A day in the life at the Gleason Zoo

Today has been a day of anxious feelings and worry. Several days ago, Ken and I received some wonderful news. St. Vincent's De Paul in Merrill still had money set aside for tornado victims. I contacted the person in charge, and set up a meeting for last week.  We sat down with her and told her about what happened to the house. I had pictures printed of all the damage, and we had a list of "must-have" materials from Menards to finish the roof, the siding, and most of the internal structure. She stated that she would have a few board members come and look at our home the following day, and then would take our request to the board of directors.  The following day, the group came and looked at our house. Within hours, we had a check in our hands to pick up all of our materials at Menards. What a blessing!! Neither of us could believe that this was happening to us, because after all, good things don't typically happen to our little family! Since then, we have ...

On February 16th, 2012, my life was changed forever.  Not only because I added a new son to my life, but because I added a new phrase to my vocabulary:  Down's Syndrome. Hunter arrived to this world with a few pretty severe issues.  Hunter had PPH (Primary Pulmonary Hypertension).  He was not breathing effectively, and because of this, it was determined that he needed to be admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Wausau. Not only was Hunter not breathing effectively, he was also arching his back.  While no one actually said it out loud to us, they were very concerned that aside from the probable Down's diagnosis, that he may have something wrong neurologically as well. I remember being in a fog.  They allowed me to see him, but I could only hold him for a short time, because he needed to be ready once the transport arrived to take him to Wausau.  It was the last time I had the opportunity to hold him for over a week.  When I held...

As promised...here is Hunter's complete birth story!  At 39 weeks and 1 day, Ken and I headed to the hospital for the induction. Dr. McFadden had off this day, however, was willing to stop in and place the first Cytotec (this is a tiny little pill they place on your cervix to help it ripen) to get my labor moving. He did work the next day, and felt that I would not be in a good labor pattern until the next morning. My last two pregnancies ended with terrible inductions that took over 18 hours each. They were miserable and horrible, and I expected nothing less from this one.  Dr. McFadden showed up around dinner time and placed the first pill on my cervix. This could be done once every four hours, at least four times. Ken and I sat and talked and wondered what our little man was going to look like. We were both incredibly excited. At around 10 p.m., the nurse placed the second Cytotec. My cervix was doing very well, and had dilated another centimeter. We were prog...

On February 16th, 2012, Ken and I welcomed a son to the zoo! Hunter Kenneth Staskiewicz was born after 3 a.m., and here is the very beginning of his story... The kids and I had just moved in with my mother. Because of the flooding that occurred in the aftermath of the tornado, our home became a moldy mess that could no longer be tolerated by our family. Because we could not find a place big enough to handle all of us, Ken went to his Dad's with the dogs, my sister took our cats, and the kids and I went to my Mother's. It was a few days into our new living arrangement when I finally looked at a calendar, and thought, "Oh boy." I ran to Target that evening and bought a few generic pregnancy tests with the intention of testing first thing in the morning. Those who know me well know that I'm not a patient person. So, before bed that evening, I took the test. In less than a second, the test showed a POSITIVE result. My heart jumped into my throat. I couldn...

I know that I complain A LOT about the hour long drive to and from work. I know that this is only temporary, and that someday I will be back to my shorter route. Instead of complaining, I really need to appreciate the wonder of the landscape around me, because too many times I see things that are breathtaking, yet, do not appreciate them to their fullest. When you are bored with a long drive, try to find some beauty in the landscape around you. I was driving down Highway N, heading towards my mother's home in Schofield. Jamming to some tunes, I actually took a moment to take in the scene before me. The sunset tonight was a literal rainbow of color. It actually made me wonder if every sunset is a full palette of color? I'm not sure I've ever noticed this before. On the farthest horizon in front of me, the red was incredibly deep and dark. It reminded me of the deep colored bricks on our old farmhouses. That color mingled into a burnt orange, which burst into a b...

I've always known that life is short. But, I truly don't think that I've really grasped the concept until lately. Its enough to really make you want to share what you have within you, so that others will always remember what you had to offer. This especially goes for my children. When Bobby passed away, it was horrible. He was the closest person I have ever lost. I was trying to tell Cade a story that he once told to me, and I couldn't remember all the details, and it was sad, because I really thought I had been listening. I want to share my memories with my kids, and this time, I'm going to write them down, so the details will never be forgotten. This isn't a funny memory, but a memory of something beautiful; a scene and a time I will never forget. Even in my youth, I knew that I needed to imprint this memory in my head to last forever, and so far it has. Now its time to write it down for my kids to enjoy. I hope that I can give even the smallest ide...

This has been a wonderful few weeks to be living in Wisconsin. The weather has been nicer since fall started than it was the entire summer! Perfect, sunny 78 degree days with a beautiful breeze! Couldn't have asked for anything better as the kids and I traveled to Ken's Dad's home in Rhinelander. His dad lives on a beautiful lake in the middle of the woods. Most people had already packed their lakehomes up for the winter, so it was very peaceful without the FIB's!!! The dogs spent most of their time in the lake, and the kids both enjoyed watching them chase after their buoys. Alexa didn't care for the dogs shaking water near her after, but she sure loved to watch Bella sail off the dock. Bella is my Lab/Wirehaired Pointer mix that I got from a good friend. She is beautiful, sweet, loveable and very annoying most of the time, as she thinks she needs to be the center of attention for everything. I still love her to pieces though, and jumping in the lake ha...