It's Ball Season!

This time of year is crazy for so many people.  School is wrapping up and spring sports are in full swing.  Not to mention church activities, yard work, warm days and playing with friends.  

This year William is playing baseball and Katelyn is playing softball, both of which are keeping us busy.  They each of 1-2 practices during the week and 1-2 games.  Practices started over a month ago.  Katelyn had her first game last week, William this week.  We are looking forward to watching both of them have some fun on the fields and grow as players.  

Katelyn is spending quite a bit of her time on the field in the catcher position.  She also helps out at first base and even pitching once in a while.  She is still batting left-handed and learning to bunt.  William is also spending some time behind the plate catching, along with playing first base and short stop.  He bats right-handed.  He also likes to coach other kids on his team and the other team.  I see his future as a professional coach.  :)

Here are some pictures from the start of the season.  Enjoy!

Katelyn usually lays off the high ones, but once in a while she swings.  

 William catching

 Getting ready to bat.

 He's got rounding third down!

 Shortstop- it was pretty quiet out in the field when he was there.

 Katelyn catching - I am amazed at her growth at this position.  She has good movement to stop the ball and is getting closer to being able to throw to second.  At this game she almost threw a girl out at third!

What is she thinking or what is the coach saying to her?!?!

Life happens...

I had such good intentions of keeping the blog updated, but alas, it hasn't happened.  

Instead, life happened.  

Life is busy with four kids - three of whom are involved in activities.  Then there are doctor appointments, school, volunteering, church and let's not forget work!  I am not complaining, because I love the activities and everything we are a part of, just making a statement.  Sometimes, I just want a snow day where we can forget about everything we need to do and just enjoy the warmth of the fireplace, watch movies all day and eat popcorn.  Who am I kidding, my mind is always going a hundred miles an hour and I am thinking about what I have to do next before I am even done with what I am doing.  

Life did happen.  We enjoyed Thanksgiving with my (Becca's) family.  We enjoyed time as a family at some events with Hope Kids (a Christmas party, Disney on Ice and the Colorado Symphony).  These events were great for all of us - it helped get our minds off of treatments and that ONE word and allowed us to spend time together.  We enjoyed Christmas at home. That week was followed by a week in Mitchell and Sioux Falls where we celebrated Christmas, Caroline's 1st birthday, a beautiful wedding and the new year.

Yet again, I digress from why I started typing tonight.

Julianne has now had 4 infusions of her immunotherapy treatment.  Overall, things have went well and continue to go well.  The biggest hurdle with each treatment is getting her IV in.  Julianne, unfortunately, does not have the greatest veins - they are small, like to collapse and even roll when the nurses attempt to insert the IV.  Julianne has come a long way since her first infusion in remaining calm while the nurse attempts to insert the IV, but it is still so hard on both of us!  However, this is a HUGE deal considering she HATES needles and {used to} freak out at the mention of getting a shot!

Along with her infusions, Julianne has had extra blood work done to make sure that her body is handling the infusions well.  Thank God it is.  She has also had an ultrasound to watch for changes in her lymph nodes.  At some point, she will have another CT Scan and possibly an MRI.  At this time, there are no PET Scans on the horizon.  She will have another ultrasound in a week (February 22).  Please say prayers and send good thoughts her way for this ultrasound.  

At this time she has 14 infusions left.  Her infusions are every three weeks, as long as she continues to stay healthy!  

Now, I want to say thank you to everyone who has helped us out, said a prayer (or 2 or 3), sent good thoughts/positive vibes and listened to me ramble on.  

I have told many that this all still seems surreal, especially between treatments.  Looking at Julianne, you would never know what she is battling.  Her positive attitude, her determination and love of life will get all of us thru this.  So many days I wish I could take this battle on for her, but I know I can't so I fight for her, I am there for her and I keep moving forward for our family.  She will get thru this and we will all be stronger because of it!

Sweet Caroline is 1!

It's hard to believe that on December 3rd we celebrated sweet Caroline's 1st birthday! The year has flown by - it's been a great year with many milestones, lots of smiles, a few worries and lots of learning.  We thought we had it all figured out when it came to caring for babies, but were we wrong.  We learned lots, loved more and completed our family with sweet Caroline.

Some stats about one year old Caroline:
*She has 10 teeth, including 2 molars.  
*She can walk, but knows crawling is much faster at this time.  
*She can climb stairs and LOVES to show us that she knows how.  
*She is learning how to get off of things - feet first.
*She enjoys eating Veggie Straws and puffs.  She does not care for fruit. She likes salty & spicey!
*She LOVES selfies (and pictures in general).  
*She has NO fear (which scares Mommy!!)

We are so thankful for this little love.  She is sweet, full of smiles and giggles, but is also a little stinker.  She still does not sleep thru the night - but we hope this will happen soon.  If her siblings are home, she wants to know what they are doing and be with them.  She does not like water (including baths & showers).  She "talks" to us frequently.  To calm her down, especially in the car, we play Sweet Caroline for her over and over and over - it's her song and she loves it.  She loves the cold, enjoys being outside and is a great cheerleader at her siblings softball, volleyball and football games. 

Julianne, Katelyn and William have taught her to throw.  Bouncing calms her down - the trampoline is a favorite of hers to sit on.  She snores (I can hear her thru the monitor right now).  

Happy FIRST birthday sweet Caroline!