Welcome to our blog!

At the request of many, welcome to the Asmussen family blog! While it's common knowledge that I love to write (being a former English teacher and all), it's also common knowledge that the amount of time I have to devote to such a pleasure is a few scoches under minimal. But alas, while the definition of 'mother' has got to be denial of self, I can somehow justify my indulgence in a favorite past time as merely a way to keep family and friends informed. (Right???)

But what else is there to the Asmussen Family other than Kolbe, Kolbe, Kolbe? Heck, right now it seems like nothing! He truly is the center of our world, though in completely different ways for Mark and me. I am here in Lubbock caring for Kolbe and working full time at Lubbock National. Mark, on the other hand, is attending Physician Assistant School in Midland during the work week. PA school is a huge sacrifice for both of us! For me, it's certainly hard to raise Kolbe on my own during the week. And what a sacrifice for Mark to attend school day in and day out away from his family! Bottom line, he literally does it ALL for us! We pray that the means will be worth the end result! (The end result being Mark working as a PA and me being home raising our family) The next two years will certainly be a journey to our 'dream destination!'

But back to Kolbe!...Little Guy will be turning eight months old in a few days! In a few phrases, he can be described as a wild man, a sweetheart, a total flirt, a thrill seeker, a visible analyzer, a toddler with a temper, a smily guy, and so much more! He really is just the sweetest little thing on the face of this earth! It truly is a joy to be in his presence. Kolbe cries when he's hungry or sleepy...and that's it! (Lucky me!) Plus, his unique journey makes him such a special little soul. It amazes me daily that God chose Mark and me to guide him through life. I still can't believe I would even be considered for such a task!

So how is Kolbe doing? Amazing! As previously mentioned, he is almost eight months old and all over the place! Kolbe has been rolling since late 4 months, sitting on his own since late 5 months, and attempting to crawl since 6 months! While his crawl is certainly unconventional, he definitely knows how to get around. He makes it from he family room to the kitchen in a few minutes flat! While Kolbe has figured out the simplest form of transportation, he would much rather be walking! Since about 12 weeks old, Kolbe began standing assisted the majority of his waking hours. He LOVES to stand! This, of course, has already turned in to walking as long as he's got a finger or two to hold on to. Heck, if his head weren't so heavy, he'd probably take off and never look back! Kolbe's zeal for action makes him such a fun kid and a total boy. He loves wrestling, rolling, splashing, jumping, falling, and everything else 'boy'. He's afraid of nothing!

As for Kolbe's health report, he's doing great! His first surgery for his cleft lip was on March 13th. Three and a half months later, you can hardly tell his cleft was ever there! His scar has healed beautifully and that resilient little trooper hardly let it slow him down at all! The second surgery to repair the cleft palate will be on October 2nd back at the Shriner's Hospital in Galveston, TX. We can't wait for this surgery! Because Kolbe's nasal passage is completely open to his mouth, it makes eating so hard for him. This surgery will truly be life changing for him! No more spitting up out his nose or shooting green beans from his nostrils when he tries to swallow! During this second surgery, the doctors will also put tubes in his ears. Many babies with clefts have other deformities and infection issues with their ears. Kolbe currently has no hearing in his left ear; however, the choclea in that ear does work! The doctors are hoping that the tubes will help open up his ear passageways and help stop the ear infections. (Just like his nose, the inner openings to his ears are directly connected to his mouth so whatever goes in his mouth can also go in his ears.) At last weigh in, Kolbe was 15 pounds and 8 ounces-- Still in the 0 percentile for his age group, but leaps and bounds beyond his starting weight of 5 pounds, 6 ounces!

Ok, ok. Enough about Kolbe! Lord knows, there's certainly no where near the wealth of information to share about Mark and even less about me! Mark is thoroughly enjoying PA school. (Despite the exhaustion!) The program is a total of 27 months long and he has made it through the first 6 weeks or so. Luckily, only the first 15 months are in Midland. With God's blessing, the remaining year which consists of all of his clinical rotations, will be in Lubbock! He still hasn't quite decided what field of medicine he wants to go in to, but the clinical rotations will help with that decision. Right now he just wants to make it through gross anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, medical ethics, and clinical lab! That's right, he's currently taking 17 hours in the summer! While he misses Kolbe and me terribly during the week, having plenty of quiet time at night to study really does help. So far, he's doing great! As for me, I'm keeping up my position in real estate lending at Lubbock National Bank. While it's certainly not my dream vocation, it helps pays the bills and provides the family with insurance. It also provides me with a wonderful at-work family and support group that helps makes each day away from Kolbe a little more bearable. Plus, I DO get to practice my dream vocation every day beginning at 5pm! And if I can just get through these two years, I will be blessed with the privledge to be mom for a long time coming.

Well enough said in the Asmussen Family update. Hopefully the entries to come will read much less like a progress report and more like the true story that our little family lives. Thanks for joining in our journey!