Tales from the Neb

Children are resilient.  When Violet was 10 weeks old, we took her to Paris for a family vacation.  Nuts, I know.  While we were there, she contracted a horrible case of RSV (a really nasty respiratory virus, for anyone who does not know).  Her lungs have been compromised ever since.

Every cold, every bad allergy season, it goes right to her lungs.  She gets horribly congested, has a hard time breathing, and battles fatigue.  Last year, she was hospitalized for pneumonia because her little body just could not fight on its own. 

Poor kid has been miserable this year.  There are many days we simply cannot let her outside because the wind, dust, and allergens are too bad.  She has spent the last two months with a constantly running nose, congested lungs, and lovely cough.  But she is so tough.  She fights to keep going.  It is hard to tell she is sick unless you ask her - she wants to keep up with the big kids.

One part of our daily routine is the nebulizer.  Any parent of a kid with lung problems is intimately familiar with this piece of medical equipment.  Praise the Lord we chose to buy one when Katrina was a baby and contracted RSV.  It has gotten a lot of use over the years.

Violet does great with the neb.  She will tell us if she feels like she needs a breathing treatment.  She sits on the couch and holds it herself.

But the effects can be interesting.  Neb treatments open up her lungs rapidly, flooding her little body with oxygen.  All of a sudden, she can breathe.  And it makes her super hyper.

She talks about a mile a minute.  Nonstop.  We have learned to let her stay up for a little bit after her treatments, otherwise she will just lay in bed and talk to her stuffed animals for an hour.  She also gets twitchy.

She has a hard time sitting still.

And thinks she is the baby Shawn Johnson.

I know that in the grand scheme of things, our little girls health problem is minimal, no big deal.  It is not life-altering, just routine-altering.  It is not the end of the world, just a part of the day.  But I must say, we could all, as adults, learn a bit about perseverance, patience, uncomplaining attitudes from kids.  Like I said before, they are resilient.

Happy Mother's Day

I have really great mamas.  Both my mom and my mom-in-love are amazing.  They are the type of women who give, sacrifice, and love, no matter what. 

As much as I never wanted to admit it, I am so much like my mom.  I look like her, I sound like her, I even act like her.  And now, I take it as a compliment when people tell me how similar we are.  Because if, someday, I can be half as amazing as her, I will consider it an accomplishment.

My mom-in-love has been the glue holding our family together.  She is patient, hard-working, forgiving, and kind.  She was a rock when the rest of my world was a hurricane.  And she raised my husband to be the amazing man he is today.

Happy Mother's Day to my mamas!  I love you!

Just a pretty day

It has been a good day.  The girls let us sleep in past 6:45 (a miracle in itself for Madison).  We had friends stay the night, so we lounged around all morning, doing nothing.

The kids spent most of the day outside.  They picked these for me for Mothers Day.

While the girls napped, JJ & I worked in the yard.  He mowed, I hauled tree limbs.  We are planning a bonfire Memorial Day weekend (feel free to stop by in you are in town), and I am pretty sure we have enough dead trees for a few fires.  :)

After naps, we went to a friends house for a birthday party. 

Anytime our crew gets together, there are a few children around.

And, yet again we proved that it takes multiple men to cook meat.

Violet enjoyed some quality time in the great outdoors, escaping the control of Big Sister.

And Madison got some quality time with her friend.

Now the girls are sound asleep in their beds.  All is peaceful.  My arms are scratched from wrist to shoulder from all the trees.  My legs hurt from hauling giant tree limbs all over our land.  But it has been a good day.  A pretty day. 

Letters of Intent

You can join Julie at Foursons for more fun letters!


Dear Utah:

You can keep your dirt on your side of the state line.  I don't really need it in my nostrils. 

Thank you,
Allergic to Everything

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Dear Fellow Bloggers,

I had no idea about the "no reply" thing.  I swear.  I could not, for the life of me, figure out what it meant when someone would comment on my blog and that phrase would show up in my inbox.  I had no idea I was committing the same heinous error.  But, thanks to Brandi over at MyThreeBubs, I have seen the light and changed my ways. 

Sincerely,
The Newbie

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Dear Sunshine & Warm Weather,

Please stay around.  Because it is traumatic for my three-year-old to not be able to wear her new flip-flops to church because you decided to run and hide behind the stupid snow monster.  Again.  Next time you pull that stunt, you get to deal with her drama.

Sincerely,
The Mom Who Just Wants Peace

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For Those Who Are Struggling:

I feel you, sister.  This has not been an easy year for me, either.  Last night was one of those interesting nights.  Nights where, after the chaos has died down, and everyone else is asleep, you curl up in bed with your Bible and have a moment with God - the "I am in such a foul mood right now that You had better have something encouraging in this book for me or I will throw a two-year-old hissy fit" kind of moment.  And He did.  And, immediately, I thought of today's post, and wondered if there wasn't someone else out there who needed to hear this from Daddy.  So here you go.

Psalm 20

1.May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

2.May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion.

3.May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. "Selah"

4.May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.

5.We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests.

6.Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand.

7.Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

8.They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.

9.O Lord, save the king! Answer us when we call!

 
Love,
The other one who throws fits
 
 

The River

There is a park in our town that is right next to the river.  Almost every time we go, the girls ask to sit by the river.  We love climbing onto the boulders and just sitting.

There is something so peaceful about the sounds and sights of a river.

Although any trip to the river must involve throwing rocks.

Even the bright sunlight cannot deter my children from the river.

Or a dirty face from lunch.  Because the river does not care if you still have ketchup on your face.

But, mostly, we just sit and watch.

And share a quiet moment together.

True Story Tuesday - A True Bleger Welcome

You can join Rachel & Mr. Daddy over at Once Upon A Miracle for more *mostly* True Stories!


Actually, I was really having a hard time coming up with a post for today.  It seemed that all the outrageous family stories leaked out my ear over the weekend, and I just couldn't find one.  And then last night happened.  I should have known my children would fill the need.


We met our dear friend Suzi (who needs to blog more) in college.  She is honestly the first black (and it is ok that I call her black - she said so) woman I have really known well.  Although, actually, she is Black, Irish, Polish, Native American, etc.  She calls herself the United Nations for a reason.  The woman simply cracks me up.  She is honest, blunt, opinionated, and passionate.  And I love her to death.


After college, she lived in Japan for a year with YWAM, then moved near her dad in Denver, then on to Philly.  So, really, we have not seen her since Katrina was a baby.  She came to Denver last week to celebrate her dad's birthday, and decided to make a side trip down to see us.  Woohoo!


She got in last night.  We visited while she made us dinner - true Philly cheese steak sandwiches.  Can you say yum?  Basically, you take this:

And lots of this:

Add cheese (which must be Provolone, American, or CheeseWiz), and enjoy.  And were they tasty!


Auntie Suzi taught the girls some new vocabulary (wonky, precious, and that's just wrong just sound so funny when spoken by tiny white girls with a Philly sass accent).


The girls told Suzi that she must have eaten all her veggies as a little girl.  Yes, my "eat your veggies so your boobies will grow big" moment has officially come back to haunt me.


But the true Bleger welcome came after dinner.  I told the big girls to go get ready for bed.  Now, we have already decided that Madison is a tiny white version of Suzi.  And Madi has decided that Suzi is pretty much the center of the known universe.  So, what did Madi do when I asked her to put her pjs on?


She went to our foyer, hid behind the game chest, took off ALL of her clothing, then streaked the living room.


Welcome to Colorado Suzi!


Poor Q was traumatized.  Ok, not really, but she couldn't stop laughing for about 5 minutes.  And, because she was laughing, I was laughing.  And because I was laughing, Madison just kept on running. 


Yes, my daughter will streak a complete stranger.  Should I worry?

Saturday SOOC

Man that girl loves her pasta!  

Head over to Melody's for more SOOC Saturday!