View from the Rearview

What you see these days when you look in the rearview mirror in the car.....Looks cute and peaceful doesn't it?! Most of the time it is.....just don't mess with blondie:) Katie is OBSESSED with these lensless glasses these days and when this girl gets object fixated it hangs on for a while. Don't understand it....but so be it!

Scenes From Happy Sugar Day (or more commonly known as Kristin's Birthday!)

Let's just say...the girl was in her element. Games, sugar, people, sugar, fun, sugar, attention, sugar, pink stuff, sugar. Even Pink sugar. Gonna be a while before we bring her down from her heavenly loft of floating sweetness. She had a great birthday. We had a great one with her. You may have attended our shin-dig but may not see your pic. That's because you may have requested no pics on the internet.....or realized the camera maiden forgot her big camera and had to use her phone. (Who would do that?!) .....and it was a bit crazy. Blondie has some great memories!! We love this girl!














Oh yea....only Leni could throw a ball down the correct lane and knock down pins from the lane over. She's the only one we know of that can officially make a bowling ball....bounce. High. It was drama.

Happy Birthday to Our Own Eloise!

Happy 7th Birthday to our sweet Kristin! Hard to believe this personality laden blondie is 7! We celebrated with burgers n bowling by her request! We had bowlers from age 3-76 and had a "ball"!! Pics soon! We love this girl!!

Katie Mei's first ever cartwheel!

I know...I know...you've been staying up nights waiting for this moment! But as a parent thing....we have to share Katie's first ever attempt at a cartwheel and the results.....messy, scraggly pony-tail and all. Heh.

TA DA! After taking a year off....the P.C. and fam got Sea World passes again! This year the girls have their own personal ride hopping go-with-em body guards! Can you spot them in the pic? Yep....we love our older ones of which there in now one more:) Katie is FINALLY tall enough to ride the "Snow-Mu" rollercoaster and Leni's tall enough for....well....anything she wants! She's feeling great these days BTW. Roller coasters...the bigger the better are her thing. This day she rode Manta three times and Kraken twice with a few other rides (the kids section rides are boring mom!) thrown in. Sleep and fun have returned! WHOOO! Can you hear me yelling all the way to China?!

Leni Update...

"It's all about knowing God is for you and not against you-even in suffering. That's how grace becomes visible." Joni Eareckson.

I've had several inquiries about how our Leni's doing so.....here you go. In a nutshell...much, much better...but SLLLLOOOOWWWW. Asthma is a funny animal and can turn on a dime. About the time you figure out what the triggers are...there comes a turn in the road and another issue flares up. We're used to having a rough February....and a rough May, and somewhat of a rough September. This episode totally caught us off guard and was very scary. A week after our hospital visit....our lungs are still struggling but not as critical. We do routine lung function testing and had just recently passed at the beginning of the month with flying colors. Her levels should be around 283.....in the hospital they were below 100...and are now, a week later back up between 125 -150. Progress...but not great. That means weak muscles, weak brain functioning, and overall fatigue. On top of that we've had several side effects from the meds this time that we hadn't counted on. Bleah. We're still on a nebulizer 1.5 hours a day. That really cuts into your scheduling:) and we're having to be very careful about secondary infections. It is hard, it is time consuming, you get plain old weary from being up all night but it is truly a privilege to care for this child knowing God has time and time again spared her but has/is also allowing her to endure sufferings that would challenge the strongest among us.

All that to say....her attitude is magnificent! This child is so used to not feeling good that to be even somewhat better is sending her to the moon. She's the most amazing display of grace while being chronically sick most of her life that I can think of! So...thank you for your prayers....thank you for your kind words and concern. No question God's hand is and always has been on this child. She's taught me more about how to live by God's grace in her short 8 years than I had ever learned before. I think anyone that has a child with a SN can and will attest to that. To top it off.....this is only one of the issues that we're working through medically with this sweet girl. I've said it before and I'll say it again....I want to be like Leni when I grow up. More soon!

Some Are More Help Than Others...

The ladies decided to make cookies for this Mommy's birthday yesterday....and in most ways I was amazed. The older two are learning liquid measures in school and this was excellent practice time. Katie is a natural organizer and very 'neat' by nature. She is going to live with her mommy forever because I can hand her a basket of laundry and come back a few minutes later to find everything perfectly folded and matched. So....with our cookie adventure....the hierarchy emerges quickly. Leni thinks dough ..any dough is playdough, Kristin is the natural bossy boss and quite enjoys giving instructions (see it in her eyes??!!) and Katie takes her time with a project, is a perfectionist and a detail person. The cookies came out awesome...and the kitchen is somewhat still intact. Heh.

Leni is some better. The fever is gone (whooooooo!!!!) but the breathing issues remain and are very, very stubborn. This was a doozy of an episode for her. Duh, right?! She's still on multiple steroids and breathing meds....and remains pale and weak but everyday we're seeing some progress. She's such an example of a sweet spirit when suffering! I want to be like her when I grow up
!!