Feed My Starving Potty Talk

Tonight we joined some folks from Dan's work at Feed My Starving Children. We worked hard for an hour and our group packed 18,000 meals, which is enough to feed 51 kids for an entire year! WOW! This is something we never would have done "before" (i.e., before meds). Staying up till 8:00? No way! The boys were TIRED when we got home, but it was so worth it. The boys worked HARD! Elijah's favorite task was weighing the bags of food and determining if they were an appropriate weight. Sammy was a good bag sorter, but really enjoyed the scooping. Elijah said such an awesome prayer on our drive home for the kids who will be receiving this food. He truly seemed to understand the depth of what we did. The rest of the way home he kept saying, "We helped lots of kids! We are keeping kids alive!" Good lesson!

We've experienced some rougher days again, so I'm going to call Dr. M in the morning and possibly increase med dosage by just a bit. Potty talk and inappropriate talking in general has been OUT OF @#$% CONTROL lately. We have cracked down at home and no longer tolerate even an OUNCE of inappropriateness. If we let even a few words fly, things are suddenly spiraling out of control. This has been an issue at school, as well, and we got our first "rough day" email from E's case manager this week. :(

Sammy, by the way, is no innocent bystander in the potty talk escapades. He's quite the instigator and has no problem fibbing when he gets caught, but only at home. He is also a super hard worker and aside from being an incredible budding artist, he also creates homework for himself almost every day. The other day he decided to sit down and write out numbers starting at 1 and going up to 200. He went to 217 just because that extra mile was so enticing. Over-achiever. :)

Elijah really wanted to get an Elf on the Shelf this year. I think he's heard about it at school and wanted in on the fun. When we explained the concept to Sammy, he was mortified! It was hilarious! He very seriously told us that he would NOT allow this crazy elf into our house because he might...gasp....STEAL OR DESTROY HIS TOYS! He loves his things. And his people. He is a loyal kiddo. He also hates change and has recently been able to express this very thing. We did a major loft clean-up/organization last weekend and when I asked Sam if he liked it he said, "NO. I don't. Because I HATE change." At least he knows this about himself!

One last non-funny funny and then I'm heading to bed. I mentioned the inappropriate words that have been bouncing around the walls in our lives? Earlier in the week I got an email from E's case manager saying that Elijah had been trying to bribe his classmates to say inappropriate things along with him and he was using fake money THAT HE HAD CREATED HIMSELF to do so. WHAT?! We had lots of talks and the following few days were much better, thankfully. Part of me is proud that he was able to think through this escapade, but the potty words are driving me batty!

I'm off to bed! I have just a few more days of work in Cannon Falls and I'm hoping to be sane in the end. :) Have a great rest of your week!

So long, Pillow Pets!

Our living room today before the Pillow Pet delivery!

SO many people gave generously in order to make this Pillow Pet ordeal happen and we feel so grateful for the generosity of our friends, family and perfect strangers! When we got to the hospital I went inside to let the security guard know what to expect. His response: "Uhhh...300....Pillow Pets?!? Okie dokie! Bring 'em in!" So we did! We unloaded FIVE carloads of PPs!

I think we overwhelmed the poor security guard a bit. :)

Here is Elijah and his heart pal Eli, posing in front of 300 snuggly Pillow Pets!

The delivery crew! We are so thankful for these kind friends of ours for donating their time today.

And here is our kitchen, minus hundreds of Pillow Pets. It felt strange to look at this empty scene upon arriving home. We have gotten so used to the PILE, literally climbing over bags just to use the restroom. The boys infused love into every single PP that entered our home, so we were a little bit sad to say good-bye. But we are so very happy knowing that each one of them will be in loving, happy arms.

The boys were able to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa this afternoon while Dan and I sneaked away for a movie. It was a huge treat all around. Elijah and Sammy LOVE time at Grandma's house and Dan and I rarely get time "away" alone.

This week: memory-attention-learning testing for Elijah, attempting to juggle his school schedule and a special ed re-eval meeting (gulp). We're still in the process of figuring things out for our oldest cutie, and we know it will only get easier from here. Thank you so much for checking in!

Pillow Pet power!

We won't have our final numbers till Sunday, but I wanted to share where we are at with our big Pillow Pet project! We currently have 270 Pillow Pets (along with 35 other stuffed animals/comfort items) for the kids at Children's Hospital!! This is INCREDIBLE! We are still receiving boxes in the mail almost daily (the UPS, USPS and FedEx drivers must be downright SICK of us!), but we plan to make the big delivery this Sunday. Thankfully we have had a handful of people offer to help with transport because we have two cars, one of which is not running. We would need to make approximately 25 trips if we were doing this on our own!

Every time our doorbell rings, the boys excitedly yell, "MORE PILLOW PETS!" and they run to open the door and literally SQUEAL when they see more boxes sitting outside. Elijah asks at least daily, "Why are we giving Pillow Pets to the kids, Mom?!" I am loving this lesson in Giving. This is the perfect way to show them why it is good to do kind things for others. Elijah has fresh memories of being sad and sick in a hospital, so he knows how good it feels to receive love during times like that. He gets it. He always ends our conversations with, "Yeah, it'll make the kids happy, Mom."

I'll wrap up with a few Sammy and Elijah funnies:

Me: Sammy, did you just wipe a booger on me?!
Sammy: Nooo! It was just some stuff from my nose.

Me: How are you feeling this morning?
Elijah: Extremely exstrangeable. 

Sammy: "Elijah, leave my toy ALONE! ..... MOM! Elijah is traumaticking me!"

Project Pillow Pet

We are home from the hospital with Elijah and it is STRONGLY on my heart to help put smiles on the faces of sick children. We are grateful for the smiles we saw on E's face over the past week, so we would like to help pass along a tiny bit of happiness to other children. We saw some really sad things in the hospital every day, you guys. Any bit of happiness there is a truly wonderful thing.

If it is on your heart to do so, please consider donating a Pillow Pet (or $, if that is easier) for this great cause! We plan to gather as many PPs (or ANY comfort item) as we can and bring them to Minneapolis Children's Hospital at the end of the month. Help us gather a TON of them. The more PPs, the more smiles!

Click on the link below for details (or email me at mmporta at gmail dot com). THANK YOU!

http://www.pipandebby.com/pip-ebby/2014/1/13/project-pillow-pet.html

After much receiving..

Both boys received a plentiful amount of gifts this week, in celebration of Christmas. Honestly, they haven't even played with or noticed all of the toys they unwrapped. It was a lot. Part of me loves that because it so much fun to see them so happy. I love happy boys!

The other part of me wants to simplify this time of year. It can be sooo much. I'm already making plans to simplify next year. In the meantime, Dan and I decided that we needed to end the week with a completely different train of thought: giving! At first I thought it would just be Elijah and me doing this mission, but it ended up being all of us. Elijah understood it, but Sammy did not yet. Eventually he will. It was good. I am happy to finish off this week's plentiful receiving with a little bit of serving.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! As always, thank you for checking in on us. xo

Croup: Season 3, Round 3

Lately I've been thinking that it has been a while since we've gotten a visit from Croup. That thought is always followed by me wondering when his next visit will be.

I need not wonder anymore because he came last night, that trusty friend of ours! We gave Elijah a racemic epi neb at 9:00 and high-dose Pulmicort at 3:30. I felt a little calmer last night than in the past. I'm not sure why that was. Maybe after 84 times (ok, slight exaggeration) the stress starts to level off?

I realized last night that if we could only figure out a way to get Elijah to CALM DOWN when he's having an episode, things would be much less scary. When he isn't screaming his head off, he can usually breathe normally for a few breaths at a time. Hmm, I'll have to ponder this.

The second time I went into his bedroom after hearing the stridor, I went to grab him and he said in such a sad little voice, "Sorry, Mom." Oohhhhh. He feels bad about this?! I told him to NEVER feel bad about sickness and gave him a squeeze. Then the frantic screaming started and we couldn't get him to calm down or breathe.

Thanks to his medication and the cold outside air, everything turned out just fine.

And ironically, the place that has kept our little boy alive time and time again, Minneapolis Children's Hospital, is doing a Give To The Max day TODAY. If you are willing and able to donate anything at all, $10 even, please do so!

Blankets and buckets

Before you call Child Protection Services on us, the bucket gave him plenty of room to breathe and we were watching him closely. :)


I had put the bucket on my head as a hat, and he insisted that I put it on his, too. I thought for sure he would freak out, but he thought it was the coolest thing.


I came home the other day to find that the boys had made a mini-fort in the living room. Elijah, being the security-loving fella that he is, TOTALLLY DUG IT. He loves having safe objects snugly surrounding him.


He's banging so fast on his drum that his arms are blurred! He really is so good with his hands. He handles the drumsticks surprisingly well.


Just getting done saying "BOB! (the tomato)" here. Check out the amazing blankie!

I ran across a blog a while back that deeply touched me. This family. Wow, they have been through a lot. They have lost six babies in utero, and have had a couple adoptions fall through at the last minute. They were blessed with a little boy from Russia, and love him to pieces, but they desperately want a sibling for him. They don't have the energy to attempt another pregnancy and they don't have the resources to fund another adoption. A few people have decided to help them out..

One of the generous companies helping them is called allyzabba.com. They make beautiful baby blankets, and they have agreed to give 30% of every order to this couple's adoption fund (you have to click on the above link in order to have a portion donated to the adoption fund. you can't just go in through their home page.). Let me tell you, these blankets are AMAZING. We bought one for Elijah, as seen in the pics, and it is the softest, most comfy thing I have ever felt. I'm tempted to buy one for myself!

If you're not in need of a baby blanket, you can also donate money to their fund through their blog.

I'm not pressuring anyone to help this couple. Everyone has different things that touch them and that move them to reach out. Only do it if it is in your heart.

I saw these two quotes on another blog this week and they perfectly fit what has been on my heart lately..

“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” - Albert Einstein

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
- Gandhi


Look at that sweet boy. Mmmmm, I love him.

Sunshine through the snow

I have recently become really sensitive to the negativity I see in the world around us. In response to it, I have tried to restructure my thoughts and actions so that I focus on the good side of everything. This morning on my way to work, I started to think, UG! STUPID SNOW! STUPID COLD! but I stopped myself before I got too worked up. I turned it around and tried to see the positive things. Even in the early morning darkness, snow is beautiful! The trees look so fragile and pretty covered in it. I continued to focus on the good things, and by the time I got to work, the positivity wasn't forced at all. If it gets a little warmer, we might be able to take Elijah sledding!

From now on, I'm going to do my best to apply this principle to every part of my life. Negativity breeds negativity. If I focus on how Elijah is sick a lot and this and that and wahh wah waaah...well then, that chaos will probably just continue.

So with that as my new philosophy...onto a quick Porta update..

Dan is feeling much better after his tummy bug, and Elijah hasn't thrown up since Sunday, woohoo! He woke up in the middle of the night coughing, so we were on top of it right away this morning with a neb.

We are dog sitting the cutest puppy ever right now. We get Buster for a week, and we are falling in love with him! He and Elijah are so cute together. Elijah likes to touch Buster and check him out (he's soooo soft). Buster sees that as an invitation to lick his face and sometimes knock him over (gently) out of excitement. Elijah doesn't seem to mind. He just makes funny faces in anticipation.

We are fulfilling two of our Giving List items today, and before Christmas we will fulfill the last one. It feels so good to help people out this time of year. I love it!

I can't be totally sure, but I think Elijah tried to say, "Hi Daddy" yesterday. It came out as, "Hah Dah." I think his speech is on the cusp of some serious development, and that is so exciting. I can't wait to hear his sweet little voice say real words. He certainly is good with the fake words. Sometimes Dan and I listen to him through the baby monitor as he talks to himself before falling asleep. We just laugh and laugh. The sounds and inflections that come out of his mouth are hilarious.

Elijah is taking steps! His legs are stiff as boards, and he has to hold both of my hands, but HE IS TAKING STEPS! I didn't even see this coming. His PT tried it last week and he just did it! I will get video this week sometime and share. He looks uncomfortable and robotic, but...STEPS!

Tomorrow is Elijah's post-cath cardiology check, so keep the cute boy in your prayers. Also, Dan's dad had a scary thing happen last night, so keep him in your prayers, too. He recently stopped taking his blood thinner medication (for his heart) and they think that may be why his body formed a blood clot in his head that is slightly affecting his vision. We're praying it will go away with medication.

We have some fun doggy-Elijah pics to share later. Sooo cute...have a good day everyone!

Our list

We did some brainstorming this weekend and came up with a list of six things (two for each of us) that we would like to do to help other people out this holiday season. I debated a bit about whether or not I should post the specifics. I don't want it to appear insincere because we are writing all about it. The reason I decided to write about this in detail is because it makes me happy to think that others might decide to do similar things with their families to show their giving spirits. I am also excited to document some of the fun things we have planned. Here is our list:

- We put together two Operation Christmas Child boxes for children in desperate situations around the world. We put together one Girl box and one Boy box. I just realized this morning that today is the deadline for this, so we scrambled this evening to get them put together and dropped off at an OCC location. It was a lot of fun! We will definitely do this every year.

- I am going to recruit some friends/family members in the Cities to help me make homemade snacks/cookies to donate to Minneapolis Children's Hospital. These treats will be given out to parents/families of children who are staying in the hospital. Having spent time there ourselves, we know what a huge help it is to receive goodies from people, and I can especially imagine how nice it would be to receive something like this around Christmas time. I would love to just bombard that place with Christmas treats so everyone is well cared for in that regard during the holiday season. If you are in the area and you are interested in helping with this, please let me know!

- We donated a frozen turkey to a holiday food drive last weekend.

- We want to put some toiletries, snacks and essentials into a couple big stockings and drop them off at a homeless shelter.

- We know of a family in need of assistance right now. I have mentioned Ellie on this website before. She is my good friend Cara's niece. Ellie was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of brain cancer in April 2008. Her tumor has grown and she is really fighting for her life right now. Her family is dealing with some very difficult times, and among other things, they have many medical bills that have piled up in an attempt to lengthen Ellie's time here on Earth. We would like to help them out in some way. I'm not sure how we'll do that yet, but I am thinking we might give them a nice big gift card for groceries.

- This last "deed" is our fun, "gamble" item. Dan and I are both risk takers after all! We want to approach someone in public, after we have stalked them a bit :), and hand them a note that will be attached to a large bill ($50?). The note will have a Bible verse on it and it will also encourage them to do something good with the money, so the giving will continue, and hopefully multiply. This reminds me of the movie Pay It Forward, but I didn't realize that until just now as I typed this out. We obviously run the risk of putting money into the wrong hands, but it is a risk I am willing to take. I think that this has the potential to create some generous deeds. And if the person we give the money to NEEDS the money, then good has been done!

It feels so good to give. As I said before, I would love to instill this in Elijah and I hope he grows up knowing how important it is. If any of you have other fun, giving ideas, please share them!


p.s. The prayers have worked for Elijah's cold symptoms. He was at daycare all day today and did great. No snotty nose, just a little bit of a cough, no sneezing. Just to be safe, I am taking him in to see his pediatrician in the morning for a pre-op physical to be sure he is ready for Wednesday's cath. I have a really good feeling that Wednesday is the day! It will feel so good to get this behind us. Thanks for the prayers. Keep them coming!

Giving

Something I have always wanted is for Elijah to know how important it is to give. I see so many kids (and adults, too) who expect things to be given to them or done for them, but who don't understand the concept of giving to others. It is really important to me that Dan and I do everything we can to help Elijah truly understand the principle of giving and how it is much more important and rewarding than receiving.

I was thinking about all of this as I was NOT sleeping at 3:00 this morning (and I haven't even told Dan about this yet), but I'm going to start a new tradition for our family. Every year for the holidays, each person in our house must come up with two things that we as a family can do to give to someone outside of our home. We must come up with our ideas before Thanksgiving, and we must complete them by Christmas. This year Dan and I will come up with Elijah's ideas for him, but eventually I would like for him to come up with his own creative ways to reach out to people.

I sometimes feel bogged down by the presents and the parties and the pressures of Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas-time. I will always have a tree and decorations and presents, and Santa will always make a stop by our house. I just want to keep all of the important things from getting lost. I hope that through this new tradition, we can adjust the focus to where it should be. For Elijah, and for us.

We will compile our list this weekend and share it when it's complete! I'm excited!


Strangely, I had copied and pasted these into a document a few months ago, and just ran across them this morning. I love these verses:

2 Corinthians 9:6-9 -- Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever. [quoting Psalms 112:9]

2 Corinthians 9:10-11 -- Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

2 Corinthians 8:7, 13-14 -- But just as you excel in everything in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us see that you also excel in this grace of giving....Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality.

Luke 6:38 -- Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Proverbs 19:17 -- He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done.