December came with its usual anticipation of the upcoming holidays, but this year brought more than just twinkling lights and holiday tunes, it gave us meaningful moments. From laughter-filled playdates and cozy nights at home, to navigating some medical mysteries with Jack, we embraced every twist and turn the month had to offer. We made memories close to home with a little stay-cation in Fresno, soaked up time together, and leaned into the true spirit of the season by giving to those in need. It was a month that reminded us that joy and growth often come hand in hand—and that love really is the heart of it all. Here's a look into our December!
Our last trip to the pool!
I caught Beckham going through each of the football teams on his football. One side has the NFC and the other is the AFC. He would point at the logo and then say the name. Love this cute boy of ours. Plus, can you even with those jammies and socks. My heart.
Reading in Mom's bed.
Having some fun with the boys hair. Jack loved it, haha.
My cute friend Emily dropped off some cookies for our crew, and of course I had to dive right in :) These caramel chocolate bars are to die for!
Just some fun play and shenanigans.
Date night hot chocolate.
This glorious hot chocolate is made with a scoop of ice cream and topped with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon. It's SO good!
We drank our hot chocolate and played a card game by the fire.
Five Crowns for the win!
I caught Quinnie reading with style :) Love her crossed legs and arms.
Jack's Health Journey
Back in September we went to the pediatrician for a routine check up for all three kids. We had switched pediatrician's because our current one closed her practice. Our new pediatrician, Dr. Lenser, ordered a urine sample and blood sample from each of the kids per her normal routine. We had never had a pediatrician ask for those tests. Not a negative, just different. We are so grateful that it is her standard procedure because we found that all of the kids had high protein in their urine. They had us do another test one week later. They thought that it was due to dehydration since we came straight from school.
We did another sample one week later and Beckham's cleared. Woohoo! Jack and Quinn's were still high, so we did another one. This time Quinn's came back normal, and Jack's was still high. Significantly high. Dr. Lenser sent an urgent referral to a nephrologist at a children's hospital.
Within one week we were doing another sample for Jack, but found no changes. Dr. Lenser ordered several blood tests as well. She wanted us to have as much information for Dr. Tzeng (the nephrologist). The worry was that Jack was experiencing kidney failure, and we weren't sure for how long or how bad. After three more urine samples (ordered by Dr. Tzeng this time) came back with really high protein, we set up an appointment with Dr. Tzeng.
Waiting to meet Dr. Tzeng. This kid is hilarious. He kept us entertained while we waited.
We met with the doctor and she asked us to do one more sample, but this time it had to be done at a specific time. First thing in the morning. She looked at all of the blood work and his blood results were telling her that Jack was super healthy. His urine samples however had a different story. Every single time! We did one final sample and it came back crazy high again. Our insurance was about to change with Preston's new job so she decided to act fast. She ordered a biopsy of Jack's kidney.
French!
We are continuing our French journey with Zipporah our cute tutor. We love her and are so grateful for her help. We meet with her week and look forward to it.
Aunt Nathalie sent the kids little elves to decorate during Christmas time. They loved this project.
Jack had his first band concert! See him in the back with his blonde hair, haha. He rocked it!
Jack playing his trumpet to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
Another year...means another Giving Machine contribution. This is one of our favorite traditions. Jack got bathroom essentials, Beckham purchased food for a week for a family, Quinn got medicines and vaccinations, Pres got chickens, and I got warm clothing for our local needs. These machines are amazing and we would highly recommend that everyone find one in your area for next year.
Cuddles on the couch while we watch the Grinch.
Play date with the Dahle's. Everyone had so much fun!
We played, decorated cookies, and enjoyed some video game time :)
This year our Christmas Eve jammies were made by me (and my girlfriend Anna). I went with a Hogwarts theme since we are reading all of the Harry Potter books. The kids loved them!
Christmas is set and ready to go. So exciting!
Since I was little I always had this dream of a beautifully decorated Christmas Eve night. All the paper would correlate with all of the other wrappings. The gifts would all have bows and tags. This year I finally fulfilled this dream of mine, and will never look back again. I know it seems silly, but there is something about everything coordinating that makes it feel extra special to me. We don't do a lot of gifts in the Clark home, but this was a fun way to celebrate the season.
Christmas Morning!
It's safe to say that Christmas was a success. Everyone enjoyed the gifts they got, the family time we had, and the traditional cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Definitely one of my favorite holidays each year.
We planned to stay home this Christmas season, which is not our norm. However, it just felt right to not go anywhere this year, and we soon learned why. On December 20th we received a call from Valley Children's Hospital in Fresno asking if Jack could come in for a biopsy on December 26th. We booked a last minute Airbnb for Christmas night, and headed south late that afternoon. The kids loved that we had a hot tub for the night, haha.
Jack and I had to be at the hospital at 6:30am the following morning to get all of his prep work done. The nurses did a blood draw, took a urine sample, tested his blood pressure, and made sure to ask him all of the questions needed before the procedure.
This kid was a champ! He did such an amazing job with every step of the way. He asked great questions and we learned a lot about the procedure.
As the time for the biopsy got closer, a few nerves started to hit. We luckily brought Leo, his dinosaur, to help bring the calm. The staff were amazing! They would talk to Jack, ask him questions about what he was interested in, and they'd answer all of his medical questions. Everyone loved Leo!
His IV is in and ready to go. The announced that they were ready to wheel him into the procedure suite. The doctor and anesthesiologist came in to meet Jack and talk with him about what would happen, how he would feel, and the recovery. They were so good with him. We truly felt like we were in good hands.
And he's off! They let him keep Leo for the procedure which he appreciated.
While he was in his biopsy, I grabbed a quick bite from the cafeteria. Once I headed back up to the waiting room they called me back within 20 minutes. It went by so fast. The procedure went great! Doc told me that he got a really good sample from Jack's kidney. The sample was then sent off to Cedars-Sinai for testing.
He's back!
The nurse checked all of his vitals, and they looked great. He was then offered a popsicle and he happily took it. He had to fast for the procedure and was feeling thirsty and hungry. The popsicle hit just right. He may have had two more after this one, haha.
My sweet boy resting.
We had to wait 2 hours after his procedure to make sure he was good to leave. They needed him to use the restroom multiple times and rest. This is more due to the anesthesia than the procedure itself.
Once we were approved to leave, Jack dressed quickly, and we were ready to take off!
We had rented our Airbnb for one more night just in case he wasn't feeling well. Since he hadn't eaten in like 24 hours, we let Jack pick dinner for the night. We ended up grabbing Greek food, nuggets, and fries. He was in heaven and so was I. I love Greek food.
The following day we checked out Fresno and did a little shopping. That afternoon we headed home after a successful trip to Valley Children's Hospital. Now we just await the results.
Back to normal. We were happy to be home. Pres and I took turns checking the biopsy area on Jack to make sure there was no bleeding or infection forming. We had such a crazy filled few days that Beckham fell asleep with a book in his hand that night. He never does that. It was so cute that we had to get a pic.
Found this gem on my phone after church, haha.
Happy 11th Birthday Jack!
In celebration of this kid's 11th time around the sun he asked that we venture out and make a day of it. The morning was filled with computer time, and creation. Then, off to the new Sonic movie, and Cheesecake Factory for dinner. He's definitely my child, haha. Jack announced that this was the perfect day!
We did presents and cheesecake at home that night.
Quinn's turn!
Happy Birthday Quinn Marie!
We started this girls morning with a brand new bike, books, and a sewing kit. She was so stoked about all of her gifts. Quinnie chose a more subtle birthday. She wanted to hang out, ride her bike, and do some crafts. She loved choosing shows to watch and eating her favorite things.
Go Quinn go!
Quinn wanted to do Cheesecake Factory too, but since we had done it for Jack's bday just two days before, we asked if she could wait a few days. I was flying out to Chicago on New Year's Day, so the family decided to get a hotel on New Year's Eve. We made this Quinn's bday part two, haha. Which made this little 8 year olds dreams all come true. We went to Cheesecake Factory, stayed in a hotel, and swam for hours. It was exactly what this little girl was hoping for. Two birds, one stone ;)
Hotel snacks and treats after swimming.
Cute boys.
December was full of surprises, love, charity, gifts, concerts, birthdays, and all things Christmas season. We are so grateful that we were led to specific doctors, and that a biopsy appointment opened for Jack. We are so thankful to everyone that has helped through his journey. Christmas was beautiful and a great way for our family to spend the holiday all together.
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