Capture, savor, and celebrate right now.
After a few weeks of having all three of us here together Chris is back to meetings (the new legislative session begins next week) and Simon has one more day off school today (it's a "professional development/planning day"). I am ready for a bit of "alone" time around here to get some more work done before the baby actually arrives.
I finished cleaning up, clearing out, and reorganizing Simon's room yesterday. One of the things that was most fun was having him rediscover toys he has not played with for awhile that still bring him entertainment and joy. I am glad to have that entire project completed and can move on to my list for the baby room (thanks for all those kind words on the sneak peek).
One of my favorite things over the past couple of weeks is that Simon has really gotten into reading. REAL reading on his own.
Our normal routine is to read a book to him each evening before going to sleep of his choice (we intervene or make suggestions depending on how late or early it is). One night last week he picked Green Eggs & Ham, climbed up on his bed, sat criss-cross, and told Chris he wanted to read it that night.
It took over an hour for Simon to read Green Eggs & Ham the first evening.
After the excitement (and a bit of fatigue all around) Chris had the brilliant idea to come up with a simple way to track the books he reads all by himself: each time he finishes a book he can add it to a list we are keeping on a bulletin board in his bedroom. That in and of itself was enough of a motivator for him to get down to business and it has been working like a charm for the last week.
The next night he read Robert the Rose Horse.
Tonight he fell asleep while Chris was reading to him. He had spent part of his afternoon reading Green Eggs & Ham (on his own on the couch) and starting on Horton Hears A Who.
I so hope this is just the beginning of a lifetime love of reading.
In addition, I would like to ask for your prayers and positive thoughts. Many of you know that I have had a bunch of moles removed over the last year and a half (actually more than 20 since August 2007). This past week I received some results indicating that the most recent one I had removed from my upper chest area is stage one melanoma (this is more serious on the spectrum than the melanoma I had removed in the past which was only on the surface of the skin). I should be getting more information this week as to what the next steps are in this situation.
Consider this your friendly reminder to have your own skin checked by a dermatologist if you have any suspicions or conerns.
Of course, prayers.
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Sending positive energy your way...and prayers too!
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Prayers on your way {heart}
As a nurse, I know how important is to pay attention to our skin... to our everything...
Take care!!
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Praying for you Ali. May God bless you with peace and courage.
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Ali I will defanitely keep you in my prayers. I hope it turns out to be nothing and things will go better from here. Please keep us informed if you find out anymore. Hugs to you! congrats to Simon for reading all those books!!!! YAY SIMOM!!!!!!
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Keeping you in my prayers and positive thoughts, Ali !
So happy that Simon is discovering the love of reading ! Reading is such a passion in my life and I'm so happy that my soon-to-be 9 year old has shared it since he was very little !
Take care of yourself and the little one, nurture yourself and stay positive !
Danielle
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Ali:
I have been a reader of your blog for many years and I have followed your amazing journey with your family. I have a boy the same age as Simon and I love the idea of keeping a list in his bedroom. You truely give me strength everyday by your show of love for your family and creativity.
My prayers are with you.
Sarah
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I've been putting this off for almost a month now and I called this morning to make an appointment for next week (for a mole that is growing). Thanks for the reminder.
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Ali, I'll be praying for you and Chris.
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Robert the Rose Horse is my all time favorite book.
I'll be thinking of you - wishing you good health. Thanks for the reminder to take cood care of ourselves too!
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What a gorgeous picture of Simon at the beginning of the post! My prayers and thoughts are with you and your family. Take care, focus on your family(my word(s) for 2009) and look after you.
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Sending you positive energy and prayers, Ali. You bring such balance to my life. I hope this email brings you peace in knowing how you touch so many lives. I will be keeping you in my prayers.
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Sending lots of hugs and prayers.
And I love the "list" idea for books he can read. I need to start that for my DD. We've talked about a bulletin board for awhile, but hadn't gotten around to it....now I'm gonna go hunt the goodwill store for one, then I'll cover it with fabric and make it pretty!
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All my wishes and positive thinking going out your way, Ali. A few years ago I was diagnosed with a very rare deep tissue cancer--getting a diagnosis is very scary. Be thankful it has been caught early and you have good care.
A big congratulations to Simon. My little guy is about the same age and it's fun to "virtually watch" them go through such similar experiences.
All my best to you and your family.
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many good thoughts your way from here...
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Praying God's peace while you wait for the next step.
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What a gorgeous photo of Simon at the beginning of the post. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Take care, focus on your family (my word(s) for 2009) and look after you.
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My thoughts and prayers are with you!
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My prayers are with you. I have to see my dermatologist every 6 months because I have so many moles. I recently found a "Pigment and Lesion" clinic, which has been fabulous because they photograph your skin. Each appointment, they check your skin with the photos to see if anything has changed. It takes a little of the pressure off of me to make sure I am watching all of my moles. Again, you are in my thoughts!
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ali, my thoughts and prayers are with you. i too have had several moles removed. the one that started it all was 18 1/2 years ago when my first child was just 2 months old. it was stage IV melanoma on my left thigh. i was very lucky in that it had not yet traveled to my lymph nodes and so they just took a huge chunk out of my thigh. but i kicked it then and i know you will too!!! {{HUGS}}
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Ali,
I am sure you are slightly nervous about this step up in your skin care! I will be praying that it is completely cured and completely removed.
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Healing universal vibes coming your way!
Maybe you could have Simon make some bookmarks so he will be more willing to break a book into 2 nights. -- just a thought.
hugs
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Ali,
My prayers are with you...positive thoughts your way!
Hugs, Shelly
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Praying for you and your family and sending big hugs your way.
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The holiday season found me reading Green Eggs and Ham...to my nephew, it is his favorite right now.
So glad you are proactive with your checkups...it can make all the difference! Many thoughts sent your way!
On that note: http://blog.emilieinc.net/2009/01/50-wedding-photography-coverage-raffle.html It's a raffle to support a new non-profit for breast cancer called Pink Initiative: http://pinkinitiative.org/
Best wishes!
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