July 28, 2005 - 6:33 AM. 6lb 14oz, 20" baby girl
Like most moms probably do, I have been thinking about the events of the day(s) leading up to your birth. Like right now, 2 years ago I was in the hospital, sleeping a bit with my Stadol. For some reason, thinking about this particular day has been making me emotional all week long. I don't really know why, it's not your first b-day or anything. Perhaps it's because you are our last baby and now you are 2. Baby things are rapidly disappearing from our lives (if all goes well, we may even be a diaper free house by Christmas!!).
I looked at your sweet face while you were sleeping tonight. The soft baby curls and chubby little cheeks just make me smile in love. I could watch you all night long. It's only while you are sleeping that you are quite and not on the move. You love to chatter and you love to be right in the middle of all the action. There will be no stopping our Little Princess. You have everyone in the family wrapped around your little finger. You are my baby who doesn't want to let go of her mama and at the same time you don't want to be held back from anything.
I am amazed (though probably shouldn't be) at how much you know and take it. You can set the table and know which color plate belongs to each sibling. You want to do everything BP does and are always in her coloring things. While your brothers liked to eat the crayons at this age, you hold them correctly (in your LEFT hand - just like T2) and make lovely pictures. The last thing you say at bedtime is "Ehnen 'nuggle me?", wanting her to get in bed with you. It is so precious.
Your brothers adore you, well most of them anyway ;0). I think T3 doesn't know what to do with you yet because you took his spot as the youngest. No one will ever think of messing with you with three big brothers looking out for you.
You came into this world as a surprise blessing from God. You completed our family and filled my heart. A longing that never seemed to go away was satisfied with your arrival. You are a constant reminder and link to your precious Nana Helen. I thank God that, in His infinite wisdom and timing, He sent you to us. You were born out of love and have brought nothing but love to those around you.
Happy 2nd Birthday, Baby Girl. You have our hearts and we love you.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
The thought process
So we are in the big red Subur*bus today and a commercial comes on for S!x F!ags ammusement park. This naturally got the BP & T1 discussing the fact that they wanted to go there and when could we go. The conversation went of for a couple of minutes with me trying to put them off with vague answers.
I then hear T2 chime in, rather matter-of-factly, "Well, I just want to go to F!ve F!ags because that's what I am...five."
I just had to smile and chuckle to myself. Makes perfect sense to me, buddy. I love that kid :0)
Another bit of astounding knowledge came out last night at the dinner table. The three boys take great pride in belching and in passing that skill on to LP. This, by the way, is not something that I encourage but what are you gonna do? They burp for real and then she fake burps after them. I had stepped out of the room for a moment and when I came back to the kitchen I overhear the following conversation between T3 (3.5) and LP (2 on Sat)
T3 "Do it again M-M"
LP (insert burp sound)
T3 "again" (giggling hysterically)
LP (again, complying)
T3 "one more time, M-M"
LP (she does)
T3 "OK, now you are a boy!!!"
Lord help me LOL!!
I then hear T2 chime in, rather matter-of-factly, "Well, I just want to go to F!ve F!ags because that's what I am...five."
I just had to smile and chuckle to myself. Makes perfect sense to me, buddy. I love that kid :0)
Another bit of astounding knowledge came out last night at the dinner table. The three boys take great pride in belching and in passing that skill on to LP. This, by the way, is not something that I encourage but what are you gonna do? They burp for real and then she fake burps after them. I had stepped out of the room for a moment and when I came back to the kitchen I overhear the following conversation between T3 (3.5) and LP (2 on Sat)
T3 "Do it again M-M"
LP (insert burp sound)
T3 "again" (giggling hysterically)
LP (again, complying)
T3 "one more time, M-M"
LP (she does)
T3 "OK, now you are a boy!!!"
Lord help me LOL!!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Tapestry
There have been many times that I have heard life described in terms of a tapestry. The view we get is from the bottom - a lot of knots, tangled thread and just generally not very pretty. Kind of a big mess that you can't really figure out. But then there is the view from the top, the "big picture", if you will. The finished product - God's purpose and plan.
Now in some ways, the view from the bottom can almost be fun, trying to guess and figure out just what the end will be. I have a tiny obsession (blush) in my interest in Apoli*anne. Are they or are they NOT an item? They are just so darn cute, they should be LOL!! But whether they end up together or not is not significant to my world but I can have fun speculating, right?
But about when that view from the bottom gets messy and hits close to home?
My dear friend, Dottie, was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer last April. Things looked really good after the first round of treatment last summer. But in the last 2 weeks there has been nothing but bad news. There is no longer talk of curing the cancer but her comfort. She is dying and "I" don't think it is fair. She and her husband have had to have discussions on how and what to tell their two oldest children (13 & 11) when they get home from camp this weekend. Their youngest (age 9 and our goddaughter) is mentally handicapped. She needs her mom. Phil needs his wife. I need my friend.
Our church just hired a new Youth Pastor and he and his wife made the move from the Midwest to CT in June. They also had just found out they were pg shortly after they accepted the position. This was such an neat answer to a lot of prayers. Pastor E & his wife are AWESOME and we had the opportunity to have them to the house when they were candidating. We were so happy to officially welcome them here and see them on a regular basis. Last week they lost the baby. My heart aches for them because I know this was something that they wanted so much and have been waiting for for so long. I remember that pain.
Our dear, sweet Gabe and his precious, STRONG Mama. All that keeps going through my head these past few days is "you've got to be kidding me?!?! What else could possibly keep happening to cause this little boy pain? How many more days of seeing her boy hurt is Michelle going to have to endure? What is the point of all this? I want it to stop. I want to be able to make it stop. From such an early age, this child has just been through things that I could never even begin to imagine and he tackles it like a trouper!! He has had a wonderful teacher and advocates in the form of his parents, especially Michelle. But hasn't he /they had enough?
Now in some ways, the view from the bottom can almost be fun, trying to guess and figure out just what the end will be. I have a tiny obsession (blush) in my interest in Apoli*anne. Are they or are they NOT an item? They are just so darn cute, they should be LOL!! But whether they end up together or not is not significant to my world but I can have fun speculating, right?
But about when that view from the bottom gets messy and hits close to home?
My dear friend, Dottie, was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer last April. Things looked really good after the first round of treatment last summer. But in the last 2 weeks there has been nothing but bad news. There is no longer talk of curing the cancer but her comfort. She is dying and "I" don't think it is fair. She and her husband have had to have discussions on how and what to tell their two oldest children (13 & 11) when they get home from camp this weekend. Their youngest (age 9 and our goddaughter) is mentally handicapped. She needs her mom. Phil needs his wife. I need my friend.
Our church just hired a new Youth Pastor and he and his wife made the move from the Midwest to CT in June. They also had just found out they were pg shortly after they accepted the position. This was such an neat answer to a lot of prayers. Pastor E & his wife are AWESOME and we had the opportunity to have them to the house when they were candidating. We were so happy to officially welcome them here and see them on a regular basis. Last week they lost the baby. My heart aches for them because I know this was something that they wanted so much and have been waiting for for so long. I remember that pain.
Our dear, sweet Gabe and his precious, STRONG Mama. All that keeps going through my head these past few days is "you've got to be kidding me?!?! What else could possibly keep happening to cause this little boy pain? How many more days of seeing her boy hurt is Michelle going to have to endure? What is the point of all this? I want it to stop. I want to be able to make it stop. From such an early age, this child has just been through things that I could never even begin to imagine and he tackles it like a trouper!! He has had a wonderful teacher and advocates in the form of his parents, especially Michelle. But hasn't he /they had enough?
My mom went in for a CAT scan last week to check for possible masses on her female system. There have been some issues that should have been cleared up and aren't so the docs are checking things out. My head can not even begin to go down that road if the scan comes back showing something. We are still waiting to hear something. I am just glad my sister is in state at this point. God forbid we get bad news, I think it would be even harder if she were still in MI or already out on the field.
OK, so I am seeing a lot of ugly knots and tangled stuff down here, underneath it all. So what do you do when you can't see the top? How do you keep from getting angry and losing hope/heart/faith? What do I say to one of the above people to encourage and support them when I just don't get why it is all happening?
Not being one who believes in coincidences or "by accidents" I was reminded a couple of times this week of who God is through the kids and our Daily Bread readings.
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in time of trouble. Therefore we will not fear......Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:1-2a, 10a This was from Keys for Kids and the story was called Above the Clouds. A little boy and his gramma were on a plane, in bad weather, the kid just found out his parents were getting divorced. Gramma wisely told him (referring to the weather and life) "We'll go into some of those dark clouds. For a few minutes, we'll be in a thick fog, because that's what clouds are - fog. but just wait until we get above the clouds. You'll see......Above the clouds, the sun is always shining. We are going through a dark cloud right now. Things look pretty bad to us, but remember, God is still in control. Someday we'll break through the clouds, and life will be filled with beauty and happiness again."
These came from ours and it was all about us only having a partial view of the world around us and only seeing a part of the whole.
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
"A man's heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps." Proverbs 16:1
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9
These words may make some uncomfortable and maybe even defensive. It is not my intent to offend. I just find great comfort in knowing that I am NOT in control. Is trusting always easy? Unfortunately, no.
Have I questioned God in all of this? Of course. I don't think I would be a normal human being if I did not ask Him "why"? Have I questioned God's wisdom in all of this? Absolutely not. Are my head and my heart always in agreement? No, but that is where I believe faith comes in. I am not saying this so that I can stick my head in the ground and pretend that there is not pain and sorrow around me. Nor am I trying to be "Suzy Christian" spouting pretty platitudes like "just believe" or "keep praying" trying to make everything OK. I am saying that without MY faith in God and my ability to poor out my every feeling and hurt to Him in prayer, I would be a lost mess. I am saying that if I didn't have the "safety net" of prayer, I would be floundering. I NEED to believe in God's wisdom and perfect plan or I would have no hope. Does that make sense? In the middle of all the heartache of my own miscarriage, if I did not have THE Solid Rock to lean on, I would have been farther in the pit of despair than I was. If did not have my ABBA Father to cry out to when my own father left, where I ended up could have been so much different.
I don't know just where I wanted to end up with this. Am I still emotionally saddened and drained from the pain of my friends? Yes, but I know in my heart that God will use each of these things for His wonderful purpose and plan for each one of these dear people and for His honor and glory, as well.
Good night & God bless.
We Have a Teacher!!
Got the postcard in the mail today with T2 Kindergarten teacher. She is not the same one that both BP & T1 had but Mrs. L is really nice and I think T2 will be very happy in her class. I think it is a good thing for all of the kids not to have the same teacher (especially two kids in two years). Anyway, he was so cute when he found out and I asked him if he was happy about it. He just got a shy smile on his face and said yes. BP & T1 were so sweet and encouraging, too, telling him how great Mrs. L is and how much fun he will have.
Sniff, sniff.....I am getting teary LOL!
Sniff, sniff.....I am getting teary LOL!
Pulpotomy
my goodness, has it been a whole month already since I last posted? Ah, well such is life during the busy summer.
Back in May, T2 had his regular dental exam. Out of the 5 kids, he is the only one who has a cavity (well, 2 if we are getting technical). Our dentist wanted a pediatric dentist to do the fillings since one was pretty deep and T2 is only 5. First of all, this has made me feel like a horrible mom because I let one of my kids get a cavity. I know I am being hard on myself but I still feel really bad that he now has to go through the process of getting them filled. Can't into the ped dentist for almost a month so in June we go see him. I obviously didn't understand where the 2 cavities actually were because I was looking in his mouth after this exam and noticed a small grey spot on one tooth and assumed it was the 2nd cavity we were talking about. Oh, and this trip to the ped dentist - was not for the filling just initial consultation - that insurance won't cover because they say too many check ups for allotted time period. That is a whole other subject that has me not too happy.
Fast forward three weeks to yesterday. This little grey spot on the tooth has now almost completely turned his tooth blackish/grey. I thought it was a very aggressive, fast moving cavity. The Captain took T2 to his appointment so that he could sit and hold his hand etc without 4 other siblings to corral. TWO hours after the scheduled appointment, they get home and I am anxiously waiting to see how he did. The Captain has this "you aren't going to believe this" look on his face. He then says, "you aren't going to believe what was going on with that tooth". It wasn't a cavity?, I asked. Nope. It was the nerve in his tooth, eating away the inside pulp of the tooth. It was so small three weeks ago that it didn't even show up on the xrays. The dentist said that if we hadn't had an appointment when we did, in another week the nerve would have eaten through and shattered the tooth. Mr. T2 would have been in a lot of pain. As it was, it took three passes to clean the nerve out of the tooth and one side of the tooth cracked. The Captain was really impressed with how this dentist handled the procedure and T2. All of the kids will now be seeing this dentist. He cleaned the tooth up and put an enamel coating on. This tooth will eventually fall out around 9 or 10 years old. Dentist said he doesn't know how these happen. Sometimes trauma to the mouth will cause it. Chances are T2 got whacked in the mouth at some point during everyday activities but nothing I can remember. The dentist can't remember the last time he had to do one or seen one so big in the tooth. Aren't we special?? LOL
T2 also thinks the fact that he has a cap on his cavity tooth (the deep one) is pretty cool. He walks around talking about the "gleaming booty" (taken from his Pirate Pete book) in his mouth.
Oh, what T2 had done today - a pulpotomy.
Back in May, T2 had his regular dental exam. Out of the 5 kids, he is the only one who has a cavity (well, 2 if we are getting technical). Our dentist wanted a pediatric dentist to do the fillings since one was pretty deep and T2 is only 5. First of all, this has made me feel like a horrible mom because I let one of my kids get a cavity. I know I am being hard on myself but I still feel really bad that he now has to go through the process of getting them filled. Can't into the ped dentist for almost a month so in June we go see him. I obviously didn't understand where the 2 cavities actually were because I was looking in his mouth after this exam and noticed a small grey spot on one tooth and assumed it was the 2nd cavity we were talking about. Oh, and this trip to the ped dentist - was not for the filling just initial consultation - that insurance won't cover because they say too many check ups for allotted time period. That is a whole other subject that has me not too happy.
Fast forward three weeks to yesterday. This little grey spot on the tooth has now almost completely turned his tooth blackish/grey. I thought it was a very aggressive, fast moving cavity. The Captain took T2 to his appointment so that he could sit and hold his hand etc without 4 other siblings to corral. TWO hours after the scheduled appointment, they get home and I am anxiously waiting to see how he did. The Captain has this "you aren't going to believe this" look on his face. He then says, "you aren't going to believe what was going on with that tooth". It wasn't a cavity?, I asked. Nope. It was the nerve in his tooth, eating away the inside pulp of the tooth. It was so small three weeks ago that it didn't even show up on the xrays. The dentist said that if we hadn't had an appointment when we did, in another week the nerve would have eaten through and shattered the tooth. Mr. T2 would have been in a lot of pain. As it was, it took three passes to clean the nerve out of the tooth and one side of the tooth cracked. The Captain was really impressed with how this dentist handled the procedure and T2. All of the kids will now be seeing this dentist. He cleaned the tooth up and put an enamel coating on. This tooth will eventually fall out around 9 or 10 years old. Dentist said he doesn't know how these happen. Sometimes trauma to the mouth will cause it. Chances are T2 got whacked in the mouth at some point during everyday activities but nothing I can remember. The dentist can't remember the last time he had to do one or seen one so big in the tooth. Aren't we special?? LOL
T2 also thinks the fact that he has a cap on his cavity tooth (the deep one) is pretty cool. He walks around talking about the "gleaming booty" (taken from his Pirate Pete book) in his mouth.
Oh, what T2 had done today - a pulpotomy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
