Thanksgiving, kitty, and lots of spit up!

I haven't written in a while so I thought I would quickly post something.  I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving this year.  We enjoyed ours although it never seems to be the same as when we were younger.  We always stayed home because we had a lot of family in town.  I just remember how nice it was to have everyone home, which happened every Saturday, but it was different.  It was nice to wake up on a cold Thanksgiving morning, Dad had a raging fire in the fireplace, Mom had the turkey in the oven and the house was clean.  Then after a while all our family would start showing up.  We would eat and eat and usually spend most of the evening playing Canasta.  We didn't play until we got older, but it was just fun talking and joking and seeing some older ones throw little "fits" when they lost!  I really miss that kind of Thanksgiving. Ours was still really nice this year.  We went to Abilene and had Thanksgiving dinner with Samantha's new side of the family.  Their tradition is playing football after dinner, so Daniel got to play.  I wanted to watch, but I had to feed Everet.  Then when I was done, Ema said, "Daddy's hurt!"  Daniel had dislocated his shoulder again so he was sitting there (not in pain)  I guess just that odd feeling of not being able to feel his arm.  Samantha's sister-in-law is a nurse and was trying to ease it back in, but it wasn't working.  So we thought we were going to have to go to the doctor, but then it slid back in by itself.  After a while, we went back to Samantha and Kerry's house and tried to play cards.  It doesn't work real well with 4 little kids running around and clamoring for attention.   It was still fun though.

This week is back to "normal" for us.  We had a kitten meowing outside our bedroom window all day yesterday.  We went and found it.  It's probably 2 months old or so and is all grey.  We let the kids put it in the back yard for now because they have really been wanting a pet.  Cats are less maintenance than dogs so maybe this will suffice.  Ema got up extra early this morning and was out there in 30-4o degree weather feeding the cat.  I heard it all last night and then I heard it in a different spot.  Ema was carrying it around the house.  I use the excuse that I am allergic to cats, which I am, as a way of keeping animals out of the house.  I can't stand to have animals in the house, especially after being in my parents' house.  They don't have cats, but the previous owner must have had a few that ruled the house.  Our house's previous owner had one too and I have found big fur balls in the vents.  Nice.  So anyway she had to take it back outside even though "he was so cold."  I know.  I'm heartless.  This morning I've had the treat of listening to Elena meow back and forth with the cat at the back door.  Sometimes Elena sounds more like a tiger cub. 

I had to take Everet to the doctor on Tuesday.  His congestion just seemed to be getting worse. Especially at night-he could hardly breathe so he and I were up for quite a while.  The doctor said his lungs and throat were clear (it didn't sound that way to me though!) He asked if he spits up.  YES-all the time.  He said the congestion is probably due to spit up going up his nose a little and I guess irritating the whole area.  He suggested that I try cutting out dairy products in my diet to see if that helps him stop spitting up.  He may not be able to digest the protein or the lactose in the milk.  So I have refrained from eating the cheese and cereal that I love so much and I haven't seen a difference in his spitting up.  It is so frustrating.  It doesn't matter how much or how little I feed him, when he burps there is almost always something with it.  And not just a little on the corner of his mouth, we have to have a towel to clean it all up.  And if he burps a few times in a row, or has the hiccups, it is worse.  I just don't know what else to do.  How long would it take to get the dairy out of my system?  We have his 2 month checkup next Wednesday, so I'm waiting to see if it gets better by then.  I've been having him sleep in his car seat at night so that he's elevated (I do take it out of the car, for those of you who might be concerned!) and that has helped him sleep better.  At least we're getting a little more sleep, but I'm just really tired of cleaning up spit-up.  I saw a clip from "4 Christmases" where Reese Witherspoon gets thrown up on.  They whisk the baby away and she is just left standing there with her arms out trying not to touch anything and she says, "What do I do?!"  Vince Vaughn is gagging and trying not to throw up.  The whole scene just feels so familiar.  Daniel doesn't gag, but Ema does and Elena screams, "he spit up."  Eli yells it.  And whoever is holding him stands there stunned (although we kind of expect it now) trying to figure out what to clean up first and why won't this towel DO WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET IT TO DO!!  That's the frustration building.  Some of you may have heard Daniel or me talking this way!  We don't really expect the towel to clean it up by itself-it usually happens that Everet is laying on the towel in some way that restricts us from getting it all the way to the spit up before it is on the floor, couch, our pants, or whatever.  It probably is a funny scene to watch.  Sometimes I'll be singing to him or talking happy and then interrupt it with "aaahhh maannn" because it goes everywhere.   Okay now I've talked way too long about spit up.  

On a side note, I didn't "quickly" write this post as I had intended.  The boys woke up and after feeding them and the kitty and getting drinks for them, it has been over 2 hours since I started it.   So much for that!

Pictures and things

I thought I would try and post some updated pictures. This one was just when we were trying to get a family picture. I thought it turned out pretty cute. We've been staying pretty busy for the past couple of weeks so I'm hoping this Thanksgiving week will be a little more relaxing. We are going to Abilene on Thursday and we get to stay in a motel with an indoor pool. The kids are excited about it and I have to admit that I am too, even though I really can't swim. It's still fun to play in the water! We will actually be there for a little longer than usual and I'm hoping not to plan too much to cram in those days.  We will be taking time to see our new nephew, Nathan James for a while.  The pictures are adorable, but I'm sure they don't do him justice!  It's much better to make a visit.  Arly's family is there so we will let them have more time with him since they live farther away.  I'm excited though!  We're coming back Saturday afternoon instead of Sunday because it is always so hectic on Sundays to try and get everyone ready for church, and pack up and check out of the motel before 8:00 our time. The kids are usually hard to deal with because of the time difference and just being away from home and so we just decided to come back and have a calm day at home. Now I just have to get the laundry done and pack for 6 people. That's not stressful at all!

This is just a cute picture of Ema after her Halloween party at school.  She got her face painted and we had to take a picture before we washed it off and ran in to change into a Snow White costume.  This is when she had both of her front teeth still.

This isn't the greatest picture, but it shows that she had lost one of those front ones and that other one is just barely hanging on.  We were trying to get her to pull it before her party, then we tried to convince her to let one of the grandmas do it.  But she didn't want to.  Finally the day after this party, after church, we spent over an hour wrestling with her because we were afraid she would swallow the tooth or something.  I thought the police may have been called on us because of all the screaming, but we finally got it out.  We were all so frustrated-it was ridiculous.  Now they are out and she was messing with another tooth one day.  I told her, "Don't you dare try to get another one loose.  We need a bit of a break from the last two drama episodes."  We keep meaning to take a picture of her, but haven't gotten a good one yet.  This picture also shows Aunt Mantha's favorite gift of sugared gum that Daddy bought!

The first three pictures are this past Sunday.  He has really started smiling and talking.  He's to the point that we have another way to console him.  Not just feed him, change him, or put him to sleep.  He loves to be talked to.  Right now his tummy must be hurting because nothing is working.  He's also been very congested the past few days and there's really nothing more we can do for him.  It's frustrating.  After I re-read this it sounds really grim, like we're just trying to keep him comfortable on his last days!  I meant we can't do anything else besides the humidifier, and cleaning out his nose.  

I finally broke down and bought a sling because I wasn't getting around to making one and I was afraid the material I had wouldn't work right.  Ema wanted to wear it, but it's too big for her, so I let her try this one that a friend had made, but was too small for her and me.  It's still too big for Ema, but she enjoyed holding him with it while he slept in her arms.  She's a pretty good helper!

My kids have resorted to eating dry oatmeal and watching Cars for the second time (it's REALLY scratched up so it skips through most of the movie!) while I've been doing this-among other things like taking care of fits, accidents, diaper changing, etc., etc.  I hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving!  Oh-and I will post pictures of my other 2 kids one of these days!

Happy Birthday Ema!

Today, despite the gloomy national news, we are celebrating Ema. Seven years ago today, we were in Midland Memorial having our beautiful Ema Cheri. She was finally born at 6:26 pm. She was 7 lbs, 1 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. One of the first things said in the delivery room was "He" is a "she" because they kept calling the baby "he." I can still remember the feel of her soft, warm, tiny head in my hands. I just can't believe that was seven years ago!

Ema, you are such a special girl. You are creative, silly, ornery, energetic, stubborn, caring and thoughtful. You always want to be doing something, whether it's making a project out of paper cups and sticky letters, or just going out and getting a drink with Daddy. You are so smart and have an excellent memory. You keep us on our toes with your quick thinking. When we were trying to pull your tooth the other night, I said, "Let me try to pull it and you just talk to Everet." The look on your face was priceless and you said, "how can I talk to him while you have your finger in my mouth?" You are such a sweet girl. You love to make cards for people, even if a lot of them say the same thing, you know that someone may need a card and you make a few for them. You are usually pretty helpful with Everet like holding him when I just need to do something. I can remember you even helping with Eli and Elena. The older women at church were surprised, and a little scared about you carrying Elena around, but you've always been pretty careful. My hope for you is that you will always focus your energy on doing good for others, and that you will always be as confident in your beliefs as you are today. Your stubbornness might get you into trouble at times, but hopefully it will come in handy when you are faced with bigger issues. I promise you that I will always be there for you to help and support you and most importantly, to pray for you. You are one in a million and I hope we can always show you how special you are.

I was trying to think of some funny or neat things Ema has done. There are so many so I may come back and forth adding them as I think of them. Feel free to add your memories of her in the comments. I have a bad memory, so I always appreciate when someone reminds me of something.

I remember:
-reading "The Fox Book" with her when she was about 2. One of the pictures has a huge woodchuck next to a small fox. I read "the fox pups go out and meet their neighbor, a [giant] woodchuck." We laughed together for so long. We still read it that way and laugh.

-playing Barbies with her and making up silly conversations for them.

-her screaming at the top of her lungs in the middle of the night because there was a dinosaur with "shaap teef" in her bedroom. We didn't watch Jurassic Park anymore after that.

-going for walks on the dairy with her, feeding the calves, looking at all the cows.

-fainting in the emergency room as I watched her get her first stitches.

-her wiggly worm dance she did when she was about 6 months old. She put her hands behind her head and wiggled her body from side to side. So cute!

-she has always loved to read. She is one of the best readers in her class. She even was reading a card written in cursive to me yesterday.

-she has also always loved singing and listening to music really loud. She likes to make up songs too.

I probably could go on, but I need to get some other things done. I am going to make cookies and take them to her class in a little while. I am still having trouble getting into our old pictures on the computer, but I am amazed at how much Everet looks like Ema. They actually all look quite similar. All of them are as beautiful and handsome as they can be!

We love you Ema and hope you have a wonderful birthday!!

Conversations

I was just in the kitchen with Elena and she said,
"you know what?" (her new phrase) "Dalton say da da, and I say BE TWIET DALTON."
(Me) "Well that was rude."
(Her, laughing) "Yeah, I know it."

She just cracks me up sometimes. Ema came home the other day with a cheer she learned from a friend at school. It goes something like, "to the back, to the front, to the side, to the side, let me see your butterfly." Elena says, "watch this, mom" and jumps around laughing and says "front side back, wha me hee your butterfwy." I don't think Ema does it when she does the cheer, but Elena kinda shakes her hiney on that part. I know it's not supposed to be cute or funny, but it is a little bit! She's actually shaking her whole body, but that is the part that shakes the most. She is a big ham.

Ema has been dressing up for school this week. They are having their drug free week and each day is a different theme. Some seem like they are stretching it a little bit but oh well. Like "crazy against drugs" where they dress crazy-Ema wore 2 shirts, 2 different socks, and her hair in 2 low ponytails. She actually looked really cute. Tuesday she wore her chef's hat and apron because they were supposed to dress up as who they wanted to be when they grow up. Today she is wearing a Snow White dress that someone made and handed down to us. (The theme is our stories are drug-free) She thought she was supposed to dress up as a character that they've learned about this year, but I told her it could be anyone. (Really, how do you dress up as the Pied Piper or Anansi the spider? I need a picture.) Anyway she was self-conscious about it this morning and was afraid she wasn't dressed as the right kind of character. So I had to call one of our friends to avoid walking in with her in my pajamas, messed up hair, and spit-up on my shirt. Then she was okay with it because Ms. Terri said it could be any character from any story. She just reminded me so much of myself this morning. I am the type of person that doesn't like to look different or stand out. This is one reason I don't like Halloween because I always HATED trying to figure out something original and neat to be, and then wondering if anybody else was actually going to dress up. I guess most people go through that. Anyway I am proud of her for doing it.

Eli is still thinking he's going to be a rhinoceros for Halloween so if anyone has any ideas on that, please enlighten me! As usual I have waited for the last minute to figure something out. I put a pumpkin suit on Elena yesterday and she said, "I wook funny." I don't know if she'll wear it or not, but it was cute.

Is it just me, or do other people burst out laughing when nobody else is around? Please tell me I'm not crazy-maybe I just don't get out enough. I was cleaning yesterday and just thinking about things. The scrub brush I was using has rubber bristles and it can be used for many different things. I had ordered it from the FlyLady website that Kristi told me about. People on the website said you could use it for combing pets, or massaging someone's head (I know-random) along with all the other great cleaning uses. Anyway Daniel had a shaved head so he was sitting there and I rubbed his head with it. If you know Daniel, you know he just sat there, unimpressed.
(Me) "Does that feel nice?"
(Daniel) "I guess."
(Me) "They said it's supposed to feel nice."
(Daniel) "Okay. Yeah."
(Me) "It worked really good on the toilet too."
If you know me, you know I like to see how people react to things I say or do. Daniel is hard to get a reaction from. He might have thought it was funnier if I could have kept a straight face through it, but I couldn't. So he just smiled and let out a small chuckle. I love it when I can actually make him laugh, but it doesn't happen very often. Anyway I was thinking about that yesterday while I was cleaning and cracked up all over again. Then there is the other story that makes me laugh so hard. (If you all have other things to do, feel free to go. I didn't intend to write so much, but I'm getting a kick out of myself!) We were sitting around with our friends talking about hospital stays or something. One couple was saying that he had kidney stones and spent a miserable time in the ER and so the next time he had them, he knew what it was so he didn't go. His wife was telling the story and she said, "He was too stubborn to go to the ER again, so he just laid in that bed until he passed it." Daniel quietly leaned over to me and said, "note to self, don't buy a used mattress from the Carsons." I guess laughing is my stress reliever so I'm glad I have these stories to fall back on, when nobody is around to make me laugh.

I've wasted enough time now, but I will leave you with one final piece of advice. If you are ever in a car accident and it suddenly gets quiet, don't take your seat belt off. . . . you may be airborne. (I've been laughing at this one for 12 years. It never gets old to me!)

Finally some pictures

I know a lot of you have seen these already because Shellie and Arly have some up, but here they are anyway. We've got some more on our camera, but the battery won't stay charged up. This is going to be short because I am having to do everything one-handed. Left-handed even because Everet is comfy in my right arm for a few minutes anyway. He's been a little fussy lately so if I can't do something with only one hand, it hasn't gotten done. I try to get a few things done when Daniel gets home, but have been pretty tired lately. Go figure.

A quick review of the last 2 weeks: A very quick (for me) surprise labor and delivery, surgery to assure this doesn't happen again, a bunch of family visiting and helping (thank you all SO much), a 10-day vacation for Daniel (so nice to have him here-the kids couldn't understand why he went to work this week), a week of weakness and soreness (I had to hold my belly to laugh), a clingy, slightly jealous 2-year old, supper being brought to us almost every night (incredibly helpful), first times back at church apparently with sick friends, 3 of the 6 of us throwing up (I also can't tell if Everet is spitting up or throwing up-it's been spewing today), Eli and I have managed to avoid it. We had a trip to the doctor today for an unhealed circumcision and yeast infection. Eli also had one a few days after he was born-maybe because of the penicillin I had to get during delivery? The girls didn't get one though-weird. We've had many "get out of his face" scoldings, lots of just sitting and holding, and a bunch of sleepless nights. It has been great though. That's all I can think of right now. Hopefully we'll get into some kind of routine soon. And I think I need to go and get me one of those slings to hold him in. I haven't been to Wal-mart in 3 weeks people! That's a new record for me! And our bank account appreciates it!

As I Fall to Sleep...

Some recent events have caused me to think upon and remember some great truths, some great promises and the love we have (or should have) for each other. It may seem strange to some but these thoughts have been stirred up from depths of my heart by, of all things, a hard rocking alternative Christian band; Skillet. Those who have the enviable pleasure of knowing me also know that Skillet is by far my favorite band - and I listen to every album they have released to date every day. I’m not kidding either – every album, every day. My iTunes library will attest this fact. Maybe it’s the name, the face melting guitar rifts, or the true beauty of many of their songs – I don’t know for sure but something connected with me that fateful day back in 1996 when, at the ACU Campus Store, I gazed upon the music rack and saw for the first time, a CD with a skillet emblazoned across its cover and a band named after a cooking utensil. I was hooked, they had me – and my wife thanks them every day for snagging me.

But today, as I faithfully listen, something came to mind. The song was Will You Be There (Falling Down) and the first few words are:

As I fall to sleep
Will you comfort me
When my heart is weak
Will you rescue me

Will you be there
As I grow cold
Will you be there when I'm falling down
Will you be there

Those words I’ve heard and sung hundreds of times over the years – but this time they reached into me, grabbed hold and shook me, bringing to my mind the recent death of a friend and brother.

He was a good man who loved his God, his wife, his daughter, his granddaughter, his family and all his friends. He had turned his life around, giving himself in submission to baptism to become a child of God and recently had been selected to serve as a deacon in our congregation. About four months ago we played softball in the local church league. About three months ago he found out he had cancer. Almost three weeks ago he fell asleep and almost two weeks ago we remembered his life.

A few days before he died, in Bible class Sunday morning, we asked his wife how he was doing. He wasn’t doing well at all and hadn’t eaten in three days. She was trying to be strong and provide for the man who had provided for her for so long. And through the words we could all feel the depths of sorrow and pain that she suffered. That day I was selected to pray on her behalf. An honor for me to say the least and one of the hardest, most painful prayers I have ever offered to my Lord. I asked for strength, for mercy, for love and above all – healing.

Knowing our God is the Great Physician with the power to restore his body and heal our pain, I pleaded with God, begging Him to give our brother back to us. This is what we want were the words I spoke, acknowledging our own personal desire. Then I asked for strength and understanding whatever the outcome may be, knowing that in all things Gods will is done, knowing that God understands our pain – He gave His Son – and in the end God shall wipe away all tears, there’s no death, no pain, nor fears. Three days later about 7 am, he left this life.

The song simply asks God will You be there. The answer is a deafening, unequivocal and resounding YES! God will be there, He is always there. And He did answer my prayer. He took the pain away, and He is healing us, every day. We miss our friend and brother, husband and father, but we know there is no more pain, and we know that God is there and will always be there. And I praise my God for again teaching me how great and awesome He is.

As I write this another song has played and ‘stirred the pot’ you might say. The song is titled Rebirthing. Here is the chorus:

Rebirthing now

I wanna live for love, wanna live for you and me

Breathe for the first time now

I come alive somehow

Rebirthing now

I wanna live my life, wanna give you everything

Breathe for the first time now

I come alive somehow

My friend was a Christian. He lived for the Lord and died in the Lord. He had been and has been reborn. Through the terrible pain of his cancer he has now been reborn, where there is no pain. In my mind this has now been compared to birth. As you know Syndi is pregnant with our fourth child, due about October 7^th. As I remember the births of our first three children I can’t help but draw a connection. Through the terrible pain of childbirth a new life is born. I don’t know what it was exactly but something connected with me on those beautiful days when, at the hospital, I gazed upon an infant and saw for the first time, a life with me emblazoned across its face and a child bearing my name. This child is my flesh and blood, having been woven together by God and now placed in my care. I was hooked, they had me – and I thank God every day for snagging me.

From pain, came life. God has taken our sin away and allows us to be reborn and become His children, but this could only happen through the pain and suffering and death of His Son becoming the ultimate perfect sacrifice. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ we are born again, reborn, to be children of God – emblazoned with the blood of His Son.

These events also brought to mind something that happened awhile ago. Syndi wrote about it at the time but it has now come back to teach me. Really it isn’t about the specific event per say, but more about the pain that was endured, can and will be endured, and the ability I have to do nothing about it. I can’t take it away, and I can only try to prevent it. In the end all I can do – is be there.

At the time it happened – Ema had two teeth pulled without the full benefit of anesthetics – I could do nothing but hold her and try to comfort her, when what I wanted to do was take the pain upon myself (and gleefully shove it down the dentists’ throat). But I also knew that I can’t do that, every parent wants to but we can’t. We don’t like it but pain makes us grow, makes us stronger and better able to deal with life. And so we sat, in tears, and I held my beautiful daughter. The following day I couldn’t help but write…

Within my heart was kindled;

So must be writ, the impassioning within.

- Stained with Tears -

And stained . . .

. . . I am.

The tears have come;

And falling hard upon my chest,

they beat . . .

. . . with longing cries.

And cradled in my arms, So tight . . .

We weep;

. . . but why? Why?

I’m here my child,

My love,

My all,

Held in my arms,

My love to heal.

You are my child,

My flesh,

My blood.

For all and ever and aught we bear;

the life, the joy, the pain we share.

And this, my child, to you I swear

I give my love, my all

For you my child, I give my life.

and I – now stained . . .

. . . my tears

. . . my blood.

Something within me drew a connection to the pain I felt through the pain my daughter felt to the pain my Lord and my God felt in knowing we were lost, sinful, dead, yet He gave His Son to suffer the pain of death – withholding His own hand, knowing He couldn’t take the pain the away – so we could be reborn through the blood of His Son. Again I praise my God for teaching me how great and awesome He is.

One last thought. The day before my friend passed away his wife said something I will never forget and hopefully will live and demonstrate on a daily basis. In speaking of her husband and the effects that cancer and morphine had upon him she pleaded with us not to take for granted our spouses and the time we have with them. Three days later she lost her husband. But she knows the love they had and wonderful marriage they shared.

It is my prayer that I have not, and nor do I ever take my wife for granted. Our marriage is truly wonderful. She is my best friend, my confidant, my life, my love, my very self. She is my everything; my angel; my immortal beloved and I love her so deeply, so fully, so powerfully – my soul aches, longing to be near her. From the beginning my love has grown and will only continue to grow.

I will love you, you and no other, my whole life.

Wasting Time

I am trying to find other things to do right now so I don't have to tackle the big mess in the kitchen. You can see that I've changed my blog a little bit. I was trying to get a cute thing on it, and I followed the directions, but I can't get it to work. Oh well. I had a doctor's appointment early this morning. Everything is fine right now. Still waiting for another few weeks though. For those of you who don't know, we are having a boy. I know I got on my soap box about that, but we were pretty sure anyway, and we were having such trouble coming up with names (still haven't decided), and I really wanted to get rid of some things, like the mounds of girl clothes we have. So we are excited that it will work out so well with bedrooms and play mates and stuff. I also figured out that the age difference between Ema and Elena is almost exactly the same as between Eli and this one.

We are hoping to have a yard sale this weekend if I can kick it into high gear. Next weekend is Daniel's birthday, and then after that, I'm just hoping I will be recovering by that time and not still waddling and I won't be able to have a yard sale. We have been putting it off for some time now and I would LOVE to get the stuff out of our garage. I finally ordered our bassinet last week only to find out that it has been discontinued. I found it still in stock on amazon so hopefully we will at least have that soon. I don't understand why it would be discontinued because it has 4.5 stars and is not too high priced compared to some I saw. It also is a multi-function thing. Hopefully it will work out.

Ema is still enjoying school for the most part. We got her 4-week report today and the only area she needs to work on is listening and paying attention. Kinda like at home. I need to go grocery shopping tonight and get busy on some things. I'm just not real motivated right now. I guess that's all I have to say right now.