Busy Busy Busy

Wow, I don't know about you...but our lives have been so busy the past couple of months!!! I barely remember the month of December because things were so hectic and I was too busy running around like a crazy woman. Today was the first day I have been able to sit down, stare at the walls, and do absolutely nothing since probably the week before Thanksgiving!!

Kennedy ended up catching a cold the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and we have been at the pediatrician's office at least 10-15 times since then. From antibiotic injections, double ear infections, to drawing blood for possible blood poisoning, to breathing treatments....you name it, she has been through it. To add to it, everyone in the house ended up getting sick from her! Kennedy just could not shake the sickness and the doctors were baffled. Larry figured it up, and we spent over $300 in her medication and co pays in less than a month! She just had a follow up appointment on Christmas Eve and they said she needs to see an ear, nose, and throat specialist because she still has fluid behind her ears after a month of treatment.

Kaylee and I were involved with our church's Christmas production, and that seemed to engulf so much of our time. So while we were tending to a very sick baby, fighting off our own colds, and trying to prepare for Christmas at our home....we were also memorizing lyrics, shopping for stage attire, learning choreography, and making sure everything was ready for the production. Kaylee and I ended up getting really sick the week before the show, and the doctor put me on 5 different medications. We were both holding on to the little bit of voices we had left...and I think we did the best we could with our performances (considering our health). The Christmas Experience was a huge success, and the community packed the Apollo to share in the joy that Christmas brings to us. Kaylee rocked her solo in the kids choir with her scratchy voice, and I cried every time she sang it. I was so proud of her!!

We finally had the time to put our tree up two days before Christmas, and even went to get family pictures taken on Christmas Eve...lol. Talk about last minute, but we fit it all in just in time! Yeah it was way too crazy, and at times I was very stressed out...but we were still able to enjoy family time on Christmas day. I will not let our lives get that crazy again, because I had a pretty bad meltdown in front of some friends...and I can't let myself get to that point again. I think it was just everything hitting us at once, and then dealing with all of us being sick really wore our bodies out.

We feel better now, and we are eager to see what 2009 has for us! I am confident that God has so many wonderful things planned and we are excited to live out everyday the way He wants us to! Kennedy will be getting another MRI on January 7th at Children's Hospital to check the status of her tumor, and we know that we will have great results. So help us in prayer for the tumor to be either the same size or shrinking. Heck, pray that it has disappeared because we know all things are possible with God!!!

Children's Fundraiser

Check out www.babyruffner.blogspot.com to see the fundraiser that Katie's Salon is holding for Kennedy. They are doing a CUT-A-THON for children's haircuts and 100% of the proceeds go to Kennedy.

Thanks!!!

Our day at Children's Hospital

I had been waiting for November 5th to come ever since her MRI in October, and my heart was pounding the whole day in anticipation of hearing the results. We had her Cardiology appointment first before we went to see the Pediatric Surgeon. I was looking forward to seeing both departments...but I really wanted to see the surgeon.

The Cardiologist was amazing and he did a complete run through with Kennedy. Our concerns with her heart were two small ASDs and a PDA. Basically, she had two small holes in her heart and a "tube" that never closed that was allowing blood to go the wrong way in her heart. After an EKG and an ultrasound, Dr. Cockerham came back in and said that she had completely healed herself! That was the best news in the world, and we praised God for giving us the results we wanted. Of course he told me that there might be a one in a million chance that her PDA is so small and inaudible that he could've misdiagnosed her....but he was very confident that it was gone. We'll take it!

Once we went up to the 4th floor, we had to wait a long time because we were late for our scheduled appointment. Once Dr. Burd came in to talk to us...he was totally clueless on why we were there. He thought we were just doing a post surgery follow up from her surgery back in April!!! Apparently, no one from Radiology sent him up the MRI and there was no communication between the departments. He was very apologetic, and I knew it wasn't his fault. I was still upset because we left there knowing more than he did. He did give her a rectal exam, and she took it like a champ! He said that he did not feel a tumor when he did the rectal exam, but he needed to view the MRI. We did agree that she needed her AFP(alpha feta protein) levels checked, so we headed to the lab to get her blood taken. He promised me that he would track down everything and call me either Thursday or Friday. He also told us that Dr. Powell was Kennedy's surgeon, but we had always been told it was Dr. Kanard. It turns out Dr. Kanard was the fellow (resident) and Dr. Powell as the main surgeon. So Dr. Burd was going to meet with Dr. Powell and review her file with him as well.

The phlebotomist could not get a blood sample from Kennedy's arm, and my baby screamed her head off. I stood out in the hallway because I knew I wouldn't be able to watch her be upset like that. Now, Kennedy has been very congested the past few days, so I handed Larry a tissue before they sat her down. Larry said she blew snot all over the place and that tissue was covered!! They ended up getting another nurse to try to get a blood sample from her other arm, and Kennedy was hyperventilating from being held down and poked with needles so long. When Larry and Kennedy came out, I had to get more tissues out to clean off her face from the mucus. Then I looked up and saw that Larry had green snot all over his cheek! lol. She had slimed him! lol lol. She cleaned herself out, that's for sure!!

I got to see Paula and Kathy from Concierge and they gave us some meal tickets so we could eat. We had not eaten all day, and finally sat down to eat something at 5 pm. We hit major traffic once we left, and it took us 3 hours to get home. It was a long exhausting day, but we were really happy about the results we got from Cardiology.

UPDATE!
Dr. Burd called me and said that yes there is a tumor, but it is 9 mm in diameter. It is between her rectum and her sacrum and he was not able to feel it because it was so small and blended with her scar tissue. He told Dr. Powell about our visit, and Dr. Powell wanted to know why we didn't schedule to see him. We didn't know who he was, and we just went with whomever the department set us up with...but Dr. Powell wants to see us from now on.

They viewed the MRI together and weighed out our options for removal of the teratoma. There is a huge risk with removing this teratoma because of the location. If they chose to go in and remove it, they could mess up her continence and give her a lifetime of troubles. That means that they could cut or destroy her muscle structure in her rectum and she would have major difficulties with passing bowel movements.

We are tracking down her previous AFP levels to compare them to the results from Wednesday, and then we will create an action plan from there. All of us agree that the risk is too high to remove the teratoma at this time. Instead, we will be doing interval MRI's to monitor the growth of it.

So overall, we are happy with our situation right now. God is keeping an eye out for Kennedy, and he is helping us with every step. Kennedy is a really happy baby, and we know she is going to be okay.

Thanks for staying posted!

Pumpkin Patch

I surprised Kaylee and took her to Jumbo's Pumpkin Patch in Middletown on Sunday. Larry had to work, so I took both the girls out into the country to enjoy a nice evening together. The drive there was peaceful and so beautiful.

Once we got to the farm, Kaylee was completely shocked that I took her there. We have been talking about going as a family, but Larry has been working a lot of overtime and has been either working or sleeping when we had the opportunity to go. We wanted to go on Saturday, but ended up getting rained out. I really wanted to take Kaylee to a pumpkin patch and have those memories for her to hold on to. The only other time we have ever gone to a pumpkin patch was for her kindergarten field trip. That is a sad thing to admit to, and I didn't want her to miss out on the experience any longer.

I took a bunch of pictures and they both had a blast. Kennedy got cranky on the ride back to the farm from the pumpkin patch, but calmed down once she got her bottle. Over all, it was a fun-filled evening and I am so glad I made the decision to take them. Kaylee begged me to go in the corn maze, but they told me that it was not stroller friendly...and I was not going to attempt to carry Kennedy through a maze that I could get lost in. Maybe Larry and I can get a sitter one night for Kennedy and find a local corn maze to go to.

MRI at Children's Hospital in DC

Larry and I made the early drive to Children's National Medical Center on Wednesday morning for Kennedy's MRI. Neither of us could sleep the night before, and we both had horrible headaches when we woke up. Our nerves were getting the best of us, and we were just praying for the best outcome possible.

I was more concerned about the anesthesia than I was of the results. Looking back on it now, I think that was something I didn't really need to worry about. Kennedy was a trooper the whole morning. She was smiling at everyone and kicking her little legs with excitement. Her cheerful mood helped us keep our spirits high and kept us laughing while we were waiting on the anesthesiologist.

They gave her a little orange medical gown that was so cute on her. The doctor made her as comfortable as possible and we were able to hold her hands and talk to her until the laughing gas kicked in. They had us leave before they put the IV in her foot and told us that she would be done in about an hour.

We were able to go back into the recovery room and hold her while she woke up. She had to fast before the test, so she was crying for some food as soon as she woke up. Our friends from Concierge came in to check on her and it was so great being able to share that moment with them. Once Kennedy ate a little, she did her best to give everyone a groggy smile. You could tell she was still very loopy, and it made her smiles even more special.

Children's hospital told us that we would not know anything for about a week and someone would call us with the results. They gave us a CD of the pictures they took, so we popped it in our computer as soon as we got home to see if we could find a tumor. Needless to say, we didn't have a clue what we were doing...and we weren't sure what was scar tissue and what was a tumor. They used contrast during the MRI, which is a dye that helps the test be read, so the colors were different as well.

Yesterday, Paula from Concierge called me and she said she spoke to the doctor that read Kennedy's MRI. The doctor told her that there is definitely something there, but there is still more analysis that needs to be done. They want us to go back to DC so the doctors can explain things in more detail. I'm not going to lie, my heart dropped when Paula told me that she still has a tumor; however, we are thankful that she is going to set us up with the best doctors there. Kennedy also needs to see a cardiologist about her heart issues and lower body circulation problems, so Paula is going to cancel our appointment that we already have set up and move all the appointments to one day so Larry doesn't have to miss a whole lot of work.

Larry is worrying himself to death, and I reminded him to stay calm and to keep his trust in God. We have come so far in this adventure, and this is just a little bump in the road. She is a warrior and I know she will continue to win these battles.

Psalm 119:50 says "Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles"

Touching Email

Well, I got an email on babyruffner@yahoo.com the other day and it made Larry and I feel so great about our decision to create this blog. The email was from a mom of another SCT survivor, and she thanked us for helping her through her emotions with what she was going through with her newborn. She was able to find our blog on the internet while she was searching for information about SCT's.

I got online this morning to respond back to her email, and I accidentally deleted it!!! What makes it even worse is Yahoo put the email in the SPAM folder for some reason, so when I accidentally hit delete...it erased it forever!!! I searched through all the Yahoo options and everything said that there was no way to retrieve the email. I was so mad at myself, and couldn't believe that I did that!

Larry and I have said from the beginning that Kennedy is on this Earth to bless so many people, and that email just reinforces our beliefs. When people meet Kennedy and hear her story, many are moved to tears. I am easily choked up, so most of time I will cry with them. Those tears for us, are tears of joy because she is so awesome and we are so blessed to have her with us. We really feel that she has changed many people's lives and showed them how special life is, and we are thankful for that.

So for the person's email that I lost, I would love to hear from you again. I promise, I will save your email address as soon as I get it! :-)

Kaylee's 8th Birthday

Kaylee celebrated her birthday this past weekend with a handful of family and friends. She said that it was the most fun she has had in a long time. This year, I wanted to make her birthday extra special by making her cake. I have never decorated a cake like that before, so I was a little nervous about it. I must brag though, it was very beautiful. The cake pan was a lot smaller than I thought it would be, so I made the "Hannah Montana" guitar cake in a French Vanilla flavor, and then I made chocolate cupcakes to accent the cake. I was very proud of myself I must say!!! I ran around and played like a crazy woman at her party and it made me feel like a kid again. I was afraid of how I would feel the next morning, but surprisingly I wasn't sore at all!!! Fun times!!

Kennedy is doing very well and getting so big. She is currently fighting off a little cold, but nothing that is going to be a big deal. If I had to guess, I would say she is around 14 pounds or so now. Stage one baby food has been introduced slowly....and so far she has only broken out in a rash from peaches. We have tried applesauce, bananas, pears, peaches, and this week is sweet potatoes.

We have an MRI appointment scheduled for October 15th for Kennedy, but I am still trying to get her cardiology appointment made so we can check her circulation in her legs and feet. I have been pulling teeth out trying to get this appointment...but it is easier said than done! lol. It will happen, it is just not knowing when that frustrates me! :-)

Benefits for Kennedy

I updated the fundraiser blog with all the details for the benefits that are being held for Kennedy in the month of September. We are so thankful that there are people holding these events for Kennedy!

God continues to surprise us with blessings--from people giving us baby formula and gently used baby items....all the way to people holding benefits for us.

Fri, Sept 26th: Basket Bingo @ Moose Lodge in Martinsburg
Thur, Oct 2nd: Chick-Fil-A between 5-8 pm (Say you are there for Baby Ruffner and they will donate 20% of their profit)

***See all the details on the website http://www.babyruffner.blogspot.com/***

Sick follow-up appointment

Larry took Kennedy for her check up appointment the other day to make sure her white blood cell count is where it should be. The doctor said that everything looked good and that she no longer needed to take her medication.

We noticed that her skin was starting to get rough, and she screamed when we tried to put lotion on it because of the perfumes in it. We weren't sure if she was having a reaction to her rice cereal because that was the only new thing that has been introduced to her. I have been keeping baby oil gel on her body, which seemed to help it a little...but I wanted Larry to say something to the doctor. He did prescribe a cream for her body rash. He did not think it was an allergic reaction to her rice cereal because it was isolated on certain parts of her body rather than all over. He also gave us an instant rebate coupon for the prescription so we would not have to pay for it. BONUS!

She gave Larry a belly laugh yesterday for the first time. I was picking Kaylee up from gymnastics, so I missed it. I was so jealous, but I know that I will get plenty of belly laughs in time. I am so excited about it!

4 Month Check-Up

Kennedy went for her 4 month "well check-up" appointment on Thursday. She was feeling great and the doctor was very happy with her progress. She was due for 4 shots, and was not happy when the nurse administered them to her. We talked about introducing rice cereal and how much to give her daily. I am excited about the rice cereal so she will not be hungry as often as she is right now.

She weighed 12 lbs 3.4 ounces and was 25 inches long. We just can't believe how big she is getting. It wasn't that long ago when I was holding a 4 1/2 pound baby in my arms! Her cheeks keep getting bigger and her legs are getting rolls on them....it is so cute!

Dr. Weneck did say that he wants to get an MRI done to check the status of the small teratoma that she still "supposedly" has. We also need to see a cardiologist to check the circulation in her legs. Her little feet are always cold and have a purple tint to them. Sometimes they are a dark tint of purple and other times they will be pink. So hopefully everything will be okay, but we need to cover our tracks and make sure that everything is working properly.

Kennedy slept through the night for the first time Thursday night! However, when we woke up Friday morning, I knew that something was wrong with Kennedy. She was extremely congested and had very glassy eyes. During her morning bottle, she ended up vomiting and then choking on her vomit because she could not breathe through her nose. We immediately called the doctor and he said to come in. They took her blood and the results showed an infection. He wrote out a prescription for her to start on, and said to come in Saturday morning for a follow-up.

We started her on the meds and she slept most of Friday evening. We let her sleep as much as she wanted so she could heal her body. I woke her up for her medication and to feed her before we went to bed, and she had no problems going back to sleep in her bassinet for the night. Starting to feel better.....she woke up for her usual 5:00 a.m. bottle! :)

Her blood was tested Saturday morning and it showed that her white blood cell count was going down, and that the medication was helping her. We are supposed to go back in 10 days to make sure the infection is gone. She is smiling again, and back to being her adorable self! Dr. Weneck thinks that she was fighting off the infection prior to the shots on Thursday...but the shots made her vulnerable for the infection to take over.

We will keep you posted on Kennedy! She is feeling a whole lot better and is almost back to normal.

Update on Larry:
He is feeling better since he finished his medication for Cat Scratch Fever. He still suffers from a 101 temperature at night, and wakes up soaked from night sweats. I keep telling him to get it checked out in case it is related to the Cat Scratch Fever...but he keeps blowing it off.

He started having extreme pain in his neck Thursday night and he went to see a Chiropractor on Friday. They took some xrays and found that his neck is straight rather than having a natural curve in it. He was put on a therapy plan for rehabilitation to get his neck back to normal. Already, he has gone from not being able to move his neck at all...to having enough range of motion to drive. He is still having some pain, but nothing near what he felt Thursday and Friday. So the Chiropractor has done wonders for him!

New Website for Fundraisers

I have created a new blogspot to post information about the fundraisers. Currently I have all the information about Sergio's Pizza on there, and I have been contacted about a couple of other fundraisers that I will post when I get all the information.

The new blog is www.BabyRuffner.blogspot.com


If you need to get a hold of our family for any reason, you can email us at BabyRuffner@yahoo.com

Please feel free to submit any comments, prayers for Kennedy, or any prayer requests that are weighing on your heart to the email address or even on the comment section of the blog.

God Bless!

Prayer Requests

Larry is recovering from Cat Scratch Fever right now, and is on some heavy medication for it. Yes, it is not just a song...lol...it's real. He was giving our cats a bath the other night and one of them bit him on his thumb. It swelled up really bad, so we went to the doctor and he gave him a medication and said to monitor it. If he got a fever and saw red streaks running up his arm, he needed to go to the emergency room. Well, the next night that is exactly what happened. He had to go to the emergency room and get evaluated there. They gave him some booster meds while he was there and prescribed him more medication to add to the other pills he was already taking. He is feeling much better now, and is not angry at Trapper for biting him. lol.

Also, JR Butcher had a little scare last week.. He had to go back into the hospital because they thought something was wrong again. To keep up on his progress, visit his blog at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jrbutcher . After looking at his symptoms, they are talking about having another surgery. He will be able to come home on the same day of his surgery, and they think he will be fine.

Thanks for your prayers!

July 19, 2008

Kennedy has been smiling more and more as the days continue to pass. She is starting to talk to us a little bit in her own special language...and she prefers to tell us stuff first thing in the morning. We finally have someone in our house that is a morning person...lol...Kaylee, Larry, and I are not morning people at all!

Kaylee went to her grandparents house in Ohio a few weeks ago, so I have missed her terribly. When she first left, I noticed Kennedy looking around a lot more almost as if she was searching for her sister. Kaylee tries to talk to her over the phone from time to time, but all of us are looking forward to her coming home next week. She has had tons of fun, and has gone swimming almost every day since she went to Ohio so she has loved every minute of her visit.

Well, we cleaned out our garage, sold what we could, and took the rest to the rescue mission. Late last week we filled up our nice clean garage with all of our junk that has been sitting in our basement! Needless to say, you can't even walk in our garage now, and it wouldn't even fit everything! The remainder of the stuff had to go in my dining room...so you can hardly walk through it. Our plan is to go through everything box by box and get rid of the items that we don't really need anymore.

YEAH!!! Our insurance is finally starting to pick up some of the medical bills. We were told that our insurance would cover 80/20...but that is not what's happening at all, so I have to make lots and lots of phone calls to see what's going on. So I have told myself that every extra hour I have next week will go to making all those dreaded calls. If in fact they are supposed to pay 80% and if I can get them to pay that portion, then we are estimating that our responsibility of the bills will be around $70,000. That is what we have figured so far...but I just got another bill from my C-section so who knows what else will be coming in the mail. lol. Every day there is at least one bill or one insurance claim in the mail...and they make my head spin. I will be glad when all the insurance is completely taken care of, and I am guessing that will take a few more months.

I got certified in CPR/First Aid today at the American Red Cross. I need both the certifications to be qualified to open a daycare in my home. I was shocked to learn all the changes that they have made with CPR since I took it 5 or 6 years ago. I feel so much better knowing that Larry and I are both certified in CPR in case something would happen to our children. I am definitely an advocate for parents being prepared for medical emergencies with their family.

We are waiting for Kennedy to give us some baby giggles, but she hasn't laughed yet. I think she laughed for me one time a few weeks ago, but I haven't heard one since...so now I am thinking she was just talking. You can tell that she wants to laugh so bad, so we are on our toes thinking she will laugh really soon.

July 8, 2008 New Pediatrician

Larry and I met our new Pediatrician this morning, and we really like the man. He is a very family oriented man, and was very nice to Kennedy during the visit. He was not intimidated by Kennedy's medical history and even sat down with us in his office after the examination.

I told him that Kennedy had a pretty bad diaper rash from having rice cereal and apple juice, and he told me that we shouldn't even consider giving either of those unless she is at least 12 pounds. I felt better knowing that he could give us weight and age guidelines to follow so we don't give her too much or too little with her premature size. So we are not going to try that again until she gains a couple more pounds.

She weighed in at 9 pounds 12 ounces today, so she gained 3 ounces in just one week! We just can't get over how fast she is growing and how long she is getting! The nurse said she was due for a few shots, and I had to leave the room because I was choking up with just the thought of it. I know it sounds crazy that I could see all that other stuff happen to her while she was in the NICU in DC, but I didn't want to see her in pain this morning! Larry stayed with her to comfort her, and boy oh boy was she unhappy!

The nurse even gave us some free formula before we left, so that is going to be a big help to us in the weeks to come. We were very thankful for their kindness and generosity. We scheduled another appointment for next month to get a checkup and another shot. Larry will be working day shift, so I will have to go by myself for that appointment. I will have to prepare myself for the shot, lol!

So Kennedy has been smiling a lot more lately and she even gave me a little laugh the other night. I have been trying to get her to laugh since then...but she won't give me one. The smiles are pretty often now, but not as many as we want. I try to get her to smile all day long!!! lol

July 2, 2008 Heart Appointment

Kennedy had an appointment to see a Cardiologist from the Children's Outpatient Center in Frederick, MD yesterday. We were praying for her to be completely healed up, but we weren't that lucky. Everyone in the office were really nice and Kennedy did a great job sticking it out while they ran tests on her. Oh, and not to mention she weighs 9 pounds 9 ounces and is 22 1/2 inches long!!! She is such a big girl!

Our friend Emmie kept Kaylee for us during the appointment so she could be entertained rather than sitting in a Jeep and the doctor's office all afternoon. We dropped Kaylee off at the Rec Center before we left and she got to play there with Emmie for a few hours before they went to McDonalds for lunch. They also went to the pet store to look at the animals and even played Rock Band on her PlayStation 3. Needless to say Kaylee did not want to come home that evening. lol

Once all the tests were completed, we waited for the doctor to come in and discuss the results. The doctor sat us down and drew a diagram of her heart and explained everything in detail so we understood what she was up against with the diagnosis. It is better than it was in the hospital, and she appears to be slowly healing herself...so we were very happy with the news we received. Granted, she is not completely healed but the doctor has high hopes that she is on the road to a complete recovery.

She was diagnosed with multiple atrial septal defects and patent ductus arteriosus. What that means in our language is that she has two small holes in her upper chambers that is allowing too much to go into her lungs and she has a small canal below her two lower chambers that is pumping too much blood to her lungs. This canal normally seals off when a baby is a week old, but hers did not. If it does not seal itself by the time she is a year old, she will require heart surgery. Again, the doctor is hopeful that she will heal her own body...but he did explain that she is on a time limit to do so.

We were very relieved when we left there, and knew that God was taking care of everything in His time. The doctor wants to check on her again in 6 months and then when she is a year old to check the status of her condition.

GOOD DAY!

June 29, 2008 Yard Sale Season

On Friday Larry was able to get his baby back...yep, we got the Jeep back home where she belongs! Enterprise was really nice, and helped us deal with the clueless insurance agent from The Hartford. I was pulling my hair out from having to deal with the insurance agent, and the lady from Enterprise said that she ended up yelling at the agent over the phone because she got so frustrated with her. lol All that is done and over with, THANK THE LORD, and we are very happy to have our vehicle back. Larry is really happy with the repairs that Bucky's shop did on the Jeep. He brought it home and immediately washed it....lol.

Well, it is SUMMER TIME and that means lots of yard sales!!! To help clear out this house, I have been cramming things into my dining room to prepare for a yard sale. On Saturday, my friend Emmie and I hung out in the front yard with our babies and had a yard sale of our own.

Larry took the garage and completely gutted it. We had our driveway full of our garage junk, and people kept asking if it was part of our yard sale...lol. He finally had the chance to hang up my cabinets that were given to us last year!!! I am so excited to have them hung...I can finally organize all my kitchen stuff and put it all in those cabinets in the garage!

We had a handful of people stop by to say hello and buy a few things, but we ended up getting rained out a few hours into the yard sale. By the time we packed it all up and put it in the garage...the rain stopped! Isn't that how it always works!!! That's okay though, we made a little over $100 to put towards our bills...so it was totally worth it. We are going to have another yard sale this coming Saturday to see if anything else will sell. Whatever isn't gone by next weekend will be taken to the Rescue Mission.

I am going to start scoping out yard sales for baby items too. Emmie found a baby saucer for $3 at a yard sale for her daughter!! Those things are at least $35-$60 brand new! We still need a handful of things for her, and yard sales are the place to find them. I am ready to shop shop shop!

June 25, 2008 Medical Bill Drama

So my life has been engulfed in making phone calls to everyone under the sun that has to do with our medical bills. Unfortunately our insurance has denied all of our medical bills, and the bill collectors are on my toes for their money. I have talked to so many different people begging them to resubmit the claims because we have insurance under Larry...and it is supposed to cover a portion of our bills. The helicopter transport has resubmitted two times now...and has been denied payment both times.

Larry has spoken to a lady at work about the problems, and she continues to reassure us that everything has been taken care of and that Kennedy does have insurance. She says for us to tell them to resubmit...but that has not worked. For the past two weeks, my patience has worn thin...and we were even sent to a collection agency for one of the bills! I was HOT when I found out that we were sent to a collection agency for the one because I never got any notices for that bill, and I have never been sent to a collection agency before in my life. I immediately paid that bill in full when I was at their office, and walked away a wreck.

Someone at Larry's work gave him a number of another lady that we could contact for help with figuring out what is going wrong with our insurance. I called her today and she was super nice on the phone with me. She told me what she needed from me, and I packed up the kids and headed straight for her office. She made copies of all the insurance claims, and said that she will start working on everything tomorrow. She knows what she is reading, and what all those codes mean...so I really think she is going to be a tremendous help.

I am boiling over with frustration and I am tired of crying about our finances. I am scared that we are not going to be able to pay our bills, and I am watching our credit cards get piled up with charges just to make ends meet. I tried to get SSI for Kennedy when she was born, but they told us that we didn't meet the financial criteria and that we were denied. Yesterday they told us that we still have to have an appointment with them next week to review our income and assets one more time before they close our case. I started to cry over the phone with the lady because of all the problems we are having with the bills. In order to qualify for SSI, you cannot own more than $5,000 in assets (not including your car or house). We own $5,400 in assets and it makes us ineligible for SSI to pay for Kennedy's medical bills. It is just so unfair how the system works sometimes.

Anyway, Kennedy has another appointment next week to check on her heart. I am very eager to see the results of the echo because I feel that everything is healed up, even though they told me that it cannot close up on its own and would need surgery when she is a year old. I know that she will not need surgery and that God is working more miracles with her.

Kaylee got her back handspring on the trampoline tonight at her gymnastics class. She got it on the cheese mat two weeks ago, but now she is doing them on her own on the trampoline. We were so excited to be there to watch her tonight. She is so cute running around that gym in her little outfit! This is her last class until August because she will be leaving for her grandparents house in Ohio next week. We are seeing if she can be put in a gymnastics class in Ohio for a few weeks while she is there so she does not lose what she has worked so hard for.

Kennedy is starting to smile a little bit, but still not like we want her to. She is right on target for the average baby her age, so we are very pleased that she is not too developmentally delayed. She is starting to grab for things when they are near her, and she opens her hands more than she used to. Kicking her legs is one of her favorite things to do, and she practices standing up a lot now on our laps. I just can't wait to get one of her big smiles with a belly laugh...it will be amazing.

June 17, 2008 Car Accident!!!

We had our whole day planned out together. Larry took a personal day at work, and we were going to spend the whole day doing family stuff with the girls. Our plan was to head out in the morning, go to the DMV, the post office, eat Chinese for lunch, and then head over to Berkeley Theatres to watch Kung Fu Panda.

We slept in the best we could, and then headed to the DMV to finalize all the paperwork on the Jeep. The lady was very helpful, and we weren't even in their all day!! We got to the DMV just before lunch time, and the wait wasn't very long at all.

After the DMV, I asked Larry to drop by the post office so I could buy a handful of one cent stamps and pick up a package. He dropped me off at the front, and was attempting to pull around to get a parking spot when he was T-boned by an elderly couple!!!! I was opening the door to the post office when I heard the sound...and I knew it was my family. My heart went up in my throat as I turned around to see Larry getting out of the Jeep. He was not a happy camper as he looked at his precious Jeep laying in pieces all over the parking lot.

I ran over to the accident to make sure everyone was okay, and tried to calm Larry down the best I could. The police were called to the scene and I called my insurance company to file the claim. It was very obvious that Larry was not at fault because he was hit on the rear passenger side of the Jeep, but the couple that hit him kept saying that it was his fault. Well, that just made Larry more enraged, and it was hard to keep him calm. I talked the elderly man (passenger) to get back in the car and wait for the police. I needed to keep those two away from each other!!

No one needed to go to the hospital, and Kennedy slept through the whole thing! Kaylee was very shook up and became pretty emotional about the whole event. When Martinsburg PD showed up, they tried to cheer her up and get her mind off of the accident. A tow truck was called for the Jeep because it was not in a condition to drive, and we kept Kennedy in a cop car while we waited on Enterprise to pick us up.

I got all their insurance information from them, and told them that they need to call the accident into their insurance company ASAP so we can get all of this resolved. Once we got to Enterprise, I went ahead and called their insurance company and filed the claim myself. My insurance company told me that if they don't do their part, the process of payment could take forever!! We have enough on our plate right now, and I don't want to add this to it for another 6 months.

Needless to say, we did not get to the movies in time to see Kung Fu Panda. I promised Kaylee that we would take her to see it...just not today. We went home and tried to relax for the rest of the evening. This is just another test that we will pass with flying colors. Yea we aren't happy that our Jeep is in the shop, but I am thankful that no one was hurt. I can't imagine my husband and girls being hospitalized.

WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS!!

Father's Day

Father's Day was very nice. Each of us got Larry a card...even Kennedy! We gave him some of his presents a few weeks ago because he wanted them so bad. All of us went to the WV store and he picked out a WVU front license plate, and a WVU hitch cover for the Jeep. On Sunday morning, we gave him his cards and the 3 pack of Indiana Jones movies. I think he really liked all of his gifts.

We went to church and then came home to get ready for a Father's Day dinner for Larry and my dad. We had steaks on the grill, corn on the cob, and buttered red potatoes. It was a wonderful day, and everything turned out great for the both of them.

We got my dad a gift card to Lowes because that is one of his favorite stores to shop in. We have never gotten him a gift card before, and he said it was perfect. We also framed a picture of Kennedy from AnnaGPhotography for his wall at home. He says every year that we don't have to get him anything...but we always try to get him something if we can.

June 11, 2008 Visiting family

Larry's dad was in the ER last night for muscle spasms in his neck, but he is doing better now. He was given a handful of medications...some helped, and some did not. He stayed in bed the whole day, and just tried to relax.


The girls and I went to Maryland to visit Heather and Pammy today. Pammy is Larry's Aunt, and Heather is one of her daughters. Heather is expecting a baby girl at the end of August, and I was so excited to head over to Mount Airy to visit them for the afternoon. Liz, the kids, and Ellen Mae joined us...so there was 7 of us showing up for the visit!

Heather has a beautiful home, and a gorgeous in-ground pool in her back yard! The kids couldn't wait to hop in and play with little Ray (Heather's 3 year old son). They had a blast jumping off of the diving board, and putting on the goggles. I dipped Kennedy's little feet in the pool, and even though the water was 88 degrees, she wasn't the happiest about it touching her toes. She hung out in the shade with just a diaper and sunscreen on while we were outside. Heather had a little yellow tent we layed her in....it was really cute.

June 10, 2008 Counting my blessings

I was reading the comments that have been posted by JR Butcher's friends and family, and ran across the Sherrard family. I clicked on their blog and was shocked to find out that Katelyn had passed away while Kennedy was in the hospital.

Thinking back, it all makes sense now...a friend of mine said that she was going to a funeral that month, and she said that I had probably heard about her condition. I guess I was so numb and my brain was way too full of NICU news, that it wasn't making any sense to me. Now, I feel foolish because I knew exactly who she was talking about.

www.caringbridge.org/visit/katelynsherrard

My heart poured out for Katelyn's mom when I read over her blog. I sat and prayed for the family, and hoped that each day gets easier to cope with the loss of their precious daughter. I am sure that the roller coaster that they have been on has not stopped quite yet, and that some days are much harder than others.

I am counting my blessings every day, but when I read about battles that other families have gone through...it makes me feel even more that we have a huge miracle to be thankful for. God has been so awesome, and we are thankful that he has chosen to give us our beautiful Kennedy this year.

June 9, 2008 Kennedy is sick

Kennedy has not been sleeping very well the past few days because of her nose being congested. It gets really bad at her 2:00 a.m. feeding, but I can't get anything out of it with her nasal aspirator. This morning she was not happy at all, and I tried my best to get some of the congestion out...with no luck

So while Larry worked, we decided to run out and go to K-Mart and Wal-Mart to get some medication for her, and grab some other things on our list. We get to K-Mart and Kaylee was trying on some summer clothes when Kennedy started to vomit profusely in her car seat. It had to have been at least 6 or 7 ounces worth of formula that came back up. I flipped out and yelled for Kaylee to come out of the dressing room so we could go to the bathroom to clean her up. I used her blanket to wipe most of it up, but it soaked both her blanket and her outfit. The car seat was covered...it was a huge mucus mess.

We bought her the medication they had, and gave it to her before we even left the store. She seemed to be feeling much better once she got all that out of her system, so we went to Wal-Mart and finished up our list of things before we went home for the day.

She was a little cranky for the rest of the evening, but that is totally understandable. Every little thing scares Larry because we still look at her as a fragile baby, but I kept reassuring him that she just has a head cold and she will be fine. Really, she was breathing fine out of her nose once she got all that out of her system at K-Mart. It will take a few days for this to pass, but I am glad we have the medicine to help ease her discomfort.

June 8, 2008 Family Picnic

Well, I forgot my coupons the other day when I shopped in Winchester, and they told me I had 48 hours to use the coupon by bringing the receipt back for adjustments. It was a $30 off coupon, so even though gas prices are crazy...I felt like it was worth the drive. We stopped by Flying J's to fill up on our way so we could get cheaper gas, so that made us happy.

We picked up the pictures we got taken at Wal-Mart last month...and they are very cute. I got a picture of Kennedy that is almost identical of Kaylee when she was her age. Kaylee thinks it is really special that I had their pictures taken alike...hers had purple rose petals in it, and I put yellow rose petals in Kennedy's. I was glad that we could pick up the pictures today, so that I could pass them out at his dad's house later on at the picnic.

After we left Winchester, we headed to my in-law's house for a family picnic. It was supposed to be a Father's Day picnic...Liz just had her week's mixed up. It worked out great because everyone was able to show up, we had lots of food, and the kids swam in the pool together. Later on in the evening, Larry and I got in the pool with the kids and played Volleyball with them. We hadn't played with all of them like that in a long time, so they were all over us. It was a lot of fun spending time with everyone.

June 7, 2008 Bday Party

The girls and I went over to Rosie's house today to celebrate her son's 3rd birthday! What a hot day to have a party, but Rosie had everything under control. She had 4 or 5 coolers full of waters, Gatorade, and other beverages to keep everyone hydrated! Kaylee loved the bounce around float, and all the kids went crazy when the sprinkler, pool, and slip-n-slide was brought out.

Kennedy stayed inside while we were at the birthday party. There were a handful of people that just didn't want to deal with the heat, so they stayed inside and kept an eye on the baby for me. She slept for the majority of the party, while I got to catch up on "adult time" with friends I haven't seen in over a year. It was really nice getting the chance to hang out with old friends and seeing Kaylee having so much fun.

We didn't get home from the party until later that evening, and Larry was home from working overtime for the soap box derby. All of us were really tired from a long day...so it didn't take much for all of us to hit the beds.

June 6, 2008 Awards Assembly

Ava and Kennedy slept most of the morning for me, so I was able to take a shower and update the blog! lol They were so cute because I had them laying together on the couch. They are best of friends already...when one gets upset, the other one follows. It's almost like having twins when I have Ava...lol.

I was invited to Kaylee's school today because she was selected to receive the Trail Blazer award! This award is only given to one student per class each year and it is the award for overall excellence in every area of school. Kennedy and I showed up to support her while her dad was at work, and we took pictures so she could show him when he got home. She was very proud, and Mrs. Funkhouser let her tell everyone that she had a new baby sister this year to share her award with. It was very sweet, and I was filled with pride while I watched her get the award. It even has her name engraved on it!

Kaylee, Kennedy and I went shopping in Winchester so I could get a few shirts for the summer time. Kennedy wasn't feeling well, and screamed the entire time we were in the store. I was so frustrated because I didn't know how to help her. We went to the dressing room and Kaylee fed her a bottle, and that didn't even calm her down. I was very eager to pass her off to Larry as soon as we got home. Kaylee and I needed a break!

June 5, 2008 Kaylee's School

Today Kennedy and I went into Kaylee's school so she could show off her little sister to her class. This is something Kaylee has been begging me to do since the baby came home, but I wanted Kennedy to be a little stronger before I put her in with 27 little kids. So Kaylee had her very proud moment showing off Kennedy, and then we went to lunch together in the cafeteria.


I had to leave after lunch because I had an appointment with Anna to see my proof pictures. She sat me down and showed me a slide show of most of the pictures with background music. OH MY GOODNESS...it was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen! I started to cry as soon as the first picture showed up on the screen and didn't stop crying until it was over. The sight of all those pictures took my breath away. I am so glad we were willing to invest into professional pictures by Anna. I wish I could show you guys all the pictures, but I don't have the capability of doing it online.

I made Mariah come over to watch the slide show of the pictures as soon as she came home from school. She was so impressed, and it just got her more excited to see Ava's proofs next week. I am excited to see Ava's too now that I have seen what Anna can do with her camera.

Dad came over to have burgers on the grill and to watch National Treasure movie tonight. Yep, I sat him down and showed him all the pictures too...lol. I am such a proud mom of my children, and this is just one way I can show them off. I swear these pictures belong in a magazine somewhere because my girls are so beautiful. Kaylee is so photogenic, and her eyes just melt your heart when you look into them in those pictures. Dad was really happy with them, and he is going to decide which ones he wants for himself.

So Larry came home from working overtime, and we had dinner together with Dad. National Treasure Book of Secrets was a really good movie. I liked the first one better, but it was a close second. Kaylee really like it too!

June 4, 2008 Childrens Hospital Appointments

Today was a wonderful day!

Mariah dropped Ava off to me this morning bright and early so she could head off to work. Ava ate the rest of her morning feed, burped, and then fought sleep for about 30 minutes before she gave up and crashed. Josh came to pick her up when he got off of work at 8:30 a.m. so I could leave to head over to Children's in D.C. for Kennedy's appointments.

Larry worked today, so I headed to the hospital alone. The long drive wasn't so bad because I left after the morning rush was over. The way home was horrible and very scary because I got stuck in the tornado storm...it was not fun. But while I was at Children's, I enjoyed my stay very much.

I found out last minute last night that they could squeeze Kennedy in for her ultrasounds on her tumor and her brain bleed, so we didn't have much time to plan for anything. I wanted to get there early so I could see the Concierge staff that I love so much. I have been getting together gift bags for the three of them, and I was excited that I could give the gifts to them in person rather than in the mail. I went in to see Kathy first and she was so surprised. She immediately held the baby and just couldn't get over how great she looked. She called Paula and Nikki to come up too, so I was able to hang out and chit chat with them for a little over an hour before the ultrasounds. Kathy showered us with presents too, as usual, and gave us a hand made blanket from someone and a baby toy. She also gave me a lunch voucher so I could eat, and a free parking sticker. I don't know what I would do without that woman! It was awesome to hear how God is working in all of their lives because each of them are doing well, and their children are healthy. Oh, I miss them so much! All three of them have a special place in my heart forever. Before I went downstairs to Radiology, Kathy and I told each other that we knew God was taking care of Kennedy and that her results were going to be more miracles to add to her life. We were both confident that everything was going to be fine.

The ultrasound technician was very nice, and she was so excited to see Kennedy. It turns out that she was the first one to do an ultrasound on the tumor when the baby arrived at Children's. She said that she has wondered how Kennedy was doing, and was very happy to have her again today for her check up. We took a look at the brain bleed first and found that it was completely healed!!! She couldn't believe how great her brain looked! She kept showing me different spots where it should have been bleeding, but there was nothing there but healthy brain tissue! I just kept praising God throughout the appointment, and I couldn't wait to scan her tumor.

Well, she looked and looked and could not find any trace of the tumor that she left the hospital with. She had that wand all over Kennedy's back and butt area, but there was nothing to find. She called in a doctor to try to find it and she too didn't have any luck finding it. I kept saying it was gone and that God had healed my baby...but the doctor wouldn't say that it was gone. I know that both of them were in shock, but very happy for our family. They even called the NICU to have the copies of the previous tests sent to them so they could compare the two tests. The doctor ended the appointment requesting an MRI to scan for the tumor. I am totally fine with that, because I know that it is gone and I have no problems getting further tests to prove that God took care of the impossible. What's another couple of thousand dollars to show them that...lol?!?!?!?!

I didn't get home until after 5 p.m. and immediately threw something together for dinner so Kaylee could eat before gymnastics. I went and watched her gymnastics practice again while Larry stayed home with Kennedy. Of course everyone there wanted to know where the baby was...lol.

Long day, very tired, and SO ready for bed. Just another day of witnessing the awesome work of God's hands on my family.

June 3, 2008

Mariah and I got up first thing this morning to walk Wildflower Ridge again. We walked at 11 a.m. and that was definitely too late in the morning to walk. IT WAS SO HOT and I was dizzy towards the end of it. Last night we didn't start until the sun started going down, so we need to stick with it being cool like that if we are going to walk. We decided to either stick with leaving earlier in the morning, or late in the evening. She hung out so I could round up all the thank you cards for the people at school and give them to her. She is going back to work tomorrow morning from her maternity leave, so she can put the cards in everyone's mail boxes for me.

Pretty uneventful day for us here at the house. I spent time with Kennedy, did laundry, and worked on bills online for a few hours and then Larry came home. Kaylee and I ran out to Food Lion to return a rotten watermelon and pick up some odds and ends there for the night.

Went to bed by 10 p.m. so I could try to get some sleep for the early morning tomorrow when Mariah drops Ava off. I hope Kennedy helps me out and sleeps better than she has been.

June 2, 2008 Rice Cereal

Not a whole lot of fun stuff to talk about today. It was so hard to try to get to the computer today because I was busy taking care of Kennedy. She is starting to get really needy and I can't get anything done because she is eating so often. The NICU told me to feed her every 3 hours and not to give her anything in between if I could help it. Well, this child eats like every 1 1/2 hours and it takes her a good 40 minutes to eat it...so I feel like I have a bottle in my hand all day long. If I feed her more formula every 3 hours, she ends up vomiting it up because her stomach can't hold it.

I ran errands part of the day with the baby and even saw Larry out while I was at the bank. I went through the drive thru and when I wrapped around the corner, I saw Larry getting out of his car to go into the bank! I asked him if he would arrest me...but he said no. lol.

We had Annette's lasagna for dinner tonight. It was a very nice dinner. I had never had lasagna like hers because it had vegetables, wheat noodles, and ground turkey or chicken instead of ground beef.

Mariah and I started walking around the neighborhood tonight to get exercise. Kaylee wanted to join us, and we pushed the babies in the strollers to add more resistance to our workout. Wow, we were very tired after were done our walk. Pushing the stroller was definitely an added weight to the workout! Kennedy seemed to really enjoy the walk, and Kaylee talked our ears off the whole time. She was planning out when Mariah and I would walk just so she wouldn't miss all of them. Kaylee wants to walk every other day with us because she said every day would be too exhausting for her...lol. She is so funny.

I bought rice cereal today at the grocery store to try out with Kennedy tonight. Larry and I gave her a little bit to try out tonight just to see if we can get her back on eating every 3 hours, but she spit it all back up. We didn't burp her in between the formula and the rice...so I am not sure that was why, or if it was just too early. Maybe we will try again in a couple more days.

Want to get family pictures done??

A few of you were interested in getting some pictures done, so I wanted to post Anna's information on the blog for you.

Anna G Photography
Check out her beautiful website at: http://www.annagphotography.com/
Her blog with sample photos: http://www.annagphotography.squarespace.com/
Her phone number: 304-839-2681
*You will be very happy with her work. She pays attention to detail to get the perfect shots.
**Tell her Kristen and Larry Ruffner sent you! :)

June 1, 2008 Baby Dedication

Oh my oh my, Kennedy and I barely slept a wink last night. I didn't go to sleep until 2:30 a.m. and she was up screaming at 4:00. By the time I fed her and got her back to sleep, I only had another hour of sleep before I had to get up for church. I got up early for church because I had to get myself and two kids ready and be there by 7:30 a.m. for rehearsal. Larry would not get out of bed...he said he was too tired. He slept the whole way through the night and didn't even hear her crying...lol...and he was tired! We both should have been in bed WAY earlier than we were, but the time just got away from us. I paid for it today because I was so weak from being so exhausted.

We had an awesome speaker today at church, and the baby dedication went perfectly. I told myself I wasn't going to cry, but Mary Beth made me (I will blame it on her). All the children were so beautiful and we were so blessed to have the church pray over our families. Kaylee came up with us to support her sister's dedication, and she wore her new pink dress to celebrate.

Annette totally surprised us by bringing in some lasagna for our family to eat! She said that she was going to make us meals when we first got home from the hospital, but never got around to it, and it was still weighing on her heart to make us something to help us out. It was an awesome surprise, and she was the first one to cook us something. So many people had planned on cooking for us, but when Kennedy got out of the hospital so unexpectedly...it made things a little more hectic.

We went to eat chinese again, but this time Larry's parents joined us with the kids. They came for the dedication, and made it just in time for us to have her dedicated. It was great to have them there for the special day.

I finished up most of my thank you cards the rest of the day. I wanted to take a nap, but there was no time for one. Larry helped out with the baby so I could sit down and focus on playing catch up.

May 31, 2008

Kennedy woke up at 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. this morning. This was the first time she didn't wake up at 2, and it was a nice change to get to sleep longer. That gets me excited to think that she is getting closer to sleeping all night. Once she sleeps all night we are going to have to invest in a monitor so she can go in her room...but that will be a few more month I guess.

JR's picnic is scheduled for today, but Larry never got all the information from work...so we won't be able to go. I'm kind of bummed about it because I really wanted to see him, but I'm sure there will be other times we will get together.

I talked Larry into running a few errands with me today instead of laying around the house. Our first stop was at the flag shop off of Raleigh Street to get him some WVU accessories for his Jeep as part of his Father's Day gift. He said he wanted one of everything...but he was on a spending limit and had to choose wisely! lol. Kaylee wanted some WVU pom poms, but I told her that we would get her some if we can ever afford to go to a WVU game.

After going there, we ran to Winchester to pick up all the title work from the dealership so we can take care of all that stuff. We got stuck in the big rain storm, and the power even went out in the dealership when they were getting all his stuff together for him.

Chili's is Larry's favorite place to eat, and every time we go to Winchester we end up eating there. He said I could choose where we ate, and I was totally thinking fast food...but when I decided on something other than Chili's...he was a sad puppy...so I said we could go. I have horrible luck at the Chili's restaurants, but everything was really good for once. The server was nice, the food was hot, and my meal was not frozen or raw!! I was very impressed...lol.

We ended our Winchester adventure at Costco to pick up a few items that we buy in bulk. Their strawberries are amazing, and I wanted to make the trip there just for the strawberries! We priced diapers and formula while we were there, and we will definitely be buying that stuff there whenever we run out of diapers and stuff. I did see Kirkland brands of both the diapers and formula and it was at a $10 discount from the brand named stuff! That really adds up on stuff like that. I wish they had small sample sizes first of the formula, so I'm not wasting all of it if it upsets her tummy. I think we might buy some of it just to try in a month or so when we run out of formula.

I finished up all my thank you cards from my church and my family tonight. I still have a bunch of other ones to do that I will work on tomorrow...but at least I get to pass these out at church in the morning. I will feel so much better once I get all of them done and mailed out to everyone. I hate being so far behind on them...but the hospital stay put us way behind on life, and we are just getting caught up on everything. I just don't want people to think that we aren't thankful for everything, ya know!?!?!

May 30, 2008 Indiana Jones

Larry went into work early this morning, and the baby and I were up when he was getting ready. It was really hard for us to fall back asleep after he left and we only got another hour of sleep before we sent Kaylee off to school. I fed Kennedy, updated the blog, paid some bills online, and then watched some movies.

I worked out at home today with the killer "Slim in 6" DVD because I couldn't get to the gym in time for the daycare. I would have only had 25 minutes to walk on the treadmill, and I like to walk at least 35 before I call it a workout...lol. I know that I am going to be very sore tomorrow from the DVD because she kills you with squats and lunges.

Dad came over and we had Kings Pizza for a quick dinner before going to the movie theatre to see Indiana Jones. I LOVE their grilled chicken salads...but they are almost $8....FOR A SALAD! If they were cheaper, I would have one everyday...but not at that price. Mariah kept the baby for us, and she said that Kennedy ate, burped, farted, and slept...lol.

Kaylee loved the Indiana Jones movie. She saw a couple of the previous ones a few weeks ago after church one Sunday. I think I liked the other ones better than this one, but it was really funny. I am not much on laughing at movies (it drives Larry nuts), but I did laugh at this one a few times. We normally stay at the house and watch movies with Dad, so this was nice to change it up a little.

May 29, 2008 Invitation

I got up with Larry and Kaylee this morning and made sure Kaylee got off to school on time. I had every intention of going to the gym after they left...but fell back asleep until 11:30 a.m.!!! So I got out of bed, took a shower, cleaned up the house a little bit, and waited for my friend to show up.

My friend Rosie came over with her 3 year old son (Richard) and we tried to catch up on lost time. We haven't seen each other for ages, and there was so much to talk about. She and her family enjoy scrap booking, and I really want to get into doing it...so I am going to join them on their scrap booking days. I am pretty excited about that because I have lots of scrap booking stuff...but haven't done one page yet!

I started to make dinner when Rosie and Richard went home, and wanted to make something really nice for my family. I thawed out some jumbo shrimp and made a garlic alfredo sauce on the stove. We had shrimp alfredo with angel hair pasta and crescent rolls. Kaylee rolled up the crescent rolls and even helped me put them in the oven and take them out when they were done. She is growing up!!!

Kaylee and I went to church for rehearsal at 7:00 and Larry stayed home with the baby. She wanted to be held all day long and was super cranky from gas, so I thought she was going to be a handful for him. That little rug rat slept the entire time in her bassinet while I was gone! Kaylee got to play with Sierra while the team prepared for Sunday's service. Tonight was really fun, and everyone was in a great mood...so that is always nice...lol. Lots of laughs were shared.

INVITATION
Kennedy's Child Dedication to The Living Room is this Sunday, June 1st at 11:00 a.m.
If you would like to join us, we would love to have you
If we have never met you, PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF :)
Larry's family is coming, and his grandmother has never been to the church before...so we are excited to have them there for this special day.

May 28, 2008 Back Handspring

Kennedy and I went to the Rainbow Diner in Rippon this morning for lunch. Larry's family owns the Diner, and the employees really wanted to see the baby. These employees have watched my husband grow up since he was a little boy, so I am sure it meant a lot to see his little baby girl. They have always been very nice when I see them, and some of them even went to our wedding.

I had to make lots and lots of phone calls today. Our insurance is denying all of our medical bills, so I had to get on the phone and figure out what in the world is going on. Right now, our medical bills are totalling around $320,000...so I am sure you can imagine my panic. Even after insurance kicks in, we are looking at about $64,000 that we are responsible for...and that's for the bills that we have gotten. I am sure there are plenty more on their way...lol. Kennedy is so special though, there is no price too expensive to have her here with us. We wouldn't have her with us if it weren't for all the medical staff at Washington County Hospital and Children's Hospital in D.C. We are very thankful for everything they have done. Larry spoke to a lady that could help us out with our insurance problems and she said that it would be taken care of in another week or so. I will be calling everyone all over again in a week to make sure.

I also called James Rumsey and Mountain State University to inquire about nursing school. I really want to go back to school to get my RN or LPN certification, but I know it is not going to be easy. I need to check into financial aid, the times of the classes, and the prices of everything. Rumsey told me that I was too late to enroll for their LPN program and that I would have to enroll in January of next year for their Fall 2009 class. I am hoping that MSU will offer night classes that I can take this Fall for the RN courses. I want my family to be more financially stable than what we are now. Living on a police officer and teacher's income just doesn't cut it now. Larry absolutely loves what he does, so I am willing to further my education to bring in more income.

Kaylee had gymnastics tonight and I went there to watch her. She got her back handspring on the cheese wedge!!!!!! Yes, I was very excited and I cried with joy. She has been working on it for 2 years now, and I know she was so happy to finally get it. Larry was working over tonight so I texted him to tell him about the news. He got off in time to rush over at the end of class, and Miss Emmy let her show him before she locked up. Now she is looking forward to getting her handspring on the floor. It was a great way to end the day, and she went home very proud of herself. As soon as she got home, she called her Nana and Papaw to tell them about it.

May 27, 2008 Getting back into SHAPE!

Well, I started working out today with tapes at home. I want to limit how often I take the baby into Golds Gym's Kids Club because of all the dirty little fingers that might touch all over her. When I go to the gym in the mornings, I have two back up people that might be able to keep the baby there at Golds for me. The general manager's wife, Valerie and my friend Laura are both there most of the mornings, so they said if they aren't busy they would keep her. So this morning I decided to start off my "getting back into shape season" here in my living room. Billy Blanks and I punched and kicked until I couldn't punch and kick any longer! lol. The Tae Bo tape was so old that it was even on VHS...and covered in dust I might add! Wow, I am really out of shape...and I know I am going to be sore tomorrow.

We wanted to get Trapper shampoo and groomed so he didn't smell so bad, and I finally set up an appointment for him! We have been talking about getting him groomed for over a year now, but just never set up the appointment. Today he needed to be dropped off at Petco in the afternoon, and he was not happy about it at all. He pooped in his crate on the way there and smelled up the Jeep..lol. The lady was great with him, and when I picked him up she said he was an angel. That was a shocker because he moaned the whole way there, and the whole way home. He smells wonderful now...but I am just afraid he is going to try to get back at me by peeing somewhere in my house (clean laundry basket or something..lol).

I had to go to the DMV to renew my tags and registration. Larry wants to have one of those WVU tags on his Jeep and when I told the lady that, she said that he had to do it through the university and that they couldn't help us at all. Apparently the extra fee to have those will go directly towards the school and none of it goes through the DMV. So I was sent on my way, and didn't get to renew anything.

Dad ran around with me today, which was a big help because he waited in the car with Kennedy when I went back and forth to Petco and the DMV. She was an angel today and only got cranky when she wanted to eat. Her eating time worked out perfect because we were only home long enough to feed her while we were running around. Dad took me to KFC for lunch and we had the buffet. It was surprisingly really good....he kept going back for the apple pie dessert and I was hooked on their yams. We filled ourselves to the max because it was all so yummy.

Kennedy has been pushing real hard with her feet trying to stand up and squirm around for about a week now, but last night she used her little arms to push herself off of my chest to look around. It was so controlled, and she did a great job holding herself up. I was really happy about it!

Nope, I did not get to even touch my thank you cards again today. It is really starting to make me mad because I am so far over due on getting them out to everyone! I have about 1/3 of them completed but I don't want to give to some and not give to all of them at the same time. They have to be done by the end of the week.....have to have to have to!

Updates on JR Butcher
JR's step daughter has created a blog for him, and she is going to post all the updates there. I know that my blog has spread to so many people that I will probably never get the chance to meet, so I am sure that it is fine to share his blog with all of you.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jrbutcher

He has 4 fundraisers held in his name already! Wow, that has to be an amazing feeling to know that so many people are pulling to help them out on medical bills. I know that the fire hall is even selling sandwiches for him too...so their bills should be taken care of through all the fundraising that is going on. That is awesome, and we are so happy for him. It's great to know that he is back home with his family again.

May 26, 2008 The Pools Are OPEN!

I slept in until 10 a.m. this morning, and Kennedy only got up twice last night. I feel totally refreshed and I have lots of energy today. This is the first time I have felt this awake since she has been born. Now, if I could only sleep that much everyday! lol...lol.

Kaylee went swimming at Lambert pool today with her friend Rachel. She was so excited to go and was going crazy because Jane and Rachel were running over an hour behind schedule. I told her to be patient, but she finally broke down and called them wondering what was taking so long. Once they picked her up, Kennedy and I were by ourselves trying to do laundry.

Today was also a Jon and Kate Plus 8 marathon day...so I didn't get as much stuff done as I would have liked to. I can't help myself.....I LOVE THAT SHOW! It is Larry's fault because he is the one that reminded me about it being on all day...lol. Those babies are just so freaking cute, and I love how Jon and Kate value their family.

Kaylee came home a little red on the shoulders and admitted that she never re-applied her sunscreen once she got to the pool. We cooked out on the grill with hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken. Rachel and Jane ended up joining us for dinner, so I am glad we made extra. It was nice having company over for dinner for a change! I wanted to eat outside on our back porch because it was so nice outside. Larry was outside all day at work and would have preferred to eat inside, but he let me have my way :) It was so nice eating outside, and we even carried Kennedy outside and sat her in her Papasan while we ate.

We finished the night up watching a few more episodes of Jon and Kate Plus 8 in bed. I want to get all my thank you cards done tomorrow, and I have some errands to run too...so I hope we sleep well tonight. Wish me luck!

May 25, 2008 Due Date

Today is our due date for Kennedy to be born! Looking at her now, I can't imagine not having her with us for the past 7 weeks. Even though things have been nuts since her premature birth...I know that it could have been a whole lot worse and we are grateful for the way things have been.

We wanted to be bums today and just hang out and relax around the house. So we got up, went to church and wanted to get all our errands done so we could go home and chill out. We went to our favorite chinese place to have our Sunday lunch like we always do, headed to Wal-Mart and got stuff there, and then went home for the day. We were going to go to Berkeley Springs to hang out with Jason, Mandi, and her family...but Larry was just way too tired and wanted to relax at home.

I fell asleep for 5 hours, while Larry played Call of Duty on his PS3 for 7 hours. Kaylee was in her room playing with her Littlest Pet Shop toys for hours while watching TV. Dinner was a joke...Kaylee got whatever she wanted when she was hungry, I had ice cream and watermelon, and Larry ate his frozen fruit pops...lol. Kaylee didn't go to sleep for the night until after midnight, and we were up until 1:30 or so. I was fine with that because I slept the day away...but Larry didn't, and he has work in the morning!

We played with Kennedy in the bed a lot this evening. She is trying to stand up on her own a lot, and she is getting so strong. She napped with me on and off, so she was awake for a few hours later in the night with Larry and me. We love it when she is awake for long periods of time! She is just so curious about her surroundings and wants to study every little detail. She is such a little sweetheart.

May 24, 2008 Photography Shoot

After Molly's mom picked her up this morning, Kaylee was saying that her belly hurt. I asked her if she ate something for breakfast and she said that she had a honey bun. We were in a hurry to leave for the day, so I put off her complaint as a hunger pain.

We ran to the Valley Mall real quick to pick up my wedding ring from being repaired. I had it checked a couple of weeks ago, and I had 3 diamonds loose so they took it to repair it for me. A dear friend of mine from high school is my jeweler, so I was excited to show her Kennedy for the first time. With it being Memorial Day weekend, Littman's Jewelers was packed and booming with business...so we didn't stay long.

We got professional pictures done today!!! I was supposed to get pregnancy pictures done with Anna, but that appointment was set up for 2 weeks AFTER Kennedy decided to be born...so that photo session did not happen. We were so excited about getting the girl's pictures done so we got there 20 minutes early to feed Kennedy so she wouldn't be cranky. While Larry was feeding Kennedy, Kaylee wasn't feeling very well and I kept asking her to make sure she was okay. I had just asked her if she was okay again, and she said that she was just really tired. Not even a minute later, I see Kaylee vomiting in her hands at the studio!!!!! I asked her if she was puking and she shook her head yes, and I panicked. We hadn't even started the photo shoot and she is vomiting all over her shoes, hands, and the hard wood floors! AH! I ran her to the nearest bathroom and she finished emptying her stomach in the sink and toilet. Anna had to grab lysol wipes and lots of paper towels and we cleaned up the nasty mess together. How embarrassing is that...lol...and she got on the floor and helped me the entire time. Larry just sat back and kept feeding the baby...lol. Kaylee said that she was just going to lay down and let Kennedy get her pictures done alone. I felt so bad for her, and I wasn't sure why her belly was so upset.

The photo shoot finally starts after all the excitement was over, and everything was going well. Then we stripped Kennedy down to her naked little butt and layed her on some towels for some beautiful shots. Well, I guess Kennedy was jealous of all the attention Kaylee had just gotten so she peed all over the towels! lol...lol. All I could do was laugh, because I was absolutely speechless. I could only imagine what Anna was thinking at that time. But again, she just kept rolling with the punches...so it helped Larry and I from getting to stressed. Thank God she has two little girls of her own.

I ran out to CVS to get some more formula for Kennedy and some gingerale for Kaylee, and when I came back Kaylee was taking pictures with her sister. She looked and felt great, and was just as energized as ever. I guess she just had a sour tummy and had to empty it....a VERY SOUR TUMMY. I can't wait to see those pictures of the girls together. Larry had some portraits with her as well, but I stayed as far away from the camera as I could. I am fine with being behind the camera, but not in front of it yet.

The photo session took a little over 2 hours, and then we went to our friend's river lot back in Sleepy Creek to hang out for the day. Kaylee had so much fun, and met up with a gentleman who took her by the river to look for bugs. She caught a bunch of creepy crawlies, crayfish, and almost caught a few minnow's. I went down there with her and we hung out with ducks and a turtle. The water was mucky, but we didn't care. Everything was still so beautiful because it was family time we were spending together. Larry and Kaylee love nature and just being outside, so they were both in Heaven today.

May 23, 2008 Sleepover

I am getting a ton of doctor bills in the mail now, and I doubt they are going to stop coming in any time soon. Man oh man is she expensive....lol. I thought that the big bill I got from Children's Hospital was for everything, but then I got another bill from Neonatology when they resuscitate her when she D-Sat'ed in Larry's arms that one time. Most of the bills I am getting have not been processed through our insurance so I started making phone calls to Children's to see what we needed to do to fix that problem. Trust me, opening up those bills will wake you up when you see the grand total of them and think that insurance has already paid a portion of them...lol

Kaylee had a little friend over tonight from school. Once Molly was brought over, we had dinner and then cut them loose in the house. I thought my daughter had too much energy, but try adding another 7 year old in the house too!!! Kennedy and I just hung out on the couch while Larry was outside admiring his Jeep. I had to keep reminding the kids that they needed to use their inside voices, but overall, it could have been worse.

One of my friend's brought over some pomade hair wax to put in Kaylee's hair to help me out with the new hair cut, so that saved me from going out on the town looking for some. I called Kaylee downstairs to try it in her hair so we could practice for tomorrow's photo shoot that we have scheduled. The last thing I wanted to do is put mousse, hairspray, and pomade in my 7 year old's hair...but we will have to until it grows out some more. Just another reason why I will be taking her to my hair stylist from now on. :)

May 22, 2008 Hair Cut

I had my 6 week checkup at my doctor's office this morning, and everyone there was so excited to see Kennedy. Some of them told me that they were checking for my name because they knew I was due to come in for my check up soon. Everything went well at the appointment and we talked about birth control and what my options were. I am still pumping the milk that I am able to make, so I was limited to what kind of pills I could take. He also talked to me about another birth control called an IUC. I took the informational pamphlet with me to talk to Larry about it. I think I am interested in the IUC, but we have to read up on it a little more and see if our insurance covers it. For right now, Dr. Kathari gave me a prescription for a pill...and told me that it is only 95% accurate. So I would still have a 1 in 20 chance to get pregnant again. I am not ready to have another baby yet...I want to wait at least another year.

Before my doctor left the room, he said that he wanted to commend me for the strength that I have shown throughout the pregnancy and he would remember me forever because of it. He added that there were not too many people who could have handled the news they way we did, and we really touched his heart. Listening to him really made me realize how much I have grown as a person. You see, eight years ago he was my OBGYN and delivered Kaylee for me. I remember sitting in his office as a young 20 year old single parent and being so confused about life. He never once judged me during my pregnancy, and I knew he wished me the best in life once she was born. To look back on where I was in my life then, to where I am now makes me feel really proud of not only myself...but my two children. God has given me two amazing daughters, and one incredible husband to live for.


My friend Kelley and her son Tyler came over to visit. I haven't seen her in years! Tyler was born premature and had to be flown to the NICU in DC just like Kennedy. He had a different disorder, but we were able to relate to each other so well because our babies were in the same place. Tyler was in the NICU a few months ago, and wow...he is huge now! Seeing him made me excited to know that one day Kennedy will grow to be that big! We talked about how much she loves her Pediatrician, and I am going to have her records sent there. Both of her children really like him, and she said that he is a very intelligent man that isn't intimidated by premature babies. THAT IS WHAT I NEED!

Kaylee got her hair cut tonight, or maybe I should say she got it chopped off! We showed the lady a picture but she was way too scissor happy and chopped all her hair off. I did not cry, but boy did I want to. I do not like her hair, and this is the first bad hair cut that Kaylee has ever gotten...so it is hard for me to cope with...lol. I have not told her that I don't like it because I do not want to hurt her feelings and I know that I will get used to it. We are calling it a Pixie hair cut and that it is a grown up hair-do because she is a grown up big girl. In about 2 or 3 months, it should be the length we wanted and then we can play with her hair with the style we originally wanted it! She says that she was scared that she looked like a boy at first, but now she really likes it. So if she likes it, I am happy! It is just hair, and it will grow back. :)

May 21, 2008

Mariah and I got up early this morning with our little ones, bundled them up, and took them to the Martinsburg Fire Department to get their car seats checked. Our husbands installed our car seats, but we just wanted to double check them. Larry was sure that he installed it properly, and said not to get it checked because he knew he did it right. After getting it checked, it just needed to be slightly tightened. Better safe than sorry! lol

We then wen to Wal-Mart to get some things. She and I split up so I could get the things I needed for the house to stop it from smelling like cats, and she got some groceries. I was on a mission to get every smelly thing possible for the house. We too needed groceries, but I didn't have room in my shopping cart for any food. The smelly stuff was more important.

Kaylee had gymnastics tonight so Larry, Kennedy, and I went grocery shopping while Kaylee had class. We only had an hour, and we needed everything you could think of! We were smart shoppers and got enough stuff to get us rolling again to have home cooked meals every night for about a week. It is time to make a trip to Costco...but we didn't have time to go tonight.

Kennedy was really grouchy today. Larry thinks she is getting sick, but her temperature is fine so far. I think she is just real gassy and is having a hard time passing it. She is a little on the stuffy side, but not real bad. We will just have to keep an eye on her.

Update on Butcher: So wow....he is coming home either today or tomorrow! That is just amazing considering he has been through so much with his surgery. I am sure there will be lots of rehabilitation and recovery time for him...and I hope he gets plenty of rest once he is home. His wife is having a cook out for him at the end of the month, so I am excited to be able to see him.

Hooray for David Cook! All I can say is I was pleasantly surprised....actually I screamed when he won! I totally thought little Archileta was going to take the crown...but Cook won it! He totally deserved it!!

May 20, 2008 6 pounds 4 ounces

Kennedy had her doctor's appointment this morning, and she weighed in at 6 lb 4 oz!!! Wow, that is almost a whole pound in two weeks! I had the same doctor again this morning, and I really don't think she is the one I want to stick with. She is nice, but I really think I need someone a little more specialized. She seems a little loopy if you get what I mean, and I need someone who knows what they are talking about. Like, for example, she walks into the room and says "well I see she has gained a little bit, but she's not what she was when she was born yet, but she'll catch up." I looked at her and said, uh...yea of course she isn't weighing in what she was when she was born because she had a 2 1/2 pound tumor on her. She tried to cover her tracks, but it was too late. I had to wait forever once I got there on both occasions, and she is too busy typing on her new laptop in the room instead of talking to me. Apparently it is a new program and she said that she is still trying to figure it out. The appointment today made me feel very uneasy, and she even asked me if I was okay. I was much better once we got out of there.

By the time we got out of the doctor's office, it was almost noon and she was due to eat. We went home so I could pump and she could eat before we went to Jefferson High School for a baby shower that the Science department had thrown for me. Initially, I was going to stop by Larry's work to show Kennedy to his co-workers...but we were at her appointment longer than anticipated. So I fed her at home, packed up the Jeep, and headed to JHS.

I surprised my students from 6th and 7th periods by showing up with the baby. Everyone was pretty excited to see us, and a few of them were half scared to come over and look at her. They wanted to know when I was coming back, and I felt really bad for not being there with them. I want to go back to work so bad...but I just can't leave Kennedy with a daycare center. I told them to talk the principal into letting me bring her, and I would be back tomorrow! lol.

The baby shower was a handful of my friends from school that got together to celebrate Kennedy with me. It was so nice to be able to hang out and laugh with all of them...I really do miss all of them. Suzanne even made Kennedy a blanket and little booty's to match!! The food was just as good as the company that joined me for the shower. Very fun!


Once I got home, Larry and Kaylee were starving...but we desperately need to go grocery shopping. Ever since the freezer accidentally thawed out, we have been eating what was left in our pantry. Well, that is running low and we need to make a big $$ trip to Wal-Mart to restock. I guess we will do that tomorrow, but tonight we ordered chinese instead and watched American Idol over dinner. GO DAVID COOK!

May 19, 2008 Picture Day!

So I got up all night with the baby, and it was much easier getting up with her when I was well rested from my REALLY LONG nap. :) It made me really crave a rocking chair in her bedroom because now that the room is done, I took her in there during her night feeds. We didn't have anywhere to sit, so we sat on the floor and hung out while she ate. Her wood in the nursery is called Coffee, and I cannot find that color in a glider rocker anywhere. I am going to look at Big Lots sometime and see if I luck out there. I might have to get a comfy rocking chair rather than a wooden one, but those puppies are over $400!!

FYI-the new Wal-Mart in Spring Mills in amazingly clean and we love going there over the one in Martinsburg, but they do not have a Portrait Studio there. I found that out the hard way after I drove there, went shopping for my props that I would be using in the picture, and then finding out that I had to go to the one in Martinsburg...lol.

Kaylee, Kennedy, and I went to the one in Martinsburg to get a picture similar to one I got taken of Kaylee 8 years ago when she was the baby's age. They look so much alike each other, so I mocked the set up to compare the pics. Oh my goodness, the pictures turned out better than I could have hoped for. I had told myself that I was only buying the cheap package of the one shot, but that woman knew how to take some awesome pics, so I caved in and bought some other shots. We are getting professional pics taken of Kaylee and Kennedy this weekend...so I figured it will save us $$ in the long run by getting these cheap ones first. lol

We ran into my friends from Regal Nails in the Wal-Mart and they gobbled up Kennedy. We were hanging out there so long that I decided to get a pedicure while I was chit chatting with them. Stephanie even treated me to a free pedicure as my baby gift! They are so nice in there, I just love them to death. They even painted Kaylee's nails for her and wouldn't even take a tip for her nails. I gave her $2 to give to him a a tip, and he snuck it back in her little jean pockets. When we got in the car, she asked me if she could keep the $2 rather than give it back to me...lol. Sure, why not...lol.

May 18, 2008 I AM SICK

I am officially sick. I haven't been feeling very well the past few days, but I know that I have definitely caught a cold now. I am not going to go to the doctor's yet, instead I am taking over the counter stuff...but I feel cruddy.

We wanted to go to the first service at The Living Room, but Larry didn't sleep very well last night. Kennedy is getting up every 2 1/2 - 3 hours to eat and have her diaper changed, and I have had problems getting up because of my head cold...so he helped me out even though he didn't have a lot of sleep. I remember falling asleep while I was holding her last night, and then asking him to take over so I could go back to sleep...lol. I just couldn't keep my eyes open long enough. We did make it to second service, and it was an amazing one...as usual.

Larry's parents and grandmother invited us out to lunch, so we met up with them at Bob Evans. We had a crew of 10, which included 5 children...lol...but I think all of them behaved themselves very well. We all went back to our house for a little while so they could spend some more time with Kaylee and Kennedy.

After everyone left, it was already after 4 p.m. and we found Indiana Jones movies on T.V. We all hopped on our bed and watched The Temple of Doom movie, and then I fell asleep. Kaylee and Larry kept an eye on Kennedy so I could get some rest...and well...I never woke up. They waited until 9:30 for me to wake up and have dinner with them, but it never happened. He did wake me up around 11 to tell me that I was the one getting up with the baby tonight so he could sleep...lol. I guess I was really tired, lol.

May 17, 2008 Kennedy's Room

Kaylee and I ran some errands this morning, and then headed back home to clean house again. Kaylee spent most of the day helping out with laundry and playing outside. She started a new fashion designs book and she created more than 10 different outfits to put in her book. I told her that her Aunt Carrie used to draw stuff like that when she was little, and Kaylee thought that was really cool that she was doing something Carrie did too. Kaylee even created some WVU outfits for Daddy to wear! lol

Today we were on a mission to completely finish the baby's room. We hung her border, and Larry put her dresser together. I thought the border was just one big sticker, but it was the real deal, lol. I had never put real border on walls like that, and neither had Larry...but we did a pretty good job. After the room was put together, I pulled Kennedy's clothes from the baby shower and organized them by size in her new dresser. Liz came over and saw us in action with the baby's room, and she said she really liked it.

Kennedy has been doing very well the past few days. She hasn't spit up her bottles for awhile now, and she is still staying on a good feeding schedule. She has a doctor's appointment on Tuesday and I am hoping her blood work results will be in by then. She will get more blood taken again next week as well. This will be done weekly to compare the AFP levels.

May 16, 2008 Surprise!

Larry sent me a text message as soon as he left for work this morning, giving me the name of the dealership, the phone number, and the dealer's email address. Umm....yea, I got the hint...lol. So I know that he thought it would be a waste of time texting me all that information, but I decided to surprise him.

I am not going to win this Jeep or truck battle with him. We will not agree on a vehicle, regardless of what we try to do...so I have decided to give in and try to get the Jeep for him by the time he got home from work today. I called, left a message on Bob's voice mail, and sent him a quick email telling him I was interested in the Jeep. Meanwhile, I called around trying to get the best interest rate I could for the loan I would have to take out. I am a member of a credit union, and I have always heard that they are the best place to get a car loan. Ironically, my bank was running a one day special tomorrow on car loans as low as 4.9%!!! So I would have to close the loan out on Saturday, but I could apply today to make sure I qualified for it. I took that information into consideration and waited on Bob to call me back.

Bob calls, we chat about what I had planned, and I told him that this was a secret and I would have to hurt him if he told Larry. I wanted to see if they would price match the 4.9% interest rate so I could do everything there today...and sure enough, they even beat it for me! I packed up Kennedy, and we drove to Winchester to buy Larry his dream Jeep. I signed all the papers and put the money down that we got for the motorcycle along with our tax rebate...and I was driving off the lot with my new vehicle.

It felt very strange driving something I said we would not get, but I wanted to make my husband happy. I will get used to the idea of having a Jeep, and it is not the end of the world because I did not get my Ford Edge. It does drive nice, but it just isn't as roomy as I would like it to be. We will put Kennedy in the middle of the Jeep, and she will fit just fine there.

So, I had my camera ready by the front window so I could see Larry's face when he pulled up. I parked the Jeep all crooked in the yard so it stuck out like a sore thumb and waited. Well, I waited, and waited....NO LARRY. So I am trying to be all cool and calm when I called to see where he was, and he told me that there was a bunch of stuff he had to do before he came home from work. MAN! Go figure, the day I do not want him to work overtime....lol. So I told him to give me a call before he came home, and he said okay. Next thing I know, 45 minutes later...he walks in the door. I TOTALLY MISSED HIS REACTION, because he didn't call. My camera was still sitting by the window, but no picture would be taken.

Kennedy was great all day. She has normal diapers, normal feedings, and she is even increasing her feeds to 3-4 oz every 3 hours. Larry and I felt her head tonight and we noticed that she no longer has overlapping on her skull. Before, she was so preemie that her skull didn't form the way it should have and was all lumpy. Not anymore, she has a nice smooth head and it has gotten big! Our little teeny baby is growing, cheeks and all! I think I might just get my chubby cheek, fat baby that I have always wanted. Time will tell.