Our Chuckles Turns Seven

Being three weeks early, gave Mommy and Daddy a little scare as you spent the first 24 hours connected to wires and machines with attentive nurses by your side. I saw pictures of you before I was able to hold you in my arms for a few minutes then had to be wheeled back to my room again, away from you. When you were cleared to come to my hospital room, I didn't want to let you go...that is until your older sister came to meet you and I had to share you with your proud sister. You two can fight with the best of them, but deep down you love each other so much! 

You are going to be an amazing, protective little and big brother. 

Hard to believe you are now seven years old??? 

Mommy and Daddy are extremely proud of how you are growing into a little man who loves Jesus and your family. God has given you a compassionate heart and quite a soft spot for others. You have been Auntie Traci's biggest cheerleader sitting through hours of treatments giving her snuggles and many healthy distractions. You have also been Nana's car buddy for years as she has put endless miles between Portland and home listening to kid movies and your, "Are we there yet?" I love listening to you sing in the car to our Praise and worship songs and can't wait to see if you follow in Daddy's steps in music. You have amazing basketball skills and I love watching you improve your dribbling and shooting.  Your favorite food continues to be steak and ribs. Favorite toys are still LEGOS and have now moved from Star Wars to Seahawks becoming quite the football fan. 

{ seven months }

 { two years old }

Our prayer as your Mommy and Daddy, is for you to embrace your faith and eternity as a child of God. We pray that you will continue to grow into a respectful little man and challenge yourself in everything you do. Don't ever stop smiling as your eyes light up and dimples show your cuteness. You light up a room! You will always be our little Charlie no matter how tall you grow. We are so proud of you and love you to pieces! 

Happy Birthday Chuckles!

Kisses to Medals

A year ago yesterday, both Tim and I were toes deep in sand as Kim and Anne baptized us in the ocean shores of Kona, Hawaii. It was a marking of a new beginning for both of us as we recommitted to the Lord and each other later that afternoon. 

We shared tears, scriptures, vows and prayers. 

A year later, we continue to share tears, speak scriptures, 

live our vows and say daily prayers together.

God has been very present in the last year as we have opened new doors of opportunities both in business and in our personal lives. Many changes have already been adapted into routines and visions have been organized and implemented. 

God has been so good to us and our family!

So, as the one year anniversary of us saying "I do" (or singing it too) approached, I thought to myself, "Do we do anything special?" "There are already so many dates for Tim to remember, do I make him remember another one too?"

I marked it on the calendar and simply sent up a little prayer of thanks for ALL that has come and gone over the past year. The new friendships, the new windows of opportunities and journeys, the ups and downs of health and accomplishments, mini celebrations and immense blessings in every day. 

Friday night, I was committed by dear sweet friends to run the Fragrance Lake 10k. I was NOT planning on this and have not been training much at all on any trails of this latitude. All I noticed on the website was an evaluation change of 3300 feet. Whether that was for the 1/2 marathon or 10k, it didn't matter as my bum cheeks were already screaming from future torture. Tim had busy plans working in the yard all day,
so off I went to run in the hills. 

A stark contrast from the beach, tan sand, warm sun and ocean water lapping at my toes a year earlier were the due glistened ferns, moss covered trees and rushing water falls as I made my way through the trails above Larrabee State Park. God, in all His splendor, created not only the beauty of the repeating waves, but the stillness of the forest. Christie and I gracefully powered our way up and up...and up some more as we ran through the 6.5 mile course. As we crossed by the waterfall it was God filling our lungs with, "streams of living water" and when we ran passed the Fragrance Lake God held still our hearts so we could take in the beauty around us. 

I may have been a little nervous for allowing others to talk me into running,
but I'm so glad I did. 

From kisses on the beach saying I do's; to steep hills and free falls earning medals...I'm proud to make My Love remember yet another date in our journey together. 

Happy One Year Renewal Love!

EEG: Normal!

With two seizures in the medical records, Myriam was advised to have further testing to find out if any disorder or long term damage had been done. I was given very strict instructions as to how to prepare for an EEG and was terrified of the outcome. That is the outcome of the preparations! 

~ Put child to bed 1 -2 hours later than usual

~ Wake child 1 -2 hours earlier than usual

~ Make sure child does not nap in car or morning of test

Sure. No problem. That sounds like a fabulous morning with a busy three year old. You see, when our darling toddler becomes tired and worn out she becomes feisty, vicious and sometimes, down right mean. 

I would never recommend this experiment unless otherwise directed. 

Wednesday night, Myriam was pooped. No nap during the day and a normal bedtime of 6:30-7:00pm turned into...yep, you are reading that correctly...9:18pm!

I don't have the proof of the time I woke up Myriam, but I'll just tell you that 5am was too early for both of us! My Dad blessed Addi and Charlie with a hot lunch date during the appointment, but watching the older kids stay with Papa gave way to the first exhausted meltdown from the young one. I was showered with words of hatred for anything, shivers of love and screams of sarcasm until we reached the Bellingham office. This left me TERRIFIED for what was to come! By the grace of God, Myriam was an angel. She became friends with all who walked by us and those at the front desk. If my jaw wasn't on the floor yet, it soon got there as this calm attitude continued when the technician began marking Myriam's head for all 27 wires. 

We both laid under three warm blankets as 'Finding Nemo' played on the DVD player. After 30 minutes of marking and apply the wires, Myriam was ready for her head wrap and last two wires on the cheek and over her heart. After the stress and worry of having to bring an exhausted child in for a test that requires her to lay still for over an hour, I myself was ready for a snooze!

Myriam had packed her Mickey Mouse in her bag and was cozy under the warmth of all our blankets. She snuggled up close to Mommy and began the long test. First, was the lights off with flashes of bright lights. Secondly, was the game of blowing quick breaths on the pinwheels. Thirdly, was the attempt of laying still while listening to soothing music and lastly, was the impossible task of talking Myriam into resting our eyes and taking a nap. That didn't last very long so we went to the go to of Nemo again. I had to bring out the big guns and elaborate on Daddy's bedtime stories with the sleeping dinosaurs under the bed that when woken up become grumpy. That kept her legs in bed, arms still and focus on staying quiet...for about 15 more minutes. The napping part never happened, but Joshua was satisfied with what he did get. 

The real miracle was keeping this one still for as long as I did! After unwrapping our little mummy, all the wires were removed and marker was washed off. On our way out of the office Myriam shouted out with glee, "Bye Doctor!" 

That got quite a few chuckles exiting the office. 

That afternoon, she finally crashed and had a much deserved nap while Mommy got some more snuggles and resting too. 

This morning we got the results back from Myriam's EEG and it's...

NORMAL!!!! 

Praise God for watching over her little life during the seizures and the test!!!!!!

This mama continues to pray for no more seizures or stares but rejoices knowing that God has Myriam in His healing hands. 

Like her shirt says..."Create Happy"

That's why God placed Myriam in our family. She creates HAPPY. She brings joy to anyone she meets and interacts with no matter the person, color or place she meets them in. I know that if these seizures do continue, she will find a way to make us happy. 

Thank you Jesus for creating this JOY, blessing us daily with an over abundance of it and for keeping us healthy and in Your care. 

Success Moments...

Most of the time I consider getting through a day without tears, scraps, sibling fights and the house still standing a success. 

The other day we had a few extra proud child success moments that I must share!

Charlie has been working REALLY hard in his school work especially in writing and reading. You've read my challenges in regards to the struggles we have understanding the structure of words and sounds. (Current battle is convincing him dragon is spelled with a dr not jr. Being that Charlie is missing most of his front teeth it makes it harder to form the correct sound.) Charlie has completed a few 'Explode the Code' books and has gone back to make sure he knows the spelling and structure of the past words. This was one of his recent spelling tests that he rocked! I was more proud of the small, controlled hand writing and the fact that he completed it without a meltdown or fit. 

Way to go Chuckles!!!

For art class this month, the kids have been focusing on drawing human faces. This was one of Addison's sketches she did for the first week of the month. The assignment was to sketch a still human face. As you can see, the child has natural creative abilities and talents as she focuses on all the details of a pudgy, 18 month old face. This one took about 45 minutes of intense focus and concentration to complete. Beautiful Addison!

And then...well, back in December we connected to the city septic which left our yard a mud pit. That only lasted a short while driving Tim crazy with the mess causing him to stand for long periods of time envisioning big changes. Only problem is we made a bigger mess to get to the final outcome inviting little ones to experience mud facials. My hands were tied up cutting hair leaving Tim to clean this one up! Happy as a clam she was and yes, I did get everything washed up just fine. 

So, there's a little success in every day, in every way we can find it. 

February Photo Challenge

Speaking for myself here...last months photo challenge is still in edit and not posted yet, BUT, I have this month's challenge ready for you! Have fun and snap, SNAP!