{iPhone Rewind} :: April

Eli had an eye doctor appointment to establish care here in Virginia. He did not like the drops to dilate his eyes, but he was much more content when he got to watch Cars :)

Everything is in bloom, and it's just so beautiful!

The boys desperately needed some haircuts, so we finally pulled out the clippers!

And Maddie needed a trim, so Mommy pulled out the scissors...poor girlie is going to need a real haircut soon haha. 

He just looks so much older with his hair buzzed!

Brothers :)

Turns out that getting to choose between a hamburger and chicken nuggets at Wendy's is just about the most exciting thing for these little people :)

"Can we snuggle, Mommy?"

We love seeing the birds outside our window!

Maddie's first pedicure!

Snuggling with Daddy

Our little lefty :)

Aiden hit his 400 book milestone this month!

We made crowns when we learned about Kings {and Queens} in Toddler School

National Peach Cobbler Day!

Learning about DaVinci and doing some fresco painting

Geese are EVERYwhere. They just hang out in parking lots and are completely unbothered by cars and people around them.

Show me your muscles!

"I look like Daddy!" Eli picked his new glasses, wanting "the dark blue ones."

We read plenty of real books from the library, but still enjoy a few on my phone here and there. 

Daddy asking Maddie what our hope in life and death is... "We are not our own but we belong to God!" {so proud of this girl and how she is storing away catechism truths in her heart!}

Reading together :)

Still no flowers, but our plants are getting taller!

Mike's peppers are starting to grow!

So thankful for a job that allows me to be home and gives me the flexibility of enjoying these sweet times while also meeting deadlines. The weather is pretty awesome too!

Their LEGO towers are getting more and more elaborate

Pouring over a new batch of books from the library!

"Will you hold my hand, Mama? Hey- my Aiden hand is in your Mama hand!"

Triple Timeout

National Pretzel Day!

"Look at all my animals, Mommy!"

Coloring with Daddy

1000 Books Before Kindergarten :: 1600!

We're tracking along toward our second thousand books! My bag isn't big enough to carry all of the books the kiddos want from the library :)

You can find the books we have already read here:

• 1-100
• 101-200
• 201-300
• 301-400
• 401-500
• 501-600
• 601-700
• 701-800
• 801-900
• 901-1,000
• 1,000-1,100
• 1,100-1,200
• 1,200-1,300
• 1,300-1,400
• 1,400-1,500

1. Mama's Day with Little Gray by Aimee Reid
2. Come With Me by Holly M. McGhee
3. Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton*
4. Pass it On by Sophy Henn
5. Everybunny Count! by Ellie Sandall*
6. The Sheep Who Hatched an Egg by Gemma Merino*
7. Muddy, Mud, Bud by Patricia Lakin
8. Paw Patrol: Save the School Bus! by Nickelodeo Publishing
9. How to Trap a Leprechaun by Sue Fliess
10. Three Ways to Trap a Leprechaun by Tara Lazar
11. Tweak Tweak by Eve Bunting
12. Rains, the Littlest Cow by Miriam Busch
13. Have You Seen My New Blue Socks? by Eve Bunting
14. Click, Clack, Good Night by Doreen Cronin*
15. The Ear Book by Al Perkins
16. I Love You Always and Forever by Jonathan Emmett*
17. Errol's Garden by Gillian Hibbs
18. How to Find an Elephant by Kate Banks
19. Allie All Along by Sarah Lynne Reul
20. Daddy Honk Honk! by Rosalinda Bonnet
21. Loretta's Gift by Pat Zietlow Miller
22. What Is Given from the Heart by Pat McKissack
23. Bernice Gets Carried Away by Hannah E. Harrison
24. How to Cheer Up Dad by Fred Koehler
25. Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud
26. A Picnic Adventure by Lisa Gallo
27. An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston
28. Anatole by Eve Titus*
29. Click, Clack, Splish, Splash by Doreen Cronin*
30. Snail Crossing by Corey R. Tabor*
31. Noah's Noisy Night by Maria Correa*
32. Swimmy by Leo Lionni
33. The Snatchabook by Helen Docherty*
34. The Berenstain Bears Think of Those in Need by Stan and Jan Berenstain
35. Happy Easter, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff*
36. God Gave Us Easter by Lisa Tawn Bergren
37. The Day the Earth Shook by Helen Buckley
38. Count on the Easter Pups by Random House
39. God Cares How I Feel by Jana White
40. Jesus Rose For Me by Jared Kennedy*
41. Thomas and the Easter Eggs by Golden Books
42. The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross by Carl Laferton*
43. Little Blue Truck's Springtime by Alice Schertle*
44. Disney Princess: Beauties in Bloom by Cassie Caregan
45. I Love My Grandpa by Bendon Books
46. Paw Patrol: Fire Truck Pup by Bendon Books
47. Paul Learns to Be Polite by Jennifer Bartlett
48. Katie Learns to Be Kind by Jennifer Bartlett
49. Bob's Rock by Ann Hassett
50. Boom Chicka Rock by John Archambault
51. Quinn's Promise Rock by Christie Thomas*
52. A Rock is Lively by Diana Hutts Aston
53. Charlotte and the Rock by Stephen W. Martin
54. Rocks by Marcia Zappa
55. Building God's Kingdom: Diggit Saves the Day by Andy Holmes and Sergio De Giorgi*
56. I Love Rainy Days! by Hans Wilhelm
57. Raccoons by Kate Riggs
58. National Geographic Kids: Rain Forest Colors by Janet Lawler*
59. A Rock Can Be... by Laura Purdie Salas and Violeta Dabija
60. How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow by Monica Sweeney*
61. Spring by Lisa Bell
62. I Love the Rain by Margaret Park Bridges
63. A Stone Sat Still by Brendan Wenzel
64. Find-A-Saurus by Mark Sperring*
65. Baby Bear's Books by Jane Yolen*
66. David and Goliath by Jean Marzollo*
67. Our Story: How We Became a Family by Donor Conception Network*
68. Paw Patrol: King for a Day! by Mary Tillworth
69. Kangaroos by Kate Riggs
70. Dinosaur Kisses by David Ezra Stein
71. Koalas by Kate Riggs
72. The King of Kindergarten by Derrick D. Barnes
73. King Alice by Matthew Cordell
74. How About a Kiss for Me? by Todd Tarpley
75. Rap a Tap Tap by Leo & Diane Dillon
76. Won't You Be My Kissaroo? by Joanne Ryder
77. It's Mine! by Leo Lionni
78. All Through My Town by Jean Reidy
79. Three Little Kittens by Jerry Pinkney
80. I See Kitty by Yasmine Surovec
81. Do Kangaroos Wear Seat Belts? by Jane Kurtz
82. Ten Kisses for Sophie by Rosemary Wells
83. The Kiss Box by Bonnie Verburg
84. The Fire Station by Robert Munsch
85. Splish-Splash Spring! by Liza Alexander
86. The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
87. Zoom in on Fireflies by Melissa Stewart
88. Cars: Racing Days by Disney Books
89. A Pig, a Fox, and Stinky Socks by Jonathan Fenske
90. Stanley the Farmer by William Bee*
91. Foxes by Kate Riggs
92. Fire Engine No. 9 by Mike Austin
93. The Fire Station by Julie Murray
94. Fire Engine Man by Andrew Griffing Zimmerman*
95. The Little Fire Truck by Margery Cuyler*
96. The Lady with the Alligator Purse by Nadine Bernard Westcott
97. Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester*
98. Monkey on the Run by Leo Timmers
99. Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion by Alex T. Smith*
100. Tractor Mac New Friend by Billy Steers

*Some of our favorites

Crohn's Chronicles :: 18 Months

My Crohn's has been active for 18 months. 

I have been sick for 18 months. And while it definitely involves a myriad of GI symptoms {which is the bulk of my symptoms; I'll spare you the details}, it has also included fatigue, migraines, joint pain, muscle weakness, dizziness/nausea, weight loss, skin irritation, vitamin deficiencies, hair loss, and sinus irritation/pain {I sound like the side effects warning on a drug commercial haha!} Because Crohn's is an autoimmune disease and involves inflammation in the body, it can affect so many different parts of the body. I go through these cycles of good and bad days. Slowly, slowly, the bad days are decreasing, but that's going from having bad days every day of the week to having 2 or 3 good days in a week. I recently had almost an entire week of good days {5 whole days in a row!}, which was absolutely amazing. But also incredibly sad. Because it hasn't repeated itself. And it has been over a year since I have had a full 5 days in a row of good days :(

And that's just the physical stuff. That doesn't include the emotional toll of being sick {while still trying to be a mama and a wife}, the frustrations of setting up care in a new state, fights with the insurance, oh, and the whole trying to manage it all in the middle of a global pandemic. And I thought I was exhausted back when I started my new treatment plan last July! ;)

The point of this post isn't to complain about how awful Crohn's is {even though it is awful, and I am completely exhausted}. But I want to have a record of this valley, so I can be that much more thankful {if and} when I achieve remission again. Because I am realizing now how much of a GIFT it was for me to have achieved remission so quickly after my initial diagnosis, and then to stay in remission for 7 years. I want to remember how far I have come, even if it's not quite the distance for which I would have hoped after this much time. 

While I have seen some improvements in the last 6 months or so {praise God!}, it has been a slow, rocky climb. I had another Entyvio infusion today, and I am hopeful that this 4-week schedule will help get me on track to remission. I am praying for God's grace and healing, that He might use Entyvio to help. Most days, I do ok emotionally, kind of accepting that my life right now is in Crohn's-mode. I don't like it, but I just try to work around it, do the best I can, and try to give myself a lot of grace. But there are hard days when I just want to feel better, and I just don't know how much longer I can play the role of being sick. I get overwhelmed with the fact that I know that I am not guaranteed remission, and I start to panic that this might be my life indefinitely. 

But I also never thought I would have made it 18 months either. And yet here I am. Still fighting. Still praying and hoping. Taking it one day at a time.

Our Infertility Story

This week is National Infertility Awareness Week {April 18-24, 2021}. The goal of the week is to raise awareness, share stories, educate, de-stigmatize. 1 in 8 couples walk the road of infertility, so chances are, you know someone who is struggling. They may not have shared with you about their struggle; there are so many that struggle in silence. It took me a couple of years before I felt comfortable sharing our story.

Every story is different, but a lot of the emotions and experiences are similar. The struggle to build a family and the shame or fear that comes in that process. The feelings of loss and failure. The grief. The invasion of privacy. The waiting. The mountain of decisions. The triggers. 

But when we share our stories, I believe it helps others who are on a similar path feel a little less alone, a little more understood. I know it helped me to read other people's stories when we were in the thick of it all. And so I share mine today. I have blogged about our journey on multiple occasions, but this is a high-level view:

I am lucky to be "on the other side," now chasing after our 3 crazy kiddos. But when I look back on our journey, distilled down to these brief bullet points, it brings all of the emotions back. And I am reminded of all that it took to get here. I realize how far we have come, how hard we had to fight, how much of a miracle it is that we're here.

Not everyone's journey ends the same, but there is hope and help, and you are not alone. Now that I am able to look back on our journey {rather than be in the midst of it}, I am filled with gratitude for all that the Lord has done. How he walked with us, guiding every decision and comforting us in every heartbreaking moment. How he provided a beautiful way for us to build our family. And how He used that time to grow us and draw us closer to Him. I have often said that I would have never chosen the path we were placed on, but now, looking back, I wouldn't change a single part of it. And I am so thankful for the beautiful rainbows that came after our storm. 

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

Today we explored the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens! It was pretty cool and overcast, but it also meant it was not crowded, so we were able to fully enjoy walking through the gardens. The kids loved all the pretty flowers, and really loved just getting to run along the paths.

We got to see several turtles and koi fish. Aiden loved pointing out all of the "really big orange fish!" We also got to see several geese, and we even had a little excitement with them. We stopped to let a bunch of geese walk across our path, and then out of nowhere one goose flew up and over us to fight with another goose! Thankfully, it didn't scare them too much, and they were just so interested in all of the excitement :)

Geese crossing {right before all the excitement}

We enjoyed exploring the gardens, but really just loved being outside. I would love to go back and explore the gardens in other seasons!

2 out of 3...I'll take it.

Spring Fellowship Picnic

Today the women's ministry at CBC had a Spring Fellowship Picnic out at Bull Run Regional Park. Our women's ministry director did such a wonderful job organizing a fun and encouraging event, that also met all COVID-safe guidelines. We met for a time of fellowship {since it has been so long since the women have met in person}, singing, and prayer. One of the other pastor's wives shared an encouraging devotional from Psalm 46, and we were able to fill some gift bags for Sanctity of Life Ministries, a ministry that the church supports. It was a great opportunity to meet and connect with women in the church, and I am so thankful I was able to be a part of it.

I was able to help by providing the photo booth decor...a fun excuse to be creative! Our Assistant Administrator helped me make the PVC pipe frame and find some tablecloths and sheers at the church. And then I was able to make some paper flowers and a chalkboard sign. I was really happy with how it all turned out, and it was perfect for what we needed today.

Writing encouraging notes and praying for the women who would receive these gift bags

After the official event was done, there was an optional hike on the Bluebell Trail in the park. It was pretty muddy on the trail, but the bluebells were in full bloom and were absolutely beautiful! It had been pretty chilly and misty during our fellowship time, but by the time we went on the hike, it was warming up. It was so fun to see the beautiful flowers, and get another opportunity to connect with some more women. 

There are just so many things for which to be thankful...an opportunity to be creative, a way to serve our new church, a time of {socially distanced} fellowship with new friends, and a beautiful walk through the bluebells. I'm thankful for vaccines, for all of the scientists and volunteers who made it possible, and for the ability to receive one. And I'm thankful for our new church and for the women faithfully pursuing Jesus and encouraging me to do the same.

Our wonderful women's ministry director! So thankful for her.