Daddy and Tess

Jordan has started this horrible habit of getting Tess back up out of bed after all the other kids are asleep. Especially on Sundays it seems when he can watch football and hold her. 

If he can hear her over the monitor still up there talking to herself, he'll go get her. 

And ...

she LOVES it. 

She is his princess. She has complete control over him. 

Complete control. 

So this is tonight. 

She knows she cant get off the couch. She gets her baby and a bottle for the baby. These are her current favorite toys and she can play with them all day long. She's in heaven. 

feeding baby a midnight snack. 

She knows just how to work him. She her technique here...utter cuteness no daddy can resist. 

And if I come near, or mention going 'nigh-nigh' she flips. Screams at me and scoots closer to daddy. If I sit to close she keeps one arm on Jordan...her protector. 

Its really pretty cute. They even whisper 'I love you' to each other. I'm not kidding. 

Daddy's girl. 

Visiting Jackson

We're having another busy weekend. But its busy with fun things so that is good!

Yesterday we traveled to Des Moines to visit Jordan's sister Kylie, her husband Justin and our new nephew, Jackson. 

Yes, he is really that precious. 

Avery had fun holding him close. 

Tess was not sure what to think. Her 'love pats' are not so loving!

She doesn't enjoy long car rides but she did quite well yesterday and was pretty cute most of the way! 

There are now 8 cousins on Jordan's side of the family - almost 8 and under in age. Its a little rowdy, but so fun to watch them all having a blast together. 

These guys spent a lot of time outside using sidewalk chalk. It kept them busy for a long time. 

by Faith

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." 

Hebrews 11:1

I recently started a couple of new bible studies at church and one is all about faith. About letting go and letting God. About giving up control and handing it back where it belongs...with God. 

I'll admit, I'm not very good at this. I often think, "Well, God hasn't answered yet. That MUST mean that He wants me to take matters into my own hands and make it happen." Make it happen the way I want it to happen. 

Yeah, not good at giving up control, at walking not by sight...but by faith. 

In this study's first lesson we were asked to read Hebrews 11. 

After I read it and I noted all my scribblings in the margins that I've written there over time...I realized that I should be starting every day by reading this passage. 

How would my outlook change if I began every morning with stories of the faith of people like Abraham, Sara, Joseph, Noah, and Issac? 

Those were real tests of faith...

vs. 8 and 17 "hey Abraham - go, Im not going to tell you where, or give you a map, but pick up your family and go! oh, and later, you know that son that I promised you? Well place him on the alter and sacrifice him for me."

vs. 7 "hey Noah, I want you to build a big ship, and prepare for a world wide flood. Never mind that it has never rained before, ever. Never mind that the world is going to call you crazy, never mind that you are old."

My tests of faith are so small. But these men and women are there for us to read as examples of following our Lord with completely blind faith. They teach us how to close our eyes and 'go'.

Ponyo and Robert

Robert has been in town from Buffalo all week due to my grandma's funeral. 

While we don't like the reason he came home...we were pretty happy to have him here for a week. 

Here is an example of why my kids love him so much - before supper tonight he filled up 15 water balloons and took the kids outside and let them all throw the water balloons at him while he stood against the fence. 

Yes, he's a pretty fun loving uncle!

He leaves in the morning and so he treated my kids and me to a movie tonight. 

He had seen it before and thought the kids would like it. 

He said it was like The Little Mermaid. 

Three quarters of the way through it I leaned over and said, "Robert...this is the Little Mermaid on acid."

Very strange movie, but the kids did like it. 

Cant wait to see you at Christmas Robert! 

Sullivan

So after this crazy week my radar screen was blank. Anything scheduled beyond Thursday was not on it. 

So yeah, Sullivan's appt. in Iowa City came as a surprise. As of Thursday night I had no one to watch Avery and Tess while I took him. 

So my wonderful amazing, supportive, perfect husband took the day off and went with us all. 

The appt. was very educational. We met with a great doctor who spent a lot of time with us, made sure we were comfortable and told me to call him whenever I had questions or concerns. amazing. 

Basically he does not believe Sullivan has Celiacs Disease. He said in children with Celiacs they typically have poor growth. Noticeably are smaller than their peers. If you know Sully, you know this isnt true. He is tall. Tall like daddy. 95% for height. 

And yes, he is thin, but he is in the 50% where he has been all his life basically and it remains steady...no loss. And just like daddy...he's probably just naturally thin. 

Also, during the diarrhea issues Sully had blood in his stools. That is not typical of Celiacs in children. 

The dr. said it is probably a case of Toddler Irritable Bowel Syndrome...which really just means that hes a toddler with unexplained diarrhea for a length of time. 

The dr. said that with any case of diarrhea, if you alter your diet, it typically changes your poop.

No matter how you alter it. 

So the gluten free diet changed his poop. It went from runny to normal. 

He is hopeful that when we go back on the gluten ... Sully will remain with normal poop. 

He did say that we need to know for sure. So the plan is to go back on gluten for SIX solid months. If we have terrible diarrhea again, we do a scope and more blood work. Turns out Sully never had a full Celiac's work up previously.

We have to wait the 6 months because the markers need to be there - I dont totally understand all that but I trust the doctor's like 12 years of education. 

The scary thing is that Celiacs is really very serious. 

Its not just an allergy that causes tummy aches. 

If a person truly has Celiacs - every bit of gluten they eat is dangerous. Even if it doesnt cause any symptoms. The gluten damages the small bowel and increases the chance of cancer in that area enough to make a mommy scared. 

After talking with this dr. I feel really good about our course. 

My prayer is that we will have a definitive answer. That we will either see a lot of problem or nothing. There will be no sitting around wondering, "well should we do the scope or not?"

I like definitive answers!

clear answers!

they are my friend!

We talked about the excema and like I thought  he would, the dr. shook his head. He said, I think you should do more allergy testing...which a pediatric gastroenterologist doesnt specialize in.  

So we are not even a little bit done with that aspect. But Im focusing on this tummy today. 

On the way home we went to Mc Donalds. Sullivan was able to get a cheeseburger for the first time in a very long time. Then we ate supper at my moms and he got to have a crescent roll for the first time in a long time. 

After supper. ...

He complained of a terrible tummy ache and held his tummy and whined for a long time.

hmmmmmmmmm.....this could be a very long long 6 months. 

Pray for little Sully and his parents. That we'll be able to put an end to all this wondering and know one way or another what we are needing to do for him!

no words

This week marks the end of what has to have been one of the longest, emotionally draining I've had in a very long time. 

Of course it started with my grandma passing and the funeral. 

Then today I had a huge event at work. huge. 

A luncheon and style show, at a new venue which required us bringing in tables, chairs, staging, dishes, uh yeah, that list could go on and on. 

I've never been so worked up about an event. Just nervous about every aspect of it. 

That is not like me. 

I plan events all the time. But this one just caught up to me because of everything else going on. 

BUT, 

its over and it went well. And the style show was BEAUTIFUL, and everyone had fun and got wonderful, wonderful door prizes and raffle prizes. And I am hopeful that we will have supassed our rather lofty goal. 

But, I am wiped. Completely wiped out. 

I wore high heels. And I had to move furniture, wash dishes, mingle, ect. Smart. or not. 

The bottoms of my feet are actually bruised. 

dumb. 

And this picture has nothing to do with the post except that this little boy was BEYOND excited to get his first Awana vest this week. So proud. Love him. 

And I guess my title didn't really match up to my post. I had lots of words. But not many that made sense. 

and Im tired. 

tired.

And so glad this week is over!!!!!!

Baby!

On a much happier note.

Our family has grown again.

Jordan's sister Kylie and her husband Justin gave birth to a baby boy tonight.

Jackson Richard (Richard is Justin and his dad's middle name)

He is 8lbs 3 ou. and 20 inches long.

Poor Kylie had a very rough go of it from 20 hours of labor to an epidural that didn't work like it should and then in the end the disappointment of a c-section.

We are praying for your rest and recovery Kylie and we can't wait to hold JR!

Family

My grandma passed away last night.

Honestly we are happy that part is over.

Family is gathering and the funeral will be Tuesday.

In talking with all of my brothers last night we all brought up wonderful memories that we had with my grandparents. We were so blessed. We had 2 wonderful sets of grandparents who taught us so much and gave us a history and a legacy that will live forever.

We feel sad now but as we look back we know that we have so much to be thankful for. So much to hold on to.

We are the lucky ones.

With a large family who is there for us and memories that will live forever.

We will miss you Grandma. But we thank you for all you have given us.

And now for a quote I stumbled upon...it sums up how I am feeling and what I am thinking about my family that I love so much...even thought its by a rather weird, random person...

"I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich."
~Colonel Potter, M*A*S*H

Free Spirit - Go team!

These pictures epitomize Avery...at least when no one is watching!

Spartans 09!

Tonight was homecoming for the Spartans!

Lauren was just a little excited to go to the tailgate, game and the fireworks afterwards. 

She's like old. 

 

She's like scary adorable. 

He's like so full of energy!

Couldn't love this picture more. 

Family Update

I thought I would give an update...although there is really no update per say. 

Grandma is holding steady, no change. She is a stubborn strong willed lady and we should have known this is how it would go...

Its hard waiting for someone to pass away. Hard. We are just thankful that she is in no pain and we are resting in that. 

Thank you all for the sweet emails, texts, phone calls and comments...I feel very loved. And I love knowing that you are praying for my grandma and my family. And yes, my mom is doing well. She's really tired but she is a tough lady...can't imagine where she gets that from. 

On other notes...

Jordan is coming to the end of his rope with kid games like Chutes and Ladders, Candyland and Dont Wake Hulk.

He pulled out the game of RISK. Uh, are you kidding, not a kid game. At all. 

But they had so much fun! 

And in this picture, Sully is winning. Not sure why he wasn't happier about that!

Then there is this little sweetie. She loves playing with dolls...she calls them, 'babes'. So precious. She sat and played with this doll and car seat for almost 30 minutes straight last night. 

And...

She's walking. 

She took her first steps 2 months ago and this week finally decided that walking should be her primary mode of transportation. 

And she looks incredibly chunky when she is fully upright...I think she needs the exercise! ;)

Also since she has a whole new level of sight she is bringing me all sorts of special treasures...like things stolen from the top of Lauren and Avery's bookshelf, a roll of paper towels and last night...the lid to the garbage can. Wonderful. 

We went out to Jen F's house for some Friday fun today. 

I so needed it. 

The weather was PERFECT. The mom's sat on the deck and tried to ignore the kids. 

They have the perfect play area! Far enough away that you can pretend you dont hear them calling your name, but close enough that you can get there when the screams get too loud! (ha!)

Sully is up top shooting at something.

Then after we told he and Clayton, "No more guns" they decided to take out their aggression on this tree. 

Good Morning, Merry Sunshine

'Good Morning Merry Sunshine" is my grandma's way of saying good morning to people who are very special to her. I loved it. It was so cute and unique. Staying at her house wasn't complete if she didn't say that to you.

That leads me to my sadness. 

Last night I was driving to my bible study and Jordan called and told me to turn around and come home...that my grandma had a stroke. 

I came immedietly back home and got my mom and we started out on the 2 hour drive to my grandma's town. 

When we arrived we found out that the stroke had been a massive one and there was a great deal of bleeding on the brain. 

She is basically in a coma. Its a matter of time. Maybe today, maybe 3 weeks. Hospice is there now, keeping her comfortable. 

I got home about midnight last night and then drove back up today to see her again and bring my mom back home for some rest. 

She would have been 90 this year and we were planning a big party for her in one month. She would have LOVED every second of that. 

The hardest part of this is trying to explain it to my kids. Avery especially is not handling it well. My grandma lived with my mom for over a year before she had to go into the nursing home. And while there she spent 3 days per week with Avery, and lots of time with the other kids too. 

She is very special to them. And how special is that? Most kids dont even know their great grandparents...and mine have gotten to have special relationships with lots of theirs. So special. 

On my drive home last night I started thinking about the other thing that makes this so hard. She is my last grandparent. I will be a grandparent orphan. Not ready for that. 

Not even close. 

She is a great grandma. Her house was ALWAYS Filled with the best snacks and it seemed every time we went, she had new color books, crayons and markers. And the best...rubber cement. I dont know what I thought was so great about that but I loved pasting things with that stuff! 

This is just ick. 

Ick

Im tired of saying good bye. I long for heaven where we wont ever have to say that and where the tears will never need to fall. 

Idols

At the retreat I attended last weekend the speaker's last session dealt with the idols we have in our lives.

Its easy for me to say, oh I dont have idols in my life! An idol is a bronze statue that I bow to and trust in.

But the speaker gave a different definition of an idol: If you are willing to sin to GET it. Or if you sin if you DONT get it. Then it is an idol in your life.

Wow. That changes things.

That means even good things in my life can be idols.

I would never think that desiring quality time with Jordan could be an idol. But what are my actions if the kdis are slow in getting ready for bed? Am I patient? Am I meeting their needs? Or do I rush them through the process, give them a kiss and walk away?

What about my house? Its not wrong for me to wany my floors to be clean or the mail to be organized. But what is my reaction if Sullivan drops cookie crumbs all over the floor 10 minutes after I've mopped or if Jordan leaves the stack of mail on the kitchen counter for 2 days straight? Am I loving? Or do I lose my temper and show my worst?

What about my blog (gasp!)?! What do I neglect in order to update my pictures and post them to my blog? I am preserving memories, I am creating something for our family to always treasure. But what about my bible sitting on the shelf across the room? When I get done blogging at night am I too tired to crack that open?

The devil is a sly, deceptive liar. He can convince me that I DESERVE these things. That I am owed something at the end of the day. And that makes these idols in my life which appear to be so good...actually things that turn my attention from my Savior and put a barrier between him and me because of my sin.

They, or my reaction to them, can put my heart in a place where I will not turn to God, my strength. Instead I let bitterness and frustration rule my heart. In actuality I deserve nothing, but an eternity in hell.
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus, our Lord.

But my savior has promised me much more than that. John 10:10 says, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

I need to be much more careful of those idols and the sneaky ruler of this world (satan) who is out there...seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8 "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

Plumber butt??

Nope, we've got "Catching bug butt!"

This picture Jordan took tonight was too funny not to share. 

And timely too...our dinner conversation tonight revolved around Sullivan's description of how his friend Ryan taught him how to wipe his OWN butt today. 

Thank you Ryan, we are appreciative that we no longer have to do this...but I could have done with out the details. At least during dinner. 

Hawks

So yes, I am a closet Hawkeye fan. 

It is how I was raised...its part of me.

But because it means WAY more to Jordan, I let him dress our kids like this. 

And come on, try and tell me she could be any cute in black and gold? 

I just dont think so! 

The downhill slide

I think this was probably where it started to go downhill for him. 

And really, do you feel sorry for him when he was the one instigating the fighting? 

AND Taking pictures?!

This is Avery's "But, Im adorable, you cant be mad at me!?!?!" face. 

Do you forgive us Daddy? 

Fun with Daddy!

When I left on Friday I'm not sure who was more excited...the kids or Jordan. 

He had big plans in mind for them all. 

When I got home I asked if it was what he was hoping. He said, "Well I think the kids had a blast, but it was kind of chaotic."

I was laughing. "Uh, yeah think?!"

Jordan, you have 4 young children...you think that planning a party for them to make roll out cookies and celebrate ISU is going to be a cinch?!

I said if they kids had fun and made some memories you can call it a success.

So he called it a success.

The poor guy looked a little tired last night when I got home!

But man, he did a good job. 

Here they all are ready to party...in ISU gear. 

Time to put on the aprons!

Working hard. 

Mmmm, we did a good job!

She agreed. 

They decorated the house in red and yellow.

And then apparently tore it down and let the baby have some fun.