Removing an Object from Your Nose - $50

Sticking a bead up your nose - $0
Removing it at urgent care - $50
Blogging about it 2 days later - Priceless

As if we hadn't had enough doctor's visits lately, Saturday night as I was reveling in our health, Rebekah decided to put a bead up her nose. Who knows why children feel the compulsion to put objects up their noses? But for some reason that bead just looked like it belonged up her nose (or something) so up it went, and the more she tried to get it out, the further up it went.

Kent was actually in the family room with the kids when this happened (not that I'm blaming him, although it is interesting that it didn't happen when Mom was on duty) and he came running in our bedroom with Rebekah, turning lights on, and telling me to get this object out of her nose. At this point we didn't know what it was she had put up there. The more I tried to get it, you guessed it, the more it got stuck. It ended up sideways behind the septum completely irretrievable. Which of course led to the urgent care visit where they inflated a balloon behind her septum and popped out a little black bead.

Who was it that was telling me that one day I'll look back and wish I could relive all this?

Science Fiction

For some reason since we cancelled our cable TV last summer I have become obsessed with Science Fiction. I think it's because that was the one thing I missed the most was my Star Trek fix. I also missed watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I've already been mocked for my love of these shows, but oddly enough being without them has led me to a new SciFi love, Stargate.

Although we dropped cable, we kept our TiVo (seriously, that would be one of the last things to go) so I was able to search all the antenna channels for anything Science Fiction. I did find original Star Trek episodes that I could TiVo on Sundays and watch during the week, but they were taken off the air within a month. So I searched and found Stargate Atlantis which also showed on Sundays. At first I wasn't sure if I liked it, but I quickly became addicted. I mean, those Wraith are weird and creepy but in an addictive way.



Then I discovered that Stargate SG1 was also on on Sundays. I was beginning to notice a pattern here. In addition to missing my SciFi, I also missed watching news coverage that wasn't madly in love with the government (ok, the current government) but found that Chris Wallace's Fox News Sunday was on on....Sundays. And then I found The McLaughlin Group which also aired on...you guessed it...Sundays. As well as Globe Trekker and 60 Minutes. Weird.

So basically my whole entertainment life revolves around how much I can TiVo on Sundays and then try to stretch my viewing out through the week. Of course, I never did really get over Star Trek, so I had to keep our Netflix account so I could keep those coming via DVD.

Are we saving money? That's debatable.

So we just arrive in Pinetop and as Kent goes out to the car Bekah says, 'I like Daddy. He's a good person.' How sweet is that?

Matchmaker Matchmaker Make Me a Match

We are currently in the matching process to find the baby who is meant to be in our family. In an effort to continue our normal lives until we find our baby, we have planned a trip to a family cabin up in Pinetop. I think our whole family could use the change of scenery and a little vacation. We've been in the adoption process for almost 4 months, and it can get pretty intense at times. So we're off to the mountains!

Of course, we'll have our cell phones on us the whole time just in case.... :-)

RSV

Life is full of silver linings. We found out last week that Forest has RSV. He's a big, strong boy and the doctor said he was doing better than most of the RSV cases she had seen so far this year. That was all good news. But poor Forest had more junk coming out of his nose and mouth than I think I had ever seen. Poor boy struggled sometimes just to clear his throat. Now, more than week later, he is doing much better, but still getting over the cough and goopy nose.

Here's the silver lining; I can't even imagine how stressed I would've been if we had a newborn in the house while Forest had RSV. RSV (read about it here) can be really scary in young babies. As it is now, Forest will be over the whole thing before a sweet little baby comes to our home. In the end, the timing has been perfect. A couple of weeks ago I wasn't feeling that way at all. But now I see that things really have worked out for the best. And once that new baby is in our arms and in our family, I know that everything that has happened in the last several months will make sense and will seem perfect.

A Little Starving

Just had to share a few cute quotes from my kids:

Kent asked Maija: "Are you hungry?"
Maija: "I'm a little starving."
Bekah: "I'm BIG starving."

Forest during a discussion of the mark of Cain in Sunday School:

After sitting quietly playing in my lap, when our class began to discuss (nervously) the mark of Cain and what that really was, out of nowhere Forest lets out a huge, loud raspberry (you know, where you stick your tongue out and spit). It was the BEST way to answer our discussion. No words could've been more articulate. The whole room burst out in laughter. "From the mouths of babes..."

Maija asks me tonight if I know why she gave me a present (one of her toys in a gift bag):

Her answer: "Because you're having issues."


P.S. And for those who are wondering, we are still waiting to be matched to a different baby...

Forest Is One!

I'm a day late posting this, but yesterday was a busy day. Forest turned 1 year old and had 2 birthday celebrations. We went to the park and had a joint b-day party with cousin, Brayden, whose birthday is 2 days after Forest's. It was the perfect party for a tired mom - kids played while adults chatted. Forest ate plenty of frosting off his cupcake.

Later that evening when Daddy came home, we had another birthday party at home with just our family. Forest ate more frosting. I didn't think much of all the frosting eating until Kent and I were up all night with a throwing up 1 year old. Poor baby.

I can't believe it was one year ago yesterday that we got a phone call at around 11am saying that Forest had been born, and his birthmother had chosen us to be his parents. We flew up to Utah that evening to be with our new baby boy, and I got to hold him 11 hours after he was born. It's hard to imagine that that sweet little baby is now a sweet little toddler. I love my baby boy!

Potatoes continued

The test of our faith continues. Forest's sibling was due last Friday, and his birthmother never contacted the agency. So, at this point we have to assume that she has chosen not to place her baby. Instead of going into histrionics, I'll just say that last week was a really hard week.

Kent and I had decided that if we didn't hear anything by March, that we would begin the process of finding another baby. Obviously, this was not how we were hoping things would turn out, but on the other hand I have learned from experience that what we think is "Plan A" is often not what is meant to be. But when Plan A does show up, it's always better than what we had planned in the first place. (Case in point: my meeting and marrying Kent which happened about 12 years later than I would've liked.) We know the Lord has a plan, and we are ready to see what that is.

Faith like potatoes...

In the meantime, I have to post some adorable pictures of my children.

Forest Baby

Bekah in Her New Spiderman Slippers

Maija's First Dance Recital