Eleven years ago today, it was the day after I had first met David. I was waiting for him to call me.
And he never did.
Not until the 29th anyway.
How's that for holding on and never letting go of a memory?! hehehee...
Tomorrow, my beloved and I will be celebrating 10 fantastically fabulous years of marriage.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BABY!
It is almost midnight here. Dash and Tank have been goofing around in bed-- laughing, talking, plotting-- for a couple of hours now. They should really be sleeping. They are very, very tired.
Tank just walked in with big, giant tears streaming down his face and the most pathetic frown you have ever seen.
Me: What's wrong? Why are you crying?
Tank: Bwaah...sniffle...ahooooo....oooooo...sniffle... (and lots more crying)
Dash translates: He's really sad because he doesn't get to go to junior camp.
Me: Ummmm...YOU can't even go to junior camp for another year-- you're just not old enough yet. It'll be three more years before Tank can go. (turning to Tank) Why are you crying about this now???
Tank: Because he gets to go and I don't get to go. And you know the only thing I don't like about camp? It's that youuuuu won't be camping with me! Waaaahhhh!!!
Poor guy must've taken some crazy pills before bed. He was seriously distraught about a camp that he won't be attending for another three years. I can still hear him whimpering quietly in his room. Dash is trying to console him and tell him that it's just the rules and when he's old enough to go, he'll probably not want me there with him anyway.
While I am flattered that he wants to be with me, it is a bit silly, don't you think? All that crying and worrying about something so far in the future. Especially when he doesn't have all the facts about camp...and doesn't quite understand the present, let alone the future!
He'll be fine in the morning. Just needs some sleep and a little more time. But I'll give him another hug and kiss before bed...maybe make him giggle (but not too much-- don't want to wake up the not-quite-a-baby-anymore!).
Sounds a little like me at times. Needless fretting and worrying about silly stuff. Crying to God when I don't even realize that I am not understanding the big picture. And God is always patient and understanding and loving and encouraging...and wipes away my tears and calms my anxious heart.
By the way, after hearing silence for a while I went into his room for the nightly check before I head to my own bed. Tank was asleep and as I adjusted his blanket, he said (with eyes closed) Mommy, the only thing I don't like about camp is not having you with me. I kissed his sweet head and told him that I will always be with him and take care of him. He sleepily replied, Yes Ma'am and turned over and went back to sleep. I just love that boy!
China has never allowed children with Down's Syndrome to be adopted before. Why? Because they think that nobody would want them.
They have finally offered up for adoption one precious baby boy named James. If you have ever thought about adopting a special needs child or know of anyone else who has, please pass this link on to them. He MUST be adopted by July 1st or he will be re-institutionalized...and no other children with Down's will be allowed to be adopted in the future. If cost is an obstacle, funding has already been promised for this adoption!
Please pass the word and pray for this precious baby boy.
I never would've thought to even attempt to introduce the Greek alphabet to my children. But since I really enjoy Johannah Bluedorn's illustrations, I thought Why not? I received Little Bitty Baby Learns Greek in the mail and was excited that is was a boardbook! Hooray! I can actually leave this one out for the kids (and even Dozer) to look at without having to worry about torn pages or pages wrinkled by slobber and sippy cups.
This book teaches the alphabet for Biblical Greek. Each letter is introduced on a page and includes the capital letter, lowercase, pronunciation and letter sounds. The kids' favorite part was, of course, the beautiful illustrations. By the way, their favorite letter was kappa. Why? Because kappa says the c sounds as in candy. Mmmm...they just loved the picture of the candy in the glass jars... Simple logic, huh? And if they were to remember even one letter of Biblical Greek, it will most definitely be kappa!
While I don't currently plan on teaching the Greek language to my children, we will definitely go over this book many more times. It did make the idea of teaching Greek a little less intimidating... So who knows what the future may hold for us...
This book also allowed for some great discussions that we would not have otherwise had. For example, we talked about the books of the Bible and how they were originally written in a different language. And how different languages have different alphabets...and some of these alphabets have sounds and letters very similar to our own English alphabet! Believe it or not, we even discussed translations and King James...which then led to a brief conversation about people in other countries who do not have a Bible in their own language.
I think this talk of other languages and countries could be expanded even more. I'm sure they would be very interested in talking about some of the missionaries our church supports. And that, of course, could branch out into lessons on geography, other cultures and who knows what else! I just love homeschooling, don't you?!
If you haven't done so already, I would definitely recommend Little Bitty Baby Learns Greek by Johannah Bluedorn (or any of her other books as well). The illustrations are lovely, the products high quality and the content inspiring!
I don't know about y'all, but I can't stand going to the dentist. I really especially truly can't stand it when it's my child and not me. But HOORAY! Our first official icky "procedure" at the dentist is done.
I woke Dash up this morning to go get his cavities fixed. The only thing he cried about before he left was that he didn't get to eat breakfast. Poor guy. He is sooo very skinny but eats all the time! So this was very traumatic for him. Anyhow, I dosed him up with the prescribed sedative and then he drove off with dh.
After an hour and a half, dh called and said it was done. Wow, that was really fast! Apparently, Dash slepted the entire way there and only woke up when they were working on the last tooth. He woke up screaming because it was a deep cavity that required a crown...and A LOT more numbing! I guess he settled down after a few more shots. Good thing they had him tightly wrapped like a papoose too.
So he slepted on the way back home and is still passed out. They said he'd probably sleep until 3pm, although that's doubtful since he is not a sleeper by nature. Besides, we've got plans to swim and play with friends this afternoon so that little guy better wake up after lunch! ;-)
I am SO GLAD that *I* didn't have to take him this morning! I'm sure I'd be reliving and playing back that memory over and over again in my head.
Thanks again for your prayers. And remember, brush brush brush! Floss floss floss! And absolutely, positively no sticky candy...better to give them chocolate than the sticky stuff. I'm going to go toss out the fruit snacks now too.
*UPDATE*
It's noon and he just woke up-- hungry! He barely stumbled up the stairs (we have a split level so our main living areas are upstairs)... The first thing he said was I don't know how a nap could make me sooo dizzy! It's weird to look in my baby's mouth and see a shiny silver crown. I guess the one side of his mouth is still pretty numb. He keeps asking me How did they make my teeth bigger? It feels like I have one tooth inside another tooth. Eeek. I remember the dental days of my youth...blech!
Gotta go laugh some more at my son. He is doing everything very slowly-- walking, talking, moving, chewing... hehehee... That is so completely opposite of his usual self! Maybe I should get the video camera out...
Discount Home School Supplies is giving away a FREE microscope to one winner! How do you enter? All you have to do is cut and paste this information to your blog and leave a link in the comments section of Tami's blog.
This is open to the first 100 entrants! So hurry!
Thank you, my friends, for all of your great advice and prayers about the dentist! I found a great pedodontist that actually accepts our DMO and was able to get appointments today. We took both Tank and Dash in for checkups and cleanings right after lunch.
First the good news. The dentist, staff and my boys were great! We had zero meltdowns, whimperings or even frowns. Tank even got upset yesterday when we were talking about taking Dash to the dentist and not him. So we were very happy when we were able to get both boys in for checkups and cleanings. I just know that if they were in public school, they would've been quite fearful of the dentist from all the horror stories that other kids would likely have told. I am very thankful for their positive attitudes-- it sure makes it easier on not only them, but everyone else around them as well!
Now the bad news. As I suspected, Dash has two bad cavities. He's taking antibiotics now and I filled the prescription for the feel-good medicine he needs to take before we get his teeth filled on Friday morning. I wish I had that stuff when I was little!
Tank also has some small cavities that are beginning to form between his back teeth. We got a prescription for some flouride gel to floss into that tight space. What a blessing to have caught this early while it is still small and fixable!
While I'm thinking of blessings, I am also thankful that this happened to Dash now instead of later. He'll be 7 years old at the end of summer, and that is the precise cutoff age for our insurance to allow him to go to the pediatric dentist. So if this had happened even 3 months from now, he would've had to suffer the rougher hands and demeanor of my dentist! Yikes!!!
Another blessing is that the kids have been talking about sugar all day long...and in a good way. Mommy, does this have sugar in it? What about Capri Sun? Candy? Cheerios? What about this? This whole dental visit has really encouraged my kids to CHOOSE water over juice and to not ask for those gummy-tooth-sticking fruit snacks. Pretty cool, huh?
I am SO thankful that I am able to stay home with my children and have the time and opportunity to talk to them about brushing, flossing, and sugar. Not every mommy has the gift of having these small moments to talk with her children.
And while I've got your ear, they advised that we brush our children's teeth for them until they are at least 8 years old. They can brush for practice, but always follow up yourself to make sure they get a good brushing. I guess this is where I messed up. Ever since Dozer was born, I've been letting the kidlings brush their own teeth. I guess they're not as thorough as they should be...
Anyhow, thanks for the advice and encouragement. Please keep him in your prayers for his appointment on Friday. My sweet dh will be taking him for that appointment. It's a lot easier on him than it is on me! Plus, it encourages Dash to be a little tougher than he might otherwise be...although I don't think he'll even know what hit him once he gets the meds. :-)
Me and my niece Emily (she's one month old now)
This one is Tank (who will be 5 next month) and my little sister Lele (real name Leah...lovely, isn't it?...much better than Marsha which sounds so heavy and clunky...Leah is so light and lovely and cheery!)
My sister Coco (who's real name is lovely as well-- Christine) put this together. She's Emily and Benjamin's mommy... My boys are the bald ones, Ben is the one with the cool rock-star hair! I guess we need to work on photoshop'ing those arms out of there as well... hehehee... ;-)
We had a great time visiting my folks in Fort Worth. Everyone except for my little bro was there. It's getting increasingly difficult to get all five of us kids together each year...and that's not counting the missing spouses. It doesn't help that we live in different cities and different coast's even. But it does make the time we spend together that much more precious!
Anyhow, we drove back late last night and avoided rain until we were about an hour out. So not too bad. There's been quite a bit of flooding here in Houston, but we fared pretty well. I can hear the deafening sounds of frogs right now... I'm not kidding, it is really loud out there! You can't even carry on a conversation outside without almost yelling. WEIRD. The frogs, crawdad's and all sorts of wet-loving creatures are out in full force tonight. It does bring for some great bird watching in the morning!
Oh, the cavity. Or perhaps cavities...as in plural. And why oh why does this have to happen to Dash! While he is the eldest of the three kidlings, he is also the most...what's the word I'm looking for?.... sensitive. *sigh* I need to call around tomorrow and find out who takes our insurance. I hope the pediatric dentist will accept our DMO. I am SO dreading this! But my ever sweet and loving dh has volunteered to be the one to do the dentist duty. While I hope he has a little compassion for Dash, I worry that he'll be too tough on him. I'll get over it though, especially since I just can't even think about listening to the whining, crying and whatever else that is bound to come with this visit.
The good thing (or is it a bad thing?) is that he has never been to the dentist before. So there are currently no negative associations with the visit. He only knows about the happy Berenstain Bear's book/video on a visit to the dentist. Plus some other Nick Jr or Barney shows about it. I have not taken any of my children to the dentist yet because of the many conflicting pieces of advice from dentists, friends, and even doctor-- go when they get teeth, go when they're three, don't go unless they have some type of pain, etc. *sigh* and *SIGH* again...
Please pray for Dash and the dentist...that we find the right one and can get in immediately. He's been complaining all afternoon about his tooth hurting. And it even looks like a cavity to my untrained eye! Zoiks. I'm ill just thinking about it. I had several cavities when I was little and absolutely HATED going to the dentist! While I never threw a fit over it (I knew better than that!), my little Dash is not quite as much of a people-pleasing-rule-following-authority-following individual as I was. So please keep him and his tooth in prayer. I feel really bad for the little guy.
Any advice? Anyone? Anyone?
After lunch today, I will be loading up the kidlings and heading home to visit my daddy for Father's Day. I am so blessed to be able to just go home! I am also very blessed with all of the wonderful father's in my life!
First, I am thankful for my heavenly Father. I still can't believe that He loves me enough to have sent His own Son to die for my sins. I can't say that I would willingly sacrifice my own child for the sins of others!
I am thankful for my daddy. Although generally a quiet man, we would have the best conversations when we'd go for evening walks together. Many times it was just me and him--a rarity in a house of 5 children! I'm sure our conversations were often one-sided-- I talked waaaay too much and he listened patiently. He was and still is a living example of what a true Christian should be-- honest, loving, and kind. Daddy, I could never have asked for a better father than you!
I am thankful for my father-in-law. My husband is an only child and was raised by his dad. They were such buddies (and still are)... and man, oh, man did my f-i-l put up with A LOT! heheheee... Honestly, if it wasn't for the amazing love and dedication of my f-i-l, my husband would not be the fine father and husband that he is today! So thank you, dad, for teaching my husband how to be a real man.
And last but not least, I am very thankful for the father of my children-- my beloved husband of almost ten years! I just love to see him play with, talk to and just be with our boys. They eat up all of his attention and totally want to be just like him when they grow up! He is never ever too busy to include them in his plans. He talks to them, teaches them, plays with them, and never ever complains about bringing them with him on errands...He enjoys their company and they bask in his! Thank you, baby for being such a great daddy! It will be a sad (but funny) day when they really do whoop up on you in wrestling!!! I am so glad that you are not letting their childhood slip through your fingers-- riding bikes, burn piles, swimming, CiCi's, Home Depot, the driving range, father/son campout, Pinewood Derby and popcorn... they will always remember and hopefully do the same with their children one day. You're the best, baby!
To all of the father's in my life (and all of you out there in blogland)...
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!
Love,
Marsha
PS This is for all you daddy's out there that are helpful with the babies...my husband included!
When I look at my best days, those are the ones where I spent much time at home and actually interacting with my children. Not just co-existing or being in the same room. Not just trying to trudge through our lessons so I can get on to other things that I need to do...
Nope, my best days are like yesterday. I planned to spend the day truly with them. Unrushed. Relaxed. That was my purpose. Not a byproduct of chance. It was a good day. A great day, in fact! For both me and my children!
David worked all Sunday night (with no sleep) and got home around 7am. I knew that he would appreciate a restful, quiet sleep for several hours. So the kids and I quickly got dressed and slipped out the door. Destination: Shipley's Donuts. The kids were ecstatic about actually getting donuts for breakfast IN the donut shop! And they loved looking at, with their own eyes, all the varieties and toppings available. I wish I could've taken a picture of the expressions on their faces for y'all to see-- talk about priceless!
After pumping them full of sugary donuts, I thought it would be a grand idea to take my children to... Nope, not the park to run off all the sugar-energy. Even better than that... THE LIBRARY! Oh man, am I a genious or what? ;-)
We turned in our bzillion books from last time and headed to the ...*sigh*...movie section first. Each of the boys got to pick out one video/DVD. Tragedy averted. Now we could move on to books!
Dash wandered away from our "usual" area and found that they had re-arranged the library. It was such fun to see three little tables with bookshelves all around. The shelves were filled with great non-fiction books-- the kids were in heaven! They completely stocked up on books about trains, bats, trucks and almost had one about Madagascar.
Tank ran up to the book when he saw it was about Madagascar. The boys always talk about wanting to visit "the wild" in Madagascar. When he saw what Madagascar really looked like (the land, people, villages) he actually ARGUED with me that it was NOT Madagascar! Silly boy. You'd think that he really though he'd find a picture of Alex the Lion in there...
LIBRARY TIP: If you have big book checker-outer's like I do, then take a small carry-on luggage bag with you. The wheels and long handle makes it easy to carry a ton of books.
Wow, this post is getting really long. Condensed version of the rest of the day: After library, we went grocery shopping. Home to a real lunch. Finished three days worth of lessons in only one day-- because the kids wanted to!!! Spent time with daddy/hubby. Watched their videos together as a family. Supper-- yup, I cooked that one too (hooray for me!). Quiet rest of the evening until bedtime.
What a great day.
Do you think it was the donuts???
...of why we do what we do...
Check out this great, encouraging video entitled Animal School from RaisingSmallSouls.com.
And for a weird thing to try, check out Aligirl's blog. hehehee...
With all the hullabaloo about the FPEA and a brunch with a bunch of bloggers, I'd like to know who around here is from good ole Texas!
First, if you're NOT from Texas, then I'm sorry. 
But would you please consider linking to this post on your blog so I can get as accurate a rollcall as possible...especially considering the considerations of this non-scientific poll! I greatly appreciate yer kindness and cooperation!
Now fer you fellow Texans, if you would be so kind please comment and put your city in the subject line. It would be fun to organize a get together or shindig or whatnot in our neck of the woods!
By the way, I live in NE Houston (Porter).
Leave that comment now, y'hear?! And don't forget to pass this on!!!
