And
Welcome to our crazy Schlueter year!!!!
Our crazy started last October when Greg and I first began toying with the idea of a big move. In November we started seriously looking around the country state by state to see which one would best meet our family’s needs. We wanted to be somewhere warm, but with little weather disruptions. We wanted it to be family friendly and also have plenty of job opportunities for Greg. It didn’t take long to identify Arizona as our ideal new home. Just to make sure, we thought that we should probably visit the state before we started to call it home. So last December Greg and I packed the kids up and we flew to Phoenix to see what we thought. We stayed for only five days, but during that time we drove around plenty and explored all of the different things that the valley had to offer. We went to several different towns and just fell in love with the area and we started to dream about all of the new opportunities that this move would provide for our family.
We began preparing the house for the market and started sending Greg’s resume out right away. The next couple of months were a whirl wind; they were full of paint, power tools and paperwork. By February we had our check list half done and most everything else planned out so we decided to take a little break. My Grandpa’s 90th Birthday was in the beginning of April; it had been a goal of mine for the last year to be able to celebrate it with him.
Early March we loaded up our minivan for a nearly three week adventure. First we drove to Nashville so that we could spend the day with my cousin Caitlin, her husband Libardo and their adorable son Ian. Then we were off to Atlanta to spend a week with my uncle Steve, aunt Ruth, cousins Lydia, Kendra and her husband Justin and their very cute daughter Elena and of course my grandpa Mike. We had a great time catching up with each other’s lives. I have always thought how funny it is that we cousins can immediately reacquaint ourselves with each other. It is as though time and distance haven’t separated us at all. We took a day to tour around Atlanta with my uncle; we went to the Atlanta zoo, Greg’s favorite “The Varsity” and my favorite attraction, the Atlanta Aquarium. Of course, the highlight was getting to watch my Grandpa blow out his birthday candles. Much to our surprise his birthday wish was to make it for 10 more years.
On our way out of Atlanta we stopped at the White House and Atlanta Underground which Everett thought was just amazing. He had just listened to C.S. Lewis’s book the Silver Chair on our car ride out. In that book one of the main characters Jill Pole had to remember 4 steps: first, find an old friend (Everett couldn’t think of anyone older than his great grandpa Mike, that would be check 1), second, go to the ruins of the ancient giants (the kids had never seen skyscrapers before. Everett felt for sure this must be the city of the giants; check 2), third, find writing on the stone and do what it says (We found a sign for Atlanta Underground which was close enough to the “under me” that Jill Pole found; Check 3), fourth, find the lost Prince (we found a bronzed statue of I don’t know who. Everett concluded that since he (the prince) was already turned to stone it was a lost cause so we left; that was check 4). Everett got so caught up in the excitement of Narnia coming to life that he talked about it for months. Last we surprised Amara by stopping by a mall in Atlanta that had an American Girl doll store. We got both Everett and Amara all dressed up and had high tea with Amara’s American girl doll knock off Allie from Target.
Our next destination was Charleston, South Carolina. We were there just under a week. It had been a dream of mine for years to go back to Charleston a place that had been pure magic to me as a child. I was elated to see the kids react to it the same way I had. We took two horse drawn carriage rides through downtown Charleston and got to hear all about the town’s history. We took a ferry to Fort Sumter and Everett got to see real cannons and real holes in the brick walls from the cannon balls. We took the kids to try the local cuisine of shrimp and grits with crab legs and then to an oyster bar to eat fresh raw oysters and steamed mussels. To our surprise, the kids slurped them right up. Our last adventure was going to the beach at the Isle of the Palms; this was the same beach I had gone to years before. This was our kid’s first experience with the ocean and they loved every minute of it. It was a cold and rainy day, but nothing could keep the kids from having a real beach experience. The kids jumped in and out of the chilly waves and wiggled their toes in the sand. They built little sand cities and decorated the buildings with broken bits of sea shells. We spent the rest of the day wandering around the market place. The whole trip was pure Magic.
Our last destination was Corbin, Kentucky. We had rented a little cabin for two days at the Cumberland falls State park. My goal was to see the moon bow. Cumberland falls has the only moon bow in the western hemisphere. If you go to the falls during a full moon you can see a rainbow in a complete sphere encircling the falls. I have been to this park nearly a dozen times and have never seen the moon bow. I had specifically planned the last part of our trip to coincide with a full moon. Well it ended up snowing that night so once again it eluded me. We still decided to take the kids out that night to the falls so they could see where the bow should have been.
When we got back to Iowa we had to get straight to business. Job offers began to come in for Greg and it was decision making time. Greg finally decided on a travel agency that would focus on keeping him in the Phoenix area. We felt that this way Greg would get to experience several different hospitals and clinics and then would be able to make a more informed decision when it came to getting a more permanent job.
Greg left in May to begin work in Phoenix; my aunt Jenifer had very graciously opened her home to Greg. On Greg’s days off aunt Jen would drive him around the valley in search of a place for the kids and me. Meanwhile I was finishing the renovations on our home in Iowa so that I could get it on the market. Everett had to finish out the school year and the kids and I both wanted to enjoy our last summer in Iowa; the only home that any of us had ever known. We explored a couple of farmers markets and said good bye to some of the parks we had frequented in the past. The kids got to spend lots of time with their cousins and both sets of grandparents. I was able to work a little at the hospital where Greg and I had worked at for over 10 years now; it is also the place where we met. It was fun to be able to see all of my work family, but it was hard to say good bye. To my surprise I finally finished the home and successfully sold it before we left. Two days before the kids and I left, Everett went to beginner’s camp at East Iowa Bible Camp. My dad, Amara and I picked Everett up from camp and then started the first leg of our trip. We spent the first night with my Sister Johanna and her family in southern Iowa and then traveled on to Colorado Springs to my sister Lauren and her family’s place to spend that night and the whole next day. Finally on August the 3rd we pulled up to our new home in Chandler Arizona.
This is actually where things start getting a little hairy. Two weeks after arriving in Arizona Greg started to feel a little dizzy. His symptoms quickly progressed to numbness on the right side of his body. After a matter of weeks an MRI was taken and revealed a tumor on his brain stem. I will not go into too many details with this because in September I started a blog in attempts to keep people informed; at the end of this I will put the link to that blog. The MRI was taken on September 18th; Greg had surgery to remove it on October the 11th, he was released from the hospital on October the 30th. Although this has been the hardest and scariest expectance of my life, it has also been a time of beautiful growth for all of us. I feel like Charles Dickens in A Tale of two Cities; “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The ripples that this experience threw at our lives will be felt for many years to come. Greg continues to struggle with things that we once thought of as simple, and as a family we have had to examine every aspect of our lives; all things that we once took for granted.
The move to Arizona at first was hard for many of our friends and family. It was hard to explain why this was a good move for us. In many ways we still didn’t know if it was the best decision. We found out after Greg’s surgery that the only surgeon that would have been able to operate on Greg was the surgeon that we ended up with in Phoenix’s St. Joseph’s hospital. He most likely would not have made it another couple of weeks as his tumor grew from 2mm to 14mm in the three short weeks that separated his initial MRI from his surgery. Last Christmas we had no idea that the best opportunity that this move to Arizona would offer our family was the ability to make it to Greg’s 35th Birthday. Yes this move was big, but in so many ways it was the best decision that either of us have ever made.
Everett is 6 and is now in first grade. His seventh birthday will be February 22nd. Both Greg and I loved Everett’s kindergarten teacher in Iowa, I admit I was scared not knowing what the schools would be like here. It ended up that I had nothing to fear; Everett’s school here in Chandler has been wonderful and his teacher is absolutely lovely. Everett is my little social butterfly; he can make friends with anyone, lucky he found several really good friends quickly. He continues to love to read and learn. He also really loves to paint and draw. His very active imagination leads to hundreds of questions a day which he just loves to ask (usually more than he likes listening to the answers). Since I have been the primary question answerer for years I have now deemed it “good therapy” for Greg.
Amara is four her fifth birthday is April 22nd. She is a little spit fire. She has lots to say, but is very particular with whom she wants to share it with. Her “friends” are usually imaginary, my adult friends or sometimes she will cling to one of Everett’s friends. She loves everything pretty and girly. Her most favorite activity is “dress upping” she asks to do this all day every day. Being new and not knowing the school systems very well we decided to do her preschool at home. Amara has a very independent personality, getting her to conform to school and learning standards can be challenging to say the least. Why say the ABC’s in order if it sounds prettier to say them out of order. Since Greg’s surgery, I have decided that Amara’s schooling is also “good therapy.” Her latest play has required her to change her name. She is now to be referred to as Queen Elsa. Her goal is to be an ice princess (I have laughed a lot about that goal); her royal subject Everett is to do her every bidding.
Greg and I had bought plane tickets early this summer to fly back to Iowa in early November. This of course was before we knew anything about Greg’s tumor. At first we tried to get out of the plane tickets, but then we decided it might be nice to see friends and family after everything we had been through. St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids allowed me to pick up hours (I was incredibly grateful for the opportunity). Our old Coworkers and friends also worked Greg into their schedule, so he was able to receive outpatient therapy while we were there.
Greg and I have been struggling to create a new normal now that we are back in Arizona. We soon hope to make some sort of daily routine, right now every day is different with all new challenges. Our only real constants are Everett’s school and church. Greg’s outpatient therapy is set for three times a week, but the days and times of those appointments are all over the place; the rest of the crazy that comes in daily just has to take a number. We will be back in Iowa for the holidays; I will be able to pick up hours at the hospital once again. After Iowa we are hoping that Greg will be cleared to be left alone and then I will begin to work here in Chandler, probably nights for now. It’s true none of this has been easy, but through all of it we have been so taken care of and surrounded in love and prayers. This experience has opened our eyes to so many different things; the one thing that both Greg and I reflect on often is that our family will in time get over this hurdle; there are many families who never do. We hope that this experience forever changes how we do our work and how we care for our patients.
I hope that this finds all of you happy, warm and in good health. As Greg and I address all of these cards, we have taken time to think about each of you. We have been able to reflect on all of the many ways that our family has been blessed by you, thank you. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and that each day of your New Year is filled with hope and blessings.
Love,
Greg, Abigail, Everett and Amara
The picture on the card was taken two weeks ago at “Snow and Santa Day;” it was at a park just a mile from our apartment. Greg’s Recreational Therapist from St. Joseph’s hospital told us about it, we were able to meet him and his family there. The kids had a blast in the nearly 70 degree weather sledding, throwing snow balls and playing king of the mountain; afterwards we took them home and let them swim for a while since they already had their swim suits on. They have been so protected during this whole process, I’m positive they will look back at this time as one of the best years of their lives. That in its self is a miracle.
