Wow. Well, we went into Salem this weekend to help out with Janice and to be half-way to a birthday party for my cousin's baby (who isn't a baby anymore...he's 2!). We got into Salem after 11, then had to go to town to get a birthday gift, and by the time we got back to J's and got to bed, it was after 2. Well, at almost 3 I woke up to J coughing and sounding like she couldn't get her breath, so I woke Terry up to check on her. By the time he got to her door, she quit! LOL Anyway, with him jumping out of bed like that, he got a leg cramp that he needed rubbed. :( So by the time that was all said and done, it was after 330. So tired.
We went to the party, had a blast and ended up staying for dinner with the family. Had so much fun with baby J! :) Got home, got to bed around 12, but it was actually 1 with the time change.
Sunday morning, I got up and was getting ready to start the coffee when Janice called from her room that she needed to potty. She said, "I just need to sit on the pot". So I helped her up and was supporting her (with the walker) so she could go to the bathroom...when she stopped at her pot-chair in her room. Which was covered with things. I misunderstood where she was headed and so when I saw her reach over to take off a pillow that was up on the pot-chair, I moved my arms to move the rest of the stuff. Wrong move.... Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her tumbling to the floor. I moved quickly and was able to get my hand under her head to keep it from hitting anything, but she still ended up falling. I called out to Terry and he came and between the two of us, we got her up and all was okay. But Terry could tell I was not okay. He got her settled back in bed and came to find me. I asked if she was okay and he said, "Yes, but I came to check on you." I just lost it. I ended up crying this hysterical sobbing cry over what could have happened and how I felt so bad for letting her fall...it seems like when she starts to make progress (like she has...she's walking more with her walker this time!!), something happens to set her back, and this time I would have been the one at fault for that happening. I felt so bad. :( Of course, he reassured me that it wasn't my fault and the sister's told me later that it could have (and has) happened to ANY of us, and that it's no one's fault when it happens. Falls with older people are gonna happen. It took me a while to feel better, but Janice heard me crying and wanted to talk to me...she felt bad that I felt bad. She told me to laugh about it cuz it was silly. I'm still not quite there yet, but I'm getting there. At least now I can think of it without crying. So scary.
Well, we got home late last night, cuz yesterday morning just wiped me out emotionally....I HAD to have a nap yesterday. It was good for all of us to be able to visit some extra time, anyway. My arm is sore today (very sore) from trying to catch her, but I think it's just a pulled muscle or something. Oh the joys.... :)
I'm working on some school for the boys today and we have TKD tonight. I was told last week that they would most likely test this week for their next belt. :-) So exciting! :)
Monday, March 10, 2008
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Up really late...
Okay, for me this is late. It's 11 PM. I've been working on our Ladies Bible Class (Revelations) for tomorrow night (since I'm teaching for M) since about 8 this evening. I finally finished and was just rechecking email, listening to some music, and looking at PBS. Had some messages to answer....and well, okay now it's after 11. Hmmm....
I must be really stupid. And then I made it worse by coming here and sharing it all with everyone! LOL
Think my brain has disappeared somewhere....
I must be really stupid. And then I made it worse by coming here and sharing it all with everyone! LOL
Think my brain has disappeared somewhere....
Too many things to keep track of....
Well, this past weekend we were able to get some rest. I say some, cuz the rest was only on Saturday. The weather was beautiful and the boys got to play outside for a couple hours....which they needed desperately! Well, and I needed for them to do it too! :)
Sunday was spent shopping and getting restocked on some items we were out of. Meat was one of them. Hamburger to be specific. And since we have our sealer machine, we just planned on letting them freeze like we normally do, then after church that evening we would vacuum seal it all. Well, it didn't turn out that way. First, Terry had some computer work that needed to be done and he had put it off all weekend. So while he was doing his computer work, I started 'making bags' with the sealer. When he got in there and cut the meat (mind you, these rolls of hamburger are 10 lb logs...and we have 8 of them), we started to seal it and it wouldn't seal. It never drew a vacuum. So, Terry worked with it a bit and got one to seal...only, it pulled juices from the meat up into the sealer (a big no-no) and didn't vacuum it properly, so it wasn't really sealed. Ugh.
By now it's midnight. The boys are still up. :( And we realized that we can't seal the meat until it's more frozen...but we don't' want to get back up at 3 AM to do this! So, Terry tells me that he can get a saw from the garage (which I can sterilize) and we can just let the logs freeze SOLID and he'd saw through them to be able to do it on Monday night. Well, last night, we eat supper and proceed to 'saw' through this meat. Oh, what a sight it was. We got through ONE log and Terry's arm was so tired that we had to quit...plus it took well over an hour to do one log.
I convinced him that at this point, I would rather have a major cooking day every week or two and thaw out the 10 lbs and just cook it and divide it into meals. Really, this is a good way to do the week since it will make cooking much easier on our busy nights. It's just more work up front. Anyway, it was just comical to see him with gloves on and a hack-saw making 'beef shavings' on my kitchen table. Oy.
Plus, we found out that Little Chase is having trouble eating.... He'd been doing so good and then stopped eating so well. They aren't sure why, but I think they were gonna run some tests and see if everything was alright.
We got another ice storm last night....our third in about as many weeks. I can handle snow...but ice really bums me out. I get stuck in the house and can't do anything. Plus it makes the boys CRAZY! And now it's snowing on top of the ice!
We got the van worked on yesterday. We have known for a few months that the brakes were making funny noises, but we just didn't have the time (or money) to sink into the van. Well, it was getting to a point that we knew we had to do something. So Terry made the appointment and when I got over there the guy wanted to ride around with me for a bit so I could explain to him what we heard. Well, he tells me (after hearing it) that it sounds like 'normal brake noise' to him. But, he'd look at it anyway if Terry wanted him to. We wait for an hour and a half to hear back from them (when they had said it would only be 30 minutes) and find out that yes, there was a problem and they need to replace the drum (?) and the pads. All told, it will be well over $300 for the whole thing. Ugh. We hadn't planned on spending THAT much. :(
Hopefully, life will slow down one day soon, but I'm not counting on it. LOL
Sunday was spent shopping and getting restocked on some items we were out of. Meat was one of them. Hamburger to be specific. And since we have our sealer machine, we just planned on letting them freeze like we normally do, then after church that evening we would vacuum seal it all. Well, it didn't turn out that way. First, Terry had some computer work that needed to be done and he had put it off all weekend. So while he was doing his computer work, I started 'making bags' with the sealer. When he got in there and cut the meat (mind you, these rolls of hamburger are 10 lb logs...and we have 8 of them), we started to seal it and it wouldn't seal. It never drew a vacuum. So, Terry worked with it a bit and got one to seal...only, it pulled juices from the meat up into the sealer (a big no-no) and didn't vacuum it properly, so it wasn't really sealed. Ugh.
By now it's midnight. The boys are still up. :( And we realized that we can't seal the meat until it's more frozen...but we don't' want to get back up at 3 AM to do this! So, Terry tells me that he can get a saw from the garage (which I can sterilize) and we can just let the logs freeze SOLID and he'd saw through them to be able to do it on Monday night. Well, last night, we eat supper and proceed to 'saw' through this meat. Oh, what a sight it was. We got through ONE log and Terry's arm was so tired that we had to quit...plus it took well over an hour to do one log.
I convinced him that at this point, I would rather have a major cooking day every week or two and thaw out the 10 lbs and just cook it and divide it into meals. Really, this is a good way to do the week since it will make cooking much easier on our busy nights. It's just more work up front. Anyway, it was just comical to see him with gloves on and a hack-saw making 'beef shavings' on my kitchen table. Oy.
Plus, we found out that Little Chase is having trouble eating.... He'd been doing so good and then stopped eating so well. They aren't sure why, but I think they were gonna run some tests and see if everything was alright.
We got another ice storm last night....our third in about as many weeks. I can handle snow...but ice really bums me out. I get stuck in the house and can't do anything. Plus it makes the boys CRAZY! And now it's snowing on top of the ice!
We got the van worked on yesterday. We have known for a few months that the brakes were making funny noises, but we just didn't have the time (or money) to sink into the van. Well, it was getting to a point that we knew we had to do something. So Terry made the appointment and when I got over there the guy wanted to ride around with me for a bit so I could explain to him what we heard. Well, he tells me (after hearing it) that it sounds like 'normal brake noise' to him. But, he'd look at it anyway if Terry wanted him to. We wait for an hour and a half to hear back from them (when they had said it would only be 30 minutes) and find out that yes, there was a problem and they need to replace the drum (?) and the pads. All told, it will be well over $300 for the whole thing. Ugh. We hadn't planned on spending THAT much. :(
Hopefully, life will slow down one day soon, but I'm not counting on it. LOL
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
FSA's are NOT worth the hassle!
I'm just in a venting mood right now! We have started using our FSA (Flexible Spending Account) card on our medical expenses. All the money that is put in the account is pre-tax, so we originally thought it would be a good thing. Well, now that we started using it, we have been getting these letters in the mail from the FSA people saying that they need to see copies of receipts for each of these things to verify what we used the money for, and apparently credit card receipts don't work: they aren't detailed enough. So I had to print off the EOB (Explanation of Benefits) from the insurance for each of these transactions (each one is like 3 pages long) and fill out the form for each one.
When I called the FSA person, I told her that we were told in their information that receipts would only be requested occassionally. But she tells me that that is true IF we don't use the preferred providers, which we were never given. So she tells me that it's on their website...and she guides me through the 8 steps of clicking to get to that list. !!! Well, I see this list is only major, nation-wide stores and pharmacies. So I asked her if that meant that for every time we went to the doctor's office we'd have to fill out this paperwork? And she said yes. She continued on saying that there is one other option: we could pay for the visit out of pocket and then get a detailed receipt and submit a claim form after the fact for reimbursement. I said, "Well, honestly, that doesn't help me much because either way I have to fill out paperwork to use the money that is in this FSA account." She said, "Yes, that's correct." Grrrrrr!!!
So, after looking through all of it, printing out the forms that I needed, printing out the EOB's, and filling out the forms, I wasted 2 1/2 hours of my day, and still didn't get them all done for a couple of reasons. One, I have to have Terry's signature on all forms for submission. And two, 3 of the claims haven't finished being processed by the insurance yet, so I don't have EOB's for them. Hopefully, they will finish soon, as we only have 30 days from the date of service to submit claims back to them.
It's all just so frustrating and really raised my blood pressure this morning. But I'm trying to remind myself that we're lucky that we even have insurance, cuz so many people don't. I should be able to handle some paperwork for the sake of having insurance. I just don't think it's worth the time simply for pre-tax money. We're not talking that much money saved in the long run if you figure in the value of my time.
Lord, please give me patience!
When I called the FSA person, I told her that we were told in their information that receipts would only be requested occassionally. But she tells me that that is true IF we don't use the preferred providers, which we were never given. So she tells me that it's on their website...and she guides me through the 8 steps of clicking to get to that list. !!! Well, I see this list is only major, nation-wide stores and pharmacies. So I asked her if that meant that for every time we went to the doctor's office we'd have to fill out this paperwork? And she said yes. She continued on saying that there is one other option: we could pay for the visit out of pocket and then get a detailed receipt and submit a claim form after the fact for reimbursement. I said, "Well, honestly, that doesn't help me much because either way I have to fill out paperwork to use the money that is in this FSA account." She said, "Yes, that's correct." Grrrrrr!!!
So, after looking through all of it, printing out the forms that I needed, printing out the EOB's, and filling out the forms, I wasted 2 1/2 hours of my day, and still didn't get them all done for a couple of reasons. One, I have to have Terry's signature on all forms for submission. And two, 3 of the claims haven't finished being processed by the insurance yet, so I don't have EOB's for them. Hopefully, they will finish soon, as we only have 30 days from the date of service to submit claims back to them.
It's all just so frustrating and really raised my blood pressure this morning. But I'm trying to remind myself that we're lucky that we even have insurance, cuz so many people don't. I should be able to handle some paperwork for the sake of having insurance. I just don't think it's worth the time simply for pre-tax money. We're not talking that much money saved in the long run if you figure in the value of my time.
Lord, please give me patience!
Monday, February 25, 2008
The weekend
Well, we ended up spending the weekend in Salem. I didn't think at first we would go anywhere with the roads like they were. But really everything ended up being completely dry! :)
Janice isn't doing so good. She's still so very weak and doesn't have the strength to stand or walk. Her appetite is better, and for that we're thankful. :) But none of us are sure how long she'll be able to stay at home before being forced to enter a nursing home. None of us want that, but feel we may have no choice.
Chase seems to be doing better. They were to remove the feeding tube yesterday and were hoping he would get to begin eating again by last night. ;) Praise the Lord for this! Hopefully this will lead to him gaining some weight back and being allowed to go home.
Not much else to tell! LOL
*****Newest update on Chase: He is getting to 'eat' again! :) He took about 2 ozs this morning and will get to eat again this evening. I was told that today during rounds, the nurse and doctor even mentioned the 'd' word: dismissal! :) (Just in passing about what is required for dismissal, but still...it's progress and we'll take it!!)
Janice isn't doing so good. She's still so very weak and doesn't have the strength to stand or walk. Her appetite is better, and for that we're thankful. :) But none of us are sure how long she'll be able to stay at home before being forced to enter a nursing home. None of us want that, but feel we may have no choice.
Chase seems to be doing better. They were to remove the feeding tube yesterday and were hoping he would get to begin eating again by last night. ;) Praise the Lord for this! Hopefully this will lead to him gaining some weight back and being allowed to go home.
Not much else to tell! LOL
*****Newest update on Chase: He is getting to 'eat' again! :) He took about 2 ozs this morning and will get to eat again this evening. I was told that today during rounds, the nurse and doctor even mentioned the 'd' word: dismissal! :) (Just in passing about what is required for dismissal, but still...it's progress and we'll take it!!)
Friday, February 22, 2008
Report Card!
Well, it's not the normal time for report cards, but for us it is! :) Brent just finished Unit 3 in his workbooks yesterday and I got his latest grades inputted last night. So this is everything up until the end of Unit 3:
Phonics:
Unit 1 - 97% A
Unit 2 - 96% A
Unit 3 - 97% A
Reading:
Unit 1 - 95% A
Unit 2 - 97% A
Unit 3 - 98% A
Writing:
Fall Semester - 99% A
Math:
Unit 1 - 97% A
Unit 2 - 97% A
Unit 3 - 96% A
I haven't been keeping as good of track of Science and Social Studies, but it is there. Each week, we go to States Studies with our Homeschool group and they learn about 1 or 2 states per week. And on Science, we use science stuff from the MO Conservation Dept and from Apologetics Press. But those are more informational and not something I can really grade very easily at this time.
Phonics:
Unit 1 - 97% A
Unit 2 - 96% A
Unit 3 - 97% A
Reading:
Unit 1 - 95% A
Unit 2 - 97% A
Unit 3 - 98% A
Writing:
Fall Semester - 99% A
Math:
Unit 1 - 97% A
Unit 2 - 97% A
Unit 3 - 96% A
I haven't been keeping as good of track of Science and Social Studies, but it is there. Each week, we go to States Studies with our Homeschool group and they learn about 1 or 2 states per week. And on Science, we use science stuff from the MO Conservation Dept and from Apologetics Press. But those are more informational and not something I can really grade very easily at this time.
Family Updates
First, I'm so sorry it's been awhile since these updates. I have been doing the BASIC computer time that is required of me and just haven't had time for updating. So, just to warn you, this will be a bit longer than normal. I have many things to update you on! :)
CHASE
Since the last update so much has happened. First, I have a picture, which you can see. He made it through the weekend just fine; they got the seizures under control. Hannah had told me on Sunday night that they would be trying to take him off the seizure meds to see if things were getting better. However, on Monday morning about 7 AM, Chase started having blood in his diaper. Thankfully, he was in the NICU with constant nurse attention, so they caught it immediately. He started running a low-grade fever, but they were monitoring him. Well, on Tuesday morning he started vomiting and they ran a test and found a gas pocket near his colon and they would have to do surgery almost immediately. However, it wasn't emergency surgery, as he was still stable. But they were going to transfer him to a different hospital, cuz the specialist was over there that day. Well, after waiting a while, Chase went into surgery about 3:30.
During all of this, Terry and I decided to go up and visit with everyone that was up there. Things were so emotional and we just thought it would be nice to be up there. Well, when we got up there, we found out that Chase made it through surgery just fine. The colon had a small hole in it and they had to remove about 2 cm of it. However, due to the amount of infection in the colon they couldn't reattach the two ends and had to put in a colostomy bag. They said that he will be in the hospital for about 3 more weeks and have to have the colostomy for 6-8 weeks. :( So discouraging and scary for H&J.
So far this week, Chase has continued to do well and everyone seems to be adjusting. Terry and I just keep saying over and over that it's not fair and we wish we could take their pain/frustration from them, but we can't. I think that is the hardest part of all of this...we can't do anything. We feel helpless.
Janice
Janice is now home, with full time nursing care. It was a tough decision to make, knowing that her Medicare coverage had run out and figuring out which would be cheaper for her to pay for: home care or paying for hospitalization. Home care ended up being the better way to go, in all areas. Emotionally and financially. We were supposed to go in and 'relieve' Donna for the weekend (with Darlene in St Louis and us down here, she's been at J's house each night). But we're stuck here with all the ice and snow...just like last weekend. :( SO! Depending on what happens in the next 12 hours, we MAY go to Salem tomorrow or we may have to put it off another week.
Mom and Dad
Dad has known for a couple weeks that he was changing jobs...but I haven't been able to tell anyone cuz of not wanting it to 'leak' to the wrong people about where he was going. But, now that he's started the job (this week!) I can share: Dad is now a counselor at Pathways, which is a substance abuse place for adolescents. He is LOVING it so far and we're so excited and happy for him (and mom!). I pray that he continues to love his work!
Mom had an interesting situation at work this week. The center had decided to make a blanket policy and mom decided to not sign the policy paper. Well, since she refused to sign it and since she took a stand against a really stupid policy, she was suspended for 3 days. And they told her that if she didn't come back in and sign that policy within that 3 day time frame, she would have 'abandoned' her job. SO, since she had no intention of changing her mind (and dad was in full agreement with this), she packed up all her stuff and left. For good. It was so weird for her to not have to go back to work on Thursday. Of course, now she has to start looking for a job, but hopefully and prayerfully, she will be getting a job that is much better (and for a much better company) that what she had before. :)
Ice, Ice, and More Ice
We had an ice storm last week....and now we have another one this week! We are now iced in again....things are even more slick this time than last week, but this one isn't causing the power outages that some had last week. (Fortunately, we even avoided the power outage!)
I'm getting pretty 'cabin feverish', as this will make the 3 week in a row that the boys and I have been stuck in the house with no outside diversion (except for being able to go to worship on Sunday). Of course, we've had some diversion if you count Chase, Janice, and Mom and Dad...but for some reason it just isn't the same! LOL
CHASE
Since the last update so much has happened. First, I have a picture, which you can see. He made it through the weekend just fine; they got the seizures under control. Hannah had told me on Sunday night that they would be trying to take him off the seizure meds to see if things were getting better. However, on Monday morning about 7 AM, Chase started having blood in his diaper. Thankfully, he was in the NICU with constant nurse attention, so they caught it immediately. He started running a low-grade fever, but they were monitoring him. Well, on Tuesday morning he started vomiting and they ran a test and found a gas pocket near his colon and they would have to do surgery almost immediately. However, it wasn't emergency surgery, as he was still stable. But they were going to transfer him to a different hospital, cuz the specialist was over there that day. Well, after waiting a while, Chase went into surgery about 3:30.
During all of this, Terry and I decided to go up and visit with everyone that was up there. Things were so emotional and we just thought it would be nice to be up there. Well, when we got up there, we found out that Chase made it through surgery just fine. The colon had a small hole in it and they had to remove about 2 cm of it. However, due to the amount of infection in the colon they couldn't reattach the two ends and had to put in a colostomy bag. They said that he will be in the hospital for about 3 more weeks and have to have the colostomy for 6-8 weeks. :( So discouraging and scary for H&J.
So far this week, Chase has continued to do well and everyone seems to be adjusting. Terry and I just keep saying over and over that it's not fair and we wish we could take their pain/frustration from them, but we can't. I think that is the hardest part of all of this...we can't do anything. We feel helpless.
Janice
Janice is now home, with full time nursing care. It was a tough decision to make, knowing that her Medicare coverage had run out and figuring out which would be cheaper for her to pay for: home care or paying for hospitalization. Home care ended up being the better way to go, in all areas. Emotionally and financially. We were supposed to go in and 'relieve' Donna for the weekend (with Darlene in St Louis and us down here, she's been at J's house each night). But we're stuck here with all the ice and snow...just like last weekend. :( SO! Depending on what happens in the next 12 hours, we MAY go to Salem tomorrow or we may have to put it off another week.
Mom and Dad
Dad has known for a couple weeks that he was changing jobs...but I haven't been able to tell anyone cuz of not wanting it to 'leak' to the wrong people about where he was going. But, now that he's started the job (this week!) I can share: Dad is now a counselor at Pathways, which is a substance abuse place for adolescents. He is LOVING it so far and we're so excited and happy for him (and mom!). I pray that he continues to love his work!
Mom had an interesting situation at work this week. The center had decided to make a blanket policy and mom decided to not sign the policy paper. Well, since she refused to sign it and since she took a stand against a really stupid policy, she was suspended for 3 days. And they told her that if she didn't come back in and sign that policy within that 3 day time frame, she would have 'abandoned' her job. SO, since she had no intention of changing her mind (and dad was in full agreement with this), she packed up all her stuff and left. For good. It was so weird for her to not have to go back to work on Thursday. Of course, now she has to start looking for a job, but hopefully and prayerfully, she will be getting a job that is much better (and for a much better company) that what she had before. :)
Ice, Ice, and More Ice
We had an ice storm last week....and now we have another one this week! We are now iced in again....things are even more slick this time than last week, but this one isn't causing the power outages that some had last week. (Fortunately, we even avoided the power outage!)
I'm getting pretty 'cabin feverish', as this will make the 3 week in a row that the boys and I have been stuck in the house with no outside diversion (except for being able to go to worship on Sunday). Of course, we've had some diversion if you count Chase, Janice, and Mom and Dad...but for some reason it just isn't the same! LOL
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Latest on Chase...
I just got a phone call to let me know that Baby Chase has had about 3 more seizure's today. It's so very scary and we're hoping to know more this afternoon. They are doing a test to find out if the blood-bruise is on the inside of the skull or outside of the skull.
Hannah is being released this morning and is going down to Cardinal Glennon to be with Chase...
Plesae keep praying.
Hannah is being released this morning and is going down to Cardinal Glennon to be with Chase...
Plesae keep praying.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Chase update
I have more news about Chase...no pictures yet, cuz everyone has been so busy with things (you'll see why in a moment).
Terry told me this morning that Chase was 8 lbs 12 oz, just a few ounces smaller than Brent was when he was born, and that they were all exhausted.
Around noon, I hadn't heard from anyone (no pictures or anything) and thought I would call Darlene to see how things were. I coudln't get her, so I called Hannah's cell to see if Jeremy had it and I could talk to the proud Daddy. Well, Hannah answered and she sounded very sad. I asked if she was okay and she told me that Chase had had a seizure last night about 1:30 and they flew him over to Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital. Apparently, they found he had a bruise on the brain (blood on the brain) that they think was caused from delivery and that at this point they don't think there would be any lasting damage. Hannah said he was fighting the nurses and didn't like to have his blood drawn! But she is still in the hospital and wouldn't be released for another day due to her own complications.
Then later this afternoon I talked more with Darlene and found out that they also see now that they broke Chase's collarbone during delivery. She said that Hannah had been ready to push and they made her wait last night for 15 mintues cuz the doctor wasn't there yet! Apparently they squirt some fluids back up on the birth canal to relieve the pressure off of Chase while they waited! Then when they finally let her push, the dr had to twist and pull on Chase's head to get him out...hence the broken collarbone! Good grief! And Darlene said his little forehead was all deformed cuz he kept hitting the pelvic bone...he was just too big. We're still trying to figure out why they didn't go ahead and do a C-section long before this time...there is no reason for Hannah (or Chase) to have had to go through all that!
Gr....the medical profession aggravates me sometimes!
Please pray for Hannah and Chase (and Jeremy). They are all exhausted and torn as to where their place should be. Hopefully this will all be over within a few days and Hannah and Chase will both be home!
Terry told me this morning that Chase was 8 lbs 12 oz, just a few ounces smaller than Brent was when he was born, and that they were all exhausted.
Around noon, I hadn't heard from anyone (no pictures or anything) and thought I would call Darlene to see how things were. I coudln't get her, so I called Hannah's cell to see if Jeremy had it and I could talk to the proud Daddy. Well, Hannah answered and she sounded very sad. I asked if she was okay and she told me that Chase had had a seizure last night about 1:30 and they flew him over to Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital. Apparently, they found he had a bruise on the brain (blood on the brain) that they think was caused from delivery and that at this point they don't think there would be any lasting damage. Hannah said he was fighting the nurses and didn't like to have his blood drawn! But she is still in the hospital and wouldn't be released for another day due to her own complications.
Then later this afternoon I talked more with Darlene and found out that they also see now that they broke Chase's collarbone during delivery. She said that Hannah had been ready to push and they made her wait last night for 15 mintues cuz the doctor wasn't there yet! Apparently they squirt some fluids back up on the birth canal to relieve the pressure off of Chase while they waited! Then when they finally let her push, the dr had to twist and pull on Chase's head to get him out...hence the broken collarbone! Good grief! And Darlene said his little forehead was all deformed cuz he kept hitting the pelvic bone...he was just too big. We're still trying to figure out why they didn't go ahead and do a C-section long before this time...there is no reason for Hannah (or Chase) to have had to go through all that!
Gr....the medical profession aggravates me sometimes!
Please pray for Hannah and Chase (and Jeremy). They are all exhausted and torn as to where their place should be. Hopefully this will all be over within a few days and Hannah and Chase will both be home!
Baby Chase has arrived!
We are so very thrilled that Chase Kenneth Collins has made his way into this world! :) We've waited so long to meet him....and now due to weather, we'll have to wait a bit longer. LOL
Mommy and baby are doing well....
Mommy and baby are doing well....
Friday, February 08, 2008
Is it possible??
Wow. Okay. So I now realize just how many days it's been since I last updated this blog. Way too many! The boys did FABULOUSLY at their tournament and I will have a separate post (complete with pictures) in a day or two. :) (Just dangling that carrot for you...)
This past week we've been hammered/smacked/way-layed/bombarded by the flu bug that has been so mercilessly passed around. Monday night Clayton started it all off by saying his tummy wasn't hungry for supper...okay, no prob. But while we were eating, I asked him to come over to me and he said, "I can't mom...my legs hurt too much." Strange. So by the time I finished eating, I went to check him and he was asleep (at 7:30) and I could tell by just touching him he was burning with fever. So I took it anyway and it was well over 102. So I gave him a breathing treatment, some cough meds, and some tylenol and he went to bed. He woke up at about midnight and was still burning with fever. So I took him to the living room, got him more meds, some water (which he asked for....a major oddity for him in the middle of the night) and snuggled in with him on the couch. The cough just kept getting worse and we were concerned with pneumonia (due to Clayton's history of everything going straight to his bronchial/lung area) and so I took him to the dr Tuesday morning. The nurse took one look at me and Brent and said, "How have you two kept from getting all this??" (Shoulda known she was jinxing me!)
Well, lo and behold, that very afternoon, Brent and I both ended up coughing and going downhill very quickly. By the nighttime, I was feverish and Brent was on his way. Then on Wednesday mid-morning, I talked to Terry on the phone and he was pretty sure he had a fever too and would be leaving work early...did we all want to go to the doctor together? LOL So we all went and the nurse just laughed when she saw us in the room together. Course, then she looked at Brent (who by then was asleep on the exam table) and just went to work. So after all that, we're all on meds and came home to drink TONS of liquids (we had NO appetite) and get as much rest as we could. We were all in bed asleep by about 6:30 Wednesday night!
This flu is just awful.....we are all so achy and hurting all over! Argh! The pains that comes with this are nothing to sneeze at, that's for sure. No way that I layed, stood or sat made a difference. I was in pain regardless. We were all simply sleeping in 45-90 minutes increments but doing this for 12 hours at a time. What a few days it's been! But now we're on the mend! :)
Oh, before I forget! I was SO bummed last weekend. I was informed by Armchair Interviews that they no longer need me as a reviewer. Apparently, I wasn't reviewing enough books often enough or something like that. I was really upset at first. Mad, too. I truly enjoyed reviewing books for people. It was fun and gave me some new genres to check out. But the more we looked at things, the more we realized that perhaps this is God's way of letting me know I have too much on my plate right now and need some things to back off...so He helped me with one of them. :) So much as I would like to, I haven't sought out another reviewing site to sign up for yet. I'm gonna give it some time and see where things are in a few months. Maybe I need a break with everything else we have going on. Ya think?? LOL
Janice is back in MoBap....she had fluid on her heart so they took her back up there. Hopefully she'll get to go back to Salem right after this is dealt with..... :)
Terry had a follow up appointment in St Louis today. The dr thinks that he's healing well and has scheduled another followup appointment for the middle of April. I have to say I was a bit disappointed in this...I was hoping that she would schedule the surgery...but no luck. But she said that by April he should be scarred over to the point that we can make some more definitive decisions. LOL
Okay....off to check my healing babies. One I know is asleep in my bed (Clayton!) and the other is waiting for me to finish with the computer! :)
This past week we've been hammered/smacked/way-layed/bombarded by the flu bug that has been so mercilessly passed around. Monday night Clayton started it all off by saying his tummy wasn't hungry for supper...okay, no prob. But while we were eating, I asked him to come over to me and he said, "I can't mom...my legs hurt too much." Strange. So by the time I finished eating, I went to check him and he was asleep (at 7:30) and I could tell by just touching him he was burning with fever. So I took it anyway and it was well over 102. So I gave him a breathing treatment, some cough meds, and some tylenol and he went to bed. He woke up at about midnight and was still burning with fever. So I took him to the living room, got him more meds, some water (which he asked for....a major oddity for him in the middle of the night) and snuggled in with him on the couch. The cough just kept getting worse and we were concerned with pneumonia (due to Clayton's history of everything going straight to his bronchial/lung area) and so I took him to the dr Tuesday morning. The nurse took one look at me and Brent and said, "How have you two kept from getting all this??" (Shoulda known she was jinxing me!)
Well, lo and behold, that very afternoon, Brent and I both ended up coughing and going downhill very quickly. By the nighttime, I was feverish and Brent was on his way. Then on Wednesday mid-morning, I talked to Terry on the phone and he was pretty sure he had a fever too and would be leaving work early...did we all want to go to the doctor together? LOL So we all went and the nurse just laughed when she saw us in the room together. Course, then she looked at Brent (who by then was asleep on the exam table) and just went to work. So after all that, we're all on meds and came home to drink TONS of liquids (we had NO appetite) and get as much rest as we could. We were all in bed asleep by about 6:30 Wednesday night!
This flu is just awful.....we are all so achy and hurting all over! Argh! The pains that comes with this are nothing to sneeze at, that's for sure. No way that I layed, stood or sat made a difference. I was in pain regardless. We were all simply sleeping in 45-90 minutes increments but doing this for 12 hours at a time. What a few days it's been! But now we're on the mend! :)
Oh, before I forget! I was SO bummed last weekend. I was informed by Armchair Interviews that they no longer need me as a reviewer. Apparently, I wasn't reviewing enough books often enough or something like that. I was really upset at first. Mad, too. I truly enjoyed reviewing books for people. It was fun and gave me some new genres to check out. But the more we looked at things, the more we realized that perhaps this is God's way of letting me know I have too much on my plate right now and need some things to back off...so He helped me with one of them. :) So much as I would like to, I haven't sought out another reviewing site to sign up for yet. I'm gonna give it some time and see where things are in a few months. Maybe I need a break with everything else we have going on. Ya think?? LOL
Janice is back in MoBap....she had fluid on her heart so they took her back up there. Hopefully she'll get to go back to Salem right after this is dealt with..... :)
Terry had a follow up appointment in St Louis today. The dr thinks that he's healing well and has scheduled another followup appointment for the middle of April. I have to say I was a bit disappointed in this...I was hoping that she would schedule the surgery...but no luck. But she said that by April he should be scarred over to the point that we can make some more definitive decisions. LOL
Okay....off to check my healing babies. One I know is asleep in my bed (Clayton!) and the other is waiting for me to finish with the computer! :)
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Thursday, January 24 (Catching up)
Janice was transferred to Salem on Monday...PRAISE GOD! We are so thankful for that. Now she is where friends and family can more readily see her and visit with her. :)
Terry is making slow progress. Originally, he was to return to work today, but that was only a tentative date. He is still taking the pain meds, and as long as he's doing that, he isn't supposed to be around the machinery. So for now, it has been pushed off to Monday. I am hoping he is able to go back to work, for his sake and mine. :) I love him dearly, but having him home this much is not as fun as we once thought it would be. LOL
The boys have a TKD tournament on Saturday and we've been preparing for that. They have had their normal classes each week, but have been practicing extra hard here at home and been going through constant practice of the details while in class. There is so much to remember! So many bowing times, so many moves, so many rules.... things thy don't normally have to think about. I am pretty sure Brent will do well, but Clayton has a harder time remembering that many things...so we will see. Either way, they will get trophies and/or medals for simply participating. Really, the part that concerns me most with Clayton is sparring. He doesn't like to get hit during the normal sparring in class and that kind of sparring is gentle compared to the kind of hits he will get at tournament. But, all we can do is our best (that's what Brent keeps saying) and encourage Clayton to go back regardless of how this Saturday turns out. LOL
Sunday, we're supposed to have a birthday party at a roller skating rink and the boys are VERY excited to get to use their new skates! We will have to see how Terry is doing before deciding on that venture!
One thing to be thankful for: we have done school EVERY day during this little 'butt issue' of Terry's. Believe me, for us that is a phenomenal achievement! Most times, I would have just said, "two week vacation" and been done with it. But I really think that being consistent with schoolwork has helped the boys stay on track with attitudes and with routine in a situation that is far removed from our normal routine.
Now, off to watch some football! :)
Terry is making slow progress. Originally, he was to return to work today, but that was only a tentative date. He is still taking the pain meds, and as long as he's doing that, he isn't supposed to be around the machinery. So for now, it has been pushed off to Monday. I am hoping he is able to go back to work, for his sake and mine. :) I love him dearly, but having him home this much is not as fun as we once thought it would be. LOL
The boys have a TKD tournament on Saturday and we've been preparing for that. They have had their normal classes each week, but have been practicing extra hard here at home and been going through constant practice of the details while in class. There is so much to remember! So many bowing times, so many moves, so many rules.... things thy don't normally have to think about. I am pretty sure Brent will do well, but Clayton has a harder time remembering that many things...so we will see. Either way, they will get trophies and/or medals for simply participating. Really, the part that concerns me most with Clayton is sparring. He doesn't like to get hit during the normal sparring in class and that kind of sparring is gentle compared to the kind of hits he will get at tournament. But, all we can do is our best (that's what Brent keeps saying) and encourage Clayton to go back regardless of how this Saturday turns out. LOL
Sunday, we're supposed to have a birthday party at a roller skating rink and the boys are VERY excited to get to use their new skates! We will have to see how Terry is doing before deciding on that venture!
One thing to be thankful for: we have done school EVERY day during this little 'butt issue' of Terry's. Believe me, for us that is a phenomenal achievement! Most times, I would have just said, "two week vacation" and been done with it. But I really think that being consistent with schoolwork has helped the boys stay on track with attitudes and with routine in a situation that is far removed from our normal routine.
Now, off to watch some football! :)
Friday, January 18, 2008
Insights into schooling...Things I've learned today
We decided to go ahead and have school this morning and I'm glad we did. I got Clayton started on his stuff have to say he is really getting the hang of more/less and patterns. I was really excited when we were doing the more or less paper and I started him out counting each object and thinking about which number was higher or lower (which is how we have done it in the past couple of weeks). Well, we did that for a couple and I let him do the next one by himself. He did it in his head! :) Now, for some this is no big deal. But for him this is a major accomplishment. To 1) count the objects in his head without using the pencil to point at each object, and 2) to decide in his head (without saying the numbers out loud) which one was more or less is just phenomenal progress. :) I was SO pleased!
Brent did very well with his schoolwork. We've been working really hard on lower-case letters...he absolutely hates to write them and prefers upper-case letters. But he's made a HUGE effort over the past 2 weeks to ONLY write with lower-case when doing schoolwork. And it's amazing at how the simplest of praises will make him try even harder to do better! I commented on how good yesterday's work looked (he did school with Grandma yesterday since I was gone) and he just BEAMED! :)
Next after Brent finished his phonics workbook, we moved on to a part of English/language: we learned about adjectives today. Wow, I never thought something could be so hard to explain and understand. I had to come up with about 3 different ways to explain them until Brent would finally understand how to find an adjective in a sentence. (Of course, then he would point at the verbs and try to call them adjectives, and since we haven't talked about verbs, it was a bit confusing! :)) Well, we continued on and he slowly got it and was able to work through 8 (simple) sentences on his own underlining the adjective and then drawing an arrow to the noun it described. Very cool!
And I have to be amazed at how well he does math. To some it's not so big, but he is farther along in many areas of math (for his age) than I was at that time. He does things in his head! He had a measuring part today where it was a picture of a triangle and it asked how many inches the longest side was, the shortest side, the third side and then what the distance was around the triangle. On the longest and shortest sides, he was fine. No problem. But then he got a bit confused on the the "third" side question. I had to remind him how many sides a triangle has and then it dawned on him (I could actually SEE the light bulb turn on over his head!) and he realized that the third side was the one he hadn't written about yet. Then when it asked about the distance around it, he started to measure each side again....I stopped him and said, "You know, there is an easier way to do this...." He just looked at it...stared at the numbers for a second and then said, "OH! It's 9 inches!" He just added it all up in his head. Anyway.....cool for me, the teacher. LOL
Now that school is done and daddy is flying high on his pain meds (he said he's enjoyed seeing the puffy clouds and geese flying by him while he's up in the sky!), we're off to the movie store to rent some movies for the weekend!
Brent did very well with his schoolwork. We've been working really hard on lower-case letters...he absolutely hates to write them and prefers upper-case letters. But he's made a HUGE effort over the past 2 weeks to ONLY write with lower-case when doing schoolwork. And it's amazing at how the simplest of praises will make him try even harder to do better! I commented on how good yesterday's work looked (he did school with Grandma yesterday since I was gone) and he just BEAMED! :)
Next after Brent finished his phonics workbook, we moved on to a part of English/language: we learned about adjectives today. Wow, I never thought something could be so hard to explain and understand. I had to come up with about 3 different ways to explain them until Brent would finally understand how to find an adjective in a sentence. (Of course, then he would point at the verbs and try to call them adjectives, and since we haven't talked about verbs, it was a bit confusing! :)) Well, we continued on and he slowly got it and was able to work through 8 (simple) sentences on his own underlining the adjective and then drawing an arrow to the noun it described. Very cool!
And I have to be amazed at how well he does math. To some it's not so big, but he is farther along in many areas of math (for his age) than I was at that time. He does things in his head! He had a measuring part today where it was a picture of a triangle and it asked how many inches the longest side was, the shortest side, the third side and then what the distance was around the triangle. On the longest and shortest sides, he was fine. No problem. But then he got a bit confused on the the "third" side question. I had to remind him how many sides a triangle has and then it dawned on him (I could actually SEE the light bulb turn on over his head!) and he realized that the third side was the one he hadn't written about yet. Then when it asked about the distance around it, he started to measure each side again....I stopped him and said, "You know, there is an easier way to do this...." He just looked at it...stared at the numbers for a second and then said, "OH! It's 9 inches!" He just added it all up in his head. Anyway.....cool for me, the teacher. LOL
Now that school is done and daddy is flying high on his pain meds (he said he's enjoyed seeing the puffy clouds and geese flying by him while he's up in the sky!), we're off to the movie store to rent some movies for the weekend!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Answered prayers! (soon)
I just found out tonight that Janice is supposed to be transferred to Salem on this next Monday (Lord willing)! We are so excited and thankful that Terry's sisters have been able to get things lined out with the hospital and get her moved back to her hometown. Then we see how well she continues to do (she's been walking with her walker every day this week...which is a HUGE accomplishment for her!) and we're praying that she continues to progress so well.
Thanks to all for the prayers!
Thanks to all for the prayers!
Terry's surgery today...
Hello to all. We finally made it home about 7 PM this evening and I got Terry settled in .....he is on Percoset and boy is he HAPPY! LOL He keeps looking at me saying, "I love you....I love you...." and I'm thinking, "I love you on Percoset!" :)
But I digress.....
He had his surgery this afternoon and came through it fine. The surgeon came out and talked with me and explained that they opened the fistula and realized it was on the exterior side of the gluteal muscle (the butt muscle) and she just knew at that point that there had to be more due to the amount of pain it had caused. So, she began probing and using the ultrasound and found a secondary fistula tract that went under the gluteal muscle and was much larger/bigger. She decided that if she were to cut the muscle away (as was originally planned) and create the trench, it would take too much of the 'controlling' muscles away and cause incontinence problems. So, she has put in a seton and we go back in 4 weeks to finish (hopefully) everything.
So, since we thought we were having closure through this, and now we aren't, we're a bit disappointed and depressed. However, we are thankful that the surgeon made the decision she did in thinking of Terry and his age. :) So the day has been bittersweet, but is ending on a happy note since he is 'happy' with his medication! :)
We thank you all for the prayers and concern and ask that you continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue with this 'endeavor'. Perhaps by spring he will be healed!
But I digress.....
He had his surgery this afternoon and came through it fine. The surgeon came out and talked with me and explained that they opened the fistula and realized it was on the exterior side of the gluteal muscle (the butt muscle) and she just knew at that point that there had to be more due to the amount of pain it had caused. So, she began probing and using the ultrasound and found a secondary fistula tract that went under the gluteal muscle and was much larger/bigger. She decided that if she were to cut the muscle away (as was originally planned) and create the trench, it would take too much of the 'controlling' muscles away and cause incontinence problems. So, she has put in a seton and we go back in 4 weeks to finish (hopefully) everything.
So, since we thought we were having closure through this, and now we aren't, we're a bit disappointed and depressed. However, we are thankful that the surgeon made the decision she did in thinking of Terry and his age. :) So the day has been bittersweet, but is ending on a happy note since he is 'happy' with his medication! :)
We thank you all for the prayers and concern and ask that you continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue with this 'endeavor'. Perhaps by spring he will be healed!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Countdown has begun!
Well, Terry is entering the final countdown for the surgery tomorrow. I'm just as nervous as he is. :) I have faith that it will all be okay and we'll make it just fine. The Lord is faithful and will have us in His care!
The boys are definitely feeling the tension through all this. Brent has been only half-listening to things....(whether it is intentional or not, I haven't determined. There is a part of me that thinks he could truly not be hearing things b/c of his mind being preoccupied with other things. But then again, he could be using this time to 'play' mom and dad....) and Clayton is getting a major attitude that I'm having to call him on. He's getting a little big for his britches....which could be a phase and could be him just acting out cuz he thinks he can. Oy....it's so exhausting!
Mom is coming down tonight to spend the next few days with us so that I can focus on Terry and his healing without having to deal with the boys being underfoot. I just know how they have been in the past 3 months, I don't need them inspecting every little thing like they've been doing. LOL
I have finally gotten all of 2007 files out of my file cabinet and am set up to start filing 2008. :) That's a HUGE thing for me....I normally don't get that all done until tax time!
Brent came and got in bed with me this morning, something he doesn't EVER do....but this morning he woke up with a bloody nose. :( Terry said, "I'm confused as to why he's getting bloody noses" and I reminded him that it is winter, after all, and he is also MY son...meaning he has inherited my luck with nose problems. (I was plagued with bloody noses as a kid because my veins in my nose were so close to the surface that anytime I blew my nose or got it bumped (even lightly) it would bleed.) Anyway, it didn't last long, but it wasn't a very good way to start the day.
We've been working really hard to get back into a school routine. There is a part of me that wonders why I'm trying to do anything with all the surgery stuff that's going one. But then again, I know me. Last week would have been surgery, this week would have been surgery, and then next week would be recuperation time, and then the next week there would be some excuse as to why we could get by without doing school. So I just decided to plunge in and get started. And if we only get 3 out of the 5 days done, so be it. It's still better than we would have done had I allowed for excuses. :) So I feel better and I guess that is what matters at this point! LOL
Better get my lesson finished....and then on to Bible class!
The boys are definitely feeling the tension through all this. Brent has been only half-listening to things....(whether it is intentional or not, I haven't determined. There is a part of me that thinks he could truly not be hearing things b/c of his mind being preoccupied with other things. But then again, he could be using this time to 'play' mom and dad....) and Clayton is getting a major attitude that I'm having to call him on. He's getting a little big for his britches....which could be a phase and could be him just acting out cuz he thinks he can. Oy....it's so exhausting!
Mom is coming down tonight to spend the next few days with us so that I can focus on Terry and his healing without having to deal with the boys being underfoot. I just know how they have been in the past 3 months, I don't need them inspecting every little thing like they've been doing. LOL
I have finally gotten all of 2007 files out of my file cabinet and am set up to start filing 2008. :) That's a HUGE thing for me....I normally don't get that all done until tax time!
Brent came and got in bed with me this morning, something he doesn't EVER do....but this morning he woke up with a bloody nose. :( Terry said, "I'm confused as to why he's getting bloody noses" and I reminded him that it is winter, after all, and he is also MY son...meaning he has inherited my luck with nose problems. (I was plagued with bloody noses as a kid because my veins in my nose were so close to the surface that anytime I blew my nose or got it bumped (even lightly) it would bleed.) Anyway, it didn't last long, but it wasn't a very good way to start the day.
We've been working really hard to get back into a school routine. There is a part of me that wonders why I'm trying to do anything with all the surgery stuff that's going one. But then again, I know me. Last week would have been surgery, this week would have been surgery, and then next week would be recuperation time, and then the next week there would be some excuse as to why we could get by without doing school. So I just decided to plunge in and get started. And if we only get 3 out of the 5 days done, so be it. It's still better than we would have done had I allowed for excuses. :) So I feel better and I guess that is what matters at this point! LOL
Better get my lesson finished....and then on to Bible class!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Follow-up on T: after consultation
Well, on Friday morning the boys were up and ready to sit and eat breakfast (fully dressed and ready to leave) by 5 AM. What troopers they were! Of course they were both sleeping on the way up to St Louis, but who can blame them? :)
We arrived at the medical office about an hour before the appointment, so we took some time and just went leisurely about our business and were actually able to see seen at an earlier time. :) They have decided to do surgery on Terry this coming Thursday in St Louis. It will be general anesthesia (tubation required) and is called a fistulotomy. The way the dr explained it to me is that they are going to take the tunnel they have right now and blow the roof off it and create a trench. You can look at the link above and learn more if you wish.
Please keep praying for us....
We arrived at the medical office about an hour before the appointment, so we took some time and just went leisurely about our business and were actually able to see seen at an earlier time. :) They have decided to do surgery on Terry this coming Thursday in St Louis. It will be general anesthesia (tubation required) and is called a fistulotomy. The way the dr explained it to me is that they are going to take the tunnel they have right now and blow the roof off it and create a trench. You can look at the link above and learn more if you wish.
Please keep praying for us....
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Terry's procedure
WARNING: If you are bothered by "TMI" stuff and medical details, you may want to skip this post!
Last night when the medicine kicked in, we noticed that the toilet seat was getting wet every time he would go to the bathroom. We were puzzled by this, b/c the only explanation was it was coming from the wound-hole, which we thought was mostly closed up. We figured we would just know more in the morning.
We were up VERY early this morning to get Terry to the hospital by 7. They got him right back there and had him IV'd up and gowned. They gave him an enema (I know, ewww) and the nurse was a bit shocked b/c the enema oozed out of the wound-hole, which she wasn't expecting. They had him back to surgery by 8:15 and back in the room with us by 9. Dr. Sharlow came and talked with us a bit later explaining that the fistula was circular instead of straight through, which is why it wasn't closed as we all had thought, and that b/c of this, he couldn't track the fistula. He was sending us on to a rectal specialist (who sets out in life to become a rectal specialist???) and that she would need to do a rectal ultrasound to track the fistula and close it off. (Just sounds more painful to me!) So we see her for a consultation on Friday morning in St Louis.
But now, poor Terry. His hiney-hole (not the wound-hole) is really sore and we're thinking that is either from the enema or from Dr. Sharlow prodding to find the fistula area. Or both. Plus, they have repacked the wound-hole with an iodine filled gauze because it was infected now as well (which makes me feel really bad....I've been the 'nurse' that has been helping him through all of this). I'm supposed to pull the gauze out about a 1/2 inch per day and cut it off, and other than that we continue with the gauze pad covers like before.
He's tired. He's sore. And he's frustrated. He just wants this to all be over and it looks like we're talking an even longer recuperation time. I wish I knew what else to do to help him.
Last night when the medicine kicked in, we noticed that the toilet seat was getting wet every time he would go to the bathroom. We were puzzled by this, b/c the only explanation was it was coming from the wound-hole, which we thought was mostly closed up. We figured we would just know more in the morning.
We were up VERY early this morning to get Terry to the hospital by 7. They got him right back there and had him IV'd up and gowned. They gave him an enema (I know, ewww) and the nurse was a bit shocked b/c the enema oozed out of the wound-hole, which she wasn't expecting. They had him back to surgery by 8:15 and back in the room with us by 9. Dr. Sharlow came and talked with us a bit later explaining that the fistula was circular instead of straight through, which is why it wasn't closed as we all had thought, and that b/c of this, he couldn't track the fistula. He was sending us on to a rectal specialist (who sets out in life to become a rectal specialist???) and that she would need to do a rectal ultrasound to track the fistula and close it off. (Just sounds more painful to me!) So we see her for a consultation on Friday morning in St Louis.
But now, poor Terry. His hiney-hole (not the wound-hole) is really sore and we're thinking that is either from the enema or from Dr. Sharlow prodding to find the fistula area. Or both. Plus, they have repacked the wound-hole with an iodine filled gauze because it was infected now as well (which makes me feel really bad....I've been the 'nurse' that has been helping him through all of this). I'm supposed to pull the gauze out about a 1/2 inch per day and cut it off, and other than that we continue with the gauze pad covers like before.
He's tired. He's sore. And he's frustrated. He just wants this to all be over and it looks like we're talking an even longer recuperation time. I wish I knew what else to do to help him.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Here we go...
Well, tonight is the night for Terry's prep work for his procedure tomorrow. :( It's gonna be a LONG night for him and me. Since his original wound is still open, anytime the meds kick in from the Miralax drink, I have to be right there when he is done in the bathroom. And if his night is anything like the night I had when I had my colonoscopy a couple years ago, neither of us will get much sleep tonight. :(
We're to be at the hospital at 7, which means we'll most likely be home before noon...which is nice. Terry said he doesn't expect me to have to stay home from church tomorrow night, but we'll see.
The boys are back in full swing with school and I'm trying to keep things in order. It's so hard for me...I'm not a good manager of most things. Maybe one day.... LOL
I will post more tomorrow or the next day regarding how Terry is doing following the procedure and hopefully be able to report on what they find.
We're to be at the hospital at 7, which means we'll most likely be home before noon...which is nice. Terry said he doesn't expect me to have to stay home from church tomorrow night, but we'll see.
The boys are back in full swing with school and I'm trying to keep things in order. It's so hard for me...I'm not a good manager of most things. Maybe one day.... LOL
I will post more tomorrow or the next day regarding how Terry is doing following the procedure and hopefully be able to report on what they find.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Christmas is OVER! :)
Well, the holiday season is finally over. Hehe. I say finally because we've literally been celebrating since Thanksgiving! The kids have received so many gifts (great gifts!) that they will be busy long into the year! I think the BEST gift they got this year was one that was completely unexpected and NOT asked for on their Santa lists: roller skates! Brent got blue and Clayton got pink (YES, pink....those were the only two choices and besides, he LOVES pink!). They spent Christmas day and the day after in skates. Literally! I had to make the boys take them off to go to bed...they couldn't understand why they couldn't' sleep with the skates on! HA! But it was quite interesting to see them figure out how to move on the skates, but they did quite well.
Terry got me an MP3 player, which is something I have been asking for for months. He never could understand what I wanted with one until he saw the excitement on Brent's face when he got an audio book and realized I could upload the book to the MP3 player for traveling! So much use will come from it...I'm so excited!
We had a great time with the extended family in St Louis in Janice's hospital room. Yes, 16 of us piled in her hospital room to exchange gifts last Thursday night. It was a short holiday for her, but one I know she enjoyed. We sang Christmas songs and worship songs (she asked for that...she hasn't been to worship since the first of August due to the hospital stays!) and she really enjoyed it all. She got teary-eyed with it, but it was a good thing. :) On Saturday, we did the Smith Christmas and got visit with Lenell for a few hours and catch up with her before she leaves for the Ivory Coast.
Now, we're just trying to remember what a routine is (we have gotten our days and nights mixed up with all the late nights!) and put everything away. Terry goes in for his colonoscopy and surgery next Wednesday. Tuesday should prove to be interesting....the prep for it. If you've never had a colonoscopy, find someone who has and ask them about the prep for it..... It isn't fun! After that, it's a couple weeks of recovery time. Hopefully I can maintain a semblance of a routine while he's home. :)
Happy New Year everyone!
Terry got me an MP3 player, which is something I have been asking for for months. He never could understand what I wanted with one until he saw the excitement on Brent's face when he got an audio book and realized I could upload the book to the MP3 player for traveling! So much use will come from it...I'm so excited!
We had a great time with the extended family in St Louis in Janice's hospital room. Yes, 16 of us piled in her hospital room to exchange gifts last Thursday night. It was a short holiday for her, but one I know she enjoyed. We sang Christmas songs and worship songs (she asked for that...she hasn't been to worship since the first of August due to the hospital stays!) and she really enjoyed it all. She got teary-eyed with it, but it was a good thing. :) On Saturday, we did the Smith Christmas and got visit with Lenell for a few hours and catch up with her before she leaves for the Ivory Coast.
Now, we're just trying to remember what a routine is (we have gotten our days and nights mixed up with all the late nights!) and put everything away. Terry goes in for his colonoscopy and surgery next Wednesday. Tuesday should prove to be interesting....the prep for it. If you've never had a colonoscopy, find someone who has and ask them about the prep for it..... It isn't fun! After that, it's a couple weeks of recovery time. Hopefully I can maintain a semblance of a routine while he's home. :)
Happy New Year everyone!
Friday, December 21, 2007
A great mail day...
You just HAVE to love getting the mail when you get 12 pieces of mail in ONE day and not ONE of them is a bill but ALL of them are Christmas Cards!!!!! That was a good evening to sit and 'read' the mail!
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Quite the week!
This week has been sort of boring for us...but I'm so tired, regardless. :) We (the boys and I) have spent most of the week working on cleaning and school. But that is typical. I'm just doing more cleaning than normal.
Brent has been sick this week...just a sinus/head infection. It's made his voice a bit croaky and he's been coughing a lot, but I think he's feeling better.
During this time of Brent being sick, Clayton has helped out more with the emptying of the dishwasher. The other day, he and I were working on it together and he asked me to do something for him that he couldn't reach. He said, "Thanks mom. You know, we're supposed to do nice things for each other, that's why I'm letting you do me this favor." LOL He was so serious, but it was so funny.
This morning, it was a typical Thursday morning for us: CRAZY! Thursdays are so busy that we have to literally hit the ground running. Well, I got the trash bundled, got Terry's lunch and breakfast done, got dressed and was sitting down to check email, when I heard 2 cars start outside. So I looked out the window....Terry had my van pulled up in front of (and facing) his car with the hoods up on both. He was having to jump his car.... :( So I went outside and asked what happened and he just turned and looked at me and said, "Thanks a lot!" See, I had borrowed his car last night for church (it was already warmed up) and apparently I didn't turn the lights off completely. The switch was almost to the off position. So, his battery was dead. :( So he got to scrape off his car AND my car (which I thanked him for!) before he could leave for work. Well, off he goes and I hear him drive away. Then I hear the lock on the front door...he's coming back in. He had stuck MY van keys in his pocket and drove off with them! Of course, he HAD to bring them back...we were leaving in less than 30 minutes. Argh! What a morning.
Well, it gets better. :) We had ice coming down tonight and so everything was covered over. I asked T when he got home how bad his car was covered tonight and how hard it was to get into. He just grinned. Apparently, he tried opening the door and nothing. He kinda pounded on the door to break the ice. Nothing. He used the edge of his key to cut into the ice on the edges...Nothing. He finally held the handle and put his fingers at the top and just pulled with all he had. Still nothing. Hmmm. He said he finally decided there had to be something wrong, but to be sure, he would check the locks. He had never unlocked it to begin with!! The poor thing has had such bad luck with cars today. :(
(And really, I'm NOT laughing at all!)
I better go get the kids to bed. I need to get my contacts out and hit the sack myself.
Brent has been sick this week...just a sinus/head infection. It's made his voice a bit croaky and he's been coughing a lot, but I think he's feeling better.
During this time of Brent being sick, Clayton has helped out more with the emptying of the dishwasher. The other day, he and I were working on it together and he asked me to do something for him that he couldn't reach. He said, "Thanks mom. You know, we're supposed to do nice things for each other, that's why I'm letting you do me this favor." LOL He was so serious, but it was so funny.
This morning, it was a typical Thursday morning for us: CRAZY! Thursdays are so busy that we have to literally hit the ground running. Well, I got the trash bundled, got Terry's lunch and breakfast done, got dressed and was sitting down to check email, when I heard 2 cars start outside. So I looked out the window....Terry had my van pulled up in front of (and facing) his car with the hoods up on both. He was having to jump his car.... :( So I went outside and asked what happened and he just turned and looked at me and said, "Thanks a lot!" See, I had borrowed his car last night for church (it was already warmed up) and apparently I didn't turn the lights off completely. The switch was almost to the off position. So, his battery was dead. :( So he got to scrape off his car AND my car (which I thanked him for!) before he could leave for work. Well, off he goes and I hear him drive away. Then I hear the lock on the front door...he's coming back in. He had stuck MY van keys in his pocket and drove off with them! Of course, he HAD to bring them back...we were leaving in less than 30 minutes. Argh! What a morning.
Well, it gets better. :) We had ice coming down tonight and so everything was covered over. I asked T when he got home how bad his car was covered tonight and how hard it was to get into. He just grinned. Apparently, he tried opening the door and nothing. He kinda pounded on the door to break the ice. Nothing. He used the edge of his key to cut into the ice on the edges...Nothing. He finally held the handle and put his fingers at the top and just pulled with all he had. Still nothing. Hmmm. He said he finally decided there had to be something wrong, but to be sure, he would check the locks. He had never unlocked it to begin with!! The poor thing has had such bad luck with cars today. :(
(And really, I'm NOT laughing at all!)
I better go get the kids to bed. I need to get my contacts out and hit the sack myself.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Christmas at Thanksgiving
Last weekend was a full one for us! It started on Thursday morning with Terry and I going to see his mom in Chesterfield. I had made her some fried chicken adn we filled a sandwich bag FULL of it...she ended up eating the entire thing while we were there. I had estimated that there was about 1 to 1 1/2 chicken breasts in there...so she had a substantial amount of protein! We were all thrilled that she was eating, and so was the staff at the facility. :)
We came home and had Birthday dinner for D and got the kids ready for bed...afterall it was 'Christmas Eve' for them. They got their new PJ's from Grandmas and went to bed...they were ALL asleep within 30 minutes, which is odd for them....they all like to lay in bed and talk and play and giggle. But that night, they went right to sleep.
The next morning was Christmas for them. Below are some pictures:
Mom helped us get our decorations out and she and the boys put the tree together.
Left: Clayton was so intent on getting the branches just right! Right: Clayton opened his stocking to find a gift-card attached to a cute frog! All the kids got gift-cards with different animals attached.
Above left: Brent got his first chapter books (Magic Tree House). Above right: He received a remote control truck from his cousins. VERY cool! Left: He is SO excited to receive his FIRST Bionicles. Obviously, he's a bit excited! LOL
Anyway, we had a blast and played many games. Terry still spent a good majority of the weekend in bed, since he couldn't sit in the chairs for too long a time. hehe But in the end, we were all ready to end the weekend. Between exhaustion and illness, it was time for us to all go our 'respective' ways...mine was straight to bed that night! LOL
I hope you all had a GREAT Thanksgiving!
We came home and had Birthday dinner for D and got the kids ready for bed...afterall it was 'Christmas Eve' for them. They got their new PJ's from Grandmas and went to bed...they were ALL asleep within 30 minutes, which is odd for them....they all like to lay in bed and talk and play and giggle. But that night, they went right to sleep.
The next morning was Christmas for them. Below are some pictures:
Mom helped us get our decorations out and she and the boys put the tree together.
Left: Clayton was so intent on getting the branches just right! Right: Clayton opened his stocking to find a gift-card attached to a cute frog! All the kids got gift-cards with different animals attached.
Above left: Brent got his first chapter books (Magic Tree House). Above right: He received a remote control truck from his cousins. VERY cool! Left: He is SO excited to receive his FIRST Bionicles. Obviously, he's a bit excited! LOL
Anyway, we had a blast and played many games. Terry still spent a good majority of the weekend in bed, since he couldn't sit in the chairs for too long a time. hehe But in the end, we were all ready to end the weekend. Between exhaustion and illness, it was time for us to all go our 'respective' ways...mine was straight to bed that night! LOL
I hope you all had a GREAT Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Time to prepare
Well, it is Tuesday and we have worship tonight (instead of tomorrow night) so that only leaves me a few hours of today to work on the house. Hmm....what should I do first? Laundry? Clutter? School? LOL There are so many to choose from and NOT enough time!
Most of the family will be here on Wednesday night (mom and dad) but Sis and her family MIGHT be here in the middle of the night tonight. I will know more about that in a few hours.
I need to get a few things done before church tonight: organize food list, a few loads of laundry, and make supper. Then tomorrow I have 2 Dr's appointments (9 and 11) and need to wrap presents sometime before D & K get here. Then tomorrow night for dinner I'm making fried chicken so I can take some to Janice on Thursday. Plus in the middle of all that, I need to get back to the store to finish buying the perishable supplies that we'll need. I really am not sure when I will get it done. LOL
Oh, and then someone needs to clean up the basement for the kids so they have a place to play over the weekend. Hmm.....wonder who will end up with that job??
Oh and have to thaw the turkeys...did I mention I have over 34 lbs of turkey this year??
Plus, there are still presents that haven't arrived. Grr....I do NOT like the idea of not having the gifts here when we open the rest of the presents.
Okay, I have to go get busy. The boys need lunch and I need to swap the load that just finished washing. Sometime this afternoon, I need to sit down with my lesson for Bible class....the ladies class on Wednesday nights has started studying Revelation and I'm SO excited! WE just started last week, but I really think this will be a good and fun study.
More later....hopefully some pictures to share! (Which reminds me I need to charge the digital camera batteries! LOL)
Most of the family will be here on Wednesday night (mom and dad) but Sis and her family MIGHT be here in the middle of the night tonight. I will know more about that in a few hours.
I need to get a few things done before church tonight: organize food list, a few loads of laundry, and make supper. Then tomorrow I have 2 Dr's appointments (9 and 11) and need to wrap presents sometime before D & K get here. Then tomorrow night for dinner I'm making fried chicken so I can take some to Janice on Thursday. Plus in the middle of all that, I need to get back to the store to finish buying the perishable supplies that we'll need. I really am not sure when I will get it done. LOL
Oh, and then someone needs to clean up the basement for the kids so they have a place to play over the weekend. Hmm.....wonder who will end up with that job??
Oh and have to thaw the turkeys...did I mention I have over 34 lbs of turkey this year??
Plus, there are still presents that haven't arrived. Grr....I do NOT like the idea of not having the gifts here when we open the rest of the presents.
Okay, I have to go get busy. The boys need lunch and I need to swap the load that just finished washing. Sometime this afternoon, I need to sit down with my lesson for Bible class....the ladies class on Wednesday nights has started studying Revelation and I'm SO excited! WE just started last week, but I really think this will be a good and fun study.
More later....hopefully some pictures to share! (Which reminds me I need to charge the digital camera batteries! LOL)
Friday, November 16, 2007
It's gonna be a FUN weekend!
I simply can't wait for this weekend! Mom and I are going to the Arts and Crafts Fair that is this weekend....at 3 different locations! I am so excited! There is so much to look at and some of it is really cool (while some of it I can't see how ANYONE would pay money for it....but that's me!). LOL We went last year and are ready to go again this year.
After that, we will most likely start the process of food shopping for next weekend. I need to get the turkeys and some of the food bought so I don't have so much to do next week. Then there are presents to wrap and food to make. So much fun!
While we're gone, Terry and the boys plan on getting the fixings for homemade pizzas....and then making them for us all for dinner! The boys are excited to get to do something like that with Daddy....they don't EVER get to cook with their dad. :)
After that, we will most likely start the process of food shopping for next weekend. I need to get the turkeys and some of the food bought so I don't have so much to do next week. Then there are presents to wrap and food to make. So much fun!
While we're gone, Terry and the boys plan on getting the fixings for homemade pizzas....and then making them for us all for dinner! The boys are excited to get to do something like that with Daddy....they don't EVER get to cook with their dad. :)
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Great video...
I have seen this video before and thought I had posted it here, but can't find it. So am posting it now. I get chills everytime I watch this. It is labeled as "The Mission" Lifehouse's Everything Skit.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Slow start to the week....
Well, it's Monday. And I'm already tired. LOL We had a VERY busy weekend of getting all the Christmas decorations put up. Mom and dad helped us and we got it all done in about 4 hours. :) The boys had a lot of fun helping (I think) and are very pleased with all the lights in the house. :) (Then again, the Budget Man isn't so happy about all the lights!)
We had a busy day on Sunday of church, naps, and church. LOL
Then today, we did some school and worked on laundry and getting some things organized. Tomorrow, we have several appointments and places to go, so we may not get as much done. But that is okay. LOL
We have Christmas/Thanksgiving next week with my family and I'm working on getting everything around so it will be an easy and fun filled weekend. I have several places to go and several phone calls to make...not to mention gift shopping. :) I LOVE that part! :)
Time to go cuddle my boys....
We had a busy day on Sunday of church, naps, and church. LOL
Then today, we did some school and worked on laundry and getting some things organized. Tomorrow, we have several appointments and places to go, so we may not get as much done. But that is okay. LOL
We have Christmas/Thanksgiving next week with my family and I'm working on getting everything around so it will be an easy and fun filled weekend. I have several places to go and several phone calls to make...not to mention gift shopping. :) I LOVE that part! :)
Time to go cuddle my boys....
Friday, November 09, 2007
Lord, thanks for the reminder
This week has been a depressing week for me. :( I had a Tupperware party on Monday night that was a bust...1 person showed up! I was so very depressed. Then I found out that something was going to be happening tonight (Friday night) and I wouldn't be able to attend. Then I check my email and see a post in a chat group that is virtually identical to one that I had posted earlier in the week. But this person gets rave reviews about their post, while mine went completely unnoticed. So, let's just say that by Wednesday afternoon I was feeling pretty sorry for myself and having all sorts of pity-parties for myself. Ugh.
Terry came home for lunch ....which if you know our situation, you know that he NEVER comes home for lunch, especially on a Wednesday, cuz it just takes TOO much time from his day and makes it harder for him to get to church that night, but the Lord sent him to help me. I believe this. .....anyway, we got talking and I told him how I was feeling and he said: "You know, it seems that with everything we know of going on with this family (won't mention names) and then with this person's dad, and now with how you're feeling....it seems that Satan is really working hard to attack Christians right now. Maybe now that you know that, you'll feel better." I told him that I was almost afraid to go to church that night cuz I didn't want to ADD to my feelings of being an outsider and end up feeling worse. But, I knew I would go, cuz that was the right thing to do.
Well, let me tell you. The LORD showed me a thing or two that night. I learned of a family that afternoon (my next door neighbor) who is dealing with a cheating husband and facing divorce....and they have only been married about 6 months. They have a daughter who is only 10 months old (okay, so they put the cart before the horse, but NO ONE deserves this....) How weird! As I was typing this, she came over with the baby to 'vent' and chat. :) So glad she felt like she could come over...she said she would do it again. Well, anyway, he is not willing to reconcile and she is finding herself in a situation that she never dreamed she would be in. When she married him, she thought she was marrying for life.
Then at worship that night, we were going over prayer requests before beginning class and one lady brought up the family who is local that has recently had a multitude of problems come their way...
1) they are young (22 and 25) and have 7 kids already, 2 of which (the most recent) are twins. One of those twins had issues in-utero and they knew she would have problems on the outside. She ended up in St Louis in the hospital, on a ventilator and the Dr's told her she had to make a decision about continuing life support....so the mom calls the dad who ends up leaving the other 6 kids with her dad so he can help in the hospital.
2) Something happened with their heating and he was using a wood stove (the young dad) and apparently it wouldn't light, so he threw on some gasoline.... Yeah, you know what happened. He is now in St Louis hospital with 70% burns on his body.
3) Shortly after that, the mom is home with the kids and she hears
something from one of them about a lighter...then a neighbor pounding on the door about flames coming from the second story windows... Well, there are oxygen tanks in the house (for the sick baby) and she starts throwing them out the window while trying to get 7 kids out of the house. The house is old and apparently is GONE before they can barely call for help.
Then 4) while she is cleaning up the kids from the soot and such from the fire, she starts finding bruises and marks on the children....after an examination, she is told they have been physically (and most likely sexually) abused by her father...the one who was caring for them while mom and dad were in the hospital in St Louis with the little baby.
SO! Needless to say, this story completely put my 'woes' into perspective and I thank GOD for my problems....knowing they could be much worse. I am humbled and blessed and I'm sorry it took me all of this to realize it all yet again. God helped me push Satan away once again, and I'm thankful to Him.
Terry is doing much better...he's been working this week and only comign home when he needs to....well, when he needs to have the bandage changed. I have to do that, obviously. He is still having to have me put his socks and shoes on in the mornings, but I can deal with that. He just can't bend over or lift things yet. But he got all the 'packing' removed on Wednesday and he says it feels much much better not having all that gauze in there. !!!! We will both be so thankful when this is all completely over and we hope and pray it won't happen again.
We are decorating for Christmas this weekend.... I KNOW, it's not even Thanksgiving yet. But this year, we are having Christmas on Thanksgiving weekend...at my house, so it HAS to be decorated. Not that I'm complaining. Hehe. An extra couple weeks to have my house decorated and I'm thrilled! :) Mom and dad will be here this weekend to help me, so I don't have to do it alone this year. That's a blessing. :)
I better go finish cleaning the kitchen and get some supper started.....
Terry came home for lunch ....which if you know our situation, you know that he NEVER comes home for lunch, especially on a Wednesday, cuz it just takes TOO much time from his day and makes it harder for him to get to church that night, but the Lord sent him to help me. I believe this. .....anyway, we got talking and I told him how I was feeling and he said: "You know, it seems that with everything we know of going on with this family (won't mention names) and then with this person's dad, and now with how you're feeling....it seems that Satan is really working hard to attack Christians right now. Maybe now that you know that, you'll feel better." I told him that I was almost afraid to go to church that night cuz I didn't want to ADD to my feelings of being an outsider and end up feeling worse. But, I knew I would go, cuz that was the right thing to do.
Well, let me tell you. The LORD showed me a thing or two that night. I learned of a family that afternoon (my next door neighbor) who is dealing with a cheating husband and facing divorce....and they have only been married about 6 months. They have a daughter who is only 10 months old (okay, so they put the cart before the horse, but NO ONE deserves this....) How weird! As I was typing this, she came over with the baby to 'vent' and chat. :) So glad she felt like she could come over...she said she would do it again. Well, anyway, he is not willing to reconcile and she is finding herself in a situation that she never dreamed she would be in. When she married him, she thought she was marrying for life.
Then at worship that night, we were going over prayer requests before beginning class and one lady brought up the family who is local that has recently had a multitude of problems come their way...
1) they are young (22 and 25) and have 7 kids already, 2 of which (the most recent) are twins. One of those twins had issues in-utero and they knew she would have problems on the outside. She ended up in St Louis in the hospital, on a ventilator and the Dr's told her she had to make a decision about continuing life support....so the mom calls the dad who ends up leaving the other 6 kids with her dad so he can help in the hospital.
2) Something happened with their heating and he was using a wood stove (the young dad) and apparently it wouldn't light, so he threw on some gasoline.... Yeah, you know what happened. He is now in St Louis hospital with 70% burns on his body.
3) Shortly after that, the mom is home with the kids and she hears
something from one of them about a lighter...then a neighbor pounding on the door about flames coming from the second story windows... Well, there are oxygen tanks in the house (for the sick baby) and she starts throwing them out the window while trying to get 7 kids out of the house. The house is old and apparently is GONE before they can barely call for help.
Then 4) while she is cleaning up the kids from the soot and such from the fire, she starts finding bruises and marks on the children....after an examination, she is told they have been physically (and most likely sexually) abused by her father...the one who was caring for them while mom and dad were in the hospital in St Louis with the little baby.
SO! Needless to say, this story completely put my 'woes' into perspective and I thank GOD for my problems....knowing they could be much worse. I am humbled and blessed and I'm sorry it took me all of this to realize it all yet again. God helped me push Satan away once again, and I'm thankful to Him.
Terry is doing much better...he's been working this week and only comign home when he needs to....well, when he needs to have the bandage changed. I have to do that, obviously. He is still having to have me put his socks and shoes on in the mornings, but I can deal with that. He just can't bend over or lift things yet. But he got all the 'packing' removed on Wednesday and he says it feels much much better not having all that gauze in there. !!!! We will both be so thankful when this is all completely over and we hope and pray it won't happen again.
We are decorating for Christmas this weekend.... I KNOW, it's not even Thanksgiving yet. But this year, we are having Christmas on Thanksgiving weekend...at my house, so it HAS to be decorated. Not that I'm complaining. Hehe. An extra couple weeks to have my house decorated and I'm thrilled! :) Mom and dad will be here this weekend to help me, so I don't have to do it alone this year. That's a blessing. :)
I better go finish cleaning the kitchen and get some supper started.....
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Beggs Family Farm
A couple weeks ago, we went to Beggs Family Farm with our homeschooling group and got to go on a hayride, pick a pumpkin, play, and go through a corn maze. It was so much fun! This is truly the NEATEST pumpkin patch I've been to! Here are pictures from the day:
Homeschooling thought for the day...
It simply amazes me sometimes how ignorant some people/parents are about homeschooling. And believe me, I used to be one of them! LOL That is one thing that I LOVE about HSLDA....their goal is to educate the public about homeschooling and let them know (prove to them) that homeschoolers are getting a GREAT education and are VERY well-accepted (and coveted) in the colleges and society in general.
I was talking last night with a lady who seemed to look down at homeschoolers and worry about them being able to 'defend themselves and their beliefs' to the outside world (she was talking religiously and morally)...and I assured her that even at the ages of 6 and 5, my boys have had plenty of opportunity to defend their faith and their beliefs simply in the circles of friends we have. They have NO troubles being able to do this and are actually MORE firm in their beliefs because they haven't been so confused in the last few (formative) years by so many outside influences.
It makes me so thankful for the support I do receive in my homeschooling journey....from family and the few friends I have that don't look down on me for doing so. God is good!
I was talking last night with a lady who seemed to look down at homeschoolers and worry about them being able to 'defend themselves and their beliefs' to the outside world (she was talking religiously and morally)...and I assured her that even at the ages of 6 and 5, my boys have had plenty of opportunity to defend their faith and their beliefs simply in the circles of friends we have. They have NO troubles being able to do this and are actually MORE firm in their beliefs because they haven't been so confused in the last few (formative) years by so many outside influences.
It makes me so thankful for the support I do receive in my homeschooling journey....from family and the few friends I have that don't look down on me for doing so. God is good!
Monday, November 05, 2007
Laughing Preemie
I was looking for a picture on Google Images when I came across this picture below. I am just intrigued by the whole thing and had to post it....
Oh, and the link for it is: Neonatology
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Update on illnesses
WOW, I just realized I haven't updated in a few days. Sorry bout that! I ended up sick as well and Terry and I have basically spent the last 4 days in bed moaning and groaning! LOL
Okay, read on at your own risk....some will have turned stomachs from this next description, so don't say I didn't warn you! :)
Terry's surgery went really well. The abscess was HUGE and the surgeon and nurses were completely amazed at his pain tolerance with this. Apparently, it was over 3 inches in depth....the surgeon cleaned out all the bad tissue and then just for kicks to see how big it was, decided to stick his finger in the hole. He said he couldn't' even touch the bottom of the abscess with his finger!! They said that with this sort of thing, the average person would be in the hospital begging for medication from the pain, while Terry's pain scale was at about a 5 on a 1-10 scale.
Anyway, I got him home and he went straight to bed. By then, I was feeling really weak and tired and needed a nap, but I called and contacted all those who needed to know about it all and then I went to bed. On Thursday afternoon, we went to see the surgeon so they could repack the wound....they gave Terry a prescription to use at the hospital until Monday to have the hospital people repack the wound each day...they don't want me having to do that as deep as it is. (And believe me, I am thankful!!) I have to replace the outer bandage periodically through the days when they get saturated, since the wound is still draining. But even that (if I look at the hole) is enough to make me nauseous. I simply can't look at it....his poor skin is pretty bruised up from it all. And it just looks gross.
We see the surgeon again on Monday afternoon and he will determine at that point how much longer we will be packing the wound.
Mom and Dad came down on Wednesday night and Mom took the boys Trick or Treating....I am SO THANKFUL for that! They got to go out and I didn't get sicker in the process! :) When they got back, they helped hand out candy to the kids that were still coming to our house. We got pretty tickled at Clayton with the last ToT'er to come to the door. C gave him the last 2 pieces of candy and said, "Sorry, that's all we have for you. If you want more candy you'll just have to go somewhere else!" LOL My innocent and honest child! :) I did manage to make my yearly Halloween Chili for dinner that night....I haven't missed a year since the boys were born. It's tradition around here to have chili on Halloween and I just couldn't break that tradition, even for illness and surgery!
Well, as for me, I am very croaky and have lost my voice for the most part. My throat still hurts, but I'm on meds and know that I will get better. It's pretty amazing, isn't it, that when everyone is sick Mom takes care of them...but who takes care of Mom when she is sick? At this point, no one. :) I have been slowly doing things around here...dishes, cooking, taking care of kids, breaking up fights, etc. And have actually gotten better in the process! (But we haven't gotten ANY school done for the last few days....but hey, somethings gotta give!)
My poor boys have lived on cereal, sandwiches, fruit, snacks, and Halloween candy for the last 3 days. I feel bad for them, but I just couldn't cook healthy meals for them. Like tonight is nuggets and tots. Let's see....ketchup with them...so that's a vegetable, right?? LOL They have watched alot of movies and shows and have occupied themselves for the most part...they really are very good boys and I'm thankful they are old enough to do this!
Hopefully, the next time I update this, things will be better. I know the boys and I are going to worship in the morning....Terry hasn't decided yet. He would have to stand for it all and he hasn't figured out if he wants to do that. We shall see!
Till then....
Okay, read on at your own risk....some will have turned stomachs from this next description, so don't say I didn't warn you! :)
Terry's surgery went really well. The abscess was HUGE and the surgeon and nurses were completely amazed at his pain tolerance with this. Apparently, it was over 3 inches in depth....the surgeon cleaned out all the bad tissue and then just for kicks to see how big it was, decided to stick his finger in the hole. He said he couldn't' even touch the bottom of the abscess with his finger!! They said that with this sort of thing, the average person would be in the hospital begging for medication from the pain, while Terry's pain scale was at about a 5 on a 1-10 scale.
Anyway, I got him home and he went straight to bed. By then, I was feeling really weak and tired and needed a nap, but I called and contacted all those who needed to know about it all and then I went to bed. On Thursday afternoon, we went to see the surgeon so they could repack the wound....they gave Terry a prescription to use at the hospital until Monday to have the hospital people repack the wound each day...they don't want me having to do that as deep as it is. (And believe me, I am thankful!!) I have to replace the outer bandage periodically through the days when they get saturated, since the wound is still draining. But even that (if I look at the hole) is enough to make me nauseous. I simply can't look at it....his poor skin is pretty bruised up from it all. And it just looks gross.
We see the surgeon again on Monday afternoon and he will determine at that point how much longer we will be packing the wound.
Mom and Dad came down on Wednesday night and Mom took the boys Trick or Treating....I am SO THANKFUL for that! They got to go out and I didn't get sicker in the process! :) When they got back, they helped hand out candy to the kids that were still coming to our house. We got pretty tickled at Clayton with the last ToT'er to come to the door. C gave him the last 2 pieces of candy and said, "Sorry, that's all we have for you. If you want more candy you'll just have to go somewhere else!" LOL My innocent and honest child! :) I did manage to make my yearly Halloween Chili for dinner that night....I haven't missed a year since the boys were born. It's tradition around here to have chili on Halloween and I just couldn't break that tradition, even for illness and surgery!
Well, as for me, I am very croaky and have lost my voice for the most part. My throat still hurts, but I'm on meds and know that I will get better. It's pretty amazing, isn't it, that when everyone is sick Mom takes care of them...but who takes care of Mom when she is sick? At this point, no one. :) I have been slowly doing things around here...dishes, cooking, taking care of kids, breaking up fights, etc. And have actually gotten better in the process! (But we haven't gotten ANY school done for the last few days....but hey, somethings gotta give!)
My poor boys have lived on cereal, sandwiches, fruit, snacks, and Halloween candy for the last 3 days. I feel bad for them, but I just couldn't cook healthy meals for them. Like tonight is nuggets and tots. Let's see....ketchup with them...so that's a vegetable, right?? LOL They have watched alot of movies and shows and have occupied themselves for the most part...they really are very good boys and I'm thankful they are old enough to do this!
Hopefully, the next time I update this, things will be better. I know the boys and I are going to worship in the morning....Terry hasn't decided yet. He would have to stand for it all and he hasn't figured out if he wants to do that. We shall see!
Till then....
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Surgery tomorrow
Terry is having surgery tomorrow on his cyst. We saw the surgeon today and he agreed that it has to come out...but it isn't gonna be as simple as we thought. We had originally figured it would just involve numbing the area and draining the cyst or lancing it. WELL! They are going to knock him completely out! General anesthesia. So since they are going to just 'fit him in' to the schedule, they are going to call us in the morning and let us know what time to be at the hospital.
The dr said that for most people they take a couple days off work for this simply for the discomfort. Terry's trying to figure out how he will sleep....he's a back sleeper. We shall see what the next few days bring.
The dr said that for most people they take a couple days off work for this simply for the discomfort. Terry's trying to figure out how he will sleep....he's a back sleeper. We shall see what the next few days bring.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Now, I've got it!
Ugh! I started getting a headache in church yesterday morning and felt bad all afternoon. Didn't go back last night...
Then woke up this morning with a scratchy throat and just don't feel well. I'm trying to boost my vitamins and see if that helps. I really don't want to get this crud that's been passed around my house!
:((
WE are doing school right now in the floor of the living room....then we'll watch a movie together while I fold laundry. Then there is TKD later this evening. The boys both say they want to go....I will make it, I"m sure! LOL
At least I have gotten the dishes done, laundry going, the living room cleaned up and school going. Not bad, I think! I still have to change the sheets on everyone's beds, but that won't take alot of time, just alot of effort!
Then woke up this morning with a scratchy throat and just don't feel well. I'm trying to boost my vitamins and see if that helps. I really don't want to get this crud that's been passed around my house!
:((
WE are doing school right now in the floor of the living room....then we'll watch a movie together while I fold laundry. Then there is TKD later this evening. The boys both say they want to go....I will make it, I"m sure! LOL
At least I have gotten the dishes done, laundry going, the living room cleaned up and school going. Not bad, I think! I still have to change the sheets on everyone's beds, but that won't take alot of time, just alot of effort!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Another day in Sick-dom
Terry stayed home again today...he simply cannot move with the cyst on his backside! (I know he'll appreciate me telling the whole world this!) It's got us concerned, cuz he saw the doctor for it yesterday and saw a quack basically. The guy just said it was staph and that he should use a warm washcloth to 'bring it to the surface', then gave him 14 days of antibiotics. Well, there are two things wrong with this: One, you can't diagnose staph without a culture and even then you would prescribe a month's worth of meds for it, not 14 days. We've been there, done that. And Two, if it is staph, AGAIN, why has he gotten staph 4 times in the last 15 months? Why can they NOT seem to get rid of it for him? It's really wearing his body down.
Then there's Brent. He was doing so good today, playing and eating. No biggie... The doc didn't do anything for him either yesterday, just gave him a cough syrup to take at night. Big whoop. I was really aggravated by this because I knew Brent had a sinus infection and most likely an ear infection and I wanted meds for it before it got too far. I know my child and this has happened before and I wanted to nip it in the bud. Anyway, tonight as we were sitting down to supper, Brent says his ear hurts really bad....his left ear. He complains about it all through supper and then some more after supper. We'll most likely end up at the quick-care place with him in the morning....so aggravating. Terry wants to figure out a way to bill this other doctor the quick-care bill since he should have caught this in the first place. Argh!
But on a positive note, I made Antibiotic Soup today. I used a whole chicken (from last weekend's leftover food! :)) and boiled it and got my own chicken broth. Then I smashed through 2 whole heads of garlic and got them cooking while I chopped 2 leeks and several carrot sticks (also leftover from last weekend!) and just let the whole thing simmer for a few hours. I did add a broth and flour mix to thicken it all up a bit...but it was DELICIOUS!!! Even the boys ate it and enjoyed it. I hope it does us all some good.
Well see what the morrow brings!
Then there's Brent. He was doing so good today, playing and eating. No biggie... The doc didn't do anything for him either yesterday, just gave him a cough syrup to take at night. Big whoop. I was really aggravated by this because I knew Brent had a sinus infection and most likely an ear infection and I wanted meds for it before it got too far. I know my child and this has happened before and I wanted to nip it in the bud. Anyway, tonight as we were sitting down to supper, Brent says his ear hurts really bad....his left ear. He complains about it all through supper and then some more after supper. We'll most likely end up at the quick-care place with him in the morning....so aggravating. Terry wants to figure out a way to bill this other doctor the quick-care bill since he should have caught this in the first place. Argh!
But on a positive note, I made Antibiotic Soup today. I used a whole chicken (from last weekend's leftover food! :)) and boiled it and got my own chicken broth. Then I smashed through 2 whole heads of garlic and got them cooking while I chopped 2 leeks and several carrot sticks (also leftover from last weekend!) and just let the whole thing simmer for a few hours. I did add a broth and flour mix to thicken it all up a bit...but it was DELICIOUS!!! Even the boys ate it and enjoyed it. I hope it does us all some good.
Well see what the morrow brings!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
A day off
Well, Terry is sick and Brent is home sick as well. So needless to say we will NOT be doing any school today or States Study with our homeschool group. :( Brent was sad about this as he's been looking forward to it all week.
Clayton keeps trying to tell me he's sick too, but then he runs around like a crazy boy! LOL He just wanted an excuse to stay home with Daddy. :)
We are supposed to be going to a Tae Kwon Do tournament this weekend, but with everyone getting sick, I"m not sure what will happen. ?? There will be another one in January and it may be best for us to just stay home and get well.
This weather is killing me!! It has been rainy all week so far (up to 3 inches in some spots!) and the winds has been crazy. It's blown 2 of my plants over and even blew the hose-house off the porch!! I mean it's not REALLY heavy but good grief! I didn't think it would blow it off completely.
Oh, and on the diet front. (What diet? you may be asking...) Well. I went to the dr last week to see if he could give me some idea of why I can eat healthy, exercise some and still not lost weight. It's been so frustrating. Well, he asked me to start journaling all the food that goes in my mouth. So I started on Monday and the first day I ate really well. I ate when I was hungry and didn't try to eat low-calorie. I still ended up with a 2200-calorie intake for the day. Which, isn't great, but I didn't htink it was bad for me. Well, on Tuesday, I ate cereal for breakfast and then PB&J with the boys for lunch. I about had a stroke when I realized how many calories I had consumed with those two meals!! Cereal is a diet killer! So I started paying attention to calorie count when I would pick my foods for each meal and I am amazed!
For example, this morning, I ate oatmeal for breakfast and knew I would want something sweet in it (my favorite is Maple and Brown sugar!) so I looked at the syrup bottle forcalorie count. There are 210 calories in 1/4 cup! That's a lot of syrup! So, a 1/2 is 4 ounces of liquid, making 1/4 cup 2 ounces. Well, I only needed 1 ounce of syrup (yes I measured it to see), only giving me 105 calories for the syrup and 73 calories for the oatmeal itself. Less that 200 calories for the entire meal. :) I was so excited when I realized this! Anyway, I just wanted to share...hopefully it will make a difference in both my choices AND in my weight!
Clayton keeps trying to tell me he's sick too, but then he runs around like a crazy boy! LOL He just wanted an excuse to stay home with Daddy. :)
We are supposed to be going to a Tae Kwon Do tournament this weekend, but with everyone getting sick, I"m not sure what will happen. ?? There will be another one in January and it may be best for us to just stay home and get well.
This weather is killing me!! It has been rainy all week so far (up to 3 inches in some spots!) and the winds has been crazy. It's blown 2 of my plants over and even blew the hose-house off the porch!! I mean it's not REALLY heavy but good grief! I didn't think it would blow it off completely.
Oh, and on the diet front. (What diet? you may be asking...) Well. I went to the dr last week to see if he could give me some idea of why I can eat healthy, exercise some and still not lost weight. It's been so frustrating. Well, he asked me to start journaling all the food that goes in my mouth. So I started on Monday and the first day I ate really well. I ate when I was hungry and didn't try to eat low-calorie. I still ended up with a 2200-calorie intake for the day. Which, isn't great, but I didn't htink it was bad for me. Well, on Tuesday, I ate cereal for breakfast and then PB&J with the boys for lunch. I about had a stroke when I realized how many calories I had consumed with those two meals!! Cereal is a diet killer! So I started paying attention to calorie count when I would pick my foods for each meal and I am amazed!
For example, this morning, I ate oatmeal for breakfast and knew I would want something sweet in it (my favorite is Maple and Brown sugar!) so I looked at the syrup bottle forcalorie count. There are 210 calories in 1/4 cup! That's a lot of syrup! So, a 1/2 is 4 ounces of liquid, making 1/4 cup 2 ounces. Well, I only needed 1 ounce of syrup (yes I measured it to see), only giving me 105 calories for the syrup and 73 calories for the oatmeal itself. Less that 200 calories for the entire meal. :) I was so excited when I realized this! Anyway, I just wanted to share...hopefully it will make a difference in both my choices AND in my weight!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Out of the mouths...
The other day, when all the girls were here, all the little kids were playing in the basement. My nephew came up and asked if he could play with the darts that we have downstairs. I told him he could. I said, "Oh, and be careful of the little ones and where they are..." Before I could get all of that out, he said, "I know, I have a B.B. gun." I just laughed and said, "I know..." And he laughed and said, "Yes, I understand. A mother's love demands it."
:-)
:-)
What a conversation!
We had a very interesting conversation with Brent the other night. He asked about being baptized and why he couldn't take communion yet. We went through the discussion of what it means to be baptized and the commitment behind it. We talked about why a person would be baptized and what ages we were (Terry and I) when we were baptized.
He was asking such big questions and didn't seem to understand what we were saying or why he couldn't. I finally asked him, "If something bad were to happen to you and you died, where do you think you would go?" He answered, "Heaven." I told him that because of that answer, we were positive and sure that he would go to heaven and that it wasn't time for him to be baptized.
We encouraged him to talk with us ANYTIME he had questions concerning baptism or when he was just thinking about it. It just amazed me what he was thinking!
He was asking such big questions and didn't seem to understand what we were saying or why he couldn't. I finally asked him, "If something bad were to happen to you and you died, where do you think you would go?" He answered, "Heaven." I told him that because of that answer, we were positive and sure that he would go to heaven and that it wasn't time for him to be baptized.
We encouraged him to talk with us ANYTIME he had questions concerning baptism or when he was just thinking about it. It just amazed me what he was thinking!
Monday, October 22, 2007
A glorious weekend!
Well, we had a wonderful weekend with the ladies...just the ladies. No hubbies, no kids! We all needed a break and it was awesome!
It started really on Thursday for me and my sis. We did the shopping and got the house ready. In the middle of the night, the girls got here (3 of the remaining 4) and we all slept in the next morning! When we finally got ready, we left for Kimmswick, MO and did some shopping with the 4th member to come (for a total of 6 of us). After doing some shopping, we left for St Louis and sort of saw the arch...I got us lost (sort of) and we ended up in Illinois! LOL Anyway, we saw the arch and then went to dinner at a Brazilian restaurant...Yemanja Brasil.....A truly wonderful and delectable experience! It wasn't in the best place of St Louis, but it was worth it! HA!
After getting home that night we played games till the wee hours and then slept in again!
On Saturday, we went to Crown Valley Winery and toured the facility and tasted some wines. WOW! I found some I really like! :)
After we got home, we ate supper and played more games. On Sunday morning we had a small service here at the house and then everyone started leaving.
Poor K ended up with her rental car breaking down on her about 20 minutes away from my house, so G and J and Dad went to take her to the airport. She made it fine and all is well.
We are so blessed to have friendships that will last time and distance....AND blessed to have husbands who allow us the joy of getting together to renew old friendships! We're planning this again for 2 years from now...I can hardly wait!
EDITED 10-25-07
I saw a sign this morning on the way to preschool with Clayton that said:
Blessed is he who finds the beauty when on a detour.
LOL I just thought this was too coincidental NOT to put it in here! :)
It started really on Thursday for me and my sis. We did the shopping and got the house ready. In the middle of the night, the girls got here (3 of the remaining 4) and we all slept in the next morning! When we finally got ready, we left for Kimmswick, MO and did some shopping with the 4th member to come (for a total of 6 of us). After doing some shopping, we left for St Louis and sort of saw the arch...I got us lost (sort of) and we ended up in Illinois! LOL Anyway, we saw the arch and then went to dinner at a Brazilian restaurant...Yemanja Brasil.....A truly wonderful and delectable experience! It wasn't in the best place of St Louis, but it was worth it! HA!
After getting home that night we played games till the wee hours and then slept in again!
On Saturday, we went to Crown Valley Winery and toured the facility and tasted some wines. WOW! I found some I really like! :)
After we got home, we ate supper and played more games. On Sunday morning we had a small service here at the house and then everyone started leaving.
Poor K ended up with her rental car breaking down on her about 20 minutes away from my house, so G and J and Dad went to take her to the airport. She made it fine and all is well.
We are so blessed to have friendships that will last time and distance....AND blessed to have husbands who allow us the joy of getting together to renew old friendships! We're planning this again for 2 years from now...I can hardly wait!
EDITED 10-25-07
I saw a sign this morning on the way to preschool with Clayton that said:
Blessed is he who finds the beauty when on a detour.
LOL I just thought this was too coincidental NOT to put it in here! :)
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Innocent Prayers
I forgot to post this last week. But when Janice was on her way to St Louis in the ambulance and her BP bottomed out, they took her to Washington, MO to get her stabalized in the ER before going on. Well, we were on our way to Tae Kwon Do when we got the call and before we went in, I had the boys come to the front of the van with me to say a special prayer for Grandma Niecey.
Clayton said his quick prayer and then Brent prayed this:
"Dear God, we know that it might be the end for Grandma Niecey right now and we know that it will make everyone sad if she goes. But we ask that you please be with her and the doctors right now and help them do good for her. And also please be with Daddy and Aunt Darlene and Aunt Donna and help them know that if this is the end that they will be okay and that Grandma will be in a better place...and just help them not be sad."
I had tears in my eyes and chills on my arms.....his prayers are so innocent, so sweet, and so intuitive.
Clayton said his quick prayer and then Brent prayed this:
"Dear God, we know that it might be the end for Grandma Niecey right now and we know that it will make everyone sad if she goes. But we ask that you please be with her and the doctors right now and help them do good for her. And also please be with Daddy and Aunt Darlene and Aunt Donna and help them know that if this is the end that they will be okay and that Grandma will be in a better place...and just help them not be sad."
I had tears in my eyes and chills on my arms.....his prayers are so innocent, so sweet, and so intuitive.
When Madeline Was Young
by Jane Hamilton
Published by Anchor Books
Reviewed by Amanda Schafer
You grow up, you get married to the woman of your dreams. But then all of a sudden she has a bicycle wreck that leaves her living life with a 6-year-old mentality. What do you do? Do you stay married? What happens to your wife? We find in this touching story that the decision of one man was to take care of his wife as she was his own child. He raised her with his children (from a second marriage) and loved her nonstop.
Mac is this man’s son who grew up thinking that Madeline was his sister. Mac took Madeline to the park, to the ice cream parlor, and defended her against bullies who called her dumb or tried to take advantage of her. Somewhere along the way, Mac learned the truth about Madeline, but still continued to love her like a sister. Mac takes us through his journey as he remembers it when he gets the call that his cousin’s son has been killed in action. Mac tries to decide whether or not to go to the funeral and in doing so, relives his years growing up with Madeline.
Somewhere along the way, I lost the point of the story being Madeline–and it became more about Mac and who he was. Madeline was mentioned occasionally, but mainly as a background character. With the title being about her, I thought the book would have centered more around her rehab, therapies and life after the accident.
Jane Hamilton has a gift in writing that makes it easy to read. While this story is a beautiful one, it was a bit confusing from chapter to chapter. I never knew what decade was being discussed. The story seemed to bounce all over the place with flashbacks that came without warning. It also seems very odd to me when a female writer writes from the male perspective and vice versa.
I think this book could have been better as a finished product if it would have had a little more organization to the story line. The story was there, it just needed some redirection.
Armchair Interview says: A story of extreme caretaking that most would or could never do.
A new week...
Well, we're at the start of a new week. We're already busy...the weekend was just one busy time. We haven't stopped since....well, since August 1, really. :) HA!
We have so much going on this week...my sister will be arriving on Tuesday sometime to help me get ready for our 'Ladies Weekend' this coming weekend. 4 other girls (besides us) will be arriving at my house on Friday to spend a no-kids-no-hubbies-girls-have-fun weekend. I can't wait...not exactly sure what we'll do, but we'll have fun just doing nothing! :)
The boys and I are going to Beggs Family Farm on Tuesday to have a hayride and look at pumpkins. We'll hit the maze, see the animals, and who knows what else! I can't wait.
Clayton is still getting things for his birthday....he got more presents this weekend. He finally got a monkey! (A stuffed one of course!) He decided this morning that he needed to name it Peyton. I asked why and he said that it did something bad and he said, Peyton, Stop it! So he just decided it should be Peyton! LOL
Janice is still in MoBap...but she's finally out of ICU. That makes visiting a bit easier. The kids are still trying to cover every day, but I don't know how much longer they can keep that up. Hopefully, she will start doing some therapy and start eating and doing what she's supposed to do and get out of there soon. We hope and pray! :)
Well, it's late and the boys are still up playing Ninja Turtles in their room. Better get them to bed...we have alot of school to do tomorrow...we didn't finish Friday's stuff, so we have to do that and THEN do Monday. LOL
Have a great week!
We have so much going on this week...my sister will be arriving on Tuesday sometime to help me get ready for our 'Ladies Weekend' this coming weekend. 4 other girls (besides us) will be arriving at my house on Friday to spend a no-kids-no-hubbies-girls-have-fun weekend. I can't wait...not exactly sure what we'll do, but we'll have fun just doing nothing! :)
The boys and I are going to Beggs Family Farm on Tuesday to have a hayride and look at pumpkins. We'll hit the maze, see the animals, and who knows what else! I can't wait.
Clayton is still getting things for his birthday....he got more presents this weekend. He finally got a monkey! (A stuffed one of course!) He decided this morning that he needed to name it Peyton. I asked why and he said that it did something bad and he said, Peyton, Stop it! So he just decided it should be Peyton! LOL
Janice is still in MoBap...but she's finally out of ICU. That makes visiting a bit easier. The kids are still trying to cover every day, but I don't know how much longer they can keep that up. Hopefully, she will start doing some therapy and start eating and doing what she's supposed to do and get out of there soon. We hope and pray! :)
Well, it's late and the boys are still up playing Ninja Turtles in their room. Better get them to bed...we have alot of school to do tomorrow...we didn't finish Friday's stuff, so we have to do that and THEN do Monday. LOL
Have a great week!
Monday, October 08, 2007
Weaver Believer
I just have to share about a wonderful group I was just informed of! :) It is a family who have been playing instruments together for a few years and have started singing and doing shows....check out their site and listen to the music! If you like bluegrassy/banjo/southern gospel type of music you will LOVE this!
Weaver Believer
One of the members of the family is Anna, a fellow PBS'er and GREAT gal! :)
Weaver Believer
One of the members of the family is Anna, a fellow PBS'er and GREAT gal! :)
The "Fort"
Well, last week we were going through some new words in our vocabulary, and we came across the word 'fort'. I asked B if he knew what a fort was, as I do with all words I think he doesn't know.
He said, "Mom, you know..."
I just looked at him and said, "Well, I do, but I want you to tell me what you think it is...."
He said (with a grin on his face), "Well, it's a not-nice-word some people use for when you toot."
Well, of course I just about lost it, but composed myself quickly and explained the true meaning of it to him.
So when I told T later that night about it, he just started laughing and said, "So that's why he looked at me like I was crazy when I asked him last winter if he wanted to go play in the fort."
LOL
He said, "Mom, you know..."
I just looked at him and said, "Well, I do, but I want you to tell me what you think it is...."
He said (with a grin on his face), "Well, it's a not-nice-word some people use for when you toot."
Well, of course I just about lost it, but composed myself quickly and explained the true meaning of it to him.
So when I told T later that night about it, he just started laughing and said, "So that's why he looked at me like I was crazy when I asked him last winter if he wanted to go play in the fort."
LOL
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