Blessed!

We are listening to a series at church on being blessed, so I will continue with that theme for our family. We are so super blessed! Not every mom is able to get their kiddos off the bus every day and spend a majority of her day with a new puppy. Not every person is able to work from home doing her DREAM job. Not everyone can spend all of spring break with her cute boys. We are blessed and grateful beyond words! 

Spring break was packed with fun things and I mean PACKED. We loved every minute of it! One night we had the boys' second cousin over for a sleepover. She is the sweetest, cutest little thing and the kids all had a blast together. We can't wait to do it again! 

Another day I took the boys and Elijah's bff to see Zootopia. It was such a cute movie and the kids all had a fun time. Look at these happy faces! I love it!

We gave Buddy tons of love and attention. He has been chewing on things less, but still a lot. He gets into moods throughout the day when he seems to NEED to chew and rebel. Today he started chewing toilet paper off of the rolls in the bathroom. Seriously. When I try to remove something from his mouth, he refuses to drop said object unless there is a treat staring him in the face. He is a lot of work, but he is so worth it. The boys adore him. We can tell that he is going to be a very good doggy. He went to his first puppy kindergarten class on Saturday and we learned so much about how to train him. We love our Bud who likes to chew on everything....including broccoli and kale! :)

My dad and stepmom were in town for a few days and we were so happy to spend time with them. We did some fun things while they were here, including BOWLING followed by McDonald's! They were able to spend some time in school with each boy and that was so special for everyone.

The boys have had a few great days in school this week. Elijah has received two GREAT reports from his teachers. Yay!

I am still trying to figure out a routine with work and puppy during the day. It is challenging! Productivity for Pip and Ebby is an an all-time low, but we will get there. Like I said, we are BLESSED!

Thanks for checking in!!

Spring Break 2016!

Dan and I agreed tonight that it has been a WEIRD past couple of weeks for our family. We went from debilitating sickness (me) to vacation to NEW PUPPY WHO LIKES TO CHEW ON EVERYTHING to more sickness and strange leg infection (Dan) and then spring break. It's been a lot, but we are doing just fine. Our laundry is piled high. A few stacks of unsorted papers sit atop our counter. I can't seem to keep up with the dishes. I haven't cooked a meal in nearly two weeks. Our bathrooms all need a serious cleaning. But we are alive and happy! I have spent the majority of my energy on: 1. boys, 2. hubby (when he was ill) and 3. dog. And that is just about it!

Elijah loves when Buddy licks his face. These two are so cute together and I know that one day they are going to be a huge source of comfort for one another. Sammy loves when Buddy snuggles his little head into his lap. He writes Buddy notes and draws him pictures and tapes them directly above his kennel. This pup is loved! Car rides are a source of comfort for ALL of my boys.

The boys and I had a great Spring Break Monday today! We brought Buddy down to my sister's house for a puppy play date with her pup Tate. Buddy wanted to PLAY-PLAY-PLAY and Tate wanted nothing to do with it. :) Yesterday Buddy played with Dan's sister's dog Oreo and they basically mauled each other (freaked me out!). He was so tired after hours of play that he could literally barely keep his eyes open when we got home.

We are all looking forward to warmer spring weather! We are going to get another bike for the boys soon and I'm determined to get them riding this spring. Swim lessons start soon and so does soccer for Sammy.

Thanks for checking in! More puppy and boy tales certainly coming soon. :)

Spring Break 2015

It is spring break week! Our schedule has been all over the place and every day feels like it's Saturday. We have been trying to make the most of this time together. Dan got home from DC on Friday morning, so we had from then until this morning as a family. Today Dan started a new, exciting job, so the boys and I are back to hanging out!

Elijah and Sammy play their Perplexus games every chance they get! They are GOOD at these!

Yesterday we took a family trip to the Children's Museum. We had tons of fun! Sammy enjoyed being a mail carrier (the cutest one I've ever seen).

Both boys spent a ton of time in the water area. Can I admit that Dan and I enjoyed ourselves here, too?

Look! He also transforms into the cutest turtle I've ever seen.

I found a couple Chick-Fil-A gift cards in my wallet, so guess where we stopped on our way home?

Lucky boys!

We have been LOVING the weather. After another long winter, it feels so incredibly good to be able to go outside again without body parts freezing off.

Things with Elijah are still overall better. We have been experimenting with different essential oils and I think I made a connection last week. I had been putting two different oils on his feet at night before bed...one is a blend of oils and the other is Frankincense. We ran out of Frankincense, so I substituted it with something else. A few days later I noticed that E was starting to unravel again. Sleep started getting worse again and he wasn't able to control himself like he had been in the previous weeks. I quickly ordered more of the Frankincense and we are back on track. Could it really be that easy?

I would still like to find someone to do cognitive behavioral therapy with him so he can develop coping skills for his anxiety. I have a list of recommended names, now I just need to schedule something. We have a cardiology check-up on Monday and we never know what to expect going into those. Please pray for a good report!

A few funnies before I make dinner for the boys..

Today we took a walk to the park and it was WINDY. When we were walking into the wind, Sammy said, "The wind does NOT want us to go this way!"

The boys gave Dan and I some new silly names the other night. Our favorites: El Loro and Mrs. Minnesota. Today they were scrambling up president names and I became Gerald Jefferson. :)

I hope spring has come wherever you live and that you all are having a great week! Thanks so much for checking on us!

Deflecting attacks from darkness

Have you ever noticed that when you become more spiritually tuned in, you also get attacked with extra negativity (the Devil)? Yeah, so that happened to us yesterday. Dan and I felt a HUGE spiritual breakthrough for our family on Sunday. Then on Monday? Attacked. Big time. Elijah was telling me about some visual disturbances he was experiencing, which sent me into a dark place of fear and panic. My mind was sent to terrible places. His behavior became more than Dan and I felt we could handle yesterday. Content on my food blog was stolen (again) and that turned into a vicious fight with a lunatic thief and liar. At the end of the day, we all felt weary and disheartened. I am beyond thankful to have a husband who knows me well enough to know exactly what to say to me. He said the perfect things as we fell asleep last night.

I woke up at 3:00 a.m., as I usually do, worrying about a million different things. I started going to those dark places about Elijah's eye complaints. Then I stopped myself because I just had to. If I didn't, I would have lost my mind. I reminded myself about a dream God gave to me a few years ago, showing me my oldest son as a 30ish-old adult, perfectly "normal" and healthy. Then I thought of the word that has come into my mind every time Elijah has soared through yet another ordeal. STEADFAST. Peace flooded me and I fell back asleep.

More on this in just a minute.

I got out of bed this morning and decided that we needed to have a much better Day #2 of spring break. I thought it might be a great idea for all of us to go see a movie together in the theater. Sammy had never been to a theater before today!

It was so nice to get out together as a family, and also to give Sammy this first theater experience! Both boys loved the candy and popcorn, of course. The Croods was a very cute movie.

Dan brought E to his opthamology appointment this afternoon, which we had coincidentally scheduled months ago. I was admittedly too afraid to go. I told Dan the exact words that Elijah had used to describe his visual disturbances. He is such a kind husband and such a good dad. He promised me that he would repeat every word to the doctor.

The doctor told Dan that strangely, with kids around E's age, he hears this A LOT. They start to anticipate their eye appointment (uhhh, Elijah anticipates EVERYTHING a little more than most kids) and suddenly strange visual symptoms pop up. It is a hyper-awareness of their vision as they anticipate seeing the doctor. Today I asked Elijah periodically how his eye was doing and he described much different "symptoms" and used different words each time. So for now we will assume it is a case of silly-kid-itis! I think Doc McStuffins would agree with that diagnosis! :)

Tonight we are all feeling much better. Hopefully the Devil leaves us alone for a bit. Thank you so much for those of you who sent emails about writing letters to our boys! I received a few very kind messages and they made my day. Thank you!

Wishing a wonderful week to you all! Thanks for checking in!

Spring Break comes to a close

Spring Break week has been mostly good! You know, aside from all of the potty issues. We were able to get out and do a few fun things this week. Elijah's favorite outing (by far) was going to the "Mall at the 'Merica." We rode on the rides and checked out the Sea Life exhibit. Elijah even rode on his first (small) roller coaster! He was VERY proud of himself, and I must say that I was pretty proud, too. It is indescribable to explain how happy it makes me to see Elijah enjoy himself so much on outings like that one (Sammy someday, too). I love that happy little face so much!



Sammy was very indifferent about the entire MOA experience. He has to FULLY absorb his surroundings before enjoying himself, so a place like The Mall is not the most comfortable place for him.



Dan and I have been feeling very tired and run down, so we are starting a healthier diet and schedule tomorrow. April will be our turn-around month! It is ridiculous how tired we always feel.



I won't say anything further on the potty issues. Things are the same there, and still quite frustrating.



We are excited to get Elijah back in school this week. Life is so much happier for all of us when he has that time with friends in the mornings.



The weather tomorrow is supposed to be phenomenal, so we are looking forward to enjoying that!



I will go over Elijah's OT report sometime in the next few days. It was interesting to read, and it has gotten my wheels turning. We are constantly being reminded lately what a special, awesome little boy he is! Sammy, too, of course! We love our boys!



Good night! More later!