Flickr FYI

In case you check our flickr account (listed under new photos on the right and also the source for the mini slideshow) it is clearly showing OLD photos.  I pay a yearly fee for flickr and Paul suggested that I upload all of my photos (almost 10,000) of them to flickr, just to have an additional back up in the cloud.  We have external hard drives, but I'm not always so good at that.  So, if you're wondering why the photos on flickr are from 2004, that's why!!!! 

What would you do?

I read this blog post about Haitian orphans and I just can't stop thinking about this.  If we got a call like this, I feel like I would have to say yes!  We have the space, the resources, and the love.  Can you imagine? It just brings tears to my eyes!!!

Kneeds to Play

When I tore my ACL the first and second times in High School, a local paper did a front page special on my story when I returned to the basketball court titled Kneeds To Play.  Corny, huh?

Well, I saw the doctor today and when I asked if I could go back to the gym yet and he laughed at me.  4 months until the graft is secure to the bone.  I can run, hop, and skip in 3 more months.

But for now, I have clearance to walk, as soon as I am able.  I am still very crutch dependent and do not feel strong enough to stand, let alone walk.  In the next week or two I am supposed to walk with as much weight as I can on my left leg to bring it back up to speed.  As soon as I feel comfortable, I am allowed to walk!!!  I'm hoping that happens in a week. 

It feels almost unbelievable to think that I'll walk again soon but I'm excited to do it!  Except this time, I KNEED to play with my kiddos.... park and pool days are right around the corner!!!

Thanks for your prayers!

Photoshop

Another one of my hopes during this whole broken leg thing was to figure out photoshop. HA! what a joke! I have a dummies book but that isn't helping at all. I also got a free month to an online tutorial when I registered the product. I'm learning about "compositing" and I was trying to create a group shot in Iceland. We never got a picture of all of us so I was trying to make one. Not so great, but I'm a beginner. It is fun to think I can mix any two or more photos together now, even if it isn't convincing!!! On a side note, Len and Sandra will be in the States from May 9-23 this year!!!!! Maybe we can get a group shot then!

Books Books Books!!!

Well, everyone seems to think that while I am incapacitated I have lots of leisurely time to relax and enjoy! HA!

Due to the computer age, I can still do 90% of my job and have planned and organized all of the pieces, even if I can't carry them out. In addition, I have done every puzzle known to man with Noah, played every board game, read every book (none of which I am complaining about!).

But, I have managed to squeeze in a few books over the past month and a half (yes I've been sitting here since Dec. 2nd -- almost 7 weeks).This is a fantastic story of a normal family faced with trouble, all told from a dog's perspective. It totally made me appreciate my dog a lot more. The sweet dog in the book wants so desperately to hug his master and tell him life will be okay, if only he had opposeable thumbs. Great read.


This was a TOUGH book to read, emotionally. It was easy to get through as far as readability, but as far as the content... it is amazing to think that there are really people who go through these sorts of situations. It is the story of a young girl who was abused by her parents and never taught to read. It is unbelievable how she overcomes her circumstances to succeed. There is also a movie out about this book which we have ready to watch on netflix.

Having studied in Germany I am often inclined to read Holocaust Fiction. This book was the story of the children who were rounded up in France at the beginning of the war and one girl who escaped the camps. It was an interesting twist.

All for your viewing pleasure!!!!!

I have a few more on the pile that I'm about to begin. Oh how I love to read!!!

Yum

Tonight for dinner we had a white bean, sausage and ground turkey stew with kale, red pepper, onion, and sage. Needless to say it was amazing. Tuesday night we had Pork Chops topped with Julienne Carrots, white grapes, and a balsamic reduction, garlic mashed potatoes, broccoli, and homemade muffins with the centers carved out, filled with homemade cream and topped with strawberries. Last week we had homemade chicken parmesan which was AWESOME. For New Year's we had a turkey chili recipe that was phenomenal (and i don't even like chili!). We even had this awesome meal from Wegman's with pasta and a white sauce and peas.

I can't tell you how grateful we are for the generosity of our community.

It is humbling at best and embarrassing at worst.

If you know me, you know that I like to do it all and take care of it all and take care of everyone around me. We have been blessed by this generosity three times in the past 12 months (when I was on bedrest, when I had Maeve, and now that I have had this surgery) and I continue to be amazed at how giving and loving the people around us are. So far this time we have received 30 meals. Really?

My mom has been watching the kids two days a week, our friends have been in and out constantly, Noah's friends have taken him to Chuck E Cheese, Boomers, to their homes, anywhere they can.

How did we become so blessed?

All I can do is attribute it to God's glory and grace.

Because, you know what, this is really, really hard. I can't get a cup of coffee. I can't take my baby to her crib. I can't go to the store. I pretty much can't be alone. Paul is literally working every waking moment and balancing his job, the kids, the house, the bills, grocery shopping, you name it!

I start to feel guilty sometimes, because I am alive and well and I will get better. I don't have cancer, I will walk again soon, and so often it feels as though I am not deserving of such an outpouring.

When I'm bummed out I listen to Joyce Meyer. It cracks me up to think that I love a televangelist, but I really do. She says so many things that resonate with my life and my journey. So last night, I went to her website and listened to the sermon on frustration and I just wept with confrontation.

She said that a Christian should not be frustrated. A Christian should not ask God to remove difficult things from their lives. Instead, a Christian should seek to find the joy in every day because God put you there for a reason and if God wanted you somewhere else, God would have put you there. Frustration is the reminder that you don't trust that God has it under control. And as I posted on facebook last night, she said:

"You know what your idea of a miracle is? all of your problems disappear and there is nothing to worry about. you know what god's idea of a miracle is? none of it bothers you anymore."

So, this morning, when Noah had a 45 minute tantrum about shampoo and Maeve was screaming her brains out as a repercussion of shots yesterday, I tried my best to smile. There is absolutely no part of me that wants my family to go away, or my friends to stop checking in, or my life to change. Sure, I'd like to walk. And I will. In the meantime, I'll thoroughly enjoy my sausage and kale stew.

Maeve, 7 months

Paul came home from work today and said "Happy Birthday Maeve!!!" I have no clue what the date is or even what grass and trees look like. Alas, our little girl is over half way to her journey toward the old age of 1.

At 7 months, Maeve is 18 lbs. She is growing hair at a much quicker pace, but still remains primarily without hair. She is toothless but slimy and drooly and chomps on everything. Her gums are so strong they HURT. She is very oral in many ways. She loves the taggie blankets, Sophie the giraffe, and is pretty much content with anything she can put in her mouth.

Maeve is eating a lot of different foods these days and hasn't shown any real aversion to any of them. She is very much in love with applesauce and for Christmas she was given a lot of home made applesauce to enjoy. We just started baby puffs this week and she loves them already.

Maeve is changing her sleep patterns as well. She is able to stretch her awake time to 2 hours or so and can go much longer stretches without getting cranky. We are watching her switch to a morning, afternoon, and evening nap like Noah did, but she often needs more naps than that. Ever since she had the respiratory virus she has not gotten completely back to her night sleep, but slowly we are pushing her back. She has this habit of eating at 3 or 4 and sleeping until 10 and then waking again at 6. It isn't a great habit, but it just seems easier when we are trying to eat and get Noah to bed. We need to get her back to dinner time and then morning.

Developmentally, Maeve is sitting very well and plays with toys while sitting. She has great small motor skills and pulls everything and everyone to her mouth. She is rolling and pushing with her back legs. Sometimes I wonder what she would try if we had carpet, but she doesn't have a lot of room for traction. She can move herself around a lot and lunge toward what she wants.

Her personality is still evolving. She is much calmer and happier than her newborn days, but she is still quite finicky. She is either beaming with the widest smile ever or madder than the devil that you wiped her nose.

Every moment is so bittersweet because it could be the last time that I do any of these things! When she rolls around and stands up and eats her toes... I want to cherish every second of it.