Christmas Recap

Ahhh....the day after Christmas! Most people spend the day shopping...we spent the day together as a family, resting and recuperating. That is after we both got our training runs in for the day. I had my longest run to date today...13 miles! I can now officially say I am feeling fairly well prepared for the race in a little over a month! Ty is quickly gaining on my mileage too, and despite illness and injury, is also doing really well with all this training! I am so proud of us! I can honestly say that a year ago I would have never dreamed I could accomplish what I did today, but what an awesome thing it is to know that we really can do anything we put our minds too!

As for Christmas, we had SUCH a blessed few days! We spent Christmas Eve visiting Ty's grandma in the morning and then his aunts, uncles, cousins, Mom & brother in the later afternoon/evening for dinner and dessert. Luke and Ellie were so well-behaved and I loved just sitting around all of his family, listening to the stories his aunt's and mom shared and soaking in some time together. It was late when we finally arrived home and got the kids into bed so that Santa could come. They were both super excited for what was to come the next morning as we picked out just the right cookies and snacks for Santa and the reindeer. I think this year has been, by far, my favorite Christmas with the kids! They are at perfect ages to enjoy the magic of this season! I delighted myself in each little expression and remark they made as they opened presents and marveled at how lucky I am to be able to share in their joy. This Christmas, Ellie and Luke were my gifts. Being together, sharing in the joy of all that Christmas is was more than enough to fill my heart! I (we) are so blessed!

I took a few minutes before we left the house on Christmas Eve to take a few portraits of the kids all dressed up and looking rather spiffy! Luke has this silly thing about wearing collared shirts and "nice" clothes, so it is rare these days to see him all cleaned up. I didn't even bother buying him anything special for the occasion because of this. Ellie, on the other hand, LOVES getting 'pretty'. She is my little girl, down to the core. She was thrilled that I let her wear the special tiny, beaded bracelet that she received from a friend of our when she was born, and she was indignant if her hat fell off or got messed up somehow! Lol! Sweet Ellie!











Ty says Ellie looks sad here, but I liked the photo anyway. It just feels sweet and thoughtful to me. I like it :)





Aren't they darling?! I love them so much it makes my heart hurt!!!!

Aside from those, I really didn't take many photos this Christmas. We actually took more video than pics. Unfortunately though, sharing those will have to wait for another day. Sorry!

Here are just the last couple pictures to share. Luke on his new green bike he asked Santa for and the rock-star guitar he hasn't put down!


And Ellie just being her cute self Christmas morning...


And finally, just a quick shot before we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and blew out our birthday candles on Christmas evening after dinner.


What a wonderful Christmas!

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Quick Angel Update:

First off, I am so sorry I forgot to post on the day of his surgery! The surgery went well, from what I know. The doctors removed his small intestine, though had to keep his ostomy (the connection from his large intestine to the outside of his body) which is not what Nick & Sarah had hoped for. Angel seems to be showing much improvement in terms of pain and overall illness however. Sarah, I'm sure is absolutely swamped, so updates are sparse, but she did post a photo of Angel today. He looked phenomenal...up and out of bed, playing with his new toys and feeling fairly well today! It warmed my heart to see him via the web! He is certainly the strongest little boy I know...a fighter to his core! Just a reminder for all of you Facebookers, please feel free to join the group Angel's Wings on FB if you would like more regular updates. Its a public group and you can keep up on his progess from there, as I'm not always able to post regularly on the blog! :) I thank each of you again for your continued prayers for Angel! They are working for sure!

Surgery tomorrow

Another quick stopping in to update on Angel for all of you who are praying. First off, THANK YOU SO very much for your prayers and even for your comments letting me know you're praying! We have been witness this week to the amazing, incredible power of prayer and how God is at work in Angel. He went from very, very ill yesterday morning...hardly responsive, on oxygen, spiking fevers to playing with his Star Wars action figures, no pain and off the oxygen by nightfall. Simply a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!! Tonight and tomorrow, however, he will need your prayers even more than ever. Apparently he will be going in for surgery tomorrow to remove his transplanted intestines. :( A risky surgery to say the least and a very sad time knowing that the removal of his intestines will make him TPN dependent again and place him back on the transplant list. Asking for prayers that this surgery goes smoothly, infection of any kind is thwarted and that Nick & Sarah find the peace only the Lord can provide as they walk this dark valley!

Update

Stopping in this morning to let you know that Angel was moved to the ICU overnight with a spiked fever of 104. He is on oxygen and not responding well. From what Sarah said this morning, it appears that Angel is going septic (massive infection). Please remember him and Sarah and Nick in your prayers today!

For Facebook users, you can get more current updates from Sarah on the group Angel's Wings and for those of you wanting a little more information on who Angel is, please visit www.team-angel.org

**If you haven't seen it already, please scroll down to the previous post to read the specific prayer requests for Angel**

Some days it just feels like Heaven can't come soon enough. Some days just feel so heavy...so riddled with sadness. Today is one of those days for sure. In fact, to be perfectly honest, the last six months have echoed much of what I feel today. There is just so much sadness and sickness all around. All too often I am hearing news of family or friends going through such trying times. Friends with cancer...friends with children who are dangerously ill...loved ones and family of loved ones suffering with illness, cancer, death. Today, I feel overwhelmed by it all. Today, the tears are close at hand.

In addition to knowing all the suffering that Angel is enduring and the grief that ensues from that, today we also learned that a co-worker of Ty's (who is also a friend of ours) lost her husband last night to the cancer he had been fighting for many months. 7 days before Christmas. I shake my head at the thought as the tears well in my eyes. I am so sad for all these awful things lingering around me, yet I thank God even as the sadness sits heavy in my heart for all the blessings I enjoy. I AM blessed. I am so fortunate!

On my run this morning, shortly after posting about the prayers that are currently needed for Angel, I just felt this overwhelming burden weighing on my heart. So much so that it seemed difficult to continue putting one foot in front of the other. I wanted to just stop and sit...and stare. But I didn't. Instead, continuing on, I breathlessly prayed for Angel and each precious friend I know who is suffering. I cried as I ran (which is actually quite a strange thing) but in the moments after I prayed, I looked up to find the most beautiful message of comfort written in the morning sky. The sun had yet to fully rise, but there were trails of clouds in the sky, left there by what I am assuming was passing airplanes and they were brilliantly illuminated by the morning light. The blessing of it all was the picture they painted. One HUGE, brilliantly lit cross sat off to the left in the open sky, then a cluster of trails in the shape of three other crosses...almost exactly the depiction of the three crosses on Calvary. The sky was a vibrant blue with no other clouds in sight except these. And as I gazed up at them, in my heart I heard God whisper comfort...almost as if He was saying "Take comfort...the victory has already been won. ONE DAY there will be no more sadness and no more tears. One day, even death will be swallowed up. " Oh to know that ONE DAY all this suffering around us all will end! There IS hope beyond what we can see! How thankful I am for a hope such as this!

I knew that God intended those clouds for me this morning. A precious gift from my heavenly Father! For it didn't take long for the winds up there in the atmosphere to whisk them away, and within mere minutes after I first gazed at them, the beautiful crosses were gone.

Thank you, Lord for the hope you bring, even when suffering abounds! Thank you for this Christmas...for sending your only son to be born so that we may know this hope!

Praying for a Christmas Miracle

I will come back later today to share some fun and happy details of Luke's Christmas program at school today, but for now, I come with a heavy heart asking again for prayers for Angel. Over the past weekend, Angels intestines began deteriorating with lots of bleeding, pain and fevers. The doctors have given his little body until this Friday (tomorrow) to decide whether or not to go back in for surgery on Monday to remove his small intestine. At this point, they feel that the damage to his intestines is too great and the risk of keeping them inside his body too high. Should they choose to remove the intestine, I believe this means that Angel will then be placed back on the transplant list for another triple organ transplant, as no intestine necessitates Angel being put back on TPN for nourishment and TPN is very harsh on a transplanted liver. It all seems like a downward spiral and hope is very low in the Perrenoud household. :(Especially with Christmas just a few days away and so many other special holidays already missed. Please join me in praying for Angel today....for less bleeding from his intestines, for less pain and for his fevers to disappear. Please also pray for God's strength for Nick, Sarah, Angel, Hudson and Haven. They need our support now more than ever!

35 days!

I suppose it's time for a post from me, eh? Its been quite awhile. Over a month since the previous post and even longer since I wrote anything of substance. Sorry, friends! Life has been keeping me on my toes, thats for sure! This probably won't be the most comprehensive post, but I'll do my best to review the highlights that I've missed along the way! How about we start with some pictures? A little trip back to Halloween, maybe???

Our Halloween festivities began at school that week. Luke was SUPER excited to wear his costume for the parade the school puts on the last schoool day before Halloween. Luke chose to be a "knight in shining armor" this year (though many people mistook him for an astronaut!). The costume came with a neat sword, and Ty even got Luke a special christian cross decal to put on the front to signify he was wearing the Armor of God! For days before and weeks after Halloween, Luke was obsessed with playing in his costume, pretending to rescue 'princess Ellie' from the dragon and defending whatever was rightfully his! :) Super cute!

Here's my little prince...ahem....my BRAVE KNIGHT with his preschool teacher (whom we simply adore...she is so wonderful!)


And my little pumpkin not dressed up yet!


On the actual day of Halloween, we met Krystal, Will and the kids in downtown Redlands for their annual Safe Trick-or-Treat. Ironically, (or maybe not if you know how similar Krystal and I are) Matt and Luke had the exact same costume! Lol! They both had a BLAST sword-fighting in the streets and showing their bravery to all who would watch!





Ellie was my Itsy-Bitsy spider this year...opting to revive Luke's costume from a few years ago! She was a head-turner while we were out with those big, blue eyes and dimpled chin peeking out from her costume! She was the cutest spider I have ever laid eyes on!


She really took to the whole concept of trick-or-treating this year too! She was delighted to charge ahead of us on the street and shove her little pumpkin out to collect her candy after she flashed her sweet little smile and offered her squeaky, adorable "Tick-r-teet". Love her!



Snapped this cute one of Matt & Megan loving on one another! Megan LOVES playing the part of the princess...you can almost imagine her little foot raising off the ground here and sweet music playing in the background! Lol!



After their pumpkins were filled to the brim in the afternoon, we all headed back to our house for a yummy chili & cornbread dinner, some more trick-or-treating around our neighborhood and finally, a sleep over! The kids' first-ever one! Luke was SOOOO excited to share his room with Matt and Megan that night, though having all three of them in his bed like he had hoped didn't pan out! Krystal and Will stayed over too in our downstairs make-shift guest bedroom, and we enjoyed having our home full of giggling kids and good friends!

And then it was onto November. A month full of being ill (a not-so-fun case of the flu made it's way through each of us), lots of photography work for me, lots of training for Ty and I, a blessed Thanksgiving with family, and our 7th wedding anniversary!

In terms of the running, Ty and I completed our first 10K race as a team on November 22nd. We are now halfway through our 18 week training program for the half marathon in February, so this race was a good chance for us to see how we would run side-by-side. It was fantastic! The race was organized by some good friends of ours (the parents of our NICU buddy, Brayden) in conjuction with the Redlands Fire Dept. and Loma Linda Medical center to benefit the Childhood Cancer Foundation. There was a police helicopter fly-over at the start of the race, which, combined with a timely song playing in my Ipod and the presence of my dear husband running beside me, actually got me all teary-eyed! Lol! (And who said I wasn't very emotional?) The race itself was so much fun! Having Ty there beside me pushed me to run faster! I had set a personal goal of finishing in less than 55 minutes, but was very pleased at the finish line to see that we actually came in nearly 4 MINUTES faster than that! Our finish time was 51:23 and I was quite surprised to discover that I placed 2nd for my age-brakcet! The race proved to be a great motivator for me, as training up until that point had kinda become mundane and boring for me! I was very happy to see that all the effort I have been putting into specific training runs to improve my speed are actually working!





Thanksgiving followed just a few short days later and we spent this year at my mom's house with Ty's mom, brother, my parents and Jennifer and Adam. It was a smaller gathering than in previous years, but wonderful nonetheless. I was thankful that my mom graciously offered to host this year (it has been at our house the previous 2 years), as life had just seemed a little too chaotic for me to host this time! Here are some pictures of the kids that afternoon, along with one very special shot that I got of them with Meemaw! It is the first and ONLY photograph I have of her with her two, precious grandchildren! She hates being photographed, so this one is one I will definitely hold dear!



Along with this one... :)














On the 30th, Ty and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. Seven years! Its hard to believe its already been that long! They have all been so wonderful! We are so blessed! In line with our tradition to steal away together for at-least one night, we headed out to the desert area for a night at a local hotel. They were offering an amazing deal on rooms that we just couldn't pass up! Since we saved a lot on the room itself, we treated ourselves to massages at their spa in the afternoon and went out for a nice, quiet dinner afterwards. Soooo nice! I haven't felt that relaxed in awhile! We spent the entire next day out there too, wrapping up our Christmas shopping and just hanging out. We had another great meal and headed home around dinnertime to relieve Meemaw, who graciously stayed with the kids while we were away! I think more than anything, Ty and I just enjoyed the quiet. :) Lol! We hadn't realized how the constant jibber-jabber, the barage of questions and the occasional fits really do send the stress level up a notch (or three!!) We love the kids desperately, but to have some time alone was priceless! Here is the only picture we took while we were away...just before heading out to dinner.



And since we are finally into Decemeber, here are just a couple of pics from the night we decorated the Christmas tree. Nothing fancy, but we sure had a great time unwrapping the ornaments and talking about the story behind each one! Luke was intrigued to say the least! And even Ellie, with her chubby, clumsy little fingers was able to hang some ornaments on the tree quite well! :) Happy times! Again, we are so blessed!

Urgent Prayer Request

***UPDATE 11/3***
With tears rolling down my cheeks as I type these words, I just learned that Angel's transplanted organs are in severe rejection. I do not have any words....I am speechless. Please pray!

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We are asking for each of you to begin praying for our sweet little buddy Angel. He was admitted to the hospital late last week with symptoms that could either be a virus or rejection of his transplanted organs. The doctors are still unsure as to what is happening in his young body, but the situation is very precarious at this point. Please pray for the doctors to have wisdom...it seems that the treatment for one thing (virus vs. rejection) might be deadly if it is the other and vise versa. Also, please pray for Angel's body to heal from whatever it is that is harming him! Also for the Perrenoud family who are split up at this point and very, very fearful of what is taking place! Thank you, friends!

Afraid of the dark

I discovered this week that my kiddos and I have something very fundamental in common...we are all just a bit afraid of the dark! Yup...that's right. A trait of mine that has not faded as the years have worn on. Since childhood, the dark has always frightened me. I imagine looming figures, hiding bad guys and all sorts of other evil where there is no light!

I didn't realize just how nervous it makes me until I have been forced to run in the pre-dawn hours these last several weeks. With the time change looming still a few weeks ahead of us, even at 6am it is still pretty darn dark out there! It doesn't help that our little community up here has a lighting ordinance that only allows one street light per street, and oftentimes they are not working properly! Ugh!

So I have had to make the choice to either forego the running, or suck it up. Of-course the former is really not an option, so off I go! (Though I must admit to dragging my feet before each run in hopes that the sun might just miraculously rise! Lol) Tess has become my early morning running companion now. The consensus is (and I have sought several other opinions on the matter) that someone would be outta their mind to mess with a girl who has a full-grown German shepherd leashed around her waist! I hope that's true. Tess has great hearing too...she hears EVERYTHING! She is a good running partner, for sure! AND...just to comfort you (and myself) all a little further, I have started carrying one of Ty's decent-sized pocket knives clipped to my waistband...just in case. ;) Just call me a ninja! Lol! He suggested it was a better option than the pepper spray I had considered. When he was in the sheriff's department, he said it took a solid 30 seconds or so for it to affect him when they all had to be sprayed. All that to say that I HOPE nothing awful ever happens and if something does, I have a bit of protection. Oh! And of-course, I say a little prayer before each 'adventure' as I like to call them! God is a good running partner too! ;)

But still...I get scared. Lol! I'm such a girl!

Makin' playdough

The weather hasn't been the best for playing outside the last two days, so instead of going stir crazy here at home, or spending money out and about running somewhat useless errands, we decided to make homemade playdough today. Actually, it was cornstarch clay. So...we busted out the Redlands Playschool recipe book from 1980 (when I attended there!), got all spiffied up in our little aprons and got to work! The kids had a blast! Each took turns adding ingredients and mixing. Once our concoction was cooled, Luke chose orange and green ("like pumpkins" he said) to add to our clay. And for the next hour, while I whipped together tonight's dinner, they played happily near the kitchen. Days like this make me just love being their mommy! :)

Instead of doing work...

...I opted to good around with Ellie and the video camera today while Luke was in school. :) Just wanted to record her little voice and thoughts as a two year old, so that someday I could look back and remember. :) Just thought I'd post it for those of you who are far away (Aunt Nancy, I was thinking of you mostly!) Don't feel like you have to watch the whole thing...it's like...um....over 5 minutes long! Sorry! I didn't have the time to edit it down. :) Enjoy!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Off and running!

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

I think that is an ancient Chinese proverb, right? My journey officially begins today, though mine isn't 1000 miles...it's 13.1 (15 actually, if you're counting how far my training takes me!). A half marathon. 18 weeks of training and the start of a journey towards many things. Not only will this be a journey of running 13.1 miles, but it is also one of faith and of proving a few things to myself.

For someone who less than a year ago didn't believe she was capable of running THREE consecutive miles, the thought of running 13 admittedly seems daunting! The next 18 weeks will certainly put my determination, my body, my resolve and my self-confidence to the test! I must admit that at the bottom of this mountain, I am feeling nervous, overwhelmed and unsure. :( I guess that is where the faith part of all this comes in, right? In some part of me, I know that if I work hard enough, I will be able to do this. After all, its not that big of a hurdle.....gosh a lot of people run much farther, much more regularly than me! If they can do marathons, I can do a half! Right?! But I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't nervous 'bout it! So...off I go...taking my first step today! My first 6 of 388 (ish! Lol) miles of training! Yikes! Wish me luck!

Potty training and pigtails

Ellie seems to be growing up by the hour lately! Even friends who see her on a weekly basis have commented recently on how 'grown up' she seems to becoming. They say her face is changing or she's getting so much taller, or marvel how her hair has grown. Its a little funny because being with her every day makes you unaware of the physical changes. But I have noticed lots of changes in her development otherwise. She talks pretty clearly now and almost non-stop. She is so aware of her surroundings and will question me about everything she sees. "Mama.....'sat? 'Sat, mama?" (what's that?) As soon as I answer, she is pacified and will respond a simple. "Oh." Cute. She is becoming more and more mild-mannered (as in, she doesn't throw quite as many fits lately). Even on our errand-running excursions during Luke's preschool hours, she is often found walking happily hand-in-hand with me through the stores, listening well when asked not to touch something or to come closer. (Not being in the cart is quite a big deal for me, since most of you know I like containment (aka control) and a free toddler is quite the opposite of that! But she does great!) She oftentimes catches the attention of the other patrons or store clerks with her 'lil pigtails and she basks in their lavish attention on her! :) She is a happy, sweet litle girl. Oh how I love her!

She also began to show a keen interest in the potty this past week. She has sat on the potty just about every day since she was 19 months old, but only because she sees all of us do it and never once did anything 'happen' while she sat. She just hadn't made the connection about what needed to happen. But one afternoon last week, she 'accidentally' pee'd just a little while sitting on the potty after her nap, and that was all that was needed! She connected the sensation with the action and we've been on the road to potty training ever since! Each day has progressively improved and on Saturday, we were at Meemaw's house when she told me she needed to do the 'big business' before she went. And voila! She has been pretty much poop-trained ever since!

Needless to say, I am simply following her lead. I wasn't exactly planning on potty training her until closer to Christmas (Luke was 2 1/2 when we began) but she is obviously ready now! I'm excited.....especially about the prospect of no more diapers in the near future! :) But I also must admit that I am a teeny-tiny bit sad too. Its just one more step farther away from her babyhood and a confirmation of that era of my life coming to a close. But such is life, and I will embrace and cherish every step of the way!

So that's what is new 'round our place this week! We're just happily pluggin' along and looking for a little R & R this weekend as Ty and I get to steal away to Big Bear for the night on Saturday for the annual Oktoberfest up there! We were blessed by a gracious friend who is allowing up to use their cabin for the night. Should be fun!

Hope you all have a great weekend as well! :)

A little encouragement goes a long way....

So I guess I didn't realize how apathetic I had been feeling about the blog until many of you let me know either in person, on the phone, email or here on the blog that you had actually missed me. In a weird sort of analogy, its kinda like how you can cut your finger and not really notice it until you look down and see it. Then, of-course, it starts to hurt. I hadn't realized how just hearing that it mattered to you made me want to come here more often. So....thank you! Your comments and words matter to me!

And before I begin, can you believe that this is my third post for the week! Whoa! Hang on, folks! I'm on a roll! :) Lol!

Today, I spent an hour or so sitting here at the computer with both kids at my side, watching and replaying over and over all those little montages on the sidebar there. Ellie and Luke just could not get enough of them and giggled ferociously at themselves in the video clips. At one point, Luke even laughed so hard tears streamed down his face! Much akin to how his daddy laughs in such a contagious, vivacious kind of way! He had all three of us in stitches!

While I sat here sandwiched by my two little ones, with each of their hands resting lovingly on my lap, I realized something. Life is so short. So precious. So often I waste precious time on superficial, non-essential things. I worry. I fret. I rush. And all the while, time is tick-tick-ticking by me. My kids are growing up before my eyes and hours; even days; can sometimes go by without doing anything truly meaningful...things that will grow their faith, their love for others, their sense of community, or deepen their knowledge of how truly loved they are. And let me just clarify in saying that I know I pour into them every day. I love them, care for them, pray for and with them, and spend countless hours molding their lives! That is my job...I am their mother. But sometimes, don't we all just get that sense that there is always something more we could be doing? That, in our busy day to day lives, we have forgotten to pour ourselves into OTHERS? I dunno....am I even making sense? I guess I am just having a revelation that life is so much more than what exists beyond our four walls, our to-do lists, our computer screens, telephones, cubicles at work, and our television sets. In this crazy world of social networking, emails, texting, blogging and video chatting, we have somehow been mislead. And we have forgotten how important it is to sit together, face to face. To talk...to share meals...have a real conversation outside of cyberspace, to fellowship together. Its ironic to me that this all washed over me as I sat in front of the computer, but I think it was just watching the younger, tinier versions of my children going about their growing up here on the screen that made me realize how FAST time goes. I want to make more of the time we have...I want to make the most of it!

So tonight, I sign off thinking about the little things that can make a big difference. Tell me, friends...what will you do to make the most of it this week?

As a little side note...
Here are some photos from our trip up to my favorite little picnic spot in Oak Glen yesterday. As we walked to our car after playing a long while and eating our PB&J's, Luke made the best assessment of our day... "Ahhhhhh! (looking up at the trees and the sky) There's nothin' better than a little sunshine and a great picnic in Oak Glen. Aren't we lucky, Mom?" Indeed, we are son....indeed we are!







See...even little girls can play 'warriors'!




Then they become the princess again :) Btw, getting in the tree was her idea!




Pretending she was sleeping in the tree :)



I just can't get enough of her!!!


Ellie lending her Bubba a helping hand. Or maybe a shove?


And my handsome Luke :) Doesn't he look so grown up?!




A happy girl with a full belly!


And that was our morning! Life is good!