Just RK

We’re here. We’re swamped. (Well, I am, anyway)  But we’re ok.  By the end of February I think things should slow….. No, new office opening March 1.  Ok, by the end of March, then…  No, wait, boss is having a baby in April. Major shift.  Maybe by Memorial Day then?? It might be the three part-time jobs (the newest of which gave me over 32 hours last week, but should calm down in about 2-3 weeks), the volunteering at school, the two little girls who want lots of go-ing, the house that seems to magically multiply clutter, the church involvement, or the DS group coordinating. Who knows what the main culprit to the chaos is right now, but most are suffering, some more than others…    In the midst of it all, I love Christmas. And yet it also brings some of the most difficult realities to the forefront for me.  It’s not about money. Just about people.  Christmas is just not quite as I had hoped it would be at this stage in the game....

When things jump out and smack me in the face, I remember that my life is not about me. It’s not about just what makes *me* happy or what *I* want or supposedly deserve.  It’s about my responsibility to this little girl. (And her sister, too, but the truth is that this little girl comprehends and absorbs more of the intangibles in life right now than sis does.)  Her long term benefit is of the utmost importance. What is best for her takes priority over what makes me feel better or what would be perceived as easier.  That’s what parenting is, if you ask me. Today, it’s a good thing she’s such a neat kid. And so darn cute. Makes tough choices just a tad easier.

Back by popular demand, and because this topic has come up on a DS forum I like … here’s my guest post done for M’s blog, which is no longer in publication.  It’s about time we all have a good giggle, and M doesn’t mind if it’s at his expense, just this once.  For real… I asked. From 9/2009~ I don't remember much about "The Great Snip of 2009". Here is what I do remember: They stuck a needle in my arm and told me they were giving me Valium, then I woke up in a stranger's driveway and immediately went unconscious. The following is RK's interpretation of that event. ______________________________________________________ After about 30 minutes, the nurse came to the door and said, “RK?” She looked around the waiting room and I motioned that it was me. She asked if I could come back. I was feeding Kinlee, so it took me a few seconds to gather up the bottle, the diaper bag, my purse, etc. and get to the door. As we walked back, the nurse told me they had give...

It was 10 years ago.  The day we walked down the aisle in Salem, Missouri.  The day we committed to spending our lives together.  We promised each other we’d be around for better or for worse.  And we’ve had both. We promised each other we’d be around for richer or for poorer.  And we’ve had both. We promised each other we’d be around in sickness and in health.  And we’ve had both. We made promises that day that have taken every ounce of determination and sheer stubbornness not to give up on. But we made it.  And I can say without a doubt that I’m better now than I was then.  Than I’ve ever been, actually. I’m a better person. I’m a better wife. I’m learning how to be a better mother each day.  Heck, I think we’re even better looking than ever, too! For all the doubt and the challenges that these 10 years have brought, I hold no resentment. I refuse to be bitter. I refuse to let the enemy have one ounce of control in...

The original plan was to have Kinlee’s birthday party this weekend, tomorrow, and to have a nice Valentine’s with the girls and M, probably doing something just the two of us, Gazelle-style, of course. Then M had the chance for a gaming weekend.  So 3 guys will be arriving at my house in the next couple hours from C-U.  They will eat often (constantly), be awake when people should be sleeping, and they will sleep when most are awake.  They will talk of tapping and attacking and creatures and lands.  They may even create some characters and and deal with a campaign.  Who knows. The options are endless.  I can’t even talk like this in jest without feeling like a geek . M’s the only one married, maybe the only one “attached,” unless something has happened very recently.  I mean, come on, would any OTHER girl allow this to happen on Valentine’s Day?  I think not. So what am I doing? Not staying there to watch and roll my eyes and have full s...

We have a lot of blogs in our family.  Most of you are aware of this.  But the FIRST person to blog, even before the term was well known, was M.  He did a daily picture diary, took a picture every day of something and posted about it.  It was often quite funny, and he grew quite a following among our friends and relatives.  Then Braska came along.  She jumped in the blogging ring and Daddy fell by the wayside.  He is bitter about this, if truth be told, but he’s come to accept that she has more readers.  Then I started this one, and the blog wars continued.  We often banter about who has wittier things to say and who has the better following, etc.  I often think I win, just because I actually post occasionally…yeah, honey, that helps.  BUT today…………. he takes the cake.  His post just cracked me up to the point of actually laughing out loud and shedding tears of that laughter.  Don’t miss this one … it’s a classic....

For our anniversary (today), we went to a comedy club on Saturday where a favorite of ours was performing. John Heffron.  He won Last Comic Standing, season 2, and his stuff is just funny.  It was a tad less PG, but still really fun! Thanks, babe!

Jeffrey Pomranka, the COO of the DSAGSL , wrote a letter to the editor of the Post-Dispatch that was recently published.  It was related to t he popular story from last month when a fan fell over the wall at a baseball game and was assisted by Albert Pujols.  The fan had a son with DS.  Jeff’s letter is well worth the read.  Click here for the letter and Jeff’s explanation.

M asked me to guest blog a recent adventure with medical procedures for the purpose of keeping further “surprise” babies from showing up.  I wish I had video of the whole experience. As his mom put it, it was “comedy gold.” If you’re interested in the “Snip/Tuck” story, click here .

I saw this on Renee's blog and it's now been flooding everywhere. But since I know some of you don't keep up with such current issues, (yeah, you know who you are...tee hee) I thought I'd put a link here. A very wise person close to me said this about it..."I'm pretty sure that is what God really intends when people get married." So get ready for the party of 11/11/11, for the few of you who know what that day will bring... it's gonna be something to see!! Totally worth a watch, or two... click here .

Today I dropped Braska off to hang out with her buddy Jack for a bit while I went to my final OB appointment. As I was driving through a residential area between point A and point B, I passed quite a few people walking, jogging, or just standing outside chatting with a neighbor. The weather was nice, and it always makes me smile to see people out just enjoying the simple things in life. But one sight made my smile even wider. On the sidewalk, across from the high school, there was a silver-haired couple, apparently out for a walk. They were both dressed in burgundy shirts and jeans. As I approached around the curve, their position in relationship to each other caught my attention; he was facing the road, and she was facing the house nearby. I did a little double take as I realized there was a strange moving lump in the back of her shirt, just beneath the collar. He had his hand up high and inside her collar, scratching her back as she stood there on the sidewalk. It didn't ...

Today the girls, both canine and human, and I made the trip back home. Kinlee does not travel nearly as well as Braska did at that age, that is for sure, but overall, they did well. Both trips, down and back, had stops at about halfway for a hold-over feeding for Kinlee. And it's only a 2-hour trip!! She doesn't go to sleep and snooze the whole way as I'd like, so we adjust. When she starts to cry, Braska yells at her, and if Kinlee doesn't stop--which she doesn't--then Braska melts into one of her previously rare crying fits. Then the dog barks at both of them. It's good times. So even though I prefer a straight-through trip, we stop and calm them all, then we continue on. When we arrived home today, there was a very delightful surprise here to greet us. A sweet bouquet of flowers. It might look simple to you, but to me it's absolutely perfect. I knew immediately that there was thought behind it, and I'm all about that kind of thing. I called M right aw...

It doesn't seem possible. Two years ago today, we were sitting in the OR waiting room at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital. Braska was one week past 3 months old. At this time in the afternoon, she had been in surgery for a little over 6 hours, and she still had almost 3 more to go. A bit of nostalgia... This was my last pic of her with an uninterrupted chest. I had such a hard time with the idea of her being forever marked. The thought of the details of the day were too much for me, so I completely put them out of my mind.... or so I thought. But I still took this picture for that purpose... And before we took that long walk down the hall to the doors of the OR. I got in a bit more cuddling. That was the only time I cried that day, as we gave her to the nurse and her daddy and I walked away to go wait with the family. I'm getting teary typing this! How weird is that?! But look at us now... This is how I spent this morning, two years later. The girls and I sat in the rec...

We didn't have any actual pictures of us on our wedding day, just us, so this is a crop. (One area where our super-cheap plan went TOO cheap.) 11/11/00 And last night at dinner... of course, Olive Garden. It's kind of our place, plus Braska likes the marinara sauce. 11/11/08 My sister Rachel and her fiance' Patrick joined us for dinner, and we had a nice time. Today we start year 9... one day at a time. Sometimes one hour at a time. Lord, continue to guide us and remind us daily that you are the center of our hope for a future.

Happy Anniversary, M. Go Team! Today's our 8th anniversary. I went back to see what I wrote about our 7th last year, and I didn't even post for a few days around it. But I suppose I'm not surprised after all. The last two anniversaries have not been all that happy, actually a little painful. So the fact that I'm posting is good, I guess, and the day looks promising. Is it about the day itself? No, of course not. This year the achievement is that we've spent the whole year together, as a family, working toward the same goals, and re-learning how to be married in a much healthier way. We've got a long way to go, but we've come SO far from the darkest days. There have been alot of things happening this past year, but we've made it through pretty well. Today we're going to work on the house and go to dinner this evening. M offered to do some honey-do type things that are not his favorite, so that's very helpful. We'll get some things done that n...

Last night we went to see Fireproof . We're not opening night kind of people generally, in fact, we avoid it on purpose. But this time, we wanted to show our support for a positive movie, so off we went. And though M was constantly amazed at the sold out theaters of the other two showings at our cinema and the way full theater we were in, we did manage to watch the movie and enjoyed it quite a bit. I recommend it for everyone, actually. We all (most of us, anyway) comment often on the negative exports from Hollywood, so I feel like when a positive offering shows up, it's time to put our money where our mouths are and show support. How else will they know what we'd like to see more of?! I identified with several parts of the story personally, but even if you don't find it reminiscent of your story, it's encouraging to see a portrayal of a fight *for* a marriage committment, not just the fights that just end in more fights. And it was pretty funny... M was sur...

This morning I got up and went to grab our Valentine's Day cards from Braska and me for M. They were in my office. When I walked in there, I found a present and card with my name on it. M was in the shower, so I took the gift and the card back to the bedroom with our cards and waited til he got out of the shower. When he came out of the bathroom all ready for work, he opened his cards and I started on the present and card. (Very good card, by the way.) It is a book of Braska's first year. Not a scrapbook with pictures on it. It's a professionally printed actual book. And it's not like it's just printed blog entries, it is completely customized and original. It took me completely by surprise. I gushed and cried all the way through, all 22 pages. That he took the time to compile all this, choosing the pictures, writing the captions, and having it printed in such a magnificent manner.... I'm still so darn impressed. Here's the front and back. (Remember, you can...

Christina at Kwisteena's Kwaziness tagged me to do a little looking back exercise. I've chosen to make it a series, in order to cover a few angles. This first edition is mostly for us big kid members of the family. When my husband and I met online , his screen name was Muncher and mine was Wish. This is part of our story in pictures. As mentioned in my recent re-post about looking back , it's not always a pleasant thing for me to do. That's unfortunate, as I love to look at old pics and remember how fun stuff was and what was happening at each stage. SO...I'm going to have a little fun, remembering JUST the good for a few minutes(I'll try)...even if it is a little bit personally embarrassing. (What wasI thinking??) Here's one of the first pics of M and me, and that's my youngest sister, Julia. This would have been about Spring 98, I think. We'd been dating about 6 months maybe, age 24. September 2000, engagement pictures. Age 26. Here's that sto...

10 years ago today I met my husband for the first time in person. Ok, so he wasn't my husband at the time, but you get the point. Right about this time of the morning we were sitting at Denny's in Rolla, Missouri. He had grilled cheese, but I don't remember what I had. Let me back up a little... you might want to grab a drink and something to snack on. 6 weeks earlier I was housesitting for some friends who were out of town, and they had the internet. In their house! That was a rare thing back in late 1997 in small town Missouri...hard to believe, isn't it? Anyway, I had never really been online, even all the way through college as we didn't have it on campus. They showed me how to turn on the modem, connect with the right phone number, and I thought the crazy noise it made as it was connecting was just funny. Zhhhhhhhhh, bedong, bedong. So I connected one night, clicked on something that said Search, and just started throwing words in there to see what would happen...

Seven years ago today, my husband asked me to marry him. He spent quite a while working on a cross-stitch that he designed with pieces of several scriptures, ending in Will You Marry Me? He had the ring sewn into the cross-stitched ring on the canvas. He asked me to come and see what he'd been working on while I was visiting him one weekend. After having to convince me to look at it, since it wasn't done and I thought I should see it all completed, I unrolled it from the top and was shocked to see the ring hanging from the bottom section. Totally shocked. I just kept saying, "Are you sure?!?! Are you sure?!? Are you sure?!? Are you sure?!?!" He just kept laughing at me, saying, "I've never been so sure of anything, I promise! Really, I'm sure!" After a few minutes of my just staring at it and him, he said, "Do you have an answer for me?" I, of course, told him yes. We immediately drove to the sand volleyball court where our friends were to...