Update on Sadie...

Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement, Sadie woke up at 3 am with a tight chest and breathing problems, she started getting frantic, as did I, she was not responding and so we took her to the ER, she is doing better now and after breathing treatments and a steroid treatment and seeing her doc what started as bronchial spasms and possible pre-asthmatic symptoms became a viral infection that got into her lungs. Besides a sore throat and a lack of sleep she is doing MUCH better. We are at home resting, trying to anyway, and thankful for my brother Justin who came to be with us and for Bry's rents who took care of Kehnley all day. This is def. a day I will never forget!

It puts life into perspective when you almost loose one...

I have never seen a dad drive that fast or myself pray so hard in my life. This was the verse that I read at midnight just 3 hrs before all this went down... I had know idea what it would mean to me today.

Psalm 8
"O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth, Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens ! From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength... When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained ; What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty ! You make him to rule over the works of Your hands ; You have put all things under his feet, ... O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth !"

You have given us these little people to look after, yet we know VERY well, that we are just overseers of what is already yours. We have no control that you don't give us, we have no way to save...only you can. As I held her body laying next to her in that hospital bed I thought of how fragile life is and all i could think was why didn't I hold her last night a little longer, I looked into Brysons red eyes and know he was thinking the same. I thought back to my frantic panic of what to do those seemingly long minutes before we drove to the hospital begging God to answer our questions, keep her with us, and help her breath. There have been a lot of scares with our girls lately: Kehnley passing out from a heat stroke at the park, getting an allergic reaction at the store and almost being unable to breath herself, and now this. I am fully aware that each day we have with them is a gift. And I am honored to think that God has given us one more, for whatever reason, He has favor on us. Humbled by David's words in the psalm when he says "and the son of man that you care for him? YET you make him a little lower than God and you crown HIM with glory and majesty" God does care for us. I learned that today. God cares for me, for my family, for my children and it's not that I deserve it... it's because He is majestic and awesome. Another translation says "O Lord, O Lord, the majesty of your name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. You have taught children and infants to give you praise." She has taught me to give Him praise.... thank you Sadie, I knew the day you were born that you would teach me things about God I never knew.

Enjoy your loved ones today and if you don't think God cares for you...ask Him to show you, and He will! "For God so LOVED the world, He gave HIS only son, that everyone who believes might not perish but have eternal life {with Him.}" John 3:16

My Sweet Sister-friend

I am pretty sure she started calling ME that first but this is a tribute to my sweet sister friend. She is a best friend and one of my roommates from college and really to me a sister, i never had a sister of my own and she is one to me! She and I have fought like sisters, cried together like sisters, encouraged each other like sisters, laughed and traveled and listened late at night... but mostly we have shared moments together as sisters in the Christ.

She is soon to be a mom of her own and today is HER birthday. She is going to be an amazing mom for SO many reasons I can barely type them all but I will post the top 30... just a random number, no reason for it at all :)
1. she is loving
2. she is tenderhearted to those with special needs
3. she is wise and can share her life lessons
4. she is funny and laughs all the time
5. she is a prayer warrior and will blanket her home in it!
6. she is sentimental and thoughtful, the girl never forgets a date
7. she writes the best cards and letters and mails them in the REAL mail box :)
8. she loves to snuggle...lol and the best running buddy you could ask for
9. she has a fascination to see new things and go new places, she will explore the world with you
10. she is SO trusting, gullible others have said, but its the most amazing quality because she never meets a person she doesn't like
11. she is playful and will have amazing made up days full of imaginary friends
12. she can SHOP! let me tell you, you will never have a need for anything
13. she knows the Lord and will share His word
14. she loves to sing, in the car, in the house, on voice mails, she will fill your ears with musical hits from all decades lol
15. she loves movies and getting a blanket and popcorn ( that goes everywhere) and watching them in the rain
16. she gives the best hugs
17. she knows just the right things to say to cure a hard day
18. she is the most encouraging person i know always lifting you up before herself
19. she is brave and will do things you never thought she would do for such a small thing!
20. shes accommodating and always a great host
21. she will help you have PERFECT speech :)
22. she will aways have candy close near by
23.she'll play with your hair!
24.she can talk on the phone for hours
25.she can take you to any coffee shop in a 20 mil. radius!
26.she wont hesitate to show you how much she loves you and tell you too
27.she will make you an amazing s'more or teach you how to Rollerblade like a champ
28.she can light up your day with her smile
29.she is a wonderful friend and will always support you no matter what crazy things you do or say or think up...she's got your back
30. she will make you a better person just by knowing her!

I know a girl...

I know a little girl who knows her self so well, she's tall and smart and funny
strawberry soap is her favorite smell
Every morning brings new adventures to explore
she greets me with a smile and kiss
always keeps me wanting more
I know a little girl who catches bubbles and butterflies
she jumps and runs and plays and has the most beautiful blue eyes
She tells me I'm a miracle... God's wonderful beautiful child
these are things I tell her often, to hear them back is wild
I know a little girl shes helpful that's for sure
she helps me cook, clean and sweep; she helps me at the store
She loves to paint and draw and write, she's talented this is true
she always asks me with a grin "can I paint with you?"
When it's time to tuck her in she hugs my neck so tight
it's hard sometimes to leave her with just one kiss good-night
Eskimo, butterfly, princess, frog, bee, and Lilly just to name a few
these are all the different types of kisses she'll try to give to you
I know a little girl whose favorite phrase to say
Is "don't you think it's a beautiful day today?"
Who could ever be down or blue with such a joyful spirit
it brings a smile to any one's face whose lucky enough to hear it!
I know a little girl who treads upon my heart each day
leaving little things
finger prints sandy shoes and colored lip gloss on strings
Three years ago I couldn't have guessed how rich my life would be
with you little one in my arms, so glad God gave you to me.

Happy Birthday sweet Kehnley. Your name is special for many reasons but one is that it means enthusiastic for life and fiery: I have to say even in just these few years you are the embodiment of your name. It's amazing to see your personality grow but especially your enthusiasm for life and learning and just how excited you can be about everyday things. It makes me so proud to be with you all day enjoying life with you. I can't imagine a more fiery little girl, your passionate about so many things and I love that about you! You can certainly use your powers for good OR evil... but mostly you use them for good and when you talk about the things you love and your eyes light up it makes me smile. And when you pray for people and talk about God it brings joy to my heart. And when you dance and give me thumbs up I want to squeal with delight because its like nothing I have ever dreamed of, how fun it is be to be your mom... When you laugh and talk to Sadie and try to make her smile, it's the best version of what I had hoped your relationship would be. I say all this so one day you'll know, in case you don't already, that I've always loved you to pieces, and one of my greatest blessings is to get to show you that each day.

Epipen please!

So I was told i needed to share this story, it's one of those you laugh about later but at the time you are totally FREAKING out!

I was my monthly trip to the grocery store which I have decided just isnt for me, I get to overwhelmed, and yes I save a lot but its to stressful it's just not worth it!

So I get my self all geared up, i got the purse... CHECK, I got the cellular... CHECK, I got the mom sitter for the baby... CHECK, I got Kehnley in the car.. CHECK, i got the coupons....CHECK, the list and the menu and the modified menu....CHECK CHECK and... Check!


First things first you know your gonna be there a while so you get the 2 yr old what they want, keep them happy and they won't hurt someone or themselves. This means you better let them pick the color car the want to ride in ( you know the ones thats STRAPPED to the front of the cart like a box car rendering it impossible to turn without a wide double lane swing out) She pick "flue" of course (aka: blue)

We're on our way, managed to breeze past the balloons with no request (good so far)

Start with produce, start fillig her up, hit upthe dairy, the soy for mamma, and then its off to find ingreience for home-made chex mix. This is where everything goes TERRIBLY wrong.

List: pretzles, wheat chex, teddy grams, goldfish, cashews almonds, pecans...

Kehnley "mom I want to try that... point to a cashew" i dont know K I think you might not should have nuts, your alergic to peanuts" then i think of how she eats wanuts no problem and pecans no problem, so she takes one and pops it in her mouth all seams to be going well, I am reaching for the eggs and I hear caughing, LOUD caughing .... and its couples with gasps.

She is Choking, her face is red instantly, her lip looks like something off Vanilla Sky when Tom cruise is all warped, its hanging down and folded inside out at one side. My darling little girl is having the worsh allergic reaction I have ever seen outside of the movie Hitch. I RUN to the milk singles an pop the straw in, with as much froce as I can muster I push this train car like cart in the dirrection of the meds, Benedrill is my only thought ( oh yeah , I called my mom and got some advice). She downs the meds and then poses for a pic I use to show my mom and husband in horor... AND get this girl an epi pen when i show the doc the evidence! She says "cheese" as her lip invers and flaps down.... its amazing how resiliant they are that they can say "cheese" when they were 2 sec ago on the brink of death!


The shock of the situation has given her a "soiled"moment and she tells me she is cold and has gone tt in her pants.

I look down and there is pee drinching the car.... (THATS WHY WE DONT EVER GET THESE THINGS I REMIND HER AND MYSELF!! some OTHER kid could have pissed themselves and just left it for you to climb into. Anyway, back to the story, so we are too far from the bathroom, diapers are on my ist ( after all i AM here to shop and I have a coupon for that) so i run to the diaper ailse, take off my hoodie so shes not TOTALLY revealed, hide her behind my body, rip open the huggies bag and change her diaper. She is not wearing my hoodie around her waste with a new diaper and tshirt, I am porting a very ill fitted sports bra and tank top... at any moment someone i know is going to walk upI just know it.... that would make this momnet even MORE perfect. So we continue on our shopping journey i am deterined to get this over with and not leave without my discounted grovceries. Kehnley is hungry, its lunch fter all and she does have something choaking her throat and stomach, and probably all her inners at this point!

What do I do?

Of course, open the tortillas, the pepperonies, the string cheese, some chips, and a drink... then half a banana. We are hitting up the canned veggies ailses and all of a sudden she cries out and turns red.... oh no I think... oh please no!

I know what THAT face means, I pick her up put her on my hip and pat her back saying "sweety just let it go, its okay" she throws up ALL over the back of my sholder and onto some cans and all over the veggie ailse. She does it two more times me telling her just to let it out.

The poor cleaning guy walk by right as shes unloaded a THIRD time and I apolojize more than I ever have in my life and hear the "clean up on ailse 7 pls" After that we got OUT of there. the man checking us out, put all the opened products in a shared bag...okay okay TWO bags, yes it was a LOT of opened food!



By the time i got home I was soaking wet from pee, vomit and sweat, put Kehnley to bed. The meds had made all 32 lbs of her a dead weight on my sholder carrying her from the car to her room. I sat on the couch... and cried, hard! I guess holding it all in and acting cool for her got to me. Needless to say I took this pic to show the docs the next visit. It breaks my heart that she is smiling in theis pic. I thought I could have lost her, and she is still smiling in the midst of all she went through!

Question Game!

A neighbor of mine posted these questions on her blog and I thought it would be fun to keep it rollin... here are my answers... and i added a few of my own...

1. Are you watching The Bachelorette? Is it totally awkward for you too?
I am an avid follower of the bach, and i keep up with hilarious after thoughts on ihategreenbeans.com... she cracks me up.. and also because inevitably a sisters, neighbors, aunts, hairdresser always knows someone on the show... makes it feel personal, this time my BF was hooked up on of these mrs a few summers ago.... ANYWHO... so yes, her laugh is un-nerving and the weather man alone makes me love reality TV!
2. How often do you sweep/mop your floors?
every week, wood floors are tough to keep clean, I HATE it though! really.. i do... taking up all the rugs, I mean, once i do it i feel like "that wasn't so bad" but I always dread it the next week! I clean under Kehnley's table every meal though...
3. Do you hate it when you can't walk barefoot on said floors because you obviously haven't swept often enough?
i am barefoot always not a big fan of socks!
4. Do you have a cleaning schedule? If so, what is it? If not, how do you keep from your house being trashed 24/7, or do you care?
I clean once a week, my amazing husband leads this chore and I love him for it... there are much more fun things in life to do than clean! (deep clean that is) i straighten toys every night and clean the dishes every day
5. How many loads of laundry do you do in a week?
one-two days of laundry equals 5 loads! we wear a lot of clothes I guess!
6. What is your all time favorite meal to cook?
i love to experiment all the time, but maybe lately it's grilling kabobs and corn and I love to make pies!
7. Are you reading any books right now? If so, what are they?
I have magazines stacked to my ears.. so i am catching up on those, Shepherding a Child's Heart, Dug deep by Joshua Harris, and Instyle, Southern living, Parenting, and Fitness :)
8. How do you and your husband share the chores? Are there specific things that you each do, or is it more of a team effort?
He dusts, mows, I pull weeds, we share everything else, except i pretty much do laundry and really we just work as a team...like i said... I need a coach lol
9. What are you most excited about this summer?
being able to play outside with the girls and all our fun trips we have/are going on
10. What's your favorite Sonic drink?
a large water! its 15 cents and i love the ice!
11. Why do you/don't you blog?
I blog for fun, for family and friends who live away and to capture life's moments bc i know I will forget them. there are so many stories i mean to blog about but life is too fast for me to sit down and record them all! What i don't get into a blog i try to journal at home
12. Do you grow your own herbs? How would one go about getting started if they wanted to?
yes, i do! i love it! Rosemary, sage,oregano, basil, thyme, parsley and mint.... i want to get some chives though. buy your herbs at walmart right now they are really well priced or Lowe's, but the walmart ones are more established right now and just get a big container that has well drained soil and plant those babies in a partial sunny place, mines right by my back door so i can get to them easily!
13. What's your best money saving tip?
wish i had one...dont spend any lol. no really... look at the luxuries in your life, I think we all have some luxuries we could list from least to most fav or important to us, and see where you can cut. i redid my cell bill and our cable and saved some money there, i only shop for what we need at the store and really try to depend on the Lord daily, we get so used to access in our lives and I was convicted to try and live more simply!
14. What is the most treasured toy in your house right now?
pet shop lol or her doll house. she loves petshop though and she talks to the animals, ref. the video they have parties and its so funny to see her play with them. for Sadie its the crab teether, its a foam bath toy but its the fav. thing she loves to munch on!

15. If you had to rent a movie tonight (newish release), what would it be?
we just watched valentines day but I want to actually GO to the movies and see babies, iron man 2 and robin hood... rentals... maybe that Steve movie with Sandra bullock...

here are my extras:
1. What is your fav. book of all time?
2. What magazines do YOU get in the mail?
3. What do you do about a 3 yr old who wants to have their door cracked more at night ie.getting no rest bc they wake up when the baby cries for feeding and daddy leaves for work? I need help with this one parents!!
4.Best summer vaca spot you've ever been to...
5.What theme party do you remember most from your childhood? I in the middle of planning a party for Kehnley and it's pretty funny to think back on my own!

cant leave a blog with no pics... here are the girls! and one from the Frio!



posh spice and sporty spice lol

Sadie's 2 and 3 and coming on 4!

 

Sadie Grade, your three months and it's hard to believe that you are already 100 days old! :) You are such a joy, and I know that all moms probably say this but really you are one of the happiest babies I have ever seen! The only time you get sad is when your teeth hurt and yes, you are already trying to get teeth! It's wild how fast you are growing you weigh over 12 lbs and you are in your 3 month clothes but like sissy you are WAY too long for your onsie footies lol your like in a body suit wedgie in those things! Mommy is just going to have to put you in bigger ones because they make you look like a little baby doll and not as big as you are...


Favorites?

Putting your hands together, its your new trick and you are getting REALLY good at it!
Chewing on anything, your hand, teether, blanket, passie, shirt, my fingers
Story time with daddy, and who can blame you, he tells great stories!

Picking up stuff with your toes, you have this amazing strength in your feet you can grab anything with them and lift it up, discovered on a walk when you picked up a rattle with them haha! it was so funny, me and Kehnley laughed forever about that!

You even were able to kick the Karaoke machine you and Sissy love playing with and get it going, those toes have some power!

You love to talk to me when you should be eating, you love to talk period! You talk all the time! Not any real words yet of course but you know what your saying don't you?

You love you smile and I mean LOVE it! You smile and laugh all the time, its kind of our mission in life, everyone at home, to get you to laugh as much as possible!

You LOVE your passie, did I say that already? I think you have 6 in your diaper bag at all times!

You like it still, not quiet because that would be impossible in our house and with our lives, but you like to be still. I can just hold you for ever and not move a bit and you are totally content.

If we want to hear you squeal with delight we will let you stand up, I have a feeling that even at 3 months you will be just like Kiki and walking in no time at all!

You eat SUPER fast, like the fastest eater second to daddy that I have ever seen
You look great in pink and yellow (a color mommy can't pull off) must be the Fancy in you
You love to snuggle your head under my chin, it's pure bliss for me

Today you laughed so hard you started to choke because Kehnley was popping bubbles in front of you...

Thank you for letting mommy get 5 hrs of consecutive sleep some nights, its a luxury I wasn't expecting. You are amazing!

God has taught me to slow down, relish the moments, take everyday for what it is and truly rely on Him for the next 24 hrs. All we need is in Him and I pray for you to know the source of joy that is welling up in your heart and I know you will spill that out on all who meet you. Since the day you were born your heart has been so soft! Every time you hear a cry, which sister has done more since you came along :) your face get low and your lip hangs and those tears start to flow... I know you will probably have mommy's ability to cry at the most sappy sentimental moment but you can laugh just as easily, and we love BOTH about you! You are such a precious jewel to us. We love you!

Is she a good baby?

Thanks so Kandace and Josh and their new baby girl, I write this post, I hope its okay that I am using them as my inspiration for something I feel now and probably always will. This is for new moms, old moms, moms to be... its tough being a mom. You want to make sure that you are doing a good job and for me and my personality that means perfection, but sometimes that can be the driving force to all that discourages you. One thing i always heard those first months but never really understood until i had two was that "all babies are unique and different" even when it comes to the science that is sleep. (and believe me, its science alright!) I see now having two girls who are from the same parents and under the same roof, who even at times favor each other so much I call them by each others names... ALL babies are different!

As a new mom I was always asked these two questions and in order "Is she a good baby?" "Is she a good sleeper?" Lets face it, they were asking them together because its habit AND its expected that a good baby MUST be a good sleeper. As a sleep deprived parent u can understand the obsession with the sleeping questions. Not to mention the "baby industry" has made a small fortune on this science in books, most of which I have bought and read, teaching us moms just HOW to get these babies to sleep.

So you may have a "good baby/good sleeper" but for me... I just had an amazing baby who didn't sleep through the night til after she was one. Did you have a schedule? YES Did you feed her enough during the day? YES Was she being stimulated enough throughout the day? YES The other questions that weren't asked and I never knew about til AFTER she was much older was: Did she develop quickly? YES and Did she have all her teeth by 12 months including molars? YES Were you and your husband good sleepers as babies? NO Because to tell you the truth once you DO get your baby on a good sleep schedule and master the science like a true MD then things happen like: growth spurts, solid foods, a move, a vacation, teething, a dog next door that wont stop barking, rain storms and illness...

Guess what? Kehnley is almost 3, she sleeps in her own bed,even a big girl bed, no cage bars or side rails, no locks on the doors and no Benedryl at night and she LOVES her bed, she loves to sleep in it and she sleeps really well. Nothing I did really crated this love of her bed or of sleep except to make sure that she loved her room and knew she was safe in her own space. And prayer, LOTS of prayer :)

I did read all the books, but the one i have come to love is The Contented Baby because it gives clear explanation and guidance as to what to do from day one to create cues for sleep.. like Sadie goes in her bed the same time every night, for the most part I mean I DO have an active almost 3 yr old, and she sleeps really well... i put her in slightly sleepy awake and put the passie in and pat her back, now passies are off limits to the author but guess what BABIES Love to suck and so she gets a passie, and guess what my baby is getting teeth and has been since 2 months SO she really needs the passie and some nights she doesn't do too good, but it's bc her mouth hurts and i just go in and pat her back and sooth her best i can and we go day by day not stressing about the small stuff. The thing is this, we get so caught up comparing ourselves to other moms and babies and it makes us fee like failures, and that's not what God wants... especially the first few months, your baby is new to the world, them have only known a water dark belly for 9 months and now they have all this new stuff to take in, they WANTS to be close to you, they know nothing but what you show them and teach them its going to be a learning experience the rest of their lives for them AND for you... there are certainly bigger problems that just sleep, but I hope that none of you have to deal with them!

If ever I need rest God gives me a noon-day nap or he increases my energy and looking back i was VERY tired with kehnley that first year, but we moved to a new home when she was 3 months then moved again 9 months later, she had all her teeth was eating by 4 1/2 months of cereal, she was walking holding stuff by 7 months fully on her own by the start of 9 and she was a baby, like mom and dad, who thought sleeping was for the birds :) I do have to say... I wish now she would let me hold her for hours and rock her like I did all those restless nights when I wished she was asleep in her bed. I wouldn't trade those moments for the world, and God used them to slow me down and help me trust in Him.

Sadie is a great sleeper, a good baby... she has a hard time eating bc she eats fast and her teeth hurt and she just wants to chew and not eat... all I can do as a mom is try my best to meet her needs and not get caught up in numbers and statistics and worry myself everyday that my baby isn't preforming like someone elses child, even if it's in a textbook. So to all you moms out there, read the books, ask questions, but at the end of the day, or night, remember that God made your baby uniquely for you and YOU are the best judge of what they need... you never know what tomorrow will hold and if you have to stay up a few more hours than you would like or you haven't showered in 2 days, you got bills your not sure how they will get paid or you just need a moment of quiet remember this:

"And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

Praying for you today!
And pray for this new family as they learn and love each other too!