An Answer to Some Questions....

Positive for Whooping cough.....that is the answer, my friends, to the fierce breathing and asthma issues  from the last month here at our outpost.

Yes...we vaccinate...and guess what? It is NOT 100% effective. The first year following vaccination, it is 80-90% effective and after that it wanes. Three local docs could not believe it was possibly Pertussis, because we “had been vaccinated” and therefore, it can’t be Pertussis. Wrong!! Fortunately, we finally had someone listen to my amazing rendition of Peter’s cough, and ordered the swabs so I would shut up and quit doing the cough drama. If ever in doubt, be dramatic, right?

So, not to start a debate about vaccines, because that is NOT what this is about, I do want to make people aware that if your family has a cough that just won’t leave, or gets worse after you think they should have been getting better, or they have a nasty “whooping” sound with breathing in, (think long audible high pitch gasping sound) or if your asthma kids are especially drained from coughing...or turn nice shades of purple and gray like our dear Petey, perhaps the whole Pertussis eval should be broached with your doc. It is a simple swab of the nose to send to the lab. AND...sometimes there is no “whooping sound,” only Pete had that with his cough. Fortunately, Lily didn’t come down with this, she had just been vaccinated a few months ago.

I’m not a doctor, and the only advise I am giving is to persist with your doctor if you think your child might have pertussis. The big deal is, for infants, it is especially serious. People usually need treated with an antibiotic once there is a positive test for Pertussis.  Read what the CDC says about this, and ask your doctor if you have any questions.

http://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/

We are on the mend and feeling better, but that cough....oh...you don’t forget it, let me tell ya’!

Now....I leave you with a picture of my latest shower gift I have made for the next bride- to- be in Jim’s family. I love this pattern, I have made it a few times now, and the brides all seem to like it a lot. It is the “Emmaline” from Sew Liberated. I intentionally post a pic with the chaos showing in my room/sewing area in the background....I didn’t have time to clean up, I was sewing aprons and keeping kids breathing.

Sew Liberated Emmaline Apron

It is reversible, but I forgot to take a pic of the other side! It is in a complementing blue chevron from the same fabric line, bought at Joann’s....with my 50% off coupon, of course! 

Room For God

“Make room therefore for Christ, and refuse entrance to all others. When you have Christ, you are rich and have need of (nothing) else.
--Thomas A Kempis


How are you making room for Christ? What does it look like in your life to make room for Him? I am endeavoring to attend daily Mass as many times during the week as possible. This has been a challenge in the past, and continues to be so. We have a lovely chapel not too far away, and I am starting with 7pm Mass there on Monday and Tuesday. It is a start. I also am praying through “33 Days to Morning Glory,” renewing my Marian Consecration that I made several years ago. I need to hold tight to Our Lady. She was the perfect follower of Christ. If we endeavor to follow Christ, we need look no further than His dear Mother, who will always point the way back to Him...and boy do I need some directions!

So often in the last several years of motherhood, my prayer time has consisted of short cries of distress, like a “toddler” cries for “Help!” and yells “Why?” My childrens’ medical needs have been so intense at times, I haven’t been able to count on anything being consistent except that it won’t be consistent, and someone will need to see a doctor the present week...often several times in one week. We are moving out of a difficult time this Summer. It hasn’t been full of camping, hiking and beach trips like I was dreaming of the last several months of winter.

Lovely Sleeping Bear Dunes from last year’s trip.

Instead, we got an awful virus in June that set off some of the worst asthma flares we have had in a long time, including myself, and an older son who isn’t typically as fragile as he has been the past few weeks. We have made many, many trips to the doctor and children’s hospital and the pharmacy staff are incredulous when I drive up...again. It has been rough. I shouldn’t complain too much, the time we have spent at clinics and such are a far cry from what they used to be! Now the kids have wave cushions and videos to keep them occupied during long waits. But...the view isn’t quite as pretty as the one above.

I am still brought up short when these times happen, and start the same old whine of “But Lord, why?” Instead...I need to say, “Lord, what? What is it You want me to get from this time?”

During this last round of medical crises, I have heard....”Come closer....lean into Me....and quit with the distractions.”

So, I will read....I will pray...and I will try to attend Mass when I can. I’m signing off of FB for the foreseeable future. I need to hone my writing skills and this is a nicer format for me to do just that, and I need less distractions.

Share with me what works for your prayer time, are you consistent? That’s my most difficult challenge....consistency!!

New Blog

Hi Friends!

I have an introduction to make here. My friend, Camille, is a book artist, calligrapher, and poet along with being a homeschooling mama. She does amazing work. I have encouraged her to share her knowledge and the beautiful work she does with her own blog, and waahhlaahh--here it is! Go give her some bloggy love and check it out. Camille plans on doing some tutorials on how she makes her sweet books, which would integrate nicely into art plans for the entire family. Go Camille! We want more!!

http://leafandline.blogspot.com/

Off to make plans for the week and nurse a rotten head cold. I am hoping to get some homeschooling plans up soon!

Happy Memorial Day!

Yarn Along...how fun!!

Hi Everyone!

I am participating in Ginny’s Yarn Along...what a great idea to share what we are knitting AND reading....double bonus!! So I am reading Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather. I am reading along with some of Gabe’s reading selections for freshman year. He is actually starting early to get a jump start, which is going really well. Willa Cather’s book is one of the books to choose for early American history. I LOVE this book so far. I am about a third of the way along. It is a beautiful depiction of early French settled Quebec. Cather’s rich description of the villager’s lives is a lively and intricate look at that time period. I have learned so much, and want to re-read the pages in which she brought to life the devout Catholic life.

My knitting is coming along...I am ALMOST done with the lace scarf I am knitting for myself. This is such a rarity, that I am knitting for me, and I have stuck with a long term project. I could have finished it long ago, but have often put it aside to knit up a gift or such.

Here is the Ravelry page for the Winter Flame Scarf. I am using Knitpick’s Stroll Tonal Sock Yarn in Gypsy. Oh how I have loved this pattern. I am newer to lace patterns, and this has been easy to learn.

Look how much left you have, Mama!!

Still need to block, but it is going to be nice.

What are you reading and knitting? Check out Ginny’s blog for more links to everyone’s show and tell.

Confirmation

We are so proud of Gabe, he received the Sacrament of Confirmation last week. Sam is his sponsor. It is nice having big brothers to fill in those roles! Congratulations, Gabriel “Damien” Elijah Klee. May the Holy Spirit guide you through life.

Our Week

We really had a full week. Having kids with medical needs means a lot of time at the doctors, and this week...and month...is a good example of this lifestyle we lead. Monday started out with a blood draw for one of my guys checking allergy IgE levels. After getting the oil changed on the car, I took Lily three hours away to University of Michigan for a pediatric ophthalmology visit.

While she was hoping for pink glasses...she is barely farsighted, normal for her age, and left without a glasses script and retinas that looked just lovely! She’s so serious in that big chair. Lily did NOT like having her eyes dilated, and barely made it to the car in the sunlight. Once we were inside, she dramatically said, “Mom, I think I need a wheelchair!” 

No...she needed a nap. 

A few days later, we had a check up at the allergist for my second oldest and found out his food allergies are stable and while we need to make college aware of his food allergies, he is not at an extreme risk for anaphylaxis for small exposures. Relief!

Pete had a PT eval for issues with issues he is having with his knees, as well as an evaluation for orthodics for his feet. Pete has been in and out of varying orthodics his entire life. The pronation in his feet is “severe” from the PT’s eval, and she actually wants him in higher orthodics like he was much earlier as a tiny guy. The ankle bone is being displaced so significantly, it is making his knees and feet hurt. While we wait for the orthodics to be fitted and made, he is to see PT twice a week to try to strengthen his leg muscles and decrease the pain and swelling in his knees.   Poor Pete, that basketball took a toll on his legs. Hopefully, with PT and exercises, his legs will strengthen up and he’ll be off and running with better support in his shoes.

Gabe did do a very cool series of experiments mixing hydrogen peroxide with baker’s yeast, capturing the released oxygen in the balloon and then put under a jar with a lit candle to see the oxygen released and the flare of the flame on the candle. What I didn’t get a picture of is the two times he ran with the liter bottle full of hydrogen peroxide and yeast exploding over with foam and since I am ALLERGIC to activated yeast like that...it was sort a mad dash outside to dump in the compost heap. This begs the question...why were we doing this inside to begin with? I think it might have been raining or something to begin with.

Pete is assisting, notice he is using his brother as a shield. 

We made it out of that one alive and well. Gabe is doing Apologia Science-Physical Science. I like this program, it is not perfect, but very doable and the experiments are fun. They use mostly household objects, or things easily obtained at the next grocery store run.

We rounded out the week with an afternoon at a very dear lady’s house who has homeschooled for years. Her devotion to her family and support she gives others is inspiring. Lily was in heaven since they had newly arrived chicks.

The evening ended with Lily pointing out that Spring as finally arrived in this Northern Tundra. Deo Gratias. Buds on the trees!!

We are so blessed, we have had a lot of good news this week with health concerns, and we got quite a bit of school done. Plus, you can’t be in that bad of mood when pink buds greet you out the kitchen window.

Happy Spring!!

Poetry Review

Let’s start off with a poetry book review to celebrate my re-entry into the blogging world.

I think Melissa Wiley mentioned “Forest Has a Song" by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater on her blog and I am so grateful that she passed this little gem on to us.

I love poetry, I write poetry, and I really endeavor to weave poetry into the fabric of our family life. Amy’s lovely book with beautiful watercolor illustrations by Robbin Gourley makes this endeavor so easy. I had to write about this book after cozying up on the couch with my two younger littles and reading the entire book in one sitting. My five year old gleefully said, “Oh, Mommy, say that one again, I love it!!” Go to Amazon’s page link to the left sidebar and you can preview some of the poems from the book. I have to say, Lily’s favorite was “Spider” which evoked the demand to re-read and re-read again several times. The author has done a terrific job of capturing the mood of the Forest, its voice....its song! I would love to take this book on a camping trip and read around the fire, before taking a hike, or to kick off nature study walks. Working with watercolor paints would be a fun rabbit trail after seeing the gentle illustrations.

Make sure you check out Amy VanDerwater’s website for some really helpful poetry ideas.

http://www.poemfarm.amylv.com/

Are you having one of those crazy, loud, is it time for bed yet kind of days? Gather everyone onto the couch and read some poetry to the savages.  I always find that everyone takes a bit to settle their minds and busy bodies and usually miss the first few lines of the poem, while scratching their nose or someone else’s nose.... so I’ll often read the poem a second time to let them “catch up”.   Ask after you read the poem, “What words or phrases do you like, or stand out to you?” We usually spend a few minutes discussing what we like about each poem....It is so nice to hear their thoughtful replies.

There is something about meter and rhythm that both delights and soothes children, and us adults. It makes reading out loud to the kids really fun when I find the book equally satisfying. Make poetry part of your family’s book list!

Stay tuned for more reviews and posts about homeschooling, crafting, and the meanderings of a yarn loving, poetry reading mama of five.