Sleep Over with Little Chefs

Last night our friends David and Ashlie and their daughter Candace came over for dinner.  We had dinner, the girls played, and then the sleep over began.  It began with a call from Ashlie that David's truck could not even make it off of our street because of the snow.  Mike and David's brother Steven (who is our neighbor) pulled the truck out, but they stayed in the guest room leaving this morning to head to work.

Candace and Alayna had a great time this morning, just playing and watching movies.  At lunch time they doned in their cooking aprons and the girls made their own lunch, pizza bagels, and dessert, home made vanilla ice cream.

 

 

They had a blast, ate their own foods and went down for a nap.  It's been a busy day... I think I need a nap too.

 

Come Like A Little Child

I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.

 

~ Mark 10:15 

 I find it amazing that while I'm trying to teach my daughter about God, and the importance of prayer,  she is opening my eyes to things in my faith that I have taken for granted.

I pray, every day, sometimes multiple times a day, but praying with my daughter tonight opened my eyes to how much i take for granted in my life.  How much I have that I don't appreciate.

Tonight my daughter prayed and thanked God for various members of her family, then she thanked God for her friends and family in general. Then she thanked God for her mommy's hair, eyes, and belly.  Then she thanked God for her bed, and my bed, and the door, and the bedroom door, and her fish lamp, and her hot air balloon decoration.  Then it was my turn to pray.

I begin and Alayna goes

"Wait! Wait! I forgot something.....' and God thank you for my roller skates'  okay mommy your turn"

How do you compete with that?  you don't, i just stared at my daughter in awe of her faith.  It may seem foolish to us to thank God for something as inconsiquential as a pair of playschool roller blades, but my daughter has the right idea.

God has given us everything we have from the most valuable (our friends and family) to the most minor (the bedroom door).  She's even thankful for the things i wish i didn't have (my belly), but shouldn't i be thankful for that belly i wish would disappear? I have enough to sustain me that i wound up with a belly in the first place. 

 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose

 

~ Romans 8:28

 

 

 

At three years old she is my reminder that we need to be thankful for EVERYTHING, no matter how big or small. 

Where did it come from?

 I have been told that it feels good to start over.  To get rid of everything and start from scratch.  You stop taking what you have for granted and appreciate everything you have.

Another good reason to do a mass dumping of possessions is to declutter.  As I've been working on packing I have realized the mass amount of junk Alayna and I have accumulated in the past two years.

I am not carting this stuff back to PA... Today's main goal

TO THROW AWAY AS MUCH JUNK AS POSSIBLE

If i can reduce the trash in this place i have a feeling i won't have as much stuff to actually pack.  the junk is overwhelming.


Where did it all come from and why have i not seen the junk as junk?

Memorial Day 2012

On Memorial Day I normally pull the music video "Arlington" by Trace Atkins and put that with a few poems and a thank you to all the soldiers who have served.

Today I began thinking about those who i know who have served in the military and have served in various wars.  As the list got longer and longer i realized how lucky I am, as everyone I know and care about have come home safely, well at least alive.

Some explinations:  *R - retired  *AD - active duty  *SU - Status Unknown :  *M - Marines
 *A - Army   *AF - Air Force  *N - Navy   : *POW


Uncle Danny O'Donnell (great uncle) - *R:*AF:*A (RIP - 2006)

Mr. Don Gilson (family friend) - *R:*A

Mr. Dave Glover (friend's father) - *R:*A: *POW - Vietnam

Uncle "Major" John Skovran ( great uncle) - *R: *A - Major

Aunt Karen Skovran (great aunt) - *AD: *A - Seargant

Adam Altimus (my best friend's brother) - *R : *A -  afghanistan

Mike Haines (friend from HS) - *AD *A -Afghanistan and Iraq

Beth Kurtz (friend) - *AD *A - chaplain,  Afghanistan

Lee "Buddy" Harvey (friend) - *SU:*A -Ranger -Afghanistan & Iraq - Injured in line of duty.

Eric Leer (friend) - *R *A : *AD *N

Tim Vogt (friend's husband) - *R *N

Daniel "DJ" Hawks (cousin) - *R *AF

I am sure there are others that i know who have served, and I am sorry if I have missed your name. 

Freedom is not Free.  Sometimes it costs time with friends and families, some times it requires a life.  These people were and are willing to make that sacrafice if needed.

While I want to thank all those who served, I want to send a special thanks to those I personally know who have served.

Thank You!

Greater love has no one that this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:13

The Tragedy of Treyvon Martin



Treyvon Martin, 17

From the time first news report came through about this case something didn't feel right. Not because of the supposed racial tension brought on by the crime, but the fact that George Zimmerman was still free.

I understand Florida's self defense law.  What i don't understand is how any law enforcement officer would see a grown man stalking (even after being told not to by non emergency operator), and approaching while armed, an unarmed child, and then shooting him self defence.

To me any fight Treyvon put up against Mr. Zimmerman was the self defence.  Zimmerman was the aggressor, the kid was scared, probably scared for his life and rightly so.  And then Zimmerman shot him, twice, while Treyvon was armed with skittles.   How frightening for a grown man, all that sugar, i'm sure it warrently a bullet to the heart.

If Zimmerman had followed orders and not approached Treyvon, Treyvon would still be alive.  If Zimmerman wasn't carrying a gun (something neighborhood watch isn't suppose to do), Treyvon would still be alive, or at least Zimmerman would have had to fight like a man rather than cowardly shooting an unarmed child.

Though zimmerman might not read this.... Zimmerman, one report said you felt shame, you should, you killed a child.  Being black and walking at night does not make a person suspicious or a menace to society.  But running around at night with a loaded gun, following people, makes you both.



Happy Valentine's Day -- Now let me whip you!

I remember being in school and loving party days... I wonder if my teacher's hated them as much as i do?

The kids are always so wound.

so far today one kid took off his belt and hit another kid with it

and one of the girls in my class was pretending to be a dog and pretended to lift her leg and pee on another child.

her defense "i didn't actually pee on her"

WoW

lunch is almost over for me, so when i get back we'll be preping for our party.  They're all ready wound, now lets given them sugar... have fun tonight parents.

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!!!

A Sick Child -- A Whole New Hell

Everyone kept warning me of the terrible two's.  My grandmother keeps saying 36 months till about 3 years old will be the most trying time as a parent.  And it's true, it is like one day a switch was flipped and my little bundle of joy caused in me a bundle of nerves.

Tantrums, pushing the boundries, finding her stubborn voice of this world,  i can handle all of that no matter how stressed out it might make me.

What I can't stand is when my baby girl is sick...

This has been one of the roughest weeks I've had with her in a while.

Monday evening she spiked a fever, nothing severe 100.1.  She still had it the next morning.  I gave her some ibuprofin and took her to school.  She got sick at school, we came home early.

She seemed to rebound, we had dinner, she brought it up and her fever spiked again.  Wednesday her fever wasn't going down even with Tylonal so i took her to the doctor.

He said it was an infection and prescribed her Augmentin. She got sick again after she ate that night.  Fever still wasn't going down.

Stayed home thursday (yesterday) with her.  Fever went away, she seemed to be doing much better.  Then evening came.  She refused to eat and fell asleep.  She woke up and was shivering.  Her lips were purple, and even with 4 blankets on her she wasn't warming up.  Only to find out her fever had spiked again.  now at 102 she was having massive chills.  I had called the on call number for her doctors office and they told me to put her in a warm bath to help her feel better.

After her bath she asked for some juice. I gave her apple juice.  she drank some and brought it up (she hadn't eaten much at all that day).  I cleaned it up and gave her a little more juice. she brought that up too.

at 9pm last night i took my daughter to the ER.  While feeling so sick she still manages to have a sense of humor.

We get to the ER and i get out of the car and as i do i hear Alayna go "mommy take me with you".  "I'm not going to leave you Alayna, you're the reason we're here"  She goes "I know".

We get to intake and they go to take their vitals, and she won't take the oral thermometer.  We had to have it checked rectally.  I was expecting a fight but she didn't.  When they got done she was less than thrilled.  Temp was 102.5

They gave her some zofran for the nausia, some tylonal AND motrin for the fever.  waited and gave her some juice.  She kept it down, i took her home. Before we left they did her vitals again.  This included the rectal temperature check.  Alayna does well again with it, when the nurse got done, Alayna looked at me with the most pathetic look and goes "mommy my butt!"

 Dad took her prescription to walgreens to get it filled so we had it for this morning.

Alayna wanted to eat when we got home. she went to sleep.  I couldn't wind down...

I HATE it when she is sick.  I am powerless.  I can fight off most any other threat to my child, but when she's sick, all i can do is reassure her she'll be okay and pray. I trust prayer, but when she's so miserable I feel like i should be doing more, when there is nothing more i can do.

She's eating today.  Slowly and not much at any one time, but she is eating, the zofran is doing it's job, i'm to rotate giving her tylonal and motrin every 3 hours today and if the antibiotics aren't doing their job by tonight it's back to the doctor tomorrow.

I'll take the terrible two's any day.  There is nothing worse than a sick child!