Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Happy Autumn!
It is officially my favorite time of the year. Yes that's right Autumn. I love the smell of the cool crisp air. I love the colors on the trees. I love apple picking and corn mazes. I love dressing up for Halloween and eating all the yummy foods at Thanksgiving. I was so excited about it, I decided that we would do some 'fun' things today for school instead of the usual curriculum. So...the kids wrote in their journal 'What I like best about Autumn'. Then the boys did some fun coloring activities to help reinforce right from left. They also learned about alphabetical order using some fall words. They did well for their first time doing it. Hmmmmmm what else did we do. Oh yes they did a word scramble which was really good for spelling. I might incorporate it into their regular spelling lists. And they read a science book about leaves and photosynthesis. Then they were so into it Parker says to me..."Mom, let's decorate for Fall" Problem is I only have about 3 fall decorations. We will have to do something about that in the near future. Oh well we put out what we had.
My baby is 6!
My baby turned 6 this past Saturday. It is hard to imagine that fact. It seems like just yesterday he was born (after enduring three days of labor on and off) at 5:52 am weighing 7lbs 10oz. He is now a boy who still loves to snuggle with his mom. He is easy going and carefree. He is my peacemaker and doesn't like conflict. He is a Star Wars fanatic, which is of course the theme he picked for his birthday party. So.... on Sunday, we had some family and friends over to celebrate his birthday.
We had some Jedi training....they had to keep the balloons up in the air with their lightsabers.
After that game they just fought...typical boys!
Then we all sat in a circle for a game of 'Pass the Deathstar'. When the Star Wars theme music stopped, the person stuck holding the balloon blew up.
They then moved onto space ship landing practice. They had to land the spaceships in a hula hoop (or planet Tatooine if your 6 and have an imagination)
Star Wars verson of 'Pin the tail on the donkey'.
Time for cake and icecream..............
Of course, Eric put a DarthVader mask on and the boys were thrilled to attack!
Pinata time!
Mad dash for the candy!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Date Night in Boston
My MIL showed up to my house unannounced on Tuesday while I was in the middle of school. I was completely surprised when my husband told me to jump in the shower and change. I jokingly said "Why are we going to another Red Sox game?" The reason I said this was because last year around my birthday he did the same thing and that is where he took me. His sly smile told me I was right. I quickly got ready and we headed off for Boston. It was nice to have a night out with my #1 man. It has only been our second night out since our anniversary in January, so it was very very nice to have that time with him. We caught a bite to eat at Game On and then made our way to our seats. They were GREAT seats on the third base line and much closer than last time. Here are some pics of our evening.
Pap closing up
Jacoby getting back to third
Me and my #1 man
Jacoby my #4 man...lol!
Pap closing up
Jacoby getting back to third
Me and my #1 man
Jacoby my #4 man...lol!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Summer Fun
Wow...I can't believe that it has been a month since I posted last. I think that is because that is about all the summer we got around here. I was out enjoying it instead of blogging about it. Here are a few things I did take pictures of this summer........
This is Kaleigh at the beach house we stayed at with Eric's Aunt Janet.....
We made pickles this summer with the insane amount of cukes from my garden, I did something wrong though, they were too mushy :(
We went to the beach with Parker's gal pal Elyce.....
The Croteau boys came over for a little wet and wild fun.....
We did a few projects including building and painting a toy boat...
Blake did my nails in a beautiful rainbow!
The kids made crystals...
We went to a lot of picnics...this one happens to be our church picnic.....
And we enjoyed family time at the beach....
It was a good summer now onto my favorite season....Fall!!!!
This is Kaleigh at the beach house we stayed at with Eric's Aunt Janet.....
We made pickles this summer with the insane amount of cukes from my garden, I did something wrong though, they were too mushy :(
We went to the beach with Parker's gal pal Elyce.....
The Croteau boys came over for a little wet and wild fun.....
We did a few projects including building and painting a toy boat...
Blake did my nails in a beautiful rainbow!
The kids made crystals...
We went to a lot of picnics...this one happens to be our church picnic.....
And we enjoyed family time at the beach....
It was a good summer now onto my favorite season....Fall!!!!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Lebanon Fair Horse Show
Today was Kaleigh's first 'official' horse show at the Lebanon Fair. She was supposed to be riding the horse of a friend, but at the last minute he turned up lame. Her instructor, Jeanna, put her on one of her horses(Shaton)for the show and she did amazing for never having ridden him before. Here is a video of the Walk-Trot Trail class that she entered and placed fifth in. Keep in mind, there were 15 people in her class. I was such a proud mama, a shed a few tears. Good job Kaleigh!
Six Flags
One of the perks of homeschooling is that we have LOTS of time to read. Our reading paid off with 4 free tickets to Six Flags New England. We got a 5th one free from a friend who wasn't able to use hers (Thanks Trina!) So yesterday, we packed a cooler and beach bag and headed off. We hit a few rides and then headed over to the water park. The lines were very long for the roller coasters...much longer than last year. Poor Blake is in that in between stage. He is almost 6 years old and the kiddie rides are "lame" as he puts it, but he is too short for the rides he really wants to go on. Next year will be another story! Flash Pass here we come!
Daddy and the kids on Pandamonium after a 1 hour and 45 minute wait
Mommy and Parker with Robin
Daddy and Blake with Flash and Wonder Women
Daddy and the kids on Pandamonium after a 1 hour and 45 minute wait
Mommy and Parker with Robin
Daddy and Blake with Flash and Wonder Women
Sunday, August 2, 2009
You amaze me, God
I came to know Christ a little over 11 years ago, and over those 11 years I have seen Him do some amazing things. I can't even start to begin to tell you the mountains He has moved. The first was when my daughter was born with two holes in her heart. I can remember the day crystal clear when the cardiologist, amazed himself, told us that the holes were no longer there. He has spoken to me through scripture when I was fed up and ready to give up, guiding me and showing me His selfless ways. I am ever so grateful that I stuck things out because He has done a great work in my marriage as a result. I experienced His peace and help during my time of need, when Parker broke his femur. He placed just the right people at just the right times in my path. I love to hear stories from others of the miracles he has done in their lives. And the following email is just that. We have a little girl named Caitlyn in our extended family that has been battling cancer on her spine. We have been praying on her behalf and this past Saturday, she underwent surgery to remove the tumor on her spine. They prepared the family for the worst and told them there could be nerve damage and that they might have to put metal in her back depending on how much of her spine they had to remove. The following is an email from Caitlyn's mom. It brought me to tears reading it. Tears of joy, tears of compassion, tears of love. How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1
Hi everyone,
All I can say is "All the praise belongs to God!" This is a little long, but I feel compelled to share a few things with you all before I fill you in on how Caitlyn is doing now.
Caitlyn did very well going into surgery. We had prayed with her at home before we left and talked about how God was going to be the Doctor doing the surgery today and that He is so much bigger and more powerful than her bump and all doctors there. As I went into the OR with her, she began to get overwhelmed. I asked her, "Who is here today?" She said "God...and He is bigger than my bump" and then I reminded her that "God is the doctor today...remember that when you start to get scared!" Caitlyn visibly relaxed and did much better than the last surgery in breathing in the gas to go to sleep. I was able to hold her and speak into her ear the whole time until she was out. It was so much smoother than her last operation.
Caitlyn's surgery went extremely well. The surgeons said several times that it "couldn't have gone any better". When I responded, "well, Caitlyn had ALOT of people praying for her!" The surgeon responded, "well, we'd like to have their names and phone numbers, because whatever they did worked!" Thank you for your continued prayers on her behalf!
This was a long and technically difficult surgery- She had one joint/piece removed from each of her L3, L4 and L5 vertebrae on the right side of her spine, as well as a good chunk of her sacral bone (which wasn't initially a part of the plan). As far as they can tell, they were able to remove the whole tumor without removing any nerves and they think they got good margins. We will be waiting on pathology for confirmation of that. She also did not have any hardware installed and they were also able to have plastic surgery come down and take pictures and evaluate her, just in case she needs something in the future. The pediatric ortho surgeon told us that he wants to follow Caitlyn until she finishes growing.
I just have to share something else that I found miraculous. Apparently, Caitlyn had a benign birth defect in her sacral bone which cause a small hole. The surgeons were able to use that hole as a natural edge in removing the top part of the sacral bone in order to remove the tumor. It allowed them to lift the tumor up to see exactly where the nerves were so they could skirt over them. When they told me that, it immediately made me think of the verses from Psalms 139:12-14, "even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." It was a fresh reminder to me of who God is and that He knew about this even when Caitlyn was being formed in my womb. He alone can take something "bad"(defective) and make something good come out of it. The first thing Caitlyn asked when she woke up was, " Is my bump gone?" Later on that night, I was telling her how proud of her I was and I said to her "you know what makes you so brave?"...and I was going to tell her ... "because you did what you needed to even though it was scary", but before I could say that, Caitlyn replied back to me, "God, Mama...he is way more powerful than my bump!" How awesome is that!
Caitlyn did have morphine shot right into her spine, so she was pretty comfortable until about 2am. Unfortunately, she did vomit a couple of times and started to have a lot of pain. Her ortho doctor came by and said that she could move around to what she could tolerate for the day and they will try to get her up tomorrow (Sunday). She has been being shifted from one side to the other and it has been painful for her. She is experiencing some back spasms, which they are trying to control with meds. She is also on a continuous morphine drip as well as a PSA, which lets her dose herself as needed every 6 minutes. She's pretty puffy and swollen. Praises that she has been able to move both legs, feet and toes. She seems to be missing some sensation on her right foot, but it could be because of the swelling. She still has the drain in her back as well. She also has her port accessed, as well as an arterial line and another IV. Unfortunately, she spiked a fever this afternoon, which they are now treating with Tylenol. Overall, she has been a trooper, but it has been heartbreaking to see her in so much pain. She'll be in the PICU at least until tomorrow, if not Monday and then moved to another floor. Visitation at PICU is from 2pm-8pm, with a limit of only 2 people at a time. We would recommend that folks wait to see her until she is moved up to a regular floor.
Please continue to uplift her in your prayers, especially for pain management. She is anxious about the A line and IV, as well as the drain. Please pray that she won't become overly anxious when it comes time to remove them all. Also, please pray for the physical therapists as they work with her to advance her range of motion and as they try to get her sitting up. Also, please continue to pray for Carissa, that we, as parents, can support her as she needs as well.
God is good!
Blessings,
Jeanne
Hi everyone,
All I can say is "All the praise belongs to God!" This is a little long, but I feel compelled to share a few things with you all before I fill you in on how Caitlyn is doing now.
Caitlyn did very well going into surgery. We had prayed with her at home before we left and talked about how God was going to be the Doctor doing the surgery today and that He is so much bigger and more powerful than her bump and all doctors there. As I went into the OR with her, she began to get overwhelmed. I asked her, "Who is here today?" She said "God...and He is bigger than my bump" and then I reminded her that "God is the doctor today...remember that when you start to get scared!" Caitlyn visibly relaxed and did much better than the last surgery in breathing in the gas to go to sleep. I was able to hold her and speak into her ear the whole time until she was out. It was so much smoother than her last operation.
Caitlyn's surgery went extremely well. The surgeons said several times that it "couldn't have gone any better". When I responded, "well, Caitlyn had ALOT of people praying for her!" The surgeon responded, "well, we'd like to have their names and phone numbers, because whatever they did worked!" Thank you for your continued prayers on her behalf!
This was a long and technically difficult surgery- She had one joint/piece removed from each of her L3, L4 and L5 vertebrae on the right side of her spine, as well as a good chunk of her sacral bone (which wasn't initially a part of the plan). As far as they can tell, they were able to remove the whole tumor without removing any nerves and they think they got good margins. We will be waiting on pathology for confirmation of that. She also did not have any hardware installed and they were also able to have plastic surgery come down and take pictures and evaluate her, just in case she needs something in the future. The pediatric ortho surgeon told us that he wants to follow Caitlyn until she finishes growing.
I just have to share something else that I found miraculous. Apparently, Caitlyn had a benign birth defect in her sacral bone which cause a small hole. The surgeons were able to use that hole as a natural edge in removing the top part of the sacral bone in order to remove the tumor. It allowed them to lift the tumor up to see exactly where the nerves were so they could skirt over them. When they told me that, it immediately made me think of the verses from Psalms 139:12-14, "even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." It was a fresh reminder to me of who God is and that He knew about this even when Caitlyn was being formed in my womb. He alone can take something "bad"(defective) and make something good come out of it. The first thing Caitlyn asked when she woke up was, " Is my bump gone?" Later on that night, I was telling her how proud of her I was and I said to her "you know what makes you so brave?"...and I was going to tell her ... "because you did what you needed to even though it was scary", but before I could say that, Caitlyn replied back to me, "God, Mama...he is way more powerful than my bump!" How awesome is that!
Caitlyn did have morphine shot right into her spine, so she was pretty comfortable until about 2am. Unfortunately, she did vomit a couple of times and started to have a lot of pain. Her ortho doctor came by and said that she could move around to what she could tolerate for the day and they will try to get her up tomorrow (Sunday). She has been being shifted from one side to the other and it has been painful for her. She is experiencing some back spasms, which they are trying to control with meds. She is also on a continuous morphine drip as well as a PSA, which lets her dose herself as needed every 6 minutes. She's pretty puffy and swollen. Praises that she has been able to move both legs, feet and toes. She seems to be missing some sensation on her right foot, but it could be because of the swelling. She still has the drain in her back as well. She also has her port accessed, as well as an arterial line and another IV. Unfortunately, she spiked a fever this afternoon, which they are now treating with Tylenol. Overall, she has been a trooper, but it has been heartbreaking to see her in so much pain. She'll be in the PICU at least until tomorrow, if not Monday and then moved to another floor. Visitation at PICU is from 2pm-8pm, with a limit of only 2 people at a time. We would recommend that folks wait to see her until she is moved up to a regular floor.
Please continue to uplift her in your prayers, especially for pain management. She is anxious about the A line and IV, as well as the drain. Please pray that she won't become overly anxious when it comes time to remove them all. Also, please pray for the physical therapists as they work with her to advance her range of motion and as they try to get her sitting up. Also, please continue to pray for Carissa, that we, as parents, can support her as she needs as well.
God is good!
Blessings,
Jeanne
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