Cool Down

 We have been so thankful for cooler temps.  The kids have been practically living outside and coming in with dirty little hands and feet after hours of play.  They smell like outdoors and sunshine and all things kid.  We love it.  We also know it won't last long enough but we are counting our blessings these days- especially the small ones that fill up life with goodness.  Soon it will be too hot to jump and dig and lay on blankets outdoors while we watch the crazy squirrels and follow the aggressive hawk as he makes circles in the sky.

 Until then you can find us working on our ninja skills and stirring up mud soup.

Beautiful Allie

 This girl is full of dog loving, roof dancing, make your heart sing beauty!

Happy Valentines Day from the Johnsons.  We have a friend coming over to make cookies and crafts!

Dr Bee

We finally found a new kid's dentist today.  Mathias got a clean bill of health and a referral to an Ortho for braces.  Brielle had zero cavities but needed a seal.  Allie had 2 cavities and 4 seals b/c her teeth are so tight together.  She will probably need braces as well but we are going to wait for some more permanent teeth to come in first.  So all of the kids got their cleanings this morning.  Then we went for some lunch and library pick ups and came back to the dentist this afternoon for the seals and cavities.  Allie was a trooper and didn't hardly move during the entire procedure.

When life is hard...

Please forgive my absence once again.  My last post of 2 weeks being sick turned into nearly 6 weeks of fevers, coughing up blood and food, unable to lay down- which meant I slept sitting up for nearly a month, migraines, respiratory problems, minimal eating, chest pain, coughing, etc.  It was a challenging start to our year- for everyone in the family.  Eric had to take a lot of time to work from home, run kids to events, work extra hard keeping the house together, feeding everyone.  He is my hero for sure!
 Luckily, we have finally  stumbled upon a few answers- hallelujah- that have led us to take more tests.  Yesterday I spent the entire morning at the lab getting 14 vials of blood drawn to test for other things we haven't considered before.  We learned that my cortisol is basically non-existent.  My adrenals are shot.  My body's systems are in shut-down/failure.
Stress makes is so much worse.  Emotional, physical, environmental, etc., which is why exercise exacerbated it.  Stressful days make it worse and I am stuck in a never ending cycle of being so exhausted it's equivalent to being drugged but still having to plow through my days, cook, clean, teach, etc., causing my body more stress b/c daily tasks are seemingly impossible and take copious amounts of effort.  The lack of consistent help here in Florida doesn't help.  Tense family situations make it worse.
We are learning though.  In a few days we will have more blood results that will hopefully lead to more answers and in the meantime I do not have to wonder why life is so darn hard right now.  It's not in my head and my body really is struggling to just function.

Belated Christmas 2018

 A little photo haul from Christmas.  I haven't unloaded my memory card for a couple of months.  Sorry about the delay.

Sunday Cuties

Baby squirrel

I swear, squirrels are falling from the sky now!  This poor little baby was in a nest that was being carried away by a giant hawk across our yard.  He fell out luckily and we were able to return him to his tree.  What is the deal with us rescuing squirrels  all of the time?!

Mr. Muscles

All of his hard work in gymnastics has been paying off.  This photo hasn't been edited in any way and look at those muscles!  He is loving his new strength and with that his upgraded coordination, speed, and stamina.

Allie and her pup

Just hanging out with Auntie Nikki's Chewie dog, talking and petting and singing in the sunshine.

14 days...

Over two weeks and counting... that's how long we have missed school b/c I have been sleeping in a chair.  That's how long my husband has had to work from home so I can go to doctor appointments and get vitamins through IVs.  Fevers, deep chest coughing, trouble breathing, zero appetite, nose bleeds, hair falling out, unable to sleep.  Sweating through piles of blankets and pjs, coughing so hard I throw up the little food I do eat.  Migraines.  Thank goodness I have a loving and patient family.  I have a doctor that supplies western medicine along side natural remedies.  I have finally broken through the constant fevers but I am still struggling to get my feet back under me.  We did school today and I almost broke down in tears with the realization of how much I missed spending the days with my kids, talking, laughing, reminding them to stay on task.  I love hanging with my little people.  We are a crew and being quarantined away from them for so long has left me missing their goofy smiles and their jokes that don't make sense.  It's so good to be out of that darn rocking chair- like an old lady on her death bed.  No thank you!  I am so grateful for homeschool that we do year round in case of things like this.  I am grateful for kids who have really learned to go with the flow the past couple years while I wrestle with health challenges.  I am grateful for a husband that feed the family takeout every day for 2 weeks while we are in survival mode b/c he's working and taking care of me and everything else.  I am thankful for green juice (the only thing that sounded good while I was sick).  Grateful to be on the upswing for now, knowing that each moment I can get out of bed has now become a gift of giant proportions.

Rosie Revere, Engineer

Today we went to the musical production of Rosie Revere, Engineer and it was delightful.  They are a series of books inspiring kids to build and create and be brave in those inventions.  We love them and to see it on stage put to music made for a fun family afternoon.