"Mommy does Jesus live here?"

This was Tyler's first question to me this morning as he walked out of his room with his little hand over his heart. I couldn't help but wonder what he had been dreaming about and why it was on his mind first thing. Whatever the reason, it is a reminder that even when I feel like I have failed in some areas as a mother, I have done at least one thing right- teaching my children to have a heart for God. Even at a month shy of 4 yrs old they want to please this man they cannot see...... they have the "child-like faith" that I should have every day...... in a way they are my teachers. ;) It's crazy how your small children can unknowingly be your little "spirit checkers". I hear you God, loud and clear.... ;)

So..... this is the first time I have updated my blog in 5 mths..... actually, it's the 2nd time ever. I need to do this more often, it's a little "theraputic" LOL. I am really hoping and praying that Nick will hear from his recruiter today to let him know if he has got a certain job or not.... I am soooo praying he did. I am trying really hard not to think about it, but it's hard. I have a feeling being a military wife is going to help me to gain more patience. Not by choice, but because that's just how they operate. Everyone told me its a "hurry up and wait" sort of thing, they were right!! I know some people probably think we are crazy, Nick will be turning 28 when he gets to basic, a good 10 years ahead of all the 18 yr olds enlisting right out of high school. At this point, I still feel like it was a good decision. Everything is falling into place, nothing has screamed "you screwed up" yet, so it's all good. In my heart I feel like it was always Nick's calling, we were just so busy raising twins and trying to make ends meet to see it.

I remember the day back in February, I remember exactly where we were at, and I will always remember the look on Nick's face when I asked him if he had ever thought about joining the military. For several weeks after that day, I would replay the words coming out of my mouth in slow motion..... in the slow motion kind of way where you are thinking "noooooooooooo!!!". But it was too late, I couldn't put THOSE words back in my mouth- that wasn't something I could take back. In Nick's mind, he possibly had "permission" from me to join so to speak- and by that I mean he never thought I would go for it. Not that I have to give Nick "permission" for anything....... ok, maybe JOINING THE MILITARY is an exception on that. I am happy for him though, it means a lot to me to see him pursue his dream- even if it is a little late in the game. Better late than never, right? We will look back 20 yrs from now when he can retire at 48 and find another great paying job to add to our retirement and be glad we did it. And then he will become one of those annoying old men that will sit there and talk your ear off about "his days in the military"... oh boy.

Enough about Nick, on to Sydney. After all, Sydney is the reason why I started this blog anyway, so I could keep in touch with all of my fellow POLP parents ( Parents of Little People). I don't have a lot of news with her as of yet. It is summer time, which means we are due for a flight to Deleware to see Dr. Bober & Dr. Mackenzie. BUT- that won't be happening this year. Instead, I am in the process of trying to find someone locally to see Sydney and do all of the specific x-rays duPont needs to evaluate her. Her medical records should be arriving in a few weeks, so hopefully God will provide us with a doctor down here that is willing to learn more about Sydney's condition considering the fact that it is so rare. Of course, we could drive up to Birmingham and see the lovely doctor that was supposedly one of the BEST pediatric orthopedic Dr's in AL, but I will not give him the satisfaction of making someone feel like an idiot again. I will NEVER EVER put Sydney's care into the hands of a doctor that looks at me and says "She can walk, right? What is the problem?". And he calls himself a doctor? After that statement I then realized that he had absolutely no business what-so-ever touching my daughter. Not to mention the fact that he completely ignored the requests of Dr. Mackenzie. He was so beyond offended that we would seek a specialists- I guess he never dreamed there was someone that knew more about the skeletal system than he did. Surprise, surprise.

Anywhoo- I need to get off my soap box about that doctor. I have learned over the past 4 yrs that just b/c someone has the letters "dr" in front of their name doesn't mean jack crap. Always go with your gut when it comes to your children. I prefer dr's that have a degree, experience, AND a passionionate heart for their patients- THAT is what makes a doctor. I do have to admit that I always get very anxious this time of year...... what will we discover this year?? She has been doing well, but earlier this winter she was complaining a lot of joint pain, and this morning for the first time she was holding her wrist saying that it hurts. The joint pain she experienced really had me determined this year to get the twins into swimming lessons. I want to make sure that there is ALWAYS one thing that Sydney can do without experiencing any type of pain- and that's swimming.

We were blessed to find someone this year that did swimming lessons at HALF the price of what the YMCA charges. Turns out they both LOVE it, it took Tyler a little bit longer to warm up to it, but he is doing great. Sydney I think is a natural. I am soooo glad that she loves it as much as she does. She is fearless, she will just take off and swim with no care in the world. BUT, keep in mind even in the shallow end she is no where near touching the bottom, so we have to be right there to catch her when she comes up. We have to keep a very close eye on her. I have visions of her being on swim teams.... although she may always be the tiniest one LOL. But hey, people don't realize how fast short arms and legs can move!! Ask anybody that knows us- there's just something about those short little arms of hers- they are so fast. If she is knocking on a door, or patting you on the back, it's twice the speed of Tyler!! And there is a lot of force behind it- that child has amazing strength in her arms, so much sometimes she can hurt you!! It can be pretty comical at times. ;)

Well, in between phone calls, wiping bottoms, and kissing Tyler's boo-boo from falling off the bed moments ago, I have managed to update this "blog thing". I think I rambled more than informed. Who knew that keeping our diary back in the day w/ lock & key would one day be called a "blog" lol.. what a word. I don't know if I could do this everyday, it's pretty time consuming. I am off to clean out the playroom, I promised Nick I would do it today, so I better keep my word. ;)