Happy birthday Sophia!!!
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Monday, December 29, 2014
Very Brief Family Update from 2014
Brittney:
She's 16 years old and a junior in high school. She gave up all her activities this year except competitive cheer, mostly because she didn't feel good enough. She finally had surgery to have her tonsils out on Fri Dec 26. She says she's dying. I think she doesn't tolerate pain well. We're probably both right. We did have to take her back to the hospital on Sun to have an IV because she was so dehydrated. They also gave her some morphine, which kept her happy for a while.
Riley:
He's 13 years old and a 7th grader at the middle school. He's playing percussion in band, singing in choir and playing baseball and football. He also loves playing video games on the Xbox and hanging out with his friends.
Taylor:
She's 12 years old and a 6th grader at the middle school. She's playing viola in the orchestra and loves helping with kids at church and anywhere else. She's also into makeup and socializing. She's my most helpful child, when she feels like it ;-)
Zeke:
He's 12 years old and a 6th grader at the middle school. He loves any activity with Special Olympics, especially basketball, track and swimming. He likes the Vikings and the Packers!!! He also loves socializing but we're working on teaching him what's socially appropriate. He still wears braces on his legs but walks and runs without any other assistance.
Anthony:
He's 9 years old and a 4th grader at the Intermediate School. He loves playing outside and had playing baseball this summer. He still struggles with authority, which makes coaching (and parenting) difficult but he's doing much better.
Sophia:
She turns 5 years old tomorrow and is in her last year of preschool. She likes stuffed animals, tiny toys and art projects. She is definitely strong willed, just like everyone in our family and tries to act like a teenager most of the time.
Steve:
He works at the bank and also part time for the Swiftel Center. He keeps busy finishing all the remodeling projects I start. In his little bit of spare time, he still loves watching any sports.
Me:
I don't remember most of the year and it seems like it was just Christmas 2013! I realized I needed to make a bit of a change when I heard a speaker talk about making a list of 50 things that bring you joy and I could only come up with three! Seriously!!! I get so busy making sure everyone else has what they need that I kind of forget about myself. Which apparently makes me grumpy. So now I continue to make a 'joy list' and make sure I do at least one thing on the list everyday, even if it's something as simple as snuggling with my dog or drinking a good cup of flavored coffee in solitude.
Two weeks ago, I had surgery on my knee. A few months ago, I torn my meniscus and the ortho doctor fixed it for me. It feels much better now but it's definitely slowed me down more than I'd like. At least I can finally drive again!!!
So if I haven't seen you lately, that's why. Not what you may have heard from Brittney.
When Brittney's doctor gave her the option of an earlier surgery date, I told her no, she would have to wait until the 26th because the 19th was too soon after my surgery and I wouldn't be able to help her because I'd still be incapacitated.
She's never been very good with vocabulary and proceeded to tell everyone she saw that her surgery date was the 26th because we couldn't both be incarcerated at the same time.
So now everyone thinks they haven't seen me around because I've been in jail! :-)
She's 16 years old and a junior in high school. She gave up all her activities this year except competitive cheer, mostly because she didn't feel good enough. She finally had surgery to have her tonsils out on Fri Dec 26. She says she's dying. I think she doesn't tolerate pain well. We're probably both right. We did have to take her back to the hospital on Sun to have an IV because she was so dehydrated. They also gave her some morphine, which kept her happy for a while.
Riley:
He's 13 years old and a 7th grader at the middle school. He's playing percussion in band, singing in choir and playing baseball and football. He also loves playing video games on the Xbox and hanging out with his friends.
Taylor:
She's 12 years old and a 6th grader at the middle school. She's playing viola in the orchestra and loves helping with kids at church and anywhere else. She's also into makeup and socializing. She's my most helpful child, when she feels like it ;-)
Zeke:
He's 12 years old and a 6th grader at the middle school. He loves any activity with Special Olympics, especially basketball, track and swimming. He likes the Vikings and the Packers!!! He also loves socializing but we're working on teaching him what's socially appropriate. He still wears braces on his legs but walks and runs without any other assistance.
Anthony:
He's 9 years old and a 4th grader at the Intermediate School. He loves playing outside and had playing baseball this summer. He still struggles with authority, which makes coaching (and parenting) difficult but he's doing much better.
Sophia:
She turns 5 years old tomorrow and is in her last year of preschool. She likes stuffed animals, tiny toys and art projects. She is definitely strong willed, just like everyone in our family and tries to act like a teenager most of the time.
Steve:
He works at the bank and also part time for the Swiftel Center. He keeps busy finishing all the remodeling projects I start. In his little bit of spare time, he still loves watching any sports.
Me:
I don't remember most of the year and it seems like it was just Christmas 2013! I realized I needed to make a bit of a change when I heard a speaker talk about making a list of 50 things that bring you joy and I could only come up with three! Seriously!!! I get so busy making sure everyone else has what they need that I kind of forget about myself. Which apparently makes me grumpy. So now I continue to make a 'joy list' and make sure I do at least one thing on the list everyday, even if it's something as simple as snuggling with my dog or drinking a good cup of flavored coffee in solitude.
Two weeks ago, I had surgery on my knee. A few months ago, I torn my meniscus and the ortho doctor fixed it for me. It feels much better now but it's definitely slowed me down more than I'd like. At least I can finally drive again!!!
So if I haven't seen you lately, that's why. Not what you may have heard from Brittney.
When Brittney's doctor gave her the option of an earlier surgery date, I told her no, she would have to wait until the 26th because the 19th was too soon after my surgery and I wouldn't be able to help her because I'd still be incapacitated.
She's never been very good with vocabulary and proceeded to tell everyone she saw that her surgery date was the 26th because we couldn't both be incarcerated at the same time.
So now everyone thinks they haven't seen me around because I've been in jail! :-)
My Heart is Breaking
My heart is breaking for a friend and her family. Over the past few years, Lisa has shared many of her family adoption stories by blogging. In November, I was privileged to hear her speak and get to know her personally. She's an amazing mom with a challenging life.
"Russ and I are heading out on a short road trip this morning with Dimples. A friend who used to work in the cottage at Dimples’ program invited her to come visit for a few days. Dimples is beyond excited. Not only will she see some of the adults who were integral to her life and path toward healing, she’ll see some of her friends as well. One of her closest friends has a family now (!!!!); they’ll get to visit and have fun outside of the more structured environment where they met.
This trip is very healing for Dimples. The counselor who invested so much in her wants to continue being part of her life; this is very powerful for a girl who has experienced so many fractured relationships. We are deeply thankful."
I knew from a mutual friend that something was wrong but I wasn't sure what. Then
this was posted by their son Isaiah on Saturday morning:
"Our family experienced a terrible tragedy yesterday.
Dimples was born in October 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She became a part of our family eight years ago and it was our great joy and honor to love and care for her.
Yesterday morning, Russ and Lisa were driving Dimples to Montana for a holiday visit with friends when they were involved in an automobile accident. Dimples passed away instantly in the collision."
"Our hearts are heavy as we grieve the loss of our sweet girl. We loved her deeply and are heartbroken by this tragedy. We thank God that she did not suffer, and that she is now completely healed and at peace in the arms of Jesus.
Lisa is in the hospital with a fracture and temporary nerve damage, but we expect her to be discharged in the next couple of days. Russ is unharmed. All the Qualls children are together, waiting for Russ and Lisa to return home."
Friday, December 26, 2014
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Monday, December 22, 2014
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Monday, December 15, 2014
Home.......almost
Made it back to Brookings. Interstate is nasty. Icy, windy, accidents, etc.
Gravel roads ok.
Brookings roads yucky. Ice & snow-covered.
Filling prescriptions, picking up kids then finally home to rest. I already heard from Riley that Zeke wet his pants at home :-(
Surgery part2
Surgery complete. Three holes drills in my knee.
Dr = happy: meniscus repaired.
Tricia = happy: Finally allowed coffee!
Steve = not happy: driving home in really crappy weather! 35-40mph on interstate so we opted to take a gravel road at the Trent exit.
Surgery
We made it safely to Sioux Falls. Just rain so far. Surgery scheduled for 8:30am.
Totally rockin' the hospital gown!!! :-)
Friday, December 5, 2014
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Sophia Says
Sophia was remembering her little four year old boyfriend that lived across the street. This past summer, all the neighbor kids got together and dressed up the two little kids and had a "wedding ceremony".
S: "Taylor made me marry a boy!"
Me: Did you want to marry a boy?"
S: "No!"
Me: "Did you want to marry a girl?"
S: "No! I wanted to marry a tall boy.....like 5 years old!"
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