I wish I caught this on video...

...so that we could play it back in about 10 years, when she is a teenager.

BETH: Daddy, I can't wait to bring you to "Daddy and Me" day at school. I want to show all my friends how cool and funny you are".

Finally...snow!

In this family, we love winter. I, especially, spend all Summer and Fall eagerly awaiting the return of the cold weather and the blustery snowstorms. So this year, I've been feeling somewhat deprived of the enjoyment that I usually feel during the winter months. There haven't really been any snowstorms, but this morning we awoke to find that two inches of fluffy snow covered the world outside our windows. It was the perfect snowman-making snow, so the girls and I bundled up and ventured outside. I was a bit hesitant about bringing Beth out to play, but decided that the snow was deep enough to cushion a fall, as long as we stayed on the grass.

Erin did not enjoy this adventure one bit. Starting with the bundling-up process, she cried and wailed as I stuffed her into a snowsuit. She frantically tried to rip the boots off her feet, and each time I popped a hat onto her head, she angrily pulled it right back off again. Then when I put her down in the yard, she promptly fell down, rolled onto her back, and became helplessly stuck in that position. This, of course, resulted in even more tears, until finally I resorted to carrying this 22 pound child around the yard.

Beth and Amy had a wonderful time making a snowman. Actually, come to think of it, I made the snowman. They started to roll snowballs for his body, but within seconds they became "too tired", and they whined and begged me to finish the task. It is not easy to roll snowballs with a 22-pound toddler on your hip, but I did manage to make a very lopsided, not-so-round snow creature. Then Beth and Amy tried to put eyes, ears, a carrot nose, some buttons and a corn-cob pipe onto the snowman, but without much success. "Mommy, can you put this one on...please?..." became the rallying cry, and before long I had finished my snowman. The girls proudly posed beside my work of art, attempting to plagiarize it as their own.

As for Erin, her cries soon became to loud to bear, so we ventured back inside to warm up. By noontime the poor snowman had begun melting, much to Beth and Amy's chagrin. But not to worry. It's supposed to snow another 2 inches tonight.

Winter is here at last. Finally.

Update on Beth

Today we traveled back to the hospital to meet with the hematologist. We had a great afternoon, with lots of questions answered. There are still many questions that are not able to be answered at this time, requiring patience from all of us over the next few weeks and months. Since patience is not exactly one of my strong suits, this will be quite a challenge for me, but I'm learning to just take this one day at a time.

The staff at this hospital is just incredible. Everyone that we have come in contact with has been so kind and helpful. There are volunteers everywhere, and some are simply there to play with kids in the waiting rooms while they pass the time! Since we spent over 3 hours there today, it really was so great to have an artist volunteering in the hematology waiting room, helping Beth to paint some watercolor pictures. Not your typical wait-room experience! Last week in the ER, Beth turned to us (AFTER having had an IV inserted!) and said "Boy, I'm having so much fun here!" (She changed that tune after they injected the plasma into her...she got quite ill from that medication).

Her lab draw today showed that the medication worked very well, and her platelets are now back into the normal range. We were all thrilled to hear that. The medication will wear off within the next few days, though, and nobody can predict what will happen then. It's possible that her body may have begun healing itself, and her levels will remain normal. It's also likely, however, that she will drop once again, but hopefully not quite as low. Without a crystal ball, we can do nothing but wait and watch for the bruising and bleeding to return. We'll go back for more blood draws in two weeks. Until then, she can go to school (with some limitations, like no recess), and she can even go back to Irish Step dance classes. Unfortunately she can't do gymnastics for a while. Until they are certain that the levels are stable, she can't do anything that could cause bleeding or head trauma.

And so, we wait. One person described this as the ITP roller coaster. It's a roller coaster that we never wanted to climb aboard, and we certainly never purchased tickets for this ride. But nevertheless, we find ourselves dealing with these highs and lows, and hoping that the ride ends soon, with a healthy little girl climbing off.

Tonight, after her warm bath, Beth got into her cozy, fuzzy pajamas. She curled up next to me and said, "I'm so glad my platelets are normal right now. That means I can jump and spin...for today, anyway".

A five-year-old girl should not have to be worrying about her platelet counts. Jumping and spinning and playing shouldn't have to depend upon the numbers that we receive from the laboratory. But for now, we are just so grateful that she does not have something more serious. We think about the children and parents that have to worry about so much more than platelets. We thank God for all the professionals at the hospital, that are helping us to understand and to deal with all that has happened over the past week. And we pray that Beth will be one of those children that heal quickly, so that this roller coaster ride can soon be finished.

Thanks to all of you for your support and prayers over the past week. We are all feeling so much better after our visit today. We're looking forward to getting things back to "normal" around here!

Beth

I think most of you now know that Beth was diagnosed with a blood clotting disorder called ITP last night. She is doing well right now. The medication that they injected into her last night made her pretty sick, but she feels much better today. She will be taking frequent trips into the city to have follow-up treatments, and we are hoping that the condition will resolve within a few months. Thanks to all of you for your prayers, phone calls, and help. We never would have gotten through our emotionally exhausting day yesterday without all of your help.

I may not get to write much on this blog for a few days, as I need to focus on Beth right now, but I will try to update you on Beth's condition as we get more information. Thanks for your patience, and please keep all of us in your prayers!

Valentine's Day Fun

It may be just a "Hallmark holiday", but here are some things I love about Valentine's Day:

-My three little girls, dressed in adorable pink Valentine's day outfits.

-My five-year-old daughter running out of school carrying her hand-decorated bag, filled with Valentines from friends. It reminds me so much of grade-school Valentine's Day parties...one of the most enjoyable events of the school year.

-Heart-shaped boxes of candy given to me by the girls, who then spend the entire day begging for "just one more piece of Mommy's candy".

-A husband who gets up extra early, and braves the ice storm at 5:30am to bring us Dunkin' Donuts muffins and coffee for a special Valentine's Day treat.

-A refrigerator covered with red and pink hearts glued to lace doilies, decorated with stickers and the words "I love you, Mom".

Prayers

Before we eat dinner each night, we always stop to say Grace together. But tonight, Erin was hysterically screaming because Dan had taken away the fork that she was using to throw spaghetti sauce at the walls. So we said prayers a bit more loudly than usual, trying to hear ourselves over the din Erin was causing.

She was still screeching a minute later when we picked up our forks and started eating. Beth yelled over the noise, "There is NO WAY that God heard that prayer. All he heard was a screaming baby in this house. I don't think that Grace counted, do you?"

I think He heard us, Beth. In fact, I know He did.

Planning Ahead

About a year ago, Beth and Amy chose their future spouses. They simply picked their favorite male playmates, and then began planning the weddings. Here's the conversation I overheard today:

AMY: Doesn't it sometimes make you mad, that Mom and Dad never let us pick out Erin's name?

BETH: Yeah, it really does. I wanted to name her Kate, but they didn't listen to me.

AMY: I know. They think that because they're the grown-ups, they should pick out the names for all of us.

BETH: Well, when I have babies, I'm going to name my first one Kate, and my second one Siobhan.

AMY: What if you have boys?

BETH: Oh, no. I'm only having girls. I don't think Bailey will mind at all. I'll tell him, next time I see him. Are you going to have boy babies or girl babies when you grow up, Amy?

AMY (sounding a bit worried): I don't know. I better ask Seamus about that. Maybe he'll know.

BETH: I don't think he'll care either. He's a lot like Bailey. We'll just tell them that we want all girls.

AMY: Ok. We'll just tell them.

My Dear One

Tonight, Amy had another toddler tantrum. She was sent to her room, where she sobbed and sobbed, until finally I relented and went in talk to her. After a bit, her anger subsided, and we cuddled together in her room. She knew I had been quite angry with her, so she asked me, "Mama, do you love me?"

That happens to be the title of one of her favorite books, by Barbara Joosse. In this story, a small Inuit girl, living in Alaska, asks this same question of her Mama. And, the mother replies, "Yes, I do, Dear One".

So, when I responded in a similar way, Amy smiled. "But Mama", she said slowly, "It's different from that book. That Mama only had one little girl to love, so she was able to love her so very much. She loved her more than the dog loves his tail, and stuff like that. But you have three little girls, so it's not the same. You can only love us each a little bit".

Oh, Amy. How can I possibly reply to that comment? How can I make you understand how much your Daddy and I love each one of you? We love each of you "more than the raven loves his treasure". We love you, Amy, for your little giggles, your constant need for cuddles, and your baby voice. We love you, Beth, for your boundless energy, your love of life, and your talent at story-telling and conversation. And Erin, we love you for your chubby toddler cheeks, your baby-soft hair, your new-word-every-day, and your broken-tooth smile.

So you see, Amy, I do love you all just as much as the Mama in your storybook.

Yes, Amy, I love you. Because you are my "Dear One".

No success

Poor Beth. Those carrots did not work, and she is now among the sick. I still think it was a great idea, although not successful this time around.

Sounds like a good plan to me.

Beth and I have been watching in dismay as, one by one, the family members go down with a stomach virus. This afternoon, while the ill people were sleeping, she came to me with a very solemn voice.

"Mommy, I have a plan for us. Let's not eat any more junk food for a while, and we'll just eat tons and tons of healthy foods. Maybe we can even have carrots for dinner. Then, you and I can be the only ones not to get the spitsies".

Poor Mickey

BETH: Mommy, sometimes I feel so bad for Mickey Mouse. He probably never gets to build a fire in his fireplace down there in hot Florida.

Day Of Beauty

Amy had her first "real" haircut yesterday. At three years old her hair has finally grown long enough to need a trim. Grandma, Beth, Amy and I headed off to a hair salon that most of the little girls in town frequent, with the intent to simply have a quick trim off the ends of Amy's hair, and to give Beth a simple cut as well. But when the hairdresser asked me if I would like her to "style" the hair, with braids and sparkly glitter for only a few extra dollars, I caved. We've never done anything like that before, and it seemed like such a fun "girl" thing to do. Amy was absolutely thrilled. She sat perfectly still for her trim, and then stayed motionless for 20 more minutes, while they pulled and pinched her hair into French braids. I know from experience that it really hurts to have this braiding done, but she never let out a peep. And then, the crowning moment. After spraying Amy's little hairdo with half a bottle of perfume-scented hair spray, she sprinkled sparkly, rainbow colored glitter onto her head. Amy was happier than I've seen her in a long time. Above, you can see the adorable final product.

And then it was Beth's turn. After about 2 minutes of snips at the ends of her hair, she started to squirm. The woman worked as quickly as she could, but Beth's patience was quickly wearing thin. The stylist offered to do two tiny braids on the top of Beth's head, since this would only take a couple of minutes. Beth agreed, and then proceeded to whine throughout the work on the first braid. When the hairdresser completed the braid and started the second one, Beth tried to rip off the cape. "Thanks, but that's it", she said. "I'm all done. That hurt. No more".

The hairdresser tried to convince Beth that her hair looked a bit uneven now, but Beth didn't care one bit. Off she trotted, with a smile as big as Amy's. She felt just as proud of her one, tiny two-minute braid as Amy was with her hairdo. And of course, Beth had rainbow-colored sparkles, too.

It's going to be pretty difficult to return to this place for a simple trim. I'm sure the girls will be expecting this day of beauty each time we head off for a haircut. But I have to admit, they really, really did look adorable.

Yet another "new" song from Amy...

...courtesy of Mary Poppins.

Supercalafragalistic...makes-me-all-ferocious!

(To be sung over and over again until the adults in the home beg for mercy).

Update

Just in case you've been wondering whether today's adventurous attempt to place Erin in the childwatch went any better than it did yesterday...it did not. Nope. It definitely did not.

A surprise gift

This morning, after Beth hung up her coat and backpack on her hook at school, she ran up to her teacher and happily announced, "Ms. Terry, I brought you a surprise!"

She had never mentioned this surprise to me, so I stopped for a brief moment before leaving, to find out what Beth could possibly be planning to give to her teacher. She didn't appear to be holding anything at all.

Beth opened her little fist, and handed a small seashell to her teacher. "I found it! And I brought it for you!"

Her teacher was thrilled with this small remembrance of summer, on such a frigid and gray winter day. She asked Beth where exactly she had found the shell. I'm sure she was assuming that Beth would describe a long, winter's walk on a beach somewhere, but I had a good guess where Beth had discovered this gift.

"I found it in the car!" Beth proudly announced. "It was in the cupholder, mixed in with all the sand. It's been there since last summer. Last summer I found it on the beach when we went to visit Grandma and Pop!"

And now even Beth's teacher knows our secret. The car has apparently not been cleaned since last summer, and everything from fallen leaves to summer seashells have found resting spots within our vehicle. One never knows what treasures may lurk in cupholders or ashtrays, under seats and on the floor.

And now, can you guess what is on my "to-do" list for this weekend?