Olympics!!!

What made starting school August 15th this year a WHOLE lot easier was the fact that we had Olympics to look forward watching the rest of the day after we finished.

Here we have: Jacob - 6th grade, Xavier 4th grade, Julia 1st grade and Ellie who has enough learning/fun things on her iPad to last her entire education!!  The boys sit next to each other across from me and Julia sits to my left.  Thankfully Ellie is beyond the age of really "messing" with stuff so we have all our stuff out like we want it and she walks by.  Although one day last week I did have some lovely "scribbles" on a notepad I was keeping some thoughts on.  :) 

Some special things about this year are of course the iPad for number one.  Ellie has unlimited videos I've downloaded, most of them have some form of educational element.  I even found some things for older kids that she seems interested in and when Julia is done with her books (much earlier than the boys) I love her enthusiasm in skipping over to Ellie and sitting next to her. I can see them sitting on the couch together from where I sit. Julia flies through her books just to go sit with Ellie.  Sometimes they drop the tablet for a game of pretend cooking.  Another thing this year is I have about 4 "group subjects" that I'm teaching the boys at the same time.  They are challenging for Xavier but I love seeing him keep up.  We do French together as well as this editing book of mistakes I got that they love correcting.  I also try to read out loud to them every day and have them dictate or summarize what I write before they dive into their main subjects.  If it weren't for Ellie being content with her iPad (and she'll let you know it's hers if you try to hold it, lol!) I'd never have the quiet, focused time with the boys. God is involved in this area in a major way for it to even be possible to pull off schooling the children.

On to the Olympics!  We got really into the games this year.  I was telling Jacob, the 2004 Summer Olympics began the day we came home from the hospital with him, August 13, 2004.  That basically saved my sanity, watching the excitement on t.v. as I adjusted to the realities of having a newborn.  Then in 2008 I really can't remember much since we had two active little boys running around the house at the time and didn't watch much television.  Summer games of 2012 - the dates almost perfectly aligned with a hospital admission for Ellie to get her feeding tube surgically placed and stay for a while until her pulmonary hypertension got a little more under control. 

Here are the dates:

Hospital admission: July 26 - August 17

Olympics: July 27 - August 12

Here's what I remember about those hospital days during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London - we had it on the channel and as nurses came in to check on her, they would linger a bit to catch an exciting moment on the t.v. before they walked out.  I myself was not fully engaging in the events but I recall it was nice to have it on in the background.  It felt comforting to have it there as a reminder of normalcy and it was also inspiration to preserve through this challenging time.  Sometimes just waking up, providing milk for her and the smallest amount of self care felt like a 100 meter dash in those days.

Here are our four Olympians practicing a "marathon" by walking (no running please!!) laps around and around the house!  Julia and Ellie held hands as they kept pace with the leaders :).

If only I could remember why Ellie does not have a shirt on.  Maybe it was because she just ate and it was dirty.  Or maybe I was in the middle of dressing her when the race began.  But a good photographer does not stop to make adjustments to her subjects lest the moment pass!

How cute is Ellie's expression in this picture?  And her little leg in motion?!!!  She looks like she's doing a ballet move! 

Would you allow me to share our "top Olympic memories" we've all compiled together? It felt worthy of archiving and I thought this would be a good venue for that. 


1. Speaking of venue - the number one memory has everything to do with the location in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. During the Opening Ceremonies there was a camera shot of the Christ the Redeemer statue with a green light shining on it and the stadium in the background. The symbolism of Christ watching over the stadium and city moved yours truly to tears.


2. The debut of golf in the Olympics.


3. When Brazil won the gold in soccer.


4. A bike race where the leaders got into a surprising crash at the very end and as badly as I felt for the leaders, something like number four ended up winning.  We liked the lesson of perseverance and "it ain't over...".


5. A ping pong gold medal match with some serious Chinese rivals!


6. Sweden and Germany Women's Soccer gold medal match.


7. On the very first day of the games we decorated Daddy's room at work and the kids all watched Olympics while sitting in desks.


8. Watching the 8-person rowing events.


9. "Uncle Ralph" - a track and field race where an American won and the family of the athlete went so crazy in the stands that we named the people.  Mainly Uncle Ralph who climbed on top of the father of the athlete and started bouncing up and down on his (presumable) brother.  As a result, multiple people were squished and falling over and the whole thing was quite entertaining.


10. The night I took Ellie to the ER, Jeff had to go back out for the medicine pretty late.  I stayed up and waited for him while watching swimming on t.v.  I laid in bed with the cell phone so we could text and I watched Michael Phelps swim for the first time.  I remember it as a good distraction after a long day.


11.  The kids drew country flags on index cards and we hung them in the house.


12. "Everything" - well said by one member of the family.


Of course one can't forget about the Winter Olympics.  Admittedly, the sports are a little harder to relate to.  But we looked up that they will be held in February 2018 in South Korea and we are excited about them already! And one more programming note - the Paralympics start September 7th on NBC in the same Rio venues.  You could say this year is really the first time I've made the connection that this "second Olympics" is as much as a real deal as the first round of athletic competition. I'm almost looking more forward to seeing those two weeks play out than I was when I was bouncing up and down on the couch to cheer on Michael Phelps in the pool!  That says a lot!  There are so many lessons to learn from the Olympics, I can't wait to sit with the kids and have some discussions about the everyday challenges these individuals face.  Of course one day we hope our Ellie can be in the 3rd form of Olympics - the Special Olympics that are held in most major towns in the U.S.  I wonder what event Ellie will want to try?

Tissue

A story I never want to forget:

About a week ago I was sitting on Ellie's bed - the canopy of the tent over my head, the enclosure providing an intimate setting for the two of us.  There was a glow of a light from an aquarium toy given to her by a Godmother of the family.  I stared at her and she stared at me and I just started busting out crying.  The kind where you kind of heave and make funny noises.  The journey, the love, the transformation of the 4 years...it all came shooting out of my eyeballs in the form of tears.

I told her why I was crying - because I love her so much - and I hugged her and left. The next night we did the same ritual and instead of crying I just looked at her and said I love you and started to leave.  She started to say something like "shoo shoo" and pointed to the bathroom she shares with Julia. After taking some time to figure it out I thought she is famous for bringing me a tissue when I cry.  So I said, "tissue?" and she said "uh huh".

Infection

Friday the 5th we went to a playground, then the library. That night after shower we noticed a red spot on Ellie's leg. I wondered if she fell and I just didn't know?  Then Saturday it started to look different.  Blisters, bubbly, red...I'll stop there.  This is what it looked like by Sunday evening.

Not wanting to wait and thankful for the very good pediatric ER in town as well as a smooth insurance process thanks to having two insurances...Ellie and I loaded up the iPad and headed to the hospital. It was a 5 minute wait to get in and the whole thing was a big adventure for her.  She and I on a fun trip for an hour and a half!

It turns out it was a "staph" infection as we had suspected. But, treatable by antibiotics and really not a major deal at all.  Well, if you catch it early and treat it I should say.  So, on the way home we stopped at the one pharmacy open 24 hours in town and turned in the prescription. It was an hour and a half wait so we came home and I put her to bed.  All the kids were so happy to see her and learn she was ok.  They all went to sleep and Jeff went out at 10:30 to get the medicine.  I laid in bed watching Olympic swimming waiting for him to arrive back home.

The next morning I had no idea how the oral (liquid) medication was going to go.  She had never taken medicine by mouth before!  Back in the day, it allllll went in the tube! Well, thankfully they make it taste good so I put the 5 ml dose in the syringe and made it fun and like a little baby bird she sucked it right down!  I was so thankful!  Just precious.  And one night (the night of Jacob's birthday) I forgot the p.m. dose and she was already asleep!  I could not miss the dose so I crawled in her bed with the syringe and roused her slightly. She opened her mouth and sucked for one second and licked her lips and then closed her eyes again.  I had more to give so we repeated this process three or so more times until it was all gone.  I can not tell you how sweet this was!  I had a little light from a toy in her bed and it was just so sweet how trusting she was. I love that little baby bird!  :)

5 days later her leg is healing and she's been feeling great all week.  Happy, loves her iPad game and videos and eating great.  Just coming and going around the house in the rhythm of our days here now as we transition and get ready for school to start in next week.

Rooms

More on the bed which Ellie continues to LOVE and dive into every day for a short rest time (no napping any more) with books and toys and night time for a solid 8:30 pm - 8:00 am sleep with no peep!  The bed came in this suitcase that is meant to be for travel with it.  It's a very nice hard shell suitcase!  And it's green which is her "favorite color" that the kids picked for her wayyyyy back before she was even born.  Jacob likes red, Xavier orange, Julia yellow so....naturally they decided we had to keep in order with the rainbow :).

Anyway if you do travel with it by plane you are supposed to tell the airline it's a piece of medical equipment and there's no charge.  I hope one day we get to do that!  But I can't help think of the very distant future when one day it might just have some of her clothes in it and it will be a great memory of that special bed that kept her safe when she was younger.  Where will we go I wonder? 

For Julia - we agreed to let Ellie sleep in her room for a trial period. The boys share a room - as seen here.

This is what the girls' room looked like when they joined together. For two nights. That was all we all could handle of  the shananigans Ellie had up her sleeve. "What, my favorite playmate is right next to me?  What, she wakes up at 6:50 - I can do that too", said Ellie in her mind.  So she's back to her "green room" and thank the Lord she never fussed about missing her roommate.  It helps that Julia tucks her in every night.  So, another time down the road we'll try it again.

What's been very sweet is Jacob has had some really late nights with out of town events so Julia gets to "sleep" in his bed in the room with Xavier until he gets home.  The two of them love that time together.

Bed Pictures

I sent some photos in to the bed manufacturer to use on their website.


Didn't they turn out great?!!!  She really loves the bed. :)

Under the weather

A few months ago (on Easter morning), Ellie woke up "not herself". She was lathargic, limp, quiet and fell back asleep as soon as I picked her up and tried sitting down on the couch with her.  She did the same thing one day this week and thank goodness we had our previous experience to draw from.  She woke up, was totally limp and I put her on the couch with me where she fell in and out of sleep for more than an hour while I listened to her breathing and felt her heart rate. 

Mid morning she moved around a little, drank an entire cup of water, proceeded to throw it up (which happened last time so I had a bowl ready and it all landed nicely, no splatter) and fall back out until about 11:00.  But just like Easter, that's when she all of the sudden perked up and went to her chair and ate a whole bowl of oatmeal which she kept down. 

When she doesn't feel well she just gives in easily to the need to sleep?  She doesn't have much reserve to pull from?  Not sure why she does this but since it ended before lunch time most days we'll call it a "few hour bug" instead of even 24 hours! 

Poor girl opened her eyes when the flash went off.  What kind of Mom subjects her child to this kind of paparazzi activity when sick?!  :)

Golf Girls

Mommy was flying solo last week and had to attend a golf tournament with all four.  We loaded up in a cart and tried to stay moving as much as possible which was key to prevent Ellie from a) making noise, b) trying to get down!

A bag of saltines has been on my playlist for more than 10 years now!  It goes a loooong way!!!

Ellie would cling to my arm whenever we moved!  So sweet!

Stroller and iPad and Bed...Oh my!!!!

We've had a tornado of activity in the house this week!  We worked on getting Ellie three things this summer and the last two of them arrived this week!


The first was the stroller we got back in May.  It's been very handy and is durable and Ellie always seems to enjoy being in it.


In what seemed to be a longshot effort, we applied for an iPad through a grant that focuses on children with speech delays.  I didn't know how many applications these agencies approved/accepted each year so we applied six places.  We applied back in May for a July 15th deadline.  Last week we got 4 denial letters in the mail stating there was a greater need elsewhere.  But then one day there was a call from a non-profit in Pennsylvania that helps kiddos with special needs buy things they normally could not afford.  They wanted to help Ellie!  They approved our grant of the newest iPad just released, a super nice case to protect it from being dropped and a generous amount of money on a giftcard for games and applications. 


The exciting box arrives in the mail!

She's been using an iPad in speech therapy and the apps they use there get her excited about identifying objects and following the directions on the screen.  Here she is when it first came playing an app that came on it that allows you to play musical instruments.  She loves it!!!

What a big, big girl she is becoming!

We are working on a video of her using it to send in to the agency.  They show videos at their annual dinner fundraiser which is how they get the money to then award families.  We are so thankful, it is a very nice device with endless possibilities to help Ellie develop. 


And lastly, months ago we realized Ellie was too big for her crib but not quite ready for a big-girl bed.  We found out about a bed that was a good transition for children who still needed a little more time to be kept safe.  It's considered medical equipment so we processed it through our insurance unsure if it would be approved.  We were so happy a few weeks ago when it got approved!  It arrived this week and it's so nice!  It's a great idea someone designed that makes staying safe seem fun and exciting.  She, and the other three, all love it!  It's been two nights now since she's had it and she's getting used to it very well.  I lay with her some and she looks around and pushes on the sides of a little but then she's happy and I think she loves the space!

An opening that zips from the outside.  It's so cozy and she uses it as a little "house" to read/play during the day time.

July Part II

A fun Chattanooga baseball game with awesome seats.  Ellie and Julia were inside the air conditioning with their Papa!

Ellie had communicated with us again that she didn't like loud noise/music so she stated inside the whole time and had a nice little set up.

She was quite happy away from all the action.

Meanwhile these three were hoping to catch a fly ball.

A fun memory - doughnuts for dessert.  Ellie got so excited when she saw them!

A special souvenir all the way from Australia from her Uncle Ken and Aunt Colleen!

Time for Ellie and the kangaroo to go night night!

Ellie likes to help play games with us!

Hmmmm...which one should I pick?

She got really brave this time with swimming and didn't want her float any more. Luckily she clings to you like a monkey when you're holding her in the water.

Ellie's first time bowling!  She got really into it!!!!

She would go crazy cheering and jumping when she let the ball go.  I wish I could say she stayed in one place when we bowled but she made a few friends a couple lanes over.  She was hard to watch, she is a fast one!

Pizza time!  Love watching Ellie eat!

Go at it girl!

The children are so loved at their second home in Tennessee!

At a Braves game for one of the last games at Turner Field!  We had one uncle with us in person and one in our thoughts.

Braves score winning run!  Xavier was a little...pumped!

Ellie had a wonderful summer and really traveled fairly easily and handled all the excitement quite well.  Some things she skipped like a movie or the Atlanta baseball game and stayed home with a grandparent.  It all worked out to be the best decision for her - the heat, the noise, all the sitting. In fact we give a lot of credit to our other kids for being such troopers.  When did they get so big on us???

July

Ellie is so happy it's summertime!  She enjoys her siblings being able to play with her so much all day long with no schoolwork to worry about.  The teachers in the house are enjoying the summer too!

The good old kiddie pool that has seen child after child come through.

Jacob was a good sport and humored his mom for one minute by squeezing in with the others :).

A July 4th celebration where we all learned to put Ellie first and leave the outside heat after about an hour.  She was unhappy with a loud band playing and is just a simple girl with simple needs...

...like sitting in air conditioning and eating an ice cream cone!

"Oooooh thank you Mommy and Daddy for listening when I communicated I wanted to go somewhere cool and quiet!!"

Happy Fourth of July Ellie!!!!

We took a little pilgrimage to a nearby Catholic Cathedral that was beeeeeeeeautiful!!!!

We had dinner on the way home and told everyone to sit right here while we ordered. 
We're having a great summer with our four!!

Quilts and Children

As I've mentioned before, had it not been for Ellie I probably would not have started sewing in 2014.  The main two reasons I started were:

1 - I was home more and was in need for a little "hobby" to connect with my brain for a few minutes in a corner of the house :).

2 - I had two girls now - the thought of matching dresses did it for me!

When I started out I had two big goals to shoot for.  One was making the girls' Holy Communion dress.  The countdown clock still shows a little less than 2 years on that one thankfully. The other goal was to make a summer blanket for our bed that was very lightweight and 'breathed' in the hot months.  

I started this massive project - a king sized quilt with 394 appliqued flower petals - back in early spring.  I wanted to get it done by the summer and thanks to a husband who has summers off and keeps the children distracted from the aforementioned corner of the house - I finished it last week!

As always I find great meaning in sewing.  Making mistakes (one really big one on the back that took 4 hours to pick apart and start again!), slowing down, attention to detail, doing a simple task in an almost meditative state....all of these things give me peace and help me look at daily challenges with raising children differently. I try to slow down with them and enjoy the little things as much as possible. 

Here they all are - they celebrated the completion by running around with it then all lying under it when I told them I was finished!

The pattern is called "Wallflower".  I thought it was beautiful and I liked the meaning of sometimes standing back and taking things in for a change as a wallflower.  Not my natural temperament so hopefully sleeping under the quilt will help inspire me to know when to get involved and when to just be a spectator of the beauty in front of me every day!

Summer Trip

Ellie and her siblings had a great trip to our second home in Tennessee this summer!  We started out at an amusement park we love!  Ellie was able to do more this year than last...but was also a little reserved about some rides.

There was a boat chute that she was not so sure about!

I had her facing forward but she spun around so fast and straddled me like a little monkey!

This one might have gone a little too fast for her.

There we go - much more her speed!!!

Daddy walked around with her some while Mommy tried not to throw up rode some rides with the other children.

We enjoyed a water park where Ellie got a little brave and had a blast.

Kept safe by  her brother.

Kept dry by her Daddy.

She loved the merry go round!

Things are going "round and round" over here in their usual fashion this summer.  Some big developments are possibly on the horizon for Ellie getting an "extreme makeover" of her bedroom!  Stay tuned!