Surgery Complete!...March Edition

I have to tell you that Nash's surgery went off without a hitch and most of that is due to the fact that Nash has yet again proven he is the best little patient ever.  He ate Jello and Popsicles for breakfast and was then of course hungry not too long after that.  He didn't fuss about being hungry.  He didn't complain about the 1.5 hours of waiting before his surgery, nor did he cry in the "Sleepy Gas Room" while he was sniffing bubble gum scented gas before they took him into the O.R.  He didn't even complain when we had to wake him in the recovery room or the extra 40 minutes it took us to get home in rush hour traffic.  Not once did he say that his eyes hurt.  I gave him pain meds only because it made ME feel better about the whole situation.   This kid is amazing and God could not have given us a better experience.  It's a good thing it went so smoothly because there is a chance that we could have to do it again.  Seriously.

Mark took Nash for a one week follow up appointment today and the doctor said that his eyes are 50% better.  There is still a chance that as his eye muscles heal the eyes could relax into a better place making another surgery unnecessary, but there are no guarantees...obviously. Considering how well Nash did this time, the biggest bummer would be PAYING for two surgeries.

Nash had to have eye drops 4 times a day this first week after surgery which he didn't care for, but even still, he was such a trooper.  It may have something to do with the 3 gummy bears I gave him each time we were finished...one for each eye and one for being so brave.  "I just have to bwink, bwink, bwink.  Right, Mom?'' That's blink, blink, blink to you lay folk. He is precious.

The day of Nash's surgery Mark came down with a massive "man cold".  Sneezing, snotty disgustingness.  He was scheduled to go to work the next day, but I convinced him to call in sick for his trip (which he never does).  He didn't want to do that because he was going to spend 30 hours in the Bahamas and overall the trip was pretty easy.  Thank God he didn't go to work because he was so sick he slept the better part of 2 days. It took him 3 days to feel human again and to come back to the land of the living.  

The other thing worth noting about the day of Nash's surgery is that night Luke went to bed saying that he felt sick to his stomach.  I convinced him to sleep on the bottom bunk since Nash was going to sleep on the floor of our room so we could be close should he need anything in the night.  Mark and I were exhausted so we turned in for the night before 10 PM.  At 11 PM Luke comes creeping to my bedside and I could smell the vomit before he even got the words out.  Luke puked in his sleep, all over the bed, and a little got on the carpet.  It was so rancid that I had to wake the resident (sick) vomit expert up from his sickly slumber to clean up the mess because I couldn't even stand the smell this time.  Luke then slept on our bathroom floor (the only reason why it's a bonus to have carpet in the master bath!) and vomited again at 1 PM.  It was an eventful evening, and when morning came, I cancelled school for the day and then Mark and the kids watched The Lego Movie.  It was the only way to survive!

I got a milder version of Mark's cold in which my body ached and I was extra tired for a few days.  It was hard to keep up with Ellie and the many requests throughout the day with Mark down and Luke out of commission. I got through by napping a couple of hours for 3 days in a row. Now, I've got an annoying "recovery" cough, but I'm able to get on with things which is helpful in a family that never stops.

Below are the pictures from the hospital and the pictures from Nash's birthday party.

 Besides the redness on his cheek, can you see the red in the corner of his eye?  I tried not to look him in the eyes because it was a little hard to look at.  He was totally fine with it though!

 When it was time to open presents, Nash climbed right up into Uncle Bert's lap.  It was sweet.

 My niece brought her cute little pooch, Chief.

 My mom is a workhorse in almost every situation, but to have someone do the dishes after a party is heavenly.  Thanks, Mom!

 Cousin Adam and Grandpa.  I'm not sure who was teasing whom, but they were having a great time.

 I love how they hold Chief like a baby. If we had a dog, I'd want him and since they won't hand him over, it's case closed...no dog for us.  :)

I know I kind of did this in reverse order, I'm feeling kind of crazy tonight!  On with it...

Outside my window...it's a dark, but warm at 52 degrees.  Today the high was 55 and SUNNY.  Oh, happy day!  The kids were beside themselves and ran outside after their schoolwork was complete.  They were barefoot stomping in a melted snow puddle because they said it was "hot".  Yeah, right.  I hope this pre-spring thaw is here to stay.

Ellie's social worker came over at 2 while all this barefoot merry making was going on and my mom was joking that we would get black marks on our fostering record for recklessly letting our kids play outside with no shoes when it was clearly not hot.  She didn't bat an eye and said that if she didn't have to work today, she'd probably run around outside with no shoes on too.

I am praying for...Nash's eyes to make a complete recovery, Ellie and her parents, a friend's foster kiddo's situation, and the judges and magistrates that decide the future of the children in foster care.

News in Ellie...Well, this sweet baby girl is so close to being able to sit up entirely independently.  I was sitting close by to "spot" her today and she did really well.  She cries very easily at strangers and the funniest example of that was this week when we popped in the Song School Latin DVD.  She took one look at the lady on screen introducing the new lesson's vocabulary and started bawling.  She'd turn her head away and look back and start crying all over again. Absolutely hilarious!

I mentioned earlier that we had meeting with Ellie's worker today.  Mark and I were really looking forward to our chat because we had a lot of unanswered questions regarding the lack of forward progress her parents are making in relation to the next court date quickly approaching at the end of April.  I can't tell you much, but that her parents keep showing up and are so loving towards Elles.  HOWEVER, they have a pretty big item to check off their to-do list and despite many assurances that that would be accomplished "in the next few weeks", nothing has changed.  We are praying and rooting for them, but I must say as the weeks roll on, the warm fuzzy feelings I've had towards them all along are diminishing.  It's time for them to make a move if they plan on taking this to the next level.

We've had her for 7 months and nothing appears to be changing much.  They seem content to soak up the time they get with Elles and then hand her back over to us.  It's a little strange to me this far into the game. I know they aren't going to throw in the towel, so they better make some progress here soon.  Unless something radical happens, we will likely have her until her first birthday.  Court is scheduled every 90 days and there are only 6 weeks until the next date and since they haven't done what they needed to do, they will likely have to wait another 90 days until they are due back in court again!  It's mind boggling. Absolutely mind boggling.  It looks like we'll get to take her on vacation with us towards the end of May and then possibly in June as well.  


A favorite quote... "To be a Mother is to be the sacrament—the effective symbol—of place. Mothers do not make homes, they are our home: in the simple sense that we begin our days by long sojourn within the body of a woman; in the extended sense that she remains our center of gravity through the years. She is the very diagram of belonging, the where in whose vicinity we are fed and watered. She is geography incarnate, with her breasts and her womb, her relative immobility, and her hands reaching up to us the fruitfulness of the earth."
-Robert Farror Capon 

A few plans...tomorrow we are going to the aquarium to take advantage of the cheaper admission fees of home school days.  The next day is Nash's actual 4th birthday.  Oh, my baby!  Depending on the weather we might go to the zoo or something else fun so that he doesn't get the shaft like usual where we do school and he plays patiently until the big kids are finished.  Brooke should get her braces off this week and there is packing for our cruise to do! Below is the paper chain Stella and I made.  It has a lot less links on it today so we are getting close.  Eeekk!!!!

The next time I'll be back here in April, I'll be posting pictures of our vacation.  Bon Voyage!

Love is in the Air...February Edition

My mom says often that it must take me so much time to type up these monthly blog posts and she's right, it does.  Hours, really.  I'm not even sure if anyone besides Mark reads through the entire post anyway, but that doesn't matter to me.  Since the blog is titled Confessions of  Pilot's Wife, I have to confess, dear friends, that while I'm happy if you find encouragement or feel uplifted by my blog,  I write these posts mostly for myself and for my family.  It's a record of who I am now, what is important to our family and how we are striving to grow in holiness and fidelity to Christ, one day or month at a time.  I like to write and post my pictures and so I do.  Hope my rambling brightens your day!

Outside my window...it's snowing...AGAIN!  I woke this morning to the sound of the snowplow dragging down our street sometime before 6 AM when Stella woke me because she had a bad dream. We don't have feet of snow like the northeast, but it's been snowing and COLD for weeks now.  The other morning when I woke up my phone said it was -11.  Brrr...

I am praying for...Nash's outpatient eye surgery scheduled for Tuesday at 1 PM.  He is excited, but Mark and I are less so. His innocence is endearing.  Also, for the co-op I started last year.  I've gotten word that someone in the group is trying to break off and do something similar while taking a good number of families along for the ride.  It's kind of a bummer.

A favorite quote..."God calls all Christians to find Him where they are, as they carry out their occupations in the middle of the world.  He calls them to carry out that very task with human perfection, and at the same time with supernatural outlook; they are called to offer it to God; to live charity with the people around them; to do mortification; to live in the presence of God." -Francis Fernandez  In Conversations with God

I am pondering...Mark and I had a recent conversation in which we were discussing that our marriage has been better since our family has been going to confession regularly.  The grace we receive when we partake of the sacrament are invaluable and the constant examination of conscience where I am able to reflect on my behavior is so eye opening. I realize that nothing can justify my bad behavior and that has been a game changer. I have also become more aware of my selfishness which keeps things real and helps me to strive to be more giving of myself.

 I caught a glimpse of a show on the Catholic channel, EWTN, in which a priest was speaking of couples experiencing difficulties in their marriage.  He found it interesting that people are praying for miracles, particularly pertaining to their marriages, but do not make use of the sacraments Jesus has given us through the Church.  The sacraments are channels of grace and if we aren't taking advantage of those, then we are shutting ourselves off from the help God wants to give us.

I don't want to forget...a week ago I was talking to my dad about the snow and teasing him for not having his sidewalk shoveled already.  Without missing a beat he says to me, "The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away."  This totally cracked me up!

Also, Nash in all his cuteness, regularly says, "because I never!", when he wants to convince us of something he wants to do.  I love it when he wants to say that something is going to fall he says it's going to "timber".

Over dinner last night Brooke tells me that I'm a really great cook and asks if I will teach her some of my cooking "secrets" so when she moves out she'll know how to cook too.  She's been talking a lot about when I move out. Mark asked her if she was planning on leaving soon.  ;) I told her I will teach her sooner than later because I plan on her making dinner for our family in a few short years.

In the kitchen... one of my favorite meals this winter has been chicken pot pie.  I found a GF mix by Bob's Red Mill that is awesome!  It's a great way to use leftover chicken.  I use bags of frozen veggies, my mom's delicious chicken stock, and Trader Joe's Garlic Salt grinder to season.  Since I don't own a pie plate, I use a small, rectangle Pyrex dish and dump the mixture in and put the crust on top.  It's still delicious, but lower carb and I have some dough left to freeze for next time. I'm hungry just thinking about how good this is!  I think I know what I'll be making this week.

Around the house...it's been all about clothes the last few weeks.  I have been trying to gather summer clothes for everyone to take on our up coming cruise in March. Lots of shopping!  It's so weird to even entertain the idea of taking layers off and the thought of wearing a bathing suit makes me shudder. None the less, I don't think I'd be very comfortable wearing a sweater, jeans, wool socks and tall boots in the Caribbean. Stella and I made a paper chain counting down the days so I don't have to answer every hour how many days until the cruise.

Yesterday, I also went through the clothes in our basement storage.  After Nash was born and I had a funeral for my uterus ;), I got rid of all the girl baby clothes and then as Nash outgrew clothes, I got rid of those also.  When we decided to foster, I started saving clothes again with the idea that maybe we'd adopt one of those sweet little ones and one day he or she would use those clothes.  I've come to the realization that only God knows when or if that will be, so I might as well not hoard clothes that could bless someone else right now.  I have 12 trash bags full of clothes and shoes to donate.  Yes, 12.  I can only imagine how many more there would have been if 3 years ago I didn't donate all the baby clothes we had!

News in school...I feel like a broken record when I say that this is the best school year yet, but it is!  It was a little uncomfortable getting back in the swing of things after Christmas, but otherwise, we've been chugging merrily along. We are making steady progress and still making allowances for times when circumstances dictate we set school aside for the day.

 We are using more workbooks this year than we have in the past because after Brooke went to traditional school last year, she decided she really liked them and requested that we use some in our home school.  They have worked out great especially since Brooke and Luke do them independently. Learning on their level without me (usually) having to directly teach them has been a great blessing. We've also started using assignment notebooks which has gone a long way in making school more seamless.  As I'm checking the day's work, I usually write the next days assignments so things have been very simple to keep track of.

News in Ellie...she's 7 months old!! She is rolling in all directions, starting to sit independently, has two teeth, and thank you, Jesus, she sleeps through the night!!! She is so easy going and happy and beautiful.   I got a text from her mama this month that said the sweetest things...how they appreciate our family loving on her and even though they wish this never happened, they are so thankful for our support and many other sweet sentiments. Ellie's mom also said that she wishes she had a mom like me.  This made me teary eyed because I know that in a lot of families, history is just repeating itself.  Maybe she feels like she'd be in a different place if her mom raised her differently, I don't know.  They have been a great blessing to me as well and we are continuing to pray for their forward progress.

I am creating...an incentive program for Stella to encourage what I like to call "big girl behavior", less fussing, more words, and prompt obedience. Yesterday in Mass I was praying for Stella because she was in one of her "moods".  She was fussy and stubborn and I was asking our Blessed Mother, Seat of Wisdom, to give me the creativity to know how to encourage positive behavior in Stella and to love her the way she needs to be loved.   I've told told you before that she has a flair for the dramatic and it's at fever pitch right now.  At the end of Mass thanks to the Holy Spirit, the idea of a marble jar popped into my head so that's what we are doing.  The prizes ( I hope to fill the spaghetti sauce sized jar two times to really cultivate these good habits.) are alluring and very sought after because they come from the American Girl catalog.  Stella has been wanting the camp tent and camp treats set so I figured this was a perfect thing.  Go big or go home, I tell you.

A few lot of plans for the month...Nash's surgery on Tuesday, the circus, Nash's 4th birthday on the 11th, a Lazer Kraze fundraiser for the Cincinnati Holy Trinity Federation of North American Explorers, Brooke gets her braces off, and the cruise!! We're still doing school, taking continuing education classes to keep our foster license current, and getting Ellie to where she needs to go.  I would love to go on a date with Mark to see the movie Old Fashioned, but I can't see that happening.


Here's our February in pictures...

We bunked Luke's beds and now Nash sleeps in there at night.  All this is to avoid Ellie sleeping in our bedroom at night.

 This new routine makes everything easier with  Mark's erratic work schedule (some days he has to get up at 4 AM) and the fact that our bedroom and bathroom are like Grand Central Station made Ellie sleeping in there difficult.  We needed Ellie out of our bedroom at night so we bought another crib at IKEA and things have been awesome ever since.  Nash still naps in his room in the afternoon while Ellie sleeps in the crib in our room.  Nash has been napping a ton after a long stretch of hardly napping at all.  I feel like we should get him a shirt that says, "Will nap for candy".  I am happy to give him a piece of candy each afternoon if it means he will sleep and be pleasant after 4 PM.

 See the bungee cords?  This is what Nash does if he happens not to sleep.  He is crazy.

Valentine's Day.  Mark was home in the morning so he made GF heart shaped pancakes for us.  Now that's love!  :)

 Love, love, love...I told you last month my niece got engaged and a few weekends ago we  got the snowy engagement pictures she was dreaming of.  The day started off with lots of snow and when Stephanie and Brian got to our house, the kids come running up from the basement saying that water was leaking from the ceiling in the playroom.  Sounds fun, doesn't it?  God had perfect timing because Brian works in commercial construction (I think he oversees the contractors?) and is a very handy guy.  He diagnosed the problem within minutes and then was taking apart our kitchen faucet to repair it.  I ended up running to Lowes and getting a whole new (prettier and more functional) faucet out of the deal!

 I was a little worried about the snow pics.  Other than taking snapshots of the kids playing in the snow, I had no real experience with an entire photo session while it was actively snowing.  Now I do! The editing was very tedious because the snow landed in all kinds of inconvenient places so I had to go through and edit that out of the important places.

  Brian was a good sport and their little doggie, Chief was too.  Stephanie gets no love because I'm pretty sure she'd be up for almost anything to get the shot.  I like that about her.  :)  Oh, and the ring?  It's pretty spectacular in all it's sparkly fabulousness.

 We couldn't have asked for a better or more perfect snowy day! And we didn't get stuck in any ditches along the way.

They are getting married next January and soon there may be some wedding dress picking and I may get to go along.

 What's harder than squeezing into a cabinet to fix a faucet?  Fitting in with Nash, of course!  Nash was BESIDE himself with joy since Brian let him be apart of the fixing.  I am confident that not only will Brian be a handy husband, but a patient dad as well.

 We have a wreath leftover from Christmas on our front door and I can't bring myself to get rid of it because a bird is nesting in it now.  I think about Mr.and Mrs. Bird from The Best Nest and I just can't bring myself to kick the birdy out when it's been so, so cold.  Mark pointed out to me today that when it starts to thaw, there may be eggs in there and then we won't take it down until June.  :)  We will probably get fined from our home owners association for that!

 The snow and the shoveling!  I never want to live in a snowier place.

 Brooke and her neighbor friend.

 Our neighbor's are very sweet to let our kids sled down the hill in their yard on to our driveway.  It's so cute that their gentle dogs like to hang out with the kids while they are playing. Those two black blobs are Chester and Emmett.

 Oh, Ellie!  She's rolling everywhere.  No longer can I expect to find her in the exact place I've left her.  We switched her out of the infant car seat and into a rear facing big girl seat.  It won't be too long and she'll be crawling!

 Last winter I was bemoaning the kids leaving their sock all over the house and just when I thought the sock issue couldn't get any worse, Nash decides that only one foot is hot and leaves ONE random sock somewhere in the house.  I've thought about offering a reward for recovering lost socks.  It would probably only cost me some candy.  ;)

 This past week we found time in our schedule to go to the museum.  Our weeks are usually crammed with Ellie's visits and other obligations, but this one day was free so we took it.  The kids were happy to trade their book work for hands on science lessons.

 This cracks me up!  We practically had to tear him away from these little spigots.  The even funnier thing is that nothing happened when Nash twisted these valves, he just liked turning them!

 Least you think my children are that talented, Mark was the architect of this project.  He told me that he hates it when the kids get in the way when he's trying to build something cool. ;) This was the 6 and under section too.  36 or 6, who's keeping track anyway?

 Elles was pretty perfect like usual.  She was exhausted by lunch, but refused to succumb to sleep least she miss any action.  This was the first time she rode in the stroller like a big girl instead of in the infant seat, strapped into the stroller.  She loved it and look so cute sitting there all smiley.

 What I love best about this museum is that there is a zoo inside.  These Meerkats are so exciting to watch.

 We had an encounter with a corn snake.  Mark was too chicken to touch it.  Did you know that as a rule snakes can eat prey twice the size of the largest part of their body?  Me either.

This is one of Luke's favorite birds, the burrowing owl.

After the end of my photography class, I was so tired thinking about metering light and aperture and shutter speed that I hardly picked up my camera this month. This brief break and the fact that I am beside myself with excitement over the thought of taking pictures of somewhere we've never been, has me anxiously awaiting all the photo opportunities to come!!  I'm sure I'll have close to 500 pictures of our vacation, thankfully though, you won't have to look at them all.  See you back here if we don't get lost out to sea!