A week in pictures.

 Daddy and Zanna having a snuggle.

 At 4 months, Zanna LOVES the "wheel of neglect" (a.k.a. Exersaucer) in the spring sunshine!

 Our dearest friends, Paso and Laurenn traveled from afar to visit with their two precious ones, Amelia and Zeke....let's just say the noise level was louder than usual as the excitement grew!

 On Saturday, Tim and I took Toby, Zanna and Promise to Mill Lake....it was the most beautiful day we'd had in months!

 One of Promise's favorite things to do is have a snuggle with Zanna while playing some "educational" game on Daddy's iPad. Zanna is always happy to oblige.

 It's hard to keep Toby off of Zanna when she is in the Jolly Jumper, but he is great at watering his growing "Zanna flower" with Promise's bumblebee watering can! He was also cooking in Promise's kitchen....Zanna stew....we'll have to watch this multi-tasker!

 Yes, we WILL HAVE TO WATCH THIS MULTI-TASKER!....Above is Toby's contribution to my having to houseclean....this was in response to Promise saying "NO!" to him. Sigh.

Then, I was having a really rough day and needed a walk...so I walked a short brisk walk and came home to find that God had answered my prayers with a DOUBLE RAINBOW!!! He told me that He was giving me a DOUBLE portion of His grace....and He did. Beautiful!

 Yes, Toby is my HAM!

And Promise is my princess.

After a heavy storm in life, there has been a bit of sunshine....Zanna is still coughing and mucousy, but she is WAY happier and such a sweet girl. I JUST LOVE LOVE HER! Promise's challenges seem to be on a slight hiatus....only a few minor meltdowns per day...she is actually having one right now because I am preoccupied doing something other than serving her. Sigh. BUT she is so creative and fun when she wants to be.
Toby is getting tubes in his ears next Thursday so we are hoping that he will be able to walk straight without falling all the time and will be able to hear better. :) Poor kid....his ears are so owie!

That's the scoop this week.
Be blessed.

Tonsilitis, tubes and RSV....without the P.

Greetings. Life takes some pretty crazy bends, doesn't it?

Last week, I took Toby and Promise for a routine check at their ear, nose and throat doctor to check on their tubes because Toby was getting ear infections again and- BEHOLD!- Promise has tonsilitis and Toby's tubes have fallen out requiring him to have to go in for surgery to get another set....this time it'll be bigger ones.

That was Tuesday.

Tuesday night, Promise and Zanna began coughing....a lot. Phlegm was the topic of the night and by Wednesday morning, it was clear that Promise and Zanna were NOT well. Figuring the antibiotics Promise was on would knock out the cough, too, I wasn't concerned. But Zanna was in pretty rough shape.

By Friday morning, Zanna was having such a hard time breathing, she couldn't nurse well, and then about every cough led to a vomit of the last feed. Her fever was steady and she looked very very sad....and she was very very fussy.

My general practitioner was gone, so I quickly called my nurse-practitioner friend, Heidi and had her listen to Zanna's cough....she thought it might be Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
and recommended I take her to the ER. I called our babysitter, Teagan, and she was available to come right away. :)

The nurse in the paediatric ER was our dear friend, Danielle (MAJOR BONUS!) and she reassured me that Zanna would be fine, but she just needed some help breathing. The Doc in the ER admitted her....it was RSV....with nebulizer and steroids, they got her coughing up lots of phlegm the first day. She looked so sad. They said we'd probably be able to go home the next day provided her fever didn't spike and her lungs cleared. They didn't.

So they said she'd have to stay another day....but Tim had to work, so we called 3 dear friends to babysit. From 6:30 am to 9:30 am, Nancy came, then from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, Auntie Holly came and then from 12:30 pm to 4:30pm, Aunt Anita came until Tim arrived home. What a GONG show, but with their help, Toby and Promise did great and a dear friend's mommy, Barb, went to my house, picked up a whole bunch of clothes and supplies and met me in the hospital! We were taken care of.

Hosanna had a few hours of good sleep on Saturday, which gave me some peace.....

 Then her lungs became more wheezy and crackly as the evening came....so they made us stay another night....

 But by Sunday afternoon, Zanna was getting some color back and even began to smile.

Tim managed to hold down the fort on Sunday and armed with a nebulizer and meds, we've been treating Zanna from home....and now Toby and I have RSV. Sigh.

Poor Toby...his ears are hurting and now his phlegmy cough keeps him gagging most of the day. He's been waking several times a night with fever. However, the hospital told me that this year has been the worst year yet for RSV and that we were lucky to have only a moderate case of it with Zanna. Some of the babies in the ward were only one month old and were constantly on IV and nebulizer therapy. The little baby we shared a room with was only one month old and so very sick. His mom had been with him in the hospital for over a week and while we were there, they told her he would most likely have to stay another week. We prayed for her.

What a journey this year has been and we've only reached March!
Thankful to Jesus today for keeping Zanna far from death. Her lungs are still pretty crackly, but she is smiling more again and has been 24 hours without a fever. That makes her mommy VERY happy.

Little Miracles....

 Hosanna at 3 months and Promise at 4 1/2....my little miracle girls.....

 And Toby....my 2 1/2 miracle boy...I often gaze at him in wonder....here, he had just taken his medicine for his ear infection....

  Hosanna is now eating her hands and talking almost as much as Promise (though not near as articulate). She is 15 lbs. and just the perfect blend of joy, peace and opinion. :) What a gift.

Promise is quite the artist....she is SO imaginative and creative, I sometimes forget that she is only 4! Her life is filled with stories and dreams that she often asks ME to keep track of them all so she won't forget. Her latest words have been "MOM....You're 'appost' to remember my songs!" ('Appost' is 'supposed to'). She memorized her first entire Scripture verse, Ephesians 4:32 and we're very proud of the progress she is making in caring for her siblings with KINDNESS. Despite our recent discovery of her having Sensory Processing Disorder (look it up on Google), she is learning and growing like a weed. For that, I am grateful.

Tobias is his sister's antagonist...yes, he knows button-pushing better than Bill Gates. He is my monkey-boy who loves to paint (except on paper), loves to bathe in water (except in the bath), loves to play trucks (except when they are rolling on all four wheels), loves to play ball (as long as he can throw it in your face), and wants to be like daddy when he grows up...aka: Be Fireman Sam changing tires...on firetrucks. His ear tubes recently fell out so he just got over a MASSIVE ear infection and pink eye, so he is set to get more tubes later this Spring. Sigh. What a HAM.

The kids are just starting to tolerate small amounts of gluten and wheat, though when we OD, there's BAD constipation, rashes and just ill tempers....dairy is still a no-go, as are all refined sugars. This is probably a good thing....
Each day is a new adventure....today, Toby accidentally tipped over the grocery cart Zanna was in...thankfully Zanna was in the car seat...well, the car seat went flying and rolling away as Toby sat on the ground dumbfounded...let's just say, he learned his lesson and I am still recovering from the rush of Mama Bear Adrenaline. Zanna just looked like a deer in headlights but never cried. Thank you, Jesus!

I love my kids.
I wish I were a better parent. I am sure every parent feels that way.
Thankful to the Lord for them. Crayons, paper, toys, laundry, tissues (Toby likes to call it snow and use it accordingly) all over the floor.....haven't seen a clean bathroom or floor in about two weeks. Sigh.
Be blessed.

A little rant....

 But first, I must show you my gorgeous little Zanna.....almost 3 months old and well over 14 lbs now. I treasure her. :)

 Ok, now I want to rant....Promise, Toby and I were playing "Hi-One" (a game where dolls talk to each other) yesterday and I noticed a pattern with her new toys....you might have read rants about "Barbie" and her body being totally disproportionate...her 'chest' being insanely large in comparison with her teensy waist and massive hips....not to mention her astronomically long legs with the tiniest of dainty lady feet....well, ladies and gentlemen, our toy manufacturers have found another way to trick our kids into seeing the world a little more warped....and I mean SEE....

Case and point...the above picture....WHAT IS WITH THE MASSIVE HEADS AND THE BIGGIE-SIZED EYES on eensy weensy bodies??? Biggest offender? The "Littlest Pet Shop"....they seem to be lacking 'little' in the head department....and they BOBBLE! Probably because their necks can't bear the weight of their heads!

 I don't think we are teaching our children the laws of physics with these toys....it's a wonder they are able to stand on their own...oh, wait...most of them can't!

Take "Strawberry Shortcake" on the far left....we have tried and tried to stand her up, but between her enormous head and wild, never-ending hair, it's just impossible....and why do we consider these poorly clothed, gangly-legged dolls to be enriching our child's imagination? They resemble severely malnourished children...it's not particularly the "healthy" message I want to send my daughter...

I still prefer Fisher Price's "Little People"...in comparison to the above, they are far more proportionate....a little portly, perhaps, but strangely endearing and dressed appropriately....and they play "Hi-One" just as well.

So, that's my rant...Hats off to the "Little People" and just say, "NO!" to the "Littlest Pet Shop". I know, it's silly, but I really do find these toys ridiculous!
Thanks for letting me share....
Be blessed!

The Zanna Joy

 Did you ever hear the story of how Hosanna Joy was named? Well, let me tell you!

About two weeks before I knew I was pregnant with Toby, I had a dream while sleeping in my Filipino bed. While I do not remember what the dream was exactly, I do remember waking to the sound of a voice saying, "Her name is Hosanna Joy" and falling back to sleep.
Not knowing who Hosanna was and hoping we would be able to have another precious baby, I just assumed that Hosanna was coming when I became pregnant with Toby. I was surprised to find out that Hosanna was a TOBY! Grateful for my wonderful boy, I figured the dream was just a fluke and that the named belonged to someone else...perhaps I would meet someone of significance by that name...?

Then, after returning to Canada in 2010, our baby-having years were over. Tim looked into getting the "snip-snip" and we figured that two miracles, given all that we had been through, was plenty. However, deep in my gut, I knew we had one more coming to us...I didn't know when, but there was something incomplete in our family. Two and a half years later, I met Hosanna...not face to face, but rather as little kicks and squirms in my belly. The prophetic name given. I knew it was her the moment the pregnancy test came back positive.

My my my...she's grown so much. Only 10 weeks and already into the 3-month clothes and teething! She coos and sings...smiles for free whenever she sees me....our little reminder of God's faithfulness and redemption is daily a blessing.

 Too big for her little plastic bath tub (Promise's rubbermaid bin)...we had to upgrade to the kitchen sink.

 She even endures the constant nuzzles and knocks from her siblings with a smile.

 And when she eats, she's joined by her 'breastfeeding' brother and sister who conscientiously feed their own....

 And at nap time, she waits patiently for mommy while she reads stories to the others until it's her turn...

 Yes, Zanna brings us a whole lot of joy...

 Except when mommy has to do laundry and she's wanting to be held...so mommy has to transport her up and down the stairs in the basket....but she is not a fan.

But then, just a little cuddle and a bum change and Zanna is back to her content and peaceful self again. Sigh. I love my Zanna.

Though mommy is struggling immensely these days, Zanna continues to remind her that 'salvation comes'.

Christmas-New Year Catch-up!

 Promise and daddy helping me buy a winter coat for my birthday.....

 decorating our Christmas tree that daddy cut down....

 Getting Toby dressed for our day when the snow fell.....

 Toby taking ornaments off the tree with intent to destroy......

 a visit from Great-Grandma Phoebe with all the Stewart side grandkids.....

 Promise enjoying her Christmas spoils....wings and all.....

 Zanna heading for her first bath at Grandma Con and Papa Jim's house in Oregon.....

 Christmas party dress-up....

 Church Christmas program....Promise is just behind speaker.....

 Merry Christmas greetings.......

 Promise's preschool Christmas show...she's fourth one in from right.....

 Toby and mommy enjoying iPhone time.....

Hosanna tries on another embarrassing gift.....

And she is loving her two new friends!

So i type this all as i bounce a two-month old on my leg and attempt to keep her quiet so that the two-year old and four-year old stay in quiet time.....never a dull or quiet moment with three on the go, but God has blessed us and we're thankful for His Provision and Grace! More to come when this mom gets a free-er moment! Be blessed!