News On the Homefront

Lupus is not a death sentence. The truly amazing God send of me finding this when we did is that it is very early. I am not having a major flare (which is what they call it when the Lupus becomes super active and damaging). I am having very minor symptoms. The other good news is that we have health insurance now. We didn't have regular health insurance prior to Brad having a "regular" job. Once again, God was watching out for us. While I can't say that I am totally excited to have this diagnosis, it could be a lot worse. At least now we have a starting point.

In other news on the home front...Aidan is having a good time at kindergarten. He doesn't dislike it, but I wouldn't say he loves it yet. When I pick him up after school he says that his favorite part of the day was "everything" (to once again quote his friend, Seth). When asked what he did that day his answer usually consists of, "Oh, we just learned and played on the playground." It's almost as if he needs a little bit of decompression time. Around dinner he usually starts in with all the stories from the day. So-and-so fell off the merry go round. So-and-so played with me today. So-and-so played on the monkey bars and fell off. Etc...It is fun to hear about his day. Right now he is working on writing his name with lower case letters. He knows his lower case letters already--he just prefers to write it all in uppercase letters. Perhaps it's all the talk at home about uppercase living (my business). Who knows? He definitely has strong opinions about things. I have no idea where he gets that from...

Breanna is adjusting to having mommy to herself for the entire day. We get to play games (sans big brother interruptions or domination). We get to read her stories first. We get to watch girly movies by ourselves. It has been fun just having girl time, but we definitely miss Bubba, too.

Breanna-ism

Today's Breanna-ism: book betarded

Translation: printing started. Our printer is so polite that when it starts printing it lets us know by verbally saying "printing started."

The Word

We're not saying it. We're talking around it. It feels like if we don't say it, then it isn't really true. Maybe it will un-happen. If only... Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. This is real life, not the movies. I guess it's kind of been a long time coming, but it just wasn't supposed to happen to me. Isn't that what everyone says? But statistically speaking, it really wasn't supposed to happen to me. Really. I'm sure you're wondering what I'm talking about by now. Lupus. I have lupus. There. I've said it. Some slightly strange things have been going on with my body. I won't go into the details--trust me, you don't want to know. So I've been going to the doctor, and "just in case" he wanted me to run some blood work to see if it came back positive for lupus. My dad had it. My sister has it. Now I have it. It's supposed to be less than 5% chance of passing it onto your offspring--even if you have a sibling that has it. Thanks, Dad. Apparently, my parents had a good combination that way. Native Americans are one of the higher risk groups, apparently. Maybe my mom's Cherokee blood and my dad's health history were just the right combination. Apparently so. I don't even know what to do right now. I wasn't home last night when my doctor called. I haven't even got to talk to him about my questions yet. He wasn't in yet when I called this morning. I haven't even got to talk to my mom yet. Happy birthday, Mom. Yesterday was also her birthday. My husband isn't talking much about it. Like I said, he won't even say the word. He is so worried. He's a worrier. He holds it in and worries. Please pray for him, so that he won't get an ulcer. I did get to talk to my sister this morning. She is doing really well. She has actually been in remission for a long time. So much so, that she just found out about that other word that most people don't say--she's pregnant! I am so excited for her!!! What a day. It is simultaneously very high and very low. Please pray for her, too, that she will have a healthy pregnancy. It was interesting to talk to Dena this morning. Like most of us, her faith in God has gone up and down, but this morning she was sharing some challenges in their life right now. She told me that God never gives us more than we can handle. It says that in the Bible. I was looking for the refence for that verse when I came across this one, Ephesians 5:19-20: ...Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything... It doesn't say give thanks for just the good things He gives us--for everything. Here's another one from 1 Thessalonians 5: 16 Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Give thanks in all circumstances. ALL circumstances. ALL. Thank you, God, for allowing me to have Lupus. Why? I don't know. That's up to Him.

We Survived!!!

We all survived Aidan's first day of kindergarten. Amazingly enough, there were no tears, but he did have a little bit of paparrazzi action going on. Three grandparents, 1 Daddy, 1 Sister, and 1 Mommy, 2 cameras, and 1 video camera all accompanied my son to his first day of kindergarten. I think he must be used to it because he didn't even flinch at the cameras or all the hugs and kisses. When you live in a small town and you have two sets of grandparents living close, that's just how it goes. He told me that his favorite thing was "everything" to quote his wonderful friend, Seth. Since it was just a half day, it wasn't too hard on Mommy and Sissy. I think the hard part will be when he starts all day, next week. Aidan was extremely excited about snack time. They had "funny face fruit snacks"--you know, those little gummy things that have 2 drops of fruit juice in them, so they can call them fruit snacks. He loves those and they are not something that Mommy usually buys. So when his fans (aka grandparents) have called to ask about his first day at kindergarten, that's what he tells them about, and that they played on the playground for "a couple hours." He is still learning about time. So cute!

The BIG Day

It's finally here. It seemed like it would it would never come and at the same time I hoped it never would. Kindergarten. Today is Aidan's first day. He said he is scared--not nervous or anxious, as Mommy tried to assert--scared. He'll be fine. He has 2 parents, a sister, and possible a few of the grandparents, too, to send him off. He'll be fine. I will be taking pictures. I got lots of film just for this occasion. He'll be fine. I'll be fine, too. I just can't believe it's finally here. I have to keep it short today because I'm making him jelly waffles this morning. We don't want to be late for our very first day of kindergarten. I'll let you know how it goes.

Untying the Apron Strings

I've learned that it is a good thing to have mentors. We have mentors for different areas. We have some mentors for our finances. We, obviously, couldn't figure that one out correctly on our own.:) We have spiritual accountability people (that I feel are like mentors because they have amazing walks with the Lord). I have upline ladies that are mentors for me in my business. I even have a lovely lady that I feel is like a mentor mom for me. (I actually have several great ladies in this category, my mom and mom-in-law included.) I guess I like to draw from a lot of life experience when trying to figure out the best way for me to be the best I can. This mentor mom used to tell us all the time to "untie the apron strings" with our kids when the time was right. "Age appropriate," she would say,"untie those apron strings," with all the kindness of a grandmother and the sweetness of the Lord. What she meant by this is that we have to let our kids experience life for themselves. They won't learn very well if we try to do everything for them--even though it may seem easier at the time. For example, Aidan is finally learning to tie his shoes. It's not his fault that we have waited until he is almost 6. They just don't make many kids' shoes with ties anymore. They have zippers and Velcro and elastic, but very few have laces! (If my biological father were alive, I could hear him saying that is because "they" are trying to dumb down kids in America...but that's a blog for another day.) Aidan is really picking up the whole shoe tying thing rather quickly. We practice a couple times a day, because I told him that he will have to tie his own shoes if they come undone at school. He is so cute to watch his little fingers make the loop and wrap it around. He gets a little carried away with the wrapping around, but he'll get there. Untie the apron strings... Every morning he wakes up before I do. That is the one time of day that he really gets to watch his cartoons. He is definitely Daddy's boy in that respect--they both enjoy watching TV. Of course, he is just famished by morning time because he is a growing boy. He has learned how to get his own bowl and how to tell if the dishes in the dishwasher are clean--and even how to pour the milk himself. Untie the apron strings... It used to freak me out to hear him getting in the fridge to pour the milk himself, but he learned that if he sets the bowl on the floor he can pour without making too much of a mess. He knows how to clean up a mess, too. That was one of the first things I taught him when he started walking--he knows where the towels are. Even Breanna knows that one now, too. Untie the apron strings... It's so fun to watch them grow up, but at the same time it scares me to death! It's a comfort (and a bit disheartening) to know that kids are very resilient. They can overcome and recover from a lot and still turn out "fine". Just about everyone I know--that knows the Lord--has come from a dysfunctional family of one sort or another. It's a fallen world. It's inevitable. But for the grace of God... we would be so lost. My point to all of this is that our kids need us. My kids need me. Yes, they learn so much every day! But they still have a long way to go. For that matter, I still have a long way to go. It is so fun and terrifying to be almost completely responsible for the entire knowledge and spiritual foundation that is taught to my kids. That's what is going to carry them throughout their whole lives and into eternity! No pressure. I heard a lady on the radio one time say that to be a mother is not just about wiping bottoms and noses--it's about nurturing an eternal soul. Again, no pressure.

P.S. Thank you, God, for the rain last night. I didn't really want to mow the yard today!:)

Drama Queen

It has been brought to my attention (OKAY, several times) that I have a slight tendency to exaggerate. So it comes as no surprise that I might have pushed the envelope a little bit when I was describing our "old" truck that we are driving around right now. My friend pointed out to me that by my description on my previous blog that she thought I was driving around some hideously old (think: circa 1950's), rusted out, barely running, antique of a truck. It's truly not that bad. It was just my ego that felt like the aforementioned beater truck, I guess. At this point, if my digital camera was working, I would insert a picture to show the world that it isn't so bad, but since my camera isn't working, you'll have to settle for my lackluster verbal description. Yes, it is old, but only 17 years old. Honestly, there are still a lot of people driving the same style trucks around. In fact, our truck has a "twinkie" that lives just a block over. Yes, it has a little bit of oxidation going on in the paint. Again, if I got out there with a bottle of good wax and a buffer (which we do have one), it would probably look a little shinier. I guess I'm not as vain as I thought...:P Right? It does run okay. It's just not the quietest ride ever. I find myself constantly asking the kids to speak up so I can hear them over the engine--and they are sitting right behind me. Oh well. We'll adapt. We are learning about budgeting, but soon we will have saved up money to go buy a new(er) car AND pay cash for it. That will be an amazing day. I am so looking forward to it. So in the words of the fabulous disciple Paul (in Philippians), "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." That's what I'm working on.

Deafening Silence

My little baby is so quickly growing up. No, she hasn't weaned herself completely from nursing. Not yet, anyway. However, she did have her first sleep over with Grandma and Grandpa last night. Aidan was gone camping with Granddad. I couldn't believe the quiet in my house. Even though they don't normally make a lot of sound while they are sleeping, it just sounded extra quiet last night--and this morning. After Brad left for work this morning, I didn't know what to do with myself. I made myself oatmeal (and made way too much because normally I would have shared it with the hovering vultures that get up before me and make their own cereal but are somehow STARVING when I get up half hour later), and actually got to sit down and eat it. What a concept! It was even hot! I am super proud of Breanna. I think we finally (for real this time) got this sleeping thing under control. For the last 3 weeks or so, Breanna has been sleeping through the night. One night in that time span she got up and came to our bed earlier (about 3:30 a.m.), but she hasn't been coming into our bed until 5:30 or 6:00 a.m.!!! That's huge for her! Yippee! I am so not complaining about that one. I am finally starting to get sleep, too. I told Brad that I've started dreaming again. I don't think I've had any dreams for the last 3 years, until lately. I still don't feel completely rested, but it's getting better. We'll get there...one night at a time.

In other news, Aidan is recovering from a black eye--not his first, but the first in quite a while. He is, after all, all boy. He actually didn't do it to himself this time. My sweet little angel girl clocked her big brother up side the head with a sippy cup a few days ago. That will teach him to push her too far. It's in the pretty green stage right now. Aidan is excited because he thinks he is turning into the hulk. Whatever gets you through it, Buddy.;) Kids are great!

Dinosaurs & Armpit Farts

As the days quickly draw nearer to the end of summer and the first day of kindergarten, I find myself just wanting to chill out with my kibbies. Of course, laundry still has to be done and dishes washed--I can't be a complete slob. I find myself just wanting to hang out with them. It's feels like an end to an era. Aidan's going to kindergarten! He'll be gone all day...everyday. Not than I've never left him anywhere before. He's had more sleepovers with the grandparents than I can count. A couple times it's even been for two nights in a row. This is different. I love being with him and having him around. Yes, he makes poor choices sometimes and fights too much with Breanna, and yes, he knows how to completely make an extremely dangerous living area of his room in under 60 seconds flat. But he giggles and races and digs and puddle splashes and ant smashes and sword fights and gives me increasingly toothless kisses on only my cheek in the cutest of ways. What will I do when I can't just wrestle with him or tickle him anytime I want? I know that it will be fabulous time with just Breanna. It really will! She is so much fun to play with, too. And that girl likes to shop! She's 3 and she loves to shop! She even helps me pick out clothes--all pink, mind you--but she does help. It's just going to be so quiet around here. One small consolation I do have is that several of my friends have their firstborns going off to kindergarten, too. I won't be alone in my angst. Even playdates will be more quiet...I pray that all the kids start school on the same day so we can all meet and cry together. That's what girl friends are for, right?

You are probably wondering at this point what the title of this blog has to do with starting kindergarten. In my efforts to just hang out with my kids and just be with them, I have been trying to loosen up a little bit. Case in point, Aidan came to me while I was fixing dinner last night and asked me how to do armpit noises. Like the loving, disciplinarian mom that I am, I promptly put the spatula down and showed him how to do a proper armpit fart. It was great fun! He got a couple good ones out. I was impressed. Somehow, I never was very good at armpit farts until my 5 1/2-year-old son asked me to show him how. The really funny part was watching Breanna try to do it, as well. She puts one hand up her shirt (but not necessarily in her armpit) and flaps the other arm wildly (think: chicken dance). It was hilarious! The other thing we did for probably 2 hours yesterday afternoon was put snap-together, glow-in-the-dark dinosaurs together. It really was fun. Aidan likes dinosaurs. Breanna likes anything that Aidan likes. In that respect, it will be fun to see her come into her own as big brother is not around to guide their play most of the day. She'll have to do her own thing. I'm sure I will entertain her for the first few days, just to ease the transition of not having Bubba around, but I am so not into the entertain your kid all day long thing. We'll see. I'm sure that it will all turn out just fine. That's the great thing about God: He's with my Aidan even when I can't be. I just have to trust Him. That's what it's all about.