What i did during the blizzard....

I hate snow, let me just say that right up front, i hate it. I was praying for a mild winter. I thought since we had a mild summer that it was only fair that we have a mild winter...with no snow, i guess God didn't see it that way, he disagreed and had to prove his point by sending us a massive snow storm...over Christmas no less.

So i spent Wed-Sunday with my family, lots and lots and lots of bonding. So what can you do during a snow storm that lasts for days. Well we played a lot of games, we watched movies, played in the snow, and my favorite...did 100 loads of laundry!!!! I thought that maybe, just maybe i would get completely caught up on laundry since i had nothing better to do. I was wrong, i will never be completely caught up on laundry. I figured it out, the only way i was going to get caught up on laundry during the snow storm was if everyone stopped wearing clothes, and that, just seemed a little weird.

Christmas day we let our children go outside and play in the snow. They all got bundled up, looking like little sumo wrestlers and headed outside. Jackson only managed about 5 min. outside and then he was done. When you are only about 3 feet tall, the 6+ snow drifts just seem a little scary. He kept getting stuck, and then did a face plant in the snow and after that he was just done, he wanted to go inside, dry off and take a nap. The other children had a blast, this includes their father who i think may have actually had more fun then the kids.

All in all, its was not a bad Christmas, there was something very relaxing about just being together with the family, about not having to rush from place to place. I do believe that God had a point with his snow storm. Not to make me miserable, but to make me slow down, to think about the true meaning of Christmas, to realize that one of the bests gifts you can get is family, and to maybe get caught up on my laundry.

Thankful

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and i feel i have alot to be thankful for, i am truely blessed and don't take the time usually to think about the many blessings i have been given.

Here is a top ten list of 2009 blessings
1. my mom had a succesful knee replacement surgery and is even thinking about doing her other knee this year!!
2. We took a family trip to St. Paul this summer, everyone stayed healthy (a blessing right there!!) and we had a lot of fun.
3. Lots of camping this summer, i am thankful for our camper and the chance to build memories with our children.
4. I am thankful that i no longer have strep throat and have gone almost 4 months without getting it!!
5. I am thankful for my home. Its not perfect, its not always clean, its not organized, but its my home and i am thankful for it.
6. I am thankful that my kids have so far had a successful year in school. They are both adjusting well and especially for Dylan has made so much progress...its great to see.
7. I am thankful that my children made it through the H1N1 virus without to much trouble...it was some stressful days, but God blessed them with speedy recoveries.
8. I am thankful for my job and for Brians job. We are lucky to have them, now more then ever.
9. I am thankful for my new van (well new the begining of the year) I don't have to worry about it falling apart on me, i don't have to worry about Dylan struggling to get in and out of it...or stuck in it.
10. Finally i am thankful for my family and extended family. I turned 30 this year and every year i think i realize a little more about how precious life is, how precious good health is, and to be THANKFUL, for every day given to me.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

On the ball!!

This year i am going to be organized, i am going to be on the ball, i am going to simplify my life. Or at least i am going to try. In the past around this time of year i think to myself that i should get a family picture taken and order Christmas cards. I should start picking up a few gifts here and there. I should buy a card for my brother in law who's birthday is in early November but usually does not get a card till the end of November.

I am going to try and do better.

1. I already have the family picture taken

2. I am working on getting the picture made into a card.

3. I am going shopping in two weeks where i hope to buy a few Christmas gifts and get Jackson b-day gifts bought.

4. Still need to buy the birthday card for my brother in law...but i am going to try REALLY hard to get it to him by his birthday!!

I will have to write a blog in December and let you know if i managed to get any of these actually done.

Here are a few pictures taken at falls park on Labor day weekend. The one of the family is going to be our Christmas photo...i think. I just need to order the photo cards because then i can't change my mind.

Learning to Crochet

Awhile back i thought it would be fun to learn how to crochet, i needed something to do in my spare time. HAHA....i have no spare time, but in the event that i ever do, i thought it would be a nice hobby to have.

I may have a learning disability or something because crocheting might not be the hobby for me, i am rather awful at it. Last night while trying to make a pot holder (i have been working on this for almost 3 weeks and no where NEAR done) i was having some trouble, seemed to have a big mess and was about to give up. Brian is sitting next to me, looks at it, takes it from me and proceeds to crochet my pot holder. So after only a few minutes of watching me, even HE knows how to crochet better then i do!!

He told me not to tell anyone, but crocheting can be manly right?

What a summer....

It's been awhile, life has been a bit crazy. To sum up my summer it has been camping, strep throat, camping, strep throat, camping, strep throat. I think you get the picture. It has not been the healthiest summer for me, but i am hoping that we have finally figured out the problem.

Today was the first day of school for Morgan and Dylan, and that's when it hit me that summer is actually over, but how can that be because i swear there last day of school was just last week!!!! So i suppose before i know it, it will be Christmas, and that's just not something i want to think about yet.

As for my strep issues, well after my 5th episode of strep the doctors suggested having everyone in the family test to see if they were possibly a carrier. Meaning the have the strep bacteria in their throat but don't ever get sick from it. Well needless to say my family was not real impressed with me making them do this, but hey, i had my throat swabbed 5 times over the past few months it was time that someone else had it done:) Well i hoped it would be Brian because that would make the most sense to me, he was tested first but was not the guilty party spreading the germs. Next came my four kids, at this point i was really not hopeful that any of them were a carrier and i was feeling a bit frustrated because we just could not figure out why i kept getting sick. Well the doctor called me back after the 4 strep tests and not only did i have one, but i had 2 children who tested positive for strep!! Jackson had it, but Logan we think is the carrier. He is rarely sick, has never been tested for strep before, shows not signs at all, his throat is not even red! So Jackson, Logan and I were all put on antibiotic's in hopes of getting rid of this stupid germ. WE left for vacation and two days later Morgan says to me "mom, my throat hurts." Just what i wanted to hear! So i called our doctor who nicely called in a prescription without seeing her because we all new she most likely had strep as well (her 3rd time in 5 months) So needless to say that past few weeks have been very busy with me disinfecting everything i can think of, and praying that once i go off the antibiotic i don't get strep again....ever!

So that's about sums up my summer. Well that and the bugs, did i mention bugs before? How much i hate them? Well i finally had to call a pest control guy to come and spray my house, not just for the earwig bugs that were all over my house, but also for mud wasps, or the technical term Cicada killer. I just love that i have a bug with the name killer in my back yard!! Not only did i have one next but i had FOUR!!!! So they sprayed the nests (all but one, it was hidden) and told us that might help, but really cicada killers are hard to get rid off. Oh joy! The good news about them i guess is that they don't life long, usually from July- September...so i guess i only have a few weeks left of the lovely little killers.

So maybe winter isn't so bad...i am sure i will change my mind when its -20 and blowing 40 miles an hour, but i don't really want to think about that.

camping, camping and more camping.

Its hard for me to believe that its July already...were does the time go??

This summer has been a busy one so far. In early June we took our first major road trip and went to St. Paul to see my sister. It was a great, and exhausting time!!

Last week was the first time we took our camper out since memorial weekend, we went to Yankton with some friends and had a very nice time. That was the kick off of a four weekend in a row camping spree. This could truly test the camper in me.

Tonight we are headed to the Lakes for the 4Th of July weekend, hopefully we will get some boating and beach time in, but the weather does not sound all that great.

Then Next weekend its off to Rock Valley for some more camping with friends.

Then the weekend after that is a family reunion at Storm Lake for Brian's side of the family and we will spend a Thursday-Sunday there.

I love camping, i like relaxing, i like that my kids have so much fun, i like that my kids have so much fun and stay up so late that they sleep so well! I like bon fires, roasting marshmallows, the big breakfasts, getting a tan and making memories. What i don't like is the laundry, laundry, laundry and more laundry.

So if you wonder why i have not posted much, i have been doing laundry, and that's what it looks like i will be doing the rest of the summer!

I will include some pictures from our camping last weekend. More pictures to come in the next couple of weeks. I am the annoying mom that can't stop taking pictures:)

Six years ago....

Six years ago my life changed forever. Not just my life, but my perspective on life. It was one of those days that i will probably never forget. I know what i was doing, the time of day it was, and how heartbroken i felt. Six years ago today, i received a call that my precious baby boy would not ever be like other little boys. I was given a list of things that he would probably never be able to do, and told that his was just the way that God had meant for him to be. Six years ago today we got a diagnosis of a Porencenphalic cyst on Dylan's brain, causing him to have Cerebral Palsy.

Now i am not meaning for this post to be sad, because really i am not. Six years ago i was heartbroken, scared, angry, many different emotions. Today, i see things differently, and mostly in part to my brave little boy. He has taught me to never say never and that the impossible, is possible. I swear he got the list of things his doctors said he would never do and decided to one by one prove them wrong.

Dylan is also a brave little boy. He has been seen by specialists, therapists, neurologists, pulminologists, cardiologists. He has been poked, blood drawn, x-rays and numerous other tests to even mention. Yet rarely did he shed a tear, he has always had the best attitude, and that in itself has taught me a lot.

Things still are not always easy, and i know he gets frustrated, but what child wouldn't when they can't use one arm or hand. When everything needs to be done one handed, things that those of us who have two hands take for granted. He has come a long way, as time has gone some issues have been figured out and new ones have replaced it. Now that he is starting school we are not just dealing with some of the physical limitations that he has but also some of the learning issues. He is a very, VERY smart boy, but focusing seems to be a problem. We start seeing a new doctor in a few weeks that i am very excited about, one that can hopefully shed some light on what goes on inside that amazing boys mind.

I just feel very blessed to have him in my life. He turns Seven in just a month, and like most kids he has been counting down the days to his birthday for, oh the last year or so:) He wants two things, and ipod and a skate board. The anxious mother in me thinks that maybe the skate board is not such a good idea. He struggles with balance, he will fall, he might get hurt, but maybe i need to listen to that little boy, and remember that he likes to prove people wrong, and to never say never to him.