Last Day of School

How did my baby complete an entire year of kindergarten already? What a crazy whirlwind of a year. So many ups and downs. So many tough moments. So many fights to make sure Jayen was getting everything he deserved. The fight for my son has gotten him another year of kindergarten. Another year to gain the skills he needs to succeed and build upon. 

Prima Ballerina Birthday

We are so thankful so many family and friends were around to be able to celebrate a little girls fourth birthday. Since moving here, birthdays have been much simpler events than we are used to; but not this one! All of our family that came to first communion were able to come to the party as well as our friends Kerri and Conor Thompson, and Laura, Tyler, and Brooklyn Smith. Brooklyn even came dressed for the occasion. Each of the guests were greeted with their very own tutu. We were even able to convince Nicholas, Brennan and Abigail to put one on and pose with Brilyn.  

Usually I plan the meal around the theme, but I wanted to make some foods that were more traditional for the area. We had carne ranchera, carnitas, and chicken tacos with more sides than we knew what to do with. There was also a candy bar and a three tiered cake. 

The kids (big and small) were kept busy with arts and crafts. 

But the fun had to come to an end. Daddy had to leave to take Uncle Marcus to the airport. We didn't want him to go, but knew he was coming back in a couple weeks so it made it a little easier to say goodbye. Safe travels Marcus!

I think we all had such an amazing day hanging out with all of our family and friends. The little princess was spoiled royally and I was rewarded with the laughs and time with everyone. I miss being home and having parties like this with all your loved ones around. I hope we can do it again soon!

Dalan's First Communion

Like most college kids, Matt and I really struggled with our religion after moving away from our parents. There wasn't anyone there kicking us out of bed for church on Sunday morning, there wasn't anyone reminding us when it was a holy day of obligation. But when we were trying to conceive and struggled we really decided to put our faith in focus. It really brought us together and made our marriage stronger. When we found out we were pregnant we really wanted our faith to be part of our child's life too. We loved our church in Bellevue. We felt like we could be part of the community but hide in the background if we wanted to. The children's ministry really focused on teaching the children God's will in a way they understood and could relate to. I was very excited with the path God was leading us on. Then our big move came and we were left with finding a new church. 

We really struggled! The church that was within closest proximity to our new house, was not warm and welcoming. It was an extremely large church. There was no sense of community. We felt like the only thing we got out of the church was our Sunday obligation. It was a very difficult transition. We found a couple other churches that were quite a drive from our house, but we were desperate and willing to drive to find somewhere we felt we could belong and grow in our faith. There was one church we thought was better than the others, but still not what we were looking for and quite a drive from our house. We somehow got roped into becoming members at the church closest to us but weren't happy. We also learned that the diocese here doesn't do first communion in second grade as we were used to. They do First Communion and Confirmation in third grade. I couldn't believe this. How could these be done together? Especially confirmation as such a young age. That wasn't what I wanted for my children. After struggling for months, we tried the church on base. We didn't have such a great experience with the church on base in Nebraska so it wasn't our first choice, but like I said, we were desperate. 

God truly answered our prayers that day. We are now members of Luke AFB Catholic Community and are loving it!!!! We truly feel a sense of community, friendship and worship. We can feel the love they have for our children. Even with Jayen, they have been extremely accepting and loving. 

Well the day I have been waiting for in my child's religious life has come. Dalan, as a second grader, has made his first communion. He is a child of God and growing in his faith. I love growing with him! 

Not only is today his first communion, but we are so lucky to have so many family and friends surrounding him. Grandma Kuchta and Allissa flew in on Wednesday night, Grandpa Kuchta and Uncle Marcus flew in yesterday, Tom & Tanya Kuchta family drove and arrived today and we were even surprised by Tyler and Sara. We were also joined by our friends the Mayberrys. So many people came to celebrate and pray for Dalan on his religious journey!

Ms. Loida is the director of children's services at Luke and is the sweetest woman I have ever met. She loves my children and loves seeing them grow in their faith!

Ms. Jeannine was one of Dalan's CCD teachers. She is always so excited to see him. I know she loves him and is excited to see him growing in his faith. She has even convinced him that sitting in the front is the way to go. She's invited him to sit with her at church from now on! 

Ms. Bina and Dalan have a special connection; She was the other CCD teacher this year, but forged an amazing friendship with Dalan due to their shared love of the Sea Hawks. The two of them could talk for hours about their football team. She loved all of Dalan's Sea Hawk inspired communion gifts; his tie, his rosary, matching family outfits. 

How amazing that his Godparents were both able to be here for this special day!

I can't wait to see that path God has for him. Dalan is such an amazing young man and I am truly blessed to be his mother. 

Kindergarten graduation

Although I know we will do it again next year, I was a little teary eyed to see my little man graduating! So many emotions running through me today. I always worry and wonder where he will end up in life. I worry about the friends he will make. I worry about the hallways he will have to walk through. I worry about people understanding him but loving him even if they can't. I worry, I worry, I worry.

Jayen has been through a lot this year and has still made some progress. He had some great friends and some wonderful teachers by his side. Ms. Kayli has been Jayen's para shortly after starting school in Arizona. She has one of the most amazing qualities that can't be taught and I'm forever grateful; she LOVES Jayen! She has seen him grow and make friends. I'm a little jealous of the interactions she gets to witness between him and his friends. Thankfully Ms. Kayli has agreed, once again, to move schools with Jayen. We are excited to have her back next year to help Jayen with the transition back to Sonoran Heights. 

Ms. Peggy Hess is Jayen's special education teacher. She keeps me on my toes as much as I keep her on hers. I think in another life we were drinking partners. She could roll with the punches and knew that I was always trying to do what was best for Jayen and I believed she did too. We will miss her next year. 

Mrs. Jillian Scott was Jayen's kindergarten teacher for a large portion of his school year. She came in got the ball rolling immediately. She is always so bubbly and wonderful with the kids. Since Kindergarten was half days this year, Mrs. Scott also taught at Sonoran Heights for the afternoon. She will be going back to full time Kindergarten at Sonoran Heights and we are crossing our fingers that Jayen can be in her class again next year! 

All of these ladies have contributed to Jayen's education this year and I'm thankful for them!

18 months seizure free

I've been waiting for this day for quite some time, but just as much as I was anticipating it I've been dreading it too. This is new territory for us. We've NEVER been seizure free for this long. So much excitement for the progress he is making. Without seizures Jayen has been able to grow and make tremendous progress. The fear of the next seizure is ALWAYS there, but it lessens with each passing day. I don't wake up from sleep and immediately run to his room to watch him wake. I don't stare at him without blinking for the first 20 minutes he is awake waiting for him to start rolling his eyes and slowly falling to the floor. I don't carry around his rescue medication waiting to pop the top off and insert where no man wants something inserted! Although I should keep it closer than I have been, I don't worry if we are late and I don't have one with me. I don't hover and protect him the same as I did previously. I let him run, fall, climb, jump and wrestle. I let him LIVE and be the kid he was meant to be.
The dread and fear comes from the progress. While we are making so much progress we are now to the point where we get to start weaning medications. That is scary. Extremely scary! Part of me knows that means I have to be on high alert again and I'm not ready for it. The last time we were a year seizure free and weaning meds we had to quickly bring them back and ended with brain surgery. Will this change start things over again? Will this bring on seizures again? Or will this help the fog that he is in? Will this give a little more light to the boy he is supposed to be?
We met with Dr. Jarrar and talked a little about the mood swings we are seeing and the attention issues. She ok'd all the medications Dr. Melmed/Dr. Jessani suggested but also wanted to increase his Lamictal slightly since it is a mood stabilizer. I like this idea! We will start weaning the gabapentin by one pill weekly until completely off. If things are going well we will start taking away another medication after that.
I know I will constantly live in fear of when the next seizure will strike. I will never be able to completely let my guard down. My son with always have epilepsy, but we are taking control of it and not allowing it to control our lives.

cooking the books

Last Friday our respite provider didn't show up and I couldn't get ahold of her. I was worried so I also called the company she works for to see if they could check on her. A couple hours later I received a text message from her stating she told me she wasn't coming that day and she thought she told me. I try to have flexibility with her so she will have it with me, but things had gotten a little out of control. On Monday the company called to see if she ever showed up. I informed them of her text message. The coordinator said she would have to send me the time sheet to fix since she turned in the time sheet and it said she had worked that day. I wasn't able to open the email on my phone, so when I got home I opened it on the computer. I was in shock, awe, disbelief, etc. I couldn't believe what I saw! Not only had she submitted for Friday when she didn't work, but she had submitted MULTIPLE days that she didn't work. I immediately called the coordinator back and informed her that we had more problems than just that one day. After explaining a couple days we weren't even home or I had text messages from her that could prove she asked for that day off or didn't show up, I was asked to look through all of her time sheets from the first day until the last. I was so completely appalled. After she gave me her time sheets to sign she was forging my initials and adding extra hours to the sheet. Now I have to go through time sheets since she started and see if they are correct. I can't remember what happened yesterday let along three months ago. I went through the time sheets and compared them to all of my text messages. I noticed she was careful and in the beginning she started by only adding an hour to her work day. Then the next two week time sheet had a couple days added; the next had a few more; but the last one she should have only written down 8.5 hours but she submitted 37 hours. Seriously people? What happened to dignity, honor, respect, or even self worth?
I'm not sure what will happen next. We will have to work to get those hours back for Jayen. A formal investigation has been started. I hope she learns from her mistakes!