First Day of School 2009

Aiden and Riley....in front of school.

Riley is in second grade and Aiden is in kindergarten

Aiden standing in the kindergarten line!

Happy Easter

We're Back

The Viking's play-off game...

Aiden and Riley

Aiden and Riley

Our family at Christmas 2008

The boys and I...March 2008

The boys being silly.

Riley and his stuffed puppy, Maxwell, before surgery.

Riley and Daddy before surgery...

Riley in the recovery room after surgery

Riley after surgery...

Okay...sorry...it has been a long time since I last updated our blog. Lots of things have been going on with us. It seems this winter we have been dealing with one thing after another, and it continues. I am hoping things turn around for us soon. Where should I start???

Riley had surgery again last week. He had more tubes put back in his ears. He didn't pass his hearing test at school and we were noticing that his hearing was getting progressively worse with us. He was not hearing us at home or his teacher/classmates at school. We took him to see our pedetrician and he failed the hearing test. He had fluid in his ears and an ear infection (which he didn't feel)! We met with the ENT and within a week he was scheduled to have tubes put in. Because it was spring break...we wanted it done right away. He ended up having to have his adenoids taken out as well. Poor thing. His recovery has been going pretty well. It has been hard for him to have to sit still and not jump around. He is ALL boy.

Aiden has been doing pretty well. He had one visit at the hospital in February. He had the flu and got dehydrated. He was hooked up to IV's and sent home several hours later. Aiden has Kindergarten orientation at school next week. I cannot believe my baby is going to be in school in September.

They both are going to be starting several appointments with our pedetrician when Riley is recovered from his surgery. They both have eczema really bad. There are times when we have been prescribed a highly potent steriod to put on their skin. We have also used over the counter steriod creams and they have been using Protopic and Elidel. Well at the end of Feb., we noticed that Riley had spots on his chest. We thought they were chicken pox. He was tested and the test came back negative. Since then, Aiden has gotten a few. We asked our pedetrician last time we were there to look at them. She said that they were a form of a wart. Somewhere, they picked up a virus from someone and because both their immune systems are compromised, they picked it up. We were using a steriod on them, which their doctor informed us, makes it worse and makes them spread. This virus spreads and the spots should disappear within a few months to a year. Because Riley has so many, and Aiden is getting them, we have decided to have them removed in the clinic. This will require weekly visits. I don't want to sound vain, but, we have chosen to have them removed because of the way that kids are these days. Kids can be sooo mean, and we don't want Riley or Aiden picked on or made fun of because of this. I have learned that with all their skin problems, we have to be VERY careful. I thought we were doing something good by using the steriod cream and controlling the eczema, when in fact, it harmed them more than it helped them. Steriods, from what I understand, break down your immune system and makes it harder to fight things! From here, I am not sure where we go. I just hope they don't have to suffer with the treatments.

That is enough for right now...we'll update more later...

An Unfair Sentence

Today was an emotional day for us. On Feb. 7th, 2008, I was a witness to a fatal car accident. (You can look back in my blog to that date). A 21 year old man had way to much to drink and got behind the wheel of his car. His BAL was over 2 times the legal limit to drive. He was driving behind me at an estimated speed of over 100 miles per hour. When I noticed that he was driving close and recklessly behind me, I pulled over and he passed me and went over the median and hit a car...killing the man inside it instantly. The 21 year old drunk driver survived and was found to have open bottles in his vehicle. Today was his sentencing. During the sentencing I learned a lot about the 21 year old. He has prior records for reckless driving, driving too close to others, driving at speeds of over 100 miles per hour, etc. His brother also killed someone last year in a driving incident. He also admitted that he has on several occasions drank until he passed out. He is also a high school drop out. He showed no remorse in the court room at all and never had the COURAGE to say that he was sorry. I felt horrible for the family that lost their brother/son/dad/uncle/friend. He was 45 or 46 years old and had a son who is about to turn 8. All he wants is his daddy back, but he will never get this. He will never get the chance to do things with his daddy again! It was soo sad hearing the impact statements and seeing the sadness in the eyes of those who miss their loved one! What was the saddest thing of all though was the 21 year old only got a sentence of 48 months. He will only serve 2/3 of the time in prision. He also will subtract time served. So if he does a good job in prison, he will be released in about 2 years. This seems soooo unfair! This man took away another man's life and will serve hardly ANY time at all. The family of the man who is gone, will never see him again. They will never get to say good-bye, have another birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc with their loved one. How fair is that???? He knowingly got behind the wheel of his car after drinking as much as he did and he took someone else's life. I think of all the people who are serving time in prison for doing things that seem so much more minor than drinking and driving and killing someone. What kind of a message was sent today? I feel really sad for the family that lost their loved one!

Apple Orchard

Jamma and Riley on the wagon on the way to pick apples.

Aiden and I on the way to pick apples.

Riley and Aiden taking a break from waiting in line! The line was over an hour long...

Riley trying to reach for apples. He filled two bags and was so upset when any of them fell out of the bag!

Riley taking a break from apple picking.

Riley was so proud of all the apples he found!

Riley and Aiden in an apple tree!

Aiden would say, "Does this look like a good one Mommy?"

He loved taste testing the apples. He would say that they were a little tart and sweet!

Aiden showing off his apple!

Riley taste testing an apple.

Look at all the apples that we picked! It was a fun afternoon at the apple orchard!

RILEY THE STUNT MAN

Riley has been doing bike tricks for the past two summers. He wants to upgrade his bike to a motor bike some day! This weekend he asked if I would take pictures of him doing his bike trikes! We are so proud of how hard he tries to do something that he wants to do! :)

Flowers

Aiden and Jamma planted a bunch of flowers this summer. They are finally in full bloom. Aiden said, "They are looking good!" He is pointing to his favorite red one in the pictures!