Racing For Rowan

Today Zeke and I did our first race together...the Sweetheart Run. Let's get one thing out there, I'm not a runner. Never have been and probably never will be. Wish I could though!! Amber and I were debating whether to do the 1k or the 5k. We swayed back and forth about it. Since Zeke was participating we finally agreed to do the 1k. I told her that he will often want to be held and I could just picture it now us running a 5k with him on one of our backs. I think that is the exact moment I jinxed myself. We have had the most amazing winter temperature wise. I am not a winter person. I do not like cold weather what-so-ever!! Today out of all the days was the coldest day of winter yet...17 degrees!! I picked Amber up at 7:15am then we headed to get Zeke from Kofi at 7:30am. We got Zeke in the car and couldn't believe how cold it was...and how Zeke didn't have any hair, but that's a whole other story I won't get into today. We arrived downtown fairly early so we hung out in the car with the heat cranked up. I hopped in the backseat with Zeke. I brought some extra layers of clothes for him to put on so we got him all warm and snugly. As we were sitting there he began getting a little cranky saying he just wanted to go home and get some strawberry milk. We kept changing the subject and talking about other things to take his mind off of that. Finally, at 8:25am we got out of the car and headed towards the start line. The 10k group was there about to take off. We watched them all go then they called for us. We lined up and took a few pictures, of course. Soon the siren sounded for us and off we went. I'm not kidding the second Zeke ran across the start line he started crying that he wanted to be held. So I bent down and put him on my back and off we went. He had such a tight grip around my neck that I was getting choked and having a hard time breathing so Amber and I traded off. This continued the whole time. Luckily we were only doing the 1k. I told him I wanted him to cross the finish line like a big boy, which he did. All in all it was fun and a good experience. I told him next time we did a run it would be much warmer...and I was bringing a stroller!! After the 'run' they had a pancake breakfast. We went into the tent for our pancakes, oranges, and bananas. Zeke enjoyed this part. After we ate the three of us rushed to the car to warm up and we headed home!! What an experience...at the end of the day, we all had a great time and were happy to be there!!

We did this Sweetheart Run in honor of Rowan Fowler, the son of one of my co-workers at Jenks. They are currently in Missouri getting his heart healthy and strong so that they can bring him back home to Oklahoma. Please lift this family up in your prayers today and everyday!

This is how my little boy looked when I picked him up from daddy...no hair :(

Sitting in the car staying warm before the run

 

It's time to race, let's go!

Brrr...it's cold out here!

Zekey and I at the start line.  We are ready to do this!

Waiting for the 'go'

Crossing the start line

Getting a lift from Amber

Almost there guys!

We made it!

Enjoying some fruit at the pancake breakfast

Amber and Zekey at the breakfast

Baseball Errands with my Boy

Zeke and I had some errands to run today after I picked him up from school. When I got him he told me he was hungry. We needed to stop by Fleet Feet to pick up a shirt for the race this weekend so we popped into Pei Wei. Yum!! Zeke said he didn't like to eat there, he is nuts!!! However he had no problem chowing down on Lo Mein, fried rice, and honey chicken.

Showing me his fortune

He's a pro with the chopsticks

After we had an after school snack it was time to gear up for t-ball. We headed over to Midwest Sporting Goods for a glove and bat. Zeke was so excited to get this stuff. It actually made me kind of sad. I've been looking forward to him being able to play sports since I found out I was having a boy when I was pregnant. Now that the time is finally here in sad he's growing up so fast. :(

Picking out a bat

Perfect Fit

When we left Midwest we headed over to Academy. I wanted to pick up some baseball shoes and some practice pants. He picked out the shoes he wanted and he said they felt great and that they "make me really really fast." So I guess that is good!! He looks adorable in the baseball pants. Gosh I can't wait to see him all decked out for his first game. Exciting!!!

Ms. Schrack Essay

In my 5th grade class we are currently working on writing essay's.  My students have been doing a pretty good job getting down the concept of having a thesis statement, an introduction paragraph, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.  Over the weekend one of my students, Miranda, wrote an essay about me.  I wanted to share...I will type what she wrote then attach a picture.  The pictures on here seem small so I wasn't sure if you would be able to read it or not.

The Best Teacher is Ms. Schrack

     Do you have the best teacher in the world?  Our class does.  You do not know how lucky we are.  Our teacher is Ms. Schrack.  She teaches us about writing, she has a son named Zeke, and she is amazing.

     First, she is very picky about writing.  For writing her saying is "when you think your done, you have only just begun."  Our class loves writing because she makes writing fun.  She makes us use pen in our writing notebooks so we do not erase it.  This is why I love writing.

     Next, she has a cute son named Zeke.  She calls him Zekey-Pants.  Just a little while ago he had surgery to see what the matter is.  Zeke loves cars and he is very sweet.  All these things make Zeke.

     Finally, Ms. Schrack is the most amazing teacher.  The reason she is amazing is she plays songs from youtube.  She teaches our class social studies, reading and comprehension, and most of all life lessons.  I know she is amazing because that is who she is on the inside.  All these things make an amazing Ms. Schrack.

     In conclusion Ms. Schrack is the best teacher in the world.  She makes us use a pen for writing.  She also has a cute son named Zeke.  She is amazing.  All these things mixed together make the BEST teacher in the world.

**By the way, the songs on youtube are all educational...figurative language** :)

A Weekend Full of Fun!

I was beyond ready for this weekend to get here.  After the week I had there was just one thing on my mind...NAP!!  Boy did I fulfill that!!  I took one Friday after work, Saturday and again today before the Super Bowl.  I was so stressed and worried all this past week I couldn't sleep.  So I hope I have caught up.


Zeke had a fun weekend.  It started off Saturday morning going to eat breakfast with Shae, Matt, and  Hudson at Tally's.  It was YuMmY!!  The boys had a really good time and it is always nice for me to get to see Shae and Matt.  After breakfast we came home and gathered up all of our baseball stuff and headed over to grandpa's house.  He has a great big yard so I knew that would be the perfect place for us to hit some balls around.  I signed Zeke up to play t-ball this spring but we haven't really ever played much so I think it is time to start.  From what I could tell, he really enjoyed it!  It was  hard for him to get down the concept of hitting the ball then running to first base.  He wanted to hit the ball, go get the ball, then run to first base.  I had to keep telling him once he hit the ball if he touched it then he would be out.  He didn't really care but eventually got the hang of running the bases.  Papa and Nana showed up so we had ourselves a fun little game.  Zeke had a blast, which is all that matters!!  I can't wait to do it again!

Pretty good hit for his first try

 He's charging me at full speed

 Running after the ball before heading to first base.

 I just love his facial expressions

Papa trying to get Zekey out

 Nice hit by Papa, Nana and Zekey running their bases.

On our way home from baseball Zeke told me he was really tired.  So we both went home and took a nap.  We had a great nap!!  When we woke up it was time to get ready for his friend Ben's birthday party.  Zeke and Ben go to the same school but are in different classes.  They play together on the playground and at Adventure Club.  He was really excited to get to go to Bounce U for his party.

I love his face here :)

 It looks like he is having a lot of fun!!

 Helping Kaden onto his mat

Sunday we woke up and went to church.  Zeke always has a great time at church and I love more than anything how he tells me what he learned that day.  Between church services the parents get to attend The Castle with the kids.  Zeke sits on the carpet with his class and I sit behind him on the bleachers.  He always turns around and waves smiling really big at me and blows me kisses.  It is really sweet how he gets so happy to see me.  :)  After church today his daddy wanted him to come over to watch the Super Bowl with him and 'his crew'...that's what we'll call them!  I asked him to text me some pictures of Zeke watching the game...this is the only picture I got...I've tried to determine what on earth they were having for dinner but I just gave up!  So...here is the only pic I got...

All I know is that I am super excited to get my little boy back tomorrow when I get off work and he gets out of school.  Missing him tons tonight!!  Sharing is VERY hard but I know it must be done.  :(



Call From Dr. K

I was in the middle of teaching this morning and my voicemail on my phone buzzed...my phone never rang. It was Dr. Kirkpatrick. His voicemail said "Hey, it's Dr. Kirkpatrick. I don't have all the stuff back on his bone marrow. I think I'll have it back early next week. What we see is it just looks reactive meaning it's just on full production of the platelets. We don't see anything like leukemia or something weird about the platelets really at this point, which is good, great. So at this point I sort of need these other studies to tell you too much more. Ok, call back with your questions and that sort of thing. Ok, bye." So obviously my first reaction was to run next door for my partner Shannon to listen to it to make sure we understood what he was saying. Then I had the lingering question 'do we still have to go in on Monday?' I called the office back. While I was on hold to speak with someone nurse Jenny was calling me on the other line. She said Dr.K doesn't need us to come back in on Monday but would like to see Zeke in 3 weeks for CBC. I scheduled his appointment for February 27th. So hopefully nothing big happens between now and then!!! As always, thank you for your prayers!!!!

Sweet, Sweet, Sweet

I have some super sweet students this year.  I haven't told them what all is going on with Zeke, but they know that he has not been well becuase I have missed a few days because he was sick and/or in the hospital.  Many, many, many of them have been asking about him on a daily basis.  Wednesday when I returned to work one of my students gave me a gift for Zeke.  I thought it was really sweet of her to think of him.  Kofi picked him up from school Wednesday so I told her I would give it to him when I picked him up from school today (Thursday).  I wanted to share the card she made and some pics of what she got for Zeke...the PERFECT gift.  These are his most favorite things to play with!!!  Thanks Olivia!!!  :)

SUPER SWEET CARD

Zeke opening his gift as soon as he got in the car from school...he was very excited!!

He wanted to say thank you to Olivia...



Results...Part 1

There is a little chance that I might have run out of patience today, so I gave in and called the doctor's office this afternoon.  I left a message on the nurse's line.  My message stated that I was trying to be as patient as possible, but I had simply run out of patience and I was starting to freak out.  I asked someone to call me with ANY news on Zeke's bone marrow from Monday.  As I was walking out of work this afternoon, Jenny, one of the nurse's in Dr.K's office returned my call.  Dr. K was out of the office today and Zeke's file was sitting on his desk.  Thank goodness I called or I wouldn't have heard back until at least tomorrow!  Anyway, she said from what she could tell the leukemia came back NEGATIVE!!!!!  Woo hoo!!!!!!  None of the other test results have come back yet, but I am extremely relieved by this news.  God has been listening to all of our prayers!!  Thank you, thank you, thank you for praying!!!  I asked Jenny if we still needed to come back on Monday and she said yes.  I asked why, because Dr.K said we would need to come back to start treatments...if there are no treatments to start then why would we need to come??  So she said she wasn't really sure that she would talk to Dr. K in the morning and call me back.

I am requesting continued prayers for the rest of the test results to come back clear and/or negative.  His blood platelets are 1,306,000...so we would like for those to come way down as well.  I know that I am excited about this news...but if it's not leukemia...then WHAT IS IT?  Some kind of answers would be nice to have.  As soon as I have more results/news I will update you.  Thanks again for the prayers!!!  :)

Our BIG smiles from the news we received!!