Tidbits

I know I just posted but I had a few things I left out and I got long winded :) 1st, Megan and Ashley had birthday's last week. WHOO HOO!!! So we now have an 8 year old and 6 year old. What a great time of celebration. Then onto the backyard! Yes, that is our backyard :) It looks like a giant mole took over! I could complain but it's better than an out house!!!! Since we have landscaping issues as it is, this is the best time to tear it up. Why not, it's just a lawn. And speaking of giant mole hills, the girls are wondering when they can jump the hills with the go cart............hence, there's a new sheriff in town. The Koeman's are distributing tickets for lack of seat belt use or reckless driving in the go cart. They get 3 offenses with 3 different times of losing go cart privileges. After the 4th offense they go to Koeman Court. So far they think it's funny, but we'll see what happens when they have to get a lawyer to represent them :)

This is a Go Cart in the bushes
She was not the driver :)
The older girls are going to a singing choral. They practice everyday and have their concert on Saturday. We are excited to watch them and they have been practicing like crazy. Even Brooke started singing the songs. So it's been busy but a good busy. The girls really seem to be having fun and that makes us all happy.

I just got a call today from Brooke's endocrinologist. Her last test for her adrenal glands came back good! YEAH! Another system fixed! It seems to have been repaired after all the damage of all the meds she's been on for 2 years. I told the MD I was going to throw away all her steroids. He said, "not just yet, you never know what happens and she might need them." Oh yee of little faith :) Ok, I'll keep, and put them in the back of the cupboard til they rot!! I know who fixed her in the 1st place so I'm not too worried. Thank you Lord!!

Have a great week! Enjoy God's wonderful creation and don't forget to thank Him!!

This is Brooke being naughty!!

W E '' R E B A C K

We were on a little camping adventure! I typically take my computer with but I had to pay for Internet and you all know how cheap we are :) So it was a technology break as well. We went to Sandy Pines with friends. Lots of relaxing, swimming, playing and Steve even water skied. It's been quit a few years since he's done that. He's still got it :)
Back to reality today with the craziness of life. It seems like every child has something going, so I am taxi for the week, and work in between.
A week and a half ago we took Brooke to her endocrinologist. She grew! Not by leaps and bounds, but she grew. He said if a child is fed well they will still grow even if they do not make growth hormone. He said for now let's watch and see what she does. We can give her growth hormone at any time so there is not big hurry. He also scheduled a test to see if her body responds to stress. We did that test today. If she does respond that means even if she gets sick she won't need steroids. Right now she does not take steroids however if she got sick the stress of the illness on her body could be too much for her. So we'll see what that says.
We talked to Dr. Mageed today about the immune tests we got back. I told him I am NOT impressed. He said neither was he. But it always comes down to..........look at where we started and look at where we are now! Some of her levels are just dancing around the same, a few have slightly dropped and 1 increased. The TREC that increased tell us that her thymus is making T cells. So that's good. Production isn't down, it's just quality isn't the best. (It's like a factory :) If you don't look at the numbers and just look at the kid, WOW!! She's great! And that's all we can ask for. So, do we have more freedom. Absolutely NOT!! But do we have a really cute kid, that is making improvements physically everyday and is mentally smarter than her parents :) ABSOLUTELY!!! So, well take it. Of course, next time we draw her I'll get my hopes up again, but I'm a mom. As parents all we want is the best for our children, no matter what it is.

My devotions today said "bring me all your feelings. Even the ones you wish you didn't have. Fear and anxiety can plague you." "Do not hide from your fears or pretend it isn't there. Bring your anxieties to the light of my presence where we can deal with them together. Concentrate of trusting Me, and fearfulness with gradually lose it's foothold within you."


That was so appropriate today. When we got home from camping and I looked at my calendar I about fell over! I am 1 person! Everything seems to take more planning when 1 child has to stay home. It always seems to work out, I have no idea how, but it does. So here's to another week :)


Ephesians 6: 13 "Be prepared. You are up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued.................... Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Lean how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life." (The Message)

Time flies when you're having fun!

Who are those people?? I feel like I look the same (hehe), but 16 years has had it's changes. I don't know where the last 16 years went. I never guessed we'd have 5 kids. Steve always said we'd have 4, so #5 was just a bonus (since they're twins he claims he was right). We both worked today so we went out to lunch. We had babysitting offers so we could go out tonight but we hate leaving the kids after we both worked all day. And our kids LOVE steak but we don't eat it often so tonight was celebration for all with steak dinner. They were very happy!! What an amazing 16 years. Lots of stories, tons of laughs. Since we got married young, I feel we grew up together. We've learned so many things about marriage, love, life and faith. Our goal is too be married 70 years. Only 54 more years to go!!! I hope he can stand me that long :)

Today I had to call Spectrum because I had a question. Since I had them on the phone I thought I'd ask if any T cell labs were back yet. They did, had the numbers right in front of them. YIPPEE!! or so I thought. her TREC # did go up. But the other numbers stayed the same. SERIOUSLY!!! To say the least I was disappointed. I asked Sarah (our nurse) "was Dr. Duffer happy with the results." She said he didn't seem excited but he wasn't upset either. He said, we need to continue to get the rest of her test results in and then evaluate. They even hope to take her off some more of her meds and see how she does. I don't know what to say! Obviously we don't have the whole picture yet, but I was looking for BIG numbers. There are 2 things I want to do that we are not allowed to. I want to go to church as a family. I get so sick of leaving the twins home!! But Steve said, even if we could, would we? No, probably not. But it's the point :) And I want to go to friends houses. I looked at Steve and cried. I told him I am sick of healthcare telling us what we can and can't do. I love being home but not all the time. Steve's response............"we don't have to leave home anymore, we got a go cart!! Built in entertainment!" He's right! I'm done being selfish for today. We went outside and had fun with the girls and their birthday present. A go cart! We bought them helmets today. Oh help!! But I will admit, it's LOTS of fun. Daddy did a good job for birthday's this year. Good thing we aren't crazy about out lawn because I think it's going to get turned into a track.

I did asked Brooke today why she couldn't get better, she said "I'm fine." I asked where her immune system went and she pointed to the kitchen and said, "it's over there." It sounds like she has it all undercontrol :)

Never a dull moment!

Ya gotta love the Koeman house! We had a great 4th of July, spent some time with friends and watched the fire works. Monday night Megan had a slumber party. YEE HAW!! The girls did great and had alot of fun. I highly recommend having 2 11year olds be the party planners. Leah and her friend Abby did an awesome job. Ashley got to have her own sleepover with her cousin. So everyone was happy!! Megs and her friends.
On to the septic tank! Doesn't everyone want to talk about septic tanks :) hehe. Well, ours has been gurgling, I guess you would say. My husband, being the loving procrastinator, told me to buy an out house. (how rude). So I called a pooper scooper man. I wanted to post a picture but he wouldn't let me, so he's just the "pooper scooper man" :) He's a nice guy I won't hold it against him! That worked for a few days and then Steve said it was bubbling in the lawn again. So we have bigger problems. Steve was opting for the out house again, but it seems we are onto plan B. My mind doesn't work like a guy, so this whole septic tank/drain field thing amazes me! Steve thinks I'm nuts, but it amazes me that something that goes down a drain, can end up out side and in drain tiles. And to think the root of trees are what the trouble is. So if you see an out house in my back yard you will know why :) hehehe

Then, have you ever lost a remote? It's not really a big deal and I actually think the TV should go with the out house, but my family thinks when the remote is gone and there is no TV that they are close to dying!! (because the DISH has to be run with the remote) It's almost comical if you didn't have to listen to it all day! Typically they don't watch that much TV, but to not be able to is torture. I told them there are things called books and we read them. They just stare at me. They only read books at night. So the new remote is on it's way and maybe they will stop complaining. Or maybe it'll get lost again.

1 more Koeman funny. Tonight Steve went shopping. (Yes STEVE went shopping). It's Megan and Ashley birthday coming up. When I shop I go to Target, Steve has bigger dreams, so I'll let ya know how that turns out, BUT he was calling me to consult his findings and I walk into this......

I got the potty chair out so Macy could "think" about using it. Well it seems she filled it with water and shampoo instead. I was actually excited when I found out Brooke was playing with water and not something else. Silly girls! Terrible 2's times 2!!! They definitely keep us laughing.

Brooke's next appt is Friday. So far she is doing great. If you didn't know her you'd think she was normal :)

Funny enough my devotions yesterday said, " You will never be in control of your life circumstances, but you can relax and trust in My control." "I long to make your life a glorious adventure. Instead of striving for a predictable, safe lifestyle, seek to know me in greater depth and breadth." How appropriate! I threw predictable out the window 2 1/2 years ago when we heard the word "TWINS!" Let the adventure continue and love every minute knowing He will take care of us all!!

Random pictures

CAKE FOR BREAKFAST!!! (Brooke didn't eat it, she's pretending :)

MACY ATE IT. NO TIME TO LOOK AT THE CAMERA!

THE CAKE!

THE CAKE, CREATED BY LEAH

I JUST THOUGHT THIS WAS CUTE!

This is BIG corn! Steve, "crop tours." Which means he drives around and looks at crops. This is some of his corn from north of town. (I tell Steve all great things come from north of town, that's where I grew up, hehehe). People say "knee high by the 4th of July." WHOO HOO, look at this corn.
This is a happy farmer! A pretty good lookin one I might add :)
I just thought I'd share some pictures. I pray everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July!! Enjoy family, friends and God's awesome creation!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

2 years ago today I went to work. I was sweating as I was seeing patients. (not all elderly believe in air conditioning). I had an MD appt, and was told, "any day now." I called Steve crying, "GET THESE KIDS OUT!" I had Starbucks coffee (I indulged because I felt bad for myself :) and by 10pm we had 2 beautiful baby girls :) What a day!! 1 year ago today, Brooke had been home for 6 weeks and she was re-admitted for an infection in her broviac. At 4am I cried into Nurse Tricia's shoulder because it wasn't fair. And here we are!!!!! 2010, at home with two, 2 year olds!! SERIOUSLY!?!?!?! We are so excited! There is light at the end of tunnel. Someone told me it's time to think about big beds and potty training. No thank you!! I want to keep them little. I want to rock them and cuddle. So far we had a great day. Cake for breakfast, McDonald's for lunch. I'm thinking salads for supper :) The big girls had haircuts and tutoring. And then we picked blueberries. What a good day! Relaxing, enjoying our girls. God has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams. Children are such a blessing. I told someone yesterday, as I was scrubbing marker off my carpet, "don't have kids." Well, I didn't really mean it, BUT it is a challenge at times. However it's the best challenge ever. We are ready to see what this year entails. We are excited to watch God's plan unfold.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRLS!! Mommy and Daddy love you and you mean everything to us. You ladies have rocked our worlds in the best way possible and we thank you!! God bless!!

STOP THE MADNESS!

I think another crazy week is done. I told Steve Sunday night, "is there a problem when every line on our calendar is full?" I wasn't quite sure how I was going to be everywhere I needed to be. My goal was not to forget any children. The rest could wait. I drove to VBS, volleyball camp, soccer camp, friends house, work, MD appointments and then did it all over again. And ya know what......like always, it all worked out! By mid week my house and laundry was seeing the ramifications of being so busy, so Grandma Blueberry to the rescue. Everything is back in order and on track. My mom even made us chex mix and our sitter Kelli made us cupcakes. They know what gets rid of my crabbiness :)

Father's Day was great! We had a wonderful sermon and got to spend time with our dad's. We are so fortunate to have such Godly men in our lives that are our role models!! They have supported us, prayed for us, and shaped our lives in so many ways. Thanks dads!!!

On to Brooke's appointment. We went to clinic this week bearing gifts. Cupcakes for our friends! It will be 2 years on Wednesday, June 30, that our little ladies came into our lives. Time flies!! So we wanted to celebrate, with what else, but CAKE!! Her friends at clinic even gave her gifts. Her numbers looked good. They drew for T cells and we hope to get those results in 3 weeks. The big news..........Brooke is OFF steroids!!! YEAH!!! She has been on steroids since she was 6 weeks old. Now we aren't going to complain about this drug because it has kept her alive, so Yea Steroids! But even better, YEA WE DON'T NEED THEM ANYMORE!! I hope I didn't jinx ourselves by saying that :) She has been off them for 1 week and her numbers look ok. They did say if she gets sick she'll need a little boost, but we don't worry about that. Our next appointment with BMT is July 19. And she see's endocrinologist the beginning of July. Her weight is now at 23#, and is ON the growth chart. Her height is slightly lacking :) Slow and steady is all we ask for. We will talk with endocrine about that. She is crawling all over, standing next to furniture and talks, talks, talks!

I was lead to Philippians this week. It says: " Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray." It also says, "work with Him and not against Him." As I was driving all over the world Monday, I picked up my devotion book. I leave it in the car. You never know when you have to wait for a train :) It said "Thank me for the very things that are troubling you." "You are tempted to indulge in complaining......self pity can sweep you away." "Thankfulness awakens you to my presence, which overshadows all your problems." That made me laugh. So I was forced to stop complaining and Praise Him for 5 great children. Praise Him that 3 are healthy enough to participate in sports and activities, that we are all home, under one roof, that we are surrounded by friends and family and the list can continue forever!! I praised God that He had me open the devotional and show me how I should react :) Induldge in cake, not complaining :)

Have a great week! We'll keep ya post as to how Brooke does without steroids and the BIG DAY on Wednesday! Yea for birthdays!! If anyone wants cake for breakfast, stop on by :)