Oceanside at Thirty Below

Six years ago last Friday our second daughter, Jessica was born. She was born short and plump with an ear-piercing cry that was an immediate statement of her dislike of being yanked into this cold, bright world. As days and weeks went by, Jessica's smiles became very prevalent. The soft cooing noises turned into giggles when her back was tickled. Jess was easing going and tolerated her older sisters smothering hugs/kisses and an occasional dragging around the house.

I remember wondering if I could love another child like I did my first, but somehow God designed us with the capacity to love multiples with that passionate "mamma bear" love. This second daughter was so unlike her sister but still did all the girly things. At two weeks old, Jessica had her first taste of a Cherrios compliments of her older sister. Before her two month birthday, she already had a cut lip. (I swear those scissors were put away where Heidi couldn't get to them.) I was just glad that as Heidi was showing Jess the scissors as she was swaying back and forth in her swing, Jessie's eye's didn't get poked. Or the time when I found Jessica with a jump rope around her neck as Heidi was playing "pony" with her. Unfortunately, Heidi was at the brunt of the "mamma bear" love here and got the "mamma bear" discipline. I came to understand the phrase "I brought you into this world and I can take you out too!"

As Jess grew, the bond between her older sister and she grew stronger and stronger. They could go round and round one minute and be playing creatively the next. Jessica was a quick learning and started walking when she was 10 months old and talking before she was a year old. I look back at the video footage that I have of Jess when she was around 18 months old and she was talking in sentences. (She had to keep up with her sister.) There are times that I forget about the 22 months that separate my oldest daughters and think that they are twins. As I think back, there are not many stories of just Jess that I could remember. Those two have learned from each other and protected each other. They've been a stabilizing factor in each other's lives when our family was separated at Natalie's birth.

Now Jessica is six years old. She's enjoying all the socialization that kindergarten brings. She's very competitive, but hard to motivate sometimes. She loves to delegate and finds no shame in watching someone else do her work. I just know she'll be a leader someday!

To celebrate Jessie's sixth year, she wanted an "Ocean Birthday." Of all things...in the middle of the winter! So in -30F weather, we had an ocean birthday party. We don't have a Costco, Sam's Club or Walmart around the corner to go pick up a fancy cake or decorations (150 miles away). Heidi's imagination picked up from there. She painted white paper in greens and browns and then cut them into small pieces. This was the seaweed. Silk poinsettias left over from Christmas served as "ocean flowers." These along with plastic "sea snakes" lined the hallway that guests would walk through as they arrived. I turned a 9x13 cake into a seaside paradise (if only we could have traveled there for real!) by using Jessie's Polly Pocket things. It was one of the easier cakes that I've made. We all stayed nice and toasty warm inside and pretended that the laughter of ten children (seven and under) were seagulls vying for a piece of cake.

Finally, I can't post this without leaving some Jessisms:

"These sure are fluffy peas."

While eating eggs and toast one morning..."This doesn't taste like roasted toast!"

"That isn't very fashionable."

Cleaning Out

I was looking through my blog posts and cleaned out all the unfinished posts. I decided to actually post this one. http://handfamilysbest.blogspot.com/2010/07/nine-and-counting.html

Bathroom News

This is what my husband found beside our bathroom sink before going to bed tonight. (I assume this concept was created by my oldest daughter. Her imagination never stops!)

Bathroom News:
if you go to the bathroom you will see three little bags. One little bag will have the word card on it. There will be a card inside. The other cards will have yes and no on them. When you see them if you are going to the bathroom put the card in the yes bag and if you are not going to the bathroom you put the card in the no bag.

Christmas Highlights

The real meaning of Christmas.

The best family picture we got.

The girls singing "Happy Birthday, Jesus" at the Christmas Eve service.

Craig loves the keyboard.

Sister love.

Happy Third Birthday, Natalie

Natalie turned three years old on Sunday the 19th. We made it Her Big Day. She's struggled with the thought of growing up and has been very content with acting like a baby. Believe me, she isn't a baby and has developmentally taken on all the roles of a three year old. From constantly asking "Why?" to her demanding demeanor when speaking to her parents, she views herself as being someone to be reckoned with. I call her my Miss Jackal/Dr. Hyde girl. When she's happy, everyone is happy, but when she is mad, everyone knows it. Sunday was the first day that I attempted going all out with potty training. We had a successful dry day!

We love Miss Natalie for every part of who God made her. That spunk that the nurses saw in the NICU when she was less than 24 hours old has helped to get her to where she is today. She has gone from speaking only a few words last year to speaking in sentences. She still has to work hard at getting the right sentence structure and skips some of her sounds in words, but for the most part is right up there with other kids her age. She did have a speech evaluation this fall and was found to be age appropriate. Physically, Natalie is at or ahead of her three years old. She loves to run, jump and climb. She will chase her sisters till she's panting like a dog. Natalie has also started to color and recognize her colors. I haven't been as proactive as I probably should be in teaching her colors and shapes, but she's getting there. She does get in trouble when she starts to color on her sister's works of art...and then that mischievous little grin lights up her face.

Natalie's oxygen saturation's are all over the place. At her last cardiology visit, the first one they took was 68% and then at the end of the visit they were getting 86%. Sometimes those crazy pulse-ox's frustrate me and I could just throw them out the window. We don't have one at home for that very reason. I watch her color, breathlessness and fatigue level and go from there. I notice that she's the blue-est after she eats, when she's at a high activity level and after her bath. This winter she turned pretty purple when we were outside sledding on a fairly cold day (10F). These days it's been -30F to -40F so we've all stayed inside.

I have to do a lot of layering to keep Natalie warm. We keep our house around 70F inside, but her hands and feet don't stay warm very well. I was told by the cardiologist that this is just the way it's going to be with her. I can see her moving to a much warmer climate someday when she has a choice.Natalie has almost made it to 27 pounds.

She weighed in at 26# 10 oz. and was 36 inches tall. That puts her at the 25th percentile for height and 14th percentile for weight. Why do we watch her weight so much? Well, the next surgery that she has, the Fontan, is based on size. The surgeons would like her to be at least 33 pounds/15 kilograms before her next surgery. At the rate she's been going, it will be at least a year, probably more before she'll get that big. While it would be nice to not have another heart surgery hanging over our head, I don't relish the thought of taking my healthy girl down to Seattle for another surgery. But that's enough talk about surgery.

Natalie eats well, takes her medicine by herself and won't let me forget to give her her vitamin. She is still taking Enalapril and half a baby aspirin once a day. Thankfully I don't have to give her Synagis this winter.

As I think back on these past three years, I am amazed at the miracles that God has showed us through Natalie. We are thankful for friends who have prayed and are still praying for Natalie and our family. I'm always grateful when anyone asks how Natalie is doing. Walking this road, knowing that your child's heart has to work so much harder to make her go, can be a hard one.

Thank You for the Bad Things

My girls learned a cute little song with a catchy tune recently.
"Thank You for the good things,
Thank You for the good things,
Thank you, Lord, for all the good things.
Thank you for the hugs and kisses,
Thank you for the stars and wishes..."
It goes on thanking God for all the good things that He gives to us.

My nephew was being silly and started singing,
"Thank You for the bad things,
Thank You for the bad things..."

It got me thinking.

There have been times in my life that I've endured some bad things-from being betrayed by a close friend when I was 12 to experiencing the death of my first boyfriend when I was 16 to becoming a mother of a child with continual health needs. Compared to some, I haven't experienced many bad things, but they sure have rocked my little world.

It seems that while I'm going through a "bad thing" it is really hard to thank the Lord for it. No matter how hard I tried, I did NOT want to thank the Lord for giving my daughter a heart defect that would follow her the rest of her life. I did not want to thank God for taking away my special friend. And why would you thank God for giving you a "friend" that would betray you?

I guess I have always equated thankfulness with an emotion. You know, the ooey, gooey kind that wells up within you and then spills out because you just feel so grateful for being able to experience the goodness bestowed upon you by someone else. Then you say, "Thank you soooo much!"

But God uses thankfulness in the command category instead of the optional one-"In everything give thanks." (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

But how? How can we thank God for the bad things?

I'm not really sure how it happens, other than we must rely on the character of God. "When we place our trust in God's faithfulness-when we consciously and willingly put our full confidence in Him-we will enjoy personal security and inner peace unlike anything the world can provide. Despite our raw emotions and regardless of what the surrounding circumstances may seem to tell us, our trust can rest in the fact that God is faithful. And if that is true, what can rock us? We stand confident, peaceful, secure." (quote from Myrna Alexander)

So, in the bad things I will be thankful that my Father in Heaven stands by me and that He will be faithful to me-even if I never know the purpose of going through a bad thing, even if I never see a good thing come from the bad things. God is faithful. God is good. God does love me. For that I can be thankful.

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassion's never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefor I will wait for him.'" (Lamentations 3:21-24)

Happy Birthday

One year ago today we welcomed a little bundle of testosterone into our predominantly estrogen filled home. Our first son and fourth child, Craig, has turned out to be ALL boy and yet such a joy!

Through the hitting, hair-pulling, growling, and drooling, he's the first one to go running to see his big sisters when the get home from school.

He perches on his biggest sister's hip like a pro and wrestles with Jessie until we say, "No!"

He's played with lots of pink but that doesn't make us think that he's NOT all BOY.

A major league pitcher he'll be, this we know, because of his increasing desire to throw. Balls, food, toys...there's no discrimination to his ever growing imagination.

He's had many bumps, as you can see from his head. But that just makes him tougher, just like his Dad.

The doctor may say that he is too small,

but that doesn't keep him from climbing to feel so tall!

He's made mom vaccum the floor over and over

because of his love to dig and discover. (In the plants.)

So little bundle of blue,

please know that our hearts LOVE You!

Happy first birthday, Craig.

Disclaimer: (A very rough attempt at poetry...which was never my thing.)