5th Grade Field Day & Camp

One of the many blessings of being a stay at home mom is the fact that I can be more actively involved with the kids at school.  It was great to be able to attend Annika's 5th grade field day at the high school and being a camp chaperone....well that was definitely an experience!

My little peanut running in the marathon

I have to say that it has been a bittersweet week for me.  Sweet because I love spending time with my kiddo and it makes her so happy to have her mama along.  Sad because this is it...she will officially be in middle school next year and while she'll always be my baby, she's growing up.

Ani and some of her besties

I keep telling her to make sure she keeps her friends close.  I have always regretted not staying in touch with a lot of my close friends from my youth.  I tell Ani she needs to make sure she has a friend like her Aunt Lea (my bestie) in her life.  It's vital!

Running in the 200 meter dash

Ani tells me that she might want to take up track once she can participate in sports (7th grade) in middle school.  She & I are going to try the Couch to 5K program this summer. 

Ani & one of our refugee friends, Ornella

 I am so glad that God lead me to volunteering with the refugees.  It has enriched our lives and been a great experience for our kids.

Camp was a fun yet thoroughly exhausting day.  The kids had a blast though and that's all that matters.

Ani & some classmates canoeing

A little horseback riding

And facing her fears on the high ropes course

 Coming down the zip line

I was in bed by 7 last night since two days going really kicked my rear end but it was so worth it.  Thank you Heavenly Father, for giving me such wonderful opportunities!

Somewhat Crunchy

I have a confession to make.  About 7 years ago, I was a member of a Christian women's forum.  It was a great place to meet friends with like-minds and to discuss our faith.  As anyone who has been a forum member may know...there tend to be pet peeves or minor irritations...personality conflicts, faith and belief clashes, etc.  My biggest...let's say pet peeve was the moms that I considered "crunchy granola."  These were the co-sleepers, the ones who nursed until their kids were 3 or 4, who made everything from scratch, couldn't imagine working outside the home and who, as a rule, also home schooled their children.  As a working mom of four, I scoffed at that way of life.  **clearing throat** So imagine my chagrin to see how wrong I was.  Admittedly, if I were going to have another baby, I don't think co-sleeping or nursing so long is for me, and I don't feel qualified to home school but making everything from scratch?  Not working outside of the home?  Guilty as charged...and loving every second of it!

 

This shelf is the beginning of my obsession with homemade beauty products. The jar on the left is my nightly face scrub.  I got the recipe here and I love the way my face feels after I wash it.  The bottle next to it holds my facial toner and this I use twice a day.  It costs me so little to make both of these items and they work just as well as anything I've ever bought in the store.  The jar on right is my body butter which is just coconut butter that I've whipped and added some essential oils to.  I also have homemade face wash that I use every morning when I shower.  It is a bit more runny than I would prefer but I'll keep searching until I find the right recipe. In addition, my baby girl & I do a homemade spa night every few weekends.  We use herbs like mint & eucalyptus for steam treatments and then give ourselves a mask that is made of 2 tablespoons of my homemade yogurt, one tablespoon of honey and one teaspoon of lemon juice.  Thanks to Pinterest, I have a ton of recipes to choose from in my hunt to become somewhat crunchy.  

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder......Right?

Whew!  It's been a few months.  Sometimes time just gets away from me and all my good intentions to keep up on my  blog, my writing, my reading, etc. just goes by the wayside.  Something that I noticed after I had my first child was that becoming a parent was like pushing fast forward on the DVD player.  I never know where the time has gone.

We have hit a few milestones in the last few months.  Our oldest got her first job and has started drivers training (I am so not ready for this!), our youngest is finishing up her final year in elementary school and now all but one child is officially a teenager. 

The end of the school year is ending in a frenzy of activities....final concerts, school picnics, field days, a 5th grade camp trip, awards and graduation ceremonies and science fairs.  Tomorrow I will be chaperoning my daughter's camp trip....horseback riding (this I am very excited about!), canoeing (eh...) and zip lining (no thanks!).  She is so very excited that her mama is joining her class trip.  It reminds me yet again of how blessed I am to be able to stay home.  

If I still have any readers out there, I promise to try to be better about keeping up.  For now here are a few snapshots of our lives in the last few months.

 Introducing our refugee friends to the joys of coloring Easter eggs

Birthday cupcake cones for our newest teenager

Happy 13th Birthday Desiree!

 Homemade spa night with my girls

I'm off to watch my baby girl participate in her field day event. Here's to hoping I keep this updated better.  Ciao!

Gods Ways are Mysterious....and Wonderful

About two months ago I saw a request for volunteers for our church's refugee ministry in the weekly email bulletin.  It was for help in the office, administrative things like updating databases, organizing and helping the volunteers stay up to date.  They were asking for 1-3 hours per week and I felt a nudge.  I have the time.  And I should be able to find the energy to put in that small amount of time every week.  I emailed the contact and we had a meeting, agreeing on me coming in one morning a week for a few hours.  Now mind you...this was all for background stuff and I had never even learned much about our church's refugee ministry.  Shortly after I started volunteering, the ministry had a meeting and I was asked to attend.  We had thought that the meeting was going to be on administrative type details....how to keep it organized, how to keep everyone in contact and updated, etc.  It turned out to be a meeting about an upcoming fundraising meal they wanted to put on and other volunteer details like what current and new families needed, etc.  At the end of the meeting, one of the organizers mentioned that there was a family that needed to be taken grocery shopping and asked if anyone could help out.  I felt another nudge.  I volunteered to take them and we set up a date and time.  

What an amazing experience it was.  The family did not speak any English so shopping was definitely a learning curve.  I took the mom & four children to the grocery store while their dad was in English class. The experience opened my eyes and my heart to a whole group of people who need the love of Christ shown to them. 

"When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.  Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen.  Leave them for the poor and the foreigner.  I am the Lord your God." Leviticus 19:9-10

After our grocery shopping trip, I volunteered to get the three oldest registered for school since they had already been here a month without it.  During this time, my husband thought what I was doing was great but showed no interest in coming along side me in this ministry.  But all that changed one night when we watched a documentary on Netflix.  It was Jimmy's turn to pick and he decided on one that he thought was going to be about hip hop artists and their gaudy jewelry.  It was called "Bling".  In a total God moment, the documentary was not about the artists but about the blood diamonds and diamond wars in Sierra Leone.  Several hip hop artists traveled to Sierra Leone to see what the diamond wars had done to the people of the country.  Jimmy's heart was broken. He was appalled at the poverty and pain of the people of Africa and has been completely on board with me since.  He & I started a Swahili language course in order to better communicate with any family we befriend.  

This past Friday we brought the kids, a few games and the makings for brownie sundaes over to their house to visit.  Even with the language barrier, we had so much fun. We taught the kids how to play Memory and the youngest kept trying to peak at cards.  We brought early word flash cards and taught the kids English while they taught us the Swahili word.  The family laughed at a lot of our pronunciations but I think they very much appreciated the effort.

Our two kids with the family.  

We had a great time and are planning on seeing them at least once a week.  We are also planning on meeting a second family this week.  I can't wait to see how God moves in all of our lives.

Rituxan #2-Reality hits

I underwent my second (and final for the next six months HOPEFULLY!) treatment yesterday.  It was an even better experience than the first treatment. They were able to tap a vein in two pokes as opposed to the four it took last time.  It also went by more quickly as they were able to increase the IV flow more this time since my body handled the Rituxan well last time. 

Two weeks ago, after my first treatment,Jimmy & I were both very pleasantly surprised at how light my side effects were.  Minimal nausea, no vomiting, only a low grade headache and my worst side effect was the fatigue.  So we were heading into this treatment with far less concerns.  But on Sunday, the day before the second treatment, my nausea got much worse and I started vomiting.  Since I got home from the treatment yesterday, the nausea is constant (I've been toting my puke bucket around with me everywhere), my stomach is revolting in other, unpleasant ways, there is a never ending buzzing headache and a low grade temp.  I am also starting to lose big clumps of hair though I think that is to be attributed to the Methotrexate and not the Rituxan as hair loss is not a usual side effect for the Rituxan.  I will keep an eye on the hair loss and will make a decision soon if we should go for the big chop.  

To focus on the positive, my kids and husband are being so amazingly helpful.  Yesterday, Aidan waited on me hand and foot, covering me with a blanket, bringing me my trusty puke bucket, constantly asking if I was doing ok.  We also had another meal delivery from church which was just amazing and perfect timing.  My devotional yesterday morning was perfect timing, as usual.  It said "Your ongoing struggle is not a mistake or punishment.  Try to view it, instead, as a rich opportunity: Your uphill journey keeps you aware of your neediness, so you look to Me for help."  AMEN!

Back to Life

I don't want to jinx myself but I find that I am feeling somewhat hopeful that we've found a possible solution to the meningitis issue.  It has been almost a month and a half since I've had an incident and that's the longest I've gone since September.  I met with my rheumy last week and he has decided to wean me off the steroids in order to see if the Rituxan is working.  I am so excited to be off the steroids!  I am ready to take some of my life back from illness.  It's the first time in over a year where I find myself able to look forward and see things besides continued hospitalizations in my future.

From what I have read of other people's experiences with Rituxan, it sounds as if I might even get some of my energy back for the next few months.  Right now, I'm still dealing with some major exhaustion from the treatment itself but once that wears off, I have hopes that I will be able to become a bit more active.  I would really like to shed these steroid-induced pounds!  

I am so thankful to God and to all of the people who have been by my side through this.  Without all of you, I wouldn't have made it far enough to see a possible light at the end of the tunnel.     

Happiness is......

Spending an evening on the couch with my amazing husband, watching documentaries 

Having Fiona cuddle up under the covers behind my legs (the "batcave") in bed

Watching my teenager take on more responsibilities and growing into a wonderful young man

Cuddling with my baby girl on the couch watching "chick flicks"

Quiet time in the recliner with a good book, a blanket and two pugs curled up on my lap

Family game night

Church on Sunday mornings

Our daughters coming home and completing the family

Cooking & baking for my family and friends

Dinner & a movie out with my bestie

Traverse City trips with my husband

Pizza & movie night in with the fam

Family vacations with our full family, including the Bauer's

Days at the pool with my bestie & our kids

A cup of coffee & sugared doughnut from Phoenix Rising's bakery

Pedicures

Time spent in the Lord's word, meditating on His goodness, grace & mercy

Trips to amusement parks, beaches and zoos with the kids

Tapas with friends

A mocha frappe from McD's

Being a stay at home mom

A little Rex and a game of Skip-Bo with my bestie

Learning each day how to rely more on God and less on myself

Marriage to an amazing, loving, caring man who always takes care of me