All is Well

Sophia came home yesterday around 2pm. I'm amazed at the difference from yesterday after her surgery to this morning. She is already walking around and asking to come downstairs. She is bored with her little vacation and doesn't want to stay in bed. I'm about to go upstairs to read to her.

Thank you so much for your prayers. She is doing great and I'm relieved its all over!

Sophia's Grand Expectations

Here's a bit of an email I sent a friend today:


... Thank you for your prayers! I'm about to leave right now to HEB to get Sophia's Popsicles, ice cream, soups and Gatorade. She is so excited and has packed her bag already. She can't wait to go to the hospital, get in a gown and receive the royal treatment. You would think she was going to the spa!! I'm glad she's not scared because I sure am! The innocence of little children! LOL! ...

Its so true! She's beyond excited to be going to the hospital. She's packed her bag with extra clothing and is hoping to get a TV in her hospital room. She's requested my Temperpedic pillow during her recovery this week while she sleeps on our bedroom sofa. Of course I said yes! She's got her videos lined up and has requested a new one from Blockbuster. Poor baby! I hope she feels better fast so she can enjoy her special treatment.

We're off for a late dinner to treat Sophia ... Double Dave's Pizza!

I'll be back later this week to update you on her status. Prayers always appreciated!

"Boohoo, we want to have our appendix out too!"

All the kids are jealous of Sophia. This morning at breakfast Craig asked Sophia to name her favorite ice cream flavor. I wanted to know her favorite flavor of jello and Gatorade.

When Craig told her she could watch as much t.v. as she wanted next week, the rest of the kids started whining!

Never mind Sophia is having her tonsils/adenoids removed and ear tubes placed in order to receive such special treatment.

Next Monday, February 8th, Sophia will be having surgery. Our hopes (and our doctor's assurance) are that her speech and hearing will be improved. As of right now, neither eardrum is vibrating and she has LOTS of fluid behind her eardrums. Her tonsils are grossly enlarged which are pushing up her adenoids. She has already done 1 1/2 years of speech therapy to no avail.

Please keep her in your prayers next Monday. We have never had a child receive general anesthesia and we're nervous. Tonight we're all going to mass where she will receive the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.

And later this week we'll be buying lots of Bluebell Ice Cream, Jello, Gatorade, apple sauce and so forth. Sophia isn't scared because she doesn't really understand surgery (remember, she's having speech, hearing and comprehension issues!!). She's excited and has all her movies lined up. Craig took off all of next week to help me out.

Monday Update

Well, I kept some of my resolutions. I read to Catherine.

Kolbe and Sophia listened to Ferdinand before the telephone interrupted our reading. I forgot to go back and finish our pile of books. *sigh*

I'll share a funny Catherine story. After the rest of the kids had gone to bed, I sat to read to Catherine. She had spent the afternoon at my mom-in-law's and had taken a long, late nap so she was WIDE awake at bedtime.

I read her books that were probably above her level but she likes the pictures and sits still. I read Millions of Cats, Pretzel, The Gingerbread Boy and The Little Red Hen. I enjoy reading these over little board books.

Anyways, the last book was The Little Red Hen. When we got to the end she asked me why the dog was so sad .......

Catherine: Why is the dog so sad?
Me: Why is he?

Catherine: Why is he sad?
Me: Because the Little Red Hen wouldn't let him eat the cake.

Catherine (pausing): I'll give him cake. I'll give cake for the dog. Why does he want to be so mean? I'll give cake for the dog. Can I give him cake?

Obviously, Catherine didn't get the lesson the Little Red Hen was trying to teach!! I wonder if the dog, cat, and mouse got the lesson. I feel like the Little Red Hen might be my kindred spirit. ;-)

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Today was the first day of swim team for our neighborhood. Kolbe will be on the team for the 1st time this year. And Anna has said she wants to try some swim meets!! We'll see if she follows through on her own! I promise to resist the urge to push her off the block. LOL!!

My scale wasn't nice to me this morning. I'll blame it on traveling and not drinking enough water. I wonder if I can join swim team?

Sick Days = No School = ORGANIZING!!

This week was not a fun one. We were/are all sick. It started Sunday night with Isabelle being more tired than normal. Monday morning she woke up with a fever and body aches. I thought I was "sluggish" from staying up late to watch the Duggars. Turns out I was getting sick! :-/

One by one every one fell to the "mystery" virus of fevers, headaches, body aches and tiredness. All the kids missed swimming, piano, some choir and co-op. Even Craig got sick.

Obviously, school was cancelled.

I'm used to the kind of sickness that requires pails and towels. ;-) This time, all everyone did was sleep. At times, the entire house was quiet in the middle of the day. Even parents slept along with the sick kiddos.

Friday is now here and my house is starting to come back to life. We're still feeling under the weather but doing better.

As proof that I'm on the mend, here's what I did today (as the girls were showering after taking an early morning nap) .....

ORGANIZING & CLEANING!!!!

One of my favorite pastimes (I also like rearranging furniture every 3-5 months!) LOL!!

Today I worked on the girls' room. Isabelle, Anna & Sophia share a room (by choice). I moved all their dolls (Barbie, Cabbage Patch & Our Generation) into their room and out of the playroom. I will be turning the playroom into a little girls' room for Catherine & Veronica.

Its come to my attention that I haven't really given a "tour" of my home. I hope to do that in the upcoming weeks & months.

Hopefully, we'll paint rooms this summer. Until then, ignore the wall colors!! ;-)

Enjoy the tour!

Anna's bed

Isabelle & Sophia's bed
doll & altar area

porcelain doll collection

Barbie area

Cabbage Patch & Our Generation doll area

Belle's shoes

I just LOVE clean & organized rooms! I get a natural high after organizing a room or closet! If I ever stop homeschooling, its because I gave into my OCD like nature. Nothing disorganizes a home faster than my six kiddos! LOL!

Next up ... the little girls' room. Give me a week or so!!

More Swimming Video Clips

Being the proud momma that I am (and seeing how swimming is taking up much of our summer time), I thought I'd share more video clips. Here are Sophia and Isabelle each swimming the 25 yd freestyle. My camera died before I could record their other events .... bummer!!

Again, apologies for my loud, annoying cheering. I just can't help myself! I'm convinced that my cheering helps push them across the water!! LOL!! Isabelle says she can hear me (how could she not) and that it helps her not give up at the end.

Sophia's 25 yd freestyle
Notice Sophia's ready position ..... or the lack of one!?! LOL!

Isabelle's 25 yd freestyle

Sophia's 1st Swim Meet!!!!

This past Saturday Sophia swam in her first swim meet ever!! It was precious!! She has really been wanting to compete for some time now.

Saturday morning she woke up early and asked if it was time to race Isabelle! LOL!

Here are some video clips of my little Sophia. I'm amazed by her persistance and courage.

1st Video Clip Background:
In this first short clip, Sophia and the other girls are ready to dive in. However, there was a delay because a little girl DID NOT want to swim and was crying. Where was her mother?? She had been crying ALL MORNING. This clearly shows the contrast between forcing a child to swim (or do any sport) who is NOT ready and a child (like Sophia) who is SOOOO ready and eager to start. I don't understand why parents force children into sports when they are not ready.

2nd Video Clip Background: Sophia swimming in the 25 yd freestyle. Pardon my screaming in the background. LOL!! I'm really trying to cheer her on and can sense she's getting tired. Swim meets are so much like horse races!! I love the way she kept looking to see if they were beating her. When she got out, the first thing she asked was, "Did I win?"

3rd Video Clip Background: Finally, here she is swimming the backstroke. I was REALLY nervous because I'd never actually seen her swim an entire lap of the backstroke. She was so adorable and never gave up!! Isabelle was also cheering her on.

FYI: While doing the backstroke one is disqualified if one swims on their stomach for even a little while. Sophia made me nervous several times!! LOL!

Anna Piranha

Anna has made the Piranhas!!

She is on the pre-swim team. During try outs Sophia jumped into the water and "tried out" too. Poor Coach Derek had a heart attack. Sophia did complete 3 laps before being pulled out. She uses the wall liberally to help her finish the laps.

Anna did awesome. I knew she could do it. She's been a little shy about trying out. So instead of pushing her I've been letting her watch Isabelle. Now, she will be doing dry land with Isabelle's team and then swimming with the 8 year olds and under.

Sophia will probably take a few swim lessons and then try out again. The coach LOVED her determination, even though he almost collapsed! LOL!

Anna has always wanted a nickname. She is now called Anna Piranha.

Bluebonnets

Every year we take pictures of the children in Bluebonnets. These are our favorite pictures!!! Every year we drive back to the same Texas hillside! We've been taking these pictures since Isabelle was four. Its beautiful to see other families following this same tradition. You can even tell how recently another family has visited the same spot by the flattened circle among the flowers. We're always careful to follow the already-made paths among the bluebonnets so as not to ruin them for future visitors.