This & That

What do furloughs, decks, fall decor, and Oregon all have in common? Well, they were all part of the last couple weeks of my life...

Furloughs and Decks
Lions, and tigers, and government shut-downs- oh my! We have had two unexpected weeks at home with my husband courtesy the U.S. government...now if they were only planning to give him a paycheck. Steven is a self-proclaimed non-handyman; but he has, however, used this little break from work to undertake a pet project of freshening up our deck. He's excited to make our deck last longer; I'm excited that in the end it will have a mahogany stain. Four little people have been eager to be out next to him. And I'm kicking myself for not getting pictures of my sons' see-saw-from-old-deck-wood project.


Fall Decor
Because who says that fall decor has to always include pumpkins?




For the fall mantle, I went for an Anthropologie-ish rustic feel with unexpected items...








Missing Oregon
It's been a travelicious year! Two weeks ago, I got to head out to the land of Oregon on a solo trip to go see my lifelong G-friend, Caroline. We were literally babies together and are now kindred-spirit mommas. She and her husband had adopted two little girls early this year, and I couldn't wait to get my arms around them and their big sister.

And this, my friends, is Caroline's house. She and her husband built it from the ground up, and she designed every last detail. It was like walking into a magazine.


1927 re-furbished stove...be still my beating heart...

My little haven of a guest room:


I asked her what this space was and she replied with a truly-modest flick of her hand, "Oh, that's just our catch-all."
Sweet Jesus, please don't come look at my catch-all!


We finished off my visit by doing a mini-mommy retreat at a boutique hotel in Portland. And freed mommies, when totally alone, get a little giddy and stupid. So we started grabbing the camera and pretending we were pin-up models. Thank God no one was there to remind us that those days are long gone...

And, while I couldn't wait to kiss my babies, I'm not going to even try to pretend that in the middle of homeschooling and meal-making I haven't whimsically wished I were still a fake pin-up model in Portland...

Our Family Portrait

In the midst of a chaotic week, Adriana left me a portrait of our family. I can't even begin to tell you how precious this is to me...

...and the fact that, in her little mind, her next sister is as much a part of the family as any of us makes my heart sing.

Amish Farm

Two weeks ago, we had the privilege of spending the day on an Amish farm. After a picnicing on sprawling lawns next to lushous gardens and bright flower beds while munching on a lunch full of farm produce and fresh beef stew and watching my children run free, enjoying the animals and spaces, I have to admit that country life was looking pretty sweet.

Pets

About a month after our wedding, I turned to my new husband, eyes welling up newlywed adoration, and shared an idea that sounded entirely romantic to me: "We should get a puppy."

My romantic puppy snuggling bubble was immediately burst by the horrified look on Steven's face. I was informed that he had no intention of ever owning anything with fur, gills, or scales. Instead a few months later, a sonogram showed that he had gifted me with a little thing that would turn out to have big brown eyes and soft hair. But pets were never to be.

This has found the kids and I doing the only thing there is left to do: making pets out of insects. My kids were jumping up and down with excitement the other day at the siting of the first cicada. (Just you wait, my dears. Just you wait.) Then they spent the better part of the afternoon making pets out of every caterpillar they could get their hands on- naming them, making them cardboard homes, doting on these poor little creatures, and seeing who could use their new "pets" to scare Dad the most.











And if I'm entirely honest, there are many a day that I thank God that my husband refused to give me one more thing to clean up after...

Encouragement Paper

Because, in this house, sometimes we all need to chill with the correcting and start encouraging....

DC Days {American Indian Museum}

Now that the weather is warmer, we're back to our family tradition of D.C. Days, as we now call them. D.C. Days are simple: they involve taking advantage of one or two of the large amount of free tourist attractions that just happen to be short drive from our home, a single backpack filled with the necessities, an Ergo for short-legged little gal in our family, and at least one Starbucks trip. ("It's Mommy and Daddy's reward for keeping four kids alive in a big city.") We've found these days to hold some of our favorite family memories.

This last one was a trip to the American Indian Museum...

When a Food Allergy Diagnoses is a Relief

At 3 months old, my Ava started her first lung infection. We were out in a rural area visiting friends, miles from a hospital and I spent anxious night holding my coughing, wheezing little one; wondering if I should jump and the car and head to the ER. We headed to a doctor as soon as we could. A week later when she started breathing normally again I felt such relief. Such premature relief. From that point on my daughter experience lung infection after lung infection. Sometimes the infection would go for 3 weeks then we'd have a one week break only to start another one. I'm a pretty laid back mom, but sitting up with your child at night, wondering if they'll take their next breath was one of the harder things I've done. I took her to pediatrician after pediatrician looking for answers. To my frustration, I was told I just had to wait it out, that she'd eventually grow out of it. And then I'd be there again at 2 a.m., praying through tears as my daughter slept on my chest, and I spent the bulk of the night sitting up so that she was propped up enough to breath. She learned at a young age not to be scared by the loud noise of a nebulizer which we seemed to have to use constantly.

Finally, I went to see an M.D. that my friend recommended to me. This doctor felt that allergies play a big part in people's health. When we went, Ava was in the middle of another infection which the doctor said had gone into full bronchitis. The doctor tested her and found that she was allergic to dairy and gluten. She said that taking her off of both should clear up her lungs totally. After almost a year and half of infections, I was skeptical but ready to try anything. We completely removed these things from her diet, and within only a couple days her lungs cleared up and the mysterious rash she almost constantly had on her face went away. Now over a year later, Ava has had only one lung infection and has become my healthiest kid.

Since this diagnoses, I've researched and learned how much what we eat and what we are allergic to affects our health. A few months back, the same doctor did testing on me. She found a gluten allergy. And guess what? Those doubled-over stomach pains I've experienced for the last 14 years of my life? They don't come around anymore. 

But during the past month, I've learned another way that food allergies manifest themselves. It's something I never would have guessed...behavioral problems. Who woulda' thunk? A few weeks ago I was on the phone crying to my mom; telling her I couldn't do it anymore. My older daughter who could be the sweetest cupcake you ever met could also have her eyes glaze over as she went into another temper tantrum. I'm talking half-hour long temper tantrums that left me dazed. I kept thinking she would outgrow them or that she needed more sleep. But at 6 years old, even getting 11 hours of sleep a night and still clinging to a nap, she would sometimes be having two or more tantrums a day. We had tried all different sorts of parenting approaches to try to help her. Often you could find me sitting and trying not to cry with her. When the glazed over look came, she couldn't be reasoned with. In her sane moments, the amount of fits she had even bothered her, too. Flash back to that phone call when I felt I couldn't handle one more day of it. And the Lord heard my desperate mommy cries as suddenly people began to share with me information on how food allergies can affect behavior.

Fast forward to the doctor looking up at me after testing my girl, "Wow! There is something about your family and gluten!" (Did you know allergies actually can be hereditary?) After a testing, she announced that my Adriana has a strong gluten allergy.

Now fast forward a second time to my daughter's life with gluten removed from her diet. Now that the substance that was wreaking hidden havoc on her little body is gone, guess what? Yep. The full-blow fits are gone. In the last couple of weeks, the two times (did you catch that I said TWO times) that she started to have a breakdown, I was able to reason with her. No glazed-over eyes; no full blown tantrum. She also begun to respond to correction. My sister that lived with us commented on how much happier Adriana seemed. It's like our own little miracle.

Some people have expressed their sympathy over our family's food allergies. But I'll tell you what, saying good-bye to lung infections, stomach pains, and major behavioral issues, I don't feel sorry for us. I feel incredibly grateful.

Your Virtual Christmas Card From Our Fam

Merry Christmas!

Family Croquet

Braving a heat index of 246° (give or take a couple degrees) for a bit of family fun and a chance to beat my husband at a lawn game...


















If you notice that one member of our family is missing, it's because a certain six-year-old decided after one turn that croquet was simply not her game and that walking on roller blades in the grass was much better use of her time. I'm learning not to ask why.