30 Candles are on my Cake!

Today is my 30th birthday! It's hard to believe that my 20's are already over...which is a sad thought. The 20's were really a great decade of life for me. I graduated college, got my first "real" job, got engaged, got married, built our first home, bought our second home, traveled to lots of fun places together, had three beautiful babies, and lots of other normal but blessed days in between. How can the 30's top all of that? I think the 20's are so great because it is a season of first!

I told Kevin today that the 30's make me think of growing kids, growing bellies, and growing older. Doesn't sound as exciting to me. I am sure there is still lots to look forward to!

We have had a busy but great day. Kev worked a short day and we picked him up and we all went to have Christmas pictures made. Stress! I never understood that until I had kids! Ella ans Eliza actually did well, but we had a long wait...which throws things off. Eliza was ready to nap by the time we got started!

We were waiting and I heard one of the photographers talking about how bad she felt and she even said she was running a fever!!!! I was being nosey and listening to their conversation and of course my ears perked up when I heard that!!! I thought....oh great...watch...she'll get us! And sure enough about two minutes later she said, "Julie." I wasn't sure what to do! Do I tell her that I overheard her say she was sick? Do I ask her for a diff. photographer? Do I leave?? After having two sick kids that are finally well...I might go to drastic measures to keep them well! I've even thought about screening the kids in the church nursery for runny noses, fever and coughs...before I let ella play! Just kidding, but the thought did cross my mind! So back to today....I am not one to create a scene...so I went with it and prayed over and over that those germs wouldn't land on us! We sanitized a few times too!

We left there and ate an early lunch at my favorite restaurant. Tonight we are going on a date all by ourselves! We are going to see the the movie The Blindside. I cannot wait. This will be our first alone date since April...I think! We are so excited! We are going all out with popcorn, candy and a big diet coke! We are so adventurous, you know! We said we might sit down and just sleep! I can't wait to not have any responsibilities for a few hours!

So here's to the beginning of a new decade of my life!

Sharing Joy at Christmas!

When I think about the kind of women I want my little girls to grow up to be...
I think of :
wholesome
kind
sharing
giving
hospitable
generous
classy
sincere
caring
pure
loving
and I guess the list could continue. I really do desire for them to grow up to be Godly girls and eventually (a very long time from now) women. They will learn these characteristics from me! That's where it gets tough and the dreams I dream for my girls become a daily reality... in which I daily fall short! (Kev and I had this discussion last night as he was reminding me of my previous post on 1 Corinthians 13). They will learn to be hospitable because their mommy and daddy always welcomed others into their home. They will grow to be generous...because "we" always did that growing up. They will prayerfully remain pure because mommy and daddy have stressed purity and modesty throughout their lives. They will love others who are different, unlovely, and strange, because we will teach them how to. And while I know they will fail and make mistakes they will have a foundation of "how" to live!

I was thinking about all this the other day and something I read in last months Homelife magazine gave me a great idea. It is something that we are planning as a way our family can be generous and share some joy this Christmas season. The idea was to invite an elderly couple to go look at Christmas lights with your family. I thought this was such a great idea. We have many sweet "older" couples at church so we picked one and have invited them to go to the Light Festival at one of our local parks. I doubt this is something they would do on their own (esp. at night), and I think they will enjoy watching and hearing ella's reaction to the lights. So hopefully we can time it right (between eliza's feedings and bedtime) and have a great time sharing our Christmas Joy!! I'll take some pictures for you!

1 Corinthians 13-A Christmas Version (Author Unknown)

I posted this poem on my blog last year and thought it was good enough to post again this year. What a good reminder for me. As much as I want to have a beautifully decorated home all warm and cozy, and want to have my kids adorned in the cutest Christmas fashions, and want to do cookie baking, gingerbread house making, and fun Christmas Crafts....I can do all that and miss the true meaning of Christmas with my family!

1 Corinthians 13-A Christmas Version

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows,

strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love, I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love, I am just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myrid of holiday parties and sing in the choir's cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way.

Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can't.

Love bears all things, believes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.

Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust, but giving the gift of love will endure!

Merry CHRISTmas!

Hoping!!!

This being sick thing is for the birds!!

Hoping that tom. will be our last doctor's appointment for a while. I think I mentioned in my last post that both girls were getting colds...right on the heels of ella's hand/foot and mouth. Well, it was actually RSV! Ella has done fine and feels much better except for an occasional croupy cough, but little miss Eliza's gave us quite a scare. Long story short she has been very congested, coughing, sneezing, and wheezing and has been on breathing treatments every four hours since fri. morning. Thankfully, I followed my instincts and took her back to the doctor when the peds plus (after hours) doctor sent us home after both her and the nurse heard her wheezing. I knew she wasn't breathing normally...or I thought so. Isn't it so hard to know as a parent when to go and when to wait it out??? I always struggle to know...but she is just too young for me to be comfortable waiting it out and thankfully I took her back! Tomorrow will be our EIGHTH doctor's visit in two weeks. One was a well check and two have been follow-ups. Whew!! Everytime I go I just wonder what we will pick-up for the next week.

I am thankful for our doctors, modern medicine, friends and family that pray, and that hopefully we are on the mend! It's been a LONG two weeks!

So this holiday season hasn't started out quite like I wanted. I am really looking forward to the weeks left this month when we can hopefully enjoy this holiday season. Check back this week for ella's tour of our home for the holidays and a few things our family is doing to focus on the true meaning of Christmas!

I think it's going be a great week! I sure am hoping so!!

Mommy time!

Ella thought the tee-pee was a party hat!


Sweet little eliza!

trying to get a decent pic...this is the best we could do

daddy and his girls

I have been so sleepy today. I feel like I need toothpicks to hold my eyes open. That's not a good thing when you're the mom! I finally have both girls resting...for the moment and what do I do...sit down to check the computer! I guess all my caffeine has finally kicked in or I'd be on the couch!

Ella is finally getting better. She ran a low grade fever last night, which was day 8 of this terrible virus and is fever free today so far! We are now just waiting for the blisters in her mouth to go completely away and she'll be good to go. It was terrible and I am so glad she is better. She is beginning to eat again and I don't feel like we have to push the liquids like we were. Both girls have colds now which is a bummer. Ella was 6 months old when she got her very first cold...and eliza is 10 weeks. I guess that is normal when you have a toddler in the house. Poor eliza, she cannot stand her nose being stuffy! We are so thankful that she didn't take hand, foot and mouth! So far at least...and I think if she was she'd have it already!

After a week of illness I feel like we are back at square one with discipline, sleep and etc. for ella. Don't you just hate that. Things get all out of order when kids are so sick and you are literally in survival mode! This week we are back to the basics...which means meals at the table, sleeping in our own beds, and obedience! SO much fun!

I can't believe it is already December. The years just fly! I will be celebrating a big birthday next week and I can't believe it! I must be growing up!

I better go! Ella is yelling from her crib that she is all done with her nap. I don't think she even got one but I was hoping for a little afternoon break! I just heard.."mama, come mare!" She has such a country twang when she says it!

Still Sick!!!

Whew...it has been some more week! I hate to complain but it has been a very hard one. Ella has run a 102-103.7 fever since Tuesday around lunch! We of course took her to the doc. to make sure my diagnosis of her condition was correct. I knew once I saw the little blisters in her mouth on Wednesday that we were in for it! She has hand, foot and mouth disease. The name sounds terrible....but the virus is much worse. It is among the many childhood viruses and causes fever, blisters in the mouth and can cause blisters on the hands, feet, and buttocks! So far, ella has only had fever and and a mouth full of blisters. I was one of the fortunate adults who must not have gotten this virus as a child, because I got it my second year teaching. I missed a week of work, couldn't eat for a week and was miserable. It is even more miserable when your child has it!!!

Poor little ella's gums look like they are falling off her teeth and her mouth, lips and etc. are covered in blisters. She has only eaten a few bites since Monday evening!!! We are making her drink, but today she is not wanting to do that even. I even tried using a medicine syringe to get some liquids in her. We have tried, diluted apple juice, milk, milkshake, slush, ensure, water, yogurt drink, pedialyte applesauce, pudding, etc. We know that if she doesn't drink more tonight we are worried that she may get dehydrated and we know what that will mean! She also isn't sleeping longer than about 45 minutes and is waking up crying in pain! It has been some long nights at our house!

Please pray that this will be over soon! Thankfully, Kevin has been home with me. Not sure I'd be making it if he hadn't been! It is hard because what ella has is highly contagious for eliza. Her nose is running and she keeps putting her hands in her mouth because it hurts...GERMS! My hands are raw from washing them after caring for her because I am trying to not spread them to eliza! Ella cries and wants to be held and then eliza cries and needs to be fed or held and then mommy and daddy cry! Not really... but I think we have been close at a few moments. So far eliza hasn't taken it. I think if we can make it to Monday that we'll be pretty sure she won't! If she doesn't I will be even more convinced that breastfeeding is a wonderful immune fighting gift (that'll be her third bad illness to not take when she was highly exposed!)

SO if you hear anyone say that their child has a virus, fever, blisters in their mouth....run..don't walk as far away as you can it! It is bad! And...if anyone thinks that being a mother is not the hardest (yet greatest) job in the entire world I beg to differ!

Happy Thanksgiving

I have so much to be thankful for this year. We are back at home for a brief rest before we get to enjoy Thanksgiving #2. I have to admit that throughout our marriage, I have complained most every year that our holidays were just too busy. I know I've said that we spend the day in a mad rush...normally running late from family to family..wanting to spend time with everyone! The Lord has taught me a lesson the past few days. With ella being sick this week I hadn't left the house since Monday afternoon. I was so ready to get out! The prospect of not getting to see our families and be a part of our normal thanksgiving was heartbreaking! Although we are doing things a little different to avoid our little cousins who may not have gotten what ella has! I have learned my lesson and I will never complain about the busyness of our traditions...instead I am thankful to have two delicious meals to eat, two families who love us! So many in our world would die to live my life!

So much to be thankful for! My greatest gift this year is our newest little turkey eliza. Happy Thanksgiving!