Today I realized that I haven't posted anything since before Christmas. I guess that Christmas away from the family, was, at that time, just a little sad to write about. Then we got super busy coming home. Since we've been home, life hasn't been too easy, but it is looking better right now.
Christmas in Baltimore was slightly surreal. It was me, my mom, and Kaydence. Normally on Christmas Eve, I dress my girls in matching clothes, dress my men in new clothes, and actually work to fix myself up a little, then we all head to church for the candlelight service. At the service, I sing Oh Holy Night, we ring our bells, light the candles, worship God, and afterward we load up and head to Fairfield, where we have always had Christmas at Grandma's house. This year wasn't just different for my little family; it was different for the whole extended family. This year, Kaydence and I got up Christmas Eve morning and walked over to Barnes and Noble Bookstore, where we got Starbucks and found some books for my mom for Christmas since she read about a book a day while sitting in Kennedy Krieger. At the bookstore, I noticed what appeared to possibly be several homeless folks siting in the warm and reading. I found this interesting and really nice. When we got back to the apartment, I told my mom I just picked up books for my kids. That night, we didn't go to a church, we didn't dress up, but we did start working on a special Christmas dinner. My eldest niece, Mandy, snapchatted me from the Chavers Christmas. This year, it wasn't at Grandma's. My aunt hosted it at her house instead, and they brought Grandma there for the evening, thinking it might be too hard on her to come to her house and then have to go back to the nursing home. It was sure hard on me seeing everyone together without us, but it was also special to just be me and my mom and Kaydence, a situation that will never be again most likely. We all walk through this life for such a short time, you just have to figure out that and be thankful for special moments. I will always be thankful for this time spent together.
Before Kaydence got out of her bath, I set up our Christmas "tree," which was actually the prettiest floral arrangement I have ever seen, on the fireplace hearth and placed our presents around it. Now the tree was special because two of my friends sent it to us so we would have a tree. I tear up just thinking about how much that simple act of kindness meant to me and also my mom. Gifts - my sweet friend Tammy had sent KK and I gifts and cookies so we would have something to open. We also had gifts that I "shopped" for at Kennedy Krieger. Items are donated and parents are given tickets to "buy" with. Up to ten gifts plus stocking items! I was amazed at what I saw. I wrapped my mom's gift in the store bag and hid it to the side so she would not suspect. Then I went back to preparing my very first roasted chicken, and it turned out amazing thanks to Food Network and The Pioneer Woman.
Christmas morning came and we opened our presents and for the first time ever, Kaydence was actually into it. She loved pulling the tissue paper out of the gift bag. That was a big, big deal to me. Mom was so surprised when I handed her gift to her. She loved the books and read them all before we came home the next Saturday. But it was so quiet. So quick. I just kept thinking about what other people experience. Not everyone comes from a large extended family that actually gets together on Christmas. Not everyone has kids, or many kids. Not everyone goes to church. Some people are alone on Christmas. Some people are homeless. Some people are in a hospital or nursing home and no one to check on them. Some people don't have much of anything - gifts, food, or family. It just made me sad. It also made me think of what I want to do in the future so that maybe one other person can enjoy Christmas like I do normally. Now I believe that Christmas, as a Christian, is recognizing the ultimate gift in Jesus's birth and that everything else is fluff, but the tradition in the fluff makes it more special. However, giving a gift (in whatever form) to someone else who needs it, along with some much needed prayer, is following that example of the gifting of His Son, and thus, His grace. We should share that.
My husband also did an incredibly sweet thing for us as well, he had Georgetown Cupcakes delivered. These are the DC Cupcakes show cupcakes and boy were they delicious! This may be a new tradition in the future as well. He also face timed me to watch the kids see what Santa had brought. It was fun even if it was still dark when they called.
The day after Christmas we were back to work at therapy and this was our last week. We were originally set to come home January 4th, but on January 1st, our insurance deductible started over. So we would be going through another holiday weekend for two days of extremely expensive therapy. It was not a winning situation because Kaydence was horrible after holiday weekends, so I decided to cut it short and come home early. I completely lied to my husband and kids. My dad agreed to meet us at the airport and take us on home even though we live thirty miles past my parents' house. The last week of therapy was a little overwhelming. We had a discharge meeting and everyone making sure I knew how to transition home. I felt very cared for. I felt KK was very cared for. I was so ready to be home, but then I had to say goodbye to all of these people that I had really come to love. The other parents and their kids...that was a hard goodbye because we had this great support system formed and many of us were leaving at the same time. Fortunately we all have Facebook! I will cherish these families forever. I will be forever grateful for all of the staff that helped improve the quality of Kaydence's life. We were at 29 pounds when we got there and she was 28 in June, yet she was over 32 when we left. I'm still so shocked at that. Then there were the ladies in the playroom. They told me I could just leave Kaydence with them. I told them they wouldn't be so in love with her waking them up at 3 in the morning. Haha. They loved on my baby girl and treated her so well. They saw the kid I see when I look at her: capable, loving, stubborn, intelligent. I told one of the workers I wish I could just pack her in my bag and bring her back to Texas. Precious, precious people.
December 30th, we boarded the plane after a really nice Uber driver helped us get ALL of our luggage to the skycap. He was a very good man. Security was a beast. I had to unload KK out of her stroller to inspect it. If she were about ten extra pounds, I could not have done that. What do they do with people who can't stand up on their own? But finally getting on that plane was relief and Kaydence slept most of the time. She is a great plane traveler. When we walked out of that door and saw my dad, I have never felt better. I've also never seen my mom smile so big. This was the longest they've been apart in nearly 51 years! When we got home, Tommy had taken the big kids to the movies. They weren't even there. LOL! But their faces when we got home were priceless. Wade has sure given me a lot of hugs since.
Praise be to God for all the safety success from this portion of the journey with Super K.
Christmas in Baltimore was slightly surreal. It was me, my mom, and Kaydence. Normally on Christmas Eve, I dress my girls in matching clothes, dress my men in new clothes, and actually work to fix myself up a little, then we all head to church for the candlelight service. At the service, I sing Oh Holy Night, we ring our bells, light the candles, worship God, and afterward we load up and head to Fairfield, where we have always had Christmas at Grandma's house. This year wasn't just different for my little family; it was different for the whole extended family. This year, Kaydence and I got up Christmas Eve morning and walked over to Barnes and Noble Bookstore, where we got Starbucks and found some books for my mom for Christmas since she read about a book a day while sitting in Kennedy Krieger. At the bookstore, I noticed what appeared to possibly be several homeless folks siting in the warm and reading. I found this interesting and really nice. When we got back to the apartment, I told my mom I just picked up books for my kids. That night, we didn't go to a church, we didn't dress up, but we did start working on a special Christmas dinner. My eldest niece, Mandy, snapchatted me from the Chavers Christmas. This year, it wasn't at Grandma's. My aunt hosted it at her house instead, and they brought Grandma there for the evening, thinking it might be too hard on her to come to her house and then have to go back to the nursing home. It was sure hard on me seeing everyone together without us, but it was also special to just be me and my mom and Kaydence, a situation that will never be again most likely. We all walk through this life for such a short time, you just have to figure out that and be thankful for special moments. I will always be thankful for this time spent together.
Before Kaydence got out of her bath, I set up our Christmas "tree," which was actually the prettiest floral arrangement I have ever seen, on the fireplace hearth and placed our presents around it. Now the tree was special because two of my friends sent it to us so we would have a tree. I tear up just thinking about how much that simple act of kindness meant to me and also my mom. Gifts - my sweet friend Tammy had sent KK and I gifts and cookies so we would have something to open. We also had gifts that I "shopped" for at Kennedy Krieger. Items are donated and parents are given tickets to "buy" with. Up to ten gifts plus stocking items! I was amazed at what I saw. I wrapped my mom's gift in the store bag and hid it to the side so she would not suspect. Then I went back to preparing my very first roasted chicken, and it turned out amazing thanks to Food Network and The Pioneer Woman.
Christmas morning came and we opened our presents and for the first time ever, Kaydence was actually into it. She loved pulling the tissue paper out of the gift bag. That was a big, big deal to me. Mom was so surprised when I handed her gift to her. She loved the books and read them all before we came home the next Saturday. But it was so quiet. So quick. I just kept thinking about what other people experience. Not everyone comes from a large extended family that actually gets together on Christmas. Not everyone has kids, or many kids. Not everyone goes to church. Some people are alone on Christmas. Some people are homeless. Some people are in a hospital or nursing home and no one to check on them. Some people don't have much of anything - gifts, food, or family. It just made me sad. It also made me think of what I want to do in the future so that maybe one other person can enjoy Christmas like I do normally. Now I believe that Christmas, as a Christian, is recognizing the ultimate gift in Jesus's birth and that everything else is fluff, but the tradition in the fluff makes it more special. However, giving a gift (in whatever form) to someone else who needs it, along with some much needed prayer, is following that example of the gifting of His Son, and thus, His grace. We should share that.
My husband also did an incredibly sweet thing for us as well, he had Georgetown Cupcakes delivered. These are the DC Cupcakes show cupcakes and boy were they delicious! This may be a new tradition in the future as well. He also face timed me to watch the kids see what Santa had brought. It was fun even if it was still dark when they called.
The day after Christmas we were back to work at therapy and this was our last week. We were originally set to come home January 4th, but on January 1st, our insurance deductible started over. So we would be going through another holiday weekend for two days of extremely expensive therapy. It was not a winning situation because Kaydence was horrible after holiday weekends, so I decided to cut it short and come home early. I completely lied to my husband and kids. My dad agreed to meet us at the airport and take us on home even though we live thirty miles past my parents' house. The last week of therapy was a little overwhelming. We had a discharge meeting and everyone making sure I knew how to transition home. I felt very cared for. I felt KK was very cared for. I was so ready to be home, but then I had to say goodbye to all of these people that I had really come to love. The other parents and their kids...that was a hard goodbye because we had this great support system formed and many of us were leaving at the same time. Fortunately we all have Facebook! I will cherish these families forever. I will be forever grateful for all of the staff that helped improve the quality of Kaydence's life. We were at 29 pounds when we got there and she was 28 in June, yet she was over 32 when we left. I'm still so shocked at that. Then there were the ladies in the playroom. They told me I could just leave Kaydence with them. I told them they wouldn't be so in love with her waking them up at 3 in the morning. Haha. They loved on my baby girl and treated her so well. They saw the kid I see when I look at her: capable, loving, stubborn, intelligent. I told one of the workers I wish I could just pack her in my bag and bring her back to Texas. Precious, precious people.
December 30th, we boarded the plane after a really nice Uber driver helped us get ALL of our luggage to the skycap. He was a very good man. Security was a beast. I had to unload KK out of her stroller to inspect it. If she were about ten extra pounds, I could not have done that. What do they do with people who can't stand up on their own? But finally getting on that plane was relief and Kaydence slept most of the time. She is a great plane traveler. When we walked out of that door and saw my dad, I have never felt better. I've also never seen my mom smile so big. This was the longest they've been apart in nearly 51 years! When we got home, Tommy had taken the big kids to the movies. They weren't even there. LOL! But their faces when we got home were priceless. Wade has sure given me a lot of hugs since.
Praise be to God for all the safety success from this portion of the journey with Super K.
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