A Glimpse of the Future?

Yesterday afternoon, I sat in the pew of a church and watched my adorable daughter walk down the aisle in a white dress, her equally adorable cousin, Nathan, at her side (in a tuxedo). Behind Kaylie and Nathan, my sister-in-law, Mindy (Matt's third oldest sister), was beside the beautiful bride, her oldest daughter, Cassie. Suddenly, my mind flashed forward to a similar scene, twenty something (or so) years from now. The flower girl and ringbearer I couldn't place, but the bride and the woman beside her were unmistakeable. Instead of Cassie, it was Kaylie, instead of Mindy, me. Now, I know the days and years between now and then are many, but they will fly by, a whirlwind of school, homework, sports, vacations, holidays.....life. Someday, my cute, fun-loving, pigtailed toddler is going to be a beautiful young woman, standing in a church in a gown, waiting for me to walk her down the aisle......to give her away. When that time comes, I know she'll be ready, but will I? Will I be ready to give my daughter away? The thought only reminds me how fast time flies, how I need to cherish every day. Someday, my children will grow up.....

"While we try to teach our children all about life, Our children teach us what life is all about".
~Angela Schwindt

"Children are not yours, they are only lent to you for a time. In those fleeting years, do your best to help them grow up to be good people". ~Anonymous

A HUGE congratulations to our beautiful niece, Cassie, and our new "nephew", Ryan! We love you both and wish you all the best!

Is it Halloween yet?

My little pumpkin and my future Jedi are excited for trick or treating!

Apples and Pumpkins

Yesterday we took a family trip out to Collegeville Orchards near St. John's. The kids had fun petting and feeding the goats and llamas. The boys, along with Margaret and Grandma, enjoyed the wagon ride out into the orchards, while Grandpa, Beth, Matt, Kaylie, and I explored the pumpkin patch. The kids had a lot of fun picking out their pumpkins - thanks Grandma!

A year ago....

One year ago yesterday (Oct. 12) was one of the scariest days of my life, the day I turned around to glance in the backseat, just in time to see my 20 month old daughter turning blue right before my eyes.

It was a semi-normal day. Kaylie wasn't feeling well, so I had decided to stay at home with her. We drove Austin up to Becker for kindergarten, and then I took Kaylie to the doctor since she was running a slight fever, and H1N1 was everywhere. The doctor said it wasn't H1N1, her fever wasn't high enough. It was a virus, and it would run its course. We left the doctor's office and headed for home. Kaylie fell asleep pretty quickly, as she had been up much of the night. We were only about 1/2 mile from home when I stopped at the stoplight on Bunker Lake Blvd. and Highway 47. I turned around to look at her, and she was seizing. Her face was a gray-white, and her lips were turning blue. I screamed her name, not knowing what else to do. I was afraid she wasn't breathing. I pulled off the road into the parking lot, and struggled to get her out of her car seat. She fell limp in my arms, her lips still blue. I screamed for help (help my baby please!), but no one was around. I ran into Subway, where a quick thinking sandwich artist took one look at us and ran to get the chiropractor from next door. A customer called 911, and by the time the first responders got there, it had been determined that she was having a seizure, most likely febrile, caused by a rapid increase in body temperature. By the time the paramedics got there, the seizure had stopped (it lasted almost 6 minutes), and the color was beginning to return to her face. At least her lips weren't blue anymore. I will never in my life forget the sight of my baby's gray face.

After spending 6 hours in the ER, it was determined that Kaylie is prone to febrile seizures, very common in children, especially toddlers. The seizures are not harmful (although horrible to watch), and more than likely she will outgrow them by the time she's 5 or 6. She has had 2 more seizures since then, and believe me, they certainly don't get any easier to watch, although the panicking on my part was definitely less. Hopefully she will outgrow them soon.

EVERY MOMENT

Today I attended a "several times a year" Craft Day at Matt's sister Mindy's house. A group of us, including several of Matt's sisters, sister-in-law, and nieces, gather to work on whatever projects we are working on at the moment. It is a lot fun to see what everyone is working on, from Advent calendars to scarves to afghans, and of course, share food and laughter as well. Since I obviously have not inherited my mom's incredible creativity and ability to make anything using a needle or a sewing machine, the only craft I ever work on at Craft Day are my scrapbooks. I started scrapbooking when Austin was a baby, and it was not long before I became hooked on the craft. But scrapbooking can be a very time consuming, not to mention expensive, hobby. Sometimes I find myself getting so stressed about finishing a layout or an album that I have to stop and remind myself why I am doing this.

I am doing this for ME: I scrapbook for my own entertainment and enjoyment. It is a wonderful way for me to be expressive and creative. The feeling that I get when I create a page that I love is awesome!

I am doing this for MY KIDS: Someday, my children will grow up. I want them to have wonderful memories of their childhood. I am hoping that having lots of pictures and scrapbooks will help them remember what life as a child was like. In my scrapbooks I record special events, such as birthday parties and holidays, but also the everyday events, such as trips to the zoo, the playground, swimming, and reading. I want them to be able to remember the first day of school, the Christmases, the trips to the pumpkin patch. I want them be able to remember what being a child is all about. I want them to know how much I love them. I want them to be able to look back on their childhood and know that I treasured EVERY MOMENT with them.

The Power of Influence

I would like to think that I have more influence over my daughter than anyone else, but apparently I am quite wrong. Most days, when we get home in the afternoon, Austin likes to have a little "quiet time" and read before he starts on his homework. Today his choice of literature was the instruction manual from one of his Lego Star Wars video games (I have no idea why he chose to read this, but he thinks it makes him better at the game). So Kaylie went and got her own Lego Star Wars instruction manual and started reading. Suddenly, she comes over to me and says "Mommy, that's Anakin Skywalker and that's Yoda", then walks back over to couch and continues her "reading". I am left thinking why does my two year old know who Anakin Skywalker and Yoda are? That's right....her big brother. Austin is a great influence on his little sister, especially when it comes to reading (since he reads all the time), but I think it's hilarious that Kaylie knows all these Star Wars characters. Does she know who the Disney princesses are...of course not.

At dinner, I thought if Kaylie saw me eating broccoli that she would do it too, no such luck.

Thank Heaven for Little Girls

"It doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl, just as long as he or she is healthy." I have heard those words from many expectant parents, and even remember saying them myself during both of my pregnancies. I must admit, though, while pregnant with Kaylie, I do remember thinking how wonderful it would be to bring home a sister for Austin, but a brother would have been just as wonderful.

It is not that way everywhere in this world. Last week, I stumbled upon a story on the news that caught my attention. A family in Kabul was raising their youngest daughter as a boy. I know a little about Afghan culture, but not a lot, and this story intrigued me. After watching the news, I decided to do a little research on the issue. I found that for generations, many families have been raising their daughters as sons. Many women weep, not from joy, but from sorrow, at the birth of a girl. Girls are thought of as "drainers", boys as "contributors". Many families decide to raise their daughters as sons, in order to give them a better chance in life, they can go to school, they can play outside, they can have friends.

As a child being raised in a house full of girls, both of my parents always made sure that we knew we could be whatever we wanted to be when we grew up. I do the same for my daughter.

Every day, I thank God for my two beautiful children, one of whom happens to be a girl. I also thank God that she is able to be herself, wear pretty dresses, push her babies around in the stroller, be kind, loving, and compassionate. She plays outside, has friends, and will one day go to school. She can go to college, be anything she wants to be.

Thank heaven for little girls.