Halloween Fun

We have had such a fun day!!! We started out with lots of dancing and playing. After naps, we donned our costumes and headed to the mall for some indoor trick-or-treating.


This was Kayleigh's first response to the pumpkin costume...I knew this was going to happen!

After several minutes of crying, she was fine.....Whew!

Who is that Lion?!?!

It's Sydney!!!!

Is this not the cutest lion costume? I found it at a garage sale for $8!!

Playing a trick on daddy.....

When we got home from the mall, the pumpking turned GLAM....

Then the lion turned GLAM....

After dinner we headed out into our neighborhood....it turns out we have a VERY good neighborhood for trick-or-treating!

Another Plea

I know I've already posted a couple times today....but I just spent an hour washing windows and when I do housework like that I think alot. Which usually means I think of something to blog about. I know that I'm not the best blogger and I don't have much to say that hasn't already been said better by someone else. BUT....I do have a heart that is heavy and aching for kids living in poverty. I've said it before and I'll say it many more times....in fact, I hope I never stop saying it.

I need you to sponsor a child.

Right now.

Today.

Please don't wait for someone else to do it. Please don't start listing all the excuses why you can't right now. Maybe I'm ignorant, but $32 a month doesn't seem like that big of a sacrifice to literally change a child's life.

Do you remember Golda from Indonesia?

or Njiku from Tanzania?

You can read more about them here if you have forgotten their stories. Maybe you thought someone else would sponsor them....well, no one did. And soon I have to send them back to Compassion where they will get put back into the system and wait.

I know our country is in economic crisis right now and we are ALL feeling it. But really, we have absolutely NO idea what economic crisis really is. These kids and their families live it EVERY day.

Please take a step of faith and do something. You will not regret it.

Choose one and I will get their profile in the mail to you.

Some great news concerning Anthony....

JUST CALLED THE NURSE....ANTHONY IS DOING GOOD. HE IS PRETTY STABLE AND NO CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE ON THE VENTILATOR.

THE CARDIOLOGIST CAME YESTERDAY AND SAID ANTHONY'S HEART IS NORMAL. HURRAY!

I DON'T REMEMBER IF I MENTIONED IT BEFORE BUT THE EYE DOCTOR SAID HIS EYES LOOK GOOD. AND ALSO THE ULTRASOUND OF THE BRAIN WAS DONE A FEW DAYS AGO AND NO BLEEDS. PRAISE GOD!

ANTHONY IS UP TO HIS GOAL OF 20CC'S OF BREATMILK. YES!

THANKS FOR THE PRAYERS, GOD IS DEFINATELY LISTENING AND RESPONDING. PLEASE CONTINUE WHAT YOU ARE DOING!

THANK YOU LORD, WE PRAISE AND GLORIFY YOUR NAME.

Halloween

I have a love/hate relationship with this time of year.....I love the jack-o-lanterns, the cute costumes for kids, the cheap candy...but I hate the glorification of death, evil and all things scary and creepy.

Growing up, we did not celebrate Halloween in the traditional way. My parents tried to steer clear of the scary parts and associations with evil and instead focus on All Saints Day. Our church had a great All Saints party every year with awesome games and goodie bags. We dressed up as Bible characters or modern day "saints" and wrote out clues for a panel to guess who we were. It was fun to try to "stump" the panel every year. Of course, most little girls were Miriam with a baby doll in a basket or Queen Esther or Mary. Boys were often a shepherd or King David.... it was fun.

Now as a parent, I am trying to celebrate the innocent parts of Halloween...the cute animal costumes, fun jack-o-lanterns. Yet every time we go into a store or even drive down the street, we are bombarded by associations with death (tomb stones, skeletons) or horror.

Yesterday in Walmart I wanted to look for some spider rings because Kayleigh is fascinated with "bitsy spider"...the song mostly, but also every spider she sees (and now is a good time of year to see alot). But there wasn't a single isle in the the Halloween section that I could go down without freaking myself out, let alone my girls. Why can't they put all things scary in one or two isles and then mark them off somehow? I know we can't completely shield our children from everything we don't want them exposed to, but we can try to proctect their little eyes, hearts and minds from unnecessary frights.

Even story time or craft time at the library...geared toward toddlers....was out of my control. I don't want "scary" stories read to my children. I don't want my girls decorating ghosts...friendly or not! I don't want to explain what a witch is..... Yet I found myself in those situations this week. Why can't everyone stick to pumpkins?!?!

I don't want to skip Halloween completely....I just want to rewrite the script! I'm sure I'm not the only parent struggling with this....

Update on Anthony

This is a picture of Anthony holding his daddy's hand....how precious!!!

I have decided to pass on any comments from my blog to Henry and Ana, as they need all the support and encouragement they can get. So if you are praying for Anthony, please leave me a comment, even a short prayer, and I can pass it along.

Here is the update from Ana.....

WELL, THIS IS WHAT'S GOING ON: ANTHONY HAS AN INFECTION IN THE LUNGS FROM THE BACTERIA I HAD MENTIONED YESTERDAY. THE PULMONOLOGIST CAME TO SEE HIM TODAY AND SAID THAT HIS LUNGS HAVE IMPROVED A BIT FROM A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO BUT THAT THE PROGRESS IS BEING DELAYED DUE TO THE INFECTION. THE DOCTOR SAID THAT HE BELIEVES ANTHONY WILL GET BETTER WHEN HE GETS RID OF THE INFECTION. HE IS ON ANTIBIOTICS TO HELP HIM FIGHT THIS INFECTION.
THIS AFTERNOON, THEY WILL BE CHECKING ANTHONY'S HEART AND LUNGS TO MAKE SURE THE PRESSURE IS NORMAL. PLEASE PRAY THAT THIS INFECTION GOES AWAY AND THAT EVERYTHING IS NORMAL.

JUST LIKE HIS MOMMY, ANTHONY IS EATING VERY WELL. HE IS AT 19CC'S OF BREAST MILK. HURRAY! HIS GOAL IS 20CC'S, ALMOST THERE :) THEY HAVE REMOVED THE ELECTROLYTES AND FAT THAT HE WAS GETTING THROUGH THE CENTRAL LINE. HE IS GETTING ALL HIS NUTRITION THROUGH THE BREASTMILK. THANK YOU JESUS!

THE PHYSICAL THERAPIST COMES DAILY DURING THE WEEK. YESTERDAY SHE TOLD US THAT ANTHONY IS RESPONDING WELL TO THE THERAPY AND THAT HE IS MOVING HIS FINGERS A LITTLE. HE IS ALSO BENDING AT THE ELBOW AND IS TOLERATING THE WRIST MOVEMENTS MORE. WE ARE SO EXCITED AND GRATEFUL TO THE LORD!

THANKS FOR THE PRAYERS.

Carving Pumpkins

Last night was pumpkin carving night at our house!!!! We had 3 pumpkins to design....Sydney drew a face on one, Daddy carved a dinosaur in another, and I carved the girls' names in the third one.

Kayleigh wasn't quite as helpful, although we limited her mobility by strapping her into this chair! She is quite talented, though, when it comes to holding pumpkin seeds with her toes!

The finished product....

Linny, Tuck and Ming Ming

Our girls are OBSESSED right now with the Wonder Pets...even Kayleigh sings the theme song. Anyway, this is what we made with play dough yesterday after nap!

We play Wonder Pets all day long....I'm usually Tuck (the turtle), Sydney is Linny (the hamster)and Kayleigh is Ming Ming (the duck).

Children's Museum

We returned to the local children's museum yesterday for a little play time.....

Another update from Anthony's Care Pages.....in case you are new to my blog, Anthony is the son of some dear family friends. He was born very prematurely (24 weeks gestation) on September 24th.

JUST A QUICK UPDATE: ANTHONY IS BEING TREATED FOR THE BACTERIA THEY DETECTED IN HIS LUNGS. I CALLED EARLY THIS MORNING AND THE NURSE SAID HIS BLOOD GAS (OXYGEN AND CARBON DIOXIDE LEVELS IN THE BLOOD) IS NOT AS GOOD AS IT WAS YESTERDAY SO THEY WILL HAVE TO GO UP ON THE SETTINGS. PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR THE DEVELOPEMENT OF HIS LUNGS AND THAT THE SETTINGS ON THE VENTILATOR CONTINUE TO GO DOWN SO THAT HE CAN COME OFF THE VENTILATOR.

ANTHONY IS NOT SWOLLEN ANYMORE, THE EDEMA HAS DISAPPEARED! HE HAS GAINED SOME WEIGHT, HE IS NOW 2LB6OZ. PRAISE GOD! HE IS NOW AT 16CC'S OF BREASTMILK.

HIS ARM CONTINUES TO IMPROVE!

THANKS FOR THE PRAYERS AND LET'S CONTINUE TO PRAISE GOD FOR THE WORK HE IS DOING IN ANTHONY AND OUR LIVES!

Snowballs and Hot Chocolate

Are my kids fashionable or what?!?! When it comes to winter attire, my motto is "Anything goes and the crazier the better!" And Kayleigh insisted on wearing the hat strap across her mouth! At least her lips didn't get cold....

Mmmm... Hot chocolate and cookies!

Baby Anthony

another update from Anthony's Care Pages....

ANTHONY IS DOING WELL. HIS SWELLING HAS GONE DOWN TREMENDOUSLY. PRAISE GOD! HE IS PEEING AND POOPING SO MUCH. HE IS STILL ON THE VENTILATOR BUT THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO WEEN HIM DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY. HE HAS HAD SOME EPISODES WITH HIS HEART RATE AND OXYGEN LEVELS DROPPING BUT HE HAS RECOVERED FAIRLY QUICKLY. LAST NIGHT, THEY HAD TO CHANGE THE TUBE IN HIS LUNGS BECAUSE THE DOCTOR BELIEVED THE TUBE IN THERE WAS TOO SMALL SINCE HE IS GROWING AND WAS CAUSING HIS OXYGEN LEVEL TO DROP. IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING SINCE THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO WEEN HIM EVEN MORE AND HAS HAD NO SIGNIFICANT EPISODES.

THE DOCTORS WERE CONCERNED ABOUT HIM HAVING ANOTHER INFECTION SINCE THEY DETECTED SOME BACTERIA IN THE SECRETIONS FROM THE TUBE IN HIS LUNGS AND ALSO ABOUT A URINARY INFECTION, THEREFORE, THEY HAVE STARTED HIM ON DIFFERENT ANTIBIOTICS.

ANTHONY IS UP TO 13 CC'S OF BREASTMILK EVERY 3 HOURS. THEY ARE ADDING A FORTIFIER TO THE BREASTMILK THAT WILL ADD NECESSARY CALORIES AND CALCIUM TO HELP HIM GROW FASTER. THEY ARE INCREASING THE QUANTITY OF BREASTMILK BY 1 CC EVERY 12 HOURS. HE CONTINUES TO TOLERATE IT WELL.

HIS ARM IS GETTING BETTER. IT IS HEALING WELL FROM THE CHEMICAL BURN. WE NOTICED THAT HE WAS NOT MOVING HIS HAND AND FINGERS AND DISCUSSED IT WITH THE DOCTORS. SO, THEY HAVE PLACED A SPLINT ON HIS HAND SO HE KEEPS IT IN A NEUTRAL POSITION AND HAVE STARTED DOING PHYSICAL THERAPY TO REGAIN MOVEMENT OF HIS FINGERS AND HAND. THE DOCTORS HAVE SAID THAT IT MIGHT BE PAINFUL OR IF THERE WAS DAMAGE TO THE NERVES THAT THEY SHOULD REGENERATE WITH TIME.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS! PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR ANTHONY'S HEALTH. SPECIFICALLY HIS LUNGS, THAT HE GET OFF THE VENTILATOR, HIS LEFT ARM AND THAT HE REGAIN MOVEMENT IN HIS HAND AND FINGERS AND THAT IF THERE IS AN INFECTION THAT IT GO AWAY.

PRAISE GOD FOR HEARING AND RESPONDING TO OUR PRAYERS!

SNOW!!!

We woke up to this scene.....

Sydney was so excited!!! She kept saying "It's not even winter yet!" It's actually snowing pretty hard right now and we are likely to get it off and on all day and night! I still have leaves to rake!

Here's a cute picture of Kayleigh after church yesterday...I found the boots at a consignment shop and the animal print trim matches this dress perfectly!



While I was slaving away, playing viola with the university string orchestra yesterday, Kevin took the girls to a new park to check it out. I guess it started raining shortly after they got there, but here are a few pics.

Did You Know?

Did you know that toilet bowl cleaner eats away your carpet if it's spilled? I didn't know that until this week when I had the crazy notion to clean the toilets...only in my rush to put all the cleaning supplies away, I dropped the toilet bowl cleaner and the lid was NOT on tight. So it spilled... I quickly grabbed a towel and started wiping it up...no big deal...until the carpet fibers started coming up too! Did I mention this is our NEW carpet?!?! Ug!

Well, thankfully I have a really handy husband who likes to try new things and learn how to do new trades. The estimate from the carpet store was $100 to patch the spot...he just did it and it looks great.

Lesson learned...don't clean the toilets anymore!

From Anthony's Care Pages...an update from Ana....

ITS 10:00 PM AND I JUST SPOKE TO THE NURSE WHO IS WATCHING ANTHONY TONIGHT. SHE MENTIONED TO ME THAT HE IS DOING WELL AND THAT HIS OXYGEN LEVEL IS DOWN TO 42% AND HAS A PRESSURE OF 20%. THE NURSE SAID THAT HE IS HAVING A VERY GOOD NIGHT. HE IS ALSO UP TO 9CC OF MILK EVERY THREE HOURS AND IS HANDLING IT WELL. THAT'S ALL FOR NOW AND PLEASE JUST KEEP PRAYING FOR ANTHONY'S LUNGS, EDEMA AND HIS LEFT ARM AND HAND. THANKS FOR THE PRAYERS AND THANK YOU LORD FOR ALWAYS HEARING US.

Goofy Hats and Goofy Girls

Itsy Bitsy Spider

I know, I know....spiders have 8 legs!

Flashback Friday

Happy 11th Birthday NEWTON!!!!

Here's a pic of when he was a wee little pup....

Anthony Update

Ana and Henry have started Care Pages so we can keep up to date with Anthony's progress and struggles. Here are two posts....in their words about little Anthony.


ANTHONY INITIALLY DID VERY WELL AND WAS BREATHING ON HIS OWN. AFTER A FEW DAYS HIS LUNGS BECAME VERY TIRED AND HE CONTRACTED AN INFECTION IN THE HOSPITAL THROUGH A INTRAVENOUS LINE THAT WAS PLACED TO GIVE HIM NECESSARY FLUIDS. ALSO, ONE OF THE LINES INFILTRATED WHICH CAUSED THE FLUIDS TO BURN HIS LEFT ARM, IT IS LIKE A CHEMICAL BURN AND IT LOOKED HORRIBLE. THOSE WERE VERY ROUGH DAYS FOR ANTHONY AND FOR US. A FEW DAYS LATER WE WERE INFORMED THAT HIS CULTURES WERE COMING BACK NEGATIVE FOR THE INFECTION. PRAISE AND GLORY TO GOD WHO PULLED HIM THROUGH THAT TERRIBLE INFECTION! ANTHONY WAS PLACED ON A VENTILATOR TO ASSIST HIS BREATHING AND IS RECEIVING STERIODS TO HELP STREGTHEN AND HEAL HIS LUNGS. HIS ARM IS LOOKING BETTER EVERY DAY. ANTHONY IS FACING A TOUGH ROAD BUT WITH GOD'S HELP WE HAVE FAITH HE WILL MAKE IT! PLEASE KEEP PRAYING FOR ANTHONY!


ANTHONY IS DOING A LITTLE BETTER EACH DAY. THE SETTINGS ON THE VENTILATOR HAVE GONE DOWN GRADUALLY. HE IS RECEIVING 5 CC'S OF BREAST MILK EVERY 3 HOURS AND IS TOLERATING IT WELL. ANTHONY HAS HAD SOME SWELLING IN THE HEAD AND BODY AND WE ARE PRAYING THAT IT WILL GO AWAY ON ITS OWN. THE DOCTORS ARE UNSURE OF THE CAUSE AND HAVE BEEN CHECKING HIS HEART TO MAKE SURE IF IT IS FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. THEY HAVE NOT SEEN ANYTHING UNUSUAL AND SO THEY ARE GOING TO SEND ANTHONY FOR AN MRI WHEN HE IS OFF OF THE VENTILATOR TO TRIPLE CHECK. ANTHONY IS POOPING AND PEEING WELL. PRAISE GOD FOR THE WORK HE HIS DOING IN ANTHONY! PLEASE KEEP PRAYING FOR OUR LITTLE TOUGH GUY!

My Other Dancing Queen