Guns & Hoses Hockey Event Tonight - Benefit for Autism

We are looking forward to the Pittsfield Police vs. Fire Hockey event tonight: "Put Autism on Ice". All proceeds benefit local families that have children with Autism. The kids are really excited about attending. My dad is the Emcee, so I am really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, Scott is not attending. He offered to work for one of the firefighters who is playing. We are hoping for a really good turnout.

Jili's Tonsilectomy

Jili is having her tonsils out on April 5th. It is normally an outpatient surgery, but because of her heart condition, she is staying overnight, and we get a private room in the new Mott's Hospital wing. Please keep her in your prayers.
Jill :)

Autism Fundraiser!!

One week from today Police and Fire will drop the puck drop at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube in the first ever battle of Guns-N-Hoses! Come join us for a night of fun as we raise money to help local families in the fight against autism!
The poster is attached. This is a family event. Please pass it on to everyone you know who might be interested.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks. I hope to see you there! Go Red!
Jill :)

Koeppe Sillies

I gave up soda pop for Lent. I have been doing well with it. Last Tuesday, it was a chaotic day at work, and as I sat at the Tim Horton's drive-thru line I decided that God would forgive a pop one day, right? I ordered my cup of soup and I said, "and a Medium Pepsi". Done - I did it. I couldn't turn back. The drive-thru attendant asked me to repeat my order, because his speaker was full static. Once again, I repeated my order, saying, "and a medium pepsi". Then, he asked me to repeat it again, which I did - sheepishly, and full of guilt by this point. He apologized and said, "I'm sorry, I still couldn't hear you." I paused and ended with, "a medium, unsweetened ice tea".
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Jiliang is a complete Daddy's girl, and loves to soak up his attention. Last night, she was cleaning her room, which required her full attention. Scott asked, "Whose Daddy's girl?" Jili kept on cleaning - no time to stop. I asked, "Whose Daddy's girl?" and she responded: "TJ!"

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Jili is doing really well at feeling secure in our family. Jili and T.J. stayed the night at my parents (Grandpa and Grandma Harvey) last Tuesday, and they stayed the night at The Koeppe Grandparents house on Thursday night. Jili and T.J. towed a suitcase of stuffed animals to both sets of Grandparents. It was her first time staying the night at the Koeppe household, and they were exited, to slip into their pjs and sleep upstairs. As I left, she waved goodbye from the top of the stairs, and disappeared in giggles. They had a really great time. Here is a photo of Jili eating ice cream with Papa Koeppe.
As we readied to go home the following day, I spied a stuffed Valentine's Raccoon that T.J. gave Grandma Koeppe for Valentine's Day a few years ago. I pointed him out to Jili and she replied, "I know, Baby Mouse played with him last night."

Goodbye Goldie Goldfish

Goldie Goldfish passed away yesterday. Each time I walk by and see his absent bowl, I feel a little sad. Some people might say that he was only a goldfish, but he was certainly much, much more. Goldie brought a lot of laughs to our household, and he was our little pet. He would always meet our glance at the glass, usually because he wanted food, but there was something special about Goldie, and so we treated him extra special.
Goldie came along in 2007. T.J. and I went to Hidden Lake Gardens during a spring plant sale. Many of you may have already heard the story about the fish-in-the-pocket: We decided to purchase plants to make a small barrel pond. Thus, we left with 5 free goldfish. They were actually black fish, from living outdoors in a large pond. The gardener at HLG assured us that they would eventually turn into gold fish. He told me that they would help my little pond along.
As I readied the pond, T.J. adored the 5 goldfish in the pail in the driveway. I then noticed that there were only 4 goldfish left. I asked my 3-year-old what happened to the fifth goldfish and he responded, "Oh Bear-Bear ate him." I had no reason to question my 3 year old, especially since my lab was drinking out of the fish bowl. I felt bad for its sad fate, but I never questioned his statement. Thus, only four goldfish inhabited the small 1/2 barrel pond. The following day, I opened the dryer to the worst dried fish smell; hence, a baked-on goldfish inside the jeans pocket of my three-year old son - the fifth goldfish. Oh, that poor fish. I vowed to do right by the remaining four fish. From that point forward, I also learned to always, always check my child's pockets - especially after a load of ruined laundry.
That fall of 2007, a sudden frost left me scrambling one evening after work, to bring in my remaining 4 goldfish indoors in utterly cold temperatures. They lived indoors that winter, until they could return to the mini-pond again. The fish started to turn into a pretty shade of gold. One was half gold and half black, but nothing like the neutral fish that they had once been. By 2010, Goldie was the last surviving goldfish, and he had transformed into a beautiful orange fish.
In 2011, Scott deemed Goldie an indoor pet. Goldie loved human attention. Whenever we walked by, he would swim to the glass to say hello. In the summer of 2011, my 1/4 barrel pond developed hundreds of mosquito larvae, despite approximately 70 baby tadpoles. I suggested that we let Goldie inhabit the pond. Scott said no, "He's a permanent house pet now. He loves his fish bowl." I suggested that we just put Goldie in to feast on the mosquito larvae, and then bring him back inside. Finally, Scott said yes. Just a minute after entering the pond he swallowed a tadpole, but spit him out. Then, another and spat it out as well. T.J. and Jili screamed as he gobbled the frightened baby tadpoles. Then, he went to work on the mosquito larvae and by morning, only a few remained. Goldie did his job, creating the delicate, natural habitat in our pond. Jili and T.J. cheered him on. He was really happy in the pond, and remained there until late October.
Recently, we reminded ourselves that Goldie was going to enjoy some outdoor freedom again, as soon as the weather warmed. Unfortunately,Goldie's time was up.
I think that learning about life and death is an important lesson for my kids. I always try to tell my children to treat their pets good and give them lots of attention, because they don't live as long as we would like. "Poor Goldie" they said. "He was a good little fish." Then, T.J. said, "I am glad that he had a good little life." (We were not sure how old Goldie was when we got him, but he was at least 5 years old.) T.J. and Jili accept that the circle of life comes and goes for pets. Thankfully, pets teach children so many valuable lessons about life.
My children have learned that all life is precious, and we all need to enjoy it. The simple fact remains: Be kind to the ones you love, because life is too short. And sometimes, we are just a diamond in the rough, waiting for someone to show us a little TLC to nurture our true colors.
Jill

Pretty Cool Moment!

At school today, we were talking about our families. I decided that it would be fun to show a video of my family to my preschool students. I showed them the video of our Family Vacation in Upper Michigan. The children really enjoyed the music, and seeing the pictures of Lake Superior and all of the amazing animals we saw in the Upper Peninsula: the reindeer, the fawns at the Deer Ranch in St. Ignace, the fox, the black bears, the piggies, ducks and oh, especially the porcupine resting high up on a tree branch - they loved that. The link to the actual video can be found on my sidebar of this blog.
I narrated the part of video about how my daughter lost her hat in Lake Michigan, in Traverse City. My preschoolers loved the story of how my daughter actually lost two hats on that vacation. One hat was lost in Lake Michigan. It actually fell in twice, but sank to the bottom on the second time around. The first hat was lost in West Branch, on a pitstop to The Bridge: Jili was in a public bathroom and I accidently knocked her favorite hat into the toilet as it was automatically flushing. "Ewww!" they yelled. I explained that I reluctantly fished it out and threw it in the TRASH!
During the video, they asked where I was in the pictures, and I responded that I was not in many pictures, because I was taking the pictures. When they actually saw me in some of the photos, they yelled in unison, "Ms. Jill!!!"
After we watched the video, the kids had a lot of questions. The first child raised his hand and said, "M-m-Ms. Jill, I think your family is awesome! I want to meet them someday. I want to come over and play with your kids." It melted my heart.
Other kids commented on the animals, and the carrots that we got to feed the deer. They also loved the beach photos. Then, they wanted to know what color eyes my daughter had. I asked if she looked like me. They said no, she has different colored eyes, "and hair like this," motioning that her hair was straight. I said that she was my daughter, but we looked different, and that was okay. They all nodded in agreement, as if the only differences were the color of eyes and the textures of our hair.
Afterwards, we had a regular volunteer, named Barb, come to our class to read a book called: I Want My Hat Back, by John Klassen. I nearly rolled over with laughter, because it featured a bear, with supporting forest characters, such as a fox and a reindeer in the story - what a coincidence! The children wasted no time telling Barb about my daughter's hat that fell in the lake and the toilet, and how she wanted her hat back too, but it had to go in the trash. Then, they connected the fox, the reindeer and the bear in my video to the book.
Today reminded me one of the many reasons I love to teach. It is always the innocent, sweet, yet honest words, and fresh learning experiences through the eyes of young children that make you appreciate life's simplest joys.
Happy Day!
Jill :)

Sleep Study & Bad Allergic Reaction

I think she looks like a cute little piece of candy, smiling in her monkey slippers and electrode fashions.

On Friday, we had a winter advisory and a snow day for me - not the kids. That night, Jili and I had to venture to U of M for Jiliang's Sleep Study at 7:30 p.m. The roads were treacherous for about 10 miles, and then nothing but clear roads.
Jiliang came home in the year 2010 with some sleep apnea and snoring. The sleep apnea seemed subside over the year following her heart surgery. Her cardiologist said he had seen a correlation between Truncus Arteriosis patients and ENT structural issues. At first, it wasn't really an option to fix the sleeping and possible apnea, until she was one year post-surgery and recovering well - of course.
The snoring has been pretty scary. In the past, all I had to do was adjust her, and her snoring subsided. Most recently, it had worsened. It became so bad that turning her no longer helped, except on mild occasions. I became afraid for Jili's erratic breathing. In January, it was so bad that she would startle herself and gasp and jump, and then go right back to snoring. I videotaped it, just in case in she did not do it at the sleep study. Of course, during the entire month of February, her snoring reverted to mild, as it periodically does. At the sleep study, of course, it was mild, until the day after she came home. It will be interesting to see the results. The ENT doctor had recommended a tonsilectomy for her enlarged tonsils and snoring. Because of her heart condition, however, he wanted to make sure that he weighed the risks, in case there were any complications during her tonsilectomy (NOT a comforting thought). Her cardiologist concurs with tonsilectomy, and believes she is in a healthy place to have the correction done - we will see him in a weeks to get his approval, of course. Her pediatrician also suggested that her breathing was putting a lot of unneccessary pressure on her heart and lungs. That is my absolute main concern. I just pray that the sleep study concludes that she is eligible for a tonsilectomy to alleviate unneccessary pressure on her heart and lungs - and of course, rule out sleep apnea, which is scary in itself. I will definitely show her ENT the video of her gasping and jumping in her sleep.
Jiliang did a great job at the sleep study. I was so proud of her, because she was not afraid to go to the hospital. She actually trusted that I was going to be with her and that we were going to have a girl's night out. Never once did she fear the hospital or fear our separation. She was looking forward to an overnight with Mama, where we watched Lady and the Tramp.
The sleep clinic said that it would take approximately 45 minutes to hook her up to the electrodes and get her ready to settle in for the night, depending on how cooperative the child was. Jiliang was so cooperative that the technicians commended her, and the female told me that she did better than any other child that she had encountered. I am so proud of Jiliang. The staff, especially the male and female technicians, and the gentleman who checked us in, were exceptionally kind, helpful and professional.
The sleep study was only a little grueling. I woke up several times to Jiliang tossing and turning; and at 2:00 a.m., a nurse flickered the light 3 times and creaked the door open and closed three times, only to turn the light on fully. The last time she said, "Oh, we're done now." I tend to talk in my sleep, so I cautioned myself, think before you speak Jill, and asked, "Are you done with the sleep study? We can go home now?" The nurse responded adjusted a few of Jili's electrodes that had come off during her stirring and said, "No, I'm just done turning off and on the light." She told me that Jili had been tossing and turning, and the staff couldn't see what she was doing, so they were checking on her. I was happy that they were so diligent about keeping Jili safe and watched over. Did her charts flag her as a flight risk from her heart surgery days? Hmmm. Either way, I wasn't complaining at their attempts to keep her safe. Six o-clock came quickly, and we wasted no time getting out the door. Unfortunately, the roads were icy, and our drive home was slow, but uneventful.
When Jiliang and I got home, she said, "Mom, I had a fun day with you today." I was really happy that her hospital experience was associated with something positive, and that she considered having Mommy-Jili time special and fun, even though we spent it in a hospital. The truth is that Jili never fails to remind me of the important things in life: it doesn't really matter where you are, but who you are with and what you make of your time that truly matters in life.
Later that Saturday night, Jiliang told me that her tummy was itchy. Lo and behold, Jiliang had a really bad contact rash from the electrode glue, with raised red patches and little white, itchy bumps. Uggh - my poor baby. On Sunday, she developed a rash all over her face (where each electrode was placed), under her chin, on her neck and more on her belly. Benedryl and Hydrocortisone were not helping much, so she was prescribed some Zyrtec and she is continuing with the Hydrocortizone cream. Hopefully it works. When I picked my baby after school today, the shape of her face had changed due to the swelling. I am just praying that the prescriptions work and that we can determine what she is allergic to, for future reference. Hopefully, we will not have to take her in the doctor's office - that would mean it has worsened - and I can only imagine how uncomfortable that would be for her. Anyhow, she is not complaining much. She is being a real trooper.
Please keep my girl in your thoughts and prayers this week for a speedy recovery. I am also praying that doctors can fix her nighttime sleeping and breathing issues to keep our little girl safe and healthy.
Thanks,
Jill :)