Blessings on Friday

No one has time for blogs this week and I wouldn't bother writing today, except that I need this thanks-giving discipline. I caught the girls' cold and while it was mild for them, it doesn't feel mild for me because Beth still isn't sleeping well. Too little sleep makes it harder for Mom to heal. If you have a baby right now, you know what I mean.

I bought a decongestant yesterday and maybe that will help my head? Have you noticed they treat certain decongestants like a semi-controlled substance, meaning you have to provide your driver's license and sign for it? Every time I need one I feel like a criminal. I always wonder if they'll say..."Sorry, you just bought one six months ago. We can't sell it to you this soon...you know, because of that meth lab you've got at home."

Thankfully, and this is the first blessing on my list, we haven't been sick since last April, and before that it was November 2010, so God has been kind to me as a mother these many months. In the past it seemed we couldn't go six weeks without another cold virus.

My everyday blessings:

~ Each child got a haircut today, thanks to a $50 bill my other aunt--on my mom's side--tucked into a Christmas card. These kids sported scruffy hair before today. The girls had never had a haircut at all, other than my own lame attempts. I only wish I hadn't asked them to texturize Mary's bangs. It doesn't look attractive, but they will grow out within a few weeks, I'm sure. At least the girls bangs are now straight.

When I opened the Christmas card and the money fell out, Peter was excited but I felt like crying. When you badly need any money people send, it makes you feel like crying, more from shame than anything else. Peter asked about the tears in my eyes. It's hard to receive sometimes, I told him. "Really? I don't think so." He receives gifts like a grateful, excited child. I receive them reluctantly, wishing I could be the giver instead. As much as the Lord works on me, I'm not sure that ugly pride will ever go away. Will I ever receive a gift like a child again, other than from my own husband?

~ Children using construction paper, paper bags, tape, glue, yarn, toilet paper rolls, and scissors to make gifts for each other.

~ I only need two kinds of potatoes, green beans, cranberries, and apple cider for our Christmas celebration. I'm thankful that's all I need.

~ Laundry caught up, folded, and put away.

~ Four kids who delight in new schemes and games. Lately they've been playing bandit and sheriff, running through the house with their teddy bears in hand, pretending to capture the one who stole the cattle or the horses or the sheep's wool. Each one gets a turn to play the bandit. Oh, the giggles! (Oh, the noise!)

~ A husband who loves the Lord and faithfully disciples his children through the Word.

~ Letters from Compassion kids.

~ A rare five minutes of quiet to drink a cup of cocoa.

~ Husband is off all day Monday.

~ A warm home in December. (Still no snow here. Is the earth turning correctly?)

~ A nearly ten-year-old who delights in time with Daddy. His Daddy is now the most important person in his life. This is how it should be as he slowly becomes a man. A mom must get out of the way in these years.

~ Three children who still fit in my arms in the rocker.

~ Your friendship. Yes, you, my reader.

~ A gift from my brother we can use to purchase curriculum we've been trying to do without. Praise God!

That ringing would be the drops bell for Miss Beth's eyes. I'm on a perpetual two-hour clock with these steroid drops.

May you have a blessed Christmas! Love to you all.

Teddy Bear Movie, Scene 1

My children, suddenly very interested in videography, present Scene 1: Teddy Bear Movie.


Being very prideful, I reminded them not to record any messes. At the end, as Paul scans the messy playroom with the camera (in which a large tent was constructed today), Peter reminds him, "Oh no, you're recording dirtiness!"


All day long their messes drive me insane, but these kids sure bless me!

Blessings On Wednesday

Counting my everyday blessings:

~ Four children taking their new teddy bears along to the bank. On the way home they asked, "So teddy, how'd you like the ride? Did the rain scare you? Did you like the windshield wipers?" Yes, even the almost ten-year-old likes his new teddy bear. Earlier today we talked about the world's two most famous teddy bears--Pooh Bear and Paddington Bear--and how entire books were written about their adventures. I think teddy bears are one of the most imagination-sparking toys a child can own. The possibilities are endless. Miss Mary is now making a teddy bear journal.

~ Suddenly, Beth knows all her colors.

~ Peter writing reading lessons for Mary.

~ Beth charming the staff at physical therapy. She cries most of the 30-minute drive home due to fatigue and impending naptime, but while she's there the word charming doesn't even cover it. This can be said of most 3 year olds....charm and stubbornness all wrapped up in one beautifully exhausting package.

~ We checked out a Mary Poppins movie from the library. We hadn't seen it before and normally I don't get a book-based movie until we've read the book, but because of family movie night I made an exception. My two favorite movies are now The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins. There are five Mary Poppins books and we plan to enjoy them all. We're thoroughly charmed. The children have taken favorite phrases from the movie and Mommy has too. "Come along children, spit spot."  "Oh, Bert, you're worse than the children." Oh, the giggles. We all have our favorite scenes. Mine is when they try to get Uncle Albert to stop laughing and come down from the ceiling. The songs are wonderful too. I'm hoping the library has the sound track for check out. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious has been all the rage here, as well as A Spoonful Of Sugar.

My favorite thing about the story is the timeless reminder for parents...treasure your children...lay down your life for them...don't get caught up in your causes and grown-up worlds and let their childhoods pass you by.

I have more...much more to say. But time to make dinner and shuffle the laundry. Have a blessed evening!



 

Battleground

Good news today. Peter's eyes are fine. His optic nerves are enlarged, which happens with glaucoma, but the doctor thinks it's congenital and not something sinister. She will check him again in two years to make sure everything is still fine. She said the Strattera ADHD med is not at all related and he should continue with his medicine. Peter had a horrible time with his OCD the whole time we were at the appointment, after being off the med for 2.5 days. It made me realize just how much Strattera helps calm the voices in his head. I felt so sorry for him!

Beth's arthritis flare seems to be gone, though right now she is sick for the first time since April (mild cold). New flares can sometimes come from illnesses, but so far so good. She's able to walk right out of bed more often now and the swelling has been consistently down in her knees for a week. She's still walking on her toes, though, so the pain must be persisting. Reminding her to walk heel to toe isn't working. She simply says, "No, Mommy. It hurts." She is getting better about letting me flex her feet to stretch the muscles involved.

Looking for specific information the other day, I found two personal mommy blogs about Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. They detailed the ups and downs of parenting a child with JRA. One was about parenting two children with the worst kind of JRA--the systemic type! I couldn't read for very long, but I skimmed enough to remind me that this disease is a long haul. One mom wrote that her 12-year-old daughter's eyes were free from any inflammation for the first time in ten years! That floored me, though I knew the eye involvement could persist beyond the arthritis symptoms. And the severity of the arthritis is not related to the severity of the eye inflammation.

I can't think about Beth's eyes being inflamed for that long, requiring steroid use or worse on a long term basis. The 12-year-old daughter's vision, miraculously, did not seem impaired. The steroid drops did not lead to glaucoma, even after ten years of use.

Something else I noticed? Both those mommy blogs were written by Christian women. Spirit-filled Christians pointing to God's provision and blessing despite having to watch a beloved child experience pain, frequent doctor's appointments, therapy appointments, and endless procedures.

God puts Christians on the front line. The first couple years, my newly Christian life seemed full of blessing. God showered me with goodness. Three years in, trials arrived.

They keep on coming. I had to redefine blessing, but God is still showering me with goodness.

The front lines. The Christian life is a battleground wherein God must get the glory. He trains us, his soldiers, to decrease, so he can increase. When he increases we are victorious in battle, no matter our circumstances.


As your day progresses, ask yourself....am I being a humble servant today? Picture the battleground. You don't fight to win. You fight to let Him win.

Playing, Singing, Pretending

My sweet girl turned 5 last week!

The children opened their presents on Saturday. We started opening them a week ahead last year and it worked out well for all. My son's ADHD can make holidays a challenge. Breaking up the festivities helps us focus on Jesus on Christmas Day.

Mommy and Daddy got them each a teddy bear, and Grandma and Grandpa got them a guitar, Playdoh toys, a shopping cart set and a couple card games for the boys. They've played their little hearts out for three days. Mary loved the guitar too and told me her dream is to be on stage and sing at the microphone. She imitates a rock star quite well! She made up the sweetest Christmas carols today.

The preschoolers sang one song with the Children's Christmas Choir, then they got off stage and the older children sang four more songs. Peter and Paul both had a speaking part from Scripture. Mary and Beth both loved being up there! A couple excited, proud little hams they were, as they sang Away In The Manger. Beth didn't want to leave and Mary had to go back on stage and escort her off. The preschool teacher had a good sense of humor and didn't seem to mind the delay.

Peter opened his teddy bear and asked, "I like it, but what do you do with a teddy bear?" Mommy answered, "You love it and sleep with it and take it on adventures around the world. And you have teddy bear tea parties."

So that's what we did today.

Peter had a routine eye exam on Saturday and we learned that the pressure in his eyes is above normal. Normal pressure, measured by the puff test, is 10 to 21. His was 24 and 25. Tomorrow he has a two-hour appointment to be evaluated for glaucoma (which doesn't run in either family).

We were shocked and dismayed to say the least, especially after so much other bad health news this year. I wondered if the ocular hypertension could be caused by his non-stimulant ADHD med (Strattera 18 mg.) I  researched and quickly found out that if you have high eye pressure or a family history of glaucoma, you're not supposed to use Strattera. I immediately stopped giving it to him, even though his pediatrician is on vacation until January.  I don't know how we'll control the ADHD, OCD and Tourette's Syndrome, but I suspect God knows.

If we come to find out he does have glaucoma, I'm going to be awfully upset that his doctor didn't require Peter to have a routine eye exam, with the puff test for glaucoma suspect, before starting the Strattera in 2010!  One can have high eye pressure and not have glaucoma. The eye doctor who examined Peter, in fact, has the same eye pressure Peter has, without any glaucoma.

We're both nervous about that appointment tomorrow, desperately hoping we won't receive bad news. This year has tested our faith more than any other. I don't know what to say about it all. I mean really, how could all this happen in one year?

I have to cling to my favorite Scripture verse:

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.