Two Incredible Years

How has it been two years?  Two incredible years full of everyday challenges.  I look at this photo and remember capturing it outside the Scottsdale airfield at 1:30 in the morning while we waited for our life flight crew to prepare the plane.  After living in the hospital for 10 months, we had only been back in Arizona for one week when we got the call.  "We have a heart for Owen and it's a perfect match!"  I was so exhausted, completely drained, and I knew the next week was going to require me to become superhuman.  Sleepless nights, praying for a miracle, grieving for the donor families and making sure I was the best cheerleader for this little guy!!  We made it buddy...two years without any major complications, illnesses (aside from appendicitis), and you are growing! 

Look at you now!  You have been on quite the adventure the past 11 years and we couldn't be more proud of you.  Today we will write our first letter to this donor family.  I haven't had the words and I have sat down to write it many times before.  We are the lucky ones.  So many of your friends have returned home to Jesus this year and it's been so tough!  My wish for you is to always look for the GOOD in every situation,  LIVE in the moment and be GRATEFUL for all you have!  You are pretty incredible Mr. Owen and I am so proud to be your mom.

 I have been working on a post or two about our trip to Hawaii.  I cannot believe I haven't had time to sit down and blog about it.  We are already planning our next adventure... stay tuned.

Hello January. Goodbye January.

Happy January.. or almost February!  We have had a wild start to 2019 and cannot wait to see what is in store for our little fam.  The year started off with a new addition to our family... meet LULU the Cockapoo!  I finally caved and told Kam she could purchase a pup.  Kam and Lu are a match made in heaven and she is getting more love than any pup could imagine.  She is mostly a lazy little gal who likes to play tuggy and chew on everything. 

 

 We celebrated Kam's 19th Birthday... yes, I said NINETEEN!!!!  She is a gem and my right hand gal. She is loving ASU, making friends and planning a  Foreign Exchange trip to TRINIDAD in March! 

 This little guy finally got in to see Endocrinology and it was determined he is perfectly fine.  He is hanging out at about 3% for height and weight for growth, but he is alive and well.  His estimated growth is about 5'8" and no need for human growth hormone shots for now.  :)

 Logi likes to one up his brother and the competition between these two is fierce.  Owen has maturity and intellect over Logi's massive strength and endurance.  These boys love to compete, antagonize and tackle each other all day long.  We are soaking up the beautiful weather in the desert this time of year and I love to take these boys out for long bike rides to help them burn off their energy.

 Things had been pretty quiet around here for Owen, apparently too quiet, so his appendix decided it was time to be eliminated.  Owen had an appendectomy last Thursday and he felt immediate relief.  He is still recovering and getting back to his baseline, but it was his easiest surgery to date.

 I spent the last 18 months working my buns off getting all my pre/co reqs done for Nursing school.  It was hard and exhausting but nothing compared to what is to come.  I did really good on my Hesi exam and now I just wait for acceptance or denial into the program.  It's competitive and my competition is young and fierce.  My plan is to get my BSN in Nursing and go on to get my NP degree asap. 

 I have to wish this little dude a HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY!!  Most kids you wish would stop growing up and you want to bottle up their youth.  I am just so thrilled to be lucky enough to celebrate another birthday with this little guy and pray that I get to watch him grow into a man one day.  Life is fragile and unpredictable, but I have to believe that there are big plans for Owen.  To his donor families.. if you read this... THANK YOU for choosing to say YES because without you, we wouldn't be here celebrating ELEVEN incredible years!!

Now that I am all kinds of teary, I am going to sign off.  Thank you for loving our family!!

Celebrating Logan's 4th!!

I can hardly believe it, but Logan just turned 4!!  I am trying not to blink because I'll miss something.  This little guy is such a joy!  He likes things done a certain way, doesn't like to be messy and always chooses kindness.  He is a friend to everyone and just wants the other kids to play nice.  If he sees another kiddo not playing nice or disobeying rules, he will call them on it.  He is fueled by chocolate, all kinds, and it has to be COLD or he won't eat it.  His favorite person is Kam and the rest of us come in a close second.  He wakes up happy each morning and can't wait to go to bed "it's getting dark!"  He loves to go for long walks and discover new parks.  I love this little buddy of mine and am so LUCKY to be his mom! 

 He woke up early to open his Birthday gifts!  I dusted off Kam's old Casio keyboard from years ago that I held onto for who knows why.. but it sure came in handy!  Logan LOVES it and keeps calling himself the "DJ" and discovers a new jam everyday. 

 Our little Birthday tradition is to hit up all the local eateries that offer FREE food if it's your Birthday!  We got milkshakes and corn dog bites at Joe's Farm Grill.  Then headed to SomeBurros later for bean burritos and rice.  He was so HAPPY! 

 Carson bought tickets for IlluminationsAZ in Tempe to drive through and see all the Christmas lights (this picture isn't the best).  It was pretty awesome and he kept saying "this is such a great Birthday!"

 His only request was hotdogs for dinner so we headed over to Portillo's.  If you haven't been... it's so delicious!!!

 Green frosted chocolate cake and mint ice cream was on his list and he blew out the candles before we even started singing.  Happy Birthday little buddy, I can't wait to watch your grow another year older!!