Cowgirl Up!

We decided to dress the girls, again, in outfits we already had. I figured that if we keep doing this, they'll never have the expectation that outfits need to be bought or sewn or creatively construed! They both love matching each other! Tennyson only lasted a little while, but Amaya and her friend Olivia and the dads were 'hard core' and hit every store. Fun times!

Doesn't Amaya look old in this picture? I keep thinking this, so maybe I just need to adjust my mental picture to reflect what her actual age is!

Apples, Horses, and Pumpkins!

Tennyson's First Horse Lesson

Picking Apples at Kiwokaya Orchards

Tennyson's surgery is postponed until this Thursday. She had an allergic reaction to the Tamiflu she was on the week before. It was dissapointing to have this happen, but I do understand the decision. She had quite an impressive rash. Thankfully, it only lasted a couple of days. She's well now (except for her seemingly chronic cold).

In the meantime... Tennyson has started horse lessons (she had to wait until she was three) and we went to the pumpkin patch (the girls had low grade fevers, but didn't feel bad). We thought this was the one place we could go and not infect too many people (can you tell we were desperate to leave the house!). The girls just got a mild case of the flu... they kept asking to do things, and I repeatedly said, "No." Their only symptoms were low grade fevers and occasional body aches.

We also did the Hood River Fruit loop one Saturday. It was beautiful weather... an absolutely perfect day as a family. We visited four orchards, and came home with 130pounds of apples. I thought that was a lot until John said that the man in front of him in line had 400 pounds.

While we were quarantined to the house we (my mom included... she's the best! I sliced my thumb pretty good the first day of peeling, so she peeled for about 6 hours) canned 25 quarts of applesauce, 8 pints of apple butter, and 16 quarts of apple pie filling. The girls found ways to help, and it's great to have some applesauce set aside for the winter. I have always wanted to do apple butter. I found a great slow-cooker recipe online. It cooked all night, and just needed to be processed the following morning. Totally worth it!

So long sleepless nights...

That could be one of many benefits of making it through the day on October 22nd.

A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting on the couch filling out a lengthy medical history form for Tennyson. Her pediatrician and speech therapist had recommended we see an ENT doctor to have her evaluated. She had finished 2 courses of antibiotics with little change in her symptoms.

I got to the last page, and realized I was filling in a different column than the previous three pages. All the 'yes' boxes were checked.

Frequent ear infections: YES

Frequent sinus infections: YES

Restless sleeping habits: YES

Have you ever been told your child has fluid in their ears: YES

Speech concerns: YES

Snoring: YES

Flat tympanograms: YES

Sleep apnea: YES

This last symptom is what finally sealed the deal for me to have Tennyson evaluated. I really didn't want to put her through another surgery, but 'sleep apnea' isn't a symptom that is very conducive to being a functional human being.

'Pnea' means breathing. 'A' means without. Tennyson stops breathing at night.

When she stops breathing at night, she wakes up. When she wakes up, she comes into our room. When she comes into our room, she crawls in on my side. When she crawls in on my side, I wake up. When I wake up, I put her back to bed (most nights). When I put her back to bed, she goes back to sleep. When she goes back to sleep, she starts snoring. When she starts snoring, she eventually stops breathing. When she stops breathing at night, she wakes up.

This has been her life for the last couple of years. I can count on two hands the number of nights that she has stayed in bed all night. It's been exhausting, to say the least... for her, and us.

We went to the ENT. He was impressed with her list of symptoms and with the pediatrician's records. He had his audiologist do a hearing test, and Tennyson's tympanogram was completely flat. She had a 30% conductive hearing loss in both of her ears, accounting for some of her speech issues. When he came back in the room with a stack of paperwork, I knew what we were in for. She's having a T & A and tubes put in on October 22 at Emmanuel.

While I am nervous for her surgery and the recovery period, I am hopeful that this will take care of many issues for her. She has some unusual quirks, and many of these can be traced to her chronically inflamed tonsils, full adenoids, and fluid-filled ears.

We are anxious for a full recovery, and a healthy little girl... and some restful nights!

Tennyson's 3... It just can't be!

Tennyson turned '3' yesterday. I really can't believe it! It seems like just yesterday that we were excitedly announcing our pregnancy to friends and family. I know every parent says this, but her three years have gone particularly fast!

She arrived on September 28, 2006 at 2am. Just a couple hours short of sharing a birthday with Grammy, my mom. When my blood pressure started to rise at 6pm the night before, mom and I started to talk about what it would be like for the two of them to share a birthday. I was rolled back to the OR for my C-section about 12:45am, so we knew it would be shortly after that.

Tennyson, you were exactly 6 weeks early (born on the same gestational day as Amaya-even in the womb, you wanted to be just like her! :). You spent just 5 days in the NICU, and then we brought you home. While the course of your birth and delivery were less than ideal, the course you followed resembled Amaya in so many ways that it was not quite as alarming as it could have been. We were somewhat prepared for the specific challenges that were ahead of us.

You didn't like to eat! Hard to imagine that now, but it was very real at the time! You had your NG on and off for about 4 months. You would tease us every so often, and eat really good for a couple of days. I would get anxious and pull it out. It never stayed out for more than a couple of days before you'ld start to taper off again.

By the time you were 4 months, we decided to have a GT placed in your tummy to give you a more permanent route of nutrition. We still tried to feed you by mouth, but we supplemented your feeds with your tube. You had this until 15 months. I'll never forget the day that we went up to OHSU to have it removed. By this time you had been eating well for a couple of months so we knew you'ld do fine without it. What a joyful day! We had much to be thankful for the following day: Thanksgiving!

You have been such a blessing in our family. I love seeing how you and Amaya interact. You are great friends.

You are laid back, spunky, loud, out-going (to a fault, some say, as you still give loves to strangers in the grocery store), and a wanderer. All of our friends know that you wander. Even other moms take precautions to make sure you don't wander. It's terrifying, actually. I've followed you in a public place for at least a block before you turned around to see if I was there.

You love oatmeal, German pancakes, fruit, and sausage. You have absolutely NO sweet tooth. You sometimes want to have one, so you always ask for a cupcake or a scoop of ice cream. But I have learned my lesson. One bite and you're done. I didn't even make you a cake for your birthday this year!

I did make German pancakes though.

For prosperity sake only, and at the risk of sounding like a boasting mother, I do have to say, you are quite beautiful. Especially after you turned '1', we would often get stopped by complete strangers who would comment on how 'cute' you were. You get your eyes from dad. We don't know, for sure, where your curls come from, but we'll enjoy them while they last. Not that I'm biased, but you are definitely the cutest three-year old girl I have ever seen!

This week you learned your first Bible verse. Appropriately, it was Genesis 1:1. You have said it over and over and over! I pray that God will continue to keep you in His grip. I love you, sweet girl!

Amaya seeing you for the first time in the NICU the day you were born.

Tennyson has a special connection with my dad, whom she calls 'Poppy'. Even at a young age, she would squeal with delight when he entered the room. He is always on her mind. She makes pictures for him, prays for him, talks to him on the phone (imaginary and real!), and saves all her kisses and hugs for him. He was the first one that she wanted to invite to her birthday party this year. We'll see if that's still the case when she's '15'. This was her 1rst birthday party.

She also loves horses. For awhile, we were thinking that maybe it was just because Amaya did. We've been convinced, however, that she has an affection all her own for them. She had her first riding lesson on Sunday, and did great! This was her 2nd Birthday.

Dinner is #1

Amaya asked me yesterday, "So, guess which meal I like the best?"

I quickly responded with, "Breakfast." I thought this was a sure bet because she would eat breakfast foods any time of the day.

I was wrong. "No, Mom. I like dinner... because this is the time when we all get to eat together."

And this, coming off of a week when only one evening had the four of us gathered around the table (my second week of nursing orientation... I'm done now!). It served as a good reminder of the things that matter to my kiddos...can't take any shortcuts with this one!

A Lengthy Leiby Update :)

Despite the obvious lack in my blogging efforts, lots has been going on around here! So, I'll try to be brief... although, that is one of the beauties of blogging. I'll never know if you read just the first sentence, skimmed the entire post, or read every word.

Things have been busy. Busy in a good way...but nonetheless busy. We went from being a '1' job family to a '4' job family. John was offerred a position through a friend to be the new Director of Operations at Summit Worldwide. They schedule freight transport across the United States. He works in a small office by the airport with about 5 other guys. He's travelled a little bit and looks forward to some international travel in January. He's scheduled to go to Singapore. A trip to Kenya is also on the books for next year... and, YES!, his wife hopes to be joining him! The company does a lot of work on the East Coast, so John starts his day at 6am. It's made for some early mornings which have seemed to have caught up with him as of late! He's down with a upper respiratory infection this weekend. He's also keeping up with Real Estate in the afternooons and evenings.

I also recently found a couple of part-time positions. I am working a couple of days a month at Gresham Surgery Center. They do mainly day surgeries. I am working in the Pre-op and Recovery areas, but will hopefully cross-train to the OR and Endoscopy later. It's a fun place with a totally different feel than what I was used to, being at a level one trauma center. I also accepted a position at Mt Hood Medical Center in their Short Stay Unit. I will be working a couple evenings a week there. Currently, I am meeting their nursing orientation requirement, which is full time for two weeks.

Last week was a struggle, I'll be honest. While we are thankful for the guarantee of finances every month, it has come at a price. Just being gone a week, I feel like I missed out on so many moments with the girls. I felt disconnected from them. All week, I kept telling myself, "Just wait until the weekend. You'll be able to make up for time lost." Nope.

Why? Because when you work full time during the week, Saturday is when you do all the other things that couldn't possibly get done during the week. It has made me sympathetic for the moms that do have to work for various reasons, and for the single moms who have no choice. It also has helped me appreciate the time I have had, and do have with the girls on a daily basis. While both scenarios are exhausting and stretching in their own right, I would much rather choose to be exhausted alongside my girls than apart from them.

Amaya asked me after my first day of orientation, "So now that you are working, who is going to be my full time mom?" I assurred her that, even now, if someone were to ask me, "What do you do?" I would answer, "I am a stay at home mom and wife with two great daughters and a loving husband."

Thanks to my amazing mom and dear friend Marlene, the girls have done great over the last week.

So, besides John and I both starting three new jobs in the last 2 weeks, there's been plenty else going on to keep us busy. Amaya started Kindergarten this week at Phonics Phactory, we're in the throes of the Soccer season, Tennyson turns '3' next week, and between now and October 8th, there are 12 more scheduled doctor appts on our calendar (we had 4 already this week).

Don't think I am complaining. I'm not by any means. We will settle in after this next week is over. I'll be back to my 'full-time mom' status with just a couple of shifts a week to be gone from home. I LOVE BEING HOME WITH MY KIDS... can I say that again! I love being home with my kids!

We were on our way to church this morning, and Amaya, very thoughtfully asked, "Why do some people not like Jesus?" We talked about this for a couple of minutes, and then she said, "Why did you and Daddy pick this church to go to?" I listed the reasons, which included that we thought it was a great place to have the girls learn more about Jesus.
Amaya responded, "So that way we won't be shy when we get to heaven."
I never thought about it like this, but it did make sense once I mulled it over for a moment. I love seeing things through a five-year old's eyes.

There are so many more things I could put in this Lengthy Leiby update, but maybe I'll just try being better about some more frequest updates. I am anticipating the regularity of Fall. It's my favorite season by a long shot: crisp mornings, picking apples, colorful leaves, cozy evening fires, pumpkin desserts and crockpot dinners. Mmmm, I love it. The hues of greens and oranges and yellows and reds...these are a few of my favorite things.

Amaya and her friend Harley. Amaya's playing on a Co-ed U6 team. She has scored a couple of goals, and has become known for her aggressiveness (couldn't think of a nicer word...it's not as bad as it sounds) on the field.

We were at the Jamboree a couple weeks ago. Amaya asked to use the port-a-potty. While I was standing outside waiting for her, she said through the door, "You know the only reason I wanted to play soccer was to get a trophy."

"No, I didn't know that... and you could have mentioned that before I signed you up. A trip to Goodwill would have cost a lot less."

And No, I didn't actually say this. But I did think it... and thought about it again on Saturday while I was sitting at her game... in the rain.

Amaya and Grammy at Oneonta Falls last weekend.



Amaya had the important job of holding the boat to the dock. She was very serious about it, but had no intentions of letting me help!

I am as tall as the 205 bridge... :)

First day of school!

For those of you wondering... yes, I cried. Kindergarten seems like a much bigger deal than preschool. It's so official. I'm thankful for Amaya's teacher, and for a couple of great friends she made last year. Of course, Amaya reported some hilarious accounts of her first day, but I will save those for a later post.

A precious moment at the beach with my girls

The girls and I recently took a trip to the beach... just the three of us. It was such a precious time. Even though meals still had to be arranged (not always cooked by me), noses had to be wiped, hair needed to be fixed, and seatbelts needed to be fastened, we had such a blessed time. I got to focus just on them with minimal distractions to tear me away from their attention. The difference in our interactions was uncanny, and it served to be a good reminder for me to take advantage of these moments when we are home. During our first morning at the beach, I read to the girls Isaiah40:12:

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,

or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?

Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,

or weighed the mountains in the scales and the hills in a balance?

With my hands seeming quite large when measured against little Tennyson's, she was convinced that I could fit all the sand and ocean's water in my hands... and then Amaya had to try.

It was a precious moment as both the girls realized, in a practical way, the greatness of God!