Happy Sunday

We had a very good day in church this morning and I just had to share some of the highlights. 

• The priest that baptized Kevin has retired but he was here this morning to officiate the Mass and we were very happy to see him.
• One of our favorite Deacon's was also at this Mass. Kevin loves to see him and he even gave Kevin’s feet a blessing after church. 
• Our family was asked to bring up the Offertory Gifts which is always special for us but today the priest invited us to go all the way up to the altar and Kevin did great!
• I’m not sure if this is intentional or not but I have noticed recently that when our current pastor has the Mass that we attend, he will position himself for communion on our side (normally the priest is always on the other side) and he will give Kevin a blessing when he walks up with us at communion. Today Deacon W gave Kevin a blessing at communion. This means more to me than I can express in words. 
• Greg at FHC gave us a helpful tip to use spearmint essential oil for Kevin to smell when he gets anxious. We sometimes have to use this at church. Today during Mass, Kevin purposefully took my hand and put it by his nose, so I gave him a smell of the spearmint. Then he took my hand and put it to his ear. I was going to try to hold out and discourage the noise canceling headphones but because he was communicating so clearly with me I promptly gave him the headphones to wear. It wasn’t until my husband and I were talking about it after church that I realized this is what Kevin was doing with my brother when Kevin was visiting them in February. This clear communication is a big deal for us and it makes up for the sock incident episodes that I have been feeling bad about. (The short story on the sock episode is that during my recovery I asked Kevin to take my socks off and he was not able to understand what I was asking of him despite the fact that I was giving him all kinds of verbal cues, pointing, and sign language. It was additionally baffling to me because I know he knows what socks are because Kevin will not go to bed without socks on his feet. This is something we will discuss with FHC at our upcoming visit in May.)
• A couple new church folks that we haven’t had interaction with before came up to Kevin after Mass to tell him that he did a good job.
• It makes me very happy that we feel included at our church and that they make Kevin feel special in a good way.

Added Note:

• I had mentioned in an earlier post that Kevin was to have the Hyprocure surgery on his feet in mid February. Unfortunately, we had to postpone his surgery because I was experiencing a lot of pain and it was necessary for me to have a full open hysterectomy procedure. We rescheduled Kevin’s surgery eight weeks after mine, which is this coming Saturday, April 12.  This is why Deacon W gave Kevin’s feet and his doctor a blessing after church. I will post an update post surgery.

Playing the Piano

Kevin's Tuesday helper plays the piano for him...and he likes to help her. Kevin still spends a lot of time at the piano every day since she started playing for him.

Swinging Monkeys

Kevin's Monday helper creates these elaborate ceiling fan creations with the monkeys (and a few other animals) for Kevin to play with...the test is to see how long the chain lasts after he leaves. 

Table Time is Fun Time

One of Kevin's favorite people came over to babysit and took this picture. They spent some time reading books and then she asked him what he wanted to do next and he got up and went to his table. 

Kevin loves Table Time!

Happy New Year 2014

A Beautiful Day at the End of the Year

My Cup Runneth Over

”My Cup Runneth Over” These are the best words I can think of to describe our Christmas this year. This was a special year for us with my Dad receiving a new heart and the feeling of gratefulness is overwhelming. Please keep the Donor’s family in your thoughts and prayers during this first holiday season without their loved one…to whom we owe it all to.

“My Cup Runneth Over” because it was a very full Christmas. We had our own Christmas with just the three of us on Saturday morning. It was a bonus not to have to travel with our gifts for each other. And because of the negative reaction Kevin had to opening gifts on his birthday we thought it best to keep it as low key as possible. But Kevin surprised us and did great. He willingly opened his gifts as well as mine. We left town later that day to be with the G family for a whirlwind of Christmas festivities. Kevin was very excited to be there with everyone so much so that he woke up extra extra early the first morning. The following morning, Grandee was curious if Kevin ever gave a response for “no” when we asked him a question, so she asked Kevin if he was ready to go back home and Grandee got to hear his “no” answer. Aunt Marcia, found out how Kevin will lean in for a kiss when asked. This is all progress for Kevin.

“My Cup Runneth Over” because I think all 14 of the Golembiewski’s would agree that this was our best Christmas ever. One small miracle was that none of us were sick…so we could all be together with Dad. There was a definite shift in the festivities this year as the grandkids are getting a little older. And we noticed that Dad had extra participation in the Christmas festivities this year. With the help of my brother and his son and some of the other grandkids, Dad was able to get his train set up this year. The train didn’t run any better than in past years but he did create a fun scavenger hunt on the train platform for us. Dad has also been very busy whittling since he has been home from the hospital. Each person in the family got a golf ball with an individual carved face on it. In addition each family got another carved Santa ornament for the tree.

“My Cup Runneth Over” also describes the many tears I shed this Christmas. Not tears of sadness and not necessarily tears of joy but I think best described as tears of love because “My Cup Runneth Over.”

I think my first crying episode happened on Christmas Eve Eve when my Mom gave me a Belated 40th Birthday gift. She created a scrapbook on the computer of my early years. When I opened the gift I was at first bewildered because this is not the type of thing you would find my Mom doing, especially when she had to dig through old old photo albums and pry off each photograph or polaroid and then scan them into the computer. Luckily, she had help from my Aunt and her Girlfriend, or she might not have ever finished. It was very emotional seeing the baby pictures of me with my brother Kevin before he died of Leukemia when he was three years old. Some of these photos I don’t ever remember seeing. The scrapbook means so much to me to have these forgotten old photos and knowing the emotion, time, and effort that went into making it. My Mom had received a scrapbook of her early years from her Mom on her 40th Birthday, which is what gave her the idea. 

Typically, Jon and Brad (my husband and my sister’s husband) usually find a way to sneak away to see a movie and this year, Ryan the oldest grandchild was old enough to join them. Well the rest of us (not including my Mom and Dad) decided to go see the Disney movie Frozen. The last and only other time Kevin saw a movie in the theater was four years ago. He was happy to sit with his Uncle Steve and Aunt Dawn and did great. He sat for the entire movie and even had a few favorite characters in the movie, the Reindeer and the Snowman. 

Another tearful love filled moment was when my brother and sister’s families each gave Kevin a book for Christmas, but also made a video of them reading and signing the storybook. Each were brilliant and fun and special in their own way and we love them!!! I really appreciate the extra extra time and effort they spent making this gift for Kevin. Best Christmas gift ever for Kevin!

Another fun moment during the G Christmas Festivities was when my brother’s kids put on a little Christmas concert for us. Ryan played the trumpet and his two sisters sang along (with their new karaoke microphones). The trumpet didn’t bother Kevin at all, in fact he was sitting on Grandee’s lap smiling through the whole thing. There was lots of laughing but when the kids performed Silent Night…you guessed it…tears in my eyes again!

My sister had the idea of having my Mom and Dad bring up the Offertory Gifts at Christmas Eve Mass with all six grandkids. This is something that we began doing with Kevin this year, so we knew it would be a success and it was beautiful…and, yes, more tears in my eyes.

There were so many special moments during our Christmas this year…it is hard to describe each one. Jon even made a Christmas video of pictures from the last 10 years of Christmas with the G Family which created a lot of laughter in the room.

We spent Christmas Day and night with the Hudak Family. It was a lively Christmas with Kevin’s almost 11 month old cousin. We enjoyed every minute of our Christmas with them. Kevin loves to be with his cousin and Grandparents and there were lots of smiles and fun.

I love spending time with family!

We are Blessed - My Cup Runneth Over