MERRY CHRISTMAS! It’s been a very busy year at the Cummins residence!
We have a new family member! Nick our oldest, married Angie Bahls June 11th. Nick and Angie live in Rock Island , IL not far from the Augustana College campus where both attend. Nick is majoring in pre-dental. He recently attended an event on campus and learned to suture pigs’ feet. This cemented his interest in a medical profession. Angie is studying speech pathology. She plays bells as one of her side interests and both sing in a gospel choir on campus.
March was also an exciting month. Cariyana was suddenly hospitalized. She and Mom spent 5 days at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. Part of which was a stint in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit after a respiratory illness that forced us to discuss Cariyana’s resuscitation status. It was not a position any parent typically imagines themselves in. Fortunately, she weathered the storm. To combat the newly discovered medical diagnosis we continue to insert an airway each night before she goes to bed. She can almost put it in herself, now! We will be exploring a more permanent (but complex) surgical solution to enlarge her airway with the specialists at the University of Iowa this spring.
Shortly after her discharge, we spent Spring Break in Texas visiting Charley’s birth family. On the way, we stopped at the Oklahoma City Memorial. What a tranquil gorgeous tribute. After the visit we had a much clearer understanding of the magnitude and devastation of the violence that occurred to so many at this site. A must see.
The next night we spent at Fossil Rim a wildlife resort. We were lucky to be there in the off season and had the entire lodge to ourselves which allowed a little more freedom for the kids. The greatest part was the guided tour we took of Fossil Rim itself. Up close giraffes, zebras, ostrich, emu, and all kinds of other animals typically found in the wild from all over the world. It was so awesome! After the guided tour we drove through the park ourselves and fed Kathy the giraffe right from our van (her head fit right through the sunroof). We still have zebra teeth marks on our van to remember the day! It was a visit the kids will never forget.
Then, we spent 3 days on a horse ranch in a fully furnished cabin enjoying the company of Charley’s birth family. We visited Aunt Amy and Uncle Brian and their 3 children—Lindsey, Hayden, and Kayla. We ate some great barbeque, played games, sang, and took walks on the property. Charley met his grandparents for the first time that he can remember. He is named after Charles Houston Massey his grandfather. The only thing we missed was a visit from a nearby cousin of Karen’s. Sometimes timing does not work!
The summer flew by after the wedding. Although we spent as many weekends camping at the Lake as possible we did not spend as much time as we would have liked. We enjoyed some great laughs, roaring fires, and Sunday morning Bloody Marys on the deck with our lakefront neighbor the Durhams.
The end of July brought a visit to the New Jersey Shore. We caravanned this year taking both of our Honda Odyssey’s to allow Nick and Angie to tag along. It worked out quite well actually. Boys in one van. Girls in the other. We had a great time at the beach for a week in Sea Isle. I wish I could have included more photos of parasailing and fishing in the bay. A great time was had by all.
Fall has brought the start of school. Alexis (11) and Charley (12) are in junior high in Walcott as 6th graders. They seem to have transitioned very well. Both tried out for Jazz Band (flute and alto sax). Add that to band (flute and Tenor sax), orchestra (violin and cello), piano, weekly swimming lessons, and scouting for both of them and they are very busy kids. Plus Alexis has fit in Lego League and ballet!
Xavier (nearly 9) is following in big brother Nick’s footsteps and has joined Rivermont Collegiate for third grade and beyond. He loves it at Rivermont and has several new buddies including a favorite named Michael. Xavier plays piano, takes weekly swimming lessons, and is in scouting. In May, Xavier celebrated his First Communion. He is so happy he can now partake in Communion.
Joe (6) and Cariyana (soon to be 7) both started Kindergarten this fall at Buffalo Elementary. The change from Blue Grass to Buffalo had to happen to allow for better accommodations for Cariyana and her lifelong height challenges. A newer school just makes more sense. Soon with the addition of a simple wearable push button device she will be able to open the front door of the school all by herself (instead of swinging her lunch bag at the not quite reachable handicap button)! We have my friend Jon at St. Ambrose Adaptive Design lab to thank for that idea! Joe and Cariyana are in the same classroom and are getting along famously and doing very well academically. The hope is Cariyana will escape her IEP this spring. It’s been a long haul!
We can’t believe how big all the kids are getting!! The only thing that remains the same (well almost) is Karen’s position as Assistant Professor at Trinity College and Steve’s at John Deere Cylinder. It seems every career is fraught with the need to do more with less these days. We are working as hard as ever. Karen had 51 students in her course this fall. And if you ever want to chat with Steve, call first. One never knows what hours he will be working or how long it will be on a given day. Jerry and Joann Ray are our daily blessing. They are at the house most afternoons holding down the fort until we get home. We could not live this life without them!
Fall also brought another change for the Cummins. We applied to enter a contest and represent the West YMCA and West Locust Hyvee in the Healthy Family Makeover Challenge. We competed against other local families. It was an 8-week challenge consisting of working out with the help of a weekly Wellness Coach and bi-weekly consultations with our Hyvee dietitian. It’s been a great experience! For the 8 weeks of the challenge we (Steve and I) worked out at the YMCA consistently 6 days per week. The kids worked out 3-4 days per week by attending a Kids Fit Class on Mondays and Wednesdays or participating in open gym, zumba or playing racquetball. As part of our goals of the challenge we had to record in a food diary everything all seven of us ate for 8 weeks! That was tough but boy did we learn a lot! Read our blog (web address below) for more detail on diet changes and work out progress! We are continuing in our journey and are proud to report continued lost pounds and inches! We won the Challenge and have been featured on Paula Sands Live, the Dispatch, and look for front page coverage 12/23 or Christmas Eve in the QC Times.
Our Healthy Family Challenge Blog----http://cumminshealthyfamilychallenge.blogspot.com/
It’s a busy life! Until next year…blessings to you and yours! Remember the reason for the season. Merry Christmas!
The Cummins Family—Steve, Karen, Alexis, Charley, Xavier, Joe, and Cariyana
Matthew 1:21 “She will bear a Son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
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