Get ready for a lot of photos!! My phone storage was maxing out and I decided that was my queue to do another blog post. Our little family has been busy with school and staying out of the hospital! This past year has been a whirlwind for me as I decided to tackle college once again and it has been a challenge! I decided to switch things up and work towards a bachelor's in nursing. I have taken chemistry, biology, college algebra, anatomy & physiology (2), microbiology, psychology and a couple ethics classes to get all my co-reqs done for the nursing program. I've been taking all my classes online (self taught) so that I can be there 100% for my kiddos. It has been a journey and I am close to done. Then the 2 year nursing program will begin!! My end goal is to become a Nurse Practitioner and work in pediatrics. I'll get there.. I may be really old when it happens, but I will make it happen! This summer I celebrated my 39th birthday and so far, my 30s have caused a few wrinkles and many gray hairs. I am looking forward to my 40s!
This little guy may be the culprit of these wrinkles, but every single one of them has been worth it and I would do it all over again in an instant. Owen started 5th grade!!!! I cannot say that I wasn't completely terrified about throwing him back into school this fall with his peers. He has missed 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade and we were just throwing him into 5th. He has an IEP with plenty of support and a wonderful staff .. but WOW... he has blown us away!!! He even made the honor roll!!! He is making friends with his peers and teachers (the same) and loves it. He is on a modified school day and only goes from 8-noon, but it's working out perfectly and it was absolutely the right decision for him.
Aside from school, he spends his day playing video games, watching youtube, doing homework, and he is will sit and chat my ear off for hours. I love our nightly chats and he always has something shocking to say. I couldn't be more proud of where he is today! (Medical update later..)
This little cutie is close to his 4th birthday. He has almost as much energy as his mama and he loves to constantly be on the go! Now that the weather is amazing in the desert, we go to the park everyday while Owen is at school and he always makes friends. "Hi, I am Logan.. what's your name? You want to play with me?" He is friendly, thoughtful and always up for an adventure. He is loving video games, playdoh, nerf guns and he loves to clean house!! Owen likes to antagonize Logan and then they end up in a wrestling match 95% of the time and you can guess what happens next.. (insert tears here). Brothers will be brothers and they both adore their big Sister the most.
This cute girl started College in August and is loving it!! She got a scholarship to ASU so she basically gets paid to go to school. She switched majors from BioChem to Biomedical and loves it so far. She has a full class load and finals are in 3 weeks (I cannot believe that). She loves the Arizona State campus, has made a ton of friends and just got accepted to travel abroad to Trinidad and Tobago! She is still living at home and commuting to campus and she doesn't regret that decision for a second. Life at 18 looks good on her!
Owen's health has been so great!! He is still on steroids and it doesn't seem we will ever wean him off at this point. Each time we drop the dose, even a little, his body starts rejecting his precious heart. We have been going to Stanford every 3 months still and Owen loves the trips to the cath lab. His heart pressures are perfect, and he hasn't had rejection the last two visits.. YAY!! We will go back the end of January for his annual biopsy and cath to check on his coronary arteries. Until then, we are living life and making memories. This was a rough year and several of our dear heart friends passed away. Most recently we lost a few really close friends and it has been so tough. Life is precious and we are just so grateful for every moment we have and we try to make each day as great as we can.
At our last visit, a few weeks ago, I wandered the halls of the hospital and kept finding little memories of our time inpatient. Owen's tiles he made in the playroom one afternoon, artwork he did in Hospital school and photos of my boy are scatted throughout the hospital. It seems like decades ago that we lived a very different life in the walls of a hospital room praying for the day that we would be free. Prayers answered and we are living our best lives!!
If you read this far... I love you!! I know my kids will read this blog one day and I am doing this for them. We spent a good chunk of time this morning looking back at old photos and posts of when Logi was born as we prepare for his birthday coming up. I'm back at it!! :)
2 comments:
So great to hear that life is good for you guys right now. Nothing slows you down! I can’t believe you and Kamryn are both in college! You guys are awesome! Owen is a walking miracle, that boy just amazes me. Your family is always in my daily prayers.
Its so good to know everyone is doing so good. I have been checking in every now and then and would just "sigh" when I didn't see an update, but thought, no news is good news.....and I knew you had gone back to school. But its just so good to hear from you again. We have a little four year old here in our small community who has these heart issues, he is a twin and his brother is perfectly healthy. I admire you and your beautiful family!
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