365 Gifts in 365 Days

Six Months and Counting!!!

2010-06-29T13:47:00.000-07:00

I'm so sorry for the delay in my posts. My Dad always knew something was wrong when I didn't call him every week...and I didn't post because I was going through some emotional stuff - I always need time to "process". One of my special needs kiddo's got hurt very badly due to the neglect of a provider caring for her. I was angry and sad...completely devastated...I felt like the world was unfair, how could a child that had been through so much abuse and neglect get neglected in my home??? I cried and cried and the wounds have finally healed and we are all moving forward. I can't go into more detail due to the public nature of this blog, however, everyone is safe and happy, we have found a new provider and are all doing great. Fantastic, in fact.

What I'm really excited to write about is tomorrow, June 30th! It happens to be my birthday, but that's not what's so exciting, it is exactly half way through my one year challenge!!!! I have been gift giving and I haven't missed a day, so this is a huge milestone to me...I'm rounding the corner into the home stretch! Today, instead of listing all of the little gifts I've come up with here and there, I wanted to tell you about the gifts I have been getting in return! It's been absolutely unbelievable...I'll never be able to remember them all, but this gift giving mission has turned into a gift getting mission and I feel so blessed. Some examples include, I went through a Taco Bell...having a really rough day, so rough in fact, I ordered just a Rootbeer, my favorite soda, to keep me going. As I pulled up to the window scrambling for change, the teen behind the window said, "Don't worry about it, it's on the house!" I was shocked and so unbelievably grateful. My dear friend and music therapist, Kelly, who is always giving gifts surprised me two weeks in a row with brand name boys clothes hand me downs....they were in perfect condition, cool clothes, all in Dakota's size which means we will be able to pass them down to Justin too! Another day, my friend Kristen, our speech therapist, showed up with a huge box of pull ups that a family was getting rid of for Abigail. Jamie has started calling me "mom"...(tearing up...this is HUGE!) I've had friends give me rides, call, email / text, I've gotten invited to lots of stuff even though I have to say "no" most the time...a couple friends came to visit me on Sunday, and a new doctor I'm working with is going WAY above and beyond to help me, including checking in through email often...It's just been absolutely amazing!

So, thank you to everyone reading this, supporting me through reading this for the past six months is a blessing in itself. I will try to be more diligent about posting over the next six months.

Little gifts...

2010-05-29T20:21:00.000-07:00

This week has been literally insane with several appointments, end of year parties, and graduations back to back...sigh...plus bootcamp! My gifts have been super simple this week...one day, after a really hard bootcamp, Tim was home but I decided to get up with the kids in the morning and let him sleep in....another day, I delivered something to a friend that she needed...another day I helped someone close to me through an anxious situation. I've had so many blessings including the girl I've been tutoring passed her final and saved her years worth of work!

My favorite gift this week was getting the kids a little plastic pool. I went to Walmart to get one for Abbey and Jamie and sitting next to the itty bitty ones was a large one with a small slide. I told them that I had to have that as I could envision Abbey going up and down the slide over and over. However, I only had my van...I hadn't really thought this through. I got it out to my van and opened it up, it was obvious it was not going to fit in any way, shape or form, but for some reason, I kept going...folded down the seats and proceeded as if it would fit. The salesperson told me there as no way, but I was fearless...of looking stupid, that is, and I grabbed that huge pool and I shoved and squished and because it was so hot from sitting out in the sun the plastic was actually pliable and that sucker fit!

When I got home, I snuck the pool into the back yard...I had to walk in it to get it to look like a pool again and filled it up with water...then the fun part, getting the kids!!! They were so excited, they squealed! Even Dakota was thrilled. Long story short, literally four hours later, we are trying to convince them to come out! Even Justin enjoyed it tremendously. It was so much fun that something as simple as a little pool of water created that much excitement. I love kids, they are absolutely amazing!

Promotion Ceremony...

2010-05-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

The homeschooling program I designed and later handed off to an amazing homeschooling mom/teacher was having a promotion ceremony today. I made up certificates of appreciation for all the teachers involved in the program and got flowers for the mom who took over the program when I got ill. I was so excited to recognize their hard work. What I didn't expect was that they recognized mine! I was honored with a corsage and great thanks from the parents and teachers alike. It was wonderful!

Homeschooling trouble...

2010-05-21T06:43:00.000-07:00

So on Wednesday, I was having a crazy day...Algebra tutoring for two hours and found out that Jamie had a UTI and needed to go to the doctor and boot camp...yes, I said boot camp. Let me back up. I signed Tim and I up for a boot camp class in our town run by a police officer. Interestingly enough, Tim didn't tell me about it, a couple of my friends had done it and I was able to convince him to do it with me. I can officially report that I survived the first week. It is Mon - Thurs from 7-8pm...and it's rough! The first night was the easiest because it was just testing us...heart rate, blood pressure, how many push ups, sit ups, etc, that you could do. Well, I've never really done a "military" push up where you are straight and go down to the fist on the ground, so I thought I'd go down and not come back up! But, I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to do four!!! Then we did sit ups in one minute...I was about to do 22, which I didn't know was good until my friend told me she still couldn't do 22 after the six week class! It's taking a lot of guts to do this class...all the people there are triathlon and exercise abnormalities...but I'm doing it!

The second night was the run...yes...the run...sigh. We had to run 1.5 miles and he timed us as we are going to try and beat our times by the end of the six weeks. I've never "run" before, so I was a bit worried. I told Tim to go ahead so that he could get his best time possible. Everyone else finished between 13 and 18 minutes...My personal goal was to finish in less than 30 minutes and to finish period. After a while I saw Tim heading back to make sure I was OK, I was still running...slow but running...I had to walk a few times...but I ran more than half of it and finished running in 28 minutes. Tim was so proud of me he was beaming :-).

Anyway, I'll tell you more about boot camp another time, but this is something I'm doing for myself which doesn't happen often enough. I have scheduled a massage today to celebrate not dying during my first week! For my gift on Wednesday, in between all my appointments and craziness my friend tells me she needs me to tutor her daughter on a writing assignment. I really didn't have time at all to do it, really didn't, but I thought, OK, this will be my gift for the day. It took about an hour and it really wasn't a writing assignment problem, it's a problem with her set up and pace so we worked on this for a while and she is going to come and observe me homeschooling, so this was nice.

Homeschooling books...

2010-05-19T08:18:00.000-07:00

Another close friend of mine and I are both doing the same science curriculum for our homeschools this year...we both school year round, so our new year starts in about two weeks. I've been really, really busy preparing centers and projects...laminating like crazy and organizing. I've taken several Homeschool Trainings to update my skills and I know this is going to be our best homeschool year ever! I know this because every year always gets dramatically better as I learn how to be a more effective teacher, more organized, and have more experience.

I'm using several new curricula this year that I am so excited about, I can't stand it! The kids are seeing all these new books and activities and can't wait to get started. For science, we are doing a program called "Christian Kids Explore Science"...I found this curriculum when looking for something that would fit my friends situation and fell in love with it too! Anyway, the book is like a "relaxed" text book with ton's of activities and experiments. However, there are not any consumable "workbooks"...so I bought an additional download and I created workbooks for my kids and hers...It took hours! But, they looked so nice, I printed the covers in color and bought nice binders, I used the label maker to separate the units and I set it up so that literally all her and I have to do is open up the workbook and all the activities, etc, are right there for you! The text for the program is complete, but you have to make copies from it, literally every lesson, so this is going to be a huge time save. I gave it to her yesterday and she loved it!

Helping a friend at work...

2010-05-19T08:07:00.000-07:00

So a close friend of mine was having some serious chaos at work...through no fault of her own, things had just sort of collapsed. Due to confidentiality, that is all I can really say, but her work is in education which is where my experience is. So, I had her come over and we worked late into the night getting things under control, then she came over first thing the next morning and we worked another few hours. After everything was said and done, she is doing much, much better. I am going to help her finish things up on Thursday. I enjoyed every minute of it and she was so grateful for the help. It was completely fun to me and it felt great to see her go from stressed and panicked to back to her normal self.

Tim's Birthday...

2010-05-19T08:02:00.000-07:00

So, Tim's birthday was Monday, but I decided to surprise him on Sunday afternoon as Monday is a work day. I told him that I'd be "taking him out" but he didn't know where or the details, etc. Tim isn't really "big" on birthdays, he doesn't dread them like some, but he doesn't find them to be a big deal when you are an adult, he just focuses on the kids ones. Therefore, there were little expectation on his part.

We have been working so hard on keeping an amazing budget and we are succeeding, so I knew I didn't want to spend much. Therefore, I needed to do something "meaningful" vs. "expensive". I got the idea to invite his very best friend out to lunch with us, he is also a police officer and with their crazy jobs and lives, they hadn't seen each other in at least a year...although they talk often. I knew Tim would be thrilled and asked his friend to recommend a restaurant. He picked out a really unique place in a cellar with a huge fire place and cozy. The food was southwest and literally melted in your mouth. I had made reservations, got the seats we wanted and they made sure to recognize Tim's birthday with a flourless chocolate cake with organic ice cream and berries...oh my, it was good!

Tim had also been wanting to see the movie "Iron Man" but when it first came out, there were lines into the street and people sitting for hours outside the theater to even get a seat...sigh. Don't these people have anything more important to do? Anyway, the weekend of his birthday was the second weekend it was out. I bought tickets way ahead of time online and we got there an hour early and were one of the first ones in. It was a great movie and day, we had so much fun! That was my gift :-).

Tutoring...Algebra

2010-05-19T07:56:00.000-07:00

I had agreed to tutor a 10th grader in Algebra as she was barely passing the class and if she failed the final, she'd have to take the whole thing over. So, for the past few weeks, I've been working with her on a regular basis. We are really enjoying working together and her improvement has been remarkable! This is a paid position, however, on several days I have stayed much longer than I was being paid for and have also helped her over the phone when she is stuck on homework. I have put in at least double the time I'm getting paid for and this was one of my gifts :-).

Catching Up...Strawberry Shortcake

2010-05-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the delay and thank you to the people that inform me when they are missing my blog, it helps me refocus. I have been very busy giving gifts and life has been a bit crazy since Justin came home...Not being his normal happy self, he was requiring to be held and comforted around the clock...literally, he would not tolerate being put down at all. So with much patience and the help of respite providers relieving us, we got through it and after two weeks, he is almost back to normal! He is able to play and be put down and is his generally happy self. However, he is not yet tolerating his many therapy sessions, but this too, will come.

So, I haven't written every gift down, which is unfortunate. However, I'm going to write about some of the ones I remember off the top of my head. I do know that I didn't miss a day though and that is very exciting to me considering the recent chaos. While Justin was still struggling and he had fallen asleep around 7pm that night, I decided I'd make my family strawberry shortcake for my gift. I was super tired and didn't feel like doing anything but Tim had bought nine packages of strawberries, yes nine, and the kids were eying them and I do make really yummy shortcake. So I decided it would only take a half hour and that would be my gift. When my family realized what I was up to, they got really excited.

I've made shortcake lots of different ways, however, Bisquick is our absolute hands down favorite! So, I pulled out the Bisquick box only to find there was only a small amount left...shoot! Well, the kids were dancing around the house singing "Yea, yea, strawberry shortcake!" so I sighed as I realized I'd have to do it from scratch...This was going to be more of a gift than I had anticipated. I pulled out my Betty Crocker book to find their recipe required a pastry blender...a what? OK, so I definitely don't have one of those. Then I pulled out the Joy of Cooking, oh boy, this one seemed way to complicated. Then Tim, seeing my frustration pulled out a Better Homes and Garden book and said, "I think there is a good one in here..." The only tricky part was cutting the butter into the flour but I actually knew how to do that as my mom had taught me last year when she showed me the family secret on her world famous apple pie. So I went to work. I was happily making my mix when I went to grab the sugar...Crap! We were out! We don't use sugar hardly ever so I didn't even notice. I yelled to Dakota to run to my neighbors house to grab a cup of sugar, OK, problem solved.

I was mixing in my sugar when I went to grab some eggs out of the fridge...No way! There were no eggs. Huge sigh. "Dakota!" I yelled, "I need two eggs." "Mooooommmmm, it's dark out." Yes, it was now 8pm, an hour later and not even in the oven. But, I wasn't giving up. I told Dakota to go to my OTHER neighbor and ask for two eggs. Isn't it funny how I couldn't stand my first neighbor knowing that "I didn't have it all together" and so I instructed my Dakota to go to a different one? I find that interesting. Anyway, another half hour and we were all enjoying warm Strawberry Shortcake and the kids went to bed happily with full bellies and I collapsed on the couch.

Prayers Needed...

2010-05-05T07:35:00.000-07:00

I have decided after much research that I need to get Justin a service dog. I spent about five hours last night researching all the possibilities after one of the doctors recommended getting one. Apparently there are "seizure alert" dogs which are specifically trained to get help in the instance of someone having a seizure...just like Justin did in the night. What's more, these dogs typically learn the change in human smell prior to a seizure and are able to alert you BEFORE the seizure even starts. This allows you to make sure the child is laying down and not doing anything dangerous (such as bath time). I feel very strongly after reading all the research that a service dog would bring comfort, companionship, abilities to get toys and play as well as seizure detection for Justin. Unfortunately, such a dog cost about $22,000 to train because it is quite intensive and is specific to your child's needs. On top of this, you travel to the facility and work with the program trainer and your child for two weeks for the bonding process. Tim thinks this would be amazing for Justin...we are allergic to dogs, but they have hypoallergetic service dogs now. After seeing Justin's reaction to one of these dogs in pet therapy at the hospital and his true love for his weekly horseback riding lessons, I feel God is telling me this is what I need to do for his safety and continued happiness.

We don't have $22,000...please pray as I search for fund raising options. Tim is very concerned about me taking on another project with my current health status...however, I know God has it all figured out, I just need to find the answer. Thank you in advance for your prayers, I will be working on this all day today as my gift :-).

Justin's Home!

2010-05-04T18:56:00.000-07:00

Since coming home, Justin is back to his old self! He was having severe anxiety and grinding his teeth horribly at the hospital, but no more!!! He just needed to be home, I'm thrilled :-).

I just got done my gift, it was super fun! I wrote very detailed letters to the supervisors of the several professionals that came to visit Justin in the hospital in their free time. I am so impressed by their love, passion, and dedication that I wanted to make sure their direct supervisors new the level of commitment they have to the special needs children they work with. I already got a response from one supervisor who was deeply impressed! I had a lot of fun with this one :-).

Justin's Coming Home!

2010-05-04T11:19:00.000-07:00

I don't have time for a normal post, but I wanted to pass on to you all that Justin is coming home in the next several hours!!! Woo hoo! His heart is back to normal, as are his seizures, and the paralysis on the left side is improving by the minute :-). What we are still struggling with is his severe anxiety from being in the hospital, not sleeping well, and grinding his teeth...so badly he broke his front tooth in half. I'm trying to get the house comfortable and cleaned up before he gets home, he is with Letty, one of his respite providers.

Thanks for your prayers! When I have my gift figured out for today, you will know :-).

You're Not Going to Believe...

2010-05-02T17:44:00.002-07:00

the past two weeks I've had. I couldn't make this stuff up!

So, last time I posted, I had my blood transfusion and feeling a bit ill. The following day for my gift I was making an amazing meal including homemade mashed potato's...something I don't do often, boy are they yummy like my Mama makes :-). So I put the lid on a casserole dish and got distracted by children running loops around the kitchen and accidentally knocked the entire casserole dish FULL of potato's onto my bare foot. Ouch! Unbelievable pain and instantaneous swelling and bruising, I'm totally sure it is broken but I have meals to deliver so I strap some ice on it and go...I know, I'm nuts. So, I get home just in time for Jamie's counselor to come and at this point my foot is the size of King Kong's and I have to elevate it while trying to manage the house and talk to the counselor...sigh. Hours later, Tim comes home and I am able to drive myself to Urgent Care where they x-ray and believe it or not, it's NOT broken...thank God! However, I'm unable to walk on it for a couple days and Dakota has a trip to the science museum tomorrow...sigh. From Urgent Care, I am able to get Dakota a ride to the science museum and friends for him to hang out with so that I can sit on the couch all day with my foot elevated...doctor's orders.

The following day, I push myself to go grocery shopping and I pick up some items for Tim that he had mentioned in passing for my gift. He was very surprised and touched that I remembered when they were not on the list and all the craziness of my everyday life being a Home Manager. That night, however, I was struck with the stomach flu...a bad one, the kind that makes you want to die, pray for the Angel of Death to come release you from the torture. I spent the evening with my head in the toilet...need I say more? At least it was clean, Dakota had scrubbed it earlier in the day. As I lay on the couch Saturday, I rehearsed in my head my "final posting"...I was throwing in the towel. I couldn't and wasn't giving a gift today and I had succumbed to defeat...I told myself how stupid it was to set up this kind of a goal and I was a fool for believing it. Just then, my neighbor stopped by and although I couldn't pull myself upright on the couch, she said her son didn't want to go out with her and I offered to let him play with Dakota at our house. I knew it wouldn't be any trouble and I'd be able to give this gift from the couch. Saved! Whew! I did it! OK, so I'm feeling pretty great and then I throw up...the high is officially over.

So, I'm almost over the stomach flu...almost when Monday morning arises and Tim is getting shoulder surgery. I drive him to the surgical center...nauseous as I drive...but holding it together. I support him emotionally as they put him asleep and wheel him away and then sit in the waiting room for hours making phone calls and scheduling appts even with needing many trips to the bathroom...yuck. His surgery is successful but he is quite sick as he wakes up. I somehow get his lethargic, 6' 4" frame into our minivan, get his meds, and get him in bed in our guest house where the kids won't jump all over him. I somehow, in between bathroom trips, wait on him hand and foot and keep the kids fed, changed, and medicated...that was my gift for the day. I was a super great caretaker and my hubby totally appreciated it.

Sigh...OK, so on Tuesday, for my gift, I drive my hubby an hour to physical therapy and homeschool Dakota in the waiting room...finally my sickness is going away, but the headache and exhaustion is killing me. We wait two hours in PT office and then drive Tim home, I'm feeling sicker by the second but we make it home. He's able to drive himself tomorrow, so finally, I get to relax...ha! As I get home, my respite provider informs me that Justin is throwing up. I'm distraught, I specifically didn't go anywhere near him, but he still got it. I sent his provider to the store to get a long list of saltines, oatmeal, ginger ale, pepto bismol, the whole works. I get him comfortable and taken care of and he falls asleep...he's completely out. Life is good, I can rest...ha!

I wake up around 6am to Tim screaming that he needs help...I run up stairs and Justin is having a grand mal seizure in his bed, he had thrown up his seizure meds and spiked a temp in the night. Typically his seizures are easy to spot with a loud panting noise, however, this was completely silent and we had no idea how long it had been going on. I called 911 and gave him his emergency seizure meds. Twenty minutes later, with the ambulance team and IV, he finally came out of the seizure. We ended up in the ICU and he finally woke up two and a half days later. For my gifts, I have sat tirelessly by his bedside waiting for him to wake up, massaging his muscles, and meeting his every need. His preschool teachers came and sat with him for hours giving me a break, and his music and speech therapists came to cheer him up once he woke up. He is now on the pediatric floor, while he is awake and comprehending, his left side is paralyzed and we are doing an MRI on Monday. I've been sleeping (if you can call it sleeping) in bed with him and trying to keep him comfortable. Tonight, my respite provider is spending the night and giving me a break. I haven't posted because I haven't been within three feet of a computer in over two weeks...sigh.

We think he's going to be OK...we are praying for his quick recovery. We know there will be some regression, but we are so blessed that we have our baby and he's healthy. In my support group, we lose children to these types of seizures every single month. I told God that if it was time for Justin to be with Him, I would accept that, but I prayed for Him to bring him back to us and He did. In addition to all the support we've gotten from friends visiting, our church made us meals and our Pastor is praying with Justin on Monday. We've had amazing nurses who have gone above and beyond for Justin and everyone who has come in contact with him has been amazing. In addition, Tim's Dad, Tata, took shifts at the hospital and helped Dakota with his science fair project (coming up this week of course!) and to top it all off, we got a letter in the mail saying that the pharmaceutical company is going to waive the $2,000 monthly co-pay for my blood transfusions. God is good, life is good!

First Blood Transfusion...

2010-04-22T04:54:00.000-07:00

Today was my first blood transfusion...it was an interesting experience to say the least. I had to drive into the city for my first one in case I had any negative reactions. I was feeling pretty horrible on my way there, I am having problems with my thyroid again :-(. When I arrived, I realized I was being sent to the Cancer Center...I was thankful that I don't have cancer. I was seated in a recliner that was lined up with several others in front of a large window facing the sky-scape of the city. All the recliners were full with patients thirty to fifty years my senior. I was given a blanket and pillow's and set up for my transfusion. It took about an hour and a half and I was feeling pretty good, especially since I had gotten my high score on Yahtzee on my phone! I was feeling great when they had me leave...however, driving home, I realized I was quite dizzy and my ears were ringing. I had to pull over but the symptoms were only getting worse. Finally, I got myself home, safe and sound, where it took me a couple hours to recover. Unfortunately, I don't know if it was the infusion or my thyroid...sigh...luckily, from now on I will be getting the infusions at home with a nurse on a weekly basis, so I can just rest following the procedure. I am very blessed as many insurances don't allow home visits, there are many people that have to go to the clinic on a daily or weekly basis and it isn't somewhere I'd be comfortable being at regularly.

Websites that MUST be shared!

2010-04-16T07:25:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I just have to share with you two of my favorite finds...EVER!

The first is called Family Mint. It is FREE and it is a website where you set up each of your kids allowance...it's ALL virtual and there is NO real money involved. No more running to the bank for one dollar bills!!! It allows the kids to set up as many goals as they want and you can upload pictures. As you make deposits into your child's account, they disperse it how they see fit and then it requests your final approval. This has become a HUGE motivator for Dakota. We set up three accounts for Dakota (you get to pick or upload a picture for each one)...he has his Tithe of 10%, his Retirement of 40%, and his Spending of 50%. Remember when I told you if your child put $2,000 in retirement at age 16 and again at age 17, they would have a TON of money at retirement with no additional deposits? Well, with Family Mint, you can match your child's savings or set an interest rate of return, etc. So for Dakota's Tithe money, we left it as is, no special return or matching. For his Retirement, however, we set up a goal of $2,000 with a 100% match by us! For his Spending account, I set up a 6% return on his money.

Does this sound complicated? It's NOT! There is a quick five min tutorial on how to do it and I had all five kids set up in less than 20 minutes. It's so user friendly, Dakota was transferring money and making decisions in less than three minutes. Best part is that Dakota is doing a TON of math. Every time he get's money, he has to figure out the percentages...then there is a "progress bar" underneath the account so he can see exactly how he's doing. We even uploaded the game he is saving for as the picture for his Spending account.

Anyway, I could go on all day. Visit this site, again it's FREE, so awesome!!!

http://www.familymint.com/

OK, my second favorite web find...actually, I love them both equally, is:

www.paperbackswap.com

This is a place where people actually swap books! For real! For FREE! So the curriculum I'm using for homeschooling is based out of classic literature, not text books...meaning I need to buy 75-100 books of all sorts each year for each kid...yes, we are talking $1,000 at least, if I find them used...sigh. So, I put every book I need...yes, that was a chore and a half, onto Paperback Swap. Every time another member posts that book, I get notified. How does it work? It's so simple really, it's absolute genius! You post any books that you are done with and if another member wants them, you ship it to them via media mail for a measly $2 and some change. Then you get a "credit" towards getting a book from another member. Do you hear spring cleaning bells? I did! I sent out over 30 books, cleaned off my shelves, and now I have a bunch of credits sitting in my account to get new curriculum, which have been arriving almost daily! Woo hoo! What's more, you don't even have to swap any books. You can buy credits, seriously, for like $3...that includes the shipping. When was the last time you got a book for $3. Anyway, one of my fav's, check it out and ENJOY!!!

Amazing Week!

2010-04-16T07:05:00.000-07:00

We have had the most amazing week...I have had so many "Aha" moments that I don't know if I can even remember them all! It started with me giving the kids a "vacation" day on Monday..."just because". It was so fun...we all slept in...no school work...and we played all day, including major water fights with the hose. It was a fabulous day and a much needed break for all of us!

On Tuesday, I took a Homeschooling Seminar on "Managing the Multi-level Family" and "Teaching the "Difficult" Child"...during the seminar I kept thinking, this is common sense. However, the following days, I found some of the ideas presented have really stuck with me...deeply. One, in particular, was when she said, "I love you more!" This was meaningful because my little Abbey, who has a speech delay, quite often says..."I uv ou mer!" However, the speaker wasn't referring to "I love you more than you love me..." She was actually referring to..."I love you more than an uninterrupted cup of coffee...I love you more than a full nights sleep...I love you more than going to the bathroom with the door closed"...OK, I added that last one. But you get the idea. Everytime the kids are interrupting your phone conversation, your favorite TV show, you moment of peace and quiet, she said remember..."I love you more!" Then she teared up as she explained when she was getting up all night with one of her many babies that a friend of hers lost her five year old to cancer. And she had no doubt that her friend would stay up each and every night and do anything else to have her baby back again. So choose to say, "I love you more!" My patience has increased by 300% with this internal dialogue. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!!!

On Wednesday when the ice cream truck came (even though it was five minutes before dinner, grrr) I got all the kids ice cream in their favorite action hero shapes :-). This was their favorite gift for the week! On Thursday, Tim and I went on our date and we searched high and low for a video game Dakota had been saving up for. We found it used and by saving him shipping, he was thrilled!

Desiree

Getting Back on the Horse!

2010-04-09T17:29:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

I'm so sorry for not posting...I can't believe it's been a month! My health has been so good that I've been going 100% trying to make up for all the household things that got behind while I was bedridden! I have so much to write and I've been tearing myself up about not posting, then I'd get anxious about how behind I am, so I decided that I'm just going to start from here and try and fill you in on the past month in small, manageable chunks.

I hope you will accept my apology. I have been gift giving like crazy, sometimes big, sometimes very small, but I'm having fun. I have so many things to tell you. I went to Boston and learned all about Alpha 1 and it was fabulous! Tim and I helped earn over $20,000 in one night which was matched by a pharmaceutical company making it over $40,000! We learned all about how to throw our own fund-raising events and met the most amazing people. What's more, is I got excellent medical advice and was hooked up with THE Alpha 1 doctor in Arizona. He confirmed everything that I learned and I will be starting weekly blood transfusions to help keep my lungs functioning at their best. This treatment does not help the liver, but the liver is less likely than the lungs to have major problems.

I am so deeply blessed as I learned that the infusions (the cheapest ones) are over $12,000 per month and I will need them for the rest of my life. I had to work the numbers, my first co-pay is $2,400 but thank the Lord for His guidance, as Tim and I had invested in the best insurance plan and there is an annual cap of $2,000 out of pocket!!! My doctors were shocked with how much my insurance was going to cover. We also had to worry about my lifetime max as I will be going through the money quick, we were thrilled to find my policy covers 5 million dollars just for me!!! That's 50 years of transfusions! We are so grateful. I start these in about two weeks and I'm very excited as I know they will help me feel much better. There is a likely cure going through the FDA process currently, it should be available in 10-15 years. The transfusions will keep me healthy long enough to see the cure!

My health has been better than in a long time. I've gained some weight and struggling with that, but I'm exercising and eating great. I'm can't wait to start sharing with you my gifts as they come. Thanks for all of your support and prayers!!!

Day Sixty-Four, Reading!

2010-03-07T18:02:00.000-07:00

Today Abigail came down the stairs carrying six or seven books. She said, "Read to a me!" I was swamped...I was attempting to make all the kids a nice breakfast of pancakes and french toast. I told her I couldn't right now and she stomped her feet but was persuaded to be nice with all the good food. After we all ate and got dressed for the day, I saw the pile of books sitting there. I cuddled up with her on the couch and although my head was pounding, we read each and every one...it took a long time, but she loved it. I smile as I write this because she was just so happy for the attention and there are few things I love more than sharing a great book with one of my amazing children!

Day Sixty-Three, A Special Presentation!

2010-03-07T17:57:00.000-07:00

Kaylee has been asking me for some time to come visit her classroom at school...I've wanted to, but between being sick and getting everything caught up in the past few weeks, it hasn't happened. I decided I would go and watch her give her presentation on Vermont. I talked with the teacher to arrange a time...she said that it was going to be very short and that parents don't usually come, but I was more than welcome. I went in at 830am and she totally lighted up as soon as she saw me. She gave a fantastic presentation and I was thrilled. I gave her a big hug and kiss and congratulated her before I left. It was a really nice treat for both of us! When she came home, she ran through the door, gave me and hug and kiss and thanked me for coming...awwww...so sweet.

Day Sixty-Two, Gift Certificate!

2010-03-07T17:53:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned before, I'm helping a young teen couple with a baby get back into a high school program. They are going to be doing all of their work online...they have one working computer and one broken laptop that needs a repair. When I was at the fundraiser auction the other night I bid on a service for a computer tech to fix a broken computer and I won! So today, I gave this gift to the young couple. They will now be able to have two computers in their home and work on school at the same time! I wanted to help take down any possible barriers to their success and I saw this as being one...they were sooo incredibly thankful!

Day Sixty-One, Vermont State Report!

2010-03-07T10:49:00.000-07:00

I'm in awe that I made it through the first sixty days! Wow, my life has changed soooo much, it's thrilling! I'm a bit overwhelmed at trying to get through the rest of the year, but I'm just focusing on one day at a time. The gift giving has become quite natural...the hard part is keeping up with writing the posts about them...hence, you are getting a weeks worth in one day! Sorry about that! I'm going to try and focus on keeping this a top priority in the morning before all the kids are up.

Kaylee was doing a State Report in her first grade classroom, she had three choices, her first was Texas as her maternal Grandmother lives there...her second was Hawaii, as that is where her Dad and I got married, and her third was Vermont because I am from there and she didn't have any other ideas...lol. So, she came home with Vermont! I was excited, she said oddly enough no one else in the class wanted it! I laughed and told her I've met several adults who have asked me "What country is Vermont in?" So I wasn't surprised that a classroom of first graders were not fighting over it!

For my gift for today I spent hours working on her presentation poster. We had a month to work on the project and we had written to the Chamber of Commerce...finally, she got this huge package in the mail full of brochures, maps, and other information. It was very exciting for her. We went through everything, cutting up stuff, then I pulled out my scrapbooking materials to add some pizazz and we went to work. She had so much fun learning about maple syrup, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, Ethan Allen, and of course the sea monster in Lake Champlain...

It exhausted me, as I get very tired in the evening, but I hung in there and we plugged away at it for two and a half hours and had an amazing project to show for it! I gave her suggestions, but she did the actual project work on her own!

Day Sixty, Science, the Magic Way!

2010-03-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

Today was crazy!!! I had to make the meals for my meal group but I was feeling pretty good about my accomplishments the past few days. I've been getting a little tired, but completely enjoying life! I'm excited every time I change a diaper, clean the floors, or anything like that...I can do it myself! I'm honestly scared of being bed ridden again, but I won't ever wonder if I had done all I could do...I really am enjoying every second!!!

Dakota had gotten a Magic Science Kit from my mom for his birthday...a couple of weeks later, we still hadn't opened it and he was dying of excitement. So, today we not only did one, but plowed through five science experiments. It is so difficult for me to give him my undivided attention...Abbey and Justin were gone for a few hours to preschool and we did science, cooking, science, cooking, science, you get the picture! Once Abbey got home she was mesmerized by the magic wand and the crystal ball we made. We had to hide the kit from her as she was going nuts!

Dakota had so much fun and somehow we got all the meals made, delivered and our other subjects done...sigh...how exhausting!

Day Fifty-Nine, A Sleepy Sunday!

2010-03-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, I slept in a little late...as did the rest of the family...Tim hadn't made it to bed until around 5am. I decided for my gift, I'd try and give him as relaxing day as possible with five young children. So, I let him sleep while I quietly got Dakota and the other kids up and going and called our respite provider. I asked her to watch the babies while Dakota and I went to church, as I was sure I couldn't possibly get them all ready in time by myself. When we got home, I cleaned up the house and let Tim sleep. He came down rested and happy and the house was spotless!

Day Fifty-Eight, A Fun Fundraiser!

2010-03-07T10:28:00.000-07:00

Today's gift was a challenge...lol...I told myself that I would bring ALL the kids by myself to a fundraiser at the local church...it was a country themed fun dance and auction with hot dogs, cotton candy, etc. We went and the kids had a great time, I had difficulty keeping track of every one...sigh. Jamie kept jumping in strangers laps and Abbey was busy chasing other toddlers. Dakota was off with his friend and said they were "talking to girls"...sigh...and Justin was having difficulty with all the noise. But, I was so glad that we went, we had a lot of fun and stayed for over two hours. Tim was working a DUI task force that night so I was completely on my own. I got them all unloaded and in bed and actually got Abbey to go to sleep in her bed (something only Tim seems to be able to do!)...

We bought several extra tickets for food to help the cause and I bought a couple things in the auction, which was very fun! A woman came up to me from the church and said that she wanted to give away some tickets as a gift and that our family stood out...this was funny, considering it was at a church where everyone has four, fix, six, or more kids...we still apparently stood out! I accepted the tickets graciously and thanked her and gave them to kids to get extra cotton candy or other sweets. This was one of my most ambitious gifts...I honestly can't remember that last time I took everyone out by myself...more than a year, at least!

Day Fifty-Seven, Identity Theft!

2010-02-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

One of my respite providers found out that she is a victim of identity theft :-(...unfortunately, she doesn't use the computer at all...no email address, nothing. When they told her to go online to get it straightened out, she had no idea what to do. Today for my gift, we downloaded all three of her credit reports. We went through found any discrepancies and filed the appropriate paperwork to dispute it. We also filed a claim with the Social Security Administration and put a freeze on her accounts so no new credit could be taken out. Thank God that the damage wasn't too bad and we caught it.

This would have taken days to accomplish over the phone and through snail mail when it only took an hour online...that was my gift for today. She gave me a huge hug in appreciation. I'm loving this!