Feeling good + More Florida Pics

I have been feeling really good as of late! It's so awesome! I'm not coughing near as much when I lay down at night to sleep and can chase the boys around the house, go up flights of stairs at work, etc. without getting super winded and hacking up a lung. I'm actually feeling really good despite slacking on my exercise. I think it is due in large part to taking better quality treatments. Oh and prayer. :) I'm told there are a lot of the cornerstones at our church who have been praying for me. I believe that prayer works wonders!

I've been making sure to sit up straight and keep good posture during treatments. I have a tendency to slouch and roll my shoulders forward really bad when I'm sitting at the computer. This helps me breathe deeper, plus I'm making a more conscious effort to breathe deep. I've also been taking the time during and after treatments to hack up as much stuff as I can. The boys usually join me in the bathroom for "coughing/spitting time." They both just stand and watch, lol. At first they kept getting serious/concerned looks on their faces. I made sure to keep looking over smiling and laughing to assure them daddy is ok. Now they come to know it as routine. Jeriah often will stand close to the toilet (not too close cuz toilets are yucky) and try to spit into it. He leans his head back, then throws it forward as he "spits." Sometimes he actually does spit on the floor, lol. I've been feeling really good lately and hope it continues!!!

Here are some more pics of our trip to Florida from my sister-in-law's fancy camera!

Satellite Beach, Florida

We took a family trip at the end of May to Satellite Beach, Florida. It was the boys' second second trip to the beach. The first time they were a month and a half old at Gulf Shores, AL. They're two spoiled boys! It was a great trip! We spent a lot of time on the beach. We swam, boogie-boarded, and played in the sand. The men all went on a deep sea fishing trip that ended up being a flop. Our captain did more time fishing off the back of the boat, than finding us fish to catch. We spent a decent amount of time shore fishing. I bought a new 15 foot pole and a big reel for shore fishing in the ocean. Too bad I didn't catch anything, lol. My brother-in-law managed to reel in a 5-6 foot nurse shark though. It was awesome!

The boys were very tentative of the ocean. It took them a couple days to warm up to it. After they got used to it, they would walk out into them (only up to their knees) and play in it. They loved the sand! They had a lot of fun playing in it. We had a couple canopies that we set up and the boys spent a lot of time playing under them in the sand. Monica and her mom made the boys and our niece a make shift pool by digging a hole, putting a shower curtain inside the hole and filling it with water. It worked great and they loved it!

As many CFer's have noted, I felt like I was able to breathe so much easier there. Missouri is a very humid state. Our summers are hot! Temps in the 90's - 100's with anywhere from 60-80% humidity. Beach air is so much easier to breathe! It's a lot easier to clear secretions too! They've already proven that with studies in Australia (that's how we got hypertonic saline treatments). Not to mention playing in the crashing waves is one heck of an airway clearance treatment! Works twice as good as the vest! The real question is... When are we moving to a beach Monica?? ;)

Here's some pics from our trip! Enjoy!

5 Years of Marital Bliss

Monica and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary yesterday! It was a great day! We took Jeriah to the doctor (poor fella has sores all over his tongue and it's viral so nothing will help). To cheer him up we went to Six Flags and hung out at Hurricane Harbor (water park). They had fun playing and running around. It still took them a bit to get used to the water. We ate lunch and they had ice cream. Then we went to grandma and grandpa's where they stayed all night! Monica and I enjoyed a wonderful evening. It consisted of a nice steak dinner and a full night of sleep! It was really nice to have a dinner just the two of us. It was great for us to focus our attention on each other and have fun laughing and being together. It was a fantastic anniversary! Can't wait for many, many more!

And now... a letter to my beautiful bride of 5 years... (I know you all can't wait to read it) ;)

Monica,

The past 5 years truly have been the best of my life. We have been so incredibly blessed. I was able to fulfill my dream of proposing to you on a beach. We had a beautiful wedding that ended way to soon. I wish it could have gone on for hours and hours. It was the best day of my life up until April 12, 2014 when we were blessed with two incredible miracles from God! They have completely captivated our hearts. I always knew I wanted to be a father, but ha no idea just how much I would love our precious miracles. Watching you as a mother has drawn me closer to you. Watching you love and nurture our boys is beautiful. You're an amazing mother and excellent wife.

I still don't know what I have done to deserve such an amazing woman. I've told you this before, but I'll tell you again... You gave me a reason to live. I know that sounds dramatic, but it's true. Before you entered my life I had made the decision to stop fighting CF and let it take me. I knew I'd be in heaven with Jesus, Krista, and so many others who had gone there. That all changed when you chose to love me in spite of the baggage I came with. I vowed then that I would spend the rest of my days doing my best to give you the best life possible. I still try to every day. Obviously God has a BIG hand in that. Our lives together have been full of blessings and memories that will last a lifetime. I feel so undeserving of everything we've been given. I know I dream big (as you know) but I couldn't be any happier or content with where God has placed us! 

It's truly amazing to me to look back over the past 6-7 years and see how God has molded our relationship and has orchestrated so many wonderful things to happen in our lives. It would fill pages to list all the HUGE blessings God has given us. I'm extremely lucky to have a wife like you! I'm the epitome of the geeky guy who scored the supermodel wife!! Thank you for standing by me for 5 wonderful years! I hope and pray we'll have 50 more and am excited to see what God has in store for our future! Love you sweetie!!!

Jeremy

Treatment Time: Make the Most of Each One

Since my stomach surgery, my lungs have been struggling. Really, for the past year or so they have been struggling. I added a second set of treatments a little over two years ago along with adding more treatments with each set. I've feel I've maxed myself out as far as treatments are concerned. Two sets a day, with working full time and taking care of the twins feels like my days are jam-packed. That's not including exercise time. I've been trying to think of what I can do to help. Obviously something has to give. I have to get my lung function up and am tired of feeling crummy 24/7.

I've really been thinking about my treatment times. I do my treatments sitting at my computer. I check my various email accounts, browse facebook, blog, balance my checkbook, etc. I noticed that while I'm doing all these things on the computer I am breathing shallow. I'm so focused on what I'm doing, that my breaths are shallow and I don't take breaks to cough. Treatment times often are something to be checked off my daily "To-Do" list and nothing more. I don't view them as the life-lengthening, critically important times that they are.

So.... I'm trying to change that. I try to focus on my breathing, taking long, deep breaths in and holding for a couple seconds every few breaths without making myself light-headed. I stop to cough when I need to instead of suppressing it for the end of the treatment. I take 5 minutes or so to go in the bathroom and cough all the stuff out that I just shook loose. It's kind of pointless to take these treatments, shake all this mucus loose and then let it sit and re-settle in my lungs. I make it a point to go stand over the toilet and cough/huff cough til I feel like there's nothing left to come up. The toilet is where I do my coughing, and as most CFers know, I often cough to the point of gagging and may lose some stomach contents in the process. Gross I know, but a reality. I've actually thought about videoing one of my coughing sessions and posting it. Most people who have never witnessed one think I'm dying when they hear/see it.

This is something that has been weighing on my mind for quite some time and I thought I'd share. I know other CFers have posted similar posts on their blogs, but I thought I'd share mine too.

For all you healthy folks, take the same concept and apply it to everything you do. Exercise, work, whatever it may be, make the most of everything! It makes life so much better and more enjoyable!

Funny Videos of the Boys

Here's a few funny videos we took of the boys this past week. They made us laugh really hard! Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!