Little Women

Have to give a shout-out to CSTOCK's production of the musical of Little Women. My sister Alli is playing the part of Beth and my dad is playing the part of Mr. Laurence. Last night the show received a great review from the local entertainment correspondent for the paper, check it out HERE. We took Angelica and Emma to the final dress rehearsal and they loved seeing Aunt Alli and Poppy on stage, and even more seeing and hearing them sing together in an emotional duet!!! So good!!! Looking forward to catching the show again this weekend and hope you can get a chance to go as well!! Below is the video clip of my dad and Alli's song and a couple sneak peeks!!! Enjoy and way to go Alli and Dad!!!

Preschool Beginnings

Jason and I have decided that we will most likely try to homeschool the kids. There are so many great options and curriculums out there today, as well as lots of support and fellow homeschoolers. I did Seton Home Study for my high school years and loved it and wish I had started earlier. It is funny though....Angelica is just of preschool age and will be for the next two years. So as I started my reading and research you start to get a little overwhelmed by all that is out there and doing things "perfectly"....ok, well maybe that is just me and my OCD-perfectionist nature. I have had several good friends and my mama keep telling me that I need to remember I am already doing the important things at this age.....reading lots, playing lots and forming strong, healthy and holy behaviors. I completely agree and will try very hard to keep those things in perspective....like now when I haven't done much of what was "planned" due to circumstances in life that happen and with a new baby I know I will need to be flexible. I laughed at THIS POST by Danielle Bean the other day....totally read it at a perfect time for me. So true!!!
With that said....I did get some fun programs that we will start to experiment with and use over the next two preschool years and with each child after....
The first is the Little Saints Preschool Program. I love the structure this provides as well as ALL the reading lists for the lessons and art project ideas and songs etc. We will definitely be picking and choosing what we will do this year. I have been ahead of the lessons...searching online at our library and putting the books they carry on hold. As we read them we will decide which ones we should and want to invest in buying. I went ahead and put all the art pattern packets into sheet protectors and will just copy as we use them so I can reuse them every year.
The second program is part of the Five in a Row program. I got the Before Five in a Row and there are some great ideas and twists to do with some of the favorite books out there. We already have some of them so that is good and teaches lots of different ways to interpret and gain different insights from books and stories each time you read them. Looking forward to trying some of these ideas and activities and also getting the rest of the books.
I found a really fun music program which I am so excited about, Making Music Praying Twice. This program comes with a songbook and CD for each season of the liturgical and calendar year. It teaches traditional and spiritual songs with different ways to learn and perform the music. Can be used for many years and I am excited because the songbooks have piano music which I can play as well. The girls are going to LOVE this!!!
I will have to take pictures of our new school-play-music area and post soon as well as some of the fun learning projects we have done. We hope to still do fun learning field trips and have schedules for the library and YMCA activities as well. I hope to continue celebrating our special days during the liturgical year as well, we have created different book baskets too...we have our faith and liturgical year book basket, our school curriculum book basket and then a seasonal book basket for each month. I can't wait to try some things from the Right Start Math site and the Handwriting Without Tears program....they have lots of cool tools and learning products...thinking these would be great to put on Christmas and Birthday wish lists!!!!
We will keep you posted as we begin this journey and all you homeschoolers out there....pass along any tips, advice and resources!!!

Baby Roll

Jason loves playing with his girls and they love it because he is much more fun than mama!! The other night he came up with their latest favorite game, the Baby Roll. It is so funny and they want to do it all the time.....lots of uses for big blankets!!!

Meme and Pepe Songs

Angelica and Emma miss Meme and Pepe a lot!!! They especially miss all their favorite songs that Meme and Pepe sing and teach them. So I tried to catch some of them on video....so Meme and Pepe this is for you!!! Come back soon!

Some more updates

So these past couple of months have been SO busy. Jason, as you know, went to Virginia to help with his mom and then has been working a lot at work. His day is always longer just due to his commute in Seattle anyways....but he has worked some long days and weekends! He is hoping to maybe take some classes again this Fall, but we shall see. This past weekend he has been hurting from loading, unloading and stacking several cords of wood! But my parent's neighbors had a ton of it and need to get rid of it so we cannot refuse free wood, especially how much of it we have gone through these past couple of cold winters. So trying to get that all done NOW so Jason isn't having to chop, stack or search for wood in the snow this year!

Lots of you have been asking and many of you know....but our home search continues. Lately we have the problem of just having the time to go looking and searching....so hopefully we will have some of that soon. After several weeks of hard work getting estimates and prices and such on that property we were so excited about...Jason went in to make an offer on the land to find out the seller removed it from the market the day before. After a long talk with him, he is wanting to build himself and try selling that way. So it was a big bummer for us especially since we were so excited about it and could financially afford what we wanted!! So now back to square one with the searches....needing to start my novenas to Saint Joseph and my saints Catherine and Therese. In the meantime, trying to reorganize and arrange things at the house we are renting to fit our needs with the new baby and starting school and such. I hated to get rid of our dining room table but we barely ever use it and it took up the whole room, so we gave it back to my parents and turned the room into a playroom, music and school room. The girls are really enjoying it. Soon we will outgrow our kitchen which has a small eating space so that is one major feature we are looking at with a new house. So with the rearranging we are hanging new pictures, organizing and cleaning out as I go. I am going to keep the baby in the bassinet in our room for the first several months for sure and then will probably move Emma in with Angel and give the baby the nursery....one move at a time.
Emma is doing so well with her toddler bed. As long as she has her Gracie (giraffe) and passy and music and fan going....she usually only fusses for a minute or two at nap time...and still will milk it at night time but usually only 10-15 minutes. She loves to say her night time prayers and we give lots of different kisses....mama kisses, Eskimo kisses, butterfly kisses....and sometimes we rock for a bit. She usually wakes up really early between 4-5am and wants to come into mama's bed and for now that is fine. I figure the more she gets used to her bed and getting herself back to sleep that will get better as well.

Angel is SLOWLY working on the potty training (really hating this stage more than I ever thought)....just has her mind set against it most of the time. So we have a potty chart and stickers and rewards etc....she keeps telling me she will before the baby comes, so we shall see. She is very excited about starting some preschool learning and doing well. We have mostly just been reading books and doing letters and our normal learning routine, but I have some neat curriculums I bought to experiment some with this year and next for preschool (I will do another post on those).

I am getting so ready for this baby to arrive. We are still tossing around some names....ones that end with "a" to go with AngelicA and EmmA. So we have tossed around Isabella, Maria, Michaela, Gianna etc. We shall see. This little girl is SO ACTIVE. I have been having some anxiety that she is making knots in the umbilical cord or wrapping it around her neck (as Emma did). Her movements are so consistent and strong that I am worried I will not get any rest with this baby! I have been feeling good overall, just tired more easily and some sciatica and just feeling HUGE and not knowing where this baby is going to continue to grow....so I won't be surprised if she is early like her sisters!! We will keep you posted. All those little to-dos I put on my lists now seem like I need to get them done immediately or I will have to put them off for a long time....NESTING!!!

Alli and my dad are in the CSTOCK production of Little Women....totally need to go check it out...I need to do a post about that as well....

Hope all is well with you and yours!

Savoring the Last Summer Days

We have had a beautiful, long and hot summer here in the Northwest. We have barely had any rain yet and only a handful of cooler days. So we are trying to soak up every moment of the sunshine and summer sun....although I have to say trying to take both the girls to the park by myself 8 months pregnant in the heat is um losing its luster. So...while they are enjoying it I am ready for FALL!!! The other day when we were at the park they got lucky because the ice cream truck came and mama actually had money in her pocket...score for them!!!! Emma could spend all day on the slides, Angel wants to desperately learn the monkey bars and they both enjoy the swings!! Enjoy the last days of summer!!!

Our Father

A few weeks ago, we were saying our morning prayers and Angelica started saying "Mama, mama....I can say the Jesus prayer all by myself!!" She has always called the Our Father the "Jesus Prayer" and for a long time she will say it with us but by herself would jumble a lot of the big words etc. However, she got it down and even now does it so much better than this video. The more prayers she learns however....the longer her night time routine is getting so I guess I cannot complain but I am going to start earlier!!!

Ring Around Fun

Home Grown

Jason has enjoyed his rented local garden plots this year, although it has been a bit frustrating when you go to pick produce (like our watermelons and such) and find out that they have been swiped by others!!! ERRRR.....I guess that is one thing you take a risk with open local plots. Just hoping they don't swipe our pumpkins that are growing!! He grew everything from seed this year so it is fun to watch them finally produce fruit. We have had potatoes, carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, watermelon, tomatoes, broccoli and he grew huge sunflowers!!! Some have grown better than others and each year Jason learns new tricks of the trade. We tend to not be able to even eat what we produce, so I "try" to learn how to freeze or make soups and such and freeze those and we give a bunch to my folks as well!!! Things always test better fresh from the garden.

Three Little Pigs

We read LOTS of books around here. Lately, Angelica has started to mumble the entire time I read her a book, whether it is an old or new one. I have figured out that she is trying to memorize it so she can read it on her own. And she does really well....the other morning I caught her reading the Little Pigs book to Emma and she almost got some of the pages word for word, including using the right phrases and words, like "clever little pig". Cracked me up! Then of course Emma has to try too!!! Hope this love of reading and being read to continues for a long time!!!

Practice

Emma has fallen in love with baby dolls lately....not sure if it is because of all the baby talk and preparation around our house or not. But she loves to feed the baby, she loves to put the baby night night (which involves completely covering the entire baby in a mound of blankets and patting it down!), giving the baby rides and she tells me that she wants to play with her baby sister. I hope she isn't too disappointed that our little one will not be quite as ready to play for a big but I am sure will love it one day!!

Pretty Girls

I took these pics when we went to a friends wedding a couple weeks ago....they loved wearing their flower girl dresses again and Angelica danced the night away!!!

Long Overdue

Well, I am finally getting a chance to sit down and do some updating. First and foremost wanted to give an update on Vicki Hartsell, Jason's mom. After he left Virginia, she was moved to a PT rehab facility. For awhile there, it was as if she was making 100% improvements each day....everyone is still pretty amazed at the recovery that has taken place. The doctors have said that as hopefully the brain bleed gets reabsorbed a full recovery will be possible, but can take anywhere from 6 months to one year. She did get a UTI in the rehab center which wasn't any fun....but slowly is speaking better and moving better. She still stutters and is slow to answer some questions but one day at a time! Then due to insurance stipulations....Vicki had to leave the rehab facility today so this is her first day at home! She lives with her mother and brother so please pray that she can do alright on her own for the most part. It makes me nervous and I wish she could have stayed longer in the rehab center. She is not allowed to cook, work or drive yet and could be awhile. I just hope things continue in this positive direction and no more falls or setbacks. We may never know all the answers as to why things happened.....but thanks to all the prayers, offerings and well wishes.....she has pulled through and we all felt so much support from friends and family during that difficult and scary time. So a BIG THANK YOU!!!!!!

Slowly but Surely

Well, over the past couple of days Jason's mom had made incredible progress and slowly improving. The nurses and doctors are quite amazed as things looked so bad originally...so keep all those prayers coming! She is off sedation, off the ventilator....has regained some movement in arms and legs....can speak some words and answer most questions although slow and jumbled at times. She did have a stroke but the kind where it doesn't kill the brain area it occurs just paralyzes it in a sense. MRI results yesterday didn't show any change.....brain separation or shift still there and blood bleed still there....but nothing worse or new. Could take awhile for brain to absorb the blood and explains the memory, speech and motor issues she is still having. Today she had an angiogram and didn't show anything major to be concerned about. She sat in a chair and did eat some (as Jason called it) "mushy chicken soup". She told him she loved him, which made his day! The doctor still will be doing some tests and he may never know exactly what caused this or the fall etc. She might be in ICU until Tuesday and is hoping to have a PT assessment done that day as well. They are thinking she will need to go to a PT rehab facility for several weeks.....but after that....well one day and decision at a time. Thanks for all the love, support and prayers! Jason has definitely felt them and we KNOW they have helped his mom.

Updating Again

Jason arrived safe and sound in Richmond and thanks to his sister Kim for picking him up. He went to his parents house (too bad they are in NY for a wedding) and picked up the car and house keys. Then he headed to ICU to his mom. He isn't sure if she recognized him but as he was talking to her and holding her hand she squeezed it, so who knows. She has some movement back in her hands and legs but hands are restrained so she doesn't pull anything out if she does regain that much movement. She still has the ventilator in although it is not on, so she is breathing on her own and it is available if needed, it is helping keep her airways open. They may try to remove it again tomorrow. She has another tube going to her mouth for nutrition and if they remove the ventilator will probably move the nutrition tube to her nose. They may do another CAT scan tomorrow and I know Jason is curious as to what the bleeding and things look like...although at least she hasn't gotten worse, kind of no change at this point. Still hard to tell what permanent ramifications are or what progress might be. She is not being sedated anymore but is in and out mostly. Hopefully now that Jason is there he can talk to the docs and maybe get some of his questions answered and clarified....thanks for all the prayers for him as well they are working! I will definitely be hugging my little ones a little tighter tonight and they already miss their Papa lots!!

Update

Well, we got Jason on a plane this morning (nothing that $700 bucks cant fix...crazy...we even called the airlines for emergency family tickets and they were $1000!!). He is in the air now and should be with his family in Richmond by 10pm Virginia time. From what we know for today...Vicki remains the same. She was put on a feeding tube this morning and they are hoping to try and remove the ventilator and see how she does since she already has lung/COPD issues and they worry about pneumonia settles in. We are waiting for them to do another CAT scan today and see what those results show!! Thanks for all the thoughts and emails and most importantly PRAYERS....keep them coming!! Will keep you posted!

Prayers Please

(note: some of you have written and asked if this has anything to do with the breast cancer etc....that was Jason's stepmom Mary Hartsell who we glad to report is doing well.)

Friends & Family:

It is with a sad heart I write to you asking for prayers!! This morning started very early with news that Jason's mother, Vicki Hartsell, is in the hospital. She had not been feeling well for several days and was told it was a virus. This morning at 3am her time (in Virginia) she fell and hit her head. Her brother called 911 and the ambulance came and she was completely unresponsive and took her to the hospital. When they realized it was much more serious and she was bleeding in the brain she was airlifted to MCV Hospital in Richmond. She has had CAT scans and some tests done. We still have a lot more questions than answers but basically what we know is:

She is bleeding internally in the brain and the lobes have separated about 7mm already. Most of the bleeding appears to be in the area that affects speech as she is not able to talk or move her body. She is in ICU and they are keeping her sedated except for every hour they wake her up to see how she responds. At this point she can open her eyes and communicate by blinking. The neurosurgeon has basically said that right now he is focusing on treating her now instead of trying to figure out how this all happened. She has no external signs of the fall causing this trauma so they are thinking the bleeding had been going on and caused the symptoms she has had over the past couple of days and maybe caused the fall. He mentioned a possible aneurysm or something, but we really don't know. He has told Jason's sisters and grandmother who are with Vicki that the next TWO days are super critical to watch what the bleeding and brain swelling do. They are thinking there is most likely permanent brain damage but again hard to tell right now.
All your prayers would be gratefully appreciated....for Vicki's healing, for the family and especially Jason during this difficult time. We are trying to figure out trying to get Jason out to Richmond so at least he can talk to his mom while she appears to be coherent at times and get through the next two critical days. We will keep you posted...thanks for all the prayers, support and love.