Week 1 Survived!

We made it through the first week of school. Thank.God!  Talk about a beating.  Keara, bless her heart, she is loving school but her body is not adjusting well to such an early rise along with 7 hours of school.  I had her nap this afternoon because she was so touchy, emotional and cranky!! On the flip side, her teacher let us know how wonderful she is doing, that she is a leader and how the other girls look up to her :) Not what I expected!! Go Keara!
Abby is miss pleaser. She wants to be the best, her behavior is impeccable and she has to play mother hen to the 3 boys at her table. Her teacher recognizes this and compliments her on it :) She has a definite drive I hope she retains.

I must say, I still wish I could of had the chance to homeschool them.  I miss having my house full of organized chaos, the sound of siblings laughing and learning together.  Our table time each day, field trips when it suited us. No time constraints or consequences for not attending a set number of days. *sigh. Maybe one day, maybe.

I Got Ian!

Ok, so today started out so much better! He even reminded me to get a photo (and some from his phone, too)  This is such a scary year for me. Part of me is so excited for what God has in store for Ian, the other part is nervous for what potential disasters/choices he could make. He truly is growing into a fine young man, and we are so very grateful to God for his presence and guidance in Ian's life. My prayer is that Ian continues to keep his heart open to the word, continues to be a strong Christian example and reflect daily on how is actions/reactions affect other people.  Our children live in such a desensitized and morally corrupt generation, it is our duty to empower them with a strong moral foundation but also equip them with the knowledge to make wise/educated decisions. 
I love you Ian, and I am so very proud God allowed me the chance to be your mom.

The First and Last First

Grrr. Figures! It's his "last first day" and the only time I failed to get a picture.  It sure wasn't due to a lack of effort, oh no, it was all mood related. Talk about a stressful morning. And tense. Let's just say our wonderful son's egocentric entitled teen personality reared its ugly head. But after a day of thinking (and 2 weeks without his wheels) all is forgiven. At least by his dad.
The girls on the other hand, had a wonderful morning!  I did come to see that Keara needs to be woken about 15 min before Abby so she can actually wake up. She's my slow to rise, and she isn't hungry very quick. So she'll eat last. Abby, well she can be ready and fed in 20 minutes.  Gotta love a quick girl!  They both did great today and look forward to returning tomorrow.  Abby is in first and has Ms. Stregal, Keara is in kindergarten and has Ms. Strober.
May I present Abby & Keara!

*shrug*

I sit in front of this computer with my fingers on the keys staring off into space.  So many times I think "I need to blog about this" and then when the time comes....my mind is a blank slate.

Keara is back to her old self (praise the prayers!) and her left foot is about 98% healed.  We are so glad to have her home and healthy.  I can't thank my neighbors and  my co-workers enough for being so supportive and willing to go the extra mile for me.  I was reminded again of this in Church today, the topic being Relationships in Christ, having true relationships/friends, not just aquaintinces.  My number of those may be small, but they are very deep.  You all know who you are, and I love you beyond measure.

Today also marks the day of a faithful journey, albeit a very personal one.  Josh is essentially spearheading this one, and I am so grateful to him.  Those of you who know me or follow me, you understand how deeply touching this topic is to me.  I even sent out weekly reminders to him about this day giving him ample time to "back out" or change his mind.  So our feet have stepped off into the unknown and may our faith in His holy works and destiny light the way. I shall keep you posted as changes come about :) 

Ian.  Oh, Ian.  God knows how much I love our son.  He is one phenomenal kid, but as with all "kids" who are about to turn 18, he has made a choice that is permanent.  Unless he chooses to pay big money to reverse it.  He has joined the Tatoo club.  I knew this day was coming, but truly hoped it would be after highschool.  I equipped him with questions to ask himself in regards to the permanent nature of his inking, and it seems he did.  He chose to have the latin phrase Cruce Salus inked across his upper front chest.  Best location? Probably not, but nothing I can do to change that, right?? In latin, it means from the cross comes salvation. Sadly, Ian did not take Latin.  Therefore he failed to have the A placed: A Cruce Salus.  That is the formal phrase.  Live and learn, son. 

Well, not sure what to blog about right now.  The girls are watching a Veggie Tales movie, Ashlynn is napping, Ian went to run an errand for me and I have about 5 loads of laundry waiting for me.  Oh, and dinner needs to be prepped.  Guess that's my cue to sign off.....

Sweet keara

So here I sit, at Childrens Hospital New Orleans with my 5yr old daughter. She may be our tiny, petite one, but man does she have a strong spirit! This little girl has lived with a chronic skin disease since 2 months old and this is her second hospitalization for a severe staph and strep infection. I think the strep worries me more since it is the causative agent for necrotizing faciatis. No bueno. Praise God we have not faced that!
Friday. It was the last day of her and Abby's visit with grandma and grandpa Cavender.  A movie day at that!  Until Keara woke up with pus filled blisters all over her left foot, partially on her right foot and scattered on her hands. I freaked out! As any reasonable mom would, right??
I enlisted the prayers of all the people I know, bowed heads with my friend/neighbor Jenn, and booked a flight out first thing Saturday morning. It was a day full of emotions, a rollercoaster at best. But Josh and I have been through this before and have raised her through this from birth.  We are strong, and despite emotions, we understand each others view points but respect each others needs and feelings. And he recognizes my faith.
Onward to Saturday. God was with me from the get go! We arrived at Love Field at 0645. My flight departs at 0730. The lines are OUTRAGEOUS!!  I mean, close to 100 in the security check point, another 50-75 for baggage check!!  I'm NOT making this flight!!!  I start crying and I haven't even moved my feet. Have faith Jenny,  have faith. Bless the couple in front of me who handed me an A-1 card which put me at the front, praises to the TSA officer who directed me to a checkpoint with less than 20 people and for God speed in making it to my gate with less than 5 min to spare. I checked my bag at 0710. With Him, I made it. Each of those people today were a blessing to me.

she is currently on IV Vancomycin every 6°.  We should have the sensitivity results back tomorrow to know which antibiotics she will be given by mouth when we leave.  In the meantime, I will be patient and take good care of her skin; advocating on her behalf.
I didn't get into the BSN program.  That's okay, I have my family. And I get to fly off and take care of my baby girl.