Keeping My Mom in My Prayers

 

My mom is a beautiful, wonderful, awesome, woman... 

And strong...

And tolerant...

Especially to have put up with my sister and me for so many years.

 

She has always been a wonderful caregiver, always seeming to know just what was needed: 

a hug, a note, a smile, a word of advice (which might be ignored), or even money.

Her quick little drawings on the envelope of cards have always made me smile...

I have kept many of them safely tucked away :-)

And now, she is attempting to conquer a huge mountain that has erupted in her life.  It is a mountain of pain, nausea, weakness, disappointment, and frustration.  Her knee and back are failing her and medication is only so helpful until it causes additional complications, such as nausea.  

My strong mother had knee surgery done a couple days ago, on Valentine's day no less.  I'm pretty sure this is one of only a handful of times she has been in the hospital, let alone for a surgical procedure.  The surgery went fine, and we all have hopes that with recovery, it will help.

Currently, she is facing days and nights of pain, discomfort, nightmares, and physical therapy as the healing process progresses.  I hate that I am miles and miles away.  I feel completely helpless in that I can't directly help as she has many times helped me in the past.  I feel helpless in that I cannot alleviate the pain magically, as it seemed she did when I was small and had some bump or scrape.  I feel helpless in that I can only say I love you and I am praying for you...

such small phrases that attempt to convey oceans of feeling.

I love you, Mom.

We are praying for you.

We are sending you our strength and well wishes.

 

Photos: Mom and me at 3 years, 1980?

Mom and me at 3weeks, 1978

My family with Mom and Dale, 2011

Mom and little Jude at  1 week, 2011

Christmas gifts still being played with...

I am happy to say that many of the Christmas gifts that were given to the boys this year are still being played with frequently.  The lines between things being Tam's toy or Jude's toy have been blurred and sharing is usually upheld = awesome.   Jude tries so hard to do all the things that his big bother does.  For example, Tam got a plastic marble track set that can be re-arranged into a variety of configuration.  He loves this...and so does Jude.  However, Jude has to be watched like a hawk because he will occasionally place the marbles in mouth instead of down the track! 

Another favorite is a set of Hotwheels tracks that attach to the wall. This is ingenious!  The tracks hang all the wall with adhesive wall strips (that come off but don't take off the paint).  Brian set the track up in the bedroom hallway so that the top track is just at the top of Tam's reach.   The cars race down the track, twisting and turning, and eventually rolling across the floor and under the bedroom door.  Tam loves sending the cars along the track.  Jude can reach the middle of the track and loves to attempt to send the cars down...more often Jude is a road hazard :-)  Both boys love it and can play together reasonably well.  If the tracks are pulled down, they are replaced easily, and it isn't all over the floor for me to trip over.  Total win.

Other favorite toys include the leap pad, play cameras, rocking moose, playdough truck, geotrax and wooden trains, and books.

Wordless Wednesday - Snow

Snow, snow, snow!

Bathtime

My boys love bath time.  I simply mention that it is time for baths and they are both scampering up the stairs at a mad clip.  "Bath Time" shouts Jude with glee as he attempts to crawl into the bathtub while his clothes are still on.  Tamlin spends the first moments gathering up all the random things that are going into the tub with him.



I think the boys love baths because I'm fairly easy-going with the bath rules.  They can bring just about anything they want into to the tub, as long as it doesn't have batteries / electricity.  This means they bather with cars, trucks, cups, tubes, ducks, binkies, string, and monster.  I also let them splash if they close the shower curtain to stop extra spillage onto the floor.  However, we are strict with the rule of butts on the bottom (no standing in the tub).   The two boys have a grand time playing amongst the water, toys, and bubbles.


Jude has grown up so much since his first baths, nearly two years ago.  His latest grown-up trick is that he is attempting to wash himself with the scrubby.  I tell them its time to wash up, and Jude swipes the scrubby around his tummy, chest, and head.  So cute.  Tamlin can clean himself too...but he tends to just hit his belly, feet, and head (minimally) and call it good.  This means his dirty face is often missed completely!  I don't mind still being the mom to help with cleaning the rest of that dirty kiddo skins.

I like it that these two munchkins are old enough they can bathe with only scant supervision and I can accomplish other upstairs chores at the same time.  I tend to get them into the bath and then attempt to put clothes away, shelve toys, or scrub toilets while I let them play a bit.  Tamlin is very good at informing Jude when he is breaking one of the rules:
 "Bum DOWN, Jude!"
 "SHARE, Jude"
 "Mamma, Jude is STANDING again!"
This way I know quite quickly when play time is done and it is time to wash up.  

Afterwards, it is always a toss up on who is getting evicted from the tub first.  Tam likes to stay in until all the water is down the drain.  Jude comes out easily, but if I'm not quick to get the diaper on, he tends to urinate immediately (so watch out).   Lotion comes next since we are all victims of dry skin.  Jude has been helping out with rubbing it on too...he's becoming such a big boy.  Then jammies, play, story, songs, and bed (at least for Jude).  Tam gets to stay up 30-45minutes later, spending some quiet time playing games on the computer with me before he is down for the night.

Awe...such cute, little, CLEAN, men :-)

Church

Sunday mornings in our house are a bit early and a bit hectic.  If Jude is our alarm-clock, we wake to him crying / laughing in his crib around 6:30am.  If we are lucky, we can ignore him for a little while until he gets really upset with his wet diaper.  Then everyone must be cleaned, dressed, fed, and bundled into the car by 8 o'clock for our short journey to the church.  We attend the early morning service because Brian works the lunch shift, which overlaps with the later service time.  As I have mentioned before, I enjoy this service because it is a little more laid back, we sing more contemporary songs, and it feels a bit more intimate because we usually have less than 50 people attending. 

Anyways, it has been that upon arrival, Jude and Tam are shuttled off to the nursery for the entirety of the service.  I sit and participate and Brian helps with leading the singing. 

With the new year, and in light of Tamlin being 4 years old now, we decided it was time for him to start attending part of the service.  This would give Tam a chance to practice being quiet, listening, praying, and to get a sense that he is part of greater whole.  I vaguely recall being in service while I was young and sitting with my Aunt Carol, usually doodling or coloring.

Well, last week was our first attempt at this new twist to the routine.  Tam and I said goodbye to Jude in the nursery and went into the sanctuary.  Tam sat and drew pictures for the 15minutes prior to service, and then he announced to me that he wanted to go and see his friends.  Again, since there aren't many people at this service, Tamlin knows most of the members here.  So, for the first opening songs, Tamlin snuggled up to a fellow church member.  Later, she said that he was her friend and wanted to say hello.  She asked him if he needed to see the hymnal to sing, but Tam informed her that he couldn't sing but that was ok.  Tam sings "La, La, La" when he doesn't know the words.  He then came back to me after the peace.  He sat very quietly through the opening prayers and listened to the scripture.  A total of about 15minutes of the actual service past, and Tam did a great job.  I just couldn't bring myself  to make him sit quietly through the sermon, so he happily went to the nursery to play. 

My little man is growing up!