Why I've Always Loved Halloween

Because my Daddy always made it SO fun....

And because he STILL does!

I love how the boys aren't even paying attention to him!!! haha. :)

Thanks Dad, for making life fun!!!

and....

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Simple Woman's Daybook- October 26, 2009

Outside my window... a beautiful blue sky, changing trees, and a shining sun

I am thinking... how thankful I am for everything given to me, in my life, though I know I don't deserve it. I am truly blessed.

I am thankful for... my family and friends.

I am wearing... Khaki pants, black shirt, jean jacket, and curly hair

I am remembering... what a wonderful visit we had with Ashley, this weekend! :)

I am going... many places this week, but I am thankful that I have a kiddo well enough to run those errands!

I am reading... about prayer.... and how wonderful it is.

I am hoping... I can stay awake until bedtime. haha

On my mind... prayer. I am really pondering my Bible study this week!

Noticing that... this has been one rainy autumn, and that I am SO glad the sky is BLUE!

From the kitchen... lots of soup and stews!

Around the house... cleaning and getting the house ready to sell! Andy has been painting and moving all weekend! Lots done and lots to do!

One of my favorite things~ the smell of fireplaces burning!

From my picture journal...

Visit HERE to see what others are doing this week! :)

 

BOO! at the zoo! :)

I absolutely LOVE having a zoo membership! It's the one thing we "splurge" on every year, and it never seems to fail us! 

We went with some friends (and Aunt Emily and Aunt Ashley), yesterday, to BOO at the zoo. It's a yearly, kid friendly, even that our zoo holds where there are vendors who give out candy and the kids have a chance to dress up. After all of the candy they ended up with, I don't think we'll have to Trick-or-Treat this week.... Ok, so maybe we will! :)

 

The Simple Woman's Daybook- October 19

Outside my window... Sunshine and big white fluffy clouds! It's perfect!

I am thinking... about Adam's Birthday and what I need to do to prep!

I am thankful for... answered prayers and friends/family who are praying for us!

I am wearing... green khakis, white t-shirt, and a big wool sweater! :)

I am remembering... What it's like to give birth. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. 79 days to go!

I am going... to fold a lot of laundry, today!

I am reading... school books. and more school books!

I am hoping... to get a lot around the house done, today!

On my mind... sleep. Is that terrible? I just want to sleep!

Noticing that... my boys are growing so fast! One minute they are newborns and the next they are riding buses to school! How does this happen?!

Pondering these words... “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”- Psalm 37:4

From the kitchen... Not sure.... I'm thinking stir-fry tonight! :) Chinese food is my BFF. :)

Around the house... Lots of laundry. ALWAYS!

One of my favorite things~ Matty breathing without any problems! Genesis 2:7 is my "Matthew verse".

Visit inspiring women HERE, or to share what simple things you are doing, today!

Weekly Wrap

Man, how long has it been since I've done one of these? A few months, at least! Let's give it a go:

1) Matty is now taking his treatments pretty well. He's even holding the nebulizer all by himself!

2) Matty came down with croup this week- boo- but no asthma attack (thank the Lord!).

3) I used to like to vacuum. But now that I have to do it everyday.... not so much.

4) School is getting to be so tedious. I am SO ready for my three month break, once Chloe is here!

5) Speaking of Chloe- 81 days!

6) I am starting to "enjoy" autumn. I've decorated some and we are cutting pumpkins- for the seeds of course!

7) I went to Adam's first parent teacher conference this week. I love hearing good things about my boy- especially from someone who is not bias.... ;)  Apparently he is one of the most serious children she's ever met, and is always wanting to know what's coming next. She said his logical side is very advanced and that he is extremely mathematical. So, basically.... I have another Andy on my hands! ;)

8) We are still prepping the house to sell. The closer we get, the more excited I'm becoming. I've also really been looking into NEW houses...and well... a new start is what we need right now! :)

9) I need to take more photos. I am slacking.

10) I've watched the beginning of "Cars" about 100 times this week- it's the movie Matty always wants to watch, during his treatments. Once the treatment is over, he usually gets up and leaves the movie.

How 'bout you? What are you up to?

Simple Woman's Daybook- October 12, 2009

I've never participated in this before.... but it looks fun! :) Enjoy!

Outside my window... fall has arrived and the leaves are red, orange and yellow!
I am thinking... the craziness we've gone through and how blessed we are!
I am thankful for... my family for all of their love and support!

From the kitchen... I am not cooking tonight! Chinese goodies! :)
I am wearing... a sweater! Where did fall go and why is winter here already?!
I am creating... fun, fall, activities to do with the boys! Anyone have suggestions?
I am going... to many doctor appointments this week!
I am reading... books for school! And a stack of magazines that need to be gone through. Maybe.
I am hoping... no one else gets sick, anytime soon!
I am hearing..... boys giggle and it's fantastic!
One of my favorite things... Hot chocolate with marshmallows, during the cold months!
A few plans for the rest of the week: Lots and lots of doctor appointments for Matthew! We also have Adam's first school conference!
Here is picture for thought I am sharing... Whoa baby! Look at that thing grow!!! ;)

What are you doing this week? Go HERE to share!

Breath of Fresh Air

 The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7

Hanging by a Moment

This has been a week of just hanging on. It's been overwhelming, it's been a learning experience, and it's been challenging. It's also been amazing. I've been reminded of how short life is. I've been reminded of how blessed I am to have my children. I've spent the rest of this week, since we got home on Monday, giving breathing treatments 4 times a day, making sure Matthew doesn't "over do it," and just holding my boys. I was reminded this past weekend that just because I was blessed with these boys, they are not really mine. If God decides that my time as their mommy is done.... well, you know.... I'm not sure it's even something I can say. I am praising God. I am praising Him for allowing me more time. I am praising Him for blessing my life with beautiful and wonderful children! I've hugged, loved, kissed and enjoyed my boys this week, more than ever! 

Matty is doing pretty well. He's still on many meds and is still having wheezing moments, but overall is much better! We go to an allergist, next week, to help determine his "triggers" so that we don't end up in the ICU ever again! He still is weak, pale, and has to take it easy. We haven't really left the house this week, because he can't be out in the cold air, until his lungs are stronger. And trust me-- I can tell we haven't been out! ah! ;) 

I sent out a prayer request to my Bible Study girls, this week, and I thought I'd post it here, too. If you think about Matty, at all, please pray these for him and our family: 

1) That Matty will continue to heal. He has had a lot of various "drugs" pumped into him over the last week, and they are really bringing up the mucous and make him not feel so well. He needs to keep eating, because he lost 2 lbs in the ordeal (and as many of you know, he's already VERY small for his age).

2) That Andy and I will make the right decisions, concerning his treatments.

3) That the allergist (we will be seeing one next week) will be able to determine his triggers, so that we won't have to visit ICU anymore!

4) That Adam will understand and be patient with with his little brother. Right now, Adam is a little jealous that Matty is getting all of this attention, because he is too young to really understand what Matt is going through. I pray that Adam will know how much we love him and that he is JUST as important as Matty.

5) That I will continue to have peace in my heart, and that I will be able to effectively and quickly make the changes needed in our home.

6) That we can find a new home for our pets. Sadly, they are carriers of dander and can bring in allergens from outside. Therefore we need to find them new homes. :( (We have a small dog, Sadie: a mix and a cat, Sami: black, lovable, and has been in our family for 8 years)

7) Lastly, that Andy and I can stay strong together through all of this, and that we see God's glory and Love through the whole situation. 

Hug your babies! I'm hugging mine tighter than I ever have before! :) 

Quite the Weekend

Many of you who are my FB friend, already know what is going on in our home right now...but for those who don't we had quite the scare with Matty, this past week(end). Here's a briefing:

(excuse my grammar issues...I am running on very little sleep!)

************

Matty started wheezing, last Monday, and after having a rough night we took him to the pediatrician on Tuesday. They gave him a breathing treatment and sent us home with a nebulizer and a script for albuteral. We had to give him two total treatments in a two day period, took him back to the doctor on Thursday, and we were told just to keep an eye on it and we'd check back in a month.

Well, Saturday morning he woke up very symptomatic and CRANKY. As the day went on symptoms progressed and "flu-like" symptoms came about. He started vomiting, was wheezing very badly, and had a low-grade fever. Around 7:30, Saturday evening, I called the pediatrician and explained his symptoms. They sent us straight to the ER.

Once we reached the ER he went downhill- fast. He could barely keep his eyes open, he was gray in color, and was almost foaming at the mouth. It was VERY scary. They took him right in and found that his oxygen level was at only 85%. Needless to say, they moved VERY fast. We were rushed into an exam room, over fifteen doctors came in and they go to work. They gave him a breathing treatment and pumped him full of medicine. Overall it took them 2 hours to stabilize him well enough to really examine him. They decided to admit him and keep an eye on him for the night. They were unable to successfully stabilize his breathing, with what they were doing, so they sent him to the PICU for constant watch. They had him on a constant flow of albuteral and oxygen for most of the evening. They also gave him prednisone, via IV, to help build up his lungs.

Eventually he was able to go off of the constant meds and oxygen, but still needed a breathing treatment, every 2-3 hours. After he was off of constant oxygen and meds, we were downgraded to the pulmonary unit. We are now on an every 4 hour treatment, his oxygen levels are between 94-98, and there is only a slight wheeze in his chest. We are being told we get to go home today.

His doctor came in today and told us that he feels comfortable diagnosing Matty with asthma. We are going to have to do every 4 hour albuteral treatments and a daily preventative treatment (of another medicine). We are going to keep a close watch on this, and try to see if there's a correlation between Matty lacking weight, his eczema, and this asthma. Basically, we just need to figure out what his trigger is. OH- and pray...pray...pray... because the glory in all of this is to the Lord. We have been so blessed. We were blessed with amazing nurses, doctors, and people surrounding us. We prayed in the middle of the ER, with our pastor, and even in the midst of fear and anguish, the Lord was able to show us how much He is apart of everything we do. God is SO good and we are very thankful!

I think that about sums it up! :) We are waiting to hear what we are to do from here. We're just hanging out at Children's and feeling blessed and enjoying our little guy. :)

(Aunt Ashley edited this photo! Isn't it amazing?)

(Aunt Michelle took this with her phone! Cute!!)