Fantasy Football Woes

What a sad day.
The points are in from all the football games this week and my team has lost, yet again. An abysmal 109 points to the PA Killer Bees' 132. Starting the season with only 1 win and 4 losses, making my poor team the second worse team in the league (yes, there is actually someone with a worse start). Peyton Manning would be ashamed to know he was on such a team, unworthy of his greatness.
Woe is me!

Fantasy football is so much more fun than I ever imagined it to be! It brings out the competitive spirit and makes watching the football games, that would be on anyway, a much more interesting experience. Now, if I could just figure out how to get the full points potential out of my team, we would be doing great! The winning streak for Gramcrackers Zoo and the Texas Coolzone must end!

What's that smell?

Recently, the husband and I had an interesting conversation sparked by him teasing me about one of things I love to smell the most, new books. I love the smell of a new book! The first thing I do when I get a new book is flip through the pages, inhaling that wonderful new book smell. The husband finds this rather amusing, maybe rightly so.
This got us on the subject of what our favorite smells are. An interesting subject, indeed. I bet you can tell a lot about a person based on the things they like to sniff.
So, here is your chance to learn a little about me based on my top five smells (not necessarily in order).

1. New books (bet you didn't see that one coming)
2. Roses
3. Freshly shampooed baby hair
4. Fresh diapers (the husband finds this one amusing as well)
5. New Crayons (one of my favorite things in the world is coloring with brand new crayons, love the smell that goes along with that)

So, what are your top five smells? :)

How can you win with the health insurance company?

As many of you know, kiddo #4 was an early walker. She was pulling herself up to stand before she could crawl and walking by the time she turned 9 months. Kiddo #4 thinks she is a big kid and is determined to do anything she can to "keep up" with her three older siblings. For the most part, this is not a bad thing and is actually quite adorable however, there are some problems that can develop in the physical growth/development of children who are early walkers.

When she was about 10 months old we noticed that Kiddo #4's right leg was looking a little funny and that she was not walking quite right anymore. By the time she was 12 months old and it was time for her yearly checkup her walking had worsened and her leg was more visibly bow-legged. Our pediatrician referred us to a pediatric orthopedist who quickly determined that kiddo #4 has what is called tibia vara and determined that she needs to wear a brace on her leg for awhile to correct the problem. Tibia vara is not really serious problem, it means that her tibia bone is growing crookedly because of the weight she put on her legs at such an early age. It is not uncommon although, it is not usually apparent until children are closer to the age of 2.

So, we saw a problem, we talked to the doctor about the problem, the doctor diagnosed the problem and prescribed a fix for said problem. That was the easy part, quick and easy.

Now, here we sit 8 or 9 weeks later and still no brace. Getting in with the place who makes the braces was not difficult. However, after waiting in the office for more than 3 hours we learned that the insurance company needed more information before approving the brace. After another week of waiting it was finally determined that the brace place needed to send in paperwork so, they did. Cathy, the very nice receptionist at the brace place sent in her paperwork on August 23. I finally called Cathy about 2 weeks later to find out the status only to learn that the process usually takes about 30 days. Meanwhile, kiddo #4's leg is getting worse. I called the insurance company on Cathy's advice and, of course they did not have the paperwork in yet and told me to call back in week so, I did. I called back every week. Finally, today I talked to the insurance company only to find out that they didn't actually receive the paperwork until September 24. My first question is, why would it take a month to get to them and in their system? The insurance representative kindly informed me that it would take 30 days from the date they received the letter to get the approval for the brace. When I kindly informed her that we absolutely needed it earlier than that as kiddo #4's leg is continuing to worsen she kindly informed me that they must follow the "appropriate steps" for approval because the brace is a device that will cost more than $500 and following those steps will take 30 business days. She says there is nothing they can do. This puts us into November.

Poor kiddo #4 continues to get worse. Every time I see her trip over herself or see her leg collapse under her because she stepped just wrong, I want to throttle somebody at the insurance company. My little girl is getting worse because the insurance company refuses to rush approval for her brace because it costs more than their magic number. She is also growing so, the measurements they took way back in August will no longer be good by the time the insurance comes through in November and they will have to take an additional 2 to 3 weeks to make her a new one. My hands are tied. Nothing I can say or do will make this a priority to them, they have enough clients that her little leg problem means nothing to them. I have to just sit back and wait. How does one do that? How could I possibly make them understand? This sucks.

Sorry, for my long rant. I am pretty irritated, frustrated, you name it, right now.

It's Kiddo #3's Turn!

My dear, sweet, precious Kiddo #3! You are 3 today! What a big boy you are.
Kannon, there is no other like you. You are sweet and crazy and loving all wrapped up into one. You are the most adventurous of children, your lack of fear is truly amazing! :) I love you kiddo! I hope you had a very fun day on your birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Miss Chris!

Well, I haven't posted anything in eons. We have been much, much, much busier these last couple months than I ever imagined we would be! I have had little time to even read anybody else's posts, let alone make any of my own. Things are going to get busier over the next couple months as I begin working 3 jobs and continue homeschooling kiddos #1 and #2 but, I have missed this blogging community and plan to make an effort to get back into it.

I thought it fitting to make my first blog back a happy birthday entry since #1 it was my friend Chris' birthday just a couple days ago and #2 a birthday post was the last entry I made. :)

So, Miss Chris, a happy birthday to you! You have been my friend since first grade and we have celebrated many, many birthdays together. I am so happy that we were able to celebrate yet another one this year. It was not a big party with a big cake but, I had a great time spending the evening with you and I hope you enjoyed yourself as well.
Miss Chris, you have been the best of friends for so many years. I love you like a member of my family and my family loves you as much as I. I am so lucky to have you as my friend and I really look forward to many more years and many more birthdays celebrated with you.

One Year Already!

Happy first birthday kiddo #4, my sweet blessing baby!

Vacations and Surprises

There has been something that I have just been DYING to write about for months and months and months. However, that something was a great big surprise for somebody who may or may not be a reader of this blog so, I was unable to utter a single word about it and risk blowing it. Until now. Yipee! That somebody has been presented with her BIG surprise and now I am free to write about it all I want.

It all started last August when I was talking to my little sister, who lives in Florida. She casually mentioned an idea that was suggested to her by our aunt, who lives in Idaho. It was an idea that got my sisters and I jumping with excitement. Phone calls were made from Florida to Idaho to Texas to Florida and around and around it went for months.
The plan, presented by an uncle who swears he has no recollection of ever suggesting such a thing, started out as a simple idea to get my sisters and me and all our children up to Boise for my mom's 50th birthday and ended up as the biggest surprise ever planned (and pulled off) by this family. What fun it was too!
As I mentioned, this all started last August. My mother's birthday is June 14th. So, we spent almost a year planning and organizing this thing and somehow managed to keep it a secret! By Thanksgiving the whole family (about 32 of us) knew about and became involved with the organization of this party. I still don't know how we all managed to keep it from her for so long! My Aunt Dora (the main organizer) gave out jobs and responsibilities to various members of the family and threatened us with our lives if we were to spill the beans.
You see, I moved to Texas with my husband and kiddo #1 when kiddo #1 was just 4 weeks old. I have been back to Boise a couple times to visit and Mom has made it down here a couple times. However, a few months after we moved to Texas my younger sister moved to Florida and my older sister followed her down there a couple years later. The day we left for Texas ended up being the last day that my Mom was able to spend with all of her kids together and the last day that I saw my younger sister for 7 years. My mom had 2 grandkids that she hadn't even met yet, I had 2 nephews that I had never met and my sisters had 2 nephews and a niece that they had never met. So, this surprise party was a REALLY big deal.
Anyway...

Now that I think about it, I don't know what jobs my sisters were assigned to but, I decided that I absolutely must provide the birthday cake. This presented a pretty interesting challenge because our plan was to drive up and our vacation was cut short because of work conflicts with my husband so, we had to actually bake the cake here and bring it up with us to 'assemble'. I planned a 3 tiered thing with flowers growing up the side. It took a lot of extra time and some creativity but, we figured out how to pack it relatively safely and got it up there with minimal damage.

So, with great excitement we piled into our van on June 12th for the mad dash up to Boise. The party was planned to start at around 4pm on the 14th and I had to have time to finish the cake so, we had to get up there as fast as we could. It was tiring (tiring? exhausting) but we made it. The kids were fabulous on the drive. I think they even enjoyed themselves a little. This was the first time that we had been able to go on a vacation in a very long time so, everybody was very excited.
There were some hiccups in plans on the day of the party but, it all came together spectacularly. This was the first time that my entire family had gathered together since my grandmother's funeral over 10 years ago. My Aunt even somehow managed to get my Uncle and Grandfather, who haven't spoken to each other in that amount of time, together at the same event. There were only two people missing, my cousin and her son, they were unable to make the trip up from Florida (what's the deal with everyone moving to Florida?).
My Aunt and Uncle were able to get Mom to come over to Aunt Dora's house for her birthday by telling her that my Uncle would really like to spend the evening with her and he would grill her ribs for her on her birthday. Mom is not big on celebrating birthdays but, he was very convincing and she agreed to the little party of just the 3 of them.
We planned it so that when my Mom came out to the backyard she would not be able to see those of us who had so sneakily come to town to surprise her. The rest of the family were going to yell "Surprise!" then, all her grandkids would come out of hiding (which was behind her) and say "Happy Birthday, Grandma" and give her a rose. The funniest thing was that when my niece, Ayla, the eldest grandchild called out to her, Mom didn't even turn around. Poor Ayla was running up to her and must have said "Happy Birthday" 3 times with no response by the time she reached my mom and tugged on her shirt so she would turn around. And when she finally did turn around, the look of shock was priceless! There was some speculation as to whether or not she would cry because my mom is not the type to cry. While there was no real crying per se, there were a few tears that made their way out. Her reaction made all the hard work and hard traveling well worth the effort. Her arms and her mouth opened wide and she was shaking as she tried to hug all her grandchildren and children at once. It was a wonderful thing to see.
And there was my Aunt who was really the one behind it all, hiding in a corner laughing so hard she was in tears. It was such a wonderful thing that she did for my mom, her sister. I cannot thank her enough for getting us all together up there. It was amazing to see my sisters again and to spend that time all together.

There is more to the story of our vacation. More surprises, good and bad. More adventures. However, it is late and this may just be the longest blog entry that I have ever written so, I think I will stop here and pick up the story again another day. Now, y'all know where I have been for the past few weeks, though. Preparing for the trip, making cake, more trip preparation, driving, more driving, and a week of recovery. :)

Kiddo #2 Update

I have had a few people ask how kiddo #2 is doing. I want to thank you all for your concern and your prayers! It's comforting knowing that there have been people out there praying for him.

So, now for the update....
Let's see, the last post was on Monday. We took him to the doctor on Tuesday just to find out that he had "some sort of virus" and was dehydrated but, not quite to the point of needing an IV. There was nothing we could do other than keep the fever down as much as possible and try to get him to take some liquids. He was required to use the potty by 4:00 that afternoon in order to stay out of the hospital....he finally peed at 3:45! He ended up back in the Dr.'s office later that afternoon, though because he started getting a little delirious from the fever, that was a bit scary. The fever FINALLY broke last Friday afternoon and it has not come back. He is no longer hovering on the edge of dehydration and hospitalization. He has some lingering fatigue which worries me a bit. He has not returned to his normal high energy, rambunctious self. He is eating and drinking more but, again, not back to normal yet. I am considering taking him back to the Dr. but, I don't know that they can do anything for him so, have not made the decision to return yet. If he is not closer to normal by Monday we will be heading back in to see Dr. Jim.

So far, everybody else has remained healthy. I am probably speaking too soon but, it is possible that we have avoided spreading this nasty little virus.

The Shirt Says It All

"Daddy thinks I'm awesome!"

Poor Kid

Well, we have gone for quite sometime without the germs invading. Alas, all good things must come to an end, though. Kiddo #2 has.....something, don't know exactly what. The poor kid has had a fever for two days now. He has been very calm and very still for 24 hours now. It is about time to call the doctor.
I have to say, it is VERY disconcerting to see such an active rambunctious little boy lying so still and quiet for so long! Please pray for him.

Happy Birthday, Teya!

I can't believe it has been seven years already! My sweet curly headed little angel is 7 already!
Friday was kiddo #1's birthday. I wanted to post a happy birthday message for her then but, it has been a busy couple days. So, here it is, sweetie. Just a little late.

Teya, we are so blessed to have you in our lives. I feel so lucky that I get to be your mommy.

You are such a beautiful and smart little girl. (big girl? :) )

Your patience and loving kindness towards your little brothers and sister (as well as others) is amazing. You are such a big help to me, there are some days that I don't know what I would do without you. Thank you for not only being such a big helper but, doing it happily and lovingly.

You make me smile everyday. I love your silly jokes and funny stories. You have a great imagination kiddo. :)

I love that you love reading and learning new things so much. It is so fun to watch you learn and experience new things. What a pleasure it is to be your teacher. :)

You are a beautiful dancer.

You play the piano and sing beautifully.

Your love for reading the Bible and your love for our Lord is inspiring.

It has been a fun and fast 7 years. I am excited to see what the future holds for you! But, hey kiddo, let's slow it down a little, huh? We don't need the next 7 years flying by as quickly as the first 7! :)

Growing Up So Fast!

The last two weeks have been weeks of major milestones for our two little ones. They are growing up so fast! Soon they will be children not, a toddler and a baby. I don't know what I will do without babies in the house anymore! It sure is fun to watch them grow. Oh, but how fast they are growing! We need to make them, especially the baby, just slow down a notch or two! :)

Kiddo #3 here has suddenly made leaps and bounds in his speech. He went from talking gibberish that hardly anybody could understand to almost conversational in a matter of days. He has been slow in his speech development, mostly because he just didn't want to, and it is just amazing to hear understandable words come from his cute little mouth. :) On top of that, he has decided that using the potty rather than a diaper really is a good idea and has given up diapers completely during the day. He still wears a pull up at night for sleeping but, I suspect that won't last too much longer. What a big boy!


Kiddo #4 is 9 months old now. She has decided that she can and will walk. She walks everywhere and only crawls if she wants to get somewhere REALLY fast. Walking! Big girl! I keep telling her that she is only 9 months old and she is the last one so, she needs to just slow it down and let me enjoy her "babiness" just a little longer but, she must think I am just being silly or something because she will not listen to reason. Then just two days ago she sees her very favorite daddy and gives him the biggest grin and says "hi, daddy!" Clear as day, there was no mistaking what she said or that it was what she meant to say. Talking?! Really, this is just getting out of hand!

Quiet! Is it really possible?

Seriously, is it really possible to have the house quiet during naptime? Am I asking too much? Are my expectations too high?

Here's the situation. Kiddos #1 and #2 no longer take a nap during the day. Kiddo #2 really still needs one but, he has figured out how to keep himself awake so it's just not worth the battle anymore. Kiddos #3 and #4 still really need a nap. Naptime is at about the same time everyday. I give plenty of warnings and plan for what we will do while the little ones are napping. The time comes and the little ones go to bed, it's a pretty easy process at this point, not much of a battle to get them down. Then the problems start.
I try to do school time during naptime because it's easier for the older two to concentrate on their studies when the two little ones are not there bugging them. It seems to me that it should be fairly easy to be nice and quiet while we work. We move to the back of the house where the playroom is and close the doors behind us creating a sound buffer. Should be nice and quiet for the sleeping ones, right? Yet, it never fails kiddo #2 ALWAYS wakes his brother and sister before they are ready. EVERY day. He also wakes them up in the mornings if he gets up before them. He just CANNOT be quiet.
WHY!? Why can't he manage to keep quiet for just a short time? How can I teach him to be quiet? How can I make this important to him? Is it just not possible? Should I give up the fight?
You would think that a kid who has a father who worked nights and slept days all of his life would understand about being quiet while someone is sleeping. No, sir! Not a chance! He yells, he bangs things around, he slams doors, he runs through the house, etc, etc, etc.
I made him stay back in the playroom today because he just would not calm down. I told him that he could only come out if he had to potty, until the little ones woke up. He still managed to wake them up. Now, I have two tired and grouchy little ones and I am tired and grouchy. GROWL!

He's such a sweet kid. He has a lot of energy and gets excited about so many things. He is a joy to be around, most of the time. I just wish he could be quiet for an hour or two in the afternoon!

It's Playoff Time!!!

Monday Blues

What is it about Mondays? Yesterday was Monday and it was just not a very good day. In fact, the last three or four Mondays have just been...well, bad days. I can't figure out why that is. There is nothing particularly special about Mondays at our house. I don't have a Monday thru Friday job so, I am not doing the stereotypical get up and go to work Monday thing. We homeschool so, I don't have to do the get the kids up and ready Monday thing. So, why is it that Mondays have been so extra chaotic and just downright bad days? What is it about Mondays? The husband does go back to work Monday mornings after the weekend off but, it just doesn't seem like that should be a deal breaker for the day to me. Maybe that is what it is but, I am skeptical.
What is it about Mondays? The kids have been extra grouchy, whiny, and uncooperative. And the mom has been extra low on patience. Put these things together and it makes for a bad day for all of us. To top off this particular Monday, ants have decided to invade our master bathroom. Ants. In the bathroom. I HATE ants. Why ants? Why the bathroom?
It's strange because Monday should be a fun and easy day because it is music class with Gram day and mini-church for the mom and dad day. Things that we all enjoy.
I need to come up with a plan to make this day somehow better for all of us.

Haiti Day One

If you know about the mission trip we took to Haiti, you know that we returned quite some time ago. Did you know, however, that the trip is still making daily impacts on many people, including myself? While there, I kept a journal of our activities and a few observations. I hope you find them meaningful, encouraging, thought provoking, or at the least, entertaining.

Friday, 26 February

Finally here in Haiti. Had a small scare in the getting here part. While in customs, a few of our bags & trunks were inspected. The "officials" there wanted to charge us tax on some mirrors we brought. It was very obvious that the customs "officials" were more well off then the other Haitians we had seen. It was also unsettling that they were the law of that time and place. Somehow, (read, "by the grace of God") we were able to convince them that the mirrors were gifts, not wares to be sold. Or maybe they got sick of arguing, but either way, 45 minutes later we moved on. A 10 minute drive to the other side of the airport. Our "taxi's" were more thrilling than a ride at Six Flags. The driver's seat in the SUV I rode in wasn't bolted to the floor. I don't think I've seen a window yet that isn't cracked. On to another wait in a packed airport. The bathrooms have nosey attendants and everything is dirty and in poor repair. We were informed that they knew we were to fly out soon, but they needed to find the airplane first. That's right... find. Another hour & a half and we're off in shiny, pretty new puddle jumper... with balding tires. We land on a gravel strip. The Jeremie airport is smaller than many north Texas homes. There isn't anyone working there. No control tower. Four trucks pack us and our 21 bags on the trip to the church. The roads redefine bumpy. Average mph? 7 at best. 1:45 drive. I'm sore and beaten. We stopped for gas in downtown Jeremie. Very crowded. Our hosts gave us a bottle of soda and a small sandwich. Chicken with catchup on a hard, dry biscuit. A young boy, maybe 7 asks for something. Rubs his belly while pointing to my sandwich. So skinny. Three of us end up splitting the sandwich. When I hand him his piece, a small bit of chicken falls on my hand. The thought crossed my mind to just drop it, but he snatched it into his mouth before I could blink. The refill takes a while. The gas is brought out of a shop in gallon containers, and poured in with a funnel. As we leave the city and wind through the mountains we see people everywhere. They all stare. Wide, wide eyes. Open mouths. I can't tell if they're expressionless, or if it's something else. Maybe they're trying to deal with the contradiction of our being there. Our presence forces thoughts about their poverty to the forefront of both of our minds. Maybe there's a spark of hope behind those eyes, yet the fear to show it. To give the hope a foothold that might not be there tomorrow.
When we arrive near our sister church, it is dark. We dismount to walk the remaining half mile to the church. The townspeople are out and waiting. There is a huge contingent of children leading us into town with a singing parade. They sing louder than you could ever believe possible from such little bodies. It is beautiful. Small hands grasp mine. Smiles light up the night as we walk. A small welcoming service greets us, and we are led to our beds. The room is small, and has bars for windows. There is one naked light bulb. Fell asleep hoping the massive spider that we killed earlier was the only one in the room.

Hope you enjoyed, more days to follow.
Neil

Prayer Request

A couple things I would like to ask my friends out there in blog world to pray about for us.

First, I have a very good friend whom I love dearly. This friend is going through a very rough time right now. I am not at liberty to go into any details about the trials this friend is facing so, I just ask for your prayers for her.

Second, the husband has been unable to escape the sickies going around this year. He has come down with a pretty nasty respiratory infection that is trying to turn into bronchitis. After just a little prodding from me, he went to the doctor today and recieved an antibiotic shot and a couple of prescriptions for cough medicine and....something else. He feels pretty crumby right now and still has to go to work. Please pray for healing for him.

What can I add to my prayers for you?

More Jokes from the Little Jokester

Kiddo #1 has made up some new ones that I thought would be fun to share with y'all. :)

What did the spoon say to the fork when she said she was getting married?
That's "soup-er"!

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Tank.
Tank who?
Your Welcome!


What did the duck say to Maverick?
You quack me up!

What did the basketball say to the shooting star?
Can I shoot with you?

small smiles for you! :-)

Haven't We Had Our Fair Share?

Just when it seems like we are finally getting past all the sickness going around, something else happens. Just yesterday child #3 had to go to the doctor with a pink eye infection. I just wanted to sit down and cry. It has been one thing after another after another. Now, allergy season is upon us and the misery at our house will only continue. :( I don't want to do this anymore.

All for You

This song has been one of my favorites for quite some time, then I found this video that somebody put together and it really brought the meaning of the lyrics home for me. Maybe this song and video aren't for everybody but, there is no denying that it contains a powerful message.
A warning, though. The video was put together using scenes from Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ so, as anyone who has seen the movie knows, it is a bit....graphic, I guess you would say. And it is not for the faint hearted. I will tell you that I cried the first few times I watched it. But, it is really a great message and I think it's a good way to share one of my favorite songs.