100 Days

I'm not usually one to wax poetic. I don't sit around and get nostalgic about the days that have passed. I tend to look more towards the future. But you guys, 2019 was hard. Not in a way that we struggled with food or shelter or friendships. In fact, We are incredibly blessed and the past year has solidified more than ever that Mitch is my person. We're in it until the end. I couldn't have survived this past year without him. 

Last week I was at the gym and the song "100 bad days" by AJR played on my phone. I was immediately in tears, like sobbing. So yeah, I don't get all sappy about life, but I can be emotional...what can I say, I get it from my mama. The lyrics say:

When all is going wrong and you're scared as hell
What you gonna do? Who you gonna tell?

Maybe a hundred bad days made a hundred good stories
A hundred good stories make me interesting at parties
A hundred bad days made a hundred good stories
A hundred good stories make me interesting at parties, yeah
No, I ain't scared of you
No, I ain't scared of you no more

Now in no way shape or form do I believe that one's bad days makes them interesting at parties...but the point is, I'm not scared. It's taken so much reflection but I know that my redeemer has had this the whole time. Even when I was scared and wasn't sure what tomorrow would hold for our family, I knew that there was a plan for us. Plan for good. Instead of focusing on everything that was bad in 2019 I need to reflect on everything that was good. I don't want Jacksons diagnosis, my moms cardiac trouble and more to be what defines our year. I want to be able to remember all the good. 

1. In January we had beautiful snow, and we had pictures of the girls done here at home. Probably still my favorite pictures to date. 
2. Hattie got her first pair of glasses. 
3. Leah qualified for state in the 50 Fly.
4. She was also 3rd place finalist at the Dunscomb meet. 
5. Leah qualified for US Swimming Regionals in the 50 back. 
6. We went to Charleston to watch Macy play Volleyball against Mt. Zion. 
7. Mitchell took me on a wonderful vacation to Playa Del Carmen...again.
8. While we were there my in-laws took care of the girls and took Leah to US Swimming regionals where she got 8th.
9. Selfies with my brothers and sisters in law on a trolley headed to the beach and more fun than I could've imagined. 
10. Leah qualified for YMCA State in the 100 IM.
11. Kiersten swam her first 100 IM. 
12. We hosted a 5th grade get together with boys and girls and laughed and laughed while they "Just Dance'd"
13. Holding my love bug in my arms the night before her 9th birthday, she said she didn't want to grow up, and I reminded here there would always be room in my arms. 
14. Papa got Leah a new guitar. They share a love of music. 
15. Kiersten was on the podium for every race she swam at Y districts. 
16. Knockerball fun at the Y with the rest of the Gators. 
17. Leah and Hattie swimming at Y State. 
18. Kiersten saying the Pledge of Allegiance at the School Board meeting
19. Mitch taking all three of his little ladies to the Father Daughter Dance. 
20. Leah's 1st Solo Ensemble competition, taking top honors with her friends. 
21. Being able to hold my brothers hand and pray over Jackson as we received his diagnosis. 
22. A sister in law who takes selfies with me in our surgical mask at the hospital, because why not?
23. My grandmothers handwriting, a prayer in a prayer book to comfort us and remind us that she's still with us. 
24. Jackson smiling and laughing through the chemo, playing with snapchat filters on my phone. 
25. A neice who made orange friendship bracelets with her friends to support her brother. 
26. Leah being recognized as the most valuable 10U girl for the Gators swim team. 
27. A husband who held me when I couldn't keep the tears at bay. 
28. My family of  5 spending Easter in Arizona with Aunt Laura and Uncle Jeff. 
29. A wonderful celebration at the Robison's with Easter baskets for the girls. 
30. A reunion for Hattie and her BFF Khegan. 
31. Aunt Laura giving us a tour of the Arizona athletic facility...cool pool!
32. An Easter Sermon that was exactly what I needed to hear, when I needed to hear it. 
33. Frost Gelato
34. Leah was the top medalist at the BNSC Spring Fling. 
35. A great trainer as I prepare to become a swim official. 
36. Jacksons laugh when he dips his ham sandwiches in apple sauce. 
37. Being able to celebrate Macy and Leah's birthdays together, again. 
38. Leah's virtual reality birthday with all her friends. 
39. Mitch buying his first rental property.
40. Kiersten winning her first travel softball tournament in Effingham. 
41. Kierstens softball friends coming together to support Jackson, making a banner in his honor. 
42. Friends who help transport and watch the girls while I'm at Riley's with Jackson. 
43. Jackson scaring the nurses (And me) with his rubber snake and giggling furiously. 
44. Lunch and ice cream with Alex and Shelby Strong before they moved to Peoria. 
45. Mrs. Rozanski spoiling the girls with treats. 
46. Leah finishing the year with straight A's. 
47. Girls who are eager to help in the new rental house. 
48. A handy husband who knows how to do lots of projects. 
49. Visiting Jackson while he's home from the hospital. 
50. Helping Papa with yardwork for a dollar. 
51. Leah having a blast at sleep away swim camp. 
52. Hattie's 1st slumber party for lucky number 7. 
53. Working with Jana and numerous other people for Jackson strong T-shirt fundraiser. 
54. Having the girls help distribute the shirts. 
55. Being able to go to Charleston and donate blood at Jackson's blood drive. 
56. Stripping and painting bedroom furniture with my Bug. 
57. Studio B dance recital...those girls danced their little hearts out. 
58. Kiersten winning the hot heat at the Illini Open and a DQ gift card.
59. Mitch took me to Vegas
60. Visiting the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead.
61. Seeing the Valley of Fire state park in Nevada with Mitch. 
62. The girls fishing with family. 
63. Campfires at Lake Lobster. 
64. Hanging out in a hammock. 
65. Getting to babysit Nat and Jo for a week in AZ. 
66. Making cupcakes from scratch with the girls for Uncle Jeffs birthday. 
67. Being able to be there for Joanna's 4th birthday party, watching the Lion King. 
68. Playing in Nat and Jo's pool for days. 
69. Sleeping in bunk beds. 
70. Arizona Air time trampoline park with Khegan and RaKel. 
71. Pedicures with Leah. 
72. Daddy picking us up at the airport with our new sweet puppy, Piper. 
73. Kiersten's bedroom remodel with the Southwest theme. 
74. A fantastic new job at Mt. Zion Junior High
75. Celebrating Jacksons birthday at Gigi's house. 
76. Kiersten pulling Leah's teeth as Dr. Brumeister gave her the assist. 
77. Three girls successfully back to school. 
78. A bowling and ice cream date with daddy. 
79. Jackson in remission!!! A clean bill of health and release from Riley's.
80. Cousins together at a football game cheering on Colby. 
81. A mother who makes joke in the ER after a heart attack...she's cutting us all out of the will if anyone takes a picture. 
82. Making friendship bracelets with the girls. 
83. Seeing the Strong's at the BNSC Season Opener. 
84. Jackson's good report from his 1st check up at Riley's
85. Dr. Pyle and my mother's successful mitral valve replacement. 
86. A husband who took care of the house and kids while I stayed at the hospital. 
87. A sister and I who could laugh on the way the hospital about coffee...apparently if you need cream and sugar you are weak. 
88. The girls Halloween costumes...Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Rosie the Riveter and Amelia Earhart. 
89. The Halloween Orchestra concert. 
90. Kiersten got her braces off. 
91. Trick or treating in the snow and Chili for dinner at Gigi's house. 
92. A neighbor who always helps me with my John Deere mishaps. 
93. Dr. Morisetty bought our family dinner. 
94. Leah performed with the orchestra at the Illinois Music Education Association District Festival. Waio Waio, the Haitian Folk song was my favorite. 
95. Mitch prepared a wonderful Thanksgiving meal for us and we got to share it with Gigi, Papa, Aunt Laura and Uncle Jeff and the girls. 
96. The Schaumburg family Christmas get together with lots of BINGO. 
97. Co-Workers that make me laugh with their political propaganda, and TGS Home school brochures. 
98. The girls swimming at the Natatorium in Indianapolis and dropping time in every race. 
99. Wicked at the Fox Theater in St. Louis with all my favorite girls. 
100. Kiersten performing in her first band concert. She did wonderful. 
101. Leah being 1st violin and tuning the orchestra. 
102. Christmas in Minnesota. 
103. Macy sending me selfie of her and the girls. 
104. Papa giving Leah her very own violin. 
105. Gigi and Jackson both home and healthy for Christmas. 
106. Facetime that let me see my sister and nieces across the miles. 
107. Friends that check in with us when our sweet Hattie is sick. 

So for what it's worth, I refuse to let 2019 be defined by all our troubles. I want to head into 2020 with a clean slate. With 365 new opportunities to make memories and leave the world a little better than it was the day before. Cheers to you all, the memories we make, and may only good things come your way in 2020. 

Here we go again...

This is not how the year is supposed to end. We aren't supposed to be sitting in an ER room awaiting transfer to our hospital room...but here we are. The last three days have been incredibly rough. Hattie hasn't been able to keep anything down. We even tried Zofran and even that was coming right back up. We called the pediatrician this morning and she told us to get her over to St. John's in Springfield because they have a Children's hospital. So here we are. I'm beginning to think that HSHS stands for Home Sweet Hospital System...but there is nothing sweet about this.

My baby is struggling, she's miserable and right now nothing is helping. They've started the IV fluids. They've done a complete workup with blood and urine. Her blood sugar levels are too low, she has blood in her urine, and with the way that things have been going the pediatrician here feels like she needs to be admitted for a day or two. So here we sit. Here we will say goodbye, good riddance, C'est la vie to the traumatizing year that has been 2019. Mitch and I will hold hands and ring in the new year next to our sweet Hattie's hospital bed and pray for 2020 to be a year of blessings. Happy New Year to you and yours.

The Waiting Game

So many friends are reaching out and checking in on our girl. I shouldn't be surprised...she is so loved. She's such a light and joy to all who know her. Pretty much everyone walks away happier after a chat with Hattie.

She's hanging in there. Yesterday was a good day. She was a happy camper, smiling, laughing and enjoyed a little bit of time out of bed. Today is a different story. She's lethargic and battling quite a bit of stomach pain and vomitting. 

The swelling in her legs is better but now her hands, wrists, fingers are under attack. We're just hanging out, taking it one day at a time because there is not really anything else we can do. Thanks for the prayers...they are so appreciated!

HSP...rare, just like her.

Remember that time when all the kids were coming down with Henoch-Schönlein Purpura?!?! Oh wait, no that is just our kid. This is real life people...its not always sunshine and roses.

The last few days have been a little chaotic. It started when Hattie got sick and developed a bump on her head on Christmas Eve. It took quite a while for her to remember that she slipped getting out of the tub...she still insists she didn't bump her head. We'll never know for sure. We spent a while at the ER, they decided she wasn't concussed and sent us home. Several hours later after lots of belly pain and an elbow that was getting bigger and bigger, and hot to the touch I started keeping a closer eye on her. And then there was the weird rash on her foot. After consulting with a doctor via the HSHS app we were sent BACK to the ER, where she was diagnosed with Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP), an autoimmune disease, that is incredibly rare. Her body is attacking itself. Small blood vessels are busting under her skin...shes covered, but even more difficult is the swelling. She was very upset thinking she wouldn't be home for Christmas. We were thankful to be home in bed around 2am.

We saw the pediatrician yesterday, who was very helpful, and we met with Brustein today. At this point its hard to tell if her elbow is swollen because of the HSP or if she does in fact have a fracture from her fall. She's in a splint for at least two weeks and will do new Xrays then. Her ankles and knees are enormous. Just a small amount of walking today made her knees larger than softballs. She looks like an arthritic 80 year old trying to walk. We don't know how long this will last. It can be days, weeks, even a few months. Pray with us that it is less not more. We'll follow up with regular BP and urine screens for the next few weeks...or more. Silver lining is that she isn't in pain...she's quite uncomfortable, but managing okay. She's 7...so getting her to elevate her ankles and rest is tricky. While this isn't how we wanted to spend Christmas break, at least she isn't missing school and hopefully has plenty of time to recover, We'll just be here taking it one day at a time, and counting our blessings because this too shall pass. And she is a pretty cute little patient!

Merry Christmas

I can't recall the last time we went to Gigi and Papa's on Christmas day? Schedules were more chaotic than normal this year and that's just the way it worked out. I'm not complaining. Even Papa was confused. For at least the last 6 years they have came to Mt. Zion for Christmas Day lunch.

This year was certainly different. Not bad, just different. It was the first time in a long time that my sister wasn't home. You wouldn't think that missing 2 kids would make much of a difference but it was certainly a little more quiet.

Gigi prepared a wonderful meal for us. We had lasagna and there was certainly more than enough for us all to.indulge. the spread of desserts and treats was definitely making the kids happy. Before we even began to think about opening gifts Leah got a special surprise from Papa. Her very own violin. At first he tricked her into thinking he was going to learn to play. She caught on soon enough and is very excited. I love that they bond over music.

My mom never goes overboard with gifts. It always feel right that the most important part of our family Christmas is the people around the tree...not the gifts under it. However I will say this year I was especially thankful for Jackson and his enthusiasm. And for the fact that Hattie wasn't admitted to the hospital, so she was there...tired, but there. And especially for Gigi. This Christmas could have looked very different for our family. But we know that our Lord and Savior holds us in his hands, that he protects us and has a plan for good. By his grace Gigi and Jackson are both doing better than ever.

By the end of the day we were all helping Gigi put her Christmas decorations away. Many hands make for light work and it took us no time at all. It was kind of strange to be tearing down Christmas ON Christmas, but Gigi and Papa had plans to get to Arizona. I know Laura's family is anxious for their arrival, and I can't help but think all that sun and warm weather will just further Gigi's progress.

So while this Christmas was different it was exactly what we needed. A chance to be together, to reflect on the blessings that we've been provided. One last chance to enjoy one another's company in 2019 and end it on a good note. Trusting in his promises and believing that 2020 will bring us much joy and happiness. And hoping it will provide so many more goofy selfies of these kids!!!

Santa??? We know him!

Just want to share the pictures from our Santa session...its one of my favorite traditions. Mitch says it probably won't last too much longer but I'm holding on as long as I can...and then also pictures of Christmas morning. Since Hattie and I didn't get home from the hospital until 2AM we got a later start than usual. Leah and Kiersten were so sweet and patient. They were concerned for Hattie and so happy she was home.

Ho, ho, hospital

I can't believe this is how we are going to end 2019. Actually I shouldn't be surprised...health issues have plagued us all year long. Its officially Christmas and I'm laying in a hospital bed with Hattie. Actually, I'm laying in a hospital bed with Hattie for the second time in the last 24 hours.

Christmas Eve started with a bang! We returned from Minnesota to find that we had no heat. So after a long cold night I was happy to leave the house bright and early for a doctor's appt. while Mitch stayed home and worked out the details of the furnace. Spoiler alert...we need a new one. Merry Christmas to us! I wasn't even close to home when Mitch called and said to get home. Hattie was throwing up and getting welts on her head. When I got there she had a sizable welt on her forehead. I asked if she fell down. She said no. Mitch said he asked her the same thing. The triage nurse, ER nurse, nurse practitioner asked her and we all got the same answer.

The doctor walked in and started to talk to her and oh yeah..." well I did fall getting out of the bathtub this morning." Oh this kid! She still insists that she didn't hit her head. Whatever. She did complain about her elbow hurting. They said she didn't seem concussed, told us to ice and Ibuprofen and sent us on our way.

Into the afternoon my poor girl had stomach pains, the swelling on her elbow, hands and fingers kept getting worse and worse. She still insisted that she didn't fall hard. But looking at her body you'd definitely think otherwise. Around 7:30 she climbed on the couch with Mitch and I.she put her feet on the coffee table and it was covered with a weird rash. Upon further inspection it was all over her legs.

We used our handy HSHS app to talk to the dial-a-doc and she said she really wasn't comfortable with a tech consult and told us to get back to the ER. By then it was 8:30...on Christmas Eve.

We did our intake...again. We had Xrays and got settled in our room. The NP came in and said "I dont like this there is something else going on here." And said she wanted to go get the doctor. After about twenty minutes she came back and said she was doing laps thinking about our sweet girl when she thought about a case she had 20+ years ago with a rare autoimmune disorder, vasculitis something...What?!? The doctor agreed, they took 10 vials of blood. Started her on steroids, gave her antibiotics for her flaming hot elbow, and a sling, with follow-up orders to see our pediatrician. Then doc comes in and wants a strep test. Its strep, people! Ugh!! So now it's nearly 1am on Christmas. She's wiped out, I'm wiped out...and we're going home for Christmas. Finally! We need to follow up with the pediatrician on Thursday or Friday to rule out Henoch-Schonlein purpura, because the ER can't do a skin test. Merry Christmas, my friends...counting our blessings, again!

Schultz Family Christmas

We celebrated another whirlwind Christmas up in Minnesota this past weekend. We arrived late on Friday after our half day at school. It was a super full house this year. Lexi added another significant other to the bunch...Tyler joined us. Shelby brought Jake, Justin was joined by Megan.

Grandma Tootie had all the fixing for a taco bar for lunch. It was definitely a hit with the kids, and the grown ups too. We opened presents and exchanged gag gifts. The big kids were super excited about light up llama pajamas, lol!

On Sunday we had a special visit from Mrs. Claus. The girls always get so excited for Santas visit. I guess he was a tad bit too busy this year, but Mrs. Claus filled in nicely. The girls had a great time out at Rylees farm, and it was hard to say goodbye. It always goes by fast but thankful for the fun while it lasts.