Somehow I made it to December without recording my gardening lessons from the year. Oops. What better time to write those down than at the end of the year? Then I can also include other lessons from the calendar year!
Garden Lessons
* Plant sweet potatoes again! They were easy to grow, not too hard to cure, were productive, and very yummy. Beauregard is the variety of choice for us (we think). In the future, however, try to keep the mice from building nests in the mess of plants during the fall. We probably would have doubled our harvest if the critters hadn't hollowed out several of the nicest potatoes.
* Do not plant pole beans in quantity. They were too hard to harvest in large amounts. Perhaps plant two crops of bush beans about a week apart for freezing, then a few pole bean plants in another part of the garden for eating throughout the summer.
* Don't freeze cucumber soup. The fresh, summer version is much better.
* Plant at least two crops of sweet corn about a week or two apart; that way the harvest is spread out.
* Continue planting broccoli and tomatoes by seed. However, just plant them directly into larger cups or small pots. The little plants outgrow seed starter peat pots too fast; and the roots become too confined in the mesh even when the plants are transplanted.
* Can more beets as pickled beets instead of simply freezing them.
* Keep looking for better supports for cherry tomato plants.
* In general, choose the plant/seed variety that has a longer time until maturity. In most cases, the quality of the plants and fruits is better. Don't sacrifice quality for harvesting a week or so earlier.
* Try to solicit help in early and late August. Peaches, corn, tomatoes, pears, etc. = lots of work.
* Can fewer quarts of spaghetti sauce.
* Can the early pears as pearsauce and pear juice; and be sure to use a pillowcase to strain out the juice again! Can the late pears as diced pears; the kids love 'em, especially when they are canned with cinnamon.
* Use the honeycrisp apples in canned apple pie filling. Use machintosh apples for applesauce. Both are very tasty dried.
* Find a new rhubarb jam recipe. Grandma Grossman's was fun and easy, but I think better ones can be found with a few Google searches.
Cancer Lessons
Below are a handful of tidbits we learned in 2015 about Anna's experience with childhood brain cancer.
* Although no one will ever know for certain, the best guess is that
her tumor began growing (the very first medulloblastoma cell mutation)
about a year before she was diagnosed, give or take a few months.
* The very first symptoms we saw in Anna came about three weeks before her diagnosis, when she began acting more tired and thus just a little "off". About that time, the cancer cells were using so much of Anna's body's energy to continue multiplying that there wasn't a lot left for Anna to just be "Anna".
* Had Anna lived a few decades ago, she would not have survived this cancer; successful treatments did not exist for this type of cancer prior to 30 years ago.
* If our family lived in another country, or perhaps even in another part of the US, Anna probably would not have survived. We have amazingly easy access to quality medical care in our country, specifically in our city. Many, many people do not.
* Knowing what we know now about Dr. Iskandar's "wait and see" policy when it comes to hydrocephalus and ICPs, Anna's case was pretty critical on her first day at the hospital. That evening, Dr. Iskandar listened to a short summary of Anna, took one look at her, asked me a single question, and decided to take her to the OR that night.
*
In terms of Anna's experience with medulloblastoma, her case was on the
more severe/traumatic end of the spectrum. However, hers was not the worst; plenty of other kids have had plenty of other complications and issues.
* In trying to find the answer to the question "What happened to Anna?", we can see now how her neuro-muscular system had several severe hits during February through April of 2014.
1 - cancer
2 - tumor resection surgery
3 - spreading/growing cancer
4 - radiation
5 - shunt infection
Between each of these major events, we saw rehab gains made. Her physical abilities were kind of like a downward trending roller coaster ride during those months, hitting rock bottom at the beginning of May that year.
* Since Anna's initial discharge in May of 2014, her rehab progress has had several major setbacks.
1 - six cycles of chemotherapy ... maybe this should count as six separate setbacks?
2 - adrenal insufficiency due to prolonged use of steroids ... maybe this should be counted each time she had a nasty illness?
3 - hypothyroidism
*
In terms of childhood brain tumors, medulloblastoma is on the "easy"
end of the spectrum, in my opinion. Why, you ask?
1 - The tumors generally do not involve
the spinal cord, which then increases a child's risk of paralysis.
2 - In
most cases, there is only one main tumor that needs to be removed, as
opposed to other nervous system cancers which present multiple tumors.
3 - The
mutation is not genetic in nature, meaning the child has a lower risk of
developing the same kind of tumor again and again, which would require
surgery and/or chemo each time.
* Although Anna has to
deal with some long term side effects of her treatments, she amazingly
skipped out on several, including hearing loss and loss of executive
functioning skills (which manifests itself in such diagnoses as
attention deficit disorder).
Bible Study/Life Lessons
I have been able to attend a weekly Bible Study since September. As a group we agree that the authors we have chosen thus far are not our favorites, but we also agree that we are able to have some amazing quality conversations about our faith. These ladies have helped me grow.
Here are a few take-aways I have had, whether or not they were from our discussions or from my pondering them afterwards.
* My experience is my reality, just as your experience is your reality. It is very difficult to understand another person's reality completely because we can never know all of their experiences.
* The struggle is real, no matter what it may be. Most people do not have the extreme experiences that we had in 2014, but that doesn't mean they aren't struggling, or haven't struggled in the past. In fact, something as "simple" as potty training a toddler is a real struggle. You have to deal with whatever struggles come, no matter how severe.
* Contrary to the opinions held by some authors, I do not believe that God punishes us for our sins here on Earth by sending us roadblocks, struggles, or afflictions in this life, nor do I think He tries to "bring us back to Him" through any of these, either. Anna's brain cancer was not a punishment for Anna's immature faith or for her sins; nor for the mistakes of anyone in her life; nor was it a natural consequence of any choices that were made. It was not given to our family directly to "bring us closer to God" or to "teach us a lesson". I don't believe that God works that way. I just can't.
I believe that cancer happens because our world is so far away from the perfect world God created. Bad things happen because the world is imperfect.
However, just because bad stuff happens doesn't mean we have to wallow in self-pity. We can certainly learn a lot about ourselves and the world around us, no matter if things are "good" or "bad".
* God can make good things come from anything. No matter how crappy a situation, God can and does work good in the midst of it. The Holy Spirit can certainly increase the maturity of our faith during rough times.
* When our lives come apart, God can put us back together, sometimes in a better way than we were before we were broken.
* Prayer requests can be tricky. I prefer to pray for gifts of the Spirit, more than visible/tangible requests. Matt and I have had some difficult discussions about this. Who is to say that God is more willing to dole out wisdom, peace, patience, joy, love, etc. than healing, successful surgery, finding a job, etc.? Tricky question. However, I know that for me, it has been easier to recognize the wisdom and peace that have come from God since Anna's first diagnosis.
Looking back on other prayer requests, though, I know now that many of them have been answered, too. Often time, thought, those kinds of answers take time. Remember the "shoot for the moon" ones? "Please pray that Anna's treatments are 100% effective." "Please pray that Anna experiences minimal side effects from the radiation." "Help Anna swallow again." How very, very far away those sounded at the time.
Time for Prayers
Thanksgiving
Please give thanks to God for the ability to grow food in our yard.
Please thank God for our ability to learn from past experiences.
Please give thanks for my opportunity to participate in a Bible Study this year.
Please thank God for all of those answered prayers, even if it seems like the answers have been a long time coming.
Requests
Please continue to pray for wisdom, patience, and strength for Matt and I as we parent our children, all three of them.
Please ask God to help us continue to find joy and love in the midst of daily life.
Please continue to pray for Anna's therapists and doctors, that they continue to have wisdom in treating Anna and that they help her reach her highest potential.
Please continue to pray for Anna's teachers and helpers, that they not only have the wisdom and patience to help Anna learn, but that they also have the wisdom to help Anna's peers as well.
Please pray for Anna's classmates and peers, that they continue to learn how to make friends with Anna.
Shoot for the moon time ...
Please pray that one day Anna learns how to walk independently.
Please pray that one day Anna will eat orally to meet her nutritional needs.
Please pray for the patience to wait for prayers like these to be answered.
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Merry Christmas!
We have thus far had a nice, low-key family Christmas. Matt had to work on the 23rd, but the girls were home. We didn't have too many last minute preparations, so we enjoyed a playdate with some friends that day and quite a bit of relaxed playtime.
Christmas Eve we had our traditional early dinner of snacking foods and appetizers before heading to church for the worship service. Ever since we chose to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Madison after Kate was born, we have loved attending our church family's Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services. As some friends described it recently, our church home has a unique, warm atmosphere to it. Celebrating holidays with our worshiping community is creating special memories for our family.
After church, it was a struggle to keep Mr. Ethan awake on the way home. The silly boy had fallen asleep in the car both Monday and Tuesday, but didn't ever get a real nap. He even snuggled on my lap for most of the church service :) Once home, we were each able to give one special present and play for a little longer before sending the tired ones to bed.
Our kids rarely ever sleep in, even if they are up late, so the pre-7:00 wake-ups were nothing new on Christmas morning. We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, ate muffins, and exchanged most of the rest of our gifts with each other before worshiping again.
No one even balked this year about going to the Christmas Day service! It has taken much intentional teaching on our part, but our kids honor Christmas for its religiousness and for its impact on our faith.
Matt and I had reserved our main gift for the kids until after church, because we didn't think we would be able to get them to leave the house once they saw it. Based on how the rest of the day went, I think we were wise to wait.
The main gift for our kids this year was converting part of our basement into a kids' gym. I know, I know. We're crazy.
Here's the rationale, though. First, the more access Anna has to the kinds of equipment that might be found at a therapy clinic, the better; the more time she spends out of her wheelchair moving around, the stronger her neuro-muscular connections become. Second, Kate is an active kid who has always needed more physical outlets than our other kids. However, it's not necessarily realistic to pack everyone up to go swimming, or to a bounce house, or a trampoline park. Often times Anna just has to stay in her wheelchair in those kinds of places (except swimming, of course, but that one takes a lot of work on our part). Third, why not? Our kids enjoy stretching themselves physically, but also know their limitations very well, so we can trust them to be safe (famous last words, right?). And besides, it's fun.
So Matt has been working for the last couple of months to hang a few different swings from the ceiling, as well as building a slide that fits over our stairs. Yep. We're crazy. But it's so fun.
The kids were thrilled yesterday. Kate and Ethan spent a long, long time running up the stairs and then sliding down. It's been a long time since we have seen the two of them quite so winded.
The platform swing is good, too. Once the newness wears off for Ethan and Kate, we will be able to use that one more with Anna, since we included it mostly for her.
Kate loves the trapeze bar.
Part of the basement floor is covered in mats now, too. Needless to say, the basement has been a hit for the last 24 hours. We were actually most surprised at how active Kate was the entire day yesterday. Perhaps this kid has needed more physical outlets in the last couple of months than she has had.
We have nothing scheduled today. Matt had a few modifications to make on the slide; we had some cleaning to do before my parents come tomorrow; and the kids have plenty to keep them occupied. We are looking forward to the time we get to spend together in the coming week.
Merry Christmas!
Christmas Eve we had our traditional early dinner of snacking foods and appetizers before heading to church for the worship service. Ever since we chose to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Madison after Kate was born, we have loved attending our church family's Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services. As some friends described it recently, our church home has a unique, warm atmosphere to it. Celebrating holidays with our worshiping community is creating special memories for our family.
After church, it was a struggle to keep Mr. Ethan awake on the way home. The silly boy had fallen asleep in the car both Monday and Tuesday, but didn't ever get a real nap. He even snuggled on my lap for most of the church service :) Once home, we were each able to give one special present and play for a little longer before sending the tired ones to bed.
Our kids rarely ever sleep in, even if they are up late, so the pre-7:00 wake-ups were nothing new on Christmas morning. We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, ate muffins, and exchanged most of the rest of our gifts with each other before worshiping again.
No one even balked this year about going to the Christmas Day service! It has taken much intentional teaching on our part, but our kids honor Christmas for its religiousness and for its impact on our faith.
Matt and I had reserved our main gift for the kids until after church, because we didn't think we would be able to get them to leave the house once they saw it. Based on how the rest of the day went, I think we were wise to wait.
The main gift for our kids this year was converting part of our basement into a kids' gym. I know, I know. We're crazy.
Here's the rationale, though. First, the more access Anna has to the kinds of equipment that might be found at a therapy clinic, the better; the more time she spends out of her wheelchair moving around, the stronger her neuro-muscular connections become. Second, Kate is an active kid who has always needed more physical outlets than our other kids. However, it's not necessarily realistic to pack everyone up to go swimming, or to a bounce house, or a trampoline park. Often times Anna just has to stay in her wheelchair in those kinds of places (except swimming, of course, but that one takes a lot of work on our part). Third, why not? Our kids enjoy stretching themselves physically, but also know their limitations very well, so we can trust them to be safe (famous last words, right?). And besides, it's fun.
So Matt has been working for the last couple of months to hang a few different swings from the ceiling, as well as building a slide that fits over our stairs. Yep. We're crazy. But it's so fun.
The kids were thrilled yesterday. Kate and Ethan spent a long, long time running up the stairs and then sliding down. It's been a long time since we have seen the two of them quite so winded.
The platform swing is good, too. Once the newness wears off for Ethan and Kate, we will be able to use that one more with Anna, since we included it mostly for her.
Kate loves the trapeze bar.
Part of the basement floor is covered in mats now, too. Needless to say, the basement has been a hit for the last 24 hours. We were actually most surprised at how active Kate was the entire day yesterday. Perhaps this kid has needed more physical outlets in the last couple of months than she has had.
We have nothing scheduled today. Matt had a few modifications to make on the slide; we had some cleaning to do before my parents come tomorrow; and the kids have plenty to keep them occupied. We are looking forward to the time we get to spend together in the coming week.
Merry Christmas!
Friday, December 18, 2015
Holiday Happenings
We Mischnicks are in a good place right now. Many times in the last few weeks we have been able to make some relatively "normal" Christmas memories, or at least what would have been normal for our family before cancer happened. I have been savoring the moments in a special way this year.
Last year at this time we were still simply putting one foot in front of the other. Having those experiences in our lives makes the sweet moments that much sweeter for us.
I am realizing that I don't really care much what others think; I'm going to have fun with my family in the here and now. Even if that means dancing around Ethan while he chases my shadow as we walk the few blocks to pick Kate up from school. Or pretending to have Anna's baby play Uno with her during therapy. Or laughing along with the kids as they run back and forth on the sidewalk in front of Olbrich Gardens. Or dancing and singing at the top of my lungs with my family while at the BCCN Christmas party.
Life has taught me the importance of living in the moment and enjoying it for what it is. Of course we still plan and look towards the future, but embracing where we are at any given point in time is important, and fun.
A few weeks back was "Christmas in the Village" in McFarland. Although we didn't participate in too many activities that day, we were able to attend the bonfire/tree lighting/lighted fire truck parade. It was a little hectic at first trying to keep track of one another in the gathering darkness, but once we decided to stay where we could see each other, we had a good time.
Around that time was also St. Nicolas Day. No Kalahari trip this year. Just ornaments, candy, and new pajamas for everyone. The kids have really enjoyed their new jammies.
One day after school recently, the kids and I visited the Holiday Flower Show (a.k.a. model trains) at Olbirch Gardens. Ethan surprisingly took a nap earlier in the day (he fell asleep in the car and transferred successfully to his crib), so he was a bundle of energy. After seeing the trains, the kids ran up and down the sidewalk to burn off some of that energy.
Last Friday Kate had a mommy-Kate day at home. After all of the appointments that Anna had in October and November, with the subsequent alternative childcare situations for Kate, we both needed this. We baked cookies that day and she was able to play with Ethan without many time limitations.
Last Saturday was the final practice for our church's Christmas program. Perhaps it's related to my current perspective, but I thought all of the kids did a really great job this year in terms of following directions and simply doing what they are supposed to be doing. After several years of participating behind the curtain (Matt and I were part of a puppet show) in the program, and then the chaos of life since Ethan was born, it was certainly different for Matt and I to be able to sit back and just watch the rehearsal.
Following the practice was our church's annual gingerbread event.
This year our kids each had their own little house to decorate while Matt and I were able to decorate our own gingerbread houses. Again, all of the kids, not only ours, did a wonderful job, especially considering there were bowls full of candy sitting out nearby.
The finished product ... "Mischnick Lane"
After some down time at home, we headed to the Madison Children's Museum on a foggy night for the Badger Childhood Cancer Network's Christmas party. Boy, was it loud ... and crowded. But it was fun, too. Music, food, activities. Good memories.
One of the silliest parts was when our family had our turn with Santa. I think this was the first time any of our kids had actually visited a "Santa". We had our picture taken and then each child received a gift before Santa asked them what they wanted for Christmas. Not ever having experienced this before, our kids all looked at him with blank expressions :) We definitely prefer our tradition of St. Nicolas and then focusing on Jesus' birthday as Christmas approaches.
As we were trying to keep Ethan awake on the way home, I was very conscious of how different this day was from any day last year in December. We would not have chosen to tackle any of the day's activities a year ago, and now we could do them all together.
Sunday was the Christmas program at church. All of the kids, and adults, did a wonderful job. Our family included Mary (Anna), an angel (Kate), and a star (Ethan).
Ethan was really a happier star than is shown here; this one was just too cute not to post.
Saturday night at the Children's Museum, the kids missed the opportunity to just play there for awhile so on Wednesday after school we headed downtown to play at the museum and then see the Capitol Christmas Tree.
The after school time slot at the museum is very calm and quiet; the kids practically get the run of the place. I think we will probably go there again this winter. The picture below is of the whimsical climbing structure at the museum. As long as Kate was along, Ethan was willing to climb and explore every aspect of it.
Here is our customary picture with the Capitol Christmas tree, slightly sillier than last year's, but that's kind of who we are.
The girls have school on Monday and Tuesday next week, but then we're off for a week and a half. Hooray! Everyone is getting excited.
Please thank and praise God for our ability to make it to this point during which we can enjoy life together, with much fewer stresses.
Last year at this time we were still simply putting one foot in front of the other. Having those experiences in our lives makes the sweet moments that much sweeter for us.
I am realizing that I don't really care much what others think; I'm going to have fun with my family in the here and now. Even if that means dancing around Ethan while he chases my shadow as we walk the few blocks to pick Kate up from school. Or pretending to have Anna's baby play Uno with her during therapy. Or laughing along with the kids as they run back and forth on the sidewalk in front of Olbrich Gardens. Or dancing and singing at the top of my lungs with my family while at the BCCN Christmas party.
Life has taught me the importance of living in the moment and enjoying it for what it is. Of course we still plan and look towards the future, but embracing where we are at any given point in time is important, and fun.
A few weeks back was "Christmas in the Village" in McFarland. Although we didn't participate in too many activities that day, we were able to attend the bonfire/tree lighting/lighted fire truck parade. It was a little hectic at first trying to keep track of one another in the gathering darkness, but once we decided to stay where we could see each other, we had a good time.
Around that time was also St. Nicolas Day. No Kalahari trip this year. Just ornaments, candy, and new pajamas for everyone. The kids have really enjoyed their new jammies.
One day after school recently, the kids and I visited the Holiday Flower Show (a.k.a. model trains) at Olbirch Gardens. Ethan surprisingly took a nap earlier in the day (he fell asleep in the car and transferred successfully to his crib), so he was a bundle of energy. After seeing the trains, the kids ran up and down the sidewalk to burn off some of that energy.
Last Friday Kate had a mommy-Kate day at home. After all of the appointments that Anna had in October and November, with the subsequent alternative childcare situations for Kate, we both needed this. We baked cookies that day and she was able to play with Ethan without many time limitations.
Last Saturday was the final practice for our church's Christmas program. Perhaps it's related to my current perspective, but I thought all of the kids did a really great job this year in terms of following directions and simply doing what they are supposed to be doing. After several years of participating behind the curtain (Matt and I were part of a puppet show) in the program, and then the chaos of life since Ethan was born, it was certainly different for Matt and I to be able to sit back and just watch the rehearsal.
Following the practice was our church's annual gingerbread event.
This year our kids each had their own little house to decorate while Matt and I were able to decorate our own gingerbread houses. Again, all of the kids, not only ours, did a wonderful job, especially considering there were bowls full of candy sitting out nearby.
The finished product ... "Mischnick Lane"
After some down time at home, we headed to the Madison Children's Museum on a foggy night for the Badger Childhood Cancer Network's Christmas party. Boy, was it loud ... and crowded. But it was fun, too. Music, food, activities. Good memories.
One of the silliest parts was when our family had our turn with Santa. I think this was the first time any of our kids had actually visited a "Santa". We had our picture taken and then each child received a gift before Santa asked them what they wanted for Christmas. Not ever having experienced this before, our kids all looked at him with blank expressions :) We definitely prefer our tradition of St. Nicolas and then focusing on Jesus' birthday as Christmas approaches.
As we were trying to keep Ethan awake on the way home, I was very conscious of how different this day was from any day last year in December. We would not have chosen to tackle any of the day's activities a year ago, and now we could do them all together.
Sunday was the Christmas program at church. All of the kids, and adults, did a wonderful job. Our family included Mary (Anna), an angel (Kate), and a star (Ethan).
Ethan was really a happier star than is shown here; this one was just too cute not to post.
Saturday night at the Children's Museum, the kids missed the opportunity to just play there for awhile so on Wednesday after school we headed downtown to play at the museum and then see the Capitol Christmas Tree.
The after school time slot at the museum is very calm and quiet; the kids practically get the run of the place. I think we will probably go there again this winter. The picture below is of the whimsical climbing structure at the museum. As long as Kate was along, Ethan was willing to climb and explore every aspect of it.
Here is our customary picture with the Capitol Christmas tree, slightly sillier than last year's, but that's kind of who we are.
The girls have school on Monday and Tuesday next week, but then we're off for a week and a half. Hooray! Everyone is getting excited.
Please thank and praise God for our ability to make it to this point during which we can enjoy life together, with much fewer stresses.
Monday, December 14, 2015
Extended Christmas Letter
For those of you who received a Christmas letter from our family, here is the "extended" version. For everyone else, this is a brief summary of our life during the last year.
2015 was a year filled with many good memories for our family,
with our fair share of challenges, of course.
Several of these memories (both good and bad) were a direct result of Anna’s cancer
diagnosis, but many of them (both good and bad) we would have experienced without Anna’s medical condition. Whatever the source of the memory, we are
glad that most of them were including the whole family. It is still hard for us to believe just how much of 2014 we spent apart from one another.
In
February, Anna and I spent an afternoon at Camp Randall Stadium, to
participate in “Badgers Go Bald”, a pediatric cancer awareness event during
which we took a tour of the stadium before Anna helped shave the heads of
members of the UW Badgers Football team.
Unfortunately, the other two kids were feeling under the weather and
were unable to attend. Anna’s favorite
part of the day was “shaving the heads!”
The rest of the winter and spring was filled with a variety of colds and illnesses for the kids and adults. None of these viruses required any hospitalizations for Anna (thankfully!), but they were rough nonetheless.
In
late May, our immediate family met up with our extended family for a family reunion at
Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells sponsored by Make-A-Wish Wisconsin. The weekend was filled with many wonderful experiences,
even if we also had to deal with a few unexpected events (such as Anna coming
down with a nasty cold the day before we were scheduled to leave).
In July, we enjoyed our first family-only vacation in more
than two years. We spent a couple of
days in Northern Indiana visiting many of the places (Indiana Dunes, Valparaiso
University, and Hesston Steam Museum, to name a few) that Matt and I remember from our college days.
In
August, in the middle of pool and gardening season, Kate and Anna performed a
karaoke version of “Let It Go” as part of a summer program titled Broadway at
CI that was offered through Anna’s therapy clinic.
In early September, Anna was an honorary Superhero for
the annual Superhero Run sponsored by the Badger Childhood Cancer Network. She was very proud to be part of an event that
raises awareness and provides funding for other sick kids. We were pleasantly surprised by the family, friends, and therapists who supported Anna during the experience.
This fall, Anna began third grade with a wonderful team of
educators and friends while Kate started first grade with flying colors. No looking back for this middle child! When asked, Anna says her favorite subject is
math, but she also enjoys reading, writing, and art. Kate likes science best, but also enjoys
reading, writing, gym, and recess.
Ethan
is spending another year at home with me, although we are not at home very often. Running errands, preschool age activities,
and Anna’s therapies and doctor’s appointments keep us busy.
In October, our family of five took an adventurous road trip
to Steamboat Springs, CO, to participate in Adam and Jessica's wedding. The atmosphere of a family reunion weekend in
an ideal mountain setting created the opportunity for many, many memories. Instead of the girls being traditional flower
girls, our whole family was honored to sprinkle leaves in front of the
beautiful bride.
For Halloween this year, Ethan
disguised himself as a race car driver.
Matt outfitted the family’s go-kart so Ethan could have the full
experience. Both boys took their jobs
very seriously.
In reflecting on the year as a whole, it was a much, much different (and better) year than 2014. Anna’s treatments
were completed in November of 2014 (more than a year ago now!) and all of her subsequent scans continue to remain stable. Although Anna still has many more medical
and educational needs than another child her age, we have adjusted to our new normal and
continue to experience God’s presence in our lives.
We pray that your holiday season is filled with God’s peace
and the joy, comfort, and hope that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior!
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Stories to Remember
It's been awhile since I jotted down some of the stories that we would like to remember. Life seems to keep going faster and faster; it's hard to take the time to write these memories down.
Ethan's language skills are pretty good. However, he still mixes up the order of words, the tense of verbs, or the exact ideas he is trying to get across. We usually can figure out what he's trying to say, but some of his first attempts bring smiles to our faces ... such as "I very much love you."
When Matt and I are covering grown-up topics at dinner, Ethan will sometimes rest his head on his fist, sigh, and say "I had to mow a lot today. Cuz the grass was long." Apparently, that is his attempt at telling us about his work day.
When we unpacked the nativity scene a few weeks ago, Kate was especially excited to be able to use the figures for her story-telling. As Ethan watched her take out the animals and stable, he got really excited and asked "Where's the farm truck? Wait, I'll go get a farm truck!" I suppose the nativity scene does look a lot like a farm. However, Kate was quite adamant that there be NO trucks in the nativity story.
Speaking of Kate, she attended the birthday party of a friend a few weeks back. Up until now, birthday parties with Kate have not been my favorite activity. Last year, she would cling to me and not participate much with her peers until the last half hour. I was fully prepared for a repeat performance by dear Kate this fall. However, she jumped right in (figuratively and literally) this time around. After about 10 minutes, I asked her if it would be okay if I left to go run some errands. She said yes! This mom went to Target by herself and then grabbed some dinner from Chipotle by herself before returning for the last half hour or so of the party. Way to go, Kate!
The other day after school, Kate was relaying some of the day's events and activities. In reference to the math enrichment teacher who visits Kate's classroom a few times a week, Kate said "She tires my brain out!"
This past weekend while I was helping Kate with her shower, she was telling me about a promotion the local radio station is doing. "You know how they keep talking on the radio about that date night? Where they give you a gift card and you can spend it on anything you would like to do for a date? Well, I was thinking ... (at this point I was thinking about how sweet it was that Kate though Matt and I should have a date night) ... it would be fun to have a date night just you and me. We could go to a movie together or something like that." I suppose she is still pretty egocentric in her thinking :)
Anna came home from school on Monday telling us about an award she received at school, but she didn't remember a lot of the details. After a little digging on our part, we learned she was chosen to receive a "Super Star Award" in the category of Positive Leader. She was recognized as "a student who consistently demonstrates positive traits as a leader among her peers" who "influences others to follow her positive example". Every few weeks at Anna's school, several dozen kids are chosen to receive a variety of awards, ranging from academic achievements to behavior recognition to athletic ability. We are all very proud of Anna and her positive influence on others.
Lastly, Anna will be taking on the role of Mary in our church's Christmas program this weekend. The tradition in our church is for a 4th grade boy to be Joseph and a 4th grade girl to be Mary. This year there are no 4th grade girls so the role was offered up to the 3rd grade girls. Of the six or seven third grade girls, only two were interested in being Mary. When more than one child wants the part, their names are placed in a hat and a younger child draws out the chosen name. Anna's name was picked. One of the coolest parts about this whole thing is that Anna was treated by the other kids and adults as just another kid ... no special treatment. The other cool part was later in the morning when the girl whose name wasn't chosen told Anna how happy she was for her. (She'll get to be Mary next year, when she's in 4th grade.)
Besides those stories, we are working through our first major colds of the season here. Matt, Ethan, and Anna have had the worst of it so far. Although colds are still trickier for Anna than they are for others in the family, this one at least seems to be easier than the colds of last year. We all seem to know how to deal with them a bit better.
Ethan's language skills are pretty good. However, he still mixes up the order of words, the tense of verbs, or the exact ideas he is trying to get across. We usually can figure out what he's trying to say, but some of his first attempts bring smiles to our faces ... such as "I very much love you."
When Matt and I are covering grown-up topics at dinner, Ethan will sometimes rest his head on his fist, sigh, and say "I had to mow a lot today. Cuz the grass was long." Apparently, that is his attempt at telling us about his work day.
When we unpacked the nativity scene a few weeks ago, Kate was especially excited to be able to use the figures for her story-telling. As Ethan watched her take out the animals and stable, he got really excited and asked "Where's the farm truck? Wait, I'll go get a farm truck!" I suppose the nativity scene does look a lot like a farm. However, Kate was quite adamant that there be NO trucks in the nativity story.
Speaking of Kate, she attended the birthday party of a friend a few weeks back. Up until now, birthday parties with Kate have not been my favorite activity. Last year, she would cling to me and not participate much with her peers until the last half hour. I was fully prepared for a repeat performance by dear Kate this fall. However, she jumped right in (figuratively and literally) this time around. After about 10 minutes, I asked her if it would be okay if I left to go run some errands. She said yes! This mom went to Target by herself and then grabbed some dinner from Chipotle by herself before returning for the last half hour or so of the party. Way to go, Kate!
The other day after school, Kate was relaying some of the day's events and activities. In reference to the math enrichment teacher who visits Kate's classroom a few times a week, Kate said "She tires my brain out!"
This past weekend while I was helping Kate with her shower, she was telling me about a promotion the local radio station is doing. "You know how they keep talking on the radio about that date night? Where they give you a gift card and you can spend it on anything you would like to do for a date? Well, I was thinking ... (at this point I was thinking about how sweet it was that Kate though Matt and I should have a date night) ... it would be fun to have a date night just you and me. We could go to a movie together or something like that." I suppose she is still pretty egocentric in her thinking :)
Anna came home from school on Monday telling us about an award she received at school, but she didn't remember a lot of the details. After a little digging on our part, we learned she was chosen to receive a "Super Star Award" in the category of Positive Leader. She was recognized as "a student who consistently demonstrates positive traits as a leader among her peers" who "influences others to follow her positive example". Every few weeks at Anna's school, several dozen kids are chosen to receive a variety of awards, ranging from academic achievements to behavior recognition to athletic ability. We are all very proud of Anna and her positive influence on others.
Lastly, Anna will be taking on the role of Mary in our church's Christmas program this weekend. The tradition in our church is for a 4th grade boy to be Joseph and a 4th grade girl to be Mary. This year there are no 4th grade girls so the role was offered up to the 3rd grade girls. Of the six or seven third grade girls, only two were interested in being Mary. When more than one child wants the part, their names are placed in a hat and a younger child draws out the chosen name. Anna's name was picked. One of the coolest parts about this whole thing is that Anna was treated by the other kids and adults as just another kid ... no special treatment. The other cool part was later in the morning when the girl whose name wasn't chosen told Anna how happy she was for her. (She'll get to be Mary next year, when she's in 4th grade.)
Besides those stories, we are working through our first major colds of the season here. Matt, Ethan, and Anna have had the worst of it so far. Although colds are still trickier for Anna than they are for others in the family, this one at least seems to be easier than the colds of last year. We all seem to know how to deal with them a bit better.
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Happy Birthday, Ethan!
Ethan James Mischnick turned 3 the day after Thanksgiving.
We acknowledged his birthday while in Iowa, sang him "Happy Birthday" a few times, and he was able to open his gift from Grandpa and Grandma. However, we opted to celebrate his birthday on Sunday, after we got home, mainly so we didn't have to bring along the supplies.
Our boy is one special kid. He has brought so much joy to our lives, and often provides the comic relief right when we need it (whether he meant to or not). Ethan still loves anything with wheels, playing with Kate (even if she doesn't want to play with him), and going to therapy with Anna. He can turn on the charm for adults around him, but is also a great playmate for others his age. Although Mommy is still his preferred "snuggle parent", Daddy trumps Mommy for most everything else.
Sunday morning Ethan found his 3's hidden around the house, chose waffles for breakfast, and opened gifts and cards from family.
After church he wanted macaroni and cheese and then we convinced him to take an early nap, in preparation for his party.
During the afternoon, Ethan met up with a handful of his friends at The Little Gym for his first ever "real" birthday party.
I doubt that he really knew it was all for him, but that's okay. He had a good time and so did his guests.
We ended the afternoon with chocolate cupcakes ... yum!
Then our family got some pizza for dinner and went home to celebrate our boy one more time. When Matt and I were looking back to Ethan's previous birthday celebrations on this blog, we realized that pizza and chocolate cupcakes are a theme for him. :)
With his third birthday behind him, we decided that now was the time for Ethan to give up his pacifiers. He has only been using them for naps and sleeping since he was about 1, but we knew this final step was coming. We decided that we were all finally in a stable enough place to tackle the pacifier habit. Up until now, those naps and easy bedtimes were precious to all of us; we figured that he would probably give up naps when the pacifiers went away.
On Tuesday morning, Ethan and I wrote a letter to the "babies at the hospital", sealed his pacifiers in an envelope, and put this whole package in the mailbox. Tuesdays Ethan normally skips a nap because of Anna's therapy anyway, so we thought this would be a good day to start.
Tuesday night was hard. Hearing Ethan whimper, cry, and then politely ask for the babies to give the pacifiers back brought tears to my eyes. But, as I told my dad later in the week, we've been through this before and we know that this is the right thing to do. The little boy still has his blankets and Sheepie, but it's still hard.
Wednesday was a long day. Ethan rested for about 30 minutes in his crib, but wasn't going to sleep. The poor guy was almost asleep on his feet by about 6 p.m. Needless to say, he went to sleep much more easily that night.
Thursday was a better day and he barely struggled with bedtime. I think we're over the worst of it. (Except now I have a three-year-old who probably won't nap; that can make for some long days when the girls are at school.)
I hope I'm not speaking too soon, but I think this was our easiest kid for eliminating a pacifier or stopping thumb-sucking. Perhaps it has something to do with us being older, busier, and maybe a little more experienced :)
Time for Prayers for Ethan
Please thank God that Ethan is a part of our family and all that means for each one of us.
Praise God that he has been and still is a (relatively) easy going kid.
Please thank God that Ethan is healthy and typically developing.
Please give thanks to God for all those in our lives who have contributed to who Ethan is today; our "village" played a huge role in his life while he was still quite young.
Please ask God to continue to bless our family with Ethan and his delightful personality.
Please pray that God gives us the wisdom and energy to parent this child as he grows.
Please ask God to continue to protect Ethan in his mind, his body, and his soul.
Thanks to all who continue to pray for and support Ethan!
We acknowledged his birthday while in Iowa, sang him "Happy Birthday" a few times, and he was able to open his gift from Grandpa and Grandma. However, we opted to celebrate his birthday on Sunday, after we got home, mainly so we didn't have to bring along the supplies.
Our boy is one special kid. He has brought so much joy to our lives, and often provides the comic relief right when we need it (whether he meant to or not). Ethan still loves anything with wheels, playing with Kate (even if she doesn't want to play with him), and going to therapy with Anna. He can turn on the charm for adults around him, but is also a great playmate for others his age. Although Mommy is still his preferred "snuggle parent", Daddy trumps Mommy for most everything else.
Sunday morning Ethan found his 3's hidden around the house, chose waffles for breakfast, and opened gifts and cards from family.
After church he wanted macaroni and cheese and then we convinced him to take an early nap, in preparation for his party.
During the afternoon, Ethan met up with a handful of his friends at The Little Gym for his first ever "real" birthday party.
I doubt that he really knew it was all for him, but that's okay. He had a good time and so did his guests.
We ended the afternoon with chocolate cupcakes ... yum!
Then our family got some pizza for dinner and went home to celebrate our boy one more time. When Matt and I were looking back to Ethan's previous birthday celebrations on this blog, we realized that pizza and chocolate cupcakes are a theme for him. :)
With his third birthday behind him, we decided that now was the time for Ethan to give up his pacifiers. He has only been using them for naps and sleeping since he was about 1, but we knew this final step was coming. We decided that we were all finally in a stable enough place to tackle the pacifier habit. Up until now, those naps and easy bedtimes were precious to all of us; we figured that he would probably give up naps when the pacifiers went away.
On Tuesday morning, Ethan and I wrote a letter to the "babies at the hospital", sealed his pacifiers in an envelope, and put this whole package in the mailbox. Tuesdays Ethan normally skips a nap because of Anna's therapy anyway, so we thought this would be a good day to start.
Tuesday night was hard. Hearing Ethan whimper, cry, and then politely ask for the babies to give the pacifiers back brought tears to my eyes. But, as I told my dad later in the week, we've been through this before and we know that this is the right thing to do. The little boy still has his blankets and Sheepie, but it's still hard.
Wednesday was a long day. Ethan rested for about 30 minutes in his crib, but wasn't going to sleep. The poor guy was almost asleep on his feet by about 6 p.m. Needless to say, he went to sleep much more easily that night.
Thursday was a better day and he barely struggled with bedtime. I think we're over the worst of it. (Except now I have a three-year-old who probably won't nap; that can make for some long days when the girls are at school.)
I hope I'm not speaking too soon, but I think this was our easiest kid for eliminating a pacifier or stopping thumb-sucking. Perhaps it has something to do with us being older, busier, and maybe a little more experienced :)
Time for Prayers for Ethan
Please thank God that Ethan is a part of our family and all that means for each one of us.
Praise God that he has been and still is a (relatively) easy going kid.
Please thank God that Ethan is healthy and typically developing.
Please give thanks to God for all those in our lives who have contributed to who Ethan is today; our "village" played a huge role in his life while he was still quite young.
Please ask God to continue to bless our family with Ethan and his delightful personality.
Please pray that God gives us the wisdom and energy to parent this child as he grows.
Please ask God to continue to protect Ethan in his mind, his body, and his soul.
Thanks to all who continue to pray for and support Ethan!
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Thanksgiving
Thursday morning we packed up the van, attended the Thanksgiving worship service at our church, then drove to Waterloo, Iowa, to spend a few days with Matt's family. Great-grandpa Boehm is the only member of the family still living in Iowa, but some of the rest of us spent a couple of nights in a hotel so we could celebrate the holiday together.
In order to make life a little easier, we ate an early Thanksgiving dinner at Lone Star Steakhouse. Even though they offered a "traditional" meal option, most of us chose steak :) We are not usually fans of roast turkey at our house anyway.
The next task was to find a suitable place for us to gather back at the hotel. 6 adults plus 6 kids ranging in age from almost 3 to 11 ... tricky. We ended up using our room for the evening, even though the kids (and one adult who likes to act like a kid sometimes) were boisterous and excited to see one another. Games, chatting, and trying to find the Packers game on a TV station rounded out the evening.
Friday morning we goofed off in our room for awhile,
before going to a local science museum.
Although it was a holiday weekend, the facility was not crowded.
All kids
and adults enjoyed the exhibits.
In the afternoon, Ethan napped, Anna rested, and Matt and Kate had an epic Nerf gun war outside the hotel with the older cousins.
We played a few more games in the afternoon and then spent some time playing in the pool before eating dinner. Friday night ended with hanging out in the breakfast area for a few hours.
Ethan played with some trucks he received for his birthday.
Kate played with cousins.
Anna colored with Grandma and kept her grandparents laughing with her witty conversation.
Saturday morning we ventured over to Grandpa Boehm's residence to help load up some furniture.
Kate and Anna played a few hands of Garbage with their cousins while Ethan played trucks again.
We left mid-morning and were home mid-afternoon, in time to do most of the laundry and unpacking, as well as make the final preparations for Ethan's birthday celebration on Sunday.
Although Ethan and Kate didn't sleep the best at the hotel, the trip went very well overall. On the way home, Matt and I were remembering last year at Thanksgiving, when Anna was not able to make the trip to Waterloo for Grandma Boehm's funeral. This kid, and the rest of us, have come a long, long way since then.
In order to make life a little easier, we ate an early Thanksgiving dinner at Lone Star Steakhouse. Even though they offered a "traditional" meal option, most of us chose steak :) We are not usually fans of roast turkey at our house anyway.
The next task was to find a suitable place for us to gather back at the hotel. 6 adults plus 6 kids ranging in age from almost 3 to 11 ... tricky. We ended up using our room for the evening, even though the kids (and one adult who likes to act like a kid sometimes) were boisterous and excited to see one another. Games, chatting, and trying to find the Packers game on a TV station rounded out the evening.
Friday morning we goofed off in our room for awhile,
before going to a local science museum.
Although it was a holiday weekend, the facility was not crowded.
All kids
and adults enjoyed the exhibits.
In the afternoon, Ethan napped, Anna rested, and Matt and Kate had an epic Nerf gun war outside the hotel with the older cousins.
We played a few more games in the afternoon and then spent some time playing in the pool before eating dinner. Friday night ended with hanging out in the breakfast area for a few hours.
Ethan played with some trucks he received for his birthday.
Kate played with cousins.
Anna colored with Grandma and kept her grandparents laughing with her witty conversation.
Saturday morning we ventured over to Grandpa Boehm's residence to help load up some furniture.
Kate and Anna played a few hands of Garbage with their cousins while Ethan played trucks again.
We left mid-morning and were home mid-afternoon, in time to do most of the laundry and unpacking, as well as make the final preparations for Ethan's birthday celebration on Sunday.
Although Ethan and Kate didn't sleep the best at the hotel, the trip went very well overall. On the way home, Matt and I were remembering last year at Thanksgiving, when Anna was not able to make the trip to Waterloo for Grandma Boehm's funeral. This kid, and the rest of us, have come a long, long way since then.
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