Could have been a disaster!

We almost had a horrible disaster! Grace went to turn on the night light in the hallway when electrical sparks shot out of the outlet!

Dave yelled for me to come and see what happened. We couldn't see very clearly because all of the lights were blown out but what we could see did not look good. There was black covering the outlet and the nightlight. Thank goodness Grace only received a minor burn but her fingers were also black!

As we pondered what might have occurred, checked Grace for injuries and inspected the outlet, lo and behold, Dave found a burnt penny! Oh, even in the dark, with the fuses tripped, the lightbulb went on--Analiese!

Yes, Analiese admitted that she put a penny on the nightlight. It must have fallen and had been leaning on the prongs that were in the outlet and when Grace turned on the switched POW!

Of course we had lots of tears and sorry's from our youngest---hopefully this was a VERY big lesson for her. We are grateful it wasn't any worse then a little soot and a few tripped switches. We can only imagine how serious this could have been!

Leave it to Analiese to ensure we get to experience EVERY childhood situation that can occur. God do I love her!

Back to work!

Tomorrow I go back to work. I'm just plain old disgusted. I was so looking forward to having a break to get some things done, relax, spend time with the kids and recharge. I didn't get ANY of those things. Now, I have to go back to work just as I'm starting to feel normal again.

It's not fair, it's just not fair!

CRUD!

Grace and I both have been suffering from the CRUD! OK, so that's not the medical name but it sure sums up how we've been feeling.

It started with Grace last Friday. She had no appetite, a headache and a fever. When I took her temp it was 101. So into bed she went. All through the weekend we fought very high temps (105) and lethargy. By Monday it wasn't any better but there really weren't any more symptoms either. But, to rule out anything major, off to pediatrician we went.

Well, after a strep swab, a flu swab, a urinalysis, and a complete exam, the doctor said there was nothing to treat! Grace had a virus that would just have to run its course. While in the doctor's office the kids got a quick lesson in hand washing!

Since Grace was feeling so poorly and we are always afraid she'll have an asthma attack, I slept with her. Oh boy! On Tuesday I woke up feeling like I had been run over by a truck. My throat was so sore and swollen I could hardly swallow and the low grade fever made everything ache.

Oh, and did I mention that this week is our winter break so ALL FOUR kids are home this week???? So, I've had to take care of Grace, myself and the children! Thank goodness Sarah is so responsible because she has been a huge help!

Grace's fever and sore throat gave way to coughing, which in turn turned into horrible asthma. She has been on albuterol, pulmicort and prednisone! She's missed all four days of gymnastics, not to mention almost her entire break has been spent in bed! But, the good news is that today she feels "almost" normal!

Dave spoke to my doctor today and he said that this "virus", the rhino virus, is going around and can take up to THREE weeks to fully recover! Well, I've been down and out for 3 days and last night started the hacking and coughing. I sure hope I don't get pneumonia!

So, all of the plans I had for the kids this week; movies, the aquarium and play dates have all gone out of the window! Right now I just pray that no one else comes down with this! Especially Dave--he'll be worse than all four kids toghether ;)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Raising money, teaching a lesson

Sarah has two competitions this coming March. She will be in five dances at each event. Last year, when she was in the junior company, it was two dances. This year, because she has moved up to the intermediate level, she will dance many more. Which of course, costs much, much more.

The dance companies, in order to help defray the cost of the competitions; costumes, hotels, and entry fees, hold a dance-a-thon. On February 14th, the girls will dance for 4 hours. Prior to that they will try to get friends and family to "sponsor" them. (think of the walk-a-thon!).

Sarah and I talked about how we could raise money and we decided that she would ask our friends at school and I would post to the blog asking for sponsors.

So, will you please consider sponsoring Sarah? You can make a one time donation (even a dollar would make her day!) or you can sponsor her per hour.

I added a chip-in to the right. All of the money donated that way will go into my Paypal account. Or you can donate directly to my paypal account. Go to paypal.com and type in my email address: mom2mags@bellsouth.net and you can donate directly to the account.

I know that times are tough so we do appreciate any and all of you who can give to help Sarah earn her way to competition.

Dave and I are trying very hard to give Sarah some responsibility. We also want to teach her that there are many, many ways of raising money. Hopefully, some day, she'll put the creativity to work. Who knows what is in her future!!??

Again, thanks for helping any way you can!

Prayers needed

Yesterday we found out that one of the young girls, Madeline, who danced with Sarah in the Nutcracker and is also a member of the same dance studio was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML). She is a special young girl who is talented and a wonderful role model for the younger dancers, such as Sarah.

On Saturday, one of the dance teachers noticed a very large bruise on Madeline and questioned her. She did not know how she got the bruise. This teacher had noticed how fatigued Madeline had been in the past weeks and then coupled with the horrible headaches she had been suffering from decided to speak with her father when he came to pick her up from rehearsal. The teacher recommended that they take Madeline to the doctor.

On Monday Madeline and her parents went to the pediatrician who did a blood test. On Tuesday, the parents received a phone call telling them that Madeline had cancer. By Tuesday afternoon she was in ICU at Scottish RIte Children's Hospital receiving chemotherapy and hooked up to a machine that removed her white blood cells.

Please pray for Madeline and her family. Here is the link to her caring bridge page should you want to keep up with her progress.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/madelinegaffney

This has all happened so quickly and so many of the young girls at the dance studio are touched by this tragedy. To them, Madeline was so full of life and energy. It is so hard for them to understand how sick she really is.

Sarah told me this morning that her "heart feels like it has a hole in it" because of how sick Madeline is. I know exactly how she feels. Please join us in asking the Lord for strength for Madeline and her family.

What a weekend!

Hello, hello, is anyone there?

The crowd enjoying a game of Apples to Apples

Ready for the Year of the Ox celebration!

Friends

What a blizzard--Southern style!

I cannot believe all that we squeezed into a brief 3 day weekend! I'm telling you, Dave and I have got it all together. We got the kids to dance rehearsal, a Chinese New Year Celebration, a birthday party and had 2 of Sarah's friends over for a sleepover! WHEW!

Unfortunately, our wires got crossed on the Chinese New Year celebration. I thought it was this coming weekend and allowed Sarah to invite her friends over. As a result Sarah and I had to skip the New Year party. I was disappointed because it is important that we have this as a family tradition. Next year I'll be sure to get the date right!

Oh, and we can't forget the ENORMOUS snow fall (LOL!) we had at our house. I'm so surprised they didn't call off school. Just look at the photos and you'll see what I mean!

Matthew went to a party for one of his friends at school. He had such fun and really looked to be "one of the boys"! How wonderful that he is starting to make new relationships.

I do have some great news about Dave but want to save that for another post that I can just dedicate to him--he deserves some photos and a post all about HIM! Stay tuned....