A Close Call

I went to MN last week for a few days to introduce Brielle to my family.  It started out great.  The first day I was there my mom and I met my pregnant sister, Amy, and brother Brent for lunch.

Then my mom and I headed to a friend's house.  My mom and her mom are friends too.  While we were visiting, a horrible thing happened.  My dad had a heart attack - cardiac arrest.  We got the call as we were leaving the friend's neighborhood.

That's when desperation sunk in.  We didn't know how long he'd be out, what exactly happened, or if he'd ever come out.  The people at the hospital didn't either.  We weren't given much hope at all.  All we had was prayer and each other.  It was horrible. 

Preggo Amy with her son, Carter, and hubby, Jake, came over to pass the evening. 

Brielle and Carter got to play together for the first time.

We visited him several times with no responses.  We left after visiting on Sat morning, still no signs of improvement.  However, later that morning we got a call that said he squinted when a light was shined in his eyes.  A reaction!  A little later he was asked to wiggle his toes and he did.  These were excellent signs!

After lunch they called as he had opened his eyes and was asked his name to which he replied, "Don."  Praise the Lord!  We headed back to the St. Paul hospital that was treating him eager to see some life in our loved one.

Boy did we ever!

He was awake!  He was reactive.  He even knew who we were!  Praise the Lord!!!!

His short term memory was fried.  He kept asking what happened to him and didn't remember things we said.  But he was alive.

We tired him out and needed to give him some rest so we left with renewed hope.

We met on Sun back at the hospital to celebrate.  My dad hadn't any memory of us being there the previous day.  I guess short term memory loss is common in his situation. 

But he could stand, eat, and even joke around!  Here are my neice and nephew Madina and Marat.

Here's my brother Brent.  Marat and Madina are his kids.

Along with his lovely wife, June, who is meeting Brielle for the first time here.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

My dad has a signature kiss he gives me: loud, juicy, obnoxious.  He remembered and delivered!

Although he doesn't remember me being there, I will remember these moments forever.

An update:  I have spoken with him on the phone each day since I left and he is impoving every day.  Praise God! So many peope have been praying for him and our family.  Thank you if you are one of those!  His short term memory is improving, and he is now home.  He can't do stairs much and must take it easy, but everyday is progress.  What a miracle!  Even the doctors were optimistic.  He proved them wrong.  Go Father go!

Is 41:10 - So do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
 
Is 40:31 - but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Book Review - Read & Share: The Story of Easter

The Story of Easter by Gwen Ellis from Tommy Nelson Publishing is a retelling of the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus in a way that is simple and easy for a child to comprehend.  The text used in the book is from the International Children's Bible.  It takes the reader through the last week of Christ's life including His entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey (Palm Sunday) through His ascension into heaven. 

The book is very straightforward with a clear message.  I read it to my two and four year old who were captivated, the true test of any children's book. They'd heard the general Easter story before, but some of the details were new to them.  The illustrations helped explain the text very well and were just plain fun to look at.  As a parent, I especially liked the added questions and thoughts at the end of each segment.  It helped solidify the concepts shared in the text.  And as a bonus, there is also a short DVD included (about 15 minutes) which also has coloring pages you can print out.  Overall, I highly recommend this no-nonsense rendition of the Easter story.

I received this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers at no cost to evaluate.  The above comments are strictly my own.  I was not paid for this post.

St. Patty's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Grateful to Have Girls

I've never been so happy to have more laundry in my life.  The increase is due to Galina's recent success with potty training.  Praise the Lord!  Only 1 kid in diapers.  Feels good to be at that stage again.

To celebrate being a "big girl", I painted Galina's nails.  And toes.

But I couldn't resist.

She was reading.

I took the opportunity to do some decorating.

On Brielle.

I painted her toes!

It's fun having girls. 

S'mores Cookie Bars

There will be these bars in heaven.

I stumbled across this recipe.  They turned out divine!

And of course, like all my cooking, it's E-A-S-Y!

S'more Cookie Bars

1/2 C butter or marg

1/4 C brown sugar

1/2 C sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/3 C flour

3/4 C graham cracker crumbs

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 bars (king sz) milk chocolate ... I used milk chocolate chips instead.

1 1/2 C marshmallow fluff.... I used almost all of a large jar since we love marshmallows here.  I'd strongly suggest increasing this as the mallow fluff really makes these bars!

Preheat 350, grease 8" square pan.

Combo butter and sugars until light.  Beat in egg and vanilla.  In separate bowl, mix flour, crumbs, powder, & salt.  Full disclosure....I just dumped it into the butter/sugar mix and it turned out fine.  If you do the separate bowl thing, add the dry and butter ingredients and mix.

Divide half the dough and press into pan.  Place choco bars (or chips) over dough.  Glob marshmallow fluff over the choco.  Place remaining dough over fluff and press down.

Bake 28-32 min or until golden brown.  Cool before cutting.  But it's okay if you take a spoon and scoop some into your mouth when it first comes out of the oven...repeatedly.  Just blow on it so you don't burn yourself, okay?

It's also especially yummy if you heat a piece in the microwave before eating the leftovers...if there are any.

Walking on Water

After church yesterday, Galina told us that she didn't want to walk on water like Jesus because she didn't want to get her pretty dress wet. 

I think I need to work with her on her priorities.  Oh my!

Frogs

We had a playdate with Seiban last week.  Once again, they wanted to do a craft.  So I broke out the supplies and had them make some friendly green fellows.

First I took some green paper and found something round to trace a large circle on each sheet. (Notice Brielle in the background....she'll be in action later.)

Next I found a smaller "template" and traced two circles per kid out of white paper. And then I traced each kids' hands.

Have at it, boys! Let the cutting begin.

 

Boys love cutting things.  It's part of their war-like insticts, I suppose. 

These are all the pieces. Galina's toes are included for free.

Place the pieces like so to make a frog. Have the kids glue them together.

 Then simply use marker to add pupils, a nose, and a mouth.

There you have it!  Handprint frogs.

But beware...they could inspire crazy frog games.  Here's the line-up:

Seiban couldn't wait until 3.  His frogger-juices were flowing too intensely to hold them in any longer.

Chaos.

Soon they realized that they could jump over each other.

I think Seiban found a new talent.

While all this was going on, I neglected the little tadpole only to find this:

She rolled all the way over to the hardwood floor!  This was the first time she rolled more than once! 

I think she was a little shocked herself.

And proud!

All inspired by three Kermits taking over the house.  What fun!

Love Your Heart

I wanted to like Love Your Heart by Tim McGraw and Tom Douglas more than I did. The message behind the story was wonderful, don’t get me wrong. I just got caught up on the disconnected details. Katie, the main character, tries to figure out what she’s good at to do at a talent show. I liked that the daddy said, “It’s okay. God gave you lots of talents, Katie. Let’s ask Him to help you find just the right one for the Talent Show.” But they never showed them praying or what talent she decided to do! That was a huge teachable moment missed.

Then Katie’s friend Sophie jumps into the story. It was an abrupt addition. I think she could have showed up in the story earlier to make the reader have feelings for her before backstage at the talent show…the moment of a selfless decision for Katie.

I loved how Katie helped Sophie which she, along with Katie’s daddy, recognized as honorable actions revealing her heart. I missed a wrap up, however, of the Christian message. A tie to God’s ways or Biblical truth would have been nice.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Valentines

Valentine's Day is tomorrow and we've been busy getting ready.  I had Treyton cutting out hearts for two days.  Then we made them into elephants to decorate the cards he's giving to his classmates.

And a special valentine for Mrs. Kerby. 

Galina was right there ready to assist any way she could.

First time she has used scissors. She was fascinated.  You could tell by how quiet she got.

I decided to use some of her coloring to create a fun mobile.

Ta-Da!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Precious Pictures

My friend, Tammy Kakac, is an amazing photographer.  (She's also Treyton's buddy Seiban's mom)  I finally set up a photoshoot with her.  Here are just a few pics from that shoot.  Tammy's contact info: t.kakac@att.net or 303-662-8010.  I highly recommend her!

Brush with Fame

She was adorable with long blonde curly hair wearing a little girlie dress.  Cute as a button!  But my attention immediately shifted to the daddy holding her.  He was talking softly, their faces almost touching.

A friend of mine told me told me he was there last week but who knew if he'd come back.  He did!

The head coach of the Denver Broncos, Josh McDaniels, was at our church on Sunday.

I almost brushed shoulders with him as we were picking up our kids.  Closest I've been to fame....ever?

Too bad he wasn't there earlier in the fall when our pastor used him as one of the examples in studying 1 Timothy.

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Tim 4:12

Our pastor's point was that we are never too old or too young to make a difference.  Using the talents God gives us is important no matter what arena we find ourselves in.

He may be effective and valuable as a coach, but as a dad loving his daughter, he is priceless.  May my priorities likewise drive my actions making me fruitful.

Oh, I almost forgot....Go Broncos!

Guest post by Spaceman

This is a guest post by someone I will call Spaceman.  Here Spaceman writes about an issue relating to the new space shuttle that Obama just axed.  Thanks, Spaceman!

On February 1st, 2010, the Obama administration released its proposed federal budget for 2011. In this budget, the NASA program Constellation, is canceled. This program Constellation also contains the "Crew Exploration Vehicle" - Orion, which has been our nation's planned replacement for the Space Shuttle, to deliver US astronauts to the Space Station. The Orion spacecraft is also designed to go beyond low earth orbit; to be able to not only take astronauts back to the moon, but also further beyond, to asteroids, Mars, or the moons of Mars. For the first time in the history of US spaceflight, a truly interplanetary spacecraft, is being designed, which would help to ensure US leadership in space and technology.

Under the Obama administration's current proposed budget, Orion will be canceled, with no clearly defined plan for spacecraft beyond low earth orbit. The proposed plan will rely on unproven, yet to be demonstrated small commercial, low earth orbit, spacecraft. These small commercial, low earth orbit, spacecraft, could take 5-10 years to be proven safe enough, or capable enough, before the lives of US astronauts could be entrusted. In the mean time, the Obama administration's plan is to purchase rides for US astronauts on Russian spacevehicles- an export of US tax payer dollars to Russia, to provide US access to space.

In a recent press release, it is understood that if the Orion portion of the Constellation program remains funded, the US can be ready for crewed spaceflight using the Orion spacecraft by 2013.
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2010/02_03_Orion.html
So what could you do to help? You can go to http://www.goboldlynasa.org to write your congressmen or congresswomen. A pre-drafted letter, based on your state and zip code, will automatically write your congressional representatives to inform them of your disagreement of the currently proposed budget and plan to cancel the Constellation program and the Orion spacecraft.

One more fun fact, for those of you who reside in Colorado - Did you know that Colorado is the 3rd largest "Space State" in the nation (after Florid and Texas).
"Live long and prosper" - Spock