Archive for the ‘Grammy’ Category
-
In The Sunshine at the Nursing Home
-
A Great Report from the Doctor
My mom recently had a bunch of tests done and
the results are that she is perfectly healthy!
No signs of cancer at all.She will continue to have tests over the next few years,
but they will be spaced out from this point on.Thanks for all your prayers!
-
Two Double Birthday Parties
While we were visiting my family, we had a small party for Spunky and Bunky.
In attendance were my family and my cousin’s wife and her daughter.
My mom went out of her way and made a dairy-free cake with dairy-free icing for Spunky.

Bunky really enjoyed his birthday cupcake!

Everyone had presents to open.
And how could I leave out Emme…
Isn’t she adorable!

I was really excited when I found this for Spunky:
A child-sized baby sling~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back home, we had another birthday party ON Bunky’s birthday.
We had around forty people at our home for cake and opening presents.
I made Bunky a frog cake because Punky said to me,
“Bunky told me he wants a frog cake for his birthday.”Spunky requested a marshmallow princess cake, so that is what she got!
I also made my Pink Party Punch.

I set up a table with cookies for the kids to decorate.
I think Spunky made three cookies– and ate them all!
This is one of my favorite photos from the party!
Spunky’s Polly Pocket from her cousins was her favorite gift of the day.

Bunky enjoyed opening his presents as much as a sick little boy could.
He was such a sweetheart even with his high fevers.We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family, near and far.
Thank you all for sharing these milestones in our children’s lives! -
Grammy, Papa & Their Favorite Grandkids
-
What Our Family is Good At
… according to Punky and Spunky…
- Daddy: fixing fences, doing the computer
- Mommy: making food, washing the dishes
- Leo: eating food
- Papa: making things
- Grammy: buying presents
- Aunt Lu: building things like tall buildings
- Grandpa: killing bugs
- Grandma: making cereal
- Aunt Rachel: making pizza
- Uncle Kyle: cutting the grass
-
A Not So Routine Check-Up
On Friday, I took Bunky for his 9 month check-up. I assumed it was just going to be routine, no surprises, especially since I didn’t have any major concerns about him. We arrived a few minutes late because Punky was throwing one of his tantrums. Yes, he is four and a half and still frequently throwing major tantrums- more on that later.
We were sitting in the waiting room when out of the corner of my eye I saw Spunky throw up. She had covered a chair, a book and the floor and her clothes needed to be changed. I called the receptionist to help, and she ran to get supplies to clean up. As she did, Spunky threw up again, but this time I was able to get her to land it in a garbage can. I don’t typically bring a change of clothing for my older children, so I took off Punky’s long-sleeved shirt (he had a t-shirt on under) and put that on Spunky like a long over-sized dress. She said she felt fine, and I have no idea why she threw up because she has been perfectly healthy since.
A nurse took Bunky into the other room to weigh him while I cleaned up Spunky. I could hear Bunky screaming it in the other room and it broke my heart. Spunky was finally semi-presentable, so she, Punky and I were able to go to the examine room to be with Bunky. He immediately stopped crying and reached out his arms as soon as he saw me. My sweet boy!
That was when Punky started freaking out- there is no other word for it. He started screaming and crying. He even kicked the wall and window. He took his shoe off his foot and threw it across the room. He was terrified that Bunky needed to get a shot, which Bunky was not going to, but it didn’t matter because he was all worked up about it. He fought with his sister and yelled at me. (A couple of years ago, Punky came down with a really bad case of pneumonia, as a result, he had to have blood drawn and a shot of antibiotics. He has been scared of shots ever since.)
All the while I was trying to take care of Bunky and talk to the pediatrician. At the nine month check-up, they do a heel prick to check the baby’s blood. It turns out that Bunky’s iron count was really low, so they had to draw more blood to check his hematocrit level. The normal range for a child his age is 33-40%. Bunky’s was 8.2%.
The pediatrician also heard a slight heart murmur during the exam, which could be related to the low hematocrit level. I have to now give Bunky vitamins with iron and two serving of iron-fortified cereal a day. I am also going to take iron supplements because if Bunky has low iron, I probably do as well. Hopefully, Bunky’s problem is just low iron and not something more serious. When I asked the pediatrician what else it could be, she said, “we’ll talk about that when we get there,” which made me even more upset. I have to take Bunky back to have his blood checked again in two weeks.
After the appointment, I was feeling like such a failure as a mom.
Punky couldn’t behave to save his life, Spunky threw up out of no where, and now my poor baby boy was not healthy. I felt like I could have somehow controlled all of these things. I needed to make my baby healthy again, keep a close eye on my princess and determine how I could help Punky.
And all this happened before 10am!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I would appreciate your prayers for both of my boys.
Thankfully, Spunky is completely fine! Grammy’s theory, which I think is probably true, is that Spunky may have been trying to make herself burp. It is her not-so-secret talent that she does to impress people. That girl cracks me up!
I’ll update you as I know more.
-
Happy Mother’s Day!
I am so fortunate because I have the best mother in the world, really I do.
She is my best friend.
She listens to all my struggles.
She is an excellent role model.
She offers advice when needed.
She never interferes.
She is a constant support.
She has always given me the privacy that I need.
She makes me laugh.
She is stronger than any other person I know.
She loves my husband.
She thinks of others before herself.
She is an amazing cook.
She loves jokes and a good pun.
She is devoted to her family.
She has great common sense.
She understands the tones of my voice.
She is able to see good in bad times.
She loves my dad and always shows it.
She is intelligent.
She sends my children letters.
She thinks ahead about special days.
She is so beautiful.
She always treated her daughters equally.
She offers me encouragement.
She cherishes my children.
She is level-headed in times of stress.
She can calm me down when I’m upset.
She is a wonderful listener.
She is someone I cannot life without.
She is my Mama.I love you Mom, more than you can ever know.
-
I Am Just Bummed…
In the past several of months, there has been so much sadness in my life and the lives of those around me. I am having a very hard time this evening with it all.
In a short period of time, our family has been constantly sick, my mom is dealing with her cancer and constant testing, my friend, who had been trying to conceive for nearly two years, miscarried her baby, my Nonna struggles in a nursing home, my other friends found out that their future plans are being delayed indefinitely, another friend delivered a stillborn full-term baby girl, my husband’s Aunt Joy passed away after a short battle with brain cancer, several people that we love have been trying for years and cannot conceive, my in-laws are going through a hard time at their church, a friend’s step-mother was diagnosed with cancer, and the wedding of our friends that was supposed to be this weekend had to be cancelled due to immigration issues and the groom is now detained, separated from his fiance AND his young daughter, on the weekend that was to be his wedding.
On top of this, now that our family has been exposed to a “highly contagious” virus, we have to cancel our trip back home. My mom’s side of the family, all four of her brothers and their families, were getting together. One of my aunts has brain cancer and I have an uncle who is very ill. I so wanted to be there because this may be the last time that everyone is together as a family, and now we can’t go. We can’t expose these two family members, who are in compromised physical states, to this stupid virus.
I am angry. I am sad. I am disappointed. I am confused. I am frustrated.
I just wish things weren’t like this.
-
Christ Is Risen!
Our Pascha Basket and Kulich
Easter Outfits from Grammy & Papa
The kiddos and Sarah & Jason
Our Paschal Feast and Red Eggs
Baskets
Easter Egg Hunt
Our godson and one of my favorite little girls
Our swingin’ girl and our runnin’ boy
-
Multitude Monday: Week 4









































































