Pictures in the paper

We had a performance yesterday and the kids had a lot of fun, except for Isabelle.  She was throwing up from the amoxicillan for her ear infection and teething like a crazy girl.  During the second preformance I think she may have drowned out the performers at times.  I was the only one running the sound though so I couldn't leave.

Evelyn and Alayna did their Second hand Rose song with Finula, their friend and Noah as Jake the Plumber.  There was a reporter there from the Kansas City star.  She put the girls picture in the paper.  They were thrilled.

Here is a link to it- http://www.kansascity.com/934/gallery/1732396-a1732095-t3.html
but I don't know how long they will keep it up, so here is the picture.

 

I got what I consider to be a great compliment the other day.  A gal I had just met said your daughter looks so much like you.   I was thrilled, because I think my daughters are beautiful.  (:

Growing up

We have had three birthdays in the past two months and my kiddos are -dare I say it?  Growing up.  I am filled with warring emotions.  I have learned this past year what it is like to worry about them when they don't grow, don't thrive.  What a horrible- soul wrenching diagnosis- "Failure to Thrive".  It makes me sad to think about those days almost exactly one year ago when we were given that diagnosis.  Now she is 17 lbs and growing. 

So I love watching them grow and thrive and thrive.

Joseph is 11 and taller then me now.  He makes dinner one night a week, helps around the house, devours books, talks and discusses things constantly, and babysits!!!  Yeah for a built in babysitter!!

We are working on getting him onto a basketball team at the Y in Independence.  He isn't a bad shot and has seemed to grow into his body better in the last year.  He is much more coordinated and I figure with his height they will be glad to teach him what he doesn't know.

He is going to have to get braces.  Arrg.  Those things are expensive, I don't know that his babysitting for us is enough payback.  (:  He is about to loose 7-8 different babyteeth.  The Ortho said that none of them have roots and they are just wedged in there.  So they will go really fast.  I don't know how the kid is going to eat!  But I guess he'll figure out a way.  The good news is that for right now he just needs a spacer and that is considered a preventative appliance and so is covered by insurance 100%.  The bad news is that Ortho work later on has a lifetime max that is less then a fourth of the total cost.   I guess we had better start saving.

He is very interested in growing things and is a primary factor in helping us to plant a garden this summer.  His enthusiasm is boundless and helps us to want to try.

Oliver DeMille of Thomas Jefferson Education talks of raising Young adults and not Teenagers.  I know he still is fairly young, but I really respect and like him.  I think that with him we have a very good chance of doing just that.  Only time will tell of course, but I am so greatful for my oldest child.  For his patience with me and his love and testimony of the truth.  He is an example to me in so many ways.  Sometimes when I frustrate him he tries so hard to be patient and says "Mom, I'm sorry for getting upset, but I just don't understand why . . ." whatever it is. Most of the time, he has a point.

We often tease him about his absent mindedness.  One of his jobs is to clear the counters and (less often now), we used to find things like the milk in the pantry.  His head is in the clouds and not on his job.  I am grateful for his friendship and love for us as his parents and for his brothers and sisters.  I am grateful for his determination to succeed and do his best.  For his youthful optimism and enthusiasm which I am all too often lacking.  I am trying to make sure to enjoy him while I have him here.  One of my favorite things to see him do is when he holds his baby sister.  He has developed this game with her.  He sings "we're on our way, we're on our way, on our way to Grandpa's Farm. . ." and bounces her gently on his knee.  At first she wasn't sure about the whole thing, but now she smiles up at him and enjoys it.

I am so happy that he has and is thriving.  That he is becoming a wonderful young man and that I get to watch.

Baking day

I love days like yesterday!  I felt like we accomplished so much.  In addition to our normal daily chores, I re-organized a kitchen cupboard, kept the baby happy, and in between pumpings and nursings baked.  We baked 5 pizza crusts, 18 large pumpkin-apple walnut muffins, 24 pita breads, 3 loaves of bread, lots of pretzels (shaped by the kids), carrot cake, and buttermilk biscuits.  I also made homemade butter and yogurt dip.  The kids got some other school done, and I even read a small amount of Plato for my class.

We have made a New Years resolution to eat more unprocessed and nutrient dense foods.  The more we look at it the more that it seems that the Lord intended for us to eat living food.  The more energy potential in it the better it is for our bodies.  The recently it was growing or able to grow the better.  This is why we grind our own wheat etc.  It is definitely not easy.  I go through the grocery store and 95% of what is there is not in line with what we want.  There are places that we could shop, but with 5 growing kids and one income the budget doesn't stretch that far.  Luckily I love to bake.  I have always loved it.  I think my children are inheriting that love (which is great, maybe when they are teenagers they'll take over baking day ).  This is something I feel confident about that I can do.

Then there is produce.  No matter how I try I can't mix wheat into carrots, tomatoes, and onions.  Plus even if I could they wouldn't have the growth and life in them that we need.  So I'm going to try to have a garden.  Again.  I haven't had the best luck.  My children have been thrilled with the very small returns we have gotten and every time they can harvest anything from the garden their eyes light up.  I have been happy to get something, but I know I should be able to do so much better.  So it's back to the drawing board.  It's figuring out what absolutely has to be, like bright sunlight unshaded by trees.  And what isn't so important like watering by hand so you are close to your plants.  A book I read recommended this.  it doesn't happen in this house.   We have had really good intentions for the past 2 years and worked hard, but when the weather goes over 100 with humidity close to the same. . .the last thing Any of us want to do is go and water the garden, or weed.  So I am taking lessons from a friend of mine who has successfully gardened here for many years.  She uses soak-er hoses and Lots of mulch to keep the weeds down.  Here's to a bumper crop!

The milk and meat have been something we have gone back and forth on.  We have finally decided to go straight to the farmer where possible.  We found a source for real milk in Harrisonville for $3 per gallon and have been drinking that.  However, being that we aren't huge milk drinkers, and it takes 1 1/2 hours to get down there and back we might opt for a source that comes closer to home, but is a bit more money.  We haven't decided yet.  For meat we are currently buying from Costco and eating it sparingly, but we are planning on clearing out our deep freeze and buying 1/4- 1/2 of a grass-fed cow.  And some free range hens.  The person who brings the milk closer has free range eggs too.  Yikes.  Lots and lots to think about and do.  We have been leaning this direction for some time, but it always seemed cost prohibitive.  Finally we've decided to do the best we can prioritizing which changes are the most important to us and trying to find ways to do them.
Advice is always appreciated!  Leave a comment.  (: 

My Kids

Could you be upset at this face?  I already struggle, but when Hubby cracks a smile I'm done for.

Can you say patient uncle??

Too much Hot chocolate, and Christmas excitement.

This uncle has the magic touch.

My oldest is officially taller then me ):  Does that make me old?

Happy New Year!!

We were so excited to see family from Florida unexpectedly this last week.  Their kids had never seen snow and so being good hosts we kindly provided them with Plenty.  (:  We got together with them and the rest of our family Tuesday over at Rachel and Jared's house.  Almost the whole family was there.  David and Jamie couldn't come, but their kids were there.  It was a lot of fun hanging out together.  We ate and talked and took more pictures then even the most reckless paparazzi.  We all had a great time.

Thursday night on New Years Eve we were going to get all together for the holiday at our house.  Jose and Olivia had to go back to Florida Wednesday morning, so they couldn't come.

Then Wednesday morning we got a phone call that my niece Sarah was in the hospital.  She had gone down to 73 % O2 sat and had almost stopped breathing and they had to call the ambulance.  Thankfully she is all right now.  We are all so very thankful for the priesthood and the blessing that it is in our lives.  She came home a couple of days later and is doing well.

The week was long and crowded with activity and by the time New Years came along not many were left with the stamina to stay up.  Only Grandma and Grandpa Lopez, Aunt Elsa, and Jared and Rachel's family came for dinner and they all left before 10 pm.  Noah, Izy and Papa crashed soon thereafter.  And I wanted to.  (:  So the few of us that stayed up popped balloons and yelled for the new year.  I think perhaps next year we will have "A Cuban New Year"  That way we can celebrate at 10 pm central time when the clock changes there and then go to bed.

Our best gift in the new year happened the 2nd of January.  Isabelle weighs 16 pounds! I have to post pictures of her chubby thighs! She is now back up to where she would have been on her own little growth curve if she hadn't fallen off in July.  If we can continue this rate of growth for at least two more months then we will be on the chart for the first time since her 2 month well check up!

Now we are off to recover from our holidays!  There is nothing like close quarters, freezing weather, coughs, fevers, late nights, and too much excitement to throw a wrench in things!  Hopefully, sleep, blankets, lots of soup, honey, apple cider vinegar, echinachea tea, and calm routine can get us back up on our feet.

Blessed

I have always had a hard time accepting things from others.  I felt uncomfortable when people would give me things or serve me (with the notable exception of my parents).  I think it is because I am independent and strong-willed.  I hope I am not proud.  Lately, the Lord has been helping me to learn to accept and appreciate gifts from others.
When Isabelle was born I expected to have the same nursing relationship with her that I have had with my other children.  I already had a picture in my mind of what it would be like.  When she refused the breast, my heart broke.  I knew she was not refusing me, but somehow I couldn't meet her needs.  When I finally weaned her off of finger feeding I felt vindicated.  You just have to try hard enough.
At four months she had lost weight and we were sent to the hospital.  When I attempted to pump for her I couldn't get nearly enough.  What happened?  I felt betrayed and disillusioned.  This wasn't supposed to happen.  While I struggled to come to terms and to get my supply back up, Stephanie, my wonderful sister-in-law stepped up and using a hand pump, changing her diet, and loosing sleep, she brought us milk about every other day.  She did this for about a month, and I struggled to accept this wonderful amazing gift.  I tried many times to tell her how much it meant to me, but I don't know that you can understand unless you are recieving .  I felt relieved when my supply finally caught up.  I'm sure she did too.  (:
More recently, I have had my supply go down some and her needs increase.  I was going through my frozen milk supply fairly rapidly and had tried a hypo allergenic formula to supplement.  I found that while I could get her to accept it by mixing it with milk, if I gave it to her straight she would throw it up.  I didn't want to give it to her, I knew that especially with her challenges she needed the most help she could get and so I started working again to get my supply up.  It has worked only to a point, and then it stopped.  Short of what her needs are.  My family and I started to feel the strain of constant pumping.
Then another wonderful friend, Anaise, offered to pump once a day for me.  To her it is a small inconvenience.  Extra dishes, keeping track of a pump, 15 minutes or so.  She has assured me that it does not interfere too much with her life.  This is important to me because she already has a lot on her plate.  To Isabelle it means better nutrition, more brain growth, and less stomach trouble.  To me. . .to me it is an amazing gift of love.  It is someone doing for me what I cannot.  It is relief.  Time with my other kids.  Time with my husband.  Time to enjoy and hold my baby.  Peace of mind that even though there are so many things that I can't do for my little girl, so many things that I can't effect or change, so much wondering if I am doing enough, in this one area I know she is getting the very best nutrition possible.  With the help of others and the help of a all knowing all loving Father in Heaven we are giving her the absolute best thing for her.

Thank you to everyone who prays for her.  I feel those prayers.  Thanks to all of those that have served us in a hundred different ways.  Who have asked about her, who care about us.  Thank you.  I am learning to accept that I cannot do it all, but with the Lords help and the help of his angels on this earth, the important things can get done.






Merry Christmas!

 

Nutcracker Madness!

Joseph is in there if you look carefully. (:

Wow! Thinking back on the last three days I am happy.
Happy they are done.
Happy we had the oppurtunity.
Happy for friends and family supporting us.
Happy.
We have just finished 7 performances of the Nutcracker. Two on Thursday, Three on Friday and two on Saturday. The kids worked hard. They practiced and worked to get their parts down right and in the end it was worth it. Sometimes everything went smoothly other times we hit some bumps but in the end we came through it.
Joseph Ammon was an Older Party Guest (others his age were the younger ones- which he said was more exciting, but when you are 5 foot 7 it is hard to act the younger parts), a mouse, a page and a Russian Dancer. His Ballet teacher complimented me that his russian dancing has come a long way and it has. He is more confident, more flexible and faster.
Alayna was a fairy attendant, a buffoon, and a wind-up doll (this part was only through perseverance since it was already given to someone else but Alayna kept showing up to rehearsals and stood in for this other little girl who never came so she got the part by default). She did a wonderful job in all her parts and is very talented. By the last performance she did much better at looking out at the audience and Smiling.
Evelyn had her first experience with the nutcracker. She wanted to be in it last year, but it was too late to put her in. She was a snow bird and a Merry Maid. She was adorable and loved to be early to her post so that she could be absolutely sure to make her part. She smiled and acted and delighted in the attention.
Noah wasn't technically in the nutcracker this year. But every time we went to a show he would ask me "where is my Jake the Plumber hat?" or "Mom, I need my overalls." "why?" I asked. "So I can be Jake the plumber."
A little background for those of you who do not know. Jake the plumber is mentioned in the song "Second Hand Rose" that Alayna, Finoula and Evelyn sing for our Co-op. So in our last performance he had a cameo part walking accross the stage as 'Jake the Plumber'. Anyways, he feels that his performance and part is second to none in importance, and I know I'm not going to disagree!
He also felt compelled, we do not know why, to get up and walk accross the stage Friday night when the audience was all there. Luckily, the curtains hadn't opened yet. *sigh*
Thank you to Rachel for taking him on Saturday so that I could go about my business without having to stress about "Jake the Plumber" Making a suprise appearence in The Nutcracker. (:

Jake the Plumber in his dress rehearsal. With the hat but without the overalls.

Evelyn as a Merry Maid. She is next to Kelda the older ballerina and our friend.

Alayna as a wind-up doll. She is the red-cheeked doll on the far left.

Alayna bowing as a fairy attendant.