The One With the MK Nature Center

Last Sunday we went on a little picnic, walk, family gathering . . . . and it was magnificent.

Spring colds, or allergies, or some terrible little monster has decided to infect our entire family. We all have it to varying degrees, some days are worse than others, but if there is one thing that I have seen it's that you think it's gone and then the next day it rears its ugly little head again.

After weeks of staying in the house other than work days, a little family outing was needed and so fun.

We packed up the kids, and a very delicious smorgasbord (as Eric always calls them), and headed to the MK Nature Center in downtown Boise. It was amazing. The weather was spectacular, the grounds were beautiful, and the company . . . . well yeah it wasn't too shabby either.

 Anyone else think those eyelashes are out of this world??? Thankfully Daddy passed on one of his awesome traits to our girl, she will LOVE those one day. I used to think mine were thick and long until I saw my kids'!

 Uhh . . . . YUMMM - sorry ladies, Ican't hold that one back. Delicious! :)

 Isn't this place beautiful?!?!? I took all these pictures - didn't want to post them though cause I'm sure everyone will think they are boring! But, my advice is to get your bootay's down there and experience it yourself!

 Daddys' smorgasbords = a giant, adult sized version of a lunchable. Seriously, these things can have everything in them - crackers, wheat thins, three different kinds of cheese, summer sausage, pepperoni, turkey, pickles, fruit snacks . .. . and it goes on and on. Crazily enough they are amazingly delicious and PERFECT for picnics and hot Spring/Summer days.

 This picture just makes me smile! Laying back enjoying the Sunday sunshine!

 Paxton is now smiling and adorable!! Most of his time was spent in the stroller, but he loved getting out and stretching during the picnic and despite his extremely stuffy runny nose was a tropper on the first real outing of the year!

The One With the Skin Cancer Warning

Known Fact: Skin cancer is deadly.
Common thought process: Why? It's only on my skin? You can just cut it off!
Little Known Fact: Why skin cancer is so deadly.

To understand this one, take a brief trip with me back to biology and anatomy and your good old high school days. You're body is made up of all kinds of cells, many of them do different things. Most are obvious: cardiac cells make up your heart of course! But some aren't so obvious.

You're skin and skin tissue is made up of epithelial cells - and this is what skin cancer targets.

What most people don't understand, and what makes skin cancer so deadly, is that a thin layer of epithelial cells (or skin cells) covers ALL of your organs. So sure, you may start out with a little mole on your shoulder and not think much of it. But if it's cancer, and it spreads, it can easily spread to all of your organs by infecting those same little skin cells.

So. . . .. as it is getting super nice and sunny out (well except for the last few days of rain showers and thunderstorms) make sure you, and your Chitlins, and thoroughly smothered in sun screen!!!!

The One With the Pre-existing Condition

I think pre-existing conditions are the biggest cause for debate and concern in regards to getting health insurnace - it's sure a large area for debate and currently in the running for complete overhaul under teh current health care reform.

Let's think for a second about why there even is such a thing as a "pre-existing" condition. Essentially it is health insurance companies way of pushing you to have health insurance. Which on the one hand is annoying sure - but really no more annoying than it being a state law you have to wear your seat belt in the car. It's the smart thing to wear your seat belt, that way if you have a crash you're protected. It's the smart thing to have health insurance (even a cheap kind), that way if you get hospitalized you're protected from having to pay for outrageous medical procedures yourself. Basically, a health insurance company doesn't want for you to go for years without insurance, find out you have cancer, and then sign up for insurance and expect them to offer you the benefits without paying into the pot first. Sure it's frustrating, but is it really fair to expect it to be any other way?

I guess that's up for debate.

So pre-existing conditions - this is often misunderstood.  A pre-existing conditon does not mean that you CAN'T get health insurance, nor does it mean that if you switch insurance that a condition you had before will no longer be covered under the new insurance.

A condition can only be determined as "pre-existing" if you had a lapse (or break) in insurance coverage (whether it is Mediaid/Medicare, private insurance, through work, etc) for longer than 60-90 days (depending on the company). So if you are just switching plans, you don't have to be concerned. If you are getting your own insurance plan after being on a state funded one, you're good.

Essentially - I think it's REALLY smart to have SOME sort of insurance (not assurance plan like Aflac, but legitimate insurance) even if it is just catastrophic or major medical or even just a really bad plan. If you have some sort of insurance already in place, you will be able to switch plans when you're monthly budget allows for a premium change without a company saying they won't cover something.

The One With the Jumping Jungle

Awhile back on citysmart, or groupon, or amazon deals, or some place where you can get ridiculously good deals on fun stuff there was a deal on the Jumping Jungle. For those of you who live in Boise/Meridian it's kind of the same as Jump Time, and for those of you who don't live here, it's a huge room with a ton of those huge blow up bounce houses that people rent for their four year-olds birthday party.

I'm not gonna lie, orignally I thought this would be fun for the kids, but figured it would also be kind of lame. . . . I mean, it's no Planet Kid! But I was mistaken! It was totally fun. And what a great business idea! I'm kind of jealous I didn't have the idea first so I could make money doing that. The lady who was working there had a boy about Parker's age that just was running around on the stuff the whole time - how great to not have to have a babysitter or worry about what your kid will do all day long. As a mom who takes her THREE kids to work with me and has to worry about entertaining them while simultaneously doing my work, this makes me very jealous!!!

The kids had a great time, and Eric and I even jumped in a little bit and played with them. Preslie was a little skeptical at first, but as with most things, once she tried it, she loved it, and then didn't ever want to leave. Luckily the pass we bought was for 5 play times, so we still have a few more times the kids can all go an this ridiculously cheap price, and luckily even at full price it really isn't that expensive! I highly recommend it for those of you who live around here or want to avoid the crowds at similar places in Boise or Meridian!

The One With Aflac Maternity

Received this question in regards to my health care answers:

Crystal, do you know a lot about Aflac and pregnancy? I've heard good things about maybe you'll know the backside of it as to advantages and disadvantages as far as pregnancy?

First let me just put a disclaimer on ALL my answers . . . . it's still up to you to check and make sure on things before you do anything. I'm telling you my experience, what I understand, and what the research I have done on the questions have shown me.  Gooooooodd SOOOO no one sue me if something doesn't happen a certain way - every insurance company and plan is different, most have the same underlying intricacies, but some can be different, so be sure to check. I'm just trying to offer the understandings that I have found that many people don't know.

So - AFLAC INSURANCE!

Aflac insurnace for maternity is great. It's one of the only plans that I can legitimately see the ability to use and abuse on and get more return back than your initial investment - good for you, bad for Aflac. First everyone may need to understand how Aflac works. You pay them monthly premiums which they turn around and invest, THAT is how they can pay you back more than you have ever paid in. There are both similarities to normal insurance and differences to normal insurance.

Aflac will pay out a certain percentage based on the medical code the doctor provides. For example, my parents have aflac dental insurance - Aflac will pay them around $50 for just a standard cleaning and check up. Keep in mind, that a standard cleaning and check up normally costs over $100 so while Aflac is helping you pay for a service, they NEVER will pay for all of it. Also there are normally caps, they will only pay on a specific code (procedure) a certain amount of times per year before they are done. For example they may pay for three cavity fillings per year, so if you have more you're left with that. Also, most plans require you to pay into it a certain amount of months before you can receive payments - for dental you can't get anything back until you've paid for three months and crowns won't pay out until after a year. Most of their other plans work the same way.

They are different than insurance companies because with insurance once you pay your deductible and out of pocket maximums, insurance pays for everything else (with the exception of co-pays and procedures that aren't covered) whereas Aflac will generally pay out a certain portion and at some point in time you cap out and they will no longer pay.

As far as Aflac Maternity goes . . . . I have heard amazing things. Unfortunately, all three kids have been surprises so I have never had it myself, but I have many friends that have, and I have talked to Aflac several times about it (we have Aflac plans availabl at work and I am the liason). Essentially you pay around $100/month for the plan. They require you to have the plan for 10 months before they will pay you anything. So make sure you have the plan in place at least a month before you get pregnant and make sure you don't have the baby premature - the payment back to you is not based on when the due date is, it's based on when the delivery is!!!!

Depending on the type of delivery - natural vs c-section - and how things are coded, they will pay you back $2500-$4000 (it may be slightly more or less, it's been awhile since I talked to Aflac about it). So if you have the plan for 10 months you paid them $1000 and in the end, if you have a c-section like me, you'll end up getting almost $4000 back, so you make $3000!!! Sounds like a winner to me! Like I said, the exact numbers are approximate, but the idea is the same. If you only have the plan for 10 or 12 months you are guaranteed to make SOME amount of money back beyond your initial investment.

Drawbacks - there really aren't a ton if you understand how it all works, and keep that in mind when you sign up. Aflac was created to be a supplemental insurance, it is not met to be your only insurance. If the choice comes down to having Aflac or regular insuranc for maternity, I would choose standard insurance every time. Aflac won't pay out on complications - they won't pay you if your baby lands in NICU, or if you end up with some kind of infection (at least not under maternity, but other plans they have will pay some money). If you end up on Aflac maternity longer than two years, chances are you are going to lose money. If you have a baby prematurely, you will lose money. Also keep in mind that it will never pay for everything. While "making" $3000 would have been awsome with any of my kids if I had an Aflac plan, $3000 was still less than our $5000 maternity deductible, so while it "supplements" your payments so in then end you are having to pay less, it is not guaranteed to pay for everything.

My thoughts - as long as it is strictly for supplemental insurance, I think talking to someone about Aflac maternity is a great idea!

The One With The Affordable Care

This is a health care related post - so if you get bored with these, just disregard. There won't be any fun pictures of the kids (although a post about our weekend trip to the MK nature center will be coming soon) and while it may be interesting to some, it may be boring to others. My thoughts are that it's unfair to have an opinion on something unless you have researched what it is about. I find this rings true with health care as well - it seems that everyone has an opinion, especially when it comes to health care reform. But if my current classmates are an indication of how educated the entire nation is on health care, we are SURE in for some TROUBLE! There seem to be a select few in the class that either have a fairly comprehensive understanding of things or at least will put forth the effort to figure it all out . . . . the rest just complain about this and that and lace that with complete misunderstandings.

SOOOO, this debate often comes up in our class, and this is an often spoken statement "Health care should be cheaper."

I've found this statement annoys me. Not necessarily because it is wrong. It's not. Health care should be cheaper. But without any thing to support it, it's  dud. You gotta bring something else in with it! How do you think health care should be less? And for that matter, what is cheaper??? That's a fairly vague and ambiguous phrase if you ask me. What's cheaper? Ten dollars? That's cheaper, but is it really cheap enough?

Health care should be affordable!!!

Affordable for who?? Affordable for the insured? Affordable for the hospital? Affordable so that every dud on the street can have the same health care as the wealthy?

Now I LOVE healthy debate on this subject - healthy meaning both sides (my side, and whoever is wrong. . . . jk) have educated responses. There's nothing fun about fighting with someone who has the arguing mentalities of a two year-old. "Health care should be cheaper!!" "What's cheap?" "CHEAP is cheap." Okay  . . . . now go stand in the corner.

For everyone who says health care should be "CHEAP-ER", here's a brain teaser for you! And don't think I'm down on anyone, I happen to agree, I think health care SHOULD be cheaper, I just think most Americans don't understand business practices (because HELLO, health care IS a business) and how making something CHEAPER can lead to  . . . . BANKRUPTCY!!!

How would you make health care more affordable?? Keep in mind the three parts of health care in this equation. You have the insured - people like you and me, whether it's government insurnace, private insurance, group insurance (meaning coming from an employer), there's also the insurance companies, and hospitals.

People seem to have MAJOR frustration with presidents, both past and present, about their attempts, or lack thereof, to tackle making health care affordable. Well, are you ready to hear what makes it so difficult??

Seriously, are you ready?
Cause this will blow your mind!!

OPTION 1: Force hospitals/doctor's office to lower medical costs. Why are costs what they are? Why do MRI's cost what they do? I know everyone wants to believe that it's because high-falootin CEO's are bringing home the big bucks, and I'm not saying they are poor by any means, BUT medical procedures cost what they do because hosptials have to cover BAD DEBT (ie the debt they incur when people don't have insurance and don't pay their bills). Just because they are a hospital doesn't mean they have unlimited funds to cover paying for every uninsured person be seen for the flu. The room has to be paid for, the doctors, every gauze pad and throat swab, etc etc etc. Bottom line: procedures cost so much becaue hospitals have to cover bad debt - if we force hospitals to lower those costs, they will no longer be able to cover that debt and well go bankrupt . . . . leaving us with no hospitals . . . . and no one wants that.

OPTION 2: Force insurance companies to lower their premiums. Seems like a dandy idea right? I know I sure don't like paying so much money every month for health care premiums, it's a real drag, I'd way rather use the money to make monthly paymetns on a Cadillac . . . . or a house in the Hamptons. Why are insurance premiums high? Insurance premiums cost what they do because when we meet our deductibles, the insurance company has to pay out EVERYTHING else to the hospital. So those expensive medical procedures we were just talking about, yeah, just because we hit our deductible and don't pay for them, doesn't mean NO ONE is paying for them. Premiums go into a HUGE pot and then when a bill has to be paid for ANY insured, it comes out of that money. If we force insurance companies to lower their premiums they will no longer be able to pay for procedures. . . . . and they will go bankrupt . . . . leaving us without insurance companies, and no one wants to pay for ALL of their procedures by themselves.

OPTION 3: Force everyone to have health insurance. Now this is what is currently the case with Health Care Reform. It is believed that by requiring everyone to have health insurance, hospitals will be able to lessen their bad debt, and insurance premiums will decrease because of it. Which on one had is most likely true. BUT, as everyone is SO quick to point out, not EVERYONE has the financial capacity to pay for the high cost of health insurance. Currently, the idea is to EXPAND Medicaid coverage, which sounds great, right? Give more money out to people who don't have health insurance. Make sure you keep in mind where that money is coming from. The only way to increase the number of people who are receiving Medicaid is to increase TAXES. Which means you and me will be paying MORE money into those systems to cover the additional people who need it . . . . which could leave me bankrupt. . . . and those people who still don't fall under Medicaid and HAVE to pay for insurance could also go bankrupt . . . . furthering the recession adn maybe even starting a depression.

RECAP: Hospitals charge so much because they have to cover the bad debt, they have bad debt because people don't have health insurance, people don't have health insurance because it is too expensive, health insurance is expensive because they have to pay for the high cost of medical treatments hich are so expensive because hospitals must cover bad debt . . . . and the circle continues and continues.

SOOOOO - where would YOU break into the market to make health care more "affordable" for everyone? And do you see now why so many Presidents have either tried and failed, or ran away from health care reform?

The One With the Health Related Question

As you know I am currently doing my degree in Health Administration. Call me crazy, but for whatever reason I LOVE this industry, and I'd say I'm fairly good at it. Several people messaged me after reading a previous post about how my ridiculous amount of time on the phone with insurance companies for my family as well as my parents/brothers has given me an almost superhuman understanding of how insurance works - and I'll tell you one thing, it almost ALWAYS works different than what people think it does (at least that is what is becoming apparent as I continue my degree and hear people say things in my class . . . . often they say things that, well, for lack of a better word, are IDIOTIC incorrect.

However, I have also found that I LOVE teaching people the things I understand about this industry. For the people that sent me questions about their insurance . . . . I LOVED answering the questions, just in case you couldn't tell by the lengths of my responses. And I have this feeling that there may be people who have questions they just didn't want to ask.

In an effort to further my education in my degree, and as numerous assignments for my classes ask for this, I'd also LOVE (there's a lot of lovin' in this post) to hear what my friends and family have questions on. It could be anything simple: what is a pre-existing condition (this one is HUGE because I find most people have very similar misconceptions on this one), how do deductibles work, what's the best insurance plan for my family, what's an HMO, what's a PPO, how is health care reform going to effect me, how do we lower medical costs, what is medicaid/medicare, and so on and so on.

I'll be posting some blogs of all this stuff anyways, so if you have something specific you'd like for me to address, let me know!

  . . . . . . because just in case you didn't realize this by reading this post . . . . I LOVE to talk about it! :)

The One Where Pax Laughs

The other day we were sitting at the table eating dinner, I was holding Pax on my lap while I was eating as is usually the case since he cannot NOT be held . . . . . it's a complex. Nothing too exciting or special going on, in fact I think it was at a lull in the conversation that I felt Paxton's stomach tighten and prepared myself for a scream of monstrous proportions when instead he just laughed.
And not just a little laugh.
But a full on, hysterical belly laugh.
At thin air.

I'm not sure what he saw, or what he thinks he saw, but someone was obviously very hilarious.

We've now found that if we laugh at him, he tends to start belly laughing back.
But that doesn't necessarily explain why he laughed at that time.
He apparently thinks that Preslie is hilarious  . . . . and let's face it, she is, but I wouldn't have thought a four month old could catch on to her idiosyncracies. Ah well . . . to each his own I guess.

In other news - and this will make me sound like a brat, kind of like the girl who says "Oh my gosh I lost TOO much weight for my wedding dress!" or "I just can't decide which of the twelve jobs I've been offered to take" BUT I must say it anyway.

The last two nights Pax hasn't slept his traditional 10 hours, and I HATE it! And I know that makes me sound so terrible, and I agree, I am terrible for being frustrated by it. I know I have plenty of friends who have one year olds that aren't sleeping for longer than six or seven hour stretches, so it's extremely unfair for me to complain that my four month old has started only sleeping for seven hours, but still!!! It's like when you're younger and you can eat all the candy you want without gaining a pound, and then you hit your twenty-somethings and all of a sudden you can eat all the candy you want without gaining a pound as long as you work out for an hour a week. Seriously? An hour a week? I would gladly only work out that long if it kept me slim. But it really isn't anything to complain about . . . .

Yes, I get it! It's really stupid for me to complain about the fact that Pax now sleeps from 9:30 to 5 when there are so many people that would love it. But I think this is what it comes down to. I have been getting up at 6:30 to work out, get some homework done, and be ready before (hopefully) the kids get up. And I have loved it! Amazingly enough, I know, who actually WANTS to be up that early??? Well, I've started too! The days when Eric doesn't get back from his run til late so I can't go, or the days I've slept past my alarm or whatever, I can physically feel a difference in me that day. So I like getting up early. But when pax gets up at 5 . . . . uh yeah, that's TOO early! It takes 45-1hour to fed him and then I have to fall asleep so I can get what, like twenty more minutes?? That is lame.

So Pax-man, if you would be so kind . . . I would LOVE it if you could go back to sleeping a little longer. Or do me a solid and get up at like 3 for a bottle so I can go back to sleep for a few hours!

Thanks!

The One With the Easter Bunny

The one with the easter bunny.

Circa 2012.

Or version 4.12

Or something like that.

We had a pretty good Easter I'd say.

An AMAZING day on Saturday.

Seriously it was one of the best in months.

You know those weekends where you have absolutely nothing to do and so you just take your time doing whatever you want and everything is good, and everything just falls into place, and even the lights turn green for you BEFORE you get to them?

Ya, Saturday was one of those days.

I'm not even sure what we did that day.

And that's probably why it was so great.

Saturday afternoon and night though we went shopping, and then went with the kids to Pizza Hut.

Maybe a little bit of a bad idea since our doctor has since decided Preslie is lactose intolerant, and can no longer eat dairy, including cheese, but she only ever eats the bread sticks and cinnamon sticks anyways.

And she met ANOTHER boyfriend.

I'm telling ya, peeps, this one is gonna be trouble.

While she still has a little stranger anxiety left over from her year of pockign and prodding, it's becoming less and less, and we notice that most guys, especially the good looking ones, she has absolutely no problem being friends with.

She laughed, and flirted, and played peek-a-boo over the booth with "Logan".

Ahhhh yes, mommy and daddy, the beginning of when Preslie will always have some "Logan" in her life. I'm a little scared.

Sunday we went to a family dinner at my Grandma's house - complete with members of the family that it has been TOO long since we have seen - and went to an Easter Cantata that my mom sang a solo in and did great. It was a relaxing and delicous Easter.

Preslie with her Easter Basket.

My mom always got us Sunday Clothes for Easter. But Preslie has a MILLION (literally) dresses for church. I decided to just get them all their first summer outfits for this year. And of course, although I bought Preslie 24 months they are TOO BIG!!! It amazes me how sizes can vary so much and how she is so freaking tiny!!! Needless to say I will be exchanging that.

She also got a Strawberry Shortcake movie, her first Barbie doll (of a minority, you know so Mattell can prove they aren't racist, and so I can prove the same thing by buying it) and a TON of candy.

Pax was a little harder to buy for, poor kid. First Easter and no candy?

Sometimes life sucks, kid. And this is one of those times.

Instead he got two summer outfits, and a little monky to attach to his car seat.

Strangely enough, he loves it and stares at it all the time.

I don't get it.

Trying to get Parker to smile at all, much less a "normal" smile is getting progressively more difficult as he gets older. I'm thinking there's some sort of genetic mutation that happens in men about age three that makes it impossible to smile. Hence the fact that every man has the exact same driver's license photo.

Let's try to be different and original men!!! Whatdaya say? Wanna smile in your next one and prove you're not a sheep????

Parker got super rad summer clothes, the Sandlot - hello, start the immersion process while their young and this boy will go pro in either baseball or soccer, Lego's and a ton of candy.

Interestingly enough, we didn't really ask the kids what kind of candy they wanted . . . . and yet somehow it keeps disappearing . . . usually while they are asleep . . . .

This is all the kids dyeing easter eggs at my grandma's house. It was SOO nice on Easter Sunday that we got to have the entire party outside! Amazing! There wasn't even wind on her outdoor patio that is usually something like the midwest in tornado season, so that was a nice addition.

This picture is further proof of what I was saying, Preslie gets ANY boys wrapped around her little finger.

This is her with Jacob, my aunt's adopted son, and she followed him everywhere and amazingly enough he let her do it!!

Aside from the driver's license photos, men also have this uncanny ability to NEVER be able to keep their pants pulled up over their boxers . . . . yet another trait Parker has already adopted!



The One With the Dead Laptop

When we still lived in Portland we bought a Toshiba laptop and it was great. Seriously, four years now for a laptop - that's pretty good I'd say. But then it pooped out on us the other day, it wouldn't even turn on, just kept saying error.
Luckily we have some pretty great acquaintances who are pretty great with computers.
Redundant? Oh well.

So Eric first tried the guy at work who told him the hard drive was bad. DUN DUN DUN!!! Terrible news. I don't care if the entire computer is a waste but we have FOUR years worth of pictures saved ont that computer!!!!

Terrible, terrible news.
Really, I almost cried.

Then we took it to the computer guy who works on our system at work. He replaced the hard drive - new computer for $100, OKAY!! But continued the bad news by telling us the hard drive was most likely toast. He's going to try some life saving techniques to it - you know CPR and the like, but most likely it's a lost cause.

This makes me extremely depressed. While we kept trying to back up the pictures, it appears that the discs we burned them to are "un-burned". Luckily all the engagement, wedding, and first few pictures of Parker were on a previous computer that WAS backed up. But Preslie beign born, her first birthday, Disneyland, and even the dreaded hospital visit are GONE until the technology world advances enough to be able to pull the pictures off the hard drive . . . . or until we save up a couple grand to send it to some FBI forensics lab - you know, which ever comes first.

So this is my words of wisdom for the day: BACK UP YOUR COMPUTER!!!!

Online even. Whatever. Doesn't matter where, just back it up.

I'm happy that we have family members who are crazy about picture taking, so luckily we have SOME pictures, but they still aren't OURS, you know? It's just different. I guess now Eric can be happy that I spend time blogging, because at least SOME of the pictures from these amazing events are located in the cyber world on this blog.

The One With the Year of Lessons

Well today marks the year point! I can't even believe it! I don't think I have ever had a year where so much has happened . . . and that includes the time I met a guy, got married, and had a baby all within on year . . . and that was some craziness in and of itself I tell you.

Last year TODAY, April 4th, we were in the hospital with a very cold, popsicle, named Preslie. It marked the beginning of what could have been the end, but what turned into one of the greatest learning experiences of my life - if not the greatest. Talk about a faith building, testimony strengthening, figure out that I actually can SOB experience.

I was never a crier . . . like ever. Even on the rare occassions that I would get the single glistening tear rolling down my cheek, I didn't sob. I didn't really know that I had it in me. And then I had children. . . .and it ALL changed. Not everyone knows this, mostly because it is pre-blog era, but when Parker was 14 months-old we almost lost him too, he had a seizure and stopped breathing, turned blue - long story short it ended up with an ambulance ride to the hospital, hours and hours in the emergency room and a diagnosis of Febrile Seizure Disorder. There's nothing like performing rescue breathing on your own child while your husband is on the phone with 911 who can't find our house because it was in a new part of a subdivision to get the sobs coming. Preslie wasn't much older when the idea was first presented to us that we might lose her too.

Eric and I have had several discussions on what we would think to be the harder way to lose a child. Is it harder to have them there one second, and gone the next, or is it harder to have to watch them wither away under a mess of hospital tubes? Thankfully, at least for now, we aren't having to experience either, and for thatm I am eternally grateful.

In the last year, Preslie spent three days in the hospital, met with a dozen doctors and specialists, had five tests that conclusively proved she had myelodysplasia that had progressed to juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia, we found out I was pregnant, dealt with the idea of losing a child, became reconciled to the idea that if God really needed our daughter we would see her again, submitted to numerous tests as a family, witnessed a miracle, had a little one on a miraculous day, and somehow are still here - battered and bruised sure, but intact, strengthened, and ready to attack the world as a family unit.

What a difference a year can make!!!! I am beyond blessed and humbled to be a mother to a child who obviously has so much to give to this world, and I will be grateful for every second we get to have with her and our boys.

The details of the hospital are in April of 2011's blogs. I can't link it up I guess, dang computer illiteracy.