Lighthouse Festival

Kaylene, GanPaul, Grandma and Mommy had quite a day up North at the Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival. According to Mommy she kept going and going until she could go no more - as you can see.

Braids and Babies

Went to the crossroads mall last week and had Kaylene's hair done and wow I was really impressed. We had a ton of fun and the session ended with sparkle hair spray. And no blog post would be complete without a cute Madi shot.

Rafting 2012

Again, another awesome year on the river. For those of you that are interested, the bottom three photos are of Joe and his crew making a very successful (final) run on Oaks Springs. Hope to see you all next year!

Sunday Bath

Happy Sunday and have a wonderfully peaceful week!

3

We have an awesome big sister who turns 3 today. I can remember when there was only 2 people in this house who could share the love and responsibility of a newborn, but I realize we have 3. Happy Birthday my sweet, silly, lighthearted and now BIG girl. We love you sooooooooooooo much!

Half Roll!

With continued progress we will have the "Full Roll" down shortly!

Father's Day 2012

According to Jolene we needed an update and as usual she was right. Thank you all for a great Father's Day!

All Smiles

I really thought Kaylene was the "smiles" champ, I was wrong. Look at this kid. She does all the time and I love it!

Water

I must confess, I had forgotten how much fun water was. This kid played with her water activity station for a good long time this morning. Right through one of Madilene's feeding's, Score! She really is amazing.

Mother's Day 2012

Oh boy! I am surrounded by some pretty lovely women. I am one lucky dog! Happy Mother's day!

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

After 3 months and 55+ hours of listening time I have completed the above book. For anybody that wants a an awesome grasp on 20th century history this is the book to read and devour. For anybody who wants a better grasp on current events, they should read this book. For anybody who wants to better understand the evil of human nature, they should most definitely read this book. Great book and an amazing personal achievement. Thank you Mr Shirer.

I live in the house of awesome

It's been a great spring so far, full of cherry trees blossoming, people finding their fingers and spending time outside with grandparents. Everything is right with the world.

Easter @ 2 1/2

I'll let the video speak for itself.

500

I would have never thought I would make the 500th post, I mean really 500 hundred posts. Starting in 2006 and consistently (and non-consistently) posting about my marriage, work-life, dogs, family, extended family, friends, really almost anything - clear into 2012. Over time this has become our family photo album and I have totally enjoyed sharing all of the ups and downs of life. I want to thank you all for watching, reading and commenting. Its really wild to think, 6 years ago we had no Kaylene or Madilene, we had two dogs and crazy busy careers. And I must say, I like what I have now better than then. Well, I miss the puppies. Anyway, here's looking at 2018 and 500 more posts and beyond!

Massive Victory!

Both girls took a nap at the same time in their own beds. Mom and Dad actually got two hours of free time. Now we need to conquer nighttime.

Holding the Baby

If you are wondering what Kaylene is saying at the end of the video, she is saying, "Big Daddy and Big Mama". Not sure why, she just is.

Part 1: 13 Days

Madilene Marie Kidney was born on February 4^th and was home for just one week before she became sick. This started the longest journey I have every taken as parent with a very sick child. Two days into the heavy breathing and hard coughing, we realized that Madi was experiencing much more than a cold. Her every breath was an effort, with haste we decided to take her to the hospital. In the ER she was quickly diagnosed with RSV, a very mild disease that we all get from time to time. Adults can shrug it off because we can make strong use or mouths for air when our noses otherwise get stuffed.

However, for a one-week-year-old this can be deadly. Babies do not use their mouths to breath and are solely dependant on their noses for air, and Madi’s nose was horrible clogged and inflamed. Long story short we ended up in the PICU with every tube and wire imaginable to help sustain Madi’s life. What a nightmare.

It was at this point I called a very close friend of mine who had a very similar experience; I immediately asked for pray and support. Dan (and his wife Jessy) knew just what to do, he told me he loved me and they both began to pray for us immediately. More friends and folks began to join in and rally behind our cause. From that point on I never lost hope and actually felt as “good” as a parent could be in the situation. God is amazing!

Part 2: Unified

After 8 days in the PICU the disease let up and Madi began to breathe in a normal fashion. Now what amazed me the most during this time was the way Jolene and I dealt with the pain and fear. We never cracked under pressure, we never fought, and we never doubted each other. Given our history this is a miracle.

Also, during this time our family rallied around us and took care of our two year old; we never worried for Kaylene’s well being. We had someone visit us on an almost daily basis and people brought us food and friendship. We had a constant stream of texts and phone calls and the well wishing was, at times, quite overwhelming.  Our friends and family circled up the wagons and protected the Kidney family from any harm or ill will. God is Amazing!

Part 3: Sisters

It’s over, I am so glad it is over. On Wednesday the hospital assigned us a bill of good health and we were released to go home. Yesterday, we decided to walk the mall and have lunch. Things went well, but I could tell I was very suspicions of people that coughed or sneezed. Regardless, for the first time since Madi has been born I felt like a family of four. God is Amazing!

I don’t think thank you is strong enough for all the help, love, friendship, support, prayer, food, hugs, talk, understanding, concern, wisdom and hope we received. But I will give it a shot. Slow build up…........... THANK YOU! 

Welcome Madilene

She came out and needed to be held and everybody was willing to do just that. Madilene we are so happy you are here!