Reunited with Little Sister

Matt and Carleigh arrived later in the evening. Cody ran to Carleigh and tried to kiss her and being the typical little sister, she pushed him away! She was a bit bewildered by his appearance. She just didn't understand why Cody was in the hospital and she kept saying he was sick.

It was so good to see them together because it brought back Cody's original spunk and character.

Day 1 is over!

Cody is asleep and I officially have insomnia thanks to the loud noises that I hear outside the hallway. Well, they have started to quiet down a bit, but I usually don't go to sleep before midnight, so I am up for a little bit.

Mamaw & Papaw Schmidt came up and Cody and I were thrilled to have visitors (that we actually KNEW) this evening. Papaw helped Cody stay focused on his dinner and with his help, he ate the majority of the food! Yay!

Matt and Carleigh arrived a little later. When Carleigh first saw Cody, she was puzzled, turned her back on him and clung to me. I guess she was a little scared and worried about him. That lasted for only a few minutes because then she was up in his bed playing with him not a few minutes later.

I am so glad that day 1 is over and am hoping to see and catch an "episode" during day 2!

Visitors

We had some unexpected visitors this afternoon. The first one was a hospital chaplain who visited with Cody and prayed for him. After he left, we had a furry visitor who came to visit him. Bandit the therapy dog stopped by and Cody got to hug and pet him. He also got a Polaroid shot of Cody & Bandit. It's amazing how many visitors you get in a hospital room.

Cody is doing fairly well expect for not taking a nap. We have had too many interruptions for that! He is "tolerating" the 'do rag that is attached to a backpack, but he is getting frustrated with it at time. He also wants to go outside the room but can't. It could be a LONG 3 days! *sigh*

We're HERE!

We arrived into our room around 9am. Cody was hooked up with electrodes and is sporting a 'do rag on his head and a backpack. He did an outstanding job getting the electrodes and the technicians kept exclaiming how well he was doing. Of course I think part of it was fear, he was tired from getting up early, and he had his meds already this morning.

I am here for the long haul....we are hoping and praying for a short stay! If you want to come and visit, we are in building A, 7th floor, Room 37.

If you want our hospital telephone number or my cell phone, just email me.

Until next time...

Packing Yet Again

Yes, you read that title right. I am packing today for my first ever hospitalization stay and wouldn't you know it...it isn't about me! Cody will be admitted into Children's Hospital on Tuesday morning, gets electrodes cemented to his head for 3 days and will be videotaped for 3 days at the hospital. I will be staying with Cody all 3 days and nights while my mom will be babysitting Carleigh. Carleigh is very excited to spend the night with my parents tonight (hopefully she doesn't get homesick!).

We can have visitors and if you are around Children's, PLEASE come visit us (especially Wednesday night since Matt & Carleigh will be going to church that night)!! I won't know what room we will be in until tomorrow morning. Send me an email and I can call you on my cell phone and I will let you know what room we are in. Can you tell that I am desperate for visitors???

We are packing Cody's favorite movies, toys, and stuffed animals. Hopefully we will not get incredibly bored....I am bringing my laptop to keep myself from sheer boredom.

If they catch an "episode" aka seizure before the 3 days are up, we get to go home! But knowing Cody, he won't have one until day 3!!

This summer is going by too fast with so many trips!

Cabela's

Our first stop was in Dundee, Michigan to check out Cabela's. Cabela's is a HUGE hunting/fishing/boating/camping store that puts Bass Pro Shop to SHAME! They had beautiful exhibits of animals and an aquarium. The kids really enjoyed looking at all the animals and of course loved the fudge and candy we bought inside the store.

Arriving at Jellystone

We arrived at Jellystone a little bit after 6pm. We were all exhausted to say the least. The kids enjoyed playing on the playground for the first time. We enjoyed go-kart rides, arcade fun and playing games at the campground game room.

First Look at the Dunes

Our first trip onto the dunes was breathtaking! It is amazing how God created the dunes so beautiful and unique! We saw trees in the middle of the dunes and gorgeous views of Silver Lake and Lake Michigan! It was so relaxing!

Having fun at the beach

We had a wonderful time at the beach. We had a picnic lunch and enjoyed building sand castles, putting our feet into Lake Michigan, and watching seagulls fly.

Loving the beach!

Carleigh and Cody LOVED the beach this time! When we went to VA Beach two years ago, they were scared by the ocean and the waves. This year, they wanted to go out as far as possible! We "swam" in the beach on Sunday when the temps and weather was the best. We had a picnic lunch after being transported out to this very remote beach. Fun was had by all!

Carleigh and I had fun burying Brittany in the sand!

The Campground

We watched the Red, White & Blue Bicycle Parade from my sister's campsite as well as watching the Heroes' Parade where police, fireman, and EMT came through the campground with their lights and sirens. We also saw Smokey the Bear! It was funny because Matt thought a bad accident happened since I didn't tell him about the upcoming parade.

Wagon Ride with Yogi

I suggest EVERYONE to go camping at a Jellystone Campground! It is so much fun and there are a TON of activities every day for the kids! Crafts, games, movies, wagon rides, and much, much more! Matt and I are talking about getting a small pop-up camper (one that we can pull with our van) and visiting more campgrounds that are ran by Jellystone. We went on a wagon ride with Yogi and sang songs and waved to all the campers at the campground.

Walking the dunes

Brittany and Tim dropped us off in the dunes and we walked along the pedestrian portion. We saw Silver Lake plus some gorgeous sights! This was also another aerobic event and but boy was it worth it! Cody could run free and it was so funny to see both of them TRY to run up the sand hills by themselves!! It was so much fun!

Adventurous Ride on the Dunes

After our walk on the dunes, Connie took us on a ride via the mule of the dunes. Connie wanted to show us the woods area of the dunes and wouldn't you know it, she got us STUCK going uphill?!! I was in the back and was almost decapitated by a tree! My niece Brittany had to climb a dune hill and find Jerry who got us out of trouble. I then went with him on a ride of the dunes. It was so COOL!

Ludington Beach

We visited a beautiful beach just outside Ludington State Park (where we WOULD HAVE rafted if the weather was better) and walked along the shores.