Wish you were here,

wish you could see this place

Wish you were near, I wish I could touch your face

The weather’s nice, it’s paradise
It’s summertime all year and there’s some folks we know

They say, “Hello, I miss you so, wish you were here”

I love you mom. I miss  you more than every memory combined. I miss you more than the tears that fall this day.

Two years and eternity…November 5th, 2009.

I have no less than 53523 updates running through my head.

Fortunately, for those compelled to read my nonsense, I will not share all that is consuming me.

We’ll start with Monday.

That’s Adriana shortly after arriving at her new school.

She cried all morning.

She tried repeatedly to convince me that it was not Monday (we had told her on Monday she starts at the new school).

She cried beyond all reason when I reminded her the bus would take her home in the afternoon.  I mean, hysterics. Finally, bless her heart, she signed, “Adriana ride the bus-YAY!” Only, she was crying as she signed it–the most pitiful sight ever.

The poor child was literally shaking walking into the building.

Right up until she found the locker with her name on it. That locker saved the morning. She was thrilled! The rest of the day, bus drop off included went remarkably well.

Praise God!

But Monday just kept getting better.

Taylor was making a tackle during football practice. He made contact alright.

A contact so strong that he immediately started whimpering and crying and couldn’t speak.

He left the field on a stretcher and headed to the hospital via ambulance.

It was terrifying.

In light of full disclosure, I let God have it, when I got the phone call. I was livid with God. I could only assume the worst when I heard, “ambulance, neck/head injury.”

I couldn’t even summon the wits to phone my closest friends for prayer. In fact, I instead got on my hands and knees to sweep the kitchen floor.

Once my sister arrived to care for the girls, I made it the football field. They said Taylor had been signing for me and finally spoke once I climbed into the ambulance.

*heartache*

Blessedly, after multiple x-rays and a CT scan, Taylor was given the diagnosis of a concussion. The ER doctor gave him an alphabet soup of prescriptions and we finally headed for home around 10pm.

Oh, I’ll be answering to God for my behavior in the ER though…you know that pesky H1N1 hospital policy about no children? They mean it. Even if you call them ahead of time and ask. They made me leave with Lucy. So I sat in the parking lot and cursed.

Meanwhile, the assistant principal, athletic director, our small group leader and all three football coaches came to check in on Taylor. Pretty awesome.

But don’t worry, the good news doesn’t end there folks.

That’s right, we had Tuesday morning waiting for us.

Miss Adriana had her barium swallow study done that morning. A routine procedure that I had requested after Adriana’s recent choking episodes.

Turns out our girl is aspirating all thin liquids (‘thin’ by the way cracks me up, what exactly is a ‘heavy’ liquid?). Anyway, that means two things:

1) Adriana can no longer drink anything that has not been ‘thickened.’  We must add Thick-It or a similar substance, purchased over the counter–$20 for a one week supply, to everything she drinks.

2) It was recommended that Adriana switch to a special cup that only allows for 5-10cc of fluid at a time. The cups are $40-50 each!

I suppose there is a third thing.

This is a permanent condition. One that would get worse not better, as Adriana grows.

Awesome right?

I swear I’m really trying to break the crazy cycle.

Only today, I contacted our lawyer concerning a civil summons (I cannot believe I am sharing this) I received last week.

For those who don’t know, last fall we surrendered to a debt management agency in an effort to ‘fix’ the financial nightmare we had made.

In any case, I am being sued by one of our debt collectors.

The idea behind a debt management group is they work on your behalf to settle your debts. One way the collectors can put the pressure on you to settle with them first is by taking you to court.

Who am I and how did I get here?

Long story short, I now have to come up with a very large sum of money in order to avoid court.

I’m just so unimpressed with myself.

I’ve been focusing a lot recently on sinful nature during devotionals. What a beast of  thing.

I literally had to write out, “I’m forgiven,” on a notepad before making the phone call to the lawyer today.

As shameful as it is for me to confess all that, I do so in an effort to educate my children, as this blog is for them after all.

So kids, don’t do what I did.

Don’t be stupid.

Don’t think consumerism will save you from pain or even ease it.

It just adds more sorrow to the valley.

You’ll have to excuse my sour  demeanor…just imagine if you had to actually speak to me! I’m a walking ray of sunshine

As much as I hate November, I’m starting to think it hates me more.

This weekend marked the 5^th annual fall beach trip (excluding 2007, that year we all headed to Boone, NC for Aunt Bonnie’s wedding!).

Our trip consists of the five siblings, our spouses and children. Unfortunately, this year, my brother John & his wife & daughter couldn’t make it. They were missed! The ‘originals’:

From left to right, it’s me, Michael, Christina, and Bonnie.

 The next generation!

Naturally, there was trick-or-treating fun to be had at Broadway at the Beach:

 

 

 

Taylor and Adriana didn’t dress up but enjoyed the chaos along with the rest of us. Bonnie, Jesse, David and myself kept entertained playing ‘Bingo’ aka find all the inappropriately dressed females and shouting, “Bingo!’

Even Lucy got in on the candy action, but no worries, I didn’t actually let her eat any! 

 

 okay, so maybe a little lick!

When we just couldn’t take any more of the crowds,

 we headed back to the hotel for a spaghetti dinner & candy swap!

 

When we weren’t hanging out at the hotel,

 

we were busy at the beach! Playing in the sand,

 

 

watching for dolphins, we seriously saw them!

 and posing for mommy’s countless photo ops. Can you tell it was Miss Lucy’s first ever trip to the beach? =P 

 

 

 

 and out-takes!

So, yeah, I *might* have gone a tad bit crazy trying to get the above photo, but dude, this is the one place where ALL seven kids can sorta kinda be in one picture you know?

Oh, and just before that picture, the fire alarm was pulled (no real harm) which called for hysterical little girls marching down 12 flights of stairs!

Yikes.

Anyhow, we made it home…eventually and all in one piece!

Funny story, this morning I scan through my email and note one from my friend Lisa. Her email contained some serious encouragement, that I doubt she, or anyone, had any idea I needed to hear, a true gift from God!

With my spirit fed, I felt better prepared to conquer my day. The big four girls were loaded in the van and Lucy assumed her regular morning spot in the Bumbo seat.

I grabbed Goosey girl, the diaper bag, and having eyed my hot, tempting coffee cup; decided to hold off on it until the next run to and from the van.

I then ventured to a van full of girls and felt something distinctly, well, gross on my hand.

Uh oh.

Holy Spirit don’t leave me now.

I laughed in lieu of crying.

Setting the diaper bag in the van I marched right back inside and all but hosed Lucy, the pooping wonder (what IS it about that Bumbo seat?), down. Seriously, It got on everything but her socks.

And, that, my dear friends, is a typical moment in the life of Katie. Up one minute, covered in poo the next.

Let’s just say, this past week has contained a wee bit more of the poo covered moments than the spirit lifting kind.

Rather than re-hash, re-cap or backtrack, I’ll say three things:

1. The IEP meeting was yesterday.

2. Adriana will start the new school on Monday, yes this coming Monday. November 2nd.

3. Avery is vice president of her class and that suited her just fine.

Everything else is in the details, some more important than others…I’m still reeling form the IEP madness and waiting for confirmation of full-blown internal hysteria

1. No concussion! However, per county policy, Taylor will still sit out for a week (w/out the doctor’s go-ahead, it would have been three weeks!).

2. Livie & Lila had their pictures made at school today. It wasn’t suppose to be today, but both girls were willing (a rare event) so we ran with it.

3. Avery and I took a pre-dinner walk that was lovely; plus we enjoyed chatting it up with our friends down the street… =)

4. I’m making progress with the whole future fertility debate; thanks to prayer and a loving husband.

5. Adriana majorly choked last night–that’s 3 times in the last week or so. The doctor is calling in a referral for another swallow study.

6. I really LOVE NCIS.

7. I’m down 6lbs since I started this round of let’s-get-the-fat-off!

8. Disney World is in my 5 year plan, but I’ll settle for the beach next weekend maybe.

9. I love how stretching the grocery budget means serving ‘chicken’ pot pies, minus the chicken and no one notices the difference.

10. Still debating on whether or not Lucy should attend small group with us tomorrow night or try the nursery again–feel free to leave your vote in the comments.

Done.

Rumor has it, picture day will result in much better quality photos if your child isn’t dressed like an orphan.

You know it’s bad when your director knocks on your classroom door and politely asks, “Did I lose Lila’s bow?”

Uh, no, mop head came to school without one.

Yeah. I totally forgot today was picture day for Lila–she was/is a hot mess of hair and hand me downs.

Do I get credit for remembering Lucy’s picture day?

Luckily, we were able to switch Lila’s picture day to Thursday. The problem is, it’s picture week at our preschool and with three different kids attending, well, you get the idea!

In mommy defense, I really didn’t even expect to go to school/work today. Lucy has been ill  and had a wretched screaming fit in the middle of the night…and yeah, I suck.

In other news, Avery stumbled upon the perils of being left-handed while working on her election poster this weekend.

 Bless her heart, she smudged the WHOLE thing! We sacrificed it as best as we could.

 

Oh, that kid also scored her second season goal on Saturday!

Waiting for me after work this morning was a rather creatively separated laundry room. Today is Adriana’s laundry day and bless her heart, she attempted to separate it on her own. Who says she can’t be independent?! =)

At pick up time, A’s interpreter was full of excitement. The interpreter taught Adriana the ASL way to keep score when playing a game- a huge hit.

From school we were off to our favorite Monday afternoon destination–the doctor’s office for Lila’s allergy shots.

No improvement there…the doctor stopped in to peak at her and told her how brave she was yada yada and Lila looks up and says, “My stickers?”

If there’s one thing Lila’s learned, it’s that shots = stickers =)

uh oh.

David just walked in with Taylor. After a hard hit during football practice he’s showing signs of a concussion. The trainer wants us to take him to the doctor first thing tomorrow to rule out/confirm a concussion. Please pray he’s okay.

 8:40 am

The house is quiet. David is en route to the doctor’s office with Lila for allergy shots. Livie is upstairs watching tv in her room and the Goose is playing on the floor. The telephone rings.

“Hello.”

“Mrs. Apple? This is {Adriana’s interpreter}. Adriana came to school without a bib today.”

Trying my best not to snort into the phone, “Well, David got them ready today.”

interpreter: “OH, okay! Adriana kept signing ‘Daddy’ and now I know why! Could you bring bibs up to the school please?”

Later that day…

11:00 am

Pushing a cart full of little girls, I wander past the laundry aisle at Sam’s Club.

me, while turning the cart around, “I don’t know where my brain is this morning!”

Livie, ever so serious, “I don’t know where it is. What does it look like Mommy? I’ll help you find it.”

2:20pm

Once again, the phone rings.

me: “Hey, what’s up?” (caller id anyone?)

Avery, in the most precious six year old voice says,

“Mommy, I got nominated to be president!”

A few more questions later and I got the full story, LOL. I’m so proud of her! Avery’s teacher has her students elect a class president every year (duties include chosing helpers, etc).

Avery was one of four peer-nominated students to be chosen to ‘run’ for president. She’ll have to make a poster and give a class speech next Friday. She is SO excited it just took my breath away….LOVE IT!

 

Immediately upon walking in the door, Avery begins to narrate her speech & plot her poster.

“Dear Class,

Please vote for Avery. I love my class. I finish my work and I’m smart.

{aside} Oh, Mommy, can we draw hearts on it?”

Some days, I LOVE my life =)

First, I have to say I have the BEST EVER friends and family. Just something I’m really feeling today…to Susan & Lizbeth, you know why. To KT, I used you as my example in small group discussion tonight about someone I know who demonstrates boldness for God—thanks for being that kind of awesome

and BonnieKat, I’ll pray now for that girl one day =P

So…what was our day like you ask?

Wet. Rainy.

There was school, work,

 and some lies about Adriana having a GREAT day at school!

I know right? Her homeroom teacher even wrote a note to say that she was impressed with Adriana’s kindness today when she helped a girl who had dropped all her colored pencils in the hall. YAY! I’m so proud of her and her teacher for taking a moment to acknowledge small acts of kindness. They rewarded her with this fun sucker,

While I’m cheering, a woot goes out to the county school system (rare right?) for sending home documents regarding the flu…and how they will offer free flu clinics! I know there is lots of debate around the H1N1 vaccine, but not in our house. I value healthy children and there are three too many kids in our house that are vulnerable; divide that by 4 different schools and yeah, I’m not a fan of taking my chances! Three vaccines down, three to go…

Now, your daily dose of cuteness,

After all but literally kicking Adriana out of the car this morning, we headed off to work/school for what was sure to be an emotionally challenging day.

I knew that today I would be taking care of a student whose special medical needs mirror Jakiepoo’s. This particular child also turns blue…I held it together until then. Actually, I kept it together thankyouverymuch, but I do recall praying out loud while I did it!

A small detail in the day, but a HUGE thing for me. I no longer see Jakie’s face every time I see another child with similar needs. But to do the same things, provide the same care, that’s a little  harder…but I happen to adore this child and his mother and I knew we could work through it and we did! God is GREAT!

In random shout out news, Happy Anniversary Aunt Bonnie & Uncle Jesse!

After school pick up we made our way to the ever familiar doctor’s office. The girls found Avon magazines to be super duper entertaining while we waited. Princess Lila fought as usual, but before long we were out and on the way home again.

 

A is for accelerated reader. Miss Avery began this program in school last week and is rocking it!! So much so that her teacher sent her to another classroom to receive a special prize. =)

B is for bananas. Lucy ate them for the very first time on Sunday, October 4th at 6 months and 1 day old. I cried. Seriously, it was emotional for me to go from being her sole source of nutrition to, well, to not being her only food! Silly sounding perhaps, but so true!

C is for Columbus Day, that’s today. It’s also a work day for teachers so I had Adriana & Avery with me at work today. Yeah, I’m so not jealous of Adriana’s teachers.

D is for dates. Taylor had one with his girlfriend, with whom he talks on the phone nightly, on Sunday, Oct. 4th. David dropped the two of them off at the mall for two hours. It was a heated debate at our house, this dating thing…but eventually, David won and Taylor got to go.

E is for eating. Poor Adriana had her first major choking episode at school last week. Twice.

F is for fat, of the baby variety. Goosey went to her well baby check on Friday and tipped the scales at 18lbs, 6oz and 26.5in. Moo.

G is for goals. Avery made her first goal of the soccer season on Thursday. YEAH Avery!

H is for hayrides! All six kiddos and I, sans a sick Daddy, spent last Friday night at my aunt & uncle’s house for their annual fall festival.

I is for last Tuesday’s IEP meeting for Adriana. I attempted to skip out of it, but David wouldn’t let that happen so off I went. Nothing exciting, the next meeting isn’t until Oct. 27th and that’s the mac daddy, let’s move this kid, meeting.

J is for Jakiepoo. ‘Tis the season for memories.

K is for kids. Some insurance changes have led me to revisit this all-consuming subject…please, tell me I will know when/if our family is complete! I can think of 100 reasons why we are ‘done,’ but not one matters in the grand scheme of things.

L is for Lucy. Separation anxiety has hit us. So much so that the church actually had to call me to come get her on Wednesday night. It was bad. Ditto on Sunday. I can’t handle another severe separation anxiety childhood, really, I can’t—Livie about did me in in that department!

M is for milk. Once again, I’m trying to shed some pounds and am finding it frustrating that the reduction in calories is leading to a decrease in Miss Lucy’s milk supply. Why is it that for Lucy to be fat, I must also be? *sigh*

N is for need prayers please. It’s a silly request really, but now that I’ve got my financial vision seeing 20/20, I really don’t want to mess with it. Unfortunately, we’ve got to make a decision about the annual beach trip my family (siblings & cousins) goes on every October …we made the reservations already, back when we thought my mom’s estate was closed. Anyway, long story short, some wisdom would be nice.

O is for outgrown clothing. This morning I dressed Livie in her 4T clothes from last winter…and she looked like an orphan. Bless her heart, 5Ts are going to swim in the waist, but we can’t have high waters!

P is for Piglet. Thanks to Susan, or I guess, her brother Ronnie, for sending this Halloween costume our way. The goose is going to be the cutest thing ever!

Q is for quiet. Saturday afternoon I was reading and fell asleep for 15 minutes, in the middle of the day  people! Unheard of…and heavenly.

R is for rocking. As of this past Saturday, Lucy is up on her hands and knees just rocking. It won’t be long and she’ll figure out the whole going forwards thing. Here’s to vacuuming!

S is for small groups. We started ours last Wednesday night. We’re doing a Chip Ingram study, God As He Longs For You To See Him. Seems like the group will be a good fit, I already know several of the couples, so that’s nice.

T is for tears. Lila isn’t getting any more acquainted with her allergy shots. We’ve completed 3 weeks so far and it is a challenge each and every time. Poor kid, these shots had better work!

U is for undies. Oh yeah, Lila is officially, 100% trained and I’m so happy! I thought she was going to be tough, but really, it was less than a week and she was accident free, day and night, my little stubborn rockstar.

V is for very good dinners eaten alone. Oh yeah, I found a salmon fillet & asparagus (so what if it makes your pee smell) on sale last Thursday and made myself a yummy dinner.

W is for woe is me. I’m stressing myself out with more than a few things lately. For starters, we are losing are ever fabulous insurance as of Jan. 1st. We will still be covered, but the new plan doesn’t hold a candle to our old plan and in case you hadn’t noticed, we tend to use the heck out of our insurance! This year alone we’ve had three major hospital stays, and three surgeries!

X is for…yeah, like anyone ever has anything good to say about X.

Y is for youth groups. In light of our weekly small groups, Taylor began attending the Wednesday night youth groups.

Z is for zeal and man oh man is it missing in my life right now. Blah. Someone fast foward me please!