New Teeth

In honor of Poppy (my dad the dentist) we are anouncing the arrival of 2 new teeth: Gabby is getting a 6-year molar and C.J. is getting his first tooth! Happy chewing! I think this is my first child to get a tooth before turning one year. It never slowed the girls down.

Do you ever have one of those days where you make a list of all the things you need to get done, only to do none of them. I had one of those today. I was supposed to go to the zoo with Rylee for a class trip. Unfortunately, it got canceled last night due to impending storms (which never came). So I thought ok, no problem, I'll actually have a day off to get things done...not. Gabby even wrote me a list and numbered my intended order of importance. I did get a load of laundry done, but that wasn't on the list. Do you ever retrospectively put an item on the list just so you can have the feeling of crossing it off?

So I went to take Ry and Gabby to school. Just getting ready to leave Rylee when a lady came in a said the library next door had a gas leak and we might need to evacuate the preschool. That sounds fun! I took Gabby to school and then returned to "evacuate" to the local park. Darn, there went that 2 hours I intended to go to the bank, library - closed due to leak anyways so good excuse, grocery store, and post office. On the good side, got to hang out with Rylee and friends at the park! So when Steve comes home, I will be proud to say I got very little accomplished today, but had fun!

Happy Birthday Grandma Eileen - 93 years young!

Catch Up

It's been forever, I know. And I'm sure my 5 readers have been pining away wondering what's happening in my oh-so-exciting life. Pretty much same stuff, different days. A lot of stuff, jammed into every day. So in terribly bad form, I'll do a brief rundown.

Steve's birthday gift - ended up going with the iPod nano for no real reason other than it was at Sam's Club and so was I. He loved it and is now trying to figure out how to work it.

Bridget - is living each day as a gift from God and a testimony to His goodness in her life even in the midst of tragedy. She started chemo about a week ago and seems to be tolerating it ok. She has been able to go home and control pain ok. It sounds like they are planning to try and have the baby. 24 weeks is about as early as a premie can survive, but every week longer is even better. They said without the chemo, Bridget had ~30-60 days; with it maybe up to a year. So keep them all in your prayers. My cousin (Steve), sends me periodic emails and I think it has to be so surreal to have all that going on yet still have the many responsibilities of work and providing for your family.

Gabby - scored a goal in last soccer game! Yeah!! She would have scored 2 if the goal had been a little taller:) She also started horseback riding lessons last week. She absolutely LOVES it, which may not surprise you, but does me a little since she's always been on the shy side about the horses. Her instructor is very pleased and says she's come as far in two weeks as her agemates have come in a year. Do ya think this may be due to some inherant balance that she has since she's been riding since she was in utero?

Gabby's quote of the day while we're driving: "Mom, I'm so mad at Gigi (her great-grandma)!" "Gigi? Why?" "I'm mad because she had Grandpa Art fired up and now he's in little pieces at Uncle Phil's house!" She was so indignant that my grandpa had been cremated:)!

Rylee - she thinks she should be playing soccer and riding horses, but alas, not yet little one! So instead all she does outside is play soccer in Gabby's old uniform. She's going to be a ball hog I have a feeling. She got kindergarden tested and will be going to kindergarden next year which is good.

C.J. - now over 20lbs at 6 months. Causing me serious shoulder pains already. I think it's time for a diet, but as you'll see from the pictures, he hasn't seen a meal he doesn't like. He's doing a crawl-roll-scoot thing that allows him to travel most of the living room. I'm dreading full mobility - I can hear the female shreaks of distress as Barbies, Polly Pockets, and Pet Shops are held hostage by a slobbering brother.

His previous great sleeping habbits had really fallen short in the past month or so, so mean mommy has been implementing the cry all night routine rather than the multiple bottles he was previously demanding. So far, moderately painful (more because loving hubby does not tolerate crying babies in the middle of the night), but I think we're breaking through.

So I think that's it for that infinately long update. Now for the fun stuff!

I told you he didn't miss many meals. Occasionally he does share with his furry friends, though.

They're so cute you'd never believe how loud they can make me scream! (Note: you can't quite see it, but C.J. is wearing the maize and blue)

The die-hard soccer chicks. It was like 35 and quite windy.

I went with Gabby's class trip to the Kalamazoo museum. It was a lot of fun trying to keep up with her and her little friends.

Reality Check

So my mom called me this afternoon and said she had really sad news. My first thought is that my dear grandma passed away - which would be very sad, but not outside the "natural order" as she is nearly 93 years old with health issues. But no, this news was in so many ways worse even though a little farther removed in the family. My cousin Steve's wife Bridget is pregnant about 20 weeks and has been having numerous issues with the pregnancy - blood clots, blood pressure, etc. A couple weeks ago she noticed lumps in her neck and was very concerned about more clots. Then in the past week she's had difficulty breathing, fainting spells, and more. The doctors finally decided on surgery to remove her gallbladder. They did this surgery today only to discover that her liver has stage 4 aggressive cancer. Not all the details are known at this early stage, but the baby and Bridget both have a very poor prognosis.
Steve and Bridget have a 2 year old daughter Gracie who was given this name by Steve because he had battled through severe depression by Gods Grace. Now again he faces those dark demons. Bridget is one of those people who is like a ray of sunshine all the time. She embodies the word joy. She is an amazingly devoted wife and mother.
My heart is just so heavy about this. So many things about this story are so wrong. I'm trying to see God's grace in the face of this terrible situation. Faith tells me everything works together for the good of those who love the Lord, but it's still hard not to say "Why God?" My short-sighted take-home lesson for myself is to love just a little more fully those people around me. Give the kids and Steve extra kisses, hugs, and quality time. Realize that I'm not owed any time with these beloved ones, but rather each day is a gift. Trust God deeper.
I'm sure Steve, Bridget, Gracie and the Slotemaker family would all covet your prayers in these difficult days.