He RADIATES

 It's hard to put into words how grateful we are to see Jett reach his 2nd birthday...and reach it BOLDLY, might we add!  He is one healthy and strong boy right now.  This past year has been so much fun with him. We can actually say that now and MEAN what we say!  He really is so much fun. Our first year with Jett was scary and full of hospital visits and the unknown.  We weren't sure he would even make it past his first birthday.  In fact, at times, we prayed that Heavenly Father would do what He needed to do to ensure Jett's comfort...whatever that may be.  However, Jett's strong will to live took over and he stayed with us!  The second year started out rough for a bit (with sickness and such), but from March until now, Jett has been the happiest and healthiest boy!  We couldn't be more happy with our little guy.

Daddy was able to come to Jett's PT appointment last week.

Jett cuddling with Grandma Sherrie

Cody and I talk a lot about what exactly it is about Jett that draws people to him.  There's something about him that just melts your heart and makes you smile.  For the longest time, we couldn't figure out what it was and then, just last night, I was reading a passage out of a book and the answer became very clear.  Currently, I'm reading a book that my mother-in-law gave me called One Tattered Angel by Blaine M. Yorgason.  It is a true story about a family that adopts a little girl with severe disabilities.  She was born missing a large portion of her brain (much like Jett) and was expected to only live a few months.  Well, I'm not finished with the book yet, but I do know that the little girl lived until she was 8-years-old and greatly impacted the lives of those around her.  Below is the passage that I read last night.  It starts out with the father speaking to his wife about their daughter, Charity.

Passage from One Tattered Angel:

"That little girl touches me in ways I have never been touched, " I told Kathy one day. "I absolutely love and adore her, but I'm also in awe of her; I cry with joy when she smiles at me; I can hardly keep myself from smothering her with hugs and kisses; I find myself constantly singing to her; I feel guilty when I'm around her because I don't know how to care for her the way you do, and yet I know with every fiber of my being that she loves me unconditionally; and I don't think I will ever in this life stop wondering who she really is.  Yet if I were asked what Charity does to affect me like that, I don't know if I could give a sensible answer."  (The last statement is exactly what Cody and I talk about all the time!)

Continuing on:

"Sure you could," Kathy responded.  "She may never talk or sing or run or jump or play like other little girls, which are the things we always talk about when we describe our children, but she does do something.  She RADIATES.  She is like a lamp with a bulb that seems to grow brighter the older she gets, radiating love and joy and peace to any who come near and want to feel it."
                                                                                                   -Blaine M. Yorgason

I couldn't have said it more perfectly myself.  Jett isn't able to do much physically, but what he does for us emotionally and mentally far outweighs any of that.  He simply RADIATES.  When I hold him, I literally feel all of the stresses in my life melt away...and he IS my biggest stress! I don't get it.  I really don't, but I'm grateful for the blessing that he is in my life.

Happy 2nd Birthday to our little Fighter Jett!!  Keep fighting the good fight little man.  We love you so much and look forward to many more years with you.

One of Jett's nurses did this fun Christmas craft with him.  Jett's hands and feet were painted and stamped onto the canvas to create the pictures.  Too cute!  It immediately made it's place on our wall.

My Mom…The Cat Lady

Summer was not complete without a visit from Jett's other Grandpa and Grandma, Ray and Charlene.  My parents arrived on my birthday and spoiled me like crazy, which, by the way, does not get old no matter how old you are or how many kids you have.

Here they are sporting their Jett shirts and new eyewear.  Just so you know, my mom did NOT want her picture taken…so I'll make sure that I make the picture extra large on this blog.  

Its always nice to still be a kid every once in awhile. They took us out to dinner, took me shopping, cleaned my house,  and spent their days here cuddling Jett and a new cat…yup, a new cat.

Now, I need to preface this story. If any of you know my mom well, you know that she is a huge animal lover. That is my nice way of saying that she is a "cat lady".  In her neighborhood back home, I am certain that all of the stray cats meet together and discuss which house to go beg from.  For some strange reason, all of the cats end up at my mom's house.  She has gone to many lengths to ensure the comfort of these dirty, ratty, stray cats (one of which is missing both ears) such as canned cat food, their own cat house that sits on the porch, and a warm room and bed for one cat to give birth in. In all honesty, I admire what my mom does.  She doesn't like to see any animal suffer and that love has been instilled in me.  However, I do enjoy poking fun at my mom whenever I can.

So fast forward to their trip out to Omaha, Nebraska.  My parents had only been in town for a total of four hours and OUT OF NOWHERE a flipping black cat showed up at our house.  Seriously, do cats have phones?  This cat knew that my mom would feed and take care of it and did not back down.  Just imagine the most annoying "nails down the chalkboard" cat meow that you can and that would describe the sound that this cat made. Kusaba would freak out every time the cat came clawing and meowing at our door, which was not okay with us.  My mom tried to convince me that we needed a cat.  "Well can't you just let it stay on the other side of the fence and just feed it every day?"  No…no, I can't.

Mr. Black Cat took a special liking to my Dad

So to make a long story somewhat short, my mom wanted to take the cat home with her back to Utah.  She was willing to pay for the cat to fly home, but when I called the airlines, they informed me that no animals were allowed to fly due to intense heat conditions.  Well, crap.  My parents ended up taking Mr. Black Cat to the Omaha Humane Society...but my mom made sure first that the cat would not be euthanized if it wasn't adopted.  I wouldn't be surprised if she has called back to make sure that they're holding true to their promise.  

My parents were able to come to a couple of Jett's physical therapy appointments.  The pictures below are of Jett's feet being measured for braces.  Braces are custom-made to provide ankle stability.  We had these braces made and ready to go by the time my parents were here.  Cody and I decided that they look like wakeboard bindings. What do you think?

Jett was NOT a fan of his first time in a stander.  I won't post the pissed off pictures, but just know that he was NOT happy!  I ended up singing to him (in my awful voice) and that seemed to do the trick.  He tolerated everything after that.

The purpose of a stander is not to make Jett do things that we know he cannot.  There are many great benefits for putting him in this ginormous contraption.  First off, it's good for him to be upright every once in awhile.  Our bodies are not meant to lay horizontal all of the time.  For those who lay flat most of the time are at greater risk of pneumonia and other complications.  Putting Jett in a stander allows all of the gunk to get out of his lungs and lets everything move downward. Another great benefit of a stander is that it allows the muscles around Jett's joints to be strengthened.  The braces support Jett's ankles and allow him to stand using his own body weight.  I'm glad my parents were there with me! Cody was super busy with clinics at school and wasn't able to come. There are a lot of different things that I've had to experience as a special needs mom and I'm incredibly grateful that I have an amazing support system. 

Jett loved cuddling with his Grandma!

I gave up cooking the week that my parents were here and we were able to try some fun Omaha restaurants.  One of our favorites was Wheatfields in Old Market.  Jett did AMAZING in his wheelchair while we ate some yummy food.  Sorry for the blurry phone pics, but I caught a rare, and very cute smile, from Jett.

My dad ordered a BRICK of lasagna.  No big deal.

I ordered a Cobb Salad and pretty much ate all the goodies on top.  Does anyone else do that?

Annndddd....we can't forget about Kusaba.  He was WORN out by the time my parents left, but still was alert enough to protect all of his tennis balls.

Thanks for coming to visit MOM and DAD!

Boseman Family Reunion Nebraska Style

Our family must really, really like us.  Do you want to know why?  They all agreed upon Nebraska (aka Omaha) as our family vacation destination this year.  They could have gone to Hawaii.  They could have gone to Disney World.  Nope. They really wanted to come to Nebraska instead annnnndddd they all wanted to drive over 16 hours to get here.  Okay, okay…maybe they didn't necessarily want to come to Nebraska, but awhile back, Cody and I made the decision that we're not putting Jett on a plane anytime soon.  He gets sick way too easily.  Usually we're not the over-cautious parent, but when a simple sickness can land your kid in the hospital, you learn to take some precautions!  Anyway, Cody's family is amazing and didn't want to leave us out so they packed up their cars and buses (if you're Peter) and headed out to Nebraska!

Cody and I called it our "stay"cation.  We were able to feel like we were on vacation, yet we could come home each night and hand Jett off to a nurse.  Cody's parents rented a cabin that is located about 15 minutes north of Omaha.  It was surrounded by horses and a small lake. Who knew that Nebraska had such beautiful countryside?  Since moving to Omaha, I was always looking for that picturesque image in my mind of what Nebraska is supposed to be.  You know…windmills, cornfields, horses, cows, tractors, crop dusting airplanes…that kind of thing.  Well, if you've ever been to Omaha, it doesn't really offer much…just a bunch of freeways and trains.  However, travel 15 minutes north of Omaha and you are in beautiful cornfield country.

We had a blast with Cody's family.  Jett loved hanging out with all of his cousins and was able to spend some quality time with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Amy, and Uncle Peter.  They showered him with cuddles and kisses.  He even got to participate in the "golden ticket" challenges that Cody and Amy planned for the kids.  Prepare for a picture overload below.

Jett helped WIN a golden ticket challenge…go Jett!

Oh ya know…just working on a BOONDOGGLE keychain.  Back in my day, I was the queen of boondoggle.  You can pretty much call me Deb (from Napolean Dynamite)

At the Air and Space Museum, Jett looked like such a big boy in a real stroller.  He loved looking at all of the planes (obviously)…well, shoot, he IS sleeping in this picture.

I found my next winter coat at the Air and Space Museum.  How do you like it?

Boating DAY!  Even Grandma got a turn on the tube.

Little Henry Wyatt (our nephew) was not a fan of the tube.  He shrieked in terror the entire time, yet when he came back in the boat, he screamed out, "I did it mommy, I did it!"

Jett loved the water and it was a good thing that he did.  It was a HOT day!

Our niece, Addie wakeboarding for the first time.  She's already better than I am.

My older nieces (and sister-in-law, Amy) gave me this cute hat for my birthday!

Jett and Daddy doing their "A-Okay" sign

Jett and I roasting, literally roasting, on the beach.  The sun kept moving so we had to keep moving spots.  

The entire Boseman clan (minus Chad's family) sporting our awesome reunion shirts that Cody made.

We loved hanging out at the ranch…Kusaba especially.  He would leave and go on his own adventures and then come back hours later with horse poop all over him.  He was in heaven.

We LOVE our Boseman family! Come on back now, ya hear?

Lake of the Ozarks

While we're in dental school (and yes, I say "we"), we are lucky enough to get an entire month off from school each summer.  It is a much-needed break for Cody and his non-stop studying.  The best part, however, is that Jett gets to have his daddy around 24/7.  I counted down the days to summer break. The day that the break finally started, I'm pretty sure I jumped up and down a few times out of pure excitement! 

Last summer, it didn't feel like much of a break because we were so busy making improvements to our house and getting a feel for our new city and hospitals (unfortunately).  This summer, we kept busy…but had SO much fun staying busy.  If you know me and Cody, we don't like to sit around.  Therefore, we accomplished quite a bit, which included hosting our first Jett Powered event, which you can read about HERE.  Cody also completed some amazing projects, like building a screen printer (to print our Jett Powered shirts) and a light board for Jett's bedroom (below)…

Isn't it pretty?!  Jett now has his very own color-changing light board to look at every night.  The board can flip down right above his crib so that he can see all of the fun shapes and colors.  

I wish I could say that I built some awesome things for our house.  Now that I look back, I'm like, "Okay, what did I do that was cool or awesome?"  Nada.  I'm not creative in that way at all.  However, once Cody is finished with his projects, I love to take credit for them and pretend that it was my idea all along.  Does that count?

But for real, I guess I've stayed busy with Jett (of course!), teaching fitness classes, and starting a new business called Paleo Plate.  You can read all about that HERE if you're interested!

One of my Paleo Plate creations…these are Post-Workout Protein Bites that, in my opinion,  taste like cookie dough.  They are made from all organic ingredients and are super healthy for you…yes, even dark chocolate can be healthy!

Back to our summer break... unlike a lot of our friends, we stayed in Omaha again.  We have been incredibly lucky to have a HEALTHY Jett for a change so the first week of break, we planned a fun boating trip to Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri!  We traveled down with three other couples and rented out a vacation home that sat right on the lake.  There was even a boat slip to park our boat.  

Now, if you know anything about Lake of the Ozarks (which I didn't), you know that it is often called the "Lake Powell of the Midwest" and is known for its beauty and party atmosphere.  Our house was in a calmer (non-party area, thank goodness) and was so beautiful and peaceful.  We spent our days boating, eating, boating, and eating some more.  It was awesome.  Jett LOVED going out on the boat.  He would smile every time the wind brushed through his hair.  He did okay during the nights and mama (that would be me) did okay without a nurse around.  

The Ozark crew!!  We made a deal with everyone that if a baby was conceived during our time at the Ozarks that it's name HAD to be "Ozark".  Tessa and Taylor…we can't wait for Baby Ozark due February 2014.  (Okay, okay…she was already pregnant before the trip, but surprised us with the news while we were there so that has to count)

Me…trying to look cool

Me…a few seconds later, looking super cool

Cody…actually looking cool.  However, I'm not sure how well this trick ended.

Kusaba's first time "swimming" in a few years.  We're pretty sure he almost had a heart attack.  Cody received a million scratches on his chest from saving Kusaba. On a good note, if I'm ever having a bad day, I just have to look at Kusaba's face in this picture and my worries melt away. Is that look not the funniest thing you've ever seen?!

Jett cuddling up to daddy 

The only beach we went to…it was super hot and super sandy.  We stayed about 20 minutes.  Just enough time to coat our body, clothes, and shoes with sand.

Daddy swimming with Jett while Kusaba looked on from a safe distance…with his lifejacket on this time.

Well…Kusaba didn't keep a safe enough distance from the water.  He got thrown in a second time.  We are so mean…well, Cody is mean.  I was trying to save Kusaba the whole time, but had to take a couple pictures first. 

All that boating is hard work for Kyle.  Kayli decided to make a photo opp out of it.

Kusaba enjoyed being in the boat a lot more than being in the water.  Cody, however did not enjoy Kusaba's talons (his toenails) on the interior of the boat…I was constantly being yelled at to put the towel underneath Kusaba. 

Even though the water was a little colder (okay, A LOT colder) than bath water, Jett loved swimming around.  He would close his eyes, put a smile on his face,  and let us glide him through the water.  

Lovin' life!

This was the house we stayed in…what, you don't believe me?  Yeah, you're right, but wouldn't it be cool if we did?  I fell in love with this lakeside property.  Does anyone have a few million dollars they could loan me?