January 26, 2010

"Cheese"Need I say more?

Dog Trainer

I am quick to grab my camera in many situations but there are some times that I am quicker for the moments seem to move so fast. When I find the kids playing nicely with eachother, whether it be Dustin and Skylar or Kamden and Skylar I race to capture the moment. Dustin and Skylar seem to have different interests. They do work it out and find ways to play together and mesh their interests. Though there are many times I hear Dustin request that Skylar not be a puppy "this time." While Skylar is pleading to not have to "play sports." This day they were able to do both, a dog trainer with an obstacle course and a stop watch. How's that for creative.

Kamden and Skylar are capturing a show together, probably Dora. I just thought they were too sweet laying on the blanket together, feet behind them, with chins up.There are other times that this little princess just wants to sit upon her thrown of pillows and watch a little t.v. by herself.

"I am a princess because my Father is the King of Kings."

Week 4~2010

January 24, 2010

Dinner went well last night with our guests. Everyone had a great time. And that says a lot with a house of 6 children. We played Wii games, board games, and even some wall ball in the playroom. Except for a little crash up with a bonked nose our guests had fun. Then we had a little mishap at the very end when Dustin twisted his ankle settling down as I asked him to do. I should have let him continue to louder game. It proved to be safer. He is sure to ice it a little each day to speed the recovery.
January 23, 2010
'Whose Tracks Are These?' was the name of the presentation we went to at our local library. It was nice to go somewhere small as a whole family and just learn about the world around us. The kids really do have such an interest in God's wonderful creation. The speaker read us a book about tracks, showed us some stamps of footprints and then showed us a few stuffed animals. Kamden took an extra liking to this little squirrel and was eager to pet it. After all, it is not that often that you can get that close to a squirrel, right? He was not hesitant to go up until the speaker was caught off guard and said, "Oh, no no. You can't touch that." She was referring to the oils on our hands that would ruin the fur. Kamden cried. The entire auditorium felt for him.

He looks so real. I almost wanted to touch it myself. The speaker did reassure us that they did not harm these animals. But that they were deceased and they now use them for instructional purposes.
This owl also caught the attention of the kids. The especially liked it when the presenter made the owl sounds. She was great at making the different sounds of the different kinds of owls.
After we got home Kamden decided to join me in some exercise. He watched the trainer on the Wii program and followed my lead. It makes it more fun to work out when you have a partner.

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Psalm 150:6

Children at Work

What a joy it is to see my teachings and discipline are not wasted energy. As any parent knows, it is sometimes hard to see where all that hard work goes, since in the presence of their parents, children are not always mirror images of said efforts. But I am reassured by many, either in the grocery store, by friends, and now it is in black and white, or purple for Skylar, from their teachers.

On 30 points of Skylar's progress report she exceeded the expectations of a child her age on 26 points, receiving 4's and, was at her level for the other 4. WOW!!! It is quite vague for standards but her teacher does recognize her abilities both academically and socially. What a blessing to know that my children are respectful to others.

First, let me say that I took this picture. I am so excited that I finally found the timer feature on my camera. I had stumbled upon it at another time but could not remember where it was. Now if I could just stumble upon the instruction manual , I would be even more pleased. Dustin was equally excited to play around with this feature with me and as you can tell, we could use more pictures of him and I together. It is usually him or I taking the pictures. Don't worry bug, we will get you a good camera to take pictures with.

Dustin's report card was more detailed than in years previous. As it should be since he does so much more work in first grade. Mrs. Horn seems to not be able to say it enough, that he is a pleasure in class. He is at or above his grade level in all areas; math, reading, self control (which lacks in some children at his age level in his classroom due to special circumstances. Ha, I say it is lack of parental discipline. But I am no expert.)

"I continue to be pleased with Dustin's terrific academic work in First Grade. He has excellent skills in all areas...Math is an area of strength for Dustin...He also has terrific work habits, so he often has extra time in which he loves to be helpful in the classroom, especially helping his peers or doing errands and jobs. He is caring and concerned about his peers, and acts in a mature and responsible way...It is a sincere pleasure to work with Dustin." Mrs. Horn

I am so pleased to hear such positive words about my first born. I pray that he will be the strong man of God that he has shown the ability to be.

This is the handy work of my third born. He has found quite a following of animals, though his favorites are definitely the Elmos.

When he gets up he says, "Bear, lala. Elmo, lala. " That is his way of saying please cover bear with the blanket. But he does wait till all the animals are covered.

Fun At Our House

January 21

Dustin's morning routine... wake up, sit next to the heater, get dressed near it fast once you realize it is about to turn off. (But that is not before sitting there for the major duration in his undies first.)

We invited some friends to come over for dinner in a couple of days and I wanted to clean up. Sometimes it is hard to clean thoroughly while entertaining a 20 month old. So I decided that I would let Kamden help. I gave him a cup, a medicine dropper, and a tray full of bubble water to use while standing next to me. It kept him busy for 35 minutes till I had to pry it away from him since I could not find anything more to do in that area of the kitchen and did not want to leave him on the chair unattended. He would fill the dropper and then 'skeez' it out.

So sweet. Thanks for all your help. Mrs. Cake will be so impressed.

Oh, how these days go by so fast. I just want to capture every hand gesture, every smile...

January 20

I say if you like something... why not do it big? Kamden clearly is an Elmo fan. We don't watch much t.v. over here but if he does get a chance he likes Elmo, Dora, or Wonder Pets. He doesn't care who is in his way when he is taking Elmo for a walk. Out of the way, kids. Notice there is one Elmo in the front and one he is placing in the 'trunk.'

Skylar is another example of doing it big. But then again, what 4 1/2 year old girl isn't, when it comes to costume jewelry?Before nap Kamden wanted to sneak a spot next to Skylar on her mat. He figured he would sit there as we read our story. I enjoy capturing their love for each other. My prayer is that they would always be close. January 19
Peas anyone? If any of you have heard our stories, Kamden has not always been the easiest of the 3 kids to feed. It started with my desire to eat chocolate covered raisins while nursing him, then moved to his intolerance for dairy, then to his refusal to eat any type of meat, now we are faced with his dislike for soft veggies. He is getting much better and we do continue to reintroduce things to him as we eat them. He spotted my sugar snap peas and I figured "Why not?" Knowing he would not eat the crunchy exterior without spitting it back, I opened it up and showed him the 'balls.' He was so excited and now you can not eat a pea without opening it up and sharing with him. He takes after his momma when she was little, I would not eat cooked peas!

Has anyone heard about Dustin's accident? Well, here it is. He has been walking around for days scarring people about this car accident. He likes to ride this flat bed truck from the fridge to the couch like it is a skateboard. Well, the other morning he hit the vacuum that resides at about the halfway point and sticks out a hair in his race track path. The truck stopped but the driver did not. He went tumbling over the truck, knocking the wind out of himself and bruising his eye.Now he wears a helmet. Good thing. Be nice to those beautiful green eyes, boy. They are hard to find.

After dinner, we decided to allow for a game of hide and seek. Yes, we can actually play that in this house. At first you wonder, "Where could anyone possibly hide in that house? I think Andrea has all the hiding spots taken with storage stuff." But we do find places. The most enjoyable part for me is when Skylar was the seeker. She tends to follow this same style of looking for her shoes, if it doesn't jump out and bite me, it must not be here. So watching her search for the others after she found me was funny. I just followed her around with the camera to see things as she did. This is her looking for daddy under the 3 inch underside of the bed. Kamden figured he would help since he does not hide well.

'Nope, not here!'

Daddy hid the best on this one. See I knew that treadmill standing on it's side would be good for something. He crammed himself back there and waited patiently. Oh, how the kids really like this game. Sometimes things do settle down over here and we can catch the kids sitting down for a book.

January 18

The movers are here... now that I have your attention. No we are not really moving. The boys are just returning their car rug to it's rightful place. Nice teamwork.

I know there are many that say we need a bigger house. I have been guilty of that same comment myself from time to time. But I have realized that my children would be just as close to me, physically, if we had a bigger house but may not be as close to me emotionally. Will all that has happened in Haiti it is of bigger realization that we are indeed blessed with what we have. Don't get me wrong, I do long for a phone conversation where I don't have to hide in the bathroom to be able to hear the person on the other end...but it is with the Lord's timing and who am I to go above that. Thank you Lord for what we have.

"Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts. " I Chronicles 16:8,9

Hallelujah

I have been learning as I go in the area of photography and blogging, the same. I have been blessed with a dear friend whom I consider to be a mentor in many areas of my life. It is with her patience and direction that she has given me guidence on how to blog pictures that I have editted. It seems like such a simple solution to some, and it was, but for me the ideas of how to handle such problems do not come so easily. I do take direction well, as long as I have a willing contributor to give me that direction. You are an inspiration and trusted friend. Thanks, Lisa.

Of what use is money in the hand of a fool,

since he has no desire to get wisdom?
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Proverbs 17:16,17

(This is the before edits picture.)

Smart Cookie Week 3 ~ 2010

January 17

Our little salty snack girl was all for having a new snack. "Look mommy, it looks like a pretzel," she says after we must have said it a bunch of times. She doesn't miss a trick does she? Funny little girl.

I could not pass up this one of Kamden catching the bubbles Skylar was blowing for him. I tried to get a shot of Dustin showing him how to catch them in his mouth. Yuck.

January 16, 2010

A Day of Relaxation

Today we decided to hang out at home and spend time relaxing, one of my favorite things to do when I convince myself to do it. We went for a walk, as a family, to get some fresh air. The kids like to have the chance to climb the mountainous snow banks.

Opps, Dustin got a little over zealous with this jump.

Kamden just had fun pointing out the dog barking at us. Kamden tried to keep going but would get side tracked stomping in the snow.

We even stopped to look for animal prints in the snow. We saw, what we believe to be, mouse, deer, rabbits and raccoon tracks. How cool.Now don't all send my 'Mother of the Year' certificates at once. Unless you are sending for the 2010 year, I think I lost this one. But I did FINISH Kamden's Christmas stocking. Yeah!! I feel somewhat like a cheater because I used the sewing machine. But my husband reminds me that most Americans buy theirs so the fact that I spent a year and a half making his very own is what should count for me. I will call them homemade not handmade. All three of the kids will some day appreciate my hard work. (The other 2 stockings are laying on the couch next to me.)

Even on my day of relaxation I was able to get something completed that has been bugging me for 2 Christmas' now. Later in the evening I went to play Apples to Apples with some friends. It was nice to get out of the house and hang out with just the ladies. Fun day.

Take a Breath, Baby

January 15
I decided to take Kamden into the doctor's office today. He had been rubbing his ears and I assumed ear infection. He does not run fevers when he gets an ear infection so it is sometimes hard to convince the doctor's office that it is worth bringing him in. But they know us well enough, we do not bring our children in at each sign of a sniffle or cough. The more alarming condition was his coughing spasms each time he did any amount of exercise. He has been showing signs of asthma since September but we just brushed it off to cold weather or a cold and would slow him down till he sounded better. I finally decided that it was time when he would run around in the house and then cough so bad and look up at me with tears in his eyes as if to say, "Help."

I brought him in, had him push the doctor's wheely stool around to get him exuding some energy, then we tested his oxygen levels. He came in at 94 and showed signs of wheezing. They diagnosed him with asthma due to this being ongoing for some months now. They gave him a treatment in the office bringing his levels up to 98. He was not very tolerant of this machine bubbling and spitting in his face but he got better as he sat there.
Home treatment #1:
That night he also did not like the treatment to start. We had to remove the mask and just mist it in the area of his nose and mouth. He slept like an angel. He seemed so relieved to be able to breath. So sad to think that we take that necessity for granted.

Home treatment #2:


We figured out that if we used Kamden's favorite little Youtube friend to help, things might go smoother. And it did. We were able to get him to sit nicely and use the mask, which is recommended for the best results.

Home treatment #3
It was Sunday morning and Adam was staying home not feeling well with the boys. I was rushing around to get Skylar and I ready to go and knew Kamden needed a treatment. I knew Dustin wanted to be a part of helping Kamden, and Kamden had been doing so well accepting the treatments, so I gave Dustin the responsible job of sitting with him.
Look at how big Kamden is holding his mask himself. I'm so big, mommy.

I know that asthma is a common condition. But it seems so much more evident of what is going on when it is your 19 month old that is having a hard time breathing. I am so thankful that the Lord has allowed me the luxury of a medical plan that provides what my children need. It is a blessing that we have doctors at our disposal whenever we need and the medication to treat them. At this time we can clearly see that other countries do not have that same fortune.

I sat in church on Sunday and heared Pastor say that we need to think I get to rather than I have to. And I am not thankful that I get to give my son the treatment that he needs, not grumbling about how I have to give him a treatment. Thank You, Lord.