Just RK

If you have NOT heard news of Joplin’s devastation, I’m not sure how you’ve avoided it. It’s been news everywhere, I hear, but of course being here in the state has made it constantly covered and updated in our area. When news came that they’d had a direct tornado hit on Sunday, I made a few contacts to people we know there or who have loved ones there. Though I’ve never lived in Joplin, we have quite a few connections, and several years ago I spent a good deal of time there. My sister-in-law is from there, her family still living in the area. My sister went to college there for one year. My father’s employer is headquartered there. My uncle and cousins went to college there. I had friends in college who were from the area. Yesterday, my parents and my youngest sister went to Joplin to serve. Help. Do something. My sister took some video as they drove through. Even after seeing all the photos and video through media sources, seeing it at eye level, block after block is ove...

They look yummy. And they are.  But these small little tidbits made for a simple farewell to a coworker cost me a thumb. Or use of it. At least for a while… Lesson Learned: When using oven mitts to remove hot stoneware from the oven, put them ON. Don’t cheat by trying to just them flat. There are dangerous places for thumbs to sneak past the protection. And in case you’re interested in learning a super fast and yummy cookie option… Cake mix cookies, variety style. 1 white cake mix 1/2 cup oil 2 eggs 2 tsp vanilla 1 1/3 cup oats Mix it all together by hand, then add in whatever you like. So far some of my favorites are to roll little balls in coconut or cinnamon/sugar, add chocolate chips, or leave plain and decorate with icing.  I’m going to try them next with a bit more oats and raisins. Mmmmmm. I make them small, bake them on a stone ungreased (if well used/”seasoned”), preheat the oven to 375 and bake for 10 minutes...

We are at the eye doctor's office and Braska's doing great. She got a good report,  so I'm pleased. Of course, her favorite part was the TV that kept showing letters.  She just stood there and announced them all to us. Good times.

I'm exhausted. I am mentally tired. But I am thankful. Thankful for access to the best medical care. Thankful for the freedom to spend time holding my girl. Thankful that M was able to go with me to the hospital. Thankful for excellent nurses and doctors who care. Thankful for our families who helped SO much today. Thankful for the many, many people who prayed for us today. Braska is sleeping and we hope she has a good night. There were a few unpleasant moments this evening, but we are all doing ok. I'm so glad we are home and well. The rest will come. And I'll continue to be thankful. God is good. All the time. No matter what. Good times and bad. But I am thankful that today we end on a high note. My girls are safe and sleeping well. We are blessed.

Letter time at the hospital. Love my letter beads!!

The call came this afternoon with our surgery time details. Eye muscle surgery, left eye, for strabismus, to indirectly improve the head tilt to the right shoulder. Be at the hospital at 6:45am. Clear liquids after midnight. NPO from 4:30am. No problem. I’m glad to get it out of the way first thing in the morning. I also found out that a friend of Braska’s from church, Caleb, will be at Children’s tomorrow morning for some difficult testing and appointments.  It’s nice to know that we’ll have friends in the building, them praying for us and us for them, while we’re both pulling for our kids to do well. So when you get up in the morning, please be praying that all goes well and without complications.  Updates will be done on Braska’s blog, for the most part.

Today’s M’s birthday. He’s 37.  Finally.  The time from October, when I jump ahead in age for a few months, to May, when he catches up seems forever.  He is relentless, let me tell ya.  This is currently one of my fave pictures… Daddy walking with the girls into church.  Just what daddies should be doing, in my book.  And he does it every week. This ranks high on my list, and I’m thankful. I’m working tonight, so not much fun going to be had around here for the birthday boy other than Daddy duty all evening.  But Friday evening we’ll do something more fun. Welcome to 37, young pup.

Since there were a few questions, I’ll put them here and answer them openly in case anyone else was wondering… (Oh, and the sale is even BETTER now… if you’re still wanting to pick up some GB for your house. It’s not just for kids with DS, lots of adults use it for memory and sharpness. I keep thinking I should use it myself. We just recently started M on it, as it is said to help with dizziness/vertigo, which plagues him occasionally. And it seems to have helped. We'll see how it goes as we move forward.) Regarding ginkgo-- My biggest question..how is this pronounced? :) geeng-ko bill-o-buh is how I understand it to be. Other opinions welcome. How much do you give Braska? Braska gets just about 0.3 mL each day of the liquid. The liquid we use is 500 mg per mL. Some of the popular brands are only 80 mg per mL. The dosing instructions in general, as found here , are for 5.5 mg per kg (2.2 lbs). For Braska that would be about 60 mg, which would be just a few drops of ou...

It’s been 5 years since I had the first Mother’s Day that was more personal due to my new role as a mother.  And Braska wasn’t going to be born for 6 months.  I don’t remember that Mother’s Day, as it’s lumped in with a period of time that for sanity purposes has been removed from my quick-recovery memory.  I’m sure there was little if any fuss made over the day, but I’m also sure I didn’t miss the significance. The beauty in looking back sometimes is to see how far we’ve come. This is a common thing for me.  Because we have come so far. SO far.  Our little family of 2, then 3, and now 4 has experienced more life-changing, breath-stealing, patience-testing events than I ever thought possible… but I accept it and am thankful for it, even when some things still creep up and remind me of the hurt. Because had it not been for the journey, we would not be at our current place. And this place is not so bad. Not bad at all. To wake up with little faces next to th...

(Biloba, that is. Liquid gold. Brain power.) If you heard the Beverly Hillbillies theme and rhythm in your head as you were reading that, you’re as twisted as I am. Welcome. The point of this was supposed to be telling you about a great sale on Ginkgo Biloba at Puritan’s Pride .  So there ya go.  There’s an awesome sale. Buy 1 get 1. Or even better buy 2 get 3.  Yeah. That’s my kinda deal.  Just ordered me a sweet fivesome a couple days ago. Today’s the last day of this current sale!! But I figure I can’t really just throw out that there’s a sale, that I ordered 5 bottles, and then not tell you why we would stock up like that.  That’s just not fair, now is it. Back in the fall, I once again looked at the option of ginkgo.  I’ve heard parents talk about it, and I know some adults with no particular disability or diagnosis who love it for it’s help with maintaining a sharp memory.  I found several bloggy friends who use it with their kids, most...