2 steps forward, 1 step back

Yep... I heard those words again this morning.

"Mommy..."

"I threw up..."

This time it is A's turn.

Dinner is canceled.

I am disinfecting the house.

I think I will have washed about every pillow in the house.

I have cleaned 3 mattresses.

I have held hair out of the girl's faces as they throw up.

I have slept on the floor.

I wish for one birthday that everyone would be well.

Pray for me?

And the sick kiddos of course.

10 Hours

Since N last threw up! Celebrating any progress toward health!

Just the words you want to hear...

...at one o'clock in the morning.

"Mommy..."

"I threw up..."

Please pray for our girl. N is not handling this very well.

And I have had a tough time cleaning her bed, bedding, clothing and toys.

I thank God that Michael has a strong enough stomach to help me out.

Recent Happenings

Let's see...

We had some friends come for dinner on Feb 18th. Their daughter had just started showing signs of a cold that afternoon. The little girl was playing with a microphone clock that N has. She was putting her mouth all over it as she talked and sang. After they left, I walked back into the house to find A talking and singing with her mouth on the microphone too. Which of course, led to the transfer of germs and A getting sick over the weekend.

N had her final Quiz Meet for Bible Quizzing on the 20th. We were supposed to travel to a town about 4 hours from here, but we were able to arrange to hold a separate meet at our church. N is in the more difficult group. They have 2 or 3 rounds of 20 questions. N only missed one question out of all of them. She also was able to say all of her Bible verses correctly. So, the next step is the Quizzing Finals in March. If she continues to do as well as she has been, she will be on track to attend the Regional Meet in April.

N has also had some pretty bad headaches over the last month. We are not sure if they are from allergies, eye issues or something else. Right now, she is taking allergy meds to see if they help. We are also taking her for an eye exam even though the screening shows that she is only slightly nearsighted. As the doctor said, she doesn't think N is nearsighted enough to cause the headaches.

Michael is getting excited about the move. I am not sure if it is because we will be moving away from this duty station, though he wishes he could take the church with us, or if it is because he has been told that Galveston has been the best duty station his soon to be boss has ever been at. I'm just excited that I'll get to hang out with my sister on a more regular basis.

As for Miss E... well, she is growing up. It is hard to believe that she will be turning 6 months old tomorrow. She has discovered her toys, her toes and people's faces. She has also decided that she really likes eating "big girl" food. So far, she has enjoyed oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and peas. Since A is staying home from school today, she will be getting to help me feed Miss E. A is practically insisting that Miss E eat pears for lunch today. I'm thinking we will just stick with the peas for today.

I am planning a meal for 15 adults, 8 children, and 1 baby. Every year that we have lived here I have tried to get some friends together for a meal and fellowship for my birthday. I didn't want a party, but I just wanted to have a good time with friends & my family. It looks as though this year we might actually be able to pull it off! I have wanted to provide a dinner for Michael's Bible study group for some time now but it has not ever worked out. So, I decided that since his group meets on Mondays and my birthday is a Monday this year, maybe I would be able to combine a birthday get together and a dinner for the guys into one event. I am really excited about this. Except for the part about figuring out how to make Pastichio for 23. No worries though... it should be fun!

Oh yes, pictures to come...

helping with the laundry

Pretty girl helping with the laundry.

Happy birthday!

Happy Birthday to my one & only Bear!!!

Love you lots!

Snow much going on!

And no, that is not a typo in the title! We have snow. It started falling around 8 this evening. We were at dinner and as we traveled home, the snow got heavier. I praise God that we were able to make it home safely. Especially considering the number of bridges we had to cross to get home.

Another big praise is our tax refund. It arrived today and we are $7000 closer to being debt free. Michael is finally on board with this and it feels great! Now we just need to figure out how to set up a recurring transfer online. Michael has to be the one to set it up it if we go in person. Then we can turn our regular payments on what we paid off into extra payments on what we have left! I thank God for the blessing that He has given us as we work to pay off our debt. And that we can pass that blessing on to others a little sooner.

Finally, Michael talked to his soon-to-be boss today. We are definitely still moving to TX. But, Michael may not make Rachel's birthday party. Apparently Michael will be deploying for 6 months very shortly after we arrive. I am pretty sad that Michael will most likely not be home for Miss E's 1st birthday. But, I am grateful that I will have Rachel & her family nearby, as well as Andrew, Shery & Laddie.

Krispie Kisses

We just did probably one of the coolest activities with A's preschool class. We make Rice Krispie kisses.

With my hands covered in Rice Krispie treat mix, I was not able to take pictures, but when A brings her treat home, I will snap some then.

All we did was follow the recipe for the Rice Krispie treats. Instead of pressing it out into a pan, we put them into funnels to shape them like a candy kiss.

The kids had a great time and the adults all decided that it was a treat that we would make again.

Out with the old...




In with the new!

It has been nice to have a computer that works well. We can actually use the screen instead of the TV.

Orders have arrived!!!!!

This summer we will be moving to....

...


...


...Galveston, TX!!!!!

We will be about an hour from Rachel and her family as well as close enough to visit Andrew & Shery regularly! Not to mention Aunt Laddie lives just a short way from Rachel too!

Rachel is excited because I will be able to bake her birthday cake this year instead of her having to talk Andres through the process. I'm just excited that I will be living near enough to my family to celebrate birthdays and other events with them.

Michael will be gone at least half the year with his job, but living with family close, we can get by just fine.

We do ask that you pray for us as we begin preparing for our move. We are already in the process of cleaning out our garage and home of the items that simply taking up space.

Need prayer

Michael and I have been asked to make a decision that will greatly affect our family. Please pray with us over the coming days.

Thank you.

Soccer

We got the call tonight...
1st soccer practice: tomorrow, unless it is raining - with an 80% chance, I really don't think practice will happen.
1st game: Feb 20th... when we will be out of town for a Bible Quiz meet

And what did I think of earlier today? That I need to get cleats... and shorts... and shin guards... and balls... and...

Oh yeah, I need to get 2 of each since both N & A will be playing.

A's practices will be on Wednesdays and Fridays. So, we will have some interesting scheduling on Wednesday nights with practice and dinner.

Dinner with friends

There is a couple in our church whom we have not seen much of recently. Chris is working on a fishing boat and is out both night and day. His wife, Catherine, teaches Sunday School and is currently a stay at home mom.

God laid it on my heart to invite them to dinner.

Nothing fancy, just good food and conversation.

Something to let them know that we still care. We are still concerned about their lives. That we want to remain connected.

So, I invited them to come. And once Chris heard I was planning Lasagna, he was committed to coming. Even when his boss asked him to show up at the boat 2 hours earlier than originally planned. Chris was coming for lasagna!

Since we had leftovers and I knew Chris would be out tonight, I set some aside in 2 containers to send with him. Instead, Chris thought to take one to another person in our church who would appreciate it as well.

It was nothing fancy. Just some lasagna and garlic bread. But, we enjoyed the company and the time together. I am thankful that God laid them on my heart and prompted me to invite them over.

Pictures

I have updated with pictures from Thanksgiving and Christmas. They start with Christmas Take 4 at the top and end with Thanksgiving near the bottom.

I hope you enjoy them. There were way too many to choose from.

Christmas Take 4

And finally, making new friends. The ladies in the following pictures I have known for a couple of years, but we finally met in person in 2009! Terryl, in the 1st picture, enjoys photography and we have shared pictures over the years. She takes some amazing photos. And to make it even better, she is absolutely wonderful in real life!

Kim and Hope were amazing as well. Mom came to dinner with us that night and in talking with Hope, found out that they knew some of the same people. And Kim is just so sweet. I loved meeting both of them. Makes me kinda sad that I know so many people that live so far away...

Christmas Take 3

We'll help with the candles! Happy Birthday to a very special Grammy!

We went to the zoo and I thought this was the coolest toad. Ever.

I touched her foot! Alex & Miguel were sweet about touching Miss E.

Amazing picture of the eagle.

I'm glad that we were meeting this guy with a fence between us!

Christmas Take 2

Familiar skyline.

I give up!

Me too!

I'm not leaving until I get LUNCH!!!

Too many cameras to look at. Don't drop her... don't drop her...

Christmas

Making the Gingerbread House Set. By our very own Theatre Designer.

Storytime with Grammy and a beat up copy of The Polar Express.

Fighting over the baby. Round One.

Love at first sight.

Sunset on the drive into Texas.

Thanksgiving part 2

Finally had a good picture taken.

The sights of home.

The "funny face" picture. I was nice and used the one with Grandmama smiling instead of the blackmail photo...

Let's see... 5 different cameras, 4 different photographers, and no one is looking in the same direction. You do the math.

Thanksgiving

Organizing children for a family photo.

Seeing friends from the old days... not that they were that long ago! :D

Snuggling with Daddy and trying (successfully) to go to sleep.

Swinging at the park.

And glaring at her sister because N was big enough to get onto the swing by herself.

Catching up...

Now that I have a moment to breathe, before I start the paper chase for the EMS report for E's birth certificate, I thought I would play catch up. Photos will be in separate posts.

We went to FL for Thanksgiving this year. It was a fun time with lots of late nights and early mornings. Miss E loves to eat around 5:30-6 AM.

Michael's family was able to meet Miss E and I think she made a favorable impression.

While we were there, we tried to do some family photos. It was interesting to try to coordinate 16 people. But we got some really good shots.

For Christmas, we traveled to TX. We stopped in Asheville, NC for a night and had about 2 inches of snow in the back of the truck by morning. Then we traveled on to Memphis, TN where we spent a few days with one of our friends from back in the Marine Corps days. Bret was very excited to show us the city.

Once we left Memphis, it was another long day into Houston to see Rachel & her family. I am not sure what the best part was though. Getting to see everyone or getting to see my mom meet Miss E.

We spent about 12 days at Rachel's and had a wonderful time. Once again, late nights and early mornings. But there were also some serious cribbage games and lots of laughter. Plus Laddie and the Wii...

But mostly, there was time spent with my mom. It was incredible to see her after 2 years. I never realized just how much I enjoyed, and missed, the visits with her each year regardless of where we lived.

There is so much that has happened over the past few months and I don't have words to share it all.

I just pray that each of you have a blessed year.

Lesson learned...

Don't leave the hospital.

When Miss E was born, I was very glad to have paramedics available to help with her birth. I figured there would be some difficulties because of her birth being on the side of the road, but I wasn't sure what they would be.

Little did I know it would be in the form of her birth certificate. It took 6 days to finally get the correct information on the form I had to sign at the hospital.

Last week, I spent 2 days trying to figure out if E's Social Security number had been issued since we had not received anything in the mail regarding it. In the midst of all of that, I had to get her birth certificate as part of the documents needed to issue a new card.

And sure enough, as I looked at the certificate the information, which I had the hospital correct twice, was incorrect. Again. Though I do have to admit that they did not try to show that she was born at the hospital this time.

Friday, I will be filling out the request form to receive the EMS report and I will hopefully receive that next week. From there I take the information to the Vital Records office and apply for an amended birth certificate. I am praying that since it was their mistake that I will not be charged for the amended certificate. If I am though, it will be a small price for accuracy.

So, the lesson learned... don't leave the hospital. Things get complicated when you do.

conversation

N came into my room yesterday crying and holding the side of her head.

I asked what had happened.

She told me she had hit her head on the clock in the dining room.

I asked her how she managed to hit the clock because it was fairly high up on the wall.

N's answer... "Mommy. I'm tall."

Overheard

Last night as I peeled oranges for my girls to eat, A approached me with 2 orange slices.

When she told me I had forgotten to take them apart, I told her I thought I had gotten all of the slices separated.

Her response..."You surely did not!"

What fun things have you overheard lately?

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving.

I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Fall and girls...what else?

Fall is in full swing. And yet we still are using our a/c on occasion. The leaves are changing and dropping at a rapid pace.

She may not be a thumb sucker, but she sure likes her fingers! Miss E was sleeping when I walked in the first time with her 2 fingers firmly in her mouth. Of course, when I came back with the camera, she was waking up.

A likes to pose for the camera.

N did fairly well too. But she was much farther away so the flash did not really reach her. But thanks to the brightness tool on our photo software... we can now see her instead of a lighter spot in a dark picture.

Photos are up!

I'm getting some photos up on the new blog.

Some of them are repeats, but I did get up a few from when Michael's group performed at the Harley dealership.

I tried the CD again and there is absolutely nothing on it. I am hoping that I have another one around here with the same label and pictures!

Enjoy.

Update to the update

Michael and A seem to be just fine. We are tapering back on A's breathing treatment and her cough is almost completely gone. Michael was sent home on Monday to rest and it seems to have been good for him. I don't remember him coughing at all last night, but I could be wrong.

N is still having a bit of trouble getting over the cough. I am hoping that in the next few days that she will be much better. She has already improved from last week.

I am still miserable. I think the cough will be with me for a little while longer since I was the last to start. I was able to breathe through my nose this morning. We are taking each day at a time and being thankful for the small things.

And now for Miss E...

I spoke with E's doctor yesterday and he told me to keep doing what we are doing. Breathing treatements every 4 hours and pushing fluids. She has been coughing a lot over the last couple of days and spitting up a lot of mucous. When she first came home from the hospital after she was born, Michael made the observation that she seemed to have a few different levels of crying. The first being a soft cry that gradually became more insistent and loud. When she got sick, her cry was at about Level point 5. Now she is up to about Level 5 at her loudest. We think her previous high level was Level 11. The increase in her volume combined with the increase in her appetite has been quite encouraging.

Thank you for all of your prayers over the last week.

Happy birthday to my big 5 year old!

You have grown so much since we moved here. From playing your "guitar" to going to school. I am so very glad that you are my daughter!

Update on all of us

We are all still sick. N & A are showing the most improvement.

E was diagnosed with RSV which can be very serious in a young infant. Praise God that while her appetite is down, she is still eating. And even though she appears to dislike a bottle, she is also taking a couple ounces of Pedialyte every few hours. E has an appointment this morning to see how she is doing. Last night I would not have said there was much improvement but this morning she was alert and played for a few minutes. We will see how the day goes. I am praying that she does not end up needing to be admitted to the hospital, but I do know that God will have us where He wants us. Even if it is not my plan.

Michael is going to the doctor this morning. He thinks that he might have strep. If that is the case, I will be asking my doctor for a strep test as well since I kiss Michael once in a while.

Praying all is well with your families.

Love you!

Sick, sick, sick

N & A have had a bad cough for about a month now. I took both of them to the doctor earlier in the week. A needed Albuterol and Benedryl. N just needed Benedryl since her lungs were clear but it appeared that the seasonal allergies were acting up.

And tomorrow, I will be taking E in to see the doctor because she started coughing on Wednesday.

This week I have found out that we have potentially been exposed to strep as well as a secondhand exposure to H1N1. (one of N's friends is in a class with a confirmed case)

And now I have a sore throat...

Please pray for my family.

****UPDATE****
We now have been directly exposed to a strain of the flu. N's friend & her brother both have the flu.

Branching Out

I recently sent a flyer into A's preschool class to go home with the kids. I offered my services as a photographer. Though I have yet to hear anything from that, I want to have a site that is separate from my family site. Therefore, I have a new blog. Julie Daniher Photography will be up and running soon. Right now I am having some difficulties retrieving the pictures from my 2 actual photo shoots. The pictures were loaded onto Michael's computer which has since died. We did copy the pictures to a CD but my computer is not even recognizing that I have put a disc into the drive. I can view the other discs we made at the same time but not the one I need.

So, I am asking that you pray that I will hear something from the flyers, even if it is only one or two families and that I can recover the pictures I want. Thanks!

More pics!

The littlest one. She would smile really big and then stop just as soon as I took her picture. But these were the best 3.

Sleeping Beauty at her finest.

Note to Mom: I am going to try to get some good pictures of N & A for you this weekend. We've had some good weather and I think we can get some really good shots if they will cooperate.

Miss E

One thing we have learned about our youngest is that she will only tolerate being on her stomach for a few minutes at a time. N & A both loved being on their stomach. In fact as soon as they could roll over, they refused to sleep any other way. E, on the other hand, would rather be on her back. But only if she can't be in someone's arms.

"I think this is okay for now."

"...but I'm not so sure."

"Would you quit taking my picture?"

"I don't think I like this any more!"

"No more tummy time, please!"

PS "I really like the blanket that Mr & Mrs McQueary gave me. It is so soft and warm."

I think I might be sick...

I took this when we went to the beach one last time before N's friend moved to Alaska. A looked as though she was going to be sick when she got out of this little bowl shaped spinning thing. But she had a smile on her face while she twirled around!

Weekend trip

We went to Wilmington this weekend to look for motorcycle gloves for Michael and a Moby wrap for me. I took these along the way.

I thought the cloud shape and color was interesting.

My first thought when I saw this was that it was quite appropriate for a tree shaped like a cross to be standing outside of the door to the church.

I liked the "traffic circle" fountain. The circle was more of a veer a bit to the right to get around the fountain, but N called it a traffic circle. The steeple in the background above the trees is the church in the picture above.

We were stopped at a red light when I saw these in the median. I thought their brilliant color was beautiful for such a cool fall day.

This gate has always amused me. When I first saw it, I wondered why anyone would put up a gate, with a padlock and chain, but not have it connected to anything. And to make it even more confusing, it appears that there used to be traffic in this area that simply drove around the gate.