Pumpkin Patch

Now to better days....The girls have been looking forward to picking out pumkins this weekend. I was really hoping to be better so we could go. I WAS! We took a trip to Carringan Farms in Mooresville. It was really nice. We took a hay ride to the pumpkin field, then we each picked our own pumpkin. I didn't think too far ahead though. It would have been nice to have Craig with us to help carry the pumpkins back to the tractor. Next year I think we will go on a day when all of us can be there!

The girls had a great time!

Doctors, ER's, and Disney, all in one....

A little update before we get to the pumpkin patch. When we returned from Disney, we ended up in the ER that night with Ashlyn. She started getting tired and just had a little cough the last day at Disney. Then we noticed she was barely breathing, like Kiley does when she has an asthma attack. We went to the hotel and gave her a breathing treatment, which seemed to help a litte, then another one just before we left for the airport. She was not doing well on the plane, but thankfully, she slept most of the time.

When we got home, she really was struggling to breath, so we took her to the ER. She was given another breathing treatment and a chest xray showed bronchitis. This was Friday the 21st (well actually Saturday the 22nd at 2am).

Monday, both girls were put back on antibiotics for MERSA, again! This time they were put on two types and one for the nose to hopefully cut down on the colonization there. Apparently, for those that don't know, it lives in most peoples noses, typically not causing any problems. But, it can colonize to higher concentrations and then cause infections.

This past Tuesday, Kiley started with cough and we ended up at the Dr.'s on Wednesday. She was having trouble breathing and we tried 4 breathing treatments on Wednesday with no true progress. Then on Thursday the Dr. did one and that helped tremendously. I'm not quite sure why it always works better at the doctor's office though?

Thursday, I started feeling bad and was in bed basically all day on Friday.

All this to say....we are all well now!!!! All these health issues help me to see that I'm not in control of my life! I have to rely on God in ALL times! I am sooooo thankful that we aren't a family dealing with a child or parent with cancer, or a terminal illness! I can't comprehend what it is like to go through that.

Castles and Knights

We are studying the middle ages and Kiley's co-op art class made castles just before vacation. Her castle is complete with a toilet at the top of one of the towers! She also painted a sheild with the Tweed Family coat of arms on it. She can't wait to see what they do this week in class!

Ashlyn made her own castle as well....

M - I - C- K - E - Y .......M - O - U - S - E

We're back from vacation!

We had a blast! The girls did great and loved every minute, even when it rained. It was HOT, but even with that, God's grace was abounding and I can't think of one moment of turmoil or complaining...What a blessing! We were all very thankful to be there and be enjoying so much fun and spending time together. It was awesome!

I'll type more later about our trip, but here are a few pictures in the meantime. We did end the week with a trip to the ER for Ashlyn with Bronchitis, but she is getting better now...more later.

Sugar, Spice, and ....Tap Shoes??

For those of you without girls, you may not totally understand this entry...But for those of you with girls...I'm sure you will (unless, perhaps they have 4 brothers, or a testosterone leaven family).

Part 1: Ashlyn just started dance this year at Kingdom's Feet. She has been waiting for this moment since about her 2nd birthday. You see, she's always gone to Kiley's dance and watched with me and practiced with her at home. She knows shuffle step, dig, toe...plie (plee-ay), the whole nine yards (or I guess the whole ensemble) for a 3 year old. Her first class was last week and she doesn't understand time, so each day she thinks perhaps it's dance day again....

Today she was thrilled that it actually was!

Part 2: With both my girls, shoes that make noise when you walk and dresses that twirl when you twirl, are the two most important things to look for in apparel. Without these qualities, the best and prettiest of dresses don't seem to cut it.

Part 3: This is what I found tonight just past midnight as I went into the girls room to put away some laundry....

Tap shoes, and her twirly Christmas nightgown.....

Locks of Love

We'll, yesterday when Ashlyn's hair was cut...Kiley really wanted hers done too. I was reluctant to let her though. From 2 years old she has always said that she wants her hair long enough to reach the toilet. Why this is how she imagined long hair, I'm not quite sure, but she did.

I let her think on it overnight, and was awakened with a little whisper at 7am this morning saying "Mommy, will you cut my hair now?" I can only imagine how her hair would look it I did cut it right after waking, but she asked anyway (I can be quite cranky when I just wake up...the reason I take very few naps). Of course, I said, "I'm still asleep." She replied, "when". I agreed to cut it at 2pm when Ashlyn was napping.

So now both the girls are sporting short styles for the first time since they were 2 (well for Ashlyn that was only over a year ago). I'm surprised that I like it, but it looks really good on them (even if I do say so myself).

This is Kiley...At first I didn't want to do it, but then I decided I really wanted to. I saw the pictures on www.locksoflove.org of the girls that needed hair and how happy they looked after they got hair....and since my hair could make a difference like that, I decided to. When my mom was cutting my hair, she said "It's too late to turn back now", then I pulled some of the short hair in front of my face and said "I LOVE IT!" I am so, so glad I decided to. I'm so excited for them to get my hair!!!

McAliss'

For months now Ashlyn has been asking me to cut her hair short like the McAliss' (our dear friends, the Morales', for those of us that speak grown-up). So....since we are leaving in 8 days for Florida, I thought now would be a good time. It suits her well since she doesn't like to keep her hair up.

Her daddy has always called her "fuzz head". Well, I think she still is "fuzz head" but maybe just not so much of it!

Pictures of before, after, and the big ball of hair Kiley thought MUST be in the picture....Opps...the pictures are out of order....they go in order from bottom to top. Still getting the hang of how to do this...

Loving school

I am so grateful to say Kiley is LOVING school this year. Partly because she loves history and science and, thanks to the ladies in charge of Seeds of Faith, her co-op includes both classes. Ashlyn, well, she just has fun eating the M&M's and icing!

We learned this week about the Byzantine Period of the Middle Ages and the beautiful Mosaic artwork of that time. Today we all made mosaic edible art of our own! They had a great time!

We're Back...Again!

Thanks to Anna for inspiring me to keep up with this. It really is a good way to stay in touch with friends, especially those we don't see often.

Confession time....I've always wanted to take a picture of my kids like most of you have. You know....the one that they all lay down with their heads together. But most of you have enough for at least a basketball team, and two just doesn't cut it with that photo. BUT...I found a solution. My girls love their "doll-doll" and "bear-bear" and consider them part of the family. At times, they take over mom's job as nurturer! So, we did it! Our two girls and their dollies!

We're Back!

Ok, it's only been 6 months since the last post. I actually forgot I was even working on blog. So here's the update.

Things in the Tweed house have been very interesting...food allergies, eczema, asthma, there's always something going on. We really need to have a doctor on staff here at our house.

The latest was a two night stay in the hospital with Mersa (staph infection resistant to antibiotics). Thankfully, no surgery was necessary, even though the doctor's at first thought it would be. God is good!

The day after my return home, Kiley had a really bad asthma attack, the worst ever...then the next day Ashlyn showed up in the morning with a stye!

I'm hoping someone in the family may go into the medical field? Anyone?

All is well today, we are praying the Mersa is gone (the girls had it two months ago and it's really hard to get rid of, and Ashlyn has a suspicious place on her chin!)..

We are enjoying the gym, swimming, free summer movies and friends this summer....I'll try to keep posting to keep everyone informed and post some pictures soon!