Concussion

On Sunday, my older two kids went swimming with some friends.  They were having a blast using a rope to swing themselves in to the water.  Megan went once and  had no problems.  On Megan's second time, her hand slipped and she fell face first, hitting a rock.  The mom of the kids' friends called me and asked if she should bring Megan home or meet us at the hospital, my husband and I decided that we would just meet her at the hospital.  The mom told us Meg had never lost consciousnesses and at the time was dazed but could relay exactly what happened.  We figured better safe than sorry.  I am so glad we made the decision that we did becuase this is what I saw when I got to the hospital

We got very lucky that she needed no stitches, had no broken bones and didn't loose any teeth.  She did however have a concussion and a nasty contusion on her face.  Her hand is hurting and her legs are pretty bruised up.  I feel so fortunate that she was not hurt worse.  The blood was coming from some small lacerations inside of her mouth.  She has been a bit dizzy but seems to be recovering well.  

Megan has also been a bit confused.  Tonight we were talking about needing brown sugar for a peach crisp that I was making.  Jason he could get a box for $2.  Megan disagreed, "No way Dad," she said.  "you can get a big bag for like $1.98"  um same difference right?  We all burst out laughing! 

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Serenity

A friend of mine gets prophetic words for people and then stitches them on a quilted heart.  A few years ago even before Bekah was dx, we went through major financial trouble and found out about the older kids' struggles with depression, she gave me the word serenity.

					se·ren·i·ty/səˈrenitē/ Noun: The state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled: "an oasis of serenity". A title given to a reigning prince or similar dignitary. Synonyms: calm - calmness - tranquillity - peace - composure In the midst of the storms that have raged around my family, God has been my oasis of serenity.  He has given me serenity beyond what I could ever imagine. Megan returned home from the hospital for the second time early in July.  Everyday she would tell us how much she disliked being at home becuase she couldn't shake the memories and thoughts that brought her to a place where we had to call an ambulance to save her life just a few weeks prior.  (not going to share any more details than that, lets just say it was the scariest day of my life and I am so thankful we still have her with us) We all really needed a fresh start, but how? We are barely making ends meet now with Jason's new job and that is by the grace of God.  There is no way we can afford higher rent for a bigger place esp with deposit and last months rent added on.  It seemed insurmountable but God is still a God of miracles and I began to cry out in desperation for what I felt my family needed.  We saw that friends of ours had a house for rent that they had moved out of a few months prior.  We thought they had renters but apparently the possible renters backed out at the last minute.  So we went and looked at their house but again the price was a little high and a deposit was not possible for us to come up with.  We shared this with them and they felt like we were supposed to move in so decided to finance the deposit in with the rent and come down a bit on the rent until Jason gets a raise which has been talked about but not happening just yet.   In just over a two week period of time we packed our house and moved, cleaned the other house and turned our keys over.   The peace that is in this home is amazing!  I heard God whisper to me today that our home's name is Serenity.  Perfect. Here is our new dwelling and I feel so incredibly blessed to call this my home :) Daddy working hard at painting Bekah's room (she chose the wall color and it matches her bedding perfectly) Bekah's room, she did the stickers all on her own Megan loves mustaches the boys playing video games in the living room our room we don't have to share with David anymore David's room more of our room Megan's room (you can see her pet turtle Shark) kitchen more of Megan's room There is even a shelf in the kitchen that is perfect for D supplies (left to right jelly beans, sharps container, glucose tabs, lotion, pump pouches, hand wipes on top, band-aids, glucogon, sites, extra test strips, lancets, a few syringes and needle nose pliers and a few other misc things in that bucket, cartridges,  extra tubing and alcohol wipes, prize box, regular and travel version of the Salter Nutriweigh food scale and out in front are the measuring cups that are in the form of Russian Dolls) I also have a whole room to do laundry in and I did not photograph Josh's room yet becuase it is a work in progress as we are building him a space of his own in the garage.  Yes indeed God is in the business of working miracles!

Disney 2012

Because we were already so close and with the military discount being so great for tickets we could not pass up the opportunity to take the kids to Disney.  One of Jason's co-workers paid for a meal with the princesses at Ariel's Grotto for our family.  What a blessed family time!  :)  I will let the pictures tell the story.

 

IMATS LA 2012

My husband recently got a job with a company that produces a magazine and holds trade shows.  His job is as the IT director.  The magazine is Make-Up Artist Magazine and the trade show called IMATS .  In June was the second trade show during his time working there and the kids were just getting out of school.  They did have to miss the last couple of days of school to be able to join Jason but it was so worth it.  Jason's boss gave him cash instead of paying for an airline ticket that we used for gas money and he paid for a hotel room for our whole family.  Our teens volunteered to help out at the show.

We hit the road, packing 6 people and one dog in our SUV and luggage along with somethings needed for the show in a Uhaul and traveled down the I-5 corridor to the LA area.  We had not even gotten 5 miles when the air-conditioner on our car decided to quit working.  It was quite miserable as we hit central CA in the 100s with no a/c.

1100 miles after our departure, felt a little like something out of Chevy Chase's "Vacation" as we pulled in to the hotel.  Hot, sweaty, cranky kids and dog with parents who had a great wind blown look going and a Uhaul closing the rear.  The hotel it self was amazing.  My husband's boss definitely treats his employees well.  We had a fruit and cookie basket waiting for us when we go to the room.  I felt so spoiled!

At the trade show each of the kids had a unique experience:

 Megan got to meet Ve Neil who was the lead make-up artist for The Hunger Games (Meg's favorite movie)

Bekah got a little glitter done by the Eye Kandy people

Josh got to be a model in one of the classes taught by some famous make up artists that did work on Pirates of the Caribbean

David got to have a tiger face done by a make up artist

We got to meet the winner of Face Off (a reality tv show), Rayce.

Here is David's progress.  you can tell he is really in to the make-up thing.  Actually to be honest every morning he has to have make-up on when I put my make-up on.  On no make up days he sadly will say to me "we didn't do make-up today".

There was a make-up museum that was there with some amazing wax models and masks.  Some of Rick Baker's aliens from Men In Black 3 were on display along with a lot of other talent displayed.

I didn't get a good photo but at each trade show is a student competition where students in the industry are chosen to compete to show off their skills in their craft.   

It was really cool to watch my hubby in his element as he made all of the technology for the show work.  I loved getting to know Jason's boss and family better during this trip.  They have become fast friends of ours.  We adore them and are so thankful to have them  in our lives.