Science Fair

We are now up to three people affected by this intestinal bug. Matt didn't make it through the night last night.
But since I know you all don't want to hear about any of this, how about some pictures from the science fair??
In no particular order because I'm lazy!


Dillon being judged.



Collin talking with his first judge.





Zachy and Collin did theirs together.



Waiting on judges..




Emily ran around all day making silly faces with her shirt...she's a nut.






What happens when you have baby fine hair that's been in piggie tails all day when you decide to take them out!



Look at all the people.



Matthew being judged.


So there you have it...the science fair in a nut shell. The kids had a great time and it was such a good experience. They're already talking about what to do next year!

Two Down, Five to Go

Emmie started vomiting tonight. And Matt says he's not sure he'll make it through the night.
It sounds awful, but I wish everyone would get this all at once so we can just be done with it.
Collin hasn't thrown up since mid afternoon, but is so weak and pale still. I hope tomorrow brings him happy things.
Wish us luck!

Things could get ugly around here

This isn't the entry I had in mind for today.
But this morning, Collin came and stood in our room. Said he was going to throw up, then froze. I tried to get him to move to get to the bathroom, but no such luck.
Ick. I hate vomit.
A friend from church just went through this with her whole family. And from the sounds of it, it wasn't pretty.
Matt said things were slow at work so if we all had to get sick, this was a good week to do it! What is he thinking? We are NOT getting sick. No way, no how.
Except, it spread like wildfire in the aforementioned friend's home.
If I suddenly disappear, say a prayer for my family that this is short lived!

Review Monday

I hope everyone had a great weekend.
Ours was busy, filled with evangelistic meetings at church.
However, on Sunday I battled a migraine all day that knocked me out. I was so sick to my stomach and basically did nothing all day. Matt took the kids to church, and I stayed in a supine position all day.
Today is a new day though, and I'm feeling much better.
We did manage to have some fun this weekend!
Saturday night, Matt and I watched Mamma Mia!

We had both wanted to see it, and finally decided to rent it. I absolutely loved it. I know it got mixed reviews, but it was right up my alley. I'm normally not a Meryl Streep fan, but she was adorable. I can't get the songs out of my head, and am tempted to change my blog songs from Disney to Mamma Mia! songs. We'll see.
Also, on Saturday, I received a book in the mail. It's called The Miracle of Me, and it was written by Amy Pedersen.

You might think that after having five children, I'd be done with pregnancy books. But nothing could be further from the truth. I love pregnancy books. When I'm pregnant, I read them religiously, even the ones I've read before. Amy sent this book to me, and I couldn't be more thrilled. This book is great. She wrote when she was pregnant with her second (I think) to help her old child understand what was going on in Mommy's tummy.
Now, if you buy this book expecting to know all there is to know about pregnancy, you'll be disappointed. But to help an older child it is perfect. Each week consists of a 4 week poem about the baby's development, and it includes phenomenal pictures of baby in the womb. My favorite part, though, is the ruler that shows baby's size. It really helps to put things in perspective. I give this book an A+. Thank you, Amy, for sending it to me!
And that's it. Now we are on to school. And back to the library to return videos that are due. Here is a reason I don't like the library. Dillon was so excited to read his book. He read the 9 chapter book in 3 days. Figured if he read 3 chapters a day, he'd be done in 3 days. Now, he wants a new book. But guess what. He can't find the book to return. I'm sure it's tucked safely in his bed somewhere!

How sweet it is

A couple weeks ago, Matt preached at a neighboring church.
The church is tiny, and doesn't have Cradle Roll.
The boys all went to Sabbath School and Emmie and I stayed in the sanctuary with Matt while he prepared.
She was so silly. She would literally strike a pose, wait for me to take her picture, then move on to another pose.
I truly have no idea how it is that I have such a darling daughter.



I wish this picture had turned out a bit better.



"hmmmmm, I sure wish there was money in that plate!"



Em and Matt



I think this picture should be in one of those emails that goes like crazy around the net. Have you ever seen anything so precious?



Matt...concentrating..



OK, I stopped moving, now take my picture!



What a cheeky girl!



Taking a break from all that posing.



Look at my pretty dress!

Zachy's Heart

I have asked you, in the past, to pray for Zachy and his lack of endurance.
He saw the doctor last week, and I figure the least I can do is share with you what happened! How generous, I know.
A pacemaker works in a couple of ways. First, they set a threshold for minimum beats per minute. Zachy's is set at 80. So, anytime his heart rate drops below 80, the pacemaker strikes. Which, is essentially all the time.
The other way it works is by sensor. This is for activity. There is a crystal in the pacemaker, and basically, when it jiggles, it tells the pacemaker that the person is active and needs a higher pulse rate.
Before November, the crystal hadn't been activated. He was able to raise his own heart rate when he was active.
In November, they activated it. So, when it jiggled, it told his heart to beat at 120 beats per minute.
What the doctor expected to happen was that after the pacemaker got the beats up, his heart would take over and function like a normal heart and allow the heart rate to go down naturally.
On Monday, he saw his doctor.
They drew out the information from the pacer and a bar graph showed up. Different heart rates. 120 and 80 had high bars. The rest were basically non existent.
What was happening was his pacer would tell his heart to get up to 120 bpm, then as soon as he stopped moving, his rate would crash down to 80 bpm. There was no gradual decline. Just sharp drops.
Talk about tiring a person out!
Dr. Bush has now set it so that after the jiggling stops, his heart rate will decline slowly over ten minutes.
We are back in the wait and see how it all plays out stage. We are praying this will help tremendously.
When we stop and think about it, it totally amazes us. Nothing about his heart working is natural. They did turn the threshold down to 40 on Monday to see what happened and his heart dropped immediately. The doc still says he isn't pacemaker dependent, which only means that he won't die without being paced. But he is currently being paced nearly 100% of the time.
We are so thankful for technology, and the fact that our little boy is here with us.
~~~~~~~

Totally related to absolutely nothing...why in the world can't someone invent a universal power cord? I have pictures to upload for you, but cannot find the cord. I just used it, and now it has disappeared. I have a gazillion other cords, none of which fit. It seems so simple to me...one universal cord.
It would certainly make life easier!

Overheard in the Van

The boys were talking about things that were the biggest.
For example, was the galaxy or the universe bigger?
Who could outdo the other with what was biggest.
Matthew whispers to Collin, "say heaven"
Collin yelled out, "HEAVEN! Heaven is bigger than the universe!"
And the boys got to chatting about whether or not God was bigger than heaven. What His head sticking out the top of heaven?
Collin says, "heaven is the biggest...and someday it's going to be our home!"


So precious. How is this happening? I don't think it's us. I'm just thankful.

April Fool's Day

Yesterday was April Fool's Day.
When I was a kid, every year, my dad would tell me my cat died. And every year I would believe him and cry. Every year, it was a joke.
I've never been a huge fan of the day. Mainly because I cannot tell a lie to save my life.
The Internet has changed that.
I can type and entry and no one can see the look on my face! Then I can sit back and fool people!
There is no dog. Well, there is, that picture was taken from the San Antonio Humane Society site, and there are lots of doggies there needing adopting. But, there is no dog in this house. No way. No how.
My sister fell for it hook, line, and sinker. When I asked if she'd read my blog she just said yes. No emotion in her voice. So, I figured she knew. I said, "man, I was hoping to get Mom with that, she'll never know it's April fool's day!" Then she said, "THAT WAS A JOKE?" And proceeded to tell me she had many opinions that she was going to keep to herself. But I wanted comments. I wanted to know I'd fooled people. I'm greedy like that! So she commented, and even tried to lure my mom into commenting. Well, it didn't work. I'm not even sure my mom has read this. I did, however, trick my mother-in-law. Hehe...oh that feels so good. I'm always the gullible one of the group.
So, the entry was a joke.
I also told the kids we didn't have to do school. They weren't happy with that joke.
Poor Matthew, he has my lying ability and tried to tell me something several times but cracked up every time I looked at him. Just like me.
Last night for Pathfinders and Adventurers I brought "meatloaf". It was chocolate rice krispie treats with chunks of fruit snacks in it. When someone brings a slice of that, and tells you it's meatloaf, it really looks like meatloaf. One boy refused to eat it. He wouldn't even touch it. Even after everyone told him it was chocolate. But before they figured it out, more than one kid said, "uh..no thank you, I'm not hungry". Matt says when they ask their parents for meatloaf they are going to be so disappointed and say they want the kind Miss Bekki makes.
It was great.
We had a great day gagging each other all day long.
How was your day? Did you fool anyone??

We Are Being VERY Bad Tenants

When we moved in here, we specifically looked for a house that did not allow pets.
If you recall, Emily is very allergic to animals and spent almost her whole first year on breathing treatments twice a day.
Well, the boys desperately miss their animals.
And so, we decided to be bad. Very bad.
Meet Delilah.

Isn't she the cutest thing ever? She is part bassett hound and that was enough to remind me of my favorite dog, Biscuit.
So far, Emily is terrified of her, but that's ok, because the boys absolutely adore her. She'll get used to her.
As for her breathing, we'll just have to wait and see. If she goes back on treatments, she goes back on treatments.
The thing is, we have to lie. Which is hard, but if we don't we'll be kicked out.
The timing isn't all that great though, because of our Disney trip, but we'll figure something out.
We are just so excited to have a new puppy!

ER last week

ER the show. Not us in the ER. Thank goodness. Because there was a point, when Em had a temp of 105, that I thought we would end up at the ER.
But the show, ER. You know, the one that is going to end this week. So very sad!
Anyway, last Thursday's episode was so great.
It basically focused on kids who had heart disease, and who had had open heart surgery. It was all about a camp for kids with CHD. Camp del Corazon. The camp really exists, but it is in California, NOT Chicago. But that is neither here nor there.
The point is, it was awesome. They talked about Tetrology of Fallot and the surgeries that go along with that. About Hypoplastic Righy Heart Syndrome and surgeries that go with HLHS. And one other that I can't remember right now. One girl even had a defibrilator implanted. At the end, Morris told a girl a bedtime story about a blood cell that was blue, but desperately wanted to be red.
I was in tears the whole time. It was soo good to see CHD getting media coverage.
I was also in tears because the Chief of the ER was adopting a baby. Oh man, my heart is yearning for a baby. Matt too. So I figure I'll tell you all now so that if God decides to bless us with another baby, it won't surprise you!
Anyway, kudos to ER for doing this!

Lessons learned at the Library

I did it. I made the trek to the library, signed my boys and me up for library cards, and fell in love.
This particular library has a totally closed off kids area. I mean closed off. Doors and everything. Which means the kids could be noisy! Woot!
And, there was nobody there since it was during the day.
And, since we are home schoolers we were informed that we could check out eleventy million items at a time. Which is both a blessing and a curse.
It left me wondering why I had waited so long.
Which led me to wonder how often we do that in life.
I mean, how often do we think, "her? not sure I want to be friends with her.." and then once we do, we wonder why we waited so long. One of my very best friends started like that. In fact, she used to ignore me. But I was a pesky little bugger, and now we are the best of friends.
Matt does this often with food. He used to be very particular about what he ate. Now, he is more adventurous, and I'm sure he wonders what took him so long.
In life, I'm convinced, we just need to bite the bullet and go for it.
Oh, but what about the other side of this? What happens when we are quick to befriend someone and they burn us? There's always two sides. And that side often leaves more of an impression than the good side. It's what makes it so hard to step out in the first place.
But we must. Otherwise, our lives will be so boring not even we will be able to stand it.
Here's to trying new things out! And not years from now. Now.

The unpardonable sin of Home Schooling

Yes. It's true folks. I commit the unpardonable sin of home schooling. Someday, maybe the head home school people will forgive me, maybe not. And who are these people in charge? Oh yeah, it's us. We're in charge of our home schools.
What is could possibly be so bad that it is unpardonable? Well, I'll tell you. But you have to promise not to hold it against me. Promise not to think, 'well she's obviously not a real home schooler' Because I try! I really do!
OK, are you ready for this? Are you sitting down? OK...here goes...I do NOT utilize the library.
I KNOW!! Pretty bad, huh? Pick yourselves up off the floor. Stop hyperventilating and just hear me out.
I'm intimidated by the library. While I was thinking about this post I was trying to put my finger on what it is that scares me. It comes down to one thing.
One rule. A rule that was so ingrained into my mind as a child that I am terrified to break it.
QUIET IN THE LIBRARY
PEOPLE! Have you any idea how hard it is to keep a 2 year old silent? Or a 5 and 7 year old who always feel the need to giggle uncontrollably until they are laughing big guffaws?
I hear of people who take their kids to "preschool story time" and while it sounds all nice and sweet, it is pretty complicated for people like us who don't just have a preschooler.
And so, I avoid the library. I'd much rather fork over our hard earned money to buy the darn book than to go through the hassle of the library.
Now, in my defense, when we moved here, I actually got excited about the library. I mean, San Antonio. It's huge, surely the library is great. Well the one near our old house was far from great. I even got us library cards, but hated the library.
But now. Now things have to change. The time has come. Matthew has to do a report on the capital of Texas (Austin in case you had forgotten!). His lesson went all into depth about checking out reference books and finding them at the library. So now I feel as though we must go. It wouldn't be the same to just google the info. I know I need to expose my kids to the library more. I know this. And I will.
I heard of a good library. It happens to be the library on base. I actually went in there a couple weeks ago in search of tax forms. It certainly doesn't look kid friendly, but hey..no late fees!
Tomorrow is the day. I'll trudge into the library, and perhaps my sins will finally be forgiven!

My Shadow

Last Sunday, Em and I ran to Costco together.
On the way, I stopped at Starbucks and treated myself to a frappucino and Em to a chocolate milk.
We went into Costco with our drinks in hand, and we shopped.
She has gotten so independent and wants to walk with us instead of ride. She also enjoys helping us push the cart.
On our way out, she was feeling around at my pockets. I asked if she wanted the keys. She said she did. Then she went for my handbag. Then her drink. She had me put her sunglasses on next.
Walking to the van she had my handbag hanging from her left forearm, with the keys in her left hand. Held ready to push the 'unlock' button. In her right hand, she sported the chocolate milk.
I looked down and saw a miniature version of me. How I wish I had a camera.
I hope I am a good enough example to her in the coming years that when she copies me, she is copying nothing but good.
God is good, and I know it's possible with His help to model great behaviour to these kids He has so graciously given us to raise!

Human Fly Paper

So this last Saturday, my temporary crown fell out.
I had to read online about what to do. Which involved putting it back in.
I did this, but without an adhesive. Later that night, I went and bought some temporary adhesive.
Let me tell you..painful. It was like I'd get close to me stub of a tooth with the crown and the nerves would reach out and touch the crown long before the crown actually touched the nerves. It hurt so bad, and ultimately, I put it in wrong. But it was in, and there was no way I was redoing it.
I had taken pain meds and laid down on my bed to lick my wounds.
Emmie was in the bathroom, playing in the bottom drawer. You know the one. That one that holds the feminine hygiene products. We all have one.
And Emmie loves pads. Poor thing, some day she will grow to loathe them like the rest of us. But for now, she just loves pulling the little green envelopes out of the package and littering the bathroom floor with them.
It's like a game. She pulls them out, says, "MAMA!!" then I tell her to put them away, and she does.
Only Saturday night, I was too out of it to play Scatter the Pads.
After awhile, we all went to bed.
Now, it's important to note at this point, that if I'm already in bed, Matt will use the hallway bathroom, so the bathroom wasn't used after the beginning phase of Scatter the Pads.
Several hours later, we were awaken by ,"rip, rip, rip"
Collin had gotten up to go potty, and was stuck to the pads, which Emmie had actually opened up, and the pads were stuck to the floor.
He was so confused and couldn't figure out how to get free from the sticky paper.
It was so incredibly funny. It made the tooth pain totally subside.

Pain

I have a really funny story to share with you. Well, it's funny to me anyway.
But my temporary crown fell out on Saturday and when I tried to readhere it, I put it in wrong. The top of my tooth is exposed, but it hurt so bad that there was no way I was pulling it out to try again.
I go to the dentist this evening. All of this to say, I am in so much pain.
And therefore, the story will have to wait.
Hopefully, I'll be feeling better by tomorrow.

Going completely crazy

My temporary crown is driving me absolutely insane.

I want to rip the stupid thing out.

My mouth hurts and it is just making me nuts. I'm certain if I could rip it out, I'd feel much better. OK, not really.

I certainly hope the real one doesn't feel like this, because feeling this fake thing is driving me nutso!!!

Going out on a limb

Emily had her dreaded VCUG. I talked about this earlier. The test where they cath her and fill her bladder, inject dye, and check for kidney reflux.
Matt checked the results at work today and it says everything was normal.
PRAISE THE LORD!
I really didn't think she would outgrow it that quickly, but she did!
Have to get the official word from the doc, but it looks like the daily antibiotics will come to an end! YAY!!!

Yesterday

As you all know, yesterday Emily had an upper GI. What you may not know is that she is still nursing. She couldn't eat or drink after 7 am. If you've ever nursed a toddler, you know that the last times they give up are at night and first thing in the morning. I was so hoping she would sleep late and it wouldn't be an issue. We weren't so lucky. She woke right around 7. And she cried, and was so upset that she couldn't have her morning comfort.
By 8, I didn't know what to do to distract her, so knew we needed to get in the car and just drive. So, we did.
We made it down the road when Matthew announced that his eye was hurting. His good eye. He said it felt like it was exploding. Then he told me it felt like something was inside it, eating it. Lovely.
In case you don't know, Matthew has glaucoma in the other eye, and just has funky eye problems that pop up and surprise us.
So, we turned around and went home to get him some Tylenol. When I came back to the van, I thought he had gotten out, because I couldn't see him. He was curled up in pain on the passenger seat. I had never seen him in pain like this from his eyes.
Matt had gone into work, but finished up and came home and came with us to the hospital.
On our way there, we called the ophthalmologist to see if Matthew needed to be seen. Of course, he said yes.
Once we got to the hospital, I took Emmie, and Matt took Matthew and the boys to the ophthalmologist. Thankfully, they are about two doors down the hallway from each other.
I was nervous about the upper GI. But Emily did great. She was frozen and didn't budge the entire time. I had told her she was going to take some medicine. She opened her little mouth like a bird and drank that nasty barium.
All we found out is that yes she is refluxing. We already knew that. The pediatrician is concerned about a hernia being the cause of the reflux. So, I think she'll be scoped in the near future. Just have to wait and see.
As for Matthew, the pain went away, and they said it was probably an ocular migraine. But the pressure was way up in the bad eye. We stayed there for hours while they gave him drop after drop to try to get the pressure down. They never did get it down past 32. He'll see his glaucoma doc in two weeks. For now, though, the pain is gone.
Later I had the privilege of getting my temporary crown put in. It was horrible. I hate the dentist and am always in such pain afterwards. I just wanted to curl into a ball last night and run away from the pain.
Today is a new day, and it's sore, but nothing like yesterday.
I feel totally overwhelmed. We still have the science fair on Friday, the concert on Sunday, Matt is preaching in a different church on Saturday, and the dreaded VCUG is tomorrow. What I really want to do is clean out my house. Shovel out all the clutter. But that takes time, and I don't have a lot of that right now!

Beautiful

I was just checking facebook when I heard Collin hollering to Matt. "WHAT IS THAT BEAUTIFUL SMELL?" Matt didn't hear him.
"DADDY..you HAVE to tell me what that beautiful smell is!"
"Ummm, just dinner"
"Well it's BEAUTIFUL"

Bullet post

I don't know where to go with this post, so maybe I'll do a bullet post. Cause those are always such good reading. Ha!

~ We have been busy. We are having a benefit concert next Sunday at our church. We are raising money for the Pathfinders. They are going to an international camporee this summer in Wisconsin. It's been a lot of work and I'm hoping we earn enough to go.

~ I can't tell you how excited I am for the kids to be going to Osh Kosh (the above mentioned camporee). As a Seventh Day Adventist, sometimes you feel like you are the only SDA out there. I imagine as a kid especially. They are counting on 35,000 Pathfinders being there, and I just think it will be such a great experience for the kids.

~ If you want to donate any money to help the kids get there, you can email me at luckiestmomeveratgmaildotcom.

~ Tomorrow Emily has an upper GI. I'm not looking forward to it. I don't know what I'm hoping for. I'm hoping for nothing to be wrong. If they find nothing, then she will go on to be scoped at a later date. I don't want that. I guess what I'm hoping is that if there is something to be found, it will be found tomorrow.

~ Tomorrow, I'm also getting a crown. I know it sounds lame, but I'm terrified. I hate the dentist and put it off at all costs. I know I'm a chicken, but that's ok.

~ Thursday, Emily has a VCUG. This is a test where they catherterize her and shoot dye into her bladder to see if she has kidney reflux. There are five grades, with five being the worst. Last year she had grade three on both sides. I'm not really hopeful that this will have resolved in a year. It would be nice, but I just think she needs to grow more. This test is awful. I am really really not looking forward to this one. I'm thankful that the upper GI is before the VCUG because after the VCUG it is going to be pure hell to get her to cooperate with any doctors. She is just getting over it from a year ago, now we'll restart the cycle.

~ Friday is the science fair. Dillon has grown his bacteria and discovered that our tv power button has the most bacteria on it. Matthew was growing plants in the garage, but something came and ate them! One by one. Now, what is in our garage?!?! He is now testing to see what environment crickets prefer to live in. Matt has the day off tomorrow so will be helping get their boards together.

~ We are busy. It seems there is barely time to breathe. I keep thinking of what Jim Bob Duggar says, "these are the best days of our lives, and we don't even realize it". It's so true. My kids are growing up way too fast. I tell Matt that after this concert, we have to step back from our commitments. We have to be a family and have time to just hang out as a family.

~ FIFTY-FOUR DAYS TILL DISNEY. Enough said!

~ Oh yeah, I almost forgot this one. We got a letter saying that Zachy qualifies for a wish from Make a Wish. So now we need to figure out what once in a lifetime experience he wants to have. This is much harder than you might think! I don't expect anything to happen quickly, but it's great to know things are indeed moving forward.

One more

I forgot I wanted to add this picture.
Sometimes, I'm amazed at the beauty around me. I have to say, Texas has certainly grown on me.
This was the same day, on the bike path.

Fun in the Sun

It has been so beautiful here. In the upper 70s-mid 80s. Perfect weather.
Sunday, we decided it was time for Zachy to ditch his training wheels. We headed off to the bike path on base. It happens to go by a pond, so we parked there and fed the ducks and turtles for a bit.
By the end of the day, Zachy was able to go little distances. He needs to realize that he needs to keep peddling to make things easier. In due time.

Happy Birthday, Baby

Two years ago, our lives changed, once again.
Emily Jean came to us a tiny, red, screaming ball.
Now she is an adorable, happy toddler.
She is my little helper. She especially loves to take the boys' lunch to the table for them, and to help me fold the laundry.
We've had our struggles with her, but as long as her reflux meds are working, she is such a happy little girl.
Her speech could probably be better, but she gets across what she needs to get across.
She has all of us wrapped around her little finger, especially her brothers.
She is my daughter. I never dreamed I'd have a daughter after four sons. She is so different from them, and I love it. She is such a little mommy to her babies.
Time is passing far too quickly, and at the same time, I can't wait to see what the future holds for her.
One thing is certain, we have been so blessed and our lives are so much better with her in them.
Happy Birthday, Bug..I love you more than you can imagine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We went to a pizza place Saturday night to celebrate her birthday while Matt was in town.



How did I get such a beautiful daughter??



Yummy...birthday cupcake..




We got her a lot of clothes for her birthday. She held every item up for a picture.



Even the shorts!



What a cutie!



She LOVED the play set there.

Alone

Do you ever feel entirely alone in the world?

Like you are the only one going through trials and tribulations? And you can't show yourself to the world, because you have to appear like everyone else?

Do you ever feel like you are the only one who battles internal demons?

I know this is foolish. I know we all have our own battles. It is so hard to see this when you look around and see anything but people fighting battles. I know other people are struggling. I know other people are beyond stressed. I just feel like I'm the only one who isn't strong enough to handle it. I feel weak. I am weak.

I told Matt the other day that I am weak and have absolutely no idea how in the world I have managed to get through my adult life when it has been almost constant stress. Don't get me wrong, we definitely have our non stressful times. Times when we are just flitting through life without a care in the world. But those times seem so overshadowed by the stress we have endured. I am so grateful to have Matt beside me through the good and bad.

I don't know where this post is going, because really, today is a very good day. Not much stress. There are upcoming tests to be done, which will be stressful, but I'll survive.

And I know that ultimately, maybe I'm not as weak as I feel. I've made it this far, that must say something.

OK, ignore this whole post..it is rambly and doesn't make any sense..and today is a good day...it's just been a stressful week.

YAY Maria!!

My friend, Maria, has a little boy born with the same heart defect as Zachy.
She just told me they got their wish granted through Make-A-Wish and will be headed to Disney in April.
I'm so very happy for them...they deserve some carefree time!!

This is not good

Matt is in Ohio for the week. He will return home late Friday night, be home Saturday, and fly out to Arizona on Sunday. Bleh.
I'm exhausted. Just wiped out. I tell you, this is not a good way to start out single motherhood.
And just in case you were keeping track, my sweet little baby will be TWO on March 3. We will have a little family celebration on Saturday when Matt is home. I have no idea what to get for the little darling, and I'm sad there are no friends to share a party with, but it's ok. We'll have our own little shin dig....as long as I don't die from exhaustion first!

Crazy Busy

It's been hard to sit down long enough to write an entry. I'm not sure I'll get through this one either, but I'll try.
School has us very, very busy. We are starting some new things. Matthew and Dillon are participating in the Science Fair this year, so we've been brainstorming. My sister recommended growing bacteria, of course Dillon jumped on that idea. So he will be doing a bacterial experiment of some sort. And Matthew will be growing plants using different types of lights. I'm excited that they are getting this opportunity. I never participated in a science fair, and honestly don't ever remember our school holding one.
We are also taking a stab at lapbooking.

Lapbooking can be done by any learner-- from preschoolers to adults. With this educational method, you make mini-books covering details that you've studied. After making a variety of mini-books about a larger topic, all the books are put together in a large folder. The finished product is called a lapbook because it's large and covers your lap.

The completed lapbook will serve as a review tool as your children refer to it over and over again. And if you have to keep a homeschool portfolio to document learning each year, lapbooks can be a very impressive addition- from http://www.squidoo.com/lapbooking

I've been wanting to try this for years, but it always seemed like so much work. It is not at all. It's fun! I decided that we would learn about Disney World before our trip. So in addition to our regular schooling, we are doing a study of Disneyland (since it was the original). The kids are having a blast with it, and when we are done, I'll post pictures.

The Pathfinders hosted a valentine's banquet at church to help them raise money for Osh Kosh. They raised about $500, but it was an awful lot of work. Matthew told us that night that he was never going to be a pathfinder director because it was too much work. Poor kid!

Emily is doing better after her last med raise. I think, though, that it won't be too awful long before we have to go up again. I cannot believe that her birthday is right around the corner. March 3 will be here soon, and she'll be 2 years old. How did that happen? She has renewed our love for Sandra Boynton books, especially 'Blue Hat, Green Hat'. They have to be the best books ever written. We've also discovered that she is awfully cute in orange! Who wouldda thunk??

Our healthy living group at church is trucking along, and I'm down 9 pounds. It seems to be going soooo slow. It's frustrating. But with the support of the ladies at church, I'm not giving up!

And finally, please keep Zachy in your prayers. He is back to tiring out easily. I hate that. I assume it will be another adjustment to his pacemaker. I just wonder if it will be a life long thing, this tiredness. He is supposed to see his doctor in May, but I'm going to try to get the appointment in April instead since we will be gone most of May.

Phew! That was long, and it took me a very long time to write it. I had to read books and play a game of Candyland during the writing of this post. Thanks for hanging out with me for this long!

CHD Awareness Week

This has been CHD Awareness week, tomorrow is CHD Awareness day.
I'm reposting the information I posted last year.

~~1 in 85 babies in the US will be born with a CHD. This does NOT include the babies who are lost during pregnancy.

~~CHDs are the most common type of birth defect, and the #1 cause of DEATH from a birth defect

~~CHDS are 2 times as likely and kill 2 times as many children as cancer EVERY YEAR

~~ There are 35 known types of CHDs

~~Most Drs believe that CHD is a genetic defect, but new research shows that mothers who take antidepressants and painkillers while pregnant raise the risk of CHD by 3 times.

~~Many children born with a CHD will not live to see their first birthday

~~CHDs are not always found at birth. Some are found years later. And sometimes after death, when it is too late.

~~CHD can NOT be cured. The heart will NEVER be normal. It must be treated for life.

~~Only one penny of every dollar donated to the American Heart Association goes towards pediatric cardiology research.

So many people do not know about CHDs...it doesn't make the news like cancer does. Why is this? The word needs to get out so that research can be done. Zachy's surgery has only been performed for about 40 years. So much can happen in the future, but research needs to be done!!

Hug your children today, and thank God for their hearts...even if they are special hearts.

Just a quick update on Em

For those of you who have been asking, Emily is still struggling.
She went back to the doc yesterday who increased her reflux meds. The doctor is actually doing a gastro rotation right now and talked with the docs there about Emily. They said to increase her meds two more times, and if no improvement to refer her to them so they can scope her.
I really don't want to have to go down the scoping path, so we are praying that the meds will help.
Part of me thinks maybe she is just a difficult child, but then I remember December and part of November and January. She was so pleasant, and happy. It is really easy to get into the thinking that this has always been and probably always will be, because we are talking one and a half months out of 23 that she has been ok.
So there you go, update on Miss Emily.

Warm Fuzzies

As you may or may not know, Matt and I are very involved in children's ministries in our church.
Matt leads the junior class and pathfinders. I float and cover for Kindergarten and Cradle Roll when the need arises and help lead Adventurers. Until this year, we were VBS directors.
We love being involved with the kids.
Today, a family gave us a card and a little gift (ok it was a big gift..one I am still shocked about) and thanked us for being such a good influence on their kids and that they appreciate us and all that we do.
Wow. Someone cares about what we do.
It makes us feel good!

I need more..

hours in the day? days in the week? Something. I need more time. Don't we all though?
This week I dropped my Bible study. I just couldn't do it anymore. I have something going on almost every night of the week, and it was just too much.
But now, I want to add weight watchers. What a foolish idea. If I don't have time for Bible study, how will I have time for WW? Here's my plan. There is a meeting on Tuesday at 6. I have another meeting at church at 7. Maybe I can just do both, and not see Matt much that night. Ugh, I just don't know.
School is going really, really well these days. It is taking us a lot longer than it used to, but it's going well. We've decided to go four months before taking a break, instead of three. Because our first month back would be May, and we'll be gone for two weeks in May.
Once again, I feel like I have much rumbling around in my brain, but just not getting onto the screen well. Oh well.
Emily may have turned another corner. She has had a hard time, which has been hard on me. She was crying all the time again, and that just gets really, really tiring. But they doubled her reflux meds and she finally seems to be doing better. It's only been two days so I hope I'm not jumping the gun. Time will tell!
Thanks for hanging in with me when I disappear for these long periods, I'm just running out of time!

I just really don't want to do anything

I'm tired.
I don't know why. I'm just pooped.
I have things I need to be doing (History lesson with the boys anyone?), and I just don't want to.
I started out today being revved and ready to take on the world. I have no idea where that feeling went. Instead, now I just want to curl up and take a nap.
In Emily news, I hadn't told ya'll that her reflux has been giving her troubles again. And it has been so difficult. The constant crying. The constant nursing. The constant crying.
Took her to the doctor today, fully expecting to be blown off. Last time we were there, the doc said that it wasn't normal for someone her age to still have reflux and if we were still having problems at 2 it was off to the gastro doc we go. So I was just expecting a referral to the gastro, but instead I got an increase in her current meds. We go back in 2 weeks to check the progress. But can I say, "HALLELUJAH!!" Hopefully, this will help things and we can have our happy girl back.
OK, I'm done procrastinating, sort of. I must go teach those kids something from the past. I'm not entirely sure what today's lesson is, but I shall see soon enough.
Oh, and totally unrelated to anything (because that seems to be the theme of this post!) Matt is going backpacking with a bunch of guys from church this weekend. They are going far away, almost to Mexico. I am hoping that he doesn't freeze, cause that would just make me sad.
Keeping up the randomness..how about some pictures?
The kids worked on a cake decorating honor for Pathfinders. Their cakes.





Oh and here's Emily from the Mended Little Hearts Christmas party!

You're not my brother

Overheard the other day.....


Collin, "Zachy you're not my brother, Matthew is"

Zachy, "I am too your brother!"

Collin, "No Zachy, Dillon is your brother. Matthew and me were born with glasses and you and Dillon weren't, so Matthew is my brother and Dillon is yours"

The things these kids think about!

Little Piggies

Yesterday was January 24. Emily will be two on March 3.
I have longed for her hair to grow so I could do something with it. It is growing mullet style. The back is getting quite long. Sides, not so much.
But yesterday...lookie what happened!!


After I put them in, she froze. She wouldn't move from this spot. But then the boys started telling her she was so cute and she finally moved. She kept them in the rest of the day. Of course they fell out a couple times, but she stood still for me to put them back in.



Matt had gone to church early, you should have seen the look on his face when he saw her for the first time! I think he was as excited as me!!



As usual, kids had to pile into a picture with her. And how cute is she, resting her head on Collin's??



As a total aside, the other day we were at the park. I had my camera. Emmie was so funny, she would go somewhere..stop...wait for me to take a picture then move on.

In the market for a new stroller

We are in the market for a stroller.
We know we will have a ton of walking to do at Disney World, and we know that Zachy will not make it.
I think even without his stamina issues he'd have a hard time, but throw in the stamina issues and it's a given.
His activity level is much better these days, but his stamina is still lower than what I would expect.
I find it interesting. I've been conversing with another mom whose son is paced and she says her son also has lower stamina. Her doctor, like ours, seems to think there should be no reason for this. We are beginning to wonder if that is what they say when they don't know. I'm starting to think that he will never been quite as energetic as his counterparts, but that's ok. It is only times like now that it is even an issue.
At any rate, we should be able to get a special pass that will allow us to take a stroller in line with us, making it so we don't have to lug him when he wears out.
So we are looking for a compact stroller, but one that is big enough to hold him.
I don't want to go special needs simply because they are really expensive.
We are currently thinking about a MacLaren stroller and wonder if anyone has experience with them. They are a bit spendy, but I'm thinking it would be quite worth it.
Please let me know if you have any input...if you've never commented..now is the time to do so..I need help!

The Monkey Family Olympics

Last week, the kids learned about the first olympics in Greece.
They learned that the men participated alone, which was good since they competed in the nude.
Can you imagine this? The first olympics consisted of relay races, discuss throwing, high jumps, and javelin throws. In the nude. That's crazy.
So we set out on Sunday to have our own olympic games. Only we were fully clothed.
We went to a park where we had a javelin throw(we used old bamboo tiki torch holders), a discuss throw (frisbee), a relay race (we used sinking water rings), and a long jump.
It was lots of fun, and we decided everyone tied. The prize was a crown (the same sinking water rings) and a whole bunch of fun!
We then piled into the great white to head to Babies R Us. We are in the market for a new stroller. We need something big enough for Zachy at DisneyWorld.
When we pulled Emmie out of the van, we noticed an ant.
I took her into the bathroom and stripped her down. Sixteen stupid fire ant bites all over her torso and arms, and one on her face. The poor thing! She never cried though. What a tough kid.
I'm ending this abruptly because my beloved just got home bringing me flowers. Awww, what a guy!!

One year ago today..

My baby got his first pacemaker.
Our lives changed forever, and yet, not so much.
Zachy's still a normal 5 year old kid.
Sure, we have to be more careful about what he does, and he has a lifetime of surgeries to look forward to, but he is healthy, happy, and normal.
Whatever that is.
I hate that this is part of our lives, but oh so thankful that Zachy is ours and we get to keep him here with us.
I love that boy so much, and am thankful for all the medical advancements that have happened to allow him to live!
We are just so very thankful.

Some people think I'm crazy!

OK, probably a lot of people think I'm crazy. That's ok..I probably am. At least that's what Matt tells me!
Last summer, remember when I was doing all my sewing? Did I ever tell y'all that I was making jammie pants for everyone? I ended up making fourteen pairs of pants for various family members and friends.
I made some for Matthew's best friend, Leanne (for her birthday). Well, Leanne's sister, Clarissa (Dillon's best friend coincidentally) wanted some too. So I said I'd make some for her birthday. Which was yesterday.
So as I was deciding what fabric to use, I found Disney fabrics. So of course I had the brilliant idea to make my kids jammie pants to take to Disney World.
My sister thinks I'm nuts. Matt just thinks I'm me. I don't see anything strange about it at all. Neither did the lady in the fabric department last night. In fact, she thought I was brilliant! I need to get to know that lady!
Anyway, now I need to be cleaning, but I want to be sewing. I know I have to get Clarissa's pants done today to take to her at church tomorrow, but other than that, they can wait.
I just say there can never be enough Disney!!

Hip Hip Hooray!

Matthew had an appointment with the glaucoma doc this morning. His pressure was down! HOORAY!!!
This is such great news. Last med we tried just kind of fizzled out, and it looked like this was going to also. But no! It's still working!
We get six months until the next trip back to see him.
The only downer of the appointment was that Matthew used to be able to make out how many fingers someone was holding up using his right eye. He can no longer do that. He could see the tech's hand waving, but couldn't make anything out. The doc says his eye is very damaged.
In six months they are going to try to do some sort of scan, and if I understand correctly it is to be able to keep track of the damage a bit better. Please correct me if I'm wrong, Papa.
But hooray! The pressure is down and he relatively pain free these days! WOOT!!

How did I survive all of this??

I've been tripping down memory lane, and got to thinking about when Matthew was first born.
The year was 1996, and I was mere 20 years old. We were surprised to find out he had a cleft nose, and later to discover he had a cataract in his right eye.
We were poor. Very poor. Matt worked 3 jobs for quite awhile to make ends meet for us. I had always planned on going back to work after Matthew was born (somehow I didn't know how much daycare cost!) but that would prove impossible, as you will see. This memory simply involves traveling. What it leaves out is the hard time we had with drops, and the terrible things that came with a baby wearing a contact. The good thing I will never forget about this time is how wonderful our family friend and optician, Gary, was to us. I owe that man so much, and will never be able to repay him for all he did for us. I remember many, many times, being in his office, him trying to get a contact in little Matthew's eye. He would always be wearing a sweater, it seems like. It wouldn't take long before he was stripping it off and working in a cooler shirt. He would be sweating up a storm. It was NOT easy, by any stretch of the imagination.
But again..this is about traveling, not those things.

Matthew's eye doctor was a 6 hour drive away. He started seeing him at 2 weeks old. Had his first surgery at one month old. After that, he wore a contact lens in his right eye because they had removed his lens during the first surgery. During his first two years, he would go on to have four more surgeries on his eye.
During the first year, while he wore his contact, we had to go to the doctor every two-three weeks. Well, we were poor and couldn't afford for Matt to take off. We had one car then, so Matt would arrange for people to take him to and from his jobs.
I would drive me and Matthew up there the day before the appointment, spend the night, and come home the next day after his appointment. Sometimes, he would have several appointments with different doctors. On those trips we'd have to stay the night a second night. Many of the appointments were sedated, so that would add another level to it. If they weren't sedated, they would wrap him in a blanket on a papoose board, then use a tiny little speculum to hold his eyelids open while he screamed. These were awful, awful times for me.
OK, so what is crazy to me is...we didn't even have cell phones back then! I would have to wait till I got home, or till that night to be able to call Matt, using a calling card, to tell him what transpired! Often, if I got bad news, I would call my mother-in-law from the hospital pay phone, collect,to tell SOMEONE what had happened.
Also crazy to me is that we toyed with the idea of getting a CB radio. A CB!!! CRAZY!! But there was a mountain pass I had to go over and in the winter it was white knuckle driving. The only reason we didn't get a CB was because we couldn't afford it.
Luckily, Matt was able to be with us for those first surgeries, but nothing else because we just couldn't afford it.
Apropos to nothing, Matthew started having his nose reconstructed when he was 6. He has had 3 surgeries to date on it, Matt has been there for one. The first one, he was in Spain. He was due to be home, but they changed the orders on us, so he was in Spain. The second, he was there for, and the third he was in school, I think it was probably finals week or something. Or else, as usual, we couldn't afford for him to take off from work and pay for a trip.
Somehow, I have managed to do all of this, and survive it! Through the years I have seen more medical procedures done on my children than I thought possible. And I have been there for every one. Holding that sweet child after the procedure.
I don't know how I managed to survive through the early years with Matthew. God was definitely watching out for us.
If I've learned anything through the years, it is that while I may feel weak, I am strong.
I AM A SURVIVOR!

I am so boring!

I know I've been sparse around these parts, I just have nothing to say.
We've started back to school for a couple weeks now and it's been..well..rough. I don't know why. Maybe wintertime blues. Who knows. But no one, including me, is into it yet. Hopefully, soon, we'll be back in the swing of things. Otherwise, one of us might lose their minds!
I also started a weight loss support group at church. Because, you know, I can never have enough to do! I lost a couple pounds last week, which is better than nothing, but dang is it hard work. I did really well until the weekend hit. I just really do not know how to get through the weekends with Matt here. Will power is not my forte and he likes to eat! I did order a Richard Simmons video though to help with that. Hey...don't laugh! I love me some Richard!! Plus, they are relatively easy and I am in horrible shape! Anyway, I can't wait to get it.
I don't quite know why I'm even writing. I have nothing at all to say. Oh hey, how about this..I'll share a code with you!!
Until January 20, you can get a photobook from Hoorray.com for just shipping. Even their most expensive ones. Well, up to the $35 one. I have to say, Shutterfly is MUCH easier to use, but you can't beat the price! The code you enter is bzzalbum. I hope someone gets to use this! I just ordered mine last night, and am looking forward to receiving it!
OK that's it. Nothing else to say. Boring I am!!

The Kingdom calls!

We've made our reservations and will be arriving at the Magic Kingdom on May 2. We will stay 12 days and visit the parks for 10 of those days. All this made possible by the awesomeness of being military. If you are military and don't know, right now you can get 40% Disney resort rooms. And free 5 day passes for the active member with companion tickets for $99 each. If you aren't military they are doing a buy 4 nights get 3 free deal.
I have spent countless hours researching our options and planning this trip. Last night it hit me.
There is a bigger Kingdom calling me. A better Kingdom. And I need to be spending as much time researching It as I have been researching the Magic Kingdom.
Paul told the Corinths that they had been given all the tools they need while they eagerly await the return of Jesus.*
Friends, we have those tools. We have all we need to get to the Kingdom, but we have to spend time in the Word. We need to eagerly be waiting for the return of Jesus, and our trip to the Kingdom.
I know it is so much easier to focus on going to the magic kingdom because it is sooner (maybe!). But I must keep my eyes turned heavenward. I must have the Kingdom in the front of my mind. I must focus on the Heavenly Kingdom.

*1 Corinthians 1-4.

School starts tomorrow

Just a little fun to start your year off right!

Oh the fun we have!

We are home safely. We had a totally uneventful drive. And a good vacation.
We spent the first half in a town just west of Dallas where we did lots of fun Christmasy stuff and spent lots of time in the pool and hot tub. Oh how I miss the hot tub! I think I may need one!
The second half was spent in Missouri with Matt's brother and sister-in-law and their kids. Good times were had by all. The adventure there happened when their heat went out. It was out nearly the entire time we were there. Gina blames me, rightfully so I suppose. Before going to visit she had told me it was very cold in Missouri. I joked about us not being able to go up there, and asked her how their heat was. She told me it was just fine, and to quit being such a wuss. We get there, the heat goes out. Clearly, my fault. Although, perhaps she was just trying to toughen me up, and perhaps the heat wasn't out at all. It was one big joke. OK, not really, I saw the heating men there with my own two eyes, so it must have been legit.
We baked lots of cookies and ate way too much, but it was fun.
We arrived home on Friday night. That's when the adventure began!
The kids had slept a lot on the way home, so of course they were all wide awake when we got home.
Because everyone went to bed so late, we were late getting to church. It was my week to work in the kitchen, and Matt was leading the song service. He had asked Matthew to watch Emmie while we did our duties. Emmie was spinning in a chair and fell off and hit her face on a metal folding chair. She knocked two of her capped teeth out of alignment. There was blood everywhere and she was screaming bloody murder. We raced home to call the dentist. After talking with her, we decided there wasn't anything more that could be done, but that we would go in for x-rays today.
She has swelled a bit and I noticed her nose was out of alignment now.
The x-rays revealed that her root was fractured and also the bone that holds the teeth has a hairline fracture in it. Nothing can be done, and it's just a waiting game to see if the teeth die. If they die they will have to pull them, so we are praying hard that they stay alive.
Today the teeth are still loose, so we know she hit pretty hard. Thankfully though, she has caps. They told me if the caps weren't there her teeth would have broken right off at the gums.
I think I have been more worried about this than I realized because tonight I am absolutely beat. Not sleepy, just physically exhausted.
Collin had an ophthalmology appointment today and they discovered he is seeing 20/30 corrected now. So that is great. The other doc had said his eyes had gotten worse, but today they said no. YIPPEE!!
Tomorrow night we are having an agape feast at church and I'm apparently in charge of it. Didn't realize that till today, so it's been last minute rushing about to get things done.
I think I need another vacation!!

What has happened to the Monkey's??

So after my last entry we all proceeded to get sick. It hasn't been fun in these parts.
It's starts out innocent enough...just a cough. You don't even feel bad, you just cough. And it's lovely, you cough up phlegm. But alas, you just cough.
But then, oh my lands, it hits you. And it plows you down like the snow plows that are undoubtedly plowing in other parts of the country.
It comes with a nice high fever (104 in my kids) and aches and pains. And sleepless nights because of the endless hacking.
And. if you are particularly lucky, it all changes into pneumonia like it did for poor Zachy.
The very worst part of all of this is that we are leaving tomorrow for vacation. Friends, the Monkey Family never goes on vacation, and we were so looking forward to this break from reality.
But, we will forge on. We will pack our family up along with a plethora of cough meds and antibiotics and throat lozenges. We will brave this illness and be determined to have a good time. And we will SUCCEED!!
I think this may be possible because I think we are all on the downhill side of this. Everyone except Matt, who is just coming into it. Poor thing.
While I'm forcing us to have a good time, I won't have computer access. We are old school folk who don't have a laptop. But I want to take this opportunity to wish every one of you a very, merry Christmas. I hope you all enjoy your families this year and please don't forget the reason for the season. Our wonderful savior, Jesus Christ. May God richly bless you this season.
I'll see you on the flip side!

This is me, at 33.

Yesterday was my birthday! I'm thirty-three now. And it seems a significant number. You only get those doubles every eleven years. This coming year will be special for Dillon since it will be his first ever double!
At any rate, I've decided, this is the year I vow to truly love me.
I looked in the mirror the other day, and I saw something unfamiliar.
I saw stretch marks that are the reward for the five biggest accomplishments of my life.
I saw saggy breasts that sag from years of not only nourishing, but comforting those five children I love so much.
I saw extra pounds packed on during the most stressful of times. Made stressful simply because I love these people so deeply. To watch others go through what my kids go through wouldn't affect me nearly as much.
I saw dark circles under my eyes. They were the result of little sleep. I had been up the night before nursing a sick Emily. They spoke of love to me.
The very best thing I saw was wrinkled creases at my eyes. Crows feet. But guess what. When I frowned and made a face I might make while crying, they weren't there. In fact, there were no wrinkles there. However, when I smiled, and laughed, they were. This is proof to me that my life is much more about laughter and smiles than about frowns and sorrow.
I looked deeper. I saw a heart that should be burst right open. I can't describe how much love is bursting out of my heart. Both my love for others, and their love for me. I must be the luckiest person alive!
I saw compassion. I saw a person able to empathize with many in a way most people cannot. Not because I'm so much better, but because I've been there.
I saw a mature woman.
My mom said this would happen when I turned thirty, but no. It's happening now.
I'm learning that I don't have to be perfect. I don't have to look perfect. Those that matter love me no matter what. And I'm so glad.
Yes, this is my year. I may not lose all this weight. I may not be the perfect mom. I may not be the perfect wife.
But I will be me. And I will love me.