Kraft family

2011 Year in Review

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2010-05-23T15:40:00.000-07:00

Field Day at school- Friday, May 21st

Deanna is 10 1/2 months old

I wanted to give an update about "Lil Miss". She was seen by a Special Care doctor at Children's Hospital almost 2 weeks ago. The Dr. gave a diagnosis of Arthrogryposis. Here is a link to find more information: http://amcsupport.org/ This diagnosis doesn't have anything to do with Deanna's feeding issues-that is caused by some fluid on her brain stem. We saw pictures of her brain from one month old and are in the process to have another MRI done to see what it looks like currently. I will post again soon when I know more information and can share more pictures. The important thing is she is happy, healthy (sort of :)) and so much fun. She gives our family such joy with her very expressive face-her eyes "smile" a lot! Her brothers can't get enough time with her and love on her too much, if that is possible.
We've got Casey's 8th birthday coming up and the last days of school to occur-then lots more pictures.

Deanna is 6 months

2010-01-08T13:17:00.000-08:00

Here is an update of our daughter...

She is so much fun!! Her eyes and whole face move when she smiles and somehow her eyebrows have become first impression sensor...when she is curious, they raise w/ expressive eyes, when she is sad, they frump down and her eyes go shut and mouth gets tight, etc.

She is 15 lbs, 1 1/2 ounces and is growing well and is mostly healthy. We don't know why she doesn't eat by her mouth still and we may just skip the bottle feedings this round. In a week or so, we will attempt some cereal or applesauce or somthing of substance, but we are waiting for her to be sitting up w/ better head control...she still resembles a bobble head doll, but way cuter!! She is beginning to reach for things and really enjoys musical toys, dolls, and things that light up. She still sleeps between every feeding and is on oxygen at night. She is soooo easy going and a great baby-we are so blessed by her.
Oh yeah, she started sucking her thumbs-we are encouraged at her new habit even though we don't approve of it for very long. At this point, any oral sensory things are good and hope to ease the strategy into eating.

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-08T13:11:00.001-08:00

Here is a copy of our New Year's letter in case you didn't receive one in the mail because...
a. You live close enough and see us often enough YOU could of wrote it
or
b. I don't know what happened, but let me know if you want to receive a copy next year. :)

Happy 2010!!
As I write this annual letter catching you up on my family this past year, let me first say that we are extremely blessed and grateful for the simple things in life that we have endured, experienced, and have been given. My heart has been moved and refined and my eyes well up with tears of gratitude when reflecting on 2009. It was a year of highs and lows and everything in between so here it goes…

January-As a family, we enjoyed the National Western Stock Show in Denver, CO and witnessed Casey finish his mutton bustin’ career with his personal best ride and taking a close 2nd to the overall winner.

February-Walt Disney World- Here we come! We enjoyed 8 days in Florida for our first family vacation. It was wonderful and exciting. The boys love rollercoasters! It was the most magical time of our lives and we can’t wait to go back. The boys don’t understand why we haven’t returned yet? 

March- We welcome Duke, our Australian Shepherd puppy, to live with us. We quickly learned that having a puppy takes a lot of work even when we don’t feel like it.

April- We found out that a daughter will be our addition in July. Casey enjoys playing flag football and Adam continues playing soccer under mom’s coaching every Saturday.

May- I joined my mom and sister for our annual vacation. This year we spent a long weekend in Las Vegas enjoying the sun by poolside and seeing Jimmy Buffet in concert.

June- Casey turns 7 years old and Colorado Rockies fans were born. We took Brian to the Rockies game for Father’s Day and the boys loved it, even when there was a tornado delay of game. Both boys played baseball in the recreation program in Wellington and had a “Sandlot” game in our yard the other days of the summer.

July- On the 5th, we welcomed lil miss Deanna Nicole to our family. We have learned many lessons from Deanna in her life so far and can’t wait to see what else she has in store for us. My favorite part of having her is to see her brothers become gentle, affectionate, and smitten by their sister; they both are great helpers. Also joining our family is Russ Anderson as our new brother-in-law as aunt Heidi was married on July 25th.

August- The biggest highlight of the year was bringing Deanna home from the hospital on the 11th. Both boys began school on the 19th with Casey in 1st grade and Adam in kindergarten.

September-This month was the beginning of many, many appointments for Deanna. She is visted by an OT, PT, and nurse on a weekly basis. Brian began corn harvest with great yields and the boys played soccer on the same team each Saturday.

October- Adams turns 6 and we get our first snow days from school-yay! The boys don their Colorado Rockies uniforms for Halloween and Casey begins wrestling for the fall.

November- Deanna weighs in at 12 lbs and 13 oz and is 22” for her four month checkup. Casey takes 2nd in the G.R.I.T. wrestling tournament for the 2nd year in a row. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Colorado Springs with the Kraft family. Brian has been enjoying the Broncos games this season as a 1st time season ticket holder.

December- It seems like each day of this month we did something to prepare for or celebrate Christmas. The truth is, we should be celebrating Christmas everyday—more of Christ within us. Living with peace in our hearts, treating each other with kindness, love, and respect, giving more and receiving less, and being grateful to the One that gave us life.

My prayer for 2010 is that the Saviour that created you, lives in your heart and you feel the comfort of His peace, His love, and His acceptance throughout the year.

Love, Brian, Jamilyn, Casey, Adam, and Deanna Kraft

Jami=sonshine4@hotmail.com OR Brian=bkrafty@lpbroadband.net

update on Deanna

2009-11-14T13:29:00.000-08:00

Deanna had a sleep study done on Nov.4th (Happy 9th Anniversary Brian) b/c we know that she tends to hold her breath and destats at night while sleeping. WE didn't know how often it happens or why, we still don't know why, that is a process that is being looked at, but the lil miss was put on oxygen this past Monday and needs it around the clock, ugh. It is hard to imagine that the little girl needs it, she looks normal and cute, but the drs. tell us that she has some obstruction that is keeping her from getting enough oxygen and that she is trapping CO2 (and probably doesn't help her eating ability). The result so far is that Deanna is delayed developmently, we know that she can catch up and we love the fact that she is still a baby for longer, but is saddend b/c we don't know the long-term results. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors and Brian and I. It is hard b/c we don't know the reasoning for much of anything w/her, super frustrating. This past week, we went to Children's again...and saw a pulmonary dr. He said that Deanna aspirates, has silent reflux, and has a hard time swallowing based on the sleep study. We are treating her w/ another steroid for her lungs as well as one for her nasal passages (to help reduce the swelling of her adnoids). We are treating pneumonitis with the other steroid. Bascially we are still treating symptoms and haven't yet come up with the problem to be healed. ugh.

WE have another ENT appt. at Children's on the 23rd of this month, so hopefully I will have more news that week of Thanksgiving and can post that week.I am taking a week off from appointments that week, yay!

sidenote: The boys brought firewood down from the shed today. Casey is now driving the ranger on our place and field behind our house, such a big shot! They loaded it up w/ wood and then it was too cute, Adam hopped out and gave hand signals for Casey to back up to the basement door to unload. Watch out- farm kids have taken over and taken charge.

Until later...Happy Thanksgiving! We are so blesed by what we have, what we can do, and what we live for. We are grateful for all of you!

slightly overwhelmed???

2009-11-14T12:21:00.001-08:00

My very cute and adorable kiddos. I am so blessed!

I realize that many of you check this often and I apologize that I am not a very good blogger...I am overwhelmed with life as it is now. I'm trying to keep up with everyday things, such as school, homework, laundry, meals, new baby, and many appointments. Oh yeah, the last month we had a family birthday, school parties, Halloween, harvest party, a visit to Children's Hospital, ended soccer season and started wrestling and Adam's 6th birthday on top of my "normal" week. It isn't all bad and crazy, well I guess crazy and chaotic is now normal for us. I'm being refined as a person, mom, wife, and friend. There is more of me with less time, but a more complete me and less of a flaky person who isn't sure what I want out of life. Deanna's obstacles have taught me much about myself. I am a strong person, always learning, starting to question and ask questions rather than take what is given w/o the worry or guilt of hurting some one's feelings, and that I have limits and breaking points and that I get overwhelmed!!! And its okay, I will get through this craziness, just one step in front of the other and repeat, again, and again. I've realized that I can't just think things through in my head, that I have to write it down on paper or it won't happen. Oh Lord, I pray for more self control and self discipline to accomplish my "to do" list more efficiently. :)

Anyways, the above was probably more than you wanted, sorry-I vented and now on to the pictures!!

My 32nd Birthday. A special weekend fish trip at Elk Mountain, Wyoming with the Marrou family, thanks friends for a wonderful and relaxing weekend.

Little Miss Deanna Nicole... the last 2 1/2 months
Deanna beginning to smile.

2 1/2 months old

2 months old

Cute little "farmer girl" all decked out in John Deere!

Brotherly Love

Denver zoo day-we got Casey out of school early and went for a fun afternoon!

Both boys are excellent students! They received the SOAR award at school, it stands for Self-Control, Optimism, Attitude, and Respect. Both boys got the award for displaying self-control--how do they get it when I need/want it for my life?? go figure, anyways we are so proud of them. Look how boastful Casey's chest got when the principal was talking about him, too cute!

1st snow of the fall-October 10th,lots of snow to play in! Duke (the dog) loved frolicking in the snow.

Adam's 6th Birthday-he has become a huge Rockies fan

Happy Halloween!

August 25,2009

2009-08-25T06:46:00.000-07:00

Here are some updated photos of Deanna. She is growing, about 8 1/2 lbs. She has weekly visits from a nurse, physical therapist, and occupational therapist. It is helpful for now, but I can see how our weekly social calender just got busier. On Monday, August 17th, we had our first ER visit with the little girl. She was taking her antibiotic by mouth (G tube got infected) and decided it wasn't going down the throat b/c it tasted so bad. Super scary! She held her breath, then choked on her med, then before you know it, I am wiping saliva away from her mouth, changing her position, blowing air in her face, and dialing 911. It was an image that I hope not to relive, but I am super thankful for the EMTs from Wellington and PFA for bringing oxygen!! At the ER, we had a chest x-ray done to check for aspiration, but nothing appears that fast and her vitals were good so we got to go home. Since then, we are taking the medicine in her tube and not by mouth. She is nippling some from a bottle, about 5 -15 ml, the same amount that she did in the hospital. It completly wears her out for the day, so we are being patient with this process and can only keep practicing.

Tummy time on the floor. She usually buries her face in the blankets and then falls asleep.

Deanna wearing her new party dress for the open house.

The boys and grandma made this sign for us when we pulled up to grandma's house from Children's Hospital. The kids from our MOPS group signed it and colored it.
Proud new brothers! This was taken August 11th, the day Deanna came home.

August 12th, my first outing to the doctors to get a new cast on. The one they put on is probably my last and then I will wear splints at night.

Here are the boys on the first day of school. Adam is in 1/2 day kindergarten and Casey is the big man on campus in 1st grade. They both get on the bus in the morning at 7:39 am and Casey rides it home after school. School starts at 8:10 am. Adam's favorite thing is to ride the bus and recess. Casey enjoys being at school and does really well at helping out and being good...home is a different story!?!?! Both boys love on Deanna when they are here. They check up on her and ask what and where she is at and if they can hold her. It is very sweet to see how concerned the boys are for their sister. She is adjusting to life at home...sleeping a lot and growing. Deanna sleeps all night or most of the night (10pm-5 am) so mama is thankful for that and everyone is much happier and well off because mama is rested.

The boys in front of the flowerbed. Adam is soooo into the Colorado Rockies right now. We took Brian for Father's Day and the boys loved it! Adam wears his CR cap everyday and wanted the backpack for school that now he shows everyone.

Bus #4 with bus driver Al

Casey and his teacher

Adam and his teacher

Thanks for everyone who has brought us a meal! It is so nice and thoughtful of you and one less thing for me to figure out. I appreciate it very much!

Welcome Home Deanna

2009-08-14T07:10:00.000-07:00

Wanted to invite you all to an openhouse tomorrow evening to meet the little girl. We are so blessed by all the support, prayers, meals, and help with the boys--Thank you!! Saturday, August, 15th beginning at 5 pm we invite you over to eat together and visit with us. Please bring a finger food to share and your lawn chairs (& probably bug spray) and we will provide pop, water, and cake and a bonfire. :)

It's a Beautiful Day!

2009-08-11T11:59:00.000-07:00

We are bringing our little daughter home today!

What a glorious day.

In an hour, Deanna will participate in another swallow study before being discharged. We want to know that it is safe and comfortable to have her "nipple" her feedings and to keep on practicing the bottle before getting home. If it isn't very good for her, that is okay with me and I will just give her all her feedings through her new fancy gadget, her G tube. It is considered another mouth in essence and we should treat it that way. It can get wet w/ water, it may leak or be like spit up, it needs to be washed and wiped. We are working on transitioning her to a higher volume of milk and less often so at night, she can get a good 4 hour stretch (me too) of sleep, this is a good thing. The whole process of preparing her feed, feeding her, and then cleaning the equipment takes an hour...so hopefully I will get faster and more efficient at this.

Her new feed button on her belly and the pump that gives her the milk.
We are planning a "Welcome home party" for Deanna so look for more details to come. She is growing and beginning to smile at us. We are so blessed to have her and now to bring her home. praise God! More pictures to come...she had a sweet outfit to come home in, but the tubing became disconnected and she got a shower with her clothes on...go figure :)

"Every good and perfect gift is from above..." James 1:17

August 7, 2009

2009-08-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

Today is a new day with less clouds in the sky and in my head. Deanna is going to have surgery at 4 pm or so to get a g tube or feed button as they are referred to. We spoke with the doctors this morning and have conferred that the best way for Deanna to get food is through this feed button. She is able to receive my milk through this tube, so I guess me and my "breast friend" will have more time together. Pray for quick recovery. She will be on a ventilator and ivs while the surgery takes place,but hopefully not for long. Poor girl, hasn't eaten all day yesterday while they studied her urine concentration and today she had food at 5 and 8 am, but nothing more until tomorrow morning.

Here are pictures from our stay at Children's Hospital. She had the ng tube taken out en route from Ft. Collins in the ambulance so the nurse let it stay out until her next feed (this was Wednesday).

Here are pictures from our stay at Children's Hospital. Below, these were taken last night in her new crib. She has since been taken off the oxygen and her ng tube is out again.

August 6, 2009

2009-08-06T22:18:00.000-07:00

As I write this from the family lounge at Children's Hospital in Denver, I am reminded again how fortunate we are to have had healthy kids and to hug them and love on them as a blessing from God! Thanks Casey and Adam for the privilege to be your mom--I love you to the moon and back.

Deanna is beautiful and growing, but still not completely healed. Yesterday the ENT doctor had said that she had severe acid reflux, today the GI doctor said she did not, nor did she aspirate. Sounds confusing??? Well, it is contradictory so we don't know much more today than yesterday or the day before so tomorrow will be another day of "consults" and "study" and hopefully more answers and steps forward to solving the problem and not just covering up the symptoms.

We do know that from her chromosomal tests that came back abnormal were completely linked to me...that may surprise some of you or not :) We don't know what a "flipped" chromosome means for Deanna or for me for that matter, but we are assured that it can't be all that bad and we are both UNIQUE and SPECIAL and now...bonded.

So...tomorrow will be more of today with hopefully more explanation and understanding. My head is spinning with questions so I need to go write them down before I forget then off to bed.

Hopefully, Brian can remember the USB cord tomorrow and I will post some pics in her new "crib".
Good night!

August 2, 2009

2009-08-02T14:14:00.001-07:00

Here are some photos of our daughter and sister from the last couple of weeks. It has been crazy busy with hospital visits, the new dairy headquarters (me), baseball, a wedding, and did I mention that I have 2 active boys!! Thank goodness for friends and family that help out with our life right now. I really appreciate the meals, phone calls, and help!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Deanna is steadily taking a bottle at 2-3 feedings a day. It completely wears her out and she only gets 1/3 of her feeding for that hour from the bottle, then off to be "gavauged." This is her tube feeding of breastmilk and where she gets her nourishment. She tends to be awake after eating and looks bright-eyed and bushy tailed and ready for the "real world" only to get snuggled down and wrapped tight in blankets for a cozy nap. Three hours later...repeat. We did have a swallow study down last week only to be told that she does aspirate when drinking so we need to thicken her milk and continue to go slow and watch for signs (coughing, sputtering, can't breathe look). This was the first study and we are pretty sure we are going to get a 2nd opinion to look at the video and give us more explanation as to why it is taking Deanna so long to learn this behavior. From the study, it looked like everything antomically was good, but I'm not so sure...I've requested a 2nd look from an ENT doctor, we'll keep you posted. This week we need to decided what the immediate future looks like for Deanna. Our options are to go to Children's Hospital in Denver to get more answers (prayerfully), stay where we are and have the little girl dictate how long she likes hospital food, or possibly get trained with the NG tube and bring Deanna home. We haven't decided what is best for our daughter at this point, so please pray for direction and wisdom!!

Thanks for your support along this journey.

Today, she is 7 lbs. 12.5 oz-----28 days old and one pound heavier!!

Saturday, July 18th

2009-07-18T11:58:00.000-07:00

As I am writing this, I am at the hospital waiting for the lil' one to wake up for a feeding. She is on a 3 hour schedule and we are activly trying to get her to take from the pacifer dipped in milk and suck on it before putting the bottle in her mouth again. We don't want her to get an adversion to things in her mouth so we are moving slow with this process. Please pray that once she figures it out then she will progress quickly so we can take her home...this is the one thing that we are waiting for.

Her MRI results came back normal and her renal exam was also good. THe little one is making slow and steady progress, but progress none the less. Her ears are shaping up like they should, so no more concern for having something physically wrong with them. She currently has her rump in the air with O2 blowing on it b/c of diaper rash...so she has normal issues as well. :)

Update on Deanna

2009-07-16T08:28:00.001-07:00

Here is the lil' miss without her cannula! As of now, she has her NG feed tube in and a couple of monitors for her heartrate and pulse. Deanna has new splints on her hands to help stretch her fingers out and have a better range of motion. I think today she is getting her next cast on her leg. SHe is making progress. Today she will have an MRI on her brain to check for its activity level- pray for clear and good results and that it doesn't truamitize her.

Her ultrasound on her brain showed that her blood clot has not changed, but they are encouraged that this is okay. She is up to eating 50 ml of breast milk through the tube and we are continually working to get her interested in taking the pacifer to begin interest in a bottle or breast--then she will get to go home. Continue to pray that she cooperates with eating.

Her chromosomal tests came back yesterday with results that the doctors are still looking at. Pray that the results will be clearly understood by the genetist(?) and that we will understand them as well. Brian and I are getting blood work done to be able to compare our DNA strands against Deanna's to be more thorough.

Here is my baby girl and her proud brothers on Wednesday evening.

We spent Sunday morning at the hospital, then had a family lunch out. Here are the boys and I in front of the entrance to the hospital.

Today (Monday) the night nurse had her dressed in the morning when I got here...it was so good and refreshing to see. She is starting to look "normal" being in clothes and not having so many lines of wires from her body.

Here is Deanna's first cast. They will be changing her cast weekly to accomodate her growth and help fix her club foot.

I forgot to mention on earlier posts...

Deanna's birth weight was 6lbs. 12 oz. We don't know how long she is??

She was "term" at 39 weeks and 2 days.

Her birthday was July 5th.

The reason she is in the NICU was that she was really stressed in labor and for a couple days before. With the cord wrapped around her neck twice, she was deprived of the good stuff for too long, that is why the doctors are checking all possible things.

Deanna Nicole -Part 2

2009-07-11T14:15:00.000-07:00

Just a side note---read previous blog first to get the right order of events.

After going to the recovery room for 1 1/2 hours, I was taken to see Deanna. She was all hooked up to lots of different things. We were told she had lots of meconium and that she is getting the help she needs right now.

Here is our first picture together as mother and daughter.

Look at Deanna's hair-we thought it was going to be light and curly, but it has changed a lot.
The boys came by in the afternoon to see her face. The nurse covered up a lot of the cords so they wouldn't be scared for her- Adam's first question when they came to my room- Where is she?

I went to my room and she stayed in NICU.

WE were given lots of information the next time we went to see her, but honestly I can't remember what time it was or what was said...it is all a blur. I spent the next 3 days in the hospital and with each day there was information overload as to what went on with Deanna. I was and am recovering fine. I don't feel too bad considering a c-section is a major surgery. I always trusted God to look after Deanna and I raised my hands in worship that I had another day with her. Each morning that I see her, I praise Him for another day. I thank Him for each feature on her body (working or not) and know that we can get through this obstacle.

After day 2, Deanna has made progress for the better. She didn't have pneumonia, but there are other causes of concern. WE are awaiting chromosomal tests to eliminate any possible abnormalities. Some of the concern of the drs. is that her hands are positioned differently than most newborns. They are in the right spot placement-wise, but she holds them in a relaxed way, not with her fists clenched. They also noticed that her forearms are short, her eyes are really sunken, and her ears lay flat. We don't know if there is a connection between all of these things or not, maybe it is the way she was "crafted." Deanna will also be wearing a cast for the first few months of her life. Her right foot is a club foot, this is a common genetic abnormality and not related to the delivery or how she was laying in utero.

Deanna's heart is normal, her lungs are good, her brain is looking good,but we will see more info on an ultrasound being taken on Monday. She has shown a blood clot in the "air pocket" in her brain. This can be normal for newborns after delivery, but again, we will know more later. We pray for complete reabsorbption back into the brain of the blood.

She currently is being moved to a level 2 room instead of the level 3 where she has spent the last 6 days. This is great news!! She is off the ventilator, off any pain medications, and is currently on cortisone (her body used her supply up in the labor process) and antibiotics. She is being fed through a NG tube-through her nose and straight to her belly, of my breast milk and is doing well with it.

Here is the latest picture: Deanna is off the ventilator-YAY!!!!

Deanna Nicole Kraft

2009-07-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

Let's start at the beginning...

On Thursday, July 2nd, I went to my check-up appointment and had no news. I was barely dilated and my cervix was pretty far back, so things didn't look very immediate for baby.

On Friday, I helped sell some of my junk at a garage sale w/ my friends, hung out and visited and about lunch time felt contractions more consistent (10 minutes apart) for the rest of the day. I called the dr. about 4 pm w/ some complaint of sharp pain down low, but was reassured that my cervix was most likely dropping b/c it needed to in order for delivery to get closer. There was no change in my contractions. We went to supper at Olive Garden(tried it Susan:))--it was sooooo good and the closest the contractions came were 7 or 8 minutes apart,but most of the time they were 10. I felt like nighttime was going to be show time so I packed my bag for the middle of the night rush- that is how both Casey and Adam began their debut. I slept really good, got up once to go potty and fell right back asleep. The next morning, I was a little disappointed...

On Saturday, the 4th of July, the boys and I went to the Wellington parade and then headed home to pack the car for camping and a rodeo on Sunday. We got up to the Maxwell Ranch (CSU's summer pasture) about 3 pm and sat around during a rain, ate supper under a tree, then dried up by the fire, roasted marshmallows, and lit off fireworks. Brian and I stayed up until 11 drying off the only pair of jeans and boots that I brought for the boys by the fire and then called it a night (so we thought).

2:30am- Got up to potty in the woods, fell back asleep between contractions. They were about 7 minutes apart. I was debating whether to pack it all up or wait until they were 5 minutes apart to make the journey back to town. I started watching the clock...

4 am- Felt that I may not have "drip dried" enough...got up to make sure and WHOOSH! I felt a feeling that I had yet to experience. I waddled to the outhouse, then came back to tell Brian, "It's time to go!" We loaded up the sleeping boys, and all that was in the tent and started the bumpy drive to the highway in about 20 minutes. THe drive down 287 usually takes 1 1/2 hours, but Brian kicked it up a notch and we arrived in Fort Collins in about 45 minutes. My contractions were still only 5 minutes apart and not to painful so we took the boys to his parents' house, stopped at home so Brian could change out of his campfire clothes and then headed to the hospital.

5:45am- I am admitted to the hospital and shown my room, asked to leave a sample-What??? Apparantly she wasn't told my water broke and for the past 2 hours I have been leaving samples on everything. Another nurse begins the admission process, but is quickly distracted by my answer to the color of the water leaking from me. She checks it out and then moves quickly into action upon realizing that there was meconium involved. My contractions progress...it hurts...after about 10x breathing through, more nurses come in to help me w/ changing positions. Deanna's heartrate was "decelerated" after each contraction and took longer each time to get to "normal". They brought in the ultrasound machine to check her position and reasssured me that she was head down, but must have the cord around her to have such a slow recovery after each contraction. Another one...I changed positions again...this time her heartrate went to 85...another one...etc. My doctor was now present along with my closest nurse friends-all 7 of them--and it was decided that the cord was definetly wrapped around her. They checked me again, I was only a 5 with contractions 4-5 minutes apart. Did I mention that I really did not enjoy having my water broken? It is a gross feeling-trust me and I kept getting fresh bedding underneath me and still was complaining.

THe next thing I know a different dr. comes in and discusses w/ my dr. that a c-section is the safest way to deliver Deanna w/o compromise. I signed some papers...they talk to Brian...and off I am being rushed down the hospital corridor into a meat locker! Within minutes my legs are numb and my toes are tingly and the drs. ask me if I can feel that? It was the initial slice into my belly. They deemed it safe to bring Brian in now that I can't feel anything. hmmm??

I was awake during the c-section and was making some jokes. Word got out that I was camping and sleeping on the ground just hours ago and the drs. were poking fun at me/us. After some time, they pulled Deanna out and reassured me that they didn't want her to cry. There was a lot of meconium in the placenta and they needed to clean her out first. The cord was wrapped twice around her neck and once around her shoulders. We were told that she probably would have pnemonia b/c of her environment. She was rushed away and I lay open in a meat locker.

the last 3 months...

2009-06-29T08:18:00.000-07:00

My dad and sister come for a visit over our spring break. It was a fun weekend.

Casey lost tooth #6.

Adam and Duke--it is a love/hate relationship at this point.

Easter 2009: After spending the 3 days before Easter being very sick (mama talkin) we had a very low-key Easter celebration. For lunch, we went to Texas Roadhouse and came home and took naps. The next weekend, we had a egg hunt with our extended family and a traditional Easter lunch.

My handsome boys!

Vacation Bible School at Wellington Community Church, June 1-5, 2009 Casey and his friend, Libby at snacktime.

Adam at the closing ceremony.

Casey celebrated his 7th birthday at the rollerskating rink with his good friend, Madison, who is 10 days older and their buddies. We had the rink to ourselves for 2 hours and enjoyed cupcakes and drinks. I can't believe my "baby" is 7 years old. He is grown into a boy who is kind, sensitive, a good friend, a great athlete, and always up for an adventure! I am so proud of you, Casey!!

Brian and Casey on skates--who would've thought???

Madison and Casey before blowing out the candles.

Drum Roll Please...

2009-03-11T14:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess it is official... we are having a girl ! I went yesterday to the 3D/4D sonogram office b/c I was getting anxious to know for sure. It seemed harder to wait this go-round as we were eagerly anticipating a new member of our family. I still find it hard to believe!!! A girl!! My perceptive little Adam was right-he knew when I was pregnant (praying for "the baby in mommy's tummy") and he told all of us that it was a girl. He is going to think God answers his prayers all the time. The pictures are a little freakish-looking, but please be kind and tell me how beautiful SHE is. :) I'm more nervous now knowing I'm having a daughter than not knowing what I was having. We waited with the boys to find out until their birthday so this is all new territory for us. Both Brian and I lost some zzzzs last night imagining what is to come, what her name will be...(this won't be decided until we meet her), and how our family will forever be changed***for the better I am sure! Hopefully she makes her debut in scheduled fashion the second week of July.

Let me know if there are others of you that are skeptical of this picture, as I can still be!?! I still can't believe that because I don't see a penis that it means she's a girl.

Our new brother!

2009-03-06T15:38:00.000-08:00

Meet Duke, our new brother who is 8 weeks old. He was born to Mocha and Rusty on January 7, 2009, along with 6 siblings. Today he came to our house to live for hopefully a very long time.

He belongs with our family and has freckles to show for it. He is very cute! We hope he enjoys his home and all the attention that the boys want to give him. They can't wait to "train" him to fetch and take him for walks.

Florida Vacation

2009-02-20T13:19:00.001-08:00

Here we are...all decked out in our MM gear. I think it helped us keep track of each other during the day. We saw other families w/ the same idea, it was pretty funny. Day 2 of our vacation and we are hitting the Magic Kingdom along w/ millions of our closest friends. :)

Donald Duck at FrontierLand. The boys loved Splash Mountain (they went down 5 times) and Thunder Mountain (3 times).

On Friday, we went to Epcot Center. Right inside the gate was Chip n-Dale so we got their autographs and a photo. Once I develop some photos, I encourage you to ask the boys about their autograph books, they will be excite to show you who they met.

Today we went to SeaWorld. The boys enjoyed the water rollercoaster that we went on and their favorite show was Shamu. Here is a before picture at the Dolphin show. Here is a picture after watching and getting all wet by Shamu, the killerwhale, during the show. The boys braved the "Soak Zone" and sat in the first row possible. Brian and I sat about 15 rows up and stayed dry. Halfway through the show, Adam came up to us b/c he was cold.

On Sunday, Feb. 15th, we went to Tampa, FL to Busch Gardens. Here the "boys" rode the scorpion rollercoaster. It was the only one that Adam could ride, b/c of height requirement. They loved and it even went upside down!

The main man--MICKEY MOUSE, that we have been waiting to see. Here we are getting their autograph and picture at Animal Kingdom.

MINNIE MOUSE has 2 new boyfriends.

On our last day, I realized that we did not have a picture of all 4 of us at any place on anyday, so I asked a complete stranger to photograph us in front of the castle at Magic Kingdom while we waited for the "dance party" to begin. It was a wonderful day to end our magical vacation.

The jury is still out!

2009-02-10T05:55:00.000-08:00

18 weeks and blossoming

At yesterday's doctor's appointment, we saw an ultrasound of our new baby, we were hoping to see what the baby is going to be (our 1st time doing this). We saw lots of things...4 valves on the heart, good symmetrical brain, fingers and leg bones, a spine and a waving baby to its parents, but unfortunately, we didn't see any "private parts" to know if it is a boy or girl. Brian and the doctor (60% sure) is pretty sure it is a girl since we didn't see a "waterspout." I am going to wait until the next picture to see girl parts before I start my new favorite color scheme--denim and pink!

The boys are anxiously hoping for the big trip to DisneyWorld--we leave today!! More pictures to come upon our return. Happy love day!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T15:05:00.000-08:00

The Kraft Family’s Top 10 for 2008

#10 Being able to weather the recession so far and have enough money to send out Happy New Year letters to our friends and family.

#9 Watching both Casey (6 yrs.) and Adam (5 yrs.) take on a new sport—wrestling! In their first tournament, they muscled (not much technique, just farm kids not wanting to be on their backs) into 2nd and 4th place respectively for their weight class.

#8 Beginning a new chapter in our lives: Sending Casey to school on the bus for kindergarten. Mom gets to help out once a week with literacy skills for his class and enjoys keeping tabs on him while he is away.

#7 The boys absolutely loved going to Montana where this summer we stayed for 16 days. We enjoyed swimming, taking the dogs for walks, watched baseball games, visited family and friends and rode our bikes on sidewalks. It is sure is a refreshing break for mom too!

#6 Brian was able to juggle many roles this past year: dispatcher, driver, farmer, bookkeeper, manager, mechanic, husband, and dad. He managed all his roles well and enjoys having the opportunity to serve the cattle feeders and run his business, considering what we paid for fuel this year.

#5 Watching the boys develop their soccer skills to become good players who practice teamwork and have fun. Adam becomes available to play when the ball gets kicked out of the mob of kids and usually gets a run away towards the goal. Casey is by far the strongest kid on the team and kicks the ball ¾ length of the field to help out. Mom was able to coach Adam’s team.

#4 We had a memorable day at the fair this year with Adam competing in the stick horse rodeo and winning the best 8 second ride and Casey riding a sheep for a few seconds, then off to the fair food and a couple of rides.

#3 Surviving a tornado while it went over our house is definitely a memorable experience for our family. Brian was home for lunch so it was extremely comforting knowing we were all together while it passed over, but it sure was scary and mysterious and we thank God for His protection.

#2 Telling the boys at Christmas that we are receiving the gift of life and expanding our family to five. We expect a new bundle of joy to arrive the second week of July so please keep mom and baby in your prayers for a healthy and safe delivery.

#1 Maintaining our health and working bodies to serve others, enjoy life, play and laugh often, go down waterslides, camp in the outdoors, ride sheep, enjoy supper out with friends, and most importantly worship our Savior, Jesus Christ, during Christmas season and throughout the year.

Have a Happy and Prosperous New Year filled with love and laughter!

Smoke Signals to Santa

2009-01-02T14:51:00.000-08:00

The boys (Brian helps write, Casey and Adam) have a tradition of writing Santa a letter of things they want for Christmas and a paragraph or two of how they have behaved and things to improve on. Then Brian has told them that Santa will read the smoke signals in the sky from our house with what the words were. Here are both boys with their letters and then putting them into our fireplace. One of our own cute traditions.

Casey putting his letter in the fireplace.

Adam with his list of everything a cowboy needs and then standing next to the open door.

We give Thanks!

2009-01-02T14:40:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving was spent in Montana this year and we were fortunate to be able to see my grandparents who came down from the Round Town (Circle, MT). We celebrated with my mom, dad, Stacie, and Great Grandparents. It was a wonderful treat to visit with everyone and eat yummy meals.

Great Grandma Virginia and Grandpa Sarge with Casey and Adam.

Sage Willis with Adam & Casey

We then ventured to Buffalo, MT by Judith Gap to see our friends, the Willis family. We helped them cut down their Christmas tree in the National Forest, but I couldn't convince Brian to bring a tree all the way to Colorado for us. The interstate by CO was closed so we stayed an extra day with our friends- it was great to see them and their new stomping grounds.

Wrestling Tournament

2009-01-02T14:16:00.000-08:00

Adam's first match was won by forfeit (lucky us) but his next match proved to be too much for him, he lost by a few points. His third and final match was unfortunately against a girl in a singlet-not her first wrestling tournament. He was a great sport and learned what this wrestling thing is all about. We had previously practiced once a week at Poudre High for 1 1/2 hours with Bill Greenwood & others who put on these clinics for the kids in honor and memory of his son, Nicholas Greenwood, here the website info: www.gritwrestling.com.

Casey is super strong and can push and pull with the best of them, but unfortunately he lacked technique for wrestling moves. He went to practices too and learned some moves, but using them was a different story. He did a great job and took 2nd for his weight class. In the last match, he lost by a one point for first place, bummer!

2nd place finish for Casey in the Nicholas Greenwood Memorial tournament, Nov. 22, 2008.

Yikes! It's Halloween

2008-11-04T05:42:00.000-08:00

Casey's Halloween party at school.

Watch out Scooby and Shaggy!

Casey and Adam dumped out their "Rick or Reat" bag once we got home. Casey divided his candy by what category it was and also by the brand. Adam just dumped it out and looked through it. Looks like we hit a mother lode.

Happy Birthday Adam

2008-11-04T05:16:00.000-08:00

Here is my big boy...we celebrated his 5th birthday this past week. He wanted a rodeo party so we tried best we could to do just that. My mom, Linda also visited us for the weekend which was a busy one.

Our annual birthday supper at Red Robin. Adam waited for the staff to finish singing before eating his dessert this time, he is showing patience.

A fun time at Fort Fun playing miniture golf after church. Adam's photo is right after he got a hole-in-one.

Late August and September

2008-10-23T11:56:00.001-07:00

Even though my blog does not reflect activity...we have been busy this early autumn!! here are some photos of our lives the last 3 months.

Adam learns to ride a bike w/o training wheels--look at his priceless grin!

August 17, 2008

Casey shoots hoops in the yard--look at his form and he made it. I bet Grandpa Dan is proud.

Great Grandpa and Grandma Kraft celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on August 24, 2008 with a group of 200+ family and friends.

Casey's first day of kindergarten at Rice Elementary in Wellington, Colorado.
Here is his teacher, Mrs. Lenzner--she is wonderful and fun!

Please be praying for my beautiful sister as she is struggling with e.d.

Soccer Saturdays

2008-10-23T11:33:00.000-07:00

Soccer games take up our Saturday mornings. Casey is in the 6-7 year olds and Adam is in 4-5 year olds. I am Adam's coach for the 3rd time.

It is so much fun to see their personalities come out while playing soccer. Adam is totally into the game and goes after the ball if his name is being yelled for and HE decides to go for it. Casey is an all-around great teamplayer and is very strong, he can kick the ball from the middle of the field into the goal (when there is no defenders).

Summer Time

2008-08-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

Both boys had a swim lesson while we were in Montana in July. Here they are...Adam is still more confident swimming while wearing a life jacket. He had more fun asking the lifeguard to go dive for the toys than he did. Casey became a good swimmer in just 2 lessons. He is jumping off the board and swimming to the ladder (about 15ft away). It worked out really well because we went to the pool almost everyday. Casey's nickname is "fish"

We spent a lot of time at the pool, riding bikes, and taking care of my parents' dogs. The boys climbed the rimrocks in Billings with my dad and woke up early one morning to see the hot air ballons(there was a festival in town). We also went to Red Lodge for a couple of days and got to visit my Uncle Tracy and Aunt Betty (from Glasgow, MT) who were in town for the Harley Rodeo.

Giddy Up and Rodeo

2008-06-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

As I may have mentioned, the boys both competed in the Greeley Stampede Rodeo yesterday. Adam was in the stick horse rodeo which consisted of roping a calf, barrel racing, and the best 8 second ride. The competition was slightly tweaked so the kids could understand and not lose focus. Here are Adam's rodeo pics:

Adam did awesome!! In my opinon, he was the best overall cowboy and put up a challenge for the other 29 competitors... He won a "Bucky" bobble head as a trophy for having the quickest barrel race.

Casey competed in the mutton bustin during the regular rodeo. There were 10 kids in his competition, with only one winner for the longest ride. Casey unfortunately did not take the glory in this event, but did his best and now has a "Justin Mutton Bustin" buckle to show for it.

After the rodeo, the boys went on some carnival rides, then off to supper and bed. The cowboys rested up from the long day and we'll recover until the next ride. Happy Trails!

North Dakota or Bust!

2008-06-23T07:32:00.000-07:00

We headed to Rapid City, SD last Wednesday to get an early start on our adventure. The boys were pretty excited that we saw buffalo, deer, antelope, and wild donkeys and 5 mountain goats on the cliff. After supper, we headed to bed and then had an amazing front door experience of a lightening/thunderstorm for a couple of hours. Of course, we chose the room with a view, which meant being higher up than average and upclose and personal with the storm. The next day, we stopped at Dinasour Park in Rapid City for a quick visit before hitting the highway again.

Next, we stopped at Wall Drug(the famous one w/ billboards everywhere in Wall, SD) for a visit and yummy malt for a morning snack. Pretty cool place, lots to see & be sure to bring a camera--we didn't--so you'll have to imagine.

Once we got to Fargo, ND we did a lot of visiting with family, swimming in the pool, and we began the wedding countdown. My cousin, Marci Smith was getting hitched and Adam is the ringbear. It was a fun mini-vacation (If that is what you call going to North Dakota)and we put a little under 1,000 miles on the Red Wagon. Everything went great, even though Adam walked into a lightpost the day before the wedding. We tried to hide it under his cowboy hat and had him wear it a lot to protect him from doing that again. He did a super job and took it very seriously. The flower girl was the goddaughter of the groom, Jacob Erbele. Both boys were able to ride in the stretch Hummer to the reception, they thought that was pretty cool.

Here are some additional photos of the Manion family...

the "grand" girls 5 of the 6 kids Grandpa Dan w/ silly boys

Daddy with his boys after a long day

The boys just keep eating and growing...

2008-05-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

After I got the hang of this again, here I go...
The pictures are from Easter, Mother's Day, and a causal "snack" one day.
Wanted to do a quick update on the kids, isn't that why we do this type of thing? Casey turns 6 next week(we celebrated an early party at C-E-Cheese with a soccer ball cake that I made-who would've thought?) and Adam is 4 1/2, going on 12. We just finished up a spring soccer season, with mom being the coach--lots of fun and it just proves you don't have to know very much to get by, especially for 4-5 year olds. We are so excited to see summer where we can stay home each day, the boys definetly get tired of going places during the week. Our trucking business, Ag Express, is doing super well, with minor setbacks at the ethanol plant which causes frustration and stress. The crops are in the field...will let you know how they fair after the storm came through. We will be traveling a bit this summer for a wedding in North Dakota and Billings, MT and then rounding out the summer at "the ranch" in Buena Vista, CO. It is the dude ranch where I worked in college and where the boys and I can currently go to "Be a Cowboy". We'll keep you updated more and I promise I will send pics.

We survived a tornado

2008-05-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

I know that it has been a very long time since I posted to this acct, but now I'm back in action--Watch out!
Here are some photos of what occured at our house following the tornado that blew through on Thursday. We all were home for lunch, my friend Teresa called from Greeley to say that a tornado was coming through between Fort Collins and Wellington (that's us) so we took cover in the basement living room, there are no windows there, just a patio door where Brian could watch from behind the couch. He could tell you everything that he saw, but I know he saw the trees bending back and forth repeatly. I was holding both boys on my lap with a big blanket over our bodies, we decided that we were "kinda camping." After a little while, we checked out the damage and saw 2 trees totally sideways outside the patio door, not much else was different, until we went upstairs to check out the larger area. The tornado had picked up a stack of gated pipe and tossed it about and strewn all over the yard, along with a bbq grill, ride-on toys, and lots of pieces of roof shingles, and tree branches. With that being said, we are very fortunate that nothing more was done to us or our house and the damage was very minimal compared to others nearby. Thank you God for saving and protecting us!!

A Busy December...

2006-12-26T12:42:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas with the Kraft family. The boys' received "cowboy beds," log beds, new chaps, belts with cowboy buckles, new jeans and "tau boy" shirts. They had a wonderful time unwrapping gifts, Casey has already asked how long until his birthday, he wants to do this again. Ha!
We are still settling into our new home, for those who do not know, we moved in November into a property with a small farm. We are still only 15 minutes from town (Ft. Collins) so we couldn't be happier. We now own many rabbits, birds, an owl, and 25 acres with a large lawn to mow and care for. After the snow melts, from last week's blizzard (we received about 2' of snow) we can pick up the tree branches that fell from the wind. We have many trees on our property and a shop with some outbuildings, definitely room to grow. You are more than welcome to visit anytime and we hope that you do.
Happy New Year from the Kraft family!

kraft family

2006-12-26T12:41:00.000-08:00

kraft family

Watch out world

2006-08-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

We are learning lots from the computer and have now began a whole new way of communicating. Our blogspot will be to keep in touch with our family and friends that we don't see everyday. Show you our photos and keep you upto date with us. Enjoy!!