All went well

Jacob had his surgery yesterday afternoon and all went well. No tears this time around which made me feel so much better. I was relaxed this time around. While I was sitting out in the waiting room reading my book I heard a cry come from the back. I instantly knew that was Jacob and had this awful feeling come across me. I just about bolted out of my chair to run back and see what was wrong but I didn’t. Thankfully the girl at the front desk could tell I was worried and as soon as she got off the phone she informed me she would check on Jacob. She reassured me that everything was fine. He was getting shots of novacaine and it was a little painful for him. Understandable, I’m not a big fan of the shots either. The procedure took about an hour and half and then I was able to go back in the room. I chose not to look at the work that was done this time around. I still have the image from last time stuck in my head. We made our 2 week check-up appointment and headed out the door. Now we just have to get past the first 2 weeks and it should be smooth sailing.

Jacob before surgery. They had him wear this hat and glasses. And look, he's all smiles!

Building a snowman

The middle of February the weather in Fargo finally warmed up. It actually felt like spring. With the warmer temps the snow started melting and was perfect for building a snowman. We’ve had a lot of snow this year but it wasn’t good snowman building snow. So we all ventured out one Sunday afternoon to build a snowman. MaKena really got into helping daddy build the body and head. We had to dig out some rocks for the eyes and mouth. Of course with the warm weather the poor snowman didn’t last very long. All the rocks had fallen off by the morning. Oh well! The kids and Lane sure had fun building him or her.

Daddy and MaKena adding snow to the snowman.

Jacob joining in on the fun.

The snowman was done so the kids decided to play.

Jacob pulling MaKena in the sled.

Can you tell she's having fun!!

MaKena and Jacob with the snowman.

Some inside fun!

For the second year in a row we took the kids to the Kiwanis Club Pancake feed at the Fargo Dome. This year we asked Nana and Papa and Grandma Kathy to join us. Once we all got to the dome we hopped in line and waited to get our pancakes. Surprisingly the wait wasn’t that bad. After we visited for a little while and finished our pancakes we took the kids over to the blow-up games and let them run around. Games Galore had set up several fun games for kids to play on. The kids had a blast. I didn’t think we were going to get them out of there. It was a fun filled morning!

Jacob and MaKena making their way through one of the obstacle courses.
MaKena climbing with a little help from Jacob.

MaKena racing her big brother......it looks like Jacob beat her! (Those are his legs.)

Getting ready to slide down, the best part!

I love these two!!

MaKena sliding down.

Jacob and MaKena sliding down.

Valentine Box

This year for Valentine’s Day at school Jacob had to make a Valentine’s box. In the past he’s just decorated a bag at school but not this year. The Valentine’s box was supposed to be a family project. For those of you who know me know I’m not creative at all. So Jacob and I got on the internet and started looking for cool Valentine’s boxes. His class was voting on the best box so we wanted to be creative. Jacob thought an iPod was a good idea so that’s what we created. Unfortunately Jacob ended up getting strep throat on Valentine’s Day and missed his party. His box was in the running but it didn’t win. Maybe next year!

The iPod Touch Valentine's box.
Jacob with his Valentine's box.

Sledding Videos

We took some videos when Lane and I went sledding with MaKena. I picked two of my favorites. It was hard to chose but the others were hard to hear because the wind was blowing. The camera work isn't the best, it was a bumpy ride, but you can tell we are having fun!

Sledding

When I was a kid I used to love to go sledding, actually I still do. I remember asking mom if she could take us to the dike to go sledding. Jacob is the same way. With the winter we’ve had this year we haven’t been able to get outside to play very much. The weather has been so cold this year. In February Lane and I decided we should take MaKena sledding. Jacob was at his dad’s so he wasn’t able to join us. The only sledding MaKena has done was in our front yard on a man (actually woman) made hill. She loved it so I had a feeling she’d enjoy going down a bigger hill. What kid wouldn’t? Thankfully we didn’t have to go all the way down to the dike; instead we went to the hill in West Fargo. It was a little windy and cold the day we went but that didn’t matter to her. She had a lot of fun. I think she would have stayed all day if we would have let her. A couple weeks later I took both kids back to the hill to do some more sledding. This time MaKena went down the hill in the sled all by herself. It’s so fun to see the look on their faces and hear them scream as they are sliding down the hill. It brings me back to when I was a kid. Hopefully we can go sledding one more time before the snow is gone.

MaKena and daddy walking up the hill.
MaKena and mommy walking up the hill.

MaKena and mommy getting ready to go down the hill.

Down the hill we go!

Down the hill daddy and MaKena go.

Jacob and MaKena getting ready to go down the hill.

Stopping for a quick picture before heading back up the hill.

Jacob and MaKena walking up the hill.

Getting ready to head back down.

There they go!

Here we go again..........

On Monday, February 7th Jacob had a follow-up appointment at the peroidontist. It was supposed to be a check-up to make sure he was healing ok followed by an appointment 2 weeks later for a final cleaning. I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be the second to last time we were in this office. Unfortunately I was right. Dr. Neils examined Jacob’s lower gums closely and made the decision to redo the graft. The first graft didn’t stretch as far as he would have liked. I could see the look on Jacob's face and I instantly felt bad for him. All I could think was here we go again. I could tell this wasn't an easy decision for Dr. Neils as he looked at me and asked what I thought. I told him he would know best. As much as I'd hate to see Jacob to go through this again I knew I didn't want him to deal with it when he got older. We walked out and made the appointment for Wednesday, March 9th. Once we got in the car, Jacob let it out. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him cry that hard. I felt helpless, all I could do was reassure him it was going to be ok and that we’d get through it. Poor kid. Here we go again………..

Puzzle Time

MaKena got a giant princess puzzle for Christmas from Uncle Justin and Auntie Laura. To say she loves it would be an understatement. We’ve put this puzzle together a million times in the last month. The first several times I’d have to help her with the whole puzzle but now I just help her with the edge pieces and the rest she can figure out on her own. Its fun watching her put the puzzle together and seeing the excitement on her face when she’s finished. She’s so proud of herself. The little things…..

Talk about a cheesy grin! She was proud of herself and her puzzle.

Seven years...........

Seven years ago today I lost the most important man in my life. It’s hard to believe you’ve been gone that long. I miss you so much. There are so many new things I would love to share with you and so many other things I didn’t get the chance to share before you left. If I only knew what was about to happen 7 years ago……………. Not a single day goes by that you’re not on my mind. As the years have gone by the pain has gotten a little easier but there are those days that the grief hits like it was yesterday and I’m reminded that you're not here. You have 6 beautiful grandchildren. Unfortunately they won’t get to know you personally but we will share our stories and memories of you with them.

Jacob has grown into such a nice young boy. He’s 10 years old already and in the 4th grade. He’s growing up way too fast. Mallorie is 6 and in 1st grade. She was born a few days before your birthday. Emma will be 4 in March. She is such a card. She always has something silly to say. Karisa will be 4 in July. She is one of a kind and keeps her mom and dad on their toes. MaKena, she’s the youngest of the 3 year olds, she just turned 3 in December. She loves princesses and her big brother. Gunnar is 7 months already. Finally, another boy among all the girls. You would be so proud of all of them.

I know you’re up there looking down on us and I sure hope I’m still making you proud. I’d do anything to have you back for one more day. I know you are in a better place, pain free and I’m thankful for that. I love you so much and miss you so much more………….

Surgery

For those of you who don’t know, Jacob had mouth surgery on the 27th of December. (I promise not to give any gross details for the people with weak stomachs like myself!) Back in October we were at a routine orthodontist appointment and I was informed the lower gums in front of his two middle teeth were receding. The orthodontist referred us to a periodontist. I’d never heard of a periodontist so I could only imagine what was in store for us. We visited with the first periodontist a week after his otho appointment. I found out Jacob was going to need a skin graft done to fix the problem with his lower gums. If we did not have this done his two bottom teeth would fall out. Not what you want to hear for your 10 year old child. So long story short I requested another referral to a different periodontist as I wasn’t impressed with the first one we visited. Thankfully I did because the second periodontist we visited was great. They gave us a lot of information but not too much to scare Jacob, unlike the first guy. I walked out of the office knowing it would be ok. So we scheduled the appointment for Monday, December 27th.

For weeks before the big day, Jacob would often mention he didn’t want to have surgery. I could tell he was terrified like any kid would be. When the day came I picked him up and took him out to lunch seeing as the next 6 weeks he’d be eating soft food only. When we got to the appointment he looked like he was going to cry. Eventually he did. The wonderful team at Great Plains Periodontics helped me calm him down and told him it was going to be ok and the worst part would be getting the shot of novocaine. I waited patiently out in the waiting room worried about how he was doing. Thankfully the procedure only lasted about 40-45 mins. They told me he did great. I wasn’t surprised; this was Jacob they were dealing with! I was brought back to the room and given instructions on how to take care of the area for the next 2 weeks. They asked if I wanted to see the graft. Knowing this was the only time he could pull his lip down for the next 2-4 weeks I gladly said yes. Wrong answer………within 2 – 3 mins I was feeling light headed and not so good. I should have known better! We left the appointment with our care instructions and were on our own.

So far everything has gone great with the recovery. Jacob had his 2 week check-up on the 10th of January and they removed the stitches. The healing isn’t as far as they’d like it to be but hopefully by his next appointment it will be further along. I can gladly say I’m glad the procedure is done. I’m just hoping we don’t have to do part of it over.