About Our Family

Welcome to my Blog :)

(This collage was made in 2007 prior to our youngest child being born) 

We have a large blended family.  I have given birth to 4 boys, but I have 5 sons, and two soon-to-be daughters in law, and one step daughter.  Kale, my oldest - is 21.  His fiancee is Shila, she is 21 also.  They have a little girl, her's from a previous relationship - Clariah - she will be 2 end of June 2015.   They have another little girl coming in August of 2015, Ellyanne Rae.  My oldest that I gave birth to is Calahan, he is 19.  Engaged to Alana.  They are planning on getting married on August 13, 2016.  Then came Noah, who is 13.  My miracle.  I was told he wouldn't live, period.  Calahan and Noah are from my first marriage.  DB has a little girl from a previous relationship, Jessa.  She lives with her mom and circumstances has made it that we only get rare updates and photos.  She is 10.  Then mine and DB's two boys together, Nathan - who is 8.  He is an amazing little boy.  Every time we turn around it seems he's getting a new medical diagnosis.  But he just keeps on keeping on.  Then Kaedyn, our comedy relief.  He is 6 and doesn't like that Nathan gets to turn 8 before him.  He and Nathan are very much like twins.  As closes as twins can be without being twins.

 
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A Little About Me...

I am in my late 40's (eek!) and I have been writing since I was 13 (well longer, but that's when it became my passion.) I have finished a couple books, but they remain, thus far, unpublished. I also enjoy photography so very much. My favorite subjects, my kids of course! Secondly would be Nature. I love to read, my favorite author is Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb. I am proud to only be a couple books away from having ALL of her books she's written, including a few autographed. I like to play games, like SIMS 3, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online... it's something my husband got me into. I lived where I was born (Wisconsin) until May 2010, then we moved half way across the country to where my parents live, then my Dad and Step-Mom made the move to WI for her health, and we're, sadly, on the other side of the country from Dennis' family...  Other then that, I am a stay-at-home mom... but I do work from home.  Anything I can do to help.  

My Hunky Hubby ...

Dennis is amazing, and there isn't any way I could say that enough. He came into my life when I decided I was going to be a single parent forever, having ended my marriage of ten years, and he took on 2 boys and all their issues. He is an amazing Dad and has a little girl of his own, from before we met. Then we had Nathan & Kaedyn together. Currently he is going to back to school to complete his I.T. Degree after going to Culinary school for awhile, which are his two biggest passions, computers & cooking.  He quit Culinary school because we discovered he has a deadly allergy to Lobster!  Yikes!  He and I are juggling our school schedules and we're hoping to be able to balance everything.  Recently he has suffered some major health issues.  He's lost the ability to walk in Nov. 2011...  either he can't walk at all or he has to walk with a walker.  We have no clue what is going on. (We think it's MS, but we're not the DRs)

I had to drop out of school because of Dennis' health and someone has to be at the house 98% of the time with him.  I try to always make sure someone is here...  but there are times one of the kids have an appointment and I can't - so he stays in bed the whole time.  Now with DB's issues and my own health issues, we're just trying to juggle it all. 

Age 15 1/2 - August 2011

16th Birthday

17 years of Calahan

My son and I on his 18th Birthday

Calahan and his Fiancee Shila Mae

The Impossible Teenager ...

Calahan Joseph, now 21, my first born... he's the child who taught me to be a Mom, how to be patient, how to love unconditionally. Calahan was born January 5, 1996, he had been due on December 25 though, but he had been late and needed an eviction notice. Calahan started to have bleeding issues from day 1 and at 2 1/2 he had a leukemia scare complete with bone marrow testing and everything. At 5 he was diagnosed with ADHD and ODD. 

Today, Calahan loves to draw, and play those games the Dennis and I play (WOW, LOTRO, SIMS) and others (APB) and many more .. he's a very smart kid who is very compassionate. His heart bleeds for Orca Whales, he has always wanted to work with them when he gets older. He also loves horses.  He really loves all animals.  He's working on getting a job and getting his drivers license.  Most of all, he is an excellent big brother and a great son.  He has had a girlfriend for years now, he's a very faithful guy.   

9 years old - August 2011

10th Birthday - with Treasure Buddy

The pictures along the top are every few months through his first year, the one with the pickle is age 1, going down and around is a picture from each year ... the one under his newborn picture is when he turned 11, and the one in the middle is just before turning 12.

Noah on his 12th birthday

Noah on Birthday 13

Dolittle on the Ark...

Noah Alexander, 15 years old, is the miracle I fought for. After 5 years of secondary infertility and 5 miscarriages, when I saw Noah on the first ultrasound, my heart soared! It wasn't long after we heard "your child has a rare genetic disorder, he will not make it" .. but I didn't give up hope. I did as much research as I could on Mosaic Trisomy 16, but I was scared to death. Noah made it through the pregnancy until 33 weeks, and due to complications with both him, and me (Pre-eclampsia) .. he came into the world on February 1, 2002 ... 1lb 12oz and was so tiny. He didn't have a cell of fat on him. But he slowly grew, fought through complications and thrived through it all. Someone who "wasn't suppose to make it" is now almost 12 years old!   In 2007, the same week that Nathan was born, Noah almost died.  I'm not exaggerating that in the slightest.  He got a bad bacterial infection (just because he was on antibiotics) and I was told by the DR that if I hadn't gotten him in when I did, he would have died very soon.  What kills me, is I had him into the local ER just 36 hours sooner and was sent home being told it was a virus. Noah has a list of medical issues, but he powers through them like a champ.   I call him "The Boy Who Lived" 

He has also been diagnosed with Aspergers, ADD & Anxiety. 

He loooooves all animals. He literally lives up to being a Noah!. He literally lives up to being a Noah! Around the time he was 6 or 7 he took this huge blue (round) bin we kept his stuffed animals in, and he found a container to transfer water from the bathroom to his room, and he was dumping them in this big blue bin.... and eventually, all that water ended up getting tipped out of that bin and all over his (carpeted) floor. Noah literally flooded his room.   Yes, he saved all the animals, they were all on his bed.  LOL...  I call him Dolittle... (as in Dr. Dolittle) ...and he has an attitude to boot! I have always said "for what he lacks in size, he makes up for in attitude!" 

At almost 5 years old, Summer 2009

December 2014 - Age 10

The Princess without a Castle...

Dennis' daughter is 13, she was born August 19, 2004. Dennis and Jessa's mother broke up for reasons between them, but it wasn't working out and she left with Jessa and move to another state.  Her mom is doing what she feels is best for her, and even though I may not (personally) agree with them, I have grown to understand that she is doing what she feels is best, and as a mother - I cannot argue with that.  She does send him an update every once in a blue moon with a couple photos. In our hearts Jessa will be part of the family if she is here or not. She's got gifts from every year that her Daddy has been with us, and her brothers love her. We hope some day that the circumstances will change and we'll be able to share the love she deserves.

age 4 1/2 ... taken December 4, 2011

Happy 5th Birthday!!!

Nathan turns 6!

Nathan - Age 7

Nathan (and Momma) - Age 8 - on his 8th Birthday

Just call me Tator Tot......

Nathan Patrick, 10, was a surprise to say the least. Sure we were going to start trying to have kids together ... but... I got pregnant before we even started to try! The pregnancy went great until about 20 weeks when we got news that our sweet little boy had a cyst in his brain, and the high risk whirl-wind started all over again. He was not growing in the womb well at all, at 36 weeks he was born at 3lbs 4oz. He was born April 19, 2007... He was born at the same hospital as Noah and put in the same spot in the NICU. It was bittersweet. We found out that Nathan also had a cleft palate and various other issues, through the years we've found out he has hypothyroid, failure to thrive (at 2 1/2 he was only 17-18lbs, and now at 4 he is 24lbs-25lbs, at the age of 7 and eight months of g-tube feeding, he is 48lbs.)... we found out (2011) that he does not have Dandy Walker, but he has missing piece of his Vermus in his Cerebellum, and he also has another brain disorder in his frontal lobe where he has many folds instead of one, on top of that he was diagnosed with Autism (he doesn't talk well, and it's frustrating for ALL of us), and he has Russell Silver Syndrome (a rare form of Dwarfism)...  He has Autism also, and many other things.  

Nate can make you laugh, and laugh and he has this look about him that just lets you know that you are around someone who is just amazing. Yes he has his issues, and he's very needy, but he is such a highlight of our lives.  He brings us such love and joy that we cannot imagine our lives without him.  He loves dinosaurs, and YOUTUBE... lol... and he loves to paint.  We have started to sell his artwork on ebay to help with medical expenses.  

May 2015 - Nathan ended up in the hospital for 10 days with SEVERE SEPTIC SHOCK.  There was a 50/50 chance of his survival.  His Daddy says he's stubborn like me, and we fight hard to the end, and I'm happy that he has that quality no matter whom he gets it from.   Fact is, Nathan almost died.  The staff at the Children's Hospital could only hope that he'd make it - they were scared themselves.  It's scary.  Luckily, we are home and he's improving every day. 

One of my FAVORITE pictures of him.  January 2010 - 18 months

Mr. Handsome turns FOUR!

Easter 2015 - Age 6

I'm Bigger then my Bro, So WHAT!?!

Kaedyn is 9 years old now.  He's gotten so big.  Kaedyn's pregnancy was - other then the contractions and Gestational Diabetes, was a pretty good pregnancy in such a miserable way. I had a little baby to take care of and a HUGE life growing inside me. First time I had a "normal" baby growing in me in 13 years and my body apparently wasn't use to it. He was due September 19th 2008 and he was born September 9th! He was screaming before the DR could get him out of my belly (c-section) and when he came out, he came out working those lungs AND peeing all over. He baptized everything, and everyone, in sight. The first couple of months with him, getting use to having two little ones and juggling the rest of the family, wasn't easy. I realized I had gotten Post Postpartum Depression but honestly didn't realize it until AFTER I snapped out of it when he about 6 months old.  But we found our rhythm and he was the best baby ever now. He's such a lovie. 

He and Nathan are a lot like twins, and I'm often asked if they are.  They have their own language that they share, and no one understand them.  Kaedyn picked up on Nathan's bad speech patterns so we work with him on that, it has gotten A LOT better over the last two years to the point where it's barely an issue now.  He also suffers some bad eczema at times, and anytime he gets a cold, the Croup is sure to follow. We are so honored to have him in our lives. 

And now, at 6  - he has outgrown his brother by a lot!  He also has REALLY bad eyesight.  He has to wear glasses, which is a fight - and everytime we go in, his eyesight has gotten worse.  He has had severe eczema since he was born.  And he also has some pretty severe allergies :(  

Just to show you how crazy that the resemblance is between him and I .... 

And then there is....... 

 Shila Mae

Shila Mae came into our lives in an unconventional way, but she is ever bit a part of our family since September 2015.  She is our Zombie loving daughter.  Her and Calahan started dating September 2017.

Shila has a little girl from her previous relationship.  Her name is Clairah and she's my first Grandbaby.

And there is a new Grandbaby on the way :)

  OUR FAMILY THROUGH 

THE YEARS

1996

2000

2001

Mommy & Cal just after I found out I was pg with Noah

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Then Dennis came into our lives

Wedding Day  (18 weeks pregnant with Nathan)

2007

2008

(pregnant with Kaedyn)

2009

Then comes the start of "never gonna get a decent picture of everyone"

2010

Calahan, Noah, Nathan & Kaedyn (Kaed in the back and Nate in front of the stroller)  infront of a ship propeller ... June 12th....  and again, the 4 of them at the Seattle Aquarium.

Our family aboard the LADY WASHINGTON (AKA: HMS Interceptor from Pirates of the Caribbean movies)  Dennis is holding Nathan, Annissa is holding Kaedyn, Calahan and Noah

Christmas 2010 .... (above)

YEAR 2011

Light it up Blue for Autism Awareness - April 2, 2011  (above)

Summer 2011 - National Light House Day

 October 2011 - Pumpkin Patch with the boys.

December 2011 - Calahan, Nathan, Kaedyn & Noah ... with Marnie

 December 2011 - Calahan, Noah, Nathan & Kaedyn with Santa

2012

April 2012- Noah (with Marnie), Calahan, Nathan & Kaedyn

Easter Day 2012 - Mommy, Daddy, Calahan (with Marnie), Noah, Nathan & Kaedyn

Kaedyn, Calahan with Marnie, Nathan and Noah

Our Family November 2012:  Calahan holding Mia, Noah holding Marnie, Kaedyn, Dennis, Nathan holding Autumn and Annissa.

2013

March 17th - Happy St. Patrick's Day from our family!

Our Boys on Easter!  

May 2013 at Corey's Day on the Farm  (Noah, Nathan & Kaedyn)

June 2013 (next 2) 

The whole family and Alana

These were taken in August 2013

 (Noah, Alana, Calahan & Kaedyn - Nate had stayed home)

2014

The Boys on New Years Morning (just after midnight) 

Calahan's 18th Birthday - All of us & Alana

I am glad I took this, I think it turned out amazing.  Calahan, Kaedyn, Noah & Nathan's feet in their bowling shoes during the Scout Crossing Over Party in May. 

As if my son turning 18 wasn't bad enough, he got to go to his first prom with his long time girlfriend.  He is sooooooo handsome in a suit. 

Calahan and Alana for Prom 2014.  

 One of the cards we made for Daddy this year.  Cal, Noah, Jessa's hand by guess, Nathan & Kaedyn

2014 Graduate

On June 13th Calahan asked Alana to marry him and she said YES.

They have decided on August 13, 2016

4th of July

Halloween

Stopping at the dentist ....  

In August our family grew by three....  my friend's son (she died March 1, 2012) and his girlfriend were homeless and I found out.  So - we've adopted them.  

 Kale and Shila and our grandbaby Clairah.

 Thanksgiving Day Family Pictures

It's interesting to see how the kids have grown since we moved to Washington State.  (Summer 2010, Fall 2014)

 Santa came to visit!

Dennis and I  

Our Gingerbread House

We got to go see the new Hobbit movie .... 

Since I was sick for Christmas, we didn't go to Nana's ....   

2015

New Years just after midnight ....  Happy 2015!

This isn't a "family" picture ... but one that needs to be shared.  Nathan at 7 years old - in June at 29lbs .... just moments before his G-Tube surgery.  Then again about 6 months after his G-Tube Surgery.  He has almost doubled his weight.   

Few pictures of Clairah.  

DB and I 

St. Patrick's Day Collage .....  Whole Family :)  

Easter 2015 

At the beach April 2015 

2016

2017