Tears and Prayer

I have some very sad news and ask for prayer on behalf of Jon and Ali. They found out on Friday that their 17 week unborn baby was without a heartbeat. Ali went in today to be induced and the doctors will be performing an autopsy to try and find out what happened. I am so heartbroken for them and don't understand why God would ask them to walk down this road again. Please lift them up in prayer for strength and healing.

Grandma's Visit

My Mom flew out here for Thanksgiving and spent ten fun filled days with us. It was so nice to see her again since we haven't seen her since last Thanksgiving. The kids had so much fun and Lauren keeps asking when we will see her again (she didn't want Grandma to leave). Thankfully this Thanksgiving was much better than last years (no bleeding and no exploding pie pans)! So here are some pictures from my Mom's visit.

My Mom's flight came in on Friday, while Curtis was at school and we had told the kids that she would be flying in on Saturday. I picked my Mom up and we made it back home just in time to pick Curtis up from school. I had my Mom sit on the bench and I walked Curtis over and he didn't recognize her! He was so excited when he finally realized that Grandma was here!

On Saturday, we went with a church to Tanglewood's Festival of Lights. We rode in the church bus and had a wonderful time. The kids loved looking at all of the beautiful lights.

The kids couldn't get enough Grandma and kept asking her to read them stories!

The highlight of the visit (for the kids) was having a sleepover with Grandma. One night she slept in the girls room, and the next night in Curtis' room. They had been waiting for this for months!

Our Thanksgiving meal. We had turkey breast cooked in the crockpot with apple cider, seasoned pepper, and salt; garlic mashed potatoes; brown gravy; green beans; brown sugar glazed carrots; cresent rolls; apple and pumpkin pies (made by the kids with Grandma's help).

Taking a quick break for a picture.

This is one of my favorites...Claire had to have Grandma blow the dandilion!

Our final picture at the airport. We didn't want Grandma to leave. We are now looking ahead to January when we fly out to California for my best friends wedding!

Pics #2: The Museum of Science and Industry

While we were in Chicago, Kevin's parents took us to the Museum of Science & Industry. The kids had so much fun!

Here we are in front of the Body Worlds giraffe. The kids thought it was cool to see the insides of a giraffe.

The indoor tornado. The kids were very afraid of this.

Kevin talked Curtis into stepping into the tornado. Curtis did not let go of Kevin's hand.

The fam.

This is my favorite picture. Lauren was having a blast looking in the fun mirrors. There were three mirrors and she would run back and forth looking at how funny she looked and just laughed and laughed.

Claire thought it was so cool to sit on a cow.

The kids driving a combine.

Driving a tractor.

Pictures #1

Here are some pictures of what's been going on with us the last couple of months.

My grandparents came to visit right before we moved. The kids had so much fun being with G.G. and PaPa

This is an old candy boiler that the kids affectionately call R2D2Claire and Natalee Feldman at our going away party. They enjoyed going for a bike ride with cousin Lily at the wheel.

This is Lauren's Hello Kitty cupcake cake. We moved on her birthday, so we had to do something fun for her.

The kids with cousin Sophie at Grandma and Grandpa E's house in Illinois. We stopped there for a few days to break up the moving trip.

Celebrating Curtis and Lauren's birthdays at Grandma and Grandpa E's house

Sears Tower in Chicago

I will post more pictures on another day. 'Till then, take care.

Adjusting

I'm baaack!! Since the move, my focus has been on unpacking and helping the kids adjust which means focusing all my attention on them. I will say that they have adjusted very well, better than I thought they would. I think it helped that I am not going off to work and we are in a house, where they can run around and just be themselves.

We have now been here in North Carolina for two months and we are loving it!! The people here are so friendly. We are fitting in quite nicely. The move was horrible and I am so thankful that it's a memory, but if we ever have to do another long distance move, we are hiring a moving company.

For those of you that keep up with me on FB, you know that we went through Hurricane Irene our first week here. It's the first time any of us have been through one... and thankfully we are far enough inland that we just got some rain and a lot of wind. We also felt the effects of Tropical Storm Lee...which was a lot worse than Irene. We got a lot of rain (thunderstorms) and wind.

Curtis started school the Thursday after we arrived. That Tuesday we got him registered, the school had orientation, so Curtis got to meet his teacher and see his classroom. The teacher had his desk all set up and his name on the door with the other kids in the class. That really made his day! Curtis had a rough beginning to the school year...he didn't do very well on his assessment (he just kind of shut down because of the move and being in a new school where he didn't know anyone) and was going to have to go to a special class. Thankfully, within three weeks he was his old self and approved by leaps and bounds in school. He still has to go to a special reading group, since he is not at the reading level he needs to be. His teacher is amazed at his progress and thinks he will be up to speed on his reading in no time. I have to say that his teachers, no his school, is amazing. These teachers love on the kids! I've met his reading teacher and she ran, yes ran, up to him and gave him a big bear hug and tells me that he is the best reader in his group! I walk him to school (it's only half a block away) and when we get inside by the office, the school secretary says, "Good morning, Buzz." She calls him Buzz because he wears a Buzz Lightyear backpack. Then she gives him a hug and tells him to have a good day. She does this every day and not only to Curtis, to the other students as well. I am so thankful for this school because being loved on is what he needs to help him adjust to the new surroundings.

Lauren has adjusted very well. Her only complaint is that she can't go to school this year. The pre-k class was already full. Every day she asks if she can go to school with Curtis, and gets upset when I tell her no. She loves having me home and we can now fully focus on getting her ready for school. We are currently working on writing the alphabet, and she loves it! She will grab her little workbook and ask me if she can work on her letters. It's so refreshing, I had to fight tooth and nail with Curtis to get him to write his letters). She gets so excited when she gets the letter right. I don't think she is going to have any problems in school! She did go seven months with no bleeding, then had a couple days of bleeding, and hasn't had any bleeding since. I think it was because we didn't keep up on the Miralax during the move. With Thanksgiving coming up, we are praying that she will not have another bad bout of bleeding and prolapse.

Claire has also adjusted very well. She loves her Tinkerbell room that she shares with Lauren and will be moving to Curtis' toddler bed once we can find Curtis a twin bed. Claire is our little comedienne and she loves making us laugh! Her vocabulary has exploded and loves playing with rocks. She has gotten very tall (she is only two inches shorter than Lauren) and we've have quite a few people ask us if the girls are twins. Not sure how they come up with that one, but we just roll with it.

Like I said, I get to stay at home and I love every minute of it! I've missed this. It's so nice to cook and clean for my family and just love on them. We are back down to one car, but with Kevin still at home it hasn't been an issue.

Kevin is still looking for work while pGf is getting up and running. I feel so bad for him. He has his resume with three staffing agencies and he is constantly sending his resume out, but he hasn't gotten anything yet. We have now been with no income coming in for three months. thankfully we have savings, but we don't want to deplete it. Kevin is thinking about going back into food service just to get some money coming in. We're hoping that pGf will get incorporated by the end of the year so that sales can start being made, which will generate income for us.

I'm sure that some of you are thinking that we are crazy for moving to a different state with no income set up, but when the Lord moves you, you move. The Lord has and will continue to provide for us and we have come to fully rely on Him for everything. What an awesome way to strengthen your faith!

That's what I have for now...I will post pictures this weekend.

Update

Just wanted to give everyone an update on us. We load up the truck on the 15th and will be in North Carolina on the 20th or 21st. We will be renting a house! One of the owners of the company purchased a house, which he will be closing on in the next few days, and will rent it out to us. We are so excited!! It's has three bedrooms with a big back and front yard. It's also down the street from the elementary school. We will have to register Curtis that Monday after we arrive because school starts on the 25th. We also might be able to get Lauren into pre-kindergarten at the school. She wants to go to school so bad, so I'm really hoping we can get her signed up. Also, Lauren has now gone six months without bleeding, which is now the longest she has ever gone and she is now down to 3/4 of a teaspoon of Miralax. Yay, Lauren!! We are very hopeful that her bleeding issues are over.

My grandparents came to visit over the weekend, and we had so much fun! I will post pictures either tomorrow or Friday once I download them from the camera. It was hard to watch them leave. Once we get settled in NC, we want to plan a trip to Cali to visit my family. I miss them so much.

Please pray that we will have a safe journey, since Kevin will be driving the moving truck. Thanks!

Nine Years

Today Kevin and I celebrate our ninth wedding anniversary. Time sure does fly by when you're chasing around children! I want to post the lyrics to our wedding song I Don't Want To Go by Avalon that was sung so beautifully by our pastor's daughter, Tamara. This song still makes me cry when I hear it, and it just speaks of our relationship so well.

You changed my world

When you came to me

You drove a passion

In my soul down deep

Lord, to follow You in everything

I don't want to go somewhere

If I know that you're not there

'Cause I know that me without you is a lie

And I don't want to walk that road

Be a million miles from home

'Cause my heart needs to be where you are

So I don't want to go

So come whatever (whatever may come)

I'll stick with you (right by your side)

I'll walk, you'll lead me

Call me crazy or a fool

For forever, I promise you that

I don't want to go somewhere

If I kow that you're not there

'Cause I know that me without you is a lie

And I don't want to walk that road

Be a million miles from home

'Cause my heart needs to be where you are

So I don't want to go

Without your touch, without you're love

Filling me like an ocean

For your grace is enough, enough for me

To never want to go somewhere

If I know that you're not there

North Carolina Bound

So we are finally heading to North Carolina! Tomorrow is my last day of work and we will be moving to NC sometime the first week of August. We are still working on getting a place to live. We are hoping to have something lined up this week. Surprisingly, I am not worried. I know God will provide a place for us in His time and I am at peace with it. Kevin is a little worried, but I have been able to keep him calm. I am very excited and look forward to this new adventure. I won't be doing much blogging (not that I have been doing much blogging) until we get all settled. Please pray that we would have safe travels and that the kids would handle the transition well.

Speaking of the kids, I just wanted to let you know that Lauren is going on 5 1/2 months of no bleeding. The longest she has gone has been 5 months, so we are hopefull that whatever was causing the bleeding has gone away. We still have her on Miralax, but only 3/4 to 1 teaspoon a day instead of the 4 teaspoons she was on in January. We are hoping that if she can go a year without bleeding, then we will take her off of the Miralax completely.

That's all the updates I have for now. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Claire's Birthday Weekend

I know this is way overdue, but work and packing just take up my time these days. So I wanted to write about our fun weekend for Claire's birthday. I had taken Friday the 20th off of work, and we went to the Rainforest Cafe for an early dinner. We had taken both Curtis and Lauren there for their first birthday's, but we weren't able to go last year for Claire's first birthday, so we made it this year. Curtis and Claire loved it, but Lauren was petrified...she hid under the table the whole time. (We were by the gorillas and she didn't want any part of it!) I ended up feeding her under the table. (You would've thought we were feeding a dog!) Claire had a blast and enjoyed having "Happy Birthday" sung to her.

On Saturday (which was her birthday), we went to Como Town and Como Zoo for our PBS station's Family Fun Day. We have never been there before and the zoo is free, so it was a no brainer. Unfortunately it rained that day, but let up enough to head over there. The rain let up for about an hour, then it started pouring and we had thunder and lightening. We ended up hanging out in the animal buildings until the rain let up. Then we ate lunch outside under the overhangs (the kids thought it was fun and had a blast!) Around 1 p.m. the rain finally let up and we went to Como Town to ride some rides. The kids had so much fun...they still talk about it! We do have to go back when the weather is better to see the animals in their habitats and ride more rides without being soaked. So here are some pictures of our wild birthday weekend.

Here is Claire's birthday cake. I originally wanted a Tinkerbell cake, since Claire loves Tinkerbell, but Target has discontinued the cake I wanted, so Hello Kitty was the next best thing. I think it fit her personality very well.

The pony cart ride at Como Town.

Claire had so much fun, even though she didn't want to sit with her brother.

The girls thought is was cool to drive Curtis around.

This is a Moray eel that was right next to our table at The Rainforest Cafe. I've never seen an eel that big before.

Claire is digging in to her volcano cake. She wasn't waiting for anyone!

2 Years

My dear Claire, I can't believe we celebrated your second birthday yesterday! These last two years have gone by so fast and you have grown so much! It just seems like yesterday you went breech at the last minute and gave us a good scare, only to turn the right way a week and a half later. I wonder what you thought as we were calling you by the boy name we picked out, since you tricked us into thinking you were a boy. You have definitely kept us on our toes! Once you were born, the nurses scared us into thinking that you were going to have trouble walking because of the dimple on your bottom, but you proved them wrong and walked at 10 months! You've done just about everything early: got your first tooth at 4 months, crawled at 7 months, and your vocabulary amazes us (you are giving Curtis a run for his money). Just this morning, you counted to 15, what!?! You know your shapes and quite a bit of the colors. You are so sure of yourself and have an amazing sense of humor. I love it when you make us laugh! You also have this cute lisp that adds to your charm. I can't wait to see what this next year has in store for you, my sweet little Claire Bear!

Another Prayer Request

I have another prayer request. Two months ago, my mom broke her foot and was in a special boot for 6 weeks. She fell out of bed one night trying to roll over with the boot on and her leg swelled up. The doctors thought that it was just from the boot being on all the time and figured it would stop once the boot was off. Well, the swelling was still there after the boot came off and the doctor suspected a blod clot, but couldn't find anything and my mom wasn't having any pain. Well, the doctor decided to do an ultrasound since the swelling wasn't going away. My mom had her ultrasound on Friday. As soon as she walked in the door, the phone was ringing and it was her doctor telling her that she had a big blood clot in her knee "that was like a giant black cloud" and to get to the hospital right away. So my mom spent Friday night and part of the day on Saturday in the hospital having bloodwork done and keeping an eye on the clot. She has to be on Coumadin and she has to inject herself with Heparin twice a day until Friday to speed up the Coumadin. She was fine Sunday, but had a really bad day yesterday with lots of leg pain that made her ill. She is taking the next few days off of work and sees the doctor on Friday. I will keep you posted on what the doctor says. I am very worried and it hurts that I can't be there with her. Please pray that the clot would dissolve and that it wouldn't break apart and float to places that it shouldn't. Thank you.

Updates

Once again, it's been too long since I last posted. Work keeps me very busy and with packing, I just don't have a lot of spare time, so I will be updating you on what's been going on in our lives. First, I want to let you know that my cousin's wife Arinda, had her follow up ultrasound and they found the baby's stomach right away! What a relief and mommy and baby are doing well. My mom broke her foot and was out of work for six weeks. She was finally able to return to work last week. I'm busy with work and trying to play with the kids as much as I can, so they know that I still love them. I hate going to work in the morning because the kids will ask, "Mommy, why do you have to go to work? Why can't Daddy go to work?" It's very hard. The best part of the day is when I come home and the kids mob me at the door with hugs and kisses! Hmmm, I wonder if they missed me! :) Kevin is still unemployed and the North Carolina move is still moving forward, but Kevin will probably have to find a full time job until this company can start paying salaries. I can always get a job out there, but I'd rather not. Curtis is doing well in school and is counting down the days to when he will be a first grader! I can't believe he only has two months of school left. This year has gone by fast. He has taken up an interest in guitars, since Kevin has been working on guitars. Lauren is now completely potty trained, which she did herself. She also hasn't had any bleeding since January. I know this is kind of gross, but her bowel movements have changed and she is doing bigger stools, so we are very hopeful that whatever was causing the bleeding has corrected itself. Only time will tell. She is looking forward to starting preschool in the fall, and has taken an interest in ice skating and soccer. Claire will be two next month, can you believe it! She is getting three of her two year molars, and she hasn't been a happy camper :( She has an extensive vocabulary and even tries to boss Curtis and Lauren around! She has taken an interest in potty training. She loves to tell us when she is wet and will ask to sit on the toilet, but that's all she does. It seems like that's all we've done the last few years is potty train. We should be experts by now, hahaha! I will do a whole post on the awesome concert that I took Kevin to for his birthday, so until then, be blessed!

Prayer Request

Please pray for my cousin's wife, Arinda. She is pregnant with a baby girl and just had an ultrasound done. The doctor told her that they were unable to detect the baby's stomach, so she has to redo the ultrasound in three weeks. What a very anxious time for them. Can you please lift them and the baby up in prayer. Thanks.

Name That Photo

I figured that I would start off the new year with something fun. So here is a picture of Claire and Natalee Feldman (Jon & Ali's daughter) from our photo shoot in October. This is one of my favorites and there is so much that could be captioned so leave your comments. I can't wait to hear what you come up with!

Another Long Day

Today we spent all morning at Children's Hospital St. Paul doing more testing and following up with the gastroenterologist. I was very nervous about today. I wanted to find out what is causing the bleeding and prolapse, but also scared to find out and this time it was just Lauren and I since Curtis is back in school. I did cry a little on the way there, but once we arrived, it was game time. Lauren had her sweat test first and she did very well. She cried a little because the charges going through the electrodes hurt towards the end.

Here are the electrodes that she had on both arms.

This is the bracelet that measured the sweat. She had to wear these for 30 minutes.

Here are both arms with the bracelets bandaged up so that she wouldn't pull them off. Thankfully, she was able to play in the waiting room for the half hour that they were on her arms.

Giving Snoopy a hug after getting the bracelets off.

Here she is going through the kid door at Dr. Goldman's office. I love the little door and Lauren thought it was the coolest! Dr. Goldman told us that her bloodwork is normal, so no deficiencies. Since Lauren hasn't had any bleeding and prolapse in three weeks, Dr. Goldman told us that she doesn't need to come back unless she has more bleeding. If she does have bleeding, we need to call the office right away and they will order the scope to check for polyps. We also had another xray done to see if the stone has been flushed out of her appendix. Dr. Goldman will call us with the results of the xray and the sweat test. I did ask her what the next step would be if the stone was still in Lauren's appendix and she said that there isn't anything that they can do because she is too little to have her appendix removed. She said that we will have to be vigilant because she is going to be more prone to appendicitis. She also said that they can do surgery through her belly button, but we will get there when we get there. So we still don't know what is causing her bleeding, so we just watch and wait for now. Thank you all for praying for our sweet little girl.