Thankfulness

On Friday 20 six and seven year olds were shot while they were at school. It is such a tragic event but one that our country is seeing happen more and more frequently. In the last couple days I have seen posts on Facebook of people who have pulled their kids out of school, and others who are crying as they drop their kids off at school today. I am thankful for our lifestyle each and every day but today really just brings out how thankful I am. I am so thankful that a few years ago we had a major lifestyle change. While we are never sure where a tragic event may happen, I am thankful that we changed our lifestyle. Most of the shootings lately have been in malls, schools, and theaters. While you never know where a bad event may happen, I feel safer knowing that we just don't frequent places such as these. I am so thankful that I have a loving and supportive husband who understands my need to homeschool and supports every aspect of that. I am thankful for each and every moment I have with my children whether good or bad. I am thankful for being able to control my children's environment and to know who they are with and what they are subjected to. I am thankful that my children can pray and talk about God in their school. I am thankful that my children are free to be who they are and not be forced to sit at a desk. I am thankful that my children have friends of all ages and have the opportunity to communicate with people of all ages, not just peers their own age. I am thankful for all the flexibility that homeschooling offers.

Week in review

Well, this last week has been interesting. Squeeks doesn't want to take naps anymore. I do put her in her room at least an hour a day but she just uses that time to destroy her room. The rest of the day she terrorizes the house. I feel like all I do is run around putting her in time out, making her clean messes, clean messes myself, do regular household chores, take her off counters and other things she has climbed on, and so on. Every single day I am exhausted but have nothing to show for it. Thank goodness for great computer games that I can use to teach the older kids, because doing book work has been impossible with Squeeks around. Thank goodness this is just a stage! While it is a very annoying stage, it is also an incredibly adorable stage. She is coming up with new words and things every single day. She is using the potty like 40 times a day it seems. She is saying 3-4 word sentences such as "I wan sit there" or "I wan go pawee" I just love to hear the new things coming from that adorably cute little voice. And oh the new things she can do! Such as: Pushing chairs around so she can climb on anything she wants, using step stools, trying to pour her cup into her sister's, pouring water out of the bathtub, stealing other's food, taking her clothes off, attempting to put her clothes back on, and so on.

This week we started going back to the Y. It is so incredibly important for the kids to be in the pool and I am so sorry that I have gotten away from that these last few months. It sure feels good to be back there, if only that it is a couple hours I don't have to be picking up messes! Squeeks is a swimming fool! She loves that pool even more than the other two did at this age. Mo of course loved being back in and just took off to the other end of the pool. Although at first she forgot that you only need to take the swim test once each day. So she would do the test, go jump off the diving board, swim back and say "I'm taking the test" and do it again. Since Tara (the lifeguard) and I were talking and not paying attention, it took like 5 or 6 swim tests before we realized what she was doing. It was pretty funny. Bubba just has a thing with the Y pool. He can swim across any other pool but not the Y one. I think it is a mental block just cause he has been in that pool since he was a baby and has the mentality of "I can't go in the deep end." The first day he tried and tried. Every single time he would stop and grab the wall. Sometimes 5ft off the wall cause he needed to talk or ask Tara a question. Other times it was at the half way mark. We tried everything we could to get him to swim the whole pool. Even told him if he went half way and then back without touching the wall that it would be the same and he could then go off the diving board. Even that didn't work. When it was time to go, he was distraught. He was crying, mad, and didn't want to get dressed to leave. I promised we would be back the next day to try again. The next day a good friend, swim teacher and swim coach was the lifeguard. Bubba was having the same problem. Some of it was loss of stamina from a few months away from the pool but mostly it was confidence. Seeing that, Keith gave him a 1 bubble belt. The belt didn't really do much for him except build the confidence. He swam the pool right away, and went off the diving board. In order to go again, he had to go without the belt. He still "couldn't" go the whole way so he did half way and back. He was so happy to be going off the diving board!

On Wednesday the kids had a performance at AU music class. It was very cute. Bubba danced and sang, Mo played the malletts. They were very proud of it and excited that dad took his lunch break at that time so he could come watch.

Mo also had her first Occupational Therapy appointment. Of course it went well and she had a blast.

Then we all got sick....A stomach bug consumed us all. Thank goodness it was just a quick 24-36hr thing but as I type Daddy still isn't feeling well. He is on day two and appears to be getting worse, not better. At least everyone is healthy again and Mo didn't miss seeing the Nutcracker. Mimi took her to see it today and since it was her first time, it was a huge deal to her. So thankful she didn't have to miss it! She got a new outfit from Grandma P. to wear, and went through mommy's jewelry boxes to find matching jewelry. She ended up with Grandma R's clip on earrings & brooch for her hair, and mommy's necklace. She felt super special and beautiful!

Crazy Day

Yesterday was such a crazy day! Squeeks is fully into the terrible twos now. Well, she has been for a few weeks but yesterday was by far the worst. I could not take my eyes off of her for two seconds it seemed. The first 4 hours of the day were full of her wanting to potty train, many accidents, poopy diaper taken off and once even pooping on the floor (i assume) and coming to me carrying her poop in her hands. After that incident I decided we were done with potty training for the day. Which of course she wasn't happy about at all. Thank goodness I had a onesie that still fit because it is the only piece of clothing that she cannot remove.

Later on in the day we had some "fun" events like her buttering the potato & onion wooden holder. This was while I thought she was eating a snack and I could have a couple minutes to rotate the laundry. Next thing I know Bubba is yelling that she was smearing butter all over. Of course I made her stand there with me and help clean it all up. Since there are words carved into the lid it was quite the mess! It was like she was trying to fill the lines up with butter or something. It was a good thing that I was in a good mood bacause otherwise I wouldn't have handled this day well. But since I was in a good mood I knew this one couldn't go without pictures. So we took pictures before cleaning.

In the afternoon I decided it was time for a bath. She wanted one, needed one, and I figured that I could maybe finish rotating that laundry. So I run the bath, put her in, fold the laundry and start putting it away. No more than 45 sec after I walk in that hallway to put some clothes away I hear water splashing. I run back to see what's going on and she is dumpin cup fulls of water on the floor as fast as she can. You would think that after a couple kids I would know not to leave a cup in there but I forgot. So, very quickly bath time was over.

Although we had MANY mishaps yesterday and it made my day drag on so bad, and no one got a single thing accomplished, I am very happy that she is a healthy kid who is vibrant and full of life. even if that means a little craziness. Phil had a rough day at work as well so we did something we haven't done in at least a year. We had pizza pizza for dinner, and not the take and bake kind. True delivery pizza. The kids were so excited about that.

The other two kids enjoyed their lazy day yesterday and today. Nick has a cold and is resting and mo is resting as well.

Monday Memories

Today my mom is off work cause she is in between jobs. She babysat Bubba and Squeeks while I took Mo to Physical Therapy. She planned to take them somewhere.
     Nick said "I bet she will take us to Chuck E Cheese."
     Mo said "No, she won't go without me."
     I said "I seriously doubt you will go there so don't get your hopes up."
Fast forward 4 hours. I call mom to let her know we are on our way home. No answer. Twenty minutes later I call again. She answers. Guess where she is....Chuck E Cheese! She says "Somehow we just happened to end up here!" Sometimes I think my mom likes that place just as much as the kids do.

Physical Therapy is going so good for Mo. She loves her therapists. Today the therapist discovered that one leg is longer than the other. She put in an insert and when Mo walked with it in, she didn't turn her foot inwards. Such great news that an insert could solve some of her problems! Hopefully the Orthopedic doctor will get the order sent in soon so we can have the mold done and get the insert soon.

Blog to book?!

OK, so I just found out that you can turn your blog into a book! I have always had so many things that I would like written down in a book for my children to read when they are older. I have so many thoughts, quotes, funny memories, and many other things written on my computer, blog, scraps of paper, Facebook, and who knows where else that I want remembered. Who knew that I could write them here and have them printed in a nice book?! Well, apparently not me!!! But now I know. And now I think I will finally take the blog thing seriously. Now I will add more pictures, quotes, and funny memories.

New adventures

We are embarking on some new adventures! You all know my motto "Everything happens for a reason and only God knows that reason", Right? Well, here is more proof of that...

Eight weeks ago Mo woke up with knee pain. Apparently she had fallen off her bike that day but didn't bother to tell me cause it wasn't bad (scuffed the pants, but not her skin). Thought it was coincidence and probably just some growing pains. Two weeks later I decided it was time to call the doctor just to double check. The x-ray didn't show any injury so the doc said to call if it was still hurting in a week. One week later we were back for another exam. This time we were referred to the Orthopedic doctor. Since we had previously been there for Squeek's hips and Mo's fractured thumb we knew this was the right step. So we say our Orthopedic doc the next week, then MRI the week after. MRI results showed soft tissue contusion and swelling. The doctor ordered Physical Therapy.

A few days after the MRI, Mo was on the computer. After a few minutes she came and asked if she could borrow my glasses cause the letters were blurry (she was using a typing program). So, of course I called and got the kids in for eye exams. During the eye exam, Mo had a really hard time. She couldn't tell us even half of the letters, even when the doctor pointed to them individually. Reading a sentence or a paragraph was the same way. After a very lengthy exam the doctor finally diagnosed Mo with a visual perception disorder called Convergence Insufficiency. The doctor said that she needs vision therapy but that many insurance companies do not cover it.

After a few days the order for Physical Therapy came in the mail.While looking over the paper I notice the option for Occupational Therapy. Guess what's under Occupational Therapy? Visual Perception Therapy!!!

When they called to set up the Physical Therapy, I asked them about the other therapy. They said that the do bill insurance for it and that they don't foresee any issues with getting it covered. So, I called the pediatrician and left a message explaining what had happened. I received a call back to clarify and then a second call a few minutes later saying that the doctor had sent over orders for Occupational Therapy.  What a blessing!

Today Mo had her Physical Therapy evaluation and they could barely get her knee to hurt at all. However, she does have a good amount of weakness in her leg, over-extension in the other leg, and turns one foot inwards. I know that she did not have the foot or over-extension problems a couple years ago so I have no idea when those became an issue. Thank goodness for the knee injury which sent her to therapy so that we would discover these other issues, and discover that we can get Occupational Therapy! It is so amazing how God has a plan for everything, even when you have no idea why it is happening,

While I am extremely thankful for the way things have turned out so far, I am still worried about some things. There is still a fear that for some odd reason the insurance will not cover the vision therapy. The second worry is finding an ongoing sitter. Mo will be having therapy at least one day a week (and that's if I can get both therapies on the same day). For these appointments they need me present so that I can learn new exercises and such to do with her at home. Since many therapy tools are toys, they are pretty strict about siblings not attending (especially with small kids). I am praying that God will lead us to someone who will be willing to help us with childcare while I attend these appointments with Mo. It would be so much easier if I could afford to hire someone, but as it is, the gas money to get to and from all these medical appointments is going to be a stretch. In the midst of these appointments, we also have yearly check-ups for the younger two and Squeek's last (hopefully) Orthopedic appointment for her hip dysplacia. These doctors offices are between 25 and 75 minutes away so the gas adds up quickly.

So, to wrap this up....We are extremely thankful for good doctors and a God who meets our needs before we even know our needs. We trust that he will provide the rest of our needs in this situation and that it will all work out. Please pray for us as we go through this. Thanks!

Oh, and Mo needs to have a consult with a Orthodontist and Kayla needs a new Allergist since insurance is refusing to let us continue to see the one we have been seeing. These are other things that I just can't even think about dealing with right now, but hope to soon.

2 years since last post....WOW.

Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted here in almost two years. That is CRAZY!! I would love to say this is a post to update everyone on the last two years, but it isn't. Well, okay, I will do a short and sweet update, then write another post on what I actually got on here to write about.

In the last two years we have had these things happen:
5 Months of unemployment

Baby born with hip dysplacia requiring trips to an orthopedic doctor. (Last appt will be next week. If all is still well then we should be good and not need any surgery, thus she will be declared healed.)

Job with CRAZY hours that only lasted a few weeks cause we couldn't deal with the daily changes.

Next job was great till the paychecks started bouncing. Can't really have a job not knowing if your paycheck will really be there or not.

Next job lasted awhile but they booted him out shortly after hearing that he was attending school. While this was a blessing and freed up more time for school & family, it was a financing stress. I went and got a job working in the Walmart meat department for a couple months while Phil did his summer term of school. After that he went and got a job. While that time was very stressful it was a huge blessing because the financial strain forces you to trust in God for your needs. It was through God's blessings that we made it through with donations, random checks in the mail, and help from family. We were blessed time and time again.

When Phil went to go look for a mechanic position they told him that they actually wanted him to be a "breakdown coordinator" in their office. This is the perfect job for him as he was wanting to transition into an office position. He was going to school with the hopes of one day leaving the mechanic industry. As of now he has been working in an office for a couple months and he LOVES it! Everything that we have gone through these last 6 months has all just gone to show us even more that God has a plan for each and every moment in our lives.

QUICK update on kids:
Mo is now 7yrs old, in 2nd grade, has done swim team the last two summers, and also did 4H this summer as well.
Bubba is turning 5 this week, is in Kindergarten, beginning to read, and is really good at addition. He also did the swim team this summer although he realized that he does not enjoy swimming as a sport. We hope to try out baseball next spring
Squeeks was just barely born when I last posted....She is now about to turn 2 years old. She is full of energy, loves to babble, sing, play with babies, and loves doggies (stuffed ones). Her two years has been full of hives and trying to figure out what caused them. Turns out that she is allergic to wheat, oats, apple, berries, melon and cucumber. We are so glad to know what caused her misery and we have eliminated all those foods. We do still need more testing to confirm some things and to find if there are more allergies due to still occasionally having hives, but for the most part we have this allergy thing under control.

Well, that should catch some things up a bit. Sorry it wasn't more informative.