White Family News

A Great Weekend

2012-02-02T11:22:00.001-07:00

We just got back from a long weekend road-trip to Seattle. The trip was planned a few months ago, so that I could throw a baby shower for my BFF-since-we-were-14. She wasn't due until late February or early March, so the timing of the shower was good. Plus, since my brother and his family just relocated to Washington from Florida, it would be a chance for my whole extended-family to get together. (Sadly, my brother-in-law in Honduras, wasn't able to make it home by then.) 15 cousins / grandkids together in one house. Glory!

We promised the kids they could attend their awards ceremony at church Wednesday night, even though that's when we wanted to leave town. So we attended the ceremony with the car packed to the brim in the parking lot, and hit the road for an all-nighter right after. We figured it would just be easier to drive at night while the kids slept, instead of making multiple stops for food/potty/nursing, etc. Brian and I promised to switch drivers if we got sleepy, and brought a list of hotels along the way, just in case.

As we were filling up with gas before leaving town, I listened to the voice mail I received during the awards. It was my friend's sister, informing me that my friend was in labor! A quick call to my friend confirmed that yes, she was in the hospital, being induced 5 weeks early because her water broke the night before. The news (and the coffee I had earlier) were all the adrenaline I needed to stay away on the drive. We pulled into my Dad's driveway at 5:00 AM local time.

After a lame attempt at sleeping (I think I gave it a full 90 seconds) I decided I needed to be at the hospital and see how my friend was doing. I figured she had probably had the baby, and I just wanted to be there. So I told Brian I was leaving, asked him to give Braxton a bottle when he woke up, and drove in the wee hours of the morning to the hospital, despite the fact that I had been awake almost 24 hours.

I got to the hospital just as my friend and her husband were waking up, and the contractions were getting more noticeable. To my complete and utter joy I got to stay there the next 7 hours and witness my dear friend becoming a Mommy for the first time. She did amazing and it was an experience I will never forget.

I slipped out shortly after the baby was born and drove back to my family, remarking on the way over God's goodness and timing over everything. I didn't get to be there for my friend's shower, as we had to reschedule it. But even better - I got to be there for the birth. And Mom and baby are both doing great.

The rest of the trip was the perfect mix of visiting with family, playing games, and snuggling babies. There were three baby boys in the last ten months, including my 10-day old nephew. Of course we couldn't miss the opportunity to get some family photos.

The timing of our trip also coincided with Brian's Dad's birthday, so we got to meet up with them for a birthday dinner. But first we made Emma's inaugural pilgrimage to the American Girl store. She had been saving her money for weeks in anticipation of this.

This next one pretty much sums up how the boys felt about the American Girl store.

Oh, I forgot to mention that during the trip Brian and I made a visit to Ikea. Um, yeah, we bought out the store. In fact, we purposely brought our roof-top cargo box just so we could stuff it full of Ikea goodies. It actually looked like we weren't going to be able to bring everything home, but amazingly, Brian was able to make it work.

I'll skip over the part about how somewhere, in the middle of the night, we lost four pieces of furniture while driving home.

We're back into the swing of things at home, working on school and projects and getting ready to host a Super Bowl party.

Stay tuned for a detailed house-tour up next....

Balance

2012-01-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

I had a post mostly drafted the other day that went into having balance in life, and goal-setting, and keeping priorities in line. The post started feeling wordy and was going down too many rabbit trails, so I abandoned it.

Let's just say I am focusing on having balance in my life, while keeping my priorities in line, and also allowing for special interests, hobbies, projects, etc. Things were a little crazy and off-balance for a while, but they've begun to settle down nicely.

Things are getting done. Kids are being nurtured. Food is getting cooked. Balance.

*********

We sat down as a family at the beginning of the year and set goals. Individual goals, family goals, fitness goals, financial goals, etc. I am excited to do this a few times this year and see what everyone has accomplished.

I love the Harvard study about goal-setting, where it finds that the 3% of students who set goals (in writing) were making 10x the salary of the other 97% of students, ten years later.

I shared that story with the kids during our meeting. I also pulled out the oldie-but-goodie, "If you don't aim for anything, you are guaranteed to always miss".

I believe my preschoolers took these words deeply to heart.

Goal setting isn't just about financial success - it applies to all areas in life. I want to be successful in the areas of life that are important to me, keeping priorities in mind (God, then family...etc.)

This blog is one of those areas that I wrote goals for. Actually, I am still writing them and figuring out exactly where I want to take this blog this year. I do know that I want to continue to share pieces of my family, hopefully in a way that is encouraging to others. I want to share glimpses of real life (at least what real-life is for us). And I want to share some of our creative stuff, like room decorating, DIY projects around the house, and on. And I do want to share bits about Down syndrome, and adoption - while they are not the main focus of our lives, the reality is that they do exist, so I will talk about them on occasion.

So for now, I leave you with some pictures of adorable Braxton, who will be ten(!) months old on Friday, and who is learning new tricks, like lifting up his legs and bringing his fist to his mouth.

I am so in love with this boy.

Snow Day

2012-01-18T14:43:00.002-07:00

Christmas Staycation...Days 2 and 3

2011-12-24T10:12:00.001-07:00

Well...it's Christmas eve! The presents are (mostly) wrapped and under the tree. Potatoes are simmering on the stove. Casserole is in the fridge. The table is set. Christmas music is playing around the house. The kids are in the bath. I think we are about ready!

Staycation day 2: We took the family to the cheap theater to see Dolphin Tail. It was a great movie. Noah spilled all of his popcorn on the floor. And then his pop.

Staycation day 3: We baked and frosted sugar cookies. We wrapped a lot of presents. Then we finished the day with an uh-mazing light show near our house.

We are so blessed this Christmas. Overwhelmed with God's mercy and love.

Merry Christmas! Love, the White's

Christmas Staycation....Day 1

2011-12-22T13:16:00.003-07:00

Yesterday was the start of our White Family Christmas Staycation 2011.

I'm not gonna lie...it started out pretty rough. Getting into a car accident...that is your fault...in a car that you are borrowing...isn't fun. Don't worry...no one was hurt. That's what's important, right?

The day got better, though. After finishing our errands, we headed to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner. We actually had a great time there. The kids were well-behaved, the food was good, Braxton slept most of the time (and the carafe of wine didn't hurt).

Then we went to the Idaho Botanical Gardens for the Christmas light display. It was beautiful, the kids loved it, and no one froze too badly.

Off for day 2.....

Our Thanksgiving (plus more house photos)

2011-11-30T09:47:00.001-07:00

A few days after moving in, we started bidding for having Thanksgiving at our house. Because, you know, who wouldn't want to host 31 people at their house after moving in 10-days before? Plenty of time to get ready, plenty.

I knew that we would need some more seating. So for two days I scoured craigslist and found a micro-suede sectional sofa, a "slipper" accent chair, and a plush, swivel-accent chair. All for $365. Never pay retail, folks.

By the time Thursday rolled around, we were all unpacked, basic things were on the walls, and things were mostly organized. We were ready for company!

The kids watched the parade while we ate cinnamon rolls. But first, Brian ran to the store to buy a new TV antenna. Because we don't have cable. And the whole reason we bought the new TV the night before, was so we could watch the parade while we ate our cinnamon rolls. And on our current antenna, we got every channel except the parade channel.

Meanwhile, I decided that I should take a few photos of the house while it was all clean and ready for company.

Here's the kitchen from a slightly different angle. You can see we have a fridge! And on the far side of the kitchen you can see the door into the "school room".

The family room is right off the kitchen and eating area. It has a nice fireplace and two large windows looking out at the backyard.

This is the front room, which is kind of a swing room. It could be used as a living room, or a den, or whatever. We set up our tables in this room and made it a dining room, which I think we will eventually do on a permanent basis.

Here is the school room. I'm excited to have much more space and storage than we had in the last school room.

Another shot of the school room.

Noah was gettin' down with his bad self during the parade.

Brian, starting the morning off right. And now somewhere in our dirt we also have a cork.

Our friends started arriving, and snuggling with Braxton.

Brian, my Super Awesome Husband, cooked the turkey. It was beautiful. And tasted even better.

Look, it's proof that I was there!

Oh wait, more proof!

The troops are getting restless....almost time to eat!

Such yummy food!

We had 15 people for dinner, then 16 more arrived later for dessert and games.

The dessert spread was unbelievable. I think we counted 17 pies!

It was such a wonderful Thanksgiving. And a great way to break in our new home. We can't wait to host many more events!

I will continue posting pics of the rest of the house as I get around to it. Hopefully soon...

Emma's Photo Shoot

2011-11-29T17:51:00.001-07:00

This afternoon, Emma and I ventured out into the backyard to take her belated-birthday photos. By "backyard", I mean our 1-acre of dirt. The dirt has actually grown on me a little; plus I love the fact that on the other side of our fence there are horses (and a pony, and a donkey!).

When the horses saw us, they started heading in our direction.

Pretty soon they decided to greet us. "Welcome to the neighborhood", I'm pretty sure they were saying.

The Move - Days 2 & 3

2011-11-29T13:48:00.001-07:00

After we ate dinner our first night in the house, my Mom picked up the three Middles and had them spend the night at her house, and took them to church for us the next morning. We took advantage of that time to get as much done around the house without "help" from the kids, as possible.

Brian and I ran to Lowe's to get some of the little things we needed, and to check out a fridge that was on sale. For the time-being we were living with no fridge in the kitchen, and just the one in the garage.

When we got home we busted out as many boxes as possible and got the kids' rooms as livable as possible.

One thing I haven't mentioned is that most of the cabinets in the house had some sort of water damage. More on that later - but I got distracted that afternoon with the cabinets in the master bathroom. Once that little project was done, it was back to work unpacking.

I would have loved to just lock myself in a room and not come out until it was completely unpacked and organized. But as a Mom, my time is fragmented and split all over the place. So un-packing seemed slow at first, as I was pulled from room to room.

*************

Day three brought a kitchen that was mostly put-together....

...a pantry that had a ways to go.....

.....still no fridge.....

....and a giant mess in the family room.

At least the kids got to get out for some fresh air and kite flying.

That night we started getting some things hung on the walls. I worked on the collage wall while Brian started on the bigger things.

I couldn't decide where I wanted the star to go, so I had Brian hold it in different places.

"Higher!" "No, lower!" "I can't see through you...duck down!"

We ended up hanging it over the ledge over our front door where there was an existing nail. Which led to Brian teetering on the top of the ladder, and vacuuming the dust off the ledge at 12:30 AM.

The Move

2011-11-28T14:32:00.001-07:00

We took possession of our new house (got the keys) on a Thursday. That night I headed out to the house with the vacuum and began vacuuming every room, including the edges and the baseboards. It took me three hours of non-stop movement to get it all done. Actually, towards the end, I had to skip the baseboards in a few rooms for the sake of time.

About two hours into my vacuuming, Brian arrived with the carpet shampooer. I hard-stopped at 8:00 PM so I could get back to the kids. Brian got home at around 2:00 AM - and that was skipping the guest room and both stair ways. I'm telling you, it was a BIG job.

Friday morning, a girlfriend brought her girls to my house for childcare, and I met up with a couple other girlfriends at the new house. We spent a little over three hours cleaning, wiping, and scrubbing, so the house would feel move-in ready. I wasn't going for perfection by any means - there was still plenty of cleaning to do later. But my girlfriends were awesome and worked their butts off. And the one who dropped her girls off, later came with a huge load of all my kids' closet contents, and put them in their new closets. Huge help, as I was hoping to not have to box all that stuff up.

I spent the rest of Friday finalizing packing at the old house. Brian took the second half of the day off from work, and took a couple loads of random stuff out to the new house, and finished up some repair projects.

By Friday night, all bedroom furniture was in the garage. Biniam spent the night at a friend's house. Emma, Isaiah, and Noah slept on the floor of the boys' room. Brian and I moved our mattress to the floor of Emma's room, and Braxton slept in his bassinet next to us. I crashed at about 11PM while Brian finished the shampooing on our room, the upstairs hallway, and the family room. I think he made it to bed around 1:00 AM.

A bunch of guys arrived with a huge, enclosed trailer, at 7:30 AM. They only had until 9:00 to help, so they moved fast and took a big load out to the house. At 9:30, Brian picked up the moving truck. The largest one U-haul rents. Considering how much stuff the first group moved over, Brian thought about getting a smaller truck. But it was the same price to go with the big one, so he went for it. Good thing, because we filled that big truck, and then some.

Our amazing friends and neighbors helped us so much with the move and with cleaning out the old house. At around 4:00 PM, Brian, Biniam, Braxton and I went out to the new house with the last load of stuff. The other kids stayed with a neighbor, then Brian went back to get them.

That first hour that I was in our new home was special. It was the first time I had been there where I wasn't rushed for time to get back. For once, I could just look around and take it all in. Suddenly, I became so overwhelmed with joy and excitement. I couldn't believe this house was actually ours!

Over the next couple of days as I was unpacking boxes, I would at times get choked up with such gratitude and feelings of blessing. It was the little things that would get to me. Like finding the perfect drawer in the basement to keep the dvd's and videos (yes, we're old-school) in where every single one fit perfectly. Or having an actual school room, where we can fit all our desks and books and supplies. How every time I use my kitchen it actually feels bigger, and like I have more and more counter space.

We feel SO blessed here. And it is amazing to look back over the whole process and see how God worked every little detail together. From a dream in a coffee shop six months ago, to sitting in my beautiful home now. God's beautiful home.

Here are some pictures from our first evening in the house. A friend brought us dinner, so we all sat around the table and enjoyed our first meal in our new home, together.

Today is the day!

2011-11-28T10:57:00.001-07:00

I am actually going to attempt to blog today.

But first, I must:

start school with the kids
get tonight's roast in the crock pot
switch laundry
run to the store

But after that, I am totally going to think about maybe blogging today.

We have keys!!

2011-11-10T14:05:00.001-07:00

The house is funded, recorded, and we have keys! Well, technically the keys are still at the Title office, because my three boys are napping, so I'm waiting for our agent (my mom) to bring me the keys.

But, still! We have keys! We're not going to be homeless this weekend!

Are you ever so busy that you just sort of freeze, not sure what to do next?

I think I'll go read some blogs or something.

Before my Head Starts Spinning and my Eye Pop Out

2011-11-10T08:58:00.001-07:00

It turns out that moving is a lot of work. Especially when you have five kids. And a less-than-24-hour-turn-around from moving out, to the new renters moving in. Things have to be packed. Fixed. Cleaned. Plus we still have to actually live here. And my baby has not been sleeping well at night. So, I'm just a wee bit tired...and stressed.

I'm not letting the stress get to me, though. Every time I feel it creeping up, I start declaring truths. Truths like, "God loves me", "God's timing is perfect", "God is my strength and my portion", "The JOY of the Lord is my strength"...and on. I'm so glad this isn't my burden to carry.

We signed papers on the house Tuesday night, right before the Title company closed. They actually had to ask the Fed Ex driver to circle around and come back for our papers, so they could make it to the airport that night for delivery to the bank. Brian has been scrambling up to the eleventh-hour, pulling unexpected documents that the bank has been requesting. We think they finally have everything now.

The loan is supposed to fund and record sometime today. So we are expecting to have keys by this afternoon. Then the real fun begins: vacuum and shampoo new house tonight, clean everything else in new house tomorrow morning, final packing at old house tomorrow afternoon, start taking loads over to new house in our cars tomorrow afternoon / evening, clear out remaining furniture from rooms at old house tomorrow night, shampoo the remaining carpets at old house tomorrow night, pick up moving truck Saturday morning, move out/in Saturday, do final move-out clean Saturday afternoon, take kids to Grandma's Saturday night, get kids' beds set up and some unpacking done Saturday night, meet new renter at old house Sunday morning, go home to new house...and collapse.

Sorry, that was kind of a long sentence. I think it was more for my benefit.

Here are a few quickies that I didn't want to overlook:

My cute kids on Halloween. We had: Laura Ingalls, Fire Chief, Astronaut Boy, and Baby Zebra.

And Seventeen-Year-Old Boy.

Last Thursday was Emma's 8th(!) birthday. It was a Rainbow Party, inspired by a rainbow she painted in the hospital play room back when Braxton had his surgery in May. It's been a long time in the planning. Except I hadn't planned on moving a week after the party, so things got scaled back a little bit. But I still think we pulled it off.

My friend made the awesome cake. It was even rainbow on the inside!

The boys' bedroom. I never shared pics after I completed their room makeover last spring. There was the completion of the quilts, the refinishing of the bunk bed, painting the walls, and adding new accessories. Of course, at the moment, the room is empty except for the blankets and pillows on the floor that three of the kids are sleeping on. So, I guess we're moving on to decorating the new house.

Today is Braxton's last visit with his wonderful Occupational Therapist. Braxton will be in state-provided therapy until he is three, but since we are moving, we have to get a new therapist. Miss Amy has been tremendous as a partner in helping Braxton meet milestones, and helping to educate us. We will miss her.

If I sound at all calm...I'm faking it. Pray for us!

Rolling With The Punches

2011-11-08T11:21:00.001-07:00

We are waiting for a phone call at any time to tell us that our house docs are ready to sign. Once we sign, the funding has to actually go through, which could take a day or two. That gives us tomorrow or Thursday to hopefully take possession of the house. If that doesn't happen, we will be, uh, homeless for a day or two. Our new renter moves in on Sunday, and we wouldn't feel right about pushing out her move-in date and making her homeless. So, no matter what, we are moving out by Saturday. Hopefully, into our new house.

Yesterday was family picture day. When you have seven people in your family, picture day can be just a little stressful. I was able to pull together some coordinated outfits over the weekend, and only had to buy a few things: pants for Biniam, shoes for Isaiah, and an outfit for Braxton. Everyone wore combinations of grey and black, with a few pops of royal blue and kelly green.

The morning started out with trimming the boys' hair around their ears, bathing them, directing Emma to shower, styling her hair, and ironing outfits. After breakfast I got the boys dressed in their pants and shirts, purposely holding off on their sweaters until the last-minute. I mentally planned a non-messy lunch to feed them, so their outfits would stay clean. Plus I gave strict instructions to not eat, or color with any markers. I knew it was a little bit of a risk to get them dressed a couple hours early, but I planned it well so I felt we would be fine.

Ten minutes after getting dressed, Noah comes upstairs to ask me something. I am immediately distracted by the giant patches of light purple all over his grey pants. And shirt. And, as I later find out, the downstairs carpet.

Blueberry yogurt.

I strip Noah down, put his clothes in the wash, put a jacket on him, and instruct him to sit on the couch and watch a movie and don't move. Surprisingly, he obeyed, and didn't move until I had long forgotten about him and he had asked for permission to get off the couch.

Later, as I was nursing Braxton, Noah came over to me, and I noticed that his teeth, mouth and lips were green. I glanced over to the kitchen and saw what looked like a tube of green frosting sitting on the counter. (I later found out it was green, gel-food coloring.)

I yelled for Emma to get me a wet rag, and scrubbed Noah's lips and face until the green was gone. Then I instructed him to brush his teeth until they were white. Thankfully, it all worked.

A while later, lunch was done, everyone was dressed, sweaters were on, hair was styled, shoes were on, and it was time to go. I tell the kids to get in the car. I take one last glance at Noah, and see BLUE LIPS, NOSE, CHEEKS, CHIN, AND FINGERS. And in the background I see a bottle of blue food coloring.

You can't make this stuff up. And, it turns out, you can't get liquid blue food coloring off as easy as green gel-food coloring. Not even with makeup remover.

So we loaded up the car and got our pictures taken. With our blue son.

Movie Day

2011-11-02T11:04:00.000-06:00

I am declaring today a movie day. Well, the morning at least - until I can't stand it anymore and force the kids into productivity.

I started getting overwhelmingly tired last night, and decided that I needed to get a good night's sleep. I had a slight head ache, so I popped two Tylenol PM and fell asleep while the kids finished a movie in my room.

That was the end of my good sleep. The kids woke me up twice while they were getting ready for bed. Braxton woke up at 11:00 crying...which Brian took care of. At 1:00 AM, Braxton woke again, and I ended up nursing him. At 2:00 AM, Noah came in my room and wanted help getting under his blankets. At 3:00 AM, Braxton woke up again, inconsolable, and ended up nursing again. At 4:00 AM, Noah came back in, mumbled something, gave me a hug, and went back to bed. At 6:00 AM, Braxton woke, screaming again, and nursed...again. At 6:30 AM, Emma came in with a tummy ache. At 7:00 AM, Emma puked in my toilet. At 7:35 AM, Braxton woke...again...crying...again...and I decided to dilate him to give his tummy some relief...and nursed him...again. At 8:00 AM, Noah came in and wanted to snuggle. At 8:05 AM...I gave up and started the day.

The kids are all watching a movie. Braxton is napping. Dinner is in the crock pot. I guess I will go pack something.

Speaking of packing, we got our closing date. We close on Tuesday...two days ahead of schedule. Woo hoo! That will give us enough time to get the new house all clean, epoxy the garage floors, get moved in, and get our old house all cleaned, before the new renter moves in on Sunday.

But first, I throw my girl a Rainbow Party tomorrow to ring in her new year. She'll be eight. Crazy.

The Desire of My Heart

2011-10-30T16:35:00.000-06:00

I was sweeping the floor this afternoon and had to suppress a feeling that is coming up often these days. The feeling is a little bit sadness, a little big melancholy, and a lot sentimental.

As I was sweeping, I thought to myself, "this is one of the last times I will sweep this floor". (Okay, at the rate my family messes the floor up, I still have approximately 65 more times to sweep before we move...but still.)

Then I started thinking about all the other times I've cleaned that floor. Times when Emma was an only-child, and sat in the high chair that fit perfectly between the counter and the sliding door. Times when we had to bribe Isaiah to eat by putting Kix cereal on every bite, and how Kix would end up all over the floor. Times my kids have pushed toy cars across the floor. Spills I've wiped up from parties with friends. Sand I've swept up from the sand box Brian built. Jelly I've wiped up from my kids learning independence and making their own sandwiches.

Oh man, I have it bad. I am a sentimental fool.

I haven't cried yet...but I know I will. We move in a week and a half, or less.

Today I was walking Braxton upstairs to go down for his nap. I noticed his eyes looking all around, taking in all the sights. "Take it all in, Baby, because it's going to change soon."

This move was our idea. We chose to do this. And I am excited. But I am also happy where we are. We've build a life here. A really good life. We've brought four of our five kids home to this house. We have many, many memories. The house is in a great location, and we have great neighbors.

Yet God put a dream in our hearts a long time ago to have a larger house, a larger yard, and a place where we truly wanted to raise our kids. And He's brought the dream to life.

It's been so remarkable to see things unfold over the last six months. Brian and I sat in a coffee shop, browsing houses online, and fell in love with a house just from the pictures. We quickly put our dream to rest, as we found out the house had three other offers on it, plus it was a bit out of our price range.

Six months and a few broken deals later (and a significant price reduction), and that house is going to be ours.

Oh, how God loves to bless us.

Saying goodbye to this house feels a lot like saying goodbye to an old friend. It's the house that built my children...so far. So I am turning to God for comfort and strength. He will carry me through...He always does.

And He's giving me the desires of my heart.

Living Better - Cleaning Rags!

2011-10-28T17:17:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I've been excited about something that falls under my "living better" category. In case you don't recall, I am constantly on the lookout for ways to "live better" - things I can do to save money, or make my family more healthy....or both!

This one does BOTH....and then some. I am so excited!

So not everyone gets excited about cleaning their house (I do, actually). Some of you are using some pretty nasty chemicals to get your house clean. Chemicals that are bad for you and your kids. Plus they cost money, and get consumed, and have to be replaced, which costs more money.

I personally prefer Method cleaning products, because they aren't made with nasty chemicals. Plus they smell good and clean well. However, they aren't cheap.

So a couple weeks ago I bought two cleaning rags from a company called Norwex. These are microfiber cloths that have silver - yes, silver, as in the stuff Grandma's forks are made from - in them, which actually kills bacteria. Yes, silver kills nasty germs without leaving behind nasty chemicals.

These rags are uh-mazing. Get them wet with water, wring them out, and wipe away. You are picking up dirt, killing germs, and polishing - all in one step.

Yes, I said polishing! My black stove has never been so shiny!

My blue rag is for general cleaning - counters, stove top, microwave, floors, etc. The purple rag is for "polishing" - it cleans windows, mirrors (seriously, streak-free!), and even adds a little extra shine to my granite.

These rags also save me time because I'm not carting around different sprays, or wiping off residue, etc.

I'm not getting paid or perked (I wish!) to write this - I just really think these rags are that awesome. You will save time, save money, and not be poisoning your kids! :)

Here is the link I used to order mine. Go get some today!

Go BIG or go home.

2011-10-25T12:09:00.000-06:00

This morning I brought Braxton in to bed with me to nurse. We had just finished doing his rectal dilatation, so he majorly deserved some snuggle time. Plus it was still a little too early to get up for the day.

After nursing, Braxton fell asleep on his side, next to me in bed. It was the perfect chance for me to get a little more sleep too....but I couldn't take my eyes off my sleeping babe. The way his cheeks squished together, and his mouth curled up. The soft breathing. The way his arms folded across his chest. The way his squishy chest folded and created "cleavage" that was visible through the neckline of his onesie.

Confession: I heart baby cleavage.

The sun slowly started filtering in the room, and slowly the other kids came in and joined us in bed. It was a glorious way to start the day. Totally worth missing out on a few extra minutes of sleep.

Baby-cleavage.

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A friend recently emailed me, encouraging us through all our current life events. She said, "Girl, when you go, you go BIG".

She's right. Things are BIG right now. Or, maybe more appropriately, CRAZY. Some day I want to try going small.

We had two house showings yesterday for potential renters for this house. I had an hour and a half to get the house show-ready......BY MYSELF. Put away clutter, switch laundry, wash dishes, clean the kitchen, clean my bathroom, wipe down the other bathrooms, stash stuff away in Biniam's room, put clothes away in the boys' room, vacuum the whole house, sweep the porch, sweep the downstairs, make sure all the rooms looked "staged", turn on all the lights, and feed my kids lunch.

I was just starting to mop the kitchen when there was a knock on the door. I yelled at the kids not to answer, threw the mop in the pantry, grabbed my shirt and put it on, wiped the sweat off my brow, and calmly answered the door while hissing at the kids to get out back.

I started the house tour, then noticed the kids were still inside. It's too windy out, they said. So I told them to sit quietly on the living room floor, then continued with my tour. Except I couldn't give a tour very well, because my KIDS WERE SLIDING DOWN THE STAIRS ON THEIR BELLIES WHILE SQUEALING WITH GLEE.

They're grounded for life.

*****************

Today our "evidence" is due for our Katie Beckett Medicaid appeal hearing. Hearing is on Monday. Stressful.

Emma's birthday is next week and we have to get her invitations made today.

Financing is moving along quickly for our new house. We are scheduled to close in two and a half weeks, but it may actually happen sooner.

Both people we showed the house to yesterday are decent prospects, so it looks like getting this house rented will go quickly. Praise. The. Lord.

Today an investigator for the state came and interviewed me. Without going into too much detail, our insurance company filed a complaint against the birthing center where Braxton was born. It seems completely baseless, and we are totally satisfied with our experience, so I hope it goes away quickly.

I'm ready to go small.

Thursday

2011-10-20T21:22:00.000-06:00

We got home from the hospital late Monday night. Braxton had his catheter pulled out Monday morning, and we WAITED. ALL. DAY. to see the doctor and get discharged. Since coming home, Braxton has been doing great, and even his pain while stooling seems to be getting better. Yay!

Things are crazy around the house. I feel like I still need to get the house caught up from me being gone for a week. But I haven't been home for more than an hour, it seems, without having to go run some errand. On top of that, I need to be getting our house ready to rent. That means clearing out clutter, painting baseboards, spackling walls, etc. Oh yeah, and I need to pack up the house.

Things are moving really fast on the house purchase. We had the inspection this week, and we close in three weeks.

Here is a picture I snapped really fast the other day during inspection.

As you can see...no landscaping. It sits on an acre that is completely un-finished. We have our work cut out for us! But the inside is really nice. The house is about 3700 square feet, 6 bedrooms, a finished basement that includes a big play room and a media room. There is a large office right off the kitchen that is perfect for a school room. It is going to be a great family home - and most important; it is on a cul-de-sac, so the kids can play out front without me worrying about traffic.

Today I got a few boxes packed, and Brian moved them to the garage along with two book shelves. I also took kid's clothes to the consignment store and made a few bucks, then quickly spent a few more.

Tomorrow is field trip day, along with as many other odd jobs as I can fit in.

Yeah, Baby!

2011-10-17T14:01:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was a big day for Braxton!

But let me back up a little, first. Saturday night my awesome husband stayed at the hospital so I could go home and get some sleep. Braxton was still not allowed to eat, until probably Sunday morning at the earliest, so it was a great chance for me to get some rest. Our friends also offered to have Emma, Isaiah and Noah spend the night at their house. Perfect.

I got home around 10:00, pumped, took Tylenol PM, and hit the pillow. I don't think I moved until Brian called the house at 9:30 and woke me up. I thought about going back to sleep, but realized I wanted to get some chores done at the house and that I better get moving. I got up, started pumping, and noticed that my cell phone, which I had placed on my nightstand before bed, was on the floor. I grabbed it.....and saw a missed call at 1:00 AM from the neighbor who had our kids.

"CRAP" was the first thing that came to mind as I waited for the voice mail to play. Yep, Emma had started puking and wanted to come home. And I never heard the phone.

Parenting FAIL.

By the time I got there, Emma was showered and feeling better. The living room carpet was cleaned up. And the over-spray had been wiped off her friend's face who was sleeping nearby. They are now friends for life. You just can't go through an experience like that and not be bonded forever. And I owe them new carpet.

Meanwhile at the hospital, Braxton's tummy went all the way down to 40cm, and Brian was giving him Pedialyte bottles. We started nursing around noon, and feedings have all gone great. His tummy is handling it just fine! The catheter was pulled out this morning and he's already peed a couple of times. We will probably do a bladder scan later to make sure he is completely voiding. The main concern right now is a nasty diaper rash, which is to be expected since his little buns aren't used to having poop touch them. He also still has pain when he goes poop.

Overall Braxton has made huge progress, and we are expecting to go home today. Thank you for continued prayers!

****************

In house news, our inspection is tomorrow. If everything goes well with that, I think this will all start to feel real for me. It's crazy that we might be moving in a few weeks! There is SO much to do to get our house ready to rent. Plus I have to throw Emma a Rainbow Birthday party before we move. Busy times!

Friday Hospital Update

2011-10-14T16:36:00.002-06:00

Geez, you'd think I would be posting more updates since all I'm doing is sitting in a hospital room.  I did walk out of the room yesterday afternoon to get a coffee downstairs. That was the first (and only) time I've set foot out of this 10x10 hospital room.  It is amazing how I really do seem to be busy with all the nurse visits, wathching Braxton, pumping, ordering food, eating, and watching cable tv.  We don't have cable at home, so yes, I am actually enjoying that part.  HGTV has been on for the past 36 hours.

Things started going downhill a bit Wednesday night, when Braxton started losing interest in eating (not that he had much to begin with) and I noticed his abdomen getting larger.  I stopped feeding him throughout the night, his abdomen continued to get bigger, he was miserable, and neither of us slept much.

By yesterday (Thursday) morning his abdomen was around 46 cm, he was very uncomfortable, and refluxing a lot.  The Dr ordered to stop all fluids by mouth, and nothing to eat.  Braxton stayed pretty comfortable throughout the day with the help of regular narcotics.

His catheter came out yesterday morning, and I've been concerned since then because I haven't seen urine in his diapers.  However, a bladder scan in the evening and again in the middle of the night indicates that he is emptying his bladder some.   His stools are becoming more regular and productive, which is really good.

By around 10:00 last night, his abdomen was at 49 cm.  Yikes.  But by this morning it was back down to 47.5 so hopefully we're on the right track.  He was 43 cm after surgery so that's what we're aiming for.

Braxton hasn't had narcotics for eight hours now, and he's still peaceful and fairly comfortable looking.  So I am hopeful that maybe the worst is behind us.

***********

In other news, while Braxton was in surgery we found out that the bank accepted our short-sale offer!  This is so amazing because we actually offered lower than the price we offered the first time around...plus we asked for 2% back at closing, and we heard they NEVER do more than 1%.  Thank you, Jesus!

So we now have 30 days (actually more like 28, now) to get this deal closed.  Our lender is scrambling!  And I am pinning house ideas like crazy.

Oh, by the way, anyone want to rent our house?

Surgery Update

2011-10-12T13:59:00.000-06:00

Internet went down in my room last night so this is the first chance I've had to update.

Surgery went well yesterday.  It took around 6 hours to do everything.  The Doctor had to reverse the colostomy, cut out the portion of the colon with the Hirschsprung's, redirect the remaining colon the other direction in his abdomen, and sew the good end to the rectum.  Whew!

Braxton was mostly groggy in recovery, but after about two hours, the pain started kicking in.  We spent the evening holding him and trying to keep his pain under control.

The night is a blur, as I got very little sleep with so much going on.  I fed him two bottles of pedialyte.  We determined his bladder was not working so he got a foley catheter.  He started stooling, which is really good, but also very painful for him.  Plus countless interruptions for meds and vitals.

Today we are waiting for his lab results from this morning to see if he can beastfeed.  Pain is still an issue, but we are stretching the meds to three hours apart instead of two.  Overall, Braxton is doing well.

Weekend Recap

2011-10-10T16:22:00.002-06:00

I realize a lot of my posts have focused around Braxton lately. Well, the little sweetheart just happens to have a lot going on. :)

Saturday was the Buddy Walk in Boise. This was our first time ever participating, and of course our first time ever having a team.

I want to give a HUGE shout out to all our friends and family who supported us either by walking with us, or donating to our team, or both! Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts!

Talk about an awesome back-drop for the event! It was a beautiful (but cold) day!

Sunday was Braxton's dedication at church. Our Pastor also spent time praying for tomorrow's surgery and healing for Braxton's body. It was a special time for us, and we were again blessed to have friends and family there to support us.

Tomorrow is surgery day. I will be posting updates from the hospital over the next few days. Please keep Braxton in your prayers.

Soccer!

2011-10-06T16:41:00.001-06:00

Fall soccer season actually kicked off a while ago for Biniam at high school (he's on the varsity team) and a few weeks ago for the younger kids. This is the first year Emma and the little boys have done soccer. We lucked out that Noah got to "play up" on Isaiah's team, so we have one less game to try and fit in every weekend. Even luckier for the boys...Brian is their coach.

The Coach is kind of a hottie.

Running the boys through drills.

I can't get enough of Noah and his no-skin-showing uniform.

Isaiah is quite the ball handler.

He would actually score more goals if the field was a little bigger. He's so fast that he just runs out of room on their field.

There's that uniform again. Shoes, to shin guards, to shorts, to jersey.

Emma's had a huge learning curve because, well, at her age they actually have rules. But she's doing great, having fun, and getting better each week.

But none of that matters to her as long as she gets to do the Tunnel each week.

Biniam has played better this year than ever. He grew a lot over the last year and doesn't seem so "fragile" against the other players. Sadly, he broke his foot at practice a couple weeks ago and is sidelined the rest of the season.

I have four kids in soccer. And yes, I drive a minivan.

Love Like Never Before

2011-10-04T23:10:00.001-06:00

Braxton is on my mind a lot lately. I know, it's not unusual for someone to have their baby on their mind often. But I've been finding myself lingering on thoughts about Braxton. I've slowed down lately, if you will, and just stared at him while he sleeps. Pressed my cheek against his a little longer. Sat on the floor with him a little more often.

A week from today is Braxton's colon surgery. It's a pretty big deal. The diseased part of his colon is going to be removed, and the good parts will be sewn together. His colostomy will be reversed. The actual surgery is expected to take about five hours. Then, as Braxton begins to heal, his colon will begin working, and we will eventually end up with poopy diapers. I will never be so happy to see a poopy diaper.

But oh, how I am dreading next Tuesday. I have had the experience of having children in surgery before, and I don't think it gets any easier the more you do it. Honestly I think this time might be the worst as I have had the longest time to think about it. It's also the most major surgery any of my kids have ever had.

On Sunday we will have the privilege of dedicating Braxton at church. We will go up on stage and our pastor will pray a blessing over Braxton and we will publicly declare our commitment to raise Braxton up for the Lord.

When I pause and spend a moment thinking about Braxton I immediately become overwhelmed by the goodness of God. I didn't ask for another baby. I wasn't trying to get pregnant. Yet here I have this precious, precious baby who is nothing less than a blessing from God. Oh how much my God loves me to give me this gift. I am so undeserving. And so grateful.

I am a Mom, so I know what it means to have your heart live outside your chest. Yet there is something even more profound, more indescribable, about the love in my heart I have for Braxton. At the same time, that love overflows to my other children as well. And I think that my love for my other children trickles down and puddles up around Braxton. Honestly the more children I have, the more love I have for my children. I've heard people who worry that they won't have enough love for a second baby, because they've already given the love they have to their first child. I say that being a Mom equips you to have that extra love for another child. The more experience you've had loving a child gives you that much more love for the next one. It kind of makes me want to have a few more children just to see.

As I struggle to find the words to explain my love, my mind is also thinking about Down syndrome and trying to make sense of how I feel about that.

This might surprise some of you. But I have actually fallen in love with Down syndrome. How could I not? It is a part of Braxton, and part of what makes him who he is. I couldn't love Braxton without also loving his extra 21st chromosome, just like I love his hazel eyes and his ball chin. I am not a fan of some of the negative things that sometimes come along with Down syndrome...but all of my kids have things about them that I'm not a fan of.

This month is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. On Saturday we are participating in our local Buddy Walk. I am new to all of this. And to be honest, a little intimidated. But we will walk with pride for Braxton on Saturday. And we will do our part to change the way the world views people who have Down syndrome.

**********************

Did you know that around 90% of babies who have Down syndrome are aborted and never given the chance to fill their home with the same kind of love Braxton has filled our home with? I'm not talking about a love that feels sorry for a person, or a love of sympathy or lack. I'm talking about a love so deep you never knew you could love like that.

Ninety percent.

11 Years, Baby!

2011-09-30T13:29:00.000-06:00

11 years ago today I had a champagne toast out of plastic cups in the nursery of a church with all my bridesmaids and my grandmother present.

Moments later I stood behind a large, wooden door, hanging on to my dad's arm. I took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and tried to bury the nerves that suddenly came rushing to the surface.

The door opened and we walked in and I could see the back of the room. My cousins were standing in the back because all the seats were full. I tried to smile, but as the pictures later showed, I just looked more like I had partial facial paralysis.

But none of that mattered, because then I turned down the aisle and saw the face of the man, who, 11 years later, is the father of my five children and the face I most love to see.

There's no way I could have envisioned what our life would look like 11 years later. It has been such a BLESSED life. Marriage is sometimes hard, but the rewards of it are SO worth the work.

Happy anniversary, Brian. I love you, and I love our life.

Here is a link to last year's anniversary post, where I shared some wedding pictures. Because I'm too lazy to actually upload them to this post.