My Daily 5 ~ #6

368. our funny Diamond puppy, who's not a puppy anymore - she just turned 2!

369. just being able to sit and visit with my husband about nothing in particular

370. having a job where I am close to my kids

371. sour dough bread (yum!)

372. knowing I get to sleep in

Every Day

Every day he does this... well, nearly every day.

Jumping up and down on the trampoline.

Here I think he dreams of the future. He's gonna be an NBA superstar, don't ya know?

He dribbles and jams and hoops and plays.

I heard him out there today and grabbed my camera cuz' someday it won't be that way. He'll be all grown up and gone and possibly dreaming of the carefree days when he just jumped.

Oh the Sickness...

Oy! I just want it to go away!

It started with Elisha complaining of a sore throat the night of his birthday. It was just before bed time, so I sent him to bed without a second thought. He woke up the next morning complaining it hurt to swallow. When I peeked down his throat it was barely pink, no cause for alarm, but I let him stay home anyway since he was in obvious pain. By all accounts he acted normal except for the fact that he had a hard time swallowing. He knocked out all of his schoolwork by the end of the day and was wanting to play outside he was so bored of being inside all day.

Wednesday came and his throat looked a little red, still not real cause to worry (or so I thought) no fever, energy level still high, but only wanted soft foods to eat. Another day at home, another day where he finished all of his school work before the end of a normal school day, and another day chomping at the bit to do anything but be cooped up inside all day.

Then Thursday came.... You know I guess I should have googled strep throat or something prior to assuming he didn't have it. On Thursday his throat was swollen red and scratchy and he could barely swallow. I called the doctor at 7 am and they "squeezed" us in at 11 am. It's crazy how fast the doctor's appointments fill up for the day. They confirmed that he had strep and we started medication right away. Poor guy suffered for a bit before Yohn and I got our heads on straight and got him in to a doctor. Ah well, I blame it on the fact that he had no fever and acted completely normal. 

Then Friday night Bethany starts complaining of a sore throat. Great. That means I had to find a doctor for her that was open on the weekend first thing Saturday morning. Poor thing woke up with a bright red throat and a 102.3 fever. Thankfully we were able to get her in right away.

So I had two kids on meds to remember to give to them morning and night... yeah, that went over well for the first few days but then we all started forgetting. I would have to bring the meds to school or grab them from bed in order to stay on top of it. Thankfully we are done with that. Personally though I think Bethany got the raw end of the deal with the strep throat. Elisha stayed home from school four days, never had a fever, and had a normal energy level. Bethany got sick on the weekend, was better by Monday (so no missed school), had a fever and was incredibly lethargic.

THEN Tuesday rolls around and I start feeling like my allergies are bothering me. By noon I had a fever and decided to come home. And that's where I was all week. Home with a fever, stuffy nose and headache, no enegery and sleeping all. day. long. It sort of went away Friday, I felt good on Sunday but then relapsed on Monday. I made it through Tuesday, tired, but okay. Wednesday the same thing. I finally looked up how to treat a sinus infection (but we don't have the best insurance and pay a nice co-pay every time so I avoid it if I can) and learned about the apple cider vinegar treatment. That stuff is awful, but it helped, believe it or not. My stuffy head cleared enough for me to sleep well that night.

Today, I'm still low on energy but moving forward, after almost two weeks of the horriblest cold I've ever had. Too bad tomorrow is Monday, cuz' I'd love to stay home and rest again. Or maybe even clean my house, as I'm sure you can imagine what it looks like!

Saying Goodbye, and Saying Hello

Last month our fourteen year old dachshund-beagle mix Tonka passed away in his sleep. We know it was coming because he was not acting right in the week leading up to his passing. His health was also failing him. Being a long bodied dog he injured his back several years ago swimming in a pond of all things, and had health issues ever since. The vet anticipated him needing a high cost surgery that we could never afford and we never expected to have him as long as we did.

Tonka was definitely a rascal, and we have so many stories of him, mostly good, but some that would make you wonder why we kept him as long as we did. Ornery or not he was still part of our family and has been missed. Sometimes on a sunny day when I come in the yard I expect to see him all sprawled out with his legs in the air enjoying the sunshine. Silly dog.

Saying good bye to him opened a door for us to say hello to this little ball of energy!

Say hello to Diamond! She was seven weeks old when we got her and yes, that's how big she is at seven weeks! She is now twelve weeks old and keeps us on our toes. She has also gained six pounds and grown about four inches since we got her. She's mastered "sit" and is mostly house broken. 

(Hmmm... Not sure why the edited picture is not showing up. Please ignore the background and the things on the couch... okay?)

Diamond is a black lab mix, a dog Yohn has dreamed of having since he was a kid. She's fit right in and although our lives have become that much crazier with her in it. She's definitely brightened our days.

Ouch.

Tonight we went to see a friend in the hospital. Great idea right? I mean, we're supposed to go see our friends when they are sick. Yeah, apparently not such a great idea for Elisha. After seeing Auntie Sandy with all her wires and stuff he started acting a little weird. I mean kinda strange and quiet. I just thought he didn't know what to think so I went on talking to Sandy. And then all of a sudden... Boom! We look over and Elisha has fainted on the floor, face first. A doctor happened to be walking by and rolled him over and gave him a quick check. At first he suspected a seizure then said he must have just fainted. Poor boy. It was kinda scary.

So yeah, now he's at home watching a movie. He had an ice pack on his face for a little bit but now we've put that back in the freezer. It looks like he's A-okay except for the bruised face. Best I can figure, he didn't handle seeing Sandy like that. We watched the movie Letters to God a months ago and he had nightmares about it. I mean it really bothered him. So now we know no hospital visits for a while.

Bethany has been hovering around him getting things for him and putting on his favorite movie The Karate Kid. It's been so cute to watch her with him.

I've always known our boy was really sensitive, but this has surprised me a little. First the movie and now this. But you know, I really think God is gonna use it someday. I guess I'll just have to pray that He keeps Him from fainting while he's ministering to the sick or injured :)

Cheerleader

For as long as I can remember I've had a kind of aversion to cheerleaders (let me just stop and say here that I mean no offense to anyone who is or has been a cheerleader, just stating an opinion). I mean, I'm not the girly girl, jump up and down prissy sorta gal. Sorry, but that's just not me. In school I was quiet and conservative and never really felt the need to jump up and down and cheer. And honestly some of those cheers really annoyed me.

Now I'm an adult and get a little put off by professional cheerleaders. I recognize they work hard to know their routines and the things they can do really are amazing. But I just hate hearing the comments guys make to these less than half dress woman jumping around during a game. Ugh!

The other morning I was praying for an attitude change with my husband. Lately I've noticed I've let things slip in the things I say to him and I am bringing him down instead of building him up more often than not. As I was praying I was really trying to avoid saying I wanted to be my husband's cheerleader. It's the last thing I would naturally describe myself as. But then God showed me something I had never really seen before, I had just never put two and two together. Men are not just attracted to cheerleaders for their great bodies and their bubbly attitudes. They are attracted to the fact that someone is cheering for them. That even when they are losing and life gets tough or they are just facing a really hard moment in their life, that their CHEERLEADER is going to be there saying "Go Babe! Go! You can do this! You're a bigger man than that! Hold your head high! You're doing great!" My husband needs me to be his cheerleader. I need to take those pom poms and cheer him on, even when he's down 10-1.

What about you? Are you your husband's cheerleader?

September 11 Tribute

I saw this on GodTube yesterday. In some ways I can't believe nine years have already gone by, but what have we learned from it.

Where were you when you heard the news. I was four months pregnant with our son, riding in the car on the way to work listening to a Christian radio station. One of the morning dj's came on in tears as she recounted what had so recently taken place. I remember not being far from the radio all that day, and our tv station tuned into news most of the evenings. Watching waiting for updates, praying for survivors and that God still had his hand on our country. Wondering if now was a such a good time to bring a baby into this world (please don't mistake this for me thinking I was getting an abortion, it was nothing like that). We have come a long ways since that day, but may we never forget...

Moments...

There are moments when my children come crashing through the house yelling and screaming at the top of their lungs...

There are moments when my kids scratch, bite, and pinch each other and it seems I can do nothing to stop them...

There are moments when they are rude, whiny, and sarcastic depite what they have been taught...

There are moments when they just can't seem to control themselves and anger or tears always end up being the end result...

There are moments when one of my kids gets hurt and all they want is to climb in my lap for me to make it all better...

There are moments when they climb into bed with me for an early morning snuggle...

There are moments when my children are triumphant in what they put their minds to do and I can celebrate in their victory...

There are moments when there are giggle wars with uncontrollable laughter that just cannot be contained...

There are moments when a simple "I love you" from one of them is what I really needed to hear...

There are moments I've already forgotten about and some I will treasure forever...

Dear Lord,

Help me to live these moments with my kids, each and every one of them. Help me not to be distant, not to be so involved in my own world that I forget about theirs. Help me to reach them at their level and point them to you in times of hurt, pain and confusion, but also in times of joy and celebration. Help me to push them, help me to encourage them, help me to teach them, talk to them, motivate them. But most importantly, Lord, help me to love them as deeply as you do.

Amen

The Fear Factor

Okay, so yesterday while we were at Water World I was thinking about fear. Well, not thinking about fear exactly, like I wasn't breaking it down and examining it, I was actually the one afraid. Okay, so I wasn't at first, it was Elisha who started it. Let me explain this a little better, instead of rambling, maybe I should start at the beginning, huh?

We decided to go on this ride called the Big Kahuna. Everyone could go on it as it was one ride Bethany was tall enough for. I wish I had taken a picture but basically it's this five story high terror slide water slide that twists and turns all the way down. Everyone piles into a raft and as you go down it sloshes from side to side taking you up and down as it winds its way around drenching you completely before you get to the bottom. Saying I disliked this ride is a gross understatement. I absolutely hated it, every single second of it.

Back to the beginning... again. I said yes, to this going on this ride for two reasons, 1) My kids had never been here before and really wanted to try it and 2) Because I had forgotten how much I despise rides like this and I made a decision while my brain must have been out on a lunch break.

Now on the way up as we climbed higher and higher waiting in line our son started having a minor break down. Apparently he does not like heights so much or something because he kept questioning the integrity of the structure the water slide was built on. Why is this made of wood? Wouldn't metal have been much better because it's so much stronger? What if I fall backwards down the stairs, would I die? If the rails break and I fall will I die? I'm going to stand on the platforms while you stand on the stairs because I don't think the stairs are very safe. Would you catch me if I fall? What if we slip right off the side while we're on the raft? And so set the mood for our ride. Bethany of course was elated and couldn't stand the wait. We had to keep reminding her to stay where we were and quit trying to cut in line.

So there I am telling myself when I rode this several years ago it wasn't so bad. No big deal. Just sliding down the slide on a raft into the pool of water waiting at the end. I could do this, the kids wanted to go and I did not want to wait for eons at the bottom just for them to go on it. So I stood in line and listened to Elisha and his fears and tried to help calm him, because you know as a good mommy we want our children to face their fears. And because I knew it was fairly safe what a great time to do it with us by his side. However, secretly I was right there with him. Okay so I wasn't questioning the integrity of the structure or the fact that I would most certainly plummet to my death that day (although I was beginning to think it was possible). Nope as I stood there watching the other riders on their journey southward I began to remember the ride for what it was. And I began to dread the travel down more and more as we got closer and closer.

Well, so once at the top Elisha is now thrilled and can't wait to ride and I'm wishing I can bolt. I hate these rides, I am not a thrill seeker, at least when I am not in control. I do not like roller coasters, I do not like normal water slides that are several stories high and leave you with a wedgie and I did not like this ride. Just watching the other riders brought back memories of when I rode it the last time. What was I thinking? I was being a good mommy and facing her fears for the sake of her fearful child that's what I was doing. I'm glad I was wearing sunglasses that's all I can say because I had my eyes scrunched at tight shut as they would go the entire way down and neither my adventurous daughter nor my semi-adventurous son could see it. My husband on the other hand laughed all the way down because I was the one getting soaked.

Fear, it's a funny thing isn't it? Elisha was scared the whole way up and then loved the ride itself. He would do it again, he said, even though the stairs are kind of scary. I was scared not enjoying the ride down but managed to be just fine at the end. And listening to how much the kids really enjoyed it, even though I hated it, made it worth every second... as long as I don't have to go again.

Fear, we can pull through it we try. If we venture out we just might find there is something much more wonderful on the other side. Fear, God says to lay aside our fears and to trust Him with our lives. Because when we do there's something much more beautiful than we could ever have imagined... just above those scary "unsafe" stairs... just beyond those frightening twists and turns... just outside our fears.