The Best of This Week

The Best of Last Week

January 29, 2012 By Kristen 1 Comment

We are going to do a several week wrap up here. There is a lot of business to share this week.

First – Exciting news! If you want to read the post of my heart this weekend – Check out my Guest post on

I am one of several women writing together at this amazing website. Last Sunday – Ray and I were presented with an opportunity that … placed moral dilemmas in my heart. It called into question many things about my faith. Please – stop over to Must Love God and let me know what you would do if you were giving me advice.

Speaking of Guest Posting… I was given this amazing opportunity to write for Shell at Things I can’t Say. She is amazing – and this is a bit like winning a little bloggy lottery. Because she gives one blogger a week an opportunity to talk about “Things They Can’t Say” on their own blog – I went there… the one place I don’t go here – my marriage. I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of people who said they could relate to my post…. It was so humbling.

Now…I’m going to work backwards – from the last few weeks. The posts need to go in sequential order to make sense.

Let’s start at the beginning. I read a blog. It was my first time there and the language used in this blog wasn’t language I would have used. I ended up writing about this… a post I regret. I didn’t agree with the language… but – honestly – how many people don’t agree with my language. I thought I made the post vague enough that it would just make a “statement.” I didn’t.

As much as I regretted writing that post – what transpired next was an amazing thing in the blog world. The woman who wrote the post is now as much a part of my heart as some women I’ve “known” for much longer. She has been a great supporter through the last few weeks… and an amazing blessing. I wrote a follow up post to try to quell the turmoil that surrounded the controversial blog. (Other Moms were much more aggressive in their attacks.)

Finally… when I heard of these aggressive attacks, I felt terrible that any words I wrote could be used against another mother just trying to find their way. I wrote this post on the topic. Mistakes… I’ve made a lot of them. In real life and on the internet – but this post… I stand by.

Then the unthinkable happened. My worst fear was being realized. I wrote a little blog post in support of our friends the Riveras. (You might have heard of them.) Their daughter, Mia, was denied a kidney transplant by CHOP. (Sound familiar now?) Mia has the same syndrome as Alexander. Her mother is … a sister of my heart. One of my biggest fears is that someday the government or doctors will give up on my child. …. and it was coming true.

We – as a community – went into action. The posts went viral. My post had thousands of hits in a single day. Chrissy’s post – caused the WHS site to shut down. This post was sort of a follow up to encourage people to continue to share Mia’s story in hopes that she could … be treated as a human, not a person with special needs.

After writing these posts in advocacy of Mia – I wanted to make sure the world knew this blog was not the pipeline to her story. Although we are friends, this blog is still about our family. I also had no interest in gaining “stats” or building a blog on the pain of people I love. I posted this to make sure that people hoping for the “scoop” would continue to look where they should – wolfhirschhorn.org.

The next post I wrote was … a reflective post about an arrogant young girl. I seriously never thought I would have a child with special needs. Never. Thought. It. Would. Happen. To. Me. *sigh* Because these things only happened to other people. I wrote this post from my heart about the twists and turns life gives you.

I was supposed to find a photo and write words on the photo that were **Love.** Here was my result.

I wrote a Letter to my kids Babysitter. Because she is amazing. She has loved my children beyond measure. I worry that I will not live up to the standard she has set. I love my children, but I what if I am not the best thing for them? What if she is? I just wanted to ink it in permanent love for everyone.

I have been writing letters to my students this past year. On my final day of work, I compiled them and posted them here. I had been waiting to share them – but this day just felt right. Enjoy – my personal thoughts to my students.

This entire process with Mia’s transplant debate has been so bitterly painful. Completely painful. I’m sure we all have been criticized at one point or another for our parenting philosophies… but to have the entire world weigh in? Brutal. I stayed away from the debate, but … finally – it became too much. I don’t want people’s pity. Don’t feel sorry for us. Because – if you’ve never known the love I’ve known – I feel sorry for you.

Oh yeah… the Pooping Post. Well… if you need a laugh – read about my humiliation. And we will just leave it at that.

Finally – I got a TROLL. For those of you not on the internet much… a troll is someone who makes fake e-mails and sends hate mail. I was going to ignore (And will ignore / delete any future trolls), but I chose to celebrate LIFE around here instead.

One final thing. I blogged yesterday about how to stay up – to – date with the blog. We are losing Google Friend Connect in about a month. If you use that to follow this – it won’t work. I listed several different ways to follow along – because I like that you read our blog.

Wow.. That is about the longest weekly wrap up ever. Now… if you made it this far – go check me out on Must Love God and let me know how you view this religious practice.

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The Best of Last Week

January 7, 2012 By Kristen 1 Comment

Ok. The past like 3 weeks. I took a little time off. I will just post some favorites and you can browse around. They go in reverse order… Oldest to newest.

In case you haven’t noticed – the Blog got a huge re-vamp this past few weeks. We are still working out some kinks, so If you try to read very old posts – they are in cyberspace limbo somewhere for now. No worries… they will be back.

Also, I am participating in a Photo 365 challenge. You take a picture every day for a year. I found this awesome app that automatically uploads it to my blog – so be sure to check out that PAGE.

I’ve added some services to the blog. A lot of people do reviews for products and have a few sponsors. I’m going to see where this takes us and hope to be able to build Alexander’s trust as we go along. I’m going to see if anyone is interested in my AMAZING video making skills **a little sarcasm** to help bring in a little extra also.

So onto the Good Stuff!

BACK several weeks ago, we had our family photos taken. I posted them on the blog and you can see them HERE.

As we approached Christmas, I wrote a post about all the ridiculous gifts My Father has given me over the years. (Wait until you hear what I got this year.) It is funny – light hearted – and will make you appreciate the things you get. Trust me.

Directly before Christmas I was feeling SO exhausted. We were in the process of trying to make life changes and I couldn’t blog about them. So instead I blogged about how “out of sync” our family seemed to be and our list of things that still needed to be done. You can read that HERE.

This post was right from my heart. We had just submitted all this paperwork about all of Alexander’s needs (which I don’t usually think about) – and then we were hit with 3 new specialists. I was … weary. It was honest and raw.

Ray and I don’t always communicate the best. We try. We really do. But sometimes it is just “lost in translation.” We had a funny mishap while trying to show appreciation to all the people who help us. Read about it HERE.

I wrote this post on the 1 year anniversary of the blog. I wrote of reasons we started the blog, how I’ve grown since blogging, and some of the cool stuff that has come from blogging. I also compiled a list of some of my favorite posts. Love this one.

I make a mean Chocolate Chip Cookie. I’m serious. It is requested. To. Die. For. And I shared the recipe with you. Your Welcome.

I bought the perfect gift for my step-Mother. And then I lost it. And then I ripped OUR ENTIRE HOUSE APART trying to find it. Bet you will never guess what it was. (No picture allowed here.)

Are you guys still here? Good …. because now we are getting to some good ones!

In preparation for our Life Changes – we decided to stay in our house. It was a difficult decision – because we have such a small house. But, when I think about the relationships I know that have worked… many of them have come from little houses. Where Love Grows Best.

I did a 12 word / 12 picture post. And I love it. I pulled out my favorite 12 photos from 2011 and put 1 word to describe each photo. I think it turned out so nice…. Love.

As a teacher, you really try to keep your “opinions” to yourself. I don’t want to offend anyone. I want to let my students know I support them, no matter what. But – this day – I read / heard so many offensive things … I was tired. I put my feelings out there. I’m putting distance between me and attitudes I don’t agree with. You can read about it HERE.

I wrote this post about the blog re-design and some of the new things offered on the blog. I also did my first Sponsor by my great friend Erin.

WOW! Did this post ever strike a chord. I posted about how lost I feel keeping up with online etiquette. I didn’t expect so many people to relate, but I love how it came out. Read my worries (and everyone’s responses) HERE.

I did a fun link – up with MamaKat about trends I would like to see end. Again… I had no idea how many people hated Caillou as much as I do. The comments are probably funnier than the post. Read it HERE.

My big announcement. If you only read one post – read this one. It is of religious nature – and probably the most religious I’ve ever been on the blog. But, that is a side of me too. Sometimes you just have to JUMP.

Did you make it to the end? What did you think? Favorite post?

Don’t forget to link up tomorrow with Make Me Laugh Mondays. Our personal misson to make Mondays better. The only rule? The photo / video / drawing must be yours. Everything else is up for grabs. Make us laugh.

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The Best of This Week

December 11, 2011 By Kristen 2 Comments

This week has actually been pretty rough. I attended my third funeral in less than two months. Ugh. So much to insert here… but I can’t. The first of the 3 was the one that hit me the hardest. One of my forever friends lost her battle with cancer. These last two have been family members and I have been grieving alongside my family… but I find I am still mourning the loss of my friend. I still think of her daily and I am still surprised by how much I miss her. I mention this because I seemed much more introspective following the funeral services late in the week.

classroom3 On Monday, I’ve been still ~~embarrassing myself~~ posting funny pictures of our weekly adventures. This week has a few guaranteed to ~~embarrass~~ make everyone laugh – including some misadventures from our weekend vacation.

Speaking of… we took a vacation over the weekend. We went to Colonial Williamsburg. It really was Magic. It is the first year that the twins really are into Christmas. It has been so exciting to see the twinkle in their eye as everything seems so magical. That vacation rejuvenated our family, but smacking back into the real world was a little difficult.

I soapboxed it on Thursday. As the mother of two official preemies and one medically fragile child who still is tiny at 1 1/2 years … The winters have been a bit rough for us. We are always worried about germs and people still don’t get it. After a long weekend / week of people sticking their face 2 inches from Alexander’s (because he is so cute!) – I wrote this post.

Finally, on Friday – I wrote a post that I may one day regret. Like I said, it has been a rough couple of weeks. We also are enlisting another doctor because Alexander’s kidneys are … um … unusual. (I’m actually smiling as I write this. What else is new?) I’ve been struggling with the balancing act of giving 100% to my husband, children, students, and home. I’ve been struggling because I was looking over the last few weeks for a positive / inspirational post – and I couldn’t find one. I decided to unleash the fakeness in this post.

Thanks for reading and – Don’t forget to link up tomorrow with Make Me Laugh Monday!

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The Best of This Week

December 4, 2011 By Kristen Leave a Comment

Well… the last 2 weeks.
Without meaning to, I took most of the week of Thanksgiving off. We stayed in and played… and so I’ll catch you up on the last 2 weeks.

On Monday, Two Weeks Ago, I posted a Make Me Laugh Monday post that included random photos shot from the week and some cute videos I’ve been taking of the kids. I can’t help it. I think they are adorable. Bus duty at the high school gave me one of the photos and …. well – you will just have to check it out.

382839_10150382269278995_612158994_8491731_695165212_n On Wednesday, I linked up with Shell for Pour Your Heart Out. The post of my heart wasn’t about my kids or family… it was about my friends. I know I’m a good person, but I am completely amazed that God has blessed us with such amazing friends. Not only are they a constant source of strength to us, they always seem to say the right thing at the right time. My “Thankfulness” post was about those friendships.

I realized that I took a little more time off blogging than I planned – so I wrote this post about happiness. How my heart was filled with happiness. It is a picture heavy post of our holiday activities – and why I really didn’t have time to blog.

For Make Me Laugh Monday, I posted pictures and videos. The kids are getting really excited about Christmas. Alexander reads part of his Christmas list, the twins break dance and sing to “I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,” and then photos from our Black Friday escapades.

We decorated for Christmas over the weekend. I wanted to tell about it, but couldn’t decide how. Back in the day, I used to watch this show on MTV called “The Real World.” They would edit people into characters that you loved or hated. Example… Puck. Anyway… In reality TV – you never see 100% of the picture. You see snippets edited together to make this episode. I decided to do this with our “holiday cheer.”

IMG00019-20101105-1136_thumb[1] On Wednesday, I linked up with Shell again. This time in a very open and honest look at an aspect of our lives no one usually sees… Take a look at what life is like when you work hard to turn “potential” into “reality.”

On Thursday, I wrote to one of MamaKat’s prompts – and it was the toughest posts to date. The challenge was to answer 4 questions. What are 5 things we don’t know about you? What are 5 things you are good at? What are 5 things you are bad at? And what are 5 things you believe. I found myself really wanting to answer this with something I still claim next year, so I put a ton of thought into these questions. It has turned into a pretty popular post and I’m really proud I let so much of myself go.

I wrote this post yesterday. It was after overhearing and discussing the possibilities of having a male babysit your daughter. The conversation became so in-depth and really challenged all my “beliefs” of equality for everyone. I posted it because I was interested in hearing what everyone else thought… so be sure to pop over and weigh in.

Don’t forget to link up tomorrow for Make Me Laugh Monday!

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The Best of this Week

November 20, 2011 By Kristen 2 Comments

As I’m starting this post… I can’t believe how many times I’ve written this week! If you’ve been around the last few weeks, you probably have noticed that I have been struggling a little as Alexander has been ill and we have been reassessing all things that will be best for our family. I’ve been struggling with deciding what passions need focused on and mourning a little. Mourning the face that I can’t be perfect. Or… even in that realm. So… Here goes: The best of this week.

Last Sunday… In case you didn’t know… we WON one of the 4 I-pads generously given away by Wolfhirschhorn.org. This gift was started by a family near and dear to our heart. They do an annual fundraiser for their son’s needs (he has WHS) and each year donate part of that money to a family that could use it. What an amazing life testimony. They are amazing. We needed to find a way to live the example they are putting forth. This blog post basically outlines our plans for how we intend to follow in the path we know we are to take.

Then on Monday we had another round of Make Me Laugh Monday. I’m going to confess. Things have been so out of sorts – I didn’t have a chance to comment on anyone else’s post. I didn’t re-tweet. And I didn’t promote it too well. Too much other stuff going on. I’m going to do better this week! My MMLM post felt like a Seinfeld show – a little bit of funny nothings. Plug here – Don’t forget to go ahead and write your MMLM post for tomorrow!!!

On Tuesday, we were able to receive our IPad for Alexander. I felt this sort of … hmmmm…. obligation? to share with the world why Alexander is deserving of such an amazing gift. He might never cure cancer – but he is changing lives. We are eternally grateful for all the blessings we receive and for those of you who continue to look at Alexander with the words potential on your lips. If you check out this post – you will see my first ever VLOG (short for Video Blog). I’m terrible at it. Yes… I know how irritating my voice is on camera…. NO, I am not sick…. Yes, I’m lucky I have any friends who listen to that nasally voice on a regular basis. You can also see Alexander playing with his IPad for the first time. Pretty exciting!

Truth. I really like to link up with Shell on Wednesdays for her PYHO meme. It seems that at least once a week I can find something to pour out. I’ve also been enjoying Mama Kat’s writing prompts and the idea of writing to someone else’s prompt is fun. Having said that – this week those two merged into one of the most raw things I’ve written in a long time. I was brutally honest about how I feel pulled in different directions and the direct ramifications on our family. If you really want to know the post of my heart… You will find it HERE.

On Thursday – I really did see a man riding his bike and looking so carefree. I found myself composing this list of things that make me smile and relax the tension. Only later did I realize that the picture really didn’t match up with number 2 on my list. It looks a little odd to have that picture and those words. Oh well… both are true.

Friday Night – I finally got a date! Well… it was a girls night out and I took my littlest man with me. We had a great time, but I always come home and second guess everything I said. I worry that I am not that great in social situations anymore.

And finally, last night. I really didn’t even want to post. I felt the blog needed some more sunshine before rain. But… the truth is – I couldn’t sleep. I know a lot of our family and friends check in here when a seizure happens. Not only that – but the 15mg of valium? I gave it to him. Yes… I gave him that dose. Our old bottle was a different concentration. I spent much of the night beating myself up about the dosage, until several doctors assured me they would have done the same. Anyway, I wrote this post on being perfect.

Hope you enjoy some of last week’s posts. And don’t forget to link up tomorrow for Make Me Laugh Monday!

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The Best of this Week.

November 12, 2011 By Kristen 1 Comment

I’m posting the Best of this week a day early. Because TOMORROW I HAVE SOME EXCITING NEWS ABOUT THE BLOG!!! I can’t wait to reveal some new plans – so I’m going to round up this week’s feelings and posts today.

On Monday I posted the second installment of Make Me Laugh Monday. I’ve decided to start running. Actually… I made a video for Biggest Loser but became so panic stricken about the idea of stepping on a scale on TV that I decided to take one last stab at running. I have these visions of me as this long lean runner. *sigh* We all know that isn’t going to happen, but I got some pretty funny photos (and some new ones for next week) as I attempt this venture. Don’t forget to check it out. And Link up if you have a funny picture you want to post.

Then Monday night – Alexander had a seizure. I used the blog for what it was designed. It was the outlet for my anger, frustrations, and fears. You can read that post HERE.

After I blogged my feelings away, I really believe my heart was able to open up for the prayers that were being offered up to our family. I was able to give some perspective to the situation. The tone and language of the evening became reflective as I was on hour 23 of solid no sleep. You can read more about that HERE.

Finally, we came home. I couldn’t help but wonder what people thought of us. People are usually only able to glimpse into little pockets of our world. A blog that reads, “at 9am we did this. Then at 10am we did this.” wouldn’t be that interesting to read. Instead my posts seem to be more theme related. Our Parent Run Website – Wolfhirschhorn.org has been running a contest for an IPad. While we were in the hospital, that contest was the last thing on my mind. When we returned home – I thought I might pull us out of the running. We had just received the greatest gift – a baby to come HOME from the hospital because of all the PRAYERS of our family and friends. And then… I was reminded – aren’t you living a normal life? Didn’t you say those seizures weren’t going to stop life? So … we went ahead. We’ve been running in the top few places and are extremely grateful for all the support of our friends, family, and those who just … love our little guy. I’ve been feeling sort of overwhelmed as each time I turn on the computer another friend has shared the link. I mean… why do we deserve such generosity?
So my post on Wednesday was really a wrap up on the last 48 hours. It was a way to connect the dots. And I’ve spent most of this week trying to decide how we can DO MORE and TAKE LESS.

I have a plan. I need everyone to swing by tomorrow as we reveal it. I’m so excited. Beyond excited. Super Super excited! See you tomorrow!

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The Best of This Week

November 6, 2011 By Kristen 2 Comments

Well, this week’s re-cap will be short and sweet. It seems I didn’t write all that much this week. That is ok. I’ve had a lot on my mind, I’ve been reading a lot more blogs, and … I’ve been exploring some other things.
(hint – more about that Monday).

Last Monday I started my first Make Me Laugh Monday Meme. My bloggy Friend Jen – who never disappoints – participated. (Did I mention that I love her?) It is ok. I think the idea is good, I’m going to go with it for awhile. I posted a few pictures that I caught that I thought were funny. Honestly – I think the funniest photo is the one I picked for the button. That came from my stint as a crossing guard in the cold rain. By the way – No lie… I LOVE Crossing Guard Duty. We dance.. sing … it is fun. Anyway – this day I came in looking like a drowned rat and asked my boss to take my picture so I could remember to be thankful for my classroom. Classy.

On Wednesday, I wrote a post called The Shame of Type A for PYHO. You see… Wolfhirschhorn.org is giving away a free i-pad in a contest. It is really weird for me because I’m competing against people I call my greatest friends. I’m having this huge internal struggle. Part of me wants to pull out all the stops because I really believe this could be the Key to help Alexander connect so many dots. There are so many things on this tiny piece of equipment can do to enhance the lives of Alexander and his friends. The other part of me wants to remember our friends and remember to be grateful for all that we have. I would do better if it was a contests against people I didn’t know. This post was helping me to remember to value friendships over all else.
ps. Voting Starts Monday – so pop in and vote for any cute kid you like. (Seriously … any kid. Because all of our children will benefit.)

Then on Thursday, I tried to answer one of Mama Kat’s writing prompts. I chose the FAQ’s. I really don’t know that people have actual questions for me … but we’ve been asked a lot of questions over the years. I was going for funny but afraid it came across as snarky. I’m still unsure how it did come off. But… I’ve been feeling sort of raw ever since.

So … I’ve been:
1. Spending time with my kids.
2. Spending time with my husband.
3. Spending time with my friends.
4. Not posting on blog / Facebook / or twitter (I think I needed a break).
5. Mentally writing a post about manners, the value of friendship when kids are involved, persuasive post about health care fears (new calls, etc.) , and my newest challenge – which I can actually use to MAKE YOU LAUGH on MONDAY. Check it out.

Thanks for sticking around.