Saturday, July 14, 2012

Living Life In-Between

Look at those tiny baby hairs sprouting. I can't wait to see those fabulous lashes again! Oh how mommy has missed them :)

It's been a full week since our whole family have been back home. Even as I type this, it's hard to really believe. We have had a very busy week here though, not missing a moment! It is hysterical to watch as Kayla wants to eat at all of her favorite places and do all of her favorite things all at one time. I can almost see the wheels in her head spinning at full speed sometimes.  I immediately went to Trader Joe's and stocked up on her/our favorite things. There is nothing like eating in your own kitchen. Somehow the smell of coffee doesn't bother her here at all. Probably because our windows are cracked and we have fresh air constantly flowing through the house. Cereal tastes better too. Even if it was the exact same cereal we had in Tennessee. All of a sudden, things just magically tasted better!  Yay! So we just went for it. If Kayla was asking for a certain place to go and eat, we went!  Anthony (now Monkey-Kong) is thrilled about all of this.  Kayla is trying so hard to stretch her stomach again. Her weight is pretty much stable. It went down about a pound and now fluctuates. Our theory is that it's not sticking because she has been so active! We aren't too concerned because we continue to see her try!  Today, we baked brownies together. While we were baking brownies, she was already planning her next meal. While the brownies were in the oven, I watched her devour 3/4 of a big cupcake that our good friend Mark dropped off last night! Yum!! Go Kayla Go!

Watching the kids swim next door in Cheryl's pool has been by far my favorite moment since being home. Watching not only the joy in Kayla's smile as she was able to fully submerge for the first time, but to see that she hadn't forgotten a thing was incredible. Kayla swam the length of the pool within minutes of jumping in. Go Kayla Go!

Anthony had his 5 year check up and vaccinations so he is all ready for Kindergarten! Kayla begged for a shot, but they wouldn't give her one. I am telling you, she is one crazy child! Who does that???
Anthony is luckily still one very happy and healthy boy who sees perfectly and hears perfectly. His heart is strong and his mind never stops racing. He is now subtracting, adding, counting by two's and tens. Yet he doesn't know the alphabet. So he's a numbers guy. I can't wait to watch him blossom even more this year. After his "shots" we decided to go out for some ice cream!

This is a combo of Kayla's two favorite things in life. This picture will forever make us think of our sweet girl. (she really loves meow meow to share her special blankie with him)

My car is finally in route from Memphis. I am so grateful to some wonderful friends there who made it possible for Denny and Kayla to fly home on the 6th and not be stuck there because of a car!  They wouldn't have been able to leave until yesterday if it weren't for those incredible people. 

Life at home is surreal. Minute by minute. Day by day. We are so grateful to be back and yet so afraid to get too comfortable. It's a torturous thing to live life in-between these scans. Never really knowing if life will ever be flipped on you yet again.  It's so easy to just try and say to yourself not to waste the time you are home thinking about the what-ifs and that anything can happen at any time anyway, but it doesn't help. I know that in time it will get a little easier, but for now it's just really hard. I just can't imagine life without this.

One thing I do know, we will never ever let go. We will never ever take this for granted.

9 comments:

  1. Annie,

    I love you all so very VERY much, and we are so blessed to have all of you HOME, right where the Heart is!!!

    That's all that matters. We will always "have your backs" as family!!

    Neena

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  2. We are so glad you all are home now together! I'm sorry it's hard not to worry about the "what ifs". You guys have been thru hell and back and you are still recovery even though you are home. You are all warriors!

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  3. The end of your post brought tears to my eyes. How exciting to be back. And its hard to get comfortable when the what ifs kick in. I wish I could say something that could help take that away. All I know is to try and enjoy as much as you can, and give it to God as much as you can. Easier said than done. Hope things get better and level out soon <3 Love ya

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  4. Your pictures and words always bring tears, just to see Kayla coming back to life and enjoying her home again caught at my heart. What a gift to see you all home again together. And what you say is so true, I hope that the good moments outweigh the what-if moments and I think you and Denny are doing a great job of enjoying every second of your time right now. As Diana put it so eloquently, you are all warriors, and I hope that things even out for you all as soon as possible!

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  5. Wonderful pictures and stories from HOME! We are smiling along with you all, so happy for the joy you are now getting in so many different ways, mostly - being there in the moment and relishing everything, the "what's next" there, unknown, and for later. Hugs, love and big grins! xxooAuntieAnn

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  6. GREAT blog update - I LOVE IT! And so cool to see the photo from your ice cream outing and know EXACTLY where you are. I always tried to get a good picture in my head of what St. Jude's, Target House, etc.. looked like...but now it's so nice to see you in a familiar place! Can't wait to bump into you!! And is Kayla a mint-chip girl? One scoop mint chip, one scoop chocolate and peanut butter is the ultimate!!!!! :)So happy you're here - will pray that you can enjoy this time fully without worrying about the future!

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  7. BIg smiles on this one. So happy to hear of the pure enjoyment of being home, love the pictures too, and yes, great seeing you in the familiar places like Baskin Robbins. Two of my favorite flavors and two of my favorite kids in that pic. Love it that Kayla is eating much better at home too and that she and Monkey-Kong are thriving! What an awesome picture of Den and Kayla and big thank you to the four of you as I have now learned to never ever let go and never take the moments for granted.

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  8. Michelle MacPhearsonJuly 16, 2012 at 12:30 PM

    So happy everyone is home, together, with the space to stretch out and be yourselves.

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  9. I am so happy Kayla is doing so well - it's amazing what home can do to our spirits. So glad to have you all back here and I can't wait to see you! Lily and Anthony will be in Kindergarten together! I was happy to be smiling while reading your post and then you got me with the last one - tears. Your words always move me, make me smile, make me cry, but always inspire me. Love to you all! -Lannette

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