Back on the "Neb"

Claire had a strange and unexpected appearance of asthma, accompanied by pneumonia in the beginning of April. One week on a nebulizer and some antibiotics cleared her up just fine. She's been fine since then until yesterday, when after two days of a runny nose, she started wheezing again. The doctor found an ear infection (not pneumonia, thankfully) this time, so we're back on the nebulizer and antibiotics again! It's so strange to me how my little girl can be as healthy as can be and all of the sudden can't breathe. I don't know whether allergies are causing her troubles, or what, but I'm hoping we can get it all under control soon.

The medicine that accompanies the nebulizer has had some interesting side effects. It seems to make Claire very hyper and talkative. She is for the most part a very cheerful (even more than usual) little girl, but occasionally something will upset her and she is having a meltdown. It's like this medicine has her on emotional highs and lows. Fortunately, there have been more highs than lows.

Pictures from April with "Big Night-Night" and the Nebulizer:

Visit to Winterthur

This past Wednesday, Claire and I packed up into my Aunt Debbie's car and took a road trip to Winterthur, Delaware. Winterthur, pronounced "Winter Tour" is a country estate of the du Pont family. It is a historic site as well as a garden. It would take multiple day trips to see everything at Winterthur, but what we saw during our trip was wonderful.

Upon our arrival at Winterthur, we boarded a tram (with a high-spirited tour guide) that traveled through the gardens. The view of the "Azalea Woods" (recently featured on the Martha Stewart Show) was breathtaking, as the azaleas were blooming at about their peak.



Our first stop was the Enchanted Woods, featuring a Faerie Cottage, Tulip Tree House, and more...

Faerie Cottage

Tulip Tree House

Fairy Ring (Circle of Toadstool statues/seats that spray mist into the center of the circle. Claire wanted to dance in the middle of it all day!)

Fairy Tea Party

Labyrinth (Claire enjoyed this, too. Debbie and I enjoyed it, but got a little dizzy!)

Debbie & Claire by the Giant Bird's Nest

After seeing all there was to see in the Enchanted Woods, we walked through the gardens to the reflecting pool, which was behind the mansion (containing 175 rooms, by the way).

Claire and I standing up on the waterfalls that flow into the reflecting pool (used to be the family's swimming pool)

On the other side of the reflecting pool and leading into the mansion/museum, there is a Handkerchief Tree (a.k.a. Dove Tree). Apparently a rare tree in the U.S., the flower on this tree resembles a Hankie.





We really enjoyed our trip with Aunt Debbie. We always love spending time with her, and this was such a beautiful day with beautiful surroundings.

Celebrating Mother's Day

This Mother's Day, I want to highlight two females in my life. These two "women" are the most important "women" God has placed in my life. The first, my very own mother. The second, the one who God graciously gave me to make me a mother, Claire.

First, as I think about my mother, I can't help but think of her generosity. She gives financially, as well as of her time. My mom could have spent her inheritance in many ways, but she decided to pay off the college debt of all three of her daughters instead. Sacrificing an income as we were growing up, she stayed home to care for us. Even now, when she learns of a need (need is used loosely here) from one of her daughters, she is quick to step up and offer help. As a grandmother, she gives so much of herself to Claire. Sacrificing one of the "perks" of grand-parenthood - being able to enjoy grandchildren, but also being able to enjoy an empty (quiet) nest when they go home - my mom embraces having Claire and I live with my parents. Their home is far from quiet at times due to a learning 3-year-old, fully equipped with energy, laughter, singing and dancing, not to mention the inevitable temper tantrum. Yet my mom, who we are so blessed to have, seems to be blessed by us being here.

Another trait I see in my mom is that she is a great gardener. I admire how she toils in this nice, spring weather, not afraid to get her hands dirty (or run into a few worms and bugs). I know she didn't always have time to make our gardens so nice growing up. But I hope she knows that she was toiling a different garden, often getting her hands dirty and running into "worms" and "bugs" of a different sort, as she raised my sisters and I. Her time was well spent, even though I'm sure she didn't see the rewards so quickly as she would have in a flower garden.

I love you, Mom, and I thank you for sacrificing so much for us. Thank you for supporting me in my own mothering. You are a huge means of God's grace to me!

To the second "lady" in my life, my precious Claire. I thank God every day for this gift He has given me. I never imagined what being a mother would feel like until you came along. You have brought me joy in ways I wouldn't have expected. Your laugh lifts my spirits when they are low. At age three, you already encourage me with kind words. I mess up as a Mommy daily, but you are so quick to forgive me every time. I am so blessed and undeserving to have you in my life.

This Mother's Day, even knowing that I will toil myself in the soil of motherhood, I feel so privileged to do so. With what I have in Christ, I am so rich. With what I have from my mother and daughter, I am even richer yet.

Happy Mother's Day

I've found some interesting writings on Mother's Day on various blogs. Two of which I will link you to here:

http://www.cbmw.org/Blog/Posts/In-Honor-of-Godly-Mothers

http://girltalk.blogs.com/girltalk/

You will find it interesting (unless you already knew) how Mother's Day was originally established in the first link. Both links help us all to keep our focus (whether we are mothers or not) where it belongs.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Birthday, Dad ("Pap")

Today is my dad's (and Claire's pap's) birthday. My dad is an extraordinary man (even though he probably doesn't think he is). He has been a faithful husband to my mom for 34 years, working hard so my mom could stay home and take care of my sisters and I. He has also been a selfless dad to three girls (he was hugely outnumbered), supporting us in all of our interests. He's killed millions of spiders (and other creepy crawlers), taught three teenage girls how to drive (yikes!), worked overtime for years without complaining about it, tried to teach us sports (some of us weren't very good learners in that area), took us for hikes and nature walks (and cleaned our muddy sneakers when we got home), taught us about birds and other wildlife, kept our cars (and now some of our houses) in good working order, and always made us laugh (or roll our eyes) with a good, corny joke. These are only a few of the things I appreciate about my dad. Now, he continues to be a supportive grandfather to Claire. He reads her stories (even princess ones) after a long day and long drive home from work, takes us out for breakfast many Saturday mornings, takes us birdwatching, and has even been known to be a bridesmaid in one of Claire's pretend weddings.

Dad, I hope you know just how much you are appreciated!! Happy Birthday!!

Spring Update

I'm sorry I haven't been regular at all with my blogging lately. I will try to do better! Here are some highlights from the past few weeks:

Easter
The night before Easter morning, Claire and I read from her Bible the stories of Jesus' death and resurrection. I was very grateful for the opportunity to remind Claire (and myself) of the real reason why we celebrate Easter (not Easter candy, baskets, egg hunts, etc.)! Here are a few pictures from Easter including a visit with Grammy, Mama and Papa, and the annual egg hunt at my parents' house.

Claire in her Easter dress Mama (Claire's great-grandmother)made for her.

Claire and Mama

Claire, Daddy, and Grammy

Easter Baskets from Mama & Grammy

Egg hunting

Everyone at the Egg Hunt (with 181 eggs!)

Hershey Gardens
We love visiting Hershey Gardens, and thanks to our household membership, we can visit whenever we like. We took the day last Friday to visit the gardens with Aunt Debbie to enjoy the beautiful tulips.

Claire and Aunt Debbie

Stop and smell the tulips

Claire and Mommy

Tumbling Class (Sorry, no pictures)
I enrolled Claire in a tumbling class through our township, which consists of 6 consecutive weekly classes where three- to five-year-olds learn all sorts of tricks. In her tumbling class, Claire has been crab walking, log rolling, walking on a balance beam, and, most importantly, having fun!
It is so much fun for me to watch, too! Claire has also enjoyed making some new friends and is always excited to go back every week.

Learning Center Family Night
My nieces and Claire's cousins, Gabriella and Isabella, participated in a homeschooling co-op this school year. We were invited to their family night. Both girls did a great job in their presentations on stage! It was also wonderful to see some artwork on display and some pictures from their school year. Way to go, girls!!

Claire's First Bowling Experience
Claire got the opportunity to bowl last weekend for the very first time! I was impressed at how far bowling alleys have come since I was younger. The bumpers automatically came up out of the ground when it was Claire's turn, and they had a "slide" she could use to push her ball down, giving it a bit more momentum than it would have otherwise. :) The non-smoking part is a huge improvement, too. Claire was our team's cheerleader...it didn't matter how poorly you bowled, she would always be quick to shout, "Good job!" after your turn, complete with a thumbs up and everything. What a great encourager!! Claire carried her own, 7 lb. ball, every single turn. Thankfully she didn't drop it on her toes! She even bowled a spare for one of her turns!