Determination

Faith had her second meet of the season today and she had a great meet. Her scores increased from 7.45 to low 8's. Her vault was awesome as she scored a 8.9. However on her second event, bars, she busted open a sore on her foot that we have been dealing with all week. If she were to just get her foot through on her shoot through before her mill circle it wouldn't have happened however this is the second time this week. Her foot began to bleed profusely and was sat down. The coach tried a bandaid to help stop the bleeding but it bled through. We decided to wrap it with tape and I then taped the end of the toe and wrapped it around the ball of her foot. It worked because it stopped bleeding. She had enough time to wash her hands and find her spot in line for competition. She only was able to warm up one routine as opposed to every one else's three. It didn't stop her because she made it through with a 8.25 and even placed 9th. It was the only medal she received but she was excited. Her face showed determination as she began to fall on her shoot through but pulled it up. I am so proud of Faith today. She was sad to realize that she wasn't going to place any other time including all around but it was a good opportunity for her to feel what it's like to lose. Everyone placed at the first meet so this one helped her realize that she needs to work harder in order to achieve a medal.

Empty bowls

As a mom I am trying to help my daughter understand that the world is not full of happiness and money. There are children just like her who go to school everyday and do not have food at home. For whatever reason it is that they are not being fed, it is occuring too often. The economy struggles and because of that families have to decide between keeping heat on during the winter months or feeding the family. Unfortunately, more often than not the latter is neglected and children suffer. Faith is not aware of that issue but I wanted to help her learn about an organization called Gleaners Food Bank. Gleaners provides hot meals for the Detroit and surrounding areas and food distribution to the entire state of Michigan. It is a huge organization (small business) but are well established in their cause to stamp out hunger. Gleaners has a program called Kids helping Kids. Today Faith joined a Livonia Daisy troop on an outting to make ceramic soup bowls. Faith would make one for herself and then donate another one to a Gleaners fundraiser next month. I just loved being able to talk to her about issues surrounding hunger and how it affects people's lives. At the fundraiser next month, Gleaners will bring in the public and charge them a set price for a bowl of soup and bread and then the family takes home the bowl made by the children. All proceeds go back to the Gleaners to help with their quest to help stop hunger. I want to go back to the Detroit Veterans Center and help serve meals to the veterans. They serve over 1100 veterans a year and I think that it will be a good opportunity for Faith to serve and understand the lives of others and how she can help even though she is so small.

Toothless

Faith is officially toothless in the front. Her two bottom teeth are beginning to come in however her top two are gone. After discovering that her top permanent tooth was already beginning to come in behind her baby tooth we were forced to have it removed by the dentist. Although it wasn't scheduled to come out when we visited her a week ago, she quickly said that it should come out and it would not be a problem to numb it and wiggle it out. Despite some crying and scareness, the process was complete and the tooth remains in a plastic baggie in the zipper compartment of her frog. When asked if she was going to give it to the tooth fairy, she proclaimed that she worked too hard for that one and she is keeping it as a souvenior. Whatever! If that is what she wants I am fine with that. I don't know how long a child can carry around a tooth every day but life goes on. That brings us to today. After playing on her new gymnastics bar with Champ, she helped him up on her child made swing and accidentally got hit in the mouth by his knee or head. She wasn't sure. After I heard the screaming from the bedroom, I ran in to see what was the matter. I was met with a bloody mess and after looking closer I discovered she knocked out her tooth. Bud found it on the floor which was good but it was not how I imagined her loosing her other front tooth. So needless to say she will remain toothless for a little bit longer due to the fact that it wasn't ready to come out. Loose, yes, but not ready. She is loving her new smile and I find her looking at herself often and smiling bigger than before.

Goodbye books and stuffed animals

Faith struggles sometimes with making good choices. She likes to tease her brother by giving the dog his favorite teddies. Despite my best efforts to get her to stop and realize that it isn't funny, I was forced to let her feel how he feels by giving the dog her Lamby. After she still didn't get the point and told me that she was going to give the dog my cellphone and hoped that he ate it, she got a wake up call as she had her books and stuffed toys taken away for five days. This led to hitting me and screaming at me that she was going to spank my big fat butt. Words hurt and I think that she seen this as the tears rolled down my cheeks. I never have felt good about myself or had a good body image. Just something I've struggled with for a long time. I don't understand how my sweet little girl can change into this monster who doesn't care about the person she says she loves most. Maybe I'm reading into it too much and should just accept the fact that she was mad and we all say stuff when we are mad. I'm going to try to forget about it but I just really want to see a change in her.

Let's play catch up

I hate to play catch up but I am real need to catch this blog up and print it off for the end of the year 2012. Everyday that goes by is another day in which my book's dates are off. So here it goes, time to catch up on the last half of December.

Dec. 14th

School is one and a half weeks away from being out for Christmas break and Pa Pa and I are kicking it into high gear in order to complete the playroom for the two week vacation from school. This playroom is Faith's old room. This room is turning out awesome. We have painted the top part of the walls a cool grey blue and the bottom a warm tan. Pa Pa then used his artistic talent to paint bare trees on the wall. The final touches will be two cardinals and a black bird. Having my dad here is great when it comes to projects like this. He is so crafty and artisitic. I just love him.

Dec 14th evening






Tonight is our church's ward Christmas party. The best part about this night if you ask Faith was the eating of the delicious desserts. I kept seeing her go up to the dessert table for more and more and then when it came time to decorate the sugar cookie at the activity table I couldn't help notice how she would put a few M&Ms on her cookie and then follow it up with a few in her mouth. The fingers remained clean through careful use of her tongue. Even her tablecloth was clean as I watched her lick her fingers and then use her finger to collect the sprinkles off of the table. She definitely has a sweet tooth just like her mother but I try not to let her see my sweet tooth because I am all the time and one day my bottom will show it if I don't straighten up. Some of the members of the church told of the nativity story and how in one part of the world people were preparing for Christmas but had forgot to include the most important part, Jesus. And then in another part of the world the birth of Jesus was occuring which makes our shopping for gifts seem trivial. It was set to a poem similar to the Night Before Christmas. I love all the singing and happiness that goes along with this time of season. We really had a great time at this party.

Dec. 16-17th
Faith and Champ spent the entire weekend with Andma and Pa Pa as Bud and I went to Frankenmuth to celebrate our anniversary. I hear that the weekend went well but Andma and Pa Pa were both ready to head home as soon as we came in the door. They two went to church with our friend Melody and their children. Yes, when asked if they wanted to go to church without me they said yes. I was super excited. They really do love church and their classes. Sunday afternoon was filled with movie time. Movie and IPad time is typical when the come over. It makes for an easy time however sometimes it is hard work in other activities like getting both of them ready for bed and into bed with stories. Faith went to school on Monday so it was only Andma and Champ home together but Andma's foot hadn't been feeling very well so she tried to stay off of it. When I tucked Champ in Monday night he told me he never wants me to go on vacation again. I missed both of them but it sure was nice to have time to ourselves. We forget how good it feels to be with each other, Bud and I, when life moves so fast.

Dec. 17th

Today was Faith's brownie troop Christmas party and bridging ceremony. I can say that the party went well but the bridging ceremony was an embarrasment for all to be seen. Faith and her friends made a pinecone elf that was my idea. However it turned out to be more of a project for me because when it was all said and done I had hotglued 36 arms and legs, 36 mittens and shoes, 9 hats, 9 scarves all the while the girls sat and watched. We so should have used scissors to make snowflakes. That would have been the best. Oh no! I just had to have these elves considering these girls were little brownie elves. Yep, that will be the last time I do that. The next station was cookie decorating and eating. Yep, that was Cary's station and much easier than mine. We sang our brownie smile song which they all love but this group tends to get out of hand and become really terrible listeners. I hope that they get better but it makes for unenjoyable meetings. I don't even want to mention the bridging ceremony but I will because Faith was part of the problem. She is usually so well behaved but when placed with a misbehavor she doesn't quite know how to speak and choose the right, especially when she was supposed to holding hands with this brownie and making a bridge for the other girls to go under. Champ was running up and down the stairs while I was trying to hug the girls and I guess the other mothers couldn't believe that a meeting could go so bad.

Yep, that is typical and frustrating to say the least. Faith earned several badges at the ceremony. She can say her promise, three keys in a journey, donating to the food pantry, pajama party, arts and crafts, and a Christmas parade in which her and her friends were candycanes. December was busy for scouts for we met three times in a row. Not only was Dec. 17 the troop Christmas party it was Bud and I's 10 year anniversary. Not much celebrating going on for this evening. We just went to Frankenmuth, MI and stayed the night this past weekend. The town was decorated for Christmas and we even went to the largest Christmas store around and found Faith her gymnast ornament and Champ his tool belt ornament for the year.

Dec. 18th

After pondering for several hours one night I was hit with the idea that Faith needed a gymnastics bar for Christmas. Little did I know that I would find one that was easily buildable. Also little did I know that Santa had already spoken with Pa Pa and asked him make this Christmas wish come true. Santa knew that he could not carry a big present like this to this little girl but he knew that she had been asking for one for three years. How could he get her this gift? Well, Pa Pa came through for Santa and began to construct a bar for her five feet high with 1 1/2 inch diameter galvanized steel pipe for the bar and a carpeted floor ready to be swung on Christmas morning.  Pa Pa came in to talk to Faith two days before Christmas and had asked her if she had seen Santa fly away. Turns out he had stopped in to make sure that the work was almost complete. Indeed it was and ready to deliver.

Dec. 20th
Today was the last full day of school and Faith was super excited because after sitting in class for a week and listening to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory being read to her she was finally getting to see the movie Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. She was able to bring her stuffed animal and brought her dog and turns out she loved the movie. It really made the characters from the storybook come to life as she followed along in the plot.

Dec 22nd

Let's play North Pole I said to the kids. Faith will make the presents and deliver them down the slide where they will make it to Champ Elf and he will bag them up for Santa to deliver. This game was so much fun. We all know how many stuffed animals Faith has, over 40, so their were going to be some happy kids for Christmas. Champ took his tools and worked along side her for a while and then I showed them how to practice sew on our embroidery hoops with plastic needles and yarn. After the sewing projects were done she grabbed some wood and began drawing and writing with markers a sign for a little girl named Susie McKey. We had the Christmas music going and just having a good time. I love days like this where I leave all my grownup stuff behind and just be a kid.




Dec 24th
A little snow is all a kid needs to have a good time. Tonight it snowed enough to make for a white Christmas. Even with the dusting of snow on the ground Faith and Champ were able to lay on the driveway and make snowangels. They are my little angels sent straight from heaven to make me realize how precious life is.

Dec. 25th
Merry Christmas, not at 230am though. Faith awoke at this time, 230am, and snuck into the Christmas tree where she discovered that Santa had already come while we were all asleep. She tiptoed into my room, tapped me on the side and said, "Mommy, can we open presents." I wanted  to pick her up and ask her if she was serious and if she knew what time it was. However I'm sure her night had seemed like an eternity of waiting and dreaming of Christmas. Typically it is dark outside when we get up so I can see how she would be confused. She took her Santa gift and Champ's too and took them back to their rooms. She put Champ's singing reindeer dog in his bed and then climbed into her bed. I got out of bed, checked the tree and realized that Santa had not left any presents for them so I went to her room and there she had her cocker spaniel stuffed puppy in bed with her. Being the mean mom that I am, I took back the dog and Champ's dog, which was still in bed with a sleeping Champ, and placed them back under stockings where they should have been for Christmas morning. I know that she was just being a good big sister and wanted to surprise Champ but the gifts are for morning and his are his to get and not hers to get for him.

Morning arises.... I couldn't keep Faith in her bed much past 6am so she grabbed her Santa gift and went back to bed with him until Champ woke up. Then he came running in to tell me that Santa had left him his singing reindeer dog. I couldn't lay in bed any more so I had no choice but to get up and head to the sunroom. There the kids opened their stockings and played with their giant punching balloons, whoopy cushion, and ate the remaining Santa cookies. This was the first year that I forgot to take pictures of Santa's cookies. It makes me feel sad that I let the busyness of Christmas Eve get the best of me. Never again will I let this happen. Some pictures are taken every year and this is one of them. Pa Pa stayed the night and Andma arrived when Bud went to pick her up. We ate our traditional cinnamon rolls, eggs, bacon, and toast (all of which was YUM). I even cut up a banana and strawberries and assembled them to resemble a candycane. I think that I was the only one excited by that though. After breakfast, Champ changed into his church clothes, Faith stayed in her pajamas and we dug into the presents.

Let the present opening begin.....

I thought that it would be a good idea for Faith to handle the present distribution. I always found this a job fun when I was little. As I sat back and watched Faith she just happened to be finding all of her Christmas presents and opening them. She wasn't really paying attention to anyone else so she had to take a breather and stand by Andma and Pa Pa to help them open for a little bit. The excitement of presents is seen through a little child's eyes. The magic of Christmas begins as I look around and see how happy everyone is. I see how happy my parents are to be here with us this year. I see eyes light up when a giant 4 foot tall dog is unwrapped and hugged as tight as a mom whose been gone for a week. I see a little boy begin his musical journey as he opens his guitar and begins to strum. I see a grandfather happy to be with his family and see the joy in his grandchildren's faces. I see a grandmother who is smiling because her grandson picked out his own presents for her this year. I feel the joy of having a great Christmas deep in my heart and remembering thanking God for this opportunity to sit back and have my family together. Faith got all she could have wanted this Christmas. She seems happy with what she received. She has even decided that it is ok to be spotted on her gymnastics bar on cast to handstand and kips. She doesn't just like her bar, she loves it.

Giving to others....

Faith also received three puppy place books. Originally she said she was going to read them and then keep them but after careful consideration she decided she was going to give them to her school library as a gift so other girls can read a new Puppy Place book. She loves this series so I will probably buy her the rest of them even though they are an easy reading level. She finished reading each book after only thirty minutes. However each story is about a puppy who is in need of finding a new home and remains with a foster family until the perfect owner can be found. These stories tell of the puppy's life and hurdles as he prepares to be with a new family. Not only is she planning on giving these stories away, she and I boxed an entire box of unused toys under the Christmas tree with a note telling Santa that these toys can be given to other children who are in need of toys. He took them that night so evidentally he knew of some that could benefit from the kindness of some other
children.

Dec. 26th- The great snowfall...
Storm Euclid made an appearance last night and today to dump about 6 inches of snow to play in. Although the weather was windy and cold Faith still went outside to play in it. I couldn't keep her cooped up in the house anymore so some fresh air was definitely needed. Poor Tucker wanted to come out too. He was super excited to see this stuff we call snow. He rolled and dug his nose in the white stuff and even ate it. When I had to send him inside for barking too much he was sad so I decided to tie him to the sled and have Faith sit on it. He tried to pull her around, first to the back yard and then to the side and then to the front. Then the two friends sat in the driveway while she threw snow at him and played.


Dec. 28th- The team sleepover.....
Faith is Level 4 on her gymnastics team and just loves it. Although most everyone in the gym says they have never heard her speak, she says she has fun. She is a very shy little girl and only opens up to close friends and family. Last year she didn't make it to the sleepover part of the team party. She only remained for the party part and we picked her up at 9pm. This year I told her she had till 11pm to decide if she wanted to come home. She said it was after 11pm when she decided so she didn't call. When I picked her up the next morning she was gathering her stuff from the trampoline. There she had slept all by herself with her monstrous dog, Lamby, and Clara (the cocker spaniel). The gym was rockin' until 3am when they turned the lights were finally turned off. She said she had a blast but will not be going again due to the fact that she was tired and cranky when she got home. She was so tired she began to cry as I forced her to lay down in bed to go back to sleep. The girls all swung on the rope swing, jumped on the trampoline, played games, ate pizza, opened their Christmas presents, and listened to music. I won't let her sleep over at another person's house for many more years so this was a great opportunity for her be away yet still be safe and be with only girls.

Sledding...with a tired and cranky child
This was a bad idea but what was a mom to do. Faith had slept two hours but I didn't realize that she hadn't received any sleep the night before at the sleepover. The kids and I headed down to the airport and went sledding down the big hill. Faith climbed the hill two or three times without complaint and then the world crashed down on this little girl. I tried to make it fun for her. Champ and I took turns sharing the tobaggan with her and going down together. We eventually settled for only climbing the hill half way and then sledding down. Yep, the hill was that big and the kids picked the steep side to climb up. I enjoyed being able to take rests at the top in order to keep the sled in place while each one climbed on it. I do have to mention that the most fun was when we climbed to the top and then went down. It was fast and furious. Maybe next year the little legs will be able to handle it.

Official move

The last month Faith has been sleeping on Champ's floor on a mattress. They both enjoy having each other in the room together. Champ is often found sleeping in her bed in the middle of the  night or early morning. However, her loft bed continued to sit in her room. I spent $200 for that bed and it isn't being used. I'm so mad. So I decided that maybe if we moved it into Champ's room than she would feel like she had her own space but still had someone to sleep with. For several years she has talked about wanting to have bunk beds with Champ and share a room with him. Yesterday the move became official as the loft bed moved into Champ's room and all the stuffed animals returned to their rightful home, her bed. Champ's toddler bed fit right under her bed and now he has his own space too.. We call the bed a "bunk bed" now although it is not actually one. It sure sounds cool though to both of them and they are excited to be moved in together. Her bedroom will be changed into a kid space. Pa Pa is building a set of bars for them to hang and swing on for Christmas. The extra twin mattress is now acting as a trampoline and a slide will be placed in the middle of the room. I am excited for this space which will be decorated with a nature theme; cool grey blue top half and blended into warm tan for the bottom half along with silloettes of trees on the walls courtesy of Pa Pa's art skills. I have one week to get it done and I am hoping to get it knocked out so for Christmas vacation they will have their new space to be in to play. Some kids like toys, other kids like mine like to flip and jump. Gymnastics is my kids' toys.

Lamby returns

Well after only a week of being gone Lamby has made a return to Faith's bed. I thought that we would try the thumb guard without Lamby but she struggled to go to sleep. It would take her 45 minutes or more so the thumb guard was fixed to cover her thumb completely and Lamby was allowed back into bed. Lamby and the thumb go together so it is hard to tell if her habit will be broken. She woke up one morning and she had taken her thumb guard off and was most likely sucking it. When the thumb was covered all the way I caught her sucking and as of tonight I think that she chews on the fabric to fall asleep. Champ does the same thing. I can't stand the thought of taking her favorite toy away from her but I hope that she can take that big step to keep her thumb out of her mouth. Faith was so excited to have Lamby back in bed. She gives her this mouth nuzzle that only she can do. If Lamby were to talk, she would tell Faith that she loves her.