Gratitude Journal Day 1-4

On facebook, I keep seeing posts from friends who are posting what they are thankful for each day in November.

I decided to jump on the thankful train..even though I'm a few days late.

November 1-

I'm thankful for a God who doesn't care how often I mess up, how often I get angry or question him, who loves me unconditionally, and has promised to never leave or forsake me.

Despite all my fear and anxiety regarding what's going on with Bella (hello, heart palpitations), I'm so glad that He is always by my side..and loves Bella even more than I do, and even more than I can imagine.

I love this new song by Chris Tomlin..love, love, love.

November 2-

So thankful for a NEGATIVE c diff test.  (Can I get an AMEN)?!!  For those of you who don't know, c diff is a bacteria that normally lives in our gut, but is kept suppressed by the "good" bacteria. Sometimes if a person is on antibiotics for an extended period of time, (or multiple antibiotics), it will overtake the good bacteria..causing abdominal pain, horrible smelling diarrhea (trust me, I have post traumatic SMELL disorder, I think), and really just makes Bella cranky and miserable.  She first got it after she was on antibiotics for a g tube site infection, and I still think (although I don't have proof), that having the g tube surgery put her at an increased risk.  We finally had a negative test after months of trying to fight it last May.  Unfortunately, when she had an ear infection a few months ago, it only took one dose for the c diff to come back. 

Last week, we finally had a negative result!  Yay!  (Although as I write this on a Sunday night..I'm a little suspicious it's coming back..).  For now, though I'm ignoring my suspicions!  Each occurrence is a little harder on Bella, seems to be more painful, and is harder/takes longer to fight.  Ok, enough poop talk!

November 3-

I'm thankful that Drew and I could have a "mom/Drew date night".  Drew definitely needed some special one-on-one time, and it was so fun to hang out with my favorite ten year old.  Our "date" consisted of Panera bread, a Target run, Books-a-million, Dicks Sporting Goods, and lots of lego talk.  We ended the night at Menchies for ice cream! 

November 4-

I'm thankful for this little bumblebee.  I call her "Miss B" all the time, so this Halloween outfit was perfect!  We even had half a smile for a picture (smiles are somewhat rare these days), so I consider it a success!  Bels..I love you so much and you are my favorite bumblebee ever. 

 

 

 

..and I know this is a gratitude journal, but whoever thought up the idea of daylight savings time, clearly was not a parent to young children.  Just sayin'.

 

Happy Monday!!

 

Valentines Day

So...I'm tired of having words like epileptic encephalopathy (boo, hiss, yuck) swirl around and around in my brain, zapping my joy and making me an anxious mess. I'm tired of wondering what impact all this will have on my sweet girl and her future/development. Frankly, I'm just tired of being awake at 3am with a thousand unanswered questions and big old panic attack.

Life goes on...whether I'm sleeping at 3am or not. Let's move on too, shall we?

Since Bella was in the hospital on Valentine's day, I was a little bummed she wouldn't get to wear her Valentine's outfit. Hey, there's so much I can't do with Bella, but I CAN buy her cute clothes. Don't judge me.

We did manage to wear it to physical and feeding therapy on Wednesday though. A little over the top for a therapy session, but oh well. The feeding therapist didn't mention the word g-tube one time during Bella's appt, despite her only gaining 3 oz. I'm totally giving credit to the outfit.

Before all the drama with Miss Bella, I had signed up to help with the 2nd grade Valentine's party and bring sweets. (Yes, I do have 2 other children-they just have been a little left out of the blog lately). I really wanted a cute yummy snack to bring. Now, you should know, I am NOT creative. I hate scrapbooking, doing crafts, etc. In fact, just typing the word scrapbooking makes me feel all hot and a little,well, twitchy. Is that a word?!

Thanks to Heather though, I was able to come up with a very easy, creative snack. Cookie lollipops! Thanks, Heather!! They were so simple, and were a hit with the 2nd graders.

Ahh...I can check off "make something instead of cupcakes to class party" off my bucket list now.

Looking back over my pictures of the last few months, I noticed I have very few of Drew and Alex. Whoops.

Here's what I have (someday they will be thrilled to see these): Here's Alex being, well...Alex.

And here's one of Drew sporting a beard and glasses. They were drawn on him with makeup for a challenge in the game "You've got to be kidding." Let's just say, he was not amused.

In fact, I think he may have refused to finish the game. It probably didn't help that his brother thought it was hilarious.

Two of my friends gave me these verses this past week. I love them, and I'm trying to remember their promise:

"Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

"Those who live in the shelter of the most High, will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1.

Thanks, Tammy and JoEllen!

Now, if only I can remember this during my 3am panic attacks...sigh.

I hope you all had a great Valentines day, filled with lots of love, and of course, cookie lollipops. :)

Yes, I'm Still Here!

Goodness.


I'm not sure anyone is still reading this blog...it's been forever since I've posted. But since I use this blog as a way to preserve our family memories and because I enjoy blogging I'll keep updating-even if I'm the only one reading it!


If there are still readers out there-God bless you for hanging in there!


What's been going on in our family? Where to start?


Let's begin with Mr. Drew, shall we?


Drew:







-is loving first grade!


-had a birthday since I last posted and is now seven. SEVEN!!! Time flies.


-notices everything-and I do mean everything. He always knows exactly what everybody was wearing in school, which boys had on the "cool shirts" (cool shirts to this 7 year old boy are those with planes, monster trucks, or construction equipment on them), and while driving in a car notices anything unusual going on outside. Hmm...wonder who that sounds like? (Craig). His poor wife someday if she is a passenger while he is driving.


-played football this year (flag football with 6 & 7 year olds is very entertaining).



Alex:







-LOVES preschool!!!


-Although he loves preschool, he still thinks life is moving waaaaaay to slow. He has told me many times just this week that "Drew is older, but I'm almost as tall as him. Soon I'll be big just like him."


-completely adores his daddy and anybody else he considers "a big guy".


-is still entertaining, completely charming and exasperating all at the same time.





Bella:

Where do I even start? To say she is our drama queen would be an understatement. She has caused me to worry more and pray more in five months than any of the other kids did in five years.

-she continues to be our little night owl-preferring to go to sleep anywhere from 12-2am. Maybe someday I'll be able to get 6 straight hours of sleep again. According to Bella, I am asking for way to much.

-is a little snugglebug. I LOVE this!

Bella's vision is still not great-there are some concerns about this-among other things (that would be an understatement) and she has some developmental delays because of the vision problems. If you could say a little prayer for Bella we would so appreciate it! As a mom, I would do anything to be able to "fix" this, and it's completely frustrating that there is nothing I can do at this point. We have an MRI scheduled for next week. The last attempted MRI was completely awful and am hoping this one goes much, much better. Just thinking about it makes me want to throw up though.

So we wait....and pray...

I LOVE being Bella's mommy and feel so blessed that she is part of our family. When she smiles at me, it completely and absolutely melts my heart. NO MATTER WHAT I will always, always, always love her and be so thankful that God blessed her with us

.

I hope to be better at blogging (hmm...think I've said that before). If you are still reading-Thank you! And now...Bella's finally sleeping...I think I should do the same!

Drew/Alex Quotes

Two posts in one day? I know, I know.

It's shocking to me too. I think I'm going through withdrawal. Thank goodness for sleeping babies. (Although, I think I need to type faster, I hear lots of rustling behind me).

For those of you who don't really know Alex, let me fill you in a little. Alex is four, going on sixteen. He loves girls already. (Remember, at basketball games he liked the cheerleaders "the best"). He is a complete flirt (esp with teenage girls), and after he is done doing his little "charm routine" will literally strut when he walks away.

I wish I was kidding.

He's very concerned about his clothes, and how he looks, and loves to "primp" in front of the mirror.

The thing is, he IS charming. And those eyes-I'm such a sucker for those baby blues!

I'm already having nightmares about the teen years with Alex.

So, it came as no surprise when I picked Alex up from his class after church that he was all excited that he was at a table of ALL! GIRLS!!!

Me: "Wow, Alex! All girls! I bet you liked that. Were they cute?"

Alex: (with a dejected face). "Nah, there weren't any cute ones. Well, wait there was one....but she was only three".

Apparently, Alex likes much older girls, and I can't believe I'm having these conversations with my four year old son!

Moving right along....

The other day my sister stopped in at our house wearing this skirt:

Me: "Aww...Trina, you look so nice! Doesn't she look nice, Drew?"

Drew: "She looks like a zebra."

I think maybe Alex should be giving Drew charm lessons.

Last Day of School!

It's official! Summer vacation has begun! Although, Alex keeps saying "It's not sumwer yet. It's still cold!"

What, Alex? You don't consider 65 and rain to be a perfect summer day?

Here is my soon to be first-grader (sniff, sniff, sob) on his last day of kindergarten.

Drew loved kindergarten, but apparently summer vacation has greater appeal than school.

When I asked him what he would miss the most about kindergarten he replied with a heartfelt "absolutely nothing."



Alrighty then.


Drew's teacher Mrs. Wallace was a gem, and he was so blessed to have her. She was the reason he loved school, and she instilled a love for learning in him.



Besides, anyone who can immediately quiet fourteen hyper 5 & 6 year olds by holding up two fingers gets my utmost respect and admiration.



We celebrated the beginning of summer vacation by going to get ice cream after I picked Drew up from school.









Bella, on the other hand, did not think getting ice cream was such a great time. She was awake the whole time we were inside eating our ice cream, and then proceeded to scream the entire fifteen minute ride home.


I can just tell this will be a peaceful, quiet summer.



What did the boys do on their first full day of vacation? They decided it would be fun to get up at 6:15 in the morning.



Seriously, boys. Give your mother a break!



They now have a clock in their rooms, with strict instructions to stay in bed until the first number is a 7. You guessed it, the last few mornings it's been 7:01 when two smiling boys come bounding the stairs.



Sigh.



I better just resign myself to the fact that this summer will not be filled with lazy mornings spent sleeping in.



Here's to summer vacation and early mornings!

Monster Trucks & Bob The Builder

I've been wanting to post these pictures for about two months now...better late than never, right?


This winter (besides looking for fun things to do with the kids), I wanted to do something special with each child before the new baby comes. For Drew, this was a no-brainer. He's been talking about going to the monster truck show since he went last year.

Guess who got two tickets in his stocking at Christmastime for monster jam?! Yes, I said TWO. Alex doesn't like shows with lots of loud noise and I was more than happy to let this be a special daddy/Drew event. Monster trucks, crushing cars, extreme bikes: Wow. That's a lot of testosterone.

Here are some pics of their night. (Notice I really don't have any of the two people who actually WENT to the show. Maybe mommy should have gone along).

Oh wait, I have ONE picture. Don't they just look excited beyond belief to be at a monster truck show?

Apparently, Grave Digger and Bounty Hunter were the big hits. Drew's favorite part was "when Grave Digger crushed old cars. Whoo-hoo!"



Wow. Maybe I will go next year. Maybe. Probably not.



Alex's special time was a Bob the Builder Show. I heard about the show about three days before the event. Surprisingly, I found tickets online in the fourth row. (I think it's because I only wanted two tickets together).



I had every intention of taking Alex, since Craig and Drew were going to a high school basketball game that night.



Who knew it would be the night of the biggest snow storm of the season? It happened to be the week after I fell on the ice at church (shudder), so I was still paranoid, PLUS the thought of driving an hour each way with bad road conditions was more than I was up for.



Thank goodness for Craig giving up the basketball game and sitting through a Bob the Builder show! (Although the basketball game ended up being canceled due to the snow). Still, I hear, he endured quite a bit of teasing at work. I'm sure all the teasing only helped develop character...Ahem.



Alex, had a great time, and still talks about it.

These pictures are blurry and difficult to see, because somebody forgot their camera in the car and only had his cell phone. (But it's really OK, because I did not have to brave the road conditions that night).

Now, back to the nursery. I think I'm almost ready for this baby! The nesting stage has kicked into high gear at the Yoder household.

I'll post pictures soon!

Keeping Me Humble...Again

I know everybody is probably tired of me blogging about my preggo belly...but the kids, well they just keep feeding me humble pie.

Here is the conversation I had with Drew (notice his sweet, innocent face above, ha ha) as I was heading out the door this evening (ironically to a basketball game).

Drew: putting his hands on my belly "Wow, mommy. I think I'm going to stuff you in a basketball hoop."

Me: "What?! What did you just say?"

Drew: "Well, just look at your big belly. It looks like a giant basketball. I think we need to play basketball and put it into a hoop."

Me: "You are in such big trouble mister!!!!"

Dear me. I think we need to have some serious talks about what not to say to girls before these boys start dating.

Learning To Read

It's amazing to me what Drew is learning in kindergarten.

Most of my memories of kindergarten are centered around rest time, playing, and letter people.

I mean, who can forget the letter G and gooey gum? Gooey gum tried to answer the door when the doorbell rang, but she was stuck in her chair. Then the phone rang, the oven timer beeped....

Clearly the letter G made quite an impact on my five year old self.

Drew, on the other hand is learning about sight words, 3D shapes, money and it's value, needs vs. wants, math, etc. He came home talking about a rhombus the other day.

I'm ashamed to admit I had to google rhombus. In my defense, I'm quite capable of helping him with his letter G sounds.

I'm definitely not qualified to play the game "are you smarter than your kindergartner."

The thing he's most excited about though (besides recess), is learning to read. Every week he adds one or two more books to his "book bag" which he brings home to read. This is what I found when walking into the living room the other day.

Yep, he's reading books to his little brother.

Where in the world does time go?

On the bright side, I'll have more time to check email keep up with the laundry now.

My Firstborn

I've been "tagged" on facebook to share what I remember about my firstborn numerous times. I thought instead of doing it on facebook, I'll share it on my blog.

Besides, I've had about three hours of sleep last night, and it seems easier than coming up with something original!

There was a serious windstorm that went through our area last night and today. Let's just say no electricity, a six and three year old sharing a bed with their pregnant mama, LOUD wind noise, and coughing/sniffling children do not make for a restful night.

Everything's quiet outside now, the kids are asleep in their own beds for the night, the electricity is back, and I'm settling in to watch The Office.

I think it's shaping up to be a much better night.

Sooo...here goes. This may be incredibly boring for most of you...

1. Was your pregnancy planned? Yes! I actually had a miscarriage a few months prior, so we were thrilled when we found out we were expecting again.



2. Were you married at the time? Yes-we had been married for five years. I'm pretty sure my parents had given up on ever having grandchildren.



3. What were your reactions? Completely excited, yet nervous and scared during the first trimester. Actually, the first trimester is always hard for me because I'm always worried something will be wrong. (probably because of my first pregnancy).



4. Was abortion an option for you? No



5. How old were you? 25.



6. How did you find out you were pregnant? A pregnancy test-or two, or five.



7. Who did you tell first? The hubby!



8. Did you want to find out the sex? I did (I hate suspense and surprises), but Craig didn't. We compromised and were going to have the ultrasound tech put it in a envelope and open it on our anniversary while we were on vacation. The baby had other plans though, and the legs were crossed-tightly! Unfortunately, for Craig, I was working in labor and delivery at the time. Combine a slow day with bored nurses, and residents who wanted to practice their ultrasound skills...In other words we found out at 36 weeks! Thanks Angie for doing the ultrasound!



9. What was your due date? This is a bitter subject-ha! September 17th. One loooong week later we finally got to meet our little bundle.



10. Did you have morning sickness? Honestly, I can't really remember. I think I was nauseated, but nothing unmanageable. I remember being very tired though.



11. What did you crave? Chinese food and homemade lemonade. I'll never forget the morning I ate an egg roll and drank orange juice for breakfast. I honestly thought that was a perfectly normal breakfast. Craig, however thought that sounded AWFUL!



12. What irritated you? Nothing?! I have no idea.



13. What was the sex of your first child? A Boy.



14. Did you wish you had the opposite sex of what you were getting? No, and if I would have, one glance at that cute little face with those big eyes and full head of hair would have taken that all away! It's amazing isn't it how a mother's love works? Six years later and I'm still head over heels in love with my little man!



15. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? 25, and if it's more I'm not saying...



16. Did you have a baby shower? Yes, two. One from co-workers, one from family and friends.



17. Were they a surprise? No, thank heavens!



18. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Not except for having a very stubborn little boy who was very comfortable inside of me!



19. Where did you give birth? At the hospital where I worked.



20. How many hours were you in labor? Oh dear. Honestly, I have no idea. We'll say around 34 hours. On a side note, Alex's labor was around 6 hours. To this day, those two still are like their deliveries: Drew is laidback and easygoing, never really in a hurry. Alex on the other hand is our little spitfire! He has places to go, things to do, and generally speeds through life.



21. Who drove you to the hospital? Craig. Actually we went to the office first, then to the hospital.



22. Who watched you give birth? Craig, and about 100 other people. (Well, it felt like it). By the time it was ready for delivery though I could have cared less. I think I lost all modesty around the 12th hour of labor. There were a few nurses, a few more NICU nurses, residents and my doctor. Goodness.



23. Was it natural or a c-section? Natural.



24. Did you take any medication to ease the pain? Are you kidding me? Is there any other way?! I had two epidurals-the first one fell out halfway through my labor.



25. How much did your child weigh? 7lb 13 oz.



26. When was your child actually born? Ironically, 2:59pm, right at shift change. God bless my nurse Shellene. I know how annoying it is to have a delivery right at shift change! There's no way you can leave without finishing all the paperwork! Honestly, I had NO control over the situation. Thanks again, Shellene!



27. What did you name him/her? Andrew Jacoby. He's usually only Andrew when he's in trouble-otherwise we call him Drew!



28. How old is your firstborn today? 6 1/2. Where does the time go?

I need to upload a newborn picture of Drew. This is the earliest one I had on my computer. I think he was around 18 months old.

Socks

Two things that makes me most excited about winter and cold weather are my gray comfy pants and my thick, cozy socks.

Pathetic, I know. I'm sure Craig is wishing he could hide them. Goodness knows he sees them every few days. But really, at this stage of pregnancy, elastic waistband fleece pants and my I'm-going-to-stay-home-all-day-and-be-cozy-and-comfortable socks are bringing me a whole lot of joy.

You know what happens though when you fall asleep till 2:00am on the couch, kick your socks off while you're sleeping, and leave them on the couch when you get up to go bed?

Your six year old son steals them. ALL. DAY. LONG. (Let's just move on and not dwell on the fact that they are red and striped. They're my comfy clothes, ok?)

Apparently, he is going to keep them forever "cuz they are awesome and cozy."

That's right, Drew. They are, and they're your MOTHER'S.

This face is the reaction I had.

He did indeed wear them all day long with his pajamas. In fact, he is planning on stealing ALL my cozy socks for himself.



Good thing there's school tomorrow, I think I'll be busy finding a new hiding place for my socks.


The real punishment for stealing my socks though can be summed up in two words.



Graduation pictures.

Kids...They Keep You Humble

My boys love to tell me how much they're growing and how big they are getting. Usually this is how a typical conversation will go in our house:

Drew or Alex: "I think I grew last night in my bed."

Me: "WHAT!!!!! I thought I warned you about NO MORE GROWING!"

Drew or Alex: "Well....I still grew. Measure me!"

Me: after seeing how tall they are compared with myself. "That's it! We are not feeding you anymore. You are growing way, way too fast. You can only have candy from now on-that won't help you grow."

Drew/Alex: "But we'll still give you kisses. We'll get hungry with no food!"

Me: "Are you going to give me super-duper kisses or little baby ones?"

Drew/Alex: " SUPER-DUPER ONES!!!!!"

Me: "Ok, we'll still feed you! But, you still have to give me lots and lots of big kisses."

And on it goes...The other day however this conversation took on a slightly different twist.

Drew: "I'm growing a bunch."

Me: "What!!! Why is everybody growing so much in this house? Didn't I tell you guys not to grow anymore?"

Drew: "Well, we're not growing as much as you. Your belly is growing really big and fat."

What?!! That's not how the conversation is supposed to go!

Maybe I'll have to promise him I'll still give him super-duper kisses.

I think I'll go eat some oreos now.

Dreams and Gingerbread Houses

Lately, Drew has been having some highly entertaining dreams while he sleeps at night. This is the dream he was telling me about at breakfast this morning: He was upstairs in his bathroom getting ready to take a shower. When he opened the curtian, he saw Shamu taking a shower in his bathroom. Shamu???? Where did that come from?

He finally convinced Shamu to go downstairs, and as he made his way down the steps, Alex and Craig kept throwing fish at him to keep him happy. I agree, it's important to keep a killer whale happy in your home. When Drew went upstairs again to take his shower (after the Shamu fiasco) there was a boy and his dad in the shower.

What??? I'm thinking maybe a certain six year old should stop eating so many cookies before going to bed at night.

Coincidentally, his three year old brother told us at dinner that he had the SAME EXACT DREAM last night.

It must have been the cookies.

I know, I must be running out of things to blog about if I'm blogging about Shamu in the shower.

In other tidbits of life around our household, this was the day I volunteered to help Drew's kindergarten class make gingerbread houses.

What was I thinking? Not only am I not the star fruit cutter in this house, I'm also not very creative-especially with gingerbread houses.

Yes, I'm talking about the hubby. Rumor has it, growing up he would use a tweezers to decorate Christmas cookies, in order to give them plenty of detail. I'm a little suspicious of eating cookies that a tweezer was used on (blech), but I'm sure the cookies looked beautiful.

Rest assured, friends and family that are reading this and will eat our cookies, I do not use a tweezers to decorate my cookies, or use anything else that has been used to pluck hair from my face.

I'm glad we got that established. Ok, where was I? Oh, right, about the gingerbread houses.

It really was a very cute project. Thanks Mrs. Wallace! I forgot my camera (of course), but I'll let you imagine 13 kindergarteners, frosting, and lots of candy.

Most of them ate as much candy as they put on their houses!

Here is a picture of Drew's house. He is beyond proud of it.

Alex keeps asking when we can eat it.

I'm thinking maybe we should try eating gingerbread houses instead of cookies for a bedtime snack.

Who knows what dreams might happen then?

Musings

Since the hubby has stolen my camera and is holding it hostage at work I won't be able to post pictures until he brings it home. ( Ok, ok, he took it to work to take some pictures and keeps forgetting to bring it home, but I prefer the dramatic version).

Because I am all about the drama.

It's a chilly Tuesday morning, with traces of snow in the yard. SNOW.

I despise snow.

My children are starting to pick up on my great dislike for winter. Last night when I tucked Drew in for bedtime this was his prayer: "God thank you for today and thank you that you made winter and snow. I love snow." (opening his eyes and giving me a gigantic, toothless grin).

How can you even argue with that?

I think I'll stay in my pajamas a little too long this morning and sip an extra cup of coffee. I may even listen to some holiday music.

That's what winter is all about, right?

The Tooth Fairy

Hypothetically speaking...

Let's say a certain six year old wakes up at six am in the morning and looks under his pillow. Let's also pretend that certain parents forgot that the tooth fairy was supposed to visit last night.

Do you know what happens then?

Let's just say that a certain mother might have felt slightly panicked and lots of guilt when seeing her son's big sad brown eyes.

Luckily, the tooth fairy made an emergency landing and left the only thing she could find in her wallet.

A twenty dollar bill.

ARRRGGHHH.

Let's just say it has been emphasized over and over again that only tooth fairies in Florida leave twenty dollar bills.

Ironically, his three year old brother is now convinced that one of his teeth is also loose.

Hypothetically speaking, of course.

Family Portrait

This picture may be a little difficult to see, but bear with me.

This picture came home in Drew's backpack the other day. Their assignment had been to draw a picture of their family.

Umm....take a closer look at this picture. Do you see that the only members in Drew's family are him and his dad?

Excuuuuusssseeee me.

Don't worry Drew. I can see how you would have forgotten about your MOTHER.

Not only does your mom make sure you are served (relatively) healthy meals, have clean clothes to wear and get to school on time, she also suffered through FORTY-EIGHT loooooong hours of labor with you. Not to mention her epidural fell out, she pushed for three hours, and she puked more times than she could count.

No, I'm totally not bitter that you left me out of the picture. At least you forgot about your brother too. I might really have a complex if you had included him and not me.

Guess what he said when I asked him where Alex and I were. "Oh, you were in the house taking a nap."

Hmmm....I think maybe I should save my afternoon naps for the days he's in school.

Don't worry Drew. I love you bunches and bunches. You are totally worth everything I went through (and will go through).

Next time though, you better include me in the picture!