Teeth

Yesterday, we were riding home from the gym (therapy) and our 6 and a half-year-old announced, "I have a wiggler!" He's been waiting years for this to happen and was so excited.

Before we even got home (less than 10 minutes) he was handing the tooth up to me, so it must have been quite wiggly by the time he even discovered it.

We got in the door, I called Rick, took a shower, then he came into our room handing me yet another tooth! This was probably less than half an hour after he lost the first one. This one was bloody and had obviously been more forcefully pulled, but still! He had just mentioned it was slightly wiggly when the other one came out. I never even got to feel or see any wiggles or take a first lost tooth picture.

Little Bear losses first two teeth within half an hour!

He called Daddy back and we teased J-Bear (well, half serious) that he couldn't pull any more teeth yesterday or he would need dentures before Daddy even got home from work.

He was fine with that limitation as long as the tooth fairy knew to bring him double gifts last night. ;)

I'm so glad he was back home for this momentous occasion.

Mom Will Miss You

To put today's post in context, you probably should read the first few paragraphs of this post first.

Unless anyone has a living child, after loss, this might sound rather morbid, but it was humorous (especially after the fact, when I was relaying the story to my husband a couple of hours later) to me. Saturday, when I was having an emotional meltdown, one of the reasons I was crying was because it should have been about Noel's 17th birthday, had she actually been born near her due date. Actually I was crying more for me, thinking, "She got to go to Heaven and I didn't."

Our 6-year-old came up to me right as I was trying to stop crying and asked me what was wrong. I told him that it should have been his big sister's 17th birthday and I was missing her. Then our 9=year-old came up and asked what was wrong, so I told her the same thing. Because of the combined impact of the strokes and my tears, she couldn't understand my answer and asked her little brother to explain.

His explanation was, "Mom's going to miss you when you have your 17th birthday." I started giggling right through the tears. "Wrong big sister, Sweetheart."


Hard to believe we "would have" one starting her senior year of high school or first year of college this year! You are still loved and missed, Noel. I am so glad it wasn't our living daughter I was crying over this week, as I couldn't imagine living without any of the children we are so blessed to have in our lives today! But one child never "replaces" another and I still do miss Noel, Joel and Hannah too!

New School Year

We are half way through week 4 of Exploring Countries and Cultures. I'm finding a few concept that I just can't wrap my brain around, but thankfully the teacher's book plans it out so well, that all 4 of us are learning! This has got to be my best form of therapy ever, and I truly don't think our kids are lacking as a result. They seem to be thriving, educationally, and in pretty much every area. Mostly, schooling is going surprisingly smoothly, especially now that I'm more mobile (mostly walking with a cane, as of last week)! The biggest challenge is getting solid school time with all my therapy and doctors' appointment, surgeries, tests, and such. We have yet to have an uninterrupted school week, and still we are staying on schedule. God is good!


Emotionally, the kids (and us, their parents) are still processing all that has happened over this past year, the realities of last school year, and being apart for nearly 8 months, the permanent changes in our lives. I would say we have had more tears in the past month that in any prior entire school year. I can only imagine how much harder it would be if they had to leave the house to school away from home every day, again this year! They are so thankful to be home, and so am I. It is a process, but we are making it. Thank you for your much-needed, ongoing prayers.

The kids are taking the next few days to go with Rick's parents to see cousins and just enjoy being kids. Their other cousin (one of the sons of my brother) is down visiting and staying with my parents (half a mile away) this month, so they are having all kinds of cousin reunions. I'm praying to handle them being gone well, emotionally, since this will be their first time away from home for overnight (except when I was recovery from surgery) since they have been back home. I'm so excited for them, just want to be able to put my fears to rest and put logic behind my emotions for me.

R. has come up with some exceptionally cute statements lately. I'm sad I didn't share them as she said them and now can't remember what she's said.

P. S. R was released for her foot last Friday and can't wait to go swimming!

9 Months Post-Stroke

Here's my 9 month stroke update, if you are looking.
http://strokeofgrace.blogspot.com/2012/07/cane-walking-at-9-months.html

Our Little Bear sure keeps us on our toes!

Some big praises to share too. :)

9 Months and Missing Person

For those who are interested, my 9 month (stroke) update is posted at Stroke of Grace. For those who just come here to follow our parenting or homeschooling journey, I want to be sure you see this important plea.

Update: After 6 night with no sign or contact, Daniel is now home! Thank you for praying!
I would like to beg for your prayers for my friend Lisa, her son Daniel, and their whole family. Our sons have taken classes together over the years. Danny and I share a birthday. When I turn 40 at the end of this month, he will turn 16. Danny has gone missing and there is currently a search for him. I don't know other details, but God knows and sees all, from Danny's specific where-about to the brokenness of his family's hearts.

Please grab this picture and share! Maybe you know someone who will know something.

Psalm 139:7
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

Our Week

We started school on Monday. For those who have been watching or wondering, test results are coming back very encouraging so far. Our kids seem to be right on, or ahead of, where they need to be. So again we are using My Father's World, this year the Exploring Countries and Cultures year.

God knew what He was doing by allowing this to be the one year all three kids would be on the same track, since our youngest is done with K and almost (another month or so) done with 1st, and our oldest is in his last year of jr. high, not starting high school for one more year yet.

Our 6-year-old is giving us an emotional workout. If you are thinking of us, please pray for Rick and me to have wisdom and for Little J. to feel calm and secure with all the changes happening in his world. We need God's direction and peace right now!

Praise: The stitches/staples our out! Now to get a little girl fully out of her cast...

Tonight we were telling our 9-year-old who Wonder Woman is. (I guess the kids were right when they said I was "old" and Rick was even "older," meaning he is "older than old" and I'm not much younger.) Rick explained that she was a warrior princess of the Amazon. She wanted to know if that meant WW was going to be a queen of shopping. :)

6 Staples in the Head

We were back in Urgent Care with our 6-year-old tonight. No, our 9-year-old isn't out of her cast yet and I have just restarted therapy, so it is a medically intensive season! In his words, "A cup went up, into the air, and down into my head!" (Edited to add his words as of the next morning, "I don't want to take a shower, because water might leak into my brain.")

 

Who knew a plastic tumbler could cause so much damage when tossed across the back yard? (Why was it outside or thrown across the yard in the first place? Don't ask.)

I found I can remain amazingly calm when I'm the only adult around to handle a shirt-soaking bleed, screaming 6-year-old, two hysterical siblings of said injured child, and no driver's license.

Thank you, Lord, for retaliative peace and presence of mind to take control of and properly handle a chaotic situation with wisdom and grace. And thank you, Mom, for providing fast transportation once you were called. I'm so glad you live only half a mile away! Little Bear was so glad that his Daddy was there to meet us, sit by him, and hold his hand, when we got to Urgent Care!