Meet Charlie

Meet the newest member of our family...

Our Christmas Tree "Charlie"

We went to Menards last weekend and picked it out.

I voted for one with a little more to it, but I was outnumbered by these cuties...

So we brought Charlie home and hoped he would open up a bit more after warming up, but I am afraid this tree looks just as pathetic after a good night in our house as it did before. 

Richard and Elijah decorated the tree with lights...

And it was Elijah's turn to put the star on top...

Then we all helped put on the ornaments.

A couple years ago I separated all our ornaments so it would be easier to decorate the tree. 

I have one box of breakable/special ones that we probably won't be able to put up until everyone is a bit older...or gone.

Another box of some that are keepsakes and I may never let leave the box, and a third box of kid friendly and favorites that get placed up high. 

The big boys did a great job this year and were very excited to pull out their ornaments

Isaac was indifferent about the process and was more excited about the popcorn Richard made for us to enjoy while we decorated than the actual process of putting on the ornaments I think

Richard and Olivia watched safely from the side...

With Ornaments and lights I think Charlie looks much better than he did when he came to our house. 

It sure is a cozy and festive addition to the house and comforting when Olivia and I are up in the night.

Unfortunately Charlie won't get to experience the excitement of having gifts placed under him for very long.  I don't trust any of the boys with them and will probably place them under the tree only a few moments before we open them!

Charlie is starting to grow on me and I am going to have a hard time taking him down after Christmas is over.  Good thing we are notorious for leaving our tree up into January and (gasp) Februrary even!

We lived in Iowa City and had purchased a very large tree to sit in front of a second story window with vaulted ceilings.  It was real and we took it down Valentine's Day.

That year we had to just shake the tree, let all the needles fall off, shovel them into garbage bags and throw the bare tree out the window of our town house.

If I remember correctly, that was the same GIANT tree that didn't fit in our tree stand, only we didn't know it until we had gotten home and Richard had already cut the bottom off. 

Jonah was almost 2, Elijah was 4 months old and we had fortunately strapped him into his bouncy chair before attempting to get it up. Because Richard had to drive to Menards and get a new tree stand while I stood in the living room holding the 8 foot tree up.

While he was gone, Elijah started screaming and Jonah fell into 

the bucket of water we had out to dump in the tree stand.

Good memories. 

Well, I guess if we leave Charlie up until Valentine's Day

 it won't take long to clean up because he is so small! 

And it is a short walk from where he is standing to the front door :0)

Dear Mountain Lady

Dear Mountain Lady,
 
    I do not know who you are, but wanted to let you know I received your card yesterday and I have been trying to rack my brain to uncover your secret identity and simply can't figure out who you are!  Your words of encouragement and sweet Starbuck's gift moved me to tears.  I realized after last week that I had been guilty of trying to carry "my load" all by myself (as I am frequently guilty of...control issues) and needed to give it to the Lord.

    I have a hard time asking for help.  Announcing on my blog that I was struggling was harder than I thought it would be, but felt as though a load had been lifted off my shoulders.  I also want to continue being real and although I would love to think our lives could be easy and perfect, I know that isn't true and God has blessed us with people in our lives to support us when we are struggling.

    I have been overwhelmed by friends and family (near and far) reaching out through encouragement, simply stopping by for a moment to say hello, dropping off a coffee or a meal, helping with pick up/drop off for my kiddos or even just having them over for a play date.

    This past week I tried to rely on the strength of the Lord and realized how much better my days would go. I also realized I need to focus more on being thankful for the moment and what I was able to get done and less worried about all the things that I didn't do.  I also discovered that mothering alone is simply not as much fun as sharing the adventures with others!

    So, while I know your simple act of kindness was simply meant to help encourage me (and you did not desire to receive credit) I wanted to say THANK YOU.  While I wish we could meet for coffee, a hug, and delight in the Lord together, please know I will cherish this gift and use it to refresh my soul even if it is alone.

    I pray the Lord blesses you and this post finds you well!

          Love Your Encouraged Friend

Minty Fresh

Things have been tons better this week for our house. 

Elijah has been adjusting to life on his hands and knees or in his wheelchair.

He has been in tears the past few days confessing to me that he just wants to walk again and his hands and knees hurt from crawling around.  

He has been in good spirits and we have been blessed by friends visiting and bringing him a few things to occupy his time with. Thank you!!!!

Olivia has had spurts of sleeping for a significant amount of time through the night and I have snuck a nap in here and there. 

She has also been more alert during the day, smiling and cooing which always melts my heart.

(In fact a few days ago she was being super cute cooing and having a "conversation" with me. I was discussing the importance of having another lady in our house so I could have a partner in crime and she belched, farted, then smiled....perhaps we need to have a few more lessons on this)

I have not suffered any emotional breakdowns this week!

(Insert Richard dancing)

Jonah has been able to get in some playdates after school giving him 

something special to look forward to. 

Isaac has had moments of obedience and seems to be able to play more when he is home rather than simply being destructive. 

However, I still have to be aware of him and his whereabouts constantly. 

If the invent a GPS chip to place on your child's clothes so you know where they are I might be the first to purchase it!  I wouldn't mind having a watch that beeps and shows me his exact location in our house like inspector gadget or batman. 

If so, I wouldn't have a minty fresh bathroom...

This is what he did in a matter of seconds...I had gotten Olivia to sleep and was laying her down.

He waited until I was in the process of putting her in her swing and strapping her in...

Then he snuck into the bathroom and made some toothpaste art on the floor and counter.

I had to take a picture first, he had his head down while I was cleaning it up and we talked about how he couldn't do this. He told me he was sorry and I tried very hard not to laugh at his cuteness.

After I cleaned it up, I was shouted up a little hallelujah that it wasn't soap or shampoo.

I was also thankful for the new minty fresh smell in there. 

Oh never a dull moment at our house!

Animal Prints, Girlie Clothes & Accessories Oh My!

The first thing most people ask, when they find out we have 3 boys and 1 girl is if I am enjoying having a daughter....

Well, I sure am.

There are so many choices and getting dressed everyday is fun and challenging.

There are animal prints...

 Stripey pants...

Purple... 

Glitter and sparkles....

Pink and polka dots...

Dresses and tights...

Ruffle butts...

Flowery headbands

 and Sweet little bows

I am enjoying the sweetness of a girl and the fun new clothes. 

I have to say watching the boys and her dad swoon over her might be more fun.

Thankful for this little lady and all the fun we will have!

Waffle Cone Wednesday Supermom Style

Most Wednesdays, for the past couple years, the boys and I have made a fun after school tradition of going to TCBY (a frozen yogurt store in town) and partaking in Waffle Cone Wednesday.

On Wednesdays you get a waffle cone with frozen yogurt for only $1 (normally $4).

It's a pretty special time and the boys look forward to it and it's a nice reward for good behavior.

When they don't make the best decisions and are struggling to listen we don't get to go.

Probably I am just as sad as they are when we have to skip this tradition.

Usually Elijah picks whatever kind of ice cream Jonah likes and Isaac and I share. 

So last week, one of the most emotional weeks I have experienced in motherhood, we were on our way to TCBY for waffle cone wednesday.

That morning I had gone to the dentist, then to the doctor to discover that Elijah did probably have a broken bone in his foot, and was a wreck. 

After we picked Jonah up from school and Isaac from daycare we were driving towards our favorite wednesday spot and I was talking out loud about how we would tackle waffle cone wednesday with Olivia, Isaac, and Elijah who couldn't walk. 

I was talking through the different possible scenarios with the boys and reminding them that we could only do this if everyone worked together. 

I was trying to decide if it would be safest to bring Isaac in first and leave him with Jonah, then haul Elijah and Olivia in....or Elijah and Olivia in first and then Jonah could sit in the car with Jonah and then I could go back for the two of them. 

I started to feel overwhelmed again, for the kajillionth time that day and got a bit teary. 

I started to doubt if this was a good idea, I became a bit sweaty and nauseous thinking about the worst case scenario: Isaac would run all over the seating area while I was trying to get the ice cream behaving like a wild animal, Jonah and Elijah would fight in their normal soft extremely loud voices and erupt into tears, and Olivia would wait until everyone had their ice cream and start screaming bloody murder demanding to be fed that instant. 

I also wondered if I would ever feel confident about mothering 4 kiddos!

I was almost there and had to decide quickly if we were going to attempt waffle cone wednesday or head home hanging our heads in defeat.

When I heard Elijah say one of the sweetest things he has ever said.

(Now, I know most children say it like it is, but Elijah is especially honest and I am always a bit nervous of what will come out of his mouth for this reason).

Jonah was trying to tell me which plan he thought was best when Elijah interrupted him and said:

"Jonah, don't worry!  Mom totally has got this...you should have seen her this morning at the dentist.  She had me on her back, the diaper bag and carried Olivia in the carseat!"

"She was totally like superwoman. She even opened the door to the car and the dentist. It was amazing...you should have been there."

"This will be totally easy for her....just watch" 

My heart soared, my confidence became tenfold and I am pretty sure if we were in a movie they would have cut to a scene of me in a ridiculous spandex suit with a cape blowing behind me while I stood confidently with my hands on my hips ready to take on waffle cone wednesday with a vengeance!

I couldn't skip it now!

So we did it.  Jonah held Isaac's hand and they safely made it inside, then I headed back to the car for Elijah (on my back) and Olivia.  Elijah sat at the table with Olivia while Jonah helped me man handle Isaac while ordering our ice cream. 

Then the sweet lady working at TCBY (who happens to know us as frequent flyers) carried the ice cream to the table and even brought a cup and extra spoon for Isaac!

Then time stopped for a bit and I was able to enjoy my sweet three boys and beaming with pride that we were all having fun and not creating a scene!

Miss Olivia slept right through it contributing nicely to the smoothness of the trip.

Then I made multiple trips to the car carrying children and prayed a prayer of thanksgiving as we drove home for a memory that will stay with me for quite some time. 

Even though I didn't have a cape, or a ridiculous spandex suit (yikes), didn't possess any secret superhero traits, or save the world from any crazy villains, I was a Supermom in the eyes of my 5 year old....and that is a pretty big compliment in my book.  

Badge of Honor

So Elijah earned a badge of honor today....

The first Dafoe boy to break a bone...AND be casted.

(sorry about the poor picture...its from my phone and

 it's not as nice as someone else's phone in our family :0)

  

We went to the Orthopedic Dr this am and was hoping to leave with some fancy boots he could wear that would limit weight bearing so he could still walk, but instead his Right foot/leg was casted to just below his knee.  His left foot has a broken bone above the ankle, but the Dr was okay with leaving that foot/leg as it already seems to be healing since he has been walking on that foot.

He did very well and was a little bit in shock until we were waiting to rent a wheelchair and then the tears started flowing.  Poor guy!  He was quite devastated that he couldn't walk.

Don't blame him, and I got a bit teary just watching him.

We stopped at blockbuster on the way home and Scooby Doo, Alvin & the Chipmunks, and the X-men have been helping him relax on the couch all afternoon...

Thanks for all the prayers, texts and phone calls!

We have an appointment in 2 weeks and we are praying it will be healed by then, but if not we will have it re-casted and wait a bit longer.

So until then we are laying low....and staying off the roof!

Just Like A Cat

It has been a rough week in our house.

I have been struggling with feeling overwhelmed, pulled in 500 directions, and wishing there were about 10 of me instead of one. 

Have you ever wondered if God might have you confused with someone else when your plate is so full it is overflowing and you can't possibly imagine anything else being added?

I HAVE!!!!!!!

This is going to be a long post, probably three in one, but I dont have time to worry about it or write them all separately so here it goes...

Olivia continues to be the almost perfect baby, sleeping like a champ and eating well. 

She just likes to be held all the time, which isn't her fault, but mine.  Well it's simply a defense mechanism I have used in order to protect her from Isaac. 

She does sleep in her pack n play at night very well, so I am not too concerned. 

Isaac continues to fill his day with acting out and is constantly into something or destroying something he shouldn't demanding my attention that has thus been directed towards other things....

Like the laundry, cleaning the house, trying to pick up the house, taking care of a one month old, & helping everyone feel special and loved on very little sleep and very little self esteem.

This combo does not equal a sweet, loving, patient momma.

I am struggling to get rid of thrush and thus have cracked, sore, and bleeding nipples....making breastfeeding a ton of fun an excruciatingly painful and tearful experience every few hours!

Jonah has been emotional and acting out at school. Gasp. And he is my best behaved kiddo!

The cherry on top is that Elijah, who has been a great helper around the house during the day when I am battling Isaaczilla and protecting princess Olivia is out of commission.

Last Sunday he was helping his dad put the Christmas lights up and he fell off the roof.

Yep. Landing on his feet, just like a cat, somehow.

But, has been unable to walk since.

He cried initially after the fall, but recovered quickly so Richard and I figured his feet were just extremely tender. 

My mommy gut instincts told me to take him in Monday as they were still pretty tender.  So Monday morning I took him to the Dr and my fabulous father joined me to help carry him around since I had Olivia (Isaac went to daycare) and after a bajillion xrays of every possible angle and bone from his knees down, we didn't see any broken bones and were sent home with a regimen of Ibuprofen every 6 hours and for him to stay off his feet. 

I was supposed to call by Friday if he wasn't better and the Dr figured he would be back to his old self by Wednesday.

Well, Wednesday rolled around and he still wasn't walking. 

He didn't seem to be in any pain, was scooting around our house on his knees and pulling himself up to use the bathroom, but just needing to be carried to and from the car.

So, picking up Jonah from school became a 30 minute ordeal just to get everyone in their winter gear and carried to the car. 

Isaac and Olivia are unsafe alone together, so I had to carry one of them first, then Elijah than the other.

3 trips to the car later, we were ready to go pick Jonah up and be back home again in 15 minutes to do it all over again! Whew!

Thankfully I had a few wonderful mommas who helped me by bringing Jonah to school and picking him up a few times so we didn't have to do this so many times. 

And other wonderful friends who have brought me coffee, frozen yogurt, texted or called to see if I am surviving! This has been greatly appreciated and I am sure I wouldn't have made it through the week without you!

Wednesday morning I had a dentist appointment and figured Elijah would be better by then so I didn't bother canceling it.  Isaac was going to daycare so I was just going to have Olivia, who was going to just sleep in her carseat....or so I thought. 

Well, I hauled Elijah with me to the dentist, literally.

He weighs 48 pounds and is very tall so I ended up putting him on my back, putting the diaper bag over one shoulder and carrying Olivia (in her carseat) with the other hand. 

Needless to say we had a few funny looks while we entered and exited the building ;0)

(Olivia ended up spending the time on my lap staring at the pretty cloud pictures on the ceiling while I had my teeth cleaned as she missed the memo about sleeping in her carseat)

After the dentist Wednesday, we made a pit stop at Starbucks (sanity refill for mom and treat for Elijah) and as I was praying about the situation we ran into my cousin and my other cousins wife. 

Seeing a few beautiful familiar faces was just what I needed to relax and the Dr actually called to check on us and after hearing Elijah was still not walking wanted us to come in right away.

So back to the Dr we went.

Now the pain was isolated to his right heel, so we took a few more xrays (specific to that area) and the pediatrician and Orthopedic Dr questioned a fracture in his right heel on the growth plate. 

Yikes!

To confirm we needed to come back in for a bone scan on Friday. 

So Thursday I had Isaac stay home as he was going to have to go back to daycare on Friday.

By 11am I was ready to write a resignation letter as a mom and place a wanted ad in the newspaper for a new one.

As I tried to make mac & cheese through my tears, I prayed for more strength, grace and that I could make it until Richard got home from school.

My phone rang and it was my mom. 

She was just calling to check up on us.

After I began sobbing and confessing to her that I was beyond overwhelmed and knew it was only exaggerated by my sleep deprivation, she gently reminded me that things would get better and she remembered feeling that way too. 

(This was very encouraging as I don't remember my mom ever seeming as though she was overwhelmed as a child. She was supermom and always seemed to have it under control)

She offered to take the boys after school so I could take a nap with Liv.

And I did. For almost 3 hours. It felt like a year.

Then Friday morning Elijah and I had to be at the Dr at 6:45 am for the radioactive injection prior to the scan.   Other than screaming loud enough for the entire hospital to hear him during the injection, it went very well!

He was so brave, laid very still while they took a few pics to make sure the injection worked, and entertained the techs with stories and his mile long Christmas list!

Here we are bright eyed and bushy tailed waiting for the injection.

Then we headed home for a few hours and came back for the 30 minute scan that went very well. 

The fabulous tech from the morning had alvin and the chipmunks Christmas tunes playing and was ready for us!

I had another fabulous friend who watched Olivia while we were doing this so she didn't have to be hauled around and I could give my attention to Elijah. 

After the scan, we picked up Isaac from daycare, McDonalds and headed home to wait. 

And wait we did, until 6pm.

I did call at 3 just to see how things were going and the pediatrician assured me she would call me back as soon as she found out anything. 

So when she called at 6pm to tell us that the bone scan did actually show he had broken his heel bone AND another bone in his left foot that overwhelming feeling became a little more overwhelming. 

Thank the Lord it was Friday.

So my poor 5 year old has a broken bone in each foot and has been such a trooper. 

He still seems to be comfortable and continues to scoot around the house on his hands and knees and is quite self sufficient. 

We are going in at 8am Monday morning to try find a device he can wear on his feet and be able to walk.  Hopefully we can do this with the assistance of a walker and some special boot or shoe. 

Otherwise the alternative is casting both feet. 

Ugh.

(insert hyperventilating momma thinking about both feet being casted)

Despite this emotional week and feeling overwhelmed with life, I have been overwhelmed by the blessings we have experienced from family and friends. 

Thank you for checking up on us, and serving us with rides, food, treats and encouragement.

In the big picture, these trials are so small compared to what so many others face on a daily basis and Elijah could have been hurt much worse than he was. 

We are thankful for that and counting our blessings. 

I am also thankful for my husband the rock who is trying his darnedest to keep me sane and reassuring me that things are going to get easier with time. 

I am also thankful for days when I only have a handful of emotional breakdowns!

I know God is good and His plan is greater than mine. 

So, I am trying to take it one day at a time.  Praying for strength and encouragement.  Thankful for friends and family who have blessed us immensely as we are adjusting to life with 4 kids and a few broken bones.  

I am also trying to ignore my to-do lists and focus on surviving each day.

At least I don't have to feel guilty about not working out.

Carrying around my 48 pound 5 year old, 30 pound 21 month old, and 9 1/2 pound infant is good enough for me right now.