Cavities, Kenya and Kristen

This pictures cracks me up. Dan took it last week when we had dinner at the Prince's and its so funny because Gavin looks like he's ready to attack.
I have encountered an area that is lacking education among mothers of young children and decided to expose my own ignorance by sharing. About 2 years ago when I went to the dentist for a check-up, I inquired when I should bring my own kids. They told me when they turn 4 years old. SO...this past week, I took Gavin in. Confident that we would get the clean bill of dental health since we have been brushing his teeth for as long as I can remember, have limited juice consumption and Gavin did not sleep with a bottle in his mouth or anything....I was SHOCKED to find out he had cavities. Yes. My 4-year-old has cavities. Wednesday afternoon I really had to deal with feelings of being a bad mother. Might sound lame, but I figured that at his young age, it had to be my fault that he had cavities. Something I was or wasn't doing. It was also embarrasing to me to admit. On Friday, we saw a Pediatric Dentist who did a couple of the fillings. I asked her many questions and wanted to get the info out there....first of all, she said they like to see kids when they are 1! ONE! WOW...I was misinformed! At the age of 2 they want to see them and try and do x-rays and cleaning. Depending on the cooperation of the child, they at least do a visual exam to see if there are any obvious problems. (That means that yes, I'm taking Ezekiel in - in a few weeks...not sure how thats going to go...) And lastly, we moms (or dads) should start flossing our kids teeth as soon as they have 2 teeth touching!!! WOW...I had no idea. Gavin has cavities because we have not been flossing his teeth. Thats it. The dentist said he has very healthy teeth, but the bacteria that causes cavities travels from tooth to tooth and if you do not floss (or brush, I guess), the bacteria will just spread. SO...now that you are informed...take your kids to the dentist! Its better to know and be proactive than ignore it and hope for the best.
Changing gears, on Monday, my father-in-law Dan is embarking on an amazing adventure to Kenya! You can keep updated on his trip on his blog which is: www.danbloghog.blogspot.com
The following link shows more information about what is going on in Kenya:
http://community.wr.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=865&srcid=865
Dan has been waiting on the Lord the past few months to see what his next life assignment is and it is really cool to see how God is going to use Dan to help World Relief in their efforts in Kenya. Another cool thing is that my dad is also going to Africa at the end of February for 2 weeks. Another part of Africa - and I will post more on that later. Weird that for a week or so both my father and father-in-law will be in Africa....
And finally...last night I attended a baby shower for a friend and enjoyed being part of a great surprise. Kristen flew in yesterday and shocked Jen by "emerging" as we were having a discussion about when we would see Kristen again. It was a fun shower and great to see Kristen. The boys and I will be spending the day with her tomorrow, which we are all looking forward to!
And now off I go...for today we are seeing the Veggie Tales movie (The Pirates who Don't do Anything)...Gavin's treat for doing so well at the dentist, going to my Grandpa's 80th Birthday party and then my neice's 1st birthday party. A full party day. Enjoy your weekend!