Amanda and the Hendersons

"Just leave me alone" she whispered, the moment before she snuggled deep into my chest. The sun had not yet taken its place in the sky that morning when Phin stirred awake.  Fevered. Tired. Not feeling well for almost a week...and it had begun to take its toll on her tiny body, and her spirits.  It's the latest week of the many that have contained one miniature Henderson battling sickness.  No one having the same illness..all different, and all consecutively. One. After. The. Other. The days starting early and the nights ending not long before that. Tears, and cries. Coughs and fevers, Throw up and aching... She thought if she hid behind the chair...the doctor might leave her alone. It was a solo week...those tend to happen when your husband is attending grad school. Field work placements in another town...  leaving three kiddos and a mom looking forward to Friday a little more than usual..... People often say, When it rains, it pours. I have b...

Two years can fly by....and at the same time seem to last an eternity. I can not physically believe that it has been two years since the biggest day in Parklen's life.  I can not. Two years ago was the beginning of something new, for Devan and I, for Paysen, for Phin and mostly....for Parklen. We didn't know what tomorrow looked like back on this day in 2013 . The future was unknown.....just as it always is... but a big event, like a bone marrow transplant...brings that fact forward in your mind.  It is so easy to "plan" for your future....for the future of your family, your children.  It is so easy to live life as though you've got it figured out.....  But believe me....You don't. My life looks nothing like I had imagined it would at age 31...  Its much different.  I have spent a long 7 years running a race for my son... and my destination today, the place in which I currently stand, is different than I ever thought it would ...

Days are going by too quickly, they refuse to stop...I wish I could slow time.... Its hard for me to grasp the fact, that today you're turning 9. It seems like only yesterday that I first held you in my arms.... My beautiful baby boy, tiny and so perfect....I never could have dreamed, all the things you've come to be....You're greater than my thoughts could manage. A brother, a friend, a son, a hero. Paysen you are full of love and kindness, bursting with wit, frosted with spunk....and topped with a few sprinkles of mischief... You are the answer to many prayers Ive prayed.... Nine years old. Hard to believe. You make me proud to be your mom...and happy to witness your life. I love you Paysen! Happy Birthday to You!

I can remember dropping Paysen off at kindergarten like it was yesterday. My heart cried a little.... and butterflies fluttered about in my belly. I felt sad and happy all at once.... scared and hopeful wrapped together. and when I walked away from him that day, I cried. But my tears slowed quickly.... because I knew. I knew that, although I would miss him dearly, although he was growing far too quickly, and although I would love to keep him small forever.... He would be ok. I knew that Paysen would be ok. I knew that he would make friends and learn, I knew that there was nothing in that school that would destroy him... He would be ok. Every year I drop him at school.... and every year I shed some tears.... I cry because I know that the moment is fleeting... that before long he will be grown, I cry because I like him as well as love him....and I miss him during the day. But when I drive away from dropping him off..... I wipe my tears, because I kn...

This week has been tough.... In different ways. This day has been rough on my heart. Last night was back to school night.... I don't like back to school night.... I get emotional and all crazy about sending Paysen...my healthy kid to school...every.single.year. Watching Parklen walk down the hallways, through the crowds of children, and into his classroom.... was a tornado of emotions. It was so hard. It really was. I can imagine tomorrow, on his first day of going to school....it may be a bit harder. My heart sings at the joy he feels.... and it swells with his excitement..... but it is guarded, afraid, fearful... I am trying to get a handle on that fear. Overcome it. and let Paklen's joy win. I sit here tonight and remember... years worth of memories. Years worth of pain, years worth of struggle, years worth of fighting,.... and years worth of being there, by his side.....watching out for him. I cannot keep the tears from forming. I ca...

It would seem that sometimes life takes us where we are not ready to go. Life keeps moving when we would rather it stood still.... Like a child spinning round and round until they are too dizzy to stand.... Life can be that way. When we hiked earlier this month....Parklen spent time running.... My life is that way. You pray for something for so long.... and then it almost surprises you when the answer arrives.... The cells that Paysen gave to his brother at the beginning of summer.... Those glorious little cells... You know the ones... Well, it seems they were given in vain.... They did not complete the job they were intended for... They did not work. They had no effect on Parklen's being. Devastating. The hours Paysen spent in preparation.... the time he spent with a needle in his arm.... The tears he cried. The fears he felt... All for nothing.... I cannot even bring myself to tell him. because it hurts my heart, and I know it will hurt his t...

There lives a super hero among us.... A boy. A young man....growing ever quickly. He is full of mischief.... often times ornery or full of sass.... He is boiling over with love... in the form of kisses and hugs.... He is my daily reminder of many things.... to find beauty in each moment... to appreciate  the difficulties that parenting can bring.... to stop and smell the roses, to breathe deeply....just because I can. To always remember.... things that have been.... To soak up... things that are... And to look forward... to things that will be.... As I look through pictures from this summer I find myself drawn to these two... They speak volumes to my heart.... They illustrate strength....childhood....wonderment and imagination.... Because inside the body of this little boy... resides a big hero..... Remember that today is ever fleeting... Tomorrow will be gone before long, and this moment, right here and right now.... could v...

Today was a day like many others.... We woke up in Denver.... The five of us in the same room...... The city sounds bustling outside of the Brent's Place window.... I snoozed the alarm a couple times.... cursing Murphy's law and how it holds our children snugly tucked into their beds when we have places to be.....and wakes them when the morning is free from schedule.... We armed ourselves with a little breakfast and a whole lot of coffee and headed to the hospital... We passed through the sliding glass doors....the same doors that have opened for us for over 7 years....the thresh hold that reveals another world....a world that is far from foreign to us... There is little that is quite as classy as exam room selfies.....we. are. dorks. Appointments... Check ups. Doctors, nurses, staff... friends. They surround us when we walk into clinic.... Each turn of a corner reveals another smile.... these people that I have known for longer than many friends back ...

Two years ago I sat in a hospital room..... I glanced back and forth between my sleeping son who lay upon the stark white sheets and the beautiful young social worker that spoke to me behind a yellow mask.  Her gloved hands pointing to paragraphs on paper and her stiff yellow gown awkwardly moving about.  Her words went in and out as my concentration faded. We were having a conversation about the future. The transplant. She was giving me options....walking me through. She began to tell me about different places where we could live during the process. There was a couple who donated a house in town in which families could live during their medical journey.  Expenses paid, lots of room, short commute. and then she began to tell me about Brent's Place. A close by apartment building filled with people going through similar journeys, and a staff of which she insisted was incredible...... Feeling overwhelmed by her every word I declined to make a decision in that mom...