30 Day Challenge- Day 4: Parents

And. . . .here we go again with the 30 Day Challenge!

Here is another "touchy" subject to blog about. Wow! I should have read the list before I signed on for this 30 day challenge. :) Parents. . . . let's see. . . . Webster, a little help. . . . Definition of PARENT: 1a : one that begets or brings forth offspring b : a person who brings up and cares for another.

Well, we have parents and we are parents. Parents are an important part in our lives and we treasure the relationships that we do have and the bonds that are shared. Personally, and speaking solely for myself, I am so thankful for the parents that I have and the role models that they have been for me and my family. I will give a shout out to them in this post because I am not real sure what Shawn wants to write. (He can sign in and blog anytime he so wishes, ya know.)

My parents have shown me the true definition of love. I wasn't always the most pleasant of children. I think I stuck in the terrible twos throughout, uhm . . . well, I never quite lost my stubborn, ornery, and mischievous streak. I know that I was a difficult child. And, should I not have remembered some of the antics my parents survived, my mom so kindly kept some memorabilia for me. I have never appreciated my parents more than after I had kids. Sadly, I wish I would have been different now that I am a parent of a child exactly like I was.

I am so thankful for my parents and their unconditional love for my husband and kids. They are accepting and loving, setting the Christian example of love. They have not been perfect but have been model parents that we hope to be like, and for that I am thankful.

So much to Catch Up!

I have so many pictures from my cousin's wedding that I haven't had time to share lately. I've also REALLY slacked on taking pictures and journaling about my kids' lives! I need to make this more of a priority and get the memories captured. So much happens and really I can blog from my phone, so I might actually start doing that some more.

Here is Logan and Malachi with our cousin Anna. She goes to K-State so we get to see her more often than we used to.

This is my aunt Laurie, but the boys claim her and beg to go stay with her anytime they talk to her. Malachi especially loves staying at her house since she lives on a farm and has COWS!!!!

Miss Brienna is growing bigger and getting so ornery and playful.

Logan with our cousin Jessica.

Aunt Janice with Malachi- Janice is a kindergarten teacher and has probably WAY more energy and excitement than any kindergartner. I wish my boys could have had her for a teacher. She is great!

My boys are dancing fools! Zach started off with the awkward, stand-on-the-edge-of-the-dance-floor pose while Logan and Malachi immediately started mingling. Shawn and I were going to dance, but well, that would break our tradition of never having danced together. (can you believe that!?) We might have a big celebration for our 10th anniversary. . . .maybe. . . when it get here.

My mom and her sisters:

Malachi was making new friends at the dance:

Two of our cousins with the boys:

Jarin and Brendan led the Grand March.

Logan and Malachi asked Lindsey to dance. She's such a sweetie.


Malachi in trouble:

Now for the official update (which is usually when my mom stops reading. . . she just likes the pictures!):

Shawn: He is still working part-time in Topeka at the cancer clinic. He REALLY loves the people he works with and that can not be undermined by any amount of money. It is so nice to have him in a place where he is back to loving his job. The commute is a different story, but he has listened to some great audio books. Thank goodness for the public library that has such a great selection. Shawn has been wanting to play softball with some guys for a few years now, after having his shoulder repaired and feeling better, and he finally got the "call" to ask if he'd join a team. He started last week and was so excited when he came home from playing. The guys he plays with are wonderful people and Shawn is excited to be making new friends. When the weather is cooler, I will try to be a better cheerleader to support him, but right now, we haven't made it to a game.

Zachary: Zachary started 3rd grade in school. However, he is doing all the 4th grade curriculum, so we've been REALLY on the fence and hesitant about accelerating him completely. We pray we are doing the best thing for him, but it is so uncertain what the future holds. He gets to ride to school with me on Mondays to ride the bus to another close school in town and spend all day in the gifted program with about 12 others. Yesterday was his first day and he loved it. He is excited about the research he will start and about all the neat things he will get to do. He will start 4-H soon and is excited about cooking, sewing, woodwork, entomology, etc. (He signed up for a LOT of projects!) He is also still very active in Boy Scouts and has earned many awards from the camps he attended over the summer.

Zachary and I have started to play more games together such as the question game. He loves a good challenge and it always makes us laugh. I enjoy spending time with him and connecting with him about things that we both really enjoy doing. He is still an avid reader and cannot seem to satisfy his desire to learn more. He is always asking in-depth questions and keeping us on our toes.

Logan: Well, really, Logan kind of just explains himself. He is just as silly and loving as ever. He is FULL of hugs and kisses for anyone and everyone he meets. He showers people with adoration and nice comments. This year Logan is in 1st grade. He as the same teacher as he had last year which is fun for him since he really liked her. Logan is full of his famous sayings and expressions. Last night he comment how excited he was to get accessories for his Boy Scout uniform. He is starting Boy Scouts this year and is really excited to do all the fun things he got to watch Zachary do last year. He also is an avid reader, oftentimes too eager to beat Zachary with a book so he will skim a few pages and proclaim he is an expert on the book.

Malachi: If you know my brother Rylan, than Malachi needs no explanation! Malachi is getting more ornery by the day! He talks much better and enjoys repeating everything we wish would never be repeated. He loves to catch gross bugs and disgusting creatures. Right now he is REALLY into catching locusts. He's very helpful with Zachary's entomology projects! :) Malachi also loves my friend Valerie. He begs to go see her almost every single day. He loves her farm and her little boy. He is a true farm boy at heart and loves the outdoors. Malachi tags right along after his brothers, finding as much trouble as he possibly can. He is such a smart and ornery little boy. We love them all to pieces and embrace their uniqueness. They are such amazing kids and together create very busy times with lots of activities.

Me: I don't want to drone on and on and on about me and pitiful, sorry, ailing me. I am having a bit of a better day so maybe it is good to get this down while I feel more positive. Yesterday I went to a new cardiologist. My other one had moved and I really had been not doing any follow-ups since it is a nice long drive (and expensive) for each trip. However, this summer was ROUGH! And, now I realize I was not alone. The doctor sees a few POTS patients and has specialized in this type of syndrome. He even studied the research done by Dr. Grubb- the leading researcher and founder of POTS! While I am one of the younger patients he has worked with he said that my case was one of the more severe that he's worked with also. He explained the ablation (heart procedure) that I had done back in Feb. 2009 and explained why it was not as effective as it was expected to be. He also explained how severe my condition was and made Shawn feel like quite the hero for helping me stay out of the hospital this summer because of severe dehydration. While the normal human body needs a certain amount of water and fluids each day to expel, because of my rapid heartbeat, I need a LOT more than that. The doctor suggested instead of having IV treatments of 1-2 liters of fluid every 2-3 days to try having IV treatments EACH day and up to 10 liters of fluid!!!! While it is not ever going to fix the problem, it may help aliviate the symptoms a little bit. However, as I've found it is a short-term fix and the IV stick is starting to hurt more than it used to. Thankfully the fibro is a little more under control with my new medicine. I will go back in October for a check-up and another EKG to see how my heart rate looks then. I also have an appt next week as well. The doctor was reassuring that this summer has been one of the worst summers for people with my condition because of the extreme heat. We also discussed the possibility of a pace maker, but would like to pursue other and all options before considering it as a serious option. We talked about the risks of them and how the batteries only last 5-6 years (i think) and that would require multiple surgeries throughout the rest of my life-span. It also would not guarantee a better quality of life either. So, we continue to pray and be thankful for what we do have.

So, there's the update for now. I'll try to post more often. Maybe I will continue to get the 30 day challenge done. . . .Maybe! :)

Update

My cousin got married this weekend, so we finally got an updated family picture. I won't post the ones prior to this, but I'm just thankful we're all in and kinda looking at the camera.

And I have an updated picture of my boys for my school desk.

Today was a rough day, health-wise. I started a new medicine last week and it has been helping so much. I forgot it yesterday morning as I was rushing out the door. Since starting that medicine however, my heart rate has constantly been tachycardiac ALL DAY LONG! Last night it wouldn't stop and was exhausting. I was home today to rest and try to get it to stay slowed down. It didn't help. I will be going to a new cardiologist in Wichita on Monday. I would greatly appreciate prayers. I am getting EXTREMELY frustrated to be starting my school year like this. I desparately long to feel better and be more energetic and felt like the new medicine might start helping with that. I am really struggling on the difficult days.

1st Day of School

Today was the first day of school for Zachary and Logan. They weren't all that happy to see summer end, but they were excited to see their friends again. They only had a half day of school today and I was very sick, so I picked them up and dropped them off. They would have gone to day care, but with how I felt, I didn't want to travel more.









I felt AWFUL this morning, just utterly exhausted and depleted. I can't even begin to explain how it feels to go through this every single day. Today I asked my doctor for something different, a miracle, anything. . . . I am still praying that God will provide the healing He has promised. I am praying to celebrate the little things more so I can not focus so much on the difficult issues.

This morning was hard getting the boys up and going. I knew it would be difficult with how I felt so I was up early to get a head start. I'm the tortoise, ya know. :) When I had Zach and Logan awake and getting ready, I went to get Malachi out of our bed. I also wondered where Georgia had wandered after I tucked her up in her KU blankie on our couch. Alas, I found them both:

Georgia

Shhhhhh. . . .. . we've got a secret! We got a new addition to our family! :)

Georgia is one of the most precious dogs we've met. She is a Boston Terrier and a worn out mama doggie. She gets along GREAT with Suzie. We were a bit apprehensive, but Suzie Q is half Boston Terrier, so I didn't know how that would work out. They were best friends from the start. Georgia is just the sweetest little dog and Suzie is very kind to her and playful.

The whole family loves Georgia. We spent this morning in the back yard and the boys kept saying, "can we play with her? Can we have our picture with her?"

Suzie is notorious for NOT sitting for pictures, so the one above is the only good picture I got of the two friends. Below you see how excited Malachi is. He LOVES Georgia, as much as the rest of our family.




After playing for awhile tonight, the girls tuckered out and called it a night. SuzieQ is queen of her hand-me-down lazyboy recliner (she doesn't let others sit in it).

And this is what we saw in our front room:

Miss Georgia found her KU blankie and was covered up and sound asleep. She didn't even flinch as I took these pictures! We bought both girls new collars today- SuzieQ has a K-State one :( and Georgia has a KU one. Thankfully we were able to buy a KU one in Manhattan! :)

All in all, we truly love Georgia. She has found a special place in our hearts and all of us, Suzie included, love her like family. With my health and being EXTREMELY worn out today, out of energy and out of 'fight,' I have found a friend and a cuddle bug. Georgia will be my companion when I am having the bad days and can't get going. She loves cuddling and being spoiled. We love her and are thankful to the kind people that found her and took such good care of her. She is in great hands and we promise to love her, play with her, and spoil her.

30 Day Challenge- Day 3: Our First Love

This is a 30 day challenge, but it didn't say a consecuetive 30 days, right!? :) Our first love is the subject today and quite frankly, how do we know, right? Of course, the intention was to get us to spill our guts about a previous crush or former boyfriend or girlfriend, but really, God is love and He should be our FIRST love- now, in the past, and forever. So, there you have it: our first true love- hopefully always obvious in our actions and words: Jesus our Lord.

Happy 9th Anniversary- May the next many years be even better!

9 years, about 3950 days, 3 kids, a kazillion miles, 3 living addresses, 2 official vacations, 4 or 5 or 6 or more jobs, about that many vehicles. . . . and we are still together.

11 years ago, we were not even aware of each other and yet today, we have shown how truly meant for each other we were. We've been through some amazing times together as well as some very difficult times together. No matter how strong we are together, however, we would never make it anywhere in our relationship if it were not for a focus on the One the brought and keeps us together. God truly gets all the glory and honor for the work He has done. . . and we haven't made it easy on Him either, but I think He knew what he was doing when he brought us together.

I'll be honest and tell you we are really great together, but we are also normal and have been through many challenges in our marriage. It has gone through its ups and downs, but thankfully we have beat the odds! :) We have dealt with many deaths, illnesses, and financial issues. Honestly, any one of those could have rocked a marriage apart had it not been firmly grounded in our faith in the Lord. Shawn lost his job in May, and while it was not completely unexpected, we had to maintain that it was not the worst of days. I can handle losing a job, losing a best friend, losing a loved one, or dealing with immense stress, all of which we have had to do in the past few years, but I'm not sure I could deal as well with losing one of the loves of my life.

Its hard to find recent pictures of the two of us together. That makes me realize we have some work to do creating memories for when we have our 50th wedding anniversary! :) haha. Most of our pictures involve usually one of us with the kids but sometimes both of us with our babies. We have certainly grown together as parents and spouses with our three boys. God has taught us so much about faith and fellowship in His name as we parent through the trying times!

When we got engaged, it was very rocky at the start. While most everyone was so excited and happy for us, we had a few naysayers and protagonists in our love story. People who might have hoped so deeply for our love to fade or reality to split us apart. I wish they could see us now. I wish they could also know a love so grand as what God gives us for each other.

We decided to write our own vows for our wedding. Well, maybe I decided that and Shawn agreed. We talked about the traditional vows and the "obey" part and it just didn't fit what we believed. My vows were MUCH more long-winded than Shawn's, which if you know us, you would know how fitting that is. 

My vows to Shawn, made public and before God on August 10th, 2002: "Shawn Lee Chance, I promise to truly love you with kindness, faithfulness, and respect, through every circumstance that our life together may bring. I will daily devote myself to support, encourage, comfort, and defend you, as together we face the coming moments of sorrow and joy, sickness and health, poverty and wealth. I promise that no matter what may come, I will remain devoted to you for as long as we both shall live. It is my wish that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit guide us and bless us each day from this moment forward. May we be united in mind, thought, and purpose before Christ." (no, I did not memorize it)

Shawn's vows to me on our wedding day: "Shauna Renee Everett, I promise to love, honor and cherish you as long as we both shall live. Through the good times and the bad, through sickness and in health, for richer and poorer. I will always love you and be there for you. May Christ honor us throughout our lives together." (I told you mine was much more long-winded!)

Our world has been rocked. It has been shattered. We have hit bottom several times. It hasn't been easy having the trials that we have been through. However, as history repeats itself, we overcome our battles and trials and become stronger as individuals and as a couple.

As you can see, we have both changed, some for better and some for worse. We did not know 9 years ago that when we made those vows how quickly we would deal with illness or change. We also did not know how soon we would become parents and deal with stress, poverty, and daily struggles that parenting can bring. I have to brag and say I could not have chosen a better partner to become the father of my children. However, the bragging rights are not mine. I prayed for God to prepare my husband and he led me to Shawn. We truly believe God destined us to be together.

When we have our spats or arguements, it is some of the lonliest times as a stubborn wife. Shawn is my confidant and best friend. He's the one I want to talk to about my bad days and share my successes with.

We both know and believe we are "lucky." Shawn is an amazing husband and father. He surpasses expectations and is amazing.



Our wedding was such a memorable day. There were no jitters, scares, or second guesses. I don't know how to have empathy for others that go through last minute nerves before the 'big day.' Shawn and I never had that. We were so ready to 'be married.'



While this post is sappy enough, I just want to empahsize that things are not always as they seem. Life is not ever as you think it should be. And the grass is not always greener on another side. My illness has made me weary. It has sucked the life and the energy from me and made it difficult for me to be a good wife and mother. This is hard for me as I had so much promised to Shawn that I cannot fulfill. We are trying to get through this rough patch. I am trying to find hope, strength, and energy to love him like I used to- be there for him, do more thoughtful things for him, embrace him for what God made him to be. But right now, I fail at that and I can honestly admit that short-coming. Shawn has been an amazing partner, steadfast in his love and devotion to me. He is patient and caring. I love him very much and so am working hard to overcome this illness for the sake of my family. Through our faith, all things are possible, so I do ask that you continue to pray for us all. Thank you!