Gaining some Confrimation and Answers

This is my daughter-- she is the sweetest cuddler and the most curious little mischief maker around. About four years ago when we were expecting her, I just knew her gender before the ultrasound and feeling her roll and kick with such severity, I knew she would be a little ball of constant energy and well, she pretty much is. So the Christmas right before her 2nd birthday our little girl who hadn't been feeling good and slept in Mommy's bed woke us all up to her first of five seizures. She has turned blue, gone into deep sleeps, fallen off her chair in the middle of eating, and just recently, had one at VBS. They are beyond scary to watch and we were finally sent to a neurologist. We were so happy as we were just getting really frustrated... we were at a point where we had to give her Tylenol just for a cough in order to try and prevent one from happening and then set our alarms through the night because we were afraid if we missed a dose she would have one all alone in her room. But, maybe this finally dawned on me today in the crazy dr.'s room, but I can't be there every moment and I can't stop these.

sigh

I am so type A personality and this is so hard to learn and even more so, accept. I want them to stop-- I don't ever want to look in her face and see a blank stare and feel like she has left me....

But, today at the dr.'s, we also received some hope.... we no longer have to take her into the er or doctor's each time one of these happens which will make the first 24 hours easier and more peaceful on us all. Secondly, he said we could stop the (in my words) overdoses of tylenol and motrin-- can you say "Hallelujah!" It was so nice to have this concern that the pediatrician's might be wrong in having us give her medicine way too much every time she had a sniffle or cough.... phew!!! There is no cure for febrile seizures and so we don't ever have to feel that we could have caught it or prevented them by giving her medicine first... again, phew...

So, it was bittersweet... because she has had so many, she will probably have more and they could get longer and then, oh, how happy her 5th birthday will be for that's the age these stop as her brain slows down in growth. Also, he did mention that kids with febrile seizures for some reason have higher IQs--- but thats a small consolation when we would rather he have none of this at all: but thats who she is and we love her anyway.... even when upon returning home she dumped a whole box of toothpicks into a kitchen drawer because, well, she was curious :)

Some New Books that are becoming dear friends

About two years ago I posted a list of some of our favorite toddler books and most of them still get read often, but we are growing up and reading some new ones and then reading them again and again till they have been added into our favorite book piles :) Here are some:

1. "Everybody Cooks Rice" by Norah Dooley-- this is my 3 year old's favorite!! It is just such a nice way of showing how we all take something thats the same and make it our own in a different way

2. "A Picture Book of George Washington" by David Adler -- I like this because it is a nice introductory book with pictures that engage small ones, plus, my five year old loves George, so it's a definite favorite. There are more bios also written by the author

3. "From Caterpillar to Butterfly" by Deborah Heiligman-- both of my kids love it and we have read it so many times that they will bring up parts of the metamorphosis process throughout the day and my daughter who is 3 loves to draw a chrysalis. There are more in this "series", but this is our favorite

4. "Come Look With Me: Exploring Art With Children" By Gladys S. Blizzard-- We have only been reading this for about two months and now when my son paints he'll go into more detail and then name his painting-- there are more like this and they are all great1

5. "Frog and Toad" These were some of my favorites as a child and now when I pull it out everyone cleans up whatever they were doing and snuggles in close to listen to these two adorable friends.

6. We have loved all our Usbourne books (we always buy them used), but "Things People Do" is their favorite-- great pictures and it is neat for them to see in depth what community helpers do

That's all for now, I am sure later today I'll think of something else, but these ones really stand out right now :)

First year of "school"

So..... phew, this is the first official year of me not sending the kids to school. I keep wondering if I'll even notice the first day of school for our neighbors and feel like a big, hmmmmm... bucker of the system? Not sure... but we do have 14 days of school done ahead of our public school neighbors and it is a big part of our routine so that after breakfast the kids will start pulling school books off the shelves and getting cozy on the couch. I love doing school on the couch-- we all pile on and snuggle close and then dive in; of course, we do go to the dining room table to practice writing and math. Once our official school time is done, we still keep doing learning things throughout the day and it blends in so nicely that the kids can find so much joy and freedom in learning-- it's so beautiful. I always thought I would be so structured doing this, but as I begin, I love the flexibility and the never knowing what all we may learn or do-- we just GO!

My son's Toy Story Party

This past saturday we threw my son's fifth birthday party and we went with a toy story theme. I have just begun to dabble and get into all these party planning and dessert table blogs and they really inspired me to begin taking it to the next level. Of course, I still do things my way and thats with a budget and always with my birthday child at the forefront! I spent about 120 dollars on all the food and decorations-- I just did it all homemade. I made homemade pizza (since Andy goes to Pizza Planet), hot dogs, chicken ka-bobs, salads, and dips for the main meal. Since it was summer I was able to get 90% of all the veggies right from our garden, so that was a huge money saver! I made a cute banner for outside and decorated with curled ribbons everywhere-- I have to be honest, I am not a big balloon person since they pop and make obnoxious noises and are a choking hazard for young guests, so this cut down on cost too. I didn't get any pictures of the outside stuff, but here is the dessert table.








The cupcake ideas came from http://hubpages.com/hub/Toy-Story-Birthday-Cakes. I already had the cake platter and got the two candy holders at the dollar store. I made the brownie toppers with pictures I had found online- so free :) These aren't pictured since I couldn't put them out due to the heat, but I made chocolate covered marshmallows by freezing them and then dipping them in the chocolate and they were a big hit with the kids and adults. The party was so much fun! The weather was great and we are so blessed to begin another year with our special little guy :)

My Baby is turning five!!

This summer my little man will turn--- FIVE!! A whole hand! Halfway to double digits! Ahhhh! Its crazy and the thing is, he keeps happily counting down the days eagerly planning his pirate themed birthday party while, I, the mommy, just wanna pull him up on my lap and hold him a little tighter so that maybe I can keep him four a little longer... not possible, but hey, while I can dream big dreams for him I can also dream to keep him my little boy forever and ever!

He is my miracle boy. The baby we gained after the first was lost. The baby that proved doctors and the medical world just a little wrong by showing that God can do big things even when radiation had done some yucky things to my body. I will never forget the day he was born-- does any mom forget the day she welcomed a little angel from heaven into this world? My husband and I went in for a routine checkup and after my blood pressure kept going higher and higher, I was sent over to the hospital. And just when the staff there got my blood pressure under control, I went into labor. And then I had a c-section and then when I held him for the first time he was so soft. His little cheeks were perfect. He had that perfect newborn hospital smell. And he stopped crying and snuggled in close to me. And it wad pure love. Sure these days he knows how to push my buttons, but he still gives some amazing hugs and is a little charmer through and through. And when he tells me I am his favorite cook ever, its the highest praise. And when he tells me nobody makes funnier voices then mommy when I read, its like winning an acting award from the top. And when he tells me at the end of the day that he needs one more hug and kiss to go to bed, it's my pleasure. He is a one and only and I am so glad he is here with us.

Cooking for others

This past Easter our church did an amazing musical presentation. And I not having time to commit to weekly rehearsals, memorizing lines, etc. signed on to help do the hospitality. It was such a blessing to serve others this way and then this week two people from the church called me to do the food again for smaller events going on in the church. Sadly, I can only do one as one falls on the weekend of my race, but tomorrow I am making lunch for a mission team of Navajo children and some kids from our own church and, well, I have the night before butterflies. I am keeping it simple, just salads, sandwiches, veggies-- that sort of thing, but still for 30+ people, it always becomes a little bit more then the normal day of lunch duty for four :)

But, I seriously love to do this-- I like making food for people and watching them enjoy it whether its my immediate family or my family at church. Its ministry to the tummy ;) I am thankful that I know God has given me the gift of hospitality, but, I am gonna be honest here, I do wish he had equipped me with a slightly bigger kitchen! But, I just keep telling myself if I am faithful and use what I have, then who knows? If this is the only space I ever have, then I have to be okay with that because He knows what we truly need and what we might abuse or are not ready. Anyway, all that to say I am so excited about doing lunch tomorrow and hope it goes well!

Hot and sticky

We had the most nice break form the humidity this past week and it was heavenly! Every summer my urge to move to the north out of the heat and into the mountains becomes stronger. I am not alone-- my boys heads get so hot I am expecting little planets to begin orbiting them one day. I put them all down to sleep in just a diaper or their undies so they have less to stick to them and I can keep the air conditioning at a reasonable temperature. So, what to do this summer when I have to close the blinds to help keep it somewhat cooler and so plunge our house into a semi darkness and take brief trips out back until we can no longer take the heat. Thankfully, we have a great library program, a spray ground close by, and regal free movies. Also, there will be painting with pudding, bubble blowing, body painting and anything else that needs a full body spray down after wards with a hose :) Of course, cooking in the summer always becomes less enjoyable-- who wants warm food when you're outsides are so hot? And baking? Forget about it! Unless I do it early in the morning its not happening. Okay, I do like naps on warm days and swimming in the summer, but I have to say that the humidity is a deal breaker... someday... but alas, I can't tell God where to plant our family, but I can drop some hints ;)