Blessed this Christmas

Our little tree. I have to get a real one or Christmas doesn't seem the same.

My beautiful brown eyed girl. She's growing up so fast

My Blakey! How can you not love that face?

So in my last post I was complaining about everything that was going wrong and all the stuff I had to do. Well, I was sure humbled today. We went to Blake's appointment today at Primary Children's and my eyes were opened to how really worse it could be and how blessed my family has been. His appointment was in the orthopedics department and soon as we got there I saw a boy about 9 years old who couldn't use his legs. When we were leaving I noticed a mom who just had a baby (the hospital mug and walk gives it away every time) was also leaving the hospital but she was leaving without her baby. It got me wondering what was wrong with her baby and if it was going to be okay and how she wouldn't be able to take her or him home with her for Christmas. An uplifting thing that I saw also on the way out is that two women brought bags and bags full of toys to give to the kids. I overheard the person working at the desk ask who they wanted to give them to and they said to whoever needed them. I was sure put in my place and shown how truly blessed I am.

Here comes the real cheesy part but having the Christmas Spirit is about being able to enjoy the holidays and your family and the kind deeds people do despite what is going on in your life. I really am looking forward to Christmas and being able to see my kids' reactions when they open their presents and just spending time with my family. I wish that everyone could be as blessed as I am on this Christmas.

When It Snows It Dumps

In the title I'm not entirely referring to the weather. Last Christmas I wasn't able to completely relax and enjoy it. We left for Uruguay on New Year's Eve so through the whole Christmas season I was stressed about getting ready for it and getting everyone prepared for the big trip. This year I thought, "Yes! I can just sit back and enjoy all the good things of Christmas." Not entirely so. All this stuff has been heaped on us at once. Blake has been working with The Early Intervention group because he was late at walking and still has problems with feet placement. The physical therpist thinks he needs braces for his legs to correct the problem. So I had to go to his pediatrician to get a prescription for those. Well, no big deal because it was time for his check up anyway. I told his doctor what was going on and he disagrees with the physical therapist and has referred me to an orthopedics doctor. Blake's appointment is scheduled two days before Christams.
I myself went to the dentist earlier this week because a tooth was bothering me. We don't have dental insurance but I was able to get an emergency appointment with the free clinic. The plan was to do a root canal and after they had been drilling for what felt like an hour they thought they should take more x-rays to see if they got everything. Turns out that the tooth wasn't worth saving and so they decided to pull it. Well, guess what? The roots go up into my sinus area therefore requires the expertise of an oral surgeon. So now for the past couple of days I've been searching for dental insurance that will cover this procedure without a waiting period because I've got to get it done within a month.
On top of these two things I have my husband pressuring me to get some immagration papers filed. The paperwork is to get his status changed from conditional resident to permanent resident which I understand is very important but technically doesn't have to be done for another month. If any of you have dealt with immigration you know that a simple form doesn't cut it. You have to send every kind of proof that says you truly exsist and says you are who you really say you are.
I know that I really shouldn't be complaining because it could be a lot lot worse. The purpose of this very long post is to vent and complain and throw a pity party that I don't get my worry-free Christmas. Something tells me that as long as I have kids on this earth that's not going to happen. Have a very Merry Christmas everybody!

Can I Really Do This?

When my Jayla was born she was the sweetest baby. She hardly ever cried and I didn't realize how little she cried until I had my second one. She was so easygoing and most the time happy. She made the transition into motherhood a lot easier. Around her being 22 months old things started to change. I think she was replaced in the night with her evil twin. Well, maybe not something that drastic but she does have her multiple personality moments. It first started as the terrible two tantrums which I thought I was handling okay but she's started something new. She's starting to talk back to me. Not so much talking but more like grunting, screaming, and pointing her finger at me. She's also hitting and pushing Blake thinking that she's the boss. I thought that I would know how to handle these things but turns out that I'm pretty clueless. Things that I have tried are not working and I'm losing my patience. I look back and that baby thing was easy. This stage is a whole new ball game. Am I sure that I can really do this? Whenever I'm challenged with something new I always try to tell myself to take one day at a time and things will naturally get easier. Does it really apply to this? I know that if my mom is reading this she is probably laughing. Laughing so hard that she is crying. She's thinking that it's finally pay back time and she's right.

So much to give

When Daniel was in Uruguay he met and fell in love with a little girl. She is 15 months old, her mother died when she was 5 months old, her father has basically abandoned her, and she is blind. Daniel's father and his girlfriend, who are both in their mid-60s, have taken her in even though they barely have enough money for themselves. Daniel says that this girl is so beautiful and despite everything she is always happy and smiling. We looked into what it would take to adopt her and bring her here but Uruguay regulations make it nearly impossible to do so. For the past couple of days I've been gathering some stuff to send to her. As I was going through Jayla's old clothes I was overwhelmed by the realization that I am so lucky and blessed. We have more than enough for what we need. Meanwhile, this little girl is going without clean clothes and proper food and has no toys to play with. It breaks my heart that I can't do more for her. We're going to try and send money for her whenever we can but it won't be near enough for what she needs. She needs a loving home where there are people capable to provide her with things and the special attention she requires. I think after having kids I am more sensitive in these situations because I just imagine if my kids had to go through that. I pray that our contributions will be enough to help her live a happier life. We have so much to give, so how can we not.