Vacation

We went on vacation last week with the kids and had a great time.  We left sunny, hot Bakersfield for sunny, hot Las Vegas.  We weren't super sure that taking a vacation to Las Vegas was going to be good with kids, but it ended up being really nice.  There are a lot of things to do in Vegas with kids.  And we pretty much did all of the younger kid activities.  We stayed at a hotel south of the strip, so we were off from the hustle and bustle.  Our hotel had several different pools and one of them was a waterpark pool for kids.  Calvin and Mia especially enjoyed that.  It was at the  most 3 feet deep and had several different water spray areas and lots of mosaic animals throughout the pool.  Unfortunately, for Asher, the mosaic tile animals were scary and so every 4 feet or so, he would let out another yelp when he saw a new one.  And even though we tried our best to show him and explain that they were not real, he was still very anxious of them. 

So, Sat and Sun we settled in and then on Monday, we went to Shark Reef, a neat mini aquarium/atrium with a variety of animals.  The kids saw a kimodo dragon, lots of sharks, an octopus and a huge sea turtle.  It was a lot of fun. 

Later that day we went out to an outdoor kid park complete with water jets, lots of play houses to be in...Calvin and Asher especially loved the water jets. 

The next day we ventured out to the strip even further.  We had heard that the fountains at Bellagio were neat and that there was also a Botanical garden in the hotel.  We also heard about this neat ice cream shop next to the Bellagio that we wanted to try.  Well, we got everything packed up to go and the fountain at Bellagio did not disappoint, it was so neat.  But when we sat down at the ice cream restaurant, I went to get Mia's medicine out of the bag and realized that I had forgotten it at the hotel.  It was time to give her her medicine and there was no way we would be able to wait, so we felt bad having to leave, but we didn't really have a choice.  And so we missed the fun ice cream, but made it back to the hotel and got Mia her medicine! 

Another night we got to see the volcano at the Mirage explode, Calvin especially loved that, but Asher was extremely scared...until after, then he raved about how great it was.  We also visited a chocolate factory and the kids got to see them making chocolate...that was fun!  And next to it was a botanical cactus garden.  The kids liked the pumpkin looking cactus and "Larry" looking ones the best. 

Grandma Cheri and Uncle Paul arrived on Wed and spent the rest of our vacation with us.  We got to go back to the Bellagio and see the missed botanical gardens and also another round of the water show!  And then we went to the Flamingo where they have a garden with flamingos (go figure) and turtles, ducks, and fish.  To get to all of these places that evening, we took two free trams (above ground) which the kids called trains.  The whole experience was a huge hit with everyone...and we must have walked 5 miles...at least it felt like that...maybe only 4...but when you end up carrying a kid almost the whole way, well, we got our workout in that night! 

The next day we spent the morning at the children's museum.  Which, of course, was a huge hit with the kids because they were missing their toys from home and it was nice just to let them play.  And play they did.  I know Bakersfield isn't big enough for a children's museum, but I wish they had one...it is just so much fun for them and interactive. 

Vegas is known for their buffets, so that night we met my cousin and had dinner at a really nice buffet.  The choices were amazing.  Everything was delicious.  Thankfully, Calvin and Asher got in free because the two of them ate enough to amount to a pile of beans.  The desserts were phenomenal.  It was just too much food!  It was really nice to catch up with my cousin and spend some time with her. 

Our last day, we spent the morning at the pool and that evening had dinner at a restaurant in a casino close by.  The casino has a huge fish tank (over 100,000 gallons) and on the weekends, they have mermaids swimming in the tank.  These mermaids are certified in scuba and swim around interacting mostly with the kids at the tank.  They blow kisses and do fun things under the water.  Asher loved the mermaids. 

Then we had to pack up and leave.  We were missing our home and our beds, so we were ready to get back.  But, we had a fun time on vacation!

Mia is still having seizures and we are still working on her meds, but please continue to pray for her that we would be seizure free soon!

Pray Without Ceasing

Mia had a bad fall on Monday morning.  She had a seizure and fell on her face on the tile floor.  She ended up banging up her nose pretty good.  It swelled up significantly and so we felt like she needed to get it looked at by our doctor.  Our pediatrician saw her that day and felt she needed xrays to make sure that nothing was significantly broken.  Hours later and many xrays later we got good news that nothing was broken.  We are so grateful that God protected her with this fall.  Needless to say, she is still having seizures.  Every now and then we have a few good days, but usually we have 1 a day...sometimes up to 3.  So, we continue to pray.  We continue to resist letting Satan defeat us.  He's really good at beating me down, especially when she hurts herself because of a seizure.  But ultimately, we win.  So....there will be suffering, we are guarenteed it!  But we win, if we accept Jesus as our savior and trust in Him for our salvation.  I've said this before...it's one thing to suffer yourself, but it's totally different to be helpless when your child suffers.  Thankfully, we serve an amazing God and He is in control.  I can find peace in that. 

On a totally different side note, Mia frequently will burst into singing rather than speaking...so she will be talking to you with singing...and just now, Asher came up to me and was singing for me to help him fix the lego.  They are so amusing!

Camping

We are home!  We had a great trip.  We left Monday morning for Morro Bay State campground.  We got their in the afternoon and set up our campsite.  The kids were so excited to be camping.  We didn't really know how sleeping would go with all of us in the same tent, but it worked great.  We fit two queen size mattresses in there and Mia and Calvin slept on the one with sleeping bags and Brad, Asher and I slept on the other with a bunch of blankets.  The kids especially liked having us all sleep together...a big sleepover!

Tuesday morning we got up and rented canoes and canoed across the bay to the sand dunes.  That was Mia's favorite part!  Jarrett and Seth had made their own kayak's awhile ago, so they brought those along and used them.  Asher did not like the canoe because it was "wobbly", but he did a great job of staying seated the entire time.  It took about 15-20 min to get across the bay!  But it was well worth it because the sand dunes were so much fun.  The sand is perfect and the kids loved running down them.  I liked just sitting.  Ha!

Tuesday afternoon we went to a beach by the rock and the kids got to make sand castles and dig holes.  Since digging is their favorite activity, it was a huge hit.

Tuesday night we made s'mores and Asher told us afterward that his favorite part of camping was "roasting marshmallows".  It was just nice to be on our little vacation with family.

Wednesday morning we checked out the museum and headed to town to do a little shopping.  The kids got ice cream and shells at the sea shell shop.  After naptime we hiked out to the tidepools and that was a lot of fun.  That might be my favorite part!  There were lots of little crabs and anenomes...and the kids loved touching all of it.  Calvin loved climbing on rocks with his uncles!

Thursday morning we packed up and did a little hike around camp.  We left around noon and got home in the afternoon.  It was the perfect amount of time for our first camping trip.  I think it was a hit and I know we want to do it again, for sure.  Calvin said his favorite part was sleeping in the tent.  Here are some pics from our trip!

What A Week!

We had a crazy, busy week with VBS at our church.  The kids had a blast.  Little Asher who has been crying every time we drop him off in the 2 year old class went from not wanting to go to crying when I picked him up and not wanting to leave.  His teacher is one of those people who just has a gift for little kids and Asher loved him.  It was neat to see Asher enjoy it so much.  Calvin was in with his usual Sunday school teacher and that worked great for him.  He had so much fun this week that on Friday night when he was saying prayers before bed, he prayed, "thank you God for sunday school."  Which is so not him, he usually tells us how much he doesn't want to go to church.  And Mia, well, we bumped her into the 2nd grade class because my mom, Grandma Cheri, was teaching it.  So, that was a great fit for her and she also had such a fun week.  I, of course, am exhausted.  I need a vacation!  Ha!  And so we are, we are heading to the beach and will be camping with my brother's family for the next few days.  The kids are excited.  This will be the first time in a tent for them and I don't know how much sleep we will really get, but we are looking forward to cooler weather and time away.  :)  Mia continues to have seizures daily, but we do feel like they are not as strong and we are hopeful that they will soon no longer be a daily occurrence.  Thank you, as always, for praying!

Mr. Bob - Last night, we asked Calvin to pray at bed again...and he ran through his typical thank you's...Thank you for Mom, Dad, Mia, Asher, Grandma...etc...and at the very end he said, "thank you for Mr. Bob."  We love your family and are so grateful how you love on our kids!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day Daddy!  We love you!

Today our pastor gave such a good sermon at church.  He was teaching about Philippians 4:1-13 where we are commanded to not be anxious about anything, but in everything to give thanks to God.  We can be at peace about really difficult situations because God is sovereign and His plan is best.  I kept thinking about Mia and all that she's going through/been through.  Brad and I can tell you that we have clearly felt the peace of God during different times of Mia's life.  The first when she was 1 day old and immediately shipped off to surgery.  During those 4 or 5 hours that she was in surgery, we were completely at peace, overwhelmed by it.  There was nothing to be anxious about because God was in control.  And He still is.  He always will be.  It's been a rough few months with all of the seizures that she's going through.  But we don't have to be anxious about it, we can walk through it KNOWING that God is in control and His plan is far superior to ours.  We don't have to understand why, we just have to trust Him.  And we do.  Sure, we don't like to see her have seizures, but ultimately, we know that when she is seizure free it will be because of God and His timing, His plan.  And if He chooses to allow the seizures to continue, that doesn't minimize Him.  We are just going to trust His plan and His time.  He's walked her through so much, He'll walk her through this.  As always, thank you for continuing to pray!