Nov. 18, 2008 MawMaw's Surgery is tomorrow!
Well, tomorrow is the big day for my mother-in-law's surgery. It was originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m., but the doctor called her today and asked if she would come to the hospital early. She is now scheduled for a 7:30 a.m. surgery. Originally, Shan and I were going to arrive at the hospital around 10:00 a.m., and have plenty of time to see his mom before she went to the O.R. Now, we will be arriving around 6:00 or 6:30 a.m., and we hope we will make it in time to see her before she goes to the O.R. At least we only have to go about an hour away! Thank goodness my dad was willing and able to come to our house that early in the morning to sit with the girls.
We have done our best to prepare our girls for the fact that MawMaw is having surgery(without letting them know how serious her condition is), and that she will have restrictions when she comes home from the hospital. I know they are extremely concerned for her and don't really understand what is going on. I just hope they don't misbehave tomorrow while they are with my dad.
Well, I guess I had better leave the computer for the night and get things ready for tomorrow morning. It is the plan to make things as easy for my dad as we can, so I had better get busy or I'll never get any sleep tonight! |
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Nov. 17, 2008 "Mommy, Jesus Took the Wheel!"
| Do you ever wonder how much your young children really listen when you talk to them about Jesus? Well, I had an unusual opportunity to find out exactly how much my kids listen yesterday morning on our way to church. We were traveling our usual route when suddenly a car pulled directly out in front of us. And I mean DIRECTLY out in front of us--I didn't even have time to apply the brakes before I had to decide how to react! I swerved, and thankfully the other driver realized I was swerving and managed to stop! I got around the car, but the action threw my Trailblazer into the parking lot the other car had come from, and we realized that we were heading directly toward a parked car! I had no choice but to swerve again and thankfully managed to get my car back onto the road and under control. Needless to say, it was quite a terrifying experience for everyone in my car. I was indeed grateful for God's protection and for the defensive driving skills I had learned when first learning to drive! How I managed to stay calm and think was a miracle in and of itself! After we had traveled a small distance away, Olivia (our 3 year old) said, "Mommy, we just listened to that song, and guess what? Jesus took the wheel!" And yes, He certainly did! |
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Nov. 7, 2008 Birthdays, and Birthdays, and Christmas, OH MY!
Here it is the seventh day of November, and we are in the midst of what I jokingly call "Birthday Season." We have 12 birthdays to celebrate between October 19th and December 20th. It was 11 until little Makenna was born this year. We have already celebrated my little brother's, my mom's and little Olivia's. Today is my brother-in-law's(Makenna's dad).
Perhaps the one I look forward to/dread the most this year is my oldest daughter Lindsay's. She is entering a new stage of her life. She will be 13 on Sunday. I don't know if I'm ready for a teenager yet! Not that anyone can ever truly be ready for a teenager I guess. Isn't it funny how you can still remember waiting for the arrival of your little ones even when they are 13(or older)? It's almost like time stands still for a little while or just jumps ahead. For me, at least, it seems like only yesterday I was changing Lindsay's diapers. Yet here she is, on the threshold of a whole new stage of life. She is growing and changing every single day. Thank God I have the wonderful opportunity to have her home with me every day, so I don't miss a thing! She is very excited about her birthday. I really am too (don't tell her, though  ). Her excitement is contagious! Truth be told, I enjoy watching my children grow and change. It can be a little bittersweet, but still it's a great joy.
After Lindsay's birthday, we have 2 more just in our household between now and Christmas. My husband's is November 13th. Kalyssa's is the 28th. That's just here at home. We also have my brother's, another brother-in-law, my mother-in-law, and our niece. Then, we have Christmas. OH MY!
Why does it seem that perfectly normal, typically well-adjusted children seem to go insane at Christmas time? Some of my children become very gift oriented. Some years I think I can't afford my own children! Perhaps it has something to do with the influx of toy catalogs recently. Perhaps it has something to do with everyone (grandparents, etc.) asking them what they would like to receive for Christmas. I try to keep the focus on Christ and on giving to others--I don't just mean other family members--we participate in the local can-a-thon and the Salvation Army Angel Tree project. It just seems that no matter how hard I try, the kids want more and more and more every year--even though they don't actually get it! Don't get me wrong--my kids know WHY we have Christmas, but they just seem to also become more materialistic at this time of year. I truly desire a Christ-centered, simple Christmas celebration. Any ideas on how to achieve that ideal in today's materialistic world?
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Oct. 30, 2008 Why Aren't You Asleep?
| Olivia (3) has had a bit of a hard time sleeping lately. Sometimes she wakes in the middle of the night with a nightmare; sometimes she just has a hard time getting to sleep. Tonight it is the latter. So, Shannon asks her, "Olivia, why are you awake?" And her response is, "Because I can't go to sleeeeeep." For some reason, I found this response to be just hilarious. I mean she had the most serious look on her face and the word sleep had about 5 syllables by the time she finished saying it. It was almost like she was saying, "Gee, Daddy, isn't it obvious?" |
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Today is going to be a laid back kind of day. We are going to be reading from Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus. My husband and the girls watched Disney's Song of the South last night while I was at a meeting, and it sparked an interest in several different areas. I had to study Harris's work in college, and still have the book and all of my notes, so I decided to use that as part of our extended study. The younger girls just love the Brer Rabbit and Brer Bear stories. Lindsay seems to be interested in the historical background for the setting of the story (the part about Uncle Remus, not Brer Rabbit). I don't know why I didn't think of pulling this stuff out before. Leave it to Shan to have a great idea that sparks lots of interest for the girls! Who knows where this will eventually lead, but I'm going to "strike while that iron is hot"!
I know this particular choice for literature has been somewhat controversial in recent years. I have never been one to believe that we should shove a part of our history or literature into the closet to be hidden. I think it is relevant to who we have become as individuals as well as who we have become as a country. I remember when we were required to study this particular work in college that we were told we would probably not be allowed to teach it, but that it was still important to study it. So, here I am about to teach it!
I guess the truly amazing thing about this new vane of study is that it was my hubby's idea. He tends to lean more toward the "school at home" arena of homeschooling while I have always wanted to be more delight driven. I want the girls to have a good foundation in math and language arts (grammar, spelling, writing, reading), but I want to be more laid back with history and science and even with our choices for literature. I want the girls to have a good knowledge base in each of those subjects, but I just feel like they will only be kids once and I would rather them be educated than "schooled". I'm sure that makes sense to the people here at Homeschoolblogger, but making some of the people in our lives understand it is another matter to be tackled another day. |
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Oct. 29, 2008 Update, A Baby and A Birthday
It's been a little while since I've been able to blog. Life took over--which is probably as it should be. The last time I blogged I requested prayer, so first I'll give you an update on both my friend and my mother-in-law.
Our friend finally got released from the hospital. He is now recuperating at home. He says he is getting stronger every day. We are all still praying for a speedy recovery.
My mother-in-law came through her biopsy okay. She has been diagnosed with thymoma. She will undergo surgery to remove her thyroid which will be followed by a 5 day stay in the hospital and a 6 week recovery period. We do not have a date for the surgery yet, but we are praying they will schedule it soon, so she can be on the road to recovery. She seems to have a pretty good outlook now that she knows what she is facing.
Now, for the life taking over part. My sister gave birth to her first baby on Sunday, October 26th at 1:56 p.m. She was in labor for 16 hours to get little Makenna Claire into this world. Makenna weighed 6 lbs 14 oz and was 18 1/2 inches long. We are all very excited to have her here. This is the first baby in my family (besides my girls), so my girls are extremely excited that Aunt Holly's baby is here!
My little Olivia celebrated her third birthday yesterday. I find myself wondering where the time has gone. It seems like only yesterday I was anxiously awaiting her arrival.
Olivia seemed to have a great day! Her sisters treated her like a princess all day. They even did her share of the chores for her! Everybody called to wish her a happy birthday which she really loved because she doesn't get to talk on the phone very often. Then, my parents came over to share cake with her--she told Nana that it was a cake for both of them to share. (Nana's birthday was Monday. We have been jokingly calling Makenna and Olivia her bookends.) She and Nana have also decided that from now on they will share their party with Makenna--which thrills Olivia because now she isn't the baby! She has been asking for weeks now if she is a big girl. Of course, we have been telling her that she is. We took lots of pictures, so hopefully I can upload some in the next couple of days.
Well, it's time to get going with today's schoolwork. So, I better get away from this machine and go enjoy my girls! |
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Oct. 15, 2008 Update......
Well, it was an extremely long day today. My husband and I spent the day at the hospital. Good news is his mom is doing well after surgery. They even let her have real food for dinner (which really surprised and thrilled her)! The doctor says that he expects her to go home in the morning. We won't get the results from the biopsy for another two days though. So, we still have to wait awhile longer, but we are very relieved that surgery went well with no complications. We are still praying for good results from the biopsy.
In other good news it appears that our friend will also be able to go home in the morning. He still has a very long road ahead of him, but we are so glad to hear that he is about to leave the hospital. We managed to stop by and see him while waiting on my mother-in-law to come out of the recovery room this afternoon. He was in a little more pain today because they are weaning him off his pain medication, but he still has a good outlook. Prayers for his continued progress toward complete recovery are definitely still appreciated.
Thank you to everyone who joined us in praying for them both. |
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Oct. 14, 2008 Goodbye soccer, Hello new crisis
It seems like the only times I get a chance to add an entry to my blog are the times when I am asking for prayer. Perhaps that is just when I am reminded that there is a whole network of people out there that I tend to neglect when things get busy around home. Often, if we have had a day filled with activity I completely forget that I even have this blog, or that I can "talk" about my frustrations or anxieties or whatever. I usually just decide to fall into bed exhausted and oblivious to the outside world. This is what has contributed to my long absence from my blog.
We had a very hectic soccer season. I never imagined how difficult it would be transporting three children to games and practices as well as coaching. There were many evenings when we got home so late that all we could do was eat(if we didn't grab something on the way in) and then pass out from exhaustion. Thankfully, soccer is over for this year. Hopefully soon things can calm down, and we can resume the regular routine that we all love and crave!
We are now in the midst of the next crisis. I say crisis because it is indeed a health related crisis for my mother-in-law. About two weeks ago doctors found a spot on her lung. After numerous tests they have decided that the spot is some kind of tumor. At first she was told that it would be removed and then biopsied. Now, she has been told that the location of the tumor is such that it cannot be removed. She goes in for surgery tomorrow to have a biopsy done. The doctors have told her that there is a chance that the tumor will just be a pocket filled with infection--that's best case. Worst case, she is facing cancer with high powered radiation and chemotherapy. We obviously are praying for best case. She tends to be pessimistic about things though and has pretty much decided for herself that she thinks it is cancer. She is even talking about canceling all holiday related activities this year because she has decided that she thinks she will be too sick. I am asking for as many prayers as I can get because I know both the power of words and the power of prayer, and I firmly believe it is going to take prayer to overcome the power of her words.
Another reason I am requesting prayer is for a dear friend of ours. He was in a terrible motorcycle accident two weeks ago. He fell off his motorcycle and then was run over by another motorcycle. He is on the road to recovery, but he still has a long way to go. His recovery is made miraculous by the fact that he had several internal injuries that the first hospital almost didn't catch. They were about to send him home saying he only had a couple of broken ribs when something stopped them. The doctors say they don't know what made them take another look, but we all know that the "something" was God. And we are all very thankful for that because if he had been sent home we would probably have lost our friend. We have a whole network of people praying for our friend, but as he himself said, "The more people praying the better."
So, if you feel led to do so, please remember both my mother-in-law and our friend in your prayers. We are praying for a speedy recovery for them both.
Thanks. |
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Aug. 1, 2008 Trying to convince myself we don't NEED a bigger house!
We bought our house 3 years ago next week, and at the time it seemed to be a smart move as we were living with 2 bedrooms and baby number 4 was about to make her appearance on Earth. Now, three years, and four growing children later even this home seems SMALL!!! For one thing, we have only 1 bathroom and 4 children--all girls. For another, we have 3 bedrooms and 4 children--all girls. So, with all of the dolls, stuffed animals, and other things that little girls love, our house is beginning to feel quite cramped. And I haven't even mentioned all of the homeschooling supplies or my stuff or my husband's stuff. I knew then, and I "know" now that we could and can make our space work, but it's going to take exactly that: WORK!
I am currently trying to declutter, and it is not going as well as I had hoped. I threw out at least 4 bags of junk just yesterday because I am trying to convert our den into a playroom/classroom so that a) that room actually is more than wasted space and b) I can get the majority of our school supplies out of our dining room. Unfortunately, I am only about half done with the den project. After tackling the den, I want to start on the bedrooms. The goal was to get it done before we ended our summer break. Then life took over, and we didn't get nearly as much done this summer as we had hoped because it was waaaay more fun to run and play and cuddle with the girls. I read somewhere that "time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted". I seem to have taken that statement to heart this summer organizationally speaking. Now I have 2 days to meet the deadline I set for myself months ago, and it isn't looking too promising. Maybe my husband and children can help me finish up at least the den tomorrow, so that Sunday we can rest (except for the meeting with the homeschool group to discuss changes for the upcoming year).
Summer is almost over. My kids started begging two weeks ago to start "back to school" after we decided to take the summer off this year. I told them, "Let me get the den set up the way I want it first." My 6 year old, being the inquisitive soul that she is replied, "When EXACTLY will we start, Mom?" So, I, in a momentary lapse of sanity got the calendar and circled August 4th, and now my kids are all excitedly counting the days because they want school to start, and I am thinking, "What happened to the lazy days of summer?" Don't get me wrong, I really love teaching my kids, and we find "teachable moments" every single day, but I had really hoped to get several things accomplished this year that I simply have not gotten finished, and therein lies my conflict. That being said, a promise is a promise, and we WILL start our "official" school year on Monday even if things aren't the way I want them. I'm sure there is a lesson in all of this for Mom to learn. My own stubbornness is just keeping me from seeing it at the moment.
On a positive, less whiny note, all of my curriculum has already arrived except for one book (handwriting) that I forgot to order. At least that one is a subject that you don't absolutely HAVE to have a book in order to teach. Maybe I will just count that as a blessing, and have them copy scripture instead of ordering the program. |
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Jul. 26, 2008 Viruses are the pits!
| There is a really strange virus going around our area. The only symptom is a fever--that's all--just a high fever (102 or higher). Three of my four girls have had it this week. It started with Em. She had the highest fever and the hardest time with being sick in general. Then came Liv. Finally, it was Kalyssa's turn--she had the mildest case. I thought maybe it was over. I was wrong. Now it's my turn. I'm the most miserable I have been in a while. Understand my normal body temperature stays about a degree below everyone else's normal body temperature. My temperature hit 102 yesterday--meaning it would have been 103 for most people. The difference with me is that my sinus/allergy symptoms were already in play along with all the achy joints due to a strange weather system passing through the area. So, not only do I have my typical achiness and stuffiness, but also I have this new virus to contend with. All I can say is God bless the person who invented pain/fever relievers! |
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Jul. 26, 2008 Things are looking better!
| I have an update on our sweet little cousin. She has been to a doctor who specializes in problems with the optic nerve. He said he could see light along the nerve which tells him she will probably get at least some sight back. He thinks the problem originated with a case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever--something that had not been diagnosed before now. At least now her parents have hope for their precious little one's return to health. We are all still praying fervently for healing. Please continue to remember her with us. Thanks. |
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Jul. 14, 2008 Prayers Needed for a Sweet Little Girl and Her Mom
Yesterday started as a typical Sunday. We got up, ate breakfast, and got ready for church. After the church service, we went to my mother-in-law's house. Again, pretty typical since we live 30 minutes away from church and my mother-in-law is only about 5 minutes away.
My mother-in-law and I left her home and went to a family bridal shower. At the shower we were informed that one of my husband's cousins got bad news this past week. Her eight year old daughter woke up Thursday morning completely blind in one eye. They still do not know for sure what happened--only that she cannot see with her left eye. One doctor said he thinks the optic nerve is completely dead in that eye. Another one said he wanted to run tests to see if there might be a brain tumor. Our cousin is having a very hard time right now because of the suddenness of all of this. Her daughter had recently been treated for an abscessed tooth, but had otherwise been very healthy. We are all praying that they get some answers soon, and that our little cousin continues to have vision in her right eye while they wait on test results. We are also praying that the first doctor is wrong and that God will heal this little girl who, by the way, is taking it all in stride and living her life as if nothing has happened.
Please remember this little girl and her family in your prayers. Thanks. |
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Jul. 9, 2008 What a Beautiful Sunset Yesterday!
| We had an extraordinarily beautiful sunset yesterday afternoon. It was one of those pale yellow fades to yellowy orange fades to orange fades to red kind of sunsets. The colors were so brilliant that you couldn't help but smile when you saw it. My daughter Kalyssa noticed it first. Bless her, she got terribly upset because she didn't have time to try to draw it. We wanted to take pictures, but we couldn't find the camera anywhere. Kalyssa just kept saying that she wished she could capture the sunset forever because it was so beautiful. She has an amazing appreciation for the simple things in life. No matter what is going on around us, Kalyssa keeps us grounded in reality. She also keeps us appreciative of the wonders of God's world. She has a simple curiosity and a genuine love of simple pleasures that helps us to forget the troubles of the world if only for a short time. Oh, if we could all just look at the world through the eyes of this beautiful, innocent child! |
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Jun. 24, 2008 Here Comes Soccer!
Well, softball is over. YEAH! Now here comes the next sport of the year--soccer. Three of our girls will be playing this year. Emily finally gets her turn! She has been waiting to play, almost begging to play, for two or three years now. It has never been enough for her to just be on the sidelines watching her sisters. Picture the little tike who runs onto the field in the middle of the game despite his/her parent's best effort, and you have a picture of Em! Not only will three of our four children be playing, but my husband and I also coach two of the teams. Yes, we have lost our minds, but we get immense joy from seeing the children learning to play and having fun! Shan has coached Lindsay's team for the last two years, and he will be coaching her again this year. I have been coaching Kalyssa, but this year she asked me (very nicely) if she could be on her friend's team which is coached by his dad. While I will miss the time I get to spend with Kalyssa on the field, I will get to spend extra time with Emily as I will be coaching her team this year. I know Kalyssa's coach and trust him to take care of her. I have spoken to him about transportation, and I feel confident he will help me out should the need arise. However, I am optimistically hoping (praying) that we will not need anyone else to transport any of our girls. We have soccer clinic this coming Saturday, and then it's full steam ahead!
One of the problems with soccer season beginning is that we will not be able to go camping as often as we would like. The weather in the fall is absolutely perfect for camping, and we tend to spend many weekends on the soccer field instead of camping. Maybe--and this is a BIG maybe--we won't have games on Saturdays this year. That would be great! I know it is not realistic to think that games will only happen during the week, but I can always dream! |
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May. 28, 2008 What a Camping Trip!
We took the kids camping this past weekend (Memorial Day). It was an interesting trip to say the least! First, Olivia came down with a stomach virus. Then, Emily fell and hit her head (nothing serious, just not good for Em due to past seizures). Finally, Kalyssa got stung by a Gypsy Moth Caterpillar. Overall, though, we had a good time, and there was no rain this time! As an added bonus we got to spend some time with my dad who is managing the campground we visited.
Our girls absolutely love camping, and we love to take them. We tent camp, and this year we are camping at a campground with no electricity at all on the loops--which I think is the best! The only thing about no electricity is that you have to go to the bath-house in pitch black darkness when you go at night. Luckily, my dad has a portable toilet for tents and he is very good to let us borrow it, so we don't have to walk the little ones to the bath-house after dark!
One interesting new thing we did this trip was we took Max and Bubba (our dogs) with us to the campground. They both did rather well considering Max had only been camping one other time and Bubba had never been. It was a little strange to have all six of us plus two dogs (one small and one large) inside the tent at night. Next time we will definitely take the crates for the dogs to be in at night--at least Bubba because of his size. It was fun to walk the loop with both dogs on the leashes and to see the reaction of other campers when they saw the little Pomeranian and the large mixed breed getting along so well together!
I will admit that I think I prefer to camp when the campground is not quite so busy. My mom was very busy in the office, and my dad was busy cleaning bath-houses and making sure campers followed the rules, so we didn't get to spend as much time with them as we would have liked. Not to mention some of the other campers seemed to have a hard time understanding that "Quiet Hours" means that you have to be respectful of others and keep your noise level down to allow for sleeping--you can still talk quietly within your own site, but you aren't supposed to have generators running, loud music playing, or very loud conversations going--the site next to ours was one of the groups that didn't seem to understand "Quiet Hours".
I got to help my mom in the office some of the time. Before the weekend was over I could almost be left alone running the office--not that I necessarily wanted to be--too much added responsibility! Although, the experience did let me know that, should the opportunity arise, I could very definitely work as a camp host at one of the local campgrounds if we wanted to take on the job.
I think we had a pretty good trip--all things considered, and we can't wait to go again! |
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May. 18, 2008 When It Rains, It Pours!
Well, as if this week had not been stressful enough, we can now add a broken lawn mower to the mix! Shannon had decided to mow--I have asked him repeatedly not to mow on Sunday, but that's another story for another day. Anyway, he apparently ran over a tree root with the blade of our mower. The blade is bent, and we will probably end up purchasing new blades. Not that big a deal, except that I spent our extra money yesterday on some camping supplies that I caught on sale. Oh, if I had only known then what I know now!
Oh, well. C'est la vie! |
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May. 18, 2008 Rabbits, Chickens, and Dogs, Oh My!
First, the rabbits---my mom gave my girls two of her beautiful rabbits about two weeks ago. One is a chocolate one named Nestle. The other is a red named Scarlett. Nestle is a good little rabbit. He stays in his hutch, eats, drinks, and lets the girls pet him gently. Scarlett is a trouble-maker! She has already gotten out of her hutch. We haven't been able to catch her yet. Oh, she's still in the yard (which is amazing as we have cats and a very hyper little puppy outside). She comes and steals food; she will even get into her hutch! We just haven't been able to get the hutch closed fast enough to keep her there. We've tried setting a live trap for her, but she's too smart for that. At least Lindsay is being tenacious and refusing to give up!
Next, chickens--we managed to successfully hatch five of the eggs my father-in-law gave Lindsay. Unfortunately, only two of the chicks survived beyond the first week. My father-in-law came over last week and fulfilled his promise to build a coop for the chickens. YEAH! They are finally out of my laundry room. They were fine the first couple of days. Then, to our surprise, something found a way into their coop. When we found them they were both injured--one was missing an entire wing, and the other had a partial wing missing. We (read Lindsay) immediately started working with the birds trying to save them. Unfortunately, she lost one of them--the one missing its entire wing--her favorite, Fluffy. The other one, Squirmy, is still managing to hold on after almost a week, so we hope he'll make it. (The girls named the chicks based on how they looked/behaved when hatched.)
Finally, dogs--we all love dogs. We had two beautiful little Pomeranians, Max and Penny, as well as a large mix-breed named Bubba and a bouncy, hyper puppy named Sally. Max and Penny have lived their entire lives indoors and are as much a part of the family as any of the humans who live in the house. Bubba is an indoor/outdoor dog, and Shan and I affectionately call him "our son". Sally is an outdoor puppy, and the girls love to play tag and fetch with her. We just could not ask for better dogs. When we got home from my mom's house last Sunday night, we found our beloved 2-year-old Pom, Penny, weak and listless. I immediately called my mom (we got the Poms from her) and asked for advice on how to help Penny. We immediately started working with Penny trying to make her better. We had used a new flea spray, and we think that she may have been allergic to it--we will never know. Penny had a seizure and died about 10:15 that night. We all, including Max and Bubba, miss her terribly. Poor Max is extraordinarily lonely seeming, so we are trying our best to give him lots of extra love and attention because we certainly don't want anything to happen to him! Bubba seems to sense the sadness of the girls because even he is being extra loving and cuddly right now. Sally knows something is different; she just doesn't know what (that's the impression we get, anyway). It's amazing how the dogs and the girls seem to be bonding even more than they already had.
The girls, of course, had a funeral for both the chicken and our Penny this week. That was something that both my husband and I remembered doing as children when we lost our pets, so we both thought it was an important step in saying goodbye--it seems like we've done a lot of saying goodbye lately.
Anyway, it's been an interesting, enigmatic, emotional couple of weeks. Hopefully, next week will be a little more normal--if there is such a thing as normal! |
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Apr. 30, 2008 4 girls + 1 boy = exhaustion and joy!
| Well, I had almost forgotten how challenging it can be to take care of a baby along with toddlers and a pre-teen. I have been taking care of my cousin's 3 month old little boy for the last week and a half. While I am having a blast, I am still exhausted by the end of the day. At least I don't have to do middle of the night feedings! It's been a good experience for all of us. The little ones are especially enjoying having Jace here during the day. He's really a sweet little boy--which in and of itself is something different for me as I have all girls! The younger girls (2 and 3) ask me every evening when Jace will be back. That alone makes it worth all the work, but add in the smiles on ALL of the children's faces (Jace included) and it's more than worth it (except maybe the getting up at 5 a.m. to be ready for him part). |
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Apr. 24, 2008 Wow! What A Busy Week!!
| Just a brief synopsis of our week so far: Monday--we came home from Memphis (we had a great time!); Tuesday--I had Jace for the day and then a ball game that night (Jace is a doll; the girls lost--AGAIN!); Wednesday--we took Emily to the neurologist at Children's Hospital in Birmingham and Mom kept the other girls and Jace for me (we can wean Em off the Keppra, YEAH! Thanks Mom!); Thursday--Jace is here, and I'm trying to catch up on laundry from the weekend (not working very well, though). I'll give more details later, but right now Jace is crying, so I'd better go check on him! |
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Apr. 15, 2008 Memphis, Here We Come!!
My husband and I will celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary this Saturday, April 19th. I can't wait for the weekend to get here! We always try to do something special for our anniversary--some years we just have a special dinner, some years we go to a movie, some years we take a trip. This year, we get to take a trip--just the two of us. We are going to Memphis for the weekend. Neither one of us have ever been there, so we thought we'd check it out. It's only about 3 hours away from where we live, so it's fairly easy driving distance. While we probably won't be visiting Graceland, we still want to see the sights and enjoy the sounds of the city. We are planning to tour Sun Studios and the Rock and Soul Museum (which is run by the Smithsonian Institute). We are both BIG music buffs and I am something of a history buff, so we thought those two attractions would be good to see. Otherwise, we plan to take advantage of the walking trails along the Mississippi River and through historic sections of the city (a friend told us about the trails--hopefully he's correct about them), and we plan to just enjoy spending time together alone! Yeah! |
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