Happy Halloween!

It was a bit cold outside tonight, but the kids got dressed up and went around the neighborhood. Ella was Donald Duck, Ben was a pumpkin, and Lily was a fairy. The costumes for Ben and Ella were made my Nana many years ago for her own kids. The kids had a lot of fun going through her costume box and picking out what they wanted to wear. There's nothing like a Nana with a costume box!! Thanks Nana!

The kids got lots of candy and also enjoyed running to the door each time the doorbell rang to hand out candy to their little friends.

Whew, I am learning all to quickly how hard it is to get 3 children to stand still for 2 seconds to get a single picture taken! The older two wanted their costumes off right away so they could start sorting through their candy and trade back and forth...so I was only able to get Lily in a single shot. Oh well, she's pretty cute, I guess!

Cubbies

Ella and Ben have started Awana Cubbies. We are taking them to an evangelical church called Constance. Our church has changed ciriculium and they start it at kindergarten...which meant neither Ella or Ben are old enough to attend. We found Awana at this great church and so we enrolled them right away. They were so excited to get their new handbooks and vests this year. Ben was so jealous of his sister last year when she got to go. He couldn't understand why he wasn't old enough to be in it yet. But this year is a different story. Ben is a wild man in class. He joins right in with the other boys being loud and crazy. He loves it. He was even able to recite his verse back to me last week when he got home. It's going to be a great thing for him this year.

Ella likes it too although she is still working on making new friends. The room is new, the teachers are new...so we are going to go this week and meet some new friends together. I think it's just what she needs to get comfortable and start to really enjoy being there.

I saw firsthand how big of a roll Awana can play in a child's life. It generated so many questions from Ella last year...and from it grew a seed in her heart for the Lord. Ella asked Jesus to be her forever friend at the end of summer. It's truly what a mother lives for...it's why I'm here...to help guide her to Jesus. It's a prayer many years in the making and I'm so grateful to God that He allowed me to see my firstborn come to accept Him at such a young age. God truly is GREAT. Being a mother is a big job with a huge responsibility...afterall, God has entrusted me with an eternal soul. If that isn't the most important job in the world...then I don't know what is.

Bad Eggs

"I do not like them, Sam I Am, I do not like green eggs and ham!"

Well, "Sam I Am"...you are not alone. Lily doesn't like eggs either...no matter what color. Blue, purple, pink, green, or yellow!!

Last Wednesday night, I fed Lily some scrambled eggs for supper. A few minutes into it, she started to rub her eyes. "Poor baby", I thought..."not a long enough nap today, I guess". But as she continued to rub her eyes more and more...harder and harder...I started to look at her more intently. I could see all sorts of little white welts starting to appear. They went all the way around her eyes and upon further investigation, I saw that the bottom of her chin was covered in them too. Her eyes were starting to swell and she was definitely uncomfortable.

I immediately scooped her up to make sure her breathing was labored. Whew! She was doing fine in that regard...but I knew I needed to find out some information fast. I called Urgent Care who put me right through to a nurse. I told her I suspected an egg allergy and she advised me to give her a dose of benedryl and to watch her very closely for the next hour. Her instructions were pretty simple..."If you notice any breathing difficulty or any weazing, call 911 immediately".

The benedryl helped tremendously. Within 20 minutes the welts started to disappear. I did, however, watch Lily all through the night...setting my alarm to wake me up at different intervals where I would quietly tip-toe into her room and watch the rising and falling of her chest.

I called the dr. that we had just seen 12 hours earlier as soon as morning came. They had done a blood draw on her to run routine tests and they agreed that they would also order a cap rast test to see if her blood reacts to eggs in any way.

I got a call yesterday afternoon with the results. The conversation went something like this:

Nurse: We got Lily's results back from the cap rast test. We tested for both egg yolk and egg white allergies. Lily is definitely allergic to eggs! Don't give her any, nothing that has eggs baked into it, and don't let her touch them either. The dr. will call you in a few days when she returns from out of town meetings."

Ugh. My sweet Lily is allergic to eggs. I'm not sure what this all means or where we go from here. I'm guessing that the dr. will tell us we need to see an allergist and we will get more information at that appointment. Until then..."I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them, Sam I Am."

Sunshine...

Wow...what a fabulous day outside today!! We spent a good part of the afternoon enjoying a warm, fall day. The kids enjoyed every minute of it. It was great to get back to bike rides, wagon rides, and walks.

A Princess Party

Ella turned 5 last Friday. I can harldy believe that I am the mother of a 5 year old. How the time flies. I feel like it was just a short time ago that I was pulling that IV cart around. I remember like it was yesterday that first moment that I held my baby daughter. Her eyes opening and closing so slowly...looking up at me. She was so beautiful...and she still is. I can't believe what a lovely little girl she has grown to be. What a blessing she is...she makes me a better person. I couldn't imagine my life without her in it.

On Saturday Ella had her first ever friend birthday party. She was so excited. I wasn't sure she was even going to be able to get to sleep the night before. Ella invited 4 little friends over and they all arrived in their favorite dress-up outfit. They made a necklace as well as their own lipgloss. Then they got their hair fancied up. The girls also played "place the jewel on the crown" ...a princess twist on the game of pin the tail on the donkey. Then they all sat down for "Princess Tea". I even whipped together a quick princess birthday cake per Ella's request.

It was so much fun to see her enjoying herself. At the end, she just dazed off into space...lots of excitement and 2 full hours of stimulation. I knew it had been a good day.

A big, giant thanks to Auntie Jill for helping make the party a success. And for wearing her own princess dress to the party! You're the best.

Alpaca Fun

Today we had an opportunity to visit an alpaca farm. It was so much fun!! I have asked Jason for years if we could have an alpaca farm, he always answers the same..."no". So today I got to pretend a little and it was a blast. Those cute animals are so incredibly soft. I touched this little baby on the head and I just wanted to bury myself in his fur. I have never felt anything so luxuriously soft.

By the way, this little baby in the pictures is only a mere 3 weeks old. Judy, the woman who owns the alpacas has 7 pregnant ones right now. The gestational period for an alpaca is 11.5 months...can you imagine? With the pregnancy I had, my mouth fell open.

Ella and Ben had a blast. Ben was busy running all over the farm, climbing up the gates, and chasing after the barn kitties. They even both got to feed the animals. Well, truth be told, I got to as well. Those little alpaca lips are like butterflies on your hands. It was the funniest, tickliest feeling.

Judy also has her own little shop with her own handspun yarns. We got a lesson on how once they shear the alpacas, they card the wool to clean it. Once it is carded and cleaned, they call that roving and it's the roving that is then spun into yarn. For a knitter, it was so fun to see how it goes from an alpaca to some beautiful handspun yarn. It certainly gives me a new apprecation for yarn and now I know why yarn can be so expensive. It's official...I'm a yarn snob. :)

When we got in the van to leave, Ben shouted out "I had so much fun!!" I guess it was a great field trip...a true success.

Silly Day

What do you do when it's been raining for the past 4 days? You start to get silly and put pants on your head of course.