Wednesday Snippets

Maeve had preschool today for the first time in WEEKS so I was excited for the chance to get a few errands done with just one kiddo around! =)

After we dropped her we headed to Picture People to pick up our family pictures (that we took on Friday) only to be told that their printers have been broken for over a week and our prints still weren't done (even though they were promised on Saturday). Gah. I ended up getting some free prints out of the deal but I would have liked to get my pictures! =)

Ezra was a little monster-y while we were out--he has started the full toddler melt down (scream, limp like a noodle) when he doesn't get his way. Maeve never really went through this phase so I'm a bit out of practice at scrapping children off the ground! Ha! Oh well.

They ended up being super tired and taking long/early/awesome naps (again, woot) so I rewarded myself by making this delicious-ness:

And just cause I like you so much--here's the recipe for super easy Chocolate Mousse:

1/4 c chocolate chips

1 tblsp milk

1/2 c heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla

2 tblsp sugar

1 egg yolk (lightly beaten)

**mix chocolate chips/milk in heavy saucepan and melt on low

**once melted add a little to egg yolk and mix and then transfer back to the pot, cook for 2-ish minutes until a little thicker and combined

**when finished cool

**mix cream with sugar and vanilla into whipped cream and stir into cooled chocolate mixture

This was seriously amazing and delicious for 5 minutes worth of effort--and yes, it took that long with the cooling b/c I just stuck it in the freezer for a minute.

Anyways =) It's another Mr.Wonderful-is-working night so the kiddos and I are going to watch a movie. =)

Happy Wednesday!

Baby Gap Window(s) Shopping

I was looking at Gap today---LOVE these and seriously, if they made these shoes/clothes in my sizes and not just kid size I would totally wear them! The shoes--seriously? TDF!

I have been a big picture-taking-fail lately. I need to get my camera out and start snapping again--but honestly, I've been pretty content with the whole "being able to live like a normal person" again thing that pictures have fallen by the wayside. =)

Maeve had her 4yo check up today (better late than never!) and she is:

31 pounds

37.5 inches tall

=5th %

When Amelie was *3* she was 36 inches tall and 36 pounds--that makes me laugh! God makes each of us so different--even two sisters from the same family! 

Maeve did well at the office but had a bit of a breakdown when she found out there was going to be shots. Poor lamb!

I took the littles to chick fil a for an impromptu reward lunch for suffering through the Drs and they had fun climbing and playing and wore themselves out and took great naps!! Woot!

I had enough time to 

a) make cookies

b)nap

c)watch a tv show

WHAT?!?! 

It. Was. Awesome. 

I feel pretty good today too which is super exciting! Only a little lung weirdness and an almost normal energy level! Thank you Lord!!

The kids were super funny and sweet today--my heart feels warm and fuzzy---even warmer and fuzzier now that I've just tucked them into bed! =)

Hope your Tuesday was as happy as mine! =)

Well--we're back to our normal routine and it wasn't as painful as I thought it would be! =)

We were lucky enough to have a playdate/lunch date with our buddies today--and I was surprised at how exhausted I felt/feel still! We had a wonderful time (even though Ezra has definitely hit some sort of terrible-twos-wall =) OH MY!!!) and are so thankful for the delightful company of our pals!!!

I tried to rest this afternoon (Maeve AND Ezra napped--that was epic, it never happens anymore). But I couldn't rest--stinkin' asthma meds hype me up and wipe me out at the same time. 

I am breathing much easier but still having problems--if you think of it say a prayer for me! I'm back to the asthma specialist on Friday and hoping for improvement/answers/both. 

In other news the weather was absolutely phenomonal today!! I had the windows open (Hello November 28?!?) and took the kids outside for a while after nap--heavenly! I wish winter stayed like this alllllll the time! =)

Not much else is new--Mr. Wonderful is back to his late-night-opera grind and the kiddos and I are hanging out. I moved the slide into the living room and that was a big hit! Thank goodness for fun toys! Happy Monday!

Like A Broken Record...

...I keep talking about how sick I am/was/were but I can't help it!! =)

I couldn't do anything normal--like

laundry

or dishes

or pick up Ezra and Maeve

I didn't have strength to check email

or facebook 

(then you KNOW it's serious =)

I couldn't carry the kids, or tuck them into bed b/c when I reached the top of the stairs I would be so exhausted that I had to immediately go to bed myself and lie down and catch my breath.

(even though I was RUNNING 10 miles a week just before a I got sick!)

So I sat on the couch and just watched my family-life go by and tried to focus on each new breath.

So...I wrote this because--

If you have the strength to do dishes--

PRAISE THE LORD!

If you have the energy to clean your bathroom and fold your laundry--

PRAISE THE LORD!

If you can pick up your sweet children and whisper into their ears and carry them up to bed and tuck them in--

PRAISE THE LORD! 

also shout--

Hallelujah!!

Those things are gifts--the little kinds you don't think about--until you can't do them and you watch your Mama and your beloved husband and your precious MIL do them for you because you can't take care of your own family. 

I am so thankful to be feeling mostly normal again, and that even when I wasn't, I had wonderful people to support me!

The end-
-and I'll try not to talk about it anymore. =)

*Thankful*

So thankful today, and every day for the many blessings the Lord has placed in our lives! A list, for you, to name a few!

1. So thankful for our Jersey family and that we got to have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with them--what a blessing to have family near and far!

2. Thankful to be feeling better and breathing and walking and living again. Thank you Jesus!!!!

3. Thankful for kind doctors and good medicine!

4. For my husband who has done MORE than his share of house/family/child duties this week as I've been unable to do the most basic things. =( He has shown me Christ-like love in such a real way during our marriage. Love him.

5. For my Mom and MIL who have taken extraordinarily good care of me and my family this week. They are amazing!

6. For my dear friends who wrote me and texted me and encouraged me with their thoughts and prayers--I really needed you this week--thank you for being there for me!

7. For the beautiful, mild weather we've been having.

8. For my beautiful children--

9. And that Amelie got to enjoy the NY thanksgiving I had hoped to--she is such a wonderful girl, I miss her!!!

10. For my Maeve who is sunshine and silliness!

11. For my Ezra who is Mommy's little guy and the kindest little gentleman you ever met!

12. For my Dad and FIL who always support us.

13. And thankful for my NY family who I miss dearly--especially my little nephew who I wish I got to spend more time with!

14. For our home--which is safe and warm-ish, and comfortable and peaceful and lovely.

15. For the great big trees in our yard and the giant piles of yellow leaves for my children to jump into.

16. For our town & country--for freedom and peace!

17. For warm fuzzy socks, cardigans, knee-high socks, fur-lined boots, cozy blankets, chunky sweaters and fleece sweat pants. =)

18. For mocha-creamer and peanut butter straight out of the jar, and pixy sticks and pepsi. =)

19. For Salvation by Grace--that I don't have to do anything, or be good, or earn my eternity in Heaven--Jesus did ALL the work for me and has given me the gift of salvation freely even though I do not deserve it. Amazing. Even more amazing? He offers it to everyone and anyone and all you have to do is believe. Best. Gift. Ever. 

20. For the promise of eternity in Heaven and a chance to see my precious babes who are there waiting for me, along with my brother and my Grandma who I miss all the time. 

Thank you Lord for these blessing!!! 

And happy thanksgiving to you all!

 

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

Courtesy of lyricshall.com
'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

I have had many quiet moments of waiting, and worrying and wondering over the past 2 weeks.

And I think these are the lessons the Lord is working on teaching me:

1. Rejoice Always. Pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

2. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:5

3. Nothing reaches me or my life that hasn't been placed there by the Lord for a reason--For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer. 29:11

***

I find it "ironic" that I am struggling so desperately with health and being thankful the week of Thanksgiving--a friend posted a great article on having an attitude of Thanksgiving--my favorite paragraph came towards the end--in regards to what you ought to tell someone who is struggling--

"The world, Satan, and my own sinful heart are oriented away from thanksgiving. 

The best way to help someone like me is to point me to Jesus. 

Remind me who Jesus is and what he has done. 

Remind me that he has taken care of my greatest problem, 

which is my own sin, and that he is sovereign over everything else I could ever face."

 ***

So I am going to work on having a heart full of thanksgiving--even though this Thanksgiving week is FAR from what I had looked forward to/envisioned. And even though my sweet Amelie isn't home (well, she's home in NY just not with me) I still have A LOT to be thankful for and I choose to focus on that in the midst of this current storm. 

***

 My most important number 1 thanks that outshines all the other things I am thankful for?

Salvation. My hope, my future and my life are secure in Christ--He completed all the work necessary to save my soul and I can rest in Him and His promises.

***

Speaking of storms--

Ezra and Maeve outside playing in the rain this morning---poor Ezra wearing girl boots/coat. I guess what he doesn't know won't hurt him! =)

And also in the "storm" category--if you think of it, please pray for my Maeve--she is going through some"thing" and has been extraordinarily um....terrible? These two weeks. I'm sure she's reacting to the stress of my sickness and the turbulence of me being in and out of the house and at the doctors--her little heart is so full of disobedience it makes me sad. She usually is so lovely--poor lamb. 

Anyways, that's it.

I am going to work on a heart full of Thanksgiving!

DoWnHiLl and Up Again--A Rambl-ey Update

Last I wrote I was getting better--unfortunately my health took a turn for the worse on Thursday and I spent a few very long days hardly able to breathe.

I can't remember a time when I've been more scared. 

I've had asthma all my life--but it only acts up if I get a really bad cold--every other year or so I get one and have a bad week of it--then nothing! I'm fairly certain my primary care doctor was trying to kill me--I've never been so under-treated/poorly-medicated in my life! I am beyond thankful that they got me in to see an Allergist/Asthma specialist or I would have wound up in the hospital this weekend. 

Big. Sad. Face.

=(

I can't describe how impossible it was to breathe and how scared and terrible I felt Thurs/Fri. I'm still not 100% and it's killing me that I probably won't be able to get home for Thanksmas this year. It's my favorite holiday tradition and the girls are SO excited about it.

I can't express how THANKFUL I am that my Mom came down to help me. I wouldn't have been able to make it through without her here--something about having your Mom makes everything better even if everything isn't better! I also had a ton of help from my precious in-laws and am so thankful for them--I am so blessed to have them so close by and SO willing to go above and beyond to help me and care for my family! 

Hopefully each day will bring improvement in how I'm feeling. 

Cause honestly...it's been pretty much the worst. thing. ever. 

For those of you who prayed/are praying for me--I appreciate it more than you know!

It's been another long week here--full of Doctor visits and unanswered questions and allergic reactions and lots of stress for me. 

Boo that.

I woke up this morning starting to feel almost normal-yay! But am still having a lot breathing problems. An x-ray today cleared up a pneumonia scare and I am on a new meds. regimen that will hopefully clear my lungs up and get me back to normal!!!

Normal will be awesome. 

I can't wait!!

Anyways, we've just been laying low--but I did get some pictures of my kiddos this weekend for our Christmas card! =) I love these kids--they are so stinkin' cute and still love their Mama even when she has the 'roid rage.

Window(s) Shopping--Gymboree's New Line = LOVE

what a long week

i'm so sick

of

sick

it's very draining to have the never-ending-coughing and the difficulty-breathing for days on end

i'm worn down and tired and this week ahead is an extremely busy one for my husband

if you think of it, say a prayer for me-

-i'm going to need all of the help i can get!

the longest week there ever was...

i have been sick alllll week

and sicker every day than the day before

and finally sick and tired of being sick and tired so i went to the doctor

the verdict:

bronchitis. 

i usually get sick once a winter and hopefully this is it for me!

so much coughing--my head and my ears and my brain and my throat and my sides and my shoulders and everything hurts from the coughing that never ends

mostly my weak-little-asthma-lungs just get angry and can't calm down and be normal

but now there is lots of medicine and that should help

i haven't slept more than a few hours in days.

my eyeballs hurt.

lucky for me, my darling husband stayed home and helped me as i was helpless.

i kept trying to convince maeve that i was sick and she would say, "well, mama--i don't have the right outfit to be a doctor for you so you're going to have to go find one."

=)

my mother in law brought my favorite dinner tonight and helped put the kids to bed--what a blessing!

i bought a ginormous bag of pixy sticks at CVS when i filled my prescriptions (halloween candy =90% off! woot) and i can't stop eating them. i doubt this is helping me--but after the week i've had it can't be hurting that much. =)

i haven't run since saturday--this is the longest break from running i've had since i started over 6 months ago--i'm worried that it will be hard to start up again--but i really miss it so i will press on.

this was random--i know.

blame it on the meds. =)

good night!

Moody Monday Night

i'm just sitting here...

listening to pandora (christmas music obvi)...

enjoying the quietness of children in bed

and twinkly lights wrapped around the faux wood i found in my basement for my faux fireplace

oh yes, and making a garland for said fireplace...

it's gonna be super cute

unlike the day i had

read: opposite of cute

(i.e. worst day ever)

me = sick, grumpy kids, stupid time change, cough, hack, wah and so on

but right now it's all behind me 
and tomorrow will be a fresh start

I had visions today of taking all three kids somewhere for a photo shoot for our Christmas cards--unfortunately the time change and Ezra's cough had other plans! My little guy was up at 4:30 (yawn) and only ended up taking a very short nap today. He was coughing a bit more so I took him to the doctor--they think he may have a sinus infection so he'll be medicated and hopefully 100% soon!!

I did get to take some pictures of my sweet girls before they headed out the door to church!

Hopefully we all get more sleep tonight! I need it!! Stupid time change. =) Happy Sunday!

The heat is on...

The leaves are changing and falling.

I'm drinking hot chocolate with alarming frequency.

The air is chilly and refreshing...

(happy happy running weather!)

And my new fleece pants arrived from Old Navy: 

(so cozy, so warm)

Happy. =)

Now I want a fleece hoody...

and a flannel shirt

to complete the warm-ness. =)

*****

In other news--Ezra caught a cold a bit over a week ago and the cold has gone, but since he has wheezing issues he has rattly little lungs. 

Poor guy!!

He is playing and happy but has to have breathing treatments a few times a day--he just sits there like a big boy, reading a book and when it's over proclaims, "All done!"

I love him so!

Tonight the clocks fall back--I wonder if the children will be cooperative? We're keeping them up an hour in hopes that we'll get to sleep until a semi-normal time. 

*fingers crossed*

Happy Saturday! =)

We had a peaceful day--Maeve had preschool and Ezra and I just hung out--first we took a nice long walk around town.

1. I love our little town!

2. It was peaceful and lovely--the birds were singing and the leaves were gorgeous!

3. Ezra walks so sweetly--holding my hand and ooooo-ing and ahh-ing over everything he sees.

He was obsessed with his shadow today--I don't think he's ever noticed it before! He kept poking it and laughing. =) Here are our walking shadows!

One of our neighbors has a mini-excavator and that is Ezra's absolute favorite stop. He is in love with trucks and what-not.

We also spent some time outside--raking and playing in the leaves. =)

My husband is super busy this week and for the rest of forever. Boo. I'm so thankful that he is such a hard worker but I miss him and being able to watch his shows etc.

Le sigh.

=)

My Amelie is wow-ing the littles with her Wii skills--time for me to cuddle them on the couch before bed!

Good night! =)

My precious little guy turned two today.

I am still totally in denial and was so busy all day I haven't even had time to think about it.

(until now--SOB!)

He's so wonderful--and gets better every single day--I'm so thankful for my Ezra-boy!!

His little friends and their mamas came over to celebrate the big *2*! 

The boys all played so nicely! It just blessed my heart to see such great little guys playing together--they were so funny--so much happy! Thanks for coming friends--it was perfect!!

Some of the little dudes eating cupcakes/pizza:

PJ + Cupcake = Match Made In Heaven =)

Ezra loved all of his birthday toys sooo much that he just had to sit in the middle of them. =)

I am so thankful for my son! He is just sweetness and joy (mostly =). 

Love. Him.

Happy birthday my darling Ezra! You are my favorite little guy!!