Hello from Arizona!!!! I thought for a long time whether or not to make a blog, aren't they for people that have something special going on in their lives? Then we moved, and moved again, and again. This last move took us so far from everyone we hold dear in our lives. So this is my attempt to keep all persons I love as involved, and to remain in our lives for years to come.
With 6 little ones there will be plenty to keep up with so here we go!
A lot of you know generally the details of our lives, but for those who don't, I can't promise a short recap, a recap none the less.
Kyle and I just celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary in May. During those 12 years we have moved from North Carolina (where it all began) to Kansas City, then to Houston, then back to Kansas City, and our last move to Vail, which is just outside of Tucson Arizona. Kyle took a job for a company called General Dynamics as a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) Technician. And so far loves the company and the job. We have also grown our family to 6 kiddos. Kayla (12), Cameron (10), Christopher (8), Chase (7), and twin boys Cole and Collin, who just turned 2 in May. Life is not easy by any means but it s definitely eventful.
The kids started school on July18th (Vail is a year round district) and they seem to be adjusting to life in the mountains with ease. Kayla is in the 7th grade and has the hard choice of Volleyball (which she has played for 3 years now) or Cheer leading. She is a typical pre-teen, hates her chores, brothers are annoying, and locks herself in her room to watch T.V. or read as much as she can. Cameron is doing great this year so far, after a rough introduction to the school environment, he was diagnosed with ADD, and has made almost a complete academic rebound. He has chosen to play fall baseball, and should start practices in September. Christopher is my class clown. He loves to make people laugh, and I have a feeling this will bring us more trouble than he is ready for. His game is soccer and I can't wait to see him back out on the field this fall. Chase...oh my Chase...This little one has a huge heart, says some of the funniest things right now, but has alot of hurdles to work on as he gets older. Chase was also diagnosed with ADHD, and is taking it in stride. School is not a problem and his reading level is back up to normal. In 2009 Chase fell backwards off a swing at school, being that I was in downtown Kansas City getting a cast off of Cameron's arm at the time, my sister headed to the hospital with Chase to be sure he was not in need of stitches. No stitches were needed but I did approve a CT scan, and praise Jesus I did. The scan showed a small Arachnoid Cyst on the center, rear of his brain. Very common, people live with them their entire lives with no symptoms or problems. MRI revealed there is a blood vessel that runs right through the middle of it. After a year a re-check showed no growth, so no boxing or football for him and he should be fine.
Now to the twins!!! Something I was certainly not prepared for, but taking one day at a time. Pregnancy was fairly simple aside from a bout of preterm labor at 32 weeks, I was released on bed rest to prepare for the final members of our family to arrive. At 36 weeks Kyle and I drove to the hospital for a scheduled induction (with both boys head down, I was free to "try" and deliver traditionally) 1 hour after arriving I had an IV, pitocin started and was extremely nervous for the day to come. Been there done that, but not with two. The rest happened so fast I hardly remember. The doctor came in, breaking my water while he visited, and within a few minutes I had what felt like 9 nurses around me, ordering me to move around in to all these positions, my doctor re-appeared and informed me that we had to get the babies out now. As they wheeled me off. I looked at Kyle not knowing what as going on I am sure I had the same look of panic as he did. I woke 2 hours later with twin boys. Come to find out I had had a placental abruption, and their heart rates where in the 40's. An eventful way to come in to the world, and have not stopped since.
Cole, the oldest twin is my tiny man. He was born a pound lighter than Collin and remains at least 3 lighter than him now. He was found to have leg tremors at night because of an iron deficiency. Due to this he has nights where all is fine and nights waking every few hours. He also has large tonsils for his age, but from what I understand they are now down to a safe size, so no surgery!!!! Yeah!!! Collin has lead a farely normal existence, until we got here to Arizona. What I thought was a simple fever turned into a 4 day stay in the ICU. There he was found to have the human Boca Virus, showing as ear infections, fever, and beginning stages of pneumonia. From there the breathing treatments brought on an SVT episode, and we couldn't get his heart rate to come below 230. He has bounced back, he now takes a daily medication to keep his heart rate regulated, and we know Albuterol is not for him.
With the four older children in school, one would think life would get easier... only having the twins home during the day. Ohhhh Quite the opposite. I spend my days running from one end of the house to the other to break up pinch fights, get one off the T.V stand while the other decides to rearrange my kitchen table. Between double the lunch thrown on the floor, and toys everywhere. I don't even think about leaving the front of the house that is gated to try and make beds, or put away laundry. So I do most of that in the evening between homework, dinner, showers... At least during summer break I had a few extra sets of eyes to say "Mom, Cole is standing on the dining room table!" As for now my favorite time of the day is when I tuck myself into bed, and wonder which child will wake up crying or sleep walking. Yup, I got one of those too.
