No More Cuts

Yesterday the kids & I attended a rally at the State Capital w/ Grandma Mary & Aunt Chrissy. The rally was a small protest against the budget cuts that our new Governor, Jan Brewer has put into place. It's just absolutely insane & heartless! I just feel that if our Governor was directly affected by this, these cut wouldn't have been made at all. How frustrating is it that she spend $200K on a stage for her Inauguration. That's 4 therapists salaries for a year! Why all these cuts? ALL therapies for kids have been completely cut unless, the child is on Long Term Care! Long Term Care, ACCHS is a program for kids w/ multiple medical problems. Thankfully, Maggie is was qualified for Long Term Care after she was born. She is good until her 1st birthday & then will be back up for review. With all of these cuts I'm just putting my hope in God that he will show her favor! Eva gave me a special word that "Faith is the opposite of fear." So, I will not be fearful but I will trust in the Lord. He hasn't let us down yet.

So back to the rally. We got there around 11am & since it's right down the way from daddy's work, he came out to meet us for a little. We held our signs, one that said: "Please don't cut my therapies" & one that said, "My sister matters!" We walked in a circle on the front steps of the Capital & my big boy Noah held his sign as we all shouted "NO MORE CUTS!" "NO MORE CUTS!" He was so cute & all excited to be a part of it all even though really didn't know what the heck was going on. Andrew & Isabella we amazing too. It was such a great lesson for them. On the way we discussed the rights that we have as American Citizens. That we have the right to free speech & what an amazing country we live in. I talked to them about how even though we disagree w/ the Governor we have to submit to her authority & respect her. It was a great opportunity for me to explain about the Bible & how God is our Supreme Authority. At 1:30 we were able to attend the meeting of the House of Representatives. We only got to stay for a bit cause Noah & Miles started to get fussy but at least they got to see it. It was so neat to see where these laws are passed. All in All yesterday was a great day!

*********If you agree with what I've said please let your voice be heard!
Governor Jan Brewer can be contacted by phone at (602) 542-4331. There is additional information on her website: http://azgovernor.gov/Contact.asp

If you need assistance finding your legislators, go to www.azleg.gov!

New House, New School and Surgery

NEW HOUSE

We've moved! We've been in the new house now for almost 2 weeks & are almost done unpacking. I've finally even started putting stuff on the walls. This house is so great! It's only about 2oo square feet larger but man, it's such a better fit! We actually have storage! AHHHHHH! For a family of 6 with a mom (yep, that's me) that's a pack rat...We need all the storage we can get. My Stephen finally has an organized garage! The kids are so happy because they actually have a backyard to play in & I have a linen closet & a walk-in pantry! Thank the Lord!!!!

So, the cat's outta the bag!? I'm the teacher! When I was little I always said that I wanted to be a Doctor or a Teacher & now I'm both! We started home schooling a little over 2 weeks ago & it's going great! It really is a HUGE undertaking but I love it. I feel like I have so much more patience with the kids & now I know exactly what they are being taught. Last night Stephen & Andrew worked on a Science experiment & made their own water filtration system w/ muddy water, dirt, bleach, rocks & other goodies. Isabella, Noah & I danced around the house to learn the tempo & beat of music. I really feel like I'm bonding in such a special way with the kids. It's been so amazing!

SURGERY

Just days after moving into the house & beginning our homeschooling Maggie had her first surgery. Just a couple minor ones but still a very long day for our precious girl! Maggie had to get an EEG, MRI, Tubes in her ears & Ankyloglossia Surgery (clip her tongue). Maggie's Neurologist, Dr. Teodori ordered the EEG to make sure she's not having seizures & the MRI to get better pics of her brain. We had to be at Phoenix Children's Hospital at 9am & that was her last meal for the day. I was so afraid that she would be starving & fussy all day but she was such a trooper. I swear she is the strongest child I've ever seen! Her EEG was scheduled for 10am but of course didn't begin until 11. Luckily daddy had a 1/2 day & caught the tale end of it. The EEG is where they put those funny thing all over her head to measure her brain waves. The pics really make it look worse than it is! After that we got to have lunch together in the cafeteria & then were headed back for her MRI. This is the moment I've been dreading for months. ANESTHESIA! They were gonna take her from MRI (Radiology) to the OR to put tubes in her ears & to clip her tongue. It was so hard to see Maggie go under. The Anesthesiologist said that she would go through a little spasm before she completely fell asleep & that's when I lost it! Her little hangs clenched up & her whole body stiffened! OMG! It was horrible! We waited in the waiting room for about an hour & a half. Her ENT Dr. Mancuso came out & said that she did AMAZING! We were so proud of our little girl!