After

Here's what my hubby accomplished today with a dear friend, Jeff Cole's help:

There's still caulking to be done on the trim, walls/ceiling to be painted, furniture to be bought and placed, and new, little accents added here and there to bring the room together (This is NOT "Extreme Home Makeover"), but I am thrilled to have new floors!!!

Before

Slogans

Some slogans our family is found saying often:

"Pay now or pay later."

Think child training or eating that third helping of dinner

"When in doubt, leave it out."

This comes in handy when I just can't decide whether to do something, buy something, etc.

"Something is better than nothing."

I am known to throw this out to my hubby in reference to family devotions or exercise.

"Asleep in the Storm"

And, my hubby throws this out to me when I'm calling him to say "HELP~ I have 10 things screaming for my attention at once, 3 of them being our children, and I'm losing my mind."

"We can't do it all."

We say this to one another A LOT b/c frankly, in our pride, we want to do it all and be it all. God brings daily reminders that we are finite and simply cannot do it all nor were intended to.

"You write checks your body can't cash."

Oh, my hubby says this to me all the time. Mom, it's all your fault! I guess I tend to commit myself to too many good things or try to tackle too many things on a to do list all at once forgetting that my body has limitations.

Interesting what these slogans say about the nature of our family?! Hmmm. What do you think?

What are some of the slogans by which your family lives or is guided?

Couches for Free

My parents gave me this furniture as a hand me down when I was in college (a while ago, let's say). :) I would guess it's 25 years old. It's very comfortable but beyond well used. I can really commend the furniture to you because, honestly, we're taking it to the dump if no one can use it. However, if someone needs it and would like to have it for free, we would be glad to give it to them. We have a chair, loveseat (one leg is broken; currently sitting on bricks. I wish I were kidding) and a sofa. You'll see in the pictures below that there are several places where there are tears and/or it's been sewn.

Rhubarb Custard Pie

I'm not sure why making Rhubarb Custard Pie makes me think of simpler times. Maybe because the recipe is from my Grammy Clemmer, a recipe that was likely handed down to her from her grandmother. Maybe it's because rhubarb isn't so much "in fashion" any longer. Nevertheless, I love it! This morning, I had my girlie help me put together our first (hopefully not our last) rhubarb custard pie of the season.

Bella beating the eggs and sour cream

Rhubarb/sugar goodness

I NEVER make my own crust, but today I did. Hand over hand, rolling out the dough.

Just waiting for the scrumptious topping

Look at those chubby hands working hard

Ready to be popped in the oven.

If you look closely, you can even see Bella got flour on her face, signs of a true baker!

We try not to laugh...

Recently, my hubby was dividing up the clean up tasks for the kids. He told Judah that he was in charge of picking up the Legos. With that, my clever son looked at his brother, Tucker and said, "Tucker, I'm in charge of the Legos, so you are to clean up the Legos."

Nice delegation, son, but that's not exactly what Papi had in mind when he put you "in charge".

______________

Tonight, after many, many times of discipling Bella for not staying in bed (a nightly occurence), LA was leading Bella through a prayer of repentance to God, something like, "Jesus, forgive me for disobeying...please help me to obey."

When LA started to say the "please help me to obey" part of the prayer, Bella interrupted him and said, "No, no we're not going to pray that part."

Oh, we love our little sinners.

Randomness

Some folks hate feet, so be forewarned. This first shot is of mine and Bella's feet. You'd not know there's a genetic link between the two of us by looking at our skin tone. I'm grateful at least one of my kiddos got their Papi's beautiful, Latino pigment. :)

On any given day, at any given moment, this is how you can find my daughter: with swim suit and goggles on; being poolside is optional for my girlie. Looking the part is good enough for her.

.

My crazies having an afternoon snack of popcorn while soaking their feet. What they decide to do for fun really strikes me as funny oft times, but I love 'em.

Kindergarten Graduation

My boys graduated from Kindergarten on June 4, 2010.

I wanted to post some videos from their special day, but alas am having technical difficulties. Instead, here are some pictures from the wonderful ceremony their teacher, Mrs. Weber, put together to honor them and celebrate the many ways God has shown them His kindness and love this past year.

Funnies from the kids

Recently, I was outside pulling weeds when my son, Judah, came by and said, "Mom, plants that don't need a lot of water are called succulents."

I didn't know that. So, I asked Judah, "Where did you learn that?"

Judah: "Handy Manny"

So, all that video/cable watching is paying off, my friends!!!!

__________________________________________

Tonight, we were enjoying a family favorite, 'Uno' when I looked across the table at Judah who had a freshly buzzed haircut and thought, "Too soon, you'll be visiting me for some holiday and we'll play cards."
So, I asked Judah, "Judah, when you grow up, will you come and visit me?"
Without even a blink, he replied, "Yes, but I'll have to ask my wife first."

I guess I should be glad he's got his priorities straight but that wasn't exactly the answer I was hoping for. :)

Adventures in Odyssey

The kids and I have been enjoying listening to an online radio series called, "Adventures in Odyssey" during our lunch time. This is a radio series produced by Focus on the Family and has been around since I was a child. The production is not archaic, though. It's fresh, lively, and touches upoon topics relevant to growing up with Christian values in a broken, Christ-needy world. I would highly recommend listening to this radio series with your children as it often provides a context to talk about God's truths, principles and how to apply them to everyday life situations.

Below is a link (copy and paste) to listen to one of our most recent favorites. We've listened to it 3 times in the span of several days. :)

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/popups/media_player.aspx?Tab=Shows&subcategory=AdventuresInOdyssey&ShowPath=Adventures in Odyssey&broadcastDate=2010-05-12

End of Busy Season Family Celebration

We are making a tradition of having a family day the day after "Tax Day", April 15th. LA takes off of work to spend the entire day as a family, doing a handful of the fun things our family enjoys together. We swing by Dunkin Donuts in the morning for breakfast, visit a local beach, go out to eat for dinner and watch a movie together at home. The weather could not have been better this year. We had such a delightful time at the beach.

The Many Faces of Bella

No contesting that the prominent feature of my girlie's face is "cuteness". Yes, the girl is too cute for her own good as is evidenced by the following pictures. Other than the face of cuteness, she wears the face of a "foodie". The girl loves to eat, and often the only time she's quiet is when she's gotten into food that she shouldn't have. To her credit, she makes healthy choices most of the time, though she'll never refuse sweets. I just try not to have many available or within reach here at the house. Her favorite "go to" snacks are cheese and dates. Here she was caught getting in the parmesan cheese. Sad to say, it was the cheap, gross, pre-grated stuff...didn't seem to bother her....

And, thanks to one of the boys' friends at school (you know who you are :) ), my kids now only want to eat their yogurt if it has sprinkles in it. :)

Our Easter

Seeing that I'm back on the floor again today (my back), I have time to upload some pictures from our Easter festivities...Enjoy.

Easter week review

I was doing the "Resurrection Eggs" with the kids today and asked the boys if they remembered the name of the garden where Jesus went to pray before He was arrested.

Judah's response: "the Olive Garden"

One Thing

I returned yesterday from a ladies' retreat my church held in Lancaster, PA. In addition to it being wonderful to be in Pennsylvania again and have my first (not last to be sure) taste of raw milk (for another post entirely), I experienced the nearness and love of God in special ways over the course of the 2 days we were away.

One way in which God met me is through the prayers and care extended to me by the women in my church over the past week. I was once again the humble recipient of many people's prayers and practical care after throwing my back out last Monday.

So many women asked how I was doing while at the retreat and sought to serve me by carrying my luggage, making sure I was comfortable and praying for me. Less than a week after I threw out my back, I can say that I feel so much better and probably 80% back to normal, the quickest recovery I've ever had from one of these episodes!

Some other highlights:

• It was a treat to see one of my best buds, Laurie, and meet some of her new gals from Ohio.
• The women from my caregroup who attended the retreat were such a blessing as they shared vulnerably and encouraged each other richly in our times of discussion after the messages.
• Being given the privilege to pray for two dear friends of mine as they seek to take steps to grow in godliness.
• Witnessing a number of women step out of their comfort zones in particular giftings such as sharing a prophetic word, praying for others and even delivering one of the messages in order to bless and minister to the other women.
• A time of solitude was written into the schedule and provided some extended time for me to memorize scripture and pray through/journal about some upcoming transitions and making the most of the season of life I'm currently enjoying.
• Seeing one of my absolute favorite people in the world, De Neumann, be rightly honored for the amazing woman of God that she is. I love you, De!
• And, at the absolute top of the list from this retreat is that a woman received Christ this weekend and is now no longer an enemy of God but a precious daughter or the King of Kings. Truly amazing to witness new life in Christ.

I am grateful and humbled that God would provide such an opportunity like this retreat for me to experience His love and care in such tangible, memorable ways. I have said it many, many times, but I'll say it again. I LOVE MY CHURCH! I'm grateful for how the leadership of my church seeks to care for and shepherd my heart by providing contexts where I can grow in my knowledge and experience of God.

Lightening the Load

My back went out this week. One minute I was talking to my friend on the phone; the next minute I was on the floor. God has been so kind in providing a good chiropractor whose adjustments along with persistent icing, rest and stretching have been helpful toward recovery.

This morning it occured to me that I must lighten the load in my purse. It's just too heavy, especially now that my back is on the fritz. How do we women manage to do that? We (at least I do) start with just the "necessities" in our bags, but somehow over time, we end up with everything in there but the kitchen sink. Please tell me I'm not the only one.

Nevertheless, it's time to clean it out.

The "spring cleaning" about to take place in my purse prompted some thoughts about this whole episode with my back and how it has forced me to "lighten my load" in other ways as well.

Within hours of falling to the floor, I had my schedule cleared for the rest of this week: cancelled dr's appointments, serving opportunities, even my weekly trip to the grocery store. Everything was wiped from my calendar this week knowing that I would need to do almost nothing but rest, ice and stretch to bring about the fastest healing possible.

And, there has been another effect of my back going out, another "lightening of my load" so to speak. I read somewhere (sorry..can't remember where or who wrote this), "Blessed is the thing that loosens our grip on earth."

This "affliction" has served to once again loosen my grip on earth, to remind me that I am not made to find my ultimate joy and satisfaction in the things of this earth, including my health and well being. It has once again lightened the load I can often carry around walking through my days, thinking that "load" will bring me joy.

God has indeed given us many gifts here on earth for our enjoyment. And, it is right for us to take pleasure in those gifts. I know for me, though, I can often derive so much pleasure in the gifts that I neglect pursuing my ultimate joy in the Giver. He mercifully "flattens" me at times to remind me to look up and remember the Giver of those many gifts. He reminds me that my ultimate joy will come another day, the day I leave this earth and enter into the place I was intended for, Heaven, to be with the Person I was created for, God.

It's not easy to have our loads lightened at times. When cleaning out that purse, don't we often hold onto things thinking, "I really need this and this and this..." only to discover we've not really lightened our load?!

It's not been easy to have my "load" divinely lightened this week. It's been hard not to serve my family in ways I'm accustomed. It's been hard and humbling to ask for and receive help doing things I'm used to doing on my own. It's been humbling to have to clear my schedule in order to solely focus on getting better. It's been incredibly humbling to be faced with my weakness, my needs and limitations.

But, I want to choose to see these things as God kindly "lightening my load", inviting me to come to Him for rest, take upon His load which is "light" (Mt. 11:30). What makes His load light? Humility, gentleness. (Matthew 11:29). I hope I'm growing in humility this week. I trust that is in part what God is doing through my minor affliction this week. It's loosening my grip on earth and growing me in Christ likeness.

How is God lightening your load lately?

Clone of a Cinnabon

Here's a link to the recipe I used for our "cinna-bunnies" for our Spring Celebration breakfast.
I didn't make the dough from scratch, however, so I can't vouch for that part of the recipe. I simply used a store bought whole wheat pizza dough ball. It worked well, though I didn't give it enough time to rise once they were rolled up and sitting in the pan.

If you like "Cinnabon" cinnamon rolls, you will LOVE these. They really taste exactly like those. If you prefer a more traditionalk cinnamon roll, this may not be the recipe for you.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/clone-of-a-cinnabon/detail.aspx

Spring Celebration, 2010

Today, we celebrated the return of spring. I have done this for the last several years with the kids, and the boys now look forward to their "cinna-bunnies" for our spring celebration breakfast. I "stole" many of these ideas from other mommas, the cinna-bunnies included; although, this year I tried to make them from scratch, mostly (thanks, Cathy Plack for the amazing recipe!).

I like doing the spring celebration separate from our Easter celebrations as it allows us to more easily focus solely on the death and resurrection of Christ at Easter. For our spring celebration, we start our day with "cinna-bunnies" for breakfast, pick one treat from the spring basket which included books for each child this year. I usually have a spring craft and/or treat to do. This year we made birds nests with our friend, Duncan and Owen Jones, out of chocolate, coconut, pretzel sticks and jelly beans. I sadly don't have any pictures of those because it took two mommas' undivided attention to make sure all the jelly beans weren't eaten up before they got into the nests. :)

We read books about spring. When LA arrived home from work, we went to Mistyglen farm (friends of ours) for a hike. We ate egg salad sandwiches for dinner and enjoyed another chocolate treat from our spring basket for dessert. It was a wonderful day giving thanks to God for seeing us through another winter and welcoming us to a new season of warmth, light and life.

Lessons Learned

The boys were doing some practice handwriting for school this morning, and Bella was providing much distraction. I encouraged the boys to try to block out all the distractions around them and focus only on their handwriting. To provide further motivation, I told the boys that one day they might have a job where they are required to concentrate really hard on their task while others around them might be doing other tasks that could be distracting to them. They would need self control to block out those distractions to do a good job at their own task.

The boys sat for but a moment trying to process this bit of information and then Tucker curiously asks, "So, Bella will be at work with us?"

Happy 8 Years!

Happy 8 years to my lover
best friend
the one who has been the face of Christ to me more than any other,
the greatest gift God's ever given to me.

Thanks for asking for my hand 8+ years ago high up on the mountaintop
for not just staying with me when I've dragged you through some deep, dark valleys--
but loving me in and through them.

We've had some unexpected, amazing summit views
as well as stony, narrow, dark valleys to walk through.
Fewer for us have been the plateaus where we've just had to plod on,
but I've been grateful for those times, too--
when you've simply held my hand and enjoyed the trek.

I pray for many more years of journeying home with you by my side.

I love you and am grateful to God for you more than my words can express.

My "sweet" girl

Got this dress from a local thrift store and LOVE it for Bella. If I could find it or sew, I'd have a matching one and be corny like that.




I'm sure I wouldn't look quite as adorable in it as she does, though!

As cute as she is, she is that much mischievous. Here's what she got busy doing one night recently when LA and I were watching our favorite show, "The Amazing Race".



The bathroom was not spared.


Nor was her bedroom



This is how we found her...fast asleep. Notice the deodorant in the bed with her. That would have come from our bathroom! She has a thing about my hubby's deodorant. She asks to smell it nearly everyday.


Rather angelic, isn't she? Looking at least!

The underground church

The boys have been learning about different countries around the world at school.
Recently, China was the country of the week. As we talked about various aspects of Chinese culture, I explained to them that Christians in China cannot always worship God openly and in the same way we get to worship God here in the United States. I explained that many Chinese Christians have to meet secretly to worship God together, pray and read God's Word. I told them that this kind of secret meeting is sometimes referred to as the "underground church".

A couple days after this conversation, Judah was talking to Lawrence about this. He said, "Papi, did you know Chinese Christians have church in the dirt?"

We've come a long way, baby!

There have been several milestones and memorable moments here at the Almengor homestead (ha..not really, but I'd love it to be) that I haven't taken time to write about. (I know I'm ending my sentence in a preposition...but, it's my blog for my own sake, so I'm going to. Ha. I did it again!)



Let's start with Judah since this is "judahupdate.blogspot.com" after all.



We've been tracking Judah's growth for several years now. I cannot believe it's been several years that we started down this road, but alas time flies when you're having fun (or just too busy to notice).



It'll be 2 years in May that Judah's endocrinologist recommended we start Judah on a daily shot of human growth hormone. It's been nearly 2 years that we've patiently and persistently asked God to sustain Judah's growth so as to either hold off on such a course of treatment or not need it altogether. It's been 2 years that we've gone to Dr. Germain-Lee every 3-4 months for height/weight checks and blood draws. It's been 2 years that we've avoided having to begin the treatment of HGH shots because God has answered our prayers and continues to answer our prayers to sustain Judah's growth.



During Judah's last endocrine appointment, Dr. Germain-Lee looked at his charts, bloodwork and him and said (and I quote), "He is an anomaly. I do not understand it. He should not be growing like he is."

We give thanks. We do not take it lightly that the God of the Universe, Creator and Sustainer of all things, hears and answers our prayers. We know that God may in time allow Judah's body to fall in line with the laws of nature that HE established and halt Judah's growth. By God's grace, we will accept that with gratitude just as we have gratefully accepted God's supernatural intervention up to this point.


On another health front, I recently took Judah to see his neurologist, Dr. Comi, whom he hadn't seen for nearly 2 years~ Understanding the implications of Sturge Weber Syndrome, one would realize that this fact alone is a lot to celebrate. There aren't too many folks with SWS who willingly go 2 years without seeing their neurologist. BUT, we have had no need. Neurologically, Judah has been doing so well. No signs of seizures/strokes/developmental delays, etc. No problems have erupted with his VP shunt.



When Judah was 13 months old, he had an MRI of his brain which gave no indication of brain involvement in regards to his SWS. To say we were relieved is truly an understatement. Unless you are a parent of a child with SWS or perhaps some other chronic diagnosis, I'm not sure you can fully appreciate the relief that comes with news such as this. Nevertheless, our relief has always been somewhat stifled by our understanding that not enough is known about the progression of SWS for a doctor to confidently write off the possibility of neurological complications to begin in a person somewhere down the road. We've never received that kind of concrete prognosis for Judah...until last month!



Dr. Comi was grateful I brought Judah in to see her. In her vast experience with SWS patients, she has not had another who had no brain involvement AND hydrocephaly (swelling of the brain which required Judah's VP shunt) at the same time. She and other of Judah's doctors found this to be puzzling at best. Mere coincidence that the same child would end up with two different kinds of neurological disorders? Well, we know better, of course. We know that whether Judah's SWS and his hydrocephaly are related or not, God is His Creator and fashioned Judah in such a way that this is not a mystery to Him. Along the way, there have been a number of doctors "puzzled" by our little man. We are so grateful to know the ONE who is never puzzled by any health matter/bodily function going on with Judah or any of our kids for that matter.



So...we saw Dr. Comi, and I asked her about then potential need for another MRI to see if there might have been changes in Judah's neurological status. She felt there was no need for a repeat MRI because in her entire career and vast experience, she has yet seen a patient who had a clear MRI done after 1 yr. of age return later with signs of neurological involvement. WOO HOO. Thank you, Lord. Like Judah's growth, we'll take what comes. We will choose to trust ultimately in God and not solely on statistics and what our doctors prognose. But, we will give thanks for every bit of good news we receive on this journey with Judah.

Now, there is our girlie.
She has had some of her own "big news" in the last several months.
Two weeks before Christmas (her timing not mine), she decided to potty train. I write potty "train" loosely because really, she didn't require much training at all. One day she had "the look" like she needed to go to the bathroom. So, I asked her if she wanted to try to do it on the potty. She wanted to try, and SHE DID IT! We all praised her like she had won the Nobel Peace Prize. It was about 2 days of asking her every 10 minutes if she needed to go to the potty, a handful of accidents later and she was pretty much trained. She hasn't worn a diaper since..even for naps or nighttime sleep which, to me, is rather impressive. The girl just gets it, I guess.

Not long after being potty trained, Bella figured out how to climb out of her crib. SO, again on her time table and not mine, she transitioned to her big girl bed. Again, she surprised me and did rather well with this transition. That said, we did have a bit of an "incident" just last night where she got out of her bed and scattered the contents under the bathroom sink and her closet all over the floor, vaseline and lotion included. (Pictures forthcoming)

The last "big" milestone for my girlie was giving up her "nukies" (pacifiers to everyone else). We have not allowed Bella to have her nuk during her wake time since she was about 2, but I just couldn't bring myself to taking them from her for her sleep time. It was definitely laziness on my part. I just didn't want to deal with a screaming baby at night again. That's what I anticipated would happen when we took her nuks away. BUT, yet again, she surprised us and has been without her nuks since her 3rd birthday without crying once for them.

Bella is difficult on a daily basis (what 2 or 3 year old isn't?). But, with these big transitions, she has proven to be such a big girl. It's where her fierce independent spirit has paid off for us, I guess.

SO, we are a diaper-less home once again. And, we no longer own a crib. No more bibs, baby seats at the table or bottles. Wow. It only took 5.5 years which is relatively a short time in comparison to many others I know. Maybe we'll be doing diapers again down the road. I wouldn't mind. No. There are is no other news, though we are in the process of researching adoption agencies. We'd love your prayers for us in this.

Bella's 3rd Birthday

We decided to keep it simple this February with two objectives:
Get sick and then better again.
Celebrate our princess's 3rd birthday.
We're still working on the getting better part of those objectives, but here is a slideshow of the three different parties we had for our girlie. Enjoy!

Blizzard of 2010

Here is a pictorial chronicling of our snowed in, home bound day.
I left out the pictures of LA behind his computer screen all day, working from home, and Bella getting her finger smashed in the door when the kids were playing "elevator", and me bathing all the kids early in the day in case our electric went out, and the mock indoor blizzard the kids manufactured by shredding a gazillion pieces of paper and throwing them up into the air, and the two conflicts that my hubby and I got in (and out of, by God's grace) over the course of the day. ;) But, here's a glimpse at the rest of our day...

Everyday Life

We're grateful for everyday life here at the Almengor's. It's a bit nutso most of the time, but I'm trying to enjoy as much of it as I can and give thanks knowing that time is flying by and I won't get these days back with my babies ever again.


How are you enjoying your everyday life?

Kindergarten

I had the privilege again to substitute teach for my boys' Kgarten teacher today. Here are a few photos of these 4 precious children with their "thinking caps" on.






And, the mailman today...the cutest mailman I've ever seen!

My Three Cuties

At lunch time

Almengor funnies

Because I will one day forget their sweet, squeaky voices and all the cute things they say at their ages...

Bella calls egg nog, "milk nog"

The other evening I asked all three of the kids to clean up the living room to which I received the typical complaining and asking me to help them. I told them that I had a different job to do in the kitchen while they did their jobs in the living room. Tucker replied with, "I think Bella thinks her job is to watch."

Today I was seeking to encourage Judah about wearing his eye patch. He hates wearing it, and he's supposed to wear it every day for 2 hours. As I've told him a gazillion times before, he needs to wear the patch to help make his eye grow stronger. Tucker replied, "Does it have fiber in it?"

My funny, wonderful children. I love you!

Our Christmas in pictures

Needles, needles everywhere

If there ever was a case for an artificial Christmas tree, this video would be it.

That said, we love our real Christmas trees here at the Almengor's and don't plan on going artificial anytime soon. Tucker's suggestion was to buy our tree on Christmas Eve and take it down on Christmas day. "That way, it won't die, mom." I guess it would help if we watered it every once in a while. It's nothing short of a miracle that children survive under my care!

Contentment

Here is a picture of contentment to me. We don't own any sleds, so the boys made due with a rubbermaid bin! :) It's not that we're never intending to buy sleds for our kiddos; it's just we never had to because our gracious friends, the Grigers, who used to live at the bottom of our court always had enough to share. So, because Maryland gets about one good sledding kind of snow storm a year, we never made the investment in sleds. Now that our buddies have moved to a different home (oh so far away in Bel Air), I guess we'll be purchasing sleds. In the meantime, my boys found a way to make due with a rubbermaid container and a willing, hero of a Papi. (*pay no attention to my girlie in the background declaring that she helped herself in the bathroom.)

Blizzard 2009

So, it takes 20 minutes to get suited up, and 10 minutes after they're outside, they want to come in. Knowing this, I took video footage of the boys as soon as they stepped foot outside (when it was still fun). Now, they're out there begging to come in, and mean mommy that I am gave them a 20 minute minimum to stay out there. They're fine; they just need convinced to have fun every once in a while.



According the our county executive, we're at 8-12 inches already and will probably have another foot before the storm is over! *note to my family in PA: you may NEVER make fun of MD snow storms again. :)

What Can I Give Him?

Mom, I had the boys do this for you. I knew you'd love it.

Christmas candy with the Grigers

Thanks to my business with the Pampered Chef, I have a Christmas tradition of making Christmas candy wreaths with my kiddos. I found this idea from a fellow PC saleswoman and loved it. I used it at my parties last year, and it was so easy that I did it with my kids. You simply dip mini pretzels in melted chocolate and arrange in the shape of a wreath. Sprinkle with festive colored/shaped sprinkles and voila! We have branched out and made other shapes, too, like candy canes, christmas trees, etc. It's quite easy and fun, especially with friends. We had our friends, the Grigers, over today to enjoy this Christmas tradition with us.

Bella the ballerina

I promise I'll have videos of the boys up soon. My girlie is just too cute to not grab the camera and start shooting. Here she is "dancing" to a household favorite, the "Wiggles". Warning: you're likely to get dizzy sick watching this.

Bella in boots

From the time she was a baby, Bella has LOVED shoes and any female accessory for that matter...purses, earrings, bracelets, rings, etc. She will take anyone's shoes and walk in them. She's quite skilled, too, at walking in any size, any shape of shoe. I would even say the girl walks better in heels than I do. Take a look at this video of my girlie strutting her stuff in my boots!

Christmas Decorations 2009

You will not watch this video and think you just stepped onto a magazine's photo shoot. :) For that, check out Beth's or Danielle's blog.

I have rather ecclectic tastes, and I wouldn't say that decorating is among my strong suits. But, I like doing it, and I especially enjoy decorating with natural elements. This drives my hubby crazy as our home turns into a virtual wildlife center, creepy crawlies included. Anyway, enjoy this 3 minute video (roughly) of a walk through the main level of my home.

My Little Native Americans

My boys' Kindergarten teacher is one of the best! She goes to such lengths to make her students' Kindergarten experience a pleasant and memorable one. I am thrilled that my buddies get to have Mrs. Weber for a teacher. They love going to school, and are thriving in that context. Today, Mrs. Weber, with the help of her whopping four students, put on a Thanksgiving feast for her class, their parents and grandparents. Here's a video of the kids singing, something they do each day with Mrs. Weber as a part of their Bible class:

Mrs. Weber does many special projects with the kids to make their Thanksgiving feast a lot of fun. One thing she does is to deck the kids out in Native American gear complete with vests, necklaces, headbands with feathers, and drums. This year, Mrs. Weber also made mocassin-like booties for each of the kids to wear, and I went crazy with the face painting. She also gives them individual Native American-types of names. Judah was "Bear Claw" and Tucker was "Grey Fox".

We are so grateful for the boys' Kindergarten class and especially their teacher, Mrs. Weber. Thank you, Kathleen, for making our kids' experience of Kindergarten so memorable. We love you. Happy Thanksgiving!

Bri's new "do"

Because I only go to a salon to get my hair done once, maybe twice a year (I wish I were kidding), the cut and/or color is usually on the more dramatic side. If I'm going to spend that much money on my hair, I want the whole world to know I got my hair done.

I had it done on a Thursday night after the kids were in bed. So, Friday morning when the boys woke up for school I asked if they noticed anything different about mommy. *They always noticed my haircuts/colorings in the past; I was surprised they didn't say anything right away.

Tucker's response: "You took a shower?"

nice.

Mommy: "Well, yes, I did, but what about my hair?"

Tucker: "You combed it!"

So, I'm thinking either 1.I need to work on my hygeine habits or 2. my boys really are becoming little men. :)

For all my friends and family at a distance, here's a little video of my new "do". It's a video b/c that's the only digital capability we have in our house. Nevermind the concentrated look on my face or the flyaway piece of hair in the back.

Some Ideas for Christmas

Yet again, my friend, Laurie, inspires this post. She asked some of her twitter friends to blog some ideas for Christmas gifts. Here are my top three.

1. Something sentimental
Marketing got me this year, which is unusual for me. But, it's Hallmark and that may have something to do with it. Probably my favorite gift idea this year comes from them. It's a recordable story book. I am buying it for my parents to give to my children. I think this gift is especially great if grandparents live at a distance and can't be seen on a weekly basis. Find their selection here: http://www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/article%7C10001%7C10051%7C/HallmarkSite/GoldCrownStores/GCS_HOLIDAY_GIFTS_STORYBOOKS

2. Support someone
I like to multi-task. What woman doesn't? I think I found a way to "multi-task" of sorts in my gift giving this year, too. I have friends and family who have their own business from a handyman to jewelry to makeup, home decor and of course, my own business of the Pampered Chef. If you have friends and family who are in business for themselves, why not seek to support their efforts by purchasing something from them for your loved ones. It could be an item, a gift certificate/card or so many hours worth of someone's needed service. (**We'd love for any of our family to purchase some "handyman" hours from our friend, Ed Griger, to give to us for many needed home improvements.)

I'd much rather give my money to someone I know who will benefit directly from it than to Walmart. But, that's just me. :)

3. Experiences
We're not into "stuff" here at the Almengor's...well, mostly. I like experiences and/or consumable gifts. Why not bake or cook someone's favorite dish for them for Christmas? Or buy their favorite candy?
I like the idea of giving my children and family experiences rather than more things.
So, for my boys this Christmas, I'm asking for money for them to go to summer camp in 2010. And, I may ask for money for Bella to take some dance classes.
I may give our kids swimming lessons for Christmas (not sure they're going to be thrilled about this one, so it's still being discussed).

A Fall Favorite and a little secret

This is for you, Laurie, and anyone else who LOVES all things apple.
The absolutely best apple cake on the planet (mind you, not necessarily the healthiest)...

Beat 3 eggs
Gradually add 2 cups sugar
Blend in 1 1/2 cups of oil (I use canola)
and 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine the following dry ingredients and add to wet ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Stir in 3 cups peeled, chopped apples and
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (optional)

Pour into greased and floured 10" tube pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hr. 15 minutes

Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes before tunring upside down on plate.

Topping (which is the best part of the cake, so don't skip it):
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1 cup packed brown sugar
pinch of salt

Boil this for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour over warm cake.
Try not to eat the whole thing by yourself. But if you can't manage that, just don't eat it all in one sitting. :)

And, here's a little secret from my kitchen. I'm sure I got this tip from somewhere, but I can't remember.

I love to make quick breads: zucchini, banana and pumpkin among my favorite to make. But, for any quick bread, this little tip makes the bread extra special.

**Instead of using cooking spray on your pans, try buttering the pan and then "flouring" it w/ sugar rather than flour. This creates a sugary, crunchy outer edge to the quick bread while the inside is soft, squishy goodness.

Waiting for the doctor

We're trying really hard to get better here at the Almengor's.
After 5-6 days of fever/cough, we took all the kids to the doctor yesterday. Figuring the waiting room would be crowded (and it was), and not wanting to share our unknown germs with anyone else who may actually be well, LA wisely brought our laptop and a movie for the kids to watch in the van while we waited for the pediatrician to be available.

For my family and anyone else who may miss seeing my kiddos' faces, here's a little video of them watching a video. HA! I know...real exciting. I'm just figuring out how to upload the videos we've taken on our flip, so eventually, I'll get others up here.

Picture of poop

Like the title? :)

All went amazingly well at Hopkins today with Tucker. In fact, I'm sitting at my dining room table at 4 pm this afternoon as he works on homework and tells his brother what to do. Today was yet another reminder of the power of prayer.

After dropping Judah off at school, I realized I had no idea where to take Tucker once down at Hopkins. Because the appointment was made recently, we had not yet received any confirmation or information letter in the mail. We drove back home so I could scramble to find any information at all. Thankfully, I still had a brochure the GI nurse gave to me at our initial office visit which told us where to go.

LA and I were so pleased with how brave Tucker was. Judah told Tucker all about what to expect from a trip to the OR as he is rather familiar with the process at this point in his life (one advantage to having a kid with chronic medical issues).

I think the hardest thing for Tucker was not being allowed to eat. He wasn't thrilled about and cried while LA put on his hospital gown, which I refer to his "Jedi Knight-gown" because I think my buddies look like little Luke Skywalker's in it. Unfortunately, today the pre-op. only had a hospital 'shirt', so Tucker got to keep his jeans on...not quite as cute.

I was super proud of Tucker as we walked back through the ever crowded and industrial hallways of Hopkins to his OR room. He kept repeating that he didn't want to do this as I reminded him he didn't have to want to do; he just had to do it. I reminded him that I wouldn't allow anyone to do anything to him that would harm him and that while he may not like going through this, it was ultimately to find out what has been making his tummy hurt.

At my sons' age, it does no good to try to keep reality from them. They are much better served by knowing ahead of time what they're going to experience....not much ahead of time, mind you. But, we definitely do not want to spring any unfamiliar and potentially scary experience on them and hope they will forget and forgive us later for it. I believe this has been a bit of the wisdom God's granted to us as we've prayed so many times for Judah and all our kids' medical issues. I felt a sense of confirmation of that as one of the post-op. nurses passed on commendation from the pre-op. nurses and OR docs for how we "handled" our son before the surgery and during the "take down". :)

A nice "trick" we've picked up along the way (and one you may want to keep in mind for yourself or others you may come across who will have to go under for surgery or a procedure) is to ask for chapstick to coat the inside of the gas mask. It helps a bit with the yucky smell of the anesthesia. Tucker picked bubble gum flavored chapstick, and boy did he paint the inside of that mask something fierce. We allowed him to hold the mask at first as the anesthesiologist told knock knock jokes (which were actually kind of funny). The anesth. dr. was very patient and well experienced, and did a great job keeping Tucker calm while the gas took effect. Tucker didn't cry at all for this part, and went into a nice, deep sleep rather quickly.

As Tucker faded, I was sure to tell him that I would be there when he woke up and that Jesus would be with him the entire time he was in the OR. I was very comforted and encouraged to hear the anesthesiologist say, "He's in this room with us all the time." Not something I've come to expect from medical staff, but super grateful nonetheless.

LA and I grabbed a snack in the cafeteria and shortly after we returned to the waiting room, Tucker was all done.

He came out of anesthesia really fast and really well. I was waiting for the "shoe to drop", but it didn't and hasn't... no throwing up, no nausea. He ate like a champ and has been pleasant, coherent. He's done so well.

We should have results from the bloodwork and biopsies by next week. We'll let you know, but for now, there was nothing that looked terribly alarming to the physician who performed the tests. The doctor did make copies of the pictures he took and gave them to us which included a picture of my son's poop....lovely, huh? I'm thinking he'll probably love that for show and tell. Kathleen?

Tucker's Turn

Tomorrow, LA and I will be taking Tucker to Hopkins for some testing to find out what is ailing him with his GI tract/throat. He'll be under general anesthesia with intubation which is probably the most complicated part of the whole thing. Intubation can make recovery a bit rough given my boys' history with asthma. I've started Tucker on some preventive asthma meds. hoping this will help matters.

Tucker will have an endoscopy, some biopsies, bloodwork along with some other tests that I frankly can't remember the names of. All this is being done with the intention of discovering what has been bringing so much discomfort to my son for the last 4 months. I must say, though, that I know of many folks who have been praying for my little guy and his symptoms have been a lot better in the last 3 weeks. We are grateful.

Please pray the doctors would be gentle with Tucker before, during and after the procedure.
Please pray that we will walk out with some answers for what is ailing my son.
Please pray that LA and I will faithfully and skillfully lead our son and our other children through these circumstances.
Please pray that our trust in God will not falter and we will be found faithful as we walk through this trial with one another.

A Rite of Passage

Just something I want to remember.... I sent the boys on their first errand, alone. My sweet friend and neighbor, Heather, picked up some groceries for me while she was at the store last week. I needed to get them from her in order to finish my dinner on Friday, but Bella was still napping.

SO, I sent the boys together on their first errand: to run to the bottom of our court, give the money I had given them to Miss Heather, collect our groceries from her and run home. I told them to stay on the sidewalks and not talk to anyone they didn't know. I called Heather to let her know they were coming and asked for her to look out for them. I noted the time on the phone when the left my house. Heather called me when they left her house. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw them running home, groceries in hand.

A BIG to do for just a short jaunt to the bottom of our court. But, it wasn't just a short jaunt, was it? It was a giant leap into independence for my boys. And a giant leap for me, I might add, into letting go. sigh.

Kindergarten Cuties

Mrs.Weber, the boys' kindergarten teacher, has a mailbox in her room where people can leave mail for the students to receive each day. I left a note for each of my sons last night from being at the school for Back to School Night.
When I picked my boys up today from school and asked if they got mail, Tucker replied that he did. I said, "Who was it from?"
Tucker's response: "Someone's mommy".

_____________________________________________

September is "Teddy Bear" month for Mrs. Weber's Kindergarten class. For Kindergarten cafe which they do once a month, they will be making root "bear" floats. Judah was very excited about this as he told me about it today. He said, "Mom, we're going to mix icecream and beer; it's going to be so good!" :)

The Night Before the First Day of Kindergarten

Pants are hemmed, ironed and laid out along with their white polos and brand new sneakers.
Backpacks are packed with their first pencil boxes filled with scissors, glue, crayons and of course, a brand new pencil.
Snacks are prepared for their mid-morning snack. Judah will have an apple; Tucker, a banana.
Boys are in bed.
Mom is trying to capture every last moment of her babies being pre-schoolers.
Tomorrow, at 8:30 am, one season ends and a new season begins.

I had big plans to make this transition from one season to the next very momentous. We were going to do an "end of summer" trip to Broom's Bloom, our favorite local dairy where they serve the best hand dipped icecream in the county. I thought of a special breakfast such as chocolate chip pancakes or Dunkin Donuts (to have on a Monday would be very special at our house). These were two ideas among others. Somehow, special events always seem to be accompanied by food, and for the Almengor's, it's usually something sweet.

But, we've been hit with a small trial here that required me to re-think my plans. As I mentioned in the post previous to this one, Tucker has been having some issues with his throat, what was being treated as reflux. We have seen a GI specialist, and are waiting to hear back from a scheduler at the hospital for Tucker to have some further testing done. In the meantime, my son is in so much discomfort, and to hear him describe his affliction to me, to see him not be able to eat, disinterested in play, lethargic and constantly distracted by the pain in his throat without being able to do anything to help him has been such a test for me....a test in trusting God, trusting that He hears our prayers for mercy and healing, a test to trust that God is always working ALL things together for my good and the good of all who love Him.

But, I've been given this test before, in fact many times throughout my life. And, to my shame, I have failed this test many, many times. After the first real test of losing my father to brain cancer when I was 12 yrs. old, I spent years wrestling with this issue of God's unfailing goodness to me.

So, now, as a mother of children who seem to have a number of health issues, a context that can often tempt a person to doubt God's kindness, mercy and love for them, I am keenly aware of the opportunity I have been given to help my children grow up with an unshakable confidence in God and in what He says about Himself in His Word. I recognize that when my children get sick, it is not only a trial for me, but for them. Furthermore, it is not only an opportunity for God to work in my life but also to be at work in the hearts of my children as well.

My prayer throughout the last several weeks as I've prayed for my son has been two-fold. One, that God would heal my son's physical ailment. Two, I've been praying that God would give me eyes to see not only what He is wanting to do in my heart but also what He is wanting to establish in my son's heart.

I wish I could take my son's suffering. If I could snap my fingers and make it go away, I would. But, my wisdom is faulty and short sighted. God's wisdom is perfect. And, somehow, in God's perfect wisdom, He has chosen for Tucker to continue to suffer. I want to impart to my son a full confidence not in his or his mommy's wisdom but in God's perfect wisdom. I want to impart to my son a confidence that accompanying God's perfect wisdom is His perfect love and mercy. I pray Tucker will feel better soon. I pray that God will heal him fully or provide means of grace through medication and/or medical intervention of some sort that will bring health to his body once again. But, I also pray that God would sure up in my son's heart at this young age an absolute confidence that God is for him, that God loves him enough not only to heal Tucker's physical body but moreso to send HIS Son to suffer and die on a cross so that Tucker's soul would be made pure and right with God.

Would you pray this way for us as well?

As we embark on a new season here at the Almengor's, we will trust that God has gone before us, will come behind us and has His hand upon us. We will trust that the same measure of love and mercy that God has shown us up until today will follow after us all the days of our lives.

And, I will try very hard not to cry tomorrow as I leave my sons in the very capable care and instruction of their first school teacher, Mrs. Kathleen Weber.

Day at the doctors

Originally when LA took the day off today, it was to have some much needed down time for himself and family time with us. God had other things in mind, and that's fine...He is omniscient after all (or how I often put it, "God knows").

Judah began taking a new medication about a month ago, and the time was approaching for him to have some bloodwork done to see how his body was responding to the new medication. I thought it would be nice (for me anyway) for my hubby to take Judah to the lab. Tucker went with Judah, and was a great source of encouragement and distraction. On the way out the door this morning, I heard Tucker say to Judah, "Judah, you've got to be brave." I'm so grateful God has given them to each other as a constant companion.

Later in the day, we had to take Tucker for a consult with a G.I. doctor for some issues he's been dealing with all summer that we have, up until today, thought was reflux. Working with our pediatrician throughout the summer, we've adjusted Tucker's diet and tried a variety of medications/doses to little or no avail. So, today we took him to see a specialist.

After a long dialogue about Tucker's symptoms and a brief exam, it was decided that further testing is required to determine exactly what is ailing him. The GI dr. doesn't believe it's the "run of the mill" reflux but may be something called, "Eosinophilic Esophagitis" instead. I don't understand all the implications of this, but do know that it results from the body responding to some food as an allergen. Tucker will have to go under anesthesia to have several biopsies taken from his esophagus, stomach, lower GI tract and rectum...yeah, not pleasant. I'm glad he'll be under for this.

Though it would probably be a miracle, I'm praying we might be able to get this procedure scheduled for next week, before Judah and Tucker start school on the 14th.

It has been difficult to watch Tucker suffer all summer with what we thought was reflux. He will often say, "it feels like I'm going to throw up and sneeze at the same time." He's gone through periods where he hasn't been able to eat well if at all. The symptoms have gotten better at times but always come back. Most recently, he's been sleeping propped up on his pillow because it hurts too much to lay down. He'll wake up crying, and knows where all our "stashes" of Tums are located throughout the house. Poor guy.

It's not easy watching my 5 yr. old, Judah, brace himself for another blood draw. Nevertheless, I trust that God is using it for the good of all of us. While these are unpreferable circumstances, they are ripe with opportunity to impress upon my children the nearness of God, how He hears our prayers and furthermore, that we were not made for this world, but to live with God in eternity with perfect bodies. It presents a natural context to talk with them about sin and how it has reaked havoc on this world and our bodies, minds and everything else about us. It allows us to freely speak of Heaven and encourage our children to put their hope in Christ's return when He will make everything right again and take us to the perfect place that He is now creating for us.

For all this and more, I end this day giving thanks and affirming my trust in the One who created Judah and Tucker, who knit them together in my womb, who has numbered their days and knows the number of hairs on their heads, who loves them way more than I ever could...enough to send a His Son to die for their sins.