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I’ve debated about posting this, but I really feel compelled to do it. I want to thank everyone who has so generously helped us out over the last 18 months. I wanted to list many of the things that were done for our family in order to say thank you and to let everyone know how amazing our support system is. So, while I apologize for not sending each person a thank you note, I hope you all know how much I have appreciated each and every thing that has been done. Well, here’s the amazing list…
1. Watching our 3 kids
2. Cleaning our house
3. Shoveling our driveway and sidewalks
4. Taking our kids to school
5. Transporting Derek to soccer games and practice
6. Taking our boys to do fun activities (D&B, sledding, etc)
7. Sending cards–I just have to say that I never realized how much one card can affect someone’s day. So, for those
of you who sent us cards, THANK YOU. I have kept each and every one. They so helped to brighten our days!!
8. Watching, playing with, and walking our dog, Sprite.
9. Making sure our 3 kids had the most amazing Christmas!!
10. Gift cards for every place around here. AMAZING.
11. Fixing our fence so Sprite wouldn’t climb it as much. 🙂
12. Cutting our grass.
13. Taking our kids to the pool this past summer.
14. Fixing our front window.
15. Cleaning and organizing our basement playroom.
16. Taking Sprite to the vet. Now that is amazing to take someone else’s dog for a teeth cleaning.
17. Meeting up with me for lunch, coffee, dinner, etc. while Stef was at OSU.
18. Providing meals. I have to mention that this generous act totally amazed us. Over the last 18 months we have had
over 100-120 meals brought to us. That blows my mind. We have had meals put in our freezer in addition to
those others. Incredibly helpful. Thank you!!
19. Pizza. Our kids love pizza. We had a family send us pizza on most of Stef’s chemo days. The kids looked so forward
to Tuesdays.
20. Pizza again. All I am going to say is to those of you who live here… support Flyers Pizza. They have taken such
good care of a pizza loving family. Thank you, Flyers Pizza!
21. My mom. She watched our kids for 6 weeks and 6 days while Stef was in the hospital. They were able to keep with
their routine as much as possible.
22. Night sitters. These amazing people sat with Stef for over 5 weeks at night to keep him resting comfortably and
make sure that he had someone right beside him from 8pm to 6am. Thanks to them, I was also able to grab some
sleep.
23. Day sitters. These people sat with Stef for a number of reasons. So I could go to lunch and dinner for my birthday,
run errands, go shopping, pick the kids up from school, etc. For the last 7 days, my neighbor, Lisa, sat with him
each morning at 730 so I could shower and fix breakfast for the kids.
24. A new back door.
25. People picked me up while we were at OSU so I could run errands.
26. Girlfriends come over at night to have fun at my house since I can’t really get out in the evenings.
27. Flowers. The past couple meals brought to us have been accompanied by beautiful spring flowers. Very uplifting
in this weather!
28. Vacation. That’s all I can say, but to those who helped, THANK YOU.
29. Starbucks and Panera. I’m addicted to both of these. My friends know it, so thanks.
30. Prayer. We were covered in prayer. We felt it’s amazing power. So, for those who so faithfully prayed–thank you
from the bottom of my heart. You may never realize the comfort and sense of peace we felt. We walked through
deep water, but we had a true sense of calm.
I hope I pretty much covered everything. If I left anyone out, I am truly sorry. I am so thankful for the people in our support network who reached out to a hurting family and helped us walk upright through this journey. We are so grateful.
I wanted to post a really quick note to let anyone who is interested know that there are bits and pieces from Stefan’s memorial service posted over on his blog. My speech, my brother’s speech, Aaron Conrad’s speech, and Troy’s letter written to Stef are all posted now. Aaron was also kind enough to put the memorial video on. I thought we were going to be able to put the service itself on, but it doesn’t look that way. I know several of you wanted to see it, so I am sorry. If you live close by, I would not mind lending you a copy of the entire service if you want one. Just let me know. So if you are interested, click on Stef’s blog and then click on Remembering Stef.
Well, this is officially my first post on my new blog. When Stef first had me take over blogging for him, I was pretty resistant. However, as time went on, I realized that it can be therapeutic. Hopefully, this site will give me a place to share a little of what is going on with us.
As many of you have read over the last couple of weeks, Sundays are pretty rough. I’m not sure why, but they are. I am trying to work through so many things, that sometimes it’s just overwhelming. Well, the kids seem to be struggling as well. Poor Justin was crying tonight. He is constantly sharing memories of his dad. He loves to do that, but unfortunately it also makes him sad. He so misses his dad. Derek is my constant helper. I think he feels as though he has to help since it’s just me. He has been amazing. He constantly asks how he can help me. And then there’s Carley. She is so sweet, but she misses her daddy. Please keep these sweet kids in your thoughts and prayers.
Thanks for checking out my new site!! I’ll be back soon.
Sorry I haven’t updated for awhile. I know several of you check this site regularly for updates. This past week was a week of getting back into our routine plus really trying to figure out what our new routine will be. I don’t think we have even come close to figuring it out, but we are trying. The kids are doing ok. They each struggle in their own way. It is just so sad sometimes to watch these young children cry for their dad whom they miss desperately. I just wish they could have been around him so much longer. Since that was not possible, I only hope they can get to know him from hearing stories from me and other friends and relatives. So, please continue to send those stories and memories to share!!
I am doing ok. Sundays tend to be very rough days for me for some reason. I’m not sure of the reason for that beyond the fact that that is the day of the week that Stef passed away. Anyway, I have noticed that I really struggle on Sundays. So, if you could, please remember us and pray for us especially on those days. The adrenaline is completely gone now, so reality is setting in. It seems to be getting more difficult, so I really enjoy keeping myself busy. Unfortunately, my caffeine addiction or constantly keeping my mind active is also keeping me up at night. I have a lot of difficulty sleeping. I tend to get to sleep finally around 130 or 2 and get back up by 6. I’ve always been an early morning person, but not really a late night person. It is just hard once I put the kids to bed because the house is so quiet. I enjoy the quiet somewhat, but it is different when it is a forced quiet. I don’t really watch TV, so the night can get really long from 830 until I end up falling asleep. Thankfully, I have some friends who check in with me late at night either by phone or dropping in, so I really love that. It helps to pass the time.
I just think part of this is just adjusting to this new phase of life. I have an incredibly hard time adjusting to change. I fight it the whole way. Even though it has only been 4 weeks and 2 days, I am discovering that the grief proccess is extremely difficult. I’m not sure what people REALLY want to know, so I don’t alway feel that I can be totally honest. Plus, that’s not always easy for me in general. It’s hard to admit that life isn’t great. I just miss Stef so much. Anyway, sorry for the rambling post, but I guess that is what happens at 1217am. Well, thanks to all of those who have so diligently checked in and helped take care of us. We are so grateful. Goodnight.
Oh, by the way, the above picture is one we took while we were in Florida. Just thought I would share it with you.
My Three Kids 
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