True Story Tuesday: Our Snow Angels

Phew!  Made it just under the wire!  Since this is the last TST until the New Year *sniff*sniff*, I had to write something.  And leave it to me to create my own TST material this week!  For more True Story Tuesday fun, go visit Rachel & Mr Daddy at Once Upon A Miracle.






Sunday, we headed home from our annual trip to Phoenix.  We ran into snow in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado.  I love our weather.  Thankfully, it didn't start sticking until we hit the CO state line.  But blowing snow in NM is fun too.


We were just a few miles from our house, following behind my dad.  They were behind a small white pickup.  For some reason known only to God, SWP decided to test the off-road capabilities of their truck on a snow-packed and iced-over highway.  They slipped off the side of the road, overcorrected, tried to flip, then fishtailed for a while before straightening out. 


My parents started to come to a stop quickly when the chaos started.  I tried.  Their ginormous 4X4 stops much better on ice than my little front-wheel drive minivan rocketship.  I started sliding. 


You know those moments of extreme clarity?  Where your mind races, but in a good way? 


I had a choice - middle of the road, or towards the ditch.  I chose a soft slide into the ditch over 360s in the middle of a highway.  In fact, we slided in so softly, the kids didn't even realize what had happened.  But we were stuck. 


A state patrol officer stopped almost immediately.  He, Jerome, and my dad tried to push the van back onto the highway, to no avail.  And, of course, this was the first time my dad did not have a tow chain in the back.  And no one we flagged down had one either.


Finally, Jerome called a buddy who lives near us.  He hopped in his car with his chain and headed our way.  Right as our friend neared our car, an entire truck full of college students pulled over to help.  They didn't have a tow chain, but they did have muscle to spare.  They literally lifted the front of my van and pushed it back onto the highway.  Then they jumped in their car and left. 


After we got home, the girls started calling those kids our snow angels.  I think the name fits.

A Day of Thanks

I am sitting at my grandma's table. The girls are running around stealing chips and candy, and getting away with it because we are at Grandma's. And because it's Thanksgiving.

My family is gathered around the kitchen counter, munching chips and salsa and talking about nothing and everything. But we are together.

Today my heart is full. It is a good day to give thanks.
Tiffany

True Story Tuesday: Saint Pukeicus???

In case you were wondering about yesterday's post, the photos are in chronological order!  So, yes, my sis-in-love Kristin got it right!

And Rachel cracked me up because she had it, then she second-guessed herself!

Anyways, are you ready for another ridiculous, yet true Bleger story?

***CAUTION***

***BODILY FUNCTIONS IN DISCUSSION***

***DO NOT BLAME ME IF YOU HURL***

I still can't figure this one out...


Last Thursday, Madi had a rough evening.  Whiny, grumpy, complaining of a stomach ache.  We just figured she was overly tired and sent her to bed. 


Fast forward almost 4 hours.


I awake just before midnight to Katrina's yells from their shared bedroom.  I stumble in to find Madison mid-puke on her bed.  She was surrounded by undigested spaghetti, and still going strong.  I went back to our room to enlist Daddy's help. 


We got her pj's off and Daddy took her to the bathroom to clean up while I cleaned the mess.  Once she smelled halfway decent, Daddy built her a nest on our bedroom floor near the puke bucket (a necessity to family life, I might add), and snuggled with her while I stripped the sheets and got everything in the washer.  And then we settled back in ourselves.


Daddy woke up at 5 AM to torture himself go running with his friend.  He got up, got dressed, and left the house. 


He got back at 6:30 AM so that we could all get ready for the day.


He sat down beside me on the bed and asked, "Why is Madi on the floor?"


I thought, perhaps, she had rolled off the nest during the night, so I told him as much.


He responded, "No.  Why is she sleeping in our room?"





Really?





He didn't, did he?





Oh yes, he did.




My man has the ability to bathe, prepare a bed, properly align a puke bucket, and snuggle a child, all while sound asleep.


Sometimes, I wish I could make this stuff up.


You know you have family legends!  Go link up with Rachel & Mr. Daddy for more TST fun!

Monday Mugs: Paper Fun

Mondays are hard! Blogging on Mondays shouldn't be!

 

 

Can you guess which Bleger girl is which?

Because, at the same age,

you could probably mistake them for triplets.

Chrismas Shopping With Purpose

I have found my Christmas mojo.  Last week, when Jerome asked me what we were getting everyone for Christmas, I said, "Nothing.  I don't even want to go there.  Don't talk to me about it.  Shush."


Yes, I know.  Bah Humbug!


Every year I would obsess about finding just the right present, what they would like, what I have given them in the past few years.  And it stressed me out.  But, wow, have I had a realization this week!  I love to receive presents that have a story, or a purpose, behind them.  A reason.  And I am sure our family and friends feel the same. 


And there are so many people who, especially in this economy, still feel God's pull to bring home a precious orphan.  My heart has done a 180 on adoption since our pastors arrived at our church.  I have met precious children who have come home to their forever families.  I have held them.  I have snuggled them.  They have stolen my heart. 


And I thought, perhaps, my bloggy friends were looking for a little more purpose and meaning behind their gifts this year as well. 


So, here are a couple of ways and families you can help:


Our nanny Sara and her husband are working towards adopting their first from Africa.  She makes stocking caps and beautiful jewelry.  You can find her Etsy site here.  She is adding new pieces daily, so keep checking back.  But I would suggest doing it quickly, as I plan on raiding her stock this Sunday for my presents.  BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!


Also, our pastor's wife has a post on her blog completely dedicated to families trying to adopt.  Each link in the post is a family raising money for adoption through creative endeavors.  There is literally something for everyone!  You can go here for her Shopping With a Purpose post. 


UPDATE:  My new bloggy friend Laura pointed me towards a friend of hers.  Chris and Lindsey adopted a sweet little girl from Guatemala.  Lindsey was recently diagnosed with Lyme Disease after a 3 year battle to find a diagnosis.  They are selling anything and everything they can think of, and accepting donations to help with their medical expenses as well.


If you know of someone selling their wares for a purpose, be it adoption, medical costs, etc, please send me a link.  I would love to include it in this post.


The knowledge that a present I purchased to bless someone else is working towards bringing home a sweet babe is well worth the time, in my eyes.

True Story Tuesday...Faster Daddy!

Remember when Jerome and I went on our wonderful weekend getaway in July? 

Well, one stop we made was in Telluride.  Yes, Telluride, the playground of the rich and famous, summer residence to Oprah and Tom.  That Telluride. 

Home of the wonderful ski area as well.  See the run behind the house?

Well, a long time ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth I was a kid, Telluride was just like all the other little Colorado ski towns.  It hadn't been "discovered" by all the fur-coat wearers.  It was just a great place for locals to ski.  And it was cheap enough that a blended family with three daughters and one son could afford to go together.

I was a baby when I started "skiing".  My mom has photos of her, somewhere, skiing while pregnant with me.  She refuses to give them to me - something about a beehive and polyester.  Anywho, this particular ski trip took place when I was about 2.

Daddy skied down the mountain with me on his shoulders.  I know, he would probably get arrested for child endangerment these days.  But, back then, nobody worried about stuff like that.  We just went out and had fun.

So, we skied down the mountain.  And I discovered that it was great fun to put my hands over Daddy's eyes while we were skiing. 

He didn't think it was so funny.

Mom later wondered how I knew so many cuss words at such a young age.

We blamed it on Grandma.

Have a funny story to share?  A legend that lives on with every family reunion?  Then go visit Rachel & Mr Daddy for more True Story Tuesday!

The Sun Will Come Out...

... after driving 7 1/2 hours through snow storms.  Yup, that is what I got to do yesterday....

... after winning the meanest mom of the year award for waking Sleeping Beauty far too early and not letting her have anything to eat or drink.

... after driving completely across the greater Denver metropolis in the snow during rush hour to get to the hospital on time.

... after having our amazing friend greet us at the hospital entrance, coffee in hand.

... after sitting in the waiting room, so grateful for all the things my baby did not have to go through, and praying for all the babies that had it so much worse than mine.

... after watching my kid be SO STINKIN BRAVE during the CT scan, and only flinch a little when the IV accidentally fell out while she was using the restroom.

... after collecting poop samples in the Old Navy restroom.  Saint Poopicus returns!  It never fails.  Take the kid to Old Navy, look at clothes, poop within 15 minutes (usually when I find something cute for me).

... after returning said poop samples to the lab.  So happy that is not my job!

... after driving back across the greater Denver metropolis to retrieve my water bottle from the house we stayed at.

... after getting stuck in traffic on the highway out of town for 30 minutes only to realize that the stop to get my water bottle probably saved our lives - horrific accident due to fog that we missed by literally minutes.


We made really good time, considering.  Wolf Creek, the big pass we had to cross, was horrible.  Kat was asleep, so I just kept plowing on.  The snow plows hadnt been able to get all the way through because so many people were off the side of the road, or flipped over.  I was very excited when we got off the pass, to say the least.


We woke this morning to Katrina removing the rest of the CT contrast from her body in a rather ... ahem ... violent manner.  Both ways.  I love the smell of Lysol in the morning.  So, we stayed home.  She was pretty puny, and the littles desperately needed mommy snuggles, so it was deemed movie and coloring day.  I got NOTHING done.


The doc and I had a long talk this morning.  She felt horrible when I told her how Katrina and I felt after the appointment.  We realized that she did not explain the diagnosis well at all.  The CT scan was completely normal, so we are looking at two options.  One is the abdominal migraines.  The other is something called Functional Abdominal Pain Syndrome.  Essentially, some children have extremely sensitive nerves in their abdomen.  They sense pain faster and stronger than other children.  There is no cure, but most children grow out of it on their own.  These are also children who are typically more sensitive emotionally than other children, which Katrina is. 


The plan is to have a prescription of Maxalt, the migraine medicine that worked, on hand in case we need it.  We will also be meeting with our pediatrician to discuss therapy to teach her coping and relaxation techniques.  Once I found out it was nerve related, my first thought was to talk to a friend of ours who is a chiropractor.  Please pray for my heart in this.  I have struggled to trust chiropractors most of my life.  And trusting one with my daughter is a huge step of faith for me.


So, how do I feel?  Relieved and frustrated.  Relieved that there is nothing huge wrong.  Frustrated that I cannot take her pain away or make it better.  Relieved that, finally, someone is listening to my daughter and taking her seriously.