Too much sometimes

I'm typing on my phone since I'm sitting at the car dealership because my battery has died. Just got my car back from being fixed this past week from the robbery so I'm a bit irritated by this battery thing. Anyway I since I have an hour Plus to kill I thought I would update a bit.

Thanks to all who commented about my grandpa on facebook. My favorite grandpa who has been an important part of my life went home to be with Jesus on Thursday night at 9:50pm. He was 93 years old and was an amazing man.

Grandpa, Grandma and Mia in April-- literally only a few months ago!

Cliff hammer ( grandpa) was the best. I was an, ummmmmm.... Challenging strong willed kid. My other grandparents, God bless them, would get very annoyed with my strong personality but not grandpa hammer. He loved that part of my personality and we always clicked in every way. He is where I got my personality from. He was outgoing, friendly, driven, loyal and had a fierce independence - just like me. He also had a little decevious streak just like me. We clicked and were close. He use to call me a couple time a day which I loved. He was absolutely in love with my grandma and I think her going into the memory care unit where they lived contributed to his downward turn. Literally a little over a month ago he girls were at their adult community hunting eggs with grandpa. He was perfectly fine when he had to watch out for grandma but when she had to be put in memory care I think he gave up. My grandpa is now in heaven with so many of his friends and family and I'm sure they are having a huge welcome party. He was 93 and outlived most of his friends and family.

Grandpa with the girls in April

The hard part for grandpa to let go of was grandma. Grandma is a few days away from turning 95 and while her memory is in and out, her body is perfect. She literally could walk 3 miles a day. She is in better shape than I am and I think grandpa knowing he was leaving grandma kept him from letting go at the very end. I spent the whole day with him in Wednesday and all my siblings and cousins came to say goodbye that day. But grandpa was a strong man who was not about to give up too easy so he held on till Thursday night and upon reassurance that he would see grandma in heaven, he finally let go. The funeral is on Friday and I look forward to celebrating his life with all our family. He loved his family more than anything and we loved him more than anything. He was the most amazing grandpa who I will someday see again! I love and miss you grandpa.

Saying goodbye to Grandpa on Wednesday


Another update I want to do while sitting here is to update on Finley since I get asked all the time. So first neurosurgeon (ns) said she was tethered and needed surgery. He consulted with another ns since fin does not show any symptoms of being tethered and they decided we should wait for surgery because just because an MRI shows tethering it does not for sure mean she is tethered. So they decided to send her to the Spina Bifida clinic and let them get some baselines and see if the many specialists that see her think she is tethered and if we should wait for surgery. So last Friday we went to sb clinic and had our initial appointment with the sb clinic director. He would order tests and then about a month later we would return to clinic to see the other specialists. We met wit the director who has been in Spina Bifida for 20+ years. He was very knowledgeable and we really liked him. He was shocked how high functioning fin was and thought she might have not had any nerves involved at all and that is why she has no loss of function. He did not think she would need surgery as Henie not convinced she is tethered in the first place. He said all sb kids look tethered on an MRI and yes she has fat in her spinal column and she may be attached to it but she has pretty much no symptoms so she just may not be. Furthermore, he said 95% of sb kids have impaired bowel and bladder control and that he is surprised Finley has control of both. He says that just confirms the thought that more than likely Finley only had a lipomeningicyle and not a lipomylomeingicyle (that means he does not think the part that stuck out of her body had any nerves involved). Again, that would explain why she is so high functioning. So at this point we are going to have a bladder and kidney ultrasound and then meet with the sb team to see what they say.

We are pretty happy about this news and while there are still a lot of unknowns, things are looking really good for our little survivor. We pray she is one of those kids that defy the odds and so far every dr that has looked at her says she does not fit the typical profile and she may just be that kid that DOES defy the odds.

Finley's preschool certificate

Mia's preschool certificate



Officially we are all out for summer and since Kev is still recovering from his hip replacement he is off too. We are going to do lots of camping this summer and are taking a quick 2 night trip to the beach this Monday. We have a few trips planned but nothing major since money is always an issue. Anyway, sorry for the long nonpictue post but when I get home I'll try to add a few pictures of my grandpa.