How to cure hot-spots

Jarrah's allergies have already begun. She gets "hot spots" on her belly and legs. Emma saw one and asked what it was. I told her and Emma said "Emma will make it feel better!" She ran out of the room and came back with a "flawf-flawf" (washcloth) and threw it on the floor. The following steps are important to follow in order to get this to work just right.

Get one flawf-flawf from the basket. One would think it matters if the flawf-flawf is clean... it does not. Jump up and down on it several times -at least 11 1/2. Run around the flawf-flawf four times without touching it. If you do accidentally touch it, start over.

The next step is to dance around the flawf-flawf. This must, I repeat, must be done while giggling and intermittently twirling. If you do not twirl and giggle, all healing powers will be lost.

Lastly, apply it to the hot spot.

Aaahhh relief!

Butterflies

I love that spring is springing. Emma and I were outside on Saturday and jumped in some puddles and felt the warm sunshine on our faces. What a joy! I see the forecast for this week is warmer still and more sunshine. We will finally get to go to the part. Emma has been asking all winter to go. I won't have to tell her "No- it's cold/dark/snowy outside". I can say "yes! it's sunny/warm/pretty outside".

Jarrah will be "escited" too (as Emma says). The poor dog has been cooped up in the condo all winter and will have a hayday sniffing everything outside.

Speaking of poor Jarrah, we are going to have to take her in for surgery on her paws again. Her nails are so incredibly long that there is no way they can be clipped while she is awake. The other problem is that they bleed. So after her last surgery, in October, to cut them way back, we were informed that normal clippings are more difficult because the vein doesn't recede. So even small clippings make her nails bleed. For a dog that is already spastic about anyone (me included) touching her feet, this makes for a difficult and messy situation. After talking to the vet on Friday our best option is to do the surgery again. They will cut them very short again and since we are approaching summer, hope that they will grow more slowly. As far as next winter, when she's cooped up again and not walking on the concrete... in the words of the vet "you might have to accept her having longer nails". But our hope is to be in a house with a fenced yard where she can be out even in the winter to wear them down a bit.

As for the butterflies that will soon be flitting about outside, I am feeling lots of baby flutters in my belly! I never ever get tired of feeling that. I take it as a blessing to be enjoying those feelings early on in the pregnancy. I have felt little ones for a couple weeks but it's more prominent each week. I'm about 14 weeks now and the icky nausea is subsiding more each day.

Jon is in the depths of many case studies and comes up for air a little bit to see us when he can. About 6 more weeks of craziness for him and then things will calm down a little bit for him. He won't be able to go to our big ultrasound at the end of April but he'll be on call for me to text him or maybe even talk with him on the phone during. I'm not sure. We have been picking out names. The boy name is set and was easy to come up with. As with Emma, the girl names are always so hard for us! Maybe the Lord will make it easy on us and give us a boy this time!?

I'm sure He will give us exactly what our family needs. He always does.

Life's a butter beam

Here is Emma's current favorite song. She sings it while in the car, playing at home and in bed, when she's supposed to be asleep.
It's famous, it's the every popular "Row, row, row your boat".

Here's her version:

Row, row, row da boat
gentee down a tream
Mary a, Mary a, Mary a, Mary a
Life's a butter beam.

She makes my life a butter beam:)

That blessed sound

I had my doctor appointment today and heard the baby's heartbeat. What a relief and joy to hear that fast thumping! The doctor was pleased with it and with how the pregnancy is progressing. I don't go back for four more weeks and will be 17 weeks at my next appt. Here's to a happy second trimester.

Thanks to everyone who has been, and continues to pray for me and this baby.

Some night-time reading

This one is for you Amanda, nothing like having something to read when up with your baby:)

It's been a heavy day. I saw some friends today and it was so fun to see them but one of them is fighting cancer. It's hard to watch her struggle and be in pain and have to fight so hard for basic things that I take for granted every day. I can get up in the morning and walk to the bathroom and my legs don't fail me. I can work and play and dream about my future. It feels unfair, as cancer always is I'm sure. I am not saying that God is unfair, just that I don't understand.

As part of making my life and faith real this time, I am and have been, processing and working on myself until I can get to the point where I can say and believe (that's the big/harder part) that God is good- all the time.
He doesn't feel good all the time, but I know feelings lie and that's a big fat one. Because God IS good. Scripture says so, so I have to believe that. I want to, and I am working my way there. My head believes this, but my heart heeds to emotions at times. Satan finds my emotions unstable and has a hayday. He twists and turns things until I am in the middle of believing the lie that God is only good when it feels like He is good.

Lie Lie Lie.

The truth is:
My marriage is good- God is good.
My marriage struggles- God is good.
The baby died- God is good.
The baby lived- God is good.
I am not fighting cancer- God is good.
She is fighting cancer- God is good.

I know the key is that God is good. His character is good. Circumstances aren't always good. He allows those bad circumstances though and that's where I have to work through all the feelings that come with that.

Today felt that way.

Think "baby" too!

After my last post my best friend reminded me that I never officially shared the news that I'm pregnant!

I am due Sept 15 but will have a scheduled C-section at least one week early. So we are anticipating a sweet bundle the first week-ish of Sept.

So far everything is going along fabulously, but I'll rest easier after my 13 week appt on an already famous day (Jen:)) March 7th.

Think Spring

Winter has had it's day and then some. I am so very very ready for spring!
This winter has felt a little longer than some. Jon's quite busy and stressed with his schooling. He just finished another round of clinicals today and had a day long final. He's set to start a new rotation on Monday. Only 4 months left to go!

Emma is great. She is a busy bee and loves to play everything we have in the house. I mean that very literally! By bath time each night she has managed to pull out every toy and game that we have and they are strewn about the house. She is ready for spring too though. She and I shoveled snow the other day and I gave her a sand box shovel which she used to play in the snow while I chipped away at the snow and ice on our driveway.

Jarrah is ready for spring. She is a weather connoisseur - what that really means is that she refuses to poop or pee if the ground is icy, it's too windy or it's bitter cold. I have been very impressed at how long she will actually hold it before eventually giving in and going potty outside. (Once on the sidewalk a couple weeks ago.)

I'm ready for spring. I get the blues if I don't see some sort of sunshine and get some fresh air. The last two days I have cracked the living room window. I feel more human and my spirits are lifted when I smell the outside and when I feel the sunshine on my face.

Here are some other fun family facts:

1. Emma ate her dinner last night using toy tweezers.

2. I look forward to watching Wheel of Fortune every night.

3. Emma can go potty mostly by herself now.

4. I have managed to make it to 10 1/2 weeks pregnant without puking once!

5. Jon started listening to books on CD. It makes his daily 2 hr commute fly by.

6. None of my regular jeans or dress pants fit anymore. I'm even out of my "fat pants". I see a trip to the maternity store in my future.

7. Only 3 more weeks until I can hopefully relax a bit about keeping this pregnancy.

8. I am half done with tax season!

9. I am going to start preparing for another card party this spring.

10. In the last 3 weeks I have separately forgotten to pack Emma's underwear, shoes, and socks. Additionally, I have forgotten to brush my own teeth, wash my hair (I only got it wet and forgot to actually use shampoo) and wore my (clean) underwear inside out. Believe me when I say I do take care to clean and groom my family. My memory just isn't on speaking terms with me every day.