1st Day of Kindergarten....

I don't think I can write too much about today's big news. I'm afraid to cry, because once I start there won't be any stopping me until that little guy gets back off the bus at 3:50pm. So, we'll share the pictures instead.....

Missin' you, buddy.

Suckers for Sissy Fundraiser!!!

Saturday afternoon, Kohen held his very 1st fundraiser....in the 95 degree heat (heat index was somewhere between 105 and 110). Thankfully, we have the greatest group of friends and family, so Suckers for Sissy was still a huge hit! We sold lemonade, homemade lollipops, cookies, and other baked goods.....in the 100+ degree heat. Our little lemonade stand even raised $773.25....in the 100+ degree heat (did I mention that??).

It was so fun to look up each time a new car pulled up to see who climbed out. Even though it literally felt like my face was melting off, I couldn't stop smiling. People really came out to support us....in the 100+ degree heat.

Since we were in Dewey Park in Johnston, Kohen was only slightly concerned about having to 'work' the stand the whole time. Luckily I have some pretty fantastic nieces, so he got to spend the majority of the afternoon getting all hot and sweaty racing around with his buddies. He's already plotting planning his next fundraiser.

How could you not buy a lemonade from that face?

Pretty much sums it all up....

They LOVED helping. I think I got an elbow in my side from the little one when I tried to pour someone a glass of lemonade. Apparently, that was HER job. They got really good at collecting money and working out the change!

And, of course, no day in the life of a 6 year old boy is complete without finding a frog to torment.

She is only mildly infatuated with babies. Actually, any child even remotely smaller than she is is classified as a baby. We can't make it out of Target EVER without a "Oh, MOMMY! Look at that cuuuutttteeee baaabbbbbbyyyyy." Even if that 'baby' is walking and talking next to the grocery cart.

Cooling off.

Did I mention it was really, really hot?

My Parenting Mantra.....

Unfortunately, I think my kids have only mastered the 'Have Fun' portion. We have a lot of work to do this summer.

Happy Father's Day!!!

I am a terribly disorganized person. I may have a clean house (most of the time anyway)....but you better steer clear of opening any drawers or closets. To me it's out of sight, out of mind. Unfortunately, this trait also leads to countless pictures just sitting on my computer waiting to be printed and put into albums. I have countless empty albums laying around in storage. I have countless scrapbooks started and stopped after page 2. I am SO not one of those 'good' moms that have wonderfully organized books of each of their kids, from ultrasound picture to yearbook photos. I've tried, and I've failed too many times to count. So....I started a blog :) This is the place where I hope to put all the 'important' memories. All the things I want to remember, and want my kids and husband to look back on and smile (or cry out of embarassment).

So, this is a video I made for Barry last year for Father's Day and I wanted to make sure it found it's way here. It was a few days late of course....and this year's gift will be too. Being unorganized also means I'm pretty much late for everything :) But, the 1st step is always admitting you have a problem....right??

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

My Tomboy.....

So......I love my CF mama friends. LOVE them. I had to swing by the pharmacy today (which I should just have auto drive button on my car for) to pick up some meds and decided to treat myself to a cafe mocha at my favorite local coffee shop. I must 'treat' myself more often than I care to admit, because when I merely pull up to the microphone in the drive through, the barista justs says "Go ahead and pull up, Teresa". Oops. It's just so close to the pharmacy. And I'm always at the pharmacy. And I deserve it, right???

So, as I pull up to the window, Luke (my barista buddy), hands me both my coffee and a tupperware container. He informs me that my friend dropped the package yesterday to give to me the next time I'm in (am I really there that often?!). This is what I find inside....



I had told her recently how different Rylan's birthday party this year will be compared to last year's. Ry is so past being a girly girl (for now anyway) and is really into dinosaurs. She still loves the color pink, but INSISTS that it's blue :) My sorta-kinda-for-the-brief-moment tomboy. Gotta love her. And gotta love my girlfriends. Blessed. Blessed. Blessed.

Thankful Thursday.....

Today, I'm just thankful. Plain and simple. I woke up this morning, poured myself a cup of coffee.....sat down to open up the computer and this is the 1st thing I saw. We are on our way. I am no longer 'cautiously optimistic', I am just optimistic. I am hopeful. And I am thankful.

I am thankful for birthdays.

I am thankful for weeklong birthday celebrations.

I am thankful for gap toothed grins.

I am thankful for my outdoorsy husband.

I am thankful for helping hands.

I am thankful to have friends and family who love my daughter so much, they selflessly give of themselves to fight for her cure.

And, I am thankful and proud to have a pistol totin' princess. She may wear cystic fibrosis well, but I promise.....she's going to kick it's ass.

Dear Kohen....

Happy 6th birthday!! I doubt you'd be surprised if I told you that I've shed a few tears today. Of course, none that you saw....I couldn't possibly embarass you like that. Wink, wink. I just can't believe it's been 6 years. 6 years ago I laid eyes on you for the 1st time. Somehow that seems like a lifetime ago and only yesterday, all at the same time. It's honestly hard for me to remember my life before you, and really I'd rather not remember it. You have made my life so unbelievably perfect. You. Perfectly you. You are such an amazing young boy. I am so proud of everything you are....even though I have been debating recently on whether or not to have your hearing checked :) You have officially entered that stage. But, I love you all the same. Even with your male selective hearing.


I remember that morning you were born, opening my eyes after hearing your 1st screams to see 14 doctors and nurses in our room....ready to whisk you away to the NICU. You were born 8 weeks early and weighed 4.1 lbs and 18.5 inches long. You were so tiny. So tiny and SO beautiful. I couldn't sleep that night knowing you were only a floor away, so I snuck through the quiet hallways to your room. I remember all of the machines beeping and buzzing, and all of the wires and IV's laying around you that only made you seem even smaller. I stood there with tears streaming down my cheeks, unable to tear my eyes off of you. I was totally unable to comprehend how I could already love someone SO much that I would literally, wholeheartedly, die for them. On Day #2, a doctor (who would later become one of my favorite people on this planet) came to tell us you needed an emergency 'exploratory' surgery. There was excess air in your abdomen and they didn't know where it was coming from. I remember immediately looking at this surgeon's hands. His gianormous hands. You were a day and a half old and weighed barely 4 lbs and we were about to put your sweet little life into this 6'5'' doctor's gianormous hands. I would have given anything to trade places with you. Anything.


A few hours later, that surgeon reentered our room and the 1st words out of his mouth were, "The surgery went better than expected, your son is doing great." The 1st words out of my mouth were, "I love you!" as I lept out of bed to give him a hug (I think I surprised your daddy a little bit with that one). It ended up that you had an ileal atresia, or in mommy's terms, a hole in your small intestines. That big scar across your tummy is a constant reminder to me that life is so fragile and precious. It reminds me of being a brand new mommy and how scary those 1st few months were. But, it also reminds me of your strength. You've been a fighter and one of the biggest blessings in my life since Day #1. So, even though YOUR version of the story consists of a grizzly bear attack in Wyoming.....MY story is slightly more truthful, but filled with just as much pride. You are everything a mommy could ask for.....and then some.

So, I will leave you with this. Thank you. Thank you for making me a mommy and for making me laugh every single day since. You mean more to me that you will ever know. You are an incredible son and I cannot wait to see what your future has in store. Even if it is a 'professional Lego builder'. XOXO ~ Mommy