Drama queen in action

I wish I had the energy to write thought-provoking posts each night. But not so much right now.

It's hard to live life in the "real" world when something so truly real and difficult to grasp is right smack in the middle of my world. SIL is doing well, by the way... but the ups & downs will continue. And the physical change she needs to accomplish is still a while away. (But we know she'll get there!)

When I can't coax my brain into a place to write, I tend to rely on photos. Shame on me, I know.

But hey - deal with it. :)

Since I've already done a couple photo posts in the past week, I'll graduate to a video instead.

Enjoy - my favorite drama queen in action!

Pacifier obsession

Amelia is two years and 4 months old. And she loves her pacifier with all her heart. She had gotten really good about only using it for sleep, but we've regressed a little bit. She's been in the hospital environment a lot since my SIL had her accident, and we keep her happy with a portable DVD player, Elmo, and the pacifier.

So the paci is back in our home. It has moved out of the bed and is used for each boo-boo, each tantrum, and each moment of fatigue when she chooses to lay on the couch for a minute or two. I have to carry one in my purse again.

She is sleeping in her own bed again at night, but naps in Mommy & Daddy's room. With so much adult stress going on around her, I feel like giving in is the right choice. For now.

But I can't help feeling guilty about it as well. I never imagined I would have the pacifier preschooler. Who sleeps in my room.

Pic of the week

I was in the process of talking myself OUT of writing a new blog post. Another long day. In a series of many long and heart-heavy days. I'm not feeling very rested (or balanced!) these days. I'm super lazy about many things, including keeping up with 5-6 blog posts per week.

But then Twitter spoke to me.
Or should I say, MamaKat spoke to me via this tweet:

mamakatslosinit
Let's have a favorite photo of the week link up at my place. Who's in?

That sounded easy enough! So here you go. My favorite photo of the week:

My sweet sister-in-law, enjoying some outdoor time in the garden. She has since begun to learn a manual wheelchair and has accomplished even more amazing tasks. This picture makes me smile. Beacuse it looks like peace. May God continue to grant her peace and strength.

My little spelling bee

Amelia has foam letters she plays with in the bath. She knows how to recognize every letter. And she's begun "spelling" with them. In her own little language.

She's in the bathtub. She pulls out a W and a P. She sets them on the bathtub ledge.

"W! P! That spells polka-dot. And it says movie! I like movies."

She adds a letter (D, if I remember correctly).

"Mommy! See what I did? I spelled pig! Wait. No, wait! I need more letters."

She reaches in the bathtub toy bag and pulls out two handfuls of letters. Places them all on the tub ledge. It looks something like this: WPDHNJTSXAC

"See! It says tree."

This went on for 10 minutes. When Daddy got home, Amelia proudly announced,

"Daddy! I did letters in my bath! I can spell tree. And movie. Amelia is soooo smart."

Ahhh, laughter.
Must be what keeps us from going wacky in the midst of terrible twos.

Wordless Wednesday

My Happy Place

Maui, Hawaii - along the Road To Hana

Maybe one day I will get back here.

Pigtails make me smile

I know, I know... it's time for a new post.

But I can't think on 3 hours of sleep.

So consider this an early Wordless Wednesday.

I'll call it "Too Tired Tuesday".

How cute are these pigtails???

Breathless Moments

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

One of my all-time favorite sayings.

At least it used to be.

What brings me joy?

My answers would have been quite different had I been asked one month ago. Like most of you, I likely would have listed some of those breathless moments. The birth of my child. Coming out of anesthesia post-surgery to see my husband smiling down at me. An amazing moment on a rocky cliff in gorgeous Hawaii.

But these days, in the aftermath of my sister-in-law's tragic accident, I know that joy can (and should!) come from the small things we usually take for granted.

What brings me joy?

EVERYTHING.

My sister-in-law had a bad fall in the mountains on July 8th. She fell quite dramatically on her left shoulder, breaking her clavicle and shattering her vertebrae at the T4. She tells us, at the moment she landed in the river, she knew something was very, very wrong. She knew she should be in pain. But she could feel nothing. She wanted to move out of that cold 40-degree water, but she could not even wiggle her foot.

My sister-in-law is paralyzed. She cannot feel her legs. She cannot walk. She cannot put on her shoes. She cannot get through a day without pain medication.

It brings us great joy that she got accepted to one of the best spinal cord injury rehab facilities in the country. That she is learning, day by day, to understand and manage her "new normal". It brings us joy that she has use of her arms. That she suffered no brain injury. The big things are there, and no doubt we celebrate those. But now we celebrate the tiny things as well.

My sister-in-law has to call a nurse when she wants to get out of bed. She needs help reaching her water if the cup has been placed a mere inch out of her reach. She doesn't get dressed alone. She doesn't even get to empty her bladder alone. Those things will come in time. But for now, she is dependent on so many extra hands. And someone else's legs.

Getting out of my own bed brings me joy.


Walking to the toilet brings me joy.


Using the toilet brings me joy.


Standing in front of the mirror brings me joy.


Reaching to the top of the cupboard brings me joy.


Driving my car brings me joy.


Wearing flip-flops brings me joy.


Walking down the stairs brings me joy.


Jumping with my daughter brings me joy.


Breathless moments are not the only ones that are special. Life can, in fact, be measured by the mundane.

And oh, how beautiful that can be.