WHEN THE DADDY'S AWAY...THE MICE WILL PLAY

Okay, for those of you who have never been through a deployment, let me explain something. After they have gone, things begin to happen...things you wish they were here to deal with, but inevitably, they are gone. These things ONLY happen when they are gone, and are always, completely resolved just before they return. And as long as you keep your sense of humor, it will all be okay. So it begins...
Friday morning, I am standing in the kitchen, minding my own business, when all of a sudden a little brown mouse goes running across the kitchen floor, right past my bare little toes. I almost had a heart attack right there. But being that all the kids were standing right there, I managed to compose myself and continue with fixing breakfast. Not 5 minutes later, I guess he decided he wanted to be somewhere else, cause he ran back across the kitchen again, and not very quickly either. Really, I would have to say he sauntered across the kitchen and disappeared behind the fridge. Gives me the willies just thinking of it! And then a third time, he walked, very slowly across the kitchen back to the other side. By the 3rd trip I had had it. I called Housing thinking they would send someone over to set traps for me. HA!!!!! They rang the door bell, handed me the traps, and walked away! Have you ever tried to teach a 10 year old boy to set a mouse trap? (that's a life skill he needs, right?) Dont worry...he still has 9 of his fingers, and we have 2 less mice than we did yesterday. So far, so good.

(Dont worry, honey, we got it all under control here. The mice will only play till I get ahold of them!)

Look out mice, Jaydon is gonna getcha!
Today has been a busy day. But now, the house is SPOTLESS and there isnt a stich of laundry to be done. What a wonderful feeling. The kids had a great time playing outside in the beautiful weather. Abby, however, had a rough day. Poor little sweetie cried most of the day, despite the fact that I held her every second I could. Her tummy seems to be bothering her a lot again. Please pray for healing and comfort, and weight gain for her.

Fun With Friends

Nothing like a few good friends to help pass the time and ease the pain. David and Michael came over for a sleep over tonight, and the kids have had a great time playing all evening. JJ has made it as far as the east coast, and leaves the country tomorrow very early in the morning. It still seems okay right now, cause he is still in the US. I think tomorrow evening it might actually hit me that he is gone, then I think I will start to feel a little sad. But we will fill our schedule with fun and prayer while he is gone. And we will praise God that because he is there someone elses Dad gets to come home. And because we believe that God is God no matter where we are, we know that He has a plan, and that gives me peace. The kind of peace that only comes from JESUS!

Abby's follow up appointment at Children's today went well. She has managed to gain a little more weight, although she is still about 2 1/2 pounds under her ideal weight for her length, and doesnt need a feeding tube. Praise God! She will remain on the high calorie formula till she catches up, but she is on the right track. Oh, and dont let me fail to mention that even after driving 90 miles to Denver, all 5 children were very well behaved as I sat and talked to the nutritionist about Abby's progress. Sure does make these appointments a lot easier when they sit patiently and wait without a word of complaint.

DAY ONE!!!!! THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS!

Okay, so here we are at day 1. Of what, you may ask. Well, it is day one of our countdown to the glorious day when JJ returns home to us. We dont know exactly when he will return, should hopefully be sometime before Thanksgiving, but everyday that passes is just another day closer to him coming back home. We have all been a little sad today, but are doing well. Josh really doesnt understand that he is gone for so long, but I imagine in a few days he will start asking when Daddy is coming back. The girls are sleeping with a picture of Daddy, and they held on to it as we said bedtime prayers. Jaydon hasnt said much at all about it but is testing me to the limit today. All in all, we are doing fine, and glad the first day is almost over. I must say the blessing to every deployment is the time we each are able to draw closer to God, and to witness first hand how HE provides for all our needs.

"YES" DAY! (or stress day????)

"Daddy, can I ride in your new duffle bag?" ..............."Why, YES, you can!"
"Mom, can I have a popsicle AND a poptart for breakfast?"......................"YES, let me get that for you."

Okay, so here's the story of "YES" day. I read on a blog of a friend of a friend about how she decided one day to try not to say "no" to her children for the whole day, unless it was something she had to say "no" to. Now, I dont know this particular lady, but I have been reading her blog quite regularly, and I must say, she has become like a mentor for me. She seems to be so wise in the things she says. I imagine her to be like a Saint, so patient and loving in all her words to her children. A wonderful, homeschool mom of 5 children, she is. We seem to have so much in common... okay, not the patience...or the always kind and loving responses...but, I am working on that. So I sat back and thought about how often I say "no" to our children just because I dont want to have another mess to clean up, or because I can do it myself faster, or just because it is easier to say "no". Sometimes, I think I say "no" just out of habit. So I showed her blog to JJ, and we decided last night that today would be "YES" day! What fun! So when we woke up this morning I reminded him about this very special day. And here is how it went...

(Let me point out first that we never told the children it was "YES" day, that would have ruined the day.)

Josh was the first to wake up, and I think he was in on the secret, cause after he had his customary glass of chocolate milk, he asked..."Mommy, can I have a popsicle for breakfast?" JJ and I look at each other, and he has that "HA! What are you going to say to this one" look on his face. So I looked back at Josh and said,with my teeth clinched "Sure, honey, go sit at the table and I will get it for you". Then 5 minutes later..."Mom, can I have a poptart with my popsicle?" And again, I said "yes" and handed over the goods. Guess what, having popsicles and poptarts for breakfast didn't kill him, and he still has all his teeth.

Next, as we prepared to travel to Denver tohave Abby's blood drawn, Hannah wanted to know "can I fix up some snacks to take with me in case I get hungry". Now believe it or not, many times the answer to that innocent question would be "no", because I know that food and crackers, and such are going to be spilled and crushed all over the floor. This time, however, I said "yes" with a big smile on my face. And guess what, she didnt spill a thing.

Then Bailey, "can I take my poptarts with me in a bag?"..."Yes"

Jaydon, "mom, can you stop at the bookstore on the way out of town so I have a book to read on the way?"..."yes"

As the day went by, I must say I found myself smiling more than ever. In fact, at REI a couple of ladies said to me with a smile "Are they all yours?" I said "yes" and then they said "you look so calm, how do you do it?" I said "the key is...YES!"

Of course their are things each day that we need to say "no" to, for their safety and protection, but when I took a step back, I realized that I could probably say "yes" to about 85% of their requests without spoiling them, going broke, or putting them in any danger, and if I were to say "yes" more often, I would be less stressed out, and they would all be a little happier.

Abby's Gaining Weight

Joshy has discovered a new favorite place to sleep, in "Sissy Baby's" bed. He is very close to Bailey.

Just wanted to give a quick update. We went to the pediatricians office yesterday and Abby has put on 0.3kg in the 3 days since she was admitted to the hospital. Not too bad! She is eating like a champ now. Thanks for all your prayers.

Today we finally put her crib together and she is sound asleep in it as I write this. Joshua, our littlest big helper, had a great time helping JJ put it together. Bailey, of course, also got in on the activity. What fun!

Climbing The Wall !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last week after their expedition to the Aquarium with Daddy, they all went to REI for a little window shopping (so to speak). This is the climbing wall inside REI (Yes, inside the building, it is huge!) Anyway, Hannah made it about half way up the wall, and Jaydon was able to make it all the way to the top. Not bad for a couple beginners. Although you cant tell by the photos, it is a huge wall.

A Busy Few Days

As we prepare for JJ's upcoming deployment (he leaves next week), lots has been going on. Abby has been having lots of trouble, and has lost more than a pound in the past 10 days. She is down to 8.2 pounds, which is just barely above her birth weight. She was admitted to Children's Hospital in Denver Monday, where they did losts of tests, and we begged them to send us home of Tuesday so we could spend a little time with JJ before he goes. Right now she is getting a high calorie formula, but if she hasnt gained enough weight by next week, she will have a feeding tube put in. Please say a prayer for little Abby if you find the time.

On the fun side of things, JJ took all 5 kids to the Denver Aquarium on Saturday, and I hear they all had a blast! Jaydon wants to go back and swim with the sharks, and Hannah wants to go swim with the fish. We may buy a family membership so that we can make the Aquarium a regular part of our summer vacation.