A Challenge

Lately I have been challenging myself, and I'd like to challenge the rest of you as well. Try to go an entire day without complaining. Don't complain about the weather, your job, school, your health, your kids, the traffic, neighbors, friends, family, your car, etc. See if you can do it; it's pretty tough. But take the time to be conscious of every word that is coming out of your mouth and try to stop the negative ones.

It seems we as a society have come to believe that we are entitled to everything we want. For example, you feel sick today so you complain thinking you are entitled to good health. Well you aren't, it's a gift - how about being thankful for the fact that you are alive to feel sickness?

During the holiday season we often take a day (thanksgiving) to be thankful for everything that we have. My goal has become to live a life of gratitude and not think about what I don't have, but what I do. I would like to be thankful every day, not just a couple of times a year. Hopefully I'll be a more pleasant person to be around - no one wants to listen to whining, right? Feel free to keep me accountable - if you catch me complaining, tell me! Really, what on earth do I have to complain about? Nothing. My situation is so much better than millions of others.

So give it a shot, try to live your life without complaining.

Jehova Rapha

Jehova Rapha is the God who heals me (and you). My complete reliance on and trust in God makes each day easy for me. The days are hard only when I lose focus and let my mind wander. I trust that the healing is taking place in my body even when I cannot see it. There is no doubt in my mind that I will walk again soon, because I serve a compassionate, loving God who wants nothing more than to help me. If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to forgive your sins, you also must believe that He died for your healing. Forgiveness and healing come together - you cannot accept half of the package, you must accept the entire gift. Isaiah 53:5 says "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." Bodily healing is included in the atoning work of Christ - I was healed when He died for me - the healing has already taken place in my body. I'm just waiting for the manifestation of that healing. As I wait I make sure that my confession matches my belief, not my symptoms. I am fully convinced that what He has promised He is also able to perform (Romans 4:21).

Today I am blessed

This morning as I sit here drinking my tea while Anthony is playing on the floor, I am thinking about how truly blessed I am. Jared works so hard so that I can stay home and live this life - taking care of myself and the baby all day, living a carefree life with nothing to worry about. Thanks, babe - I love you!

Bisquck Warning

I enjoy cooking, but between a baby and a wheelchair it's a little tricky. So the other day instead of making homemade biscuits for dinner I made biscuits using Bisquick. The theory was that this would save me some time and energy. I will never make that mistake again - I'll just put in the extra effort. They were disgusting. Not that they were gross actually, just that I couldn't even taste them. When I had the biscuit in my mouth there was actually no taste. I was thinking "is there a biscuit in my mouth right now? I put one in there, but I can't taste it so maybe I missed my mouth...." Not what I was hoping for. Hopefully this saves you from making the same mistake. There really is nothing as delicious as a homemade biscuit!

Happy Tuesday

This happy kiddo got out of bed at 9:15 this morning!

MUD

This is only the first of many dirty faces...

Baby in a Pumpkin

Well we (Jared) carved a pumpkin today and tried to put Anthony in it for a picture - he didn't really seem to be too into this idea. I'm not sure we'll try this again....

Another Anardi Boy...

Notice that Anthony and Grandpa Kim basically have the same facial expression here....

Anthony was enjoying his funny grandpa while we made dinner. We had a turkey today, and the guys like to think that we are celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas all in one day (there were ornaments given to the babies today) - I guess the holiday season is over for us. I thought it was just getting started....

Pumpkin Patch

We took Anthony on his first trip to the pumpkin patch today, along with his cousin Lucas. We *kind of* got the boys to pose for a pic in front of the pumpkins, though Anthony was too distracted by all the pumpkins to actually look at the camera. His distraction eventually led him to face plant in the mud, resulting in a fabulous picture for us. He didn't seem to mind the dirt on his face.

Fall Photo

Little Pumpkin

What a laugh

what a funny little guy - we enjoy him so much! He sounds like an old man when he laughs.

Love my Toys

Today when I was unloading the dishwasher I heard this guy laughing like crazy - didn't get that on tape, unfortunately. He was playing with this duck - apparently the duck is super funny.

Thanks for coming to visit, Uncle Josh!! I think Anthony looks a lot like Josh and a lot like his dad - not so much me yet.

No food for you!

It's official. Anthony hates food. We have been giving him different foods since he was four months old, and so far we still cannot get him to like (or even eat) anything. I've made him everything - peas, carrots, peaches, potatoes, sweet potatoes, avocado, tomatoe soup, bananas, etc. He does fine with the first spoonful. But once he realizes what you have done he gets this look on his face like you have betrayed him. And after that he holds his mouth so tightly shut there is no way you can get a spoon in there. The only thing we haven't tried yet is meat, so we'll try that soon and see how it goes. But it looks like he might prefer his bottle for quite some time. He does, however, really enjoy sitting in his high chair.

Play Time

Anthony likes to slide himself around the living room - I'm wondering if he'll ever crawl since sliding is so easy!

Lokomat Fun

Figuring out how to get weight down on my legs on the lokomat (weight bearing treadmill) has been an interesting process. When I am put in a weight bearing position and the robot is also trying to move my legs, they get very spastic and usually end up shutting the machine off. The last two sessions have been very productive. I've been able to get a significant amount of weight down, and get good long walks in. It only took me working with three trainers today instead of just one. Today I was walking at 2.1 km/h and it felt like I was running because of the cardio workout I was getting. It's amazing how lazy your body can get after sitting in a chair for a few months. I am excited because I feel like we are finally making some progress on this machine! Unfortunately, the machine rubbed off some skin on my right ankle today, so I won't be going back on the lokomat until that is completely healed. Hopefully I'll be up and at it again next week. Since yesterday I've been having "growing pains," if you will, in my groin/hips area. It's nice to feel things again - I hope this means that my hips will start working again soon. That would be amazing!

Baby Klepto

While at a children's clothing shop this weekend we picked up a few things for Anthony for Christmas. He was with us, and decided to pick something up for himself as well. When we were outside the store, Jared set the carrier down to open the car doors. I noticed that Anthony had something in his hands and half way in his mouth. It was a girl's hair ribbon - they had been sitting under the cash registers where Jared had set the carrier down while he was paying. Our little boy stole something at 7 months old - we are in for a fun ride! Jared had to return the soggy ribbon to the store; I'm sure he is not their first baby thief!

Visiting Great Nana

My mom (Nonna) came over last weekend, and we went to Centralia to visit my grandma. This is the first time Anthony met his Great Nana.

More Movement

I guess I neglected to share this information with everyone...I was sure I had, but after talking with my family this week discovered that they didn't know, which means you probably don't know either. My quads are starting to work again. From a seated position I am able to extend my legs straight out in front of me. I think I started being able to do this around the end of August or early September. It is so exciting to have my body start doing what I am telling it to! My legs are still in really great shape (thanks to the annoying muscle spasms) and as soon as the nerve signals are stronger I'll be ready to start walking again. My PT said we are looking at "months not years" which is encouraging.

For the Moms

I just received my Wriggle Wrap this week, and I LOVE it! Now I realize this wouldn't be as handy for most moms as it is for me, but it's still a great gadget to have. And would be a great gift for the mom who already has everything else.

This is the safest way I have found to carry Anthony around the house with me. Before the Wriggle Wrapper I was using a boppy pillow on my lap; now that Anthony is so mobile that was getting quite dangerous. The WW is great if you want to eat dinner and have both hands free (since the baby always wants to be held when it is dinner time) or if you were out at a restaurant. Not sure about strapping the baby to the bed (as shown on their website) but there are many times when this gadget would come in useful!