Day 4- Ben had a Cross Country meet Tuesday night, and came home later than usual. The girls and I shared dinner, did baths and PJs and I got them snuggled into bed RIGHT before he came in the door (so they promptly got out of the bed to see him). I'm reminded that I'm thankful for our jobs.
I'm thankful for BEN'S job because it fits him so well. I know at times he is exhausted or drained after such long weeks, especially in the Fall his schedule is just INSANE. But his athletes respect him. His athletes relate to him. I believe deep in my heart that he is making an impact on their lives. I don't know if you realize this but each sport has it's own kind of athletes. Football and soccer are team sports, and while they require individual skills it's the efforts of the team that make a win or a loss.
Cross Country athletes are different... maybe they put more pressure on themselves? They are racing for their best times as individuals however as a whole the top five runner's rankings determine how they will place. This year Ben's Cross Country teams won District for boys and second place for girls, and he was SO proud of what they accomplished.
Ben works so hard for 10-14+ hours a day to provide for our family AND to help kids improve their skills and just to learn about life lessons. Teaching them to accept and embrace the kid on the team who has some learning delays. I love that Ben can describe the personality and tell a story about each one of these kids at the end of the season, and they just LIGHT UP when they realize that he has taken so much interest and observed and cared for them.
He's not a yeller, and he's not a hugger. He's somewhere in between. And in my opinion he's just awesome at what he does. In the words of the Bralley monsters (Betsy and Ella "Yeah Coach-Soccer-Daddy-Bem")
Also FYI if you wear red, black or white Adidas clothing around my children expect them to call you Daddy.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
Life is pretty beautiful
Lately I'm really feeling it. Loving life. Enjoying the moments. Happy. Shrugging off the small stuff and embracing the little moments that put together create a bigger feeling of happiness and love. Our house is a happy place these days and I love being there and spending time with, or even just listening to my family interact with one another.
I've stopped putting so much pressure on myself about things. The laundry isn't caught up (often), the house isn't perfectly clean. I don't host as many get togethers as I'd like. But I lay in bed with my girls and snuggle all the time. They sit on my lap and rock with me. Betsy tells me about her day, and who she played with, and if playing inside or outside was more fun. Every day when all of us get home we sing the Bralley family song and have a little circle where we take turns dancing in the middle.
Ben and I hang out most nights together. He does things for me that make me happy without my asking. I think he enjoys seeing my joy. And I feel the same way for him. One of my favorite parts of the day is talking about our day "What cute things did your kids do today?" we ask each other.
Sound cheesy? It is. We are a cheese loving family.
I'm so happy December is back, and while everyone else just celebrated Thanksgiving with 30 days of Thanks, I feel like for me that belongs in this month. Because December last year God gave me the greatest blessing in the form of a scary medical condition. A medical condition that forced me to slow down, change my life, and in the process showed me what's really important.
So I'm a wee bit late, but I'll share here. My 31 days of thanks!
Day 1- I'm thankful for my struggles. I'm thankful for my Pseudo Tumor Cerebri. I'm thankful for God's plan in my life. I'm thankful that God gave me the opportunities to rely on him this year for my strength, because all things can be done with God holding me up. I'm thankful for the trips to the doctor's office because seeing small children being treated in the same facility's I was reminded me that my problems are small. But God is big.
Day 2- I'm thankful for my HusBen. I say sometimes that Ben is a saint, but he's not. He's a better combination of my BFF, my partner in marriage and parenting. He's a wonderful example of what a friend should be, and how a father should act. I'm thankful that my daughters adore their father and that he has certain things that HE does with them every day. I'm thankful for God giving me such a wonderful partner. I would have asked that God gave him better taste in movies but I'll take him with his flaw too I guess.
Day 3- In honor of her birthday today, I am thankful for ELLA! My baby. She's a sweet and happy girl and is showing more of her personality. She loves to sit in my lap and nuzzle her head under my chin. She likes to give kisses, and hugs. She wants to be EXACTLY like her big sister. She will not leave a table if there is more food to be consumed. I'm thankful for the beautiful two years I've had with Ella Coy.
I'll be back tomorrow with more thanks :)
I've stopped putting so much pressure on myself about things. The laundry isn't caught up (often), the house isn't perfectly clean. I don't host as many get togethers as I'd like. But I lay in bed with my girls and snuggle all the time. They sit on my lap and rock with me. Betsy tells me about her day, and who she played with, and if playing inside or outside was more fun. Every day when all of us get home we sing the Bralley family song and have a little circle where we take turns dancing in the middle.
Ben and I hang out most nights together. He does things for me that make me happy without my asking. I think he enjoys seeing my joy. And I feel the same way for him. One of my favorite parts of the day is talking about our day "What cute things did your kids do today?" we ask each other.
Sound cheesy? It is. We are a cheese loving family.
I'm so happy December is back, and while everyone else just celebrated Thanksgiving with 30 days of Thanks, I feel like for me that belongs in this month. Because December last year God gave me the greatest blessing in the form of a scary medical condition. A medical condition that forced me to slow down, change my life, and in the process showed me what's really important.
So I'm a wee bit late, but I'll share here. My 31 days of thanks!
Day 1- I'm thankful for my struggles. I'm thankful for my Pseudo Tumor Cerebri. I'm thankful for God's plan in my life. I'm thankful that God gave me the opportunities to rely on him this year for my strength, because all things can be done with God holding me up. I'm thankful for the trips to the doctor's office because seeing small children being treated in the same facility's I was reminded me that my problems are small. But God is big.
Day 2- I'm thankful for my HusBen. I say sometimes that Ben is a saint, but he's not. He's a better combination of my BFF, my partner in marriage and parenting. He's a wonderful example of what a friend should be, and how a father should act. I'm thankful that my daughters adore their father and that he has certain things that HE does with them every day. I'm thankful for God giving me such a wonderful partner. I would have asked that God gave him better taste in movies but I'll take him with his flaw too I guess.
Day 3- In honor of her birthday today, I am thankful for ELLA! My baby. She's a sweet and happy girl and is showing more of her personality. She loves to sit in my lap and nuzzle her head under my chin. She likes to give kisses, and hugs. She wants to be EXACTLY like her big sister. She will not leave a table if there is more food to be consumed. I'm thankful for the beautiful two years I've had with Ella Coy.
I'll be back tomorrow with more thanks :)
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Pictures of the girls, and family happenings
We've been pretty busy this summer :) The last month has been craaazy between registration at my job, and both sports starting, including two-a-day practices, in service, first day of school and a home cross-country meet this month for Ben.
The girls started back to daycare full time this month. They both were promoted to the next class, Ella is already in the two year old class, and Betsy is in with the 3-2 class, her next class will be Pre-K.
Ella is a chatty little thing, she has lots to say and she mimics everything her sister does. She's also our affectionate child, she loves to hug (and say "Awwww") and kiss ("Mwah!") and snuggle with us. She likes to find teeny little spots to sit her short little body on, and she is so dainty, she puts her hands on her lap and watches all things going on around her. Little Ella is LOTS of hair, sweet cheeks and lips.
Betsy is friends with everyone! She tells us about her classmates and she makes jokes all the time. Last week she told Ben "Daddy, I need to potty, please come turn on the light and the magic thunder." Magic thunder referencing the sound of the bathroom fan.
She is also a nurturer. She loves taking care of Ella, and calls her 'sweetie'. "You OK sweetie? You want a snack sweetie?"
Now we're reaching some of my favorite moments of the year: FOOTBALL SEASON, the church pumpkin patch, the holidays, so much fun stuff ahead!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
She's ALIVE!
It's about time I updated the 'ole blog.
Things have been pretty good but busy around our house. Ben has been home for the summer. The girls have been attending daycare part time, then hanging with Dad in the afternoons. Ben spends the mornings either working on stuff for cross country, doing stuff around the house, or running errands.
We just celebrated our five year wedding anniversary on Saturday! It was pretty anti-climatic, but we'll be going out for a nice date in Austin this weekend, which we're looking forward to.
Betsy and Ella are sweet, busy girls. They are best friends. They love school. They sleep well, eat tons of fruit, and can wreck a clean playroom in 90 seconds. Ella has been visiting the ENT every couple months for a hearing test but she passed her most recent test and she's been talking up a storm since she got her ear tubes in the Spring.
Sweet HusBen took a man trip the first week of the month, with his dad, my dad and lots of the dudes in the family. They fished (didn't catch much), hiked, shot guns, and rested. I think he enjoyed it.
While Ben was gone my mom came to town to help with the girls. We kept things pretty low key, but there was ice cream, playgrounds, bouncy houses and spoiling that was enjoyed by all (most often by the littlest family members).
My health is pretty stable. I'm still on my mega dosage of my medication, but I have some really good days where I feel like my old self. I've been writing, I've been sewing, I've been getting my house in order, and hanging with the girls.
So, FYI, we're alive and kicking! We're busy, I'm tired pretty early at night but we've had a great summer and we're looking forward to the last few weeks left.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Life happens
I've had my hands full with life and haven't blogged in a while. I should also acknowledge that this has been the hardest year of my life and sometimes I don't know what to write. Today I'll blog an update on where we are with several things...
Ella
Ella had ear tube surgery about a month ago. We went for a follow up a week ago and her tubes were clogged, and she failed a second hearing test. Ben is taking her back for another ENT check on Thursday to see if her tubes have cleared with the aid of ear drops we've been using. For the most part she seems to be doing much better. She's chattering more. She's a happy, happy girl. But last night she woke up several times which sometimes is a symptom that she has fluid in her ears. We are concerned about Ella's ears, we want them to clear up, and of course we want her to have perfect hearing.
Ella is mini-Shan. Not only because she looks just like me, but also because she ACTS just like me. She hates getting dirty or sweaty. The other day we played outside and I said "Are you hot, you want to go inside?" to which she replied "YES. INSIDE." and sprinted to the back door. Juuuust like little Shannie did as a kid. Ella is our love bug and would happily spend all night running from Mom, to Dad, to Bets to hand out hugs if we let her.
Betsy
Betsy is a riot. She is such a funny child. She's pretty proud of being a big girl and clarifies often what things are "For big girls, like Mommy and Betsy, not babies like Ella." She is SO smart, her ability to reason things is astounding to us. Sometimes it's like having a roommate that lives with Ben and I because little Bets is so self sufficient. About twice a month she lets me hold her and rock for a couple of minutes, but Betsy seems like she's 3 going on 13. She's a tomboy, she loves to play sports, she is extremely coordinated, and doesn't mind getting dirty. She is the biggest Daddy's girl I have ever met in my life, and I can understand why because Ben is SO fantastic at being a Daddy. They are just BFFs, partners in crime, and when Ben isn't at work he takes Betsy everywhere he can with him. We love this age.
PST
For the most part my Pseudotumor is being controlled right now. I have small headaches sometimes. My medicine has some terrible side effects but I've adjusted most of the time. I'm not sure how long I'll need to stay on my medication but I don't feel ready to get off or lower my dosage yet. I have moments of being overwhelmed because I am so fatigued but those moments are very few, and we have an army of support. The greatest blessing in our lives is our family and friends.
As you can imagine, five months of medical appointments, medications, and treatment comes with a mountain of medical bills but I think we've done a good job of handling those as they come in. My doctor appointments have gone from weekly, to biweekly, to monthly, to every three months, and now I don't have to go back for six months, unless I notice a change in my condition.
It's easy to be overwhelmed and live in fear of what will happen next. But I'm not and I don't. I've been thinking lately about the lessons I've learned through this experience. First of all, if I could go back and take away this experience I would not. It's been so eye opening to me about what is important in this life. I don't take many things for granted. I find myself dwelling on how grateful I am to have such a comfortable warm home for my children to grow up in. Clean sheets. Snacks whenever they are hungry. The ability to take them to the doctor at a moment's notice. I don't begrudge handing over almost half my paycheck to our daycare because we are so blessed that the girls spend their days in the presence of people who care about them, love them, and help them learn to be better people.
Not every moment is sunshine and rainbows. Sunday was a particularly messy day in the B house filled with every bodily fluid you can imagine, and no Daddy home to help and for a few minutes I felt sorry for myself. But it was SO short lived. I find myself loving the noise, mess and giggles while I'm wrestling in the playroom with the monsters and at the same time loving the silence at the end of the day when I clean up the playroom, drink a glass of wine and appreciate everything that we've been given. Even if I spend hours every week (ugh.) cleaning that playroom, I'm so glad my girls have that space to play, and be independent, and read books, and cook play brownies in their play kitchen.
So life has been...hard lately. But life has been good too. I'll try to be better with blogging :)
Ella
Ella had ear tube surgery about a month ago. We went for a follow up a week ago and her tubes were clogged, and she failed a second hearing test. Ben is taking her back for another ENT check on Thursday to see if her tubes have cleared with the aid of ear drops we've been using. For the most part she seems to be doing much better. She's chattering more. She's a happy, happy girl. But last night she woke up several times which sometimes is a symptom that she has fluid in her ears. We are concerned about Ella's ears, we want them to clear up, and of course we want her to have perfect hearing.
Ella is mini-Shan. Not only because she looks just like me, but also because she ACTS just like me. She hates getting dirty or sweaty. The other day we played outside and I said "Are you hot, you want to go inside?" to which she replied "YES. INSIDE." and sprinted to the back door. Juuuust like little Shannie did as a kid. Ella is our love bug and would happily spend all night running from Mom, to Dad, to Bets to hand out hugs if we let her.
Betsy
Betsy is a riot. She is such a funny child. She's pretty proud of being a big girl and clarifies often what things are "For big girls, like Mommy and Betsy, not babies like Ella." She is SO smart, her ability to reason things is astounding to us. Sometimes it's like having a roommate that lives with Ben and I because little Bets is so self sufficient. About twice a month she lets me hold her and rock for a couple of minutes, but Betsy seems like she's 3 going on 13. She's a tomboy, she loves to play sports, she is extremely coordinated, and doesn't mind getting dirty. She is the biggest Daddy's girl I have ever met in my life, and I can understand why because Ben is SO fantastic at being a Daddy. They are just BFFs, partners in crime, and when Ben isn't at work he takes Betsy everywhere he can with him. We love this age.
PST
For the most part my Pseudotumor is being controlled right now. I have small headaches sometimes. My medicine has some terrible side effects but I've adjusted most of the time. I'm not sure how long I'll need to stay on my medication but I don't feel ready to get off or lower my dosage yet. I have moments of being overwhelmed because I am so fatigued but those moments are very few, and we have an army of support. The greatest blessing in our lives is our family and friends.
As you can imagine, five months of medical appointments, medications, and treatment comes with a mountain of medical bills but I think we've done a good job of handling those as they come in. My doctor appointments have gone from weekly, to biweekly, to monthly, to every three months, and now I don't have to go back for six months, unless I notice a change in my condition.
It's easy to be overwhelmed and live in fear of what will happen next. But I'm not and I don't. I've been thinking lately about the lessons I've learned through this experience. First of all, if I could go back and take away this experience I would not. It's been so eye opening to me about what is important in this life. I don't take many things for granted. I find myself dwelling on how grateful I am to have such a comfortable warm home for my children to grow up in. Clean sheets. Snacks whenever they are hungry. The ability to take them to the doctor at a moment's notice. I don't begrudge handing over almost half my paycheck to our daycare because we are so blessed that the girls spend their days in the presence of people who care about them, love them, and help them learn to be better people.
Not every moment is sunshine and rainbows. Sunday was a particularly messy day in the B house filled with every bodily fluid you can imagine, and no Daddy home to help and for a few minutes I felt sorry for myself. But it was SO short lived. I find myself loving the noise, mess and giggles while I'm wrestling in the playroom with the monsters and at the same time loving the silence at the end of the day when I clean up the playroom, drink a glass of wine and appreciate everything that we've been given. Even if I spend hours every week (ugh.) cleaning that playroom, I'm so glad my girls have that space to play, and be independent, and read books, and cook play brownies in their play kitchen.
So life has been...hard lately. But life has been good too. I'll try to be better with blogging :)
Monday, March 19, 2012
Big Happenings!
We spent the weekend in Dallas and it went SO well. It's not always easy taking a 1 and 3 year old from their natural habitat and expect them to behave (well) and sleep (well) but this was our best experience with traveling with the two girls. Ella slept in the portacrib, and Betsy slept with me, while Ben slept on the couch. Don't feel so sorry for Ben, he didn't mind getting his own space to sleep away from space-heater-Betsy.
The girls had a GREAT time with cousin Abby, and we ate at wonderful restaurants, they played on Abby's super fun jungle gym, ran around in matching dresses, read books together, watched Curious George and did other 'cousin things' that left them all so sad to part after three days.
Speaking of our departure, we discovered we had LOST our last two ninnies that morning and we decided to take advantage of this opportunity to ditch it for good. Last night was....traumatic. Betsy was not a happy camper, but if it was the worst of the withdrawals then I think we can come out of this alive. It's easy to say that as she wanted nothing to do with me last night, Ben was the only one who could make her feel a wee bit better (not minding the 'daddy's girl' thing right about now. Bets woke up happy though I am sure she'll be beat when we pick her up today, she didn't sleep well and wouldn't nap without her ninnie. Fingers crossed tonight goes smoother!
And ELLA's big news is that she went for a hearing test. She 'failed' one ear, they found fluid in both ears, and with her history of ear infections they quickly got us in for a follow up with ENT (this morning) and in two weeks she'll have her tubes. I have the feeling Ella will be a blabber mouth in about 2.5 weeks. She tries so hard to talk but I'm thinking her stuffy ears have been holding her back. We've also vowed to finish taking Ella off the bottle as soon as she gets her tubes. She really only gets one before nap and bed, but I'm ready to be done with that too.
That's about all for us at the moment! Ben has three more regular season games before the post-season starts for soccer. I'm working on getting our house organized, and continuing the 'mission to eliminate carpet from the Bralley home, one room at a time'. I think next week we'll be installing more new flooring, and I'm thrilled to pieces about that.
We're enjoying our health, and our family time right now :)
The girls had a GREAT time with cousin Abby, and we ate at wonderful restaurants, they played on Abby's super fun jungle gym, ran around in matching dresses, read books together, watched Curious George and did other 'cousin things' that left them all so sad to part after three days.
Speaking of our departure, we discovered we had LOST our last two ninnies that morning and we decided to take advantage of this opportunity to ditch it for good. Last night was....traumatic. Betsy was not a happy camper, but if it was the worst of the withdrawals then I think we can come out of this alive. It's easy to say that as she wanted nothing to do with me last night, Ben was the only one who could make her feel a wee bit better (not minding the 'daddy's girl' thing right about now. Bets woke up happy though I am sure she'll be beat when we pick her up today, she didn't sleep well and wouldn't nap without her ninnie. Fingers crossed tonight goes smoother!
And ELLA's big news is that she went for a hearing test. She 'failed' one ear, they found fluid in both ears, and with her history of ear infections they quickly got us in for a follow up with ENT (this morning) and in two weeks she'll have her tubes. I have the feeling Ella will be a blabber mouth in about 2.5 weeks. She tries so hard to talk but I'm thinking her stuffy ears have been holding her back. We've also vowed to finish taking Ella off the bottle as soon as she gets her tubes. She really only gets one before nap and bed, but I'm ready to be done with that too.
That's about all for us at the moment! Ben has three more regular season games before the post-season starts for soccer. I'm working on getting our house organized, and continuing the 'mission to eliminate carpet from the Bralley home, one room at a time'. I think next week we'll be installing more new flooring, and I'm thrilled to pieces about that.
We're enjoying our health, and our family time right now :)
Thursday, March 1, 2012
That moment
I'm sure this is normal for someone with a chronic illness, but I go back and forth feeling so grateful that I'm here with my family, to anger that I'm going through this, to sadness that my kids can tell something is wrong, and guilt that I can't give them all the energy I used to. This may sound melodramatic but bear with me.
When I spent Christmas in the hospital I felt really sad. I felt so alone, and I had moments of despair thinking "Why me? Why am I away from my family?" I had this one mental picture of where I would be soon: back in my home, in my bed, with my husband, and my girls. All snuggled up together. Watching a movie. It seems like such a small thing but when I wanted to cry I would close my eyes and picture that moment, because those moments are the most peaceful in the Bralley house.
I often didn't allow myself to be fully 'in the moment' as I was trying to do ten things at once at night, or in the morning, and something so simple as snuggling my girls might not get my full attention. But lately it has been getting my full attention.
I'm sure I've said this before, but there was nothing so terrifying as wondering IF I would be back with my family. And if I would be able to SEE my children. So lately if we're snuggling in bed I try to take just a few minutes to put down my Kindle, face my babies and watch them (usually while they watch Harry Potter). Betsy likes to snuggle her head into my shoulder. Ella prefers a full frontal assault of the 'human blanket' on Mommy. I really take in the moment of how they smell, and look and how their hair feels. I really, really love those moments.
I love those moments so much I stayed in bed 25 minutes late to have extra Betsy snuggles this morning. It was worth it.
When I spent Christmas in the hospital I felt really sad. I felt so alone, and I had moments of despair thinking "Why me? Why am I away from my family?" I had this one mental picture of where I would be soon: back in my home, in my bed, with my husband, and my girls. All snuggled up together. Watching a movie. It seems like such a small thing but when I wanted to cry I would close my eyes and picture that moment, because those moments are the most peaceful in the Bralley house.
I often didn't allow myself to be fully 'in the moment' as I was trying to do ten things at once at night, or in the morning, and something so simple as snuggling my girls might not get my full attention. But lately it has been getting my full attention.
I'm sure I've said this before, but there was nothing so terrifying as wondering IF I would be back with my family. And if I would be able to SEE my children. So lately if we're snuggling in bed I try to take just a few minutes to put down my Kindle, face my babies and watch them (usually while they watch Harry Potter). Betsy likes to snuggle her head into my shoulder. Ella prefers a full frontal assault of the 'human blanket' on Mommy. I really take in the moment of how they smell, and look and how their hair feels. I really, really love those moments.
I love those moments so much I stayed in bed 25 minutes late to have extra Betsy snuggles this morning. It was worth it.
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