Sleep Deprivation....

Anyone want to testify?

I really thought that I had gotten used to this no~sleep state.

Especially since my last 3 children basically slept with 

us until they were around a year and just nursed on demand.

It didn't even phase me with our last one.  

I'm a light sleeper, always have been.

But now...

Now that Chloe has had a couple of seizures...

I'm up all cotton pickin' night...

Listening...

For the sounds of a person seizing...

Which is odd because THEY DON'T MAKE ANY SOUNDS.

And so in my sleep deprived state, I remember that eventually and 

then I get up and go check on her.  

Look to make sure Annaleah is breathing (she always is, just making sure.)

Make sure Titus has covers.

Find Isaac in the bottom of his bed.

Look at Ben (I know he's alive because he snores.  Thank God.) 

Climb back in bed.

Wonder if my kitchen is clean.

"Did I make Justus' lunch?"

"Should I get up with him at 4 and make breakfast?"

"Nah, I'm tired."

"What do I need to do today?"

"Oh yeah, don't forget that."

Roll over...

back to sleep.

NO WONDER I'M SO GRUMPY!!!

Camping 2013

Not gonna lie.

I did not want to go camping.

At all. 

My husband has ALWAYS LOVED CAMPING.

And has wanted to go forever.

So I finally decided...

Well, I'm not pregnant, can't use that excuse.

I'm not nursing a baby...

Can't use that excuse.

I don't have a baby in diapers...

Man.  Imma have to go camping.

And I loved it soooo soooo much!

It was beautiful weather, a beautiful spot, wonderful time together with our family.

It was so peaceful.

Chloe had had a seizure the week before so we weren't sure we were going to go.

Kinda thought maybe we ought to stay home.

But something, maybe God, kept telling me to go.

It'll be okay, just go.

So we did.

I can honestly say, if you want to bond with your family...

go camping.

It's just you...

and 

them.

No TV.

No computer.

No phone.

I loved sitting by the fire all day and evening.

That crackling noise is addicting!

I loved doing our devotions each night in our tent or outside of our tent around the fire.

Chloe did well too. 

She has headaches pretty bad after a seizure for weeks but

I think getting away from everything helped.

She's still very white in that picture but she did well.

And my boys were IN THEIR ELEMENT.

Ben is seriously the best fishermen in the family.

Much to his father's dismay.  LOL!

I didn't shower for days!  

Um, that part was a bit gross.

Annaleah had the time of her life. 

She wubs her Daddy

Our last morning there we climbed this "mountain" 

and...

I got chiggers...

but that's not important.

We won't talk about that.

Nope, we won't.

(((He's so cute, isn't he?  And yet...so evil.  And poor Annaleah has no idea.)))

And each kid carved their name or initials on a tree up on top of the mountain.

It was really neat.  

I got a pic of each of them with their tree. 

Can't wait to go back and see their names.

                                                  

Anna really got into the whole posing for pictures thing...

"Pitcher me Mamma!"

I love my family.  

Can't wait to go camping again!!!

Amy

Sunday Afternoon musings...

I ALMOST died this morning while playing

the piano at church.

IT WAS HOT!  

So hot.  

But you see, I had bought this adorable dress 

yesterday with a beautiful sweater to match

and 

I

HAD

TO

WEAR

IT

TODAY!

And so, the piano playing wasn't perfect, 

but I lived after all.

Thank the good Lord above.

This was my husband's first Sunday as teacher of the Adult Sunday School

class at church.

He did a great job.  

I'm excited for him to have this opportunity.

We've been Youth Pastor here at Crusade for 2 years now, almost 3.  

So, it's good for him to branch out and talk to adults. 

Ha.  

I spent the afternoon at Panera Bread.

ALONE.

With the lesson plans for the next month.

It was glorious. 

I ordered the Caramel Cappuccino and sipped slowly as I worked.

I'm going to try to keep up with this once a month.  

A "pulling myself together" time.

I need it.

I forgot my Bible at home today.

I'm very often *NOT* altogether.  

Happy Sunday!

Amy

Our Chloe~girl

On August 19, we awoke to the first day of school!  The kids were so excited, as was I.  We ate breakfast, did our pledges on the front porch and sang Count Your Blessings on the front porch.  Took our yearly first day of school pictures.  Weighed ourselves on our Wii Fit and then jogged a while.  We then went to the school room in orderly fashion (ha) and opened our Bible.

This is when I noticed something was wrong with Chloe.  She couldn't find any verses in the Bible.  She was just flipping and flipping and flipping with an "I don't care" attitude.  She had no idea that I was upset or that she wasn't "obeying" or anything.  I called my husband right away and said "Something is wrong with Chloe."  I knew right away that something was definitely off...  Chloe doesn't just not obey and then smile at you.  Anyway over the course of the morning I called Justus 3 or 4 times.  I was bawling at this point.  I had never seen anything like this before and I had no idea what was coming.  Justus finally told me to call Jack, a dear man in our church, and ask him to come pray for Chloe.  Justus was over an hour away at this point in his work truck and then it would take him another half an hour from the plant to get home, he knew we needed some prayer NOW.  

Mr. Jack came over and tried talking with Chloe for a bit. He then began to pray and as he was praying I heard a sound coming from Chloe...I opened my eyes and she was in the middle of a full blown tonic-clonic seizure.  I have never seen anything like it before in my life.  Before I could get to her, she fell off the couch and landed on her nose, breaking her nose.  She continued to seize on the floor for several minutes.  Jack told me to dail 911.  The EMT arrived just a few minutes later and Chloe was still seizing.  She actually didn't stop seizing for around 5 hours or so. Apparently she had a very rare seizure called Status Epilepticus.  She (and I) were in the hospital for 3 days while she recovered and they did every test imaginable.  They still haven't found the cause for her seizure.  She has had one more seizure that didn't develop into an SE because we were able to catch it in time and give her the Klonopin they prescribed.  

These have been the scariest weeks of my life.  Watching Chloe seize and knowing there was nothing that I could physically do to stop it...wondering when the next one would arrive...wondering if the next one would be during the day or (God forbid) in the middle of the night when we might not notice.  BUT GOD has shown HIMSELF so real in our lives through this very scary time.  He has drawn us closer to HIM.  All of us.  Ben was right there with his sister both times she had a seizure.  He was so scared and worried. And all I could do was say "pray, Ben, pray."  And he would.  

And so I am asking you, dear friends, to pray for our Chloe~girl.  The doctors hope to not have to put her on a daily seizure medication.  So we wait.  And hope that she never has another one.  And trust that God knows... He always knows.  Exodus 20:20-21 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.  The funny thing about God...He was already in our "thick darkness" waiting for us.  To calm us, to comfort us, to even heal us (Chloe) when we ask.  He truly is amazing.