Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Once again, the water was magnificent. I loved looking at the water and seeing all the different colors. There were so many shades of blue and green and I really wanted to go snorkeling or diving and really experience it.

Jamaica was very dirty. It was so sad to see all the trash and litter everywhere in what could be, an amazingly beautiful place. I couldn't believe how bad it really was in some places along our drive to the falls. It was sickening and maddening. There is no reason whatsoever for it and I really was quite aggravated. Thankfully, we arrived at the falls before I could get more perturbed. Dunn's River Falls was awesome. It is a 600 ft. waterfall that flows into the ocean. We walked down to the beach where we started our ascent. We had so much fun climbing the falls. We had a really fun guide and we were able to climb the more challenging side of it. The falls were just absolutely gorgeous. The water, the greenery, the vines, the exotic flowers all hanging above and around us while we climbed. They told everyone you had to purchase or rent watershoes to climb. Dell had appropriate shoes but I had flipflops. I decided I could do it barefoot and so I did. They tried to talk me out of it, but I had a feeling it was all just another scam to make more money anyway and it was. The rocks were very smooth and super easy to climb on. The whole experience was great and definately our favorite thing we did on the cruise. I'm so sad though because we had a waterproof camera and took tons of pics, but the cruise ship messed up the film while developing. So sad. I guess that's what we get for being impatient......
After the falls we went to Bamboo Beach Club and yes, I let them talk me into getting braids. They didn't have to do much talking though 'cause I always wanted to get my hair braided. So I did it and now I can check that off my list :) This beach wasn't great like in Grand Cayman and we were a little disappointed. We really couldn't even walk down the beach comfortably. We were told before we left the ship that there would be people asking us to buy drugs(among other things) and sure enough, they were ready and waiting for you if you ever walked away from the "club" and wanted to just walk down the beach. It was really ridiculous.

Here's a pic of the huts we would've had to walk past if we wanted to walk down the beach. There were so many people just waiting for you to walk past the sign onto "their turf." If we could've just walked a ways down past them, it looked like there were pristine, beautiful and vacant beaches down there. But,we decided we'd just not experience the unpopulated beaches of Jamaica and stay in our designated section of beach and lay in the lounger which may have been lame, but safe.

If you venture out on your own in these type places and don't make it back in time, the ship will leave you but if for some reason your on a cruiseship approved excursion, they have to wait. Anyways, we didn't want the hastle of the hagglers. They are very pushy.

So I liked and disliked Jamaica. I liked and appreciated the beautiful places we saw and experienced. But I couldn't help but to be saddened by the sight of so much litter and trash everywhere and the beauty of the place fading away from neglect and waste and that mentality of living being passed on to future generations. It's also so sad to see that the people that live there, either know no other way to live, or they just choose to live like that and if they choose, why do they choose that? Jamaica definately had beautiful places, but there was just so much needless abuse of nature that took away from the experience. I just wonder how many people really notice it. Was I the only person on the bus upset by it? I saw a few parts of a beautiful Jamaica, but I also saw more parts that were repulsive. You definately wouldn't have seen that on the Go Jamaica commercials or the Sandals resort brochure. I guess all I can say is, I definately saw the stain of sin from fallen man on display. The total disregard for creation and its Creator was evident in more places than not....... or maybe it was the area we were in....I don't know. Visiting Jamaica was bittersweet. It was sweet climbing a 600 ft. waterfall overlooking the ocean but it made me bitter when we got to the top and there was trash on the banks of the little river. So sad. So wasteful.....

Grand Cayman

The water was gorgeous in Grand Cayman.... We walked around town for a little while and then took a cab over to 7 mile beach. What's funny is we only paid $16.00 for a ride there and back and the people who booked 7 mile as their "excursion" through the ship paid $34.00 per person. We were happy about our good deal !!!!
The beach wasn't crowded which was a huge plus for us. We were able to really enjoy our time.

The beach and sand were beautiful and the water was warm. Dell even got in and went swimming which is really saying something. I of course swam and swam and floated for a really long time. It was beautiful and I loved every moment of it!

We really didn't do anything. Just layed on the beach and soaked up the sun. We'd read awhile, watch people awhile and then get sleepy and take a nap. I love napping in the sun. There's nothing quite like it. We loved our lazy, peaceful and relaxing day in Grand Cayman and it was definately one of the highlights of our trip.

Key West

So we weren't very thrilled that Key West was one of our stops. We had just gone camping there a couple years ago and didn't find it all that thrilling then. But, we walked around for about 1 1/2- 2 hours ( where we took this silly, typical tourist photo) and then we spent the rest of the day on the boat. It was nice because the majority of the people were out in town and so we just layed around and enjoyed the beautiful day and fresh air. We layed on the deck of the ship most of the cruise. I loved it !!!
Rick's final "business" call of the trip.

Enough with the paparrazi already!!!

Docked in Key West.

Setting Sail

1st picture taken aboard the Carnival Freedom. We didn't know how much fun and relaxation we were in for. I never thought I'd like cruising as much as I did. That was true relaxation.
Our great friends and sailing companions for the week.... Rick and Annette. We really had so much fun with them. One of our favorite pastimes was peoplewatching. We laughed so much!!! We also layed in our lounge chairs a whole bunch as well as eating plenty of frozen yogurt. Good times!!!

So the entire ship had to do a lifeboat drill. We talked and laughed and decided that if our ship were to start to go down, that we were in a great escape location.

Leaving port in Ft. Launderdale.

This is looking back at the port. Off we sailed into the night......

Are You Wearing My Sweaters?

So today, I put my personal preferences aside and let my kids wear my sweaters. I turn around in the kitchen and there they were. Both of my favorite sweaters were on Haley and Jackson. So I asked,"Why are you wearing my sweaters? You guys have a ton of your own clothes." They went on to explain that they were living in the Arctic and needed the sweaters to keep them warm while they hunted for their food. I asked what they were hunting and they said,"Anything. Our children are hungry." (Jordan and Jacob were their children although Jacob was a dog too pulling the "sled.") So I proceeded to give them the go ahead and I laughed and laughed as I listened to their conversations and play. By the way, this was not long after we had watched the Arctic video from the Planet Earth series they got for Christmas. They were inspired!
Sweater #1~ my favorite thrift store find...

Sweater#2~ My favorite Kohl's clearance buy

The masterminds behind the days storyline.

Maybe they could earn us some extra cash in modeling???? LOL....

Their 1st Time Cross Country

It was a beautiful, yet very cold day for their first time on the trails. It was 8 degrees and once again a negative wind chill. We had alot of fun and they did so well. I used to love cross country skiing as a kid and so glad my kids love it too. (they have been 2 more times in the past week.)
They only fell a couple times each and that was at the bottom of a few hills where the trail curved. I was very impressed with how easy it came to them.

We are so blessed to have access to the equipment here at camp. It would be very expensive to outfit a family of 6 with ski's and snowshoes!

The sun was starting to set on our way back to camp and it was beautiful. I love being outside and breathing in clean, crisp air and spending time with my kids, actively enjoying all that God created us to enjoy!

I'm so glad Haley and Jackson convinced me to take them out to ski when I thought I was "too busy." I know how much I enjoy being out on the trails and seeing the joy on their faces when I chose them over monotony was priceless.

Tubing at Ski Hill

So this is what you call the "man run" on the tubing hill... the last run of the day, the shirts come off and down they go! These guys were nuts 'cause this day it was 5 degrees with wind chill of about -20. Crazy loons!!!
Jackson getting ready to head up on the tow line.

Jordy's next....

....and then there's Jacob who just wanted to eat snow. It was yet another, fun day on the hills!

school day snapshots

Haley sitting at her desk. She keeps hers pretty tidy. Jackson on the other hand....well... sometimes it looks like a bomb went off on it.

We have a Canadian,U.S. and world map that cover one wall in our "school room." We use them multiple times per day. My favorite is the nice Canadian map....... because we got it at the dump in Canada!! I love the dump in Pickle Lake. You can get some pretty awesome stuff there....

This is Jackson.... all day.... every day. He's silly, he's funny and I love his personality.

(remind me of that tomorrow when I want him to sit still while we work on multiplication.)

I love this picture....he's thinking so hard and sitting so still! He's so smart too... but when only in his third month of kindergarten, they were trying to tell me he had problems with direction and paying attention. Whatever! He just didn't fit their "normal kid" mold that they wanted him to fit into. So go ahead, check out my"problem student" 2nd grader now.... he's almost finished with 3rd grade math!!! Man... I think I gotta go pinch and kiss those sweet cheeks of his now!!!

Friends a plenty.....

Some of the guys came over the other night to play a game with the kids. This was the longest game of Trouble ever!! It must have lasted at least an hour. They all teamed up with one of the kids. I can't recall who won, but great fun was had....
My kids are very blessed to be continually surrounded by positive role models that really enjoy spending time with them. They love gaming with them and Haley has even learned how to knit from some of the girls. I am so excited about this and can't wait to be taught myself!

Jordan and John were a team and just sent some others back home.... as you can tell, Jordy's pretty happy about it. What a great time they had that night! It was a late one!

Jonathan, who worked here this past summer was up a few days ago and my boys were so happy to see him. They really connected with him this past summer and here, Jordy was welcoming him back with a huge hug. Jonathan wrestled and played with them for awhile. I actually was able to go upstairs and clean the bathroom without Jacob trying to get in on the toilet scrubbing!! It was great and they're so excited cause he'll be back this summer too. That means alot more ultimate frisbee play for Jackson!

Sleepover

We had guests the other night. Grace and Eli spent the night with Haley and Jackson. They played out in the frigid temps and had great fun. From what I've heard, they stayed up until 1:30am. I wouldn't know firsthand..... I was asleep.....
Sharing a later than usual breakfast with friends.

Jacob LOVES the new recipe apparently.

Mmmmmmm...

Egg Free Spiced Pancakes

1 c. unbleached or whole wheat flour
2 tbsp.brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. of pumkin or apple pie spice
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. fat free milk
2 tbsp. canola oil

Mix dry ingredients. In another bowl, combine milk and oil and then stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. Pour desired amount on hot griddle and turn when bubbly.

Enjoy...... these are very yummy pancakes! By the way, this makes a tiny batch . I had to quadruple the recipe to feed my clan.....

I Talked With The Doc

I talked with Jordy's doctor today and I was, yet again, encouraged by all he had to say and the great help he's been already. He is so kind and wants to help Jordy so much.
All of Jordans white and red blood cell counts were perfect as well as 3 very important antibodies...IGG, IGM, and IGA. The IgE is high however. Normal is somewhere around 50 and Jordy's is elevated at 780. This is the protein that causes allergies. His blood test came back with positive reactions for things he's currently eating as well as the severe ones we have known about and that we've avoided for years. With this result, the doctor feels sure we should do a strict illimination diet and then one by one, reintroduce the foods at the clinic to find out which ones he truly is allergic to and at what level he can or cannot tolerate them. We are going to wait until spring as this is going to require a good deal of work and time, and alot of traveling to Milwaukee. The first appt. will probably be in April, just after his 5th birthday.

I am encouraged by the doctors eagerness to help although a little nervous about how hard it's going to be to feed Jordy during those months and that the accurateness of his testing will be determined by our adhering to the diet.

I found this interesting story. Once again, my reminder that we have it easy compared to some people. I couldn't believe some of the huge similarities to the allergies that Jordy and this boy share and how that hospital was able to lower the boys IgE levels. His are now lower than Jordy's. Take a look if you've got time........ Mom, you gotta read this!!!

http://brainerddispatch.com/ystories/122408/new_20081224039.shtml

My Little Allergic Fella

So, on the 12th, I took Jordy to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. It was a long day, but it's always great spending 1/1 time with each of my kids. Even though this one included a trip to the doctor with sticking, and not too fun at all for Jordy, we still enjoyed each other and laughed and shared a day one on one, which is very rare.
We left at 4:50 a.m. and I really thought Jordy would go right back to sleep, but I guess the frigid -10 temperature outside gave him a good wake up! We rode and talked and laughed and ate an apple and orange each. We were talking about the stars and moon and how we would get to see the sun wake up. We kept watching the very bottom of the horizon brighten little by little. After a little span of not hearing Jordy talk,(we were listening to the radio and he was looking out the window) I looked over to tell him to keep a look out for animals in search of their breakfast, and whadda you know... he was fast asleep. A little disappointed that he didn't get to see the sky change before his eyes, and night turn to day, I smiled at his beautiful little face resting in peaceful sleep.(although he looked quite uncomfortable in his car seat with head cocked off to the side.) So oblivious to the beauty of beholding the sun rise.(after all, he is only 4!) But he really did miss out! It was glorious! It was hard to focus on driving because all I really wanted to do was stop and sit on one of those rolling hills and watch it ease its way up into the sky. So many shades of purple and pink, then turning to a blazing red and then so brightly orange it hurt my eyes even with sunglasses! I thoroughly enjoyed the drive down.

We were early to the appointment and even though I parked in the wrong parking deck and we had to walk about 1 mile in the hospitals tunnels, to the clinics, we were early enough for me to swing by the cafe and get another cup of java. We then headed over to the clinics and watched the construction crew as they braved the freezing temp and wind and started another day of building a new wing to children's hospital. Jordan loved it and we were so close he could see the controls in the crane. It was pretty cool and I enjoyed watching them, thinking of how complex and detailed the process was.

We met with the allergist and had a long conversation, talking of Jordy's history and him reviewing his records. I am so encouraged and excited with the attitude of his Dr. Having a doctor say,"This isn't acceptable and we will find a way to help him and make him better and more comfortable. We will." I've never heard that. So I was very encouraged..... until after his initial tests. They don't think he will ever outgrow these allergies to foods.(usually, they outgrow between 3 and 4... Jordy's almost 5) I'll know more after the bloodwork comes back next week, but he's pretty sure he won't from the reaction he still presents with the skin test. He has given us a few things to help with the environmental allergies and they're already helping greatly. I am eager to hear the results and have our phone consult as well. His allergist and dermatologist actually agreed on a few things. Thats not happened before. Anyways, the derm. appt. was next and Jordy was very happy to leave the allergists office after all the poking and prodding and sticking that he had to endure. I always feel so bad for him. So off we went to grab a quick lunch and head over to the next clinic. What a huge amount of information I was given.... alot of which I will think about and research on my own, some helpful and some, well.... weird. So the one thing both Dr's agreed on was that Jordan's missing a molecule in his skin that produces oil and that his immune system is hypersensitive which means he's allergic to his own staph (that everyone has on their body) and because his system is hypersensitive, he frequently gets skin infections on areas of broken skin. It is an ongoing cycle. I asked questions gallore...... Why does he scream when I moisturize his skin and sometimes even just getting washed in the bath? Because he's missing his top layer of skin due to scratching and his skin dying and sluffing off because of the ongoing inflammation that's caused by the staph infections and the lack of protection from his body not producing oil. Why does his skin(especially hands and feet) feel rough, calloused, tough and thick no matter how much they're moisturized? The underlayer of his skin , that is now exposed(it's supposed to be protected by his now missing top layer of skin) is thickening and overcompensating in order to protect his body. Hence the thick skin and the ultra sensivity to lotions and soaps and even foods. He's missing his protective barrier basically. So what can we do? "You're going to think I'm crazy but...." Did I lose her there and or was it in the next 5 seconds when she said....."he needs to have a bleach bath once a week." BLEACH? So he's missing his protective layer of skin and his skin already burns in regular baths and with lotions and you want me to put bleach in his bath???? I wonder if she knew what I was thinking..... well she went on to tell me why....."we need to break this cycle. We need to kill the staph on his body once a week......." I think I tuned out again.....Of course bleach would kill the staph... it's toxic.. it's BLEACH lady!.... it does make sense that it kills the staph. Do I think it will help him? Not sure. Gonna try it? Nope.... probably not. I know its a diluted amout- 1/2 cup to a bath, but its still much stronger than chlorinated pool water and to make things better, after the doc left the room, her nurse said..."Just use 1/4 cup." That's reassuring having the nurse give a different opinion on, what seemed to me, to be a controversial treatment, hence the strong instructions to supervise the bath 100% of the time to insure none is ingested, to rinse him thoroughly with clean water and to moisturize within 3 min. of getting out of the bath.
She did give me good instructions for when to do this or use that on his skin in much better detail than any previous derm. we've had in the past and for that I am thankful. I was ready to leave that appointment however and get the bloodwork overwith so we could head home. It had been a long day for both of us. Jordy, once again, was very brave. They took so.... much blood I couldn't believe it all. I thought I'd have to carry him out but we sat for a minute and he was fine. He was very cooperative which made both the nurse and I very happy.
So we finally left the hospital and headed to get Jordy's treats... a happy meal and a stop at Cabela's...a hunters paradise full of fish aquariums and many, previously alive, stuffed animals. We both had a fun time. Finally in the truck and on the road again, Jordy didn't last long before he was out. So tuckered out. I knew it was going to be a long trip home for me. The weather was terrible with heavy snow and wind that made the roads very hard to drive on and I was already very tired from the trip down and the mental energy it took to absorb all that new info and trying to process it fast enough so I could ask questions. As I white knuckled my way up the highway, I was thinking about the day, all the information we had received, all the things to look into and discuss. After a few minutes of feeling overwhelmed by it all, a feeling of thankfulness washed over me. Thankful that I have really healthy children. Thankful for this little guy asleep beside me that a few years ago even reacted to eating things like chicken, bananas, milk and wheat. Thankful of how much easier his allergies are to manage and thankful that in the scheme of health issues, we have a cake walk. I thought of all the familes we met and saw that day. Seeing so many extremely sick children and their parents at that hospital really humbled me and made me so incredibly grateful. I hurt and felt sick for them and I couldn't stop looking at Jordy play, so healthy and happy. I hugged him so many times, thanking God while I held him and praying for those parents and children in that eye clinic, and the people a few doors down from our room where the little guy was receiving some sort of infusion and was really sick, and the little girl who's dad was carrying her down the hall with what looked to be 10 or more IVs in her little tiny body. I felt so grateful to be there for only allergy testing. Thankful..... so thankful for my childrens' health. I always come away from these appts with a renewed perspective and I know its from seeing all of those hurting families and the harsh reality of issues thay are facing in comparison to ours. It's a reminder to me of how precious our health is and how often I take it for granted, how each day needs to be cherished and how thankful and blessed I am to hold each of my 4, truly healthy children every day.

Winter Wonderland

The waterfront.
This is the kids favorite tree..... just gorgeous.

" I will declare the beauty of the Lord,

Nothing compares to the beauty of the Lord,
Jesus, Your love, it takes my breath away,
and now I'm living every day,
for the beauty of the Lord."
~lyrics from a favorite song~

I love winter and I love winter at HoneyRock. I feel so blessed to live in this community rich with Godly friendships and gloriously rich with the beauty of our Creators creation. I find myself stunned by it and humbled by the complexity of all creation and how small I am in comparison and in the scheme of things.

Psalm 9:1
" I will praise You, O Lord, with all my heart,
I will tell of all Your wonders."

ran/dom -adj- having no specific pattern,purpose or objective.

Random is a good word to describe the goings on in our life and household..... well if we left off purpose and objective it would..... we have much purpose and we have great objectives..... they will just happen and be reached in a variety of "patterns." (and timeframes)
Here, poor Mr. Bill is trying to fix our camp extension phone line. The boys are full of questions, "helpful" suggestions, and very eager to assist. This man is going to be an amazing Grandpa one day. He managed to replace the wiring with these 2 little boys sitting on him. Literally, one on each leg! He kept reassuring me it was fine, although I am always wondering if people who walk through our doors, go into sensory overload. My kids LOVE visitors! No. They love people. It dosn't matter who you are, they want to talk to you, ask questions(all at once usually) and sit on your lap all while they hold your hand or touch your hair, hat or shirt while at least 2 others will be attempting the same thing at the same time.

"Is that Charlie,Barbara, Alex or Fred Mommy?"
Yes, my kids named the squirrels. Well, some of them. And I don't know who is who this year. They all look very similar. Last year, Charlie was the smallest and cutest and Alex was a little larger than Charlie, but he was ugly. And Barbara is very fat.... but there's a few more and I can't tell them apart. This day, (I think this may be Charlie) he was standing up against the window and scratching, as if trying to come in. The kids LOVE watching and feeding our squirrels.