What's it like having a teen?

Well here's one look...

Cell phone summary for the month:
Monthly minutes
Will - 212
Amber - 1,243
Aiana - 2,349

Monthly texts
Will - 147
Amber - 395
Aiana - 3,724!! (I really don't understand how this is possible!!!!)

New adventure with dad

We have some friends down the street who are incredibly generous about passing on items that they no longer use with their kids. Here is the latest:

little nervous...

She LOVES it!

Tired mama...

Last night was yet another long night with Caylin. There is another cold circulating between the girls, and when Caylin is hit she is hit hard and just can't sleep. So about every two hours she wakes crying and needing tissues. She wakes up in the morning surrounded by a white cloud of tissues. All night I lye in bed thinking "why, why, why" (because since birth, Caylin has had trouble sleeping). And especially this Fall season, we have been hit hard with colds! We like to get out and about, so I know the girls pick up germs all over the place. My hope is that they are just building immunities!

I hope tonight is a better night. My poor girl looks like Rudolf.

Sometimes I wonder how long I will continue to have long sleepless nights with Caylin? Will she be in college calling me in the middle of the night to tell me she can't sleep? Will it ever end??

Mornings after no sleep are always painful too. We have been home all day and it's been raining tissues. Anika doesn't complain too much when she is sick, however she is going through a typical season of "2's" and is testing out her power with the word "NO!", which in itself is painful.

We did go outside for a bit of fresh air and to enjoy the beginnings of Spring! It's looking so beautiful outside, I love all the green!

Now to enjoy the rest of nap time, which is a beautiful time....

I could really do without allergies!

I found out tonight that Anika is highly allergic to salmon :( She had a little bite of mine and within 2 minutes began complaining and pulling at her tongue. Her bottom lip was swelling, around her mouth was red, and a welt was forming on her tongue! I immediately gave her some benadryl and wiped her face and hands. Within another few minutes she quit complaining and I called the doctor to figure out what to do next. Urgent care was booked, which meant ER was our next option. ER is minimum $300 to be seen. So based on the fact that the swelling was going down, and she wasn't wheezing or drooling, I decided to stay home. She was playing and talking, acting normal. Within about a 1/2 hour the welt on her tongue was gone, and within the next hours she was looking back to normal. She is still itching around her neck, but looks much better.

So now I'm left a little shaken up and also bummed that there is another food on her list of food allergies, fish. She is due to be seen for a full allergy test. It is scary to think of Anika having allergies that could potentially be fatal. Ugg, I'm off to put her to bed and then relax. Hope tonight is uneventful.

Hanging out

That's kind of what we've been doing lately. This picture just makes me laugh. Something about Anika's stance and outfit, looks 70's to me. The girls love hanging out at mimi's, and snacking at mimi's in particular is one of their favorite things to do...along with playing in nana's jewlery.

Random

Just felt like I should post because I haven't in a while. Last weekend was Valentine's Day. We had a nice evening at home. Will and I don't care for all the expectation around this particular holiday, but I do like the pink and red and hearts and all, so I like to decorate and make a special dinner for the family. Our dinner conversation was focused on God's love and about ways we can show eachother love.

One of Aiana's favorite dinners is spinach wraps, and I thought it was appropriate for the night. I also made some chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate is always a bit hit around here. I made some that I could eat as well with allergy free chocolate, which is yummy, but doesn't melt too well. So they weren't very smooth, but again, still yummy.

Spinach Wraps
Large spinach leaves
Finely chopped red onion, ginger, peanuts, shrimp, lime, cilantro (all in separate bowls)
Peanut satay sauce, and plum sauce. (I made a sauce for me, since I can't have the soy, that was sunbutter mixed with agave syrup that was a wonderful alternative!) Yum!

Anika has been really into dressing up lately and wanting to wear tutus over her outfits. She wore this red tutu all day.

Experiencing God

My dear uncle has struggled with addiction to drugs and alcohol almost all of his life. It has been a challenge to watch him go in and out of his addictions, and numerous near death experiences. In the last few years, my faith has grown weak. It's like I get tired of feeling hopeful for his recovery only to find him fall again. It's hard to watch someone you care about be captive to such destruction. My mom's faith has remained strong for her brother. Though this last time my uncle slipped, my mom decided to trust God and to release her hands on this situation. That she was not the one who could control this. No matter how much she offered help, which was all in love, ultimately she realized she needed to trust God's plan. And as hard as it was, she did. Abandoning desire to show my uncle the way for healing and recovery, and also all desire to know the outcome. She let it go. and wow! We received an amazing phone call from a friend of ours this afternoon, we still don't know what lies ahead, but we did get a glimpse of God at work here. Which strengthens our hope and trust of the One who is really in control.

This is what my mom wrote:
Remember when I told you that I last saw my brother Glenn on January 24... He was looking very broken, drinking again, and with a heavy heart, I released him... I told him I loved him, that he must love himself enough... he belongs to God and I am stepping off to the sidelines.
that I would continue to pray for him but that I was not going to see him. To call me from rehab if he chooses that.

I wanted so badly to take my friend, Jon's card to him.. Jon is a drug and alcholol councilor at St. Vincent de Paul's center. I kept thinking... if only he could get from El Cajon to downtown and talk to Jon he would be ok.

I resisited involving myself in Glenn's life even to that extent. No more would I interfer with whatever he was going to do with his life except that I continued to pray along with many other's who have joined me in that prayer.
It was up to he and God now.
I finally got that Glenn must be the one to make every move.
So I did not see him again to tell him about Jon.

I knew he would not have anywhere to live after Jan 31... and I whispered prayers throughout the rainy days that followed.
I have not heard anything since I saw him Jan 24th.
But I have had a true peace and a knowing that he is not alone... that God is with him whereever he is.

Today... my friend Jon called...
He just told me that he stepped out of his building downtown and saw a client of his across the way. The man next to him looked familiar. Jon called out "Glenn!" and he answered, "JON!"

Jon told me he looked like a million bucks and not a drop of alcholol on him.
Jon is going to meet with him tomorrow and try to get him in at St. Vincent's...

Glenn was so broken the last time I saw him he could barely walk... How did he ever make it from El Cajon to downtown? How did he ever make it to St. Vincent's... of all the places he could have gone in this city ... How did he ever make it to find Jon in all of that?

Once again, I am humbled by the power of God and what can happen when I step aside, allow Him to work and rest in faith and love.

That is all Know for now.. that is enough!

My favorite joke

So Caylin has a favorite knock knock joke that goes like this:
"knock knock"
"who's there"
"boo"
"boo who"
"ahhhh dont cry, it's just a joke"

Since she's sayin this all the time, little sis has picked it up and here is her rendition: