ABowlOf Vomit!!!

I guess I'll just stay on a disgusting theme for awhile here...you'll have that with three little ones, I guess :)

I'll start with a bit of background about our Saturday. I had plans to go scrapbooking all day with friends. Brooks' mom asked if she could have Kaicee all day and have her spend the night. My aunt Shirley (remember her from the last post?!?) asked if she could have Breck and Taylor. Brooks decided to meet an old high school friend for dinner.

Brooks ended up having to go pick up Taylor becuase she was crying for daddy...and threw up. We figured it was probally from crying and her runny nose/drainage she's had the last couple days. When he got there to pick her up she was excited to see him...and then threw up all over again!

After bringing her home, he got out a bowl and sat it on the floor beside them as he sat and held her. He explained to her that if she had to throw up again, to do so in the bowl. She laid in his arms on the couch until she fell asleep. He put her to bed and went to bed himself.

Fast forward a few (or several) hours and I come home from a great night of scrapbooking (or talking) with friends :) I notice a bowl on the end table and assume Brooks had some popcorn...no big deal. I check on my little "bug" who is sleeping peacefully and walk back out to the kitchen, passing the bowl. I reach down to grab the bowl and notice....there is vomit in it!!! Are you serious?!?! Did he really leave a bowl of vomit on the table?!?! That is disgusting!!!!

Fast forward to 10:30 Sunday morning (when I finally roll out of bed) and Breck and Taylor are playing :) ...I ask about the bowl. He explains that he got it out in case Taylor got sick again...but she didn't. Um, excuse me?!?!...that's not what I saw last night!

We asked Taylor if she came out in the middle of the night and threw up in the bowl...yep! We laughed so hard. Poor little thing didn't feel good at all...but remembered that daddy told her if she needed to throw up, to do so in the bowl!

Our little 2 1/2 year old...got up, walked out to the living room, found the bowl, threw up in it, put it on the end table, and went back to bed...all the while, daddy is sawing logs in his own warm bed! She did't get anything on the floor, her sheets, her hair, her pj's, her blankie, anywhere!!! I couldn't believe it!

Poop!!!

So, I have a wonderful aunt who I love and my girls do as well. She and my uncle were never able to have children of their own and during my "growing up" years, she treated me as her own. Now that I have three little girls, she treats them as her own as well. The other day, Breck, Taylor, and I, ventured out to have lunch and a little shopping with aunt Shirley. We went to McD's and had a great time catching up with another cousin. After lunch, we headed to Elder Beerman to return something and check out the sale racks. Breck needed to use the potty and Taylor supposedly had to too...Taylor normally doesn't have any interest.

Since you can't take unpaid merchandise into the bathrooms, Shirley decided to take the girls and I stayed out with the goods. Next thing I know, Shirley comes walking back out...kidless. (Keep in mind, she never had kids of her own.) She informs me that Taylor has pooped in her diaper...not surprised at all. However, the diaper bag is out in the truck. I walk into the bathroom and find Taylor standing butt naked outside of the stall...remember, she left them alone. Luckily, there was no one else in there. I proceed to walk in and find the poopy diaper in the stall...she had taken it off without checking first. I was attempting to "clean" the diaper best I could so I could put it back on!!!!...when Shirley says, "what's on her finger?!?!" Ugh!!!! I pick her up and go to prop her on my leg so she can wash her hands in the sink, when I realize that Shirley hasn't cleaned her up yet!!!...so, now I have poop smear on my pants!!!

I have no clean diapers and no wet wipes!!!...remember, they're in the truck. I wipe my pants off...and Taylor's little biscuits...the best I can with dry toilet paper (the only thing in the restroom). I then again attempt to clean out the diaper so we don't have any more "accidents" before we leave the store. Taylor refused to put the diaper back on...I don't really blame her...so I agree to let her go commando and pray that she doesn't pee before we get to the truck!

I'm happy to say, we successfully finished our shopping...which included a couple cute outfits for each of the girls...with a happy ending :) We made it to the truck with no accidents and got a clean diaper on my poor little girl :)

Oh, the things we go thru being a mom!!!....I love it!!!

Isaiah40:31

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

This verse is so bittersweet to me and it has made it's way to me so many times in the last week...twice in devotionals and once during worship at church. Although I am encouraged by this verse, I have just recently found the strength to say it aloud without breaking down. This was the verse that the pastor referred to at my dad's funeral nearly 4 years ago. My dad was a pilot and loved to fly...which was partially why he used this scripture. Several times we would fly to Indy or Cold Water, MI, just to go out for lunch. Kaicee and Breck were both able to fly with him in his plane before he passed away, although Breck was too young to remember it. I have pictures of Kaicee with my dad by his plane. Before my stepmom sold it after his death, we were able to go and take pictures of it and of the girls sitting in the cockpit. I cherish these pictures and have some of them hanging in our family room along with one of his flight maps.

With that said, this verse does a number on my emotions! How encouraging to know that God will see us through. He can and will give us the strenth we need to get through our tough times...and He came thru on His promise during this hard time in my life. For those of you who don't know, my dad's death was VERY unexpected. He had suffered a heart attack over the weekend but we were reassured by his nurse that he would be home by the end of the week...2 hours later, we were called back to the hospital. Not able to find the rest of our family, my sister and I ran to his room. The picture I saw is something I will NEVER forget. We were too late...and never got to say good-bye. That was the hardest thing I've ever had to go through. I was daddy's little girl and he would always be daddy to me, no matter how old I was.

It was hard to lose him for obvious reasons...I would no longer hear his all familiar greeting "Hey kiddo!" every time I walked into his house or feel his scruffy beard on my cheek as he gave me the biggest, tighest squeeze every time I saw him. Not to mention the fact Kaicee and Breck would more than likely forget him becuase they were so young or that little Taylor would never even have the chance to meet him (I found out I was pregnant with her 2 months after he passed away). More than all of these things was the lingering heartache that he was not a Christ follower.

Through the hard days ahead, I found strength exactly as God promised I would. As my brother, sister, and I prepared for and then attended the funeral of our dad we were encouraged by pictures and stories that were shared with us by so many people. The most precious to us was this: As a young boy, my dad made sure he was at church every Sunday morning even if it meant riding his bike by himself. He knew who Christ was! After losing his dad his senior year in high school and three months later burying his mom on his graduation day, he became very bitter and walked away from all he knew. What's encouraging about this is that two nights before my dad died, he very willingly allowed Brooks, myself, and my sister to pray over him. I believe he was able to make things right with God before he passed away. I also believe with all my heart that God knew He must take him Home then.

Although we will go through hard times in this life, we must be encouraged by the good that comes out of them. It is still very hard to believe that my dad is gone but I find strength trusting that God knew what He had to do to bring my dad home. I also know that we have our little "Taytor bug" only because of this emotional rollercoaster I went through, causing my hormones to go completely out of whack!

Eagles can soar above the storms and so can we when we put our faith in Him!

Snowmen&ChristmasTrees

After reading this last night, Brooks and I decided to take the girls to the Galls house and try to cheer them up with this. We then decided to share the love with one of our neighbors as well. Tonight, we came home and found the love returned to us :)

Reading/ScrapbookList2010

Two of my favorite pastimes are reading and scrapbooking...neither of which I usually find much time to do. This year,I've decied to keep track of all the books I read and scrapbook pages I complete. I'm posting this more for my own accountabiliy. I'm hoping that if I announce this to all of you, that I may stick to it better. I am also going to try to keep it updated :)
Here it goes, so far....

Books read:
Sunset by Karen Kingsberry (finally finished the series after 3 1/2 yrs!)

Scrapbook pages completed:
6 pgs in Kaicee's album (@ 2 1/2yrs of age...& she is now 8 yrs old!)

Savior,Please

I heard this song on the radio for the first time today...why am I still amazed that He knows exactly where I'm at and what I'm struggling with?