TEN - We did our thing again!

 Nate's 10th birthday was the first BLUE SKY March 5th we have had for a few years.  It just helps my overall mood immensely when the sun is warm and the sky is blue.  So we each brought a special hand selected balloon and a handwritten note which we once again let go (this time into the blue sky).  It was quite windy so the strings got stuck together this year an the balloons almost didn't make it up!

We usually have to scramble to find someone to sign us into Disney (tickets for 7 would cost over $700).  But...this year we didn't have to stress at all BECAUSE our oldest daughter now WORKS AT DISNEYLAND!!!!  She has been able to sign us into Disney several times this year and she did it again (with the help of a friend) for Nate's Birthday!  So special!



We decided to give Nate a Superhero birthday with a Captain America theme!  We brought cupcakes and did the little party thing that we do :)

We ended the night with a few balloons that are still flying high around our house and remind us of Nate's time with us during March!

And we ended a long day at McDonald's to once again commemorate our time at the Ronald McDonald House. Such a heartbreaking but special place :)

So we made it through a decade.  9 years ago I couldn't imagine saying that.  But now this is just a part of our life.  I can't tell you how much comfort we find in the traditions.  Knowing what to expect takes most of the anxiety away.  I still wish that people would remember Nate but that number fades each and every year (we are down to 3 fingers now).

T-E-N Today!

Ten...double digits...a decade!

These milestone dates are not fun when you can't celebrate with the birthday boy!  But we WILL celebrate as a family.  We will do what we do and we will survive another year because we have done it for a decade.

Happy Birthday sweet NATHAN!  

Disney here we come...

The official end of a tough decade...

The past 10 years have been challenging.  While we have been given abundant blessings and have experienced tremendous spiritual growth within the challenges I'm relieved to see the decade end.  

2008-2018 (low lights)

Nate's death
Loss of virtually all friends and family
Diagnosis of a major chronic disease
Death of my father in law
Diagnosis of another major cronic disease
Death of my father
Loss of job after 16 years employment
11 collective surgeries in 10 years
4 collective broken bones
Loss of another job 


2 0 1 8 brings new hope and a fresh start to a new decade.  Always aware that it could be worse...but just praying that it is better.

Christmas 17

So much has happened this year...both good and bad.  I haven't even had time to myself to keep up with this blog...although it seems that I only have a few followers these days.  So...for the few that keep tabs on my family, I wish you a Very Merry Christmas and I'm praying for a nice, uneventful 2018 for all of us!

HUGS!

Trisha

Not gonna happen this year...

Sad.  So sad.
I love doing Mother's Day gifts for the Mama's in the hospital.  I believe there truly is no one more deserving than the Mommy's in the hospital that are fighting for the life of their child.

But...I have financial limitations this year.  So I will have to pass but I'm definitely going to start saving up for next year so that this does not happen again!

Especially disappointing because my husbands cousin has a 10 year old son that is currently in the same hospital that Nate died at and was just diagnosed with a brain tumor.  A heartbreaking Mother's Day for sure!  Can't believe tragedy is striking the Larson Family again...

Prayers appreciated!

XOXO

The same story with a different ending...

It's all over the news today.  

I share the same story.
Nate had the exact same heart defect (95% chance of survival)
Nate had open heart surgery at the exact same hospital - CHLA.
Nate's surgeon was also Dr. Starnes (the best).

But...Jimmy got a different ending... 

Struggling with the W's today
(Why?  What if?)

Holding onto the F WORD today 
(FAITH - someday I will have perfect understanding).

Love him...watch his show all the time.
Love that he is sharing his experience so that others can understand what it's like to fight for the life of your child.
Love that he is raising tons of money for CHLA to help all the sick kids and their families.
Love that he got a happy ending.

That day I don't like...

is today!  The anniversary of Nate's death.  Will I ever stop re-playing it?  I hope so...

The past few weeks have been very, very tough.  However, I have never felt God so strongly.  Brady has been drawing rainbows, cutting them out and taping them all over my room this entire week!  It was God sending me some hugs from the rainbow baby He sent to bring out the sunshine again.  

And then there was this cool God story...Two weeks ago we kinda hit bottom.  I had been living day to day and thanking God for getting us through and providing us with what we needed.  I was not thinking about the future.  That is until two weeks ago when life kinda came crashing down with a few things.  We were litterally sitting on the couch together as a family crying and trying to figure out how to handle a specific situation (my twins compete gymnastics competitively (both State Champions) and we were trying to figure out how to keep them going but facing the fact that we might not be able to) when someone knocked at our door and left an Easter basket full of goodies with the following card:

God knew...He knew everything and he was in it with us!  

The perfect message at the perfect time.  That's when life started to turn...my husband got a temporary job that might turn into a permanent one and we figured out how to keep the twins in gymnastics along with a few other struggles we were having.  In no way is the strugle over...but that one little card with that one little verse just changed it all.

So as I struggle through the specific memories of this day and as my heart yearns to hold my sweet little boy again, I am reminded that God knows!  He just knows and that is enough...for today.

I never posted pictures from Nate's birthday so I thought I would post them today while it's still March...

This year the kids had to share a balloon!  We got a blue one for Nate and it's been flying high in our kitchen all month long.  March is still his month!  But it's always a relief when April rolls around.

XOXO

Thanks for the support!!!!