Aaron's 8th Birthday

Aaron turned 8 years old last Sunday, January 24th. The Sunday prior we had just a few friends over for lightsaber cake and yoda soda (green punch). We listened to Star Wars soundtracks on Bob's computer while the boys played with their lightsabers! Then Jake and Carter stayed all night. Most of their time was spent playing Clone Wars on the Wii, watching Star Wars Episode IV, and playing Star Wars games on the computer. They did stop long enough to eat pancakes, but that's about it!





What a great kid!

Love and Respect

Chad and I are leading a 6 week small group for married couples in which we are studying the book, Love and Respect. It is such a great book - notably the best marriage book I've read - and I'm excited to share with other couples. Strong marriages and strong families really get me fired up. I want others to have these! I want them to see how great they can be! But sometimes it makes me so furious when people can't put aside their own wants, pride, and selfishness to make it happen! It makes me mad when I struggle with that, too.

I praise God for my family and for my marriage, as well as for the people that He has sent my way who model good relationships for me and guide me when I struggle! Where would I be without Him?

Annie's tongue injury

WARNING: GRAPHIC PICTURE AHEAD!!!

So, Annie fell (I think she was bumped by a sibling) at the Dairy Queen on Wednesday evening and bit her tongue causing a significant laceration to the side. It was not very pretty. Kind of lizardish, off to the left. Anyhow, I took her to Women's & Children's ER and was told it was significant enough to require sutures. So, she got an IV and sedation and 3 stitches to the top of her tongue, leaving the bottom open to heal on its own. We got home and into bed about 2:30am that night.

Thursday morning when she finally wakes up, all looks well. About an hour later, all does not look so well. The stitches had come out. No bleeding or crying, just a gaping split in her tongue. So off we go again to the ER. This time we are told it doesn't need repaired and will heal fine on its own. Okay, I said, how do I know who is right? The first doc or the second doc? No brilliant answer to that one. Back home we go.

Friday morning she is sticking her finger in her mouth and messing with it, making it ooze blood (yes, yuck)! And I just don't think it looks like it is coming together any. Fortunately, we have good friends who have good friends and we were able to visit a maxillofacial doctor this afternoon who reassured me that it would heal fine - not picture perfect, but close. Okay, I thought, I'll go with the expert.

By bedtime this evening, I was finally starting to think it looked better. Maybe it was the reassurance that I received or maybe it is the Great Healer at work. Either way, I'm trusting. There are much worse things than an imperfect tongue, but I still hate to see that thing sticking out of her sweet little mouth (and she does stick it out a lot)!

When junk like that happens, I tend to ask myself why? What's the point? Am I supposed to learn something in this? Like more sympathy for parents of ill or injured children? Or to carry my daughter everywhere so she never gets hurt? Or maybe that the little flaws in our lives are more useful to God than they are hindrances? And then I think (maybe this is silly) am I being attacked spiritually? I was finally starting to get my act together last week - more exercise, more water, more Bible, more prayer - and then BOOM! The last couple days have included little of those and much more fretting. I have certainly been distracted. Just some of my reflections on the past couple of days.

Now, if you want to see it, here is a relatively poor picture of Annie's little tongue. The cut is a little bigger than what you can see.








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Tough time

This past fall has been tough for me. I can't seem to fully get my feet under me in several areas including spiritually and, therefore, emotionally. I have had way more "meltdowns" (poor Chad) than I am prone to. I couldn't get to the Y consistently. I had to drop out of leading a women's group because of time constraints. I was still getting accustomed to a new job (mainly, new colleagues). I am leading a ministry at church which drains me more than it fills me. I have been forced to develop new friendships and, as I finally began to really build a bond with some, our home group has to split and I lose those regular contacts. My kids are also not happy about that split as they, too, are sad about missing friends.

I finally realized that part of my problem is that I don't have a point of release. Without exercise or laughter or girls' nights, my stress levels have only been rising and never falling.

So I am trying hard to make changes. A short workout video at home that is quite tough so lots of endorphin release for minimal time commitment. More attempts to build simple friendships into stronger ones. A devotional journal by my bed for every day - including those days when my regular (or irregular) quiet times were interrupted repeatedly by little wants and needs.

Still trying to find a way to plug into a women's group, to explain to my kids why we have to be the ones to start a new home group, to fill up while giving out so much, to laugh more!

Looking Forward to 2010

Just a few of the things I want to do in 2010:

Laugh more

Find an outlet for stress and time to enjoy whatever that is!

Say "just a minute" to my kids way less than I do now

Let my hair grow long again

Organize my daily schedule a little better

Get up earlier/stay up later (I haven't decided yet which one would be more beneficial)



Happy New Year!

Looking Back On 2009

Looking back on 2009, some of the most memorable parts:


Ben's chipped tooth is continuing to break away to nothing. The kid hits his mouth every time he falls and one of his front teeth is taking the brunt of it. The first bad crack came about 15 months ago when it broke off to the root. Now it is so dead and brittle that it is breaking off little by little. There's not much left now but the root! I think I want to have it pulled - it looks so bad right now. But he's the sweetest thing, talking all the time about everything!Chad and I worked hard on our patio this spring, spreading gravel and sand and then laying brick pavers. It was such a slow process working with the kids around, but now that it's finished we love it!
Annie finally started walking in late November. She was cruising so much at 9 months that I thought for sure she would be our earliest walker. Wouldn't you know it, she was the latest at a full 14 months, maybe more by the time she was really stable on her feet! She loves to walk now, though. Oh and she still climbs on everything!
Aaron made his first true vertical climb at Seneca Rocks with my brother and sister-in-law, Josh and Betsy. He climbed about 100 feet! What an accomplishment!
Katie did not enjoy swim lessons, but now she can swim! Before summer she wouldn't even put her face under and she left claw marks on your shoulders if you took her in the pool. Now she dives (aka belly flops) in and swims several strokes without hesitation!