We are at it again!

We completed our first full week of school and capped it off by observing the Sabbath. Hop on over to our homeschool blog to read all about Week 1.

 

Blue Monkey

Have you read about Orange Rhino? I just recently happened upon this blog and it hit home... really, really close to home. I have struggled for years to be self controlled in my frustrations. The result, a lot of days where I have damaged a relationship with one of my children. I can't count how many times I have apologized to my children for this. I know God redeems my mistakes, but to teach my children to be self- controlled (which is sorely lacking in our society), I must first show them.

First and foremost, I pray. My prayer is often "less of me and more of YOU. Fill me up to overflowing Lord." I know my weaknesses and it is ever so true that He is strong in my weakness. If anything good has come from my failures in this area it is that my children have seen me struggle (no one is perfect) and they have seen me earnestly seek my Savior ( I can't do this on my own) Both very important lessons to learn.

After reading Orange Rhino, I decided to tell the kids about it and ask for their help in keeping me accountable. After a long discussion on a code name, we finally came up with Blue Monkey. The first few weeks implementing Blue Monkey in our house were hard. Once you settle in a pattern of doing things a certain way, its hard to break out of that. The kids were good about gently saying Blue Monkey when they saw that my feathers were getting ruffled. I have even heard the kids say it to each other and themselves when things get tense.

I must insert a VERY funny story here. Soon after we started this, Gabe and Isaac were having a confrontation in the kitchen over who knows what... probably something silly. At that time Caleb was sitting on the toilet. He's almost 4 and still leaves the door wide open for all to see. In the middle of the heated discussion, we hear Caleb's sweet little voice say "blue monkey". Certainly broke the tension at least a little bit. I for one was laughing.

I have a chart on the refrigerator door with 400 spaces on it and I highlight one for each day I successfully get through without yelling at my kids. I also printed out and laminated several blue monkeys, one of which even rides around in the van with us! This has been a good reminder for our entire family and just tonight Gabe was telling me that it has also helped him to keep a level head when feeling frustrated.

So, call it Blue Monkey or Orange Rhino or whatever you want. Pray, make an effort to change, and see God bless your socks off and also those of the little feet around your house!

Well, Hello There

 Hi my name is Cheryl, I am a blog avoider and neglector. I hang my head in shame.

To say my life is busy at the moment would be a HUGE understatement, but with the new school year upon us I have dusted off and revived our homeschool blog.  I thought it only fair to pay some attention to this blog as well.

So what has been happening in the Landes family lately? Well.....

After 15+ years working in the school system in one way or another (teaching to administrative technology) Gabe has now left to join the team at DDI, Digital Defense Inc. He has been working there since May and really likes his job. He has had a lot to get used to, but nothing he can't handle. This job really found us rather than the other way around. It was obvious that God lined this up for him perfectly. We feel abundantly blessed that he is employed doing something he enjoys.

My oldest, Isaac, is really changing lately. Every time I look at him I can't help but think that he looks older and is acting (for a 9 year old) more maturely. Bittersweet. He is such a gentleman... holding doors open for people, offering his help, looking out for his siblings. I couldn't ask for a better kid to call my first born. He is an avid reader, a budding writer, still loves to garden, can build amazingly imaginative LEGO creations, and he loves to go fishing, cycling, camping... basically anything outside. He is going to be in 4th grade this year.

Sweet Little Miss Julia is now 7 years old and headed into the 2nd grade. Julia has such a tender heart and it is obvious that her love language is quality time. She just loves to "be" with others.Some of my favorite days is when she and I can get out together, just the girls. I thoroughly enjoy spending time with my girl.  Living with boys has given Julia a bit of "rough" around the edges. She can hang with the boys and do everything they do except maybe kill the roach who comes at her in the garage. For that she went squealing to her big brother for help. Ha! She too is an avid reader. (love love love that my kids enjoying reading so much) She loves anything to do with horses and art. She thrives when she is drawing or painting or creating. I delight in seeing her creative side come out.

Caleb, my ever loving, lively, and funny little boy. He is a few weeks shy of turning 4. Caleb has such an exuberance for life in which he lives to the fullest. The kid can not just walk he must dance, bounce, and jump. To help you understand a little bit more about my precious son I would describe him as 80% Curious George and 20% Calvin (from Calvin and Hobbes) Lots of curiosity mixed in with a bit of mischievousness. Caleb is still at that sweet stage where he loves to cuddle and gives kisses and hugs. He is precious to me and my heart melts a little bit more every time I am near him.

Little Benjamin is not so little anymore. He is now 8 months old. He learned to crawl about a month ago and he has been on the GO since then. He immediately learned to stand and cruise which means he is into everything!! He has a dimpled smile that will make your day. He is learning to wave and give kisses. And I am pretty sure I have heard him say Mamamama a few times. Not sure if he knows that is me, but we're close. He is still very much a "Mama's Boy" right now. My favorite moments are holding him as he nurses and falls asleep. In the quiet of the evening before I lay him in his bed, I just look at him... memorizing his sweet baby face.

And me. Not a lot has changed with me. I say that with a smile on my face. I am a creature of routine and predictability. I thrive on that. Can be a challenge when changes come my way, but I am completely content and overjoyed with the life God has allowed me to have. I have been married to the most wonderful man for 12 years and I delight in my children. I have the privilege to be home everyday with my loves to teach them and take care of them. I stumble along the way that's for sure,however His grace is sufficient and abundant. God has grown me spiritually so much through this season of my life. .

This blog post would not be complete without introducing you the newest "member" of our family. Meet the BEAST.

Shortly after Benjamin was born (who we felt was our last baby) God clearly put it on both Gabe's and my heart that He was not finished growing our family just yet. I started to pray a very specific prayer in which God would provide a bigger vehicle for us (our mini van was maxed out) and a larger home (again maxed out) Within months, we were approached by a family in our church who was selling everything to move to Italy to become missionaries. They have five children and have driven a 12 passenger van for years. Gabe was already in the works to buy their truck from them so when they offered the van and truck together at a ridiculously low price we considered it. I will admit that I fought against the van at first. I didn't want to drive a 12 passenger van. I just didn't want to. It seemed so BIG and old and ....  As I wrestled with this decision, God made something very clear to me. I prayed for His specific provision in this area and He provided. To grumble about His provision is just like the Israelites grumbling about the manna. We bought the van and guess what? I absolutely LOVE driving it. It may not be pretty on the outside but it is like my little special secret with God. He loves me and knows what is best for me.  He will always take care of me no matter what. I can rest in that knowledge. So it was a significant spiritual growth moment for me all because of a 12 passenger van we lovingly call the BEAST! Now we have room for more if God chooses to bless our family with more children. What a blessing!

So there you have it. A nutshell of an update. School starts in a few weeks and with that the usual busy fall schedule. I have enjoyed our summer break but a part of me is ready to get back into the swing of things. Until next time...

Home School Week Twelve

We have finally gotten back into our school schedule. Here is what we did for MFW Week Twelve

Newborn Pictures of Benjamin

A sweet friend of ours offered to take newborn pictures of Benjamin last weekend. (Thanks Amber McDougall) They turned out so great. Beautiful pictures of our beautiful baby boy.

I have a post all typed up about Benjamin's birth story. I just need to add pictures, so be patient with me and I will get that up soon. 

Benjamin Herschel Landes

Benjamin Herschel Landes

Born November 19, 2012 at 12:45 p.m.

8 lbs, 21 in.

T Minus 1 Day!

Tomorrow is the BIG day!! We will take our kids to spend the night at our friends house tonight, because Gabe and I will head to the hospital at wee-thirty in the morning. So ready to meet our little guy. Not looking forward to the pain of labor and delivery though. Let's be honest, that part is not a barrel of laughs. This past week has been crazy dealing with the palsy. I am determined to go into tomorrow with complete joy, low stress, and a positive attitude. Having to deal with the palsy at this exact moment is not ideal, but obviously I can't do a thing about it. So my thoughts will rest on my precious son who will be tucked safely in my arms very soon. Please join us as we pray for a safe delivery of a healthy baby boy.

I promise I am happy. My face just can't show much expression right now. Darn that Bells Palsy!

My last pregnancy picture. 39 weeks 1 day pregnant.

Baby Steps

I wanted to share a few small victories with you concerning the Bells Palsy. First of all, I have had a better attitude today. It has been quite an emotional roller coaster ride all week with high highs and low lows. But today, I have been able to stay away from the lows. HUGE victory, especially considering the fact that I was in deep sobbing tears yesterday afternoon and last night. I am working really hard to remain positive. I know that the added stress of being down about it all the time will not help me heal. So YEAH for the positive outlook!! God has really helped me gain perspective on this whole ordeal. I wouldn't wish this on anybody, but I have to keep in mind that it is temporary and it is not life threatening. All the glory goes to God for helping me see the big picture.

Second, I woke up through the night feeling a lot of twitching in my right eye and my upper lip. Never thought I would appreciate the feel of a twitch as much as I do now. I don't know if this is a sign of recovery, but I appreciate the sensation. I pray that the twitching means my nerve is healing and my muscles are remembering what they are supposed to do.

Third, my right eye has not bothered me near as much today as it has been. That may be due to the fact that I got better (and more expensive) drops to treat my eye or it could be due to the fact that I can now almost close my eye if I concentrate really hard on it. Being able to walk around the house without a patch on for awhile is so nice. My right eye is very sensitive to light right now, but the fact that I can have it uncovered is a step in the right direction.

Other than the twitching, my mouth is still not working very well. I won't dwell on that though.

Baby steps.

Bells Palsy

I mentioned in my last post about being diagnosed with Bells Palsy. I wrote that post on Monday, it is now Thursday and a lot has changed with the symptoms of Bells Palsy. I am risking being a downer, but I just feel the  need to write about my experience with this and how it has affected me physically and emotionally. (Disclaimer: I know this condition is temporary, however that does not diminish the difficulty of dealing with it right now)

Friday, the 9th: I started to notice that food was tasting strange to me. At first I just thought it was a strange pregnancy thing, kind of like first trimester food aversions.

Saturday, the 10th: My tongue felt funny. It felt like it was covered with something and I couldn't taste things right. (or like when you get a burn on your tongue) This day was also full of cramping and contractions that lasted half the day, completely unrelated to the Bells.

Sunday, the 11th: I had a lot of twitching in my right eye. Didn't think much of this. Everyone has this from time to time. Still had the weird tongue and taste issues though.

Monday, the 12th: I woke up this day and my right eye was really bothering me. I had taken a shower and washed my face. I thought I just got soap in my eye, which I did. At that time I didn't realize that I got soap in my eye because it wasn't closing all the way. My eye was so irritated and watering that day. Then I noticed that my face felt funny when I smiled. I went to the bathroom to look at my face and realized that the right side of my mouth wasn't working. I tried to pull my lips into a tight O, but my right side was droopy. This was very scary to see, so I told Gabe about it and he said call your doc, which I did. After my doctor examined me, he diagnosed me with Bells Palsy. I had never heard of this before, but apparently it is very common for pregnant women in their third trimester, especially within weeks of delivery. I happen to fit that description. From what I have read and learned from my doctor, it could be caused by edema the extra fluids compressing the facial nerve which causes the palsy. It could also be caused by a viral infection (immune system in pregnant women is suppressed) This infection could cause inflammation which results in the palsy. My concern is that I struggled with inflammation issues before I got pregnant and none of my doctors could figure out why. I wonder if I was more susceptible for this based on my history. It is so frustrating when my body fails me.

Thursday the 15th: What started as a slight droop on my eye and mouth, which Gabe couldn't notice on Monday, has now developed into a very annoying problem. My right eye is severely drooped and won't close all the way. I have to take measures to protect that eye by using eye drops and covering it with a patch. This has caused even more issues. I have found that my left eye is very weak, so my vision is very blurred now. It is hard for me to read, watch TV, and I definitely can't drive either. I also have a lot of depth perception issues. The vision problems cause dizziness and nausea. Gabe had to drive me to the doctor yesterday for our last sonogram. Just riding as a passenger the movement combined with my blurred vision made me so sick to my stomach. I have a very severe pain on and around my right ear. This is the only painful thing about the palsy. Everything else is a nuisance. The right side of my mouth is droopy. It is hard to eat, drink, and talk. Worst of all, I have lost my ability to smile. This has bothered me more than anything else and has been the cause of a lot of emotional down moments. It is killing me that I won't be able to smile when Benjamin is born. It frankly makes me mad that this cropped up so suddenly right at the end of this pregnancy and though I know I shouldn't let it, it is zapping my joy. It bothers me that all the first pictures of Benjamin and myself I will be looking like this. Vain? Maybe, but it is what it is. I am praying through this and seeking the Lord's purpose and desire in all of this. Of course, my prayer is that the symptoms of this would go away quickly, but I am also praying that God would help me accept this and focus on what is important. My son is due to arrive in just days. I will finally get to hold him and see the beauty God created in my son. My physical challenges pale in comparison.

Treatment: My doctor suggested prescribing prednisone for me to take. Initially I resisted this. Taking a steroid while pregnant doesn't sound like a good idea. I researched it and could find very little online that supported taking prednisone while pregnant. But when my symptoms got much worse within days, I decided to talk to my OB about it more when we went back for the sonogram. He assured me that prednisone is used often for pregnant women and it does not cross the placenta. The length of taking it is also very short. I will be finished with my dosage by Saturday. And the dosage is not that high. Obviously, I changed my mind and decided to take the medicine, praying it does not have any adverse affects on Benjamin. From what I have read, taking it in the first trimester could result in cleft palette and other issues like that. I am trusting that I have made the right decision for both myself and our baby boy.

So there you have it. My latest pregnancy challenge. With all the ups and downs of this pregnancy, I have started to wonder if God is preparing me to let this season of my life pass. I know I have said this before but I truly think this is my last pregnancy. My body has been through so much this time around and honestly I don't want to endure a lot of this again. Don't get me wrong, pregnancy is a HUGE blessing. We have always had such a hard time getting pregnant that I feel each pregnancy and child is a miracle.

At the sonogram yesterday, Benjamin measured big but not too big. He measured around 8lbs. Of course, before birth Caleb measured at 7 1/2 lbs and he was born at 9lbs 4oz. So we won't really know until the big day, which is Monday. I am so looking forward to meeting my sweet son. Only 4 days left!!

38 weeks

A lot has happened since I last updated about my pregnancy. Our baby boy is growing, growing, growing! At my last few appointments, my doctor started showing some concern about Benjamin getting too big. My last baby, Caleb, was also a big baby at 9lb 4oz. My doctor started talking to me about inducing early. Initially I was not on board with being induced. My last experience with being induced was not a good one. When I was pregnant with Julia, I feel like my doctor at the time talked me into being induced out of convenience. And then the induction was so fast and furious that when Julia was born she had bruising all over her face. I promised myself I would never choose to be induced unless there was a really good reason for it. Well, a big baby is a good reason. I talked to Gabe about it and I prayed about it. After asking my current doctor a lot of questions about how he induces, my questions were answered and my fears alleviated. So I am scheduled to be induced next Monday. November 19, 2012 - sounds like a great day to be born!!

This pregnancy has been so different than my previous pregnancies in so many ways. Today I added yet another difficulty to this pregnancy. Over the weekend I started noticing that my taste sensations were a bit off. It felt like I had burned my tongue and couldn't taste things the right way. Yesterday, I had a lot of twitching in my right eye. Then today I noticed that the right side of my mouth wasn't working properly and my right eye was bothering me. I went to my doctor and he diagnosed me with having Bells Palsy. It should go away sometime after I give birth, but in the meantime it is very annoying and frustrating. It is hard to drink, I can't really taste anything the way it should taste (even water tastes funny), and my right eye is all droopy and won't close all the way so it is always watering and irritated. My doctor said I could take prednisone but I opted to wait it out and see if it goes away on its own after Benjamin is born. Even though prednisone is said to be safe during pregnancy, I don't want to chance it. I can endure anything for one more week!

The kids are so happy that their baby brother is finally going to be born. Over the last couple of weeks I have been able to take each of my kids out on a date by themselves. I always try to do this when a new little one is on the way. It is special time with each of them. I know I am about to get really busy and distracted for awhile with the new baby, so I wanted to give them some extra attention now.

Caleb was first up. I took him to get some dinner and then we went to a park to play. He soaked up all the attention and we had fun playing together.

Next I took Isaac out. He opted for a date at Orange Leaf - his absolute favorite! We had a great conversation and he even opened up to me. He voiced his concerns about how different things will be when Benjamin is born. Surprisingly he doesn't really remember what it was like when Caleb was born. He was only 5 then.

And just the other day, I took Julia out for a lunch date at CiCi's Pizza - her favorite. Her mantra when going to Cici's is, "I am going to stuff and stuff until I've had enough" That's my girl!! We also had a great conversation. She too had some questions about how things will be different once Benjamin is born. She is such a sweet girl and a fantastic sister. I think she is going to love having a baby brother around!

So we are on the final stretch. I finally got the hospital bags packed this past weekend. I have a few other little things to get done, but mostly I am going to try to relax and rest as we approach Benjamin's birthday. Praying for his safe arrival.