The fish have names....

Miss abby made a poster tonight to cover the back of her fish tank... it include a smiley face so the fishy would always be happy and then their names... In case you can not read them we have Goldie (she thought of this on her own), we have Nemo (named by her caring bridge friend brianna who also deals with Mito) and we have Maurice (chosen by daddy!) So, there you have it... they are named! Night all!

Our time away....

Well, we are home from our mini trip away. We really don't get to take vacations because of all the appointments we routinely have, not to mention it is VERY hard on the kids to go that long. So, this weekend, God blessed with the ability to stay at a motel. Because of Joey's medical formula and both kids medications, we have to always request a refrigerator for them. Well, the motel was gracious and put us in a sweet because they weren't very busy. So... we had a three room sweet... it include a living room with a pull out bed for the kids, a HUGE bathroom WITH A JACUZZI and big walk in shower and a huge bed room with a king size bed. So, here is a few pics of the weekend... I didn't take much because I was too busy enjoying the time with the kiddos...

Joey & Abby putting the Jacuzzi to good use... they LOVED it! I think we need one! Oh if only we could have one!!! Mommy would use it every night before dropping to sleep!
Miss Abby sleeping on the pull out sofa
Umm... who flipped the kid in the night? Ha! Her morning picture before she woke...
Joey, all chuckles! He keeps us all giggling.
Umm... the ouchy on the cheek to prove that well... he lost his balance! That crazy wall jumped out and got him! We had a great time! Night all!

Proper placement...

After last night of housing our new family members in mommy's nice glass bowl... mommy made an emergency trip to Wal-Mart today. We woke up and the water was so murky you couldn't see the poor things. Abby cries "Mommy, please save them!" So, what did mommy do.... the pictures tell the story!!!

Here it is! The fishies new home! yeah!
Look mommy, they are eating! They are happy! They like my new house!
Brother getting in on the action... He's got a plan to be a stinker!
The last I checked in on Abby... this is the stance she was still holding! Oh what a blessing! The girl is happy and so is her mommy!

Here fishy fishy!!!!

Miss Abby would like to introduce you to three of the newest members of our family. Our newest memebers are compliments of Mr. Moker Brown... by the way, he is a pro at the ping pong ball game to win fishies at the fair... so if you are need of some fish, he's the man to look up!

Having a face off with the new fish... can you see the excitement?
Meet our three new members... and yes, they are unfortunately in mommy's glass bowl eating saltines because that was the best we had to offer.
She even kissed and hugged the bowl good night! I pray these fishies make it until we can get proper accomodations for them!

This really is a blessing...

I have had this card for awhile now, however, I haven't shared it because I keep forgetting to have it with me when I post... So, I wanted to share with you something we received. The kids are members of Eli's angels. This is a wonderful ministry that blesses kids with Metabolic diseases with gifts and letters. Last month, the kids both got a letter from students and here is what Joey got:

Dear Joseph,

I am a 7th grade girl from Faith Christian Academy.

I want you to know that I am praying for you.

I'm praying that the Lord Jesus will comfort you and your family.

Also, that he will bless you and your family.

Remember, Jesus is for you, not against you.

Jesus loves you! He can heal you!

Love, Tina

This was just an awesome note to receive! This brought tears to my eyes when I read it and so much excitement that a 7th grader has been taught of Joey's needs, and that she is praying with this much faith!!!

Pantless...

Well, the secret is out in our neighborhood! My son does NOT like to wear pants. Tonight, upon arriving home from the grocery, Joey dropped his draws on the welcome mat of our front door. Yep! There they laid... He usually tolerates them at least until he's in the living room, but not tonight! Off they came... so if driving down Hickory, you see some drawers in the lawn... don't worry, they are just Joey's! night all!

Oh so tired!!!!

OK, so I had planned to get up today and get right to it... Um.... not so much! I'm wiped out! I picked this kitty picture because that's what I want... a big fluffy pillow and some sleepy time! We are working on getting some home care for the kids to relieve me... today would be one I'd take advantage of a nap! I'm so stinking tired! I couldn't go to sleep last night and as I was going to bed, I heard Joey struggling to breathe. So I had to give him a breathing treatment... it took a bit but he calmed and was back to good sleep. So about 115 or 130 a.m. I was in bed asleep. At 3 a.m., I was woke up by Abby coming into our room having difficulty breathing! What on earth!?!?!? This has never happened in the same night. So I was up until some time after 4 a.m. with her! Then, the alarm went off at 630 and Jeff kept hitting snooze and I kept being tempted to whack him because I'd just doze off and it would alarm again!!!! Finally, he gets up and then here comes Joey bringing me my glasses to get me up for the day! UG!!!! I need a PILLOW!!!!!

Memorial Day Excitement...

This is how the Pfohl family spent Memorial day! Yep! WE had a brief visit from Aunt Christi, Abby and I did some laundry, Jeff put in some A/C because the kids were roasting... and well... this was the rest of the day! I took a nap & then daddy took a nap! Ahhh... sweet quiet! Night all.

Here lies the proof...

Well, in my last post, I let you know that I cut my kids hair... so here lies the proof...

Abby before... Do you dig the outfit???
Abby after... like 20 min. after I finished... she was playing in her hair and she screams "Oh! where is my hair??" Ha! Mommy REALLY cut it! I meant business!
Joey before...
Joey after....

So, be honest... what does every one think? How were my first hair cuts? I have to confess... I'm untrained!!!!

Oh dear!!!!

Well, I gave my kids a hair cut today! Yes sir I did... It was my first time ever... but they both were desperately in need... so I saved us $25 by doing it myself! Whew... Glad it is over... but they look better! :)

Another day....

Well, today, we have canceled morning plans... no church for us. The kids are hitting a "crash" time. They have been so busy with all the beautiful weather and miss Abby herself is telling us her legs hurt, her belly feels too full (meaning she's not digesting properly), her head is hurting and her exact words are "i'm too tired to play right now because I played too much yesterday." Mr. joey is so bloated today his shirts aren't fitting right and he is content to lay around... So, we are home bound for now. I so much wish I held the answers to take this from their little bodies.. but I don't. So, I'm going to keep them here with me, hug on them, love on them and watch church on the internet. You can click here to watch the 10:30 service with me live from Farmland Friends Church. Hopefully this will help and tomorrow will bring about a better day!

Going on a treasure hunt!!!!

Today has been a busy one! Daddy started the morning with running to Union City to pick up meds at kaup Pharmacy! Super awesome compounding pharmacy!!! The people are precious there! Then he stopped at my parents house to get some saw horses... Men!!! The things they name things. Upon arriving home, we gutted the van... ewww... it was a mess! Traveling to Riley takes a tole on the interior! The kids always have to eat at some point... so never fails to collect trash and sticky stuff! I just love the vac down at the local car wash... sucks that dirt right up and we are sparkeling clean again! Now I have a serious ache in my back! Miss Abby and I were digging up rocks in our back yard today. Whew! Now that is some serious work! For lack of a wheelborrow to put them in, we got creative and put them in the wagon and Joey decided to throw them out of the wagon! Miss Abby decided we were on a treasure hunt! We did find some really cool rocks! We even found one that was PINK!!! No kidding!!! She was so excited! It was neat though to get to talk about how God made the rocks and oh, that we can't eat them! ha! Yes, the question came up of "Mommy, why can't I just eat them?" Oh dear! Anyways, it has been a good day with loads of questions and question answering. I realized today a new revelation of just how much I love being with my family and how much fun it is just to spend time doing little odd jobs with them. They have such personalities! Even jeff!

Tour De-Pfohl Home...

Well, it is here and it is complete! We are moved, settled and smiling!!! So... welcome to a bit of our house!!!! You followed us through the move... so here you can see the final results!

Daddy (Jeff), Joey (Belly and all!), Abby, Mommy (Mindy)
Welcome to the front yard and the view of our home!
Yep, you guessed it... the living room!
This would be the kitchen, dining room, home school room, music room & office all combined!

Miss Abby's room that she is COMPLETLEY proud of!
Mr. Joey's room, or his hide away!
Mommy and daddy's room... Plane and simple... I think it is the kids favorite hang out spot! They love being able to run in and flop on our mattress! Ha!

The most lovely room of all... The potty!!!

Hope you enjoyed your tour! For you local visitors... maybe you could come for the real tour some time!

Fun times at the zoo!!!!

Today was a great day!!!! We had a wonderful time and every one is WORN OUT!!! Even mommy and daddy!!! So... here is just a bit of our day...

Excited to get ready to go!!! Too Enthusiastic!!!
Handsome man smiling and getting ready!
Say cheese!!! And He did!!!!
Way excited about the Dolphin show that is about to begin!!

Joey was a thirsty boy going through the sunny safari area! Daddy get busy! I need a drink!

Miss Abby and her elephant friends! She couldn't wait to see them today! So exciting!!!
This is as close to petting a shark as miss Abby gets!!
Ewww, Oh my gosh! There are penguins mom!

Absolutely worn out!!! I don't think we can take another minute!

Shhh... it's a secret!!!!

For the first time ever, daddy has a day off with no doctors appointments to tend to. So... we are digging out our wonderful Zoo passes and taking off for Indy for a totally fun day with no schedule and no concerns! Can't remember the last time that happened! So, you can guess what tonights blog will be about!!! :) Until then my friends!!

mmm... cupcakes!!!!

We ordered Joey some cupcakes that are sugarless. You can find the site here. Anyways, I have had a confetti cake in the pantry for ages that Abby's been drooling over... So, we broke out both cake mixes tonight and had some fun! Abby was very proud!

Miss Abby's confetti cake batter! So delicious!!!!
Chocolate for bubby and confetti for sister!!!!

Ok, so I really don't know what got more icing... Abby's face or the cupcakes! They looked a little bare!!! Ha! But they sure tasted good!

Wonderful verse....

So, today, I was reading in Isaiah, and I found this verse from Chapter 44:2 "Thus says the Lord who made you and formed you from the womb, who will help you, 'Do not fear, O Jacob My servant; and you Jeshurun who I have chosen." It is an amazing promise that no matter what we are going through, we do not have to fear. I often get down about the kids disease, but the Bibles says HE made them and HE formed them... Mito is a genetic disorder... it is in their make up which means GOD made them knowing that they would face Mito which means He WILL help them and He is with us and there is no reason to fear! I just found this very comforting after my post last night about joey's rough evening. I'm so glad we serve a loving God.

How do you let go?

Today has been one of those challenging days for me. We started out WONDERFUL. Joey started on his med change today to switch some of the dose to night time to help with his moods and agression. So, it was great. I literally had my Joey back today. He was laughing, loving on people, playing, interacting, giggling... you name it... it was my boy through and through! I kept catching myself with tears of Joy thinking that I hadn't realized how long it had been since we'd seen "joey". So, it was great... then the day begins to plumit. Joey's tummy begins to swell. he continues getting fussy and then it happens... the big blow out. pooh every where! On his close, up his back, down his legs, on toys, on the carpet... my world comes to a crash and this is where I don't know how to let go. Joey has been out of the hospital for 4 1/2 months now... NEVER EVER has happened! This is usually the start of an admission for Joey. The whole time I'm cleaning him up it's rolling through my mind the check list of "need to start laundry, find our duffel bags, make sure meds are filled and enough for a stay, check on bills, make sure the check book is current, grab some things to do..." and i had to stop myself and say "Where is my heart right now." Obviously my eyes aren't on Jesus and I find myself in that panic state. All the while, we had people in our home and I'm battling this rage inside of me trying to figure out what on earth I'm doing and why I can't just let go. So, tonight, I dropped my junk, as I gave Joey his bath, I let go and I prayed and took time to remind myself that only God knows and He knows best... I don't know the future and I don't know what the rest of this week will hold... but I know he loves my little boy more than I do... so that love has to be unimaginable! So, I guess this is the first step of letting go... fixing my eyes on the one hope I have... JESUS.

Fun times...

Well, my morning started off some what frightful! Joey heard daddy leave for church and was VERY distraught. Joey had a really rough night last night... so he was so tired this morning to begin with. So, I came running to see what Joey is crying about and he's laying on the floor at the door trying to see what is going on outside... of course, you can NOT see under the door, so that made him even more mad! I FINALLY get him calm and here comes sister. She remembers today is Sunday and decides we just HAVE to go to church. Oh dear! I had planned on staying home because of Joey and thought, well, we surely can pull this off! So, off to running I went. I had to bake a cake for the pastor's desert that I forgot to bake the night before. So, I whipped together a sugar cream cake, through it in the oven, started meds, made formula, hopped in the shower, checked the cake, called my sister, dressed the kids, dressed myself, put the kids shoes on, answered the door for my sister, did Abby's hair, redressed Abby after realizing it was too cold for what I put on her, checked the cake again, sat down to take a deep breath while the cake cooked a few minutes more, yanked the cake out of the oven, through the formula in a cooler, through the cooler and the cake in the van, through the kids in the van and at 10:19 pulled out of my drive way! :) Whew! We made it and every one was dressed and appropriate! Ha! However, Mr. Joey did not fair well so we ended up leaving. Sissy stayed and Aunt Christi and Uncle Jimmy walked her home after wards. She was very excited when she got home and talked non-stop! So, it was worth the whirlwind to get her there! :) Any one else have this experience in the morning???

Saturday fun...

As I mentioned in my earlier post... Jeff is sick today. So, Joey and Jeff were busted taking a snooze together in the chair. Umm... can you tell they are related? Ha! They crack me up. I lucked out with no pictures as I passed out later on today. I was so tired Jeff said that the kids were climbing all over me and I didn't even flinch! I had no idea! No that is tired! :)

Aren't they just cute??? I'll be in trouble for this one I am sure!

Tonight, Jeff had to plant is tomatoes because they were dying. So, Abby helped daddy create a garden patch in the back yard. She had so much fun! She even wore her little Dora gardening gloves! :) She is so very proud of the new garden! On the side note... our back yard needs one serious make over! We will be working ALL summer. It had a pool and now only has the remains of rocks, sand, pointy weeds, etc... whew... Any green thumbs? :) Jeff is enjoying it... just going to take us a while!

This is my favorite picture! I labeled it "my happy boy!" He is COMPLETELY enjoying the swing set. However, I am learning he is my little science guy/exploration man... he was all over the back yard tonight digging, taking things apart, touching, looking in, under and all around! Whew! So... over all, today ended up not being too bad. Jeff is feeling the pain of working in the yard... but his tomatoes will pay off in the end I suppose! Bubby thanks him as tomatoes are his favorite!!! Night all.

Fridays sale...

Well, Friday we did it! The Pfohls and the Lotts joined arms to have a HUGE yard sale! It was a good day.. tiring yet enjoyable!

Here it is! In full!
Joey man handled the "little" chairs to make sure they were in correct place for the sale.
Abby and Tobi held down the fort playing with play dough.
The best part... Just visiting with a friend! Cari and I found much to chit chat about! I'd say it was worth the time... although, poor Cari worked her tail off most of the day while I chased Joey. HE was a stinker!