Maggie’s 7th Birthday

A few pictures from Maggie’s birthday celebrations:
Cupcakes to take to Chuck E Cheese & school
At Chuck E Cheese (planned at the last minute after Maggie said she was up for it) with Ellie Manske:
 
We took Olivia & Dylan Krieger to Saturday Live with us:
 
All four kids had a great time.  We got to play with Caleb and Ellie for a little bit.

I can’t believe Maggie is 7.  She really is a good kid.  She loves the first grade and her teacher, Mrs. George.  Mrs. George loves animals as much as Maggie, so I can’t wait to see how much she changes in the next year!

The Second Time I Spent the Night in the Hospital with Maggie

Last weekend started as a typical weekend.  Maggie had some birthday gift cards she wanted to spend.  So we went to Target and Sam’s Club, hoping to make a lunch of samples (there was only one sample out, so had to come up with another idea for lunch).  Maggie picked out a password journal that she had been wanting for sometime.  As soon as we got home, she got Rocky to get some batteries for it.  But not too long after we got home, she had an accident.  Then she started complaining that her stomach hurt.  The last time she complained about it, she ended up in the Emergency Room with a urinary tract infection.  So, we decided that we’d take her to SameDay Care and hopefully catch it early, and hopefully not end up in the emergency room.

So, off Maggie & I went to the hospital.  We spent about 2 hours in SameDay Care where they took urine and blood.  Her blood work showed a very high white blood cell count, so they sent us over to the ED to have a CT scan completed.  Maggie thought the CT scan was pretty cool.  We ended up waiting a very long time for the results.  And unfortunately, she couldn’t eat or drink anything in case it was her appendix.  She did sleep a little bit.  Finally, after consulting with the pediatrician on call and the surgeon on call, the ED physician decided it would be best to admit Maggie and have her observed overnight as the CT scan was inconclusive.  I got a phone from the ED nurse and called Rocky.  We got Nikki to bring us a bag and Maggie’s Girl Scout Bear.  We had a room on the 2nd floor.  Even after getting upstairs, a lot more waiting started.

Maggie was very brave through everything – she had to get an IV, and the nurse was nice enough to wrap Beehive’s arm as well.  The surgeon, Dr. Hancock, stopped by to see us as well to let us know what his thoughts were.  He prescribed IV antibiotics and would have Maggie’s blood drawn in the morning to see if her white blood cell count was down. So, we settled in for the night.  I’m not sure how Maggie slept, but I got a few hours of sleep.  Of course, the nurses were in several time throughout the night.  We were awoken around 5:15 a.m. by the phlebotomist to take Maggie’s blood.  Dr. Hancock was in soon after, but the blood results were, unfortunately, not back yet.  So we settled in for more waiting.  Rocky & Jessie  came over around 7 to wait with us.  We spent a lot of time walking around the hospital, looking at the fish, waiting for Dr. Hancock to return.  Which, unfortunately, wasn’t until almost 10:30.  Maggie’s white blood cell count was still high and he felt the best thing to do was to operate and take out Maggie’s appendix.

We had to wait a little bit for the on call surgery team to come in, so her surgery didn’t start until around noon.  Which gave Nikki & Becca time to come in Jessie. And of course, the one time I don’t take my phone, they came soon after to get Maggie.  They did wait for me to get up there before taking her back.  She was so scared, but was being very very brave.  The staff even let Maggie take Beehive back with her and Beehive came back with a bandage on her tummy too!  The surgery didn’t take long at all.  Dr. Hancock came out to talk to us less than an hour later and said it was definitely her appendix.  And it wasn’t long before we were back in Maggie’s room.  She slept a bit, slowly coming out of anesthesia.  We watched a lot of Cartoon Network (and a little football).  Miss Jeanne & Ellie came to visit as did some of the older girls from church who watch the girls during choir and babysit sometimes.  Kailey brought Maggie the largest gecko balloon I’ve ever seen (it even scared Rusty a little). Maggie ate some popsicles and drank some juice and started looking like herself fairly quickly – amazingly.  I had thought for sure we’d be spending another night in the hospital.  Once she peed, the nurse started working on her discharge paperwork.  I’m still amazed that we were home by 6 p.m.

The staff was great, really going above and beyond by taking care of Maggie’s bear.  Maggie was so brave through the entire process.  I was so proud of her.  I was also surprised at how calm I was through the whole thing.  I tried to take time to consciously pray a couple of times, but my prayers were basic to just keep her safe, keep her whole and my prayers were confident.  I knew the Lord would heal her.  And she was back in school by Tuesday.  And back to her old self, bouncing back quicker than I could ever have imagined.  Praise the Lord for modern medicine.

Seeking His Gifts in the Trying Times

This past week it was difficult to see the gifts, and even more difficult to be deliberately thankful.  We said goodbye to Wiconi.  I’m not quite ready to write her post yet.  She was a wonderful dog who surprised us in many ways.

I did add to my list though.  It helps.  Even when it hurts, even when it’s hard, finding things to be thankful about, finding the little gifts in life help me understand that this truly is all worthwhile.

143. Sunday School!
144. Lunch with friends, Becky & Barry
145. Vikings win their season opener!
146. Time outside with Wiconi
147. Wiconi’s smile
148. Playing CandyLand with Maggie
149. Cucumbers from the garden
150. Snuggling with Jessie watching “Finding Nemo” clips on YouTube
151. New coffee mugs
152. A little extra cash from selling things on eBay
153. Quality time with Wiconi & Rusty this morning
154. A 2-headed sunflower
155. A new, full-filling job for Rocky
156. Flexibility in my work hours to be able to participate in Girl Scouts with Maggie
157. My phone was able to be repaired!
158. A beautiful morning
159. Lunch with Rocky
160. Leading the league in Fantasy Football
161. Teaching Maggie about the Rainbow Bridge
162. Girls’ day with Maggie & Jessie
163. Bright red sunset
164. Smiling dogs
165. Playing fetch with Rusty
166. Puppy kisses
167. Resisting the temptation to gossip
168. Job interviews, new opportunities
169. A reminder of a difficult time in life, but also being able to see how that time has put me where I am today.
170. Watching the girls play in the tub
171. The right decision, no matter how difficult it was to make
172. Jessie making faces in the mirror
173. Fried chicken
174. Challenging discussions in Sunday School
175. Maggie being thankful for the Dinosaur Museum
176. A 2 year old, a puppy and bubbles!
177. Listening to Jessie tell Rusty to sit
178. Realizing that in God’s telling me to “Fear not,” he is really telling me “Don’t run.”
179. The smell the first time you turn on the furnace.
180. Taking Rusty for a walk in the morning sun with Maggie.

#1000gifts …

1 – 24
25 – 47
48 – 80
81 – 111

112. Watching the bees go from flower to flower
113. Another opportunity to seek God’s hand in a difficult situation
114. Sitting downtown Billings and listening to the quiet – just me, the breeze and the bugs.
115. Being a servant to my family by folding laundry
116. Being a servant to my family by making dinner
117. Lots of fresh fruits & veggies in my fridge
118. Volunteering bright & early at Bountiful Baskets
119. Hot, fresh, delicious donuts at the Farmer’s Market
120. Complaints about #firstworldproblems – complaining about these things helps me to remember I am truly blessed
121. Three day weekend!
122. Singing “Everlasting God” with the Praise Team at church, feeling a part of the heavenly choir
123. Trying a new recipe (refrigerator dill pickles) and being okay with them not turning out.
124. Fresh peaches and cream
125. First crushes on my little girl
126. A car repair that was less expensive than expected.
127. A glass of wine after a long day.
128. Jessie helping me write my list
129. Maggie telling me all about the baking soda volcano her class made and all the colors they used.
130. Crisp mornings with that “fall” smell
131. Football & chili!
132. More time outside as the weather cools down.
133.  My marriage growing closer to each other & God
134. Good results from a Tim’s Cardioversion procedure
135. Making freezer meals with Chris & Alyssa
136. Morning pastries with Maggie at school
137. Red red wine
138. Maggie singing as she gets ready for bed
139. Ability to complain about work, for it means I’m gainfully employed and I care about what I do
140. Playing with Jessie & the dog toys at Bed Bath & Beyond
141. Spending a wild Saturday night in the bathroom watching my girls play together.
142. Afternoon lunch with Diane, Yvette & Wanda

27 Months of Jessie

I was all set to write this nice, lovely post about how Jessie is growing and changing and amazing me all the time.  Yet, now that she is climbing on me, crying, grabbing, and, well, being very good at being 2, I have forgotten what I wanted to say.

Not really.  But Jessie really is good at being 2.  She loves to test the boundaries and see just how far she can go.  At church this morning, she insisted on me holding her during Praise Team practice – which attempting to sing “Everlasting God” is a good workout at best.

Jessie is back in daycare full time at the YWCA, where Maggie went when she was this age.  She seems to enjoy it as she is always playing when we pick her up.  Her teacher, Ms Wendy, says Jessie does very well.  She knows her colors, counts, uses scissors and usually plays well with the other kids.

We got cable back.  It’s kind of weird to have it back after close to 2 years without it.  It was a splurge Rocky wanted after getting a job at the HRDC [he’s doing similar work to what he did at the Gazette, but there’s no call and no weekends!]  The best thing about cable has got to be the Disney Jr channel.  Both girls enjoy the shows and Jessie really seems to enjoy “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.” She sings along with the theme song and knows all the characters.

As we’ve always known, Jessie is a bright, inquisitive child.  She still prefers to be on the run, climbing around the house [though she hasn’t figured out how to climb out of her crib yet, so it’s still up for nap time at home].  She still loves her “nigh-nighs” though I’m slowing working on weaning her – she can be distracted!  I love it when she says “Tank you Mommy” or “Lovs vu” or “Mag-gie! Are you?”

She loves her Sissy, chicken, carrots, Wiconi (but not Rusty right now – he’s still a little too wild for her) and of course, her Daddy and Mommy.  I can’t wait to see what the future holds for her!