Christmas 2009

A belated Merry Christmas to you all!!

Wow, it was sure busy here at our house. Everybody has been sick, with the exception of Kraig. He has the "bug" first a couple of weeks earlier. It all started with Kaden having a fever last Sunday. The first three nights were pretty rough. He would wake up every few hours screaming and mad. It was a wrestling match trying to get him to settle down. We have never seen Kaden like that before. He was feeling pretty normal during the day, but at night, not so much - strange!! Then Kory and Konnie got their fevers and then Kaden started wheezing so we had to start the breathing treatments. He did pretty well sitting still for them, thank God!!

On Christmas Eve morning we always celebrate Kenny and Katie's birthday - and it is always a sad time. But this year, we spent most of the morning at the pediatrician's office and didn't have much time to spend on our grief. I must say that I am relieved that it didn't hurt so much this year. I think that the anticipation of their birthday is nearly always worse than the actual day itself. Of course, the first few years were the worst. Each year it gets a little bit easier - I know that having our miracles on earth is the best medicine of all. Happy 7th birthday my sweet babes - we look forward to seeing you again in Heaven!!

We had to cancel our Christmas gatherings at our house so as not to expose others to our illness. What a major bummer!! Fortunately, we had a Merry Christmas through the fevers, wheezing and runny noses!! We hope you all did too!!

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure...

Bittersweet Season

For most people, the holidays are a season filled with pure joy. But for us, Christmas is very bittersweet. Our first set of twins were born and died, on Christmas Eve 2002, due to incompetent cervix. Kenny and Katie were 21 weeks and were simply born too soon. Both babies lived for over an hour. They would be 7 years old this Christmas, had they survived.

Every year the pain lessens, ever so slightly, and now having our precious Konnie, Kaden and Kory, their joy for the season is great medicine for our broken hearts. No on can ever replace the babies we lost, but our precious earth angels help us heal over the deep wounds in our hearts.

Having lost such precious little babies, has forever changed us for the better, in countless ways. We truly appreciate so many things in life that we used to take for granted. Our hearts are more sensitive and soft towards others and their situations. But most importantly, we have grown in our walk with the Lord.

Fortunately, my husband is a man of great faith, and was with me through my darkest hours. He always reminded me when I was grieving the hardest, and angry at God that we no longer had our precious babies with us, that we needed to pray. Kraig would grab my hands and we would get down on our knees and PRAY. Immediately after Kraig began to pray the words out loud, I could feel God's peace and calm washing over me. It was an amazing feeling. As a child I always believed in God, but didn't really have a true personal relationship with Him until after their deaths. I knew God was always with me, every step of the way. I would be driving in my car alone, and hurting so intensely, then a specific song would come on the radio. The song is by FFH and is called "You Found Me." Here are the lyrics.

FFH - You Found Me

I've got nowhere to turn, I've got
nowhere to hide, and I've got no alibi,
You've been following me, you know
my history, and no matter how hard I try,
I can't explain away
The way I feel today
There's only one thing I can say:

(Chorus)
You, You've found me.
You found me and You called me from the wilderness,
From my cave of emptiness,
Yeah, You, You've found me.
You found me in the places of my lonliness
You told me there was more than this,
You captured me with tenderness,
Yeah, You've found me.

There was so many days, trying to
figure out ways to explain what I feel inside,
I tried to fill up my soul without
using control, this desire never did subside,
I'm ready to give in
I know I'll never win
The hide and seek that I've been in

(Chorus)

In the pit of despair, I was all alone there.
I wasn't looking for You, but You found me anyway.
You put Your hand on face, then you changed my ways.
Nothing can separate me from...

(Chorus)


The lyrics were heaven sent for me. This song came on the radio countless times, in moments of great sadness, and simply made me smile. It was a reminder from Him that I wasn't alone and that He loves me.

And they said he would never walk...

Kory and I met with one of his physical therapists a little over a week ago. She was very impressed with his progress over the last month. Ms. M said that he once again far exceeded her expectations. Well, all I can say is, that is our Kory...always defying the odds and statistics. She also did share for the first time that she never thought he would walk. I was absolutely shocked. That was the first time that I had ever heard that. I felt sad, angry, overwhelmed and proud all at the same time.

We met with our private physical therapist a couple of days ago, and I asked her if she ever believed that he wouldn't walk. Ms. T said that she thought that he would probably walk, but not until he was much older. Ms. T was blown away that he is walking well before his second birthday!!!

For your viewing pleasure...



There really are no words to express how we feel about our former 2 lb. boys. We just know that they are MIRACLES without a doubt, and that WE ARE SO BLESSED!!!

Photo shoot without kids

I just recently gave in to the masses and joined Facebook and a dear old friend commented that I never have posted or e-mailed pictures of Kraig and I. I quickly realized how often I snap pictures of the Kraig and the kids that I don't really take any pictures of us together.

So I mentioned this to Kraig and we thought we would quickly throw together a photo shoot of just the two of us. So we grabbed my trusty Nikon D80, tripod, and put the camera on the timer setting. It really ended up being so much fun. We just love the way that some of the shots turned out. Tell me what you think...











Then we took a few shots of just each other. Here are our favorites!!


Look at these amazing blue eyes...



I like this one best in black and white...



So after this fun photo shoot, I decided to finally buy the remote that goes with my camera so that I don't have to always set the camera, trigger the timer and make a run for it. Now we will be able to pose for our shots and simply push the button and wait for it. My next photo shoot will hopefully be a fun, fall, family photo shoot. Wait for it...

Pumpkin Patch 2009

On Sunday afternoon, we took the kiddos and went to the pumpkin patch. It was a wonderful, cool, crisp, sunny fall day. An absolute perfect day for the pumpkin patch, as there was NO MUD!! This was the first time that we went to French Prairie Gardens and it was really wonderful!! They had a few great hay mazes of varying difficulties, obstacle course for kids, play areas for toddlers, hay slides, petting zoo, pig races, duck races, and a pig barrel train ride for kids. Oh yes, and I can't forget...delicious apple cider donuts. YUMMY!!



My mom brought my wonderful nieces, Kristen, Aly, Sydney, and we got to meet Kristen's boyfriend Josh. It was a great time being together with them.

Konnie on the pig train



We probably spent about 20 minutes or so trying to get through the hay maze. With our trusty hay maze guide, a beautiful 5 year old...we did our best to get through to the end, but sadly, that was not to be. We ended up coming out the way that we came in. But we all loved the adventure and had a great time with the kids. Kaden really enjoyed being swished from side to side as we turned corners and Kory loved touching the hay bales. Both the boys were in back pack carriers.

Picture of the outside of the large hay maze.



Kory, touching the prickly hay.



Our hay maze guide.



All three of our kiddos enjoying a nice break in the toddler play area.



Kaden enjoying his first Tonka Truck experience.



Kory exploring the hay.



Next, we headed to the pig races. I didn't realize what winners we were, but wow. They took volunteers from the crowd and Konnie was picked and her pig, the one with the red bandana won!!! Two races later, Kraig was chosen and his duck won the race. Needless to say, I am so proud of both of them. :)



Here is a picture of the winners donning their new prizes!!



Then it was time to play on the big culvert slide...

This is our middle niece Alyssa, we caught this great shot of her beautiful smile as she was enjoying her trip down the slide.



Now, our youngest niece Sydney, showing off her beautiful, powder sugar smile.



Our new college student, our oldest niece Kristen and her boyfriend Josh.



Here is Oma with all her grandchildren.




Oh what a wonderful day.

Boys and their tractor

Now that Kaden is walking so well, we are really enjoying watching him walk and helping Kory get ready to walk independently too. We really loved and soaked in the sunshine today. We walked around our sidewalk and the driveway. Both Kaden and Kory really love being such big boys. Watch this video of Kaden pushing Kory on the tractor...


Then it was Kory's turn to push...


What amazing boys!!!

New pictures of the kiddos

Kraig and I took the kids out to our field of alfalfa and captured some really precious shots.


Kory James...



Kaden Eugene...



Konstance Grace...





We took so many pictures trying to get the kids to all smile and look at the camera at the same time...needless to say it was challenging, but SO MUCH FUN!! We were so pleased at how well the pictures turned out.

What a blessing these children are to us!! We are so thankful for them, each and every day!!

Thank you God!!!

Mt. St. Helens

My Uncle Raimund and Aunt Ingrid are visiting us from Germany this month, and we are so enjoying have them here. We thought it would be a fun day trip to take them to see Mt. St. Helens.




So we headed out last Sunday morning around 9:30 or so. We knew it would take us a few hours to get there, but what we didn't plan for was the extra winding roads to take us to Windy Ridge. This is the closest ridge to actually view the side of the mountain that erupted. The boys weren't too thrilled with being trapped in their car seats for so long. We left just before their naptime and thought it would be perfect timing, but they failed to go to sleep, until just before we arrived for a lunch break at a Rangers station just past the town of Cougar.

After lunch, we hit the road again to get to our ultimate destination...Windy Ridge. We arrived around 2 pm, and the boys were going a bit stir crazy. Mom felt quite car sick, so she and Aunt Ingrid stayed down at the parking lot and let the boys play in the back of her van, while the rest of us hiked up 440 stairs to a landing with a great view on the mountain.

Here is a picture of Konnie, warming up for the hike, doing some yoga!!



We are just about half way up the side of the ridge here...



Here is a shot of the mountain



A picture of my wonderful Uncle Raimund.



Here we are, the adventurous hikers, nearly at the viewpoint.



It is amazing to see how much timber is still floating in Spirit Lake, and it has been nearly 30 years since the eruption.



The view of the stairs and parking lot on the way back down the ridge.



When we got back to the parking lot, we were all ready to head home. Everyone wanted to eat a quick bite, so that we could drive non-stop.



Kraig and I took the kiddos back to Dayton, and Mom, Uncle and Auntie went to Leavenworth. We didn't arrive home until 9:30 pm. It was heavenly to be back home and to be able to let Kaden and Kory play and crawl all over the place.

We have a walker...

Well, it is official, Kaden has started walking!!! He took his first few independent steps last week. He is sure proud of himself and enjoying his new found skill. We couldn't be happier!! Here is a video clip of Kaden walking...




Sorry that I haven't been better about blogging lately. We have been so very busy. Things should start settling down soon, I hope. :)

Driving around the farm...

Konnie took the boys around the farm for a ride on her John Deere Gator. It was so sweet to watch. Of course the boys absolutely loved it!!!

Konnie gave Kaden a ride first...





Then it was time for Kory's ride...



Then our fearless boy felt that he was ready to take the wheel...



This is how Kaden felt about taking a break...



The next day, we decided to let them all ride together...



Then everyone was happy!!