The Polhamus Family

Sleeping, Falling, and Other Fun Stuff…

2012-02-01T13:05:00.000-05:00

Today, I took Keona to the dentist. She only had 2 very minor cavities BUT she is in need of an appointment with an orthodontist. No guarantee to braces, but there is some crowding going on in the molar department.

We didn’t have the best day in school. (That may be an understatement) Let’s just say that diagramming sentences- is no fun to teach. We made up for it but searching for answers to the kids’ science questions before dinner. The most deadly insect: mosquito. Who knew?

We had a dairy-free dinner, at which my kids greatly lacked table manners. We made fun of Eve’s eating habits, Jed poured black pepper all over his spinach salad and then voluntarily ate it, Charity stole food from her sister, Keona went bowling with the salt shaker and sent stuff flying off the table, and the triplets imitated the seagulls from Nemo, “Mine! Mine! Mine!” It’s kinda freaky when they say things in unison… It was hilarious and ended with Eve hugging me and saying, “You’re the best, Mom.” More than made up for all of the sentence diagramming drama…

This past weekend, I painted a picture with Prayer. She has always been my artsy one- and has wanted to do a canvas painting for a long time. We’ll have to do it again soon. We played a family game of NHL ‘11. Elijah wanted to be on my team cause I don’t care if they go offside etc. until we were losing- then he wanted to be on Scott’s team. Ha! My team lost both times… but Eve and Prayer did score two really nice goals! We watched the skills competition with the kids on Saturday night and even texted in our votes for the breakaway challenge. Then we watched the first bit of the all-star game on Sunday afternoon between church services.

Tonight, Jeddy fell off the couch and smacked his head on the fireplace. He jumped back up right away and buried his face in the cushions. He didn’t cry at all so I figured that he was fine… A few minutes later, he got up and I saw a bruise on his cheek. When I asked him if it hurt- he touched his head and said, “Yeah, right here where I bumped it…” When he pulled his hand away, it was covered in blood. So were my couch cushions… Thankfully, the cut wasn’t that deep. It just bled alot cause it was his head. Not like when Jeddy was a toddler and he hit Charity in the head with the hockey stick and I could see her skull…

We hung up some quotes in the kids’ bathroom… (another Pinterest inspired decoration)

I may be able to stomach the pink for a few more months after all…

And we cleaned out our linen closet! Now, it looks “as organized as Grandma’s!” according to the girls…

Lastly, I put Lily in her crib at 11pm last night, and I poked her at 8am this morning to make sure she was ok... My baby slept 9 hours!

In her crib!!!!

I am savouring the moment… as she’ll probably be up every 3 hours tonight. :)

She smiles and “goo’s” at us alot now- but she isn’t a fan of the camera.

The flash makes her cry instantly…

Love my baby girl. :)

Week 4

2012-01-31T00:23:00.001-05:00

(click to enlarge)

1. Lily, being spoiled by her current favourite big sister…

2. Prayer practicing the piano. She has figured out how to play two octaves on the recorder, and did a duet with Eve on the violin for church on Sunday.

3. This baby loves sleeping with her daddy. By the way, I could kiss that chubby little chin all day long.

4. My gorgeous oldest daughter, who has an appointment with the orthodontist next week!

Forgive my lack of posts, but I feel like my brain is mush. No… not mush. Maybe more like the scrambler ride? Way too many things going on in there right now. The possibility of our entire family going dairy/gluten free… Why? 1. Elijah, has gone more than two weeks without an asthma attack now. 2. I don’t think I can handle making two separates meals for every meal. 3. I feel guilty about all the temptations that surround him.

I’m praying that we can figure out exactly what’s going on… and in the mean time, I’m reading everything I can find on the relation between dairy and asthma.

Happy Monday!

i heart faces: By the Book

2012-01-23T14:31:00.001-05:00

My oldest daughter, has always been a bookworm.

Since the time that she was 1 and I’d read the same baby board book to her over, and over again… To an 11 year old, who’s favourite author is now Jane Austen… she loves her books.

I chose this photo cause it perfectly depicts her- curled up in a corner, with a blanket, reading a book…

Week 3

2012-01-22T20:30:00.000-05:00

(click to enlarge)

1.The kids have been playing chess and checkers all week… I’m afraid that I may start losing to them soon! :/

2. I left Lily with a bottle of pumped milk for the first time this week when I took Elijah to an appointment. (I was only going 5 minutes away from home!) Eve watched her for the whole hour! Since she didn’t need the bottle while I was out- I still let Eve feed it to her once I got home. (Eve was most looking forward to that part! :)

3. Our new espresso machine with the milk steamer thing... That Scott got for less than half price! My hubby’s chai tea lattes, are comparable to Starbucks. Best investment in a long time.

4. What I wake up to every morning… :)

Saturday Morning…

2012-01-21T22:20:00.001-05:00

It was a very long week…

Blessin’ Baby

2012-01-20T01:11:00.001-05:00

I’m sitting here at midnight. Hair, still curly from a late night shower. Kitchen is cleaned. Laundry is going. I now, finally, have a tea in hand. “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” comes to mind. I remind myself of my mom.

I have slowly but surely been adding decor to our new house. A picture here, a candle there… It’s beginning to feel like home now. I even finished a sign that I saw on Pinterest and adored-

This one I made for the girls.

Now I just have to figure out where to hang them…

This weekend, I’m working on a project for the kids’ bathroom! :)

Elijah’s paediatrician appointment on Monday was… less than I had hoped for. No answers- a perplexed doctor. More tests… He went for a blood test to check his steroid levels on Wednesday morning. He is scheduled for pulmonary function tests, and to see an allergy specialist, and a paediatric respirologist. He is breathing perfectly fine at the moment and I am trying my very best not to worry about him. Tomorrow (today, I guess) is his appointment with the Naturopath. I am very much looking forward to it.

I went to a long overdue dentist appointment today. The dentist came into the waiting room and said, “Are you Jaclyn? Come on in, kiddo!”

Kiddo?

I would expect that from someone my grandpa’s age- but this guy was easily under 40… kiddo?

Better kiddo than ma’am, I guess… :P

I love how Jeddy calls Lily his “blessin’ baby”. As in, God gave her to him as a blessing. When he prays, he always says, “And thank you God for my Blessin’ baby.”

It’s adorable.

Charity, was telling Adam about a hockey game that was on last night and who won, and who scored etc. When I asked her how she knew all this, she told me, “Oh, I was listening to the sports on my alarm clock this morning. Then, Ella came in and asked me to turn on Treehouse!” lol…

Charity and I, made Lily a mobile this week. It’s a bunch of swinging jellyfish. Scott thought the idea was creepy. “Jellyfish? You may as well make some bats to go on there as well!” I think he may have changed his mind when he saw the finished product… I’ll have to share a pic soon. Another idea I pinned on pinterest and actually followed through with making!

Keona, crocheted her first hat this week. It fits Lily. It’s a little wonky… but it’s much better than my first hat!

I made Lily a Valentine’s Day hat and Ella asked for one too.

Neither of them wanted to cooperate for a picture. I shall try again some other time…

Eve and Prayer are practicing a violin/recorder duet for the senior’s home this weekend. I played the recorder for years in school and never knew that it was capable of playing more than one octave. Prayer read the book I bought for them, and she has become quite the recorder player! They’re playing one of my favourite songs- “He Leadeth Me”…

We learned a ton of information on Christopher Columbus and the “New World” this week in school- Elijah was so into! As I was reading he said, “Wow! I wish they’d make a movie about all this!” Ha…

Two nights ago, Lily slept in her crib from 9pm until 4:30am! I could barely believe it when I saw the clock. She ate quickly, and went back to sleep until about 8:30am. I was super excited that this was going to be her new routine- unfortunately, it only lasted one night! Last night, we were back to her waking up to eat at 2am and then for the first time since she was born, she decided that she wanted to smile and coo, and then fuss and hit, for the next hour. I eventually put her in her crib and just left her to fall asleep. She did. :)

Well, I’m thinking that now would be a good time for me to sleep. Especially since she will probably be up in about an hour or so…

Lord, thanks for my ‘blessin’ baby!

Week 2

2012-01-15T21:11:00.001-05:00

So it was NOT a hospital-free weekend. Scott took Elijah into the ER on Friday morning at 5am with the start of another asthma attack. Thankfully, we caught it early this time and he didn’t have to be admitted. Just a few hours of masks and steroids. Ugh… He is back on all of his meds. Then, I spent Saturday afternoon at the hospital with him waiting for a follow up appointment. Two hours in a kids’ waiting room. Treehouse playing on the TV, for two hours… The paediatrician looked a little confused as to why the medications aren’t working. We have an appointment with the doctor who will be looking after him, tomorrow morning. I also booked him an appointment with a naturopath doctor on Friday. I’m looking forward to seeing what they have to say. I’m looking forward to it even more now that I know Scott’s benefits cover it! We were not expecting that. So right now, we’re waiting. Praying, and waiting for some answers.

Now for my P52!

(Click to enlarge)

Lily doesn’t cry all the time- I promise. ;) In fact, this was the first week that we’ve had real smiles from her! I’ve got to get some more pictures of my big girls next week- they are hilarious. We just had a very loud drive home from church. When Eve was explaining to Jed and Ella WHY skunks (or “DUNKS”- as Ella would say) smell- she says, “To spray the animals that would eat them. Like tigers.”

“Really, Eve? Tigers? Here? In the woods?”

Eve- “No. Not here… The skunks in the jungle!”

Oh! Right… Of course!

I think whatever Prayer has- may be contagious. :P

i heart faces: family fun

2012-01-15T17:43:00.000-05:00

I had a blast shooting my friend, Stef, and her three kids. This shot was one of my faves because of how their personalities are all shining through. We spent a good 10 minutes trying to get a shot of all three of them blowing a bubble at the same time- it was hilarious! No one is looking at the camera here, because they were all trying to co-ordinate their bubble-blowing and I just adore the interaction between them… :)

Most definitely one of the “funnest” families I know!

Puffers, Sleep, and Science

2012-01-12T23:55:00.001-05:00

It’s 11:30pm and I have half an hour left to wait before Elijah’s next puffer dose. Sitting here, listening closely, hoping not to hear and coughs or wheezes. Funny how this time, I saw his breathing trouble coming on before he did. I noticed his mannerisms changing before he noticed his breathing change. Prayers would be appreciated. We’re hoping to stay out of the hospital this weekend- he has an appointment with a really good paediatrician on Monday…

Last night, was the first time that I had trouble with Lily sleeping. So believe me- NO complaints here! She has been an amazing sleeper from the beginning. Mostly, cause she sleeps with me… :)

But she has been doing better in her crib, and today I let her cry herself to sleep. She cried for less than 5 minutes each time. It’s not an easy thing to do around here with so many willing-arms to rock her to sleep!

Yep, not a doll- that’s a real baby!

School is going well. We learned about the ‘thermosphere’ in world science yesterday. So many things that I didn’t know! I was all excited to relay the information to Scott this morning, and he just kept saying, “I know. Yeah, I knew that too…” Science never was my thing in school…

Keona, has to pick a famous Canadian to do a report on this weekend. Who to choose!?

Ella was quite into our lesson. As you can see, my reading put her right to sleep!

I have yet to take all 8 kids out by myself. Taking the 7 out- I was use to. But taking the 7 out with a baby… It kind of scares me still. I mean, I’ve taken them out to pick up Robbie- where we can stay in the van… But into a store or something… nope. I’ll have to do it eventually, but I’ve been avoiding it.

Having a father-daughter moment… :P

The other night at dinner, the kids were all bugging eachother about who they are going to marry. They were trying to convince Ella that she should marry a certain boy from church. She kept yelling, “No! No! I don’t want to marry him!”

When they asked her why- her response was, “Because! I’m marrying Daddy!”

The next morning, he made her a special hot chocolate with breakfast…

Hoping for a good night’s sleep, and a hospital-free weekend.

{Photo} Strips of Our Lives

2012-01-12T06:26:00.000-05:00

I was going to do a P52.

Can you say ‘indecisive’???

I’ve changed my mind already…

It is so hard, to pick just ONE photo, to represent a WEEK.

So instead, I’m doing a Photo Strip per week.

A photo strip, just like from a photo booth, you know!?

Much more fun this way.

I got the idea from here.

So, a do-over of Week 1…

Plus, at the end of the year, I can have a book printed with all of them!

Yay for P52!

Embracing White Hairs and Other Such Ramblings…

2012-01-10T20:10:00.000-05:00

This week, I have been told that I have “alot more white hairs!”

I believe there was a “WOW” included somewhere in that sentence…

Ella, asked to feel the wrinkles on my forehead.

She doesn’t have any… “Only Mom do’s..”

The girls saw a picture of me as a kid and laughed for a good 5 minutes at my “old fashioned clothes.”

And I heard them saying that an old puzzle Keona won as a white elephant gift, must be “like from when Mom was a kid.”

Why?

Cause it’s so OLD, of course!

Scott reassured me that he still loves me- white hairs and all!

Scott’s picture of Ella…

On the plus side, I lost another 5lbs last week! Only about 20 more to go…

I think I’m beginning to like my Sunday school kids more than my own. One little boy told me, “Teacher, teacher, I love your face.” Ha! Just kidding about liking them better than my kids- but I do love my toddler class and was super excited to be back in with them for the first time since Lily was born! :) They all loved seeing her in class. One little girl showed her affection by grabbing Lily’s headband and snapping it. Thankfully, Lily just slept right on through it.

Speaking of Lily sleeping…

She has started sleeping in her crib now! Of course, She still prefers to sleep with me, or Scott, or any of her siblings… But she is sleeping 5 or 6 hours a night in her crib!

Elijah adores having a baby sister this time around…

Gotta love the squished face…

Last weekend, Scott and I were making dinner when we heard a loud “BANG!” We both looked at eachother, and then Scott ran upstairs, thinking that someone had just fallen from a top bunk, or something severe had happened. What he found, was two boys locked in their room, with a broken door knob. (They had broken the door knob a few days prior, and had been warned about slamming the door) Scott shouted down to me, “Hey Jac! The boys are locked in their room. The door knob’s broken and I don’t know how I’m going to get them out. What should I do?” So I shouted back up, “Leave them in there!” (We were both teasing, of course!)

Jeddy started to cry and said, “Ohhh! Can we atleast dig a hole???” Ha! Dig a hole through the floor?

Anyhow, after passing a screwdriver under the door and instructing Elijah on how to remove the knob on his side, Scott finally got them out. Oh, and remember the big bang we heard? Apparently, when the boys realized they were locked in, Jeddy said, “It’s OK! I’ll just kick the door down!” Yep. That from the kid who punches holes in my walls. The big bang, was him attempting to kick down a door…

(snapshot from Saturday morning…)

Oh! And Lily’s baby shower was this past Sunday at church. I did plan on having some pictures from it- but halfway through, the fire alarm went off! It continued to go off for the next 10-15 minutes… until several firemen got there and shut it off. That kinda ended the shower…

So, we had a shower in our livingroom the next morning!

So, thankful for our church family. The ladies were such a huge blessing to us!

Lily, was thrilled about all the stuff she got! ;)

I’ll end with an answer to prayer:

Elijah, is off two of his medications and is currently still symptom-free! He’s going to see the paediatrician next Monday, and hopefully we can get him off another med or two. :)

Project 52: Week 1

2012-01-10T07:30:00.000-05:00

I didn’t quite feel up to the challenge of attempting another 365 this year. So instead, I’ve decided to do a P52. One photo for each week of the year. I should be able to manage that, right!?

Elijah put his littlest sister to sleep for the first time. He was pretty proud of himself! :)

i heart faces: Best Face Photo 2011

2012-01-09T17:33:00.001-05:00

How do you choose just ONE face?

Going through all of my photos from 2011, made me incredibly thankful for all the many faces that surround me; new and old!

But if I had to choose just one image, it would be this one…

I love how real her expression is. How her eyes are looking through my lens. Her natural, slightly-chapped lips…

This, is the other side of my crazy girl.

Power

2012-01-09T11:31:00.001-05:00

(Ella thinks she can use the force, because her sisters pretend she pushes them down with it…)

Is it ability?

In that moment when a ruler sits in the throne and the crown is lowered down up his head with blessing and pomp, he can look out over his kingdom and shake the very fibres of its existence to fit his will if he so chooses. So many things and lives within his grip. What his mind can fathom his hand can now do. His enemies now flee lest they face the wrath of all that he can command and unleash upon them with his kingly might. He is able to do anything he wants now. Is that power?

(“She dead” – Ella)

Is it authority?

The leader speaks and his followers perk to the edge of their seat. Their minds and wills folded within his hand as he weaves his master plan by the obedience of those who follow. With his mind he can cause Pyramids to rise and cities to fall. Like a queen in a hive or the lion in the pride, whatever he says must be done. There is no rebuke. There is no questioning. There is nothing that anyone can do to change what he has decided. He has the authority to move and even end the lives of many with the sound of his voice. Is this power?

(Prayer likes hats and anything else that will make you laugh at her…)

(She has a follower)

Is it acceptance?

As she walks the halls of this grand life all eyes turn to watch her glimmering shine. She is everyone’s favourite fragrance and flavour, and everyone wishes to be her. What she wears, they will soon wear. What she likes, they will like. All eyes are turned upon her as she graces the world with her immaculate presence. Her coming is like the sunrise and her followers like the locusts to the harvest. She will direct them as she chooses. And as they watch and wait for her every move, the world sways in response to her every twinge. By their desire for her, her desire will become theirs. All those lives captivated by her entrancing being. Everyone wants to be her, and everyone will do as she does. Is this power?

Is it addiction?

As the many are enslaved, working day after day to taste the next fix of amusement, he profits from their lust. As fast as he can produce it, they line up to buy. Package it in any shiny box, and tag it with a red tag, and they will sell themselves away to have it. If it feels smooth, and smells sweet, and delights the eyes; if it looks good and is desired by many, they will take it for their own. All the while he will recline himself in the depths of his command of their desire, and enjoy the fruits of his designs. They all can’t get enough and would do anything to have more. Is that power?

(Elijah has 3DS addiction issues…)

Is it attention?

The child smashes yet another plate to the floor, filled with hours of work and effort, just for the glances of feeling. The walls are coloured with every crayon in the box, and some toothpaste on the side, and he would gladly take the punishment to have his parents run in circles trying to keep him in check. His every desire he can simply stomp his foot and obtain. Their schedule is his schedule, and he will design their lifestyle to suit his baser primitive lusts. Born to be wild, owning his parent’s life, he constantly attempts to fill his void with which he was designed. He craves to be watched, attended to, and obeyed. He is the king of his own life in a miniature form, and he will have his way or scream until the morning. Rock him to sleep, pack him full of candy, give him everything money can buy and an entire house to store it in, and you won’t cure the craving. He has your attention all the day and night. Is this power?

Is it affection?

To be with her is all he requires. Take his wealth and take his time; take all he has, but give him her love, and he will be pleased. There is no other thought that exists in his mind. There is no other person that can control him so. If only there were more hours in the day to stare at her picture, to hear her voice over and over again, and to speak of his love for her. There is not another girl in the world as far as he is concerned. And if another man dare go near her, he would duel them to the death before he would be parted from her. She has captivated his every corner of being. She owns his affection in every aspect of life and death. Is this power?

(The landing was the best part…)

Power is the source of it all. Power is what gives, what takes, and what makes. It is in the strength that flows from the throne of the source of all energy and sovereignty. All who rise are risen and all who fall are faulted. There is nothing done without the covering of the eyes of the One source of all forces and breath. We can only be channels of power, nothing more. Power built it all, and began its motion. Power is the truth behind the veil that covers its fervour. The truth of power is never measurable and unfathomable in entirety. Do you seek to find the ends of the universe? You never will, for it is not within your power. Do you seek to know the past, the future, and the causes thereof? Don’t waste your time. It cannot be known in mortality. Man’s small occupancy lacks even the power to know his self. You can search your whole life long and yet the only answers you will find will come from the true Power of creation.

The King has the power over all things. He is worthy of all ability, authority, acceptance, addiction, attention, and affection. He has the power to demand each one. Yet God is not a King by force to His people. He does not stomp His foot and whine. God does not kill off all competitors of His love. God offers Himself as He is and gives Himself to those who will take Him. He holds all of life in His hand and all of creation spins and consists by His will, and yet He looks to you to choose Him. He lets you choose. That is power.

Though we strive and fight to control all this that is not our own, He fights harder and strives more to give you all things. Stop struggling against true power. Accept Him for who He is, your Maker, Saviour, and your King.

“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” – I Timothy 1:17

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” – Revelations 4:11

Mini Session Fail

2012-01-04T20:20:00.000-05:00

So, I wanted to do a mini-session of Lily with each of her siblings.Scott was hanging out with some of the older kids, so I decided to start with Jeddy and Ella.

Lily was game, at first.

Ella was all ready to go as well…

Prepared with all the hugs and kisses that Lily could handle…

I had so many outtakes of these two…

Ella’s attention span lasted a whole of 3 minutes- then she was done.

Jeddy is a bit better at holding Lily and making her feel comfortable, I think.

And he adores her…

My fave shot of those two.

So, the mini sessions didn’t go as planned. After this, Lily decided to spit up all over herself, Jeddy, and my bed. I didn’t bother with the older kids!

An outtake of Lily and I- courtesy of Prayer!

Happy New Year?

2012-01-04T00:38:00.001-05:00

Oh yes, right… Happy New Year!

Here’s how we spent the first day of 2012…

Being woken up at 7am, by the wheezing sound of your child trying to tell you he can’t breathe properly-

is terrifying.

Not being able to do anything to help him- is frustrating.

Seeing him on all sorts of antibiotics- makes me feel helpless.

Knowing that God loves him more than I do, and is in control of this whole situation- gives me peace.

Or atleast I know that I should have peace about it.

I’m trying.

Everyone’s prayers have been greatly appreciated. To be honest, I always thought that asthma was just like a cough or cold. I never gave much thought to my friends who had to take puffers. I never realized how serious it could be. Seeing my son unable to stand up or complete a sentence; has woken me up, and given me nightmares. Seriously, last night I dreamt about having to call 911 and ambulances coming to our house. I have been checking on him constantly. Every little cough puts a lump in my throat that he’s going to have another attack. He must be sick of me asking, “Are you OK? Does your breathing still feel normal?”

As much as I loathe medications, hospitals etc… I am incredibly thankful for them right now. Just to update people who have been praying- we have an appointment with a great paediatrician two weeks from now, and he is giving us a referral to one of the top allergy specialists so that hopefully we can find out what is triggering this. I’m still hoping that it’s all from the nasty cold the kids had when I was in the hospital with Lily… Possibly his body never recovered fully. That is my prayer right now…

Scott brought him in to the ER on New Year’s morning and once he was admitted, Lily and I went to spend the night and next day there with him. I would tell you more about our hospital stay but he wrote a little story about it, which I’ll share later this week. Let’s just say that the nurses adored him, and he got spoiled to the max…

If anyone reading this has an encouraging story about dealing with asthma, please feel free to email me – I’d love to hear it.

Again, thank you for praying for my baby!

My Birthday Boy

2011-12-30T13:51:00.001-05:00

He doesn’t like having a birthday in winter because he can’t do anything outdoors for his party.

He rolls his eyes at me when I call him cutesy names and hates it when I grab his face and kiss his cheeks!

When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, his response is,

“I don’t know. I don’t have to think about that yet. I will decide in a little while.”

Sometimes, he is too witty for his own good.

He is always ready with a good comeback.

He is ultra competitive.

I can relate.

He has now had two asthma attacks in the last 3 weeks.

Last time he was at the hospital, he kindly told the nurse that he “wanted to go home soon. Please.”

Last night, he asked me to try not to wake him up when I gave him his puffer during the night. He just wanted to have a “good sleep.”

My poor guy has had such rough nights lately.

Trouble breathing… Up coughing… Being woken up to take medication…

Anyhow, we wanted to get him something special for his birthday this year and it just so happened to be on sale for boxing week! I wrapped it in paper, tied it up tight with string, wrapped it again around the string, wrapped it tight with saran wrap, wrapped it with paper again, and then covered it with tape. I have a video of him opening it, but I took it with Scott’s phone and can’t figure out how to get the sound to work on the blog. It went something like this…

“MORE paper??? Is this the last layer??? It’s something Nintendo!!! It’s a game!!! I think it’s a DS!”

“IT’S A NINTENDO 3DS!!!!!!! THANK YOU MOM! THANK YOU DAD!”

He hasn’t wanted to put it down since.

You have never been an easy child. From your emergency entrance into this world, to your bad temper as a toddler, and your mischievousness as a big and little brother… You are always one to shake things up when they get boring.

Happy 8th Birthday to my little sweetie-pie, hunny-bunch!

You know that I love you!

Can’t help my-self…

Ahem

He especially loves it when I sing to him…

Love ya, bud.

Christmas Eve & Day

2011-12-26T23:54:00.000-05:00

We started the tradition of opening gifts on Christmas Eve 12 Christmases ago! I think that originally, it was just out of impatience, as Scott and I both couldn’t wait to give eachother gifts… but over the years, it has worked out quite well for our family. We always call it a pyjama day, and just open gifts from eachother. Then, the kids get to open all the other presents from grandparents and aunts on Christmas Day.

I expected to be woken up early, and I was! But not how I expected… I was up at 5am, feeding Lily when I heard someone else in the hallway. I peeked out my door and saw Prayer coming out of the bathroom. She looked a little odd from a distance, so I called her over- her eye was swollen to the size of a ping pong ball and she couldn’t even open it. Jeddy, had pink eye earlier that week- we thought that we had successfully rid the house of it. Apparently not… I gave her some warm compresses for her eye and sent her back to bed. It did look much better in the morning, but she still tried to hide it in all the pictures!

I didn’t hear kids again until about 8am. Even then, they were playing quietly in their rooms! Scott ran out to Shopper’s to get some eye drops, while I fed the kids breakfast so that we could open gifts as soon as he got home. :)

We began with each of us thanking God for something. Ella, was thankful for “all her presents!”

We kept it pretty simple this year. Money was not in abundance after a big move. The boys got Lego sets, like they asked for. Eve, also got Lego along with some scarves from Ella. Keona, got a jewellery box and some jewellery to go with it. A gorgeous jewellery box that we found on kijiji for less than we planned to spend! She also got a Bath and Body Works set. She’s such a preteen…

Charity, has wanted a guitar for years now. We looked, but decided we couldn’t spend that much money this year. I prayed about it and kept my eye out on kijiji. We had a budget of $25 each, and I found a brand new- still in the box- student guitar for $25!!! We tricked her by just giving her a dollar store basket with a pair of sunglasses and a hair band- she thought that was what her dad had bought her! She was just a tad bit excited when he pulled out the guitar. :) Ella, got dollies like she had asked for from her big sister. All the girls got some jewellery from mom and dad. Prayer got her easel- another kijiji find! We tricked her as well, and just wrapped the giant roll of paper for the easel and said that she could roll it out on the floor… The easel was hidden behind the couch. ;)

I love my kids. There’s nothing quite like watching the joy on their faces as they open presents. AND presents that they picked out for eachother…

Scott spent the next 3 hours helping to assemble Lego sets. I took care of Lily, helped Charity tune her guitar, and hung out with the girls. We ate pizza for dinner and relaxed in our new pjs, in front of the fireplace, in our new home. I am feeling extremely blessed this Christmas Eve.

________________________

On Christmas Day, I stayed home from church because of the colds my kids had, the pink eye, and Elijah’s asthma acting up.

We had family and friends over for dinner…

This doesn’t even show the kids’ table!

I didn’t take many pictures- but I guarantee that we enjoyed the day. Aunt Gail, kept Lily more than content (Fast asleep!) while I cooked. Scott, played PS3 hockey with Adam, James, and Robbie. They were LOUD! Well, mostly James… He is hilarious! We love James and Tracy. I’m so glad they were able to come! My sister, mom, and mom in law, were a huge help in the kitchen. Not to mention, Eve! She took everyone’s drink orders and filled their glasses. Uhh… cups. ;) The girls played cards with great grandpa- Keona was quite excited when she actually beat him at a game of crazy 8s!

I am so very, very thankful for all of our family, and adopted family this Christmas!

God’s been good.

Off to Wasaga Beach tomorrow, to spend the day with more family! And no, despite what Jeddy and Ella may try to tell you- we are NOT going to be building sand castles or going swimming at the beach! :P

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:54:00.000-05:00

Our card this year…

Now I just have to work on getting a picture of all EIGHT of them together! :)

I decided to use the card to double as a birth announcement for Lily, as well.

The inside…

Back of the card…

Please forgive me if you usually get a card from us and didn’t this year… I only ordered 75, and barely got those out in time. Some are still coming late! :)

We had a wonderful and blessed Christmas. I’ll share photos soon.

For now… Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Her Is So Cute!

2011-12-23T07:49:00.000-05:00

“I just lub her! Her is SO cute!!!”

Why do I have a feeling that this photo is going to define their relationship?…

In Point Form…

2011-12-22T07:08:00.000-05:00

I’m blogging in point form because I’m tired and I don’t feel like trying to make a post “flow” tonight.

- In the last two months, I’ve spent a night (or several nights) in the hospital with three of my children. Most recently, Elijah. Elijah, who at almost 8 years old, had only ever seen a doctor for a regular check up. He had an asthma attack, and had to stay over night in the paediatric ward of the hospital. His O2 level was at 85% when we got to the ER. They rushed him right in- no 6 hour wait for us! He barely had any energy at all when we got there, but after the meds (and steroids) kicked in, the kid couldn’t stop smiling! Not to mention that Elijah, Lily, and I got our own room and at 10pm at night, the nurse rolled in a TV and xbox 360. I don’t know whether the xbox, or the elevator ride on a stretcher was the highlight of his stay. Or maybe it was the chest xray. Or the fact that they serve coffee with breakfast in the paed wing??? I didn’t let him drink it…

Ah yes, the joy of hospital stays. It was quite the reminder of how thankful I should be for my kids’ health.

- We had friends over for homemade poutines. Scott cooked. JosieAnne and I decided that next time they come over, Scott and Marcel can cook, while we paint!

- We went to the seniors’ home for our Christmas service. Rita, must have pulled Elijah’s head in (Elijah, who is very standoff-ish- doesn’t even like hugs!) and she rubbed noses with him over and over again! I was extremely proud of him for being polite and not running away from her. :) Ernie came down to see the kids even though he isn’t doing so well these days. He gave them all quarters and hugs. Lily and Ella got more kisses than I could count! Everyone was quite excited to meet Lily for the first time- she was a hit! One old lady ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhhed’ at her while Keona had her and kept saying, “Oh, isn’t he cute!” When Keona corrected her and said, “She’s a girl.” The lady responded with, “Oh, don’t worry. He’ll grow another eye soon!”

We love our seniors!

- We teased the triplets that they’re like a zoo attraction. “ Look! It’s triplets! Come see this! They’re identical!” Said a group of nurses as they walked by… Then they all proceeded to walk over and touch them and talk about them. Ha!

- I still haven’t edited my photo session of Lily… It’s kinda hard to do without a mouse. Hopefully, Scott will hook up my PC this week. *Hint, hint* ;)

-This may sound incredibly frivolous, but I miss my laptop. I miss my perfectly calibrated screen; my files and filing system; a mouse to use while I edit photos; my laptop… Still very angry with myself.

- As I was cutting Jed’s hair tonight, I said, “I need you to turn this way, hun. Look at me.” To which he replied, “Sure! I like looking at you. You’re pretty!” This kid is going to be a serious charmer…

- Ella’s new favourite phrases, “Oh man!” “Stink!” (Kinda like ‘shoot!’ or ‘darn!’- but she says ‘stink!’) “What!?!?” When she thinks something is crazy… and “No way!” She has also learned to roll her eyes, and has decided that she’s too old to go in the nursery.

- It’s “weird” that my body makes milk “like a cow.” According to Elijah…

-My little brother slept over last night and we all played Quelf. A game in which I had to do a square dance while singing, pretend to be a stand up comedian, end every sentence I said with “izzle”, and smell Prayer’s shoe.

Fun stuff!

- Eve and I finished making the wreaths that I started about… 2 months ago? I’m pretty happy with them. Less than $15 for both of them. They may be too plain? They will have to do for this year!

- Keona is getting too big, too fast. Just had to buy her a women’s small in pyjamas… Tomorrow night, she goes to a youth Christmas party with her friends. I’m old…

- I am finished my Christmas shopping! Can’t wait for the weekend… 3 more sleeps! :)

Check out those cheeks! Baby is gaining weight!

P.S. She smiles cause she is in my bed again… I’m sure of it!

Just When I Started Blogging Again…

2011-12-15T07:02:00.000-05:00

Just when I started to get back into blogging mode, I dropped my laptop. Dropped my laptop on my new ceramic (read: stone-like) kitchen floor. I dropped my laptop while I was moving it to KEEP IT SAFE from the kids. Can you tell that I’m still mad at myself??? I dropped it a week ago. Thankfully, after spending a small fortune, we were able to get everything off the hard drive. But… the screen was shattered and the laptop itself- is toast. (Insert crying smiley here)

Later that night, Jeddy came over to me and said, “I just can’t say it!!!”

I asked him what he was talking about, and said, “Oh, just a Christmas present I’m going to get you!”

I said, “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah! I’m going to buy you somethin’ but Dad’s gonna pay for it. Cause I don’t have enough money…”

Me: “Does Dad know about this?”

Jeddy: “No. But I’m gonna tell him!”

I love that kid.

So, I promise that there will be some pictures of Lily and the house soon- but they’re waiting on Scott getting my PC up and running again.

But for now…

On a brighter note- we are done school for Christmas break! We ended today with a debate- Who’s Smarter: Women or Men?

Keona is getting into debating now. It was always one of my favourite parts of Jr High… when we got to debate! So, we started her off debating her Dad- just for fun and good practice! Keona sat on the couch across from Scott, and we had the triplets and Elijah as an audience. The debate went back and forth with points such as, “All the greatest inventors were men!” to… “Who were homeschooled by their MOMS…” ha! Followed by a list of great minds who were taught by women. (You go girl!)

Anyhow, eventually Scott started to pull ahead and Keona was running out of arguments. That’s when the triplets jumped in… Scott had 4 girls arguing with him at the same time! I’m laughing just picturing it in my head… They are passionately debating their points, while Elijah sits on the couch across from them with his fingers pinched in front of his eyes saying, “Squish, squish, squish!” The kid was pretending to squish his sisters…

Then the argument got into Adam and Eve and Scott made the point that Eve was deceived and not Adam. The girls started to argue it and Elijah shouts over all four of his sisters, “Read your Bible!”

Oh man, this, after Scott saying that the feminist movement was dead (as a joke about something) and Charity piping up, “No, it’s not!” I explained to her what the feminist movement was today…

They crack me up. I had to laugh today while Scott was in the livingroom with seven (SEVEN!) women! These girls love their Dad, and I am loving their personalities, and seeing their own opinions form on things as they grow up.

Lily, is doing extremely well. She is now fitting into all of her newborn-sized outfits. She does however, refuse to sleep in her crib. I can’t complain though. I can’t really blame her either. Technically, she would still be in the belly- so she has an excuse! :)

Ella, who we worried about being jealous. Isn’t jealous at all so far. Possessive of “her baby”- yes. But jealous- no.

Scott, went out grocery shopping today and came home with a princess costume for Ella. And a tiara to top it off.

He tried to put the tiara on her several times but I guess he wasn’t doing it right, cause she took it out of his hands and said, “Just let Mom do it!” Once I had put it on, she ran back over to him with her big puckered lips and gave him a big I-love-you-daddy kiss on the cheek!

P.S. Have I mentioned lately that I hate our cats? Anyone want to take them off our hands??? Free to a ~~good~~ home! ;)

Lily Elizabeth

2011-12-09T07:18:00.000-05:00

“The Baby”

2011-11-21T01:12:00.000-05:00

On Sunday morning, Scott took a few of the kids who weren’t coughing quite so badly to church. I stayed home with the really sick ones. Keona looked like a walking corpse. Poor thing… and Jed, well he couldn’t stop coughing, but that didn’t deter him from running around non-stop.

Shortly after breakfast, I noticed that my braxton hicks contractions were becoming more frequent. Not painful. Just more often. Around lunch time, I decided to time them, and noticed that they were about 5 minutes apart. That lasted for an hour and then stopped. This continued all day long. I texted Scott to warn him. He told his Mom to be ready to head over ‘just in case’… but I really didn’t give it much thought. Afterall, my body refuses to go into labour… and I’m only 35/36 weeks. Mind you, my OB had told me that she wouldn’t be surprised if I went early- seeing that the baby was measuring farther along… and to come in right away if my contractions lasted more than 1/2 an hour.

Fast forward to Monday morning… the contractions were back. Still not “labour”… but they were definitely getting more noticeable. My back was cramping with them now, and every once in a while I had a sharp pain by my c section scar. Which was a little bit unnerving with how many c-sections I’ve had. After speaking with my OB’s assistant, we decided to head into the hospital totally expecting to be back home in a few hours.

At first, the monitor was picking up my contractions and I honestly started to wonder if I was crazy. I told Scott to come put his hand on my stomach just to be sure I wasn’t imagining things… After moving the monitors around and the pain getting a little more intense, they decided to start an IV to see if that put a stop to things. Nope. Still thought I was going home shortly. Then they gave me a shot of… cannot remember the name of it- but it made me feel like I was in a dream for the rest of the night. That didn’t work to stop the contractions either. Before either of us were expecting anything, the OB came in and told us that we were heading to the ER right away for a c-section. They didn’t want to risk any damage to my scar…

Yikes! Nurses were handing me papers, quizzing me on past surgeries, allergies… you name it! I could barely put a sentence together, nevermind remember any of those things! I started crying as I was telling Scott to call my Mom and scribbling down random numbers as my kids birthdates, that made no sense at all!

About 20 minutes later, at 6:12pm, a 5lb 10oz baby girl was born!

I was positive, that I was having a boy- so we didn’t have any girl names picked out! She remained “the baby” until the next morning.

The rest of the events of that evening are less than pleasant, and not particularly ones I want to remember. My perfectly healthy, crying-like-a-champ baby, was taken from me shortly after I got her because she was “grunting” (diagnosed by a rookie paediatrician) put on an IV for antibiotics it turns out she never needed, poked over 8 times as they tried to get an IV into every single one of her limbs, before they finally put it in her umbilical cord and x-rayed her to make sure it was in right, accidentally pulled it out, put it in and x-rayed her again, and then… she was diagnosed with erratic breathing. Well I guess so! I would be breathing pretty erratically after going through all of that as well! I got to see her again at 3:30am, when I was told not to touch her so that the IV doesn’t come out. The IV she never needed in the first place… But I digress…

Daddy’s hand…

The next morning after going to see her in the nursery, we named her “Lily Elizabeth.” Neither of those names had come up throughout the entire pregnancy. And… we agreed on it right away. Ha! “Lily” after my mom, and “Elizabeth” after Scott’s grandma.

Thankfully, she never had another problem for the next 4 days that she spent in the hospital.

Me, holding her for the first time after the whole ordeal…

It was not how I had envisioned her birth.

My kids were not there. We didn’t get all the pictures I had planned. My kids didn’t get to see her until Saturday, because they were all so sick that we couldn’t bring them into the hospital to visit. But God is good! My new OB was on call the day we came in and she is a brilliant surgeon. My surgery that was expected to have complications- went flawlessly. Scott was able to take the week off of work without any problems. Between my mom and Scott’s mom, we didn’t have to worry about our other kids at all. Lily, was a perfectly healthy little girl in spite of being born early. She has nursed like a little piggy from the get-go. She got to come home to the same house as our last three… Oh yeah, did I mention that we moved 9 days after she was born??? :) The rest of my kids are healthy again, and thankfully didn’t pass anything on to their baby sister. So many things to be thankful for…

Cell phone pic of her ‘going home’ outfit!

Two weeks later, and she has already filled-out that sleeper!

So there’s the story.

Now you’ll have to put up with me posting pictures of her constantly!

Her, and my new house… ;)

A Trip to the ER

2011-11-19T01:57:00.000-05:00

(Back-dated for archiving sake)

It all began about 3 weeks ago, when Scott and I, went away to a church planting conference in Barrie and decided to get a hotel and stay overnight. We figured that with a new baby coming, it would be our last getaway for a while! We got home extremely early on Wednesday morning. That Friday, Scott took Keona away to a youth conference in Barrie. That same day, all of my kids decided to get sick. Not one or two, all seven of them. Poor Keona, had to sit out of several activities (including her favourite- dodgeball) because her cough was so bad that it was triggering her asthma. Back at home, I was sitting in my bed at about 1am watching a movie on my laptop. Jeddy walked out into the hall and through his laboured breathes said, “I… love you… Mom…” and went right back to his room. The way he was breathing worried me a bit, and his face looked a little odd. I figured that it was just from him sleeping, but decided to go check on him anyways. When I went in to check on him, he was gasping for each breath and his face, arms, and legs were all swollen with hives. I brought him into my room to keep an eye on him, but his gasping and coughing continued and the swelling was scaring me a bit. I called my Mom to come over since Scott was 3 hours away, and headed to the ER with him. There was no wait, they took him straight to the back when they saw his breathing and put him on oxygen. We stayed there for the next 6 hours. Breathing treatment, oxygen, repeat…

The RT came in to see him, and asked him a few questions to see how his breathing was while he carried a conversation. (Not to mention that his heart rate was in the 120’s due to the breathing treatments!) He told her right out of the blue, “The Bible is the most important thing. It’s God’s Word, you know!” She told him that he was right, and asked him about school. He continued to tell her, that He was in kindergarten and that he could spell “cat” and “Polhamus” and that Mom was his teacher, and that there were 7 kids in our house, and that Mom was having another baby in 3 weeks… Needless to say, he didn’t have a problem talking at this point! He also asked her if he was going to get a needle. When she told him “No, I don’t think you’ll need one.”

He said, “Well, you can give me one if you want to!”

I think he may have been slightly delirious at this point!

She commented on how I looked like I was ready to have the baby, and she would keep an eye out for me. At 34 weeks pregnant, let’s just say that the little plastic hospital chairs were slightly less than comfortable. She suggested that I hop into bed with Jeddy, and we both try to get some sleep.

Jed, insisted that I was NOT allowed to sleep at the hospital. He told me that he would have the nurse wake me up and send me home. When I explained to him that I wouldn’t leave him there alone, he replied, “But you need to sleep Mom. I’m fine. The doctors and my nurse will watch me!”

We slept together for about an hour, and then a nurse came in to check on Jed and I woke up. Jed’s nurse was a 6 foot 5 inch, 250lb, black man. He lifted my hulk of a son, like he weighed nothing. It was quite entertaining to watch. He also called him “Jedi” all night. I don’t know if he thought that’s what I was calling him, or if he just made it up himself for fun. Either way, Jed seemed to like it!

Thankfully at 7am, his O2 levels were back up into the high 90’s and we were able to head home with a brand new puffer.

I’d love to say that was the end of all the sickness in our house, but it continued for the next 2 weeks! And little did we know, how right that RT was about me being back very soon to have the baby!

34 weeks