Snow Days ~ Jan. 2014

Winter Gridlock 2014... Snowmageddon... Whatever you decide to call it, it's been an interesting week for many people around here.  I'll start out with the fun stuff.

On Wednesday, the kids and I enjoyed playing in the snow together.  (Criss was still at Home Depot, but I'll get to that later.)

 

 

They thought it was great fun jumping on the snow-covered trampoline - and throwing snow at each other.

We tried making a snowman, but the snow was too powdery.  We made snowballs the best we could, and enjoyed a family snowball fight.

 

 

Back to Tuesday, the day it all started...  The meteorologists had forecast a light dusting for our area - with no travel problems expected.  When Criss texted a little after 9 and said that they were going to send them home early, I checked the weather blog and saw that they had moved the line on the map.  They were now saying we could get about an inch of snow.  And once it started snowing, you could tell we were in a heap of trouble.

By 11:00, Criss was headed home.  Little did he know he would be in his work truck for another 16 hours, and not make it home until the afternoon of the following day.  He got stuck in a "parking lot" of cars on 65N between Valleydale and 459.  The roads everywhere had iced over less than an hour after the snow started falling.  Early the next morning (at 3 AM), he made it to Home Depot where the employees let him crash for the night (and part of the next day).

Meanwhile, the kids and I were still at school.  By the time we dismissed at 12:30, the roads were too icy for the buses to leave, and we still had about 300 kids.  Thankfully, the other half had already been picked up earlier by their parents.

Fast forward to later that afternoon.  It was obvious that it was too late for me to drive home (in the dark) on our windy back roads and hills in a minivan with two children.  Besides that, 216 (the main road between the school and our house) was closing.

The problem was that I did not have everything I would need for the kids to stay for an extended period of time at the school.  I had several problems...  no purified water for Silas (to drink and for his feeding tube formula), not enough of their "allergy-free" foods, feeding tube issues, none of Silas' medicines, and the mental list went on and on - like one giant, unsolvable logic problem.

Thankfully, the police officer that was at our school went to work to try and find us a way home - we were considered a medical priority.  One of the dads from the school, who (I believe) is also an EMT, helped get us home.  He and a relative drove us most of the way and then walked with us the rest.  For their help, we are forever grateful!

On Thursday, the snow was wet enough to build a snowman, and Criss and the kids enjoyed building a snowman and sledding down the hill in our back yard.

 

While Tuesday's weather event caught most of us unprepared, it reminds me of another event that will come unexpectedly.

 

"For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night."  I Thessalonians 5:2

 

"But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only."  Matthew 24:36

 

It's one thing to be caught unprepared in the snow & ice - and another to be caught unprepared for the Lord's return.  Are you ready?

 

Janel

Where We've Been

So much to say, so little time to write these days...

Life just gets busier and busier.  I think all the time about writing, but other things get in the way.  

I've been teaching college classes on and off for nearly seven years now.  I was teaching one course (as well as a couple independent studies) in the fall, and they had hoped to have me teach several more this spring.  However, there weren't enough students that needed the classes this time around, and that left me desperately needing another source of income.

We've been mostly living on one income since I was pregnant with Silas - along with the occasional money from the college classes.  We were making it somehow, even with the large number of medical expenses we have.  However, with the addition of the feeding tube last summer, I had to find a more steady income source.

But, God provided.  A job opened up at the kids' school - and it was the one position that I absolutely LOVE - intervention.  I spend half the day as a Tier III teacher, giving extra help to students who are struggling.  I am working with kids in 1st - 5th grades.  I enjoy the pace and variety.  The second half of the day, I work just with second graders.  Their classes are very full, but it was too late in the year to split the classes.  So, I pull out small groups during the afternoons.  Autumn loves the fact that my classroom is on her hallway, so she sees me several times during the day.  Silas gives me big hugs when I see him in the lunchroom, and grins when we run into each other in the hallway.

Beyond the additional income, it has provided us with supplemental insurance that has been covering all of our deductables, copays, coinsurance, prescription copays, etc.  For most people this isn't much.  For us, it's saving us hundreds and hundreds of dollars every month.  Yeah!!!

And thus...the reason there's so little time to write.  But, I will try to do better.

Another reason is related to our camera.  The camera we'd been using was on it's last leg, so we bought a new one with some of our Christmas money.  Our computer is also on it's last leg, an we're afraid that downloading a new program for the camera as well as all the new pictures will be more than our poor computer can handle.  Hopefully we'll have a new one soon.  Since I've been working full time, we're going down the list of everything that's been broken and slowly fixing or replacing everything.  Other things (like the oven) were just higher on the list.

Until then, I'll will try to send a few more (pictureless) updates.

Happy Belated Easter!  He is Risen...He is Risen Indeed!

Janel

The Leaf Pile

The kids love it every year when Criss rakes up a few leaves and makes a huge leaf pile for them to play in.

I'm going to try to post short video clips of the experience below...  (They're just a few second each - taken from our camera.)

As you can see, they had a blast!

Janel

This is the first time I've tried to add video, so hopefully it works.  For those receiving this by email, you may have to go directly to the blog if it doesn't work in the email.

Fall Festival ~ 2012

Haven't had time to post in a while.  I'll try to catch up over Christmas break.

For Halloween, we attend the Fall Festival at our church each year.  This year, Autumn decided to dress as Rapunzel from Tangled (in her wedding dress).  Since she already has short, brown hair, it fit perfectly with Rapunzel's post-haircut look.

Silas went as Buzz Lightyear.  To infinity and beyond...

Halloween (and every other holiday) is tricky for those with food allergies or intolerances.  I'll share what I do in case it helps anyone else out there.

Our church has a Trunk-or-Treat at their Fall Festival.  Each year, I contact the Children's Pastor to see about how many cars will be there.  Then, I assemble sandwich-size Ziploc baggies with non-food prizes for each car.  (I usually have enough for my kids plus a few extras.)  I tape a note to the bag that explains that the items can be used for anyone that has food allergies or other medical issues that prevent them from having candy.  

While the kids play in another area (with Criss and all of the grandparents), I go around and give the bags to all of the cars.  Most of  them know what I'm doing by now, and I can just hand them the bag.  For any newcomers, I stop for a moment and explain to them what I'm doing.  It's a lot of work for me, but it allows the kids to participate - and get things they can actually enjoy.

Janel

Wild Animal Safari

After packing up our campsite Sunday morning, we headed further south to Wild Animal Safari Park in Pine Mountain, GA.

We were thrilled to learn that our Passport included a free van rental.  (You have the option to ride in their bus with a tour guide, take your own vehicle, or rent one of their vehicles.)

It was raining on and off, but it worked out to our advantage.  Fewer visitors to the park meant the animals were still hungry when we got there.  Many of the animals would come running to the vehicle when they saw us approaching.  It was rather humorous.

The front windows roll up and down like normal.  The back windows have been taken out and replaced with a few bars so that those riding in the back can reach their hands out to pet and feed the animals.  Problem was that the control for my window wasn't working on my side; Criss had to control it from his side.  I would be turned around taking pictures of the kids, realize something was breathing down my neck, and turn to see this coming through my window...

Or this...

Criss, of course, thought this was very funny.

It took Autumn a little while to get used to the animals coming at us.  She started out running to the back of the vehicle.  Eventually, she would stretch her hand, just barely reaching the window.

Slowly, she started warming up to them.  Still a little scared - but smiling at the same time.

In the end, she embraced the experience.

Silas, on the other hand, was thrilled from the start.  I wish I had video of him giggling as the animals "attacked" our van.

Criss thoroughly enjoyed himself as well.

For me, the highlight was getting to pet and feed the giraffes - two of them actually.

Such fun!!!  We ended with the Walk-About - a small zoo-like area.  No pictures, my battery ran out...

"For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."  Isaiah 55:12

Janel

Camping at Stone Mountain

Our Give Kids the World Passport expires this month, so we're trying to squeeze in a few more trips before it's gone.  We wanted to stay the night, so we could visit one attraction on Saturday and another on Sunday.  We didn't have much money to spend on lodging, so we decided to CAMP!  Yes, this was REAL camping - in a tent.

After our 3-4 hour trip to Stone Mountain Park (just east of Atlanta, GA), we checked in and set up camp for the night.

From there, we headed over to the Crossroads Area where the paid attractions are located.  They had provided us with free parking going into the park, and we each received wristbands that got us into almost all of the paid attractions.

The kids had a blast at the Camp Highland Outpost - a low ropes course with a zip line.

We had a great time riding the Summit Skyride to the top of Stone Mountain.

It was gorgeous up there.  Wish we'd had more time to just sit and take in the view.

Their Pumpkin Festival was underway, so the kids had fun "dressing" pumpkins and making fall crafts.

Other things we enjoyed:  Geyser Towers, The Great Barn, and the Scenic Railroad.

Our day of fun ended with the Lasershow Spectacular - a laser light show with a few fireworks.

So, how did we make it camping with two kids with multiple food allergies & intolerances - one of whom is on a feeding tube - and all with no electricity or frig?

We packed lots of millet bread, rice cakes, rice cereal, etc.  Then, we figured out how we could charge Silas' feeding pump overnight.  We have a battery charger (for a car).  It has a cigarette-type outlet on it.  We plugged in an adapter that converts from the cigarette outlet to a regular outlet.  Then, we could plug the charger for the feeding pump into that.  It worked even better then we'd hoped!

car charger to left, followed by adapter, then charger, then pump...

The next morning, the kids played by the lake and fed the ducks while Criss an I tried to pack everything back up.

We had a great spot.  See Stone Mountain in the background?

I learned a lot of neat information about the monadnock (yes, it's not technically a mountain) while visiting the park.  It's a five mile walk around the base, and there's one trail you can take to the top that's about 1 mile long.  It's nearly 600 acres in size.  The carving itself covers 3 acres (larger than 2 football fields) - with Robert E. Lee being 9 stories high.  Wow!  Even when you're standing there looking at it, it's hard to fathom how massive it is.

Beyond this, there is much more underground.  One of the tour guides mentioned that what we see is just 10% of what's there.  90% of it is underground!

It made me think of the greatness of God.  How the little we can see can be so difficult for us to comprehend at times, and there's SO much more that we can't even "see" yet.  So much more to know.

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."  I Corinthians 13:12

To Our Great God...

Janel

More Surgeries

Silas has been recovering VERY slowly since his G-tube surgery.  It was about 3 weeks before he really started playing again, and it's still sore to the touch.  He's been at school, and the year's off to a good start.

from a few months back...

On Tuesday, September 11, my mom had surgery to remove a mass from her abdomen.  They originally found the cancer four years ago.  It had started in her appendix and spread throughout her abdomen.  She had surgery to remove it as well as chemo.  The doctors said she would need to do this again every 3-4 years or so.  This spring, the cancer had regrown to the point that they needed to operate again.  She went through another round of chemo before having surgery.  In August, she found out that is was growing again.  They went back in to remove the largest of the growths.  There are others that they were unable to remove.  Please pray for her as she recovers from the surgery.

Last week was Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Week.  Ironically, Autumn had an appointment with her Mito doctor in Atlanta.  They have never known whether Autumn's mitochondrial problems are primary or secondary.  Some new tests are coming out in the next few weeks that could possible help us find out some of the answers we've been looking for.  Keep your fingers crossed.

The day after our trip to Atlanta, Autumn had the surgery to remove her ear tubes.  That went very smoothly, and it hasn't set her back a bit.

Janel

The First Week of School

Our school's Open House was the Thursday before school started - just three days after Silas' surgery.  He was in no mood to travel, but we thought it would do him some good to see a few friends.  He's such a people person.  So, we borrowed a wheelchair and rolled him in.  We were right.  He smiled as we ran into several familiar faces.  But even though he was in the wheelchair, just riding around for an hour completely wore him out.  We met the new teachers, left all the new school supplies, and headed home.  Looks like it's going to be a good year.

On Friday, I had a meeting with the 504 Team in order to have Silas' 504 Plan in place before school started.  It went really well, and I was relieved that they were so understanding.

Silas was no where near ready to go on Monday, so I didn't even try to wake him up.  So, I was able to spend the first day with Autumn.  Here she is before we left the house.

And here she is in her new classroom.

The structure at school is good for her, and she loves being there.  Sometimes when Criss takes her to school, he'll joke with her and try to get her to run away to the beach with him for the day - and she always refuses!  She likes school that much.  (Me on the other hand, I would go to the beach in a heartbeat.)

Tuesday morning, we got Autumn to school on time while Silas was sleeping in.  As soon as he woke up, he stated adamantly, "I want to go to school."  He had yet to walk more than a few yards, but if he wanted to go, I'd help him get there.

He was still irritable, and would not let me take his picture, so I snuck these of him from behind as we were leaving the house.

We wouldn't have won any races, but we VERY, VERY slowly made it down the long hallway to his classroom.  I wasn't sure how long he'd make it.  The goal was for him at least get to meet his new classmates.  First, the counselor came in and talked to the class about Silas' tube - giving everyone time to ask questions.  Then, they were going to read a book and make a craft - so he decided to stay for a bit.  (Craft time is his new favorite thing.)  He was still in such bad shape that I sat in a room down the hallway - just in case.

He stayed a few hours before he needed to leave.  He even let me get a picture (the front view this time) before we left his classroom.

Wednesday and Thursday were about the same - he went for 2-3 hours each day.  And on Friday, he made it almost the whole day.

So much for having the surgery done before school started so that he wouldn't miss any school...  At least school was motivating him to move.  When we got home on Tuesday he said, "Don't forget you owe me quarters for all that walking."  J

Janel