Lots of New

As I started typing this post, I realized that I sure do write about my kids a lot.  But right now in my life, that is the main thing I do:  take care of and love on these kids of mine.  Oh sure, I take the time to hang out with my girlfriends or go on a date with my husband.  But most of my day involves feeding, changing, teaching, snuggling, boo-boo fixing, hugging and kissing my Hannah, Leah and Lucas.  I love it!  So without further ado, here's another post about my kids!

As the school year has been winding down, everyone has been experiencing a lot of new things around here.
The above photo is of me with my three kids at Hannah and Leah's medal ceremony at their gymnastics class.  It was there that Leah showed off one of her new skills:

A backbend!

The following week, the girls had their graduation from Pre-K program.  Their class sang a beautiful song (that made me cry!).  And they wore a graduation cap as they walked across the stage and received their Pre-K "diploma."  As they walked across the stage, their teacher read their previously recorded answers to the following questions:  What did you like best about Pre-K?  Where do you want to go on vacation?  What do you want to be when you grow up? 

Hannah's answers were:  center time, New Jersey, and a Mommy (awwww)

Leah's answers were:  lunch, Great Wolf Lodge, and a designer (Daddy was proud)

Here's Hannah after her graduation from Pre-K.  Next year will be a big year for new things starting with kindergarten!!

Here's Hannah holding up a book she made about counting to ten.

And let's not forget about Lucas.  He sure is doing and experiencing new things everyday.  Such as....

PEEK-

-A-BOO!!!

Crawling on grass for the first time.

And discovering toilet paper

Oh how I love these kids and all the new things they are doing!

Lucas and Gus

This may very well be my favorite picture ever.  Seriously, there is too much cuteness happening here I almost can't take it.  My sweet boy is grinning ear to ear and showing off his two teeth because he is just tickled to be sitting near our new canine-uncle, Gus.  Mike's parents were here at the beginning of the month, but left on the 12th to head out to California for a short vacation.  When Mike went into the hospital on the 14th, his parents turned around and came back to Oklahoma.  While there were here this second time, they decided to add a new member to their family.  Mike's parents are definitely dog-lovers (although they do have a cat named Little Richard).  They have a huge German Shepard named Cyrus (who is really just a big teddy bear).  And they decided Cyrus needed a friend.  Gus got to hang out with our kiddos Friday night and let me just say, they loved him.  And truth be told-- I did too!  He is such a sweet puppy.  We were all sad to see him go.  But we've seen pictures of Gus already adjusting to his new digs in Jersey.  Next time we see him, he'll probably be a lot bigger! 

In fact, having Gus around for awhile made us think about getting a puppy too.  But for now, getting a puppy will remain just that-- a nice thought!  Someday maybe!

CSI:Barbie

Decapitation.  Nothing else to say really.  A jealous fit of rage by Prince Charming perhaps?  We are still investigating.

On a random note:  We watched the season finale of Lost last night.  I thought it ended appropriately.  Mike was disappointed.  What did you all think?  If you're into that sort of thing....

What a Week

We have had a crazy week here at our house which is why I took a week off from my blog.  I had to shift to survival mode and cut out any nonessentials to focus on my family's health for awhile. 

It all started last Thursday.  Mike came home from work complaining that his stomach hurt.  He ended up vomitting all night long which made him very weak and dehydrated.  In addition, he stopped taking his insulin (bad mistake) since he wasn't eating anything.  Mike is a type 2 diabetic and for the last year has been taking a fast acting insulin to maintain his blood sugar levels. 

By Friday morning, he was also experiencing severe abdominal pain.  The pain seemed to "wrap" all the way around to his back.  At 9:00 he drove himself to our family physician while I waited at home with the kids.  Soon after he arrived, a nurse from our doctor's office called me at home and said, "You have one sick husband here.  You need to come and pick him up and take him to the emergency room now or we will call an ambulance."  I jumped into action (thankfully I was already dressed and ready!).  My mom rushed over to watch the kids and then I sped over to pick Mike up and take him to Mercy Hospital's emergency room.

By 10:30 Mike had checked in to the ER, and they had begun a series of tests to determine what was wrong.  His blood sugar was in the 500's (dangerously high).  They drew blood, did an ultrasound and a ct scan.  Finally, a doctor came in and gave us the diagnosis.  Mike had pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) and diabetic ketoacidosis (acid in the blood due to sugar levels being too high).  The pancreatits was causing all the incredible pain while the acidosis was making him feel so sick.  It was a bad combination and he was to be admitted immediately to the intensive care unit. 

We waited in the ER until 8:00 that night when a room in the ICU was finally available.  Once there, Mike was finally able to rest, and he received some powerful pain medication and anti nausea medication as well.  For the next two days, he was out of it.  He barely opened his eyes and could only speak in a whisper.  Finally, by Monday he seemed more alert and in less pain.  The concern at that point was getting him to eat and actually keep the food down.  Tuesday Mike felt even better, so he was moved out of ICU and into a regular hospital room.  And by Thursday he was finally ready to go home.  He is still tired and weak, but is able to eat a little and he is getting lots of rest. 

The treatment for pancreatitis is simply letting the pancreas rest while it heals itself.  Mike has to stay away from high fat and high sugar foods while it heals.  The treatment for the ketoacidosis is simply learning to manage his blood sugar!  We have met with a dietician and a diabetes nurse educator to go over a new way of eating (low carb meals).  And once he is feeling better, Mike is going to get back into the exercise routine he was keeping before he got sick. 

During this week, we have been absolutley humbled by the generosity and support of our family and our friends.  My parents stepped up big time by keeping all three kids overnight for three nights in a row.  This helped me stay at the hospital until late in the evening, and I was able to come home to a quiet house and get a good night's sleep (I've been sick lately too!).  Mike's parents had just left Oklahoma City and were vacationing in California, but they both changed their plans and came back to help out.  They have been entertaining our kids and were up at the hospital with Mike for several days.  Our life group immediately started brining food.  Every single night since Mike has been in the hospital we have had a warm, comforting meal waiting for us.  What a blessing!  And so many friends have been babysitting my kids during the day (BIG thanks to Jemma, Nikki, Jacquelyn, & Kali!!!!).  And of course a lot of people have been supporting us through prayer.  That is invaluable and we are so very grateful. 

So thanks for sticking with me through this very long blog post!  I thought it was important to keep all of my readers up to date.  It feels great to be back!  :)

Under The Weather

I have been feeling under the weather today.  Sore throat, congestion, coughing, etc.  No fun!  So I'll post something more interesting tomorrow.  Tonight I am going to curl up in bed with a cup of tea and my book.  And hopefully drift off into a deep sleep only to wake up feeling refreshed tomorrow.  Good night!

The Dentist

Last week my girls had a dentist appointment.  It was just a six month check up, and they did great!  No cavities and they left with a bag of goodies.  Each bag included a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, mouthwash, and a prize.  In this case, the prize was a set of rotten teeth ("Billy Bob Teeth" I think they are sometimes called).  Needless to say, my girls were thrilled at their bag-o-stuff, so when we arrived home, they immediately began playing dentist.  In their room, they each set up a small dental office consisting of a step stool for a chair and a line of stuffed animals waiting to come have their teeth checked.  Both girls carefully laid out their new spoils so that each animal had his or her teeth thoroughly cleaned, flossed and rinsed.  This literally entertained them all afternoon.  I love imaginative play!

The best part of dental playtime was when I overheard Leah asking her stuffed lion what flavor of toothpaste  he wanted.  She said, "Do you want cookie dough, raspberry, orange, bubble gum or meatloaf?"  Meatloaf?  Ha!  I'm pretty sure that wasn't one of the options at the real dentist that morning.  I had to laugh at that one.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! 

Today I celebrate the wonderful privilege of knowing my Mom, the incredible joy of raising three terrific children, and the blessing of traveling this road with many amazing friends.