Thankful!

Monday of this week we had no school. After a stressful few months, Mommy the teacher decided to cram in school by the 20th of November.  So the beginning of our week-long break was kicked off with a celebration thanks to our free Chick Fil A item of the month...TWO Peppermint Chocolate Chip milkshakes.

Ellie is still under a year of being an eater!  It's something I've come to realize lately - her anniversary of being "PO" (per os in Latin for "by opening" meaning - her mouth) is coming up the week before Christmas.  In fact - throwback picture - here she is on December 4, 2013 - almost two years ago letting me put a spoon in her mouth with the Chick Fil A milkshake!!!

And here's the big girl now with her own straw cup suckin' down every drop!

"Mmmmmmm this is amaaaaazing!!!!!!"

"See, it's gone now. It was in my mouth and now it's not."

"You guys eat yours all up yet?"

"I wonder if I suck this way if I'll get more from the side of the cup."

"I just love eating!"

And here's the big eater at the kid's table at Thanksgiving!!!  What a different child she is from last year!  I can tell you this about her Thanksgiving preferences:  she stuffs turkey in her mouth, she feeds herself mashed potatoes quite well and she begs for more of Mommy's homemade rolls!  So fun to watch!!! And Mommy and Daddy got to sit on either side of her to help her eat and keep an eye on her.  Can I admit I like sitting at the kid's table?? :)

Thankful for so much this year!  Thankful she's eating, thankful she's healthy!!  Thankful for all the therapies we've benefited from and all the developing she's done just in the last nine months or so since she started walking.  I'm thankful she's still fairly portable (although heavy!) and we get to carry her at times like getting communion at mass or when she falls down and wants to be held.  She's a big girl and a little girl all in one!  Of course we're thankful to the moon and back about the insurance stuff resolving and are trying to reflect on that giant hurdle being behind us.  

We're thankful you continue to check in on little Holey Holy Ellie :).

Phone Call

Two weeks ago, the phone ran during lunch. I got up to get it and looked at the Caller ID and saw a very, very familiar number.  The extension of my contact during the insurance application over the past three months.


It had been exactly two weeks since the approval and I had just started to have normal days, not thinking about it day and night. 


I said hello and right away I said "what's wrong".  After my contact stopped laughing she said "Nothing, we got your thank you letter."  Phew!!!!! But then she said she was told to remind me that just because we got the approval doesn't mean we don't have to reapply and fill out all necessary paperwork again from time to time.  Someone that got the letter felt it was crucial to point out to me I would have to do this all again one day.  It's something I'm WELL aware of but I appreciated the caution they took in contacting me. 


What happened after I hung up the phone took me back in time.  Here's what played out when I walked back into the kitchen full of four children at the table:


Xavier: "Mommy, can I have a banana?"


Me in my head: Banana.  A banana?  How many bananas do we have left?  Wait, what time is it?  Are we eating a meal? What meal?  How much did he already eat? Ellie - how much has she eaten? Am I hungry?  How much did I eat?


Me out loud: "Hold on, I'll be right back."  I then found the nearest quiet place (the laundry room) and took a deep breath and said "This is nothing, this is nothing" and had a few coherent thoughts.  I walked back to the kitchen table. 


Me: "No Xavier you had enough fruit with lunch already, I'll give you all a banana at snack time before your soccer practice tonight." 


Back to normal again after a 2 minute trip to the past.  I was humbled at how worked up I got myself after that phone call, how automatic it was.  Writing a thank you letter was meant to be a good thing, so I'm still glad I did it.

Dentist

Ellie had her first dentist appointment yesterday!  Thanks to a patient hygienist and a 6-year-old big sister who entertained Ellie, the process was amazingly smooth!  

Ellie kept looking at Julia for her next "trick" with some toys from the treasure chest and the dental hygienist got in Ellie's mouth for about three seconds at a time!  The check up went great, no problems with her teeth at all whatsoever!  Love hearing that!

At the end she got a toothbrush that she did not want to part with!  She looks so relaxed!

A Happy Birthday to the first Eleanor today!  She is celebrating with the Saints but we are remembering her today.  Her son and her granddaughter Ellie share a birthday and Ellie's dad and her own birthday are three days apart.  That's a little cryptic for those outside the family! :)

Birthday

Happy Birthday to Ellie's daddy who prefers cookies to cake!

If you think Jeff is a good father when you see him in action with the kids, he's even better when no one is looking!  The one watching is his thankful, blessed wife who thanks God she's known him for 19 birthdays!

At our appointment in Atlanta a couple weeks ago as part of our documentation gathering, Jeff took Ellie on a much needed stroll during the paperwork portion of the visit.  Ellie loves her daddy so much and has just started sitting next to him on the couch while he's watching football!  SO cute!

It's official

How sweet it is to get a certified letter in the mail with GOOD news!!!!!  

Post Script

I'm about to walk away from the computer and I just realized something...

I typed the part about helping the children be who God made them to be this morning at 7:24 a.m.

The message from Father and the quote from St. Catherine of Sienna about being who you were meant to be was at 10:30 mass this morning.

God was with me this morning while I typed that, while at the same time already at mass where Father would read that, while at the same time already in the future knowing what's next for our family, while at the same time back with us during the past few months. 

He always was, is and ever will be.

Church

 A general belief is that going to mass (or any religious service) is not about what you get, it's what you give.  But from time to time there is a mass where you just connect on every level - the readings, the homily, the songs.  Mostly it depends on what's going on in your life.  Clearly God uses going to church as a way to bring you into his presence.  Today's mass was especially powerful for two reasons.

One reason was the gospel assigned to this Sunday.  Second was the fact that it was "All Saints" Day where we celebrate the holy people that lived holy lives (or not so holy, then turned holy) and have gone on to heaven before us.

For the gospel, it was the Beatitudes.  As the words were read I could relate to two parts.  Over the past few months there was some worrying and some searching. I guess you could say I've hungered and thirsted for righteousness and am now satisfied. I've mourned and am now comforted.

And Father quoted St. Catherine of Sienna who said "Becoming who you are meant to be will set the earth on fire."  It made me think of doing all these things for Ellie, going to all these places, filling out all these forms has been all geared toward helping her reach the full potential of who she is.  Helping her in the ways she needs sets my hearts on fire with love for her!!!

Paper

The binders, crates, hanging files and hole puncher have all been put away.

Prepared to keep fighting, I bought one final ream last week thinking I would be printing new forms once again.  It will instead be used for many thank you letters I will be pumping out this week.

Julia colored me a picture that said "Sweet Little Girl".  Thank you God for giving us two sweet little girls.  I accept the call to love them (and our boys) and help them in whatever ways they might need to be the people God made them to be.

Aunt Louise

I would like to note I was on the phone with Ellie's great-Aunt Louise when I learned we got the 3-year approval on Friday!

Eleanor and Louise prayed and intervened for Eleanor Louise!!!!