Shea lost his second tooth!

We knew it was coming ... that second tooth was pretty loose. Daddy pulled it yesterday, and now our boy is missing his two front teeth. I was singing the "All I Want for Christmas" song for him yesterday in honor of his new toothless grin. He thought that was pretty cool.

I got a picture of him and also one of all three kids to commemorate this occasion. Yes, Shea is trying to hold Sammy's head still because he refused to look at the camera.

I went looking for pictures from Megan's first lost tooth, and she did lose her first one the summer before she turned 6. Check out this picture; we were having a tooth celebration: eating popcorn and watching the movie Toothless. They were just babies!

Sammy's a Singer

Sammy's favorite song to sing these days is "We Will Rock You." Even this morning as I was getting ready for work, I could hear him singing to himself in his bed...

We will

We will

Rock you

-Tsh-

Rock you

-Tsh-

Even when we can't understand all the words he's singing, we know what he's singing because of the distinctive -Tsh- accompanied with a head bob for emphasis. It's pretty darned cute.

You may be thinking to yourself that "We Will Rock You" is not a very kid-like song, but he is strongly influenced by his dad and older brother and sister. They all love to watch music videos off the iPod in the minivan. I recently bought an AV cable so that we could listen to the iPod in the van, but for the most part, the kids just want to watch music videos. We have just a few videos on the iPod so far, and "We Will Rock You" happens to be one of them.

Sammy loves it. He's destined to be a mover and a shaker. If you see him, I'm sure he'll sing it for you. :o)

Shea lost his first tooth

Shea lost his first tooth last night! His top, front two teeth have been pretty loose for a while, but one is now gone. Megan was coaching him yesterday afternoon on how to pull the tooth, but Shea couldn't quite get it.

Well, leave it to Daddy. He and Shea were wrestling last night, and Charlie said, "Hey, let me try to flick that tooth out ..." So he flicked it, and the tooth came out! Shea was pretty darned excited - especially to see if the Tooth Fairy would come during the night, which she did! She left him 4 quarters and a dollar coin.

I get a little choked up thinking of my little boy having grown-up teeth , but I guess it had to happen eventually. Was Megan just 5 when she lost a tooth? I'm going to have to investigate!

ENT appointments for Sammy and Shea

I took Sammy and Shea in to see the Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor this morning, and here's a brief update on what we learned.

Sam’s tubes look great. We just need to check them again in 6 months.

Shea is going to get tubes plus get his tonsils and adenoids taken out. Dr. Johnson said that Shea has thick fluid behind both of his ears that is causing hearing loss (the ear drum can’t vibrate properly because of the pressure from the fluid). He thinks the fluid is backing up because of Shea’s large tonsils and adenoids. He took one look in Shea’s throat and asked me if he snored, which he does. He said that’s because of the tonsils and adenoids blocking his airway. They did a hearing test and said that his results show hearing loss, which we all suspected and is the reason we brought him in. He said that what Shea hears is like what you or I would hear with earplugs in (poor guy).

So, Dr. Johnson’s scheduler is going to call early next week so that we can set up a time for the surgery. The procedure takes about an hour and is normally outpatient. He said every once in a while a child will have to stay overnight if there are any complications, but hopefully we won’t have to. He’ll have to eat soft foods for 2 weeks afterward.

We’re hoping to get is scheduled here in June so that he can have the summer to heal and get ready for Kindergarten in the fall. I hate to think of his not being able to hear and am anxious to get him some relief. Keep him in your prayers, and we’ll let you know when the surgery is scheduled.

Love,
Tracy

Three Things

Three Names I go by
1. Tracy or Trace
2. Scobes, Scobie, Scobbas
3. Momma, Mommy, Mom

Three Jobs I have had in my life
1. Hog chorer
2. Hy-Vee cashier
3. Dorm Housekeeping two summers in college

Three Jobs I Would Still Like to Try
1. Full-time volunteer
2. Politician
3. I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up.

Three Places I have lived
1. Lewisville, MN
2. Rock Rapids, IA
3. Oxford, OH

Three Places I have REALLY LOVED
1. Gulf Shores, AL
2. St. Louis, MO
3. Bozeman, MT

Three TV Shows that I watch
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Ugly Betty
3. The Big Bang Theory

Three TV Shows I would still watch if they were still on
1. Friends
2. Seinfeld
3. Friday Night Lights - I hope it's back next year!

Three places I have been
1. Ice Cream Capital of the World
2. Disney World
3. New Orleans

Three places I would go to in a heartbeat
1. Homer, Alaska
2. Disney World
3. Ireland

People that talk to me regularly
1. Charlie
2. Kerrie
3. Michelle

Three of my favorite foods
1. Mexican food - especially enchiladas
2. Ice cream
3. Tiramisu

Three foods I know I'm supposed to like, but I just don't
1. Seafood
2. Pork
3. Peaches

Three Things I dread
1. Hosting birthday parties for my kids - they're fun but I put so much pressure on myself to make them great.
2. Getting up in the morning
3. Paying unexpected expenses

Three Things I am looking forward to
1. A summer trip to Wisconsin Dells with my family
2. Summer in general
3. Charlie's birthday on Saturday

Firsts

1. Who was your FIRST prom date? Paul Krause - Well, we didn't so much go together as we just walked in together and took pictures with each other.

2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love? Yes. He's my husband.

3. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink? I had a pina colada at Pat O'Brien's in New Orleans, but I didn't like it.

4. What was your FIRST job? Other than babysitting, I was a cashier at Hy-Vee.

5. What was your FIRST car? 1980 Maroon Monte Carlo

6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today? Ah, no texts today.

7. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning? Sammy because he was sleeping on my arm.

8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher? Mrs. Henke (pronounced HEN-key, but most of us called her Mrs. HANKy) She was awesome.

9. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane? My very first ride was with Grandpa Muecke in Sheldon, IA. First commercial flight was to New Orleans.

10. Who was your FIRST best friend & do you still talk? My first best friend was my sister Melissa, and yeah, we still talk. :o)

11. Where was your FIRST sleep over? Oye, I'm not sure ... I think maybe at Judy (Conn) Folker's or Sarah (Aeilts) Hilderbrand's house.

12. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today? Charles P.

13. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time? Aunt Sherri's - I was 2.5.

14. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning? Jumped out of bed to brush my teeth because I totally overslept.

15. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to? Amy Grant

16. FIRST tattoo? None

17. FIRST piercing? Ears - at 10 years old

18. FIRST foreign country you've gone to? Never been outside the US

19. FIRST movie you remember seeing? Song of the South for my cousin Jason's birthday

20. When was your FIRST detention? Me - detention - NEVER!

21. I must have deleted 21 by mistake ...

22. Who was your FIRST roommate? At home, Melissa. At college, Kerrie Masuen.

23. If you had one wish? To live closer to my parents but still have the job I have now.

24. What is something you would learn if you had the chance? How to play the piano.

25. Did you marry the FIRST person to ask for your hand in marriage? Yep.

26. What was the first sport that you were involved in? Volleyball in 7th grade

27. What were the first lessons you ever took? Swimming

28. What is the first thing you do when you get home? Drop my stuff, hug my kiddos, and kiss my husband

National Day of Prayer

Today is the National Day of Prayer - a chance for all of us to pause, take time to pray for our nation, our leaders, our military, our world, our children, our families, and so on and so on. I will admit that I'm not always the prayer warrior that I'd like to be, but today is a good reminder for me that there is awesome power in prayer. We have a loving, attentive God who so wants to be in communion with us. He wants to hear us and speak to us. Take some time today to bend His ear.

One of my favorite verses is 2 Chronicles 7:14 - "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

God is faithful; He keeps His promises. If we pray for forgiveness, it is given to us. If we pray for healing for our land, it will be healed.

Casting Crowns wrote a song based on this verse, and it is also one of my favorites.


What If His People Prayed
by Casting Crowns

What if the armies of the Lord
Picked up and dusted off their swords
Vowed to set the captive free
And not let satan have one more

What if the Church, for heaven's sake
Finally stepped up to the plate
Took a stand upon God's promise
And stormed hell's rusty gates

Chorus I:What if His people prayed
And those who bear His name
Would humbly seek His faith, yeah
And turn from their old ways

And what would happen if we prayed
For those raised up to lead the way
Then maybe kids in school could pray
And unborn children see light of day

What if the life that we pursue
Came from a hunger for the truth
What if the family turned to Jesus
Stopped asking Oprah what to do

Chorus I:What if His people prayed
And those who bear His name
Would humbly seek His face yeah
And turn from their own way

Chorus II:He said that He would hear
His promise has been made
He'll answer loud and clear, yeah
If only we would pray

Bridge:If My people called by My name
If they'll humble themselves and pray
If My people called by My name
If they'll humble themselves and pray

Choruses:What if His people prayed
And those who bear His name
Would humbly seek His face, yeah
And turn from their old ways
He said that He would hear
His promise has been made
He'll answer loud and clear yeaah
If only we would pray