A cute picture of Kaden

It's been awhile since I've shared any pictures, so here is one of our funny little boy. He is such a camera ham! I actually have taken a BUNCH of pictures lately. I was really, really bored Friday afternoon and took almost 100! I didn't post them all on Drop Shots, but I did post quite a few. Hop on over there and take a look. If you don't know the password, e-mail me. It is case sensitive.


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We finally got a SS#!!!!

We have been trying to get a social security number for Kaden since he finalized back in March. Everytime we called, they told us they were waiting on verification from USCIS. So, a few weeks ago, we contacted our lawyer and Congressman Moran's office and asked for their help to "prod" USCIS along.

Well, it worked! We got Kaden's card in the mail today. Yeah! Now he can get a job. (Ha..Ha...Ha) We can finally get our taxes finished. It will be great to have a number to fill in at the doctor's office and other places rather than always putting N/A where SS# is asked for!

Update on Kaden

Kaden saw a Pediatric Infectious Diseases doctor yesterday. The doctor had two doctors-in-training sitting in on the appointment, and Kaden put on quite the show! He did all his cute tricks and had the two young doctors doing their best not to laugh the whole time.

Anyway, the specialist said that Kaden has MRSA. It is a bad strain of staph that is very hard to kill and keep under control. Kids with eczema, like Kaden, are more prone to MRSA. He said that this infection is becoming more of an issue across the country lately.

We have to put medicine in Kaden's nose for a week for the next 4 months. We also have to bathe him with surgical soap to try to kill any bacteria living on his skin. This is fine for now, but I have a feeling it will make his eczema flare up this winter. :(

But, all in all we are just thankful that Kaden does not have to be hospitalized or receive antibiotic intravaneously again. He did not have a sore to culture yesterday (of course one popped up today), but the doctor sent orders on to our local doctor to do a culture when one is available, so we'll probably take him in Monday to do that.

Thanks for your prayers and support!

Please Pray For Us

Well, ever since the big psuedamonas incident, the doctors have been telling us that Kaden's sores he gets each month are just simple staph infections. All along, I've known in my gut that they are not.

Last week, Kaden got several sores at once which has never happened before. We got him into a dermatologist and after pleading with him, he finally did a culture. We thought he would culture the sores (that's how they found the psuedamonas last time), but instead he cultured his nose. He said that's where staph lives so it would tell us if Kaden was infecting himself or if we needed to find an outside source (still going on the assumption it was simple staph).

Well, not surprisingly to me, the culture results came back and showed that Kaden does not have staph growing in his nose. He has three, much, much worse strains of bacteria. It's bad enough that we are seeing a Pediatric Infectious Diseases Doctor on Thursday (who we've been asking for a referral to see since April).

So, we would really appreciate your prayers. I'm afraid Kaden may have to spend some time in the hospital or at least do outpatient IV treatments again. We'd hate to see that happen, but also want to do whatever necessary to get him well again.

Did you think I disappeared?

I can't believe my last post was on July 22nd. Yikes! We have not fallen off the face of the earth, we've just been really, realy busy. Plus, we've battled some illness over the past few weeks, so that's taken me away from the computer too.

But, to be honest, what has taken most of my time lately is my attempt to become a digital graphic designer. I love to digitally scrapbook and got to thinking, "I wonder if I could make this stuff myself?" I have a LOT to learn, but I'm having fun and have created my very first kit called, "Splash Time."

I know not many of my blog readers are digi-scrappers, but here's a preview of the kit I've created. If you would like to have it, just click on the link below the picture. It will be available for 1-week or for 100 downloads, whichever comes first. I can always add it again if time and/or downloads expire. Just e-mail me and let me know.



Sorry, download has expired. Check back later though. I plan to offer it again!

New Cute Things From Kaden

I swear, Kaden just keeps getting cuter and cuter every day! He has done some really sweet things this past week. Saturday morning, I was reading Kaden his "Who Loves Kaden" book that has pictures of our family in it. He pointed right to the picture of my dad, said "Grandpa" clear as day, and then kissed his picture! Grandpa has been his favorite person lately.

Then, Saturday night, he melted my heart with another act of cuteness. It was a very tiring day because we put up approximately 600 ears of corn. Kaden was a big helper most of the day (see pictures on Drop Shots and one below), but when it came time to put him to bed, I was exhausted and wanted to go to bed myself. I kind of rushed through the motions - read stories, give him milk, sing lullabies, etc. I started to put him in his bed and he began to shake his head "No". I thought, "Oh great, here we go. It's going to be a bedtime battle." Then I looked down and realized that he had interlaced his fingers and was holding his hands in the prayer position. I was so tired I had forgotten to do his bedtime prayers before putting him in bed. He couldn't sleep without praying first. Leave it to a 14-month old to remind me of the importance of prayer. You can never to be too busy or tired to pray!


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Wheat Harvest is OVER!

Finally, after a full month, wheat harvest is over. It's been a very long month and both Mommy & Kaden are ready for Daddy to be home more. Before we know it, he'll be off cutting corn!

Kaden is growing like a weed these days. The romper I put him in this morning seems like it's fitting a big snug. I need to measure him and see how tall he is. As of May 14, he was 29 1/2 inches, but I think he's probably over 30 now.

Kaden has been learning and doing new things each day. He loves to copy us when we cough, yawn, or sneeze. He thinks that is hilarious. He is also adding new words to his vocabulary. One of his favorite books is a Veggie Tales book, so he picks it up and says, "Bob". His favorite DVD is a Sesame street video that features Elmo doing a top ten countdown. Just before Elmo starts the countdown, Kaden shouts out, "Ten!" Finally, every time Kaden gets near the fireplace I tell him, "Don't touch that. It's hot." It's not really hot, but I want him to stay away from it this winter! He looks at me, nods his head, and says, "Hot." We think he is working on other words as well, but we can't quite make them out yet.

Once Ryan is home some more, we need to get some video clips of Kaden talking and doing his other new "tricks". He can now interlace his fingers to pray and he loves to do the actions to "If You're Happy And You Know It", especially the part where he gets to stomp his feet. He continues to learn more body parts and will point to them when asked. His latest is his toes.

One of these days we'll get a chance to get more video and pictures taken. In the meantime, this video clip of Kaden taking a bath is pretty funny. Enjoy!

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone enjoys their Independence Day celebration tomorrow! I remember our 4th of July picnic two years ago. It was definitely a day of celebration because we filled out our application to adopt that day and then mailed it on the 5th. Hard to believe that was 2 years ago. Look at us now!


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Another Moving Video to Share

Okay, so the video of Paul Potts I shared with you a couple of posts ago made me cry. It required 1 kleenex. This video, on the other hand, required an entire box. Until watching it, I hadn't really realized that I'm not totally over my struggle with infertility. Don't get me wrong, Kaden is the light of my life and I love him so much, but there is still a part of me that wonders what it would be like to have a life inside of me. Anyway, this is a powerful video and I think it would a great one to show at crisis pregnancy centers. She sings words straight from my heart:



(P.S. Click on the small play button, not the big one in the center)

A Day at the Zoo!

We took Kaden to the zoo for the first time yesterday. We went with our friends Todd, Tisha, & Noah. Despite the heat and horrible humidity, we had a great time. I think the boys enjoyed seeing the animals. They both fell asleep while we were there, but they got to enjoy the petting zoo and the penguins. Those are always fun!

To prepare Kaden for the zoo, I had been telling him that he was going to get to see the "real" animals that are in his Noah's ark set. The ironic thing is that he fell asleep just before we got to the Africian exhibit. So, he didn't get to see the elephents, lions, or zebras! (The animals in his ark.) Oh well, we'll be sure to start with them next time. At least I got some good pictures for him.

Speaking of pictures, here are just a few of my favorites. As always, you can see all of our photos by going to Drop Shots.





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Can you believe it's been a year?

I never got a chance to post on the 20th, but can you believe it's been a year since we first saw Kaden's sweet face? Click on the "It's A Boy!" link below to take a stroll down memory lane to June 20, 2006 and our announcement of our wonderful referral of the cutest boy alive!

IT'S A BOY!!!!

Muppet Personality Test

I found a fun website with lots of different personality quizzes. I took the Muppet Personality Test. Here's my results:

You Are Scooter

Brainy and knowledgable, you are the perfect sidekick. You're always willing to lend a helping hand. In any big event or party, you're the one who keeps things going. "15 seconds to showtime!"

The Muppet Personality Test

Well, we gave the kiddie pool another try today, and this time Kaden had a blast! The older kids at the pool took turns pushing him and around in his inner tube. He got plenty of attention and had so much fun for a full hour. I'll have to try to get some pictures or video clips next time.

Speaking of video clips, I ran across this one on another blog today. It really touched me and I thought I would share:



Have a great day!

Happy Father's Day!

This was a great first Father's Day! Here's a card I created:

As Promised....

Here are some of my recent scrapbook pages. You can see the rest (and the layout credits) at Drop Shots. The account is password protected, but is the name of my son so it should be easy to figure out! For 2007, I am putting each month's pages on the last day of the month. So, to see all of May's scrapbook pages, go to May 30. My next big goal is to get the birthday party pictures done!





In other news, our little guy has yet ANOTHER staph infection. Ugh! We thought we were over this. We've all 3 been using the nose ointment for 2 weeks now. We have 1 week left. Hopefully that does the trick. Meanwhile, we are treating this latest outbreak with a topical antibiotic. Hopefully the sore will go away soon.

Not much to report

It's been awhile since I blogged, but that's because there's not much to report! It's life as usual around here. Harvest should be starting soon, but other than that things are boring, boring, boring.

After a bit of a creative "block", I have finally started digi scrapping again. One of these days I'll get around to posting the new ones to Drop Shots and I'll post them here as well.

Have a great week!

New Family Photos

We went to Wichita on Saturday and had new photos taken at Portrait Innovations. Despite a cranky Kaden, there were several good ones to choose from. Here are the pictures we ultimately chose to print. You can see the other proofs at Drop Shots. If you need the password, send me an e-mail at starwarsfans98@gmail.com.

Kaden's Birthday Party

Sorry it's taken me so long to post. It's been a crazy couple of weeks. Ever since the tornado, life in Haviland has become a lot more hectic. Add a 1st birthday party and dedication to that mix, and you've got a recipe for insanity!

Here's a couple of pictures from the big day. You can always view more by going to Drop Shots. This is Kaden's Korean tol table. It has his baby picture, hanbok picture, candy towers, fruit, and rice cakes.


Mom and Dad are hosting an exchange student from South Korea next school year. Her name is Ye-In and she is so sweet! When she heard that Kaden's tol was coming up, she offered to send Ryan and I each a hanbok for the celebration!


Here is Kaden with his toljabee picks. He chose the cell phone which signfies he will be good with technology and he chose the pocket watch which indicates leadership. These are the two items that Ryan and I added to the table.


Yummy birthday cake!


Kaden with his friends Chris & Lilly.

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We're Okay

By now, I'm sure that everyone has heard about the tornado in Greensburg, Kansas just 10 miles west of us. The devastation is beyond belief. We are all still in shock. In a small county like ours, everyone knows everyone. We have so many friends in Greensburg who have lost everything. The pictures make me bawl. So many of my childhood memories are from Greensburg. Now it's all gone.

Thanks to everyone who has called and asked how you can help. I believe the Red Cross has things under control and the best help you can give is by donating to the Red Cross. I spent this afternoon answering phones at the college to give out the phone numbers of the Red Cross shelters here in Haviland. Our town has more than doubled. We are working hard to find private homes for victims to stay in tonight. A lot of people have contacted family and have been taken to their homes, but there are still hundreds who have no one to turn to.

Keep praying for us. Another storm is in the works. The search and rescue in Greensburg will be severely impacted if we get more severe weather. Plus, if a tornado were to hit Haviland, it would be a nightmare since those displaced by the Greensburg tornado are here.

We're DONE!

I want to thank all of you for your prayers and encouragement over the past 10 days. Yesterday morning was Kaden's last infusion! It was so nice to wake up this morning and know that we wouldn't be making two trips to the hospital. Kaden is really enjoying his old routine again.

The doctor said that everything looks good. We will keep watching to make sure he doesn't get anymore suspicious sores, but for now we are hopeful that the infection is gone for good.

YEAH!