Fun Times & Heavy Hearts

We had a full house on Friday night with Mimi, Aunt Meredith, Uncle Aaron, Jacob and Elizabeth visiting! Meredith and Aaron helped tremendously with our neighborhood garage sale! Brian brought my teaching stuff from storage and it was much more emotional than I anticipated going through boxes. So many wonderful memories were tied to those books and teaching materials; however, they were not doing anyone any good in storage. It was time to make sure other children could benefit from my educational supplies. I really couldn't watch everything be sold; therefore, I went back inside to help Mimi with Drake. A teacher from Van, the town near us suffering from extensive destruction following a recent tornado, came by looking for teaching items to replace some of her lost items. Brian came inside to get me and we decided to donated everything to her and other teachers from Van. Brian and Aaron helped load her suburban to capacity! As difficult as it was to part with my years and memories of teaching supplies, it felt good to give to the teachers and students who have already lost so much. 

Brian worked the annual Palooza down at the lake which helps raise money for a local animal shelter. Aaron, Meredith, the kids and I made our way down to be a part of the festivities and Elizabeth was able to experience her 1st boat ride! All 3 kiddos crashed once we made it back to the house. 

Despite the rain, we sure had fun celebrating Harper's 1st birthday! Mimi has been with us since Thursday and is staying with us to offer her help throughout this week (nurse Lisa is sailing the high seas on a well deserved vacation cruise). Mimi has come leaps and bounds with caring for Drake! Just becoming familiar with all of his equipment, care, routines and medications can be overwhelming. We have had nurses not even start because they are too scared of the trach/vent. Yet our Mimi, with no medical training, was willing to step up to the plate for our boy! Pretty impressive! Having Mimi here allowed Brian, Kennedy & me to all attend Harper's party. Harper's house is walking distance to ours; therefore, we were close by just in case Mimi needed us. 

Monday evening, once again, severe thunderstorms moved into the area. We had a loud and big scare. We were all in the kitchen sitting at the dinner table while Drake was exploring in his gait trainer. We heard a loud BOOM and saw a fireball as lighting struck a tall pine tree in our yard. Drake and Kennedy both were understandably terrified and began crying. Our dog, Harlee, high tailed it to the bathroom for safety. We were not far behind him! Thankfully, the storm passed through and no other damage was detectable. 

Many other parts of Texas and families have not been as fortunate as we have been during the torrential storms. Brian and I met while in college in San Marcos, and my parents stayed in Wimberley during most of their visits. Hays county will always hold a special place in our hearts. Right now my heart aches for all of the families affected by the flooding throughout the state. 

Harper's jeep has been toddler approved!

Thank goodness Chris came to her rescue when she was stuck in the mud!

Cheese!

Note to self...she is dangerous with a water gun!

Palooza bound!

Sitting up like a big boy!

Price family on a boat!

Boat driver in training! 

Enjoying the sunshine before the storm rolled in...again.

I have so much fun with these two! 

Boat selfie!

Standing tall! 

Our tree struck by lightning! Yikes!

Celebrating Our Friend

Over the weekend, we celebrated our sweet friend Grace turning 1! Drake wasn't able to attend because he has just gotten over a hospital stay so he stayed home with Daddy. Kennedy and I were late to the party because of her nap, but we arrived just in time for the birthday song and blowing out the candle! Pretty perfect timing! Kennedy was very excited to give Grace her present! At first she asked if the present was for her. However, once I explained it was for Grace, she was eager to deliver her gift!

After the party, we raced over the pharmacy to pick up Drake's prescriptions before the pharmacy closed. Then we made it home and spent time with Daddy and Drake while Drake was showing off in his gait trainer. We are still short one nurse, and they have not been able to find us coverage. However, being just the 4 of us sometimes...is quite alright with us! It's a lot of work and we are limited in what we can do, but still nice to be alone as our family. 

Kennedy started back with swim lessons today, and she was very excited about Daddy taking her to class! I loved seeing her big smile with her orange sucker bounce through the doorway! I hope Daddy is able to take her more often. 

Showing off in his gait trainer!

All smiles!

Love this boy!

She sure loves her bubba!

Watching Drake work hard.

Birthday Girl, Grace!

Party Hat!

Silly!

"Mommy, look at my silly nose!"

Party ready!

She loves ice cream!

Too cool for school!

Surprise!

My, oh my...things have been quite busy around here! Drake decided to keep everyone on their toes...even the doctors. He and Daddy spent two nights in the hospital PICU and were sent home with a diagnosis of "unknown." We still haven't a clue as to why he was desatting and requiring 5L of oxygen; however, we are thankful to have our sweet boy home and back on room air! And yes...we are expecting a baby boy in early October...at least we are praying for early October. Drake and Kennedy were due on October 3rd, but came in June. As much as we love our NICU team, we do NOT want a repeat of last time! 

My doctor is monitoring me extremely closely...I go in every week. After one of my recent appointments and a consult with the high risk specialist, the decision was made to do a cerclage procedure just like my last pregnancy. At least this time it wasn't an emergency procedure, but rather a cautionary provision. I am quite restricted now and extremely thankful for Brian, my mom & our nurses who are all going above and beyond to help out. 

Brian and I had planned an overnight trip to New Braunfels weeks ago, but we thought there would be no chance we could go after our scare with Drake and my surgery. Well, luckily things actually worked out! Drake bounced back to his regular status as quickly as he got sick, and with a borrowed wheelchair in tow for me, we headed southbound. It was a quick trip, but we still had a wonderful time! So thankful Mimi & Poppy were here with the kids as well as our sweet nurse Lisa who worked the weekend day shifts for us! 

Praying this little guy stays put until fall!

Hospital transport!

Such a strong boy!

Settled in at the hospital

Love getting these pics from Daddy & Drake!

I love how he is looking at his daddy in this one!

Missing her daddy & bubba! 

Just a little ice cream in her pjs! 

"Mama, it doesn't taste good!" Referring to my mascara

Fun in New Braunfels at Wurstfest Craft Beer Festival!

Thanks to Aunt GiGi for my shirt! 

Drake's Special Day

Since we are still short a nurse, Mimi has been coming weekly to help out. She especially tries to be here for Fridays, while Brian is gone at work. We are extremely grateful for her help and generosity. Kennedy kept saying that she wanted to go to Mimi & Poppy's house so we told her she could go. Mimi was already planning on coming back on Sunday to help us on Monday; therefore, Kennedy's little vacation was only for 2 nights. She has stayed with Mimi & Poppy many times before while Drake was hospitalized, but this was the first time while we were all here at home. She definitely had fun, but they said she was getting a little home sick. We were getting a little missing Kennedy blues, too!

It was high time Drake was able to enjoy a special outing with mommy & daddy that didn't involve hospitals or doctors. We took him out on our friends' boat, and Drake did absolutely amazing! He seemed to really enjoy the fresh air and change of pace. It was wonderful being able to share an experience that we love with our little boy. Next time we will take both kids, but it was nice to be able to focus solely on Drake during this first endeavor. 

Drake is doing really well with his therapies and vent trials. We are hopeful this summer will be full of many more experiences and fun family activities. 

1st Time on a Boat!

One cool kid!

On the boat dock ready to go!

Gait Trainer!

Fun times at Mimi & Poppy's!

Fun with cousins!

A little shoe help.

Daddy's biggest fan at his softball game :)

Enjoying the game!

Team work! Well, Kennedy put the peices in and Harper took them out.