Life In a Nutshell

My Uncle came home from the hospital Wednesday night! Praise the Lord!!!

Ella got sick for the first time! She started running a fever Wednesday. It was always around 100-101 but it did spike to 104 in the early morning of Thursday!!! Called the doc...said I was doing everything I should be and to bring her to the office in the a.m. She had/has no other symptoms so just wait for it to pass. I'm pretty sure I see FOUR...count them FOUR...upper teeth coming through. But the doc says a teething fever won't get as high as 104...so the poor kid got hit with some little virus AND four new teeth at the same time. Gotta say, she handles it like a champ. Sure she was a little fussy and only wanted to be with mama...but I can't say that it really bothered me :)

Yesterday I found out that I got the per-diem job I wanted! I fill out paperwork on Thursday and have oriention on Monday! I'm not gonna lie, my ideal would be to stay at home with Ella 100% and not add anything else to complicate life. But we need the money, it's good to keep my foot in the field, and it's the best situation if I have to work outside the home at all.

After my sewing maching broke, a friend's I borrowed wasn't in working order, and finally finding another friend to lend me hers (which by the way was the nicest machine I've ever sewed on....it probably cost a little more than my car...and I prayed the entire time I used it that I would not hurt it....) Last night I finally got to finish up four sewing projects that I had on hold. All but one are gifts. I can't wait to give them away!

Today I entered my apple pie in my first pie contest at our town's "Harvest Daze". I'm not expecting much as the edge protector stuck to my not-so-beautiful anymore crust and the lattice top got a little darker in a few places than I would have liked. But we'll see.

I'm looking forward to heading down to the cute little festival when Ella wakes up from her nap. It's a perfect fall day. Can't wait to see people drop pumpkins from airplanes trying to hit a target in the lake below!!! And can't wait to see the Giant Pumpkin Regatta also!!!

This evening Ella and I will be off to my mom's until Tuesday. I'm helping her clean out the last few rooms in her house in order to get it on the market. I'm also looking forward to going to my old church and visiting friends. Should be a full few days.

Jason will be heading to Rangley area to satisfy his fall fishing hankerin'. Poor guy hasn't done as much since moving down here so I'm glad he's going to learn some new fishin' holes. He informs me that after the rain Sunday, "the fish will be screamin' up the rivers" on Monday. I could explain why, but that would take to long. Go get 'em honey!

And that's life in a nutshell for us!

Hiking Mt. Major!

We're trying to cram in every bit of fun we can while this beautiful fall weather lasts. We got back to hiking two weeks ago and it felt great. The last time we hiked before that was when I was 7 months pregnant. Then we had a newborn in the winter, then the she was too small for the backpack in the spring, then we moved, then it was raining, then it was too hot to take her...oh how life changes with a little one! But we're back at it and loving it now!

Sunday after church we booked it over to Mt. Major in NH. I found out I'm in even better shape than I thought.We decided that we think we're doing great as doggie parents if our 9 year old Golden can hike this rocky trail.We're pretty sure that we've discovered that Ella likes hiking up more than she likes hiking down. And we're certain that she likes it better when Mommy backpack's her because she can play with my hair and bandanna!It was a fabulous day!!!

McDougals Orchard!

Saturday afternoon was bright and sunny, but there was also a crips breeze in the air. Perfect fall weather! We headed over to the FABULOUS McDougals Apple Orchard just a 2 minute drive from our house. They have huge, delicious apples of many varieties I've never even heard of, apple cider donuts, baby farm animals, home grown mums, pumpkins, corn maze, and FREE tractor hay rides! (FYI, they're cider...not so good...a little disappointed there.) Not to mention that the owner gave Jason permission on the spot to bow and rifle hunt the whole dang orchard. Made my sweet hubby's whole fall!Well, let me tel you, this girl LOVES her some apples. Whenever she sees one she wants to get her little gums on it and suck the life out of it. She even tries to eat them when she sees picture of them in books! I feed her little pieces and she gets quite upset when it's all gone.She also loved the tractor ride. We sat right up front and faced forward. He mouth gaped open in amazement her little arms and legs frequently kicked with delight.

Update on my Uncle

THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU for all of your prayers! My uncle's situation has been a heavy weight on my heart and while I'm still not breathing easy, things are definitely better!

The short story is...He is out of ICU and seems to be getting better! Praise the Lord!

The details are....After he "crashed" they put an arterial line in and were able to get him stabalized but he still had a rough night. They scoped him again and found no futher bleeding but did clip (kind of like staple shut) more of his bleeding ulcers. They checked his blood flow again and found no leaks. However, he had still been given 9 units of blood in 3 days.

However, he has continued to stabalize, and the bleeding seems to be decreasing. He was able to be moved out of the ICU. All he is hooked up to right now is a glucose/saline drip. That means all the other lines, including the ones giving him blood transfusions have been removed!

Here's praying that he can be well and home with his family very soon!!! Thank-you again for all your prayers! Please continue to pray him on to restored health and to get home to his family!

My Uncle Needs You!

Yes you! These are not cliched, idle words. I believe in the power of prayer. I believe in a God that can heal miraculously. My uncle needs you to pray! The short story is he is in ICU with internal bleeding that the docs cannot figure out where it's coming from. The details are below.

This is Kirsten and Rich, my aunt and uncle. They have two kids age 8 and 5. Early Thursday morning Rich went to the local hospital for sudden, unexplained internal bleeding. He was to be transferred to a larger hospital by ambulance when his vitals started dropping and they then life flighted him.During the day Thursday they found his stomach riddled with ulcers and thought that was the problem. He was admitted to ICU because his internal bleeding was not stopped.

Friday his internal bleeding continued and they do not know what is going on. It appears to be much more than just ulcers. At 5:14pm his b/p crashed to 40/21 and they called a code blue. They put an "line" in his artery and were able to get his vitals back to stable. But they still don't know what's going on!!!

Please pray for God to heal him! Pray now, pray often, pray whenever you think about it, pray continuously, ask others to pray. I'm in Maine, they're in Michigan...getting the word out and praying is all I know to do!!!

9 Month Photo Shoot

Well, I wasn't planning on doing a 9month photo shoot buuut...this afternoon as we were playing in the grass waiting for daddy to get home, the lighting was great and she just looked so cute! I had to start snapping away. Then J got home and was sitting there playing with her and Hunter was in the background... how could I resist!? Then he turned the camera on us and he got some great shots! Thanks hon! There are so few shots of Ella and I together because I'm always on the other end of the camera...so these are beyond precious to me! There are also very few shots of us as family and none that are professional looking....but we're going to remedy that in October when our friend Renee does a session for us!!!

Ella's 9month Update

Took Ella to her 9 month check-up. Not sure about our new Doc down here. But that's another story, perhaps I'll post on that to get some feedback from you all later. She's 17 1/2 lbs and 27inches long. Right on target for everything...height, weight, head circumference, fine and gross motor skills, language etc. etc. Along the way are some recent pics of her first hiking trip and Hunter tolerating her :)

What She's Eating:
Well, everything. It's easier to say what she's not eating...cows milk, meat, berries and anything containing nut products....doc advises waiting 'till 12mos for all those.

What She's Saying:
Lots of babbling, yayaya, gagag, mamam, dadada, nanana, hihihi. On a few ocasions I have gotten her to obviously repeat sounds. The first one she did was "hi-ya!" yes, like the karate sound. It was adorable. The second one was "dada", melts my heart!Her Choice form of Mobility:
She wants to be on the floor where she can roll. Yup. She gets on her belly, pushes her self up with her hands and spinse herself 360 degrees until she is aimed at what she wants and then she rolls to it. It's pretty great. She also enjoys standing while being supported and is getting quite good at it.

What She Plays With:
She in increasingly becoming bored with the toys she has. We have one Baby Einstein cube that has different shapes on each side. it has doors to open, zippers to zip, things to pull, push and turn and it sings songs. She loves this. She really likes anything where she has to "discover things." She often rolls over to the baskets in our living room, tips them over and rifles through the contents, discovering treasures!
What She Likes:
She still loves water of any kind. She used to like to try to catch pouring water in her hands. Now she likes close her eyes, open her mouth and try to drink it. It's funny! She still likes to read but it doesn't keep her attention for quite as long these days. She loves to be outside and loves going for stroller rides. She likes music and often "dances" a.k.a. wiggles about in my arms when we're singing worship at church or listening to music at home. She loves her animals and loves to grab their fur and nuzzle in. We are constantly teaching her "gentle". But she hasn't gotten the hang of it yet and so the animals don't love her quite so much! She loves to eat! And she still likes sleeping. Two solid naps a day. Always asleep by 6:30 or 7pm and wakes anywhere between 7am and 8am.

Oh man, I forgot to mention two of her funniest likes. Ella likes to try to eat the floor...any floor...muckles right onto it. And she LOVES watching me flush the poop from her cloth diapers down the toilet. Get's a huge smile, giggle and flailing limb reaction every time!

What She Dislikes:
She doesn't love going in her car seat and fusses when you first put her in. But with a pacifier rides just find still. She's not content being contained for long in her jumper or exersaucer b/c she'd rather be rolling free! She doesn't like being changed and fusses until you give her a tube of lotion to play with and then she's happy as a clam. She's still not a big fan of being held by others...especially when mom or dad are in sight. But she's usually fine withing mintues if we disapear. She's getting better with it all the time.So that's our little girl these days. Such a joy!