And in the blink of an eye, 2015 is a year of the past!

Wow, I can't believe I'm writing the last post for 2015!  It has been a fun filled year with a lot of adventures.  Our hope for 2015 was simple - less doctors appointments and no hospitalizations.  Unfortunately that wish didn't come true, but overall we are very blessed to all end the year healthy and happy!  And that alone is a true blessing.  This year we had 32 doctors appointments and 101 therapy appointments not including the 3 visits with vendors to look at assistive vision technology.  How do I know this?  Because if it weren't for the Notes App on my phone I would surely miss an appointment or forget to schedule one!  This year was a little heavier with appointments due to the addition of four new doctors to Team Bischoff: 1) Cole's Low Vision Specialists, 2) Cole's GI 3) Reagan's dermatologist and 4) Reagan's endocrinologist.  We are hopeful that things will settle down in 2016 since we don't expect to follow up with the last two and hope to have less GI appointments in the coming year.

We had fun celebrating Christmas with family.  We spent the usual Christmas morning with the Schweisthal family for quiche and fruit soup and spent the afternoon with the Bischoff's enjoying a turkey dinner.  Both kids fully understood Christmas this year which made it so much fun.  They truly understood getting AND giving and had fun thinking about gifts for other people.  And most of all, they loved playing with their cousins!  When I put Cole to bed Christmas night he said, "hey mom, do you think someone bought presents for Kendall in Heaven?" My sweet, sweet boy to think about his sister....she is never far from our hearts.

We also had a fun New Years Eve celebrating with the Golino's.  Usually we play the countdown from the previous year a few hours early and put the kids to bed.  This year Netflix had pre-recorded countdowns in different themes.  So we watched King Julien's New Year's Even Countdown at about 9pm.  Midnight is still WAY too early for a 5 and 6 year old.  They had fun with their noise makers and hats. I'm sure one day they will figure out our trick, but until then it's nice not having SUPER exhausted and cranky children on New Year's Day.

I feel like we blinked and 2015 is in the rear view mirror.  Johnny had a busy year at NCMEC.  He also started working every other weekend as a Battalion Chief for New Kent County Fire and Rescue Department (near Richmond) and took the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) course.  He had a very intense Fall between both jobs, this class and ER rotations to fulfill his certification.  He passed the course final, State practical exam and the National registry written exam so he is excited to have EMT as part of his credentials.  In addition, he decided to apply to George Washington University's Engineering Management Doctoral program and was accepted!  What he didn't know is that all applicants would be required to take a Fall Calculus pre-requisite course which was every Saturday from October through December.  He passed with flying colors and will start the program in January.  Luckily he had vacation time between Christmas and New Years and we've had a nice relaxing week to just be together as a family.

I also had a busy year with work focusing my consulting business primarily on Boeing, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and INHOPE.  I look forward to continuing several projects going into 2016 and love having the flexibility of working as a consultant so I can book appointments as needed.  Work took me to Lisbon, Portugal last month and I will be going to Amsterdam in January.  Although juggling the kids schedules while traveling is challenging, we have an amazing nanny, Megan, who watches the kids and I trust her implicitly.  That helps SO much!

As I send my 2015 family photo album to print and reflect on all we've done this year, I'm feeling very nostalgic.  We are so blessed to be able to give the kids what they need. And although it is often exhausting and stressful wondering if we are making the right decisions and advocating enough, it feels good to see how well they are doing.  This was a big year for both kids and we saw significant progress from both of them. We are hopeful to make 2016 a year without hospitalizations and a year more focused on fun and learning than on doctors and appointments.  We wish you and your family a happy and healthy 2016 and thank you for your continued support and prayers!

And with that, I leave you with the following quote that truly speaks to me: "You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and loved more than you know."