We had a fantastic night at the Cold Stone Creamery raising money for the Make-a-Wish foundation. We had invited everyone who loves and prays for Keyan hoping to raise awareness for the Foundation as well as have a party for Keyan to celebrate how far she has come. All night long people just kept coming and coming to honor Keyan. We were so touched. Keyan felt just like a princess all night as being single out for something FUN is not something that she is used to. It really quantified how blessed we are to have such extraordinary people in our lives. Keyan ate ice cream and even got to go behind the counter and make her own creation. She just kept looking at us and saying, "this party is for ME!!" We even had friends in Ft. Wayne and Indianapolis celebrating Keyan at their local creamery. What an amazing night. Thanks to everyone who participated, we love you all. It was exactly how we had hoped...a special night just for Keyan. I do have to share a story though. Earlier in the day, I was explaining to all the girls that tonight was a party for Keyan. Keyan asked, "for my friends too? (that is what she calls her sisters) I explained that "No, just for her because she has to spend so much time at doctor appointments, the hospital, therapy, being sick, and just going through a lot of things that are not very fun." Sidney looked at me very seriously and said, "but I have warts!" After a few laughs, I explained the difference between warts and what Keyan goes thru and it wasn't long before all the girls were excited about a party just for Keyan! Please keep praying that she remains healthy!!! You should be able to click on the slide show and see the pictures slower!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
We're going to Disney!!!
Now that I got that out of my system, I will give you all a little background information just in case you don't know about this special trip. Six months or so ago, two of Keyan's doctors asked me if we had considered submitting Keyan for a wish through the Make-a-Wish foundation. Both times, I politely smiled, nodded, and than explained that I did not think Keyan would qualify and did not want to take up their valuable time. Both doctors listened, and than very nicely stated that in fact they believed that Keyan would absolutely qualify. After discussing it with Paul, I decided that it would not hurt for me to call Make-a-Wish and ask some questions.
When I called, the woman told me that to qualify, Keyan had to have a life threatening illness, and that would be determined by a group of doctors that volunteer for the organization. She than asked if Keyan saw any specialist, I couldn't help but laugh since Keyan's list of specialist is about 25 doctors long! Anyhow, she took the name of some of them and said she would send them the paperwork, they would send it to the team of doctors, and we would either get a letter stating that she did not qualify, or receive a small package with information about granting her one true wish.
Fast forward six weeks....it is a Saturday, and one of our friends has so kindly offered to take the girls to her house to play so that we can just have a little break. Keyan of course can not go due to her special needs, so she stays home with Mommy and Daddy. We did our best that day to do some special things with her but she kept asking where her sisters went, and it was very obvious to both of us that she was sad and felt left out. Late that afternoon, I held her while she watched a movie and couldn't help but cry because I knew she was hurting...I realized that day that she was starting to realize that she was different. It was a really hard day on us all. While she was finishing the movie, I went out to get the mail. As I flipped thru all the junk mail, I came upon an envelope from Make-a-Wish. It was bigger than a standard envelope, but I figured they were letting us know that she did not qualify,and maybe sending us a survey or something. With trembling hands, I opened the envelope, and read the first line. "The Make-a-Wish Foundation of Michigan is pleased to inform you that Keyan has been medically approved for a wish!" I immediately started screaming for Paul and crying at the same time. I had mixed feelings...I was thrilled for her to be granted a wish, but I knew that meant that a team of doctors had reviewed Keyans medical history and determined she indeed had a life threatening illness. This is not what a Mom who is living in denial want to hear!
After composing myself, I read the information and learned that once granted a wish, the child could wait as long as they wanted to make her wish. We talked to Keyan quite a bit and decided that she would wish for a Disney trip but that we were going to wait a year or two before putting in the paperwork for her wish. That was a nice thought but it only lasted about another month.
In June Keyan became very sick with three different types of strange bacteria. I won't go into the gory details, but it was not pretty. Once again, I sat at her bedside not knowing how much longer we would have her with us. Her lung doctor came in at one point and with tears running down his face, said,"this is not where we thought that she would be at the age of three, it is not good, and we need to figure out a new plan. At this point, we can determine that the damage from mechanical ventilation is irreparable, and she will not grow out of it. This changes our course of action!" Wow, when the doctor cries, it is a very scary moment. We have put her on a drug regime that we were hoping to never use, but we sure are thankful it exists. Our goal is to keep her healthy instead of fight the illnesses after they are have taken hold. It was at that time that the doctors advised us to put in for her wish and let God be in control of the timing. They felt that a year from now, she may not have the same endurance level, and at least right now, we know what we are dealing with. We headed their advice and sent the paper work in.
Keyan's official wish is to go to Disney and sing with Ariel. We received a call last week letting us know that we were confirmed to go to Disney October 15th thru the 20th! I never thought that it would happen this soon, but we are all thrilled to say the least. So...in 23 days (but who's counting!), the seven of us and Grammie will be flying to Florida. I can't believe how much stuff there is to do but Make-a-Wish handles a lot of it so we are just enjoying the excitement!
So, for those of you who heard that Keyan was granted a wish and got quite scared, I am sorry to frighten you. She is not terminal, but does have several life threatening illnesses. It is obviously a mixed blessing....we are thrilled for her to have this wish granted, but would give anything to have her not qualify. So, continue to pray for good health and check back often to keep track of our pre-trip planning!
When I called, the woman told me that to qualify, Keyan had to have a life threatening illness, and that would be determined by a group of doctors that volunteer for the organization. She than asked if Keyan saw any specialist, I couldn't help but laugh since Keyan's list of specialist is about 25 doctors long! Anyhow, she took the name of some of them and said she would send them the paperwork, they would send it to the team of doctors, and we would either get a letter stating that she did not qualify, or receive a small package with information about granting her one true wish.
Fast forward six weeks....it is a Saturday, and one of our friends has so kindly offered to take the girls to her house to play so that we can just have a little break. Keyan of course can not go due to her special needs, so she stays home with Mommy and Daddy. We did our best that day to do some special things with her but she kept asking where her sisters went, and it was very obvious to both of us that she was sad and felt left out. Late that afternoon, I held her while she watched a movie and couldn't help but cry because I knew she was hurting...I realized that day that she was starting to realize that she was different. It was a really hard day on us all. While she was finishing the movie, I went out to get the mail. As I flipped thru all the junk mail, I came upon an envelope from Make-a-Wish. It was bigger than a standard envelope, but I figured they were letting us know that she did not qualify,and maybe sending us a survey or something. With trembling hands, I opened the envelope, and read the first line. "The Make-a-Wish Foundation of Michigan is pleased to inform you that Keyan has been medically approved for a wish!" I immediately started screaming for Paul and crying at the same time. I had mixed feelings...I was thrilled for her to be granted a wish, but I knew that meant that a team of doctors had reviewed Keyans medical history and determined she indeed had a life threatening illness. This is not what a Mom who is living in denial want to hear!
After composing myself, I read the information and learned that once granted a wish, the child could wait as long as they wanted to make her wish. We talked to Keyan quite a bit and decided that she would wish for a Disney trip but that we were going to wait a year or two before putting in the paperwork for her wish. That was a nice thought but it only lasted about another month.
In June Keyan became very sick with three different types of strange bacteria. I won't go into the gory details, but it was not pretty. Once again, I sat at her bedside not knowing how much longer we would have her with us. Her lung doctor came in at one point and with tears running down his face, said,"this is not where we thought that she would be at the age of three, it is not good, and we need to figure out a new plan. At this point, we can determine that the damage from mechanical ventilation is irreparable, and she will not grow out of it. This changes our course of action!" Wow, when the doctor cries, it is a very scary moment. We have put her on a drug regime that we were hoping to never use, but we sure are thankful it exists. Our goal is to keep her healthy instead of fight the illnesses after they are have taken hold. It was at that time that the doctors advised us to put in for her wish and let God be in control of the timing. They felt that a year from now, she may not have the same endurance level, and at least right now, we know what we are dealing with. We headed their advice and sent the paper work in.
Keyan's official wish is to go to Disney and sing with Ariel. We received a call last week letting us know that we were confirmed to go to Disney October 15th thru the 20th! I never thought that it would happen this soon, but we are all thrilled to say the least. So...in 23 days (but who's counting!), the seven of us and Grammie will be flying to Florida. I can't believe how much stuff there is to do but Make-a-Wish handles a lot of it so we are just enjoying the excitement!
So, for those of you who heard that Keyan was granted a wish and got quite scared, I am sorry to frighten you. She is not terminal, but does have several life threatening illnesses. It is obviously a mixed blessing....we are thrilled for her to have this wish granted, but would give anything to have her not qualify. So, continue to pray for good health and check back often to keep track of our pre-trip planning!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Ballet
All four girls started ballet today. As you can see from the picture below, my girls make up 2/3 of the class! They were so stinking cute it was unbelievable. The class is half ballet and half tumbling. They all loved it and were showing off their new moves to anyone who would watch, including all the shoppers at Younkers!
McKenzy too has embraced her new found hobby and loves carrying the bag around and wearing the shoes. She listened well, which I was really worried about. Tumbling was her thing and she was somersaulting like you wouldn't believe. She keeps talking about doing "balympics" (Olympics) and thinks she is a gymnast. Won't it be interesting to see what they learn over the next 30 weeks!
For the most part, they actually stayed on their carpet squares and followed directions. I was very proud of them. At least they listen to somebody!
Abagayle is our "Prima Ballerina." She has been waiting for over a year to take ballet and loves everything about it. From the fancy bag, to the ballet slippers, skirt, leotard, and tights, she is all about ballet. When we left, she said, "Mommy, I was so beautiful!"
Sidney was very unsure about taking ballet because she "does not want to be a princess...I like Spiderman!" (No, the phase has not passed yet) So, when everyone else got pretty pink ballet bags to carry their stuff, she choose a Spiderman backpack. The good news was when she came out of class she said that she loved it and asked when they were coming back. After all the fuss about getting her hair done this morning for ballet, when I was helping her get her clothes on she was very concerned that I might mess up her hair!! Wait until you see her point her toes!
Keyan as usual is not going to let anything stop her from doing what her sisters are, so she was right in on the ballet also. Sidney was extremely concerned about how Keyan would do...but Keyan did great. Her flexibility really comes in handy and like everything else, she does ballet with gusto! As we were leaving, she said to me in her quiet, breathy voice, "That..was..fun..Mommy." It was priceless!
McKenzy too has embraced her new found hobby and loves carrying the bag around and wearing the shoes. She listened well, which I was really worried about. Tumbling was her thing and she was somersaulting like you wouldn't believe. She keeps talking about doing "balympics" (Olympics) and thinks she is a gymnast. Won't it be interesting to see what they learn over the next 30 weeks!1st grade!
Well, the day that Mommy has dreaded arrived. We sent Jamahl off to 1st grade today. The summer was so great and went way too fast. He was very excited to go and was up before I went in to wake him. No hesitation, no anxiety, just ready to see his friends. He had a grat day except he had some sort of trouble eating his lunch but we have yet to get to the bottom of that situation. Mommy and his sisters missed him but knoew that he was off having a great time. Jamahl is enrolled in the Spanish immersion program this year so pretty soon, you can say "Hola" to him! Here is to a great school year!
Meeting up with his best friend Landon. We got there, and he was gone! Love ya!
Waiting in line with his buddies
The annual picture with the T-rex!
Monday, September 1, 2008
An entire day without sisters!
Last Thursday, we spent a great day in a suburb of Chicago, visiting the Lego Discovery Center. Jamahl has been dreaming of this since before it opened at the end of July, and we were thrilled to be able to make it possible and be a part of it. We had some wonderful people stay home with all of the girls and myself, Paul, my Mom, and Auntie Roo, all accompanied Jamahl to this mega lego world. I wish you all could have been in the car when we pulled into the parking lot after our long 3 and a half hour drive to hear Jamahl screaming out of excitement. I of course, couldn't control my emotions and walked into Legoland crying. It is very rare that both Paul and I get to spend time with Jamahl without the girls, so we treasured every minute of it.From jungles, rides, and movies, to endless hours of building and testing, we had an amazing time. We did some shopping afterwards and had dinner at the "Cheesecake Factory", ending our day at IKEA. As we were leaving, Jamahl looked at us all and said, "nothing could have made this day more perfect...no, I am telling you the truth, NOTHING!" And that is exactly how we all felt! It was great to spend the day with you Jamahl, you are an amazing kid...so smart, witty, kind, and compassionate. We are so blessed to be in your life!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
A day in the dunes
All of the kids taking a break on the Trillium rug
Does it get any more beautiful than Lake Michigan Sand dunes?
The best of Buddies, Jamahl and Uncle Jeremy
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Ice Skating in August!
Yes, you read that right, we went ice skating last week. Jamahl has been wanting to work on his skating skills so he got on-line and found out when our local rink had open skating. Friday was the day, so off we went. Auntie Roo had plans of laying by the pool but we convinced her that ice skating would certainly be more fun! It was quite the event. We all got our skates on, and off we went to the ice. All five of the girls surprised us and could walk in their skates without help. I have to admitt that I was tempted to not even get skates for Keyan but boy was I proven wrong. She walked out to the ice, grabbed her buckets, and away she went. It was amazing...my little "disaster waiting to happen" figured out how to lean on the bucket and move. I couldn't help but feel a little ashamed about underestimating her. I hope she just keeps proving us wrong. Abby was the star of the day though. She was all over the ice, twirling, stopping, going fast, and loving every minute of it. Sidney was not fond of the ice no matter what we did. She finally let me push her around slowly but made sure I did not go to fast. McKenzy had to go potty about 100 times so once she finally warmed up to skating, it was time to get off the ice. Jamahl is making great progress in his balancing abilities and surprised us all when he was able to fall and not panick! It was quite an adventure that we will certainly be doing again soon. Of course, you just never know what crazy thing we will try next.
If you want to see the pictures slower, just click on the slideshow!
If you want to see the pictures slower, just click on the slideshow!
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