Okay...so it has been quite some time

I have no spare time whatsoever since I went back to work. Plus now that Daley is in school and the church choir and bible study we are even busier. So here is an update on everyone.

Danny is doing great. He has decided to have his reconnect surgery in June. The surgeon said he's all for doing it in March (Spring Break), but Danny doesn't want to take the time off. The surgeon said that waiting a full year will greatly decrease his chances of any sort of complication. So another six months of the colostomy it is.

Daley is doing great! She's growing so very fast. She lost her first tooth in September and lost her second one last week. Just yesterday she decided she was going to ride her bike without training wheels and she did it! We took her training wheels off of her little bike a long time ago when she got a new bike. Every now and then she'd try to ride it, but would get scared and give up. We didn't push her and knew it would happen in her own time. Yesterday is just happened and today she was riding around the cul-de-sac like an old pro.

She's doing very well in school too. Daley's in kindergarten and learning how to spell and read. At home she's already started learning multiplication, and not just memorizing flash cards. She actually understands the concept.

Daley had her first opportunity to sing at church two weeks ago. The children's choir sang one song at the beginning of the service. She did so very well and took it quite seriously. Here's a picture after she got home and was able to be her silly self again.

Laura is doing great as well. She's talking up a storm. She's almost 2 and a half and she's started using the potty. Just like her sister she's starting out with the number twos! According to our pediatrician that is backwards. He says that most kids will tinkle on the potty before they do anything else. Laura is very proud of her accomplishment though.

We took the girls to the Bee Movie last weekend and in the middle Laura told me she had to potty. We ran out (even though she's still wearing diapers) and made a visit to the potty. Upon our return to the movie she announced to her Daddy and the rest of the theater that she "poo-pooed on the potty at the Bee Movie!!"

We kicked off the Christmas Season by going to the Thanksgiving Day Parade in Houston. The girls had a blast even though it was very chilly. Jennifer, Larry, Wesley, and my mother all joined us for the excitement. Here's Daley with a picture of her favorite animals.

And I know I'm a little late for the Halloween posts, but the girls looked just too cute to pass up sharing the pictures. Daley was Kimberly, the Pink PowerRanger, again this year. She was also Kimberly two years ago, but in a smaller costume. Laura was a pretty kitty who loved to MEEEEOOOW!We had some photos done recently and were very pleased with the outcome even though our toddler decided to throw a fit a few minutes into the session. Here is a link for the pictures. I'm not sure how long they will be on her site, but hopefully you can view them. http://www.kristiemillsphotography.com/kelley/

Until next time...

My sweet Daley

Tonight Daley and I read a book called "The Crippled Lamb" by Max Lucado. It was given to us by Jennifer about a year ago with a ton of other books. We never got around to reading it. Today as we were going through our books to gather some for a drive at Daley's school I noticed this book. Danny has a daily inspirational book by the same author given to him by JoAnn. So I decided this would be our nighttime book this evening. Half way through the book my sweet baby girl was crying telling me that she was so sad for the lamb. As we got toward the end I was crying as well. As we found out that the lamb was sharing the stable with baby Jesus we were both crying tears of joy. It was an amazing moment for my daughter and I. I was truly overwhelmed by her compassion.

Moving on because I'm crying again. We had a wonderful weekend. Here are some pictures from our fun filled weekend. We went to the zoo, rode the train, rode paddle boats, and played around outside.

This is on the paddle boat. Laura has bread in her hands to feed the ducks, but I guess she got a little hungry.

Me and the girls at the zoo.

Time to paint pumpkins!!

A free moment

I always make sure I spend a few minutes on the computer every Sunday night to check out the PostSecret website. I just love reading the new postcards each week. If you don't know what I'm talking about you should check it out http://postsecret.blogspot.com/ . It is updated every Sunday. So I figured I should also update my blog at least every Sunday if not more.

I don't have many free moments anymore now that I am back in the classroom. I got a teaching job at Ross Sterling Middle School in Humble ISD. I'm teaching Keyboarding and Career Investigations and thoroughly enjoying being back in the classroom. Both kids have adjusted very well to the change and we make the most out of our evenings and weekends. I actually took off last Thursday for an appointment and was able to go to Daley's school to have lunch with her. It was so fun to see her in her own little environment. She showed me the lunch line, where the teachers ate, where they throw the trash, and the recess playground. She is loving Kindergarten. She also lost her first tooth a couple of weeks ago and was very excited when the tooth fairy came to visit.

Danny is doing great. He's been back to work since the school year started and is busier than ever. He has a colonoscopy this week and hopefully everything will look good and he can schedule the reconnect surgery for around Thanksgiving. We were both terrified at the thought of him having a colostomy before his original surgery. The truth is...it isn't such a bad alternative. He isn't sick anymore and has absolutely no restrictions. He went swimming over the summer, takes showers, wears all of the same clothes, eats/drinks anything he wants, can workout (although he really doesn't), and lives life just as he did before he got sick. My point is this--If you ever know someone being faced with this possibility urge them to contact someone who has or has had an ostomy. All of the information we received in the hospital was from doctors and nurses who never had this procedure. Right before surgery we did speak with the husband of a young lady that had a temporary ostomy. It was her information and books that ultimately put our minds at ease enough to agree to the surgery.

Enough of that...Laura is growing like a weed! I'm starting to buy winter stuff for her in a 4T. She just turned 2 in July, but is currently outgrowing 3T clothes. She's talking very well and has started riding a little Radio Flyer bicycle with training wheels. Daley is busy with Kindergarten and goes to church choir and bible study each week.

I have actually just joined a bible study that I absolutely love! It is Loved by God by Liz Curtis Higgs. This woman is hilarious! We have book work each week then meet to discuss what we've read and discovered. We then watch a DVD segment by Liz and laugh the entire time. Check out her website http://www.lizcurtishiggs.com/ and be sure to click the Who is Liz link. Being a former bad girl herself she's written books about bad girls of the bible. I haven't read any yet, but as soon as I finish up this bible study I'm going to start reading some of her books.

Until next time...

So much to say

Danny has only been home from the hospital for about a month now, but it really seems longer. We have done so much since he's been home and spent so much time together. It has been absolutely wonderful! About 2 weeks after he came home we had to redo Laura's room. Daley stayed in her crib until she was 2 1/2 years old, but Laura wasn't even 2 yet and was getting to the point where she would wake up in the middle of the night because she was sideways in her crib and running out of room. So we decided it was time for a big girl bed. With the help of my mother-in-law I painted her room and we put her bed together, hung curtains, and changed everything one Sunday afternoon. She really loves her room now and is sleeping well.

Laura turned 2 on July 28th. This was the day of her 2-year-old check up with our pediatrician. The smile on her face is a little puckered up. She wouldn't say cheese when I was trying to take her pic so I told her to say cock a doodle doo. Our big girl is healthy and happy! She's 33 pounds and 36 inches tall. We are pretty sure she's going to be tall like her Daddy. I brought my camera with us that day because we were going to Incredible Pizza after her Dr. appt and snapped this great shot of Daddy and his girls.

Then it was Laura's birthday!! We had her party at McDonald's and had a great time. She was so happy to be 2 years old. For several days after her birthday every time she got in trouble for something she'd say "Laura 2!". She said it like she could not possibly be in trouble anymore because she was 2 years old.

Then it was time for a special day with Daley. My big girl who is starting kindergarten this year. We started off by going to the Potter's Wheel where Daley could pick out any piece of pottery and then paint it. Big surprise she picked out a horse! She did a beautiful job of painting a pink and purple horse. We had to leave it there to be fired and will actually pick it up tomorrow.

After that we joined our neighbors at Chick-Fila for lunch and play time. I then decided that Daley needed a hair cut. I've usually just trimmed it at home, but thought she needed a good cut before she started school. Daley then informed me that she wanted short hair. So that is what she got and I love it! Fortunately she loves it too!

This last weekend we took a trip with Danny's mom to see his grandmother and Aunt in Corsicana and his Aunt and Uncle in Wills Point. We all had a wonderful time. The kids were pretty well behaved and Laura slept well considering she's only slept at home since she moved to a big girl bed. This is Laura and her great-grandmother a.k.a. Meemaw. We stayed in a hotel in Corsicana and this was the first time the girls had slept in the same bed. It went pretty smoothly. Daley fell asleep right away and Laura tried to play her for a few minutes. After I reminded Laura that it was night-night time she settled down and put herself to sleep.



We then headed to Wills Point the next day for a day in the country. The girls loved being outside surrounded by nature...cows, a dog, GIANT SPIDERS! I have never seen such huge spiders and they were everywhere in the pasture. I would have taken a picture, but I was too scared to get that close. Aunt Jen calls them Charlotte spiders because they are like the one in Charlotte's Web. That really doesn't make them any cuter.

We came home yesterday and the girls were worn out after a great weekend with family.

Whewwww. That was a long blog. Consider yourself updated! We have a very busy couple of weeks ahead of us as well. I'll keep everyone posted.

An Update

I just wanted to let everyone know how I was doing since my last post. I have increased the amount of physical activity and Kelley has made sure that I do more around the house (to help me build strength of course). We have started going to the gym again. The first time I went was last week and I did 10 minutes on the bike and worked out on the machines. It felt good to work out again although it was a little discouraging with the amount of weight I was lifting. I am under the physical therapist's orders to work out with minimum weight and as many "reps" as I can. So far I am following orders.

I have had all of my follow up visits to the doctors that required them and everything is great. My blood test results were perfect and it seems that my body is functioning like it is suppose to. All three of the doctors that I saw were impressed with my condition, so I took that as a compliment.

I still see everyday what God has given me. The amount of family time that Kelley and I have had the last three weeks with each other and with our girls has been a wonderful blessing. I could not be any happier and it is because of my family, all of my friends and neighbors, my church family, my colleagues, and of course... God.

The kids are snoozing

It is 7:30 Saturday morning and both children are still sleeping. It is so very quiet and peaceful. Danny is at a men's breakfast at our church and I'm using this time to drink my coffee and catch up on paperwork. Obviously I'm taking a quick break to update our blog though! Things are wonderful. We've had a few bumps this last week, but nothing to get upset about. Danny's recovery is going very well. He had a follow up visit with the infectious disease doc (you know...the one that tried to kill him with Vancomycin) last week after his PICC line was removed and she released him from care. She said everything is wonderful and she hopes to never see him again. She was joking, but we are not. We'll never go to her again after her poor judgement in care. I really had to beg Danny to follow up with her because I felt it wouldn't be a good idea to follow up with a new doctor after everything that has happened.

Danny had a toothache last week, but fortunately has a very dear friend who is a dentist. Danny never wanted to have him work on his teeth thinking it would be too weird, but after all that he has been through in the last couple of months he needed to go to someone he trusted. Pierre was able to fix the problem and hopefully avoid a root canal. Danny will have to follow up in a couple of weeks and have a permanent filling put in the area.

Danny also ran out of contacts and couldn't get a refill without an eye exam so he went to the optometrist yesterday. He's just getting a complete overhaul this summer. He still has two more follow up doctor visits next week and hopefully he'll be done until his next surgery in the fall.

I resigned from my position at the hospital this last week. They weren't going to approve a leave of absence anyway and my family doesn't need me working at night anymore. Next week I'm going to start signing up with temp agencies and try to work a few days a week.

I prayed so much in the hospital for Danny's emotional and spiritual health. I was so afraid that he wouldn't recover in those areas and would struggle returning to his normal life. My prayers were answered. He's doing so well. He went to choir practice last Tuesday and then the men's breakfast this morning. We've gone to two birthday parties as a family since he's been home. We are going to a colostomy support group next week. He's back to his happy, optimistic, joking self. He's also doing very well with the children. He's back to wrestling with them on the floor-of course they both know they can't jump on Daddy's tummy. He helps me bathe them and put them to bed. I'm just so thankful for God's love and grace.

For my Birthday

Tomorrow is my 32nd birthday. It is also the last day of my IV medication. I get to have my PICC line out for my birthday. I know that doesn't sound like much, but I am really excited to get rid of this thing. Tomorrow is also the one week anniversary of my return home. I have done everything possible to get back into a normal (or at least my old) routine. Church today was wonderful... not only was there another great message, but so many wonderful people made me feel blessed by just being happy that I was there.

For an update on my condition I want to let everyone know that with the exception of a little bit of fatigue I feel great. I have increased that amount of exercise and activity each day that I have been home and I feel that I am getting stronger daily. I still have some trouble standing for long periods of time and the first few steps after I have sat for a while are sometimes challenging. Other than that I feel as healthy as I ever have. I am pushing myself, but not too hard. I am letting my body dictate how much I do on a daily basis, which seems to more than I expected.

Once again, I must thank everyone that has supported my family and I through this process. On my last blog I forgot to thank my colleagues at Tomball High School that stepped up for me in a big way at the end of the school year. I also want to thank my team and department for sending all of the cards, emails, and gifts. Most of all I would like to thank them for the many visits. I know I blogged it before, but those things meant the world to me.

On my last blog I tried very hard to refrain from mentioning people by name because I knew that I would forget someone. I can no longer deny credit where it is due. I must mention just a few names of people that supported my family in such a way that we could never properly thank them. Before I do please know that everyone involved in my life through this ordeal from long time friends and family to church family, to work friends, to my neighbors had a HUGE impact on me and my family no matter how big or small their contribution was. I will never be able to properly thank everyone, but I am going to attempt it.

With all of that being said I need to thank Cathy Bellon (my team leader at Tomball) who took over my end of year grades, which is a giant task. Many of my colleagues administered final exams and stepped up for me and I want to thank all of you. Besides my Mom and my Mother-in-law there were two other people that dropped whatever they were doing and came to Kelley's aid as far as watching our girls or just being there for Kelley. Thank you Jennifer and Larry Spell for always being there. We always introduce you as our friends, but we consider you family. I also would like to thank Jo Ann Johnson for never being more than a phone call away and doing whatever needed to be done. Jo Ann came to watch the girls, took them to fun places, and stayed with Kelley (along with Jennifer and Arlin) throughout my six hour surgery. To the names I have mentioned and to all the other people that cared so much I want to once again thank you for making me a blessed man.