I have not written in so long!!!!  I have no real excuse I could say that I don’t have time however I kind of feel like that is like saying I didn’t have time to exercise and If I really want to make time for something I do.  I can say, the last year has been tough for me, to say the least and I just have not felt like writing.  However I am breaking the ice today!  This year my new year’s resolution was to write more!  So far I have failed miserably.  I am not longer able to go with my trusty old resolution of trying to lose weight due to a deal I made with God this Spring so it was time for something new!  And, sadly so far I have done just about as well with it as I have done with my weight loss goals in the past!  But today is the day!  Here is the official Avery girl update!

First of of all Miss Maddy turned 9 December 18th.  I will stick to the standard I can’t believe she is that old!!!!!  Also when did 9 turn in 16?  If I have ever met a teenager in my life it is Maddy!  It seems these days everything that comes out of her mouth is sassy and defiant.  Although I guess I can’t say this is much different from when she was 2.  Last week she decided she was going to wash all of her own laundry.  She insisted day after day so I allowed her to hoard her laundry in her room.  So basically she insisted on doing her own laundry but never actually went to the laundry room with it.  I must say that I am probably to blame for this because I am the laundry fairy around here and I am pretty sure no has any idea how their clothes get clean.  Furthermore, I am convinced that no one in this house knows where the laundry room is.  And so Miss Maddy got up Friday morning and came out of her room yelling at me (yep me) that she had no clean clothes.  I calmly reminded her that she was going to wash her own clothes and she had not actually done so.  This was then turned into a crying and yelling fit in which I was blamed not only for the lack of clean clothes but also for all that is wrong in the world.  With this accusation I went into her room with a cup of coffee in one hand and a bottle of tranquilizer in the other ( just kidding, wishful thinking maybe!) and searched for an outfit for her to wear.  By some miracle I found about 20 clean outfits she could wear.  Praise God!  However none of these passed Miss Maddy’s vigorous requirements, all were denied and she grabbed an outfit out of the pile of dirty clothes on her floor.  There was a time when this would have made me crazy but i gave up long ago worrying about things that don’t matter at all.  It is a new week, and I swear as I was typing this Maddy walked out of her bedroom and asked if I could do her laundry!!!!!  Lesson learned??? Maybe but I kind of doubt it.

Molly Jo and Maggie’s update goes together because they are like peanut butter and jelly.  In the last 6 months I cannot believe how close they have become.  They do everything together all the time.  They play together always, sleep together, take baths together, everything.  Molly gets a little break when she goes to school part of each day but that is about it.  Christmas morning Maggie was super excited and she kept randomly running up to Molly and hugging her saying, “I love you Jo!”  Of course it is not always peaches and cream with these two.  They have knock down drag out fights and they find their fair share of trouble together.  My suspicion is that Molly is the mastermind of most plans and Maggie is the muscle.  I usually catch Maggie “in the act” and Molly somewhere behind the scenes.  Of course they are both more than happy to blame the other for any trouble they find.  Before I even say anything they have usually already told me the other one did it.  The drama gene is also very prevalent in these little ladies and I spend many days wondering how we will survive the teen years with them………actually I think I can make it I am pretty hardy but poor Big Daddy doesn’t stand a chance…….

As I start week 2 on a new medication I would like to share with everyone my daily devotion.  It brings me hope.  Hope that all that I have endured over the last months will make me a better more sympathetic and understanding person.  This is not to say that anything has been easy, or is going to be easy.  I have started to lose my hair, much harder than I expected and only time will tell how much will go.  I also feel increasingly tired which is very hard to deal with while I have such young children.  And of course there is always the nagging uncertainty of how things will go, will this treatment work and will the side effects be worth it.  Will my body be able to handle this treatment?  All questions no one has the answers to.  However I choose to believe that there is one who does have the answers and has a plan for me, he has made me the person I am and the person I will become through this experience.

And for a daily dose of faith I thank my Aunt Pam who is there with me everyday thru her words and prayers.  The following is a devotion for Sept. 12, from the book, “Good Morning…… God, by Pamela Steinke.

The Sympathetic Heart  2 Corinthians 1:3-5;Romans 5:3;1 Peter 4:19

“Your trials and heartaches have not been just for you.  They have been for others just as well.    For now you have faced all manners of trials, all kinds of emotions, a myriad of circumstances.  You have learned much.  You have learned the hard way-now you can turn and help others.  The sympathetic heart, remembering well its own burden, so like the burden of another, is of prime importance in My kingdom.  You can understand the suffering of another, for you have suffered in like manner.  And as I have held out My comfort and answers to you so too you may now turn and hold out a helping hand to those who suffer.   Share with them the wisdom, the deep caring love that I have for them.  Turn them away from themselves towards Me.  Never regret the sufferings you endure, for they are a reservoir of treasure in My kingdom.”

With the start of the school year comes a lot of tears from moms and kids alike, but not in the Avery household.  Here the beginning of the school year signifies the end of tears!  Maddy left for 3rd grade this morning with a smile on her face and bounce in her step.  And Molly trucked off to 4k without so much as a glance back at me.  And Dewie, well, she was just happy to see them go.

Maddy Noel – 3rd grader!

 

Molly Jo-4K

 

Maggie Jane-Happy to see them go!

And so Maggie and I will begin each day with smiles on our faces knowing the time of crying is done.  There will only be minor crying and yelling in the morning and evening, not all day as it has been, and we will have glorious hours of time to spend together.  No one will be fighting over a dirty band-aids, or who gets what swing!  Guess what Mags, you can pick any swing you want!!!!!!  You can swing on all 3 if you want!  They are all yours!!!!!!

It is safe to say that Maggie and I are flying high after a very LONG summer.  We have endured a lot together, but it  was worth it because we have found the light at the end of the tunnel.  May this school year be long and peaceful for all!

Jake and I owe a big thank you to a whole lot of people for making our recent vacation possible.  Without the help of a whole team this trip would not have been possible.   Here are a few honorable mentions…….I am sure i will miss some but here goes.

Thank you to papa who truly has no FEAR.  Not only did he take care of the girls the whole time we were gone he willingly took them into public.  This included a trip to the Kia dealership to get the van fixed which took a few hours…………….believe me this is not a task for the faint of heart.  I have personally seen Dewie tear that place up in under 5 minutes.  He also traveled to Marshfield and took them to the fair, totally insane.    This involved 3 hours in the car and I probably don’t need to say FAIR again.   The most stressful task of the week was getting them ready for their first day of school which included fixing their hair and having their school pictures taken.  This job in and of itself would cripple most people, I mean have you seen Jo Jo’s hair?Anyway, super super big thank you to papa for taking care of everything while we were gone, I talked to the detox center and they said you should be ready for pick up by Friday, see you then!

Now in order of importance:  Thank you to the two gentleman who agreed to switch seats with Jake on our flights so that he could sit next to me. (Flying is not my thing………to say the least)  The first guy got up quickly and switched seats when I told him I had just taken a fist full of tranquilizers and I would probably start drooling on his shoulder in about 10 minutes.  Then 2nd guy took one look at Big Daddy and just got up.

 

I owe a super big shout out to God who kept me from dying of a heat stroke on our way to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop.  You see Big Daddy truly believes I am super woman and that I can do anything, so he decided I could walk to the pawn shop in 115 degree heat.  I however tried to convince him I needed a cab.  Big daddy won and I almost died outside a Walgreens.  But a few sips of Gatorade and a prayer later I got up and walked to rest of the way.  Whether I made it the rest of the way thru stubbornness to prove that I could make it or if it was a true miracle, I don’t know, either way I made it.

(yep that is me under the sign, you can barely see me because I wasted away on the walk…………..)

 

Thank you to whoever created these shoes because watching women walk around in them provided me with endless hours of entertainment……..

Actually most women were not walking around in them it was more of a hobble and occasional fall all the way to the ground, hilarious!!!

Finally thank you to Big Daddy who took me on a fabulous trip even though I am about as high maintenance as you can get.  He stood by me through airport security with my back pack full of drugs and my screening for explosives.  He willingly paid for $5 bottled water just because I had to have it.  He paid for 3 cab rides just because I could not walk miles in the heat.  Thank you for an amazing time!!!!