tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69256953327924849562024-03-22T00:28:16.704-05:00Stewart SnippetsSherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.comBlogger358125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-56109781957923938712022-06-12T16:04:00.000-05:002022-06-12T16:04:29.483-05:00Did I get a tiny glimpse of God's plan?<p> It is sometimes hard to believe that God works all things for good. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that in <i>all things </i>[emphasis added] God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." It is especially hard to believe this when the world seems to get more brutal and evil and corrupt every passing day. Now, having said that I think it can be argued that it <i>feels</i> like the world is getting worse but perhaps it <i>feels </i>that way at least partly because of the 24 hour stream of news we all hold at our fingertips. My mom's boyfriend quipped to her many years ago, and she would often repeat it to us, "The world's been burning since the world's been turning." Take a look at history - humans have been brutalizing each other since we have historical records.</p><p>But back to my main points...all God asks of us is to have faith. Even a mustard sized amount of faith is enough. We, as humans, simply cannot understand all the intricate weavings of the universe. I have come to believe that what looks like unimaginable senselessness to us can be worked by God to change the world in positive ways someway, somehow, at some time. It is important to understand that God would never, <i>could never</i> cause terrible, evil things to happen. But if we believe that God is omnipotent, then it must mean that he allows awful things to happen. I have seen these types of happenings in my own life, multiple times now. And they happened in such a patterned way that it really can't be overlooked.</p><p>Almost 7 years ago now, my larger than life, boisterous, fun-loving, hilarious, best friend of mine mother succumbed to mesothelioma and died. But about two years prior to her death, when she was diagnosed with lung cancer and the biopsy was sent off and we were all in shock and she had to go on disability from work was when the shock and grief truly began. What on earth was she going to do for money? She'd been a realtor her whole life and hadn't had a 401K, she hadn't saved for retirement and didn't have a health insurance plan. She'd gotten out of real estate during the 2008 crash and had been scraping by working for a company as a collections agent and had actually become quite successful at it. Due to her intelligence and compassion, she was good at helping people come up with a plan to deal with their debt. But no matter how successful she was, she still wasn't making a ton of money and was using Minnesota state health insurance. Fast forward a few weeks and her biopsy results came back and she learned her lung cancer was actually mesothelioma! This made sense since her parents (my grandparents) did a lot of home renovations/demo when she was a young child and she was likely exposed to asbestos at that time. She was connected with a law firm and was awarded enough money to live comfortably during her final two years of disability as her body slowly succumbed to the cancer. Because she was healthy and stubborn, my mom did what she could to fight her cancer naturally and actually felt pretty good until the last few weeks of her life. For those final two years, my Mom and all who knew and loved her, including me, prayed ceaselessly that God would heal her completely and allow her to live a full life. But God did not answer our prayers. However, because God saw fit to bless her with the type of cancer He did, and with the settlement money she deserved, she was able to take piano lessons for the first time in her life. She bought herself a brand new piano and a comfortable seat with a back to sit at it on. She bought a DSLR camera and practiced with it, taking photos of her flowers on her little deck and of her cat and fish. She set up a huge salt water fish tank and learned to keep cichlids and delighted in her fish and her kitty and the beautiful flowers she planted on her condo deck. She was able to have good conversations with her healthcare givers about her faith and about how even if God did not heal her, she knew that she was going to Heaven. She was able to spend time with her family and friends, and especially with her daughters and grandchildren. She was able to meet all five of her grandbabies, even her youngest granddaughter, Emma Jean, who was born just 9 months before my mom died. She purchased a Bible for each of her grandkids, chose a special verse for each of them and noted it on the inside cover of each of the Bibles, and a wrote a note inside the Bible telling them how much she loved them. She wouldn't have had the time, the wherewithal, or the money to do these things if it weren't for the type of cancer God blessed her with.</p><p>Last October, my mom's sister, my Auntie Jo, also died of cancer at the young age of 64. Auntie Jo died of breast cancer. But we need to rewind about 10 months prior to her death to see the similar, fascinating blessing God was working in her life. About 10 months before my aunt died of her cancer, she was laid off from her job and it was incredibly shocking. She'd been one of the heads of safety at the pharmaceutical company where she'd worked for, gosh, at least seven years I think. She was well respected for knowing the ins and outs of her role but also being kind and good to work with. The company had recently been bought out and her role was filled by someone already employed by the company that purchased her company. As part of her layoff, she was awarded a year's worth of her salary to get her by until she found a new job. She was devastated for a few days because her health had not been good (at this point, she did not know her cancer had returned). She was frantically scouring job openings and I was sending her openings I knew of at my company. But then she decided she was going to rest for a bit, pray that in God's timing something would fall into place, and she would deal with her health first. After a few months of rest and trying to get her strength back up on her own, and not feeling better, she went to her oncologist and learned the bad news. Her breast cancer had returned and metastasized all throughout her body. She would not recover this time. But because of the money she'd been provided as part of her package when she was let go, once again God had had provided a blessing for my aunt. She had the opportunity to not worry about how she was going to survive, financially, for the remaining months she had on earth. She was able to pay her bills, spend time with her close family, put her affairs in order, and take care of her mother's affairs to the best of her ability since my grandmother (her mother) sadly, suddenly passed away due to a stroke just four months before my aunt passed away. She also spent her remaining weeks sharing the Gospel with anyone she came into contact with. I was blessed to care for my aunt in her final weeks and we did all kinds of errands together, getting her affairs in order - we went to banks, the funeral home, the flower shop, etc. - and everywhere we went, she would share that she only had a few weeks left to live so she was putting things into place so that I had less to take care of after she was gone. People would remark that she didn't seem afraid, that they couldn't believe she was smiling! And my Auntie Jo would respond it was because she knew where she was going. She knew that because of her faith in God, and in Jesus as her savior, she was going to live for eternity in Heaven so she was quite simply unafraid and was actually a bit excited for this next part of her eternal life. Just think of what kind of impact she may have had on the people she talked to, or those who heard her who were just in the room?</p><p>It cannot be a coincidence that God did not answer our prayers to heal either my mom or my aunt and that both of them died very young, and that both died of cancer but that both were blessed with windfalls of enough money so that they could stop working for the last months/years of their lives and use that time to love their family and friends well and also to love strangers well by sharing the Gospel message. Who knows what impacts those conversations might have in the future?</p>Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-22020779260252615992020-03-18T18:36:00.003-05:002020-03-18T20:31:27.681-05:00COVID-19 Journaling Day 2Today we had a little bit of normalcy. Thank goodness our favorite appliance store is still open and delivering because our dishwasher's "Start" button stopped working very well a couple weeks ago. We shopped for a replacement dishwasher online and placed our order over the phone two days ago (not normal for us). This morning our new, fully functional dishwasher arrived and was installed. It was a nice little bit of normal life for a few moments.<br />
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Also, Ryann spent part of the day today doing a little room-decorating that I thought turned out pretty cute!<br />
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<i>The verse of the day today was: "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind." - Ecclesiastes 12:13</i><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sheri's response:</span><br />
Bible verses like these are not super popular in our culture today. It seems too bossy and heavy handed and prescriptive. But what I see when I read this is a reminder that to "fear" God is to respect Him with utmost reverence and admiration and awe. Not to fear Him like we'd fear a mean person.<br />
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God provided us with His commandments so that we could live our best lives. If we would fulfill our duties and follow them, we really would be better off. We all fail because we live in a fallen world and none of us is perfect but we should all be trying. Just like all of us should be making an enormous effort to be socially distancing ourselves so that this coronavirus does not spread quickly and the healthcare system has time to help those who need it. Many people feel like it's an unnecessary ask and an imposition on their personal rights to live their lives how they want to but the people who know better than we do wouldn't ask us to live this way temporarily if they didn't think it was in our best interests in the long run. <br />
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<i>Question of the Day: What color is a mirror?</i><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sheri's response:</span><br />
If I was forced to pick one actual color to describe a mirror as being, I would say silver-y; however, I think a mirror is truly whatever color it is currently reflecting. And if you think about it, that is pretty beautiful. You can point a small mirror towards a beautiful patch of daisies and your mirror is suddenly yellow and white and green and maybe a little brown and black. Or look in the mirror and it's you-colored ;)<br />
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<span style="color: orange;">Adam's response:</span><br />
After all is over trust in God and he will have a greater relationship now.<br />
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I think to color of a mirror is a very see through silver that perfectly reflects you.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Stu's response:</span><br />
A mirror's color is silver.<br />
<br />Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-27228627092999577172020-03-17T17:44:00.000-05:002020-03-17T17:44:33.429-05:00COVID-19 Journaling Day 1What an absolutely unprecedented time we are living in. Boston Scientific has asked anyone who can work from home full time to do so. The schools in MN have all been cancelled for two weeks so Stu and the kids are home together. Yesterday was technically their last day of spring break so today was technically the first day of no school due to THE CORONAVIRUS. One of the things we've instituted to a. <i>try</i> to keep the kids busy and b. try to have some normalcy and c. try to be educational and d. try to deal with some of the emotions they must have swirling around in their developing brains is to journal each day. I told Stu he and I should journal, too. I think it will be a fascinating way to remember this crazy time in our lives.<br />
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Today's journaling prompts:<br />
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1. The verse from the YouVersion Bible app today was "You will search for me, and when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me." Jeremiah 29:13<br />
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What does this scripture mean for you today and in your life?<br />
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There are many, many people with suddenly a lot more time on their hands than usual since so many businesses and activities are shutting down. People probably have varying feelings about this and some of them may either choose to spend time with God or they may be crying out to God during this time. I am choosing to embrace this time to try to be still and read more and pray more and lean in more. In a way I am searching for God all the time but even more right now. I love that God promises that when we search for Him with all our heart, we will find him. <br />
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2. What animal would you be and why?<br />
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Normally I would choose to be a dog because their life seems so fun and easy. They are always happy and get to lay around and rest a lot of the day. But right now, I would choose to be a bird. I would love to be out in the fresh air, to be able to fly around and perch in whatever tree I chose. I would make fluffy nests for if it was chilly and I would spend as much time in the sun as I could.<br />
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<b>Adam's journal entry:</b><br />
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This scripture means that if I try with half my strength to find something I won't find it, but if I use all my strength, all my mind, all my soul, all my heart, Etc. I will find what I am looking for, so if I put all my mind, strength and soul into finding a extraordinary relationship with God I will find one.<br />
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I would be an eagle because eagles can fly where they choose when they choose, but also because eagles are way cooler than all other birds.<br />
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<b>Stu's journal entry:</b><br />
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Animal only - Eagle, flying seems cool and they are protected from hunters.<br />
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Ryann and Max journaled but did not want it made publicly available ;)<br />
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<br />Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-11059978759440795432018-07-30T22:01:00.000-05:002018-07-30T22:01:24.512-05:00The big shake upAbout five years ago, I posted <a href="http://stewartsnippets.blogspot.com/2012/03/what-if.html">this</a> musing on God, Jesus, Christianity, Heaven, and hell. I am able to look at the stats for each of my posts to see how many people looked at them. That post was one of the most clicked-on I've ever written. Some time after I wrote that post, God started nudging me. In that blog, I admitted that I had a Bible next to me but that <i>I didn't open it</i>, instead I just spoke from <u>my own human emotion</u>. God nudged me to start reading the Bible, start talking to those who'd had more years to read it than I have, and to question what had started to feel so nice and right to me. I've never publicly discussed the huge, frightening change God nudged me to make for my family in 2014. But I'm going to now.<br />
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Let me back up a little. So, part of my personality is the incredible need to please people. As a child, I loathed when anyone was upset with me - parents especially. As a teenager, I started to push the boundaries and was kind of a nasty daughter and friend at times, to prove to myself that I didn't have to always please everyone (I lost some friends in the process). As an adult, I've learned more constructive ways to respect myself and not be so disheartened if I upset someone (no one goes through life <i>never</i> upsetting others, right?). But four years ago, "peace at all costs" was still a pretty deeply held belief for me. I believe our relationship with Christ is a continuous journey and looking back four years ago, I realize now I was at a point in my journey where my lil human-brain imagined God as a super-human (rather than as GOD which is who He truly is) because His Godly unknowableness was just too much for my lil human-brain to wrap around. <br />
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Also, I was at a point where attending a church that felt super easy and welcoming and loving and giving and fun and friendly seemed like the right place to be. It was easy because Stu had grown up there so he was known and knew people in the congregation; it was welcoming because the parishioners there are all kind and loving people; it was giving because that was the main focus of that church - being generous to others near and far; it was fun because there was a focus on planning entertaining church activities on a regular basis; it was friendly because the church was small and many of us (especially parents of similar-aged kids) got to know each other well and saw each other at church and in the community and even hung out together outside of church sometimes. Because I love to please people and help where I can, I taught Sunday School and accepted the invitation to serve on the board of that church. <br />
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As I said, God was nudging me. I still wasn't reading the Bible as much as I should have but God was whispering to <span style="font-family: inherit;">me to question things that didn't seem to jive and to listen to the little discomfort I felt after attending church some Sundays. There were sermons given at that church that intimated the Bible was not always true for us in this time, so many years after it was authored, and that some parts should be taken with a grain of salt. That just didn't feel right to me. But, I thought, "Maybe I'm misinterpreting this? I am terrified to question a man of God but I think I need to talk to our pastor to understand what is truly intended here." Somehow I gathered enough courage to request a meeting with our pastor. Actually, I gathered the courage by praying to God and asking for strength. I never could have done it on my own. And before the scheduled meeti<span style="font-family: inherit;">ng, I prayed for discernment (from gotquestions.org: </span><i style="border: 0px; color: #444444; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Discernment</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"> is defined as “the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure; an act of perceiving something; a power to see what is not evident to the average mind.” The definition also stresses accuracy, as in “the ability to see the truth.” Spiritual discernment is the ability to tell the difference between truth and error. It is basic to having wisdom.)</span> The pastor invited a newly ordained assistant-pastor to attend the meeting as well. Unfortunately, the more questions I asked and the more answers I was given, I realized my misgivings were valid. I was not then, am not now, and never probably will be a Biblical scholar but I knew enough to realize that something was deeply amiss. Plus, if you are willing to believe that God will lead you the right way and listen to the internal nudging, you will know what is right from wrong. These pastors were telling me they wholeheartedly believed that what Jesus said in John 14:6..."<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #001320;">I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" was invalid. Instead, they essentially </span><span style="color: #001320;">believed</span><span style="color: #001320;"> that God equaled BIG LOVE and that God's BIG LOVE meant that there is no hell and that all of humankind is welcome in Heaven, no matter what. I literally asked them, "Are you telling me that if someone worships the sun, moon, and stars their whole life and rejects the Christian God of the world, that they will go to Heaven?!" and their answer was unequivocally "Yes". I burst into tears because I knew this was going to change my family's entire spiritual life. The pastor offered to send me books that gave credence to their belief and I said no thank you. I left the meeting and drove home, shaking in my car. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #001320;">As terrifying as it was, a day or so later I e-mailed the pastor and head of the church board, resigned my position, and explained my family was leaving the church. The books I didn't want arrived in the mail soon after and I kept the unopened envelope for a while but eventually threw them in the trash. I started researching and attending different churches each weekend, searching for a new place that felt like home. I prayed that God would lead me in the right direction and we would find the church that was right for our family. During this time, I was idly browsing Facebook and ran across a post a friend had shared where a church I'd never heard of had created a cute music video of some of the kids at church singing a fun song. I'd never seen anything like it. It was clear this church had a large budget. I noticed the church was called Eagle Brook and thought to myself, "Isn't that the church Brittany (my cousin) just told me her husband's family goes to? What a coincidence!" I decided to go check out a sermon that Sunday and as I got close to the church location another interesting realization hit me - "Oh!! This is the enormous church I used to drive past while taking Ryann to horseback riding lessons a few years ago! I always wondered what church that was." I walked in and thought, "Holy cow, this is nothing like any church I've ever been in before!" I walked into the enormous auditorium and found a seat. There was a countdown on the bigger-than-life screens and suddenly the music blared out. "Welp, I thought, THIS is not going to be Stu's cup of tea..."</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #001320;">But the message...the message just seemed so spot on. I prayed about my morning there and asked my mom to go check out Eagle Brook too. She said what I thought she would - she didn't love the music, but the message was really good. The messages have continued to teach that the Bible is the unerring Word of God and it guides us in the Truth God intends for us. The most important of all is that Jesus died for our sins, He is the way, the truth, and the life and the only way to Heaven (the road is narrow) is through Him. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #001320;">To make a long story short (and maybe I'll write about this again in more depth someday), I convinced Stu to come check Eagle Brook out with me. The music was not his favorite (at first) but that week's message was right on, too. We had found our new church home. It was a scary and life-changing time but, blessedly, it's continued to be life-changing. About six months after we began attending, Ryann made the decision to be publicly baptized.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #001320;">More and more of our family started to attend. And just a week or so ago, Stu, Adam, and I were publicly baptized.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #001320;">The big shake up of 2014 was worth it.</span></span></span></div>
Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-73951500013072134612016-09-10T22:06:00.001-05:002016-09-10T22:06:48.871-05:00Crazy loveFive or so years ago, I learned about this opportunity that exists out there called "animal fostering". I'd heard of foster homes for children, of course, but I had no idea there were people who took in <i>animals</i> who needed temporary homes. Being a crazy animal lover, I was immediately drawn to the idea. I don't remember Stu being vehemently against it but....he may have been. He likes our pets just fine but he'd also like living in a pet-free house just as well. If you've known me for very long or very well at all, you know that once I get an idea in my head, it doesn't shake loose easily. I doubt it was very many days before we had our first foster dog in our house.<br />
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A lot of people think it's crazy to take animals into your house when you don't know their history. I will admit, it's a risk. I am exceedingly careful introducing new animals to my children and to my own animals. And it's still probably crazy. But our house is full of crazy love. And we've found it works really well for us. I have a crazy love for animals and my husband has a crazy love for me. In a span of about 4 years, we fostered approximately 40 dogs, puppies, and kittens.</div>
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Then, in God's perfect timing, I suddenly and immediately felt overwhelmed with the dog rescue world and with fostering and decided to take a break. Shortly thereafter, I learned the Lord had nudged me in this direction because instead of tenderly caring for helpless animals for a while, I tenderly cared for my dying mother for about 4 months while she she succumbed to cancer. My mom died on August 20, 2015 and I learned a valuable lesson about God's timing. We may not understand why a door closes at the time but looking back after time has passed gives a whole new perspective. I'm so grateful for how things played out now but at time I was hurt and sad.</div>
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Fast forward about 13 months. It's been 13 months since my best friend went to Heaven. I know I'll see her again but I don't know how long I'll have to wait until then. When we stopped fostering animals in the Spring of 2015, we had one dog. We still share our home with Zoe but since then, we adopted a puppy from the Animal Humane Society and named her Petunia, took in a retired breeding female named Sierra, and took in my mom's cat, Savvy. </div>
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We decided our little zoo was full and it made sense, even after my mom was gone, to not go back to fostering. In addition, I was absolutely wracked by grief and had no room in my heart to care for anyone or anything but what was essential. As time passed, the grief has eased somewhat and though I still miss my mom more than I thought I ever would, I've started opening back up to being able to do some things that I just didn't have the capacity for in the last year. I didn't know that I was open to considering fostering again until I offered to kitten-sit for a friend while she was out of town for a week.</div>
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My friend adopted Bella and Sam shortly before leaving on a planned family camping trip. Bella had been having seizures and my friend was not comfortable leaving the kittens at home with the neighbor periodically checking on them. Thankfully, Bella never had a seizure while staying with us and blessedly, she's never had a seizure again. Caring for these two little souls who were in need and providing peace of mind for my friend reminded me of the joy of fostering animals. Not only do I get satisfaction from helping the animals in need, I absolutely love the difference I make for people and families who get to adopt a new furry family member. I actually didn't voice my rekindled interest in fostering out loud. Not to Stu and not really even to myself. Yet, Stu and I share a crazy love and he knew before I did. A few weeks after we sent Bella and Sam home, he looked at me seemingly out of the blue and said, "I know how much you love to foster animals. I know our house is full. But if fostering makes you happy, you should start doing it again." I slept on it for a few nights, prayed about it, and the more I thought about it, the more I knew I wanted to try it again. <br />
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I researched rescue organizations, trying to decide which one would be the best to foster for. Ultimately, I chose the Animal Humane Society for a couple reasons. The first reason is that the animals that need foster care through this organization are the most in need - they are sick, recovering from surgery, too young and/or tiny to be adopted yet, or are pregnant. These are my favorite animals to help. I've had experience over the years nursing animals back to health after major surgeries and even whelping a litter of puppies. I taught myself how to do this and now this organization could use the skills I have! It felt like a perfect fit. The other reason I think AHS is the right fit for us is that these animals need care for very specific, often short-ish time periods. When fostering for a non-shelter rescue organization, you are committing to house and care for an animal for an open-ended period of time: until they get adopted. This could be a couple weeks or could be a couple months or even years. Our family is busy and just keeps getting busier as the kids get older. In order to effectively incorporate fostering into our lives, it is best for us to know how long an animal will be with us so we can plan around that. After impatiently moving through the somewhat slow but very thorough process of becoming a foster for AHS, I picked up our first AHS foster dog, Terrence, yesterday.<br />
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I received an e-mail earlier this week, letting all potential AHS fosters know that a 16 pound terrier mix named Terrence needed foster care for two weeks. He was being treated for heart worm infestation and was noted to be easygoing and affectionate by AHS staff. He needed to be given an antibiotic every day for the next week or so and would need to be returned to AHS near the end of September to receive his final heart worm treatment injection and then go up for adoption. That was all I knew. After sleeping on it for a couple days, I decided we were the right family for Terrence. I sent a message letting the foster coordinator know I'd be picking him up. When I got there, I learned Terrence also has kennel cough and all of his man parts since he's been too sick to undergo his neuter surgery. Crazy as it is to bring a small, un-neutered male into a house where three spayed females live (male dogs don't care whether a female is spayed, they're still interested), home he came with me. And he's been a perfect house guest in every way. No potty accidents in the house, quiet in his kennel, no humping of the female residents, friendly and affectionate towards everyone, and no desire to kill the cat. He coughs a little and needs to be kept very restful at all times because too much activity could dislodge chunks of heart worm and result in death. But his presence fills all our hearts. My crazy love for animals and Stu's crazy love for me equals a loving, caring, temporary home for Terrence while he recuperates and readies himself for his new forever family.</div>
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Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-13620209630890648032016-07-18T21:07:00.002-05:002016-07-18T21:12:41.645-05:00Safe Families for Children in MinnesotaI am so excited to share information about a movement I just learned of tonight! It's called "<a href="http://safefamiliesmn.org/">Safe Families for Children</a>" of Minnesota. This movement is spreading across the country and the globe. My new(ish) church, Eagle Brook, is partnering with Safe Families and God is tugging at my heart to somehow be a part of this. Since I just started praying about this a couple days ago when I learned about the partnership, I don't know what exactly it looks like yet but this blog post is a first step. <br />
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I truly believe that God has called me to care for those who need caring for. He's created a desire in me to be hospitable and to love on babies and children and other (sometimes furry) beings who need to be cared for. If you know me personally, you know we've opened our home many times for helpless animals in need :) </div>
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Stu and I both love kids and pray daily for God to help us be a great dad and mom. And, by the grace of God, I believe we are pretty darn good parents! I'd love to jump right in and be a host family for kids in need but I'm not sure how realistic that is yet....but we're praying about it. In the interim, I want to at least spread the word about Safe Families because until last week, when Eagle Brook promo'ed their new partnership, I'd never heard of them. Their mission and philosophy just makes good sense. They step in and provide a safe, temporary, Christian home for kids in need while the kids' parent(s) get things squared away in their life. This aid is offered <i>before</i> and hopefully to <i>prevent </i>the need for foster care for these kids. In order for this to work, all kinds of help is needed! Donations of things like car seats and diapers can help, time and talent to organize and facilitate are needed, space to house donated items would help; the sky is the limit! </div>
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Our country is in absolute tumult right now. What better way to bring our communities together than to go back to our Christian roots of caring for the "widows and children"? Through Safe Families, we can answer the call for help and give parents a break to get their lives in order, and a shoulder to lean on to get to a better place!</div>
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I urge you to click on the link above and read more about Safe Families. Search your heart and see if there is a way you can help. I don't know much about this yet but went to the informational meeting tonight so if you want to reach out to me, I can get in touch with Eagle Brook/Safe Families and we can learn more together!!</div>
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Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-19340880792296560222016-02-03T08:44:00.001-06:002016-02-03T08:44:24.135-06:00Losing your mom in your 30s: 10 things a motherless daughter will learn<br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-ozhLzDrfT2QkQQmVd05hVVyCmCEhHWUHWKgjVRpsrdvrN_egBDnWKzhjz86_rTSmpePXhc3IzWkGWt2Bm9Xb76uVruft3LREIR57Q5J7zoeZbieG0gowcrqMSk07DnikqICRC0n1_A/s640/blogger-image-525396957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-ozhLzDrfT2QkQQmVd05hVVyCmCEhHWUHWKgjVRpsrdvrN_egBDnWKzhjz86_rTSmpePXhc3IzWkGWt2Bm9Xb76uVruft3LREIR57Q5J7zoeZbieG0gowcrqMSk07DnikqICRC0n1_A/s640/blogger-image-525396957.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">1. You are stronger and more amazingly resilient than you ever could have imagined. And no matter how crappy or wonderful of a mom you had, she helped make you that way. You are her incredible legacy. </div><div style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">2. You can no longer tolerate watching movies in the drama genre (at least for a while). Someone is either dying or losing something vitally important. No matter what it is, it reminds you of losing your mom and you become seriously depressed for hours to days. </div><div style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">3. Losing someone suddenly vs. to an illness or disease where you have a chance to say goodbye - neither is "better". Both are tortuous in their own terrible ways. </div><div style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">4. Just when you move past any mother-daughter angst you've been holding onto or dealing with, your mom is gone. This is horrifying. </div><div style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">5. Life is no damn fair. Just in case you hadn't learned that yet. </div><div style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">6. Just as difficult as losing your own mom, is losing your kids' (or future kids') grammie. Every cute, fun, memorable, amazing thing your kids do makes your heart ache that your mom is missing it. </div><div style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">7. The only woman who had known you your entire life, knew all your strengths and flaws, and ALWAYS championed you no matter what, is gone. </div><div style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">8. You will sometimes feel a guilty sense of relief that your mom is no longer there to disapprove of certain choices you make. </div><div style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">9. For a while, you feel unmoored, adrift, and so very alone since no one expects you to check in with them daily any longer. </div><div style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">10. If it applies, you will be so grateful your mom was a wonderful Christian example for you and that she encouraged you to be faithful. Because you know this means you will be together again eventually and eternally (and sometimes this just doesn't feel like enough comfort). </div></div>Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-87256071770530893942016-01-24T14:38:00.003-06:002021-12-22T10:52:05.590-06:00We can all just get along!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI7OM8V8Lh2thoYkawG3cgnRjHYp-p2tV6DMZrOm-3kGDvlizmd04AdAQxTc-kagCJXFmiclcOYfuoDB6ZUYoXQFS7G3KH5wZq3JZJeagPxnMCexwPB8dnfJ6d_jVM2ytWHjQ0hUwF9Xo/s1600/Cant+we+all+just+get+along.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI7OM8V8Lh2thoYkawG3cgnRjHYp-p2tV6DMZrOm-3kGDvlizmd04AdAQxTc-kagCJXFmiclcOYfuoDB6ZUYoXQFS7G3KH5wZq3JZJeagPxnMCexwPB8dnfJ6d_jVM2ytWHjQ0hUwF9Xo/s320/Cant+we+all+just+get+along.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Many people these days seem to think that disagreeing with someone is synonymous with despising them. Christians, especially, are often seen as "despisers". As a Christian and a loving, friendly woman, I take great umbrage with that assumption. It also bugs me that our society has decided it's no longer acceptable to make judgments. That making judgments means you've decided the judged is a despicable person. I beg to differ. I am far from perfect. I'm an admitted sinner who feels so blessed to have a Savior who died on the cross so I could be forgiven. I am doing my best to be a good human in every way and I firmly believe I need God's help in doing so. I happen to believe the same applies to all humans. I believe you all need God in your lives and that if you accepted Jesus as your Savior, your life would change for the better. Does that mean I think you're a horrible person without Jesus? Nope. Society would say I am "judging" non-Christians and in a sense, I am. I am passing judgment on your non-belief. I am judging it as the wrong way to do life. But does that mean I despise the non-believer?! Nope. I've had many friends my whole life who are non-Christians. Do I constantly ask them to repent and accept Jesus as their Savior? Nope. Do I pray every night that all humans would listen to the inner calling that we all have to draw closer to God? You betcha. Does this make me a despicable person? I don't think so. And I think if you ask the people who love me and spend time with me, they'd agree that I'm a very kind, generous, and accepting person. If I, who am very imperfect, am able to be a Christian, "judge" others, <i>and</i> love them and be their friend all at the same time, so can we all. I'm willing to bet this is how many, if not most, Christians operate. Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-76721617388079432952016-01-17T21:40:00.001-06:002016-01-17T21:40:34.043-06:00School agers are so.much.funWhen I was in college, I worked for the YMCA at their school age after school program and I mostly enjoyed my job. I loved my coworkers and was excited to go to work each day (well, the before-school hours meant I had to be at work at about 6:00 am so that was not super fun) but sometimes the kids just wore me out with their constant requests to play Mancala and make believe. So I wasn't sure how it would be with school aged kids of my own. I am finding that I LOVE this age. My kiddos are still pretty young - 11, 9, and 7 but they are already starting to show glimpses of the young adults they will become. They are full of silliness and jokes and sass and opinions and stubbornness and plans for the future and emotions and....hormones. <br />
<br />
Recently, Stu and I went on a date and Ryann asked us if after dinner at Olive Garden, we'd "make out" in the back of the car. Then she laughed like a loon. Stu suggested we could just make out in the front of the car, there'd be no need to move to the back. Ha!<br />
<br />
We've been fielding questions about how old Stu and I were when we had our first boyfriend/girlfriend so we talked about the subject a little at the dinner table tonight. We informed the kids that Stu and I will decide on a certain age the kids will need to reach before they are able to call their opposite sex friends "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" and spend time with them outside of school. And that when that time came, we'd have a discussion with them about what is responsible and respectful in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. And that if we find out they've begun a boy/girlfriend relationship prior to reaching the agreed-upon age and before discussing it with Stu and I, there would be consequences. Max asked, "Hypothetically speaking, if we are spending time with someone <i>at</i> school, is that an issue?" It really seemed like a hypothetical question so I don't think he's spending time with anyone at school but he's more tight lipped than I was at his age, so I'm not 100% sure....I don't see any "real" boyfriend/girlfriend action happening for another few years but I hope laying the groundwork now will be helpful.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
I'm hoping that the fun we have together as a family and my constant broaching of uncomfortable subjects to try to make those subjects the norm will result in teenagers who still enjoy Stu and I as parents and who feel comfortable talking to us about the tough stuff. I hope that the teenage years continue to be as fun as the school age years have so far been.</div>
<br />
Here's a glimpse of the craziness that is almost constantly happening around here (this is my idea of a wild and fun Saturday night!):<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nOFjoZkxhGI" width="459"></iframe>Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-3641145344264482672016-01-15T18:44:00.000-06:002016-01-15T18:44:05.249-06:00Interview with a 2nd grader, a 4th grader, and a 5th grader<div>
<span style="color: magenta;">*Note as you read this that I copied down their answers verbatim. Cuz it's funnier and more authentic that way.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: magenta;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEici53sBgdwbaJxW-w7vp6wWUnQaT3mJLk0UyaHBJZvkMX6SjLvuIx678WmwyTyFDXWvFVIXlPZ37MEM2h-fsXcJCdtFjxSCg6mXX_BP9eLKFo1tp1UsGJ9Pb9MoEW3jn5SaLWt4McKqt0/s1600/DSC08002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEici53sBgdwbaJxW-w7vp6wWUnQaT3mJLk0UyaHBJZvkMX6SjLvuIx678WmwyTyFDXWvFVIXlPZ37MEM2h-fsXcJCdtFjxSCg6mXX_BP9eLKFo1tp1UsGJ9Pb9MoEW3jn5SaLWt4McKqt0/s640/DSC08002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="color: magenta;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
What is your favorite color?<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Adam: Pink <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ryann: White<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Max: Light blue<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who is your favorite teacher so far?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Adam: Gail<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ryann: Sam<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Max: David<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you could decorate your bedroom however you wanted, what would
the theme be?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Adam: Star Wars<br />
Ryann: It would be like painted mostly fake trees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like that is painted on the wall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What the heck, Mom?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not going to say anything…aaaaahhhh!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oooohhhhaaaahhhhlalalamommy!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Max: Entirely white paint with a ton of wall stickers<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What is your favorite TV show?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Adam: Lego Star Wars, the Chronicles<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ryann:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hmmmm, let me
think about this….sometimes I really hate you, Mom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(laughing) I don’t know.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Max: I don’t have one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don’t watch TV that much.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who is your favorite friend to spend time with right now?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Adam: Joey (a boy in Adam’s Sunday School class)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ryann: Evelyn S.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Max: Ricky W-P.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you
go?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Adam:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nowhere, I want
to stay here with my sweet mom. Actually, I kind of like it in here.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ryann: Going to see Audrey in Georgia<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Max: Right here.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What do you want to be when you grow up?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Adam: A policeman, a fireman, or a health man aaaaa…..(an
EMT?, I suggested), yeah or a dentist.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ryann: I don’t have time to worry about that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Max: A zookeeper<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What do you think is the biggest problem in our world right
now?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Adam: If segregation is still going on then, yes, that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ryann: School (I asked, Can you be more specific?) Me, in
school.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Max: Global warming<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-49787962725310734292016-01-13T12:50:00.000-06:002016-01-13T12:56:06.373-06:00In the midst of it all, I'm blessedIn my <a href="http://stewartsnippets.blogspot.com/2016/01/a-new-year-another-new-new.html">previous post</a>, I lamented the things that have been so terribly hard in my life in the past 15 years. I noted the possibility that these things had happened to me because God was getting me used to change. I was reflecting this morning that not only have I become more used to and accepting of change because of the life I've had but I believe that God is constantly nudging us, desiring for us to draw closer to Him and, in the rear view mirror, I can see that's exactly what God has done in my life.<br />
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I started out saying: "<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">In the last 15 years I graduated from college, got a full time job at Guidant, got married, became a manager at Guidant, moved to a new department at Guidant, got pregnant, had a baby...." <span style="color: #45818e;">W</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #45818e;">hile that time in my life was quite exhausting and stressful, that baby I got pregnant with was an answer to fervent prayers. Stu and I tried for a year to get pregnant with no success. I have desired to be a mom since I was a little girl and it made me very sad each month I wasn't pregnant. The moves within the company were </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #45818e;">stretches<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> for me. When I became a manager, I not only learned a lot about managing people but also about being a "managed" employee which has helped me in my thus-far 15 year career with the company. When the opportunity came to leave the department I loved, I wasn't sure it was the right thing to do. I knew very little about the work I'd be doing and knew none of the people in the department. But I forged ahead because </span>my boss assured me it was a good career move. And it was; but it was also the best thing I could have done for my marriage and eventual family. I moved from a department with very little flexibility (due to the call-center nature of the job) to a department that was and is incredibly flexible. Within a month of taking the new job, I was pregnant. God does answer prayers and he shapes us each day for what is to come!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">"...</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> my father-in-law died suddenly of a heart attack, got pregnant again..." </span></span><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Stu and I and the whole family were devastated when Ed died. Max was only 6 months old and Ed was so excited to be a grandpa. It was terrible that Ed was going to miss out on the rest of Max's earthly life. But again, I felt God drawing me near. One thing Ed and I enjoyed together was reading the "Left Behind" series and then discussing what the fictional books had to say about the End Times. I knew that Ed was a Christian and although we all missed him and </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">still</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> miss him dearly, I pictured him in Heaven with Jesus. Ed's death opened up my young 20-something mind to the reality that we don't live forever and some of us die younger than others and helped me "grow up" a little. Stu and I started taking Max to church more frequently and in our grief, we ended up conceiving another baby. My daughter Ryann is such an amazing blessing to us. God is with us in our grief and fear and sadness and gives us good things!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">".<span style="color: #45818e;">..</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">dropped down from a 40 hour work week to 32 hours a week, had my third baby when my oldest was three and a half..." </span></span><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">When Ryann was about 2 years old, I was struggling to balance a 40 hour work week and my home life. My mom had lovingly cared for Max as an infant, one day a week but when Ryann went to "Grammie's daycare" at about 3 months old, it was a little too much for my mom to take on. I </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">don't</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> blame her one bit! Max was only 18 months old and caring for a toddler and a newborn is the stuff of crazy people (like me). My angelic daycare provider, Deanna, offered to take both kids for the 5 day work week temporarily and I wrote up a flexible work-life arrangement proposal, requesting to drop down to 32 hours a week. Miraculously, my boss accepted the proposal. No one </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">has</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> been allowed a part time position since then. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">I</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #45818e; font-family: Times;"> desperately wanted more babies and Stu finally agreed to try for one more. Our compromise was that we would try for a </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: #45818e; font-family: Times;">third baby, ONCE (as in, one month), and if it didn't happen, it wasn't meant to be. I prayed every night that God would either bless me with a child or, if not, that He would help me to be ok with the fact that I was not going to have any more children. So although it was sheer madness for a while there, having three children under the age of three and a half, Adam is also an amazing, miraculous blessing to our family. And Stu is so grateful for Adam, even though he was unsure about having more than two children. God works miracles!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">"...had my youngest go temporarily blind from fast-growing cataracts that developed at the age of 2, nursed him through 2 major eye surgeries... " </span></span><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">This time in our life was absolutely terrifying and was yet another season in my life where God was showing me that no matter how hard I try to order my life, be a good girl, and do everything right, I am not in charge and things will happen that I cannot fix no matter what. God made Himself known when we cried out to Him, not knowing for sure where to turn and a physician referred us to the amazing Dr. Erick Bothun at the University of Minnesota on the same day that Deanna called me at work to tell me she had a friend whose baby was born with a cataract and they highly recommended the Godly Dr. Bothun who prayed with them </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">before</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> their daughter's surgery, that God wou</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">ld guide his hands and preserve her sight. God is good and there for us even in the most stressful, harrowing circumstances!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">"...suffered from debilitating anxiety and panic attacks and took temporary leave from work to go through outpatient treatment..." </span></span><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Although God was constantly urging me to accept the fact that I needed to lean on Him to be my best and feel most peaceful, I continued to try to be Superwoman and do everything ON MY OWN THANKYOUVERYMUCH and it finally stopped working. I was physically unable to continue on as I had been. I had to admit to my boss and my company that I needed to take a break and that when I returned, I could not continue to work at a break neck pace. Strangely enough, this was met with zero resistance and all the support I </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">could</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> never have dreamed of. God showed Himself to me again when my friend recommended her amazing psychiatrist who she said "saved her life". I tried to get in with him and he was not accepting new patients. Shortly thereafter, my mom had to take me to the emergency room because of a </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">terrible</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> panic attack and when the ER doctors asked who I'd </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">like</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> to see, I gave Dr. Koller's name and, miraculously, he took me on! Dr. Koller spent hours with me, even staying late into the evening one night when I became suicidal and referred me to an outpatient treatment program. My experience at the outpatient treatment program at Abbott Northwestern Hospital was something I'd never change. The therapists who continue to be in my life are such a blessing to me. Unknowingly at the time, I was preparing for my mother's death. There were some childhood things I needed to work out with her that we dealt with just as she was diagnosed with cancer. My mom was my champion in life and, in her absence, my therapists are some of my replacement champions. They genuinely love me and want me to be and feel my very best. God </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">didn't miraculously cure me of </span></span></span><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Times;">anxiety, panic attacks, and depression. Instead, he blessed me with the tools I need to lean on Him and take care of myself!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">"...<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> began fostering dogs, started my own non-profit 501c3 animal rescue, fostered many dogs and some kittens, had some wonderful and some awful experiences while running Diamonds in the Ruff..." </span></span><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">In a time when my anxiety was still coming under control, God urged me to use my gift from Him of wanting to love and care for others. I was able to focus on nursing helpless animals back to their best physical and emotional health while I was being healed, too. I have so much more confidence in my ability to achieve whatever I put my mind to after starting up, running, and shutting down Diamonds in the Ruff. I met some amazing people and felt such love and support from so many friends, family members, and coworkers who helped me save the animals (financially and with their time and moral support). God put people and situations in my life to help me remember that although the devil continues, to this day, to whisper in my ear that the </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">world would be better off without me, that's not true. I'm needed here and I help do God's work on earth.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: Times;">And then I lost my mom. And there were lots of amazing ways I saw God moving in that. She and I hurried to shore up our relationship with one another before she was gone. My mom's unwavering faith, bravery, humor, and positive attitude touched many</span><span style="font-family: Times;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times;">of her caretakers and maybe even changed some of their lives. I savor each day and am a better mother to my kids and I remember the wonderful things my mom did for me growing up with more fondness and appreciation than before. I think of my mom daily and since I know she's in Heaven, I end up thinking of God daily. I talk to both of them, telling my mom how much I miss her and sharing things with her. And I talk to God, asking him to take good care of my mom until I see her again. The loss of my mom has drawn me closer to God than ever before, not because I feel I need to be a good Christian so I can go to Heaven and be with my mom but simply because I appreciate the crazy life that God has given me, I listen to Him more, and truly want to be in a relationship with Him.</span></span></div>
Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-68828653984661280612016-01-06T16:15:00.000-06:002016-01-06T16:15:34.121-06:00A New Year, another new "new"I don't mean to have a pity party or anything but as I reflect on the last 15 or so years of my life, I can remember telling myself an awful lot that I was going to have to get used to the new "new" that my life had become. And I used to hate change. I guess this is God's way of helping me get used to, and learn to embrace change. In the last 15 years I graduated from college, got a full time job at Guidant, got married, became a manager at Guidant, moved to a new department at Guidant, got pregnant, had a baby, my father-in-law died suddenly of a heart attack, got pregnant again, dropped down from a 40 hour work week to 32 hours a week, had my third baby when my oldest was three and a half, survived many lay-offs at and the purchase of Guidant by Boston Scientific, had my youngest go temporarily blind from fast-growing cataracts that developed at the age of 2, nursed him through 2 major eye surgeries, lost my first ever fur-baby with Stu to old age, adopted an adult dog, suffered from debilitating anxiety and panic attacks and took temporary leave from work to go through outpatient treatment, began fostering dogs, started my own non-profit 501c3 animal rescue, fostered many dogs and some kittens, had some wonderful and some awful experiences while running Diamonds in the Ruff, adopted another adult dog, found out my mom had Mesothelioma (lung cancer), decided to shut down my animal rescue, sold my first home with Stu and bought another one, volunteered with another rescue, had to make the gut-wrenching decision to put one of my own dogs down after several biting and near-biting incidents, was asked to leave the rescue I'd worked so hard for and donated a lot of money to, adopted a puppy, cared for my mom in the last weeks of her life, adopted my mom's cat after she passed away, adopted another adult dog, and now I will start 2016 as a daughter with no mother. I can honestly say that I'm finally getting used to dealing with change and I don't find it nearly as upsetting anymore. Losing my mom is definitely the hardest new "new" that I've had to deal with but I continue to have faith that God has a plan for my life and even the saddest, most upsetting times are part of that plan. <br />
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In this new year, I want to try again to read more than I have in the past few years, print out many (many!!!!) digital photos since I've only printed a handful here and there for the past 6 or so years, and as a family we are going to fill a gratitude jar with little blessings we make note of each week. On New Year's Eve, we'll empty the jar and remind ourselves of all the good God worked in our lives in 2016. If we focus on the bad things, the world can start looking pretty grim. This is one way our family plans to focus on the positive!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZRZXTYBnGdrfP5H9hAswwMFf40lr3JODsGCyeQxurxjLMe-VjiXYXuSqg5yRE-NBpNP_YjS_AYOOAUq806No2_1D23_V3yo9B2GWjAHqt6SFkSisGtmUwYMqpSB7oGmYqQ1B9LcyO50/s1600/20160106_160957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZRZXTYBnGdrfP5H9hAswwMFf40lr3JODsGCyeQxurxjLMe-VjiXYXuSqg5yRE-NBpNP_YjS_AYOOAUq806No2_1D23_V3yo9B2GWjAHqt6SFkSisGtmUwYMqpSB7oGmYqQ1B9LcyO50/s640/20160106_160957.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our gratitude jar is already filling up! We all struggle with stuff in this family but are very blessed as well.</td></tr>
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<br />Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-79571408997352182262015-12-16T19:31:00.000-06:002015-12-16T19:31:01.789-06:00A Pebble In My Pocket<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As Christmas draws near, I find myself missing my mom especially intensely. I have many fond memories of the special things she did when Nikki and I were little to make the season extra fun. She decorated the house to the hilt, had chocolate covered cherries and store bought cookies on hand, created amazing tablescapes, cooked mouth-watering Christmas dinners for the whole family, and was the most amazing gift giver. My mom thoroughly enjoyed scouting out the best, most unique gifts for her loved ones. It gave her so much pleasure to surprise and delight us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was introduced to a little story today that really resonated with me. I'll share it here:</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>"Grief is a Pebble in our Pocket" by Chaplain Ruth Frost</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>When we first lose someone we love, our hearts are leaden with grief. It is as though we are carrying the weight of an enormous boulder over our hearts, a boulder which blocks out light and the view of anything else but the landscape of grief.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>As time passes, we weep and pray and try to return to the responsibilities of daily life, forever altered by the new norm of our loved one's absence. We seek support from those who can give us time to listen, though it's never enough time to hear what the loss of our loved one means to us and we have no words adequate to describe the full extent of our loss even if time were infinite.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Yet, unseen to us, the hands of God cup our grief and gently smooth its raw edges with the healing balm of memory. As our hearts open in gratitude for the love that so filled our lives, we being participating again in the world around us. We reach out to others also burdened by grief. We celebrate life in the birth of a child. We remember to pray for strangers and friends. And in so doing, the boulder of grief becomes smoother and smaller under God's touch and through our participation in the world around us. Gradually, as we entrust our grief to God and practice the daily discipline of gratitude, our boulder of grief diminishes. One blessedly ordinary day, we wake up without the weight of the boulder on our hearts. In place of the boulder at our breast, is a smooth pebble in our hand. We hold it for a moment, remembering. Then with a kiss, we put it in our pocket. Grief will always be with us. It travels with us the rest of our days. But we can walk again with a lighter heart and a wiser spirit, knowing that love leaves a touchstone of grace and gratitude in our pocket forever.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The woman who shared the above with me presented me with a small, smooth stone to put in my pocket and use to remember this story and my mom. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I can feel myself slowly but surely moving out of the boulder phase. For a long time, the boulder of grief was so intense, I felt a physical presence dragging me down and causing me to feel physically ill. I have been intentional about reading, writing, praying, letting the tears fall, and thinking about all the blessings I carry on with me that are from my mom. Everyone is different and this is how I'm working through my grief. Right after my mom died, several people and things I read told me that I would now grieve forever and I found that prospect terrifying! But what I'm finding, and what this story says, is that you don't truly, deeply <i>grieve</i> forever; but you <i>are </i>forever changed. It's not that I will carry the enormous boulder of grief for the rest of my life; it's that I'll eventually have a little pebble in my pocket that will always be with me. Depending on what's happening in my life, the pebble might be slightly painful, digging in to me, or it might be a soothing presence to hold, stroke, and kiss. As horribly painful as grief is, it's a universal experience and I believe that God has a purpose for it. I feel myself growing and learning and changing how I live because of this grief. Thank you, Mom, for the beautiful Christmas memories you gave me and taught me to pass on to your beloved grandkids.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-86072198824396349462015-12-07T21:13:00.003-06:002015-12-07T21:13:56.859-06:00I did my best, I did my best, I did my bestApparently, it's common for those who have cared for their dying loved ones to have regrets and feel like they didn't do it "right". It's fading now but for a long time after my mom died, the 7 weeks I spent caring for her almost 24/7 was seared into my brain and I felt two ways about that time. I was so grateful that I was with my mom, trying my best to comfort her and care for her in every way imaginable for the last days of her life <i>and</i> I hated a lot of it. I didn't want to watch her waste away and I most definitely did not want to watch the very last moments of her life and see my mom die. But I also couldn't leave her alone so I did what I had to do. I wish I had never gotten frustrated with my mom and yelled at her and denied her some of the things she wanted (like the time when we battled over whether she was going to wear diapers or use her bedside commode). I wish (but I actually don't) that I would have cried with her more, told her how afraid I was, and begged her to comfort me and tell me more about how she was feeling (emotionally). I didn't do those things because I didn't want to make her more afraid then I'm sure she already was. My mom was an incredibly faithful woman and knew she was going to Heaven but I'm sure that doesn't take away all the fear of the unknown. The grief counselor I saw suggested that instead of focussing on the things I regret, to make a list of all the things I DID for my mom. So, here goes:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>I went to many of my mom's doctor's appointments and held her hands and coached her through pain and panic attacks while she had fluid drained from her chest</li>
<li>For the last 6 months of my mom's life, I brought her meals several times a week and for a while, before she stopped eating solid food, I brought her a plate of whatever we had for supper, every night</li>
<li>In that same timeframe, I did most of my mom's grocery shopping and would even go, on her whim, for things like fresh coconuts from the Asian market down the street</li>
<li>I went to the appointment where my mom admitted to the pain doctor that she probably needed to start the process of getting hospice care</li>
<li>I told my mom how much I loved her over and over and when she tried to tell me she'd made mistakes and wasn't a good mom, I reassured her that we all make mistakes and she was the very best mom</li>
<li>I am 5'5" and my mom was 5'11" and probably weighed 170 pounds towards the end of her life. Every 30-90 minutes day in and day out for seven weeks, I transferred my mom from bed to commode to wheelchair to easy chair to wheelchair to bed to commode to bed to wheelchair to easy chair, and on and on. The poor thing had the urge to pee all.the.time</li>
<li>I dressed and undressed my mom, sponge bathed her and washed her hair with water and with dry shampoo</li>
<li>I held the same red bowl while my mom brushed her teeth and while she vomited into it, many times</li>
<li>I learned how much toothpaste my mom preferred on her toothbrush (a lot) and how dry she wanted her hair after it was washed (bone dry)</li>
<li>I changed bed sheets and did laundry</li>
<li>I brought popsicles (never grape) and tapioca pudding and Jello whenever my mom could stomach it</li>
<li>I did dishes</li>
<li>I rubbed my mom's feet with lotion when her pain meds didn't help anymore</li>
<li>I pushed her wheelchair around and around and around her condo when she was so restless and panicked that she couldn't sit still but she was too weak to walk</li>
<li>I was her advocate and refused to give her the meds that made her hallucinate and become incredibly agitated even though the nurses insisted that if we just tripled the dose, she would be more comfortable</li>
<li>I was her advocate and sent away nurses who were crummy and stayed the night instead, even if that sometimes meant I would have been awake and caring for her for 24 hours at a time</li>
<li>I bore it when my mom screamed at me and accused me of drugging her and told me she didn't trust me and wouldn't take any meds from me and would wait until my aunt got there because only she could be trusted to give her the meds my mom wanted to take (she was out of her mind from a drug that she reacted badly to)</li>
<li>I held my mom's hand and talked to her for the last hours of her life, reassuring her that we were all going to be ok and that she didn't need to worry about not being physically present while her grandchildren grew up because I would always talk about what Grammie did or would have done or would have said. Even though she was unconscious, I'm sure she heard me.</li>
<li>I accepted help from friends and asked them to bring meals to my own family since I wasn't there to care for them</li>
<li>I took some little bits of time for myself and insisted a nurse would have to stay for the night so I could go home and sleep</li>
<li>I managed the schedule for my mom's caretakers and always knew who was coming, when</li>
<li>I tried to keep my sister, who lives out of town, in the loop as much as possible</li>
<li>I tried to respect all my mom's wishes and even though she briefly thought she might need to go to a hospice facility, when she got there and realized she hated it, my aunt and I worked our butts off and got her right back home two days later</li>
<li>I called my mom's favorite pastor and asked him to come pray with her and share communion with us all</li>
<li>I watched an episode of "Real Housewives" with my mom one night, early on during the time she was sick and when one of the characters on the show told how her mom died and she lifted her mom's body from the casket to hug it, I told my mom I would never do that to her :) She laughed</li>
<li>I made my mom laugh as much as I could</li>
<li>I didn't tell her every detail of what we knew</li>
<li>I drew up syringes of medicine and learned to crush pills and mix them with Jello or water</li>
<li>I learned which meds she could tolerate and which she couldn't</li>
<li>I ran to the pharmacy when needed to get over the counter things that we thought might help with her discomfort </li>
<li>When she couldn't eat anymore, I always asked to make sure it was ok if I stayed in the room with her while I ate meals. Eventually, she admitted to my grandma that it made her hungry and sad when I ate in the room so even though I wanted to be with her every second she was awake, I started eating my meals in the dining room instead of her bedroom</li>
<li>I arranged my mom's pillows around her over and over and over to get them just right</li>
<li>I listened for her bell and came running when I'd hear it ring</li>
<li>I learned how high to raise the head of her adjustable bed so I could have it up as soon as she was lying down so she didn't feel like she was suffocating from lying flat on the bed.</li>
<li>I turned the inflatable mattress that helped avoid bed sores on and off when my mom asked me to</li>
<li>When the cat chewed holes in the tubing for the air mattress, I taped the tubes completely with black electrical tape to stop the air from leaking out</li>
<li>I changed the kitty litter box</li>
<li>I took out the garbage</li>
<li>I offered to pick up lunch for my sister and aunt and grandma</li>
<li>I briefed every nurse and caretaker who came and ensured they understood how/what drugs to administer and when, how to fill out the brilliant schedule my aunt created, how my mom needed her pillows arranged so she could sleep, and how to hold her so as not to cause pain while assisting her from the bed to the commode to the wheelchair to the easy chair and back</li>
<li>I trimmed, filed, and painted my mom's nails</li>
<li>I kept the grandfather clock wound and the pendulum swinging</li>
<li>I watered my mom's beloved flowers on her deck</li>
<li>I was as nice as possible to the good nurses, hoping they'd want to return</li>
<li>I cleaned out her commode over and over and over</li>
<li>I went and got the book that was the right thickness and slid it under my mom's feet when she was sitting on the commode and feeling constipated</li>
<li>I changed diapers</li>
<li>I wiped my mom's body with body wash wipes</li>
<li>I brought her the face wipes she liked and threw them all away when she was done washing with them</li>
<li>I learned which undies and t-shirts were her favorite and made sure they were clean and ready for her to wear (Hello Kitty were faves)</li>
<li>I made sure her peacock fleece blanket was always with her wherever she was sitting or lying</li>
<li>I moved her oxygen exchanger and "Alexa" from the bedroom to the living room when she felt well enough to sit in there</li>
<li>I tried to keep her condo as neat and organized as she preferred so that when she did come out from her bedroom, she wasn't greeted with a terrible mess</li>
<li>I thanked her neighbors for coming by and bringing flowers, cards, and little treats</li>
<li>I brought my mom her mail to go through every day</li>
<li>I called my sister on FaceTime when it seemed appropriate so she could talk to my mom</li>
<li>I cleaned my mom's enormous fish tank</li>
</ul>
<div>
In my own critical mind, I wasn't the perfect caregiver for my mom but I bet if you asked her, she'd say I was.</div>
Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-22528275528717268122015-12-05T21:19:00.000-06:002015-12-05T21:19:05.496-06:00Bad Basketball MomI have a horrible confession to make. I usually love watching my kids play sports. This season, I am <i>not </i>enjoying watching Max play basketball. He's not very good. And his team hasn't won a game yet this season. In fact, they get pretty soundly crushed every game. <br />
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The thing is - Max LOVES it. He is having fun. He is not too bothered that his team is creamed every week. <br />
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He is excited to go to practice and his games each week but he has very little desire to improve. So why should I be bothered??! I feel really bad about my feelings. I am blaming it on being a little mental from grieving. It seems like this grief makes everything in my life right now that's a little bit bad, seem REALLY BAD. I was truly upset during Max's game this afternoon but when I came home, I was reading a book about what the Bible has to say about death, dying, and Heaven and I got to a part that talks about why we need to wait for God's timing to go to Heaven because God made us all for a special purpose here on earth. I may wish that Max was more of a natural athlete or with a desire to improve his basketball game so it wouldn't be so painful to watch his games but God created Max exactly how he was meant to be. And God blessed me with Max because I am the perfect mom for him. So I am going to change my attitude and remember how blessed I am that I have a healthy, active son who can run up and down the court and who thinks losing at basketball is a highlight of his week.Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-43316790506568761302015-12-04T15:16:00.001-06:002015-12-04T15:16:54.881-06:00Lovely photos to share!I just had to share some of the beautiful photos I took this fall of our new(ish) neighbors/friends. Are they <i>gorgeous-people</i> or what??<br />
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<br />Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-15965610702938115192015-12-04T15:10:00.002-06:002015-12-04T15:17:27.721-06:00It's No Wonder...**12/4/15 - Apparently I never posted this lovely episode of my life in the past. I must have written this in the spring of 2011.<br />
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...my nerves are so frazzled these days. It takes some kind of superhero woman to operate under the conditions in which we currently find ourselves (hee hee - coworkers of mine may recognize that phrase). One moment I am experiencing the high of all highs - lounging in a canvas folding chair, on a beautiful, warm, bug-free early evening, chatting with a newfound friend/neighbor/mother of Max's best buddy and watching both buddies play baseball with all their Kindergarten might:<br />
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The next minute, I find myself with Adam at a scheduled eye checkup at the U of M being told that his most recently operated eye is still exhibiting some inflammation and we can't wean him off of prednisolone eye drops as quickly as we'd hoped. Additionally, his brain is hardly using his left eye at all. As such, we got a prescription for a lens for the left side of his glasses, knowing full well that his prescription will likely change in the near future. But it doesn't matter, because we need to start patching his right eye ASAP and as much as possible to force his brain to use that left eye before irreversible vision impairment occurs. And it's just not fair to patch his right eye without giving Adam a bit of a leg up by providing him with some vision assistance in the form of a corrective lens in his glasses.<br />
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So, we had a busy day today - running to the eye glass store the moment it opened, to order Adam's new lens and then hustling to Byerly's to grab some sort of nourishment for Max since the boys had a haircut appointment at 10:00 and Max needed to catch the bus to school at 11:05 - there would have been no way for us to get home and make lunch after the haircuts and before the bus arrived. After the haircuts and getting Max to the bus, Ryann and Adam and I went home to eat some more and play a little. We got the call that his lens was ready so we hustled back to the eye glass store to have new lenses placed in Adam's frames before hustling Ryann to preschool. Adam pretended to try to take a nap until Max got home from school and then that was all over. It was at this point, that I told Adam is was time to put the patch over his right eye. He was amenable to the idea until the patch was actually on and then the trauma began. Poor Adam wailed and begged, screaming at me that he couldn't see, that he couldn't see his snack to eat it, that he couldn't see the TV, asking if he was going to have to wear the patch when he played outside, asking again and again why he had to wear it and if he could take it off. I held firm and explained again and again that he could not take off his patch, that he needed to leave it on so that his eye could get really strong. I tried to explain in three-year-old terms that I understood how frustrating it was but that he would see better soon, as long as he kept that pesky patch on. He finally gave in after about an hour and reluctantly wore it for <i>four hours</i> today. While he was reluctantly wearing the patch, he, Max, and I hustled to preschool to pick Ryann back up and also to pick up the flower orders for our loving family and friends who purchased flowers and plants as a fundraiser for Ryann's (soon to be Adam's) preschool. Then we hustled to drop off said plants before Sheri, the anti-green-thumb gal could somehow murder them all. Then we hustled home to eat dinner, administer eye drops, take medication, play in the yard, weed the yet-to-be-planted garden, prepare for baseball practice, give baths, and tuck some kids in bed while others stayed up too late having a wonderful time at the ball field. Are you tired from all the hustling yet? I sure am.<br />
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Another emotional swing - Ryann, Adam, and I were in the van the other day when a funeral procession passed by. The kids asked what was going on and I explained. Ryann pondered aloud that the dead person's family was probably sad but that the dead person was probably happy since they were now in Heaven. Then Adam, always wanted to be a part of the conversation, piped up with, "Mom, I'd be a wittle sad if you died, but a wittle happy cuz you'd be in Heaven." Well, thank you dear one.<br />
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And who can be sad, mad, frustrated, stressed, or panicked when this sweet face is grinning at you?<br />
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Or when this handsome hunk is hanging around the homestead?<br />
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I was going to now add an adorable picture of Adam....but as I write this blog post, he provided me with much better fodder. I am in the living room, tapping away on the keyboard and I hear, "Mo-om.....mo-om?" So I go to the boys' room to see what is up (I'm proud of Adam that he's calling for me, rather than getting out of bed and coming out here because we're working on him staying in bed at night and not getting up 85 times and coming up with 85 different reasons for why he is not in bed). I open the door and see this:<br />
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All of the clothes I'd neatly put away in a dresser drawer earlier in the day, flung upon the floor. Then I heard, "Mom? I'm sorry but I can't get out of hewe." For just a split second, I wondered (because the boys' room is not so very big), 'get out of where?' Then I realized and crouched down for a better look:<br />
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And instead of immediately coming to my exasperatingly creative son's aid, I told him to "hang on" and I ran for the camera.<br />
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This child just may be the stinker of all stinkers.<br />
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<span id="goog_179898302"></span><span id="goog_179898303"></span>Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-62664186444927232482015-12-03T20:22:00.000-06:002015-12-03T20:22:54.318-06:00I think I need this againI haven't blogged in about two years. I used to blog for several reasons - it was fun to record my kids' antics, it was cathartic, I am a chronic "sharer", and I craved my mom's commentary on my life. Now, my mom is gone. And I'm having a hard time coming to grips with that. Counselors have suggested envisioning my grief and physical pain floating away bit by bit to be carried away from me. They've also suggested journaling. I keep meaning to write in my journal and it hasn't happened yet. So I'll write here. Maybe my experience will be helpful to others. Or maybe my chronic sharing it's rearing its head. Either way, tonight this feels right.<br />
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My last post seemed overly dramatic after a while. My mom continued to live a relatively pain free, normal life for many more months. In fact, she lived for over two years after her cancer diagnosis. She'd been told to expect 2-6 months. After several months of basically normal life, I started to believe my mom was going to live forever! Even so, I tried to take lots of photos, just in case.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spring 2015, my mom forced herself to attend a concert at the kids' school even though she felt pretty miserable</td></tr>
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There was always a teensy, quiet voice in the back of my mind, reminding me that my mom might die one day. But I always told it to be quiet, that I'd deal with that when the time came. And until then, I would enjoy the time we had left. And then, it all came crashing in so quickly. It's been a little over three months since the day my mom died. But it hurts like it was yesterday. The grief counselor said that journaling will help me to see, when I look back, that things have improved. I hope so. I desperately hope so.Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-41700889901868320372013-11-11T20:22:00.000-06:002013-11-11T20:22:31.223-06:00A Melting Pot of EmotionsThis weekend was to be celebratory and fun. My sister was turning 31 and her daughter Sydney, my niece and Godchild, was turning 1. It is a huge milestone. Last year, my sister turned 30 while sitting in the Children's Hospital NICU in St. Louis, MO peering at her tiny 5 pound newborn lying in a crib hooked up to so many monitors because shortly after she was born, while my sister was nursing a babe for the first time in her life, her tiny daughter stopped breathing. Sydney was full term, had great Apgar scores, and my sister was holding her in a correct and comfortable nursing position. There is no explanation, even to this day, for why Sydney should stop breathing. <br />
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My mom and I had rushed to Quincy, IL from Minnesota, hoping to be in time for the birth and we were! Except it was the middle of the night, we were stressed, we were exhausted, I was incredibly motion sick from the flight and then subsequent terrifying drive through dark and stormy night to get to the hospital. So even though my sister was probably mere hours away from pushing, and we'd traveled so swiftly and so far to get there, my mom and I wussed out and left the hospital to get some rest. We both regret it to this day. Instead of being present firsthand for Sydney's miraculous birth and subsequent near-death, we received the paralyzing, bone-chilling call to, "Come quick! She stopped breathing." We didn't even know who "she" was as we tore through the small town streets of Quincy to get back to the hospital. That weekend was pure anguish. And this weekend was a reminder of it all. This was the first time I'd been back to Quincy since.<br />
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<u>And this could very well be the last time my mom makes it to Quincy.</u> <br />
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The elephant in the room was in the back of all of our minds this weekend, I'm sure. This Fall, my mom was diagnosed with Mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer that results from exposure to asbestos. She has made the very personal decision to treat her cancer naturally, holistically, and to eschew all invasive forms of treatment including pleurectomy, radiation, and chemotherapy. When we first got the news, we were absolutely gobsmacked. The only signs my mom had of being sick were some chest pain and coughing. This turned out to be a result of a pleural effusion (fluid around the lung) which was originally misdiagnosed as pneumonia. In order to determine the cause of the pleural effusion, a biopsy was completed. Since my mom had been absolutely healthy until now, this was just a matter of "making sure" and no one in the family was the least bit prepared for her diagnosis. For the first several weeks, we all lost it, moping around, sobbing at the turn of a hat and my mom worked her butt off to cheer us all up. She assured us all that she had already (so quickly?) made peace with her diagnosis and with her decision to attempt to treat her cancer with food, supplements, and the like. Her positivity was infectious and we all started to believe that she was going to cure her Mesothelioma, or at least keep it at bay for many years to come. That's what I believed anyway. Until I road-tripped to Quincy with my mom and dad and kids this past weekend. When I spent nearly all day for four days with my mom, I could see how stressed and scared she was. How she chronically coughed and cleared her throat. How stressed and scared for my mom my dad was. And I think, this weekend, the illusion cracked just a little bit. Because the reality is that most people, when diagnosed with Mesothelioma, live for about 9-12 more months.<br />
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I did make an effort to have fun. And did have fun some of the time. And my family had fun, too. And we are happy and blessed that Sydney is a healthy, happy, well-adjusted, EASY little baby girl. But, still, it was a melting pot of emotions this weekend.<br />
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<br />Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-75543137997082743782013-11-06T12:24:00.001-06:002013-11-06T20:23:59.582-06:00Time for I'm a WONDERFUL MOM Wednesday!This is a post that is supposed to be hopeful and uplifting. Some people in the webosphere post funny things about what screw up parents they are. I hope to provide a place to celebrate our successes, no matter how small. Parenting is hard and we need to pat ourselves on the back every once in a while, yes?!<br />
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So, to be honest, I did not want to go trick or treating with my kiddos this year. I was tired, stressed, had new foster kittens in the house, and needed to prep for trick or treating on my own since my football coach husband was unavailable. But, I put one foot in front of the other and made the kids an easy dinner of corn dogs, fries, and carrots. I patiently helped them with their costumes and makeup. Stu got home once everyone was ready and our friends and neighbors came over to join us. It is a Halloween tradition that the Stewarts and the Stevens trick or treat together. The Stevens brought beer and hard cider for us so we each popped a tab on one drink and set off. The kids were old enough this year that we adults lingered in the street while the kids ran from house to house. We made it farther around the neighborhood than ever before. And....it was FUN! And the kids got tons of candy loot and had fun, too!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adam - Boba Fet (spelling??), Ryann (Vampire), Max (Army guy), Mackenzie (Doc McStuffins), Cooper (Green Ninja)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kenzie</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cooper</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We have the coolest neighbors</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was neat to see all the kids in the neighborhood this year</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Max showing off his pillowcase stuffed with candy!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stevens and Stewarts</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryann made a sign and we put our candy out on the step. There was still some left when we got home so we think kids actually read it and followed the rules :)</td></tr>
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Please chime in and pat yourself on the back for a job well done!Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-52986070933785743392013-11-05T20:20:00.001-06:002013-11-05T20:20:53.480-06:00Growing PainsI admit it, I often wished my kids' babyhood away. My sisters both have babies/toddlers and I am watching them with stark, raving, envy. I thought that once the constant physical labor of having babies/toddlers/preschoolers was over that life would be so much easier and less stressful. It is maniacally stressful to have a baby. You can never tell for sure whether something is wrong or they're just having another freakin' growth spurt. But as just this evening illustrates, the parenting stress just morphs into something new and equally as frightening as your children get older. <br />
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This year I sent my oldest off to third grade, my girly off to second grade, and my baby boy off to half-day Kindergarten.<br />
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This afternoon, my friend and daycare provider confided in me that my youngest, Adam, has gotten off the school bus several times in the past few weeks with full on drag makeup all over his face. He reports that an older girl who he doesn't know, has no idea what her name is, doesn't even know what grade she's in always has makeup with her and once asked if she could put makeup on him. He allowed it and thought it was fun so now he's requesting to be made over on the bus ride home. From the sound of it, Adam's care provider is worried this girl might be taking advantage of a cute, innocent little boy and having fun at his expense. How do you explain this to a boy who just thinks he's getting attention and having fun? <br />
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Next up is Ryann who is doing very well at school and is complaining that her work is too easy. During a recent parent-teacher conference, we were assured that Ryann is in the correct work groups for her skill level. How do you navigate that?<br />
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Finally, Max had a bit of a rough day today. He forgot his jacket at school, couldn't find his math flash cards, or his spelling words, and forgot his lunch at home this morning. Forgetting has become the norm for him and it is immensely frustrating for both him and us. I try to use natural consequences when possible so if he's forgotten his homework, I don't sign off on it and Max has to deal with his teacher. He was freezing without his coat today and I asked him to use his discomfort as a teaching tool and maybe he'd be more inclined to remember his jacket in the future. But I don't want my third grader to get "bad grades" because of forgetfulness and I don't want him to be cold but I feel like it's the right time to stop doing everything for him. How does a parent know it's the right time to loosen the apron strings a little? How do we do it effectively and retain our sanity at the same time?<br />
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Anyone out there with the right answers, feel free to chime in!<br />
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<br />Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-19529999479459231862013-11-03T20:10:00.001-06:002013-11-03T20:25:23.990-06:002013 HighlightsI went on my weekly walk with my friend, Cally, tonight and she had some excellent suggestions for getting Stewart Snippets caught back up. Working off of her suggestions, here are the Snippets of what's been going on in our life for the past year or so:<br />
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- I decided that not only did I love volunteering for rescue organizations in all capacities but I wanted to take the plunge and start my very own small rescue. I had a cute idea for a name and started to do my research. In February, Diamonds in the Ruff was officially launched. Since January, 2013 we've personally fostered 10 dogs and 2 kittens and found homes for 23 animals!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shadow was my first Diamond in the Ruff, pulled from Lake Traverse area, S.D.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryann with one of the kittens from the second litter we had born in the care of Diamonds in the Ruff</td></tr>
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- Max had a great time playing baseball in the spring and early summer.<br />
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- We took a trip to Disney World in June!<br />
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- We hosted a fun family picnic at our house for the 4th of July and then went to Central Park to watch awesome fireworks.<br />
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- Stu FINALLY got a motorcycle.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See the bike back there, behind the cute girl on her first day of second grade?</td></tr>
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- Max joined Ryann and Adam and now has glasses.<br />
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- All three kids were able to ride two-wheeled bikes this summer (Adam was the last to learn but the earliest learner of the bunch) and they each got a new bike. I got a new bike, too, for the first time in probably 20 years.<br />
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- We spent an amazing week at my dad's cabin on Big Trout Lake. We hope to spend more time there next summer since my dad is retiring this December after 35+ years as a Robotic Engineer!<br />
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- As usual, we had a very fun trip to the MN State Fair.<br />
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- Stu's team had a great run with a record of 7-4. They lost a heartbreaker of a game in overtime to end their season (they would have been section champs, had they won).<br />
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- Adam had his annual checkup with Dr. B. and his eyes look amazing. He can see well and everything looks physically healthy, too.<br />
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- We got to see my sister's family a couple times this year and once, my niece and god-child, Sydney, spent the weekend with us.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhutcmJani4PRa0YK9YGfbFFJUSjsKvwvyMaG-8XRwzfTZHM_UcfzrPQiXBxlHWgow8m8qE2NmsMf2vYlT1RZI0ekZjMXuGLEUplKjjEaouOYcVmkris62C-lyrS7e_l81t8BjYYkIvwG8/s1600/DSC01412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhutcmJani4PRa0YK9YGfbFFJUSjsKvwvyMaG-8XRwzfTZHM_UcfzrPQiXBxlHWgow8m8qE2NmsMf2vYlT1RZI0ekZjMXuGLEUplKjjEaouOYcVmkris62C-lyrS7e_l81t8BjYYkIvwG8/s1600/DSC01412.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adam, Evelyn, Max, Ryann, Sydney</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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- Ryann started gymnastics in the fall and absolutely loves it.<br />
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- Adam is taking a karate/self-defense class and is learning some much needed self-control ;)<br />
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- Ryann took horseback riding lessons at Woodloch Stable again this summer and loves that, too (what little girl wouldn't?!).<br />
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- We had a pretty serious thunderstorm toward the end of the summer and got a new roof out of the deal.<br />
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- One "low-light": My mom was diagnosed with Mesothelioma in the fall of this year, though the highlight is that she is still alive and kicking and we all pray that's the case for many years to come!<br />
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And those are just the highlights (I know I've forgotten some) of the first ten months of the year!Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-62911727400580122132013-11-03T11:23:00.000-06:002013-11-03T11:23:23.165-06:00Beginning again...It's been nearly six months since I last posted. I've created books from my blog posts and shelved them away with all my photos (I need to catch up on printing and putting photos in albums!). Yesterday, Ryann pulled out "Stewart Snippets: Year One" and "Stewart Snippets: Year Two" and I remembered how much I love blogging. The best part is being able to look back and remember the little bits. Especially for me, if I don't write something down, it's gotta be really important for me to ever remember it. So I want to try to get back to blogging. But being the conscientious perfectionist I am, it's going to be hard to start again after a six month hiatus and very spotty posts for some time prior to that. <br />
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Do I try to recap the last year and a half or so? Do I just skip past those parts and start anew? Suggestions, please!<br />
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While I'm deciding how to proceed, here are some photos of the boys carving their pumpkins this year. Ryann decided to draw her face on, rather than carve, this year so no photo of her. <br />
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<br />Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-80368167601669790512013-05-14T17:00:00.000-05:002013-05-14T17:00:07.126-05:00Tears!!! My youngest child, a little boy who wants to be a scientist when he grows up, turns five tomorrow. And I keep crying about it. I was SO ready to be done with the newborn crying and the toddler tantrums and the potty training and the sleepless nights and suddenly, it's here and I'm NOT READY.<br />
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I've said it before and I'll say it again - after surviving raising three children from baby-dom to school age, I want to go back knowing what I know now and do it again so I can really savor it, drink it in, and enjoy all of it instead of freaking out about a lot of it. Don't you hate it when people with grown children tell you over and over, "It goes so fast!". Well, I'm here to tell you as a young mother with still-young children, it's true. All the stressful moments of having a baby in a highchair in a restaurant and three kids who needed to be in carts at the same time at Target seem like distant dreams I once had.<br />
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The crying started when I signed Adam up for Kindergarten in February and continued when I got the last statement from Adam's preschool. I should have been rejoicing about not having to pay the monthly bill for preschool anymore but instead my eyes welled up and I thought about how I'll never again take my own child's little hand and guide them into a school room with tiny tables and chairs and toilets that are about 3 inches from the ground. <br />
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I started participating in a family blog around the time Adam was born and shortly thereafter started writing Stewart Snippets. All of my photos from years of blogging are saved behind the scenes here (I hope!)...let's see what I can dig up:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmxdubSMRrlZUV_oy3djwtTefrtcV3ukoHuHt9L2fnuril-9w27mXwtRXX0VxzwNzv2HZdnfJ3ZSxbnLfw3uzaUVQQP-RxQk128PCj0Ujg_TKFHnLiHilEqOfYFbuBAo9FDWQn6mwFo0/s1600/DSC07725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmxdubSMRrlZUV_oy3djwtTefrtcV3ukoHuHt9L2fnuril-9w27mXwtRXX0VxzwNzv2HZdnfJ3ZSxbnLfw3uzaUVQQP-RxQk128PCj0Ujg_TKFHnLiHilEqOfYFbuBAo9FDWQn6mwFo0/s640/DSC07725.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's Adam in preschool last year</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnr3WRToHsb_MMLQ53w2mfmkoKXJwAuzstvZhHGBaBTNg7XRMHrhaP_WfaCmmEYXxo9N4s8zBw_jJuXkUoY_1cQO52BMho7M9rn19e8QQKStRDPiAeIMZRQvKTrTqBfT-h-biQZ7xf4Vk/s1600/DSC06205edit2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnr3WRToHsb_MMLQ53w2mfmkoKXJwAuzstvZhHGBaBTNg7XRMHrhaP_WfaCmmEYXxo9N4s8zBw_jJuXkUoY_1cQO52BMho7M9rn19e8QQKStRDPiAeIMZRQvKTrTqBfT-h-biQZ7xf4Vk/s640/DSC06205edit2.jpg" width="634" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's Adam with his precious great-grandma</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTVOZMCU7TAaRzEj2aAv9kxQZfpFBe2-wm7VW21P-CVpKiV-npkoxZo9qUIdUqXRhZyrkju-HdVZj88uYvjvb0Wpnp4GNpjm_e1LN1LKOMTm5CPzh-lxPNkY0aFyBOdEN_WV1CVhLyiji9/s1600/0516081331+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTVOZMCU7TAaRzEj2aAv9kxQZfpFBe2-wm7VW21P-CVpKiV-npkoxZo9qUIdUqXRhZyrkju-HdVZj88uYvjvb0Wpnp4GNpjm_e1LN1LKOMTm5CPzh-lxPNkY0aFyBOdEN_WV1CVhLyiji9/s640/0516081331+copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A fresh newborn!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq964TYuuwlFknMCQPvLqNatXofrx5J2N7vGz0vbZ35Jp6ynepYIYzrfhopFDyNQwXbEe3PBzeHY5EkXjSJy5cWxBwLPNWCfeXGb2UytoZ-rZBqMzo0HDocb-xpF4Vg2stRtsnc-a-r1fL/s1600/561724457306_0_ALB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq964TYuuwlFknMCQPvLqNatXofrx5J2N7vGz0vbZ35Jp6ynepYIYzrfhopFDyNQwXbEe3PBzeHY5EkXjSJy5cWxBwLPNWCfeXGb2UytoZ-rZBqMzo0HDocb-xpF4Vg2stRtsnc-a-r1fL/s640/561724457306_0_ALB.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not so sure about this big sister and big brother business!</td></tr>
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I now declare May 15, 2013 national "Hug your Baby" day!! Quick, snuggle them while they're tiny because 5 year old snuggles are awesome but they're just not the same.<br />
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I love you, Adam!!! Happy 5th Birthday!!!Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6925695332792484956.post-56508477436236163562013-05-08T18:56:00.001-05:002013-05-08T18:56:58.074-05:00Been away for a while...I've been extra, uber busy the past four months or so but it's high time to check in with the blogosphere. Especially because Adam had a checkup recently. And it was a-ma-zing! I absolutely love Dr. B. He was practically dancing around the exam room at the University of Minnesota, singing out to me that Adam had the most lovely looking optic nerves he'd seen in a while (?!). Adam's vision has improved and there are no signs of glaucoma or any other issues. He needs a new prescription but not desperately so we'll wait until insurance will cover it in June at which time we'll let him pick out new frames, too.<br />
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The cause of my uber busyness is a some new business I've gotten myself into. I couldn't just stop at fostering dogs....instead I decided to form my own non-profit corporation. I launched Diamonds in the Ruff (www.diamondsintheruffmn.org) in February of this year and it's going amazingly well. I've made tons of new friends and contacts, am currently 501(c)(3)-pending, and have helped SIX wonderful dogs so far:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPYOZhs1HS3ukhOv91FDYj0q0I2OmD31VZCVgu08ZOv4sYvMzjnJvgpq2n-sl8Z4bZRRNccpY2wwa1dQ3b08qrblQZRF9d-NZ24PudzuSG9B2MnXwOe3J7h3CTIhZSPIs2O1tusaMzzUE/s1600/Shadow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPYOZhs1HS3ukhOv91FDYj0q0I2OmD31VZCVgu08ZOv4sYvMzjnJvgpq2n-sl8Z4bZRRNccpY2wwa1dQ3b08qrblQZRF9d-NZ24PudzuSG9B2MnXwOe3J7h3CTIhZSPIs2O1tusaMzzUE/s640/Shadow.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shadow</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbMKzBr3rEROwttZ4w_lNx0PcsUclcztN1julrXi48sbFs_jj8xtvRmAWfZspJz8IbFbrEMAgPfk79djbzn_AsWCZ3quJh8I4kq_NLU4YH8dMmg14N6Hdd7AqkaQkRN-1uc5TW7YdYIg/s1600/Asscher1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbMKzBr3rEROwttZ4w_lNx0PcsUclcztN1julrXi48sbFs_jj8xtvRmAWfZspJz8IbFbrEMAgPfk79djbzn_AsWCZ3quJh8I4kq_NLU4YH8dMmg14N6Hdd7AqkaQkRN-1uc5TW7YdYIg/s640/Asscher1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asscher</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ktSlPHDdwMCIKzrdRHnxSUM1PZ2pvAU65O69QyEAGmu_ZRU-loqpD98bq1asNmZKIRzuQ4CPTYNQZPLuTnG1F-5B6rYfAQEXVTVMiFgTfb91dAr77qDXyItifJDstDWrjePMLZVtZaU/s1600/Solly3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ktSlPHDdwMCIKzrdRHnxSUM1PZ2pvAU65O69QyEAGmu_ZRU-loqpD98bq1asNmZKIRzuQ4CPTYNQZPLuTnG1F-5B6rYfAQEXVTVMiFgTfb91dAr77qDXyItifJDstDWrjePMLZVtZaU/s640/Solly3.jpg" width="608" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Solitaire</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7IIxuzj6Wkor9-Wg2bBHrsIrpIJaPA2TD9rxGU8RPd6dE6ULSHI4pGu7B2AY6xJJSjnm_mkNl1AWowAeIZ9ucypCvjo5qTDtWQ9rP9AjzihKgzZwdP5XSypAg66szQP1t_i6Rv78HcK8/s1600/Daisy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7IIxuzj6Wkor9-Wg2bBHrsIrpIJaPA2TD9rxGU8RPd6dE6ULSHI4pGu7B2AY6xJJSjnm_mkNl1AWowAeIZ9ucypCvjo5qTDtWQ9rP9AjzihKgzZwdP5XSypAg66szQP1t_i6Rv78HcK8/s640/Daisy.jpg" width="382" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daisy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsgkjD-tF01XnSuN_eFQmUiKCMxpFxevd8GEZKU-2QVmNOJLhqeqWyKPbMBBaunl14hVm2vfYQL01xqOCZOcOZfica5OdmANjYfK12FRPlnxbTE2rDtgn66aop9mCfm8A91xJpQDlw4CE/s1600/C1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsgkjD-tF01XnSuN_eFQmUiKCMxpFxevd8GEZKU-2QVmNOJLhqeqWyKPbMBBaunl14hVm2vfYQL01xqOCZOcOZfica5OdmANjYfK12FRPlnxbTE2rDtgn66aop9mCfm8A91xJpQDlw4CE/s640/C1.png" width="624" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clarity</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WB_V1j6CqGLy0J5e847QYZOEd8ofjyq_7nSRWrvqEb6SbtR8xeU2lAp3OZ4m4Iks6baO1obnh3Kc6L6nqO1jUg10ph_80tH_sdEU0H_7K9-VNneC_Y8SucAaNc7nK0u2i8ASHb2inuU/s1600/Joey1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WB_V1j6CqGLy0J5e847QYZOEd8ofjyq_7nSRWrvqEb6SbtR8xeU2lAp3OZ4m4Iks6baO1obnh3Kc6L6nqO1jUg10ph_80tH_sdEU0H_7K9-VNneC_Y8SucAaNc7nK0u2i8ASHb2inuU/s640/Joey1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joey</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Running my own business in addition to working 32 hours a week in addition to being a full time mom has been extremely time consuming, stressful, harrying, and incredibly fulfilling and wonderful and I feel a little like an addict. While fostering a dog, I long for the days when I can sleep in and not worry about how best to work with any issues and why hardly anyone seems to be inquiring about said dog. Yet the minute someone is adopted out, I'm on the Internet searching for the next dog to help. It's the best kind of crack, I guess.<br />
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I have loved this year of school. Having Max in second grade, Ryann in first grade, and Adam in his last year of preschool has been super fun. All of them are at great ages/stages. They all eat pretty much like normal people, sleep like normal people, joke like normal people, tell stories like normal people, listen like normal people (sort of) and are usually very well behaved (<i>usually</i>). The days of all four of us crying in the mornings while trying to get ready to leave the house seem so distant now.<br />
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A couple things I'd like to remember about this time in our lives are:<br />
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1. Adam is starting to enunciate his th's, l's, and r's and they don't all sound like w's anymore (happy and sad about this)<br />
2. Adam LOVES preschool and for some reason, LOVES the receptionist at the church that houses his preschool. He likes to make her special cards during school and drop them off for her as we're leaving the building.<br />
3. Ryann is turning into a mini-woman. She tells me about the excitement and drama of the day and shares things she's learned. I am so blessed to have a daughter.<br />
4. Max is growing up too and has started using words like "boss" and "cra-cra". Teenager-dom seems right around the corner (yikes!).Sherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09272166003676989169noreply@blogger.com0