Connor has been a blessing in disguise for Alexander. We had told Dr. Mynard about the adverse effects Alexander had on the Daytana Patch, and that we tried Focalin for one day previously and we did not like the way he acted that day. Dr. Mynard pointed out that it takes at least three to four days for these kind of medications to show us if they make an impact so he gave us a prescription now for Dextroamphetamine. Now here is the funny part for me and please take it for the joke it is :) So, the doctor explained that this is the same kind of drug that is sold on the street as 'Speed'. It can be highly addictive but it reacts in his symptoms the opposite for an ADD/ADHD patient. While a 'normal' brain would speed up it actuality 'calms' the brains for ADD/ADHD patients. This is one reason why even adults can medicate themselves and calm themselves down by drinking lots of coffee or other caffeinated drinks. Well, to get back to my point ... he said he might loose some appetite and that this drug has been used as a diet pill in the past as well. So get me right ... a pill that gives lots of energy to a non ADD person, curbs appetite and can cause weight loss?????? SO.... what is the problem? where do I sign up????? ;)

Kidding aside, we did start Alexander on this drug yesterday. Today is day number two and so far he had no adverse reaction and he seems about the same, maybe a tad calmer. Still, Ron and I are not so sure about all this but we are willing to try this for now and see. We can always readjust back ....

We decided to go out for Dinner that night at McGinty's in Divide and it was wonderful to cross paths there with the Simpson Family who was there celebrating their dumplings seventh Birthday. One set of our four favorite twin kids who were born the same years as Connor and Alexander. So we got to chat for about 5 minutes and it was wonderful to see all their smiling faces :)

On this chance I also have to point out that my lovely friend Allison took me by complete surprise. I you know me, you know my passion is driving :) I seldom find someone that knows how to drive on Colorado roads WITHOUT stepping on the brakes on each turn! if not to annoy me do it for your brakes! trust me your brake pads do not have to be working overtime just because you have to turn your steering wheel! Anyway, Allison passed me in Manitou Springs and it was heaven following her up the mountain :)

Tomorrow will be a Service at CFC for Sandy along with a Viewing. The funeral will be on Monday and the boys and I will be there for both. I talked to the boys as much as possible about the Funeral and they want to go and actually see and look at 'their' Mr. Morgan one more time. I think they are ready for it and I remember I was about their age when my Grandpa died.

I am wishing you all a good weekend and as I said last time, please keep tuned in to the news. It is so so so easy to be wrapped up in our own worries and our own bubble but this is Historic and people are dying for their believes. It is not about agreeing or disagreeing but to honor and respect people for standing up for what is right. We all deserve freedom and respect!

Hugs,

R A C A

'normal life'

So life for us goes on in a fairly normal pattern. Connor & Alexander are still holding on to a low grade temperature and while I started questioning our thermometer I then started taking Ron and my temperature and the reading was normal for us. Not sure why we can not get down on the fevers but otherwise the boys are acting great. They are alert for school, which is now a bit more challenging again due to the move back in First Grade. It is funny to see now how easy Kindergarten was for them as in most cases they would both sail through all the worksheets asking me not to check until they were done. Now it takes us about three hours to finish and I have to sit with them through each page. They still work independently but I have to guide them as to what is asked of them ...

The weather has been wonderful in my eyes, as it has been in the 30's and 40's each day with lot's of sunshine. Tasha and Apple love it because it means the boys spend about 1 to 2 hours each day outdoors to play with them. I love that Connor and Alexander beg me to play outside and have not asked to watch TV now for days. We even went without Video Games all of last weekend, not because I did not allow it but because they never asked for it :)

Ron got a change in scenery for his last two trips, as he is back flying to Europe this month. He went to Madrid last weekend and will head to Paris this coming weekend. Gosh, how I would LOVE to go! I admit I am lately dreaming on migrating to another country ... you know me, change of scenery could maybe change our challenges? well, one can dream - haha

Thanks to Ron being home this week we were able to finally take in Apple and Tasha for they yearly check up and all is fine except that they have to go on a Diet! I am not to surprised of course about Tasha, because she is a big, big girl. As it stands, Apple weight in at 75 lbs and Tasha at 85 lbs! Tasha should loose about 10 to 15 pounds according to the Vet, so we are now cutting back drastically on the food intake. Poor babies but we know it has to be done ...

Sandy's Funeral will be this Sunday and the boys and I will be there. I got a call from my Mom as well telling me that one of my favorite little neighbors in Germany was admitted to the Hospital as well due to a possible Stroke. She is 87 years old and very small and fragile.....

There is a certain pain when someone dies or is very sick from old age, and then there is the pain, that I have not experienced but was told, had no peace to it and was just full of agony, that's the pain you feel when you loose a child or someone in the prime of their life...

Also, my wish for this week is for people to be more tuned in to the news. So much is happening right now and it is way beyond the fact that we have to pay more when going to fill up our car. This is just an effect and reaction to what is going on. Please look at the cause and be interested. This is our life and will be part of our kids growing up. I am not trying at all to make a political statement ... I just want people to care and be informed.

I know my boys are and I am proud of them!

Pictures are one with Naoma while waiting to pick up her son. Connor and I reading from the I-Pad, The boys Graduation Certificate

and Connor's Medicine Lineup for each morning.

Hugs,

R A C A

Remembering Rev. Sanford (Sandy) Morgan

Oh where to start other then putting focus on the fact that Sandy, a precious friend to us, finally went to Heaven, the place he was looking forward to going to. It was a long journey for him and as he told me so many times in the past, he was ready.

You sure remember all my postings about the Morgans since the start of my blog. Our paths this past year were intertwined strongly and even thought we did not always see eye to eye in our believe he never gave up on me. He put up a huge fight in God's name and he was a true warrior and I always, always respected and loved him for it. I feel bad that his battle for me and him trying to keep my believe in God strong failed, BUT no matter in what I believe or not I will take comfort in the hope tonight that he is soaring up in heaven now looking down on us without the pain that had taken over his body here on Earth. I hope now that he was right and that I am wrong because if all he tried to tell me was true then he will be happy at last.

He got all he wished for in the end. He was with his beautiful wife and in his home! He might not have sat in his favorite recliner but he was in the same room as his recliner, and the last touch he felt before leaving was that of his lovely wife.

My heart is hurting today because I lost a friend, someone that was proud of me every step of the way. There were times when he was not always able to understand me, especially towards the end. I truly admired him, respected him and loved him. He knew how to build me up or give me hope when I did not feel up for the fight. I am truly sad that he was not able to show me a way back to God, but by gosh, he was the only one that never gave up! He was everything a Church should be like when it comes to trying to keep the sheep in a congregation and not let it loose! I guess the truth is that we were very well matched. He was as strong in his believes as I was strong in mine. Maybe the true issue was, as my husband so beautifully pointed out, is that I never was a sheep but just a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing ;) I know I am not good at following so maybe there really never was a chance ... ;)

So rest in peace, Sandy! Know that you were loved by us and that you will always be part of us! I will miss our talks so so much! I will miss getting letters in the mail and mostly you are the reason I am still working on this blog ... you told me each and every time we saw each other how much this blog mend to you and how proud you were of my writing. You even took the time to correct my grammar and spelling ... How can I write from here on out and not think of what you would think about this and what sentence structure should have been corrected.

I am going to stop now but here is what they boys want to say to you:

Alexander: 'Mr. Morgan, I hope you are feeling happy now that you are in heaven. I hope you like it there and that you are seeing some of your friends.'

Connor: 'Dear Mr. Morgan, I hope you are having a wonderful time in Heaven.'

Hugs,

R A C A

Stockholm Syndrome, again or still?

I had a lot of great conversations today with friends of mine and one thing that has nothing to do really with how today went but that stuck to me during one of my phone calls was the following:

When you are dealing with a sick family member you of course take charge of their care in regards to finding a great Medical Facility and Medical Employees. You go and try to find the best doctors in the field, you say that cost does not matter because for your child or partner only the best is good enough. You know at some point you will face parts of that decision because the bills come in but you might worry about them but you do not regret them per say.

Now, after a bit you find out that the Doctors of course are vital to deciding on the right treatment plan in regards to Medications and Therapy, and then you see that the ones helping you to put this plan in action are the Nurses, Therapists and even the Pharmacists down the line.

You make your choice and then you figure you did your home work by finding the right Doctors and everything from there will fall into place.... WELL, let's think again.

I could page back on this blog the times we had issues with medical personal, appointments not falling in place, mistakes in blood work, waiting times in offices or the ER's, mistakes or problems filling prescriptions etc etc. I am not even mentioning dealing with Insurances because that is a blog on its own.

So, then in this crazy little world you live in, where you wonder if anyone really listens or cares there comes this light in the form of a wonderful caring Nurse, Pharmacist and Therapist. You so cherish them that you hope each time you go for Infusions, go to Therapy or pull through the driveway of the Pharmacy that they would be there working today. Your chances are not always the best because of course they have a life as well and they don't just work when you come in with your son.

So here is my Stockholm Syndrome thought. I am loving and cherishing people that are rare and are really doing an amazing job. Now how can this be? Of course I want to recognize those that do a great job but why the HECK are the other 90% not doing it??????? How can you go to work and get paid and make mistakes and peoples life miserable and not do your job?

My job I thought was trying to be a good wife and mother and I had no idea I had to take a crash course in the whole medical field so I could do their job when they mess up or even worse I have to find the mistakes they make and fix them before my child could suffer from it. How wrong is this?

I do not get paid obviously but those services even put me in debt. Can someone here please make sense of this for me?

Today's incident at our pharmacy was minor per say as the Antibiotic I wanted to pick up was never filled because they had not checked the answering machine for a request from Connor's Doctor and had erased it by accident before listening to it. So no drive thru for me and I was so so so lucky I had Connor's Doctors Cell Phone number programed in my phone and got a hold of her. I did however have to drag both my boys into the pharmacy and wait for it to be filled. I was not happy this morning and sadly I was not nice at all to the poor girl working. It is how they say the drop that fills the bucket. I did say sorry when leaving but truly why can nothing ever go as smoothly as it should?

I said it before in regards to being a Weather Man (Woman) and I say it again. I want a job that lets me mess up and pays me and even gives great Health Coverage! Please send me a msg if you have one!!!

Just think for a minute next time you get on a plane and figure how many times can the Crew in the Cockpit afford mistakes during their career? How many chances would my husband get to crash a plane and walk away saying, oops I am so sorry I just wasn't focused and I am just having a bad day. I promise I will do better next time?

Now remember everything I write here is my story and I am not trying to implying that happens to everyone. It happens to me and it is my world and I am not always happy with it.

Hugs,

R A C A

Infusion Day with a little Twist

First some great news! Our friends son who was in ICU since Friday was moved to a regular room today! This is really happy news because it shows he is doing better :) :):)

Connor was due for his monthly infusions today at TCH and as always we have to leave the house by 5:30 am to make it there for our 8 am sign-in. The boys are always very tired of course so mostly get dressed and crawl in the car and watch a movie for the drive. The only thing that seemed off with Connor was the fact that he was not hungry at all. By the time we got to TCH he was complaining his legs were hurting, he had a headache and his neck and throat were sore. When the nurse checked us in she noted that he had a temperature of 101.3' F. The mention of strep came up so we were moved into a special room for Isolation, where we stayed for the day. Our nurse Amy was a trooper putting on a gown and face mask for each of her 15 trips of so in and out of the room. What an Angel she is and since she will be moving soon we know we will miss her a lot.

So due to the thread of possible Strep and his blood work showing some activity Dr. Soep decided it would not be wise to give Connor his Solumedrol infusion since we do not want to weaken his immune system anymore plus it would mask any symptoms of what is going on in his body right now. He got a small dose of steroids to help with the IVIG and then we did finish up with the Methrotrexate. Right before the infusions were done Dr. Soep came in to check on Connor and also do a swap on his throat to see if it was Strep. Well, here is when things got interesting. Connor put up a huge fight about not wanting this swap. Here is a boy who went under the knife about 5 times in his 6 years of living, has been poked and propped over and over without hardly a complain but this was the breaking point I guess.... He did finally go through with it and when it was done he said that it was not a big deal at all ... figures :)

Well, we did get a fitting in for Connor's Carbon Fiber Braces when we finished the Infusion and then the three of us headed home. I can say we were all beat and tired and the 2 1/2 hour drive seemed to last forever. Unfortunately we had just gotten home when I got a call from Dr. Soep that the test for Strep came back positive. So we need to head back into town tomorrow morning to get Connor's Antibiotics. Since Strep is highly contagious there is of course the possibility that Alexander and I come down with it as well. Ron was home yesterday afternoon and left at the same time we did this morning so his exposure was shorter but he will be back again tomorrow afternoon as well for a couple of days.

You know we always think JDM is the real battle and of course it is but it is the weak immune system Connor has 'Thanks to JDM' that has us stumbling all the time. We do so well and then something like this happens. I so know we can not live in a bubble but seeing how Ron, Alexander and I are always getting colds and move on and how each virus and bug brings Connor to his knees is proof enough that this fight is one we can not afford to loose. The cause for the last two children with JDM that have passed away (that I know of) was due to Pneumonia. JDM is the name of the disease, but every infection or virus is the battle we fight....

Hugs,

R A C A

Hippo Therapy and a weekend full of joy and heartbreak!

So I think I might be falling into a pattern with my blog since it seems I seem to update it now once a week. Gosh, last year we were still in Chicago and I know I was writing about once a day and sometimes twice a day into the blog. Life sure moves on and while it is much better for us now it is also clear from looking back on my writings then, how much I have changed overall. The one think that is constant is the fact that those who I was close to before JDM I am still close to now :)

To our JDM update I have to say that Hippo Therapy this last Thursday, Feb 10, was a huge success. Amanda, Connor's Therapist, told me that he seemed and looked stronger then he ever was and that in the three years she has been working with children she never had one of them do what Connor did this time. He got to ride on Blinkers again who took him around the arena while he was on the back of the horse sitting up on his knees doing a 360 circle while Blinkers was in motion the whole time. This takes a lot of core strength and balance. I am just so so so proud of all the work Connor has put in and of what a fighter he is. Never in this past year has he acted or said that he just wants to quit. Yes, he does talk about how much he 'hates' JDM and what it has done to him but mostly what it is doing to his little JDM friends.

This weekend started out with mixed happenings. First Ron and I discovered that our line from the well to the house must be frozen again since out cistern was empty :( So we had to go without Water 'again' for a night and we had a Water delivery on Saturday around 11:30 am. Ron had to change his schedule to a trip leaving a day later and left shortly after the delivery was made.

The boys and I then went to meet wonderful friends of ours at Mueller State Park for some sledding. It was so much fun and what a workout!!! I had forgotten how much it took out of a person climbing up the hill after sledding down - haha. Talk about great therapy for Connor as well! I think all the kids went down that hill 20 to 30 times. There was no stopping them and while we Parents might not have gone down as often we still had some fun as well :)

We ended the day with a drive to Cripple Creek and dinner at Ralph's, a tradition now for any evening stop in CC. Jennie, David and Zachy spend the whole weekend with the boys and I and I have to say that I can not recall the last time I stayed up until 2 am talking but it was so worth it :):):) Not sure why I would then wake up at 7 am on a Sunday with a bad headache.... NO we did not have to much to drink. One Mimosa does not give me a hangover yet ;)

So and Sunday we finished with a slow relaxing morning, another trip to CC to see the amazing Ice Sculptures in the theme of Dr. Seuss, Peter Pan and Narnia. Well worth the trip if you live here! The Festival is back next Friday to Monday.

Now I come to the more heartbreaking news. A dear and sweet friend of mines son was admitted to the Hospital end of this week and he is as of now still in the ICU. It still gets to me how fast things can happen and how little control we have over it. My heart goes out to my friends whole family and my heart gets a squeeze just thinking how scared they were and still are. I know how we always want to know the 'why' and I also know how much I was craving to just know what the name was to what was causing Connor all this pain ... Well, I got the name and it gave me something to work with, so my wish and hope is that they will get answers tomorrow and that this wonderful young man will be up and running again soon!!!

Hugs,

R A C A

New week, new challenges ....

I am wondering if I should trust the weather forecasts in Colorado. Here we got covered in snow the last two days but if I looked at weather.com it said clear sky's with a possible of 10% chance of snow. I was reading this while we had a very heavy snowfall. My friend Monica had a great responds to my question on FB. She said she would like a job where you can be wrong most of the time and still get payed over and over. Can someone reading this please tell me where I might apply? we could use some extra income and if it came with great Healthcare Benefits, even better!

The forecast for the next two days is very cold (20' to 30' drop) while two Cold Fronts collied over CO. Quiet a bit of snowfall starting tonight and lasting until tomorrow night. However, they also promised that by Saturday we will have temperatures in the 60's!!! wow ....

Do you know that I actually went to a 'Weather' School in Minneapolis, MN in 1993? I used to work for Northwest Airlink (now Mesaba) as a CSR and we did not have a Weather Station so we had to read the temperature and swing the Dew Point Ball for a reading :) We would walk out on the ramp and look at the sky to take a visibility reading and guess at the height of the cloud cover. I can tell you in a place like Rhinelander, WI, with ton's of snowfall each winter, lots of Fog (make that lots of ground Fog!) almost all year, it made for some interesting weather reports. Once we had to turn back a plane calling in for two days in a row because the visibility was so poor, so on day three when I was answering the radio I was yelled at by one of our younger Pilots to please give him a good reading because he was not turning back to MSP and spend one more night in the same outfit / underwear. Gosh, memories of a long ago life!

This morning the boys did very well in school again and the atmosphere between the boys and I was so good that I wanted to freeze it. There is so much uncertainty in our life's right now and ending the day paying bills did not help with the fear that nothing is for certain and me wondering if there will be a time I look back on my life and remember the times when life was good? Will I ever look back and wish I could have changed certain paths? or is our life really laid out already and I worry for nothing? that life is just life and I might not like each path it takes and some roads taken will be painful but I should always look back with no regrets?

I feel like I repeat this over and over but I have to because I don't want to say I did not tell everyone how much I appreciate all the support given and all the little postings I get that bring a smile on my Face.

What keeps me going when I feel like quiting is family and friends that show me love, especially when I do not feel lovable!

Hugs,

R A C A

Busy but Fun Week :)

I guess it has been a week since I updates the Blog and I have to say it was a fun week for us as a family :) For one Ron was home for 5 DAYS!!! and we got a lot of things done around the house but also had some fun outings as well.

On Tuesday, Day 2 of our -30'F or so tempts we took a risk and ventured out to Breckenridge. You all know about the Snow Blizzard that paralyzed States between TX and the East Coast. We did not get much snow at all but it was so cold here in the double digits that the schools closed for a couple of days here as well. Now this does not impact us since we home school but our worry was our Pipes freezing again. The great news is that they did NOT, so we are confident now to have figured out what to do to prevent this :)

So after a few days inside we had some cabin Fever and decided to go for a drive to Breckenridge to look at the International Ice Sculpture Competition. The roads were fairly clean, as a matter of fact they were great all the way other then the West Side of Hossier Pass. I truly wonder how people live in CO without four wheel drive? I don't think I would venture out that much if I had a two wheel drive vehicle here. It's okay for a few days to visit but to survive about 5 months of possible snow on Mountain Roads?

Our Day in Breck was just heavenly! We were dressed like Eskimos and therefor very warm. The Sculptures were beautiful and amazing and the lunch at our all time favorite Bubba Gump was scrumptious. We keep saying it is our favorite place to eat in Breck but the truth be told we love the food and atmosphere there so much we never ventured out to try a different place in 5 years :)

The other big news for me is that I took one item of my to do list due to several Mommy friends. I finally made the call and got an appointment with a Pediatrician for Connor and Alexander. Dr. Maynard from Iron Horse Pediatrics made a great impression and the best news is that he knows Dr. Soep well and that they are Colleagues as well. He was fairly well informed when we met thanks to him taking the time to read through Connor's medical file before the Appointment.

I also got a package that needs to be filled out with a 6 page questionnaire about Alexanders possible ADD/ADHD. I have to bring in the package and then they will review it and set up a special testing Appointment for Alexander as well :)

School this week went wonderful as well. The boys and I have found a great rhythm and we are working well as a team. We rotate each day as to who starts with the Video and Game section, and who starts with me working through this days workbook, when they are each done we rotate out. We make such great progress that we finish our day within 2 to 3 hours!!! Both Connor and Alexander love Math and will actually do all the assigned pages independently not wanting me to watch over their shoulder and all I have to do is grade them when they are done. Writing is still not their favorite but they are not complaining as much :) Now they still try to come up with the shortest words as possible ... for example if asked to write about an Animal in Africa, they will choose Lion over Elephant because it has less letters in the name for them to write - haha

Ron had to leave yesterday morning and will be gone for 4 days. We got a lot more snow last night and after I went and cleaned of the Front and Back Deck this morning we once again have a heavy snow fall. The boys love Sundays because they get to play some PlayStation or Wii, and today of course we are settling in for Super Bowl Sunday. Connor and Alexander love the Black Eye Pea's so they might not care as much for the game yet but are excited about the Half Time Show :)

I am ending today's post with once again saying how lucky I am to be surrounded by the most amazing, smart and funny friends a girl could ask for. Yesterday the boys had a fun play date and I got to have a great time visiting with a most wonderful friend.

Hugs,

R A C A

Lingering Cold but progress with Connor's Leg.

I am not sure how long a cold should last but we are still stuck with stuffy noses and some coughing. I remember a long time ago when I was little and had a cold and my Mom took me to the Doctor, he told her that he can cure the cold in 2 weeks by giving her medicine for me, or she could go home and let it run it's course and it would take 14 days ... :)

The good news is that Connor seems to be moving better again. He is not dragging his left leg as much and trying to actually pick up his foot. We are scheduled right now to have his Carbon Fiber Braces fitted on February 15th, right after he finishes his infusions.

Connor also just had his Methrotrexate Shot about an hour ago and I can happily say that the shot into his bum is working well for the last two weeks :) Of course there is a huge benefit this past two weeks because Ron has been home each Tuesday and he is magic when it comes to distracting Connor. He never even knows when the shot is coming and he does not complain anymore about me poking his bones :)

Today has been a Snow Day for the Woodland Park School District but not due to the Blizzard Snow we had been forecasted, no since we only got about 2 inches instead of the 12 to 18 BUT because it was to cold. We measured at -20'F this morning and this put our trip to Breckenridge on hold as well because we figured to walk around and look at the Ice Sculptures could wait until tomorrow when it is suppose to be a bit warmer :)

Here is another little conversation I had with Alexander this morning and I so wish I knew where he comes up with this kind of thinking unless it really is the genetic makeup from boys?

So Alexander was getting ready to watch his Writing Video online before taking his Writing Lesson. He made a face when I turned it one and said:

Alexander: "I do not like watching this Video"

Me: "Why not? Oh, I know it is because you don't like writing so much, but honey it will get better the more you practice"

Alexander: "NO MOM! That's not it at all. I do not like her voice or how she looks so therefor I don't want to listen to her lessons anymore"

Me: ....speechless.... once again.

Really? How does a six year old make a call about looks already?

Happy Snow or Cold Day!

Hugs,

R A C A