tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324840132024-03-14T03:09:45.955-04:00The J TrainGet on board the J Train for a crazy ride.Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.comBlogger368125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-74034842849713430802017-05-14T22:12:00.001-04:002017-05-14T22:12:27.147-04:00Wonderful- Mother's Day 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There have been many things happening lately that deserve a blog post, but maybe I will have to catch up at another time. I just spent a wonderful day with my family so I wanted to post it here to remember forever.<br />
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My day started with Jimmy brining sweet Violet into our bed for some morning cuteness. Lately I have been thinking about how we treat her as if she is so small, but when Cash was her age I had already had another baby and that baby was a year old! It's all relative. I mourn her quickly receding baby-ness, but at the same time remind myself I must embrace the next phase. After all, I've already entered the next phase and the one after that!<br />
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My parents were here today- Yay! We ate breakfast and made lunch preparations together, then I headed to church a bit ahead of everyone to get the Mother's Day Photo Booth ready. After a bit of troubleshooting to deal with the wind, we were good to go.<br />
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I'm not sure I am really laughing for real or that I am able to laugh about the days that come, but we practice the discipline of these things so that they become truth for us.<br />
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After church we got to eat with my parents, then I played a game with the kids (because usually I would have said, "No I'm taking a nap" but I feel like I need to accept on Mother's Day- after all I'm not a mother without them!) and then I actually did take a nap. Before I laid Violet down for her nap, she needed a band-aid, and my Mom said "Take a picture of her sitting there so you can remember her just like she is right now." So here she is, on the counter, where she spends a lot of her time actually. (It is very sweet. She talks to me while I cook.) My parents headed home. I took a walk by myself, then went to visit a friend who had surgery this week.<br />
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Then we all loaded up in the car, picked up some dinner and took the kids to a park downtown with a splash pad. They had a really great time, although two little girls kept hovering in the middle of the splash pad, which is the most fun part, so my kids were kind of bummed. Jimmy and Jackson and I kept encouraging them to just go up there and wait their turn, and it was little Juliet who finally jumped in. It's kind of like King of the Hill. My tentative home schoolers don't have much practice in asserting themselves on the playground, so to speak. Pretty funny. Go Juliet!<br />
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Now we are all home and everyone is tired and I'm going to edit photos, but not for too long, it is, after all, Mother's Day. But yesterday I photographed a cute one year old birthday/cake smash and I want to see how they came out. Plus all the photos from the booth at church! Such a privilege.<br />
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It has been a wonderful Mother's Day. I do not know why being a mom is so wonderful. It is one of those things that is so wonderful you cannot explain it. I don't even mind using the word wonderful so many times. <br />
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My heart goes out to all those who struggle to find their way to becoming parents but am also very encouraged by all the stories of foster care and adoption I have come in contact with in the past few years.<br />
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I can not even imagine what heaven will be like, but we must get a glimpse of it in our children. The way Jimmy and I enjoy watching them- this must be what God feels as our Heavenly Father. Such love for us. And our abundant life gets to begin now and go on forever. It is wonderful!Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-88624140695788630552017-03-13T11:24:00.001-04:002017-03-13T12:17:33.896-04:00I am smarter than a rodent.This morning, and past few days, have been so crazy I am going to attempt to convey the normal chaos that is my life. Add in the time change, and it is a perfect storm.<br />
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Let's work backwards. I just finally, at nearly 11 am, cleaned up breakfast. Before that it was a dog bath, a dirty diaper, waffles for all, disposal of a rat, and inducing dog vomit. Let me explain.<br />
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For the past few weeks, we have been dealing with rats coming into our laundry room at night. It has only been confirmed in the last week, so I haven't been fully aware of it until recently. I cannot even convey how extremely disturbing this is. For many reasons. Knowing that there are vermin out there roaming my kitchen and laundry room every night is disgusting. Just lying in bed wondering what they are touching, where they are going, and what diseases they may be spreading is a literal nightmare. I dream about rats. When I actually do sleep. It is gross. I don't even feel the need to apologize for this being a "first world problem" and how I have this amazing house I live in whilst other people have rats crawling on them while they sleep. I don't care. I hate them and I want them to die.<br />
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So. We have been trying to outsmart them and trap and kill them every night for about 3 nights. We have killed three. I rigged up this elaborate "stairway to heaven" rat trap that involved them crawling into paper tubes and falling into a trash can full of water. After trying this for 3 nights, it finally killed one last night. Jimmy has been setting traditional traps. After setting two traps a night for three nights (so 6 traps) we have killed 2 that way. Not a great percentage, but we'll take it. They manage to eat the bait without getting snapped or falling into the water. It is discouraging. I chant a new inner mantra which is "I am smarter than a rodent. I am smarter than a rodent." I'm not so sure.<br />
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Last night I added a new method- mix dog food with some flour, oatmeal, and some plaster of paris. They are supposed to eat the plaster of paris, have it turn to a rock in their gut, and die.<br />
(They seem to love dog food- they've been chewing the lid of the dog food bucket every night for about 4 weeks. It's like their own version of Shawshank Redemption. Eventually they will make it through.)<br />
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This morning Jimmy checked all our torture devices. Drowned one. Got one in a trap. Sadly, they didn't seem to touch the "poison." (This is our new morning routine- I lay in bed clutching the covers up to my neck and Jimmy goes to see what happened the night before. It's disgusting. I'm fully aware.) We hung out in our bedroom for a little while discussing it, and I got dressed (okay, just put on a sweater and my slippers, which I'm still wearing) and went out to start breakfast. I saw the dog chowing down on the plaster of paris mixture. Ugh. Have I just killed my dog?<br />
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So now I am mixing up waffles, holding Violet (<i>her</i> morning routine) and googling how to induce vomit in your dog. Hydrogen peroxide will do the trick. We hold her mouth open and go for it. Send her outside. She hurls white paste all over the yard. Time for breakfast kids!<br />
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After I eat toast standing up while serving waffles it's a baby diaper change, bath for the dog, and all the while I am discussing countertops with Jimmy. For our new kitchen which we are planning to purchase all the cabinets for one week from today at IKEA- their kitchen sale is ON. <br />
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This week is Spring Break. My "break", while it will <i>not</i> involve home school or extracurricular activities, <i>will</i> involve play dates, infinite laundry, planning a kitchen renovation, trying my hardest to kill as many rats as possible, editing three photo shoots from this past weekend, preparing for my bible study, and feeding six children three times a day. (I was thinking about potty training this week, but to borrow a phrase I love to hate, "I can't even.") I'm not gonna lie. When it's only Monday morning of break and you've had to deal with dog vomit and dead rats and have not gotten anything even started on your mental list of spring break must do's, it's a little discouraging. So you sit in your pajamas and write a blog about how wacky your life is and hope that maybe you can deal a little better after you get it out.<br />
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Well, it's out there. Like dog vomit in the backyard, I'm going to let the rain wash it away and start anew. Spring break here I come. I am smarter than a rodent. I am smarter than a rodent.Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-52371083797904086712017-01-19T20:20:00.003-05:002017-01-19T20:20:50.609-05:00Ramblings of a Temporary Chicken Farmer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My Dad, a.k.a "Pop Pop," hatched some chicks while we visited over Thanksgiving weekend and again at Christmas. As a special treat, when we left after Christmas each kid got to each pick a chick to bring home and enjoy for a few weeks, as we had plans to visit and bring them back the third weekend in January.<br />
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We brought home 5 chicks (Jackson's not really into claiming a small fuzzy bird as "his") with us in the van and I became a temporary chicken farmer.<br />
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From the title of this post it seems like I'm going to ramble on with some amazing stories and anecdotes about raising up these chicks for a few weeks. Really, it was pretty uneventful. (And I can let the photos speak for themselves.) But it's the first time I've ever taken care of an animal other than a dog, and it was really quite fun. At one point I moved them from their box in the garage to a cage outside and we had to make sure they had food, water, warmth, and shelter. Home school. Mostly, for me, because while I was doing all this I wasn't really teaching them a whole lot about what I was doing, I was just trying to repair a water dispenser and figure out how to shield them from our dog, who would have loved a chicken nugget or two. Or five. Oh, and now (as if I didn't already) I say "WASH YOUR HANDS!" every five seconds.<br />
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The children have enjoyed the chicks immensely. They hold them, talk to them, have named them (of course), and I fear they have traumatized them to the point of the chicks needing to see a chicken psycho therapist when they're all grown up. But whatever. They put the chicks on the swings, they carry them up into the playhouse, and I had to stop them from sending them down the slide. If there is one thing I've learned it's that chicks are resilient. And that they like to poop all over my children's clothes.<br />
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This is "Lemonhead." Violet's chick. Violet was traumatizer numero uno, as she could care less whether she was nearly squeezing one to death or not. I heard multiple times from inside the house, as they were outside with them- "Violet! No!" and I was sure she would have squeezed it to death, but she managed to allow them all to live. (So far.)<br />
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This is "Youngster." Juliet's chick. Appropriately named, Youngster is the smallest. Juliet has trouble catching them now that they are bigger and move faster, but youngster has had plenty of love from Juju. Juliet was quite the mother, she would place Youngster on the patio table and place torn napkins under his bum- waiting for him to poop, so she could change him. This is the only time in your life you will be eager to change a poop filled napkin, Juliet.<br />
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This is "Hope"-- aka "Bob Hope," and "Bob Ross." Penelope's chick. It was originally Hope, but seems to be looking like it's a rooster, so Penelope renamed it "Bob Hope," then that became "Bob Ross." I don't know who he is currently. Penelope reminded me of the "feed the birds" lady from Mary Poppins. She was constantly letting the chicks roost in her hair, on her shoulder, or on top of her head. She always was rubbing her face against them and pretty much LOVED them ALL THE TIME. <br />
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This is "Bono." Cash's chick. Named after the U2 lead singer, of course, and very appropriately so, since last week the boys and Jimmy got tickets to see U2 this summer which we will never forget, as we will never forget our time as temporary chicken farmers. I named him Bono because he had gray hair, which reminded me of Bono. Old, but forever hip and young, like a baby chick. Shortly after I took this photo of Bono on Cash's back, he pooped on Cash.<br />
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This is "Solera." Libby's chick. Named by Uncle Willie shortly after hatching. Libby was a lot of help with the chicks, and also helped keep the dog away from them countless times.<br />
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We will be taking them back to Pop Pop in two days, and will all be sad to see them go. Our HOA will not allow us to have chickens, sadly. I feel bad for them, as they really seem to like their home here. There is something very fulfilling about making a good home for something and seeing them thrive. I wish I could see my children in that way. That simple way. Instead, I make a good home for them, love them, take care of them and instead of feeling fulfilled, I let my mind fill with worry that I'm doing enough, educating them enough, providing enough. That's not the kind of mother I want to be. I fight it. This temporary chicken farmer is a permanent mother. May I focus on the simple and enjoy them immensely.Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-49246042499599367432016-12-09T00:29:00.000-05:002016-12-09T00:29:32.799-05:00the wound is where the light shines through<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In early November we went to see Relient K and Switchfoot in Thomasville, GA on the "Looking for America" tour. It was nothing short of awesome. We took our oldest three and they loved it as well. Switchfoot sings a lyric on their latest album which I love: "the wound is where the light shines through". I take this to mean, as I guess it was intended, what Paul means in 2 Corinthians when he says, "when I am weak, then I am strong" and "I rejoice in hardships, etc...so that Christ's power may rest on me." When we go through difficulties, that is when we feel His power. <br />
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That night at the concert we had no idea that in a little over a week we would be walking Juliet through a wound and teaching her about the light shining through.<br />
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Saturday night, November 12, my sister Susan and her family were visiting us and we had some people over for dinner and a fire pit in the backyard. Right before bedtime Juliet was running and tripped on a branch in the backyard and injured her elbow. She did seem to hurt it pretty badly, but had some movement and seemed like the pain was minimal when she kept it still, so Jimmy and I decided to see how she was in the morning. I gave her Tylenol and put her to bed. We do NOT rush to the ER around here.<br />
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At 3:45 a.m. she woke up and was whimpering in her bed and I went in to check on her, quickly moving her out of the bedroom she was sharing with Libby, Penelope, and Violet, so that she wouldn't wake anyone up (Susan and Willie were in her room). I could tell by her amount of swelling that we would probably be dealing with a trip to urgent care in a few hours, but I gave her more Tylenol and hoped she could make it until morning. I allowed her to sleep in my bed with us to maybe make her feel a little better and also, again, to keep her from waking anyone.<br />
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At 6:00 a.m. I woke to her jerking and realized she was having a seizure. I woke up Jimmy and turned on the light and we tried to rouse her but she just kept twitching. We made the quick decision to not call 911 but to just put her in the van and take her to the ER facility that is super close to our house. I woke my sister and told her what we were doing as we headed out the door. I ran a couple lights and constantly asked Jimmy how she was as he held her in the back seat.<br />
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It was weird telling them what was wrong with her, as she was coming out of it when we got her in the door, but they could tell she'd had a seizure, because she remained very lethargic for quite a few minutes after. The weird part was that when they asked us why we brought her in, we said, "She had a seizure and oh, she probably needs her arm x-rayed." Two things that I assumed were unrelated and really, I think they were. Maybe. We really will never know.<br />
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To make a long story short, which I intended to do but have totally failed, her arm was broken and she passed her blood, urine, and cat scan tests in the ER- they showed no reason why she would have had a seizure. So we had to follow up with a pediatric neurologist.<br />
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This meant that for the next four days I was either at the orthopedic office or neurologists office. It was a whirlwind. And more time than anyone wants to spend in the waiting room. She had to have a 20 minute EEG, then a 24 hour EEG, and then we finally got the diagnosis that she has Benign Rolandic Epilepsy, which is a childhood form of epilepsy that involves partial seizures that happen in their sleep and that the majority of children grow out of. She is on medication twice a day for the next 2 to 3 years.<br />
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Juliet is my most compliant child, and was nothing but wonderful through the entire process. It is not easy to have one arm to work with, and I caught her doing her best to put on socks all by herself the day after she got her cast. Most of my other kids would have very vocally announced to the entire house that they CANNOT put on socks.<br />
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During the 24 hour EEG and all the waiting that included, she was patient and apologetic if she moved in a way I told her not to or disrupted anything.<br />
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In the waiting room(s) I read "The Littles" by John Peterson out loud to her. It was one of my favorite books as a kid, and it got us through many hours of waiting. That and UNO cards and in the end, when I had little stamina left, the iPad. While I was battling a tense stomach, she was smiling as I tried to make it fun with hospital hot chocolate.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">And that is the wound. Now for the good part. When the light shines through. She broke her arm on a Saturday night. Had a seizure on Sunday morning. We found out what caused it Thursday afternoon. So pretty much from Sunday to Thursday, my entire life was focused on her. Helping her, researching her symptoms, figuring out how to solve this small mystery. After I got home from the doctor and the pharmacy that Thursday afternoon, I got in the shower and took a long hot one. </span><br />
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And as I was in there, standing under the hot water for a long time just to wash off all the tension from the last four days, I knew something. I knew that I would put my life on hold for as long as necessary at any moment, for the well being of my kids. And I had done it without any consideration or decision. I just did it. And there, in the shower, I knew that's how God does with me. He does any and all for his children. And without hesitation.<br />
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"See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are." 1 John 3:1<br />
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And what is Juliet's response to me taking care of her? She follows. Without hesitation. I tell her we have to go to the doctor (again) and she just puts on her shoes and gets in the car. I tell her she has to get 20 spots of glue on her head (again) and she doesn't complain. I tell her she has to take medicine every single day twice a day and she just opens her mouth. She doesn't ask me what's in the medicine or why we have to wait so long in the waiting room, she does what I ask her to do. And it reminds me not to question why God has me go through those wounded times. He is my Father and he is, automatically, doing what is best for me.<br />
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And as the days have gone on with Juliet, I have shared with her about how this thing she is going through is a challenge, but that God can be her strength when she is weak. And she gets it. It's a beautiful thing. Her wound is where the light shines through.Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-80004246459758286182016-12-08T23:18:00.000-05:002016-12-08T23:18:28.774-05:00Happy 15th Birthday Jackson!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Though a little late, I didn't want to pass up a blog about Jackson's 15th birthday. At our house we only get a "friend party" every other year, and for years 11 and 13 Jackson chose to take trips instead of a party. So he was due a fun one. He organized it all himself, and graciously invited not only friends his age, but entire families, most with kids not even his age! <br />
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He hosted a game night! It was lots of fun and included Bohnanza, Trump (as in the Donald Trump game from the 1980s), Ticket to Ride, Dominion, and of course Settlers of Catan.<br />
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We also had a movie playing for the little kids and lots of fun games in the backyard which the non table top game playing kids initiated themselves.<br />
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Instead of a cake, Jackson requested cinnamon rolls, and we made the ultimate game night snack- the Nachos of Catan.<br />
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It was fun for all and as his mother I was of course happy to see how many people love my boy and blessed him on his birthday. He is definitely worth loving. <br />
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He also got his learner's permit a few days after his birthday- this has been somewhat anti-climatic. I think teaching a teenager to drive may be a bit like having a baby on TV. On TV, you see parents who are teaching their child to drive as these panic stricken crazy people and the teenagers are always doing something over the top stupid. Like a woman in labor on TV is yelling crazy things and/or doing something totally unrealistic like smiling with perfect makeup right after the baby is born. All that to say, I expected teaching Jackson to drive to be like it is on TV. It's not. It's actually quite boring riding around a parking lot at 5 mph. I found myself saying things like, "Okay, now we're going to try and go the speed limit." I'm sure the panic moments will come, but so far the contractions are really far apart, so to speak.<br />
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Happy Birthday Jackson!Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-1228310643992253812016-11-08T13:38:00.001-05:002016-12-08T23:19:45.376-05:00I'm gonna live forever<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sometimes I feel like my life is like that opening scene from the movie "Fame"- that one continuous shot where you see all the students practicing instruments, dancing, singing, or acting. It's portrayed as this romantic and genius chaos. This is how I try to view my life, but it's hard. It's hard because to see my chaos as romantic, I have to look past things like chewed up Tootsie Rolls on the counter next to someones lost tooth. I have to get into a van with a mystery smell. I have to wade through laundry closing in on me like the trash compactor scene from Star Wars. And I will say it out, even though the authorities may come for me: It's nearly impossible to get anything academic done some days. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So we press on. And I pray for the wisdom I need to home school these six brains. And that's all one can do. So keep those creative juices flowing, kids. And tomorrow, during lunch, let's do a big dance number where we jump on the kitchen table and bang out rhythms with our silverware. Oh wait, we never use silverware at lunch time. Maybe you can roll up your paper plates. </span></div>
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Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-62943058937061918522016-10-31T22:16:00.002-04:002016-10-31T22:16:47.727-04:00Costumes 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here we are this year.<br />
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Jackson: Marty McFly<br />
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Libby: Rey (so was her cousin Elise!)<br />
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Cash: Sumo Man!<br />
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Penelope: The Statue of Liberty<br />
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Juliet: Little Bo Peep<br />
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Violet: Sheep<br />
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Jackson did most of his on his own with help from multiple family members and neighbors. Libby and I may or may not have cried and yelled while working out her costume. Cash got this Sumo suit from my sister and her family for xmas last year, so...thankful for the low maintenance kid. Penelope made me extremely happy by dressing up as Lady Liberty- which I did when I was about her age, and she totally owned it. Juliet and Violet were nothing but precious and Juliet did take out a couple things with her staff. Violet had to be bribed with candy to put the hood on for the photos, but hey, at least it worked.<br />
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There is a lot I could say about the planning and execution of costumes for six kids. But because of all that, I have very little energy or brain power to write much. This year Libby hung this up in my kitchen to keep me on track.<br />
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It was super helpful and also a little rattling to realize that this is just a tiny portion of what goes swimming around my brain on a day to day basis. Here's to fun memories!Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-67429995254565865852016-10-06T23:14:00.002-04:002016-10-06T23:15:00.452-04:00When you have six kids<div>
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I<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">'ve been collecting, on the notes app on my phone, a list of things that are reality to a big family. I've been wanting to write a blog about it for a long time. I've decided to just post it right here, in bold, just as it is on my phone. If there is any explanation necessary, I'll add it in regular type. Here we go. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b>When you have six kids </b></span></div>
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<b>They talk about food constantly </b> It's appropriate that the first thing on my list was food. There is constant discussion about what's for snack, what's for dinner, whether they like it or not, and especially how much or how many they can have. In my house I chastise them for grabbing apples while I am cutting them. Because if I let them eat them while they are being prepared, then there would be none left when I was finished. Pancake breakfast: overheard comments are not intellectual discussion or compliments to the chef. It is all, "Mom! She already had 4!" and "Wait! I've only had 2!"</div>
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<b>You're always afraid you've left someone </b>I can't seem to get past this. I'm constantly asking if everyone is in the van. And if I don't ask I try to look back there but it's hard because my smaller kids sit behind my biggest. So I've learned to listen for their voices, so that I don't sound like a paranoid idiot, repeatedly asking if everyone is in the van. </div>
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<b>Immense dirt piles full of random stuff </b>This will never cease to amaze. When I sweep the floor it's like I've swept the floor of a toy store, fast food joint, and office supply store all at the same time. Oh, and a slobs house. </div>
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<b>Misc bins full of stuff </b>More stuff. There is so much stuff. </div>
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<b>Step on counters, stools, anything to make yourself taller </b>My fifth child is especially good at this. When you have a busy mother, you learn to fend for yourself. You get it even when you can't reach it, because, well, you want the blue bowl and if you have to wait for someone to get it for you, the food you're trying to put in it will most likely be gone. Penelope learned to put things in and out of the microwave and work the buttons way before she was old enough to reach. I'm sure it is extremely hazardous but no trips to the ER for third degree burns yet. </div>
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<b>Some sort of show every night ("be your tv" recently) </b>My kids are always putting on plays, fashion shows, concerts, etc. Recently the girls told me that they like to entertain each other while they are on the potty. While one is going, the other is her "tv" and performs. Then, they switch. </div>
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<b>Your husband always asks you how old someone is </b>Or, he just asks the kid himself. </div>
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<b>When you open the van door something may fall out </b>I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote this. Something may not fall out. Something WILL. </div>
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<b>The oldest with the youngest- reading to, looking at me with knowing how cute. </b>Having little ones with big ones around is awesome. They get it. They see how special it is to have a child. It's a huge reward. </div>
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<b>The middles forming bonds daily. </b>They do. It makes those three in a row close together totally worth it. </div>
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<b>The picture moments constantly. </b>This is true for no matter what size family. </div>
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<b>The inability to remember everything. </b>This is infuriating. Today Jackson read to me from this very blog something I wrote and I had no memory of it. Ah!<b> </b></div>
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<b>The knowing you'd do things differently if your older self could tell you things, but the inability to do anything except live in the now </b>Again, true for any and all parents. </div>
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<b>Everyone else seems to think you have a lot of kids but you just keep thinking of how maybe you should have had one more (or two) and you also think about how there are so many people with more kids than you. </b>It's true. Sometimes I have to remind myself I have twice as many kids as most people. I feel like I just have a normal amount. </div>
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<b>More about food- snacks. Someone always want s a snack. My kids eat. Some kids are birds. My kids are pigs. </b>See above. Can never stress how much they talk about food. </div>
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<b>You forget what time of day and how much each baby weighed. </b>You feel like a terrible parent when you have to go look at the hanging on the wall to remember what time of day they were born and how much one of your kids weighed. Even though you birthed the kid and made the wall hanging yourself. </div>
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<b>Your kids call expiration dates "due dates" </b>When the milk is about to go bad...wait a minute, that never happens. When you find a can of something someone gave you (because that's the only food that goes bad) that is expired, one of your kids announces that the due date is such and such. I mean, there is always a due date looming. </div>
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<b>You never never never remember to bring your reusable bags to the grocery store </b>Because you are more concerned with making sure everyone has shoes on. And that they are all in the van (see above).</div>
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<b>You marvel at people who do. and who exercise </b>I do this. I watch nicely dressed ladies walk into the store with their reusable bags neatly folded and you wonder if you'll ever have time for such a luxury. I don't marvel at all exercisers. Just the ones who do it in the middle of the day. By themselves. Looking like they enjoy it. </div>
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<b>Lady in grocery store shopping in heels and cut off jeans </b>Many shoppers astound me. Who goes to the store in heels? To shop for groceries? My trips to the store are not for fun or enjoyment. They are purely utilitarian and usually involve someone pulling on my shirt. </div>
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<b>There are unexplainable things that happen to you. Jug of water in garage. Mustard on your bra. Mystery poop. </b></div>
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<b>Toothbrushes. </b></div>
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Some t<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">hings are unexplainable. Let's be real. A lot of things are unexplainable. </span></div>
Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-62502944511966566002016-09-23T16:47:00.002-04:002016-09-23T16:47:14.956-04:00One, Five, Eight, Ten, Twelve, Fourteen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here we are again. Time for the yearly update. I try to do this between Libby and Jackson's birthdays every year...and I'm just in under the wire- Jackson's birthday is in two days!<br />
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Speaking of Jackson, he is nearly fifteen and seems to be getting taller every day. He has really joined my team in so many ways, helping me with chores, cooking, cleaning, watching little kids, and getting his schoolwork done without needing reminders. It is life changing for me and I am grateful and relieved to have someone making my life easier around here. Jackson is still into everything technology, he is enjoying his Chemistry class, is taking driver's ed, and tackling Geometry too. When not doing school he is enjoying playing guitar at youth group and helping in the A/V booth at church. Everyone loves Jackson and he is an extremely tolerant big brother and friend.<br />
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Here is Libby. Libby turned twelve this summer. She is still drawing, writing, and creating enough for a dozen twelve year olds. Just yesterday she created lego sets and drawn instructions for both her sisters. This week she read a book in one night- as I was falling asleep I heard her brushing her teeth a few minutes before midnight and I knew she had stayed up reading in the bathroom (the only place where she can turn on a light) to finish. Libby continues to enjoy her baby sister Violet and they are excellent room mates. Libby is tackling two virtual school classes and taking piano, gymnastics, and archery this fall. I am always telling her siblings how lucky they are to have her for a big sister.<br />
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Cash Alley, age 10. Ten! I can't believe it. What happened to my squishy marshmallow baby? He's in there, just a little taller. What can I say about Cash? Here's a Cash story...During the hurricane he stayed with a friend one night. When we went to pick him up, the dad of the family came out and asked if Cash could stay longer, while Cash looked out the front window, watching us and smiling his Cash smile, waiting to see what we would say. That is Cash. Figuring out how to charm people and also figuring out how to get what he wants. He continues to read a ton, lately he's been into Peanuts cartoons. He is taking archery and piano as well. He is very gifted at music, but doesn't like to practice. It's frustrating to me, but I hated piano practice too when I was a kid. Jimmy often urges him to play drums with he and Jackson in the garage. He is very good for a kid who has never had a lesson! Lately he has been getting his school work done quickly so he can go on errands and jobs with Jimmy. That's a win-win for me!<br />
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Here is Penelope, at age 8, with her first yearly photo where she has front teeth since she was three years old! They finally came in this year, and while it was a sad day, she is still our Pip and her teeth haven't changed her personality. She is still full of spunk and life and enthusiasm for anything and everything. She is often seen playing Lego Friends, Minecraft, or watching My Little Pony. She is still in gymnastics, and has moved up quickly. She is taking archery too, and her teacher called her out the first day in front of everyone and told them to watch out for her, that she was a good shot! This week she and Juliet started a cleaning business. The sign reads: "Puliet'sJobCom. Do It With Love. We're in Town! We dust! We srub! We mop! We wipe! We clean!" They are trying to save up for a huge Lego Friends set. Penelope is fun, fun, fun.<br />
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Juliet is five and has started kindergarten. She is super smart and always saying something witty that shows her sense of humor. She came to me this summer, when I challenged her to read on her own during rest time one day, and said, "Mom! I read INSIDE my body!" She meant that she read in her head, without saying the words out loud. This was a great moment for me. Not only is it wonderful when your child can read, it is even more wonderful when you're their teacher and so that means that's one less thing you have to teach them! Juliet is rarely sad or upset, she is often found sleeping late...she stays up later than a five year old probably should, but it's hard to get her to bed ahead of her older sister. Juliet is taking gymnastics too, and enjoys drawing and creating at her kindergarten kid table. We all enjoy her a lot!<br />
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Violet. Violet is 23 months- almost two years old. It has been so hard to say goodbye to pregnancy and baby land. But what a wonderful baby to go out on. Violet brings everyone in the house joy and happiness, just watching her this last year learn how to walk and talk and discover so much has been a ton of fun. Violet loves books, singing, and dancing. She is very opinionated about her clothes, does not like to sit in her high chair, and is my pickiest eater. What kind of child does not like blueberries, strawberries, oranges, peaches, peas...? She absolutely loves bananas though, so she eats at least one a day. Violet is very aware of what's going on in the house, and today she answered me in a complete sentence when I asked her where her bowl of yogurt was. "Jovie ate it." This was because I allowed her to eat at the coffee table since she does not like the high chair. She does get away with a lot, but that's her lot. She is the baby. Our baby. And we all love her so much.<br />
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Thank you to our loving God for another happy healthy year! Much love from the J Train!!Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-59677900734591727522016-09-21T21:35:00.001-04:002016-09-22T08:30:01.116-04:00Summer 2016!Well, today is the first day of fall, so I wanted to wrap up our summer season of 2016 with what we have been up to. There is a lot to mention!<br />
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Here is Violet in her "Owl Stay Up Late" pajamas. The was the first time she wore them and they have been a staple all summer- her getting better at saying "owl stay up late" as each week goes by.<br />
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Then we celebrated Libby's 12th birthday with a big party. Libby wanted to invite lots of families to celebrate this year, and we made a "redneck water park" in the back yard and then headed next door to our beloved neighbors to swim.<br />
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Libby made flip flops to give to everyone as party favors (Nutter Butters with frosting) and Aunt Susan, Uncle Willie, Adam, Lincoln, Nana and Pop-Pop were in town to help! <br />
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Please Aunt Susan come visit all the time! The girls and Jovie love you!!<br />
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Of course we participated in Flip Flop Day at Tropical Smoothie and all got a free smoothie! This is Violet's "brain freeze" face. Also a star this summer, Violet's tu-tu, which she regularly requested as part of her wardrobe.<br />
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We went back in the studio a few times, recording some new material and refining some old. Michael has his space and studio up and running and it is nothing short of awesome.<br />
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Of course swimming was a regular event with all kinds of friends and fun!<br />
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We headed to my parent's house in Waldo for Fourth of July weekend- a summer must. My sisters and their families were there, as every year, and it was full of fun and good food.<br />
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This is Violet napping in my mom's crib. So tiring having a ton of fun in the lake!<br />
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Here are Jimmy and I and Violet, setting off in the kayak to get a photo of everyone jumping off the dock. We rowed out and I hollered at everyone to jump!<br />
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And here they all are! I love my family! (I already blogged about this, I realize. I'm not totally losing my mind.) <br />
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Had Dad teach me how to drive the boat, only as you can see I've ended up in the passenger seat taking photos instead of actually driving. No one can make those smooth curves like Slim.<br />
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The kids had fun catching small fish and putting them in a tank on the side of the dock.</div>
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This happens so frequently I was happy to get a photo of it. Riding in the boat is fun and all, but can get boring!<br />
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And here are all my lovelies. I agreed to buy them Old Navy shirts if they promised me a photo. Yay!</div>
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This is summer!<br />
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We celebrated Sam's 4th birthday. Sam is a Harlacher, our friends who moved just three doors down last fall. It has been amazing and a forever change to our kids childhood and our life in general to have friends who are neighbors. We love it!<br />
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Libby took this precious photo of Violet while giving her a bath one night.<br />
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And then there was cow day! Jimmy took the kids to breakfast while I was working on our bookshelf project (see previous post) and Violet had a major meltdown when she saw the cow costume. So when we went back for dinner we made sure she had no run-ins with the cow and all was well.</div>
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My friend Darcy and her girls stayed with us for two days and the kids had tons of fun. Here are some of the girls playing "Just Dance."<br />
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Jackson got serious about baking bread. He is still at it, and this mom is NOT complaining!!<br />
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Violet has always LOVED bananas, but she discovered that banana and peanut butter is the best. I took this photo of her at breakfast one day because she has started requesting that she sit like a big girl at the table and <i>not</i> in her high chair, and because she was saying "banana and peetah buttah" and it was SO cute.<br />
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Here is my living room after moving all the books to the entry way and painting and rearranging the room. Though I was nervous as it was going on, I love the color!<br />
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This is what my house looked like most of the summer. A revolving door of friends.<br />
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This summer Libby and Cash started to refer to themselves as "Clash." And they call each other that. It's pretty great. They're pretty great!</div>
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On August 4th we took off to Ohio, to stay in Uncle Chad's epic house and attend a family reunion on the Alley side of the family. Gary and Sharon and boys came from Israel which was of course a major excitement!<br />
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THE house.</div>
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Pip and Sa'ar were two cousins in a pod.</div>
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It was the first time we met Tsemah.<br />
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Gary worked on a family tree during the reunion. Yes, my kids great-great grandmother's name was Sallie Alley. The kids love that.<br />
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The Jerusalem Alley's and the Tallahassee Alley's.<br />
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Hanging out in cousin Chad's driveway.<br />
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After Ohio Gary and Sharon and family and Granny and Grandad came to Tallahassee!<br />
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Cousins!</div>
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I helped my best good friend Carey celebrate her 40th birthday! It was a great evening.<br />
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Violet learned how to make different faces. Happy, surprised, angry, sad. Here is her pouty lip sad face. I love how she is smiling through it.<br />
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And this was taken the night before we started school. A last hurrah at the Hay's pool with our neighborhood buddies. And all of a sudden, summer was past! It was a good one!</div>
Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-37063785942737732612016-07-18T23:35:00.001-04:002016-07-18T23:59:54.116-04:00I Know How She Does It<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One week ago today I woke up and decided to try and solve a problem of mine. Books. More specifically, the abundance of books. We have a lot of them. When we moved into this house I decided to name my front room "the library" and put all my books in one room. They were regulated to 5 different bookshelves, none of which matched. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After 5 years in this house, we've added a family member and more interests of budding readers. And we home school. In short, we've outgrown our bookshelves. Unable to bring myself to buy an additional shelf and bring the number of mismatched shelves to a total of six, I began to think. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The solution I came up with? Get rid of the bookshelves and build a wall of shelves in my entryway to house ALL of the books. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After discussing options and budget with Jimmy we came up with a plan. (Although I had to spend all of the first day painting the entry since it had never been done since we moved in. Painting. It's never done. Onward.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After a fresh coat of paint we headed out to buy the supplies. Our van has carried many, many things. Though we always seem to be able to close the back door somehow, we found the limit- seven 12 foot by 10 inch pieces of pine. So this time I had to climb in the back, tie it closed, and then enjoy the ride home. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We spread out the planks and I invited the kids to distress the wood, since that seems to be all the rage, and also because making something messy on purpose seems to be the order of the day at this stage in my life. We used hammers, nails, chain, and other various tools. Someone asked what we were doing and someone else answered, "we're stressing the wood out." Then, "<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Mom, why do we have to stress the wood out?" What do you say to this? "Because it's cool!" ?? I think in reality I didn't answer because I was too busy hitting the wood with my huge chain. Eventually I told them it's "distressing" the wood, but don't worry kids. If anyone can stress wood out, it's you guys. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">I got zero photos of the stressing out of the wood because it was just a little chaotic. That night after bedtime I poured a little coffee (on the wood, come on, I don't drink coffee) and began to sand and stain the wood. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">And here is where the real work begins. In mind and body. When you do meanial, repetitive work with your hands, there is something that happens. You begin to access a part of your brain that may otherwise lie dormant. You begin to be consumed with </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">what you're doing while ignoring it at the exact same time. After doing a little research on making new wood look old, I did it my way. And guess what? I skipped a few of the recommended steps. Because if there is anything you learn how to do when you're living with six kids and a dog, it's leave out stuff. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">So of course, the sanding, cleaning, staining, and waxing of this wood became a metaphor for my daily life. It's full of scratches, dents, and holes, but it's beautiful. And the very action of the work I did was a picture of how I always function. Isn't there even a movie titled, "I Don't Know How She Does It?" And believe me I get asked that. And you know what? I know how she does it. At least I know how I do it. I skip stuff. Yes, I probably could have sanded it better. It probably could have used another coat of stain. But this is how we do it. We get the whole lot of us involved, we batter and bruise the situation, but it all comes out beautiful somehow in </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">the end. (And we do it in two days because we can't stand the chaos. And we had company coming!)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">After all was said and done and we got the shelves hung, it was time to fill them up! Libby was suuuper excited to help and kept asking when it would be time. But in the end the whole family got involved (we missed Cash, he was at a sleepover) and we got those mismatched bookshelves emptied and new shelves filled up in just a few hours. The kids really took ownership of it. Who doesn't like to see your kids excited about books?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Here are girls late at night as we were in progress. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">There were some books that are tied to our curriculum that I had the kids place tiny colored dots on the bottom of the spine.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">And then, later, this scary book zombie came out! Ah!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">I don't have great photos, I'm not quite done yet...but we are all enjoying our shelves and even though I enjoyed the work, my arm is enjoying the rest!</span></span></span></div>
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Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-15636061069899243522016-07-10T23:10:00.001-04:002016-07-10T23:10:36.678-04:00My Family is NOT a Reality Show<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We spent last weekend at my parent's house to celebrate 4th of July. My sisters and I and our families try to all be there at the same time this one weekend of the summer.<br />
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And guess what? Nothing exciting happened. There were no fights, no drama, no hurt feelings, and no stress. It was awesome.<br />
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It just occurred to me, afterward, that we live in a world that presents all of the above as a good thing. That if your family has drama and dysfunction, you're normal. Everyone deals with it.<br />
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Let me tell you, not everyone does. We love being together and we have an ease with each other that is a gift. I pray that Jimmy and I can also raise a loving family as free from issues as possible. By God's grace.<br />
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Happy Birthday America! Though you're not exactly free from drama and dysfunction, we still love and celebrate you!</div>
<br />Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-44609130336812061492016-07-10T22:45:00.001-04:002016-07-10T22:45:18.833-04:00On Avacados and Growing OlderLately the Jim Gaffigan bit about "Sometimes I just throw out my avacados at the grocery store..." has been running through my head. It's funny of course because there is such a small window for avacados to be ripe enough but not too ripe and before you know it, they're yucky. Even though this has never happened to me--they are too expensive and I love guacamole too much to let them pass me by-- I still find it funny. It's funny also, of course, because it's delivered by Jim Gaffigan and he certainly can't find it in himself to pay attention to the ripeness of avacados. Not while he's busy taking naps and eating donuts.<br />
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We can all relate to life moving so fast that before we know it, things are over ripe. We're too busy to babysit avacados. Jim's point is, "Why even buy them? I'm just going to throw them out in a few days." You stare at them and you think, "How did this happen?? How are they already gross?"<br />
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This is how I feel about getting older. All of a sudden, though I was just at perfect ripeness not so long ago, I'm now quickly approaching middle age and the downhill to, well, death. It's hard not to feel like I'm the avacado you squeeze in the grocery store and then put back to look for a bit more firm, less bruised one.<br />
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I have tennis elbow. But let's be clear, it's certainly not because I exercise. I'm pretty sure it's more like photographer's elbow.<br />
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I have a child who will start driving in a few months. If this doesn't signify that I'm no longer young and hip, I don't know what does.<br />
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Pregnancy is a part of my past. Enough said.<br />
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I'm starting to feel the need for reading glasses. At least to wear while I try to pluck out my gray hair.<br />
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Those are just some of my realities. But I don't want to come across as negative. I'm not sour or bitter about getting older. It's just that there is definitely a coming to grips with it going on in my mind.<br />
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I plan to decide some things. I decide first and most importantly to have a heavenly perspective. I know that though outwardly I'm wasting away, inwardly I'm being renewed day by day. I'm getting younger, really. And though I might be halfway to death, I'm not actually going to DIE. I will live forever with Jesus. So, there's that.<br />
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Because my human faith in the above can waver, I try to bolster it by deciding some things. I want to be resolved. I will decide to be excited about all that is to come in my life here on earth. I will decide to not look so far ahead, and not to look too far behind. To focus on today. To rejoice and be glad in it.<br />
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And I decide, if I do look back, not to long for those younger days, but to find joy in them. I have gained wisdom and experience that allows me to speak into the lives of others who are younger.<br />
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Sometimes I use soft avacados with bruises. And you know what? They still make a mean guacamole. A few bruises never hurt anyone. I'm certainly not going to throw myself out at the grocery store. Even though I spend enough time there, trying to keep these kids fed!Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-41272926531119378462016-06-20T23:33:00.001-04:002016-06-20T23:33:18.616-04:0010 Years and Counting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In just a few short weeks it will be 10 years since I started this blog. (This is Cash when I started!) I swore to myself I would never blog about the process of blogging, that I would never waste anyone's time with why I don't have time to blog or do some sort of personal initiative that I share with readers about how I'm going to blog a certain amount and then fail to meet my self imposed goal. But I'm sort of doing it. A little.</div>
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This milestone of 10 years has made me think a lot about this thing with which we exist called the "internet". Sometimes I don't know what to do with it, honestly. I spend much of my time avoiding it, calling upon it as little as possible, mostly for recipes, Bible verses, and encyclopedic home school questions. Every website I visit has annoying ads that make it nearly impossible to find anything out without unintentionally clicking on something that I don't want or need.<br />
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It being an election year hasn't helped either. The internet has become a breeding ground for manipulation and mud slinging. The recent tragedy in Orlando was quickly turned into an opportunity for everyone and their granny to offer opinions about the situation. And social media just makes me want to scream. It has changed so much of the way we relate to others and it's sad.<br />
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So I have been avoiding the blog. I just don't want to be a cog in the machine. I don't feel like the internet is worthy of my time, even in this form. I tolerate it, not sure how I can be in it but not of it. I fall into the lie the internet sells- that we really just all exist to market ourselves and show how amazing we are at every turn. Throw in a selfie or two just to make sure we don't loose our focus- that we should be as self centered and self promoting as possible.<br />
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Not to mention that nothing is written that's more than a couple paragraphs, and most writings are much less. I like to weave a story, and my dear old blog is feeling squashed by captions and low character count quips that have reduced everyone's attention span to half a second. On a soap box much Julie? Whatever, I'm going to speak my piece* and move on.<br />
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Since I've gone this far...I also hate that no one seems to care about grammar, spelling, or punctuation anymore. And I also hate that I sounded like an old fart just now. But I don't care. Which makes me even older and even fartier. Again, whatever.<br />
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I will conclude. I have some folks who read my blog who love it. They read old posts and look at photos and laugh and remember and enjoy every single part. And those folks are my own kids. While I have considered hanging it up at this 10 year mark, printing out the entire blog into a book, put it on the shelf, and making it part of my past, I have decided not to. I have decided to continue to write for my children. And not to apologize for long boring posts. Not to worry about whether people will care about what I'm saying or not. Not worry about anything, really. Just do it for my kids. <br />
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In 30 or 40 years when my kids read these posts I'm pretty sure they won't turn to me and say, "Geez, Mom, I sure wish you would have reduced this cute story about me swallowing glue to 140 characters or less..." I think they are going to enjoy every word.<br />
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So kids, this blog is for you. It's not to promote our family, it's not to make money, it's not to allow me to stroke my own ego. It's stories for you, about you, written by a mom who loves you more than anything else.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*I did use the dear old internet to get this saying correct. (I had written "say" not "speak".) I fully support the use of the interwebs to get yours grammar good and all.</span>Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-62314134074666613722016-05-09T21:36:00.001-04:002016-05-09T21:36:09.609-04:00DC trip- Mount Vernon!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-l5SPrJcBK0I/VzE7CHUuWaI/AAAAAAAAY-M/Z9NEf75oGZs/s640/blogger-image--806652605.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-l5SPrJcBK0I/VzE7CHUuWaI/AAAAAAAAY-M/Z9NEf75oGZs/s640/blogger-image--806652605.jpg"></a></div>When we left DC we drove to Mount Vernon, the home of none other than George Washington. <div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iALjUnBrXy8/VzE63t6iPwI/AAAAAAAAY9w/0wzkDVxSPYk/s640/blogger-image-95378711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iALjUnBrXy8/VzE63t6iPwI/AAAAAAAAY9w/0wzkDVxSPYk/s640/blogger-image-95378711.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><div>We decided to go without the stroller, which was a good move. Violet was super excited about the map. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mwstcGD6tRk/VzE61BxeFII/AAAAAAAAY9o/jleAAXOK4aY/s640/blogger-image-738932111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mwstcGD6tRk/VzE61BxeFII/AAAAAAAAY9o/jleAAXOK4aY/s640/blogger-image-738932111.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>While the family waited in line for our turn to go inside, I let Violet walk around a bit. She decided to use this moment to be her first time to stand and pose for the camera while saying "Cheese!" I took about 3,000 photos. </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GnLbd6uY_WE/VzE62dUuZeI/AAAAAAAAY9s/IW9wKk0uDb0/s640/blogger-image-1720714202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GnLbd6uY_WE/VzE62dUuZeI/AAAAAAAAY9s/IW9wKk0uDb0/s640/blogger-image-1720714202.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>There were no photos allowed inside the actual house, but I snuck a selfie of the family in the mirror. Check out that paint color!</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eoU3VuZleRo/VzE65JqAD6I/AAAAAAAAY90/2xmlBsmqEi4/s640/blogger-image-2075450331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eoU3VuZleRo/VzE65JqAD6I/AAAAAAAAY90/2xmlBsmqEi4/s640/blogger-image-2075450331.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5t57IpbKBR4/VzE7ATcdcxI/AAAAAAAAY-I/GCPlBX8GPqE/s640/blogger-image-228166021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5t57IpbKBR4/VzE7ATcdcxI/AAAAAAAAY-I/GCPlBX8GPqE/s640/blogger-image-228166021.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PcT7G24uj-I/VzE66gHXAeI/AAAAAAAAY94/iC51RJOi7B0/s640/blogger-image-415318900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PcT7G24uj-I/VzE66gHXAeI/AAAAAAAAY94/iC51RJOi7B0/s640/blogger-image-415318900.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">One of my favorite parts were these tiles in the bathroom. I mean, printmaking on tiles? Awesome! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YMDJ2y6gy5E/VzE68OKdfzI/AAAAAAAAY98/KC2hNj0LOwM/s640/blogger-image-970768431.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YMDJ2y6gy5E/VzE68OKdfzI/AAAAAAAAY98/KC2hNj0LOwM/s640/blogger-image-970768431.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>There were a bunch of different ones!</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZoRGJ3HJJ38/VzE69YekwoI/AAAAAAAAY-A/jtg0jRSkU60/s640/blogger-image-1050535229.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZoRGJ3HJJ38/VzE69YekwoI/AAAAAAAAY-A/jtg0jRSkU60/s640/blogger-image-1050535229.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>It really is amazing to think that this man's body rests here. The scripture on the wall of his tomb is John 11:25-26: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1KdviytNbrk/VzE6-6l2vLI/AAAAAAAAY-E/_IitpwomQeg/s640/blogger-image-1046475058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1KdviytNbrk/VzE6-6l2vLI/AAAAAAAAY-E/_IitpwomQeg/s640/blogger-image-1046475058.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>Thanks for letting us stop by, George!</div><div><br></div>Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-92138085241369915732016-05-08T21:12:00.001-04:002016-05-08T23:27:42.180-04:00Washington DC! Days 2 and 3Our first morning in DC we got up and packed lunches and headed for the subway again, to ride out to the National Zoo. Even though I had checked and double checked my pockets, somehow I only had 2 of 7 subway cards with me. Frustrating as it was, we had to buy more. And because of the extra ride to seek out lost Jackson, our cards didn't have even amounts on them anymore. The whole subway experience overall was complicated and exhausting. But it did save us some miles on our feet, so there it is.<br />
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The pandas were out! One of them at least. It really was pretty amazing to see in real life what you've only ever seen in pictures. They are quiet and hungry. </div>
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Love these kiddos.<br />
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Hello Bei Bei. Now goodnight. </div>
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After the Zoo we headed to the White House Visitors Center which was really very cool and for some reason I took no photos. Then we walked the few blocks to see the house itself. </div>
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You can see it, but from far away. And there were a lot of people gathered around. It's amazing to think about the decisions that have been made here over the course of history. </div>
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After the White House we headed to the National Archives. This, sadly, was a bit disappointing. It was amazing to see the documents, (no photos allowed) but there were throngs of people and a little baby and tired kids don't really care as much as you'd like them to. When large groups of high school groups are pushing on you as you try to keep track of all your kids, it's hard to exactly feel one with Thomas Jefferson, ya know?</div>
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After that we walked through the sculpture garden and then headed toward the National Museum of American History. On the way, Violet fell and sliced her forehead open. Good times. Probably could have used a stitch, but there was no way I was doing that. It stopped bleeding (after getting all over her jacket) and we went forward. </div>
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I had prepared the kids for Julia Child's kitchen by reading a short bio of her and showing them a video of her making an omelet. It was cool!</div>
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So we headed back to our subway stop and ate at District Taco. </div>
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It hit the spot and did not disappoint!!</div>
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That night the girls went to bed with their pandas! Thanks for the spending money Nana and Pop Pop!!</div>
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The next morning we drove in (genius, Christopher!) and hit the museum again and REALLY enjoyed it. </div>
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Everyone enjoyed the Thomas Edison/light/electricity exhibit. I enjoyed drawings, photos, and etchings like this one. Even though we didn't make it to an art museum, there was a lot of cool art!</div>
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Violet and Juliet enjoyed playing in a room just for little ones and it was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip, just watching them enjoy a place like that when they had been in an environment for adults most of the time. </div>
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I mean, come on! Love this girl. </div>
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After eating a packed lunch in the cafeteria we had to say farewell to Christopher and Ranen. It was such a pleasure to have them join us!!! </div>
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We had tickets at Fords Theater so we started walking. </div>
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Violet fell asleep on the way. She was so good considering she was pretty sleep deprived over all. </div>
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We walked through a museum that was a timeline of Lincoln's assassination and full of artifacts and documents and such that explained what led up to that day. </div>
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The Gun. </div>
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After walking through the museum we sat in the theater and listened to a park ranger (it's part of the National Park Service) give a play by play of how it went down. </div>
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Then we went across the street to the house where he died. </div>
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It was very interesting and much like I remembered it from when I was a kid. </div>
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At the very end of the Peterson House they had this really cool tower of books that were not really books, they were made out of metal. They were all books written about Abraham Lincoln. It is said that there have been more than 15,000 books written about him. Amazing! The placard next to the books had this quote from Honest Abe himself:<br />
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What an interesting man he was.</div>
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Next we headed back to our van and apartment, took an hour to regroup and headed out to Burke, Virginia to visit some old friends of Jimmy's that he has known for over 25 years. They were gracious and kind and fed our brood yummy dinner and we had a great night visiting and catching up with them and their three boys.</div>
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We got home late that night ready to check out the next day!</div>
Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-64404346014140181782016-05-07T22:05:00.001-04:002016-05-08T23:21:42.039-04:00Washington DC Trip! Day OneOh, where to begin? Maybe with this, our selfie as we headed out- we had finally made it. DC bound!<br />
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We stayed in Wilson, NC the first night. Got up that morning and rocked the free breakfast like only a family of 8 can, and we were on our way. Violet fell asleep almost immediately, and so begins the life of a toddler on the road. Translation: she was tired. But she did great and really rolled with the schedule pretty amazingly.<br />
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I took a lot of photos of her sleeping. It was too cute.<br />
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Here she is while Jackson and Libby pass the time while playing cats <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">cradle. </span></div>
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We made it t<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">o our apartment in DC after getting groceries and then ate a quick dinner, loaded up and walked to the subway, ready to meet up with Christopher and Ranen Bennage, who were waiting at the Smithsonian stop on the National Mall. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Excited to be on the subway! Getting a family of 8 paid for and legit was no easy task. This photo was our very first ride...shortly after we got off at our stop...all but Jackson that is. He didn't make it before the doors closed. They don't keep the doors open long enough for an 8 person family pushing a stroller!! But at least it was the 14 year old. He kept his cool and Ranen is actually the one who found him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">All our people accounted for, we headed to the Washington Monument. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">We were all pretty excited to see it! And it's impressive even close up!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">After that we walked to the World War 2 Memorial. Which is beautiful. It began at this point, though, hard to really experience it with the many tourists and the task of making sure we didn't lose anyone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Now we headed to the Lincoln Memorial. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">We got a view of the Washington Monument from the other side. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">I told Juliet what to do with her hands and then just took one single photo. She had no idea. I love her. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">We made it up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It was full of people and school groups but I managed to gaze up at him and tried to take a moment to appreciate his service to our country. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">And then, we took a selfie. Managed to get everyone in. Good times. I'd like to think Lincoln would love it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">After this we headed toward the Vietnam Memorial. This one is hard for little kids. I walked the youngest through quickly. You want to be quiet. It's overwhelming when you understand it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">We headed home after this, but had to stop by the Washington Monument once more because now it was dusk and it looked beautiful with the flags blowing and the lights. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">What a terrible photo, but hopefully it will help us remember how cool it looked. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We were all tired of walking already but we made it home and geared up for another day!</span></div>
Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-41742610831050448322016-04-19T23:06:00.002-04:002016-04-19T23:06:33.665-04:00Art and Out for a Walk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, I have finally come up for air after my final two Art Class Fridays and our Art Show. I've now turned my focus to house rental and our trip to DC! We have decided to take the J Train to our Nation's Capital at the end of this month. We are all excited. We have been out walking a bit to get the kids in practice.<br />
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The art show was a success and I was very proud of all my students, especially the ones who belong to me. Penelope wore blue lens-less glasses and her MLP hat which I thought was very artistic of her, to go to her art show dressed like an artist. Meaning, strange.<br />
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We made bleached t-shirts this year with my "make art" slogan. They came out great and most everyone wore them to the show.<br />
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One of my favorite projects this year was our "texture monsters."<br />
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Cash was more interested in eating a chicken leg than posing next to his artwork. <br />
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On our walk last night I finally, though she had been 18 months for 18 days already, took Violet's 18 month photo. I have a photo of each kid at 18 months on the wall in our living room, so the kids have been talking about it ever since I told them I was pregnant with Violet. Oh my goodness. I just thought about how many times I said 18. And I thought I should also put a photo on the wall when they are 18 years. How extremely depressing, the thought of them being 18. But at the same time how wonderful. If they all make it to 18! Eighteen eighteen eighteen! Ah!<br />
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On tonight's walk I captured Violet's pink crocs, which she has worn constantly since she could walk. She has nearly grown out of them and I need to retire them so maybe now that they are on the blog I will have the heart to do it.<br />
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Here is Jackson looking at some of her photos with Violet.<br />
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I love our family and I love going for walks with them. These last two photos- photo cred goes to Jackson. Thanks Jackson!Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-58506902357537482882016-03-24T10:32:00.002-04:002016-03-24T10:32:55.813-04:00The in-betweens of a Home SchoolThis week we have launched back into home school, having just 10 weeks left until SUMMER! We will be planning out how many lessons of this and that we have to get done each week to be finished with all our studies so that we can rest. But though we have opened the floodgates back into academics, I've been thinking about the real home school. The every day happenings around here that really make up the Alley home school. The in-betweens that are just as enriching and every bit a part of why I home school- so we can learn to love and love to learn together.<br />
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There's this: the toddler antics. Violet does stuff like this while we are reading or studying together. No toddler's life would be complete without using a marker to write on furniture.<br />
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There's this scene- my oldest and my youngest, who love each other very much, holding each other and their favorite things. A blanket and an electric guitar.<br />
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Here's another thing the toddler does while I'm teaching something to someone.<br />
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Here is what people do when I let them play in the morning and delay school to have a few minutes of peace. Pretend with Barbies!<br />
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This is the kind of thing I find lying on my kitchen island. It's a home school class- paper plate art.<br />
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Jimmy texts me this photo- Cash gets to take a break from school at home to get schooled at the dentist.<br />
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This is going on next to me while I'm cooking dinner- the 8 year old stands on the counter to put the dishes away. But you know what? She put everything away. Didn't leave anything out for me to deal with.<br />
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And outside! We have been outside as much as possible, enjoying the wonderful weather that Spring has brought. <br />
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Home school is not perfect. It doesn't have everything to offer. We can't give the same things as a traditional school. But we certainly do like it. I am very grateful for healthy, happy, children who love each other and discover together.<br />
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(To be fair and keep it real: I yelled a lot on Monday, our first day back into the swing of things. It's hard to step away from all the in between and add the "work." But we make it through somehow.)<br />
<br />Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-44382924531404801262016-02-26T11:07:00.001-05:002016-02-26T19:30:16.498-05:00The Wedding Planner"The F.O.B. Is M.I.A."<br><div><br></div><div>It's funny what you remember from movies. I often think about the opening scene from T<u>he Wedding Planner</u>, when we watch Jennifer Lopez run a wedding like a boss and then go home to her apartment. This is the part that runs through my mind. How she comes in to her beautifully designed apartment, hangs her keys up, puts away her things, fixes herself some dinner and a glass of wine, and sits down in front of the tv to watch <u>Antiques Roadshow</u> while she eats. <div><br></div><div>Then, after dinner, she spends her evening deep cleaning her living room and folding her shirts with one of those plastic shirt forms they only use at The Gap. It's off to bed then, with her hair in a perfect ponytail and soft puffy blankets tucking her in perfectly. </div><div><br></div><div>Now, all this was to show, of course, at the beginning of the movie, how controlled her life was and also how alone she was. After this point her life is turned upside down by Mathew McConaughey. Alright, alright, alright. </div><div><br></div><div>The reason I think that this scene goes through my mind so often is that it is absolutely, in every possible way, totally and completely opposite of my life. And I have to admit, while I love my life, my husband, my kids, everything about my chaos, I am drooling a little on the inside whenever I picture this scene. A scene where you eat what you want when you want and you're not interrupted. A reality where you have enough time to dust your living room. A life that involves folding your clothes on a plastic shirt form, organized closets, and perfectly made beds. </div><div><br></div><div>Because there is none of that in my life. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. My reality is disorganized closets, clean laundry that sits in baskets for days (let's be honest, sometimes weeks), dust EVERYWHERE, and meals prepared on a stove that should be scrubbed with food that came from a refrigerator that should be scrubbed. </div><div><br></div><div>But guess what I have in my home that the wedding planner didn't? People. A family. And families make a mess. But let's be c<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">lear. It's a good mess. A chaos forged in love and mistakes. This building of a family is exactly what it should be, exactly what a person needs in order to learn about love, grace, and forgiveness. No shirt folding forms necessary. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">So while I do usually long for solitude at least once a day, if I really did have it, I know I'd be hoping that it was temporary- that it was only the opening scene in a movie eventually to be filled with the bedlam that is marriage and babies. I'm so glad to be in the middle of the plot line. I'm surprised every day by the twists and turns that make up the arc of our story. I'm aboard the J train and I'm not getting off. Not quite a wedding planner, but planning everything that happens after the wedding. I think I need to add super glue to my shopping list...</font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><br></div></div>Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-9746937396201314032016-02-06T22:54:00.002-05:002016-02-06T22:54:56.260-05:00Just a SaturdayI had semi-big plans to get some home renovation (painting) and laundry done this weekend. My plans did not happen. But I am glad I just let today happen.<br />
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Earlier this week Jimmy was offered two tickets to see "2 Cellos" at Ruby Diamond Auditorium on campus at FSU. Since I play the cello, he was smart enough to accept them. (After our friend Spencer texted him and said, "you should take Julie, since she plays the cello." Ha!) <br />
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So in anticipation of us needing to leave the kids with Jackson for the evening, I offered Jackson a chance to have some friends over so he could do something fun today. After a lazy morning of TV, <br />
making pancakes for breakfast, cleaning up, and getting everyone dressed for the day we went and picked up two of his friends.<br />
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By the time I got back it was nearly lunch so I made a bunch of quesadillas, did take a moment to throw in some laundry, held Violet most of the time while working on all of this with the other arm (she's been really clingy lately) and then took the boys to Circle K because that's where all the middle school boys go to waste time, and I bought my other kids Icees because I owed them one from an earlier promise. Then I quickly ate some lunch myself.<br />
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After that Jimmy came in and he tagged out and I left to photograph a property in Midtown, and experienced just a little bit of house envy because I really liked the smart layout of the great room. Sometimes I feel like a kid playing with a dollhouse when I photograph a property. It's like I'm six years old and I'm dreaming of what my house might look like one day. And then I wake up and realize that I will never have a house like that because it either doesn't have enough bedrooms for an 8 person family or it's way too much money, or it has no yard for kids, etc. To be clear, I came home and walked down the hall and thought, "we have a great house." And we do. It's a fixer upper waiting on the next fix. But patience is a virtue, house. It will come.<br />
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I came home to see Juliet curled up in a ball on the couch with her fuzzy blanket and a blue mouth. Since I was not at home to regulate the Icee consumption, I'm pretty sure she drank the whole thing, giving her self a whole body freeze, not just a brain freeze. I coaxed her off the couch by convincing her to make cookies with me. So me and the girls made peanut butter cookies while Violet was napping and the boys were making paper airplanes. Jimmy tagged in again and left to write an offer at the office. <br />
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Then I took about a 30 minute "nap" while listening to the sounds of the kids playing, Jimmy coming home, and eventually Violet babbling. I got dressed for the concert, put on some make up, and opened the door to get Violet up from nap to the smell of a dirty diaper. Yay! Took care of that, played ponies with Juliet, put some chicken nuggets in the oven and got out some oranges, the boys got picked up, and we were off to our concert.<br />
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After running two real estate errands (always!) we went to get a burger (a nice one--not fast food) and headed to the concert. I hadn't been in the auditorium since it has been renovated which has been a while ago. It was cool to think that almost exactly 20 years ago I played cello on stage there in the USO. And now I'm here like an old person. Definitely different than when I was there then, and also I had memories of taking freshman Biology in that huge auditorium with 1,000 other freshman. Crazy.<br />
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The concert was really fun and cool (sorry for the lame adjectives) and I wished Cash could have seen the drummer. Jimmy enjoyed it too, and cracked me up at the end when he said, "I feel so old. I'm here with all these old people who are singing AC/DC lyrics to 2 Cellos. It almost makes me want to throw up." I just started laughing out loud. Because I know Jimmy, and I totally get it. He would much rather be at a bar in college town watching a punk band playing original songs. And there <i>were</i> a lot of gray hairs at this concert. But oh, wait...Jimmy and I have gray hair, so... You see? It's hard to realize you're on this train and that your next stop is the A.A.R.P.<br />
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So that was our Saturday. No painting projects got done but it turned out to be an enjoyable day with the kids and it was nice to do something different tonight. Sometimes you are given a gift. The gift of perspective. The ability to every once in a while be able to hover over your life and see it with different eyes. And today I saw my life from afar somehow. I saw my house, in progress. I saw my family, in progress. And I saw myself, in progress. And I liked what I saw. Instead of feeling bogged down by the weight of that day-in and day-out method of progress, I felt happy that a large majority of my progress is full of pleasant and happy moments and days like today. Just a Saturday.Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-87381785000306069022016-01-31T22:23:00.001-05:002016-01-31T22:26:07.465-05:00WordsThe night I got to hang out with Jimmy for the first time we talked until 3 am. The night couldn't last long enough. There was so much to be said. I think we both sensed we had a lifetime of words for each other. That we would never tire of talking to each other. <div><br></div><div>When we were newly married and away from each other all day we would talk on the phone if at all possible. He on the phone in his classroom, me either at home or in the office at the BCM on campus at FSU- no cell phones for us then. </div><div><br></div><div>When Jackson was born I had someone to talk to all day and I did, and being the type of person he is, he loved it. Jackson and I have been talking every day for over 14 years. </div><div><br></div><div>But now, in 2016, I find myself on this particular night all out of words to speak. Sometimes you just use them all up. And for me, this seems to happen more and more often the more kids I have and the bigger those kids get. I'm reading everything from WW2 history to Dr. Suess, I'm trying to communicate with a babbling toddler, I'm answering math questions, I'm explaining how someone becomes president, I'm diffusing the latest "he said, she said" in the sibling world. I'm not going to lie, it's exhausting. And sometimes I'm just plain out of words. </div><div><br></div><div>(And now I am dealing with the irony of the fact that I just wrote a couple hundred words about the fact that I don't have any words left. It is maybe a way to cope.)</div><div><br></div><div>Yet His mercies are new every morning and somehow I wake up with a new bank full of words and I am happy to greet my children with a Good Morning! and Did you sleep well? By God's grace. And I am so greatful. </div><div><br></div><div>Kids, I'm sorry when I run out of words. But there are a lot of you and only one of me and I pray for God's strength and patience and as you know, a mother can communicate quite a bit without saying a word. So, there's that.</div><div><br></div><div>I love my kids. They're worth the word depletion, no doubt. <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And hugging. Hugging doesn't need words. I'm going to try more of that. Less words. More hugging. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And now I'm really out of wor</span></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-86583766047257285372016-01-20T23:35:00.000-05:002016-01-20T23:35:10.862-05:00Juliet!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My sweet Juliet turned FIVE about three weeks ago and in the bustle of the new year I neglected to post about her wonderfulness even though I intended to. And even though it has passed, I'd like to honor Juliet with a blog just for her. Because she's super.<br />
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Juliet is a quiet human, and when she is loud, it is 95% of the time a wonderful happy talking or laughing about something. Juliet is soft spoken, so it's been a little bit hard to adjust to that...having to lean over and ask someone around here to repeat themselves. Because everyone else is pretty high volume. She is incredibly perceptive, and interprets the world around her in a very unique and original way.<br />
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Juliet always wants to be the one to pray at dinner, and always thanks God for all our blessings and often goes on a little longer than we want. I heard her say under her breath quite a few times this past holiday season, "All I want for Christmas is a happy family." (Usually said when siblings were arguing or getting in trouble!) Not too long ago she wanted to listen to an audio book reader she got for Christmas but Penelope (her best friend and roommate) said that the noise would bother her. I told Penelope she could put up with it for a few minutes and told Juliet to go ahead. Juliet quietly remarked, "I don't want to upset my sister." She is so sweet.<br />
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Earlier this week Juliet told me that Barbie is the richest person on TV. After I asked why, she said it is because she has a car, an RV, a dream house, AND a boyfriend. I couldn't really argue with her logic. <br />
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She also told me a few days ago that she had a hole in her heart. When I asked why she said it was because she couldn't find her tiny stuffed animal, Silky, the gray elephant. So of course today when she found him, she held him behind her back, came to me and said, "I don't have a hole in my heart anymore!" and revealed Silky to me with a big smile.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tJYxHAP9fhU/VqBdW6Y9B-I/AAAAAAAAEdk/oc7_bTVeWx4/s1600/FullSizeRender%252815%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="454" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tJYxHAP9fhU/VqBdW6Y9B-I/AAAAAAAAEdk/oc7_bTVeWx4/s640/FullSizeRender%252815%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a>Monday I played ponies with her on the coffee table and discovered, as we were playing, that a large majority of playing is setting up everything for playing. This makes me so happy, because I love to sort and set up figures, what I have trouble with is the pretending and the voices and the imagination part. Sorting them according to colors or type, or episodes, as Juliet was doing, makes sense to me. She was so proud and happy with her pony groups, I had to take her photo. <br />
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Then I let her take some photos herself. Not bad!!!<br />
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When she ran into our kitchen island this week and hit her eye on the corner she came to me crying. Through her tears: "I gotta stop getting these owies! I gotta get taller!" That is so Juliet. Putting it together immediately that if she were taller, she wouldn't have been able to injure herself in that way.<br />
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And tonight, while she helped me give Violet a bath, something happened (I missed it) and she turned to me and said, "Are you thinkin' what I'm thinkin' sistah?" And I just laughed, and never even figured out what she was thinking or what I was supposed to be thinking. I just love this kid.<br />
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Juliet is brave, independent, and smart. She is the fifth of six children. She is the baby sister, but a big sister all at the same time. She has never seemed jealous or impatient of Violet. She understands dirty diapers and nap times and "I have to help your brothers and sisters with school" on a level way older than her years. I am so happy to be her mom and see who and what she becomes. I know it will be wonderful.<br />
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Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-90554716819926534622016-01-05T21:53:00.001-05:002016-01-05T21:53:32.830-05:00Hiding in the Dryer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This past weekend, beginning when we got home from winter vacation on New Year's Eve, we enjoyed hanging out with our friends the Bennages who were visiting from out of town, along with all their entourage. Meaning, a fun reunion of all our friends from college whom we see, but not very often all in one room, unless an occasion like this occurs.<br />
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They even got to be here for the birth of a baby- our friends the Stricklands had their baby while they were here. Sandra even had to step in and cut the cord for dad Michael, as he was out of town!<br />
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Sunday was their last day here. (They had moved over to our house to give the Stricklands some room with their new baby!) We had a bunch of folks over and people brought their own food and ate lunch after church. We lit a fire in the backyard, let kids play, mommies talked, the men played games, folks got sticky roasting marshmallows, and we just generally enjoyed each other. The afternoon went on, and no one left. We all got hungry again and some of us moms went to the store and got more food, and we continued to hang out and just be there together.<br />
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As I was thinking about how cool it was that we got to host an 8 hour play date with some of our best friends, I remembered my friend Eric from kindergarten. I used to stay at his house after school for a couple hours. I'd go home with him when us kindergarteners got out at 1:00 and my mom would come get me after she finished her full school day at 3:30.<br />
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When it was time for my mom to come, when we heard her knock on the door, we would always try to find someplace to hide so that I could stay a little bit longer. Once Eric shut me in the dryer. They'd never find me there! I could stay all night! (Five year old logic not understanding the flaws here on many levels.) Of course when I was found, there was a scolding of how dangerous it can be to be shut up in a dryer. And I had to go home. All good things must come to an end.<br />
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Our day long play date with multiple families was wrapped in just a little bit of five year old logic. Let's all just hide in the dryer, so we can keep this fun alive as long as possible. I'm sure everyone had stuff they were going to try and get done that day- chores, errands, etc. But you know what? Letting ourselves hide in the dryer for an afternoon was really a very, very, good idea. Having a group of people that love you and your kids, no matter how crazy or quirky you might be-- that's how I want to do life.<br />
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<br />Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484013.post-8944215366335195532015-12-05T23:01:00.000-05:002015-12-05T23:35:03.614-05:00Cellul-eye-tis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2ZUeFdg3Hm0/VmJYoD9_wnI/AAAAAAAAEac/2nct00SwN9A/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a>The short version: I had cellulitis in the tissue around my eye and it landed me in the hospital for three nights. I got better. See the long version and more photos below. <br />
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I’m typing with my eyes closed. My right eye is very tired. It’s been working overtime. I’m trying to give it a break. Let me back up.<br />
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Thursday night (Thanksgiving night) Jimmy and I left the kids with my parents and decided to go to some Black Friday sales. As we were checking out of the last store, I started to feel shaky. That night I laid on the couch under a blanket, cold and achy. Friday was more of the same, not feeling great but finally starting to show a specific symptom, the bridge of my nose was sore, I decided I must have a sinus infection. I don’t really get them often, so I’m not real familiar. I had two photo shoots on Saturday and five mini sessions Sunday, so I tried to rest a lot and wondered if I would have to cancel.<br />
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I felt a little better Saturday. We drove back from my parents. I had to leave for my first photos shoot at 2:00. I laid down at a little after one, setting my alarm for 1:45. When I woke up, I tapped my left eyebrow as I put on my glasses. It was very tender and hurt. I thought that was weird, but it was kind of how my other sinus areas had felt, so, whatever. I got my stuff together. I did my two shoots, and got home a little after five. Jimmy and I decided to run to Publix with Violet and pick up some supplies for church and get groceries for the family. In the car I asked him to look above my eye and tell me if he could see any redness or anything at all. He said no. It had still been bothering me. We got home, fed the kids, I gave Violet a bath and put her to bed and I went to the mirror and compared my eyes. The left one was noticeably redder and bigger just below the eyebrow. I went to my room and got out my computer to begin editing photos and looked up stuff about sinuses to see if there were sinuses above your eye. There are, sorta, they’re behind your eye I think, anyway, I called my sister who said she’d had many sinus infections in the past and asked her if she thought it could be related to my sinuses. She wasn’t sure, but told me I probably needed to see a doctor and get some antibiotics. I figured I would Monday. <br />
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I spent a few minutes editing photos, but my eyelid began to get so big and heavy that it was hard to keep it open so I just closed that eye and kept editing. Then, when I opened it, I could see in my vision my own eye lid. The Florida/Florida State game was going on. I looked at the score. Would Jimmy possibly be willing to take me to urgent care?<br />
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This seemed like something that needed drugs. I didn’t want to wait twelve more hours. I wanted the drugs in my system, I had five families counting on me the next day. FSU had a decent lead. Jimmy agreed to take me, though not super happy about it. I don’t blame him, who wants to go there?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the ER Saturday night. Waiting for prescription.</td></tr>
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By the time I saw a doctor at about eleven pm I could only open my eye a slit. I was starting to be very confused. What happened? He ordered a strep test and urine test and I tested positive for strep. He prescribed me oral antibiotics, Augmentin, to kick it in the rear. I had cellulitis on my eye. Said I should feel better in twelve to twenty four hours. We got the drugs from Walgreens and I took them along with some ibuprofen for the pain, and went to bed. I spent a good part of the night awake and nauseous from the medicine. Yuck. The next morning I got up and went to the bathroom after trying to nurse the baby, poor thing, I didn’t have much, and went back to bed. I didn’t set even a toe on the floor again until nearly four p.m. I had to cancel my photo shoots. I just laid there all day fighting the infection.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunday morning.</td></tr>
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To make a rather already long story maybe a tiny bit shorter, I continued to get worse and swell more. I knew that when I awoke Monday I would be at about the thirty hour mark. Since he told me twelve to twenty four, I knew I would need to make a decision. I let Mom know the night before that I may need her. They came when I awoke the next morning to be just as swollen, now down into my jaw. Monday at one pm Jimmy and I were back in the urgent care. I did not see a doc until three third or four. I wasn’t looking good. I was in pain. I could pry my eye open if I used both hands. The doc ordered an MRI of my head and blood cultures, some other blood work. <br />
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He said I have cellulitis, I was annoyed that I had to explain my entire backstory to him…don’t they have records? Are they just too lazy to look them up? Wouldn’t they want to read the doctor’s notes? (Maybe they have, maybe they act like they don’t know so they can hear your version.) Anyway, he said I might need IV antiboitics, but he’d wait for the MRI and blood work. I’m like, great, hook me, up, drain it in here, and I can go home and go to sleep. What? I have to be admitted to the hospital? For this?? Okay, well, we can drive over there. (We were in the ER facility close to our house, not connected to the hospital.) Oh, no, you have to go in an ambulance. And it will be for one or two DAYS. Not hours, DAYS. What?! I have a baby I need to nurse before bed in a few hours. The whole thing was annoying me like crazy. And making me feel really weird. Why? Why is my face becoming a scary mask that no one wants to buy that you find in a discount bin the week after Halloween? I was trying to be a good patient though. I got one round of antibiotics there before going to the hospital.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Possibly at my worst. Learning I'm not going home.</td></tr>
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And really, I feel more sad in this moment about this nursing thing than I have ever in this whole process. I think my body was so focused on trying to kill whatever was blowing up my face that I had zero emotional energy to be sad about being forced to wean. Because I knew if I skipped even two nursings that we’d be done. My supply was already so low from being sick. My sweet Violet. But I was no good to her with a Quasimodo face. So let’s get this done.<br />
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The MRI shoed no abscess. This is good. Blood work showed super high c reactive protein levels which meant I had a crazy amount of swelling happening. NO DUH.<br />
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I start to be acclimated to hospital time. “I’ll be right back” means
twenty minutes minimum. “You should be ready to go soon” means an hour
and a half. “You’re next in line” means forty five plus minutes. “The
doctor is picking up charts” means, well nothing. It may just mean that
he’s picking up charts and playing Jenga with them or something. <br />
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I ride in the ambulance. Which is really hard to to enjoy or even pay attention to you when you’re super sick and can only see out of one eye. But I try to remember it so I can tell the kids.<br />
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I make it to my room. And it’s official. I’ve been hospitalized. I’ve never been in the hospital except for six glorious times to have my babies. Even when I broke my arm as a kid I didn’t spend the night. It was weird and awful but I wanted to be better. I wasn’t feeling so bad that I couldn’t make a Jim Gaffigan joke when the nurse asked me if I wanted a hospital gown. “Why would I want a gown that someone could have died in yesterday?”<br />
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I had a visit from my friend, boss, and pastor Josh and our friends Keith and Carey. All of us and Jimmy had a good talk, Josh prayed for me and by 10:00 I went to sleep. What followed was a night of people waking me up to treat me and me trying to be coherent and hope they weren't just injecting poison into my veins, because they certainly could have put Sunny Delight up in there and I probably wouldn’t have noticed.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Recovering...excited that I can open my eye a little!</td></tr>
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It’s Tuesday now. I am hopeful I will get to go home today. That maybe I need one more drip and I can go home and sleep in a real bed. But I wasn’t improving. Yet. They said I probably need at least three, maybe four rounds before they will be sure it’s working. Well, they can only give me the IV dose every 12 hours. So, do the math, that puts me here another night for sure. I am devastated. But the next day for sure. I want to get out of here, I want my children to have a mother again. A mother without a scary halloween mask. But we already covered that.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I Facetime with Violet. I only show her half my face.</td></tr>
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I do a lot of thinking about how hard it is to get well in a hospital. You have a very uncomfortable bed. You can’t get any fresh air. You can’t sleep when you want, you have people bothering you all the time, you become very, almost too, sedentary. When someone has a cold you don’t say, “Hey, why don’t you make a hard bed on the floor and then have someone come wake you up for no good reason every few hours? That will probably help you get better faster!”<br />
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Tuesday night I had a weak moment and I looked up some stuff on the internet about cellulitis. So of course I called Jimmy worried that I was going to die. Although I had improved in my face, though very slowly, the redness and tenderness was moving down into my neck. They had told me it was gravity but hadn’t indicated it would continue to move even after the medicine seemed to be working. I was worried. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going down my neck</td></tr>
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I asked for a doc to come look at me, no one had seen it since that morning, and I got the same doctor who saw me in the middle of the night when I had first got there and looked pretty much at the worst. She said I looked much better. That when she had first seen me she thought we might be looking at surgery, so she was very pleased. I was almost convinced, but really I think my main concern was not that I wasn’t getting better, it was what it would mean if I really wasn’t. First, more time in prison. I mean the hospital. Second, it meant I couldn’t go home. And I need to be at home. <br />
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So all night I built my case in my mind. I wanted to get these drugs as long as they wanted to give them to me, but I wanted to go home in between. I can just come here every twelve hours. Because in between I’m just sitting here twiddling my thumbs. I’m trying to use the time away form the kids to rest, but it’s hard when you’re afraid you might die of flesh eating bacteria . Which I wasn’t of course, but I used to watch ER. I was like the person who comes in with a weird red mark and they draw a line around it with a sharpie, and it just keeps getting bigger. And then, they die. And a doctor learns something about himself. Like every ER episode. I love ER. In the 90’s. Awesome.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carey and I making a Quasimodo pose</td></tr>
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Now it’s Wednesday morning. I plead my case and lay my worries before two docs. There are Kleenex involved. The resident says she will see what she can do and take my pleas to the infectious disease doc, who holds my fate. Can I please get out of here?<br />
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The answer? Yes, if you must. But I think it would be better if you stayed one more day. But I already wrote you prescriptions for your oral antibiotics at home. But I think it would be better if you stay. No emotion, no trying to convince me to stay, just the facts. I knew it would be better to be on the IV antibiotics a little longer, I wasn’t fighting that, I just wanted to do it as an outpatient. But that wasn’t the option given. I would have to decide to go ahead and move to oral. Which I knew weren’t as effective. And I have had a pink blob growing down my face for four days. So even though I want out of prison, I decide to stay. But now there is a light at the end of the tunnel so I can handle it. That night, I get a visit from the kiddos. I hold Violet, who had just taken her first steps that day, and I missed it. She tries to pull at my shirt. It is hard. She also tried to poke my fat eyelid. Babies. <br />
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And now I am typing this. Although I will not go home until tomorrow afternoon, and my journey certainly isn’t over, I am still having to take it easy as far as movement with my head, and I can still only open my eye a little bit without help form my fingers. I have been thinking about what I learned form this. I know there is a take away. There always is. God uses these trials in our lives for many, many reasons. To bring Glory to Himself as the over arching theme, to make us like Jesus of course, but is there something specific for me?<br />
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And part of it may be this: In those few moments last night when I broke down and read statistics that scared me about infections and complications, etc. and I entertained the possibility of leaving here in a body bag, I was seriously sad. Heart broken. I wanted to write my kids letters, because I certainly couldn’t make them a video message, looking like Sloth from Goonies. But something happened. I realized that I would go to heaven. And I knew how great that would be. And I was excited about going there. And even though I knew that would leave my kids without a mother, I knew that if that’s what God had for them, that He would use it to make them into the people they were supposed to be and he would use it to bring glory to himself. And that even though it would be really sad, they would be okay. Because even though I am their mother and I am the glue around our house, I am not God. He is the one holding everything together. And in any moment, at any time, anybody could get an eye infection that ends badly. So I want to make sure I’m doing every day the stuff that Ive missed doing these last three days. <br />
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I’ve been working alot, it’s our busy season with house rentals and photo shoots, so I want to make sure that that stuff doesn’t stress me out or get me so busy that I don't have time to push my baby in her swing. Do puzzles with my preschooler, read books to everyone who will listen, take bike rides, have conversations with my older kids…I want to make sure I’m doing that stuff every day. Because I love work. Work is good for many reasons. But if it pushes out those day to day meaningful moments (even if you spend half the time frustrated with the bike rider or yelling at the kid stealing the puzzle pieces) then that’s not good.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jimmy makes a meme while we're waiting in the ER</td></tr>
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I want to wrap all this up with a nice bow and poignant moral, little joke and quirky saying. But my eyes are closed and I’m tired. Just know that if you get cellulitis, you might end up writing a super long essay about the meaning of life with your eyes closed.<br />
<br />
…TWO DAYS LATER…<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waking up Friday Morning</td></tr>
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It’s Friday evening now. I got to come home yesterday and have had absolutely wonderful sleep in my own bed. Sleep in your own bed is double cure. Since I got up from my nap this afternoon I have been looking out of both eyes, without straining muscles to do so. I am still tired and healing and now adjusting my stomach to two antibiotics running through my gut. But I am so grateful. <br />
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I don’t know really why this happened to me, but I was going like crazy and this has made absolutely everything come to a screeching halt. To get cellulitis where I did is a very common case among children. I am so very grateful it did not happen to one of my children. We couldn’t have them with scary Halloween mask/Quasimodo/Sloth face. <br />
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After not having the use of one eye for five full days, I can tell you I “see” differently. I am so grateful for sight. <br />
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“I lift up my eyes to the hills.<br />
From where does my help come?<br />
My help comes from the Lord,<br />
who made heaven and earth.”<br />
Psalm 121:1-2<br />
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And one more thing: I find it pretty hilarious the number of selfies I have taken in the last week. I never take selfies. Obviously I only endorse selfies for medical purposes. Selfies that are extremely unflattering and ugly make you exempt from any possible accusation of vanity, I think.Julie Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198327779702168881noreply@blogger.com1