Meet Prince Terrian

Isn't he so adorable? He has won the heart of each and every family member, including Clifford. Yep, even our dog, Clifford, adores him. Every time we have P.T. out Clifford wants to sniff and lick P.T.'s fur off. He even batted at P.T. with his paw. Of course we keep a close eye on those two cause Clifford might find P.T. to be quite tasty. :-) This was the best birthday gift ever for Kennedy. She is passionate about animals and just thoroughly enjoys loving on them and taking care of them. I think pets are a wonderful thing to introduce to children. She has become so very responsible. We told her that we would NOT clean out his cage or take care of him; it was her responsibility. We made it clear that we do not clean up guinea pig poop! Well, wouldn't you know, she was busy cleaning out P.T.'s cage today and I was helping hold the bag for her. She was very methodical about the whole thing and kept telling me 'how' to do everything. Now, you must remember that Kennedy was taught by Paul, my systematic husband, on how to clean the cage. Good thing I didn't teach her. When she was done cleaning the cage she said to me "Dad sure did do a good job teaching me how to clean out the cage." I almost wet my pants. She was so proud of herself and her daddy. She went on to tell me that I would have to take care of P.T when she was traveling to Mexico. When on earth is she going to Mexico? and apparently daddy is going with her and that's why I need to be home to take care of P.T. So I guess the girl has plans, big plans!

In this picture you can see that we had Prince Terrian outside today. We decided to sit out in the front lawn on blankets, pillow, and using an umbrella for shade. We brought out the prince and put him under the umbrella while Kennedy read her book. I sat and soaked up my vitamin D and listened to Pandora Radio. Mia drew on the sidewalk with chalk and Lincoln practiced running up and down the sidewalk as quickly as possible, his head bobbing up and down. I loved my life today!!!!!!! I mean who lives like this? I'm beyond wealthy in so many ways, not financially. It's the simple things in life that are so dang enjoyable. I'm relishing the moments. Hope you are too. Go buy your kid a pet! LOL

Doctors Work As Mircacles........

What kind of doctor allows you to email him and then actually emails you back? Unheard of! Well I happen to have found 2 doctors that we love and one of them is Dr. Stangel. He is a Chiropractic Neurologist and has been amazing for our girls. It was a relief to me to find a doctor that was 'down to earth', emailed me back immediately, and agreed that the girls were sick and needed some help. Most doctors just want to shoot the girls up with allergy shots and call it a day! I wanted more, much more. I wanted healing of the whole body. I believe in getting to the root of the problem and not just pacifying it for the moment. So, we started in on our journey by driving to Chattanooga (an hour and a half away) 3x a week. What a drive, but it was so worth it! We started in January and just finished up. So what have we noticed? Kennedy is calmer and much less argumentative and less agitated. Mia is happier and less anxious. Mia is processing like crazy and has blossomed at school. We just had blood work done to peek at the gut. Our guess is that the gut has an infection and we just need to heal it and hopefully reintroduce the restricted foods again. It's kind of sad saying good-bye to our doctor. When you see someone 3x a week for 10 weeks, you begin to feel like family. We took cupcakes for Mrs. Stangel's bday, food for Dr. Stangel when he was snowed in at the office, and we made valentines cards for them too. My daughters love them! I think the Stangels love the Alexanders too! We will miss them much but it's a good thing when you don't have to keep going back for appointments. With the combination of some food restrictions, vitamins, and Dr. Stangel's brain exercises we are a different family. The girls are doing much better. We are not completely there yet, but almost! I've learned so much as a parent. I believe a parent must trust his/her instincts, regardless of the discouraging comments from family/friends. A parent must always do what's best for the child, and a parent must think 'outside the box' sometimes. Traditional medicine isn't always the best road to travel.

Together......One Day at a Time.......

On such an interesting journey these days. Paul is jobless, we feel homeless, disconnected, and severed from what we once called "home". Finished reading Job last month and how appropriate. Of course, we are still 'oh so blessed' because having a job isn't everything at the moment but understandably vital. Right after Paul delivered the sad news to me, he turned and just stared and said "well, at least I've got you-honey and the kids. We do have eachother." Yep, I have to agree that we are so blessed to have our health and to have our relationships with one another and of course with Christ. This past week has served as a real tester for sure as the fog is clearing and the dust has certainly settled. Feelings of anxiety creep in, as well as self-doubt. You wonder "will we find a job?" "Does anyone out there want us?" "are we worthy?" Well the answers are simple. Christ declared us righteous and He has a plan for us. All too well known but oh so easy to forget, especially in tough moments. But God has shown up in such simple and tender moments during this duration. He has a way of making His presence known. I love His subtle hints of love and whispers of hope. As humans, we botch this up and say the wrong things in the wrong moments or don't say enough to those who are hurting. But He seems to know exactly what to say and what to do. I must praise Him for that. It stinks to be in this position right now but couldn't think of anyone I'd rather be traveling with, than Paul. The other night we fell asleep talking about this and that. Then a few minutes later, I could feel Paul's soft hand lean on my stomach. I reached across and touched his hand. Usually one of us would then begin snoring and out we'd be for the night. But instead we fell asleep holding hands. I know......so corny! But, it's those short and memorable moments that will stain my heart forever. I love that I'm able to journey through this with my best friend. We have no idea what the next step will be but we are confident that we won't be doing it alone.

Mommy's Prince but.......Daddy's Boy

Every night before Linc. goes to bed I ask him 'Are you Mommy's Prince?" and he says "Yes, I mommy's prince......" of course Daddy has to chipe in too and ask "are you Daddy's boy?" and of course Linc. replies "yes, I daddy's boy!". We love our boy and he gets so much love from all of us. He turned 3 this past week and we celebrated today! He woke up and asked if we could eat cake. I of course, diverted his attention to the wonderful bday pancakes and said we'd eat cake later. So, he helped me whip up pancakes and we stuck a candle in them and started singing to himself. This is one song my son has memorized....."Happy Birthday.." I love having friends/family over for special occasions but I must admit that it's so peaceful and meaningful when it's just the 5 of us too. Tonight was amazing! I made homemade pizza (@ Linc.'s request) and we ate cake, opened presents. Paul and I were racing to see who could get the toys out of the Alkatraz wrapping/tie downs the quickest. We each had a pair of scissors and went to work. It's crazy how much packaging and security goes into toys these days. Then we sat down and watched the Cars movie. I about fell asleep during the movie but it was oh so nice. Paul was most excited about opening the presents this year. He told Linc. that couldn't wait to for them to play with the new gadgets and that it was the most excited he'd ever been. Well this is because Paul received a present too. We got him a star wars life saver so that he could sword fight with Linc. Lincoln already has a sword but Daddy needed one too! Linc. also received a talking Iron Man, Storm Trooper, and Buzz Lightyear. I must admit, it was quite noisy during the movie since each child was pushing buttons on all the new toys. I was in zombie land and didn't even mind. We are blessed!