Fever and Spring Fever

Believe it or not, we had another tough round of sickness since my last post! Both kids ended up with RSV a few days before I was supposed to take a quick girls trip to Las Vegas. Landry regressed on her eating and weight gain when she got sick, and then improved over the next few weeks. Then, she regressed again when Heath left for his yearly NASCAR trip to Vegas. She missed him, noticed him not being at the dinner table with us, and went back on her weight gain again. (She had been up 1 pound 2 ounces since we started therapy... and up 2 pounds total counting the weight she had gained back after RSV.) Once we got Daddy back home and things were back to normal, her allergies flared up, and the drainage caused another double ear infection, and she regressed again. It's a roller coaster for all of us, and we are praying she stays well after this sick season. The awesome therapist we're working with will only be at this facility for 2 more months, and so if Landry doesn't improve by then, we will have to make the transition to a new therapist. The goal by the end of therapy is for her to hold her weight gain and double her food choices - consistently eating one meat choice. She had added 2 new foods before regressing. She needs to add 8 new foods without dropping any. Not improving in 2 months will prolong her therapy because rapport will have to be built between Landry and her new therapist all over again. So, prayers for her, please!

On to a different note, we are gearing up for a new crop year, and I'm cautiously getting excited about it. When we have sand storms like we did a few days ago, it makes me a little less hopeful, but after the foot of snow we had at Olton, things started looking up! I'm still thankful for that moisture. Sometimes I think about what life might be like with a husband with an 8-5 salary job, and how easy it must be to budget and schedule things. I'm pretty type A. Type As don't fit farming life very good. Ha! That's why Heath's the farmer, and I'm the farmer's wife. But the benefits far outweigh those job vs. personality conflicts. Just so I don't sound regretful, I'll explain what I love about the farming life.
- I love the sovereignty of the Lord being right in your face some days, and how it pulls faithfulness and thankfulness out of us from our core. Heath has said, "May through August makes a praying man out of me." It's true for the whole family!
- I love how Luke can get his work gear on and feel 10 feet tall walking out the door to go to work with his Daddy on just about any given day. I even feel pretty special getting to go nowadays!
- I think it makes a family/marriage even more of a team because we see the good, bad, and ugly together.
- Heath doesn't have to take a "personal day" to spend the afternoon with me in Lubbock, helping with the kids at doctors appointments, therapy, etc. Sure, there are times when he simply is too busy, but for the most part, he is there when I need him.

Now I'm just gonna brag/whine about how big my kids are! Luke has a heart of gold just like Heath. Daily, he gives me "I love you more thans...". It started out as a sweet thing we'd do - "I love you more than all the stars in the sky." His response, "I love you more than the moon." Now, it's totally turned into boy stuff. He'll say, "I love you more than little einstein's dirty rocket.", or, "I love you more than alllllll the dirty clouds." haha - I never know what he's gonna say! Keeps me on my toes. He asked me to hold him today - "I wanna hold you." And I just thought... He'll say that the right way someday soon. Boo. :( And even more, he'll not want me to hold him! His feet already hit my knees when I'm holding him. -- One not so cute thing he's started doing: Lying. Double boo. :( He'll blame Landry when he is the guilty one. I've started giving him the chance to tell the truth before he lies, and then giving a harsher punishment for lying. He's catching on. It's just heartbreaking to see evil making its way into his heart. I want it to be pure and innocent for forever... mainly because I don't want him to struggle with sin. It's part of life, and it's my job to correct him and show him Truth, but it's a really tough imaginary picture for the angel and the devil on the shoulders on my own child. -- Anyway, Luke is very helpful in entertaining Landry so I can shower or do dishes. He likes jumping on the trampoline, riding his gator, and working on things. He loves spending time with grandparents, and he STILL comes to our bed at about 3 in the morning.

Landry might not be "growing", but she's gaining ground in other areas! She is talking better... She says lots of words now like "tay-too" for "thank you", "sigh" for "outside", "joju" for "hold you". She says most names of friends and family (her own version, of course), and knows most of her body parts. She loves playing with her babies, being outside, and helping me around the house. She's still a great sleeper. And it's crazy to me how motherly little girls are at 18 months! When Luke was 18 months, he could care less if there was a baby in the room. Landry will spot a baby across the room and fight to get to it. When we see little Karcyn Kauffman, she just zones in and gets all mommy-fied. Landry also loves bath time and going with grandparents, too. 

We got lots of use out of our nebulizer for a few weeks!

Heath got him and Luke matching hats in Vegas. Luke wanted me to wear Heath's hat.

We had a beautiful day in the middle of March, and the kids got some sun going to the park and playing outside in the dirt.

Only in West Texas can we have a blizzard, an 85 degree day, and a sand storm in one month.

Landry got a play kitchen to help with her therapy. She loves any excuse to have her picture taken, too.

 

 We started following the Whitharral girls are the regional tournament. They went to state and won!

Jordan and Norah came to the championship game in Austin. Norah was sleeping sweetly on Jordan's shoulder, and by the time I pulled my phone out of my purse for a picture, she had opened her eyes and stuck her finger in her nose. Ha!

Luke loves Batman, and so Landry does too. She insisted on wearing a batman shirt like Bubba's the other day, and when I took her to the doctor, someone told us, "We've seen lots of girls with pink on today. She's our first one with batman." Haha :)

Jaxon turned 4 and had a superhero birthday party. The kids had fun! 

Sweet Londyn turned 2! We will get a good picture of these two one of these days! The grandkids on the Gresham side are now 1, 2, and 3.... Not the ideal ages for picture taking!

I have met my match on ice cream loving. :) Even when Heath isn't up for it, I can always count on having an ice cream eating partner. 

Baby Karcyn! We need our friends to stay young and keep having kids so we can get our occasional baby fix without having to have another one of our own!

Quirky kids and Therapy

Ok, my seasonal depression has kicked in full force. Come on warmer weather! I'm tired of all the sick germs! I think the only thing I talk about with friends is our sick kids. It's depressing! Luke has now had the flu twice - the same strand both times. I have some how (thank the Lord) stayed well through all the sicknesses here. Mamas don't have time to be sick!

I think the biggest thing around here lately is Landry's eating and her therapy. It's been so refreshing to get some help and to become more educated on her "condition". Funny thing is, if I would've heard about a kid having this "oral aversion" when Luke was 18 months old, I would've thought it was bogus. I would've thought the parents were just unhealthy eaters and pushovers. Is that wrong? Maybe.  I'm just being honest. 

I remember writing on here a few years ago about Luke being "quirky". He heard background noises (air conditioners, refrigerators, cars driving by), hated loud noises, never played in a sandbox because of the way it felt, asked me to cut tags off his clothes, didn't like walking in the grass barefoot, didn't like his hands dirty, hated having his hair washed in the bathtub because he didn't like water in his face or around his ears.... The list could go on. Come to find out, his sensory processing was heightened, and it caused him lots of anxiety. His triggers were more towards his touch and hearing senses. We loved him through it, and he's outgrown most of it. Like this last summer, he finally went under the water in the swimming pool and didn't freak out.  -- Come to find out, Landry has the same sensitivities, but hers are mainly oral. The therapy is needed in her case because it has affected her growth and nutritional status. She might out grow most of it, but we can't wait and count on that to happen.

Some people have had the reaction I would've had if I had never experienced what life is like with a child like Landry. I get vibes from people like "She's just picky, and she gets by with it." So, let me tell ya! It's much more than picky eating. Landry has narrowed down her "yes" foods to about 8 things. None of these things include age appropriate table food. She eats chex cereal, full fat greek yogurt, oatmeal with cream, most chips and crackers, some fruits, baby food packets, and she picks the cheese off of pizza. That's it. Nothing else. She was nursed for a year, and she never took a bottle or a pacifier of any kind. She doesn't drink milk, pediasure, chocolate milk, soy milk... just juice and water. She was around the 50th percentile for her size at 9 months, and at her checkup at 16 months, she had fallen to the 14th percentile in her weight and height.

So, the therapy is very interesting and enlightening for me. Right now, the plan is for her to go for 6 months, one time a week, and we work on different things at home between appointments. Just to get calories in Landry and quit fighting her, I finally did surrender to just giving her the "yes" foods. This was good for a while because it eased the tension of meal times. So, this week, we are working on incorporating her "no" foods into one meal time per day. For example, at supper time, she gets maybe 1/2 of a slice of pizza, but then she gets what we're eating, too. If she attempts to eat what we're eating (even if she spits it out), she gets rewarded with more pizza. We have done this a few times, and if she gets the food to her mouth, it always comes out. Now, I know how to reward her for doing this. If she is uncooperative, we get her down and get calories in her a little while later. Getting her down doesn't hurt her feelings though, because she would rather not eat than eating her "no" foods. It's baby steps we're working on! Next week, I'll be getting a special brush for her. I'll "brush" her arms, hands, cheeks, around her mouth, and inside her mouth four times a day. It is supposed to help desensitize her. -- At therapy, they're just still building rapport. This last time, she ate her usual lunch up there (greek yogurt, chex cereal, and a fruit cup).  Next week, she'll have the same thing, but we're bringing chicken nuggets to work on. She loves going, and if you've ever seen an OT "gym", you'd know why! Tons of toys and activities. She cries to leave.... a good problem!

My little guy is starting preschool in the fall! The days are just inching closer, and it's stinging me a little! I know he's ready... He'd go today if I'd let him. But, I'm just not looking forward to it.. I love having both of my kids home! I feel so lucky to have had the chance to just love on him here and not miss a thing. Don't get me wrong... I'd take a job some days! But, it's been a joy 99% of the time. And, I'm getting to pass him off to my sister-in-law, Stephanie. She'll be his teacher. How lucky am I!? Yep, pretty dang lucky. Baby steps. Ha.

Landry likes lotion, too. I guess I should've listed it a "yes" food. Haha

We got to go see George Strait. Lots of special songs were played a brought back memories for my sweet friend, but she got through it! Proud of her!

Heeeyyyyy!

Cousins!

Good morning!

Landry's crazy hair gets even worse on the trampoline. :)

My kids would live outside if I let them!

Christmas 2012

Of course, the holidays went by way too fast! I am seeing Christmas get better every year with our kids though. The idea of Santa and our elf just put a spark in our house, and we loved it! Luke was sad for Christmas to be over, but we assured him that Jesus has a birthday every year just like he does.

Luke went to the John Deere house with Heath a few weeks before Christmas and saw a "mote control spray rig" he wanted. Heath didn't realize what Luke had seen until he was back in there a few days later. So, we had Luke (actually Heath) draw a picture for Elfie to take to Santa to make sure Santa knew what he wanted. Luke insisted for Landry to get a "mote control owl", so Elfie took that one to Santa, too. We got the spray rig for Luke, and the kids ended up getting a trampoline from Santa. Whenever people would ask Luke what he asked Santa for for Christmas, his standard answer was that "mote control spray rig"... So, then by Christmas Day, Luke couldn't distinguish who brought what, but Heath was sure to remind him that he was the one who give him the spray rig. Ha.

Landry had fun with Christmas, too. She squealed every morning finding Elfie with Luke. When people would come over, she'd run to the elf, hollering and pointing at her, showing them where she was. She quickly caught on to the phrase "ho, ho, ho!", and she said it any time she saw anything Christmas related - lights, trees, Santa, etc. She got into opening presents more than Luke did at this age.. probably because she caught on from watching him. 

The weekend before Christmas, Heath's cousin, Hank, made it to state in football. Georgetown played Denton Guyer at the Cowboys Stadium, so we went to Dallas for the weekend to watch him play. We were in Georgetown back in September to watch Hank play, but the game ended up being post-poned because of a rain delay, and we had to miss it. Georgetown didn't win, but it was an exciting game. We were glad to get to go and support him at state... even if it meant making our holiday week a little more hectic! Oh! And we expected to find Elfie up to a little mischief while we were gone over the weekend,  but when we walked in to find her, we were all shocked to find she had toilet papered our ENTIRE house on the inside (with my parents' help, I'm sure). It was insane. I think it was 4 rolls, and I'm pretty sure each roll was still in tact. It was flowing in and out of ceiling fan blades, around the tree, strung from room to room. It was insane. It was kind of fun though, for us all to be so surprised!

So, we were in Dallas Friday through Sunday, we had the Gresham Christmas on Monday, my family's Christmas on Tuesday, and we had another get together on Wednesday with Doug, Sissy, and the boys. 

The day after Christmas, Heath went back to plowing at Olton. He got sick on New Year's Day with the flu, then Landry got it, then Luke got it. Needless to say, I am spent on playing nurse! The kids are still a bit yucky, but I think they'll be back to normal by the weekend. I think I have slept 10 hours in the last 3 nights. Some of that super mom post-delivery stamina would've been nice these last few days!

So, Happy Christmas (Luke) and Ho, Ho, Ho!

Hank - #39

Christmas at Guggy and Kakee's -

Luke got radios like what Daddy and Guggy use on the farm. He was excited!

Drawings for Santa (Good job, Daddy.)

Christmas morning at our house - I mainly took video! 

Christmas at Mimi and Papa's - I feel short on pictures, but we were missing a few! Jordan traveled with the Baylor football team to San Diego for their bowl game. He was gone the whole week of Christmas. Rachel and the girls stayed in Tyler while he was gone. She wasn't able to go with Jordan since Ruby had been so sick just a few weeks before. Dustin was working, too. We missed them! Hopefully we can all be together again next year.

Papa always asks Luke if he's ready to go fishing. Luke's answer is always, "No. I don't have a fishin' pole." So, Papa got him his fishing pole, and now he's ready!

Thankin' & Prayin'

So, I'm writing this after Christmas, but I thought it was appropriate to give both holidays credit through  their own posts. This one is for Thanksgiving.
We spent the day before Thanksgiving with Heath's family at his great granddad's house, and we had Thanksgiving day at my parents'. The day after Thanksgiving, my dad came into town from Chicago. He stayed here with us for a while, and we all loaded up and went to Waco to spend a little time with Jordan and his family. Heath, the kids, and I went onto Dallas for the weekend to shop and take the kids for some festive fun through the ICE Exhibit at the Gaylord. It was awesome! Heath and Luke went down the ice slides, but Landry was super jealous about not getting to slide, so she and I got out of there once she started climbing out of her jacket. Cold is an understatement. It was FA-REEZING in there! She looked like Rudolph when we got out.

In reflecting back on this last year, and the things I had to be thankful for, it went something like this: I am, of course, thankful for the health of my family and the fact that our cord of 3 strands has evolved into a cord of 5 strands (in reference to Ecclesiastes 4:12). This year, I have had more reasons to be in constant prayer than, quite possibly, any year before. We've done lots of praying for healing of hearts and health of friends and family, and we have been especially thankful for the Lord's provision during another year of these unfavorable farming conditions. It has been wonderfully rewarding to see the Lord answer our prayers. I'm by no means saying, "OUR prayers healed you people." But, the Lord is revealing himself to Luke through answered prayers, and that's the most rewarding part of it all. I think I wrote in a previous post how I wasn't sure how to make God real to my 3 year old..... but He's taken care of it. It's like He's saying, "You just stay faithful, and keep praying, and I'll make Myself real to Luke. I'll make sure he knows me." I'm glad it's not all up to me.

So, here are pictures of our Thanksgivings, my Dad's visit, our Waco visit, and the ICE exhibit.

Luke is a good chauffeur on his gator! Giving Londyn a ride.

We celebrated Keelee and Grandad's birthdays on Thanksgiving, too. Grandad is 95!

Kakee with shirtless Landry.

Busy body Londyn was a little blurry here!

Mom and Mike with the kids - Landry's putting on her lipgloss.

Dad's visit - at Jordan and Rachel's - picking up pecans.

Norah Rose saying "cheeese" with a mouthful of pecans.

Luke, Norah, and Landry - It was December 1st and 80 something degrees out.

Jordan headed back to the stadium. 

Sweet baby Ruby! I met her this trip. She was 3 weeks old. A week later, this poor baby got the flu which turned into meningitis. She had a rough time! We prayed for healing, and we thank God she got well!

And here's the ice exhibit!