09.16.08

Weird Bug

Posted in Lance at 1:49 pm by lance

This was crawling up the wall in my office this afternoon… It looked like something out of a scifi movie… and then it started flying around.  CREEPY!!!

Anyone have any idea what this is?

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2008 Season Premieres

Posted in Random Stuff at 8:22 am by lance

Kim and I are TV-holics… The DVR is the BEST invention ever!!!  We’re excited that the new season of shows is finally starting up again.  Here’s a list of the upcoming premieres…

Can’t believe that we’ll need to wait until November to watch 24!!!

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09.09.08

September 7th

Posted in Logan at 12:22 am by kimi

This past Sunday was a difficult one for us . . . September 7th was my original due date. It’s hard to believe how much has happened, despite the fact that I should have been pregnant up until now. In the past several months we’ve . . . worried about our baby being born too early, celebrated the birth of our son, spent 8 weeks loving Logan & cheering him on, and allowed our son to find ultimate peace.

We miss Logan.

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First Week Apart

Posted in Kim, Lance at 12:12 am by kimi

September 2nd was Lance’s first day back at the office . . . after working at home for a week, we both knew that he’d have to go back to the office some time. With Lance back at the office, we agreed that it was time for me to go back to school (since we were both worried about me being home alone all day long).

Neither of us were looking forward to September 2nd . . . with both of us back at work, this also meant that we would be apart for the first time since Logan left us. Getting through each day without Logan is hard enough when we’re together . . . we couldn’t imagine what it would be like to live without Logan while we’re apart.

When Logan left us, we promised each other that we would get through this difficult time together. Throughout this past month, we’ve leaned on each other for support . . . we talk about Logan, laugh at our funny memories of him, cry for all that we’ve lost, get angry at the unfairness of what’s happened, and just hold onto each other when the going gets tough.

Luckily, our first week apart went pretty smoothly . . . we missed being together, but we managed. Logan was definitely working overtime keeping an eye on us both!

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09.02.08

Congratulations Jack!!!

Posted in Family at 6:50 am by lance

Kim and I would like to congratulate Jack, Kim’s cousin’s son, on being one of ten finalists in the National Young Scientist Challenge. In case you missed his interview on the KHON news…

CONGRATULATIONS JACK!!! Good Luck!!!

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08.29.08

Missing Beamer

Posted in Dogs at 8:24 am by kimi

We’d like to say thanks to everyone who have been asking us how we’re all (dogs included) doing without Beamer.  For those of you who never met Beamer, he was a BIG guy . . . everything about him was big!  His tongue was big, his ears were big, his paws were big, and his love for his toy was big!  #1 priority for Beamer was playing with his toy . . . if given a choice, he’d much rather play than eat!  Everytime we’d go out into the backyard, Beamer was right by our sides, not-so-subtly reminding us that we hadn’t thrown his toy yet. 

Things are definitely not the same without Beamer.  Feeding time feels strange because we’re only scooping food into 2 bowls, instead of 3.  Shooting down the patio to clean it feels strange because Beamer’s not shadowing us, reminding us about his toy.  Beamer’s absence is the biggest when it’s playtime.

Koko & Irwin seem to be doing okay without Beamer.  We think that Koko is secretly relieved that Beamer is gone . . . she & Beamer never really liked each other too much.  They kind of just tolerated each other and Beamer LOVED to pester her.

Irwin & Beamer, on the other hand, were buddies.  From day 1, Beamer was Irwin’s pal.  Irwin loves to wrestle with Koko, but he always slept near Beamer.  We would often find the 2 big guys sleeping together in Beamer’s igloo!  While Beamer was in the hospital, Irwin would look for him all the time.  We took Koko & Irwin with us to see Beamer for the last time . . . they were also in the room when Dr. Hatami put Beamer to sleep.  Irwin could sense that something was not right with his buddy.  Since then, he hasn’t been looking for Beamer . . . it seems like he’s accepted that Beamer is gone.

So . . . we’re all doing as well as can be expected . . . missing our tiny guy & our big guy, but taking things one day at a time.

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08.27.08

1 Month Without Logan

Posted in Logan at 11:42 pm by kimi

Today is August 27th . . . it’s been one month since Logan left us.  Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday that we were sitting in the NSCU, holding Logan’s hand and talking story with all of his nurses . . . other times, it feels like it’s been forever since the last time we patted his back or rubbed his forehead.  Lance & I can’t believe that we’ve managed to survive a month without our precious baby . . . on the day that Logan left us, we were sure that we couldn’t live without him.

The pain is still raw and the hole in our hearts is still enormous . . . we miss Logan tremendously and would do anything to bring him back, but we know that can’t ever happen.  We talk to Logan every day and ask him to help us survive one more day without him.

We’re slowly trying to get back into a routine . . . Lance is back at work this week, although he’s working from home.  I’m planning to go back to school next week since Lance will be back at the office.  Lance worries about me being home alone . . . I must admit that I worry about being home alone too.  There are times when the pain is so great . . . those are the times that we are so grateful to have each other to lean on.

We want to thank everyone for the phone calls, emails, blog comments, etc.  You’ll never know how much we cherish talking to family & friends and reading all your comforting messages.  We could never have gotten through this past month without all of your love and support.

Along with missing Logan, we’re also missing our big guy, Beamer.  When we go outside to play with Koko & Irwin, Beamer’s absence is huge . . . playtime was his FAVORITE time so not having him there is so strange.  Feeding time also makes us miss Beamer . . . putting food into 2 bowls, instead of 3, takes some getting used to.

Knowing that our big guy is protecting our tiny guy, and that they’re keeping each other company, helps to ease the pain a little . . . one day at a time . . . that’s all we can do.

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08.24.08

Back to Work for Lance

Posted in Lance at 11:41 pm by lance

It had to happen sometime… I have to go back to work on Monday.

The bad/good news is that I just found out tonight that I need to sit in on a conference that’s being hosted on the mainland. This means that I’ll need to get up at 4:30am… But it also means that I can work from home and spend more time with Kim. I guess it’s a nice way to ease back in to work…

Well, I better get to bed because I’ll need to get up in 5 hours!

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08.21.08

Zakys

Posted in Logan at 12:57 am by kimi

In his short 8 weeks, Logan had several “true loves” . . . Mommy & Daddy, his pacifier, and his blue Zaky. All of Logan’s aunties and uncles in the NSCU knew about his Zaky and knew NOT to mess with it!

On the day that Logan left us, we were both in shock as we left the NSCU. As we neared the van, a thought came to me . . . I wanted to use the money that people had given us for Logan’s birth to buy Zakys for the rest of the babies in the NSCU. Lance wholeheartedly agreed with the idea . . . we think that was Logan’s first “message” for us!

About 2 weeks after Logan left us, we went to Makana Mother & Baby to buy more Zakys. Sandy went with us because Cathy (the owner of the store) is a long-time patient of hers. If you’ve never been to Makana Mother & Baby, you should definitely go . . . it’s a great little boutique! Cathy is such a wonderful person and sells the cutest things!

Before we went to the store, Sandy had called Cathy to tell her about our idea . . . she was very touched by it and was eager to help. Cathy had already set aside 6 blue Zakys and 6 pink Zakys for us to purchase. We mentioned to her that we also wanted to buy some preemie and newborn-sized outfits for the NSCU. As soon as we said this, Cathy started pulling outfits off of the shelf to show us. As she was ringing up our bill, we noticed that she did not charge us for any of the clothes . . . instead, she generously donated 12 super-cute outfits to the NSCU! THANKS CATHY!!

We had labels embroidered to sew onto the Zakys . . . they say “In Loving Memory of Logan Shinsato – June 1, 2008″. Jen, Sandy, Lance, and I got together one night to sew on all the labels. Lance and I took the Zakys and all the clothes to the NSCU last week . . . needless to say, our NSCU family loved the gifts! We’ve heard that a lot of babies are loving the Zakys . . . we know that Logan is smiling down at them!

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08.14.08

Lance’s First Blood Donation

Posted in Lance, Logan at 10:36 pm by lance

Ok… So in one of our previous posts I said that in honor of Logan I would be donating blood… Well that day has finally arrived…

My friend Matt just recently started to donate blood again… he’s been reading our blog and saw the post about me wanting to donate blood and it just so happened that a few days before Logan’s celebration, the blood bank called him, so he scheduled an appointment… for both of us!!! Oh joy!!! Thanks Matt!!!

Well, this afternoon, Kim and I met up with Matt and another of our friends, Dolores, at the main Blood Bank office and we all donated blood together. I was very nervous about doing this, but the people there are very good at keeping you calm.

Kim usually takes a long time to donate blood, but today she was done in 7 minutes… mine on the other hand took 12 minutes. My arm was coming sore… not from the blood draw but from squeezing the ball so much. Next time – and yes there will be a next time – I was told to drink more water from the day before I go to donate, instead of on the day of donation.

Anywho, for all those that don’t believe, here’s some pictures to prove that I actually went to donate blood…

Thanks Matt and Dolo!!!

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