2 years

it's so hard to believe that it has been two years today since the transplant. but then in other ways it feels like forever ago. so much has changed since then. so much is different. all day my mind has been replaying over and over me walking into the surgery waiting room without nick and seeing my mom, julie, natalie, chelsea, jill, adaira and alivia waiting for me in one of my weakest moments. i think i keep seeing them because i miss them all so much right now and i know they are missing owen today. 

i'm so behind on this blog i don't even know where to begin. i think i'm just going to start from right now and do my best to keep it up. Halloween is soooo much our holiday with family and friends, it's really got me missing kc right now. i just need to get thru this next week then i think i will be back to normal. (not that i think i was ever normal to begin with) Owen is doing absolutely awesome health wise. we are still trying to figure out the best place for him with school. we just had a big evaluation meeting with his school this week so i'm willing to give it a little bit more time to see if works out for the better before we really start exploring other options. Livi is doing awesome in school. she has all A's with one high B....since when is a 92% a B?!?! she has also made quite a few friends in our neighborhood. they knock on the door daily for her to come outside. Noah is still his sweet little stinky self.  

we don't have a trip back to kc planned anytime soon.  :-( we are worried about driving back in the winter and possibly getting stuck/snowed in somewhere.  we do have a big i mean HUGE surprise planned for the kids for christmas ;-).  the weather is absolutely perfect here right now.  we've had the ac off for over a month.  last weekend we drove this scenic route highway  to see all the fall colors of the leaves in the mountains.  it was beautiful!!!  i love fall leaves!!  Nick starts a new positions with QT next week.  he will be a store opener/manager.  he is really excited for the change.  i started working part time in a salon/spa about five weeks ago.  it is defiantly not hair spray cafe, or even anything close. :-/ but it gets me out of the house and talking to people again. 

                                       

Birthdays, Beaches, Boo-Boos and Backwards Bingo

i've got a few months to catch up on here.  we've been so busy with house guests, mini vacations and special occasions.  i've been loving every minute of it.  lets start with april.  we  took the kids pigeon forge/gatlinburg TN to go to dollywood for liv's 8th birthday.  the kids didn't know that aunt nat nat and uncle dom were surprising them with a visit there.  the kids were completely shocked.  we were all cying.  then about ten minutes later i was completely shocked when my mom walked up.  nat and dom surprised me with my mom.  we were all crying again.  i didn't realize till then how much i really missed my mom. 

this is noah walking with his ya-ya....so cute! we had such a fun time at dollywood.  the whole area is like branson but with mountians instead of lakes and a pancake house on every corner. we had booked this cabin for us all to stay in that was really in the mountians.  it was a up and down windy road to get to it only to discover we couldn't get our suv up the steep gravel driveway.  it was insanely steep and we were sliding down it like it was snow and ice.  so to get back to where we had cell service again to call the rental company we had to drive back over the mountian and thru woods.  liv turns white as a ghost and all hot-n-sweaty.  we have to pull over for her to get sick on the side of the road (or should i say mountian).  we discovered in this trip that she can get car sick :-(  she was so upset.   we ending up getting a different cabin right off the main strip that was less mountian-y.  we would totally go back to it, it was so nice.  after dollywood took liv for a b-day dinner at hard rock cafe and the table they sat us at was right in front of a huge picture of roy orbison.  he was one of my dads favorite artist so it was a much needed sign that my dad was with us that night.   nick fell in love with gatlinburg and can't wait to go back in the winter for skiing. 

all this happened before livs actually b-day so she was surprised again when we had a little family party for her on her actual b-day.  it's so hard to believe that she is 8 years old.  she is really coming into her own out here.  she did so good at school this year and transitioned so smoothly with the move.  we couldn't be more proud of her.  nick's parents came to visit us the end of april.  they were our first offical guests at "hotel hughez".  it was a much needed visit for everyone.  we had a great time catching up and taking them to the uqinue greenville spots we have fell in love with.  in may we took the kids on a quick weekend trip back to folley beach in charleston.    

the beginning of june nat, dom, my mom and my niece adaira finally came to greenville.  we started the visit with a quick trip to me and nicks new favorite spot...the beaches at charleston!!!  we had no idea we were such beach bums :-D  as soon as we leave we are planning our next trip back.  my thoughts are if we are going to have our kids this far away from friends and family we need to take full advantage of what we can offer them here that we couldn't if we were still in kc.  as soon as natalie got here she said she had to see "that charleston place" that me and nick couldn't get enough of.  and guess what???  they all loved it too!!!  i seriously think everyone needs to visit charleston at least once. 

we started celebrating owen's 7th b-day in charleston.  nat, dom and adaira went back to kc after 5 nights :-(  my mom is still here.  the next weekend nick's mom and niece lola came to celebrate owens b-day some more.  he got to pick a resturant to go eat at, he picked cracker barrel.  he's is such a nut!!!  he loved every second of it.

on his actual b-day we had some more fun planned.  liv made him this crown that he wore all day long, it was so sweet.  we took him to frankie's fun park (kinda like cool crest , chucky cheese and dave-n-busters all in one).  he is obsested with super mario right now.  his fav being luigi and yoshi because they are green...of coures right :-).  so my mom and i got him everything mario bros we could find.  he was in heaven.  he is doing so excellent health wise since we've been here.  we are only doing labs and dr viists once a month which i huge difference from the once a week we doing for the year and 4 months after the transplant.  i worry everyday that i'm doing everything i can keep it this way.  and knock on wood when i say this but i really feel like for once that i've got a handle on it and can breath easy...finally.  now really....wow....how can he be 7 year old?!?!?! 

after owen's b-day party when we were getting the kids ready for bed noah slipped in the shower busting a spot by his eye open.  we had to take him to the er to get  stitches.  poor little baby was so brave.  he must of learned it from watching his big brother at his appointments. nick on the other hand was his typical self getting all light headed when he sees needles :-/.  it was a good thing my mom was here so we didn't have to bring owen and liv there with us.  the only positive i can make out this happening is that we got to see what the childrens er was like here greenville so we could feel comfortable if we ever have to take owen there (knock on wood again).  i hope that never happens and i hope a never have to say "the only thing positive about going to the er" ever again too. 

today was my moms birthday.  i've loved getting to spend the whole day her.  i've really loved getting to spend the whole month with her.  today i took her to lunch in this little 1800's cottage.  i made her a tye-dyed cake (check facebook for pictures).  then we went to play bingo.  it was the strangest game of bingo.  we still dont know what was going on.  they gave you free numbers or free rows.  almost every game was called triples, where you had to get 3 bingos on one card but they gave you half the numbers to start with.  one lady won the bingo before any real numbers called. it was so weird!!  we were so cunfused.  one of the ladies that worked there asked us if we had ever played bingo before?!?!  we were like yes!! but this isn't bingo!!!  we laughed the whole way home and i'm sure they were laughing at us when we left too.   

this is gonna be a long one

so far so good here in south carolina. we've been here over 6 weeks. i still have some unpacking to do. i have plenty of decorating to do. but it's starting to feel like home. Nicks store has been open for a few weeks and is keeping him so busy. it's so fun to see a whole town crazy and excited about quik trip being here. someplace i've grown up going to and nick has worked at for 15 years. these people are just seeing it for the first time or have seen it in atlanta (hour and 1/2 away) but go in to them and gawk like they are in disney world. it's so funny.....good thing we love quik trip too!!! i'm still trying to find my favorite grocery store. the kids are doing great with the big change. they love all fun stuff we are finding to do outside.
i have to talk about my favorite things about living here. i get to stay home with my kids!!!! it's not all fun and play, it's a lot of work but so worth it. "russell" you told it was pretty here and boy were you right!!! greenville is in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains so it's absolutely breathtaking to get to see mountains everyday on my way to take/pick-up liv from school or on my way to wal-mart. the cheap fun weekend trips are endless. The weekend before last we drove 3hrs south to charleston, SC. we are absolutely in love with that town. the kids got to see the ocean and touch the sand. i can't believe we can drive 3 hrs and take our kids to the ocean. i don't have pics to share from that trip on here because i forgot to charge the stupid camera battery.....boo!!!! but don't worry, there will be plenty more trips there to capture on film. easter weekend we are surprising liv (and the boys) for her b-day which is april 10th with a weekend trip to pigeon forge, TN. we are taking them dollywood. i can't wait to drive thru the mountains again.now for some catching up. owen started kindergarten. in a big normal public school. he isn't going to our home school with liv. he goes to a different one across town and it's seems to be a good fit. they wanted him there because they always have two registered nurses on duty so the are better equip to take care of his medical needs. he's not as crazy about it just yet as he was CCVI. i don't think that he will ever have a teacher that loves him as much as miss sarah does at CCVI. at ccvi there were about 10 kids in his class and now he is in a "normal" class with 25 kids. i asked him what he didn't like about his new school and he said "it's too crowded and everybody gets in my way" you'd think it be that the bus picks him up at 6:15am but thats no worries for him, he's always been my early bird. his favorite things are riding the bus and bringing his lunch. livi is doing great in school. her school (our home school) is huge!!!! there are 9 2nd classes with 25 kids each!!! and nobody rides the bus so i take her everyday. remember what i mentioned earlier about seeing the mountains on the way so i really don't mind taking her. on feb. 29th we took owen to his first appointments with his new drs at the Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte, NC. it's an hour and 1/2 drive. a very pretty drive and i haven't mentioned this yet......there is an IKEA there!!!!!! i get to take owen to the doctor and shop at ikea every month, yes please!!!! i'll start going to ikea just once month soon, as of right now i've been 4 times :-) ok back to owen's dr visits. LCH looks nothing like CMH. it didn't even make me feel like CMH makes me feel. that's why when i was checking him in to see his new kidney dr, dr masengill, i started crying. i missed children's mercy. the receptionist didn't know us or why we were there. i really started to feel like we made a huge mistake. when it's time for the dr to come in i'm all good and calm. she comes in and introduces herself then says "you won't believe who i saw this weekend and did he brag a lot about you......dr warady!!!!" his kidney dr from chm. my heart sank and tears fell down my cheek again but i was happy. it's was my first sign that it was going to be alright. my next sign was when the child life specialist (angie was the best at cmh) came in with a goodie bag full of all owen's favorite things. a Frankenstein tattoo, halloween book and more. she got a get to know owen email from angie at cmh. made my heart happy. the rest of the visit went great. i really think they will be a great fit for owen. after that appt. we went accross the hall to the ortho. clinic to have his cast removed. the dr comes in and says "so gail did his surgery, she's great!!!" he knows the dr that did his leg surgery at cmh by her first name, another sign. :-) they removed owens cast that he had on for the past six weeks. his leg looks so little. it's still a little hard for him to walk but his foot stays flat!!! we have a new brace that he has to wear for at least another 3 mos. like always he's handling it like the rock star he is.

my next big announcement is that my little 3 year old noah is potty trained!!!!! yay!!!! it only took a few days of a lot of mistakes. but he has been sporting underwear all day for a few weeks now. he still wear pull ups at night. he is growing into such a sweet little dude and love spending my days with him. so proud of him!!!! now to get owen potty trained :-/

GrAnD OpEnInG!!!!!!! Hotel Hughez!!!!! now accepting reservations. each stay includes weekday continental breakfast/deluxe breakfast on the weekends, adorable 3 year old wake up calls, free wi-fi, airport shuttle service, neighborhood outdoor pool, greenville tours and good company. more pictures of the property coming soon :-)

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it is 11:20 pm on march 19th 2012. i've almost made it thru this day, the day that marks the 3 year anniversary of the day that i lost one of the most important men in my life......my dad. the hardest part about moving here was leaving the last house i will ever live in that my dad has been to. i will never see him walk thru my front door. i would love to show him SC. he would love talking to nick about all this new quiktrip stuff. he would just be in stitches hanging out with noah. he would shocked at owen's accomplishments. he would stunned at liv's beauty. thank goodness it's now 11:34 and this day is almost over :-(

#22

tomorrow is owens 22nd time in the children's mercy operating room and it very well could be his last time. i have to say, as weird as it may seem, i'm kinda sad. i hope and pray that it's his last surgery but it's most certain his time having a surgery at children's mercy. children's mercy has played a huge role in our lives for the past 6 1/2 years. since October 25 2010 i've taken owen there at least once a week if not 2 or 3 times and not to mention living there for a month. i'm going to miss so much about living in kansas city....family, friends, ccvi just to name a few....and children's mercy is defiantly high up on that list. i truly believe that they are the reason that owen is still here and i will be forever grateful to everyone there that has touched owen.

this is owen's favorite thing to do at children's mercy. push the green (his favorite color) button to change the color of the sky in the lobby. we do it every time on the way out.
owen with his kidney doctor dr warady at his last office visit. he's owens favorite dr and i have to say he's one of mine too!!!owen's transplant nurse diana. i'll miss her calling to give me lab and med updates.
owen's favorite person at children's mercy...angie!!! she a child life specialist. every monday morning owen asks "do you think angie is going to be there today?"
these are the fusion nurses (penny, amanda and mara) that have drawn owens labs every monday morning for the last year and 2 months.

dr warady has referred us to a great dr in charlotte, north carolina. i'm nervous to start this new adventure with owens health care but have hope that we will transition smooth and will love the new hospital as much as children's mercy over time.

owen's surgery tomorrow is the re-do surgery to lengthen his achilles tendon in his right leg. this is the surgery he was suppose to have back in july but because of his heart svt it was cancelled. then he got that stupid stomach virus that he was FINALLY cleared of over christmas break. so we were finally able to reschedule this leg surgery. which nick and i are so happy we could get done before the big move. another thing that happened with owen being cleared of the virus is he could finally start school.....yay!!!!! just kinda stinks that his last two weeks at ccvi will be sent in a cast. like every obstacle that gets thrown in owen's way, i know he will come thru like a champ!!!

so the big moving day is Feb. 2nd. natalie and nicks mom julie are driving along with us. we are driving both our cars there so we have enough room for all the stuff we need to have with us. it's about a 16 hour drive to we are going to do it in two days. the plan as of right now is to stay in louisville, KY. nat and julie will be flying back on the 7th. we will need to do some painting to the new house before all our stuff arrives on monday. it will be so nice to them there to help us out.