A new adventure

Big news from the Shear's!

Ben is commissioning into active duty with the Navy next week.  Shortly thereafter, he'll be given his first assignment and we'll be moving to...I have no idea where...somewhere.  And so we'll begin a whole new life.  somewhere.
Details?  Who needs them?
Ben will be a chaplain and we'll most likely be moving in May or June, that's all I really know.
Right now I'm dreaming of somewhere warm and sunny.  Spring fever? YES!

Alison's reaction shocked us the most.  I was nervous that she would be sad, but instead she said, "YEA!"
Yea?  We were confused.
We told her we had no idea where we were moving, but it would be somewhere in the world by the ocean.  I got out her world map and everyday since then she's talked about possible places we could live.  I am so encouraged by her excitement and love for adventure.  Honestly, I think she just thinks we're going on vacation and doesn't understand the permanence of it all, but I'll take what I can get.  Eli still doesn't understand Ben's at chaplain school, so I haven't even pushed the issue with him.

There's so many things I will miss about Virginia, and many things I'm excited for.
First, I'm so excited for Ben, as this step is a huge accomplishment for him and makes all the sacrifices worth it.  I'm excited about the possibilities...perhaps a little color on the walls of our next house and a short drive to the commissary :)

I will greatly miss:
 My sweet friends.
 Seeing friends everywhere, everyday (#1 reason I love a small town).
 My second home, the Y.
 Our little rental house.  the house that was a dream come true and where we brought home both boys.
 Windsor Castle trial, it's always, always been a source of refreshment for my soul.
 Hope.  our church family.  hearing Ben lead worship.
 Hannah Boomer carrying Eli out to the car every Sunday.  Small thing, big to my heart.

I'm still processing our "news" and haven't fully announced it to all my friends.  It feels surreal to me right now and I've been more consumed with Colin's health than thinking about packing boxes.  My goal was to keep things as normal as possible, as long as possible, for the kids.  I'm not sure how I'm doing on that goal...so if you are reading this news and surprised that I didn't tell you myself, that is why.

9 Months

 

This post is hard for me to write and I've been putting it off for days.

We went to the allergist last week to confirm that Colin was allergic to milk and that was causing the blood in his stool.  But the appointment was far from what I expected.  When she weighed Colin we were both immediately concerned. 

He's lost a pound in the last 3 months.

All of his allergy test came back negative and the doctor told me she would speak to the head of her department to put a rush on getting him into a GI specialist in the next 2 weeks.

He had his "regular" 9 month check up this week, but it again was far from regular.  The doctor weighed and measured him twice, not believing the numbers were correct.

 He's also shrunk in length.

He's now smaller than he was at 6 months old.

He's fallen completely off the curve for height and weight.  The words "Failure to Thrive" are now at the top of his chart.  The only thing that is still growing is his little noggin, which is good because it means his brain is still developing.

My praise is that he's ahead of the game developmentally.  He crawls and pulls up all day long.  He feeds himself and says "ma-mum", which completely melts my heart.  He's always happy and content and smiling and babbling, never acting like anything is bothering him.  AND he has 6 teeth!  I'm not sure I've ever met a 9 month old with so many teeth!

So far, all of his blood work has come back normal and we're still waiting for the Celiac test results.  We have a week full of testing in front of us.  Monday he has an upper GI x-ray and has to fast for 6 hours before the appointment.  I'm the most anxious about this appointment and dread trying to console a hungry baby.  Tuesday we see a GI specialist and I have no idea what that day holds.  Wednesday he has a sweat chloride test to test for cystic fibrosis.

Did I mention that Ben is unattainable, in a tent somewhere in the boonies this week?

Not good timing.

All decisions are on this momma.

My heart broke as I posted these pictures.  Not much has changed and he looks pretty much the same as he did at Christmas.  He's still in the same clothes, filling up the same amount of basket.  

So much for a cute picture progression.

I've had so much support and prayers poured over us this week.  But perhaps my greatest encouragement has come from other moms; moms who understand the worry and heartache, who've had that, "Wait.  My perfect baby isn't perfect?" moment and moms who've been through this and now have a big, healthy child.

I've fought anger this week.  Anger that my doctor didn't run these tests 3 months ago and didn't stay on top of his health.  Anger that I spent 3 months avoiding all dairy for no reason.  Anger that my baby is possibly suffering and has been for a long time.  Anger that I don't know what's wrong and I don't know how to fix it.

And I've fought sadness for all those parents out there who truly have sick kids.  I like to pretend it doesn't exist, but this experience has greatly opened my eyes.  How blessed I am.  I don't know what Colin's prognosis will be, but I have hope that it is a simple solution.  Somewhere out there, there is a momma who doesn't have that hope and all I can do is pray hard for her today.

A BFF's birthday

Alison's best friend from school had her 6th birthday party at a dance studio last Saturday.  A local business, Girl This, came in and brought costumes for the girls to dress up in, gave them sparkle tatoos and helped them concoct their own princess lotions.  I'm pretty sure Alison was in heaven.

It was so fun to see her dance around with her friends.  A year ago, she would have been glued to my leg, but now she jumped right in and had the time of her life.

The real ballerina taught the girls a dance to show the moms at the end of the party.  

Coordination and grace are not Alison's strong suit...
just follow the pink headband in the back.

Trip to South Carolina

I loaded the kids up and we headed down to South Carolina to visit Ben for the weekend.

I make it sound so easy, but it was A LOT OF WORK!  Packing for 4 people for a road trip to a destination that doesn't have baby things is far from easy.

But, I have to say that the kids were amazing on the trip down.  Not a single cry or whine or complaint.  The kids were so excited to eat at Burger King (can you tell we never eat out?).  But lesson learned; they really just wanted to wear a crown and run around the play area...I'll save my money next time and pack PB&J's.

 

We made it in 7 hours and got there just in time to enjoy dinner with daddy.

walking into the hotel, happy to be with daddy

Out to lunch, Alison drawing daddy a picture

We played hard on Saturday and the kids crashed early while watching their movie.

 

After church on Sunday we headed back home...which was a whole other ballgame from the drive down.  Colin was just done with the carseat.  Alison was very concerned that her homework wasn't done and Eli was freaking out that it was dark outside and he wasn't in bed.  We made it home, very late at night and jumped right back into life Monday morning.

I was thankful to be home and was more thankful to have some time with Ben.  And while I got to enjoy the comfort of my own bed, Ben was on a ship.   We haven't been able to talk this week, so I can't tell you what he did on that ship, but he sure does look handsome in his uniform, don't you think?

Catching up

The snidbits of what's been going on:

Alison started swim lessons, which she does not like.  She is still afraid of the water and her lack of skills is starting to take a toll.  She's clearly the biggest/oldest kid in her class, but I'm hoping that will motivate her to learn quickly so she can move up.  This past week we ran into her best friend from school after lessons.  They hugged and hugged and hugged...as if they hadn't been together all.day.long.

 

Alison loves helping Colin walk.  He doesn't seem to mind, even when the ride gets a little rocky.

 Eli never has pants on.  Every time he goes to the bathroom, the pants stay on the floor and by the time I get them back on him, he has to go potty again.  Good thing spring is just around the corner.

Colin now has 5 teeth, soon to be 6!

 

And is pulling up on everything.

We played musical pillows, which was fun for all and a good energy release before bedtime...that is until all 3 kiddos collided heads and were all in tears.

We made chocolate/peanut butter ice cream.  Things may be dairy free around here, but chocolate Almond milk is delicious!

We went to the Children's Museum.  Eli was in train heaven!

We made some Easter crafts.

I love how he matched all the colors!

Surprise, surprise, Alison hit a growth spurt and we had to break out the boxes of "bigger" hand-me-downs.  She was happier than on Christmas morning.

Picture day!  I had to document how she looked before the venture to school.

Ben is still at Chaplain school and most nights, Eli will sneak into our bed and fall asleep in daddy's spot.  It's one of my most favorite sights.

We decorated the house for spring.  The kids love to decorate and I thought it would be fun for us to do together.  But a word of advice to any homemaker of young kids; do not make your table centerpiece edible!  I found this cute idea on Pinterest that uses jellybeans in a glass jar, but now all I hear is "Can I have a jellybean?"