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!

After 3 full months of unusually hot temps and humidity here in Santa Barbara, the summer heatwave of 2015 has finally broke and we’re enjoying the beautiful weather we’re known for in our little corner of paradise.  There’s actually a chill in the air this evening and it’s a relief to finally move on to a new, cooler season…just in time for some traditional fall activities:

Fall often includes Rudy’s annual IEP meeting as well.  Each year the many different folks who play a vital part in Rudy’s developmental and educational progress come together to discuss specific goals and action steps to meet those goals in what is called an Individual Education Plan (IEP).  IEP meetings can be long and mind-boggling with the amount of detailed information that is communicated and opened to a group discussion but I’m so grateful for the investment of time that goes into these meetings.  I’m grateful Rudy’s team is willing to take the time necessary to insure we’re all on the same page and that there is continuity in his care in general.  Rolf and I are humbled by the number of gifted individuals it takes to not only educate Rudy but also make it possible for him to even attend school.  (For example, we discovered this month that there was a change in Rudy’s enteral supply provider and it took a couple of weeks to get the prescribed Pediasure Rudy is usually fed.  While we waited for delivery from the new provider, we ran out of feeds and so we headed to Costco to get the Pediasure they sell…not exactly the same formula but we figured it was close enough.  Little did we know what we were in for!  Poor Rudy ended up with a crazy, severe case of diarrhea that we couldn’t get under control…even with the GI doc recommendations!  If it weren’t for Nurse Sara and her willingness to deal with the blow outs that occurred at school, we wouldn’t have been able to send Rudy to school for two whole weeks!   A relatively simple dilemma but with some pretty serious consequences without the extra support Rudy receives.)  Rudy didn’t meet all of his developmental and academic goals from last year but he made progress in most areas and we remain grateful for progress of any kind!  Slow but steady is good…we’ll take that any day!  🙂

The past couple of weeks have been full with some pretty cool highs and some heartbreaking lows for dear friends near and far…such a vivid reminder that life is a constant mix of joy and pain.

Here are some of the highs:

Rudy is doing great in the midst of it all and we’ve appreciated a nice respite from his long list of dr. appts this month.  His quarterly check-ups with all his specialists start up again in November so we have quite a few appointments coming up before the end of the year.  I confirmed Rudy’s next trip to the pediatric dental clinic and heart transplant clinic (both at UCLA) and they fall on the same week in December…too bad I couldn’t get them scheduled on the same day.  🙂

Just two days after celebrating Rudy’s 7th birthday, we were blessed to celebrate the work of the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission at the annual Bayou fundraiser…this year we partied like it was 1950 and all on the organizing committee agree it was the best one yet.  It was a truly inspiring afternoon and made me so proud of Rolf and his team!  🙂

We’ve had a rare two weekends in a row down in L.A. for a variety of reasons and our trip last weekend included a last minute visit to Azusa to see Wilson.  What a treat it was to give him a hug and catch up a bit face to face.  He’s doing really well…he loves being at APU, is making a whole host of new friends and likes his classes.  He is challenged by ROTC in many ways but really loves it.  Rolf and I look forward to our weekly Sunday phone calls with Wilson and his updates are mostly filled with ROTC stories.  🙂  As you can imagine, he is making quite a name for himself.  A couple of weeks ago, his squad had a grueling try out for the Ranger Challenge team.  During the long run dressed in full fatigues, boots and weighted back pack, Wilson started to sing to himself to focus his mind on something other than the pain.  When he stopped, his team mate ahead of him told him to keep singing…so he did and he sang all the Johnny Cash and Zack Brown Band songs he knew by heart.  Before he knew it, his commander at the end of the line asked who was singing.  Thinking he was in trouble, he owned it right away and apologized to which the commander said “Keep singing…louder!”.  Ha Ha  I’ve nicknamed him the Singing Soldier.  I pray he finds great favor at every turn in his ROTC experience…so far it seems he is.  (P.S. He made the Ranger Challenge Team)

Rudy attended his very first GVJH cross country meet this past week to watch Olivia compete.  We went to cheer on the Mariners having no idea where Olivia would rank within the pack.  We were shocked to see her shoot out to lead at the start and keep her lead for most of the race.  She and her teammate (also named Olivia) led the pack and ran head to head for a thrilling finish with our Olivia winning by one step.  It was so much fun to watch her and it took me back to the hundreds of races I went to to watch my dad compete…I saw alot of G’pa Dick in Olivia’s stride.  Olivia’s coach named Rudy their official team mascot!  🙂  I think Rudy will have some more cross country meets in his near future.  Ha Ha Ha

Maxo has his first pre-season hockey tournament next weekend so we look forward to lots of hockey in the near future as well.

Here is one of the lows:

My college roommate and long time friend is losing her husband to cancer…it sucks and it breaks my heart…she sends updates and at the end of her updates she leaves the reader with a “to do” list because, as she says, fretting about their family isn’t productive.  I’m struck this evening by a couple of her “to dos” in particular:

“Shed a tear. Life has a tendency to break our hearts but somewhere along the way in America we decided to bottle up the heartbreak. Let it flow peeps. And even better, share those tears with someone close to you.

Stop doing for as much time as possible this week and simply be. The world needs more contemplation and presence…”

I agree with her.  As much as I want to run away from the things that hurt and distract myself with tasks, I’ve learned from my experience with Rudy and am reminded by Rochelle’s admonition that it’s best to embrace the pain, shed those tears and be in the moment…there is much to learn in those moments and so much beauty to behold – even in the midst of heartbreak.

Praying for comfort and peace for all my friends in need tonight.