Howdy!

I guess we are having a really good month! Cassidy starts her horse show competitions this weekend. She is really excited. She is riding a different horse this year. Cassidy and the horse have been getting used to each other. I cannot wait to hear how she did. (It is in southern Indiana, so I usually cannot go.) Barry and Christopher are doing fine. All three kids are counting down the days left of school, mostly Christopher. (As of today they have 11 days left, not including weekends.) Christopher's reasons are that he is very, very ready to go to camp! I am glad that he is so excited about it.
On another front, the spring weather is finally here!!! I am so glad! Of course today is supposed to be almost 85 degrees! Almost like summer! On that note, everyone have a great day!!

Peace and quiet!

I guess when I am not writing, things must be pretty good. I decided I had better let you know that everything is fine. I should write when my kids have good days, even if they have lots of good days! Christopher had his last Cub Scout meeting this past Tuesday. He made a kite and had a blast!! He decided he did not need a "store bought" kite this year because his homemade one is just so much better than anyone he could buy! Cassidy and Barry were disappointed that they did not get to make one too, but I told then that we would figure out a way to make them kites. Christopher also is very excited about going to camp in June. He is finally old enough to attend Twin Lakes Camp (where I worked for three summers.) He is ready to start packing RIGHT now! I am really glad that he wants to go. He and Cassidy both have asked our Pastor about baptism, so the next time that the church has a baptism they will be getting baptized. It is very nice to see how excited they are about God. All three of the kids occansionally come to my room at night because they have a bad dream. I have always prayed with them and they seem to be able to go right back to sleep. Now they come to me and just ask for a little help praying and do most of it by themselves (they use their own words with no real prompting.) It is nice that they are learning to pray on their own. I love to hear them pray!! Cassidy is also done with Girl Scouts for the year. She had a blast this year. She sold lots of cookies (252 books, which will probably NEVER happen again), nuts, and magazines. Her troop had a "spa night" and lots of other exciting adventures. I think her favorite activity was visiting the local Wiseway grocery store. She cannot wait until next year. Barry gets to join Cub Scouts next year and is very excited about that. He is almost done with kindergarten, I can't believe it! I guess that is enough for now.

I really do not know WHAT to call this one

WOW!!! Meltdown city tonight! Cassidy is crying because I told her no. She is now saying it is because I do not love her. Of course, I am sitting quietly trying very hard not to laugh at her temper tantrum! Why do kids try these games? Barry cried a little earlier, but is now sound asleep on my mother's recliner. He tends to do this a lot when we make it to Friday during the school week. Christopher has decided to hide out in the car. He does not have the keys or anything, but I think that he just wants to be away from the crying.

Last Thursday, I went to the doctor and was put on an oral steroid and an inhaler. I now know exactly how Christopher feels when he has to use his inhaler. It sucks!! Still, my coughing has gotten mostly better. I am still coughing every once in a while. With this swine flu scare, everyone keeps looking at me like I am going to get them all sick. Relax folks, not sick at all, just a major allergy flare up. I did not realize my allergy to dust was so bad. Next time my mother can fix the vacuum cleaner.

Finally no more crying. Peace and quiet. I suppose that Cassidy has decided that no is not such a bad word after all. I wonder how long this will last! :)

Much Needed Reality Check

There are days when Christopher is raging and so angry that it is scary to hear. He will arbitrarily hurt someone just because he is mad at me. Today for example, I took his gameboy away because this week is no TV week, which of course includes video games and computer (for the kids). For the past twenty minutes he has raged around, screaming at everyone, kicking things and generally being pissed at the world. Enter my reality check: whenever I get into my blog site, I always check the updates of the many blogs I follow. Among my favorites are the adoption ones. The reason I like them so much is that these families give up everything to adopt the children that need the love the most. Most of the children that they adopt are special needs: physical, emotional, or mental. While I have a child with some serious anger; there are times when these families are dealing with multiple problems at once, from multiple children. I sometimes forget that my one child is very easy to deal with when you look at what other people are dealing with. My son is just now starting to calm down. I started to write this blog almost 45 minutes ago. I had to physically hold him down so he would not hurt the other kids, himself or me. We are just getting past this episode of anger (almost an hour into to it.) I love my child, anger and all, although I wish I could figure out how to help him. In the long scheme of things, even with an angry child, my life is not so hard. :)

Howdy!

It has been a while since I wrote anything. Everything here seems to be going alright. Christopher is doing well. He has been on oral steroids since Tuesday because of an asthma "outbreak." This is his first episode in over a year. His allergy stuff has not been a big deal . . . so far. Once school is over for the summer and I have better control over everything he eats, we are going to start eliminating wheat, soy, and tuna to see how much they really might bother him. He really likes all of those things so it may not be easy, but we will see. He also gets to go to camp for the first time. He is going to the same camp I worked at - Twin Lakes Camp. I am so excited that he is going.
Barry was not afraid!! I enjoyed watching him ride all by himself!! Barry is doing well in school and I am so happy that he never has a problem going to school or doing homework. Overall he seems to be a very happy little boy.

Cassidy has started horseback riding again. She was so excited! She cannot wait until she goes to her first competition of the year. Barry and Chris both rode the horse the other day and had a really good time. Cassidy is a typical little girl who enjoys "girlie" things. She gets a kick out of hanging out with her friends and talking on the phone. It is really quite funny. I thought the phone thing started when they got bigger!!

More Allergy Info

Well, Christopher has finally been tested for food allergies. Here is the official list of all his allergies:

Environmental ->

Timothy (pollen)
Meadow Fescue (pollen)
Bermuda (pollen)
Perennial Rye (pollen)
Orchard (pollen)
Redtop (pollen)
Kentucky Blue (pollen)
Mulberry Mix (pollen)
American Elm (pollen)
Chinese Elm ( pollen)
Common Privet (pollen)
Red Adler (pollen)
White Ash (pollen)
Oak Mix (pollen)
Black Walnut (pollen)
Boxelder Maple (pollen)
Birch Maple (pollen)
American Beech (pollen)
Cottonwood (pollen)
Careless-Pigweed (pollen)
Lambs Quarters (pollen)
Ragweed
Mucor
Dust Mite # 1 & 2
Cats
Dogs

Food ->

Wheat (no reaction right now, so he can still eat it. We just need to watch him carefully.)
Soy (same as wheat)
Tuna (same as wheat)
Coconut (same as wheat)

Hazelnut/Filbert
Almond
Peanut
Cashew
Walnut
Lobster
String Bean
Cantaloupe
Mustard
Sesame

Fun right! I knew about the nut issue, but the rest is a surprise to me!! Poor kid! He was quite excited to find out he was not allergic to CHOCOLATE! At least some good news in this mess!

No Complaining Today!

You know, I cannot complain (today, anyway) about life. The weather is beautiful! This has been one of the worst winters ever in NW Indiana. I am so glad that we are actually seeing glimpses of spring! My kids got their bikes out yesterday. Definitely a springtime rite of passage. It has been nice enough to open windows and just enjoy! I know that the cold is not over yet (i.e. the weather report says more cold on Wednesday), but I will enjoy the nice stuff while it is here. Also the kids are beeing nice to each other. Do not fall over in shock! It is true and oh so peaceful! You know I am glad that God gives us these kind of days every once in a while!