The Stolte Family

Happy Easter!!!

2009-04-14T06:33:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful day on Easter Sunday! We got to see our families and friends and we ate and ate and ate all day! Reece and Ben were visited by the Easter bunny which was really exciting for Reece! Hope that everyone is well and had a wonderful Easter!
God bless,
Liz

Welcome home Grandpa!

2009-04-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Bacon came home from Texas this week and Reece was so happy to see him!!!Grandpa left back in November to enjoy some warm weather with his friends from his camping club and various adventures through out the years. We're so glad that Grandpa is still enjoying travelling, but we sure do miss him when he's gone! Welcome home Grandpa, we love you and we're so glad that you made it home safely!

Gettin big...breaking Mommy's heart!

2009-03-25T07:09:00.001-07:00

Well she wasn't gonna stay little for long right? Little Reece is insisting to grow and all that her heartbroken Mommy & Daddy can do about it is watch! I say that I'm heartbroken only because Reece has been such a good baby, and by growing up, she becomes a "toddler" and I can't handle my baby being called a toddler!!! I mean really! We just welcomed her into our lives didn't we?
Reece is sitting all by herself now and occasionally pulling up on things to sit on her knees. (Daddy and I will be lowering the matress in her crib soon!) I put her little hands on the side of her play pen only to see what she would do and she held on all by herself for 15 minutes or so. She seemed thrilled to have a new perspective on life! She's been playing in her play pen for just a few days, but already loves it and seems to like to be able to reach everything!
Occasionally, Reece's brother, Bebe (Ben) gets to feed her and as you can see, he turned his head for a minute and Reece seized the opportunity to feed herself!!!
Enjoy the photos & God bless!
Liz

Fire & Rain

2009-02-26T11:24:00.000-08:00

For our friends Jessica & Roy Andreas. (The two wonderful people that shot the pictures of our wedding, and our beautiful family pictures, as well as Reece's baby pictures.) Jessica and I worked together at Penton Media until today when Jessica was layed off. Jessica & Roy, we want you both to know that our prayers are with you. We're praying that Jessica finds another job quickly, and that you both find faith and strength in each other. I am going to miss my friend Jessica, whom is stronger than she seems, braver than she thinks, and all together a wonderful person that I was fortunate to meet in this life and call her my friend. Thank you for your love, friendship, & kindness Jessica. Heard a song, and thought that it was fitting...I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end. I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend. But I know that I will see you again my friend. Won't you look down upon me, Jesus. You've got to help me make a stand. You've just got to see me through another day.
All my love, Liz

Baptised in Christ

2009-02-22T18:44:00.000-08:00

On February 21st, 2008, Reece was baptised in the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic church in the very same gown that my sisters, Barbie and Cindy, and I were all baptised in. For our families and friends that are interested in our decision; the Catholic church teaches that we are all born into original sin from our first parents, Adam & Eve, and that we inherited their sins. Baptism as an infant, represents the original sins being washed away with holy water. As Ryan & I stood craddling Reece in our arms, the thoughts of Reece's beautiful life within the last seven months flooded my mind and heart. She's brought Ryan, Ben, & I so much joy and happiness. Reece has such a happy personality. She's spicy and willful...and she's perfect in every way. I also went back to the day that Ben was baptised, remembering what an inspiration he was to me. Now I'm inspired daily by the love of a wonderful man, who found Ben and I, and has brought us to his phenominal family, whom we now love as our very own. Ryan also brought along with him, his friends which are now dearly loved by us all. Most amazingly to me, Ryan brought Ben & myself Reece. The little sister that Ben proudly draws pictures of, and writes stories about at school. I promised Ben a very long time ago that someday he and I wouldn't be alone, that one day we'd have a place to call our own, and that he'd never have to ask me again "momma, are we home?". Thank you Ryan, the love of my life, my heaven on earth, my knight in shining armour, and my best friend, for all your love.
God bless. Liz.

On a good day...

2009-02-17T10:10:00.001-08:00

Well there was one nice day so far this year that we were able to get Reece out and enjoy the weather! The child doesn't see sunlight unless it's through a window!! Hope that everyone is doing well. God bless!

Reece's Day Out...

2009-02-05T12:36:00.000-08:00

As you can see in the pictures above, "Reece's day out" was not a fantastic day. Reece was diagnosed yesterday with stage 3 vesicoureteral reflux. What that means is that some of her urine goes back up into her kidneys and exposes her kidneys to infection. The plan of treatment is to give her a low daily dose of antibiotics until she grows out of this, which could be three or four years from now. The doctor seems to be confident that with the right treatment, Reece will not have any kidney damage. As a matter of fact, we'll go see a specialist in about four months and will find out if she has any kidney damage already. All of this sounds scary to Ryan and I; all of the possibilites for things to go wrong and "what ifs". Our plan is to follow the doctor's orders and stay faithful that God will bless Reece with all the strength that he can give a little girl. We love you, and hope that all of you will offer up a little prayer on behalf of Reece. God bless!

The new year....

2009-01-17T06:09:00.000-08:00

I am so behind on posting blogs and pictures and I'm so sorry! Believe it or not, Reece is going to be six months old on the 21st of this month...which is next week! Time has flown, and as happy as we are that Reece is more fun to play with, it's sad to think that another six months will creep up on us, and soon we'll be celebrating her 1st Birthday. And talk about time flying...Ben will be 10 this year! He's as tall as I am now and Ryan took him to buy shoes yesterday and he wears a half size bigger shoe than Ryan!!! Ben is getting ready to start his first year of baseball this year and he's very excited, and we're excited for him too!
Enjoy some pics and take care! God bless...

Enjoy...

2009-01-05T12:00:00.001-08:00

Little girls...

2008-12-11T06:09:00.000-08:00

Reece and her little friend, Lily Jacobs got all dolled up for a picture that will be in the Missouri Democrat the week of 12-19-08. Lily's mom, Tracy, called me this past week and said that the democrat was running a full page dedicated to "Babie's 1st Christmas". So we snapped a shot of our little angels along with a little message from all of us and sent it to the paper. Both Lily and Reece did such a good job smiling thanks to Reece's big brother, Ben...AKA "Beebee".
I love this time of year...even if money doesn't go far enough and people act a little obnoxious in the hussle and bussle of it all. The Christmas music alone helps my Christmas spirit, along with my wonderful husband and all of the "clay-mation" movies that he makes me watch. Anyway, hope that everyone is doing well!

God bless!

Here comes Santa Clause!!!

2008-12-09T07:32:00.001-08:00

Reece got to meet Santa for the first time on 12-06-08 at the Bass & Pro Shop in Independence. She kinda liked him I think??? Well she didn't scream and cry anyway!
We put up the Christmas tree the night before Thanksgiving. Reece didn't really seem to be as smitten with the lights on the tree as we thought she would be. She does really enjoy her first Christmas present ever from her Grandma & Grandpa Koby! Linda brought over a baby einstein activity center for Reece, and Ryan and his brother Chris put it together. Her fat little feet don't touch the bottom yet, so we improvise with a pillow. (In the pic is Reece, Santa, & her bff Sadie Love.)
Hope that everyone is doing well. I'll try to be better at blogs in the weeks to come!
God bless!

Late Thanksgiving wishes!

2008-12-09T07:21:00.000-08:00

I'm so sorry that I haven't updated our blog in a while folks! Like all of you, just busy as usual!
Ryan, Ben, & I introduced Reece to our Thanksgiving Day tradition. We got up, made cinnamon rolls, watched the Macy's parade and hung out. If I hadn't had Reece's shots the day before Thanksgiving, everything would have been about perfect. Reece ran a fever due to her shots and so we poured Tylenol down her little throat about every four hours...we did that through the night as well. Just like the doc said, 48 hours later, she was completely fine again. I believe in giving kids shots, but I have to be honest...it killed me to think that they injected a virus in her body that made her run a fever.
So we wanted to give Reece her first taste of mashed potatos but decided not to since she ran a fever...sometimes it's best not to have too many irons in the fire.
Hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
God bless!

We did it...

2008-11-19T07:24:00.000-08:00

Our story aired last night on the 10 o'clock news! Here's the link if you missed it http://www.kctv5.com/news/18007635/detail.html
I think that the editing on the story was very good and we were perceived in a very positive light. You just never can bet on how something like that will go.
Anyway, thank you again for all your support and love for Ryan, Ben, & Reece. There's just no way that we could get through life without the love of our families and friends! Please help us to continue to educate parents about these tag less labels so that other babies with these burns on their backs can get the correct medical attention that they need!!!

God bless,
Ryan, Liz, Ben, & Reece

Life stuff...

2008-11-18T13:22:00.000-08:00

Well no picture with this blog entry folks. I've got a lot on my mind today and just felt like sharing...little therapeutic writing if you will. The KCTV5 interview will air tonight at 10PM regarding Reece's chemical burn that she received from Carter's clothing. I've got to admit that while I'm glad to help others, it's a little nerve racking to wonder how we're perceived as parents now. I know that we did the right thing by telling as many people as possible about the clothing...if I had only heard about the clothes sooner, we may have avoided the trip to the hospital. Everything happens for a reason...and that bring me to the second thing weighing heavily on my mind today. One of my close friends here at work, told me today that her Mom has a form of cancer that will more than likely take her life very quickly. This time last month, her Mom was completely fine...felt great, looked great...
I love my dear friend, and it broke my heart to see her crying. It broke my heart also to think about her young boys losing a Grandma. I don't know how God works, I don't know why people who want babies the most, can't have them and the people who don't want a child at all can. I don't know how someone can be perfectly fine yesterday and a doctor can tell them they're dying today. I don't want my friend to know how it feels to lose a parent. All I offered her was this: When you have come to the edge of all light that you know, and you are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown. Faith is knowing one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on or You will be taught to fly.

God bless,
Liz

Feeling better....

2008-11-11T05:43:00.000-08:00

Reece was feeling better by this weekend as you can see...she's doing her Daddy proud!!!

We found the culprit!

2008-11-06T11:16:00.000-08:00

So we think that we've found the reason for Reece's skin rash that led to the infection that landed us in the hospital. Carter's clothes line....the tagless clothes are printed on with ink that contains some kind of PVC component. According to Carters fewer than four reported rashes for every 1,000,000 of these products sold. But if you have a baby that went to the hospital for it, they are very sorry. (big sigh) Ryan called Carters and they say that they will be refunding our money and agreed to pay her hospital and doctor bills. I really hope that they follow through with it. Most of her closet and drawers are full of these clothes, so we are relying on them to replace them. Anyway, attached is a picture of Reece's back from LAST NIGHT! Her back was completely clear and I put a Child of Mine (made by Carters) yesterday and the rash came back just as bad as the first day she had it.

Halloween and Best Friends...

2008-11-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween a day late!!!! Ben went trick or treating with our friends Crist & Jordan and their kids Haley and Chase. Then Reece and I went to meet Reece's newest and bestest friend, Sadie. I've written about Sadie and her parents on our blog before. We're estatic and blessed to meet Sadie and welcome her into our lives! God bless!

Reece's Hospital Stay

2008-11-01T06:50:00.000-07:00

Not many of you know that little Reece has eczma from head to toe. We had a flare up this past week and a small spot on her back became infected. Luckily, we caught it before it became a staff infection...but we came very close. I can't say enough about the nurses at Children's Mercy. They were wonderful with Reece. Besides the fact that they had to stick her 8 times before finally starting her IV in her head. I don't think I've ever been more upset than watching them hurt Reece over and over again. She's a little trooper though and managed to smile and coo in between each and every stick. Reece, Ryan, & I stayed in the hospital for two nights until they released us Thursday at noon. For those of you who knew about it, we can't thank you enough for your prayers and support.

New Pictures!

2008-10-22T10:13:00.000-07:00

The best kids ever...

2008-10-09T19:01:00.000-07:00

Ben & Reece are the cutest kids ever and Ryan and I couldn't possibly love them more...then tomorrow will roll around and low and behold...we'll love them more!
Anyway, here's a picture of the two of them.
Take care and God bless!

Warriors vs. Pirates

2008-10-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

Unfortunaley, Ben's football team got shut out 39-0 last Saturday 9-27-08. It seemed to be a good learning experience for both the players and the coaches. This is a picture of Ben with his long time sweetheart, Mags. We'll get em next time Warriors!!
On a side note, look at how cute Ben is...he's gonna be a heartbreaker!!!

Our little angel...

2008-09-24T15:22:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken of Reece over this past weekend. Roy and Jessica Andreas took this beautiful picture of Reece. She's also on their website: www.red-photo.net I can't tell you how much I LOVE this picture!!!!

Warriors vs. Mustangs

2008-09-22T12:47:00.000-07:00

Ben had his second football game yesterday against Ray-Pec and they won 20 to 0!!!! Ben played offensive and deffensive line this time and he and all of the other boys did a fantastic job. Beside having a few false starts, and being called on holding (that's when you hold another kid's jersey and the ref catches you doing it--Ben's words) the Warriors showed lots of improvement from their last game. Ben practices 8-10 hours a week; usually Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights. Ben's best friend Chase and close buddy, Daniel are also on his team so between the three of them, one of them is always on the field. We're proud of our boys!!! Good job Warriors!!!

Reece's First Shots....

2008-09-22T12:36:00.001-07:00

Princess Reece had her first set of shots today at Dr. McEntire's office. Her doctor gave her some Tylenol before the shots were administered so that she would be comfortable, and thank God he did. Right after her shots she cried so hard that she held her breathe for a short amount of time, but then she just cried and cried. I held her against me until she settled down and when I finally had a chance to look at her, she had great big tears running down her cheeks! I felt horrible for her. I think next time Daddy should take her!!! (kidding) Anyway, Reece and Mommy lived through it!!! God bless!

Girl stuff...

2008-09-15T10:21:00.000-07:00

Reece attended her first baby shower over the weekend. She slept through most of if though! We're waiting on Reece's little friend Sadie to come along. Sadie will be born to two of the most amazing people that Ryan and I are honored to call friends, Dustin and Beth Love. They've traveled a long and difficult road to be expecting Sadie, and we couldn't be happier for them. Dustin & Beth are also Reece's Godparents along with her Uncle Duane and cousin Katy. (This is a picture of Reece in a little dress that Dustin & Beth got her...this is what she wore to the baby shower.)

TGIF!!!

2008-09-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

We made it through my first week back at work...all four of us! It was a serious family effort too! Princess Reece has been sleeping through the night for one week now! Bless her little heart. I didn't get much sleep though. I must have checked on her twenty times that first night! We've established a solid routine that she seems to really enjoy...we all enjoy the sleep too so no one's complaining!
The best part about this past week was leaving Reece with Grandma Gerke every day. I could call as much as I wanted to check on her...you can ask Mom, I only called once a day! Ryan got to stop by Mom's on his lunch break to see Reece too. Needless to say, we're both blessed and grateful that we're leaving Reece in loving arms every day! God bless. (This picture is of Reece Tuesday morning...she was dressed warm for the weather!)

Busy little family....

2008-09-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

I should have started this blog while I was on maternity, but babies kind of dictate what you do and don't get done. While I was home with Reece, my long list of things I wanted to get done before coming back to work was completely thrown out the door. I found that I'd rather hold her and wait for the moment that she opened her eyes, than clean the floors for the hundredth time! I'd rather watch her sleep than sleep myself..although I did end up napping with her the past few weeks. There was so much that I knew that I would miss, I just wanted to lock the moment in my heart forever. So I can honestly say that I had a wonderful time with Reece and being back at work makes me appreciate my time with her, Ryan, & Ben more than ever!
Ben started football this past August, he's been very excited and motivated...his coaches love his team spirit and his willingness to succeed. Ben's bigger than all the other kids, so he doesn't run as fast, but he always takes the hits and never complains about the pain. As a Mom, seeing him take hits and hearing other player's Moms telling them to take down the "big kid" is pretty hurtful. Ryan & I continue to encourage him to overcome it and he's great!

Our family is remembering both 9/11 today as well as the 4th anniversary of the day that my Dad passed away. Joseph Gerke passed away 9/11/04 and took part of our hearts with him. The man that we believed would overcome the odds, didn't. He was my hero and he was my friend...and he was notorious for showing up when you needed him the most. He couldn't walk me down the aisle last year, but he was there while Duane gave me away. He didn't see Ryan & I buy our first house, but I knew the advice he'd have for me. He couldn't be at Ben's first football game, but I knew that he was the voice that kept me calm when I watched Ben get knocked down. He wasn't there the day that Reece was born, but I believe that she met him in heaven long before she came to be with us. God bless.