The Chatt Pack

The week in review...

2011-05-23T08:46:00.000-05:00

What a week! I officially started classes last Tuesday at Bradley. I have one week under my belt and only 15 months to go! For those of you that don't know, I was accepted in to Bradley's Accelerated Nursing program. It's a 15 month 2nd Bachelor's Degree program that I will finish by August of 2012. There are only 7 of us in the program, so I'm thinking we'll be pretty much like family when the whole thing is over! It's Bradley's second year of offering this particular program, which is kind of neat to say that I am a part of it. Anyway, I'm in Health Assessment right now, so I've been finding pulses and listening to any one's heart I can get a hold of! It's interesting to hear what a "normal" heart sounds like and see how a "normal" heart actually works. It's interesting to compare all of this to Livvy's "broken" heart, since that's all I really knew.

Baseball is well under way for Jack. He made the travel team this year, so it's big time baseball. He's been playing short stop and pitching a little bit, which stresses the mommy out. Pitching puts a lot of pressure on a little guy (although I don't think he notices) which make me crazy. That's a lot of responsibility.

Jack's running club at school signed up to run the Family House race this past weekend. Jack was sooooo...excited to get 3rd place for the 3rd Grade division. He ran the 5K in about 32 minutes...and this was after a sleepover that only consisted of about 5 hours of sleep! Way to go Jack!

Brooklyn has been keeping up with her gymnastics. She was "invited" to pre-team, so she actually practices 6 hours a week! She loves it on most days and we agreed to do pre-team with the promise that she'll take swim lessons this summer! She turns 7 on June 3 and we have a big day planned with a girls only train trip to Chicago to visit the American Girl Store! Can't wait!

We had a great Spring Break trip to Tybee Island, GA at the end of April. I still need to get organized enough to put pictures on the blog, but it may not be until next Spring Break at the rate I'm going!

School is out on Wednesday for the kids and they have a big summer planned so far! They are going to be spending lots of time with Grandma and Grandpa and their cousins while Zac is at work and I am at school.

Other than that, everything is status quo.

Today is Olivia's second anniversary of her "Homecoming to Heaven." We don't have any big plans. We'll get ice cream and head out to the cemetery, which seems to have become the new tradition for her anniversaries and birthdays. Olivia loved ice cream, but wasn't supposed to have it once we found out she had issues with aspiration. It seems only appropriate to take her some on this special day!

Ice Breaker!

2011-04-27T13:22:00.000-05:00

Obviously I haven't blogged in a really, really long time. It's not that I don't have things to blog about. It's just nearly impossible to figure out where to begin. So, this is my "ice breaker" post. Hopefully, once I click on that little button to submit this post, I will be back at it.
I digress.
Back to the ice breaker...my bestie had her baby last night! It's a girl! This makes 3 girls and one lonely little fella! Congratulations Nicole, Ben, Annelise, Alaina, and Jonah! She is beautiful!
Now...if only she had a name?!?
Without further ado...
Introducing:
Miss Thing (said with a heavy southern accent, of course!)

P.S. - I stole this picture from Nic's blog. I figure she'll forgive me. The fact that I actually posted something on here will constitute forgiveness and get me some major brownie points. Gee. Maybe she'll even call me (totally kidding, Nic!)

Miss Livvy's B'day

2010-09-23T08:22:00.000-05:00

I was looking at pictures today and realized I never blogged pictures from Olivia's b'day party! Silly me. We kept it low key this year and just had some cake and ice cream. Grandma C., Aunt Amy, and Cousin Alais stopped by after they went to visit Liv's at the cemetery and we sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed some cake. Afterwards, Zac, the kids and I went to get some ice cream and go see Livvy, too. This year went so much better for all of us than last year. It doesn't get better, but it does get a little easier, I guess.

Brooklyn still thought she should share her ice cream with Olivia!

What a great big sister!

Football!

2010-09-23T08:06:00.000-05:00

Jack has officially started football.

You would think that being the wife of a former football player and coach would make this an exciting time for me. Let's just say it's a work in progress.

I went to get Jack from a practice back in August and I was ready to pull him off the field and bring him home. It was 90-some degrees, the coaches were making them run like crazy, and the poor little guys looked just miserable. Keep in mind this was all before full pads and tackling. I told Zac I wouldn't be able to attend any more practices or Jack might have to "quit" the team. Because Jack lives and breathes baseball, he wasn't too fond of it at first either.

Luckily, things have gotten better. I haven't attended any more practices (if so, I just wait in the car). Games have started and we are all loving it! Zac informed me that it would get better for Jack (and for me) once the games began, and he was actually right. Go figure. Anyway, the Eagles lost their first game (you could tell the kids had some first game jitters) and they won last weekend! He's been playing defense and has made some good tackles, in my humble opinion. Jack thinks he is super cool because he gets to wear his jersey to school every Friday and he got to ride in the Homecoming parade. I'll leave you with some pictures from the first game for your viewing pleasure...

By the way, Zac is helping coach, so he is in hog heaven with all of this. Many parents have come up to me and expressed their appreciation for Zac's enthusiasm. He tries really, really hard to get the kids pumped up when they make a good play, but they really just look at him like he's crazy. Quite honestly, it's very entertaining to watch him jump up and down get all excited. I guess I do like football.

Happy 4th Birthday, Olivia!

2010-08-27T08:46:00.000-05:00

So, I'm a little jealous today that you are spending your birthday with Jesus, but would want nothing more for you. It's a good jealous. I'm just going to paint a beautiful picture in my mind of the party you are having in Heaven today. Daddy, Jack, Brooklyn, and I are going to have ice cream tonight to celebrate your special day. We are also going to go to the cemetery and I'm sure we'll be singing, so be sure to be listening! We love you so much and miss you tons every day. You are never forgotten, not even for a second, because you are implanted in our hearts and minds forever! Give Jesus a hug for me and be sure to thank Him for the best gift of all! Hugs and kisses to you, too, Livvy!

Love,

Mommy

Highlights

2010-08-02T10:31:00.000-05:00

I really think that I am so far behind that I can't even catch up on this blog, so here are some highlights from the last couple of months:
School: I finished my Chemistry mini-mester at the beginning of June. I think that is probably the most intense class I have ever taken. Keep in mind that I majored in Art and Spanish in college, so I just had to know how to be creative. In Chemistry, I actually had to think, which doesn't come naturally to me. I ended with a solid "B". I also completed 3 online courses at 3 different institutions - Developmental Psych, Abnormal Psych, and Nutrition. Another round of "B's" The fact that I can actually say that I am a "B" student is a miracle in and of itself...I'm very proud, not just bragging;) In a couple of weeks, I start 3 more online courses (Western Civ, Pathophysiology, and Composition II), as well as Microbiology in the classroom. Once I'm done with all of these in December, I will be ready to start the nursing program at Bradley in May. All I have to do is get accepted, which I should find out in October or November. No biggie, right? We'll see.
Kids: We celebrated Brooklyn's 6th birthday on June 3rd. She chose a Luau them for the fam and it turned out really well. Both kids just finished a great season of baseball/tee ball. Brooklyn thought the first couple of games were great because she liked getting all dressed up in her uniform. After that, she was ready to be done. Jack had his first year of "kid-pitch" baseball. Saying he loved it would be a understatement. He mainly played shortstop and pitcher and still firmly believes he is heading for the big leagues.
Zac: Being on a 12-month contract, he simply works a lot. He and Jack did manage to take their annual camping trip with the cousins. They tried out skiing with the boys, which Jack wasn't too impressed with. He did, however, love the knee board and tubing. We celebrated our 10 year anniversary at the end of May and took a weekend trip to Chicago with a whole crew to watch the Cardinal's beat the Cubs at Wrigley (woohoo!). It was a ton of fun and a much needed getaway for both of us. We also managed to take a family vacation (see previous post) and returned home last week from that. I strongly considered staying in S.C., but returning from that heat and humidity made me realize I do like the Midwest. Besides, it would be kind of weird for me to live there with Zac and the kids living here;)
The house: It's still here. No new projects going on at the moment.

So, I guess that hits most of the highlights. I'm *hoping* to put together a "picture post" in the near future, so it's very possible that I may come up with some more highlights once I go through the pics...stay tuned!

Hello...

2010-07-25T17:48:00.000-05:00

Is there anybody out there?

Pink Floyd, right?

I know, I know. You thought we'd dropped off the face of the earth. Again. So sorry about that. I just finished up my summer classes and am officially a "B" student for the first time in my life. More on that later. We've obviously been crazy, busy around here, but right now we are finishing up our family vacation! We are heading home tomorrow from South Carolina! We've been staying with my bestie, Nicole, and her fam. It's been totally relaxing and hot and beautiful and hot and fun and hot. I really am going to try to keep up once we get home because there is so much to tell (obviously). So, here is a preview of what's to come.

The perfect day.

2010-05-23T18:37:00.010-05:00

We had an absolutely perfect day.

Well, except for our trip here,

but that's a whole other story and we'll get to that later!

We started off our day going to church and Sunday school. Then we came home and started digging.

My parents and my grandma were able to join us and helped out with the planting...We got some special little trinkets to put on the tree, too!
Livvy has her own little tree, with lots of little angels hanging from it, and some cute things to surround it!

Grandma gave us this little turtle, too and it fits perfectly!

We ended our afternoon with a trip to the cemetery to take Livs a pinwheel and some flowers.
We all said our favorite memory and thanked Livvy for everything she's done for us!

But...in between the tree planting and the cemetery visit...

this happened:

That's my mom.

My dad went out to get some lunch for everyone, and Zac, Jack and my mom were playing baseball. Zac, being the fair guy that he is, hit a pop fly to my mom. She caught it, lost her balance and next thing I hear is:

"Get some ice! Don't look at it, Connie! We're going to the hospital."

Zac swooped my mom into the car, I took off, Jack took over in the house and called my dad so he would meet us there and we were off.

She broke it pretty good. They splinted it up for the night and she goes in tomorrow for surgery around 2:00. Luckily, she's not in a lot of pain. I kept telling her this was a great distraction for us today, and where would I rather be on this particular day, but in a hospital!

Zac felt pretty bad. I was thankful it wasn't Jack that did it, because he would have felt HORRIBLE.

There is a reason it happened today that we may never know...but it sure did give me some good blogging material!

I also have to apologize for the pictures. I lost the battery charger for my "good" camera, so I've been using my old one. It seems to have a big blurry spot in al the pictures...makes me crazy, but obviously not crazy enough to actually search for the battery charger!

Olivia Grace

2010-05-23T08:33:00.002-05:00

One year ago today, we said good-bye to our sweet little girl. She taught us so much about life and love and truly fulfilled her purpose here on Earth. As much as we miss her, we thank God for everyday for the time we did have and for the lessons she taught us. We have a full day of tree-planting planned for Miss Liv. I'll try to take lots of pictures and post them later.

In memory of Olivia Grace Chatterton (Aug. 27, 2006-May 23, 2009)

Chemistry

2010-05-20T14:44:00.002-05:00

Chemistry is no fun.
Be glad I didn't blog about it yesterday, because it wouldn't have been good. I worked on my homework until 9:00...and started at 3:00. Ugh...
Today went much better. I actually understood most of what was being talked about. It's definitely good that I am doing this mini-mester thing because I don't think I could handle a full semester of this. It's great to be able to say that I only have 10 days of class left!
I was a bit nervous going yesterday, and you could probably say I wasn't very well prepared. I had no calculator (I had no idea Chemistry involved so much math!), I had no pencil (which made my errors very difficult to correct), I got lost trying to get out of the building, and when I got home, Brooklyn started referring to me as "college girl" instead of mom. She's spent too much time around her father!
Anyway, this "college girl" is going to stick with it. As discouraging as yesterday was, I'm actually enjoying having all this important stuff going on!

Beautiful!

2010-05-18T15:20:00.003-05:00

Check out what the delivery man just dropped off at our door...

A beautiful flower arrangement from Grandpa and Grandma C.

And in the midst of uploading the flower pictures, I found this beautiful picture of the kiddos at Easter! I know, I know, that was months ago, but I never got around to that post!

Thanks, Rod and Sue! They're beautiful!

The Big News!

2010-05-18T07:40:00.002-05:00

I'm going back to school. That's right folks. Starting tomorrow, I will again be a student.
Zac decided that I need to do something productive with my life that will have some sort of retirement plan so he can be done at 55, or something like that. So, I've enrolled in a classes at ICC and I start Chemistry tomorrow. It's a 3 week mini-mester that I will do every day all day until June 7. Then I'll take 3 online classes this summer, Microbiology in the fall along with 3 more online classes. Once I complete those, I'll be on track to start the nursing program at Bradley (if they choose to accept me ;)
Bradley has a 2nd Degree Nursing Program for people who have a Bachelor's degree in another field (mine being art and Spanish...not much you can do with that). It's a 15 month program that will begin in May of 2011 and I'll be finished with a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing in August of 2012. I'm really excited about the whole thing. A little nervous to be going back to school starting tomorrow, but excited about the fact that I will be a nurse within 2.5 years.
Growing up, I always wanted to be a nurse, but life took me in a different direction once I got to college. I'll be the first to admit that I spent my college years focusing on the social aspect and finding me some good husband material. I accomplished both of those things, and now it's time for me to actually apply myself in school!
Although it was a childhood dream to be a nurse, I do give all of the credit for my future endeavors to Olivia and the nurses and doctors in the PICU. Caring for Olivia made me realize that I absolutely love being able to take care of people in a medical capacity. The nurses in the PICU completely inspired me everyday with their knowledge, compassion, and overall care for the patients and the families.
So, as I embark on this new chapter, a special thanks to our sweet little Olivia, and to the nurses we've been touched by. I'm so glad that our God has blessed us in such a way that we are given second chances and that he puts people in our lives that give us direction and a new purpose. It's so fun to see His plans unfold!
Well, that's the big news around here. If I need help with my Chemistry homework, I'll let you know... :o)

May 14, 2010

2010-05-14T18:19:00.002-05:00

Let it be known...on this 14th day of May in the year of 2010...we are officially the proud owners of one, yes, one home.
WooHoo! Zac and I went to Macomb today and signed all the papers. We had a celebratory lunch, made a couple of quick stops, and made our way back to our one, and only, home.
If I were being totally honest with myself, I would say it was a little hard to sign those papers today. My eyes started to well up a couple of times. I totally wasn't expecting that, since we've been waiting a year to sell this thing, and I can't even go near the place without having an anxiety attack, but it was a little difficult.
It's been a week of mixed emotions, though, and I anticipate that it will continue for a while. Mother's Day was bittersweet. I had a great day with the kids and it was a wonderful weekend altogether, but there was that one little someone missing. I took some purple flowers out to Livs and we visited for quite a while. It was nice. It always is. We are quickly approaching the one year anniversary of her Homecoming to Heaven, which I imagine will be a bittersweet day, as well. What more could a parent ask for...Olivia is in Heaven, she's happy, she's complete, she's with Jesus. Sure, we would love to have her here with us, but only for us. She's not missing a thing here. We are just missing doing those "things" with her. Completely justifiable selfishness, really.
Anyway, it's a big week coming up. I have some big news to share one of these days (no, I'm not pregnant...remember Zac is out of commission in that department). Ahem. Anyway, I'm saving it for a post of it's own and it's something I'm really excited about. Hopefully, I can take the time to actually keep up on this silly old blog. I hate that I'm so sporadic with it, but it is what it is, I guess!
Stay tuned...

The 13 Calories

2010-04-13T11:20:00.001-05:00

Entertaining story...Brooklyn just walked in from school. I asked her to tell me one thing she learned today. They happen to be learning about the American flag. It has 50 stars for the 50 states and 13 stripes for the 13 calories!
God love 'em!

Odds and Ends

2010-04-13T10:20:00.003-05:00

The excitement of getting an offer on the house is dwindling. The inspections went okay, but the buyers want all of the basement windows replaced, a new electrical box, and GFCI outlets put in the bathrooms, kitchen, and outside (whatever that means). Ugh. We're talking thousands of dollars here. Zac wants to say "not a chance," but we really, really need to sell this house! They are getting some estimates from electricians this week, so we'll see where that goes. Oxygen concentrator, feeding pump, pulse oximeter, plus all of our everyday stuff? I would love to tell them that about all the things we had plugged in and running in that house and we never had a fire, but I doubt that will go too far.
Otherwise, all is well here. We are definitely enjoying the weather. We all had a great spring break with lots of play dates, a trip to the zoo, movies, and sleepovers. It wasn't too hard to get the kids up and moving yesterday, since they are both such big fans of school.
Zac and I went back to Macomb on Friday night to see the school musical. They did "The Music Man" and it was a good performance. Ben (our pastor's son in Macomb) had the lead and he did an awesome job. We got to see the whole family, which was awesome. They are awesome people and were one of my really significant connections to Macomb. We didn't go to the house. Driving by was good enough for me. We did make a stop at Jackson Street Pub for dinner (love that place) and stopped by to visit some friends, too.
I'm obviously still trying to play "catch up" on the blog. I haven't forgotten about Easter, I just want to find some pictures to put along on that post. Until then...

Mommy Conference

2010-03-31T11:21:00.002-05:00

So a few weeks ago, I went to my annual "mommy conference." If you live in central Illinois and are a mom, you've most likely heard of Hearts at Home. This was my 7th year of going and, again, it didn't disappoint! It is the best weekend ever and I look forward to it every year. My friend, Nicole and I decided to try it out when our kids were 9 months and 6 months old, respectively. We haven't missed unless we had just given birth (Nicole) or were at a wedding (me)! They offer little sessions on parenting, marriage, spiritual growth, etc... You get to pick your top ten and they assign you to 3 or 4. This year, as it turned out, I went to my sessions on Friday with my sister and Nicole did hers on Saturday (since she has to fly in from SC and everything). I also had a prior engagement to attend on Saturday. We still made a great weekend of it.
I ended up attending a class on Sibling Rivalry, Living Life After Loss, Living with Less so your Family has More, and Growing Weeds out of Trees (about raising kids). I loved them all and can say I took a little something from each session. I was super excited that they were offering the Living Life After Loss session, although I went in very anxious and left feeling sad. It was rather depressing, which I suppose it should have been, but I was hoping to feel a little comfort and can't say that I did.
Anywho, it always gives me new ideas and refreshes me for at least a little while. Nicole brought her friend Kathy and we stayed had a great girls weekend. We ate some good food, had some great talks, and slept in beds with no kids! Can't wait until next year!

Woohoo! Yippee!

2010-03-30T16:12:00.002-05:00

Zac just called. We've accepted an offer on our Macomb house! Woohoo! It's been on the market for a year and it's finally our turn! How nice will it be to have only one house payment? Ahhh....
There will still be some hoops to jump through, but what's new. Inspections, financing, etc... It sounds like closing won't be until May, but that's right around the corner! We'll keep you posted on this one!

No excuses.

2010-03-29T10:14:00.002-05:00

I have absolutely no excuse as to why I've been on vacation from the blogging world. Pure and simple...I've just been plain lazy. I have a ton to blog about, but I'm not going to overwhelm you in one post, thinking that maybe if I say I'm going to break it up into numerous posts, I'll actually do it!
So, today I'm dedicating the post to my employment, or lack there of.
I've been "laid off" from my babysitting gig. The dad worked for a company that is now extinct, so he's staying home with the "twinkies" until he finds another job. If he gets lucky enough to find one soon, I may be back in business. Otherwise, I'm back to enjoying my freedom.
Along the same lines of employment (sort of), we still have our two houses. Without the extra income of babysitting, Zac and I have gone to a semi-strict budget. I've been spending lots of time coupon hunting and going a little crazy on trying to find deals. It's been fun so far, but I don't expect it to last. I had one great grocery shopping trip that saved me a ton of money, but the next one didn't even come close. It's a lot of work, too. But...I'm always up for a bit of a challenge. Anyway, we had a second showing on the house in Macomb yesterday, so we are praying big that something comes of it. Our renters are moving out this week and Zac and I are going to the Macomb house on Friday to clean it up a bit and see what if there is anything that needs any attention. I'm looking forward to spending the day with Zac, but I sure am dreading going back to the house. Last time we were there, things just didn't go well for me (emotionally, I mean). So, I'll continue praying for peace and hope that things will go better this time!

Still kickin'

2010-03-03T10:42:00.002-06:00

Yes. We are still alive. Although, after a weekend with the flu, I was beginning to wonder if we were going to make it. Brooklyn came down with it at Grandma and Grandpa's house on Saturday. She is such a tough cookie, though. She trekked right through it. I woke up about 2:30 in the morning on Sunday with it. Jack ended up with it Tuesday night. It was all fairly short lived, but icky, nonetheless. Zac has stayed clear of it. So far. We need to keep it that way, as he doesn't handle those things well!
Watching the "twinkies" everyday has definitely put a damper on my computer time, so I do apologize for being MIA for so long. I do have, however, a new found respect for all parents of multiples. My goodness. It's hard work! Feeding, burping, playing, feeding, changing, burping, playing, changing, napping, changing, feeding...well, you get the picture.
I have been having some mixed emotions lately. Here in a couple of days, it will mark the one year anniversary of Olivia's last day at home with us. She went in for a routine platelet transfusion on Mar. 8 and was admitted for the last time. It's going to be hard to think about those days, but there are so many significant "bad days" that I hope don't overwhelm me. I think keeping so busy with the babies will definitely be a good distraction.
Anyway, another feeding awaits me. Just wanted everyone to know we are still alive and kickin'!

Working girl.

2010-02-12T20:06:00.002-06:00

Yep. That's me.
Today was my first day of watching the twins. It was more of a trial run, with my "official" start date on Tuesday.
It went surprisingly well! I was a little nervous. I knew I could handle one baby, but two? I had some great helpers! Jack and Brooklyn were here all day celebrating Abe Lincoln's b'day. They were both amazing with the babies, Brooklyn especially. They couldn't get enough. Brooklyn would go play for a while, but would be sure to tell me to holler at her when I needed her help. Both kids would randomly start talking about how cute "they" were, which did throw me off a couple of times. (Brooklyn and I were changing the felt pads on the bottom of the dining room chairs so they would quit scratching up the floors. I thought she was talking about how cute the felt pads were??? After a confused look, she explained that she was talking about the babies! Ahhhh, silly mommy)
The babies were great, which obviously helped, too. Baby V loves to sleep and she seems to be extremely content all the time. Baby C loves to talk, loves to watch Brooklyn dance, and he loves to be held (which is good, because I kind of like to hold babies, too =o) It's so fun to have babies in the house, and to know that I don't have to get up for any midnight feedings! It's also great to finally be able to get Zac to quit nagging me about what I do all day! All in all, a great first day on the job!

So easy to please.

2010-02-12T19:45:00.004-06:00

It happened today.

The kids and I were sound asleep in our bed this morning. That seems to be happening a lot lately. Our small queen-sized bed with 4 not so small people in it makes for really bad sleep for everyone, but I wouldn't change a thing. It normally starts out just the two of us, but kids just seem to migrate in at random times throughout the night...

I digress.

So, the kids and I were sound asleep in our bed this morning. All of a sudden we all wake when we hear Zac gasp and tell us to look out the window. There they were. About 9 deer in the field (soon to be houses) behind us. Ever since we moved here, that is all I wanted. I just knew it looked like the perfect place for some deer, but never saw any. My mom *claims* she saw a deer out there one afternoon, but I never saw it, which means it doesn't count, even if it was there, which I really don't think it was. (No offense, mom!) So, I ran down to get my camera just to have solid proof of these beautiful creatures that were practically in my backyard. Now, keep in mind, I rarely drive at night during any time of the year in fear of hitting a deer. I panic when I see them anywhere near a roadway, even during the day. They are pretty much my nemesis, yet this was just amazing to me.

I really wasn't a sheltered child. I grew up in a small farm town. I can honestly say I had never seen a "wild" deer until I met Zac who lived in the middle of nowhere. I mean, we hit that deer in November, and it was the first time I'd been present for such an incident. Who knows why I'm so fascinated by this, but it is kind of nice to know that it really doesn't take too much to excite me! I'd say I'm pretty easy to please.

It was sad, however, at dinner when we said our "highs, lows, and thankfuls" for the day. My high part was seeing the deer. I made the comment that it was a dream of mine that had come true. Jack turned to me and started telling me it was all just a dream, in one of those, you know, hypnotic voices. Good thing I took that picture, even if it didn't turn out too well (I didn't want to scare them off, so I didn't use my flash or open the door =o)

And yes, I know, I'm pathetic.

I am so sorry!

2010-02-08T08:09:00.007-06:00

How rude am I? I'm such a slacker.

Anyway, my parents went to the Gulf Shores for the month of January to take full advantage of their retirements. Every time I talked to my mom, she would go on and on and on about how beautiful it was and how much she wished we could have made it down. I finally got sick of being jealous and booked a flight for the kids and I to go down. Zac had class that weekend, so he was stuck here. We left Thursday morning and stayed through Sunday and helped pack up and drove back with them. The kids had a great time. The highlight was probably the Go-Kart place. It was huge, had an enormous arcade, and we had the whole place to ourselves! The weather was a bit warmer than here, and the beach was beautiful.

It was an interesting trip home. It was about 14 hours of driving time, and we had about 8 stops before we even made it to the interstate. We weren't quite on the same potty schedule, but once we got that under control, it was a pretty smooth ride. The kids aren't normally the best travellers (like we pull out of the driveway, and they wonder how long it will take to get to Walmart...which is about 4 miles away) but they did awesome! It was a great time and we can't wait to go again next year!

Okay - in order to just get this post up, I'm putting the pictures in no particular order. I'm sure there is an easy way to do it, but I've never figured it out. You'll just have to imagine what order they all go in!

Game face...

Grandpa time...

Cartwheels...

Seashells...

Sandcastles...

So close to the beach...about 50 steps off the elevator!

Amazing sunsets...

We did miss daddy...

Big waves...

Grandma time...

Road Trip!

2010-02-02T08:14:00.003-06:00

The kids and I decided to take a little vacation over the weekend. So, if you thought we were MIA, you were so right! I'm *hoping* to get pictures up later today, but you know how that goes...but here is a little teaser just to get you through:

The dentist

2010-01-25T21:05:00.002-06:00

Poor Brooklyn. She has the worst teeth. According to the dentist, it's genetic. I beg to differ, unless it skips a generation. I'm going more with the theory of all the sugar she eats.

I took her in to have a cavity filled on Wednesday morning, and after a quick exam, there was only one little tooth that isn't going to need some sort of attention. Poor thing. They gave her the laughing gas, numbed her up, yanked a tooth, and put a "princess crown" on another. We've said she is going to be the most decorated, shiny princess around here before too long. It was very traumatic for both of us because we didn't know exactly what she was having done, and the outcome wasn't even in the ballpark. She went back today for her third "princess crown."
She opted to try today's visit with no laughing gas. Bad idea. Bad, bad idea. We set up two more appointments and hopefully that takes care of things for now.

The good points:

-No more pain (at least for now)

-She got some lip gloss for being so brave (She was really, really brave)

-The Tooth Fairy came (although he was a male and kind of skimped on the prize money...in my personal opinion. I mean, this was a molar and it did have to be yanked out of there)

-We actually have dental insurance these days (The first "princess crown" was on us)

State of IL update

2010-01-23T17:56:00.002-06:00

It seems as though I got a few people riled up on my behalf concerning my All Kids issues. You'll been somewhat happy to know that I got some things taken care of. Sort of.
I never did hear back from a caseworker, so I tried one more time to call on Wednesday. I actually got through to an actual honest to goodness caseworker. I talked to her about the problems I was having and she said "in regards to the premium: it takes at least 4-6 months to get that to go through. Just ignore the statements and don't worry. We won't send you to collections." Alright. I'll just ignore it for 2 more months and it should be all taken care of. Hmmm... we'll see.
In regards to the other bill we received...I just need to call the doctor's office and have them re-bill it. Again. I explained that they had billed twice and even appealed it twice. So, she gave me the number to someone who might be able to help me because the date of service is over a year ago (12-8-08)...barely.
Anyway, I haven't had a chance to call him, yet. We'll see how that one goes.
Then, I nicely asked to speak to a supervisor regarding some issues I have with the operators (namely, Veronica). She said she would have to send an email to their supervisor and she would call me about it.
She actually did call me within about a half an hour. Shocking! I explained the issue I had and she was very apologetic. Apparently she had just called Veronica in the day before to talk to her about some other things, but assured me she would call her back in about this. She also assured me that if I would have told her "our story" she would have been more prompt at getting me through to someone. Hmmm... don't think I should have to do that, but I'll keep it in mind for the next time I call.
Anywho...thanks for all the advice and encouragement. Hopefully this all gets resolved. If not, I guess I now know what to do?!?

Illinois

2010-01-18T17:57:00.004-06:00

I really don't care for a select few of the State of Illinois workers. If you remember this post, you'll have some of the background to it. I had called and gotten everything taken care of. Or so I thought. The All Kids program (which I feel very fortunate to have had for Olivia) has continued to send a overdue statement for $80. I realize that's not a huge amount, but it's for the June and July premiums. Olivia was not here, so I don't feel as if we should have to pay that. Anyway, I tried to call on Thursday and after about 10 minutes of automated operators, I was connected to a real, honest to goodness person. However, no case workers were available to take my call. Someone would have to call me back.

I didn't hear from anyone, so Friday afternoon, I called again. Same stuff, only this time, the operator wasn't so nice. She said no one was available. Someone would return my call. The rest of the conversation went something like this:

Me: Ma'am, someone was supposed to call me back yesterday and I haven't heard from anyone.

Not so nice lady: Our case workers have 48 hours to return phone calls. Besides it would show up as a private caller, blocked call, or unknown caller.

Me: Okay. Well I did happen to check my caller ID and there were only numbers I recognized, so still, no one called me back. I wasn't aware of the 48 hour time frame, but could I please hold.

Not so nice lady (in a very snooty voice): What about the other 30 people waiting to have their calls returned? Can I have your number and have someone call you back.

Me: Um. Okay.

I proceeded to give her my info, completely in shock that she spoke to me that way. I actually started crying, however there's no way I gave her the satisfaction of knowing that.

Me: I'd really like to get this matter taken care of. Are you sure there is no way I can hold?

Her: This is a switchboard. It's not possible. Thank you.

Click.

So, I still haven't talked to anyone, which is fine. I'm sure they'll call tomorrow. It just gripes me to no end that I was treated this way. This woman had no idea of our circumstances, and even so, I had no expectation to be treated any differently than any other person that called in to their office. I really would like to think that this lady was just having a bad day and I caught her at a bad moment, but I can't help but think that I was treated this way because of the stigma of those using the All Kids program. Most are probably lower income families, but regardless of any of the circumstances, there is no reason someone should talk to another person that way.

So, upon the suggestion of others, I am hoping to get up the nerve to call our state rep tomorrow and file a complaint against operator Veronica.

Oh, and we're also getting bills that All Kids denied from last year saying Olivia wasn't eligible...so it sounds like my battle is just beginning. Ugh.

Snippets.

2010-01-15T17:02:00.002-06:00

Okay. Let's just get the Christmas posts done and over with. I've got much more recent things to be blogging about...

Let's see...where did I leave off? Oh yes, we should now be to Christmas Eve.

We started the morning off by opening gifts to/from each other. Zac got his infamous "kid" tie that has all the kids' pictures on it. Jack was happy with another new Lego set, while Brooklyn was super excited about her Candy Jewelry kit. I was overjoyed with my brand new paper shredder. I'm so easily entertained. Then we were able to go to church. We always love Christmas Eve services, but for the last few years it hasn't been able to fit into our schedule. The church we've been attending had a 4:00 Family Service/Birthday Party for Jesus. It was so neat. The kids really enjoyed it since it targeted that age group. Then off to Zac's parent's house to celebrate Christmas with the extended Chatterton's...always a good time.

We were able to make it home before Santa arrived so we could get his cookies out. Christmas morning, we were so excited that he found us! The kids got lots of cool stuff, which all went by the wayside when it was time to leave for Jesus' Birthday Breakfast. Every year we go to my aunt and uncle's house for a huge breakfast. Uncle Dave makes the best pancakes...just ask any of the kids! We sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and get our bellies filled up just enough to need a little nap. After we take a little break, we head to my parent's house. Another little gift exchange - gift of the year happened to be Snuggies. There were 3 under the tree! It just so happened that "The 3 Wisemen" ended up with those gifts. Lucky them. Every Christmas night we play lots of games and make our own pizzas. It gets a little crazy with everyone trying to get their pizzas perfect, but it's an awesome tradition!

Well, I think that sums it up in a nutshell! Whew. Christmas can finally be over. Can't wait until next year!

Christmas break

2010-01-12T19:50:00.002-06:00

I'm taking a little break from blogging about Christmas. I had a weird day today. I spent the morning scrubbing the hallway this morning. I usually just use my Swiffer, but decided I'd go all out and actually scrub it. So, when I got bored with that, I ran out to the store. I was gone for about an hour. I came home, put away the groceries and went to do some stuff on the computer. I look down and see muddy footprints all the way down my nice, clean hallway. I immediately call Zac to see if he had come home. Nope. I call the garage door company to see if they had been over (they are working on the garage). Nope. I call the neighbor to see if she saw anyone. No one was home. I call my brother-in-law to see if he had been by. Nope.
By this point, I'm freaking out. I left and sat in my car with the doors locked in the driveway because I had to be here to get Brooklyn off the bus.
Zac was in the middle of a meeting, so my bro-in-law came and secured the premises. We both decided we could see the footprints leave the house and see where they ended and got into the car. This put me a little bit at ease, but not completely. I mean, someone was obviously in our house without permission. So, Zac came home after his meeting and before reporting this suspicious event, he went down to the construction workers down the road to see if they by any chance had "gotten the wrong house." Sure enough, they did. They were putting some granite into a house at another dead end and happened to think it was our house. Freaky. I guess the guy was extremely apologetic and very grateful that we checked around before calling the police. I was relieved that we found out who it was. Anyway, just a weird, unsettling day. I have, however, learned my lesson. We'll have to start locking our door. So, a very heartfelt apology to all those would-be robbers. You won't be getting in here!

Christmas #2

2010-01-08T08:38:00.002-06:00

We continued our Christmas celebration on Wednesday, Dec. 23. This was with the Trent side...my parents, sister's family, grandma, and us. We hosted at our house and had a great time. We tried a couple of new recipes, which were a hit. They were actually from the "Julie and Julia" party at the Bible study I attend.
Gifts were a-plenty. Brooklyn got a really cool closet for her American Girl doll clothes, Jack loved his wooden baseball field pinball machine, Zac loved his special new headphones for running, and I got Photoshop Elements for the computer. I've got all my pictures organized and now need to figure out how to do some fun stuff with them! Olivia even got a little present...mom and dad are sponsoring a little guy through Compassion International in memory of Olivia. How cool is that?
So, I've got two Christmases down, and only 3 more to go! At this rate, I should be caught up by Valentine's Day!

The Leg Lamp

2010-01-04T14:00:00.002-06:00

We started out our Christmases on the 20th of December, celebrating with the immediate Chatterton side. This would include Zac's parent's, sister's family, grandma, and us. Amy and Chris hosted again this year, which was a nice halfway point for all of us. We had a great time and the number of gifts was a little overwhelming for all of us. Don't worry, though. We handled it just fine!

Jack was super excited about his first K'Nex set. He got a some motorized madness ball drop thingy, and I can tell you that it did cause some madness in this house. He asked for me to work on putting it together for him while he was at school. Oh. My. Gosh. It took two days and may have even caused some blisters in the process. It is really cool and he does really love it, but it's recommended age of 9+ should definitely be changed to 30+ (if not higher).

Brooklyn got 2 Christmas dresses for her American Girl doll, Elizabeth. She was happy with that, and has also been making lots of bracelets for her friends and family with her 800+ bead set she got. That's a lot of little beads all over the house!

Zac had an early Christmas from his parents by picking out some new suits. Boring to some, yes. Necessary for him, yes.

That leaves me. You know the reaction of the dad on The Christmas Story movie when he opens up his package and gets that awesome leg lamp. Well, this is my leg lamp:

I almost put it in the window for a picture, but decided it wouldn't do it justice. It's the Keurig coffee pot I've been wanting forever. One of those things I would never, ever buy for myself. It makes tea, coffee, hot chocolate...all in less than a minute! I LOVE it! I got lots of other fun stuff, too, but this gift definitely takes the cake!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T16:50:00.002-06:00

Wow - do I have a lot to catch up on. It's going to definitely take me a couple days worth of blogging and organizing. Well, maybe not lots of organizing...I didn't take too many pictures over the holidays. I guess there was just too much going on to remember that little detail.
We had a great holiday season, celebrated with lots of family and friends. We had approximately 5 Christmas celebrations, and quite a few other get-togethers with friends.
Once I get my thoughts all in order, I'll get it all documented here. I just wanted to make sure everyone knew we were still alive and ready to enjoy the upcoming year! We are looking so forward to seeing what it brings!
More to come...

Our Merry Christmas project!

2009-12-24T22:14:00.000-06:00

We spent some time last weekend getting ready for our big surprise for Olivia! We colored some special ornaments just for her and hung them on her very own tree at the cemetery!
The kids had a blast doing this and it helped us all celebrate a little part of Christmas with Olivia.

The kids each made two ornaments...Brooklyn colored some presents and an angel,

while Jack colored an ornament and a snowman. Then...off to the cemetery to deliver our ornaments! Isn't Olivia's little tree just perfect?!?

I've been pretty surprised at how well we are all handling the holidays. I've been dreading it for months now. We are all remembering Olivia in our own little ways. Of course, she is unforgettable! We've been surrounded by family. We've received some amazing cards, gifts, and treats. We've attended or hosted 5 Christmases so far and still have a couple more stops to make tomorrow. It's been truly awesome.

So...a very Merry Christmas to everyone! We hope your Christmas is filled with many blessings!

The flood.

2009-12-18T07:55:00.003-06:00

I had an unexpected conversation with Brooklyn the other night. It was just the two of us and we were on our way to her last soccer practice (thank goodness!). I don't remember exactly what we were talking about to get on the subject, but she asked me if she was sad when she found out that Olivia had gone to Heaven. I told her that when we originally said that Olivia wasn't going to be with us for very much longer, she was very sad, but the day she died, I think she was kind of expecting it, in a way. They had just been in to see her and to say goodbye and I'm sure she had picked up on the emotional cloud that loomed in the room that day.
She then proceeded to ask a lot of questions about how we found out that Olivia had died. I explained that I was holding her and her heart just stopped. "But, how did you know her heart stopped?" We talked about the monitors and how they showed that kind of stuff and that the doctor came in and told us she was gone. Anyway, an enormous flood of memories came back to me from that exact moment. It's one of those bittersweet moments that I'll never, ever forget. It's one of those moments that you read about happening to other people. I remember, so clearly, telling Olivia that if she was tired, it was okay to go. Within minutes, that was it.
So, why am I telling you all of this?
There are some families up in our PICU that are going through the same thing right now. Please pray for them. The nurses and the doctors are growing weary and need some extra prayers, too. These people are amazing. They invest their whole being into these kids and their families. It's been an extremely tough year up there, but it's so important for these docs and nurses to remember that, regardless of the outcome, they can only do so much. I remember when the doctors told us that anything they were doing medically, was being done 'to' Olivia, and no longer 'for' Olivia. This is when we knew it was time to let the Great Physician take over and He decided to give Olivia complete healing. Yes, we lost, but she won. Who could want anything more for their child? She is an amazing success story. So, an extra prayer for guidance, strength, comfort, and peace for our friends, and for all people struggling right now couldn't hurt, right?

A few exciting things...

2009-12-16T09:53:00.002-06:00

Just a couple of things to share...

We officially have renters! Woohoo!
The "jewel project" is still going well and we are almost a whole week into it.
Zac and I attended a beautiful memorial service at the hospital on Sunday. It was put on by the Children's Hospital and was a really nice candlelight service. If you were present, they read off the name of your child and their dates of birth/death. It was really neat to see the number of families that come back every year to remember their children and have a candle lit for them. There were some poems read (I believe written by families) and some amazing songs. It was a very good thing for Zac and I to do together.
A new blog! My best friend and I are taking on a challenge together in the new year. We are doing the 365 day challenge of reading the Bible...cover to cover. We are going to document are feelings throughout the year. I am so excited to do this - and we are looking for any takers that would like to join us! Check out the new blog at http://www.twogirlsandthebook.blogspot.com. It's still under construction, so don't expect too much until the first of the year when our challenge begins! We'd love to have you join us!
I got the most beautiful card and bracelet in the mail yesterday. The person who sent tried to be super sneaky and not sign the card or put a return address. But, unfortunately, she didn't know who she was dealing with and I busted her out! Thanks, Bethany! I love it! The bracelet reads, "A mother holds her children's hand for a short while but their hearts forever." How true. It's beautiful.
I've got about 98% of my Christmas shopping done.
We have a special project planned for our family to do on Friday or Saturday to celebrate Olivia's life...more on that later.

I know, I know. You can hardly contain your excitement.

Me either.

Earl

2009-12-13T19:14:00.003-06:00

Gee. Everyone seems so interested in little Earl.

Earl is our "Elf on the Shelf." It's a gift pack you can buy that comes with a book and an Elf. The story is that the Elf gets "adopted" into your family for the holidays. He's always watching you, and at night, when we are sleeping, Earl flies to the North Pole to tell Santa if you've been good, bad, what you want for Christmas, etc... Then, every morning, Earl is in a different place in the house. He's been in the tree, on doorknobs, on top of the cabinet, hanging from light fixtures, and many more strange places. No one can touch him, though. His magic may just disappear.

This morning, Earl was in one of our plants (yes, that's an AquaGlobe...I don't recommend them).

This is the first year we have done this. I'd seen the book/elf before, but never bought it. When I was in South Carolina, we ran across the book/elf at a toy store and Nicole's kids were totally taken by it. So I purchased an elf for us (and for Nicole's family, but she's not been real happy with me about it...her kids write letters to their elf and have gotten much more into it!)

Anyway, the kids love it. They are constantly reminding each other that God and Earl are watching them, so be good! It wasn't enough, however, to be able to bypass the "jewel project." Together they work out well, though. Earl will to the North Pole on Christmas Eve and return to us again next year.

I would highly recommend "The Elf on the Shelf" to anyone. Maybe it will be one of those after Christmas sales you can't live without! It's been really fun seeing where he turns up in the mornings. The kids are a whole lot better at finding him than I am half the time. The funny thing is, since Zac gets up so early, he always seems to be able to find him before us ;o)

The Jewel Project

2009-12-12T14:35:00.003-06:00

About once a year, it happens. I get completely fed up with the fighting, bickering, hitting, etc... that goes on between the kids.
It's happened.
I try to think of creative ways to get the kids to be nice to each other and whatever the new disciplinary project is, it usually works for at least a week or so ;o)
This time, it's the jewel project. It's similar to regimens we've tried before, so the kids already understand it. Jack does the jewel system at school, so I was a little concerned that he may not be into it. You know, having to be good at school and at home, but so far, so good. The kids have each decorated their own containers and if they do something nice, unexpected, considerate, or just plain unheard of, they get a jewel. Maybe even two. On the flip side, if they do something unkind, inconsiderate, or just plain unheard of, they lose a jewel. On Saturday, it's trade-in day.
We just started this new plan on Thursday, and it's ridiculous how kind and respectful the kids have been to each other and the completely unheard of things that have been going on. Last night, we had people over. We ordered pizza, wings, etc... Jack was in the kitchen for quite some time, only to find out he cleaned up the whole place! The leftovers were neatly placed in the fridge and the empty boxes were taken out to the garage and everything.

Another instance -
Jack: "Brooklyn, may I try some of that please?"
Brooklyn: "Of course you can, Jack."
Jack: "Thank you so much, Brooklyn."
Brooklyn: "You are so welcome, Jack."

Seriously?

Why is it that we have to bribe our children to be kind to each other? I'm not going to complain, because it's actually been rather peaceful around here.
Anyway, back to trade-in day. Jack spent a good 45 minutes last night making a list of what he thinks would be fair trade-in's.
Here's the breakdown:
5 jewels = sit in the king's chair at dinner (that would be Zac's seat)
8 jewels = sleep on the blow up mattress
10 jewels = get picked up from school
20 jewels = rent a movie
2 jewels = get a soda
25 jewels = buy something
29 jewels = buy Legos
1 jewel = stay up late
4 jewels = read a book
3 jewels = buy a book
15 jewels = don't wear a coat to school
1 jewel = be the first one to look for Earl (he's our little elf that we look for every morning in the house)

The trade-in's are still up for debate. I was a little put off by the paying 4 jewels to be able to read a book. I really do let them read whenever they want, and for the most part, I'm even willing to read a book to them whenever they want. And I can only imagine the things that will be said about me when the kids go to school with no coats on. I mean, how am I supposed to explain that they paid me 15 jewels to not wear a coat to school in below zero temperatures? Like I said, still up for debate. As for now, I'm enjoying the leverage of giving and taking jewels. It's been working in my favor. So far, at least.

Julie & Julia

2009-12-10T11:06:00.003-06:00

I don't know if I mentioned before, but I've joined a Bible study at the church we've been attending. It's an awesome study - "Becoming a Woman of Excellence." There are usually about 9 of us that are "regulars" and this group of women is unbelievable. We pray together, laugh together, cry together, and just have a great time together.

Yesterday was our Bible study Christmas party. We had a "Julie and Julia" party based on the new movie that was released this week. We each brought food that we made and the rule was it had to be a first time recipe...we'd never tried it before. We watched the movie, which I would give a definite thumbs-up to...and ate. Alot. Then it was time for the vote. The vote to determine who had the best first-time recipe. It was a tough decision...the soup, the parmesan fondue, the rice dishes, the festive green drink...hmmm.

But the purple ribbon goes to...

Drum roll, please....

Me!

That's right folks. It was just like winning the purple ribbon at the fair, I'm sure. My Holiday Chicken Salad won everyone over! I won a great little devotion book and got to bring home some new recipes to boot!

Our group is taking a break until after the holidays, which makes me kind of sad. I've enjoyed getting to know these women so much and look forward to my Wednesday afternoon "adult time." I guess It'll just give me something to look forward!

Memphis

2009-12-08T07:53:00.005-06:00

First of all...I'm obviously on a posting marathon today, so you'll have to cut me a little slack for my lack of posting lately. Just read one a day and it will be like I'm keeping up ;o)

Speaking of marathons...we had an awesome time in Memphis last weekend. We left Friday morning right after the kids got on the bus. Zac's sister Amy and brother-in-law, Chris rode with us. Our first stop...Lambert's in Sikeston, MO. Zac has always talked about this place since he had been a couple of times. We were super excited to find out it was on our way down to Memphis. It is the "Home of the Throwed Rolls" (yes, they say "throwed"). It was awesome. Amy ordered a chef salad in a bread bowl that was half the size of the table. The food was really good and they literally throw the rolls at you...from across the room. It was so fun!

Next stop...a picture in front of the Arkansas sign, of course! We couldn't stop for the Tennessee sign, since it was in the middle of a bridge.

Friday night, we met up with my parents and my sister and her fam. This was their stop on their way back from Disney so my mom could partake in the half marathon. We ate at Marlowe's...(one of Guy Fieri's stops on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives). It was in Graceland, which was fun to drive through and had some good barbecue, as well.

Saturday...race day. Here's the breakdown - Zac, Amy, and my cousin Christy ran the full marathon, while my mom, uncle Dave, and cousin Aaron ran the half. Everyone did awesome - especially the girls. Mom got 5th in her female age group, cousin Christy got 9th in her age group, 44th overall in the women, and cut 3 minutes off of her personal best marathon time, and Amy cut off 50-some minutes from her previous marathon! Don't get me wrong...the boys did great, too...just not as significantly as the girls.

Ahem.

Anyway, apparently the race experience was an emotional one for everyone. They ran through the St. Jude Hospital campus and there were so many of the patients out there, hooked up to their IV poles, holding signs and cheering them on. Everyone said it was just amazing.

Saturday night, we took on Beale Street with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. We visited B.B. King's, Dyer's Diner, and ended up at Wet Willie's. We had an excellent time...very entertaining.

Sunday, we got up and made the trek back to Illinois...but not without another stop at Lambert's! We loved that place so much, it needed another visit from us! We were home by sundown, got the kids (who had a great weekend, as well) and here we are to take on the weeks ahead!

And, at least for now... I'm caught up!

Chicago...take two.

2009-12-08T07:44:00.002-06:00

This time...a lot less stressful!
The Monday after Thanksgiving, my friend Bethany and I took a second train trip to Chicago. This time, sans kids. We got a lot of shopping done, had a lot of bad cab drivers that kept getting lost???, and did a lot of walking on top of that. The weather wasn't horrible. We ate at Rainforest. We actually ate a lot at Rainforest. The ultimate conclusion from the trip...Bethany and I are never going to go on The Amazing Race together. She's great at getting cabs and all, but the whole direction thing...not so much for either of us. We are planning another train trip in the spring and bringing a couple other nurses with us (right, Jodi and Ann??? Can't wait...maybe with 4 of us we won't get as lost!)

Happy Thanksgiving...a little late.

2009-12-08T07:14:00.004-06:00

It makes me absolutely crazy to be behind on posts, but Thanksgiving week is a must...so Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great week that week. We got to meet our niece, Hannah, for the first time. We had a house full of 30 people for Thanksgiving. I even had to buy more plates, which is a good thing because it means our family is growing! We ate lots and lots of food, did some Black Friday shopping, and just had an overall great time.

On Thanksgiving Thursday, Zac and I spent the day preparing the house, the fryer, the smoker, the food, etc... It's especially nice being closer to family so we could run food into my parent's house to use their oven, too! Thanks Mom!

Everyone came around noon for Happy Hour (It's embarrassing, but I assume we are probably one of the few houses that get a keg for Thanksgiving;o) We had our usual roasted turkey, fried turkey, smoked turkey, and Cajun pork loin, along with all the sides! The kids had a great time playing with each other and the adults did, too. A little poker for the adults, and board games for those of us that despise cards (namely, me).

After everyone left, my two sister-in-laws and I plotted out our Black Friday plan of attack. We got up a little after 3:00 and off we went. I do need to mention that this was Jenn's first experience with Black Friday. I should also mention that she is from Florida. It's a bit warmer there, if you didn't know. She said it was cold, early, but fun, however, she probably won't be joining us again until there are some unbelievable deals that she can't pass up once Hannah gets a little older. It was fun to have them stay here, though, and to have a baby in the house again. The boys were in charge of the kiddos while we were gone and Zac ended up taking the 3 big kids down to the Santa Claus parade. What a brave soul.

Brooklyn, Alais, Jack, and Hannah

Friday night, we went to the in-laws for an extended family gathering so everyone else could meet Hannah, too.

Brooklyn on her new Razor from Uncle Ty and Aunt Jenn.

We also did the niece/nephew Christmas so Ty and Jenn could actually see the kids open their gifts instead of just shipping them up here.

Grandpa Rod testing out Alais' new Bumblebee voice changer.

It was a great evening...until we left. We hit a deer on the way home. It was my first experience with hitting a deer. Zac was driving, but I'd never been present for one of his deer encounters before. It was a lot less traumatic than I thought it would be. It's always been one of my biggest fears. Needless to say, Zac wasn't happy. At all. The kids slept right through the whole thing and were sad that they missed it. Anyway, the car is in the shop this week, which is why I actually have time to sit down and blog!
The house is decorated for Christmas. I'm a little behind on getting gifts. We've had our first snow. We are supposedly getting our first winter storm any moment now. Winter is here!

Road trip.

2009-12-03T20:33:00.002-06:00

This week has gone by way too quickly. I'm just going to have to catch up with the Thanksgiving post another day, because I have other fun stuff to share. Zac and I, along with Zac's sister and brother-in-law, head out first thing in the morning for Memphis. That's right. We are taking a road trip. Some of the crazy people in the family think it's actually entertaining to run. This weekend happens to be the St. Jude Marathon in Memphis. We are excited to go down there. We are going to try to walk around the hospital. It's hard to believe that less than a year ago, the plan was for us to take Olivia down there for 3-6 months. Crazy.
Anyway, Zac, his sister, and my cousin, Christy are running the full marathon. My mom, uncle, and cousin Aaron are running the half. The rest of us...we'll be on the sidelines cheering them on!
It should be a good time, though. I hear Memphis is a great city with lots of great food and entertainment! Keep you posted...
Also, thanks for all the encouraging words from yesterday's post. It always helps to get things off my mind!

Feeling weak.

2009-12-02T09:44:00.003-06:00

I have so much that I need to catch up on in the blogging department. Not only did we have an awesome Thanksgiving, but there is also the Black Friday shopping, the train trip to Chicago, and a few other things. However, I am feeling emotionally weak these days and needed to take the time to get some things from my mind onto the blog, as that always seems to help things.
So, here it goes. I'm sad. I miss Olivia so much these past few weeks. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the holidays. I have been coming across so many things that she loved and so many things that I know she would love if she were still here. I've been talking about her a lot lately. Don't get me wrong- I love, love, love to talk about Olivia. I also wonder if it's partially "the time" during the grieving process that I am supposed to feel like this. There are moments that go by that it seems like Livvy has been gone forever and other times that it seems like I head up to the hospital to see her. I don't know. It's a really strange feeling. One that I'm actually not too fond of. I do know that this weakness I'm feeling will definitely make me stronger in the end, but I'm ready any time now! I'm sure it's just one of those seasons of life...and death...that we will continue to go through as time passes.
Hopefully, today or tomorrow, I will find some extra time to blog about all the exciting stuff going on around here...there's lots to tell! Anyway, a few extra little prayers for comfort and strength couldn't hurt...

A little reflection...

2009-11-23T11:46:00.002-06:00

Just six months, and about an hour ago, Olivia went home to Heaven. She went straight from my arms into the loving arms of her Father.
It's been an interesting 6 months, to say the least. There have been good days and bad days, although the good are starting to outweigh the bad. People said that the good memories of Olivia would start to take over the "bad" memories, although I really don't like to refer to them as that. We don't have any "bad" memories of Olivia, just "bad" in the sense that she was so sick at times. It's hard to think of her in that capacity...the days that she struggled so much, so it's nice to have all the wonderful times we had permanently etched into our minds.
I am completely in awe by the number of times we have still been able to use words such as "amazing" and "perfect." Whether it be through an act of kindness, a person touched by Olivia, a simple card, or a great memory, we have been completely blessed. I am amazed every day by the peace that literally passes all understanding that God has granted me. Olivia is still and always will be a huge part of our family and our everyday lives. There isn't a day that goes by that we don't talk about something Olivia did, or something we wish we could have seen.
Thanksgiving will probably be hard this year. Olivia never missed a Thanksgiving. She is a true Chatterton in that way...loves her Thanksgiving Dinner! This year, we will still be thankful for the little things, but also for some bigger things. We thank God everyday for the time we got to have Olivia in our lives, for the amazing doctors, nurses, support staff, and complete strangers that she brought into our lives, for the health of the rest of our family, and especially for the comfort and peace we have in knowing that Olivia is now free of pain and, in the end, has won the ultimate battle.

Just a little reflection on the past 6 months (and a little devotion for the day :o)

Southern Comfort

2009-11-14T15:39:00.002-06:00

I had a great time in South Carolina. The flight down was perfect. The weather was perfect. The company was perfect. The entertainment was perfect. The amount and quality of food I ate was amazing. An all around good vacation.
I got up at 3:30 in the morning last Saturday to head to the airport in Bloomington. I can't tell you the last time I was up and out the door that early. I was in SC by 11:00 a.m.! Nicole and I stayed in Charleston on Saturday night...right downtown. We ate at a couple of really good restaurants. Saturday nights meal was awesome. I even ordered ribs! And if you know me at all, you know I don't eat things on bones. These were amazing! Sunday, we took a horse tour around the downtown area and learned a lot of history. We walked forever and saw some amazing homes. We browsed through the market, got some pralines, went to Sullivan's Island and walked on the beach, and then took off for the Columbia area. I spent the next two days with Nic's family and we did some shopping, had some more great food (all I know is that we need a Firehouse Subs & a Five Guys burger place here), and went out with some of Nicole's friends that I'd heard so much about. Tuesday, the only rainy day, sent me packing back to Illinois. Good old Ida caused some disruption in my flight plans.
I was supposed to stay overnight in Atlanta.
All by myself.
To catch a plane the next morning.
Not me. I don't do that kind of stuff.
So, I forked out some pretty big bucks and found a flight back to Bloomington.
The problem?
My keys to the car were in my suitcase.
I checked my bag.
It all worked out in the end. I only had to inconvenience a few people. Zac dug around for an extra key. My dad drove it to Bloomington and left it in my car. I drove home and turned around Wednesday morning to go back and get my luggage. Ugh.
Luckily, I was completely refreshed from my vacation that I was able to handle all of these unforeseen circumstances!
I'll go back in a heartbeat...only I may drive next time!

An Amazing Thing...

2009-11-05T09:27:00.002-06:00

So, a couple of weeks ago, I get a phone call from one of the doctors in the PICU. He asked if Zac and I would be his guests at a wine experience and auction to benefit the Children's Hospital. Of course we would! We like wine. We wish we could afford some of the auction stuff. And we love the Children's Hospital.
Then he asks if we would feel comfortable speaking about how we got involved with the Children's Hospital. Immediately, I said that Zac would love to speak. I don't do that. Well, I speak. Just not in front of people.
After a whole lot of thinking and praying, I decided this was an opportunity to share just a part of Olivia's story and how much all of those doctors and nurses mean to us. Because I was lucky enough to be there all the time, it seemed more appropriate for me to speak. So, for the first time in 32 years, I spoke into a microphone. In front of a bunch of people. I was so nervous! I had written down a bunch of stuff, so I wouldn't forget to say anything, but I still forgot at least half. Anyway, it turned out well and everyone survived my little speech, and it was an amazing thing to be able to do...the speaking part and the opportunity to thank some very special people.
Then the bidding wars started...it was awesome to see how much some of the things went for and to know it was going to help such a great cause. One of the auctions that came up for was a yacht trip on the Illinois River with wine, dinner, and 6 friends. This one was racking up some big bucks! Afterwards, a man came up to Zac and me and said that it was for us. They bid on that auction for us! Can you believe that? We were speechless. So, next summer, Zac and I are going to be taking a yacht cruise on the Illinois River with some friends...all thanks to some amazing people that Olivia must have touched...just by hearing a snippet of her story. We did know one person at the table, but other than that, complete strangers. Unbelievable.
On a side note...I'm in a bible study at church with some amazing women on Wednesday afternoons. We always give our prayer requests for the week and yesterday mine happened to be for a little extra peace and wisdom. See, we still haven't sold our house in Macomb. No bids, no interest, nada. Things are starting to get a little funny around here financially, so we just needed a little guidance as to where to go from here. So, these women prayed for us to have a little guidance yesterday and by late afternoon, Zac called and said there might be someone interested in a short term rental. He's a retired professor from Western and he sold his house and needs somewhere to stay to finish out the year. I don't know if this will go through or not, but it sure is nice to have a little hope. All I could think was that God sure does work quickly!
Other than all that amazing stuff, I think I just need to catch up with my Halloween post before I go on my little vacation to get you all caught up on our lives, which I'm sure you've all been dying to do ;o)

Choo, choo!!!

2009-11-04T11:03:00.008-06:00

The kids and I took a train trip to Chicago with our friends, Bethany and Ava, a little over a week ago.

Bethany is one of Olivia's former nurses that we have become very, very close to. When Livvy was in the hospital, we talked about making this trip sometime and we were finally able to coordinate a time to go! It was Ava's first train ride and the first one that Jack could really remember. We didn't have the best weather, but we really couldn't complain. The kids did awesome! We made a visit to the Shedd Aquarium, which everyone thought was pretty impressive.

The kids even got to touch real starfish. I wasn't even brave enough to do that!

Then we made a stop at the American Girl Store (my first experience there) and the Lego Store.

Throw a little Garrett's Popcorn in the mix and we were ready to call it a day!

The train ride went very smoothly. One of the conductor people even said we were doing a great job entertaining the kids.

It did take lots of trips to the snack car and lots of trips to the bathroom and garbage cans, but all in all a great time.

Bethany and I did decided, however, that we need to do this again minus the kiddos, so we have our next trip scheduled...our goal is to be a little bit more efficient and to get some Christmas shopping done!

Speaking of trips...I'm going on vacation! Me. Just me.

I know, it's impossible to believe, but I am. I'm flying to South Carolina this weekend. I'm going to visit my friend, Nicole, and her family. They moved to SC last year and we've not had the opportunity to make it down there, yet. We always talked about it and even had planned on swinging through there last summer. But, plans changed and it didn't work out. So, we finally settled on a date and I booked the ticket and I'm going! I can't wait! We are staying in Charleston for a night and it is supposed to be just beautiful. Then back to Nic's house to just hang out for a few days, meet her friends that I hear so much about, and relax! Zac and the kids have promised to stay healthy and be on their best behavior, so everything should be okay on the homefront...no worries. Did I mention that I can't wait?

Go, Fight, Win!

2009-10-26T16:17:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Brooklyn decided to sign up for a cheerleading clinic offered through the high school. She loved it! They practiced on a Wednesday and Thursday, and performed at the football game on Friday night. It was interesting when she came home both evening and didn't remember a thing from practice. She was able to hold her own for the "performance."

Sort of. If you notice in the picture, she is the only one not doing the same thing as the other girls. Oh well, she had an awesome time!

October 11, 2001

2009-10-26T15:21:00.005-05:00

Jack's Birth Day. He came into this world weighing a whopping 9 lbs. 12 oz. Now he's 8. It doesn't seem at all possible that we could have an 8 year old...that's halfway to getting his driver's license!

I wanted to be like one of those people that puts a baby picture on here, but I don't know how to scan a photo in...so you'll just have to imagine...chubby little legs, big brown eyes, a round little face, etc... Cute as a bug!

He had a great birthday party. We did the party with his cousin, Emmy, who turned 7 a week after Jack. My sister was in charge of the cake...didn't it turn out awesome!

It was nice to get everyone here and celebrate both birthdays at once. The kids thought it was awesome, too. We had a Dr. Seuss themed party...very fun and appropriate for both kids.

The pinata was a big hit (pardon the pun ;) It started off as a pull-string pinata, but ended up as a traditional "hit it as hard as you can" pinata.

Jack's favorite part of turning 8...he "legally" doesn't have to use a booster seat anymore! Ahhh, the freedom.

Alleluia!

2009-10-26T11:38:00.002-05:00

It pains me to say that I have been without a computer for over a week. I haven't been able to blog about so many things...Jack's 8th birthday, a train trip to Chicago, another unbelievable thing that happened to us, etc... I'm hoping to get to these posts soon, but I'm spending time getting to know a new computer. Our other one got a nasty virus. My naive self just kept thinking, "It's a virus. It will go away one of these days!" Not so much. It was going to be $400 to make the virus go away. No thanks. I'll just buy a new one! Stay tuned....

Here it is!

2009-10-07T14:34:00.004-05:00

As promised, I went out this morning and took a few pictures of the headstone. The sun was at a bad spot, so the pictures aren't great. It's still as gorgeous today as it was last night, though!

The Front:

And the back...

I should have taken a close up of the etching of Olivia. There is a man at Wyoming Monument that does these by hand. We were so incredibly nervous that it wouldn't look like Olivia. We couldn't have asked for better artwork!

Ups and Downs

2009-10-06T20:24:00.002-05:00

What a couple of days.
We had a wonderful weekend. On Saturday, my mom , the kids and I went to the 2nd annual Peoria Buddy Walk to help raise awareness for people with Down syndrome. This year, as a fundraiser, families could get "buddy bands" saying "I'm ________Buddy." One family that we have come to know asked if they could be "Olivia's buddy" this year. We were honored and excited to get some buddy bands in the mail last week saying "I'm Olivia's Buddy." How awesome. We were only able to stay at the Buddy Walk for a short period of time. It was too hard. All those beautiful babies, kids, and adults sparked the emptiness in my heart. It was so awesome to see the accomplishments of so many of the kids, but just made us miss Livvy a whole lot.
So, on to the scenic drive. It was chilly, very muddy, and misting a bit. We still had a good time and made a few purchases, though. The rest of the weekend was spent working around the house and we actually got a lot done. Things are progressing nicely...
Today was a great, great day. I went up to the PICU for a visit. They had Olivia's calendar picture from last year blown up and framed. It's hanging right outside of the room where she spent a whole lot of time. It was so, so good to see everyone. It's amazing how much I miss them. For 2 1/2 years, I spent entire days (both good and bad) and even some nights with those nurses and doctors. I consider a lot of them my closest friends. It was just really good to see them. And the picture of Olivia...gorgeous!
To add to all of that excitement-I went out to visit Livvy tonight and her headstone is up. Her absolutely, unbelievably, perfect in every way, beautiful headstone. I was so overwhelmed by the perfection of it that I actually started laughing and telling Olivia how awesome it was. This is going to sound really strange, but the feeling I got was similar to what I felt when Olivia started crawling and feeding herself. Or when the big kids started walking, talking, or riding their bikes. It was just a great feeling-a monumental one. One that needed to be documented! I'm hoping to go out tomorrow and take a picture of it (hopefully that's not too weird) and I'll be sure to post it so you can see it too. It's just perfect.

Jordbruksdagarna

2009-09-29T08:24:00.003-05:00

...or Ag Days if you're not Swedish.

My mom and I took all 4 kids to Bishop Hill on Sunday. It's one of our favorite festivals they have there and we try to get there every year. The kids love it. The adults love it. It just happens that this particular weekend, everyone was out of town or busy, so it was just the kids, mom, and me. It's so fun for the kids.

They get to hear stories...

Make their own bricks...

Brooklyn
Emmy
Jack and Tyler

Make popcorn...

And a few other things.

Mom and I get to pick out our pumpkins and a few fall decorations. The kids get candy from the Colony Store. We have lunch in the park. And this year...Emmy even won a pumpkin. She did tell us after she won that she had actually prayed that she would win and that is why she won it. (You can tell they go to private school;) Anyway, good times had by all!

The neighborhood bully.

2009-09-29T08:12:00.003-05:00

The neighborhood didn't know what it was getting when the Chatterton's moved to town! There seems to have been an incident last week with this guy:

and an innocent little neighbor girl.

Ugh.

I'll give you a little breakdown. Jack was sitting at the dinner table looking rather sad.

Me: Jack. What's the matter?

Jack: I feel bad that I hurt Addi's arm. I didn't mean to.

Me: Well, what happened.

Jack: I just fell on her.

Brooklyn: It wasn't his fault, mom!

Me: Of course he didn't do it on purpose. Did you? Were you wrestling?

Jack: No! Why would I wrestle a girl?

Me: Well, because you wrestle your sister all the time. Anyway, I'm sure Addi is fine.

Jack: They were on the way to the doctor.

Me: What? Are you sure? We'll go down and check on her later. I'm sure they were just going to run errands.

The evening gets away from us and we don't get a chance to check on Addi, so Friday after school I ask Brooklyn if Addi was on the bus. "Nope. She got a cast."

Ugh.

So, I ask Brooklyn to give me all the details from the night before. Apparently Jack was giving Addi a piggy back ride around her house and he'd already been around it 5 times and got too tired so he fell to the ground. Right on top of Addi's wrist.

The kids took balloons down on Saturday morning and said there would be no more piggy back rides. I haven't gotten the full details of the injury, but whatever she has on her arm has to be there for 3 months.

Ugh.

Let it Be.

2009-09-24T13:19:00.005-05:00

Can I just say, I despise calling the All Kids Hotline?
As many of you know, when our insurance company dropped Olivia last year, she was thankfully picked up by the State's All Kids program. To date, we have had no problems with them at all, which is also a blessing. However, I called to cancel Olivia's coverage back in June, but I keep receiving a statement saying we owe them for her July and August premiums. I've been holding off on calling them because it puts in me in such a weird place when I call. Why, you wonder? No matter what time of day I call, I'm always put on hold forever...like 18 minutes and 26 seconds forever. And the problem with that is the fact that they have the most beautiful, simple, keyboard music playing "Let it Be" in the background. The first time I called, I remember, so vividly, sitting in Olivia's room in the hospital just listening to the music. It's actually a wonderful memory...but, it makes me miss her so darn much every time I call.
So, if any one from the State is reading this, could you please change your "hold music" or take care of our account so I don't have to call again. I would really appreciate it!

...And then I go to my email to read my daily devotion and needed to come back and share this snippet...

"His perspective on things that are troubling me starts to over shadow my anxiety. Like shade on a hot summer's day, I feel relief in His presence. I know that He is preparing me for what I will need throughout this day. He is already standing in every minute of my day and He sees what I will face. So, He's equipping me to be able to handle what is ahead of me with His gentle boldness, quiet strength, and loving grace."

God is good all the time and all the time, God is good! Guess He's just trying to tell me to "Let it Be."

It's been a while...

2009-09-17T16:15:00.002-05:00

Since I've shared a few blessings with you that we've experienced lately.

One of our good friends from Galesburg is running the Chicago Marathon which is huge in and of itself, but he is also running it in memory of Olivia! Be sure to check out his website: www.active.com/donate/upsfordowns2009/SHickey7.

I mentioned in the last post that my mom, Brooklyn, and I walked in the American Heart Association HeartWalk. While we were there, we were able to enjoy so many people. During the "warm-up" time, one of Olivia's former nurses, Angela, came up with another person and said she just had to introduce us. Long story short, this woman worked in the OSF billing office. She said she would come across these enormous bills and think about this particular patient and what a fighter she was. She knew Olivia was a heart patient (she was a former cardiac nurse and could tell from the bills) and could just tell she was an amazing little girl that had been through so much. She said she would pray for her and cheer her on every time she saw one of her bills. She asked Angela if she knew this little girl and if she was at the walk. When she mentioned that little girl was Olivia, Angela just knew we had to meet her.

It was awesome meeting this complete stranger and hear how Olivia had touched her life, too.

We still haven't heard anything from the birthday balloons. Oh well. We'll just have to be sure to send more next year and pay the extra 30 cents for the "hi-float" stuff they put in the balloons to make them last longer.
My only fear now is that some farmer is going to get the balloon stuck in his combine and come after us. Wouldn't that be just our luck?

Another crazy, busy weekend!

2009-09-08T16:40:00.005-05:00

Where to begin...I'll try to make this short and sweet, but it was one big weekend.

Friday evening we went to the Dunlap game to watch them beat the Morton Potters...Go Eagles! Saturday was a day full of hard labor (only appropriate for Labor Day Weekend, right?)

Zac actually laid this...

and finished this...

and worked on this...

I was so excited! It was getting really frustrating to look outside at this all the time...

Especially when the workers up the road were also planting sod at a house that they started building the day that we moved in!

Mom, Brooklyn, and I also walked at the HeartWalk with a lot of Olivia's former nurses, doctors, etc... I have no pictures, but some good stories to share, but I'll save that for another post.

Saturday night...a fun-filled family evening. We decided to get together with the family and have a football-themed night. Everyone picked their favorite football team and brought food and a beverage from that city. It was very entertaining to see what everyone came up with. We had everything from Low Country Seafood Casserole, to Chicago Style Hot Dogs, to Fried Ravioli, etc... Good Food, Good Times.

Sunday was the first day for the kids to go to Sunday School here. Jack was soooooo nervous, but once they got in there, they both noticed kids from school and loved it! We then spent some more quality family time at my parent's house for the annual Family Fantasy Football Draft. This is the real deal, folks. I mean, my cousin flies in from Florida for this. Normally, I boycott the event, but this year I decided to partake in the festivities. Let's hope I have a good team!

Monday...a lazy morning. I took the kids to the Labor Day parade. It was a really nice one. The perfect length with a lot of groups you just don't normally see.

Then last night, Zac's parent stopped by for a visit, the kids played around the neighborhood, we ate some Chinese, and hit the sack!

I'm ready for a quiet week, but it's not looking like that's in the cards. We'll see what comes of it!

No balloons???

2009-08-31T14:45:00.003-05:00

Hasn't anyone found a balloon yet? They can't still be flying...can they? If we don't get any comments, I'm just going to have to assume that Olivia got them all!

Positively Perfect!

2009-08-28T07:53:00.005-05:00

I can't imagine a better celebration (unless Olivia was here with us, of course). We had the most unbelievable day, and I just had to share it because I want to remember it forever.

I started out so sad in the morning. Just really missing our baby girl. I said a few big prayers asking for strength and peace for the day, and God sent that to me right away!

Mom and I took balloons and bagels up to the PICU. It was so great to visit with everyone and know that each one of them was missing Olivia yesterday, too.

Brooklyn and I spent the afternoon at my parent's house...just piddling around (a.k.a. keeping me distracted!) I took some flowers and a balloon out to the cemetery. We picked up Jack, came home, and waited for Zac. When he got home, the four of us went back out to the cemetery. This was the kids' first time out there since the burial, so I was a little nervous about how they would react. It was a beautiful experience all around. We sent some balloons up to Olivia. The kids loved that. We watched them fly away...some higher than others. We also attached a little note to them so if anyone finds them, they'll *hopefully* leave us a message on this blog! I don't think they'll make it very far. I'll be surprised if they make it the 10 miles to Brimfield! The note really weighed them down, but it will be fun anyway.

We all stood around Olivia and said some of our favorite memories. Before we left, Jack suggested we sing Happy Birthday to her. Zac and I lost it, Brooklyn sang her heart out, and Jack barely made it through before he took off to the car. (Don't worry. I had the talk with him that's it's okay to be sad)

We went out to dinner and went for some ice cream and came back home. My parents came over around 8:00 so Zac and I could go back up to the PICU and visit the night shift. We took a box 'o coffee and some donuts to help them get through the night and had an entertaining visit.

The perfect ending to a perfect day. And just what we needed, too. Gee, I hope Olivia had as good of a time at her Heavenly Birthday party as we did for her here on Earth!

Happy Birthday, Olivia!

2009-08-27T06:13:00.002-05:00

Dear Olivia,

Happy 3rd Birthday, baby girl! It doesn't seem quite right that we aren't able to be with you on your birthday. We miss you terribly, every single day. We can only imagine the amazing day the Lord has planned for you today. You wouldn't believe the number of people that are thinking of you on your special day. You've even gotten quite a few cards for your birthday! Have the best birthday ever, Livvy. We love you so, so much.

Love,

Mom, Dad, Jack, and Brooklyn

A few small things.

2009-08-26T20:46:00.002-05:00

It's been a pretty rough day today. I'm not looking forward to seeing how tomorrow treats me.
We have a few special things planned for Olivia's birthday tomorrow. First thing in the morning, my mom and I are going up to the PICU to deliver balloons to all of the kiddos and some treats for all of the staff. I've put together a special flower arrangement and we're planning on taking that out to the cemetery. Tomorrow evening, we are planning on taking the kids out to the cemetery for the first time since Olivia's burial. We are hoping to send some balloons up to Olivia - the kids thought she would love that. Then Zac and I are going to head back up to the PICU to visit the night staff...they never get visitors. They might just deserve some snacks, too. So, just a few small things for us to do here on earth to celebrate the almost 3 years we were able to have Olivia.

Picture Day.

2009-08-25T09:48:00.002-05:00

Only choose the battles you know you are going to win.
It's picture day at the grade school today.
If Brooklyn thought she looked beautiful, that's what's important, right?
Should be an interesting picture...
Her outfit by itself would have been fine. It's just the hair and the shoes that left a little to be desired...Pink plaid Converse, Blue plaid shorts, an electric blue shirt, and a blue plaid headband with stringy hair???

150,000

2009-08-24T20:33:00.002-05:00

I just realized the blog hit 150,000 today! That is absolutely insane! It seems as though the blog still averages about 200 hits a day. Now, I'm sure that's some of you checking constantly to see if I've posted anything new. Fortunately and unfortunately I don't have as much to blog about. Anywho...thanks for being a part of our lives via the blog! Happy 150,000 hit day!

Routine.

2009-08-24T10:12:00.002-05:00

I've gotten myself quite the little routine going now that both kids are in school. They are still in the "excited for school" stage, so they get up, get ready, and are on the bus by 6:55. I lazily drink my coffee, read the paper, and go shopping. I really may need to get a j-o-b if I keep this up. Either that, or make Zac get a second job!
We had a really good weekend. It flew by. I've been painting like a mad woman. Olivia's room/the den/"my" room is done. I have one coat left in the downstairs bathroom. Then it's off to our bathroom, the kids' bathroom, our bedroom, and the toyroom. The kids said at this rate, I should have the whole house painted by next year!
Saturday, we went to a 40th b'day party in Macomb. Zac really misses it there. He's happy here, but hasn't quite gotten to "know" the people like he did in Macomb. Jack also was ecstatic to play with friends. Brooklyn was clingy, so we spent a lot of time together, which was good. I have a hard time going back. It's strange that we lived there for 3 years and I just didn't get the chance to become close to anyone. There are still so many people that Zac worked with and talked about that I have never even met. I'm going to make an effort to make sure that doesn't happen here.
Yesterday...church in the morning and in the afternoon! The hospital has a quarterly memorial mass at the chapel for patients that have passed away at St. Francis. Yesterday's mass remembered Olivia, along with so many other people (including a couple of her neighbors from the PICU). It was a beautiful service and it's really a nice way to offer support, too.
I have one funny story to share from Saturday night...
Jack: "Can I go Ding Dong Ditching with some of the boys?"
Me: "What is that?"
Jack: "I don't know. Something on their bikes."
Me: "Go ask your dad."
Zac: "Sure"
About 10 minutes pass.
Jack: "I found out what it was. You go up and ring people's doorbells and then run away. But, I didn't do any of it. I just watched."
We both give a stern look.
In the car on the way home, he brings it up again.

Jack: "You know Dad used to do something just like that when he was little."

If you have any idea where Zac lived, you would know he would have to ride his bike miles to get to another house, and most likely it would be a relative's house.

We both give a confused look.
Jack: "He did, and he would even leave flowers!"
Me: "Jack, that was on May Day. That was a nice thing."
Jack: "Oh."
I think we all learned something - no more Ding Dong Ditching...unless you leave flowers!

Success!

2009-08-18T08:51:00.003-05:00

I got the kids off to school this morning! They were up are roaring to go.

The rumor in the neighborhood is that the bus comes a little before 7:00. The list at the school said the bus comes at 7:12. I was planning on taking the kids anyway, but sure enough, the bus came by a little before 7:00! We'll have to see how that all works out.On our way to school, the kids didn't say a peep. I said they were awfully quiet back there and Jack said he was just a little nervous about going to 2nd grade at a new school.

Brooklyn (always having to be one-up on her brother) chimed in with, " I'm not nervous at all, Mommy."

They both went in with no problems! They are riding the bus home from school, so we'll see how that all goes.

Oh...and here is the cute new purse Brooklyn and I made over the weekend! I'm going to be stylin'!

Weeks in review...

2009-08-17T19:40:00.005-05:00

I figure I better get one semi-decent post in before the big day tomorrow. That's right, folks. Summer's over. School starts tomorrow. The kids are super excited. We spent some time today talking about what a great summer it's been. We've done so much amazing stuff, including a few zoo visits!

A few weeks ago, I made mention of visiting the Peoria Zoo (a.k.a. Glen Oak Zoo). We had my nephew, Alais, with us and met up with some friends, as well.

Jack and Brooklyn absolutely love little Ava. Jack is especially good with her. Why is it that they can be so sweet to other people's children, but so mean to each other?!?

The new Africa exhibit was nice. It's really added a lot to the zoo.

I'm not really one for taking pictures of animals, so I really just posted the one of the tigers at the top to document that we really were at a zoo.

I don't know what the fascination is with climbing on animal statues, but it always seems to be a highlight for our kids.

Last week we made the trek to the Niabi Zoo in the Quad Cities. We were supposed to meet up with a bunch of friends from Macomb, but completely missed them until we were getting ready to leave. So, that was kind of a bummer. We did pick up some friends in Galesburg to take with us, so that at least appeased us all.

See what I mean? The kids just go around posing on animal statues. I mean they are cute and all, but I just don't get it. Anyway, after Niabi, I brought the kids home and went back over to Galesburg for a Girls Night Out. We had great food and entertaining conversation, as usual.

We finished out the week with a round of mini-golf and another playdate, which brings us to the weekend.

The boys went on their annual camping trip while Brooklyn and I stayed here and did girly stuff. Jack's cousin named the campsite "Camp Freedom" because they were allowed to do whatever they wanted. So, if that tells you anything, they had a great time.

Brooklyn went with her cousins to an end of summer party at their school. They had a blast. Face painting seemed to be the biggest hit. This was done on Friday and I had to pretty much force Brooklyn to wash it off before church Sunday morning.

Brooklyn and I also did some sewing. We made a new purse...I'll have to post a picture later...so cute.

Today - the last official day of summer vacation - took us to Fun City in Burlington. My parents, sister, brother-in-law, niece, nephew, Jack, Brooklyn, and myself took off this morning for some swimming, bowling, arcade play, and go-kart racing. What a way to end the summer! Fun had by all.

So, tomorrow is the big day! The next post should be Back to School pictures! The kids are excited about their teachers. Brooklyn knows a couple of kiddos that will be in her class and Jack has met 2 people that will be in his. Should be a great year! Stay tuned...

Crazy times.

2009-08-10T20:14:00.002-05:00

It seems as though we've been trying to pack in as much as possible in the last days before school starts. I have no idea where last week went. Tuesday we had visitors from South Carolina! My best friend, Nicole, stopped by with the kids on her way to Galesburg. Wednesday we trekked on over to Macomb for one of Brooklyn's friends half-birthday party. We had a great time. Jack had a friend there, too, so everyone had fun! Thursday, I have absolutely no clue about. Friday, I painted a wall. Saturday, Jack went to his first birthday party here in Dunlap. We had a fun dinner with some of Zac's co-workers that night. Sunday, Zac and I went to see Rent over at Eastlight in East Peoria with my sis, bro-in-law, and cousin. Today I took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese for a "back-to-school treat," did some shopping for Jack, bought a TV for our room, and that brings us to now! I know, I know. The excitement of it all.
I have some more painting to do, but I've decided to hold off until school starts because the kids really want to help. Tomorrow we are hitting Niabi Zoo in the Quad Cities and having a Girls Night Out in G-burg, Wednesday I'm hoping for a playdate, Thursday the kids are going out to lunch with G-ma and G-pa for a "back-to-school treat" and Brooklyn has her Kindergarten Open House, Friday, the boys head out for their annual camping trip...
Gee. I think it will be kind of nice for the kids to go to school. Hopefully things will slow down a bit!
Anyway, you'll have to forgive me for the lack of posting. We've obviously been busy.

August

2009-08-03T20:48:00.002-05:00

I've really been struggling these last few days. I don't know if it's just the month itself, or if it's just one of "those times."
I've decided to blame it on the whole month of August. There are so many things I love about the month, and so many things I don't care for.

Things I don't like about August...
1. The kids are going back to school.
2. Brooklyn will only be gone half day.
3. Olivia's birthday is in August.
4. Zac is back to working full days and into the evenings.
5. Summer is coming to an end.

Things I love about August...
1. The kids are going back to school.
2. Brooklyn will only be gone half day.
3. Olivia's birthday is in August.
4. Zac is back to working full days and into the evenings.
5. Fall is almost here!

Do you see why I'm torn? We obviously can't get rid of the month of August. It's going to come around at least once a year.
I miss Olivia terribly these past few days. Maybe it's because her birthday is at the end of this month. Maybe it's because life has been slowing down and I've had more time to think about things. Maybe it's because I feel like I have too much time on my hands (we haven't had this clean of a house or laundry done for this many consecutive days in years, if ever). Maybe it's because I'm tired and haven't been able to sleep for days. Maybe it's because it's a "normal" part of a grieving process. Or maybe it's just because. Just one of those sad times with wonderful memories that we get to keep with us forever. You can't say that about many things - forever is a really long time. So, here's to August. I hope we can be friends again sometime soon;)

Wonderful Weekend.

2009-08-03T15:32:00.007-05:00

We had a really great weekend. Zac left Friday night to head to Macomb and prepare for his 2nd Macomb to Peoria St. Jude run. He ran with his sister, Amy, again, and was also joined by a good friend from Galesburg. They had a great day for the run. The cooler temperatures and drizzle had to of felt pretty good. The kids and I went downtown around 4:00 to try to catch them coming in, but missed them by about 15 minutes. So, we hung out with my mom and some of the other runners and watched the other teams come in. It was amazing. The number of people that ran, volunteered, or simply cheered on the runners was overwhelming. The Macomb satellite raised $115,000, which contributed to the over $5 million that the entire run/telethon raised for childhood cancer awareness and research!

My mom was so energized afterwards. She said it was one of the best things she's ever experienced. Zac said it was an emotional one this year. For obvious reasons, and because they did the whole run in memory of Olivia and in honor of Wesley - a cancer survivor that was actually able to run it this year for the first time! Their t-shirts even had their names on it. It was just really awesome.

We saw a lot of the nurses from St. Jude, the Pediatric Intermediate Unit, and even one of the PICU nurses that ran one of the satellite runs! Can't wait until next year!

And...to extend that wonderful weekend into today, there's a new addition to the family! Zac's brother, Ty, and his wife Jenn, gave birth to Hannah Lynn Chatterton today at 2:42 pm (Florida time). She weighed in at 6 lbs. 10 oz. and 19 inches long. The kids are so excited to have a new cousin and keep asking when we get to meet her! So, welcome to the family, Hannah! We love you guys!

Just stuff.

2009-07-31T19:10:00.003-05:00

First and foremost, thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who donated to St. Jude in memory of Olivia! Not only was Zac able to meet his goal, but he exceeded it by raising $1072.11! Woohoo! He takes off from Macomb at 4:00 tomorrow morning for their satellite run.
Zac and I went to pick out Olivia's headstone for the cemetery yesterday. We are really happy with the place - Wyoming Monument Company. The man we met with was so incredibly nice and helped us out a lot. We are also very pleased with the preliminary sketch we came up with. We still have time to make a few changes and we are having her picture etched on it, so we are trying to fine the perfect picture.
The kids and I went school supply shopping today. It's one of my favorite holidays. I can't say the kids were as excited as I was. Oh, well. There's always next year!
I absolutely love the fact that the kids are always out playing around the neighborhood...but, I have this fear that our children have become the neighborhood stalkers. Most of the kids must go elsewhere during the day, because no one is really out until the evenings, however, the second there is a sign of life from one of the neighbors, our kids are out there riding their bikes back and forth in front of their houses. It's really embarrassing. We tried to tell them that we don't want to wear out our welcome and that we have to be considerate of other people and their families. They just don't seem to get it. It's also difficult because they are always in everyone else's yard and we don't have a yard, yet. So, I don't feel like we have been able to take our "turn" with having the entire neighborhood over.
On another neighborhood note...Jack loves baseball. He has found some friends that do to. He played a game of ball last night - big kids (junior high to adult) against little kids (anyone younger than junior high). Apparently someone made mention of playing again tonight. That's all the kid can talk about. He complained all day about getting home in time for "his game."
Me: I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had a schedule...let me guess, your next game is tomorrow night.
Jack: Yep.
Me: And again the next day??
Jack: Nope - we take Sunday's and Tuesday's off to rest.
Seriously? Next thing we know, there will be bleachers set up and a concession stand down the road.
Anyway, we are excited to greet the St. Jude runners tomorrow night at the Civic Center! Be sure to watch on any of the Peoria channels if you live in the area. I don't know any of the times or channels, otherwise I'd let you know!

Disney Recap - Part Two

2009-07-29T20:31:00.003-05:00

Let's see...where did we leave off?
Ah, yes...Disney World!Tuesday morning:
We woke up, bright and early, so we could be the first ones in at Animal Kingdom. I must have finally hit exhaustion by this point, because I hardly have any pictures from the rest of the trip. I'll have to try to steal some from everyone else and post them later;)

Grandma T. with all 4 grandkids

The 15 of us took up lots of room wherever we went. Either that, or they just fled when we came near.

The "roller coaster riders" battles Expedition Everest. Jack loved it this time (thought it was a little scary a couple of years ago). I heard that my uncle was a little frightened, and I was afraid that Jack may have come home with a few new choice words from that experience, although we haven't heard them, yet;)

13 of us went on Kali River Rapids. I was the big loser on this ride. I got completely soaked. Afterwards, we planned on meeting back up with my aunt and grandma, but they went missing. So, we searched for a while before some of the crew decided to head back to the hotel and swim. Five of us (the ones who obviously love them the most) searched a little longer. Of course, they didn't even know they were lost, until we found them;)

Dinner that night - to the Polynesian for a Luau! This ended up being another entertaining evening. Fire eaters, hula dancers, massive amounts of food, and a little stroll on the beach after dinner.

Wednesday:

My sister and brother-in-law signed the kids up for a pirate cruise. They left in the morning and went sailing around in search of buried treasures. They had an absolute blast. When we met back up with them, we spent the day at Epcot. The kids loved Test Track and Brooklyn was finally tall enough to ride Soarin'. She said it was the best day of her whole life!

Dinner that night...Epcot's German Restaurant. There was nice German entertainment, a big German buffet, and really large German beer. A few of the tipsy adults in our party took the girls out to dance...

Thursday morning, we packed up our belongings and sadly checked out of the Boardwalk Resort. We made one quick stop at MGM (Disney's Hollywood Studios) so the kids could take Zac and I on the Toy Story ride. This was the highlight for me. My favorite ride, by far. (Can you tell I'm not one of the "roller coaster riders"?)

It was just like you were in a huge video game. I'm amazed by how they are able to do that stuff. Anywho...then on to Downtown Disney to do our souvenir shopping. This is where we split... the Newman's went on to Vero Beach, the Trent's and most of the Pardieck's came back to Illinois, one Pardieck went on to Ohio, and the Chatterton's rented a car and drove to Ocala. Zac's brother and wife live in Ocala and are expecting a baby, oh, last week. We were sure we were going to meet our new little niece, but she still hasn't made her appearance, yet. It was sooooo nice to end the vacation with them. It was so relaxing and gave us some good recovery time from the days prior. We left there Saturday and flew back to Chicago!

All in all, a wonderful vacation, but it sure is nice to be home!

Disney Recap - Part One

2009-07-27T07:05:00.012-05:00

A great time was had by all last week at the Happiest Place on Earth. We arrived last Saturday (6/18) in Orlando without a hitch. It was a fairly decent flight.

The 4 kiddos - Brooklyn, Jack, Emmy, and Tyler

We did have two extra kiddos with us, so that made it a bit more interesting, but fun. My niece and nephew flew down with us so they didn't have to do the whole drive with my sister and brother-in-law.

Sunday morning, bright and early, the boys skipped on over to Blizzard Beach to enjoy a day at the waterpark.

(Getting ready for the Snow White ride)

Brooklyn and I spent the day at Magic Kingdom.

Brian and Carrie and Brooklyn (Emmy and Tyler are behind that person's head) on Aladdin's Magic Carpet.

Autographs from Goofy - Tyler, Emmy, and Brooklyn

Autographs from Stitch - Tyler, Brooklyn, and Emmy

That evening, we all met up (all 15 of us - one grandma, one aunt, one uncle, 2 cousins, one mom, one dad, one sister, one brother-in-law, the two of us, and 4 kiddos...and, yes, we are one of "those" families that wear matching t-shirts) at Magic Kingdom for their new dessert buffet.

Sporting the family T-shirt - TCNP - Trent, Chatterton, Newman, and Pardieck family vacation 2009

The buffet was sickening - I've never seen so much sugar in my life - we loved it! It also included a great view of the fireworks show over Cinderella's Castle, except that it was a bit cloudy. No worries...we still enjoyed it all.

Monday morning...another early start to our day at Disney Hollywood Studios (or MGM for all of you that didn't know they changed the name - which I found very annoying, so I still call it MGM). This was actually our only day of rain - and it wasn't even a hard rain. We definitely lucked out with the weather. Besides the obscene heat, it was really pleasant. We all watched the Lights, Motor, Action Stunt Show,

Lights, Motor, Action Stunt Show Set

got some autographs from the High School Musical 3 crew, and went on the Backlot tour.

Oh, look. A truck!

Oh, no. A fire!

Whew. Good thing there was that huge gush of water!

You feel like your right there with us, don't you?

Jack stayed with the "roller coaster riders" and tackled Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror, again. We went back with everyone else and hit the pool. Monday evening, we all met up to eat at Boma - the African buffet at Animal Kingdom Lodge. What a neat place.

This is Zac...after dinner.

The food was surprisingly good (I'm a really picky eater) and we were able to take a walk after dinner and see all of the animals that live right there in the middle of the resort. After dinner, we went over to Epcot to try to catch the Illuminations fireworks show. This is where the entertainment begins. Picture this...we are packed in like sardines trying to get the best view of the show. It begins. My mom comes over and says she found the perfect spot where no one is standing. We all trek over to "the perfect spot" and realize no one is there because there is a huge tree blocking the entire sky. Apparently, she missed that factor. So, we head back over to our original spot. Fireworks are booming, lights are flashing. Pure beauty. Then, all of a sudden, Brooklyn starts screaming. Her glow bracelet exploded and she, along with all those standing around her, are glowing. Literally glowing. She's still screaming so Zac takes her back to the hotel, as the rest of us miss the remainder of the show because we are laughing hysterically. Anyway, probably one of those "you had to be there" moments, but entertaining nonetheless.

This picture really doesn't do it justice, but this is my uncle's leg...glowing.

I think it would be fair to say the my cousin Christy was the highlight of the vacation for the kids. Not much of a vacation for her, but the kids loved hanging out with her, hanging on her, etc... We were continually giving the kids "time-outs" from Cousin Christy.

Stay tuned for Part Two!

Home!

2009-07-26T08:20:00.002-05:00

Well, so much for blogging while on vacation. We had an awesome time. It was HOT and HUMID, but I'm not complaining. It was a much needed, somewhat relaxing, family surrounding, lots of eating vacation. Stay tuned for details and pictures...

Playdates!

2009-07-17T15:00:00.000-05:00

We've been having way too much fun lately. I love living in an area that has so much to offer. I haven't, however, been very good at taking pictures. I got a lot on our first adventure, only a few from our second, and none from the last (because I wasn't there;)

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Fondulac Farm Park in E. Peoria. I hadn't been there since I was a kid. We met one of Olivia's former nurses, turned family friend, and her fam there for the day. The kids had a blast.

On Monday, we road-tripped, with the same company, to Bloomington and hit Miller Park Zoo, the spray park,

and the Children's Museum. Big day. Big fun.

Wednesday night, Zac took the kids bowling. It was an absolutely beautiful day outside, and they wanted to go bowling. It sounded like there were some technical difficulties, which left Brooklyn the winner, and Jack the sore, sore second placer. We're going to take a break from competitive activities for a while.

I've been getting tons of stuff done around the house, which has been nice. It's been hard, too. My main focus has been "Olivia's room," and I've come across some things I hadn't noticed before. I'll save that for another post. We leave for Disney on Saturday. I'm hoping to blog during the trip, but we'll have to see if time allows! Until then...

Disney or bust...

Mixed feelings.

2009-07-16T21:06:00.002-05:00

We've been talking a lot about our feelings around here lately. That's a good thing, obviously, but we all seem to be having a lot of mixed emotions lately.
We are so excited to go to Florida this weekend, but we are so sad to be going without Olivia. We are flying down. We had originally planned to drive because of Olivia's medical equipment, so we are feeling a sense of guilt that we are flying. It sounds silly, but a feeling nonetheless.
We've been doing so many fun things lately - going to the zoo, museums, bowling, etc..., and I feel bad that things seem so "easy" now. I never once felt burdened because of Olivia, but yet another feeling. I think we've just had a lot more time to miss Olivia lately.
I had a talk with her at the cemetery tonight. I told her how much we are missing her and how we feel her presence every day in everything that we do. Jack and Brooklyn still pray for her every night and say how sorry they are that she is in Heaven. We have to remind them that Olivia is the lucky one. That's hard to explain to kids, and it's something that we have to constantly remind ourselves of, too.

Issues.

2009-07-15T10:39:00.003-05:00

Don't worry...if you made a greatly appreciated donation to St. Jude online, we did get it! I was apparently having some issues when setting it all up and put the wrong paypal account. Oops. Luckily, with a little help from a friend, I think we figured it out this morning. At least I found some money! So a huge thank you to those of you that have donated so far! I had to set up a new Paypal account and I haven't gotten it "verified" yet. As soon as I do, it will hopefully start showing up in the right places!

Update: Yeah! It's working! Thanks to all those who have donated online and via mail! We so appreciate it!

St. Jude Runs!

2009-07-10T13:45:00.003-05:00

Zac is, once again, running the St. Jude Macomb to Peoria run on Saturday, August 1st. This year is obviously a bit more meaningful for us. We became very close to all of the doctors and nurses here at the St. Jude Midwest Affiliate in Peoria. We had even prepared ourselves at one point to head down to Memphis for treatments. Although Olivia was never healthy enough to receive her chemotherapy treatments, we felt very fortunate to become a part of the St. Jude family.

We thank you in advance for any donation you wish to make to help support all of the children of St. Jude. To make things easier, we've added a button to the side of the blog. It's through a site called "ChipIn" and allows you to pay through PayPal. I think you have to have a PayPal account to do so. If you would rather donate by mail, leave a comment or pop us an email and I'll send you an envelope! Also, your donation may not appear right away on the "ChipIn" button, but should show up within 24 hours. If there are any problems at all, please let me know!

I'm going to try to get letters out this year, but I don't know if I will get around to it in a timely manner, so I thought the blog would reach just as many, if not more people!

Thanks so much!

The Sale.

2009-07-09T21:13:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow is the big garage sale.
The biggest garage sale ever.
(for us, at least)
My mom is selling some things and using it as a fundraiser for the St. Jude Dunlap to Peoria run that she is doing next month. (Isn't she good?)
The kids are selling water and lemonade and giving the proceeds to Zac for his Macomb to Peoria St. Jude run (Aren't they good?)
My sister and I are selling things so we are able to feed our families when we go to Florida next week (That's sort of good, too. Right? I mean, we have to eat.)
It's going to be an interesting sale, however. We are selling almost all of Olivia's things. Toys, clothes, more toys, crib, dresser, etc... I obviously pulled out things that have sentimental value, but as I've said before, I don't get too attached to "things." Besides, it's good to know that her things are going to many different people and they will, unknowingly, be a little part of Olivia's life, too! So, I'm not anticipating any emotional breakdowns while I'm checking people out tomorrow. Anyone who needs any little girl things, or even just some lemonade, feel free to come on out...we'll be at my parent's house in Dunlap.

Vegas Vacation...revisited.

2009-07-07T12:00:00.001-05:00

Now that we've been back for a whole week and a half, I figured it was finally time to blog about the Vegas trip. As most of you know, we won a whopping $140...on the plane. We should have just gotten a return flight right then and called it a win, but we ended up taking the gamble of staying for a few more days. That was the end of our lucky streak, but not the end of the fun, by far!

Zac and I finally went to see Jersey Boys on Sunday night. It was awesome.

On Monday, my best friend Nicole and her hubby, Ben flew in. This was their 10-year anniversary trip, and they kindly invited us along, never thinking

we would take them up on it! We spent lots of time by the pool,

of time by "our" machines,

lots of time walking, and lots and lots of time eating.

I did win a little bit of money (something like 279 nickels), but I got greedy and then lost it all.

It was a much needed trip and came at the perfect time.
Next up...11 days until Disney World. Imagine this...fifteen family members in matching t-shirts, 2 adjoining rooms, 5 days, 4 kids age 7 and under, hot weather, lack of sleep, etc... Tell me that's not going to make for some good blogging material?!?

Fourth of July weekend!

2009-07-06T21:19:00.010-05:00

Alright. So, I've had a few complaints about my lack of posting...but we've been busy doing lots of fun stuff!

The deck is coming along nicely (and largely). I don't know why Zac always has to do everything so big. Some of you may know the story about the "clubhouse." in Macomb. It was larger than our bedroom and the kids' bedrooms put together - more like an addition to the house. This is comparable, but on a bigger scale. No pictures of the deck project today...consider yourself lucky ;)

Friday night, the kids and I headed on over to Morton to watch fireworks with my sister and fam. We had a great time. Then back to Morton on Saturday for the fourth...

Smiles...

Sand Scramble... and Snakes, oh my!

Sunday was the annual Doran (Zac's mom's side of the fam) reunion! This year we went to Mathissen State Park in Utica, which we just loooove. We had a blast. The kids had a blast. It was a beautiful day.

All in all, a great Fourth of July weekend! Now I just have to backtrack and get our Vegas vacation and a playdate on here! Bear with me - I'm trying to get back into it!

Reality.

2009-06-30T21:05:00.004-05:00

The reality of it is, I don't function well without the internet. The hoops we had to go through to get technology running through this house is ridiculous. All is well now, so no more complaints.

It's been a rough week here in the Chatterton household. We've been missing Olivia a whole lot. We know we could never have changed God's plan, so there is nothing we would have done differently, but we just flat-out miss her. It's actually been getting much more difficult as the days go by. The distraction of moving, Vegas, interior decorating, etc... are all good things, but the reality of it is just that. It's becoming more real every day.

To add to the emotions around the house, Ozzie, Jack's fish, died today. Jack was devastated, but decided it would be nice for Olivia to have Ozzie for a pet.

So, how are we getting through it these days?

Just a few things...
We checked messages at the Macomb house before we shut off the phone and there was a message from a woman named Marilyn. She said she had met us at the hospital and wanted to talk to us. I finally got around to calling her tonight and she went on and on about how she was just taken by Olivia when she met her. We met this woman last year in the admitting department at the hospital. Zac and I both remember her, because she was so taken with Livs. She asked all about her and asked if she could put her on the prayer list at her church. We talked about how she was in education for 31 years. It was literally about a 5-10 minute conversation, but she never forgot Olivia. When she saw the obituary in the paper, she cut it out and tracked us down. Just to offer her condolences. How could this one little girl touch someone in such a short amount of time. This truly touched our hearts...that Olivia was such a powerful, amazing little girl.

Also, things like this.

And, watching the kids help their dad build the deck...

Yes, Brooklyn is wearing furry boots with her sundress...

What else can I say. We are truly blessed. I'm going to the cemetery tomorrow to see Olivia. I'm definitely going to be telling her all about these things that have been going on (not that she doesn't already know ;) I'm also going to be sure to thank her for all these blessings she has brought into our lives.

What happens in Vegas...

2009-06-26T15:27:00.002-05:00

Stays in Vegas!

Totally kidding.
Only some of the stuff.

Here's a quick rundown without many details:
-Paid $26.99 to get internet for 3 days, and it only worked for one, hence, the lack of posting.
-Lost my cell phone on Tuesday night, got a new one when we got home yesterday, and then got a call from Vegas saying the original one had been found!
-Won a little bit a money, lost a lot of money.
-Ate lots of wonderful, wonderful food.
- Came home without hearing a word about cable/TV/internet, but called and got just a bit nasty. It's getting hooked up tomorrow morning.
-Realized how great distraction is and what wonderful friends we have.
-Believe it or not, I saw people karaoke for the first time.
-Went to an awesome Dueling Piano Bar.
-Had an awesome time!

I'll definitely give more details and pictures sometime after we get our own internet hooked up. Until then...

Vegas, baby!

2009-06-22T10:12:00.002-05:00

We made it to Las Vegas with no problems. We even won $140 on the plane! I think it's a sign ;) We just might win our millions while we are here...although those penny slots take my money really quickly. (I actually hate gambling. I more into people watching.)
Zac and I went to see Jersey Boys last night. It was awesome. Everyone has been saying we had to go see it. Now we know why.
Brooklyn is on the train with Grandma and Great Aunt Karen on her way to Chicago. It's her belated B-day present from Grandpa and Grandma C. They are heading to the American Girl Store to pick out a doll and spend the day shopping. Lucky girl!
Jack got to stay with Uncle Chris, Aunt Amy, and Alais last night and play there all day today. I'd say the kids aren't having it too rough while we are gone.
Anyway, wish us luck!!! I'll try to start taking some pictures so the posts will be more entertaining.

Anxiety

2009-06-19T09:01:00.002-05:00

So far we've only had a few glitches in the move. Number one being the internet people. I'd had it all set up for the TV/internet/phone people to come yesterday, and they didn't show up. Turns out Zac "accidentally" cancelled our service instead of transferring it. So, I've been having a little anxiety about this. No internet?!? Luckily mom and dad live only 6 minutes away!
I only have a minute, but I wanted to update the blog! See how much I care about you people? I know you've been sitting on pins and needles just waiting to hear from me ;)
Anyway, we are about 90% unpacked. The house looks great! I love, love, love it! The kids are handling it well (except for the no TV thing). Huge storms on Wednesday night left us with leaky windows and 3 torn up screens. We leave for Vegas on Sunday. I'm hoping to take a computer with us so I can blog during our trip. As soon as I get a chance, I'm also going to try to post pictures of the house. Keep you posted...

Without a hitch.

2009-06-15T20:51:00.003-05:00

It's official. We are the proud owners of two homes! We closed on the house in Dunlap today without a hitch. The Macomb house is all packed up without a hitch. They'll load everything tomorrow without a hitch. And we'll hope they get it all unloaded on Wednesday...without a hitch!
We took some of the "extra" stuff out to the new house, so it is now completely furnished with a whole lot of house plants and toilet paper. Just the necessities.
Zac and I also spent the afternoon trying to get a building permit so he can start on the deck. What a racket. An hour and a half and $133 later, we walked out of City Hall with a permit. Next time, I think we'll just take our chances and hope we don't get fined.
By the way, I don't have a clue what's wrong with the side bars of the blog. I've got an email in to my go-to person to see if she has any suggestions. Keep you posted!

Bittersweet.

2009-06-12T14:11:00.002-05:00

This move is going to be different.
It's going to be completely bittersweet.
It's going to be hard to leave Macomb. There are really, really good people here that have done so many things for us. It was also Olivia's home...at least where her bedroom was. She spent about an equal amount of time in Peoria, so will Dunlap feel like we're closer to her other "home?" It is actually home for me - born and raised. It will be a new house with new memories and new adventures. But it will be hard to close the door on the adventures we had in Macomb. I think it will be a good thing, though. We will never, ever lose any of the memories we have from here.
I took Olivia's room apart yesterday. I made Brooklyn help me, which was a huge distraction. I was more frustrated with her inefficiency to let the emotional aspect get in the way. I've never been a person that gets too hung up on material things, anyway, so it wasn't too bad. There are certain things that we'll never part with and it's going to be hard to have a new house without Olivia's room. Her room has already gone back to being "the den," although in my mind it will always be her room. That's why we picked this house. It was going to be and still will be perfect for our family.
I think this move is actually coming at the perfect time. A lot of things I've read lately say that it is so hard when the sympathy cards stop coming and when people stop talking about Olivia because it makes you feel like people have forgotten her. I know that Olivia is unforgettable to anyone she came in contact with, of course, but it will be nice to have the "excuse" that the new people in our lives wouldn't have even known her (what a shame for them, huh?) It will give us a whole new group of people to share her amazing story with.
Bittersweet.

Disclaimer

2009-06-10T15:46:00.002-05:00

Okay. So, I sent out a whole batch of Thank-you's yesterday for the contributions we received in memory of Miss O. I just have to say that I tried really hard to be organized. If you get more than one thank-you note from us...just laugh and think that we must have really appreciated your contribution. If you don't get any, don't worry, I'm not done, yet. There will be another batch out sometime.
And if you never get one...well...laugh at me again, know that we really did appreciate your contribution, and hope that I get more organized soon ;o)
It appears as though the house is going to be done by Monday. Closing is set up for 4:00 Monday afternoon, and the movers should start delivering our stuff on Wednesday. We are super excited...but we are going to have to cram in a lot of unpacking on Thursday and Friday of next week...Zac and I are off to Vegas, baby! I was about 7 months pregnant with Jack (7 years ago) the last time we went somewhere for more than one night (without kids). We're so looking forward to it! More details to come...

Firsts

2009-06-08T19:16:00.002-05:00

I had a big day of firsts today, and surprisingly, they went really well.
I took the memorials for Olivia up to the PICU. This was the first time I had been up there since leaving empty handed over 2 weeks ago. I was only a little nervous going up, but then I was just so happy to see everyone. They have made a little "memorial door" for Livs. It has her picture and is surrounded by cards and notes from people that sent memorials directly to the PICU. That was awesome to see. They are totally packed up there, which isn't unusual, but there definitely seemed to be some kiddos that could use some extra prayers right now.
Then I went to the cemetery to hang out with Livvy for the first time since the burial. We had a nice little chat while I straightened up the flowers and added some new ones. (By the way B~ her "blankie" of flowers still look great out there!) It was so quiet and peaceful...a beautiful little cemetery in the middle of a cornfield.
In between the two "firsts," I took the kids to see the movie "Up." It was really good...kind of sad at parts (for me) and kind of scary at parts (for Brooklyn). Jack thought it was great. Jack also started basketball camp today in Dunlap. He had a good time and said he definitely won't be nervous to go tomorrow!
We are on the countdown for the closing date on the new house! It's set up for next Monday, unless we hear from the builders that they aren't done yet (which wouldn't surprise me). They have lots of work to do in less than a week...keep you posted.

Birthday Party Day!

2009-06-06T11:44:00.003-05:00

So, Brooklyn wakes up this morning and rolls over. She's barely even awake yet, but asks me if there is anything I would like to say to her today? Ummm...good morning?
Wrong answer.
It's Happy Birthday Party Day!
She's been waiting a whole year for this. She asked Zac the same question, and he failed, too.
It's amazing how she could have cared less about her actual birthday on Wednesday, but the fact that Birthday Party Day is today, is the best thing that's happened in her whole life.
I forgot my camera, but I'll be sure to post someone else's pictures.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!

2009-06-03T22:14:00.003-05:00

Five years ago today, you blessed us with your presence. You were not only the easiest of the three, but also the smallest! You are the middle child-a great little sister, and you were an amazing big sister. You bring so much sunshine into our lives, as well as the most challenges. You love all the girly stuff, but have the slightest bit of tomboy in you, too. You say some of the funniest things, and have an awesome personality! You are the perfect mixture of all of the above! We love you so very much, Brooklyn! Happy 5th Birthday!

Perfect.

2009-06-01T22:30:00.002-05:00

Time is going too fast. I can't believe Olivia has been gone for over a week. It's just starting to seem real, now that things are starting to slow down and it's just Brooklyn and I during the day.
I truly wish everyone that knows Olivia's story could have been at her services last week. It couldn't have been more perfect. Wednesday night, the visitation went well. The kids were able to go see Olivia at the beginning and then went to Jack's ballgame for the evening. We saw so many people and we were completely amazed by the people that travelled to offer their condolences. I know it seems odd, but I will have to add just a few pictures of floral arrangements. You won't believe it until you see it, but Olivia actually had a Barney floral arrangement!
Thursday was perfect. We walked over to the church and saw our sweet baby girl for the last time here on Earth. The music was perfect...a few traditional selections...and the rest from her Praise Baby CD's that she loved. We also had a special performance by one of Olivia's favorite singers...Cookie! Cookie is this amazing person that used to sing to all the sick children in the Children's Hospital. She has had to stop singing, but still came to sing at Olivia's service and at the cemetery on Friday.
Our pastor had a great message and we had a wonderful lunch afterwards and were able to visit with people we haven't seen in a while. Friday morning, we had the burial in Dunlap. It was absolutely perfect. It was all of the immediate family and an amazing amount of our PICU family. Cookie sang again....Six Little Ducks, the sun was shining, perfect.
So, how are we doing? The kids are doing very well - I'd say very appropriate. I think Brooklyn is at the age that she understands that she won't see Olivia until she goes to Heaven, but she is sort of okay with that. Jack has his moments. He's definitely been more "phased" by everything. He doesn't necessarily get sad about Olivia, he's just overly sensitive about the little things.
Zac went back to work today. He definitely deals with things by keeping busy. I seemed to be doing okay with that, as well, until it was just Brooklyn and I today. There's only so much the two of us can do. Tonight has been especially hard. I started organizing things and came across the dress, leg warmers, and blanket that the nurses carried Olivia down in after she passed. They still smelled like her and I don't want that to ever go away. We've spent so much time going through the motions the last few days, and I think it's starting to catch up with us, or at least with me.
I constantly wonder if I'm dealing with all of this in "the right way." I do know that there is no "right way," but I can't get it out of my head. I just feel like I want to deal with everything in the best way, to make it hurt less. I have a continuous emptiness and ache in my heart that will never completely go away. It was so hard to enjoy dinner tonight - our first as a family of 4. I just pray that it doesn't always hurt this much to miss her as much as I do.

Don't Forget!

2009-05-31T11:11:00.003-05:00

Zac and I will be answering phones for the Children's Miracle Network this afternoon from 3-4. We would love to hear from you. If you get Peoria channels, it's on WEEK-TV 25. If you don't, I would assume you can look up the numbers on their website, but I'm not positive. Thanks so much for your support!
Also, if you donated online, would you be so kind as to drop me an email or a comment to this post. I'd like to be able to send a personal "thank you."

Olivia Grace.

2009-05-26T17:36:00.001-05:00

Olivia Grace Chatterton

(August 27, 2006 - May 23, 2009)

Macomb-Olivia Grace Chatterton, age 2, went into the loving arms of Jesus on Saturday, May 23, 2009 from OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria, IL. Olivia was born August 27, 2006 in Macomb, IL, the daughter of Zac and Julie (Trent) Chatterton.
Along with her parents, Olivia is survived by her big brother, Jackson, her big sister, Brooklyn, Grandparents, Tom and Connie Trent of Dunlap, Rod and Suzanne Chatterton of Avon, Great Grandmothers Joan Pardieck of Dunlap and Betty Doran of Hickory Hills, many aunts, uncles, and cousins. She is also survived by her PICU family at OSF St. Francis Hospital in Peoria.
Olivia was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Macomb and was baptized in Christ on Oct. 8, 2006. She had many accomplishments in her all too short life. She was featured on the cover of the Macomb IParent magazine, the cover girl on the 2009 Children’s Hospital of Illinois calendar, and is a 2009 Children’s Hospital of Illinois Miracle Kid. She also touched and inspired the lives of thousands of people.
A special thank you goes to the Children’s Hospital of Illinois at OSF St. Francis in Peoria for loving Olivia.
A visitation for Olivia will be held on Wednesday, May 27 at Dodsworth-Piper-Wallen Funeral Home in Macomb from 5-8 PM. A celebration of her life will be held at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Macomb on Thursday, May 28 at 11 AM. Pastor Michael Burdick will officiate. A private family graveside service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at OSF St. Francis Medical Center 530 NE Glen Oak Ave. Peoria, IL. 61637.

The Brave Little Soul.

2009-05-25T08:10:00.001-05:00

The Brave Little Soul
By: John Alessi

Not too long ago in Heaven there was a little soul who took wonder in observing the world. He especially enjoyed the love he saw there and often expressed this joy with God. One day however, the little soul was sad, for on this day he saw suffering in the world. He approached God and sadly asked, "Why do bad things happen, why is there suffering in the world?".
God paused for a moment and replied, "Little soul, do not be sad, for the suffering you see, unlocks the love in peoples hearts". The little soul was confused. "What do you mean", he asked. God replied, "Have you not noticed the goodness and love that is the offspring of that suffering? Look at how people come together, drop their differences, and show their love and compassion for those who suffer. All their other motivations disappear and they become motivated by love alone.

The little soul began to understand and listened attentively as God continued, "The suffering soul unlocks the love in people's hearts much like the sun and rain unlock the flower within the seed. I created everyone with endless love in their heart, but unfortunately most people keep it locked up and hardly share it with anyone. They are afraid to let their love shine freely, because they are afraid of being hurt. But a suffering soul unlocks that love. I tell you this-it is the greatest miracle of all. Many souls have bravely chosen to go into the world and suffer-to unlock this love-to create this miracle-for the good of all humanity.

Just then the little soul got a wonderful idea and could hardly contain himself. With his wings fluttering, bouncing up and down, the little soul excitedly replied, "I am brave; let me go! I would like to go into this world and suffer so that I can unlock the goodness and love in people's hearts! I want to create that miracle!

God smiled and said, "You are a brave soul I know, and thus I will grant your request. But even though you are very brave you will not be able to do this alone. I have known since the beginning of time that you would ask for this and so I have carefully selected many souls to care for you on your journey. Those souls will help you create your miracle; however they will also share in your suffering. Two of these souls are most special and will care for you, help you and suffer along with you, far beyond the others. They have already chosen a name for you.

God and the brave little soul shared a smile, and then embraced. In parting, God said, "Do not forget little soul that I will be with you always. Although you have agreed to bear the pain, you will do so through my strength. And if the time should come when you feel that you have suffered enough, just say the word, think the thought, and you will be healed.

Thus at that moment the brave little soul was born into the world, and through his suffering and God's strength he unlocked the goodness and love in people's hearts. For so many people dropped their differences and came together to show their love. Priorities became properly aligned. People gave from their hearts. Those that were always too busy found time. Many began new spiritual journeys-some regained lost faith-many came back to God. Parents hugged their children tighter. Friends and family grew closer. Old friends got together and new friendships were made. Distant family reunited, and every family spent more time together. Everyone prayed. Peace and love reigned. Lives were changed forever. It was good. The world was a better place. The miracle had happened. God was pleased."

Thank you sweet Olivia!

Arrangements

2009-05-24T17:36:00.002-05:00

We've made the arrangements for Olivia's services. We will be having the visitation on Wednesday, May 27 from 5-8 at Dodsworth-Piper-Wallen in Macomb. The funeral service will be at 11:00 on Thursday, May 28. Private graveside services will be on Friday morning.
We are doing well. There is definitely a piece missing. Zac and I came back to Macomb to make arrangements and the kids will come back tomorrow. Tonight will be the real test, when it's just Zac and I. We are completely amazed by all the comments and prayers out there. I will be honest...I haven't been able to read them, yet, but I plan to when I'm ready. People have been filling me in here and there and it's truly amazing.

A heavy heart.

2009-05-23T12:30:00.003-05:00

Our heart are so heavy right now. Olivia went to be with Jesus around 11:15 this morning. We are at a loss for words right now.
It had to have been one of the most beautiful, peaceful deaths ever. She took her last breath in my arms. She has no more pain. No more scars. And a whole heart.
One amazing little girl.

...

2009-05-23T10:31:00.002-05:00

Olivia's not having such a good day. She has had some lower sats today - ranging from 25 to 55. They've been like this since about 4:00am. They have tried a new thing for her. There is a medication they put in her trachea that goes directly into her lungs and tries to open things up. It makes things worse before they get better, and her heart possibly stopped for a few seconds.
The kids were able to come up and see her. They are with my sister and her family enjoying this beautiful day at Wildlife Prairie Park.
I think we are all anticipating that she won't be with us for much longer. She seems comfortable.

One down...

2009-05-22T18:09:00.002-05:00

Brooklyn is officially on summer vacation! Woohoo! I was able to take her back to school and pick her up (Olivia behaved - the prayers worked!!) I'm back at the hospital now.
They decided not to turn Olivia over to her belly - why rock the boat. They did, however, turn her head the other direction. She did okay with that - she's still recovering from it. She's also had a few temps today, but is still handling things relatively well. Now we just need to get Jack done with school....6 more days. We had the moving company come in today to do an estimate and we are actually all set to close on the Dunlap house on June 15. The mover said they could have us in on the 17th or 18th! It will be so exciting to have both kids here! Oh, and Zac, too. (just kidding, of course)
We are praying for a quiet night. The kids are really excited to come see Olivia tomorrow and start working on their scrapbooks!

Amazing.

2009-05-22T07:50:00.004-05:00

Olivia had a fairly stable night. The nurse said she did have to battle some lower pressures, but treated her with some volume and she has come right back up. She is still on her belly, but the plan is to turn her back over today sometime.
One crazy thing is that her platelets are up to 90,000 today! They treated them on Wednesday, and they have come up all on their own the last 2 days. Amazing.
We talked with the kids last night. The boys were back in Macomb, so Zac talked with Jack and I talked with Brooklyn here. They both reacted very appropriately in my eyes and had a few questions. They also both decided they definitely want to come see her. We explained that she would be asleep and wouldn't be able to wake up, but they still want to come see her. So, we are probably going to do that tomorrow.
The Child Life Specialist came up yesterday to see how we were doing and she gave us lots of great ideas to help the kids deal with all of this. She talked about making a scrapbook just for them and they can fill it with all their pictures and memories of Olivia. She said she was going to run out at pick up a few things and showed up with an adorable bag filled with a scrapbook, markers, stickers, scissors, glue, etc... We had even mentioned that Brooklyn loves High School Musical - so there are tons of things in there for her. She also brought up a stamp pad so the kids can do handprints of Olivia! Amazing.
Then I got to meet Jill. Jill and her family know all to well what we are going through. Their little girl was in and out of the hospital for most of her all too short life, as well. She was a complicated heart baby and a year ago February, Laynie went to be with Jesus. She and her mom were here with their other daughter for an appointment and came up to visit. It was so great to finally meet her and it gave me so much comfort. We had been in and out when Laynie was here, but never "officially" met their family. Amazing.
I'm going to be taking Brooklyn back to Macomb for her last day of preschool today. Please say an extra little prayer that Olivia behaves while I am gone. It's that whole 10-5 thing - that's when I'll be gone and that's usually the time of day she doesn't like!

Busy day.

2009-05-21T19:32:00.004-05:00

Sorry about the lack of posting. It seems as though I didn't even get a chance to sit down today. Olivia had a lot of visitors and time got away from me.
Olivia had an okay day. She did spike a little bit of a temp, which made her heart rate and pressures go way up and her sats were hanging a little bit lower. By about 5:00, she turned things around after making a change on her ventilator. She just seems to really dislike from about 10 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon.
The doctor did come in and say that it would be reasonable to leave the paralytic on through the weekend. This would give us some time to take the kids up if they want to. No one seems to think that she would survive another "episode" without the paralytic. If she does anything in the meantime, we are sticking with the original plan of not intervening.
I still have this overwhelming peace right now, which I am very thankful for.

Peaceful night.

2009-05-21T09:25:00.003-05:00

Olivia had a very peaceful night. Her numbers are all wonderful this morning. The plan is to lift the paralytic today and see what she does. I assume they will turn it off after rounds today. It usually takes her a good 8-10 hours before it is completely out of her system. They will try to manage her comfort with sedation and see how she tolerates that.
Thank you so much for all of the prayers and good thoughts. We are truly feeling them right now and have great peace with God's plan for Olivia. We are truly amazed by all of the people who love Olivia and have been touched by her!