School Days and ABC's!

School has officially started down here and Florida, which means my boy is officially grown up. Well, kinda. ;)

Owen started preschool today at the most precious, loving, sweet little faith based preschool. He is going twice a week, for 3 hours. And he lasted the whole 3 hours on his first day! Owen has never been apart from me (while awake) for more than an hour or two. He has only attended the church nursery a handful of times and he doesn't like busy crowds.

So why send him to preschool? We are really hoping this will improve Owen's speech and socialization skills. Due to germs Owen has been very isolated his entire life. So it's time to start making some friends! His teacher, Ms. Cynthia and Ms. Carol are so very sweet and were willing to meet privately with me last week to go over Owen's extra needs. Although he doesn't need anything medically while at school, he is developmentally delayed, mainly with speech. So he requires a little extra attention....which they are more than happy to supply! :)

This sweet school is such an answered prayer. Tears did not flow as I dropped Owen off this morning. Instead, my heart was just flowing with gratitude and pride in how far this sweet boy has come. Of course, we cannot forget to acknowledge Carrie, and her gift for Owen. Without her, this would not be happening. I am just blown away by how much Owen is growing and changing and how quickly it is happening before my eyes!

Of course I wanted a "First Day of School Photoshoot" and about two seconds in to said photoshoot I was quickly reminded I am the mom of two busy, busy boys. No time for pictures!!

I was told Owen did great, and only cried for a few minutes after he realized I was gone. He is learning about the color red and made a sweet little apple craft. :) What precious days these are!

One thing is for sure...he was one worn out boy!

We've been "touring" around town on the weekends and have had some fun family adventures, including the local children's museum. The boys had fun, but Owen was most impressed by the run-through spray fountains at the nearby park!

Lastly, I wanted to share a sweet little video of my smarty pants. :) For those that know Owen well, you know that his absolute most favorite thing in the world are letters and numbers. He has been able to name each letter and number (1-10) for a while now. Recently, he began naming letters by their phonetic sound as well. This morning, Owen participated in back and forth communication with me by going through the alphabet. This is the first time I have seen him participate in conversation, other than "labeling" words or sounds. I must say...I'm one proud Mama!

Turn your volume up, and listen closely! :)

 

Thanks for checking in on our sweet family. The (little) boys and I are bravely flying back home in a couple weeks to visit family and have a urology appointment in Cincinnati. Please pray for safe travels and patient passengers on the airplane... 1 Mommy and 2 busy boys....uh oh! :)

Psalm 69:30
"Then I will praise God's name with singing, and I will honor him with thanksgiving."

We're Still Here!

Hello fellow blog followers (if there's any of you left!)! Sorry we've been a little absent from blog land lately...we've been busy!

Busy Doing what? Well mainly moving, but also getting older! Both boys celebrated birthdays. Twice. :) Yep, we like to do it up right in the Daugherty family!

We had the boys' party back home in Kentucky before our move. This was in June. A little early. :) So we celebrated again, on their real birthdays as well. And sweet little Abel James couldn't be happier! It's possible he inherited his Mama's ginormous sweet tooth. :)

The party back home was great. It's so wonderful to get together with family and friends and celebrate these two boys that we love so very, very much!

It's a little hard for me to accept the fact I now have a 3 year old and a 1 year old. Time is so cruel in the way that it flies by. As much as I wish I could just stop time and hold these sweet babies like this forever, I have to be thankful for how amazing this life has turned out to be. Yes, we've weathered our storms, but God has been so gracious in gifting us with these two amazingly wonderful, precious, HEALTHY boys. While I wish I could freeze these moments, I am amazed at how the Lord is working, specifically in Owen's life. He is making amazing strides and accomplishing so much, I am just in awe of how the Lord continues to work in his life.

As if Owen turning another year older didn't break my heart enough, he will be starting preschool in 20 days. This has been a complete blessing fully guided by the Lord. We were apprehensive about sending Owen to school, but we have been prayerfully considering it, knowing it would be so beneficial for his social delays. The most precious, perfect little private preschool has agreed to take on Owen, allowing him to start in the 2 year old room and move up at our desecration. The school is just perfect beyond words and little Owen will be there with his sweet little puppy dog backpack two days a week for 3 hours. :) As of right now, I can talk about school without tears. I am just so excited for this opportunity for him I haven't been overwhelmingly sad. It's something I honestly didn't know if Owen we be able to do. And it's just so very normal. And normal is a great thing in this house!

We are adjusting to our new Florida residence quite well and I'm just so excited for what this new season will bring for our family. We are definitely moving away from our laid back, slow days to having a full schedule! In addition to school twice a week Owen is attending an Intensive Speech and Feeding Therapy Clinic twice a week. On top of that I've decided to join a MOPS group to get to know some ladies around here!

Abel is an absolute ham and is in to everything. Toilet Paper? Yep. The toilet, oh yeah. Cabinets, drawers, the fridge...you name it- he's explored it! He isn't walking just yet but has taken a few steps. He, like his older brother prefers the speed crawl. And he's lightening fast! He does have a quick big brother he has to keep up with! Between the two of them my days are busy, messy, crazy and full of laughter!

Thanks for all who continue to follow our little blog and who diligently pray for Owen. Please continue to pray for his doctors as we are essentially starting over down here. We will be doing a routine ultrasound soon for a bladder check and the results will be sent to his urologist in Cincinnati. I would be lieing if I said this part of our move has been easy. I miss our precious doctors so much and can't wait to visit them again! We are blessed to be in good hands down here and met Owen's new nephrologist a couple weeks ago. Other than difficulty getting labs, things went very smoothly!

I'll leave you with a "photo dump" as I'm sure that's why you're here...picture of cute boys, yes please! :)

 

"I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing." Ezekiel 34:26

We are so thankful for these showers of blessings!

Flashback: Breakdancer

As I was doing some "work" on the computer today (aka loading pictures) I came across this video from May 15, 2012.

And I lost it.

First of all, this doesn't even look like my child anymore. When I say he has grown 7 inches since transplant...it's no joke! And secondly, it just plain hysterical. I mean, really funny. And I'm not saying that because I'm biased (okay, I probably am biased...but can you blame me?!).

Be prepared to laugh...and push play repeatedly after your first viewing. This sweet boy is literally growing and changing by the day...one thing is for sure- he keeps us laughing! :)

Where You Go

We are semi-settled in our living quarters, down in sunny, HOT Florida. More about the move, later.

Today is our 5 Year Wedding Anniversary. As I was thinking about our wedding day and how much we have grown and changed in just a mere 5 years I thought about the vows Michael and I recited to each other.

We were counseled by godly, a wise-beyond-their-years couple who were leaders in our church. Michael and I were in each of their small groups and gleaned so much from them during our college years.

Upon the suggestion of my leader, she and I completed a study of Ruth together. I will forever cherish this time of learning and truly studying and longing to be in the word. She made Ruth so "real" and relatable to me.

Hence, the reason segments of Ruth, Chapter 1 were included in our wedding vows.

"Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." Ruth 1:16-17

 

 

Wow, are these verses reigning true to our lives today! It it my honor to serve and follow this man, wherever he may lead our family. I can say with certainty that this move has been difficult, and leaving our family 13 hours away pains my heart. But, I know that this decision was made with careful consideration and many prayerful nights seeking guidance from the Lord. I can be confident that Michael's decision to choose Tampa was not his own, but under the supervision of The One guiding and directing our path. It brings me joy knowing that The Lord has great blessings in store for our family down here!

If you know Michael, then you likely love him for his humor. I am happy to say this man has kept me laughing through times when I thought smiling was impossible. I am beyond thankful for his devotion to our family, his dedication to achieving goals that once seemed so far away and for his unending love and passion to making me feel loved and cherished as his bride.

Happy Anniversary!

This is Really Happening

Owen had his last nephrology clinic visit at Cincinnati Children's this morning. We were forced to say goodbye to the most compassionate, caring, loving doctor that has cared for Owen.

Our beloved Dr. Donna has been by our side since Owen's birth. She has been a constant source of strength and hope, even during our darkest times. She loves Owen dearly and I am so, so very grateful that God placed us in her care. I cannot tell you the countless emails she has answered from me and the advice she freely gives on anything and everything. She has not only cared for Owen, but our entire family as well. She has become a dear friend to me and I will deeply miss our clinic visits and our talks about life.

Aside from leaving our family, moving Owen's care to Tampa is utterly gut wrenching for me. Going through our journey, I have come to love, know and trust so many of the nurses and doctors up here and this change is a hard one to swallow. While I know that we will be in good hands in Tampa, there is simply not another Dr. Donna that we can call our own.

So yes, it's really happening. We're really moving and my heart is really starting to break. I am confident that God is directing our path, but boy...this one is tough.

Thank you, Dr. Donna for loving us and being so over the top amazing! You have truly made a difficult journey just a little bit easier and my heart is deeply grateful for you and all you have done for our family. You will truly be missed!

1 Corinthians 1:4

"I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus"

Let's Catch Up!

Well, well, well...if it isn't the absentee Mommy Blogger back in the 'ol saddle!

 

To our dearest, devoted followers: Sorry! I've been a bit busy these days, seeing as how I have a toddler that learned how to walk only a mere 4 months ago and whose main mode of transportation is now running. Adding to that, a busy bee infant who is crawling as fast as he can to keep up with his big brother. So, as much as I would love to devote the 20 minutes or so of spare time I have to blogging, other necessities seem to trump themselves to the top of the list. i.e. showering. :)

 

Oh, and remember how we are moving....again?!?

 

Say what? Didn't you just move only a year ago?

 

Why yes, yes we did. We are your modern day nomads. This time we should be settled in for at least 4 years....5 tops.

 

Then, Mama I'm comin home!!! :) (True story: I miss my Mom.)

 

Anywho, I've got quite a bit of catching up to do!

 

My last blog entry was at the end of January. During that time we had received some not so great (pretty bad, actually) news about Owen's bladder. I am happy to report that things are IMPROVING at an amazing rate! Owen had a bladder scope last week, and I kid you not, his surgeon greeted us in the waiting room after surgery....with a SMILE! This is literally the first time he has left one of Owen's surgeries smiling. :) :) :) Owen's bladder is showing terrific improvement and he is SO much happier with how things are looking. Praise God! Thank you, thank you for your prayers!

 

 Right now Owen is on a pretty strict cathing regimen, which require us to continue cathing him every 3 hours (24/7) and not doing an overnight Foley catheter. This means my loving, adorable, sleep walking husband wakes twice to cath and I wake once.

 

How did I draw the lucky straw?

 

Well, that would be because my loving, adorable 9 month old gets bit by the hungry hungry Caterpillar at least twice a night. That's right, sleeping through the night is not even on his radar! I'll just count them as extra snuggles I'll miss when he's big. :)

 

 

Speaking of big...have you seen how much my child has grown?!

 

 





 

Yes, I know....he's just not a baby anymore. I don't want to talk about it. Why in the world do kids have to grow up so stinkin fast?! BTW: he's grown a full 6 inches since transplant! Hello future NBA star! (Totally kidding- have you seen his vertically challenged parents?)

 

 

So, February was great...Owen experienced lots and lots and LOTS of snow. (Helloooo, Florida!)

 



 

 

 One of the most beautiful moments I've ever experienced with Owen was watching him be in complete awe of this blizzard.

 Food isn't his favorite. Giant snowballs bigger than his face? Sure thing!

 Yes, I do plan on dressing my sweet boys in matching, monogrammed shirts until it's no longer acceptable. (So what if they go to college wearing matching collegiate sweatshirts?) ;)

Abel turned 6 months old and is seriously the cutest thing on the planet.

 

So then March rolls along...and brings snot with it....lots and lots and lots of snot. I will forever remember March 2013 as the month of snot. Owen, Abel and I all shared a nasty, relentless cold for two weeks. However, Owen's cold- it lasted 6 weeks. Nope, not a typo folks....6 snotty weeks. Unfortunately this cold turned in to a severe ear infection and Owen landed in the ER just six days short of his April 3 Kidneyversary.

 

 

It was a nasty ear infection that literally turned Owen into a human space heater. He had a temperature that was pushing it's way up to 105 (hence our ER visit), but after a couple days of Tylenol around the clock (No Motrin for Kidney Kids!) and laying on the cooling blanket we were home free on a round of antibiotics. (Make that two rounds...we just couldn't kick that snot all the way out the door with one!)

 

 



 

 

Abel had no trouble adjusting to life in the hospital for a couple days. He charmed all the nurses with his sweet little grin and for fear of boredom, tried every morsel of food that entered our room. Just like his Mama. :)

Oh, and while we were juggling all our snot.....WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! Let me just say, first time home buying...difficult, yes. First time home buying in another state, 15 hours away, on a resident's salary....nearly impossible!

But, we did it and I'm so excited to see it...yes I've only seen pictures as flying down with my oh so adorable (yet loud and busy boys) just wasn't in the cards to do more than once. So, my handy hubby (and amigo....thanks, Clint!) flew down, painted, built a few shelves, made some furniture purchases and she's ready to go! Don't feel too sorry for them...they enjoyed a few walks on the beach too. :)

Did I mention we live like an hour from Disney and the beach?! We're taking reservations for the "guest quarters" in Daugherty Manor now...book your vacation with us...it will be one you'll never forget! :)

We also had a big celebration to honor Carrie and celebrate new life for the 1 year Kidneyversary! I'll never be able to adequately put into words my love for Carrie and just how thankful I am for her. Literally, every part of Owen's life, everything he does is because of her. April just so happens to be Organ Donation Awareness Month too!

Carrie, your gift of life has not only changed Owen's, but all who know his story! You are a blessing to us and we thank God for you daily!


As of today Owen is continuing to make amazing progress. He will be having surgery soon to remove his tonsils and adenoids and insert ear tubes. (Thank you 6 week sinus infection!) It is our hope and prayer that by allowing the large amount of trapped fluid to drain that Owen's speech will be begin to pick up. Speech and feeding are Owen's two biggest areas of concern right now. However, he just had his big "Five Area Testing" from Early Intervention and overall, he falls in the two year old range. Speech and feeding bring him down, but cognitive and physical strengths bring him up. (Thanks for the brains, Daddy!)

Abel is eating anything and everything (including dirt, grass and leaves) and is crawling like a mad man. He naps daily like and angel and sleeps at night like a.....newborn?!?! Crazy, yes. Draining, yes. But I'll miss it...one day. Not today, maybe when he's in college.

Thank you all for keeping up with us and reading this absurdly long blog post. Maybe, just maybe Owen will hear succumb to my pleas and take a nap this month so I can update before I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old! Eh, don't wanna talk about that either. Can someone please slow time down already??


I'll end with a bit of a photo dump.

My kids are adorable...I take a ton of pictures. Can you really blame me??

 

"Stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today." Exodus 14:13

 

An excerpt from my all time favorite devotional, Streams in the Desert:

"I will patiently wait to see the good God will do in my life, with the calm assurance He will do it. In this way, we will bear a worthy testimony to the world and thereby strengthen the lives of others."
-George Mueller