Ouchies... No Fun!

A little over a week ago, Clara came down with a cold.  Gradually her cough and runny nose became worse and worse.  By Friday night, she was coughing so hard that she would throw up or stop breathing for a few seconds.  She came down with a high fever and we could hear her lungs wheezing.  We thought it was best to take her to the Emergency Room hoping to get a prescription for Albuterol.  It was a long evening at the hospital but Clara was a real trooper!

Thankfully her room had a Disney book for her to look at that kept her occupied for a while...... Her blood/oxygen levels seemed to be OK but the doctor decided to do a chest x-ray.  After a half hour wait for the results he came back to let us know that she had pneumonia in her lungs.  Because there's no way to tell if it was viral or bacterial, they went ahead and treated her with antibiotics.

It was almost 11:00 before we got home and she was sooooo tired - bless her heart.

Three days later we took her to her pediatrician for a follow-up.  Unfortunately her lungs still didn't sound good so the doctor hooked us up with a prescription for Albuterol and gave us instructions to begin breathing treatments three times a day. (The doctors' office has great toys for the kiddos - Clara especially loved this kitchen.)

She does really well and holds her mask by herself.  We just put her on the couch and let her watch a cartoon while she breathes in the medicine.

Two days ago we had another checkup and her lungs were still not healed so she is now on a mild steroid.  But she is happy and full of energy and back to her normal mischievous self.  We will go back on Tuesday for another listen.  Keep your fingers crossed that all will be well!

Ringing in the New Year!

Well..... 2013 has come to a close so the Perry Family decided to party it up to celebrate the coming year.  We also needed to celebrate the end of our winter vacation as the girls go back to school on January 2nd.  We decided to stay home to watch the ball drop but also have some fun activities to do.  I found an idea on the internet that I thought the girls would love.  I came up with a list of activity ideas and put each idea on a slip of paper and put it into a balloon.  Each half hour we popped a balloon to see what activity we would do next.

We started out with having a yummy dinner of new years treats and watching Happy New Year Charlie Brown - yeah, we are party animals in our house.  Then we sat down as a family and came up with a list of family goals/resolutions that we want to accomplish together.  The girls had some good ideas!  After that we played a rowdy game of Book of Mormon Go-Fish.  It's actually a family favorite and we have a really fun time playing it. :)

They were all very sneaky with their cards.....

I found some fun New Years coloring pages online and since the girls got a ton of art supplies for Christmas they were eager to participate.  Even Clara colored a picture with her pencils.

Then it was time for our Wii Dance Party!  All three of our girls LOVE to dance.  They sure got their groove on.  Clara likes to listen to music and yell out, "Shake It!"  It's adorable!

They had some really good moves!

We were also supposed to have a Wii bowling tournament so that Dad could join in on the fun, too but apparently our game is broken so we just spend extra time dancing instead.

At 9:00 we poured our glasses of Sparkling Cider and toasted each other.

It was a really fun night celebrating together.

Happy 2014!  We hope it's a great year for our family and yours!

Merry Christmas 2013

Merry Christmss from the Perry Family!  It was a wonderful day spent together - a fun morning and then lazy and laid back as we enjoyed our Christmas treasures.  It turns out our camera has a timer on it....guess I should have figured that out before.... so we attempted a family picture.  Clara wasn't exactly cooperative but at least we all look nice.  This is in front of our fireplace and next to our tree.

Clara is 2 1/2 now so this was the first Christmas with her that she got excited about opening presents and seeing what was in the packages.  One of her gifts was a little kitchen set.  She loved it!

She also received a new Doc McStuffins coloring book and pencils from Samantha as well as some Mickey Mouse flashcards in her stocking.  We use the flashcards to help her learn words and pronounce them a bit better.

Gramma Perry bought the girls new books to read.  Emma LOVES "Diary of a Wimpy Kid."  She finished it the first day!

Art supplies are always a big hit - especially with Samantha.  She spent lots of time coloring pictures.

Sam also received a new bathrobe - it is very soft and warm.  She has been wearing it all day!

This is Clara and her new tricycle... she likes to sit on it but hasn't figured out how to pedal AND steer.

My big gift from Santa was a new bread machine!  I love it and can't wait to use it.  My other one broke this past year so I have been anxious to receive a new one.  Santa knew just what I wanted!!!

Emma received a giant bulletin board.  She wanted to be able to display all of her 4-H and school awards.  This one should do the trick!

The big gift this year was a new basketball hoop.  Emma and Sam love to play basketball but we are no longer close to a park to play.  Santa dropped it off and Daddy spent several hours in the early morning assembling it.  They also received a new basketball from Gramma and Grampa Edwards.  They are set!

There were lots of other gifts given and received - we have enjoyed the Christmas season and we are sad to see it go.  It's hard to think about waiting another year for it to come around again.  We hope your holiday was very special!

Advent Activities

Each December I put together an Advent Calendar of activities for the girls to do.  Hopefully it helps them to enjoy the holiday and spirit of the season.  Some activities are bigger than others but we do something each day.  We have cut out snowflakes, done secret service, watched Christmas movies, and played Christmas games.  One activity that the girls really enjoyed was making homemade snow globes.  They were very easy to make and they turnd out very cute.

I found the figures at the Dollar store and besides needing the jars (which I had), some glitter, and some hot glue that was all we needed.

Another popular activity was homemade Hot Chocolate with all the fixings.  We had whipped cream, peppermint ice cream, hazelnut cookies, sprinkles, marshmallows, etc.  This was super yummy!

We also made reindeer and snowman pancakes - thanks to Pinterest for the reindeer idea!  The girls were really creative and gobbled them up very quickly after they made them.

Its getting harder and harder to come up with activity ideas that the girls will be interested in as they get older.  But it's a fun tradition to have and hopefully they will remember these moments as they get older.

Happy 11th Birthday Emma!

My little girl is now 11 years old...... It's easy for me to feel sentimental about time gone by.  How many times have I written on this blog about wanting time to stand still or to have my babies stop growing?  But then I look at these pictures of Emma and see what a lovely young lady she has grown into and I can feel good about this stage in her life - for a little bit.  Emma is smart, kind, gentle, thoughtful, curious, observant, and faithful.  I can trust her to make good choices - to be a good friend and a good sister.  She just makes people happy and that makes me one proud mama!!!

She had a great day!  Her friends made her day special at school and we had a little family party at home in the evening with a special dinner and root beer floats.  The main thing she really wanted was a new sewing machine for her 4-H projects.  Hopefully this machine will do the job!

She also got a couple of games, lots of cards and spending money from family members, and a new scarf from her aunt and uncle.  There sure are alot of people who LOVE this girl!

We love you very much Emma!  Hope your birthday was the best ever! :)

Clara Colors

Clara has many interests....The Wiggles, Mickey Mouse, her Baby Doll (that she carries around with her everywhere and sleeps with) playdates, and her sisters.  But she has really taken to coloring lately.  She loves Mickey Mouse so she has a couple of Mickey Mouse coloring books and a bag of colored pencils (because sometimes she likes to eat crayons).  She tells me she wants to color and then she runs to her room and drags out her Fairy table with a couple of chairs so she can sit down and concentrate.

She has such a fun time doing it and her art work is gradually getting better....at least for a two year old.

Now if only we can teach her to pick up after she is done!

Fall Concert

Childrens' Choir started up again in September.  Emma opted to take a break this semester but Samantha was eager to join up again.  They have learned lots of fun songs from all over the world and she has had a great time doing it.  She had her fall concert on Thursday evening where choirs from all over the valley came to perform.  Their first song each child was able to play an African drum with a drum teacher that taught them some beats from West Africa.  Then they sang a beautiful song called "Liberty."

Clara thoroughly enjoyed herself but mostly wanted her picture taken.

She lasted through about half of the program and then it was time to take this stinker home!  We are really grateful that our girls love to share their talents!

School Programs

Within the last week the girls have had special events at their elementary school which have been wonderful to participate in!  The first event was the annual Veterans Day Assembly.  Apparently this is a long standing tradition within this school to invite all the veterans in the area to come and watch a patriotic program put on by the students.  It started with the Boy Scouts displaying the colors and everyone saying the Pledge of Allegiance.  Then the children started singing and it was beautiful!

They did some songs where everyone sang, including the audience.  Then they did the anthems of the five branches of the military.  Sam's grade sang about the Navy and Emma's grade sang for the Coast Guard.  The principal said that it was usually an emotional and touching program and it certainly didn't disappoint!  As a parent, I am thrilled that our children are learning about the meaning of Veterans Day and what it represents.

On Friday the school had an awards assembly which they hold every nine weeks (for each quarter).  This is a time when they honor the childrens' accomplishments and the parents are invited to attend.  Each class chose three students who excelled in reading and three students who excelled in math.  Then they were announced in the front of the school and given a certificate.  Samantha received an award for her excellence in reading!

Here is the certificate she was given:

She also had an award for 100% attendance so far this year!  She loves to be at school!

Emma's name was called for her reading achievements as well.  Here she is coming up to the front to accept her award.

These were the rest of the fifth graders....

And her special award....

Then the principal recognized everyone who participated in intramural volleyball.  Each student received an award and had their picture taken with their team.

 Here is her certificate....

Emma had an award for her attendance as well: 98%

I love that these kids at this school are being recognized for their hard work.  It is motivating for them and you can see how excited they all were to have wonderful things said about them.  Kudos to the staff at the elementary for making it such a great place to learn!