Rudy came home early from school on Friday with a bug…a thick cough, congestion and low energy.  Thankfully he hasn’t registered a fever but the congestion kept him home from school yesterday and today as well.  Although we’ve laid low at home mostly, we did stop by Rudy’s class on Monday briefly to share a little bit about CHDs for National Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week…so grateful for the opportunity to share with Rudy’s classmates!  😉  We’re hoping Rudy can lick this bug quick and head back to school by Thursday to share in his classroom’s Valentine exchange.

Thinking of and celebrating Rudy, his fellow heart warriors and our heart heroes who have passed away…all of whom personify one of my favorite quotes: “In the end it won’t matter if you have a few scars, but it will matter if you didn’t live.” -Rich Mullins.

‘Grateful for the lessons we’re learning from Rudy about what it means to really live.

Rudy’s class got another “behind the scenes” look at a local hamburger joint during a field trip to In ‘n Out yesterday.  It was a fun time to hang out with friends and it also turned out to be a very helpful exercise in how to order food at a restaurant…turns out Rudy is a fast learner!

It just so happened that we stopped at Carl’s Jr later in the day for a quick dinner between activities and Rudy insisted on ordering for himself!!!  Ha Ha  He confused the workers a little bit by ordering things they don’t offer on their menu but he was very proud to show off his new big boy skill…now if we can just get him to eat all this food he is so motivated to order.  😉

So January was a bit of a wash (no pun intended) in terms of our flood project as we waited for the various bids to come in and the insurance details to be processed but the asbestos and contaminated  material removal began last week and is moving pretty quickly now!  We’re hoping to start the rebuild in the next week or so.

January was pretty full anyway so I suppose the timing of everything is as it should be.  Wilson headed back to school just in time to miss all the demolition fun…we miss him but he’s happy to back into the swing of things on campus.

Rudy’s first dr. appointment of 2016 was with his cardiologist and, once again, the echo revealed no change in Rudy’s heart function.   As a result, Dr. Harake recommends we NOT schedule a heart cath any time soon and we welcome a procedure free winter for sure.  Some doctors recommend a routine annual cath for kids like Rudy whether the echo shows any change or not.  We appreciate Dr. Harake’s more conservative approach and will take full advantage of this next season in school and therapy without interruption.

Speaking of therapy, Rudy has been working on “self-care” in occupational therapy and actually goes to OT on Wednesday mornings in his pajamas so he can dress himself with his OT Jeanine…they like to sing “Do Your Ears Hang Low” and this particular morning, Rudy’s certainly were!!!

Rolf and Max enjoyed a dude trip up to San Jose over MLK Weekend for a hockey tournament…so glad for the occasional awesome pic of our hockey rock star –

Speaking of hockey, Rudy made a surprising new friend at the hockey rink last week.  Rudy isn’t a big fan of dogs generally but Wally made for a fun walking partner during Max’s game.  They became fast friends and wore each other out…both Rudy and Wally fell asleep on their rides home from the rink that night!!!  Ha Ha

Tomorrow is Rudy’s “Move-a-thon” at his school and he had fun this past month raising $1 donations to meet his $50 goal!  His daily walks to the mailbox have been good conditioning…in addition to the dog walking  😉

Rudy and his special ed classmates got to go on a fun field trip to Kyle’s Kitchen (a favorite eatery in town that supports special needs programs)…Kyle goes to Rudy’s school and is a special big buddy.  Rudy LOVED getting a “behind the scenes look” at our favorite spot!!  Click here to see a quick video about our friend!

Rudy LOVES the soup at Kyle’s Kitchen and got to see how it’s made…thumbs up from Rudy!!!

We enjoyed a messy dinner (complete with condiment art) on the eve of the asbestos abatement.  We’re looking forward to new carpet and fresh paint at the end of this process.  🙂

Our quarters have been a little small since the plastic barricade went up but the kids have been troopers and are making the most of it.  We’re starting February 2016 excited to have our house back in order and SUPER grateful for insurance!  😉

Rudy’s long anticipated birthday trip to the Disney parks was such a GREAT idea that about a million other people decided to tag along but despite the insane crowds, we managed to enjoy the magic and squeeze out a few memory making moments to cherish.  Our first stop was Cars Land in California Adventure and we pretty much could have stayed there our whole visit!  It’s adorable.  Rudy wasn’t quite sure what to think at first…he was a bit awestruck meeting Lightening McQueen, Mater and Big Red up close and personal…but once he had time to process it all, he definitely wanted “more”…especially another ride on Radiator Racers!!

Thanks to Nurse Sara and her family’s military discount, we got two days of fun for the price of one and Day Two was spent at Disneyland.  Turns out the happiest place on earth is a little overwhelming for the boy wonder but he did find his “happy place” on Splash Mountain…

Unfortunately, we struck out on the character picture photo ops.  I was looking forward to getting those priceless pics of Rudy with his favorite Disney friends so we tolerated the long lines for our chance to meet the super stars.  Our first attempt was with Olaf but Rudy fell sound asleep while we waited in line and was not easily roused so Max and Olivia followed his lead…

Our next attempt was with the big guy himself…Mickey!!!  Rudy absolutley LOVES Mickey on tv and in books but when we approached meeting Mickey in person, he was uncharacteristically agitated and even screamed at Olivia to take him away!  We pulled out all the tricks in the book but Rudy wasn’t having any of it!

Our little mini-vacation was definitely a memorable start to the Thanksgiving week ‘o fun.  I guess I shouldn’t be surprised but from the looks of all the pictures I took, Rudy’s most fun Disney moments were spent playing with Max and Olivia just outside the park gates.  Ha Ha Ha

The icing on top of the belated birthday cake was having Wilson come home for his Thanksgiving break the following day…We are enjoying a laid back weekend with awesome friends, fun holiday prep and simply being…together!

Happy Thanksgiving dear ones!!  How very grateful we are for our community of family and friends near and far!

The Geyling household has been a little discombobulated the past couple of weeks as I’ve been working extra long hours in my shop like a little elf.  🙂  The Holiday Silver By Trish Jewelry season is officially open!  Woo Hoo!  I had my first open house last night, another one today and a handful of showings in the community this next month.  It’s beginning to feel a little like Christmas…but let’s not get ahead of ourselves, we don’t want to forget about our equally wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Rudy blessed us this week with a new Thanksgiving decoration that he made at school.

I was so excited to hang it up and instinctively asked “What is this Rudy?” as I grabbed the tape and proudly hung it in a prominent spot.  Without skipping a beat Rudy replied, “A hummingbird”.  “What?  No, Rudy, what is this bird called?”  “A hummingbird!”, he insisted.  He wasn’t letting go of the hummingbird thing so I decided to go at it from another angle…”Rudy!  What does this bird sound like?”  He thought for a second and said “Tweet, Tweet”.  Ok, so we have some work to do the next few days to nail down “turkey” and “gobble, gobble” before Thanksgiving but all in all, I’m very pleased with Rudy’s “Thanksgiving Hummingbird” and believe a new tradition has been born.

In addition to my mad jewelry making production and Rudy’s holiday preparations, the past couple of weeks have included some significant fun for the family.  Rolf and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary on November 7th.  It was a super fun day that included Livy’s soccer game, Homecoming for Max and a Santa Barbara Rescue Mission Graduation…all of which left little time for an official anniversary celebration (we didn’t even get a picture together to commemorate the day) but Rolf and I were blessed to spend the day celebrating alongside people we love!! 🙂  One of these days, we’ll grab a nice dinner together.  😉

Olivia’s X Country team had a two week break to prepare for the city championships which occurred this past Thursday.  Livy was nervous in the days leading up to the race but was able to keep her nerves in check the day of the race.  🙂  The kids ran a two mile course at Elings park that included a handful of crazy hill climbs…I was impressed that all the kids finished the course!  Olivia was the one to beat but she kept her cool and ran a beautiful race.  She won and her team together secured an overall win for GVJH girls…Woo Hoo!!!  The GVJH boys team won too!  All these years I’ve enthusiastically watched the kids play sports I know nothing about…soccer, hockey, lacrosse, etc…but running I know after watching my dad’s successful running career for decades!  It’s fun to cheer on my girl in a familiar environment and see so much of my dad in her stride….eerie but precious!  I hope she decides to continue running in high school.  🙂

We’re so thrilled to have a break from school and dr. appts this next week.  Rudy is anticipating a trip to Disneyland TOMORROW (whhaaat?) for a belated birthday celebration and we’re super excited to welcome Wilson home Tuesday night for the long Thanksgiving weekend!!!  Can’t. wait.

Happy Thanksgiving preparations everybody!!

This has been a big week for the Geylings and school sports.  Max’s HS LaX team began pre-season practice yesterday with a scrimmage and Max came home so pumped about being out on the field again, his cross-training plan for the winter and the new 9th grade players who are interested in playing!!  He so genuinely enjoys hockey and LaX and takes great delight in not only the sport but also the people with whom he plays…it’s fun to watch.  Olivia continued her X-Country winning streak with a win at her last two meets.   She’s fun to watch too…all giggly and chatty with the other girls on her team in the minutes leading up to the race but then it’s “down to business” once she steps up to the starting line and her quiet determination quickly becomes her focus.  Her last meet of the season is in two weeks at Elings Park…with lots of hills!  As team mascot, Rudy’s responsibilities include fist-pumping all the GV runners before each race.  It takes him awhile to warm up to everyone but by the end of the last meet, he was double fist-bumping everyone.

Yesterday was also the annual Soccer School Games sponsored by the Special Olympics of Southern California.  Rudy attended this event with his special ed classmates for the first time last year and was, shall we say, less than enthusiastic about participating…

As a result, Miss A., nurse Sara and I did not have super high expectations about his participation level this year…even Coach Galvan (Adaptive PE teacher) had a “plan B” strategy in mind to get Rudy out on the field if needed.  The frustrating thing is that in APE class and at recess, Rudy is all about playing soccer but when it comes to the big, organized events, he’d rather not.  Ha Ha

Rudy definitely exceeded our expectations and, most importantly, had fun!  And for me, it’s always an amazing sight to see so many people working so hard together to create a memory-making experience for these very special kids in our community.  A big thanks to the Special Olympics of Southern CA, the local school districts, special ed teachers & volunteers,  nurse Sara and coaches Galvan & Tanya for making it all happen!  Until next year…

Holidays have always been something we’ve anticipated and put energy into over the years as a family but I’ve noticed this year that holidays are becoming familiar to Rudy and his anticipation only adds to our joy.  Rolf pulled out all the stops in constructing Rudy’s robot costume and that certainly added to Rudy’s excitement…Rolf cleverly adapted Rudy’s Rifton walker which made it easy for Rudy to maneuver but his stamina was an issue.  Luckily, Rudy was content to wander around the school courtyard during the lengthy school costume parade on Friday and was happy to make two passes trick-or-treating around our cul-de-sac last night before calling it a night.  I parked Rudy’s robot on the lawn to welcome the trick-or-treaters that came to our house and it became a popular photo op prop for all who visited!  Ha Ha

Halloween marks the start of my favorite season…a string of meaningful holidays made even more special this year with Wilson coming home for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years!  Rudy also begins a long list of doctor appointments starting with cardiology bright and early tomorrow morning and ending with neurology just before Christmas on December 17th.  I’m always grateful for the consults we have with Rudy’s specialists every quarter but it does certainly add to the hustle and the bustle of this next season.  Praying for encouraging reports and, dare we ask, emerging options.  🙂  Happy November Everybody!