Merry Christmas from the Rosners

Sometimes, God makes it a little more challenging to count your blessings. For us, this has been one of those years. We've had what seemed to be more than our share of heartbreak and anxiety. In June, Michele's Grandma Maddie passed away. In October, her Grandma Ertl died. Later in October, Julia got the H1N1 virus, and she's been sick ever since, fighting back-to-back illesses. Over the last few months, our dishwasher started on fire, our washing machine started spraying water on the floor and the transmission on our relatively new van had to be replaced. Matt's had four weeks of work furloughs, with one more coming over the holidays. There have been days when we've wanted to pull the covers back over our heads and just hide out for a while.

But, there's the other side of the story - the wonderful blessings that far outweigh the difficulties. Although they are very much missed, both grandmas lived long, full, happy lives. As sick as Julia has been, she has not needed to be hospitalized and she's on the road to recovery. The new dishwasher works great, Matt fixed the washing machine and our van should run for many more years. And, while Matt's been on furlough, Michele is able to work as many hours as she can.

We are so lucky. Four kids that fill our lives with laughter and love. Erica is headstrong and sweet. Luke is lovable and happy. Julia is strong and easy-going. Alex is smart and thoughtful. They make us laugh every single day. And, we have a new furry addition - a teddy bear puppy named Cooper joined our family in August. We may be biased, but he's the cutest little guy on four legs we've ever seen. He's also a little stinker, but we can't help but love him.

Happy holidays to our family and friends. We hope that your blessings far outnumber the challenges you face.

Wishing you peace, love and hope -
The Rosners

Kid Funnies

Luke wanted to use Alex's DS. Alex told him, "Luke, sterilize your hands before you use it." Luke said, "What does that mean? I have to stare at my hands?"

Erica had to pick up her kitchen toys that were all over the living room. She said she needed help, but we told her she could do it on her own. She said, "Hello! I am not an octopus-girl here. I can't pick up eight things at once." Then she said, "I have to pick up so a little pumpkin named Cooper doesn't get my toys."

Random Word = Cleaner

The challenge: Use a random word generator to get a word, and then journal using that word. Well, okay, that sounds like it might be interesting.

So, while watching "Clean House," I got the word cleaner. Now, that's ironic.

Here's my brain dump all around the word "cleaner":

• I've been going greener and using more natural cleaners. Matt thinks I have gone vinegar crazy. But, the nurses use it to clean Julia's neb kit and other stuff, so maybe I'm not so crazy after all. I will be exploring more 'recipes' for other natural cleaners.
• Along with being cleaner, we've been working on more de-cluttering. We're making progress, but it's slow going sometimes. My head knows it's just stuff, but when it comes to parting with it, I'm convinced I will someday have a use for it and regret getting rid of it. Believe it or not, I'm better at getting rid of my own stuff than I am with the kids' stuff. They really do have more toys than they need, so I'm going to have to toughen up.
• Also related to cleaner - organized. We have A LOT of stuff, but most of it is well-organized. Seasonal decorations, kids' clothes, craft supplies, cleaning supplies...it's all pretty darn organized.

October Round-Up

This month might have passed by more quickly than any month I can remember. In many ways, that is a good thing because it was not a stellar month:

• Grandma Ertl died (Oct 7). Uncle Andy died just five days later.
• Sick, sick and sick - Erica and Luke ran fevers off and on for days (each missed a few days of school, may or may not have been a mild case of H1N1), I had a sinus infection (finally got antibiotics after weeks of trying to tough it out), Alex got H1N1 (missed the three days of school during the 3-day teacher convention week), Julia got probable H1N1 (treated with Tamiflu) followed by pneumonia (treated with Zithromax). The ironic part is we did everything we could think of to protect Julia from the swine flu. We kept her home as soon as we heard rumor of an outbreak at her school, we got her immunized at the first opportunity (along with Luke, Erica, me and Matt), we kept her home after the immunization to give it time to fully protect her. The upside - maybe the immunization provided some protection so she didn't get even sicker. The other upside - we don't have to worry about getting it anymore because now we've had it.
• Julia's impact reaches further than we sometimes realize. My co-worker's daughter (Brianna) started a prayer chain with her friends as soon as she heard Julia had H1N1. That's one cool 8th grader. Jill brought us brownies and banana bread. Many others prayed and sent get well wishes.
• Julia has a team of three nurses (soon to be four). Maggie is here three days a week (T, W, R), Christa is here Mondays, Christine is here Fridays. We have been so grateful for their help with getting Julia well again. She is a full-time job!
• Furlough week - Matt was on furlough the week the kids were all sick - not so lucky for him. And, I didn't make a lot of progress on my work projects because I was so tired and worried, I could not function all that well.
• Halloween - Alex (Spider-Man), Luke (dinosaur) and Erica (princess) were well enough to trick or treat at my work on Friday. And, in spite of cold, windy weather, we did trick-or-treat around our neighborhood on Saturday. The boys wore winter coats under their costumes and Erica was a pink poodle instead of a princess. True to form, Erica started complaining about five houses from home. She wanted to trick or treat at my work instead of outside - not an option. Luke soon was asking for water - also not an option. We were with the McLaughlins, so Erica rode in the stroller with Ally and Luke was busy running with Ryan, so he mostly forgot how thirsty he was. We made it for 1 1/4 hours of trick-or-treating, and we now have LOTS of candy.
• Had Julia's IEP meeting - Let's just say it didn't go all that well, and I now have a newfound dislike for plastic apples. I'm not sure when Julia's team gave up on her, but they seem to have lost faith in her ability to do anything. So discouraging, but we're going to keep exploring our alternatives because Julia deserves a team that believes in her as much as we do! We did have an evaluation for private physical therapy, and that should be getting started soon.
• Luke started swimming lessons. We both had a great time. Luke loved the shower after swimming almost as much as the lesson itself. It was a great chance to have some one-on-one time with my little guy who seems to be growing up way too quickly lately.
• Alex was extremely busy with Cub Scouts. He earned a couple of badges and belt loops this month. Scout outings included a trip to Horicon Marsh (Matt also liked that one) and a trip to Pike Lake to learn from one of the rangers. Alex left a really good impression with his intelligent answers, and the ranger tracked him down after the session to compliment him and tell him about a ranger shadowing program for high school kids in case Alex develops an interest in being a ranger.

Siblings

One of the most rewarding and fascinating parts about having a larger family – sibling dynamics. Watching each of the kids develop their own unique personality, and then watching how those personalities mesh together into one family…it’s remarkable. I can give a quick summary of what the relationships look like on the surface: Alex and Luke fight as often as they got along, Luke and Erica are great buddies, Erica and Julia share a special sister bond, Alex is very protective of Erica. But, that doesn’t come anywhere near describing the depth of the relationship the kids have with one another. There are the subtle ways that Erica copies the things her brothers do; how Alex seems to ignore Julia, but listens and processes everything that’s happening with her; the bond that’s growing stronger between the boys now that Luke’s growing up and they are in the same school; the way they all accept Julia’s limitations without question or complaint (most of the time); the teamwork between them as they work for a common cause (usually in a team-up against mom and dad); the way Erica tries to boss the boys around even though she’s just a little peanut – so many nuances that make their relationships impossible to understand completely. But, there is one thing that is crystal clear to me. As my kids get older, one of my greatest wishes for them is to develop, nurture and keep a strong bond and lots of love between all of them. They sure do make a dynamic team, and I hope the sibling bonds keep getting stronger.

A Bad Week

I know it's only Tuesday, but this has not been a good week. So far:

• Sunday - Matt took Julia for her weekly bloodwork and it took six pokes to draw enough blood. They were late getting home and we missed church.
• Monday - Cooper nearly got run over by Julia's bus. Luckily the boys that ride the bus with Julia saw Cooper in the driveway and told the driver (not Anna) to stop.
• Tuesday - Cooper went to the vet and got sick (carsick?) on the way home. He threw up all over Erica, her carseat and the backseat of the Camry. He has also been crying all day - the injection sites must be very sore and he is a big baby.
• Tuesday - Luke almost got hit by a car as he was getting off the bus. Matt saw the whole thing happen, but only luck kept Luke from getting hit. Here's how it happened: Luke needed to go back on the bus because he had forgotten his coat and Matt crossed the street with him. Luke grabbed his coat, got off the bus and started running across the street. In the meantime, an old lady tried to go around the bus from behind - even though the lights were on and the stop sign was out. She will be getting a citation. She also heard harsh words from Matt.
• Tuesday - Grandma Ertl died. She has been having failing health for the last month (since GI surgery on Labor Day where they removed 6-8 inches of small intestines), and she has been in hospice care for several days very near death. Her passing today was a blessing because she is now at peace. But, this comes so close on the heels of losing Grandma Maddie, and it seems like deja vu all over again. What a double whammie.

I would like to say things can only get better from here, but I'm a bit afraid to see what the rest of the week might bring.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Sometimes we see ourselves in our kids in the most unexpected ways. For the last few weeks, Erica has been carting around many, many babies. There are at least seven of them in bed with her every night. There's a regular rotation of dollies in the stroller. Today, all of the babies were missing from her bed. Why, you ask? Because she took them all out into the living room for a party. When she talks about what she wishes for, it's always 'babies' - real babies or dollies, I'm not sure. Bottom line, this girlie of mine loves her babies. Just like her mama.