Monday, October 18

It was Monday, October 18, 2010. Oh what a glorious day!

After a few calls to Brent’s case worker at the cancer center, we heard the word that we have been praying to hear for just under 2 years now. REMISSION!

Here’s how it went… Brent and I were sitting in the car in the parking lot of his work place. Courtney, his case worker, called with the rest of his results from his bone marrow biopsy. Here’s their conversation (I’m eliminating a bunch of medical stuff that no one really understands anyway):

Courtney - “I just wanted to let you know that everything looked good. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Brent - “Oh, OK.”

Kelli - “Don’t hang up! Ask where your level is.” (Note: I don’t really know what this level measures, but he knew which one I meant.)

Brent - “Courtney, do you happen to know where my level is? You know, one time it was 0.19, last time it was at 0.16. It’s the one that tells us how where we are compared to remission.”

Courtney - “Oh sure, you’re at (phone cuts out) 0.”

They confirmed his next appt, and that was it. They hung up.

Immediately after hanging up, Brent looked at me and said, “I’m probably going to need to you to call her back this afternoon.”

So later that day, I did just that. She confirmed that his level was truly at a ZERO. To be quite honest, I still didn’t believe that we were talking about the same level. She must be looking at some other count. I wanted to make sure I was understanding this correctly, so I simply said, “Courtney, I need to know… is this remission?”

And then I heard it, fewer words have been better to hear. “Kelli, we’ve hit remission.”

“Thank you, God!” It’s all I could think. It’s all I could say. I had to walk away from my desk and go somewhere private (I work with guys, you know how they get when they see a girl cry.)

THANK. YOU. GOD.

Brent was off work by this time, so I called him immediately. Wanna hear a grown man cry? Tell him that he just beat cancer. That’ll do it!

This was truly a day to celebrate!

No Apologies, OK… maybe a few

Great intentions have been getting me no where. Things have been so crazy lately (you know, in the last 3 1/2 since I last updated). When things happen, good or bad, I think… I should blog about this. And then I don’t. And then something else happens, and I think, “I can’t blog about this until I catch up on the last thing.”

Well, last night we were sitting at Brent’s parents’ house looking through old pictures and scrapbooks. It was so fun to listen to stories and hear the different memories that certain pictures brought up for different people. It was then that I decided to not feel guilty any longer. No catch up sessions (except for the really big stuff), but it won’t be in order. I need to blog about what’s going on in our lives, because you can bet your bottom dollar that these things certainly aren’t going into a scrap book of any kind.

So there you have it. Sorry that I’ve been missing. But I’m not sorry. Life happens. I’m only sorry to my boys, in case they ever wanted to look back at this as their scrap books.

Happy Monday. You’ll be hearing more from me than before.

Kelli

Tornado 2010 (Part III)

What do you do when you find out your house has been hit by a tornado? How are you supposed to act. We were all OK. Immediately I thanked God that I could honestly say we were all OK. Brent looked out our kitchen window and saw a hole in the back of our garage. Of course, there was no electricity, which meant no lights, which meant that we couldn’t fully understand the extent of the damage. Karter was scared and didn’t know what to do, but so was I. The first thing he asked is why his slide was broken. My heart broke for him as he looked out the window at where his swing set used to be. Brody clung to me, but I think that was just because it was dark. I just remember Brent’s shakey voice saying, “Kelli, we were hit by a tornado.” We walked into the living room. I remember thinking, “Thank you God that we still have a living room.” The boys and I sat on the couch in front of the big window. Just on the other side of that glass was chaos, and I didn’t want to go out there. Brent put shoes on and walked out our front door, now with an actual flashlight. Our front porch was in pieces. He didn’t know if it was safe to actually walk on it, but he did. Outside in the street people were coming out of their houses. Fire trucks rode down the street. Firemen knocked on doors making sure everyone inside was OK.

The next thing I know, I had dialed my sister’s phone number. By this time it was about 1:30 AM, and I didn’t know what else to do but call Kristi and talk through this. Matt answered right away, like it wasn’t even weird that I was calling at that time. He and Kristi were vacuuming up water in the basement (thank you God for keeping the water out of our basement). I didn’t even ask for Kristi. I don’t even know if I was making sense. I just remember telling Matt that our house had been hit by a tornado.

Karter asked a few questions, and I didn’t know what to tell him. How do you explain this to a 3 year old? We sat on the couch, and watched the commotion outside. Karter wanted to know why those “fire guys” broke the houses. I explained that they were good guys and were making sure everyone was safe. After a few minutes Brent came back in. He sat with the boys and I went and walked around.

It was shocking! I couldn’t take it all in. There were flashing lights, people walking, trees down, entire roofs missing. It was chaos. I asked Brent if I could take pictures, but he thought I should wait til morning. Here are a few pictures of our damage:

The garage door in our 3rd stall was either sucked or blown in (yet the doors on the two stalls where we park our vehicles were not damaged)

 

The back wall of our garage was pushed about a foot off the foundation (and yet our vehicles remained undamaged).

The front porch: (One of the support beams actually went through our neighbor’s window. Thank God no one was seriously hurt!)

Our swing set and some broken trees:

 

In my last post (part II) I mentioned that I remembered feeling a draft of air when I went in to get Brody. It wasn’t until later that I found out that draft of air was coming from the window. Brody’s window had shattered. Luckily his crib is across the (very small) room from the window, and none of the glass made it that far over. Karter’s room was also missing a window, but that one was not shattered. It was sucked out and landed about 3 houses down. It breaks my heart to know that this all happened while they were still snuggled in their beds. I can’t help but think about the what-ifs, and it makes me fall to my knees and thank God that he kept my family safe. I am amazed.

At about 3:00 that morning we headed up to Brent’s parents’ house to try and get some sleep. That was really the first time that I paid attention to the damage done to the rest of the neighborhood…

Tornado 2010 (Part II)

Let me start by saying that I am a tight sleeper. When I was young I had no choice but to be a tight sleeper. My Dad snored so loudly that it didn’t matter where your bedroom was. If you weren’t a tight sleeper… there was no sleep to be had. So, it’s not surprising to me that I don’t really remember Brent saying (loudly) to get the boys and get downstairs. I really don’t remember all the little details. All I knew was that he flew out of the bedroom, and I was following him. It was pitch black, and I didn’t know what was going on. Brent ran in to Karter’s room and grabbed him. I grabbed Brody, and we all headed to the basement.

It’s funny how after a little time has passed and you have time to stop and think (or wake up) you remember little details.

Example 1: In the confusion and chaos Brent and I ended up running right into each other. I’m not talking about just bumping into each other. No, I mean a collision in our pitch black hallway. It was when we were trying to get to our boys. In true Kelli fashion, in one of the most inappropriate times, I got a serious case of the giggles.

Example 2: When I went in to grab Brody out of bed (still not really sure what was going on) I remember feeling this strange draft of air.

So, we’re all sitting in our basement. Brody kept looking at me like I was crazy (I couldn’t argue with him there). Karter was scared and unsure of what was going on (totally justified). Karter had to go to the bathroom, and he didn’t understand when we said we couldn’t go back upstairs to go to the bathroom. We let him pee in a spare bucket that was down there. Normally that would be fun for him, but not in the middle of the night when your parents rip you out of bed and can’t explain why.

The thunder was loud and the lightening was constant. We could watch the action from our basement windows. We sat, the four of us, on a spare mattress while all around us the wind had reared its ugly head. I remembered hearing what sounded like a dish falling to the floor. I remember feeling very unsettled. I didn’t dare ask Brent any questions, as I didn’t really want to hear his answers. I wanted to sit on this mattress with my little family. I wanted to cuddle, fall asleep and wake up to a big misunderstanding.

That didn’t happen.

“Mommy, why is Kevin barking?” Brent and I had the same thought, “Hallelujah, Kevin is barking.”

The power was out, and our cell phones were our makeshift flashlights. After about 30 minutes in the basement, we talked about going back upstairs. Just as we were discussing it, we started to see headlights outside, and then we started to see flashing lights. We headed upstairs and looked out. Brent’s worst fear had been confirmed. Our neighborhood and our house had been hit by a tornado.

Tornado 2010 (Part I)

Last week Wednesday seemed like a normal day. Work for Brent and myself and daycare for the boys. Brent was supposed to get together with his Bible Study guys that night but ended up skipping. There was too much he wanted to get done around the house. He was mowing and cleaning out the garage. The boys and I spent the evening playing outside. Brent finished mowing and drove the mower back up to his parents’ house. While he was gone, it started to rain. Normally I would have rushed the boys in the house to keep them from getting wet. That night, however, we decided to play in the rain.

Brent came home and joined in the fun.

 

It was probably about 8:00, so I headed in to make supper. We ate, played in the house and headed off to bed. Sounds pretty normal, right? That was the end to our normal day.

Thursday, July 22, 2010 ~ 12:30 AM

I woke up to Brent jumping out of bed and yelling, “Kelli, get the boys and get downstairs!”

Feeling Called

I must admit, I’m very excited to write this (quick) post. For a while now, Brent and I have felt like God was calling us to serve Him. We wondered what it would be. How would He use us? Well, I’m so very excited to say… In September, we will begin our three year adventure as youth sponsors (Sr High) in our church. I might be a bit biased, but I feel we have some of the kids (adults) in our church! And I have a feeling that they’ll teach me far more than I could possibly teach them!

I’m also really excited to work with the sponsors! I love getting to know people of our church a little deeper, and this sounds like a really fun way to do it!

Looking forward to September!

Thank you, Father, for the youth in our area. Not only at Carmel Reformed, but all over. I ask that you be with them through the summer and that they may all feel welcome to come and learn more about you, no matter what level of relationship they have with You. Father, please be with us as we prepare to be sponsors. I thank you for this opportunity and look forward to serving you!

Whew! What a Week!

Last Weekend

Brent played in a co-ed softball tournament in Craig on Friday night and all day Saturday. The boys came along on Friday night and Saturday morning. Then Wendi took them for the afternoon. They went with Wendi & Phil to the Summer Festival days in Hull. There was a parade and Karter said he saw FIVE tractors. (Wendi said it was more like 55, but who’s counting?).

Then Saturday evening we went to the fair grounds in Sioux Center. It was the start of the 2010 Sioux County Youth Fair. The fair has always been a big part of Brent’s summer. There are tons of pictures of Brent when he was younger receiving all kinds of ribbons and awards for whatever animal he was showing that very moment. I have a feeling that at least one of our boys will follow in their Daddy’s footsteps.

 

He hasn’t quit talking about this since that night. In fact, this morning he was moving his bike and he said to me, “Mommy, that was almost like I was showing a sheep.”

They even gave the “old folks” a chance to get out there and see if they remembered how to show a lamb. It’s like riding a bike, or so Brent says.

Sunday

After church, a quick lunch and a long nap, we headed out to Wendi & Phil’s to go swimming. There are no pictures, so you’ll just have to trust me when I say that the boys LOVED swimming.

Monday

After work we took the boys back to the fair. We walked through all the different buildings, checked out all the different animals and checked out the awards that 2 of our nieces accumulated during the day. (Way to go K and T!)

Tuesday

Karter got to go to the fair all day with his Daddy today. Let’s just say he was more than a little excited. They were there in time to watch K&T show sheep at 7:30. Brent said that all day Karter would run up to him and say, “My need to show you sumpin Daddy.” What a great day for the two of them. (Although Karter was a little worried about Brody going to Gretchen’s house alone.)

After work I met with a group of ladies. We’ve been working on something, but I’ll do a separate post about that sometime. Very exciting, though! Eli came over afterwards while Matt & Kristi went to the races at the fair. They played so nice and had a ton of fun riding bikes and watching Charlotte’s Web.

Wednesday

What? Did we have a free night? I must be missing something!

Thursday

Brent had his 3 month check-up today. Praise God! We got great news again! Dr Wender explained that if he didn’t know any better, judging by the blood work you’d never guess there was anything wrong with Brent. In October Brent will have another bone marrow biopsy. These are more accurate and will show evidence of the Philadelphia chromosome in the blood. But we are getting closer and closer to remission!

Thank you God for touching Brent with your healing hand! You are an Almighty Father and deserve far more praise than we could ever give you!

Friday

YEAH! It’s Friday! Tonight we are going to relax! I’m making sweet corn and HOME MADE corn dogs for supper. I might do some laundry (no guarantees). We’re going to walk to the park and let the boys play. And we’re all going to sleep as long as possible in the morning.

I haven’t posted a picture of Brody for a while… He’s just too cute not to share…

 

Karter Henry

Karter Henry, today you are officially three and a half years old. I can’t believe that you are that old already. It seems like just yesterday I was buckling you into your infant seat and taking you home for the very first time. It is amazing to think about how much our lives changed when you came into this world. Things that were so important back then are now so very unimportant. You and your brother are now what matter to us.

Here are a few facts about you:

Fact #1:

Your favorite foods are: Pizza, Mac ‘n Cheese, Hot Dogs (you call them Dot Dogs), Scrambled Eggs, Chips ‘n Dip (you know, all the healthy stuff)

Fact #2:

A while back we decided it was time to get a puppy. Thankfully Jami Sandbulte told me at church that they had some puppies they were trying to get rid of. We went out that night and got one. When we asked you what you wanted to name your puppy, you said named off the following options: Grass, Tree, Monkey, Dog in a Box, and Kevin. You decided on Kevin. And you love him with all your heart. Brody’s not as sold on the idea as you are, but he’s OK with him, too.

Fact #3:

Your favorite song right now is My Beloved by Cory Asbury.

Fact #4:

Some of the cutest things you’ve said to me lately:

- Love you so much, Mommy (or Daddy or whoever)

- Love you like crazy!

- Don’t leave out with me. (You always say “out with” instead of “without”.)

- My will do it all myself.

- My will stay home with you all days Mommy. All days. Right? For FIVE days? (You have somewhat of a fascination with the number five. I think it seems huge to you.)

- Why did God hit the rain button again?

Fact #5:

You love to pee outside. You are 100% boy, and I love that about you!

Fact #6:

You are one of the most tender-hearted, stubborn, sweet, pokey, funny, sarcastic, loving kids I know. You are truly loved by your Daddy, Mommy and Brodes. We can’t wait to see what you do in this world, Bubba!

(Picture taken when we went camping for a night at Oak Grove over the 4th of July)

Wordless Wednesday (even though I thought it was Thursday all day)

Sunday School Picnic

Yesterday was the annual Carmel Church Sunday School Picnic. It was an incredibly hot day, but it was still great to see everyone out there praising God. The Sunday School kids sang some of their favorite songs and some of the church groups did skits. There were fun games for the kids to play. There was the ever famous fishing pond. Oh, how I remember fishing at the Sunday School picnic. It’s the kind of fishing pond that you “catch” little prizes and trinkets. Deep down, every child hopes they get a water gun, because it’s always so blasted hot! There was a kiddie train (which was Brody’s favorite, an inflatable water slide (which Karter only went down once because the pool of water at the end caught him by surprise) and there was even a bean bag tournament for the adults. Brent and Matt played, but I think they were done after their first game.

In true Carmel Church fashion, the food at these picnics is unbeatable! This year was the first time that I’ve ever had to help at the picnic. I was on the list to bring a pie and I was scheduled to work in the kitchen from 3:30 – 4:30. I have to admit… when I saw my name on the list, I wasn’t exactly excited. I always think of this as something that will be boring or that there are a million other things I should be doing instead. Instead, I always end up having a great time and end up getting to know some of the ladies of our church better than I did before.

I also must admit that I was pretty proud of the pie that I made. I didn’t even cheat and buy a pre-made pie. And you’ll never guess what… a couple of the wonderful ladies I was working in the kitchen with actually asked me for my recipe. I couldn’t believe it. So, to those wonderful ladies, here is the link to the blog I was telling you about:

http://www.shecooks.org/

OK, so here’s a picture of her pie, but mine really did look close to this.

Wordless Wednesday

Pictures by

A Thousand Words Photography by Stacy

Chancellor, SD

Mark this down…

Someone actually asked me, Kelli Hooyer, for one of my recipes.

This was even AFTER they tried the food. Mind blowing, right?

Miranda, you made my day!

Intended Picture Post

I intended to get a video (or at least a picture) of Karter riding his big boy bike for the first time (other than inside at his birthday party). Why didn’t I get a video? Because Brody started eating the Ice Melt, and I thought I better tend to him. Weird, huh?

Picture Post

I haven’t posted pictures of the boys lately, so I thought I’d do that once. Enjoy!

 

My big muscle men

 

 

Karter can’t wait for Saturday mornings so he can help Daddy make scrambled eggs.

Brody can’t wait for Saturday mornings so he can EAT scrambled eggs that Daddy and Karter made.

Have you noticed a trend with my kids? They love to run around with no clothes on. I must say, though, little boys are adorable running around in their skivvies.

 

Eli came over yesterday, and we played outside. It was so beautiful out. It had been sunny all day long. It felt so good to get outside and let the boys run. And then we woke up this morning to this site:

I thought I had a picture of the snow on the ground, but I guess it didn’t work.

 

Here are a few more cute pics. Have I mentioned how much I love these little boys? (Note: Karter would interrupt and say he’s NOT little. He’s BIG Karter Henry Hooyer.)

I love this boy, too!

Simplifying for Sanity (Attempt #1)

If you read my last post you’re probably wondering why I haven’t posted any pictures of my living room or my bedroom. Let’s just say that my first attempt at this little project didn’t go as planned. Here’s how my cleaning projects usually go:

1 – Start cleaning the living room by picking up the boys’ toys

2 – Bring said toys to the toy room

3 – Get distracted by chaos in toy room, so I start to organize toys

4 – Realize that my living room is the main goal, so I go back to the LR

5 – Pick up laundry lying around in the LR

6 – Start doing laundry

7 – Go up to sort laundry, put laundry away, etc

8 – Get distracted by how badly I need to go through the boys’ clothes and put away the stuff they’ve grown out of

9 – Grab a tub and start sorting what is ours and what goes back to Kristi’s house

10 – After an hour of doing this, I realize that I’m not working on the LR.

11 – Decide that as long as I am getting stuff accomplished, why does it matter if a whole room gets done at one time anyway?!?

12 – Kick myself for not completing one entire room.

I must say, we did get a lot accomplished this weekend. It just didn’t include fancy before and after pictures with dramatic results. We brought a ton of clothes to the 2nd Hand Store. We’ll be bringing more once they start accepting fall/winter stuff (which is April 1st. Can you believe it?!?)

Speaking of bringing clothes away… I brought away all of my maternity clothes. Every last one of them. I must say, this was harder than I thought. (If you’re confused, see this post.) Thankfully, we know that God has a plan for our lives. We’re not sure what that plan is. Maybe His plan is that we are the parents to two beautiful boys. Maybe it’s more than that. Whatever His plan is, we love where we are at and we look forward to where He’s taking us next.

Have a great week!

7 Quick Takes

I read a ton of blogs. It’s a bit of an addiction for me. One of the bloggers does something called 7 Quick Takes. Instead of writing a long update on their life, she takes a little time and writes 7 things (they’re always random, and I love random thoughts) that are on her mind. Here is my first stab:

 

1

Karter is doing great at the whole potty training thing. He even stays dry during naps. Here’s my question: how do you get them to stop peeing during the night? I love not buying as many diapers. And I look forward to the day I don’t have to buy pull-ups.

 

2

If you look at the side bar, you’ll notice a button called Simplifying for Sanity. This comes from another blog that I follow. She’s going to be doing her spring cleaning one room at a time, and she’s invited her blog friends to do it along with her. So, I’m hoping to play along. If I can figure out what’s wrong with my camera, I’m hoping to take before and after pics and post them here so you can see my progress. Check out her blog if you’re interested in joining.

 

3

Last night we had supper at Mom’s house. It was great. Her birthday was last Wednesday, so this was our little celebration. Karter thought it was crazy that we didn’t go swimming for her birthday, and he couldn’t figure out why she didn’t have a barn cake. Brent and I (and the boys) stayed and hung out for a while after supper. Mom just got some new Gaither videos, so we watched one of those with her. Oh how I miss Dad!

 

4

Saturday night we went to a YATEC reunion. It was a ton of fun to see everyone again. We had a chili cook-off. As I sat and watched the 5 judges taste and rate each of the 9 different chili recipes, all I could think was “I am NOT jealous of them right now”. I don’t like chili, so I brought potato soup. The boys came along and they were so good. I think everyone there had a great time.

 

5

Karter and Brody finally got their hair cut again last week. They were hippies and needed it really badly. If I can figure my camera out, I’ll get some pics of them. Have I ever mentioned how much I love them? Cuz I really, REALLY do!

 

6

You don’t realize how hard it is to come up with 7 Quick Takes until you try it.

 

7

On Saturday, March 27th, we’re having the 2nd Annual Relay for Life Poker Tourney at our  house. If you play poker, or if you know of someone else that does, let me know and I’ll get you more info! We had a ton of fun with it last year.

 

That’s it. I made it!

Potty Training

So… we’re potty training. The other day Karter was sitting on the toilet. This is not a quick process, so I went and was doing something else while I waited for him to finish. I came back to check on him, and this is how I found him (I promise this is not staged)…

I Am Officially THAT Mom

I never wanted to be the mom that called the dr at the first sign of her child’s cough. I never wanted to be a Mom that took her child to the ER because he has the flu. Well, it’s official. I am THAT Mom. Every since Brent was diagnosed with Leukemia, I find myself taking the boys to the dr much quicker than I would have earlier. I just can’t help but think about the “what-ifs” now. When I start thinking that I’m crazy for taking the boys to the dr, I find myself thinking “Well, what if Brent wouldn’t have gone to the dr when he did?!?” Maybe that’s dumb, but that’s what I’ve been doing.

Any suggestions on how to get over this?

Praises and Prayers and Random Thoughts

First things first. This Wednesday Brent went to the Cancer Center in Sioux City for his 3 month check-up. PRAISE GOD!!! All of his counts are exactly where they’re supposed to be. It’s just always good to hear those words. I felt so at peace with this appointment that I didn’t even go along. That being said, I couldn’t help but wonder while he was up there “What if he gets bad news and he’s there by himself?” But God proved once again that I just need to trust with all my heart. Thank you, Jesus.

Last night we went to Harp & Bowl. For those of you who don’t know what that is… it’s a prayer and praise type service. There’s amazing Praise & Worship music, along with wonderful prayer and reflection time. There’s scripture read, sometimes testimonies given, but last night… just lots of prayer. Once a month they focus on specific churches in the area and pray specifically for the church and their leadership. Last night our focus was on praying for First Reformed in Sioux Center and Carmel Church. It was an amazing night, and I’m so glad that it worked for us to be there.

Prayer Requests:

1

Brent will be working the YATEC being held in Sioux Center. He’ll be there from Thursday, Feb 11 until Sunday, Feb 14. He will actually be giving talk #6 (Growing in Christ), and I’m so proud of him for doing it. The team meetings are tonight and tomorrow morning. He’ll be giving his practice talk at some point this weekend. Please pray that his talk goes well and that he can put into words what he is feeling in his heart. Please also pray for safe travel as the entire team heads to Sioux Center.

2

Please pray for those that are considering going through YATEC as candidates. There is still room available. Please consider this for yourself. It doesn’t matter what church you go to, or if you go to church at all. It doesn’t matter where you are in your walk with God, or even if it feels like you don’t even have one. And, to answer some peoples’ questions, it doesn’t matter if you went through TEC as a candidate. Please strongly consider going through. If you would like any information at all, please contact me.

3

Please pray for my aunt, Marilyn Kruid (my Dad’s sister). She is in the hospital in Sioux Falls, and has recently been diagnosed with cancer (again). Please pray for complete healing. (http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/marilynkruid) Please also pray for Frank (her husband) who is just plain stressed out and tired.

4

I can’t quit watching the news about Haiti. It amazes me that people have been buried this whole time and that they’re still finding some that are alive. I just ask that you get on your knees in prayer for these people. You know, you watch the news and of course there are those that are looting (is that the right word?) and there’s crime in the streets… but then the cameras scroll to big groups of people. I’m serious when I say big groups. I am a terrible judge at numbers, but I would guess there were hundreds of people.. singing hymns, praising God and praying together. Can you believe that? Their world is shattered and yet they praise God. It makes me wonder what the cameras would record if something like this earthquake were to happen in the US? Would I be looting or praising God?

5… Last but not least…

Please pray for Karter’s ears. We went to his follow-up appt with Dr Korver. It’s only been two weeks since he had tubes put in, and one tube was already plugged. Please pray that the drops are enough to fix this, and that he just feels good.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Kelli

Cute in a Gown

Karter has had a lot of big stuff going on lately, and they all have one thing in common… GIFTS. It started out with Christmas, then his Birthday, and now a hospital visit. On Friday, January 16th, Karter had tubes put in his ears (again) and had his tonsils and adenoids removed. Let me tell you, he was a trooper. I also have to admit, although I never want to see it again, he looked so adorable in his little Mickey Mouse hospital gown. Here… let me prove it.

OK, so you can’t really see the gown, but he’s still pretty cute, right? The cherry juice hit him really hard, and he couldn’t even barely keep his mouth from hanging open.

 

Karter did really well during surgery. He had a bit of a cough going into the surgery, so he had a bit of a rough time coming out of the anesthesia. They came in and gave him a breathing treatment, and that really seemed to help. Before they did that he sounded like a percolator coffee pot. The thing that bothered him the most was the IV in his hand. Jill, the nurse, ended up wrapping his arm in hopes that it wouldn’t bother him if he couldn’t see it. It did help some.

After a some wrestling with him (to keep him from pulling out his IV) and a little bit of resting (and I only mean like 10 minutes) he was ready to try a popsicle. It was quite cute to watch him try find his mouth. He was still pretty out of it, but he kept saying, “My do it all myself, Daddy.”

Although the pictures are cute, I thank God that the only reason I have ever had to see him in a hospital gown/bed was for tubes, tonsils and adenoids. But at least this picture makes him look little. That just doesn’t happen very often anymore.

Here he is trying to smile for the camera. The blue lips just aren’t helping the situation, are they?

This was one of our nurses, Jill. I didn’t get a picture of Karter with our other nurse, Angela. The nurses were awesome! They made us feel right at home. I know that this is something that these doctors do on a daily basis, but this isn’t something I really like to send my precious babies into. So I greatly appreciated the doctors and nurses. They were kind and compassionate, and they did a great job!

Karter was so very proud to ride to the car in this wheelchair just his size.

Karter has been doing well since his surgery. He got a few gifts, and he thought that was pretty cool. He got a little beanie puppy from Pastor Mark, and that is his new best friend, Joey. Jim the Pig has officially been replaced.

Special Thanks to Warren and Pastor Mark for taking the time to stop by the hospital to pray with us. We greatly appreciated it!

Also, a special thanks to my mom for taking Brody over night that night. We just weren’t sure how Karter would handle everything, so we wanted to be able to give him 100% of our attention. Although at one point Karter said to me, “Mom, you tell my Dad to go get my brother, please?” We all missed  having our little monster around the house.