Showers, Funerals and Deep Thoughts

It's been an emotional week, to say the least. 1) I went back to my hometown for a baby shower and wedding shower of two of my best high school friends. There were five of us girls who were really close through school and have remained in touch. We were together again after a long time. 2) Grandpa P (Mr. Prince's maternal grandfather) passed away the Sunday I was out of town. Services were Wednesday and Thursday and we spent lots of time with his siblings and extended family this week. 3) And after being in large crowds of people who love to google over babies, it was an emotional roller-coaster when telling people how old Myra was, them mentioning how small she was, and in some instances noticing the "differences" in her and other children they know her age.

Me, Becky's sister Heather, Becky (mom-to-be), Amanda, Cory (hostess), Lindsey (bride-to-be)

The wedding and baby shower were great! Much more sophisticated than others I've been to. =) At the baby shower there were Mimosas and fancy keish and the entire wedding shower was a wine tasting event. We even went to a winery for the Bachelorette party! I tried 9 wines that Saturday and actually found ONE I liked. I bought a bottle for Mr. Prince and my anniversary in June. I can count on one hand how many alcoholic drinks I've tried, and only ONE have I ever liked! And, it's not even made anymore...go figure! It was great to see my girls again....and ALL together! That doesn't happen very often. I used to visit home 4-5 times a year when I had 1-2 kids, but after #3 came along, the visits have dwindled down to a long summer visit and Christmas. Though, after Myra's hospital stay we didn't even go home this past Christmas and this was the first time all of my friends had even seen Myra! I've been known to be a baby-hog, so I'm not sure if they all even got to hold her, but it was great to visit and just be with them all day long. As a mom of five, I can't even remember that last time I got to have a Girl DAY! Sid the Science Kid and Miracle Myra were the only kids I brought on the trip, so it was a nice break...sort of. Would have been better if I had someone to nurse Myra in the middle of the night..... A mom can dream, right?

We had the baby shower from 10am-12pm and then the wedding shower was from 2-4pm at Cory's house.....

Becky looked adorable in her brown dress! (I totally want one for a future pregnancy...ha) This is the best picture I could find with her belly in it. Her mom and sister and her are unmistakingly related. It's a good thing!

Here is me and Lindsay at the winery.... Isn't she fab?
We all used to say we would stay friends, despite the known phenomenon that you move past your high school friends and lose touch. Well, we've beat the statistics thus far. 10 years! I think that's pretty impressive. Love you, girls!

I was able to visit in IL a few days longer since Mr. Prince took bereavement leave most of the week. I had a good trip home, a nice visit with a friend on the way, and was home in time for the visitation on Wednesday for Grandpa P. It was great to see family we don't see every day and remember Grandpa together. I found it amusing the priest prayed, asking God to allow Grandpa into eternity. All I can think of is how's he's already been there for a number of days, days which have no time restraints there. No need to ask, Kyler made sure Grandpa knew Jesus before he passed. *smile* I didn't attend the mass and burial on Thursday, but all Grandpa's grandsons wore one of his bow-ties as pallbearers. They looked great. I look forward to visiting the grave-site this spring and seeing Grandpa and Grandma laid to rest there together. I will think of them often and remember their legacy. One in which I could never live up to, but one to copy my life after. You will be missed Grandpa P...

I am still a little uncomfortable around "normal" babies Myra's age these days. Yeah, I've been there four times, but seeing the view from the other side of the fence is an eye-opener. Now, when I see the little boy at the Library on permanent crutches due to Spina bifida, I smile at him...and the mother. And I think about how awesome it is that this little boy has the ability to walk. And I tell him he is as fast as SuperMan on those crutches! And he smiles big. And when I see a little girl with thick glasses reading at the table, I think about how adorable children are with glasses and how awesome that she can read the small print in that book with the technology of today. And I even think about the moms with "normal" babies and children that I pass. That they have no idea - like I did for 6.5 years - that there is this whole other world of moms with children who have some type of special need. And I thank God for their child's perfectly round head that is growing and developing. And I pray they someday completely understand the blessing that they have. And I pray for each and every swollen womb I see. That they do not have the same experience that Myra had. That they are healthy. We all say we want a "healthy" baby, but then discuss that we really want a boy/girl, green or blue eyes, a tall football player or a graceful ballerina, a doctor or a nurse.... I pray for health above all else now. And I go home and kiss my own four perfectly round heads and even the slightly warped balding one. Just a whole new perspective.

I think as Myra gets older and her delays become more apparent and her small head more noticeable, I'm going to have to come up with some brief explanation for strangers. I know they'll ask. I know they'll pry. I don't mind so much if I can maybe educate them. Maybe ease their uncomfortableness with people with disabilities. And people with big families. I have no idea what that little synopsis will be yet, but I'll have to work on that soon. Of course, I have no idea what Myra will be in the future either, but I have extremely high hopes! =) Regardless of what is going on today, God moves in our lives daily and has shown His ability and desire to heal Myra in more ways than one. I expect miracles. I think I always will.

I have been doing some research this week on visually impaired infants. Did you know that 90% of a what a child learns in their first 3 years is through vision? Wow. So, now I'm looking into how to teach a child with visual impairments. I do believe that Myra's vision will improve (so do the doctors), but I have to still have to teach and interact with her where she is at right now. So, researching has begun. I read visually impaired or blind children will be behind developmentally, independent from their intellectual abilities, simply because they need to be older to understand this dark world around them before they start exploring it themselves. They will often not reach for objects until 12 months, and things like crawling and walking cannot be achieved until they reach this point. They are delayed in holding their heads up because they don't have the visual clues to tell them to do so. So, now we have no idea if Myra is behind due to her vision or due to neurological issues. Annoying. But, I thankfully have been doing some things right - like showing her different textures and listening to different sounds/music - but I feel like I have a lot to learn. I hope it doesn't come to all that I've read - braille books, walking sticks - it's all a little overwhelming if you read too much and think too much. And, I DO read too much and think too much sometimes...

Myra's journey keeps bringing me to new forks in the road. I feel like I'm getting further and further away from my old life as I explore this new land and learn this new language. And, I feel like I won't be anywhere for too long. That there will always be new forks in the road. New languages to learn. New people to meet. I've never been a traveler. Sure, I'd love to see Spain or Paris. But, I don't care to spend the money, book the hotels or find childcare. I'm happy with our little house in Indiana. But, apparently God wants me to learn how to travel in a new way. Chase him through the tall grass and rocky creeks. I'm trying, but my shoes are new and stiff and I keep having to take them off and take a break. I've even tried to find my way back home by myself a few times. Back to the familiar. Back to the days when my other six month olds were sitting up, filling bibs with drool, chewing on toys, laughing as I play peek-a-boo. I got majorly lost and had to listen for Him to find my way back. Sometimes I walk, sometimes I run and sometimes I drag. Sometimes I enjoy the new flowers on the path and sometimes I curse the unfamiliar winding in the road. But, I know He'll always be there. To lead the way. To carry me when my burden is too heavy. Too lay down his robe so the path is smooth. I depend on that. I probably would just make a tent and stay somewhere if I didn't know He was leading me and preparing the way for me. It's a new journey, but isn't every journey a new one? And if we look back at the journey and find ourselves closer to Christ, doesn't that make it a Great journey? So, I'm on probably one of the Greatest Journeys of my life. I guess that makes it all worth it.

Ginny Owens' song says it perfectly....

The pathway is broken
And The signs are unclear
And I don't know the reason why You brought me here
But just because You love me the way that You do
I'm gonna walk through the valley
If You want me to

It may not be the way I would have chosen
When you lead me through a world that's not my home
But You never said it would be easy
You only said I'd never go alone

Cause I'm not who I was
When I took my first step
And I'm clinging to the promise You're not through with me yet
so if all of these trials bring me closer to you
Then I will walk through the fire
If You want me to

Olympics 2010

Sid the Science Kid is 7!
Here he is showing off all his goodies from his siblings on March 4th.
(Notice the completed Legos...they were done within minutes of receiving the gifts!)

After much discussion, Sid decided he wanted an Olympic Birthday Party! Mommy didn't want to find toys to entertain a bunch of boys, so we decided planned games would keep them moving and keep our house in order. =)

The Cake

I was originally going to do five 8in round cakes to make the Olympic rings,
but decided MnM rings were good enough.

Sid's paper plate project. Turned out good!

The decorations.

I'm not too much into streamers or other fancy decorations. A few balloons and a nice cake are usually all I have, but these flags were a nice touch (along with an Olypmic Dream banner) and will be used in school next year.

The Olympic torch.

None of the kids quite got what this was, so I didn't do the Olympic torch lighting at the beginning of the party like I had planned. It's a Wiggles microphone, so I used it to announce the medals at the end of the party....until it irritated me and I quit using it. Goofy project.

There were 8 boys and 1 girl
(Sid's beloved girlfriend...the one he said, when he was five,
that he was going to marry her in 13 years....HA!)

I had Olympic music on when people arrived and the kids picked a country and flag to color that we would tape onto their backs. We had 6 Olympic games to compete in. I think the kids did really well keeping a good attitude about "winning" and such. I think many were still a little young to really care, so that made it nice.

Oreo Stacking

Cousin Josiah

Birthday Boy

Marshmallow Stuffing (Mr. Prince's idea...)

Cousin Connor

Friend Simon

Friend Samuel

The Beloved Laela

Should-have-been Gold Medal Winner, Israel, with 5 marshmallows!
(He represented the country of Israel....go figure!)

Uncle Brandon wanted to show the boys how it's done...

He had 15 or so, until he gagged himself....HA!

Pizza Break!
Each boy represented a different country, but of course the Birthday Boy represented the U.S.A.! I actually had to convince him to do so. He originally wanted to represent Mexico....??

It was so nice, the boys even got to play on the playset Mr. Prince put up last Spring!

Happy Birthday, Sid!

These were the handmade medals I put together. They were adorable!

Oreo Stacking Medal Winners
Instead of a bouquet of flowers, the kids got a bouquet favor with fun little treats and a paper trophy with their name on it.

Marshmallow Stuffing Medal Winners
(I actually handed out the wrong medals here...1st and 3rd were switched, but I chose not to fix it so as not to upset anyone...oops! Sorry Israel!)

Balloon Challenge Medal Winners

For the balloon challenge each contestant had to pop three balloons and follow the directions on a piece of paper inside of the balloon. Things like "hop 3 times" or "Sing Happy Birthday to Sid." What was funny was Sid the Science Kid sang Happy Birthday to himself....Twice!

Milk Jug Bowl Medal Winners

For the Milk Jug Bowl you had three chances to bowl down six empty milk jugs. The winners had the most jugs down in their three turns. Connor knocked down 14 out of 18!

Basketball Medal Winners
Many of the boys had the same basketball score, so we just choose three winners with tops scores and made sure everyone got 2 medals. It was really the only game we "rigged." =)

Obstacle Course Medal Winners
We had a small obstacle course through the lower half of the house that included jumping jacks, soccer, tunnels, basketball, summersalts and a puzzle at the end. I think they enjoyed it. Go U.S.A.!

At the end, we awarded the Birthday Boy with the Olympics 2010 Trophy!

Sid the Science Kid got some more great building toys and books/puzzles. He had all the Legos done within an hour of the party ending. And Mom and Dad forgot to even give him all his gifts at the party! So, he got his Comic Bible, daily devotional and Armor of God play armor later.

I think the party was a hit and everyone enjoyed themselves. I have a feeling this will be the first birthday party Sid the Science Kid will remember.

Happy Birthday, Sid!! We love you!!

Visiting Grandpa P - this time with Pictures!!

Well, we were thankfully able to visit Grandpa P again this week. On Sunday Grandma K called and told us we needed to come say our goodbyes as soon as possible. With a birthday party to plan and execute and going out of town on Monday for Myra, we weren't sure if we'd make it. We are thankful he's held on long enough for us to!

We video taped the visit and Grandpa said all the things he usually says. Talked to Mr. Prince about being a good cowboy and eating his beans (from childhood), told Myra she was sweet just like her Mama, asked a few times if Myra was Mr. Prince's baby and if she was #5 and then mentioned he knew she probably wouldn't be the last.

I love Grandpa's voice. I'll never forget his voice. And I hope I hear it again this week.

Ezekiel kissing Grandpa - he saw Grandpa kiss Myra and wanted his own lovin'!

Mr. Prince and Grandpa - this is the closest grandparent to Mr. Prince
and he will dearly miss him...

Grandpa loves babies, and Myra is no exception - he even got to nibble her ear this time!

All the kids wanted to hold his hand, but were wondering
why he was bandaged up and bleeding. They don't quite understand.

Kyler has developed a special love for Grandpa and keeps asking to visit him,
I think because he knows he might not see him again.
He was happy to know Grandpa knows Jesus and will be in heaven when he dies.

Grandpa has been transferred back to his nursing home into Hospice care. He was drinking Pepsi when we visited him and I think had a beer last night! He's ready to go I think. He wants Grandma K to be there. We will visit him as a family tomorrow evening if he is still around.

We love you Grandpa!

Myra's Trip to Riley Children's Hospital

On Monday we dropped off the other four kids and headed down to Indy, just me, Myra and Mr. Prince. It was actually a really nice trip to have hours of uninterrupted conversation with my husband! He made me laugh and inhale chocolate, we had fun testing the "no hitting" zone at Riley, and he even offered for me to sit on the floor and nurse Myra in exchange for the nice seat I was sitting on. Oh, wait... That wasn't a nice offer after all, but I did laugh until Myra stopped nursing and looked around seemingly irritated that I wouldn't stay still...ha!

Myra was surprisingly excellent in the car. It took her a while to fall asleep on the way there. Bad Mommy took her out of the car seat on the country roads before we got to the interstate to rock her to sleep. Once we got to I-69 she was out, transferred well and slept almost the rest of the way, so it was worth it. We only had to stop once on the way home and she thankfully didn't cry the rest of the way home after the stop, either! Makes me have higher hopes for my minimum five hour drive this coming weekend...

Myra was referred down to Riley Children's Hospital by her pediatrician. She seems to be tracking less and focusing more inconsistently on objects. She still only sees stark contrasts (black and white) and does not look at faces.

As far as the pediatric ophthalmologist appointment, there was a lot discussed and I'm trying to remember all the details. Dr. A was a really nice doctor, explained things well and wasn't threatened by questions like some other doctors. He examined her before and after dilation of her eyes and then consulted another ophthalmologist (Dr. P), too...which is awesome! Though Myra supposedly had the most brain damage in the vision area of her brain, this is what they told me:

-Myra's optical nerve looks small, but they don't see that as a problem. It's small for her, similar to her hair is brown or her feet are small. It's just characteristic of her. She is just small all around!

-If her brain was not reading a vision image at all due to damage, her optical nerve would look pale because it would have atrophied. Myra's looks completely normal right now. There still is a chance that could change in the next year, but I am not expecting it to. =)

-They know her vision is not normal, but thankfully were able to see that she does focus on things occasionally. Based on one test, they guesstimated that her vision is reading the large E on the vision charts. What I didn't ask was where kids her age fall in this particular category, but I'll try an ask my pediatrician next time I see her.

-Because Myra's vision issues have to do with her brain, glasses or surgery will be of no help to her. Awe, glasses on kids are SO CUTE!

-Myra's near-sided and far-sidedness is all within normal range. Children are usually far-sided until they are 7 and then that starts to improve. They expect her to do the same.

-Because of her microcephaly (small head), she is at greater risk of some lazy-eye type issues, crossed eyes or eyes that both go outward. These can develop any time in the first few years, but right now she has no issues like that. Thank you, Jesus!

-The GREAT news is, Myra has not developed nystagmus (involuntary eye movement), which is usually developed before three months if extremely poor vision or blindness is to occur. They said this was a wonderful sign that she could have useful vision in the future.

-They also said they see birth trauma brain injuries often and when the milestones and other neurological development kicks in, the vision seems to move right along, too. It's often times just delayed.

They don't even want to see her again for another year. They said at that point they will have a better picture of what her vision will be for the rest of her life. We will probably have a good idea ourselves by then, too. So, all-in-all it was a positive appointment. I wanted them to tell me she could see, and they did. And, they gave me high hopes to see improvement in the coming months, which I didn't expect.

So, another positive step for us. Hopefully many more to come! Please continue to also pray for her brain and skull to grow. Right now she is 6.3 standard deviations below normal. The further she gets, the worse the prognosis. Thank you for your prayers...

Crafty Things

Well, with limited ability to leave the house these days since little Myra hates doesn't like the car, I've had to find extra things to do here at home. So, on a craft spree I went!

I relearned to crochet and made these adorable hats for Myra:




I also made this hat for Myra that was slightly too small, but Angelica Pickles found it just perfect for her dolls. I think Myra was upset we were giving it away, ha!


I saw these flowers on a friend's Facebook page and had to have one. I had no idea where to get them, so I just figured out how to make them. I have quite a few now to sell, too. I can also make bow clips and I bought these headbands to go with both the flowers and bows. They also look great on her crocheted hats and this brown hat I bought. My big girls love them, too.




I learned to stockinette knit to make these adorable leg warmers for the girls' ballet class:



I made another sling for myself in my two favorite colors. I can't believe there was a time that I hated didn't like pink!


I added a panel to my wrap to fancy it up a bit, but I think I might take it off and put a different, more stretchy fabric instead....someday:


I actually made these prior to Myra being born, but since I'm showing off my crafty self, I LOVE them......my diaper bags:


I posted a lot of my baby bazaar stuff on Facebook this past month and have sold almost all of it! These are the taggy blankets I have left, though I still have lots of fabric to make more diaper bags, slings and blankets someday, too....maybe.


I didn't finish my Valentine's Day project with the kids yet. We are making felt sugar cookies, with sprinkles and all! They are going to be so cute, but I found out I didn't have the right beads so I have to get back to the store before we move forward with them. I'll post pictures when they're done!

Now I must want to finish a year overdue project for my dear friend, Cherry. Her baby boy is now almost....how embarrassing to admit....14 months old....and she STILL doesn't have her diaper bag I promised her! I could give all the excuses about how Christmas 2008 was busy, I found out I was pregnant in January and was sick for weeks, how spring and summer buzzed by, how tired and pregnant I was at the end of my pregnancy, and then how my baby was in the hospital and it's been a long 5 months, but...I won't do that. I'll just say I am a BAD friend and I WILL finish it THIS month. Love you, Cherry!

I have hopes of other fun projects this Spring, like Angelica Pickles' birthday, summer dresses to match all three girls, floppy hats for the two littles.....sigh.....

For some reason it is very satisfying to make something with your own hands. And, I think having a FINISHED project when my life as a Mommy is full of unfinished business like laundry, dishes and diapers, makes me feel accomplished, too.