Sunday, February 28, 2010

Missing Steve...

The last two nights, I've had to sleep alone.... after nearly 5 years of marriage, Steve and I spent our first night apart on Friday. Steve had been experiencing some abdominal pain for the past week and half, so we decided to go to the ER on Friday to get it checked out. After 8 hours in the ER, a few blood draws, and a couple CT scans later, they admitted Steve to the hospital. He's doing as well as can be - very little pain and getting a little bored. (Thank goodness for the Olympics, right?) Anyway, it's been a rather stressful couple of days worrying about Steve and shuttling Amaya between her grandparents, the hospital, and home. And unfortunately, it's my scheduled weekend to work, and I'm very torn about working with Steve in the hospital, but so far nothing emergent has happened. I may have been awarded the Employee of the Month, but I certainly don't feel like Wife or Mother of the Month...

Friday night I spent at my parents. Since Amaya was already there and it was going to be well past her bedtime by the time I got back from the hospital, we figured it would be easier for me to spend the night and let Amaya sleep undisturbed. It was going to be a short night anyway, but with Amaya tossing and turning, snoring, and talking in her sleep... I ended up on the couch with very few hours of sleep. I missed Steve, but not nearly as much as last night. After work I picked up Amaya from my parents and we spent the evening with Steve. We were able to have dinner with him, color some pictures for him, go for a walk, and Amaya even got to play "hide and seek" with Grandpa and Grandma Horning! Amaya was FASCINATED by Steve's nurses. She watched them very intently and Steve and I both thought we may have another nurse or a doctor on our hands. She was pretty tired when we got home and went to bed without asking for another Dora story. After I crawled into bed, it was very, very quiet. Steve wasn't around to talk to, he wasn't there to kiss me good-night, he wasn't there to hog the covers, he wasn't there to tell me to roll over when I snored too much... it just wasn't right. I needed Steve to be there with me. I had a good cry... thought about getting Amaya and bringing her into bed with me to snuggle with me... then remembered how she tossed and turned, snored, and talked in her sleep... and then I crashed and fell asleep.

We'll visit Steve again tonight and hope to know some more information from the doctors. They'll evaluate him on Monday and decide then if he's ready to come home. We're praying that he's able to come home quick! Thank you to everyone who has been praying and for those that have helped us out this weekend!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Out of the Mouth of Babes

Amaya is catching on to new words at a very rapid pace! Here are a few of our fun conversations this week:

I was getting our lunches ready and I accidentally spilled some of my pop on her sleeve and on the table.
Me: "Sorry Amaya."
Amaya: "No problem, Mama."

Once again, we went through some of her toys and I was organizing her play coupons and money. Unfortunately, Amaya was making a mess of the coupons and I was getting a little stressed out.
Me: "Amaya! Stop messing up the coupons!"
Amaya: "Relax, Mama."

At gymnastics, most of the coaches call the kid's bottoms their "booty." Last week at class, she overheard the coach say this word and repeated, "Shake your booty!" Today, while she was dancing, she told Steve that she was going to "Shake her booty!"

Oye... have I mentioned how much I love this age?!?

Monday, February 15, 2010

Hiawatha Homes

So... did I fail to mention that Steve got a new job last month? With grad school and an internship starting in the fall, Steve needed to find something with a little more flexibility and fewer hours. He applied for the job and within 2 weeks was starting orientation.

Hiawatha Homes, Inc. supports children, adults, and families with developmental disabilities, physical impairments, traumatic brain injury, and specialized medical needs. They have 30 homes in Rochester with 4-5 residents per home. Steve is responsible for getting two of the residents up and ready in the morning: bathing, dressing, feeding, and medication administration. Overall, he likes the change of pace and enjoys caring for the developmentally disabled.

We've been settling into a different routine with his new hours and I must say that both Amaya and I are enjoying seeing him more! We've been able to do several "day trips" and fun outings this month during the week when everyone else is slaving away at work! This week - the ZOO!!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Roger

Our family is grieving today as Steve's Uncle Roger passed away this morning. The funeral arrangements have yet to be made, but please pray for God's comfort and peace for our family during this time. Roger was Steve's Dad's youngest brother and was only 60 years old.

Steve and I were talking this morning about our memories of him.... All of them made me laugh! I didn't know him very well until our wedding. Steve wanted all four of his Dad's brother's to be ushers, but unfortunately, Dean wasn't able to make it. Anyway, when Roger was getting fitted for his tux, he asked me if he could wear his cowboy boots instead of the dress shoes and then couldn't quite figure out where the cuff links went and the bow tie. He was a good sport about everything though and took it all in stride.

On the day of the wedding, I was so nervous getting up in front of all those people and literally thought I was going to pass out from all the anxiety. As my Dad was holding my hands getting ready to walk me down, Roger told me he would drag me down that aisle if I didn't "get a move on." After laughing so hard, I was finally able to relax.

Since then, I've come to know Roger as a warm and caring person. I'll always appreciate his sense of humor, devotion to his wife Nancy, and love of the Lord and I'm comforted to know that he's laughing and having a great time in heaven.