Thursday, September 30, 2010

GROUND BREAKING!!!!

This morning we were on WSAU Feedback with Pat Snyder and Tom King! Joining us was River Valley Bank, Noah's Never Ending Rainbow, Binder-Ghidorzi, Graveen Construction, and Wausau Builders Association. To hear the Pod Cast click here and choose Build From the Heart!

Pat Snyder

Chris, Wally (BinderGhidorzi) Ellie (River Valley Bank)



Dana (Noah's Never Ending Rainbow)



After the Radio Interview we went to the Lot for ground Breaking. I was absolutely speechless. This is really happening. Both kids were a little cranky being out side, but did settle down. They had gold shovels and Hard Hats with the Build from the Heart Logo. How amazing!!!










After work today I stopped to see what they did. I think this will be the new daily routine. How exciting. Jesse with Graveen construction was at the site. They were tearing down the chicken coop. 


This is when it all set in. Oh my gosh. This is really happening. This is going to be our House, specially designed from the Heart for the kids and the community room. Many months of planning with a team of amazing people and the support of the community and the work is beginning!

Jesse jumped in the foot print of the house!

 And now the building is down.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

News Talk Radio

If you are in the Wausau area on Thursday at 9am be sure to listen to WSAU 550 AM or 99.9 FM. We will be on the radio with River Valley Bank, Noah's Never Ending Rainbow, Binder Ghidorzi and Graveen Construction.

Also, Ground breaking will be this week!!!! The plan for right now is Thursday. Today I went to check out the land and I noticed the building permit was posted. How exciting.

Tonight Debbie from Nigbur's Fine Furniture http://www.nigbursfinefurniture.com/ came out to the house to see what our style is and what we have to use in decorating the new house. She has some amazing ideas and creativity. I cannot wait to see what she puts together along with the other interior designers.

Callie is back to normal. She was so playful tonight. Cousin Angie said Callie is learning to talk like the dog. She has started to make a grr noise. She is so fun to listen to. Zak was also very playful tonight. He even enjoyed pouncing on Callie. Trying to feed him dinner was another story. Cottage Cheese everywhere. Don't try to feed a crazy kid dinner when they don't want to eat.

Monday, September 27, 2010

It was a long week with so much going on. We have not even had 5 minutes to sit down.

Callie was pretty sick at the beginning of last week. She went to the doctors on Wednesday and ended up getting an antibiotic injection to try and help things along. Thursday so was so much better. She went back in for a re-check and the doctor agreed. She looked so much better that night. I was a little nervous they were going to hospitalize her, but with us having nursing at home we have great care so we were able to stay home. We have the oxygen and monitors at home so we can watch her closely. She went back in today for a re-check and things look good.

Callie has been full of it. I just sat and laughed at her on Saturday. She really likes her tummy now and just to move. She lays on her stomach and if I did not know better I would think she is swimming. Kicking her legs and flaring her arms. I had to sit and laugh at her. It is so adorable!

Zak had a great week. He got a Gold star at school on Thursday. He has been feeling good and I think getting into a good routine. We are borrowing a new gait training (walker) to see if we like it. He has a 3 point one right now and has learned to tip it. Not to safe. This is a 4 point. He has been pushing forward, but since it doesn't fit down the hall and into the bedroom he just goes back and forth in the living room.

Chris was busy working on the deck. We are working on getting things straightened up to sell the house. We now have a brand new deck as the whole things was bad. After 6 weeks of working on it he is finally finished. It looks great! I have started to pack.. not to much, but a few boxes are better than none!




Callie Just falling asleep today. Nothing like holding a toy in one hand and a foot in the other

Friday, September 17, 2010

Paying Forward

A story to share for the week.

On Wednesday morning I was running a few minutes behind, pulled out of the drive way and started down the road thinking I just forgot my breakfast, snack and lunch. What better place to stop than Starbucks. I love their  multi-grain bagel. I am sitting in the drive through just looking around thinking about the day and what I need to get done. I get to the window to pay and the lady tells me my breakfast is free today. The lady in front of me paid for my food. I turned to look to see where the car went and if I recognized it and it was gone. Like it just vanish. I sat there in shock, realizing what a nice lady that was. She had no idea who I was she just wanted to do something nice for the day. We often forget that paying forward can be such a great feeling. Just doing something nice for someone else when they least expect it. What is the next nice thing you can do for someone else? I have thought about that moment often. Sometimes it is the small things in life that really make a big difference.


This was Zak's first full week of school. He made it all 5 days. Way to go Zak! He has not had a good week sleeping either so I really was kind of surprised that he made it. Every night he has been waking up screaming and fussing and ends up sleeping in his jumpy. Not quite sure what is wrong, but he really is not interested in laying down.

We could also tell Callie is probably getting a little cold. After all it is going around with this cold damp weather. Chris took her to Marshfield to get her Ankle Foot Orthotics (AFO's).  I will have to take a picture, they are so tiny and cute! AFO's help to stabilize her ankle so she cannot lock her legs when she stands. Hopefully it will make standing easier. So while Chris was there he thought maybe we should just have someone look at her, going into the weekend just to be sure. So I called while he was in with Callie making sure the braces fit. I have no idea who to even ask for, but at this point anyone will do. They took a chest x-ray to find pneumonia. UGH!!!! Again. This time she got an antibiotic and nebulizer treatments to help open things up. I pray we stay out of the hospital.

Next week is going to be crazy, just thinking about it makes me tired. On Monday evening we are going to meet with the group of interior designers for the house. I cannot wait!!! How exciting. Friday we get to see the pictures that Junion took. Again how exciting! They will be doing a community fund raiser for us!! Watch for details to come - you won't want to miss it. THANK YOU!! It will be a fun week. OK, and the not so fun part, we have to take Callie to Madison for her neurology follow up. She has been doing great - she has not had an episode since June (again saying another prayer). Chris will be out of town for work so the Nurse and I will go down. With her still on oxygen and now having pneumonia there is absolutely no way I can travel alone with her.

I took think I might be coming down with something. My sinuses are so swollen and inflamed the doctor put me on prednisone earlier this week. I can never sleep well when I take it even though I am so over tired. This afternoon I just feel like a cold is coming so I took so vitamins and hope to get a good night sleep. I cannot wait for "allergy Season" to be over, but I can wait for the snow.

Don't forget we love to hear from you - either by comments or e-mail!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Blessed by those around us

We have been blessed with all the support around us through life's adventures. Tonight we were grateful to tell our story to the ministries at our church, Saint Andrews in Rib Mountain. We do not make it to church nearly as much as we would like, however our church has been very supportive of our family. When Zak was three recovering from his neck surgery we received a phone call asking if the bible school children could make Zak a prayer blanket. We still cherish this blanket and every time we look at it we think of the many special people and prayers that make the blanket what it is. The following summer when Callie was just 6 months old we received another phone call asking if they could make her a blanket. We were once again gratefully for the support. I will never forget when pastor presented Callie with the blanket. She was crying and in pain, he put the blanket on her and said a prayer. Instantly she was silent. The prayers were being answered. Thank you to everyone who makes our church such a wonderful place to be with all the prayers, support and caring for each other.

Tomorrow the family will celebrate the Life of Chris's Great Uncle Bill who passed this past weekend. Uncle Bill was age 97 from Park Falls, WI, died Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010, at his home. He was born Jan. 20, 1913, in Park Falls, the son of George and Mary (Amo) Teeters. He was a life-long resident of Park Falls. On Sept. 16, 1943, he married Helen Eberle. He owned and operated Teeters Standard Station and Pontiac and Cadillac dealership. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus.
He is survived by his brother Robert (Lorraine) Teeters of Baltimore, Md.; his special friend, Marie Bristol, Minneapolis; and many nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Pictures of the lot

Here are some pictures of the lot before any clearing started. This is there the house will be going.


This is where the driveway will be.

The trees have been cut where the house will go!


The driveway is started!!

The house was ordered this past week. It sounds like it should be in the third week in October if all goes well. Our builders are out of town right now. When they get back we will know more.

We had a good weekend. Except I think the kids are both getting colds. Zak was doing great from his pneumonia and not the nose is running. Poor little Callie has the poops - she slept until two in the afternoon today. Saturday night we had a fire in the back yard. It was so relaxing to sit out side and just relax for a while. Callie has been working on crawling. She really is not far from it. She is so motivated to move. It is always so exciting watching the kids progress!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Progress on the House

Great News.. the digging is starting! The excavators have started to put in the driveway to the house. This is really happening! I am still in shock and extremely grateful of all the Family, Friends, Community and people around us. We have received so much support and many questions helping raise awareness to children with special needs. I always tell people there is no question off limits - if you are curious just ask. If we don't know or are not comfortable we will tell you.
We hope to have the septic permit in the next week. Our builder is on vacation, when he is back he will apply for the building permit. The goal is to start digging and putting walls up the beginning of October. Be sure to check back for progress updates!

Last Thursday we also had a photo shoot at Junion Photography. A local company that will be doing a fundraiser for us. They are amazing! I cannot say enough great things. I told Dave I felt like we were in New York. His studio is like nothing I have ever seen. The fundraiser will take place in mid November - for $100 you will get an 8x10 and all donations will go to the build from the heart campaign. Of course nothing goes with out excitement in our life. The kids were getting a little fussy so we gave Zak his sippy cup. Well needless to say he got the lid off and water all over Zak and I.. and the floor. I felt terrible, but thankfully it was just water.

It was great to have a longer weekend, but we were definitely busy around the house, cleaning and getting ready to sell. Chris is fixing the deck and put in some landscaping. I power washed the house and cleaned all the windows. Something that has not been done in a long time!

Sunday evening Zak seemed a little tired, which was to be expected after school starting. Monday he was just not him self. We thought he was just having a tired day. Today same thing so I took him into the clinic. I had no idea what was wrong. Typically when we go in we at least have a thought. He was not coughing, sneezing, no runny nose or ear infection. But he was just fussy and would not eat. We went to a different doctor since ours was on vacation. I was a little nervous since we have never seen this doctor before. He was amazing! He looked over Zak and really was not sure, but decided to do a chest x-ray. He thought long and hard since he did not want to expose him to it if not needed. Thankfully he made the right call. Zak has pneumonia! So we are now on meds and hopefully he will start to feel better.

Callie is doing well. She is still on oxygen. We saw the ENT and he did say her tonsils are a little large, but it would not be a good plan to take our her tonsils since she is so small. We are able to control it with keeping her on Oxygen when she sleeps. So that is what we do. She will be monitored closely and when she is bigger we will have them taken out. Callie has been full of it. I feel like she went from baby to toddler in the last 2 weeks. She loves to play with Zak and tries so hard to move around. She loves to jump and rough house a little bit. She has been full of smiles. I just love this stage!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Zak's first day of School

Kindergarten!!!!! It was Zak's First Day. He did great and met his new friends. He is now going 5 full days so we will see how he handles it. I was excited to hear about his day and that he did so well. It is so hard to believe he is already 5 going to kindergarten. Where has the time gone?