Happy New Year!

Happy New Year dear Friends!

2011 had a lot of up's and down for us as a Family and there were some frustrating parts, some sad and heartbreaking times BUT also many happy events as well ... so I guess it was a true picture of what Life is all about.


Our biggest celebration for 2011 is by far the progress Connor made on his journey towards remission. On the outside you would not know the battles he had fought in the last two years and last year at this time and date he was in pain with both his legs in casts and also still showing the signs on JDM. We still had to travel with a wheel chair and he was still busy with Therapy sessions weekly. 
This year he was weaned of his Therapy by the month of June, he was able to join Cottage School again even with some hiccups of exposures to his immune system. The biggest success is the tapering of the Prednisone to just 0.5 ml a day and the ending of his IVIG Infusions in the fall of 2011. He still has his daily Cyclosporin and his weekly Chemo but even there was the huge improvement to be able to go from Shots to Pills! HUGE for Connor who knew he needed them but always hated the injections!


We travled to Chicago three times this past year, in January, April and September. In January we stayed at a Hotel close to CMH and had fun exploring the surroundings even in the cold and with a Wheelchair. In April we stayed at the Airport BUT we got to see the Miller Family and also Candy! In September we stayed once again with the Miller Family as we had in 2010 many times and of course being with Friends always makes a Hospital Trip more pleasurable and fun!


All in all we were also back to traveling again even thought we sadly were not able to travel to Germany this year. We did however take a huge road trip to Oregon to see our precious friends Brenda and Eric! Brenda turned 40 this year, just as I did and her husband had set up a beautiful getaway on the Oregon Coast. 
The boys and I were also spoiled by heading to California this past June to stay with the wonderful Tossell Family! What great adventure we had there as well!
Ron, the boys an I also had a couple of wonderful Road trips around Colorado that included Steamboat Springs, Pagosa Springs, Durango, Silverton & Ouray.
We got to enjoy a Rockies game and weekend in Denver and of course the recent Bronco's Bear game for Ron and Alexander.


The parts we love about each year are having visitors. We love having a full house and being able to spend time with Family and Friends and this past year was not disappointing at all.
Thank You to the Herndon Family who spend Spring Break with us, the always reliable Tossell Family, Kendra, Kathleen & Charlie, Niki and Harlow and of course the best part ... 3 visits this year from Oma & Opa!!!


The sad and heartbreaking parts that came into our lives were of course the passings from so many we cared about:
Monte in January,
Sandy in February,
the 2 year anniversary of Hope's passing,
and then October our brother in-law Ron lost his fight against cancer.
All four deaths were due to cancer, which is not a statistic I like at all ....
Sad was also the move from our friends Shelly and Clare to Lake Tahoe but the bright side on this one is that we now have friends to visit in another beautiful part of this country :)


I also had the joy to be a part of two Baby Showers, one here in CO and one in TX. Both babies are doing well and are absolutely gorgeous!


We added another family member as in Bella and we love, love, love her! Everyone in my opinion should have a cat as I never had a clue how much fun they are :)


Ron of course battled another Shoulder surgery and has been home since June.
We are also still in a bit of a shock that AA filed for Bankrupcy but once again that is life and not something we were able to control.


So you see I am not sure how to grade 2011. There were some real highs with Connor and some real lows with the loss of loved once lost.


I am ready to face 2012!


Thank You, Thank You to all of you who have shown nothing but love and support!


Happy New Year!
Ein Frohes Neues Jahr!


Prost,


R A C A

Christmas - Weihnachten 2011

A very merry Christmas to all of you and I hope it was and is all you hoped it would be!

I have to say that this year might be my favorite Christmas with the boys over all. The age they are at, 7, is just the perfect combination of still being young enough to believe in the Christmas magic but also old enough to understand more what it is all about.

In addition to this we are so so so happy to have my parents here with us this year and Colorado showed and delivered it's best side yet with the picture perfect setting of fresh powdery snow that arrived a couple of days ago and then set the setting today with clear blue skies. Picture perfect. We have been outside sledding yesterday and today and it was so lovely all around.

The gifts were plenty as well and I think we all got spoiled more then we should have but Christmas only happens once a year and the laughter and joy all the gifts brought were so worth it.

I have to point out Connor, who due to Make A Wish was able to 'buy' presents for 6 people in the beginning of December. Every gift he picked out was so to the point and picked out with so much thought. Each one was a hit, from a Football for Alexander, to Necklaces and Earrings for my Mom and I, Gloves for Opa and a Beer Stein, Cards and Snacks for his Papa He also got a gift for his Aunty Sam but since we are not sure she opened it yet I am not going to mention it. My Necklace is a Key as in a key to his heart ... very touching and a very precious gift to me!

Hugs,

R A C A

Last Day of School and Memories

Today was the boys last day of school for the year 2011, of course they will still have school at home but no more Cottage School or German School.

The Christmas Party was truly lovely and all the kids did wonderful in their plays. Mrs. Struble was missed a lot but I know she would be proud of all the hard work that went into the finall week here at school. I had the pleasure to see many fellow parents step in and help. I wish I could name everyone by name but you who know me know that I am bad when it comes to names, however I can point out those who's names I know and who all were Angels throughout this school year so far: Pippi, Alia, Louise and also the beautiful soul of the Substitude Teacher who was and is a brave soul to take on someone else's Classroom, especially if that someone is Mrs. Struble, who is so loved and adored by all her kids. I most likely received the most meaningful gift today, for me at least. It was an extremely unexpected Gift and it is hard to tell you how much it touched me. One of the boys Classmates, Elizabeth, has been touching my heart all year. She is a most beautiful 7 year old Gil that has been battling a brain tumor now for almost 3 years. She is a tremendous fighter and her disposition is so sweet and inspirational. I so enjoy all conversations I have with Elizabeth's Mom, Alia, and I can tell you she is a much better and stronger woman then I am. She is so full of faith and being around them both always makes me leave feeling better about myself. Anyway, I received a beautiful bag that was hand painted from Elizabeth. It has her and my name on it and if you live close to me I can promise you you will see me out and about using this bag a lot.

 So, all this and reading through the Blog that the Bailey Family has, brought me to remember when we started our journey two years ago. I just retread my own blog for that first month of January 2010 and how I wonder now how I am comparing to the person I was then. Then I still carried a lot of hope which I think I still have now but I was not as disolutioned then which sadly I seem to be more so now. It will be our two year anniversary this Christmas and I know I had a hard time enjoying Christmas last year but this year I am mentally in a better place. Of course Connor is doing so much better now so this might be one reason. I do know the memory of how much fear I felt about us possibly loosing our baby boy will never leave my mind and all this happening during Christmas 2009 will always keep a shadow on my heart but I also know how lucky we were that we did not loose Connor and I am feeling the inclination again to visit a Church. I wanted to take my parents to a German Service in Denver last weekend but unfortunately it did not work out. Now my concern is that I so want to have my step back into a Church be so something touching but I still have the fear that the words in the sermon will not touch me but leave my cold again.

 On a lighter note :) I just went outdoors and we have quiet a winter storm going on. 4 inches in about 2 hours and it is still snowing heavily, so our white Christmas is pretty much guaranteed :)

Hugs, R A C A

A White Christmas? --- it is looking good!

So today we had the pleasure to drive up and down the mountain twice due to an am and an pm Doctor Appointment.
It also started snowing this morning so we knew we would be in for some possibly interesting driving conditions. As it happens we saw quiet a bit of snow but very powdery so no real impact on driving through it at all. Unfortunately other drivers were not the same opinion and drove much slower then I thought was necessary ;) ... however today I took a deep breath and just went with the flow and focused on how grateful I am to have a most wonderful car with four wheel drive and the perfect winter tires to go with it :) plus it was very picturest to listen to Christmas Songs and watching the snow fall around us.

I truly love Colorado in the summer the most but the charm this State can deliver during the Christmas Season is hard to beat. I at times feel we are living in a Postcard setting with the snowy mountains around us and the house being surrounded by Pine Tree's plus of course the Fireplace burning. The boys were out playing in the snow this afternoon followed by Hot Chocolate with marshmallows and my Mom was baking two new Christmas Cookies. Can you just imagine the wonderful feeling of coming in from outside smelling fresh baked cookies and the picking up a book and sit by the Fireplace to rest a bit?
We truly are lucky and there are many times I have to remind myself of all this when worries take over....

Hope this last week before Christmas is a calm one for you! We have two more days of school ahead including the Class Party along with two Christmas Plays.
We have been taking some downtime watching Christmas Movies and the boys are in love with the 'Home Alone' series. Even my mom laughs out loud watching them :) .. and NO! I am not catering to the boys wish to leave them Home Alone for a while ... - haha

Hugs,

R A C A

Closed for Bussiness...

So we are officially all under quarantine here at home due to this very mean stomach virus that has attackt our family. Connor went down first, followed by my Mom and Alexander. All of them are doing better now and we thought we were in the clear until yesterday when it first hit my Dad and them me ... So all our plans for this weekend is us sitting on the sofa and keeping up the hope that we might be able to loose some weight during the Christmas Season. So maybe all the peace and quiet I wanted for the Christmas Season came to us in the form of a virus since now we truly are not feeling guilty at all about sitting on the sofa or laying in bed watching TV, movies, read or nap. It was a tad sad that the boys missed out on their last day in German School for the year. We are so grateful to Frau Steinbach who has a true gift for teaching the boys and their German is truly picking up more speed. Of course having total immersion with Oma and Opa is helping a lot as well. Wishing all of you a great week leading up to Christmas. I am so happy to have my parents here with us and the true magical age of the boys, who at age 7 are still believing in the magic of Christmas, Nikolaus/Santa and the Christmas Child. Hugs, R A C A

Snowboard Fittings, Play's and Denver Weekend!

So our very very busy weekend started bright and early on Friday when the boys and I headed with the Lake George Students to FairPlay for the Ski and Snowbaord fittings. It is truly wonderful of Christie Brinkley Sports to supply the equipments for all the kids! THANK YOU Park County once again for making this possible and we are so looking forward to the experience of having lessons for the boys in Breckenridge, starting January 6th until March 2nd :)

Of course Connor and Alexander were super excited about riding on a school bus for the first time in their lives. You can imagine they had ideas about how much fun it would be ... well, lets just say the excitement lasted for about 10 minutes and then I heard every two minutes for the 45 min drive at how BORED they were. Yes, can you imagine NO music to listen to, NO movies to watch ... oh what a shock for our spoiled little boys ;) I guess they will have to learn to talk to each other for the coming up trips to Breckenridge. Truly amazing how little time it took to see them appreciate the comforts of their Mom and Dad's cars - haha

On Saturday the boys got to say a Poem and sing a song to Nikolaus at their German School. It was fun to watch them and also here how much progress they are making when it comes to speaking in German to their lovely German Teacher.

After school we rushed up the Mountain to get ready for them to perform in their Christmas Play at the Florissant Grange. It was truly fun to watch all the kids and how well they all did. So much time and work went into this and all thanks to the most lovely and patient teacher ... Mrs. Carmilla Duncan. I loved the fact that I got to meet some wonderful fellow Mom's during all the weeks of practice and it was heartwarming to hear from another Mom who has 3 boys that the energy mine are putting out is still considered 'normal' - :) ;)

So, here is what we learned from this experience. The boys did well learning their lines but instead of loving the acting part were more interested in directing. They also got annoyed with Ron and i about practicing once they learned the lines but had not leaned yet when they had to say each line. Standing still and listening to others was not their favorite thing as we found out. This is were the patience factor came in. Ron and I kept enticing them about the countdown of the practice sessions and they became real happy when Ron promised them to light a fire in the fireplace outdoors after the play so they could burn their lines. This I think might have been the highlight for them. I did ask them both how they liked being on stage and having so many people there to watch the play and they both said they loved it. They were not shy at all but they also were not ready to commit to next years performance :)

Sunday morning we left right after breakfast for our get-away to Denver. Alexander still had no clue what was happening that day but he was super excited to see all the traffic once we reached Denver and seeing how many people were dressed in Orange to support the Bronco's. He begged us to drive by the Stadium so he could get a view of it and he was so happy when he saw it in the distance. We arrived at our Hotel only to see lots of Bronco and Bears fan's all over the lobby. He kept showing people the Bears Sweater he had on thanks to Grant! and he was smiling just knowing so many other people who loved football were around him. We checked in and went to our rooms to change and then when we got back to the lobby Ron handed me the two tickets to give to Alexander. I walked up to him and asked him if he was ready to go on his adventure with Papa. He said 'yes' and I told him he would need those two tickets to go. He starred at the tickets but still had no clue. I asked him if he could tell me what was on the tickets. He told me there was a Bronco's and Bears picture on it ... but he still had no clue. I then asked him if he knew where those two teams might be right now and he then looked at me and said 'At the Stadium?' after that it clicked and he squealed. He did not stop laughing and smiling for the rest of the day! Ron told me after the game that Alexander would look at him every 5 minutes and tell him how happy he was and how much he loved him. Alexander also made lot's of friends at the Stadium and even thought he was rooting for the Bears he was still happy to high five some Bronco Fan's as well.

Connor, Oma, Opa and I went on a sight seeing tour and also enjoyed the Christkindels Market in Denver. I love 16th Street and the Market did not disappoint either. We had some yummy German Foods as in a Bratwurst for Connor, Curry Wurst for my Mom and I and a Schnitzel for Papa. Connor finished up with a huge Cinnamon Pretzel that came with a warm Vanilla Sauce. We also had some Beer and Gluehwein and I was happy to know we would be walking all day ;) Right after the Christkindel Market we crossed 16th Street for some Ice Skating and it was truly lovely. We were thrilled that we met Dr. Soep at the Ice Ring who was just finishing up with her family. The day ended with some Hot Chocolate at Starbucks and then a great dinner and a Horse Carriage ride back to the Hotel. Alexander of course was able to talk even more about Football then before and I did not think this was possible! :)

We are home again and we are so grateful to Ms Lee, who looked after our home and three babies while we were gone!

Oh I do have to mention that we even scheduled in a stop a IKEA and that the experience was as always fun. The only thing I have to complain about is the hight limit that is in effect for the Children's Playroom. Can you imagine my face when I was told that Connor was fine but that Alexander could not come in due to being to tall? Well, he did get in after he took of his shoes and made the cut but truly, how ridiculous is this procedure? I think this is very unfair towards children that are tall! For one Connor and Alexander are obviously the same age and why can children that are shorter BUT older join into the fun of watching a movie but not the kids who are growing taller? I do not realize you have to be short to enjoy the movie 'The Lion King'. Knowing me this will be one recommendation I will be sending to IKEA ... the Playroom needs to be set by age and NOT by how tall you are.

Hope you all had a great weekend and now off to a good night sleep so we are rested for another busy week ahead.

Hugs,

R A C A

How busy is a Christmas Season with 7 year olds?

VERY BUSY!

So we are entering the fray of Christmas activities starting tomorrow. Some preparations have started over a month ago with the Theater Play the boys are a part of. This performance will be shown on Saturday and is called 'A Child shall lead'. I think the boys will do great but you should see how happy they tell me they will be when it is over. They told us acting is to much work and are aiming now towards sports activities as they think they are not as much time intensive -haha

So tomorrow bright and early we are heading to Fairplay to have the boys fitted for their Snow Boarding gear. Lessons will start in January but the school wants to have all the kids set up with Ski's or Snow Boards plus all the other equipment. Connor and Alexander had the choice between Skiing and Snow Boarding but choose the later as it seems to be the more modern way to go :)

School will be out on the 21st and our dumplings will be part of another little play that Mrs. Struble is organizing. They love this one because there are no lines to learn. Connor will be a Mouse and has to snore and Alexander will be a Dad looking out the window for Santa and his Reindeer.
This Saturday before they first Play they also have German School and Nikolaus will make an appearance there as well. Then we have our weekend in Denver and sometime after Christmas I am sure we get to all sit back and relax again.

I am so so so grateful to have my parents here who are helping us so much. I am sure they think our life is very crazy right now!

As to some JM news we received a call today from CMH in Chicago and Dr. P and Dr. Curran would like for us to bring Alexander to Connor's next Appointment. It looks like they want some more lab work for the Research Study and we know Alexander will be thrilled to come along as he loves Chicago, even thought he is not a big fan about having his blood taken.

So hope all of you find some quiet time during the next couple of weeks, I know I will try my best to find some for us as well.

Hugs!

R A C A

Oma & Opa, Saying Goodbye and Make A Wish ...

It has been two very busy days again and we just might be getting used to it ... maybe not but one can hope ;)

Oma and Opa arrived save and sound but with some stress elevation due to traveling standby. It turns out that even a flight from FRA to DFW that had 40 open seats in coach was not a safe bet after all. AA threw a loop at us by adding  freight to the 767 and then ending up weight restricted. All the regular passengers made it on but only by some juggling from the Agents and Ground crew did my parents make it on the plane. Two other D3's had to watch the plane pull away even thought it had lots of seats left. This unfortunately happened to me in Brussels once with AA and another 767 and back then I was the one waving after the plane .... The joys of being a nonrev. There was also some hiccups at Customs in DFW where the Agents and Volunteers could not agree on what form my parents should be filling out and this resulted in a delay as well. Good thing we had 3 hours between flight that cushioned us and we ended up with just one hour to wait in the end.

It was wonderful getting home after a long day, in which I ended up having many interesting conversations with Flight Attendants in the Crew Lounge and on the planes, also Passengers I met on both flights - I just wish I would have had the heart to tell one Eagle Flight Attendant who I met and who was all worried about the Bankruptcy that she should start applying to other Airlines, as she only has been with Eagle for one year! if they do start to layoff I would want a head start before all the others go looking and what can you loose with just one year seniority? I don't know but I feel for her!

It was very precious that Oma and Opa got to spend some time with Niki and Harlow last night and this morning. Unfortunately we had to leave at 9:30 am to get Niki to the DEN Airport for her flight home but we also had a date with Make A Wish at The Children's Hospital for Connor's Christmas Shopping trip.
Make A Wish once again outdid themselves and once again I felt tears in my eyes seeing so many sick kids in one place with so many smiles on their faces. Connor was so thrilled to be taken by two Elves (no Family allowed) into the Christmas Store. There he had 7 Christmas Dollars to spend, one Dollar each for the people he picked to buy gifts for and one for himself. After he picked out the gifts with the Elves help they then were wrapped and had cards attached so he could take them home and place them under the tree. There were a couple of moments that made my eyes tear up today and both were due to Connor. The Elves came out of the Store after about an hour to tell us that in the store was Santa, who would only sit with Make A Wish Children today but when it was Connor's turn to sit on his lap he told Santa that his brother really wanted to see him, too, and if he could please get Alexander to have a picture with Santa as well. Turns out Santa and the Elves had a big heart (no surprise here) and an exemption was made and Alexander was allowed to follow Connor into the Store. The second time I got teary was when one of the Elves told me how particular Connor was in picking out his gifts. She said he took his time looking at everything and gave a nod or a no with a great focus. When it came time to pick a gift for his Mom he looked at the Elves and said that one was easy because he knows already what I always want 'HIM'. It is exactly what I tell my dumplings all the time. Mommy does not need anything because I have the love of the most precious little boys in this whole world!!!!

So THANK YOU Make A Wish once again for bringing magic in all those beautiful children's eyes. Also for looking after all the siblings today! Alexander had so much fun watching the magic show and having his face painted. Of course juice and cookies are always a hit as well ;) For his Face Painting he wanted the Chicago Bears sign ... of course .... but since we were on the Bronco's home turf he got a Bronco spray painted on his face :)
Next week Ron has a HUGE surprise in store for Alexander to give some balance to all this and it is a surprise to Alexander at this point but we know he will be over the MOON. All he is asking us and begging us for for Christmas revolves around Football and the Chicago Bears, with his second favorite team being the Bronco's Well ... next Sunday in Denver the Bears are playing the Broncos and Ron was able to get some Nosebleed seats for $100 each. At this price we knew we could not afford for all of us to go so Ron will take Alexander while my parents, Connor and I will spend the day downtown Denver. I so wish Alexander could get a close look at the Football Players ...but never less we know the experience for him will be priceless!

Niki and Harlow made it back home to LAS and unfortunately Harlow s running a fever so we hope she will recover soon!!!! We will miss them here as the time spend together was very precious. I was proud of the boys how considered and attentive they were to Harlow and of course I loved my conversation with my favorite youngest daughter!

We also have good news from the Herndon Family. Ren got through her second surgery well and seems to be recovering better this time then the first time around. We are hoping her parents are feeding her lots of ice cream and also the same amount to her lovely sister Addie!

Hugs,

R A C A