The Best Christmas Present

It is time! Time for hot chocolate with lots of marshmellows, cuddling under a blanket, reading a good book, watching movies, lots of shopping for others (and yourself too), christmas music, the wrapping of many presents, holiday cooking, laughter with family, a glass of wine with friends, great church services, people raising their hand to the Lord, asking for forgiveness, asking for His love, and spreading the cheer of one of the greatest and most respected holidays of the year---CHRISTMAS! Along with that comes remembrance...Of the mistakes we've made, of the lessons we've learned, of the loved ones we've lost, of the new lives created, and the hurdles we've all jumped. As this year comes to an end, all I can think about is WOW, WHAT A YEAR. It is a year that I will love and hate all at the same time. It is easy to look at the negative side of things, but for the last 12 months I have gradually taught myself to always try and see the positive. I have learned so much being a new wife and a new mom. I have a wonderful husband. He makes me laugh all the time, especially in those time where all I wanted to do was cry. He has always supported me in everything, and he has taught me so much in just the last year. Then, there is our son. Who we think (and we get this from many others too) is the absolute most precious thing we have ever seen. Kannon-Ball has melted hearts everywhere from Oklahoma, to Columbia, South Africa. He is our joy, our hope, and our figher. He has taught us both how to become better, and stronger, people. He is our blessing from above and we wouldn't change a SINGLE thing about our little baby boy...Now, as Christmas is over and we work towards a new year, I can't help but think about my mom. It was hard celebrating Thanksgiving & Christmas & soon to be year 2011, without her physically here with us anymore. It all feels so different, but we are gradually learning how to do everything the way Mom always did it. We celebrated our Thanksgiving by making all of mom's usual Thanksgiving recipes, and catered her favorite (Ted's Mexican food) for Christmas dinner. We even put up her christmas tree without her & my sister helped our dad pick out and wrap the gifts. But there was one surprise on christmas morning, one unexpected gift that was by far our favorite, and most cherished gift ever. A necklace from our dad, that he picked out, and then spent hours making them perfect. This wasn't just any necklace...it was a necklace made so we can all carry mom with us anywhere and everywhere we go...a cremation necklace. Beautifully made with angel wings, just like our mom. It by far beats any gift I have ever received on Christmas day. As we approach the new year, we all know that she will be there watching over us and helping us through the tough times to come. So that being said, I am ready for a new year. I haven't come up with my resolution yet, but I am thinking about it. As for an update on how things are going with Kannon, he is doing great! This last month he has had to go to the hospital twice. Once because he was sick and another because his seizure medication was too high of a dose for him (that was scary, but everything worked out okay). He has had his orthopedic CT scan and no abnormalities were seen as far has his spine goes, except for the scoliosis. He has an MRI scheduled on his brain (now that his brain has matured a little) and his lower back (spinal cord) at the end of January. As far as the follow up on his failed tympanogram (hearing test), he had an ear infection but that has finally cleared up. He also had another swallow study to see how he did eating thicker foods, and they say that he can start being introduced to baby food (Yay!) However, they did watch him drinking thinner liquid again, and he still has to eat on his side because he aspirates sitting up. The speech pathologist said it is like a night and day difference watching him on his side compared to sitting upright....so we are working on possibly having an OT specialist to work with him on swallowing. As for the sleep study, we have finally gotten it finished, but haven't received the results yet. Finally, his neurologist thinks Kannon might be having myoclonic seizures (not infantile spasm seizures anymore). To officially diagnose this, she has ordered a 48 hours EEG test to be done in the near future. However, the closest places that will do the test for a baby younger than 18 months is in Tulsa, and if they can't schedule us, then the next closest is in Cooks, Texas (not a yay!) I think that is all the updates so far! We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas break and will have a great New Year! We do want to send out a heartfelt thank you to EVERYONE who has ever been there to support us through all the hills and valleys that we have encountered this year. We couldn't have made it through it without all the love, encouragement, and the many prayers. We love you all so much, and are extremely blessed to have so many people follow the updates and stories about our family. Have a great break and enjoy this important time with your family and friends! God Bless everyone! :)