Paloma Plug

Driving along the road today to pick up Mattea.

Me: Paloma, look up at the mountains. I think it snowed there.

Paloma: Yeah, dats (thats) where Jeeezus (Jesus) lives.

Me: Do you know where else he lives Paloma? In your heart.

Paloma: Contemplating for a moment. "Yeah - and in my belly toooo."

Mattea Moment

Tonight as we were sitting on the swings at the park looking up at the clouds, this is the conversation that occurred.

Me: Girls - look at the sky.

Paloma: Momma - I see a hippo.

Mattea: I see Jesus.
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Mattea: There are no spooky stuff or bad guys or anything in heaven.

Me: You are right honey. How did you know there will be no bad in heaven?

Mattea: We talked about it at school.

Me: Awesome sweetheart. What else did you learn.

Mattea: That the streets in heaven are gold(nonchalantly).

Amazing what their little minds are learning and processing. I was so encouraged to be hearing this today because this came after a conversation with a friend about how discouraged I was that Mattea wasn't coloring better or writing her name as well as some of her other friends. Clearly God was showing me all of that is irrelevant. I shouldn't care if my daughter is the best colorer in the class or she spells her the name the best. I should care what is in my daughter's heart and what is in her mind. It isn't as important that she know her ABC's as it is that she gets to know Jesus.

Thank you Lord for that valuable lesson.

School Party

Mattea had her Fall Harvest Party on Wednesday at preschool. Paloma and I were fortunate to be a part of it. Paloma actually got to participate and trick or treat right next to her big sister this year - which was a huge hit. She felt like such a big girl. She is so excited and can't wait until she can go to pweschool.



Mattea is fortunate enough to be in a wonderful class, with wonderful teachers, and wonderful friends. It was fun spending the day with everyone.









Mattea posing with her friend Larissa. If you do or don't know, our family does not celebrate Halloween - which means no dress up, no trick or treating, etc. We do hand out candy but that's about it - and that is because we don't' want to look like the pedophile family on the block. And that is why Mattea is not dressed up and every single student in the preschool was. Oh well, she got over it. It was a little bit harder explaining to her why she would be the only student not in costume but she handled it well - as did Paloma (who cared about nothing other than getting some candy).



Trick or treating amongst the parents. It was a fun day and we have a ton of residual candy to prove it.

Help

Does anybody have any ideas for taming this beastly hair?

Holy smokes. Paloma's curls are out of control. I've had her hair layered, used gel, tried mouse, place piggy tails. Doesn't matter. These curls just keep on coming. If you have "experience" in curls - drop me a line. I'm in need of help before someone mistakes my cute little girl as unkept orphan.

Come Again?

IT



SNOWED



TODAY

New Song

Hey y'all. I was finally able to download the new song by Addison Road (What Do I Know Of Holy).

I posted the lyrics a few weeks back. It is an amazing and powerful song. Take a minute to really listen to the words as you scroll through my blog. And of course if you are already caught up - minimize and let the words radiate the room. Truly a song you won't forget.

Wordless Wednesday

Why A Daughter Needs A Dad

I picked up this great new book today at the hospital's book fair entitled

"Why a Daughter Needs A Dad" by Gregory E. Lang

I'd love to share bits and pieces of the book with you. And for all you moms who have a daughter - some of these will make your heart melt. Stay tuned as I will keep parts of the book coming....

A daughter needs a dad to protect her when she is not wise enough to protect herself.

A daughter needs a dad so that she will have at least one hero who will not let her down.

A daughter needs a dad who will influence her life even when he isn't with her.

A daughter needs a dad...
to learn what she should expect from her husband.
to teach her how to be responsible for others.
to teach her to preserve her dignity during difficult times.
to help her believe in herself as a parent, and that in discipline there is hope.

A daughter needs a dad to show her how it feels to be loved unselfishly.

A daughter needs a dad to teach her that loving her family is a priority.

A daughter needs a dad....
to teach her what kind of man to choose to be the father of her children.
to stand with her on the day she marries the man she hopes will be just like her
father.
to help her raise her children with strong family values.

A daughter needs a dad to set a moral standard for her.

A daughter needs a dad so she learns that men can be trustworthy.

It's Just Another Manic Monday....

Guess Who's Feeling Better

Can You Find The Little Purple Paloma

Amongst all the cool mist steam, can you find my little munchkin curled up like the cutest little bug on her makeshift-head elevated-bed? I can.

My Afternoon

Well as the family continues to recover, my dear sweet husband decided to pack up his gun and head off to the woods in search of meat for the winter. The word from the woods though is there is not a bull in sight. Ugh! Poor guy must be frustrated but at least it gets him out of the house and away from all this sickness.

As for me, I hung out and played games, practiced Mattea's writing, made playdoh creations, read books, and cooked lunch with my little kiddos. And then....it was nap time to which both girls went down easily and are still asleep I must add. I decided that I would take the afternoon to catch up on journaling. I used to be a huge journaler - that is until an unfortunate accident back in high school that I won't get into right now. I did start to take it up though when I became pregnant with the girls. I started a journal for each girl that allows me space to simply outline my thoughts and ideas - feelings and emotions - about them at any given time. I have entries of happiness and excitement about their births and then I have entries about frustration and anger - I'm honest. I also started a book reliving and retelling "my story."

I'm sure you've seen them... a journal where there are preprinted questions and it is up to you to fill in the answers. My book is called "A Mother's Legacy - Your Life Story In Your Own Words." It is in hopes of putting to print some of the memories and stories you might not ever get the chance to share with your children. I love sitting down to do an entry or two. It helps me remember some of the good stories from my past and also allows me to share with my kids some day the story of who I am and where I came from. if you haven't already started one, I highly encourage all moms to at least think about it. What a wonderful treat to one day leave your children. One of my biggest fears is that I will be sent to heaven before my children really ever get a chance to know me. Depressing thought and I won't dwell on it or it will bring me to tears. So, I'm off to continue on my journaling adventure before one of my children awakens. Happy writing.

"The beauty of the written word is that it can be held close to the heart and read over and over again." Florence Littauer

Precious Paloma Time

Because Paloma was not feeling well this afternoon and because she was simply exhausted, I chose to hold on tight to my sweet little baby and cuddle her through naptime. If there is any postive in this time of illness, it is that I am getting some much needed "lovey" time with my kids. This time will pass and they both will be back to running and playing and will all to soon forget about cuddling with their mommy.

Just For Fun

I would love for you to leave me a comment with what you think is going through Mr. Kody's mind as he stares so lovingly at Mattea. I could truly use a cute caption. I can't quite muster the energy to turn it into a contest - but creativity is contagious and I'd love to hear your thoughts. Drop me a line....

Flu Update - Part 2

I apologize in advance for any negativity that may appear in this next blog post but to put it quite mildly - I'm pissed. I'm angry, frustrated, beyond tired, and down right done. I'm so sad for my family right now. All three are suffering - some more than others. Last night was miserable. Paloma did not sleep at all - battling a nasty case of croup. I received about an hour of sleep because I was too busy checking respiratory rates, work of breathing, temperatures, etc. I did nothing but pray over my family and watch as they desperately tried to obtain the much needed sleep their bodies desired but simply couldn't because of the flu.



We have moved on to straight up honey - making the kids eat it by the spoonfuls. Their coughs have worsened and since cough medicine is not recommended we have moved on to the all natural remedy. The literature raves about the effectiveness of honey on coating the throat and preventing cough - I'm not sold.



This is what my kitchen has been transformed into - a pharmacy, complete with a daily log of who gets what, when they got, their temperature at the time and their overall status. I think I'm working harder at home than I do at work. I'm certainly charting more at home.



And this would be my poor Paloma this morning who is doing the best she can but her poor little body is becoming exhausted. Here is hoping my prayers are answered today and God hands down a blessing. This is so sad - watching and waiting as my family is suffering and there is not a single thing I can do or a med that I can give to make them better.....

Flu Update

Is it swine flu? Who really cares at this point. In our house right now, the flu is the flu. It is wicked. It packs a punch - along with a fever, chills, grumpy disposition, loss of appetite, body aches, and about 10 other symptoms that I'm just too tired to write about. This is the only photo I captured that would be appropriate enough to publish. I'd for sure be banished by my family if I shared with you all photos of them in their condition. In fact, we received an invitation to be interviewed tonight by a local news station to share our story about how the flu has affected our family. I had to chuckle because the way my family is looking right now - man we are a sight for sore eyes. Well, everyone but me that is...

Update:
I remain healthy. Praise God. I'm hoping my years on pediatrics has boosted my immune system and nothing - not even H1N1 - can get to me.

Dave: coherent. Speaking sentences. Remains febrile. Popping Ibuprofen like it is going out of style. Eating small amounts. No vomiting. Has managed to hug me and thank me for keeping the house running yesterday while he was passed out for 21 hours. Sweet man!

Mattea: Remains febrile for the 4th day in a row. Cheerful at times, downright grumpy at others. Is eating fair amounts. Managed to do a craft and eat chocolate. Took a nap, remains exhausted. Cried a lot today.

Paloma: The worst of the bunch. Spiked fever to 102. Was needy and tearful. Hot and cold. Ate fair. Drank like a champ. Had a coughing spell so bad she vomited and peed her pants all at the same time. Remains exhausted. Has watched enough television to keep her happy until she turns 21.

As you can see, we have had better days. It is only October. What does the rest of the season have to offer?

Prayers badly needed!

Like Mommy, Like Matty

Wordless Wednesday

Paloma's Plug

Tonight while we were supposed to be getting ready for bed and saying our prayers, Paloma removes herself from our prayer circle, crawls into bed and cuddles up with her blankets. I asked her why she wasn't joining us for prayer - her response, "I dunno know." Then I asked her if there was one thing she was thankful for. She curled up under her blankets in a ball - only to emerge 15 seconds later and say....

"Mama, God made everybody with a belly button."

What To Do

I'm not sure whether I should
A) Scream - because I am technically supposed to be in Wisc right now snuggling with my new little nephew Landon, but instead we are grounded because of the flu. My entire family has taken ill (me excluded so far) and there is no way we were going to make the flight today. So for the next 8 days, I'm playing nursey to my poor stricken family

OR

B) Praise God - why (for numerous reasons) but the number one right now is that had my family not gotten sick, and had we not canceled our flights but rather flown off into the sunset of Wisc, I would be spending the night in the MSP airport with two young children. Apparently, Northwest didn't get the memo that we canceled our flights and we received a surprising phone call tonight saying the flight from Minneapolis to LaCrosse was canceled for tonight and rescheduled for the morning. What a disaster that would have been.

God works in mysterious ways doesn't HE?

Caffeine Break

Annual Pumpkin Patch Visit

The girls and I decided Monday night would be the perfect night to gather up our neighbor and head on out to the pumpkin patch. It was a bit chilly - but temperatures remained relatively conducive to an enjoyable evening outdoors.

First up - the petting zoo. Always a crowd pleaser. A bit disappointed this year since you couldn't get right into the pens with the animals as you could last year - but fun nonetheless. For our viewing pleasure - horses, goats, llama's, alpacas, a camel, sheep. They were all very friendly and very flirtatious. My kids loved them. Then we packed up all three children and headed out for the hayride into the pumpkin patch. Yeah! I love hayrides. After finding a pumpkin, we hopped back on and spent the remainder of the evening enjoying games, rides, food, etc. Here is just a sampling of the photos from our very fun adventure. Thanks friends for joining us this year.

Temper Tantrums - Take 2

My belief was (and correct me if I'm wrong), when we celebrated Mattea's 3rd birthday, I said good bye to those evil two year old tempter tantrums forever. Within 24 hours of turning 3, my sweet Mattea was a changed girl - until now.

Yikes!

What in the heck happened I'm asking myself these days. I don't know if this is some kind of ridiculous phase we are going through but her behavior is nothing short of annoying. I have learned that temper tantrums at 2 are challenging and somewhat frustrating - but at 4 - well those are downright un-lady-like. She has had the most rotten attitude lately and I sincerely believes she thinks that throwing herself to the floor like her sister will somewhat elicit a positive response from me. Thought she would have learned her lesson 2 yeas ago.

Any suggestions out there from you moms to struggle through this stage without throwing myself on the floor with a temper tantrum. Because one of these days, I'm quite sure mommy is going to be the one with the breakdown.

And in case you couldn't tell, I documented one of these events so y'all knew I was telling the truth.

Welcome Baby Landon

Feast your eyes on my newest little nephew Landon.



Yummy huh?



Born not to long ago, this little boy has warmed the hearts of our family for sure. We are so excited to be heading home to meet the newest addition. For a brief moment, staring at his sweet little eyes makes me want to try for a boy - like I said - brief moment.

Congratulations Rieber Family!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Food Fiasco

So what do you get when you take flour....


Pumpkin.....


Yeast.....



A very cute 4 year old.....











And an old mommy who has no idea what she is doing in the kitchen?




















This! My attempt at pumpkin bread. Not so good huh? My husband said it tasted as good as it looked. Ummm, guess I'll try again next time. I certainly had a great helper though.

I Finished!

Wow - am I glad this weekend is behind me. The anticipation leading up to this weekend's half marathon has been a killer. I don't do well with built up anxiety.

But, worry no longer. In the ridiculously cold conditions of 41 degrees, rain, and wind, I was able to finish my very first 1/2 marathon. This is something I would have never seen coming years ago - even 2 years ago. But with the help and encouragement of others, I now have the pleasure of saying "I did it!"



This would be our champagne finish. My goodness, what else could you want after running 13.1 miles besides champagne?




We are all standing and all smiling. I'm so proud of all these girls!



And my dear sweet friend and her family were waiting at my house with a homemade sign. I have special people in my life who have been very supportive of this endeavour. Thanks to all.

Now, I will wallow in my ibuprofen, drive past the gym, and break my training diet for a couple of days before I jump back onto the beast (Treadmill that is) and train for another. Yipee!