Luke's glasses

For those of you who haven't seen the pictures yet, Luke got glasses a couple days ago. He's apparently far-sighted, like me (Esther) and Daniel. Also like his uncle Daniel, one eye is worse than the other. The opthalmologist said that the glasses might correct that. In 6 weeks we go back to check. If it's not corrected he'll have to do the patch thing, although they also do a drop instead, just depending on the kid - whichever is easier for the parents to do.

 

He's doing pretty well with them. He doesn't want to wear them all the time, but we're trying to ease him into it. I don't want him to hate them right from the beginning because of us fighting about them. He does say he can see things better. He told me, "Everything is bigger now!" He can see letters that he couldn't see before because they were too small. We bought 2 pairs, but only have one right now because the lady who was fitting them on him broke one of the ear pieces. Hopefully she's really strong rather than the glasses being fragile, right?

Luke gets glasses

Fwd: doctors wisdom

I didn't write this, but I thought it was a good way to look at it.

If only everyone could look at things this way. It might help our society see that we should respect the lives of All our children -- even those we haven't yet met.       NEW TAKE ON CHOICES        A Doctor's Wisdom A worried woman went to her gynecologist and said: Doctor, I have a serious problem and desperately need your help! My baby is not even 1yr. old and I'm pregnant again. I don't want kids so close together. So the doctor said: 'Ok and what do you want me to do?' She said: 'I  want you to end my pregnancy, and I'm counting on your help with  this.' The doctor thought for a little, and after some silence he said to the lady: 'I think I have a better solution for your problem. It's  less dangerous for you too.' She smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request. Then he continued: 'You see, in order for you not to have to take care of 2 babies at the same time, let's kill the one in your arms. This way, you could rest some before the other one is born. If we're going to kill one of them, it doesn't matter which one it is. There would be no risk for your body if you chose the one in your arms. The lady was horrified and said: 'No doctor! How terrible! It's a  crime to kill a child. 'I agree', the doctor replied. 'But you seemed to be ok with it, so I thought maybe that was the best solution.'      "It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."                    -- Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

cute things kids say

I wish I could remember them all, but I can't.

Luke said he is saving his money to ride an airplane to go visit Jude. (his cousin in CO)

Ben asked how giants fit in houses and where they live, then said he would be one when he grows up.

Photos from the weekend

This weekend -- SISTER HERE!

Yay! Lydia's here this weekend and it's supposed to be beautiful weather. I'm so glad she's here, because we haven't seen her for more than a couple hours since her wedding (June). It's SOOOO great to have her here. The kids love it too. We talked yesterday about the fact that she was coming today and one of the boys said, "I like Auntie!" Love it! Too bad Uncle Gabe couldn't come.

Ben says he'll let Lydia cut his hair -- Wow! I hope he really does. He's got that really short hair cut, just a basic buzz, and it suits him. But it's getting long (1 in.) and uneven and he is not ready to be cooperative about having it cut.

Emergency Preparedness Food Analyzer

We had a bunch of flooding last night in our area. Our house is way up on a hill, so we weren't flooded, but a lot of other people around us lost everything. That and Luke talking about fire because he met Smoky the Bear at Home Depot got me thinking a little about how prepared I am for an emergency. I'm NOT!

I just checked out the food analyzer on this website. I'm not really into being prepared for emergencies =), but it's pretty neat because it tells you how long you could live on the non-perishable feed that you have. You can put in how many calories a day that you need for your household, add quantities of items they already have listed, and it will give you a list of the nutritional content of the food you have and how long you could live on it. Kind of handy for planning purposes. I just made a guess of how many items I usually would have in my pantry and it told me I could live for almost 3 days on it. Not too shabby, but no "Katrina" preparedness! This literally took me 3 minutes to do. Just read the instructions -- makes it a lot easier and they're pretty simple. Plus, I got a $10 gift card for looking at it and writing this.

Cleaning

I have been neglecting my house lately, but that last couple days I've made up for some lost ground. I even mopped this morning BEFORE I went to work. Feels good.

Fw: Thank you for entering the Gap Casting Call

Hello, Esther Thank you for entering the Gap Casting Call brought to you by Disney Family.com Congratulations! Your entry has been approved Luke W. Baby Boy ID: 807494499 Chattanooga, TN Fan Favorite Votes: 0 Vote for me so I can be the Fan Favorite View all your entries and exclusive offers > Contest Details The 20 finalists chosen by Gap for this year's Gap Casting Call will be announced December 7, 2009. Make sure you forward this e-mail to your friends and family to have them view Luke W. 's entry. Just ask them to visit www.gap.com/castingcall and enter the Contestant ID.			20% off your entire purchase at Gap, Gap Body, babyGap, GapKids and GapMaternity stores* TO REDEEM IN STORES: Bring this coupon to a Gap store. Coupon must be presented at time of purchase. Cashiers: Use reason code 232. Get 20% off your entire Gap.com purchase of $100 or more** Valid for one-time use only online TO REDEEM ONLINE: enter the code D7LBL9Y79LDY at checkout. Contest Details *Offer valid from 9/22/09 through 10/31/09 at Gap, Gap Body, Gap Kids, Baby Gap, and Gap Maternity stores in the US only. Not valid at Gap Outlet, Gap Factory Store, or gap.com. Offer excludes Gap (PRODUCT) RED™, Junk Food™, Converse®, Robeez®, Medela®, Charm It!®, or babyGap home merchandise (bedding, blankets, strollers, car seats, high chairs, diaper bags, toys, books, nursery décor, dishware, bath accessories, nursing accessories, bibs, and skincare). Discount applies to merchandise only, not to gift cards, packaging or applicable taxes. Coupon is good for one time use only and must be surrendered at time of in-store purchase. No adjustments on previous purchases. Not valid for cash or cash equivalent. Not responsible for lost or stolen coupons. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts. **Offer valid from September 22, 2009 at 12:00 am ET through October 31, 2009 at 11:59 pm ET in the U.S. only (including Puerto Rico) on Gap merchandise purchased online only . Not valid at Gap, GapKids, babyGap and Gap Outlet stores. Not valid on Gap (PRODUCT) RED™, Junk Food™, Converse®, Havaianas®, Robeez®, Medela®, Charm It!®, or babyGap home merchandise (bedding, blankets, strollers, car seats, high chairs, diaper bags, toys, books, nursery décor, dishware, bath accessories, nursing accessories, bibs, and skincare). Discount applies to merchandise only, not value of GiftCards purchased, packaging, applicable taxes, or shipping & handling charges. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts including Gap Inc. employee discount. No adjustments on previous purchases. Not valid for cash or cash equivalent. Offer is non-transferable. To redeem online, enter promotional code at checkout.

Fw: Thank you for entering the Gap Casting Call

Hello, Esther Thank you for entering the Gap Casting Call brought to you by Disney Family.com Congratulations! Your entry has been approved Benjamin W. Baby Boy ID: 707494274 Chattanooga, TN Fan Favorite Votes: 0 Vote for me so I can be the Fan Favorite View all your entries and exclusive offers > Contest Details The 20 finalists chosen by Gap for this year's Gap Casting Call will be announced December 7, 2009. Make sure you forward this e-mail to your friends and family to have them view Benjamin W. 's entry. Just ask them to visit www.gap.com/castingcall and enter the Contestant ID.			20% off your entire purchase at Gap, Gap Body, babyGap, GapKids and GapMaternity stores* TO REDEEM IN STORES: Bring this coupon to a Gap store. Coupon must be presented at time of purchase. Cashiers: Use reason code 232. Get 20% off your entire Gap.com purchase of $100 or more** Valid for one-time use only online TO REDEEM ONLINE: enter the code D7LBL9Y79LDY at checkout. Contest Details *Offer valid from 9/22/09 through 10/31/09 at Gap, Gap Body, Gap Kids, Baby Gap, and Gap Maternity stores in the US only. Not valid at Gap Outlet, Gap Factory Store, or gap.com. Offer excludes Gap (PRODUCT) RED™, Junk Food™, Converse®, Robeez®, Medela®, Charm It!®, or babyGap home merchandise (bedding, blankets, strollers, car seats, high chairs, diaper bags, toys, books, nursery décor, dishware, bath accessories, nursing accessories, bibs, and skincare). Discount applies to merchandise only, not to gift cards, packaging or applicable taxes. Coupon is good for one time use only and must be surrendered at time of in-store purchase. No adjustments on previous purchases. Not valid for cash or cash equivalent. Not responsible for lost or stolen coupons. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts. **Offer valid from September 22, 2009 at 12:00 am ET through October 31, 2009 at 11:59 pm ET in the U.S. only (including Puerto Rico) on Gap merchandise purchased online only . Not valid at Gap, GapKids, babyGap and Gap Outlet stores. Not valid on Gap (PRODUCT) RED™, Junk Food™, Converse®, Havaianas®, Robeez®, Medela®, Charm It!®, or babyGap home merchandise (bedding, blankets, strollers, car seats, high chairs, diaper bags, toys, books, nursery décor, dishware, bath accessories, nursing accessories, bibs, and skincare). Discount applies to merchandise only, not value of GiftCards purchased, packaging, applicable taxes, or shipping & handling charges. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts including Gap Inc. employee discount. No adjustments on previous purchases. Not valid for cash or cash equivalent. Offer is non-transferable. To redeem online, enter promotional code at checkout.

Smatterings

Every day I think, "Oh, I should write about that on my blog!" But I haven't written about anything in a week or so. So, here are some unrelated events.

Luke got Elsi to laugh yesterday, for the first time. Sweet that she laughed for her big brother.

Luke loves being four. He's all the time saying things like, "I can't wear those jammies anymore because they're not four-year-old pajamas."

Ben is doing such a good job with potty-training, to a point. He still hasn't accomplished "pooping in the potty," but he really wants to!

Elsi is sleeping through the night again, until 6 AM! She's not quite as content as she used to be, but I'm not sure if that is a teething thing, or an age thing. I sometimes get the feeling that she is bored, and maybe her brain is moving faster than her body. She's doing a good job sitting up, and rolling to her belly, but can't get to new toys.

Ben's talking is so cute. I love his pronunciations and he's using such grown-up words and phrases.

Say a little prayer

While you're reading this, say a little prayer for Greg and Elsi.
Every day this week she's cried inconsolably for no apparent reason
while I've been at work. Yesterday, Greg was holding her in his easy
chair, rocking and she was fine; he coughed and she lost it, to never
quite recover. He's at his wits' end and could use a little divine
intervention!

While we're on prayer requests . . . pray for Lily, Daniel (my
brother) and Tasha's baby girl. She's been in the NICU for a LONG time
(over 12 weeks, but I'm not sure the exact amount), way past her due
date now, but still not eating well. Pray that she would eat so they
can take her home!

"Real" Food

Elsi had her first "real" food Tuesday night. She's had rice cereal by
itself and with banana, but last night she had part of what we were
eating, but ground-up of course: rice and yellow squash. She made a
lot of funny faces, spit a lot of it out unintentionally, and seemed
to not quite be able to swallow without gagging at times. We'll
probably wait a few weeks before we try it again or else we'll water
down the food more. We're guessing it was a little too thick for her
current swallowing abilities. It was fun to have her at the table
"eating" with us.

This morning, Ben told Greg he wants three sisters.