Mr. Clark

Our good friends, The Murrays, need your prayers today. Please pray for their little Clark who is in the hospital and having difficulty breathing.  If you have a moment, hop over to their blog and let them know you are praying for them.  

For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.
Matthew 18:20

Sure, Finn, Rub it in! Kick me when I'm down!

Mari has been feeling pretty worn out lately and was worried she hasn't been enjoying the little things (see previous post).  During the day, she has always looked forward to nap time for a little peace, to clean up, prepare for the next awake time, and, if there is enough time, catch her breath.  

Skip ahead to today's afternoon naptime....

It is time to wake them up, see those beautiful grins and hear the sweet giggles when you open the door.  A certain smell, though very familiar, waded through the air.  BUT, something is different this time. Today, Finn decides he would like to sleep in the buff and, you guessed it, do a little "poopy painting".  Our little artiste doffed his pants and diaper and painted his body, his face, the crib, the curtains, and the floor with his POOP!!!!  Where do you even begin?! Unfortunately, I was at work (bummer) so my baby was flying solo with the Bleach brigade.  

We have been dreading this day and hoping it would never come.  Thankfully, we have good friends who have forged the way.  McNulty's - the pallet of duct tape is on the way!    

At-Home Workout

People often ask me if I workout. And yes, I do. I sweat my butt off every day. I think I sweat more working from home than I do working out at home. This mom stuff is hard work.  There is no frilly apron or high heeled shoes over here. Most days, I feel like I am in a full-fledge workout - forgetting to put a smile on my face for hours at a time, I just put my head down and do my best to get through the routine. I have over 80 pounds of children that I am lifting, tugging, pushing, pulling all day long. And when they're off to nap, I'm left with a mess which requires a lot of sweeping, scrubbing, folding, lugging...  

How did this childhood dream of being a mom turn into a dreaded home workout?  I've been asking myself this so much recently and I've realized it's my own choice. I am simply forgetting to have fun. Chill out about the mess and just be silly.  Ask God for strength and accept it. Take time out for myself and let the laundry go.  It's a mindset that I have to work at daily (minute by minute at times!) and one that I can control. 

A book that has helped me tremendously to put the silly back in my day is the Toddlers Busy Book.  There are so many fun activities that I would never dream up. For instance, today I turned to a page with an activity called "Trampoline Fun". Basically it said to pull your child's crib mattress into the living room and let them use it as a trampoline.  At first I was like, really? That doesn't seem like a good idea - they'll ruin the mattress.  They'll learn how to jump right out of their crib and then I have a bigger problem.  All of these excuses ran through my head. But then I thought, why not? So I jammed some music and pulled out two crib mattresses and we danced and jumped and did somersaults and wrestling matches. We all laughed and had such a great time and I didn't think one time about how much I was sweating.

For the Lord God is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation.

Isaiah 12:2

Silly Sophia Spots the Camera Lens

Cohen Can't Understand Why Anyone Would Make A Stroller For Just One Baby

The Boys' Nightly Post-Dinner, Pre-Jammies Wrestle-Mania Match

Mercies New Every Morning

Thanks to each of you for responding to our urgent prayer request post yesterday!  Sophia perked up so much this morning. She finally ate a little breakfast and drank some fluids without us having to force it on her. She was playing happily with her brothers this morning and seems to be bouncing back wonderfully.  A big change from yesterday when she wouldn't eat or drink anything and slept the whole time she was at home.  The boys are still well and not showing any signs of feeling sick.  We have a well check for all four of them tomorrow so I'm happy to have the doctor listen to all of their lungs to be sure we're not missing anything.  We are dancing around here praising God for such a dramatic turnaround!  Thanks again for your prayers.

"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness."   Lamentations 3:21-23

Prayer Request

A pleading post to see if you prayer warrior sistas (and brothers) could please pray for Sophia. We found out today that she has come down with pneumonia. Please pray with us that she'll be healed quickly and protection for the rest of the family from coming down with it. Praise God with us that they found it so quickly and that she is still at home getting breathing treatments and antibiotics at this point.

Sophia has had a fever for a few days and woke up this morning with it again. She had no other real symptoms other than being pretty lethargic on Sunday afternoon where she sat on the couch and barely moved for over an hour - very strange for her.  So when she wouldn't eat this morning and still had fever we called the pedi to see if we should take her in.  They got her in quickly and heard some congestion in her chest which prompted an immediate visit to the diagnostic center where they took x-rays and blood work.  By the time we got home, they called with the results that the x-rays proved a small infection starting in the lungs and the blood count test also came back with some concern. So back to the pedi's office we went to get an antibiotic injection. We are able to treat her with further antibiotics and breathing treatments every 4 hrs (followed by light patting on her back to try to get the mucus to break up).

This is so disheartening for us. It's RSV Season and we're hunkered down like every other family with a preemie who is still younger than 2 years old.  We stay in our little cocoon at home, take walks protected in our stroller, occasionally go to the park to swing (which means I clorox wipe the swings out before they ever touch them).  Still, with all of the precautions we can't protect our kids thoroughly.  We know that God is taking care of them and are so thankful for His protection.  It's still hard to take and feels like somehow there was something more we could've done to prevent this.  

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. We'll keep you updated on how she's doing.

Uh-Oh, Spaghetti-O!

The kids are communicating more and more with signs and a few recognizable words now and then. The favorite and most used word so far is "Uh-Oh!"  It has many meanings like, Uh-Oh something fell, Uh-Oh you left the door of your non-baby-proofed room open and I'm about to go in it, Uh-Oh my brother is doing something wrong over there, Uh-Oh please help me - I'm stuck.  Here's a little montage of Uh-Ohs that we've captured on video in the past few weeks. We think it's pretty darn cute.

Leftover Wrapping Paper = Instant Entertainment

Do you have a bunch of leftover wrapping paper left from the holidays?  I always end up buying new wrapping paper each year and then I'm left with rolls that never get used.   This weekend, we used some of it up and taped it over our entire kitchen table and let the kids practice using crayons. Most of the coloring was on their teeth but they'll get the hang of it and we had fun coloring with them.  

Have other ideas for fun with wrapping paper?  Send them my way - we're always looking for fun things to do around here with things we already have around the house.

 

A Mother's Prayer

Dear Lord,

So far today I've done all right. I haven't gossiped, I haven't lost my temper, I haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or very indulgent. I'm very grateful for that. But in a few minutes, Lord, I'm going to get out of bed, and from then on, I'm going to need a lot more help. Amen.

Oh, that should be my prayer every morning. I can't even tell you how much help I am in need of these days.  These kiddos are growing up way too fast and I just can't seem to catch up. Here are just a few candid shots and a few good reasons that I need so much prayer throughout the day. 

Sophia's Macaroni Mask

Noah's Mac Beard & Mustache

Christmas Present Rivalry - It's Mine, I tell You!

(Cohen, Noah & Finn)

"Come on, Sophia, let's Make A Pond On the Dinner Table & See if Mom Freaks!"

(click to enlarge & see the pools of water!)

Happy New Year!

We rang in 2009 with our dear friends, Jennifer, Jason and Ansley here at our home.  We started the night off with a yummy meal of mac-n-cheese. 

Next, we watched the daddies' fireworks spectacular in our PJ's in the front yard.  (Finn was not too sure about this, at one point he jumped and grabbed ahold of Cohen for comfort)

Sophia and Noah were intrigued with the show!

When our kids went to bed, the show went on...

...and on. We finished the night on the back deck by the fire.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2009.  We cherish each of your friendships and the support you give to us throughout the year.  Love to all of you!