Vacationing

 Went to the beach with the Nysewander fam. I love a break from the norm and I love the norm, so it was good to go and it was good to come home. Bean missed his dog, IG missed her BFF and little Miss just wanted to go back to the beach and "live there forever." I love them and I was happy that we had such a great time to be together as a family and just relax a bit. Today is our final day of vacation (with the wonderful JM) so we're headed off to six flags after we drop Bear at the groomer's! Woop woop!!

If you're interested in how the 'clean eating' went on vacation, check this out:
http://simplycleanforme.blogspot.com/2012/07/vacation-health-nightmare.html

New Blog!

Hey everyone! I've started a new blog JUST for food and recipes. Please come check it out!

simplycleanforme.blogspot.com

Let me know what you think!!

My wandering compass

What do you do? Say, if for a season, your life was pointed in one direction and as time went on the needle of your compass turned and pointed in another. So you settle where your needle is pointed but on occasion you loose your bearings and your needle goes all over the place and lands in another direction. I found that this happens a few times a year. I get frustrated with my wandering needle and eventually take my compass apart, examine it, figure out all the reasons it should point to where I am currently and then make it hold there.  Are these just flare-ups from past directions? Am I hormonal? Is there something causing me to be discontent with where I am? I ask Jesus these things and then settle on changing something in my life to make us more 'missional', if that's even a word. Maybe I'm missing it. What do you do?

The Man

My husband, he's The Man. Its true. We've been married now for almost 9 years and every year we have our share of disappointments and every year his ability to amaze me far out weighs the disappointments. I love it when he comes home in the evenings. I love the way our kids run to see him. I love the way he hangs out in the kitchen and chats with me while I make dinner. I love the way he makes each of the kids laugh in their own little ways. I love the way he washes the dishes!! I love going for walks with him. I love how hopeful he his. I love hearing his perspective on God and life. I love hearing him read books to the little people and afterward, chasing them down the hall. I love the way he loves. All of us. We don't do marriage perfectly. We could use some work but I love figuring it out with HIM. This one man, The Man.

I love Basil

I love basil. Its just they way I roll. I've noticed when I cook with basil if I over cook by seconds it looses its basily-ness. SO today for lunch we are having a raw spaghetti sauce. Its just 2 tomatoes- diced, a handful of fresh, finely chopped basil, finely sliced green onions, half a garlic clove (minced) and a pinch of sea salt. Stir it up, top with some parmesan cheese, done. Its fresh, tastes delightfully sweet and so good for my little people! I serve it over zucchini strips or quinoa pasta. Love!

 

Even the picky eater ate it!

My littlest turned 2!

Happy Birthday Sweet Loulie! You are my joy! You remind me that life can slow down for cuddles. I love you more than words and I'm excited that you are growing more and more into an amazing little person. You bring SO much life and excitement to this family and I can't imagine this world with out your sass :) I love you! I love you! I love you!

Doughnuts for breakfast!

You always want your hands in your pockets

You're 2!!!!!

Jumping with friends :)

After deliberating over a Thomas or Elmo cake, its obvious what was settled upon.

Oh my goodness, I love you so much!

"I two!"

The story of the amazing Zaya! Part 3, the final chapter :)

Through all of this the song Shadows by David Crowder was playing in my head. In case you were wondering :) Its over on the side if you want to hear it --->

Well, this point in the story is the happy part :) Sunday night I laid in bed beside my precious girl clinging to the sweet relief that tomorrow was promised to bring. I listened to her struggling to breathe and all I could do was wait. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. (I'm tempted to bust out an Annie song at this point.) Early Monday morning the sweet ENT came to visit us and told us what would happen, when it should happen and how it should go 'in general'. The plan was to take her to get anesthesia at noon and then they would immediately intubate her and then do a one inch incision in the back of her throat where they would drain the fluid and rinse it out. They planned to leave the incision open to let the abscess continue to flush and let it heal on its own. Then she should wake up in recovery and we would meet her back at her room. The doctor said this was such a great procedure because within hours of the surgery Zay should start feeling better. I looked over at her and I wondered how I could speed up time. I called JM to let him know when he needed to be there (his office isn't far from the hospital) and then I curled up next to Zay on the bed. By this day my little one was just a little shell of a person. She laid with me and whimpered for the next few hours drifting in and out of sleep. I have never seen a child more visibly sick. I haven't been around many children who were sick but the color of her skin, her inability to do ANYTHING was just overwhelming. When JM got there, I started to get up to give him a hug but zay mumbled out a little noise and held on to me tighter. So I stayed.
   Not to much later the nurse came in to take us down to anesthesia. When we were there we go to hear about EVERYTHING that could go wrong and then basically sign away our rights to do anything about it if the worst happened. Awesome. Then we cruised over to the OR where the surgeon came into talk us through the surgery one more time. I looked at my girl and she started looking a little worried. We weren't allowed in the OR with her so this is where she would go on with out us. OH MY GOODNESS!!! I mean rip my heart out. She started crying so pitifully and her little body seemed to small in that bed. Then as angel came in, our anesthesiologist. He was a big guy and he asked Zay if he could carry her and she reached up. As they walked away I heard him asking about her birthday and telling her about his kids and I KNEW she would be cared for. We were taken the waiting area where we did just that, we waited. This is one of those moments where I lost it a little. I just cried. My girl, who I remember staring at her face as I rocked her when she was born, the one that made me a mommy, the girl who showed me how much I could love someone else, that girl, was laying on a bed with a tube down her throat having a surgery and I was out here in a waiting room, praying. It was all I could do.
   In just shy of 30 minutes the surgeon came out to tell us that she was in recovery and that she did great! We made it! She had not yet woken up but he said that as soon as she did, she would be brought upstairs. I practically ran back to the room because I didn't want her to be there with out us. When I got there her sweet school had sent over a balloon and teddy bear and it was waiting on her bed. Seriously, we were surrounded by people loving on us and praying for us. I couldn't have been more thankful. Then I heard the nurse coming down the hall, I stepped out and there was my girl and she smiled. She smiled! It was so good. We slipped her into her freshly made bed and I showed her the new bear and balloon and again, she smiled. The doc said we could let her eat and drink as much as she was up to and that after watching her for a couple more days we would should be released. I can't describe the relief. The joy, the relief. Then I heard it, her sweet voice. I asked her how she was feeling and it was a this little 'good'. It was music to my ears!
   That afternoon, just an hour after surgery here she is:

This was just an hour after being released from the OR!

2 hours after surgery!!

Happy and chatty with her pal (and beverage)

She was laughing, painting, smiling with her friends, eating mac-n-cheese, it was good. She was eating and drinking so good by the end of the day that the doctor said she could go home the next day!!! I mean we were PUMPED! We were both so ready to get out of there. That evening she had been chugging gatorade to convince the doc she was ready to go. It was so cute.

Chugging gatorade!

  The next morning we were released and we headed home with my mom to see Bean and little sis. All I could think of was how good God was to us and how he blessed by his mercy as well as by covering us with His people.

On the way home! (She's giddy!)

    Thank you Thank you Thank you to everyone who prayed, sent meals, came to visit my girl, or sent sweet messages, you changed us. This event changed us and you all were apart of that. I am humbled. Thank you.