Mother's Day

Mother's Day ended up being an incredible day of celebration.  Allie could walk.  Allie would be able to swim again.  Allie would be able to skip, dance, and run.  Allie can do all of these things.  

In twelve weeks.

Saturday the 11th, My mom and I took the my girls and their cousin Mariah to Grand Forks to open gym.  We went to the food court, and afterwards, mom took Natalie to shop, and I took Allie and Mariah to tumble.

I told them to have fun, and I went upstairs to watch. I remember looking at the weather on my phone and looking up to see Allison crying and heading to the door.

The rest is history.  Saturday afternoon was spent in the E.R. waiting for tests and decisions.  Allie had an M.R.I., and we waited some more.  Eventually, it was decided that Allie would take Life Flight to Children's Hospital of Minnesota, Minneapolis for consultation.  Allie had fractured her neck.

I would like to say that I was an excellent mother that day.  I'd like to say that I didn't panic and cry.  I'd like to say that I had faith all along that she'd be okay.  I'd like to say that I calmed her down instead of reaching for my mom.  

But that wouldn't be the case.

The Life Flight crew did that for me.  By the time Allie was in the ambulance, ready to be moved to the airport, they had her calm and giggling.  I will forever be grateful for that.

After what seemed to be a long transport and transfer to the hospital.  I'll never forget how fast the neurosurgeon was in his diagnosis and prognosis.  Allie would be fine.  She wouldn't need surgery.  She would need to wear her brace for twelve weeks.  She would spend the night in I.C.U. for observation, and she would be sent home the next day -

On Mother's Day.  

Mother's Day ended up being an incredible day of celebration.  Allie could walk.  Allie would be able to swim again.  Allie would be able to skip, dance, and run.  Allie can do all of these things.  

G is Grandma

Grandma taught me many things.  She taught me how to sew, crochet, and stand up for myself.  Grandma tried to teach me to knit, but for some reason, I still haven't gotten the hang of it.

I loved to listen to my grandma's stories.  She had so many bits of wisdom.  She wasn't the flowery kind, and she swore like a sailor.  That was part of her charm.

I was with grandma when she died.  We were lucky enough to remember all of her stories and songs.  I sang "Yellow Bird" to her like she sang to me.  Two months before grandma passed, my daughter was born and was baptized.  My pastor put the sign of the cross on Allison's head and said "Allison Ann, child of God, welcome to "Family of God"  When grandma died, her pastor made the sign of the cross on her head and said, "Shirley June, Child of God, welcome to the "Kingdom of God".  That always brings me peace.

F is for Family

I love my family.  I'm so lucky to have such kind daughters and a funny husband.  We love to go places together.  I love to have them around me.

One of my favorite things is to overhear my daughters talking.  The eldest giving the youngest advice, and most of the time, the advice is pretty good. 

When I graduated college, my mom and dad, my mother-in-law, my girls, and Jason all came to see me walk across the stage.  I wanted my daughters to see me achieve my dream.  I wanted that to be embedded in their brains.  Work and  your dreams can come true!

E is for Eggs

Never in my life did I expect that we would have chickens.  I never thought I would be collecting eggs in the spring and chasing chickens out of my garage.  Never in my life did I think I would wake up to the sound of a rooster crowing in the morning.

I still can't believe that I live in the country.  I grew up in town.  We had neighbors I cut across their lawns.  We played "Kick-the-Can-Alley" and "Tag".  Of course, I was the weird kid who always started newspapers and circuses, parades and lemondade stands.

I'm sure my girls long for town and playing "Kick-the-Can".  I'm sure they'd like to hang with their friends instead of collecting eggs.  To tell you the truth, I'm glad that they live out in the country.  I'm glad they can be by themselves once in awhile and skip down the driveway if they want.  And, I never have to worry about lemonade stands.

D is for Dreams

I couldn't decide if I was going to chose D for Dad or dreaming.  I figured dreaming covered both concepts!  My dad is the wisest man I know.  He always cheered my dreaming on.  I am where I am today because of my dad.

Dreams are only dreams until you work hard to achieve them.  My dad didn't go to college because he and mom started a family at such a young age.  Dad worked hard at his job and eventually got a promotion as a Line Superintendent at Red Lake Electric.

When I went back to school, I would call dad to tell him about my struggles and triumphs.  He was there to remind me to learn from my mistakes.  He kept me going. 

C is for Cancer

I could have picked many words for C, but I chose cancer.  Once cancer enters your life, your life is never the same.  When my mom and sister were diagnosed, our lives would forever be rocked.  Looking at this picture, I can see how exhausted I was at the time.  My life revolved around cancer, and I was exhausted.  My life still revolves around cancer.  I'm constantly checking my blood levels and making sure my fiber intake is acceptable.  I took a special cancer insurance policy out on my family to be sure that we would be financially secure if cancer reared its ugly head within my household.

Even though it's been a year and a half since my sister came home from Rochester, she is still healing.  Her eyesight had always been perfect, and now, she is legally blind in one eye.  With the bone marrow transplant, side effects can be very devastating.  Missi had Graft V. Host disease in her eyes, mouth, and sinuses.  She still struggles with her eyesight and platelet levels.  She's tired all the time, but she's here.  My sister survived.  Thank God she survived.

At the same time, my mom had Colon Cancer.  Luckily, her cancer was diagnosed at an early enough stage that we never doubted her survival.  Colon Cancer can be very deadly if it's not caught in time.  My mom struggled a lot with the side effects, but we never doubted her strength or survival. 

B is for Bobby

My nephew Bobby is one of the joys of my life.  Although he wasn't named for me, we have a special connection because really there are only about three Bobby(i) Aakhuses in the world.  We are a rare commodity.

Bobby is so full of life and is always getting into trouble.  He's loud but kind. He's the center of his dad's world.  One day we celebrated his fourth birthday at a waterpark near Detroit Lakes.  We couldn't find him when it was time for pictures.  When we finally found him, he was with another family as they were taking family pictures.  Bobby photo-bombed their family pictures.  I love that a  four-year old could do that.  I wonder what they think about when they see the little brown -haired kid in their family pictures.

Bobby makes friends where ever he goes.  He wears a fedora.  He calls out to the pretty,  teenage girls; "Hey girlfriend, give me a kiss."  That is our Bobby.  What a guy!