10

As we have hit a milestone...10 years, a decade, I spent some time thinking about what lessons and thoughts I wanted to share with Emmah. She may not appreciate all of these yet, but she will and learn to understand them too. 

1. You won’t be liked by everyone and that’s all right. However, I strongly encourage you to BE YOURSELF even if others don’t recognize how special you are. I'm sure this will take awhile to settle in, it did for me, but in the end you're a wonderful person and if someone doesn't see that...they are missing out! "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends." (Dumbledore-Harry Potter) Don't be afraid to fight for what you believe in. As I heard many times from Memah..."Kill them with kindness, and don't stup to their level and be the better person. None of which will be easy.

2. Always ask questions...no question is a dumb question, unless it goes unasked. There will always be something to question and an answer to look for...get out there and ask!

3. Keep smiling. It’s a cure for common sadness and can truely "make" someones day. Laughter is the best medicine and even in tough times a smile can warm the heart.

4. Dream BIG!! Believe that no matter what it is you want to do you can do it and we are always behind you, cheering you on along the way. It may seem impossible some days, but the more you push and perservere the closer that goal will become to reality. 

5. Don’t do favors or charity with the expectation of getting something in return, or having the favors returned to you. Do them because it makes you smile and warms your heart. Compassion for others is  gift to share...share it!

6. You’ll have your heart broken at some point, and you’ll inevitably break someone else’s. Pick up the pieces, hold your head high and look for love again. Sometimes...when you're not really looking at all you'll find it right in front of you. Let yourself love and be loved. Eventually, you'll find that one true love and when you do, your heart really will skip a beat, and and feel whole in their presence. Love isn't easy, but worth the work!

7. Always write thank you's...take the time to write a short note to the person to let them know you appreciated their thoughtfulness. As your Memah always said "If you're not thankful you don't receive."

8. Dad and I will embarrass you in front of your friends. This is inescapable, and at some point in your life you’ll appreciate the fact that we were weird,. Until then, please try to exercise some patience. Every crazy, wacky, and weird thing we do or say is, only because we love you. And that will NEVER change!! All the crazy years that are to come...the fights, the yelling its all bound to happen, but we'll always be here and LOVE you no matter what! We will tell you "We love you" (and won't tire of hearing you say it!) and will love you everyday, even if some days you don't think we do. You hold a special place in our hearts and that can NEVER be replaced!

9. Keep your family close, and surround yourself with wonderful friends. Family is there no matter what...when you make the wrong choices, the right choices and every step in-between. When you find the right friends they will become like family and fill the gaps, join you in laughter, cheers, and sometimes tears. They will you always believe in you and be there through thick and thin.

10. You are beautiful inside and out. You won’t always feel that way when your stand in front of a mirror, or with your friends. I know this struggle all to well, and kids and the world can be tough and sometimes down right MEAN. Striving to be perfect will only cause you more frustration, be content in who you are and always believe that's enough because to the right people it is.

Emmah Ruth Bloemers...you are an AMAZING miracle that has been brought into our lives. You bring us joy, laugher, smiles, frustration, and happiness. You will never fully understand how much we LOVE you until, hopefully someday you are blessed with a child of your own. Until then know that we are always here and love you til the end. Watch out world she is just getting started and she is going to be SPECTACULAR!

4 years

It's been 4 years since you left...and I still miss you like I did on the very first day. I remember that day like it was yesterday, I can tell you where I was, what I was wearing and exactly how the day went. You were my BEST friend, you taught me to sew, cook (Not real good with this one yet!!) bake, and teach.  I am better because of you...I am who I am because of you. This one's for you Mom... For Good And although I know I will see you again one day I still miss you and wish you were here. Thanks for being the BEST Mom EVER!!

New Traditions

Every year is full of change...and change is good. Well sometimes....   This year I am having a really hard time with change. Usually on Christmas Eve we celebrate Christmas with the whole Bloemers side...this year it will be different. Which really is a good thing, since it will be easier for more people to make being the Saturday before. I was hoping we would do our small Bloemers family gathering that night instead, but not he case, which I too understand.   This leads me to my issue...we now have NOTHING on Christmas Eve, or really Christmas Day. Usually both night and day are filled with family and they will, but just the 4 of us.   This I am dreading...   Toby says we will come up with something special to call our own, but it really just makes me miss my mom all that much more...   We have some ideas...but I am slowly working myself up. I wish I could just push it back and think of all the special memories we will be making with our kids, but sometime less isn't more and in this case less people, especially one that will be missing is being missed an extra lot this year.

Sneaky Elf

With Christmas comes one of my favorite Holiday traditions...Chip our Elf!! He usually shows up sometime after Thanksgiving and then gets into all sorts of different adventures.   **If you haven't heard of Elf on a Shelf...you need to check it out, it really is A LOT of fun and the kids just LOVE it!!    Here is his arrival....I think he arrived in style!

 

Day 2:

 

Day 3:

 

 

 Day 6:

 

Day 7:

The kids are really loving all the adventures "Chip" is having this year!! I am too!!

 

Time to Make the Doughnuts

I suddenly have a HUGE obsession with baking...I just LOVE to do it!! Sometimes that is a good thing and other times, well let's just say not so good for the diet! However, I have been working hard to find healthy alternatives in my baking!   Well, I LOVE doughnuts! Who doesn't??? But...with the diet they are NOT my friend! Searching Pinterest I came across a baked doughnut recipe and just had to give it a try! Now they are a new fall favorite and my kids want me to look for more recipes! (You know it's serious when you go out and buy an actual doughnut pan!!)  

Apple Cider Doughnuts

 

Ingredients:

granulated sugar for preparing pans
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 large egg, beaten
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup apple butter
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup apple cider
1/3 cup plain nonfat yogurt
3 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil (I use unsweetend applesauce, which make them healthier!!)

 

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray. Sprinkle with sugar, shaking out excess.

2. In a mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside. In another bowl, whisk together egg, brown sugar, apple butter, maple syrup, cider, yogurt and oil. Add dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Don't over mix! Divide batter among the cavities in the prepared pan. Don’t fill them to the top or your doughnuts will lose their holes when the batter puffs up while baking!

3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until the tops spring back when touched lightly. Loosen edges and turn the doughnuts out onto a rack to cool. Clean the pan, re-coat it with oil and sugar. Repeat with remaining batter.

4. Ice your doughnuts, if desired. Sift 1 cup powdered sugar and mix w/ 2 ounces light cream cheese, a dash of cinnamon and enough nonfat milk to create a spreading or dipping consistency. Dip tops of doughnuts into the icing, then set right side up on a rack to let the icing set.

 

One batch goes a long way...I got about 18 large doughnuts per batch. You'll get LOTS more if you go mini!!

 

Recipe from Recipe Girl.

Bumps in the Road

Sometimes things just fall into place...like they were perfectly meant to be!!   Then there are other days when you hit a bump, and then another...and you just can't seem to get where you need to go! Yesterday was one of those days. Emmah has been doing great!! Things couldn't be going better, she is LOVING school, her teacher, started GEMS at church, and was really showing some maturity.   And now things suddenly have changed....   She is still loving school, her teacher, and enjoying GEMS, but her fits are back. And although they seem to be less frequent they are very deliberate and purposeful. The last few fits we have seen have been of epic porportion we are hopeful and looking into some help not only for her, but for us as parents and as a family!   We ARE hopeful...there will be answers, it is just going to take time!  

A Thousand Words

This picture is worth more...I will cherish it FOREVER!!  

Daddy tying his "man" tie for picture day.

 

Challenges

I know its been awhile...and I have as of late been using this blog to do more crafts and recipes rather then sharing how our family is dealing with the everyday of a child who is unique in her own way.   Some days...things are great! She is happy, cheerful, helpful and hasn't a care in the world. Then there are the days when things are not so cheerful, there is crying, screaming, and sometimes things get physical.   Now while most days are good ones, we seem to hit a bunch in a row that are not so good. One thing we have learned in all this is that timing is everything...if we keep the meds right on track then we are usually okay (not always). Another thing we have learned is once she has gone down the path of no control...there is no heading back, you have to wait out the storm. Sometimes its short...sometimes its long. Most the time its frustrating.   I love her unconditionally and wouldn't trade her in for the world. I just sometimes wish I could make it all stop, that my mom was here just as a sounding board, and that I could do more for Em. I know we are doing the best we can and have made some HUGE changes for the good, with doctors and meds. But she will always be on this journey and as a mom and a fixer...I just want to take that away.     Another school year is approaching and I know we are going to have a great year, it may have its challenges, but its going to be great!  

7

How in the world does my baby suddenly turn 7???
He went from this:

To this:

Time has just flown by...I LOVE the little man he is becoming. I can't wait to what the future holds for this lego loving, sports fanatic!!

We LOVE you Jake Maddux!

Happy 7th Birthday!

Where we're at...

It's been awhile since I have updated on how things are going with Emmah and I think maybe it's about time. This year went so much differently then last year and we couldn't be more thankful for that.

With the change in meds, a new teacher, a new principal, an IEP, counseling, and some natural maturity we are actually making some progress in the right direction.
We recently went in for a pysch. evaluation to make sure that we had someone local that would be able to help us with meds. (We had been going through The Center for Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics in Ann Arbor, but the distance was too great.) With this evaluation we have made some med changes again, but uping on and then adding a new one. This does bring us some concern as we don't want to over medicate, but also want to help her to be able to control her choices. I am really hoping we will see some changes and be able to go into this year at an even better place.

It was so frustrating last year to know that underneath all of those issues, sadness, and anger there really was a sweet little girl that was trying to get out and do well. But we just didn't know where to go and how to help her.

This year we dropped, significantly, the number of behavior reports, and made some real strides.

Ice Time

On Sunday we headed to GR to meet some friends. The fun part of meeting them was we were going skating on an outdoor rink, as part of a fundraiser by the local hockey team and then for some dinner.

It was a lot of fun, there were hockey players out there, fires to warm yourself by, ice sculpters, hot chocolate and pretty decent weather. We enjoyed seeing good friends and catching up. Once we were done skating we headed to a local restaurant for an early dinner. It was good food and good friends all rolled into one!

Happy Birthday Mom

Today my mom would have been 68 years old. Sometimes its hard to believe she is really gone. I miss her so much and think about her all the time. To make a hard day just a little special for the last 3 years I have had the kids make small birthday cards. We then attach them to some colorful balloons and send them up to Memah.(In case you didn't know...all balloons go to heaven, right to Memah. Who has quite a collection!) 

My birthday is tomorrow, and I do like a good birthday it just hasn't been quite the same. It will always be a little hard, but I try my best to not shed tears, but to think of all the good times and remember she is having one heck of a birthday party!! 

*Pop Pop*

This time of year is always a little patchy for me...it brings some days that remind me of sad things and I tend to get cranky. Most would say it's okay to be a little down, to be cranky sometimes, but I hate to take it out on the ones I LOVE. Especially, when its the kids and they don't really understand why.  Well during this time of year, comes my birthday and what would have been my mom's 68th birthday. Every year since she has passed I have looked to do something worth while to make it special, remember good times and make memories to do this we bring in my best friend!We have her family over for our annual Bubble Wrap Dinner. This includes bubble wrap placemats, balloons and birthday cards. On Saturday we had my friends and their kids over to enjoy each others company and POP some bubble wrap!! Now to fully understand the bubble wrap dinner you must understand that when my mom had her open heart surgery they gave her a bubble wrap envelope for her glasses. Since she had been given something to calm her a little she thought the bubble wrap was sooo fun and just kept popping all the bubbles. So everytime she was in the hospital after, we brought her bubble wrap. It's a funny memory! We didn't get the balloons off so the kids and I will do it on Tuesday.

Snow...FINALLY!

We have been waiting and waiting and waiting...to get some real snow here in Michigan. Although a few months ago we got our first snow, it didn't stick around long and wasn't much to shake a stick at. Well the end of last week finally brought what we have been waiting for...SNOW!!Although we didn't get the fun of our first snow day we did get a chance to go out and have a little fun! 

Crazy kids, crazy fun!!

Swim Time

My kids hit the pool the first day we arrived and pretty much every day we were there!! 

Swimming in the hot tub...although they really didn't have to!

I think what made this even better was the fact that it was December!!

*Family Time*

On Dec. 26th my brother Jeff and all of his 3 kids headed over to my sisters for some fun family time with lots of kiddos running around!!Altogether we had 19 people (6 of which were kids!)We enjoyed a delicious meal and then got right to catching up!Some played some cornhole...not sure they followed all the rules, but there at least they were having fun! 

Did some scooter riding

And just enjoyed each others company, catching up and spending time together since many of us don't see each very often.

This is one genetically loud family, but one loving family!