Adam's last tee ball game

I was so glad I signed Adam up for tee ball. He really enjoyed playing a sport and interacting with the other kids.

I think it also turned out well that Sara broke her arm so Adam participated by himself. Even though Sara said she wanted to play tee ball, she really would not have enjoyed the heat during the games. Adam is all about the competition right now. Sara doesn't enjoy that at all mostly because Adam is stronger and faster so she rarely wins. What fun is that?

It was also neat to see how Adam improved throughout the season. At the first practice, he was terrible at throwing. By the end, he could throw it straight if he was concentrating!

And his batting was spectacular. I think he surprised himself sometimes. The last few games of the season, he hit the coach's pitch and didn't use the tee.

Adam's biggest struggle was staying focused. Keeping his eye on the ball, not playing in the dirt, listening to the coaches, etc.

I am excited for him to get older and more coordinated to see which sports he would like to get more involved with.

Even though Sara did not participate, she was more than happy to cheer Adam on...and share in the celebration, too!

Sara's medical update

Last December we met with Sara's urologist and developed a plan for her to have surgery this summer to repair her renal reflux and remove the remaining stones on the same side. In preparation for that, I sent a letter to the urologist in mid-April expressing some of my thoughts regarding tests desired prior to surgery. After a month went by and I didn't hear any feedback, I called the office to discover they had moved locations and never received my letter. I faxed it. I waited a week for the feedback that he wanted to schedule an appointment. By now I was feeling the stress that the surgery schedule was filling up and we would not be able to accomplish the "plan" before Kindergarten started. Another week went by before he was able to meet with us last Friday.

The conversation started by the doctor asking us what we have been told over the past 2 years regarding the possibility of a kidney transplant. I responded that Sara's nephrologist has told us all along that he would monitor her every 6 months indefinitely and if her kidneys cannot keep up as she grows, then a transplant would be needed.

He answered "Her kidneys will not keep up when she is an adult. She will need a transplant."

Shannon spoke for us when he said that was the first time it had ever been presented that definitively to us. "If" was now off the table, replaced by "when." Quite frankly, it took my breath away. I have a growing list of moments that I have experienced with doctors that are like a frozen moment in time which I can close my eyes and it lives within me like it was yesterday.

The challenge any doctor has in these situations is assessing each family and determining what level of communication is appropriate with them. Obviously they want to present things in the most positive light possible. But in some cases, by doing that, miscommunication can happen. We certainly feel that way and that things were almost misrepresented. We made it clear that with all we have been thru, we are a family that can not only handle brutally honest communication, but we welcome it.

At this point, the plan is to do nothing. Watch and wait. If he does surgery to fix the renal reflux, it will make the passageway smaller for any future kidney stones to pass and then place her at risk for an emergency situation. If he does surgery to try to remove any kidney stones, there is no guarantee he can get them all. And her kidneys are so thin, the surgery would be extremely risky and there is a good chance the kidney would not survive the surgery. Since a transplant is needed down the road, there is no point as long as her health is doing well. There is a concern that since we don't know why or how the stones started, her body could make stones in a new kidney, as well.

I am well aware that my God is big enough to heal her. We will never stop surrounding her in prayer for that. But I also know that along the journey, He will continue to guide us and protect us and provide for us and bless us. God could say yes to our healing prayers and He could say no. His answer will not determine my level of faith. I have no expectation for Him to meet my request and I refuse to throw a temper tantrum if that does not happen. Our intention as a family is to just live each day until we come to a road where decisions have to be made.

Baby girl, you are an overcomer! Wherever this journey leads us, I will always be by your side holding your hand.

20 weeks--it's a...

Yep, that's right--Baby Mo will be their little bro...

I had my 20 week doctor appointment yesterday, actually 20 weeks and 4 days, and we got confirmation of what we have known for 4 weeks. Another little boy will continue the legacy of the Mollenhauer family. The kids are super excited about having a new baby around. But apparently more excited about getting balloons than finding out if it was a boy or a girl!

The amniotic band is still present in an ultrasound. It has moved a little and we are hoping when we check back in 4 weeks that it will be completely gone. It is a little weird going to my appointments because the nurse asks me every time if I am doing an ultrasound this time. Shouldn't the doctor be determining that? Maybe I should get a fee for being part of my medical team! The challenge is that even if the baby got tangled, at this point, there is absolutely nothing we could do because the baby is not far enough along to be viable. We also found out just how rare it is--our doctor sees 1 about every 3 or 4 years.

Everything with the baby looks healthy so far. He is quite the squirmer. She was only able to get about 3 beats of the heart before he would move. After the third time, she decided to just measure off those 3 beats and the heartrate is within the normal range. The baby is measuring a week ahead in size. My blood pressure is good. This hot weather is really getting to me and slowing me down. The past week I have definitely felt the challenge of my age.

We do have a name picked but something needs to be kept a secret, right?

First tee ball game

Initially I had both Adam and Sara signed up for tee ball but with Sara breaking her arm, Adam is participating solo and loving it. He is in the tan hat, standing next to Shannon in the blue hat.

He got a pair of baseball pants for his belated birthday. At 6:30am on the day of his next game, he was in our bedroom fully dressed in his new uniform asking what time the game started! He also got a tee ball tee, Shannon bought him some tee balls, and I took him to buy a bat--he had to have the lime green one!

I think his favorite part is just hanging out with other boys, although it is a challenge for him sometimes to pay attention and not goof around.

It is funny how ridiculously huge the batting helmets are. Half the time it falls down over his eyes while he is trying to bat and flops around while he is running.

The end of preschool

It amazes me how quickly the kids' first school year passed. To celebrate, they had a little program.

The kids had so much fun and worked really hard. I think they were pretty worn out, though!

For those wondering, Adam is yawning and not singing his heart out!

Both my mom and Shannon's parents were there. It was hard for them to contain their excitement, especially Adam who kept waving to us.

I am so grateful to their teacher for her immense patience, passion, and outpouring of joy. It was a great first experience for me and I couldn't be more proud of how much both Adam and Sara have improved over the school year. Thank you Mrs. Ohlmann!

Mother's Day - Honoring the Mother of the Wonder Twins and Baby Mo

A lot of people broadcast their anniversary, birthday, and mother's day wishes for their loved ones on Facebook. I've tended to stay away from that because it seemed to not take as much effort as writing a post on the family blog. It's also time for me to originate a post for a change.

So, at the end of this Mother's Day weekend, which we spent in Lake Geneva focused on a birthday party for Jordyn, Adam, and Sara, the holiday that took a backseat can't go without comment. Mother's Day 2009 was the first one for JoLynn, although it should not have been since the wonder twins were not due until June 23. It was much different considering they were both still in the NICU.

Now, they're finishing pre-school next week and baby Mo (gender-neutral nickname for the gestating munchkin) is 15 weeks along in development. You only have to read the past blog entries over the years to recognize that JoLynn has taken the role and responsibility of mother very seriously.

JoLynn is a wonder woman. She went through three cycles of IVF including a ridiculous number of injections before a set of 5 embryos made it to the point of development that could be transferred or frozen. Adam and Sara were 2 of 4 that flourished at transfer in October 2008. Number 5 sat in the freezer until this winter when JoLynn endured another round of even more painful injections to give this little one a chance at life. And, it  has paid off.

In addition to doing whatever it takes to give her babies the best development opportunities both in the womb and in the world, she provides a set of skills and perspective to her employer that fills gaps in their abilities and helps them maintain a reputation of quality and service which defies the contractor stereotype. She pays the bills, plans and prepares most meals, and keeps the laundry straight.

She also manages the healthcare demands of 2 kids who have gone through seven surgeries, more labs and ultrasounds and doctor's visits than I can recall, along with the bills that would normally be handled through insurance. She monitors the development and health indicators that could signal problems in Sara's kidneys before they could be detected in a quarterly or 6-month checkup.

I could go on, but I'll just finish with this. For 16 years she has also tolerated and compensated for my shortcomings and weaknesses. For all that I've written about here, and all that I've left out because this is supposed to be a blog and not an encyclopedia, I want to go on record as saying "Thank you, JoLynn, for being a great mom to our great kids. I love you."

Freedom!

I can't believe how quickly 3 weeks have passed.

I think she was a little nervous at first about how they were going to get the cast off.

Can you believe part-way thru her saw broke and she had to hunt down another one?

We have all been joking the past few days, wondering what her arm would look like once it was revealed. Would it be wrinkly? Would it be smaller than the other one? Would her hair have fallen off? She just giggled. No wrinkles. But crazy, arm hair sticking up all over!

Once the cast was off they did another x-ray. There was no visible trace of a break anymore! That is just amazing to me how in just a few weeks a bone can grow new bone and fix itself.

Sara was excited to have the cast off. She was getting tired of talking to so many people about it. It was quite stiff at first and it hurt. I think she was afraid of using it, too. But as the day went on, she relaxed.

3 more weeks of limited activity--no running, no bike riding, no trampoline, no playground craziness. Then another doctor visit and we should be released. That's going to be a long 3 weeks with sunshiny days on the horizon!

She ended the day with a refreshing shower, instead of a bath with a plastic bag up to her armpit.