Fun day.

Today around the house was awful. Too much screaming, crying, pushing, hitting (and not by me.) But we finally got the bare minimum done and headed out to visit a new Childrens Museum. The boys LOVED it. They played in the tunnels for hours. Gavin was inviting his friends to go on a bear hunt with him. Then they played in the airplanes and lunar lander for hours. I had to drag them away from playing to eat, and then again to leave. We will have to make the long drive back a couple times a year! (No, I did not manage to remember my camera. Next time.)

A glimmer.

Warning: Potty Training Story to follow.

Gavin announced he was going poop. After a while lingering in the bathroom I asked him (a regular reminder around here) if he had wiped, flushed, washed his hands... He said something I couldn't understand. I walk into the bathroom with him off the potty, obviously not having wiped yet - and I ask him what he is doing. Then I see it. He got off the potty, took off the empty toilet paper roll, and replaced it so he could wipe. NO WAY!!!!!! I think he is gonna be a keeper!

BUSY.

So last night I pulled an all nighter. I made myself a dress to wear to a party today. I knew it would be a big ? if I could make it to church staying up so late, but working on a project start to finish with no interruptions did something amazing for my soul. I worked hard, and I had something to show for it when I was done. I ended up sleeping through church time, feeding my family lunch, reading chapters of House at Pooh Corner and Secret Garden to the boys, getting ready for a party... Then life hit hard. Andrew got stung by something outside and had a severe allergic reaction. He had to go to the ER, and I had to find childcare for the boys so I could get my stuff done for the party (we were throwing a surprise baby shower with a luau theme.) With help, I was able to get stuff done and make it to the party on time. Andrew is doing much better, but still has a very swollen hand and won't be able to fly tomorrow. The party was great. And now we need to clean house and play catch up. For some reason I feel like we are getting the book thrown at us by the devil, and that it is because God has something big around the corner. I am on round 4 of meds, but rode my bike for the first time this weekend. It is so good to be fighting back from this infection. Now to get some serious sleep...
p.s. pictures coming soon.

Another day...

...new staph pustules. Everytime I get stressed and tired they show up. Doesn't matter that I am on heavy duty antibiotics, evidently. Good news is I have an appointment (in August) with one of the infectious disease doctors who saw me in the hospital, so I will be able to ask all my questions. Wishing for Andrew to be home, for a good nap, or to be able to sleep in - well, actually for all three. :o)

I wonder...

... why the boys had trouble falling asleep last night.

Movie watching.

Since we watched Bambi last weekend Gavin has been Thumper.

Seth keeps telling a joke, "Why do the toys cross the road." As a statement. No punch line. He heard everyone laugh during Toy Story, and he still doesn't realize that jokes are supposed to have punch lines. Daddy taught him to tell Gavin jokes as a baby. "Joke. Joke." And then they laugh. Gotta love it! :o)

First Day of School.

I know it is the middle of the summer, but we have a lot of traveling to do in the next few months, and I need to figure out how this is going to work, so I can pack school to go along for the journey. Plus, what is homeschooling for if not to do things differently. So here are some photos of our quick nature walk around the block while it was sprinkling (barely). Today went very well, and I am excited about what is to come!

When Daddy is home...

...we all play hockey in the garage.

I really didn't want to...

(I will tell you what at the end of this post.)
This morning I had one thing on my agenda - get a referral to an infectious disease specialist about my staph infection. I called my amazing friend Melissa, and she said she would pick up my boys from VBS if I was still at a dr. appt. I get the okay to be a walk in at the base clinic and head over. I spend hours sitting before getting squeezed in (and I am so thankful for all the people who made that possible - I was the 15th walk in of the day, and I am pretty sure some people missed lunch for me.) I got my referral, a prescription for heavy duty medicine, and a culture on the new staph pustules that have showed up to make sure we are still dealing with the same staph infection. Then I had to go wait in the pharmacy. For those who have been there, you sign in and then wait, and all seats face the t.v. It is usually turned to a news station. Not today, baby. Today Martha Stewart was on. Martha - good wholesome tv, right? I start to watch. What is it? An exercise segment (there is usually not a lot of volume)? Well, I guess it could be considered an exercise segment, she was learning how to pole dance. Yup. I tried to avert my eyes because I was so embarrassed, but I happened to catch the eye of another guy trying to do the same thing. EVEN MORE EMBARRASSING! Yup. Today I really didn't want to watch Martha Stewart pole dance... Oh, my.

He Is HOME!!!!

We are adjusting quite well to Daddy being home (notice Seth wrote Daddy on the window art!) We have some fun things planned for this weekend. I get OUT OF THE HOUSE and BY MYSELF (meaning no kids, but yes girlfriends) this weekend. I have plans to visit the Plattsmouth farmers market where the Amazing Miss Brittney is selling homemade baked goods. Kathy and Amy are coming with me.

Side note: I had a dr. appointment this morning. My wound is healing up nicely, but I did aquire a new staph pustule this morning before I met with the doctor. One that looks harmless and just like the one that started this whole monstrosity in the first place... So I have a topical antibiotic for it, as well as oral to take if it looks like it is getting angry and infected or more pustules develop. There is a great danger in over medicating, though, so no oral yet... I don't get it, but I am so thankful that God holds me in the palm of his hand and knows all about it. And my husband is HOME and I am breaking out of the house now, so I am not going to worry about it.

Day 1.

My parents left yesterday morning. I cried. Mommy cried. I am so thankful to have parents that love me so well that they drop everything and come to take care of me and my home and my boys. Here is a sample of what Papa Buzz accomplished:Beautiful!!! So I was on my own with the boys for the first time since April. We had a great day. The boys only had about for destructo moments: 1- filling the kitchen step stool with water, so after naptime I found my kitchen flooded from all the water that had drained out of the not waterproof stool, 2 - attempting to disassemble the ball on my new dyson vacuum, 3 - attempting to take apart something else that was very expensive (I forget what, now), and 4- getting into an entire tube of diaper rash ointment right before bed. I cleaned, cooked, played with the boys, had quiet time, naptime, and even watercolor painted with the boys! Then we had company over for dinner. My friends were going to stop by, and ended up getting kicked out of their house for a showing. It worked out great, except that by 9pm when I finally got the boys in bed for the night I was WIPED out! I felt like I had run a marathon or been working for 18 hours straight instead of 12. I stayed up way to late vegging in front of the tv. (I have NO control when I am that fried, and I think we would be better off with no tv. I don't think I will be able to convince Andrew, though. He LOVES his sports.) Anyhow, here is a preview of the first step of our art project. You will have to wait to see what we make with these and how it turns out. (Mine has a color wheel - they were really figuring out the blending of colors well and were really interested to see that. I also did half my project with watercolor colored pencils.)

Loved.

I have been blessed with lots of surprises lately. Cards in the mail. Flowers from a friend. And a huge box of fresh cherries from my sister Stephanie. YUM!!! We reserved the DELICIOUS chocolate covered dried cherries for adults only. I think Seth and Gavin had as much fun with the bubble wrap as the cherries (which are rapidly disappearing.) I am so thankful for all the amazing people in my life. THANK YOU!!!!
p.s. I have no idea why Gavin is seldom wearing pants these days.

Papa Buzz's Helper

On the Roof

Yesterday I discovered more water damage - this time in the kitchen ceiling. It could be the roof that caused that AND the damage to the dining room ceiling next to the stairs - we have had a lot of rain and big storms. My dad was saying "maybe" and I was determined to find out. I told him I was climbing out my bedroom window. So I did. And I discovered a huge pile of decaying leaves and helicopters in the corner of the porch roof. Dad hadn't checked the back roofs because the gutters there were already covered. We pulled about 5 buckets of debris off the roof, and I pulled the vertical decaying helicopters out of the grates. And there was poop on the roof... small dog sized... ??????

Medical Update

A week ago Sunday the elders prayed for me and anointed me with oil.
Last week was the first week we saw significant improvement in my wound.
We were able to let the top incision close and heal up.

Kathy was off over the weekend and I had the on call nurse change my dressings. She said that she couldn't believe how much change she saw just between the two days. She said she could hardly get the packing in on Sunday morning because it kept wanting to come back out.

This morning Kathy was surprised how little packing was in the wound. Then she tried packing it, and had the same issues. It has healed up tremendously and Kathy says that if it continues at this rate it will be healed up by Friday!!!!!! (I have my next dr. appt. scheduled for then.)

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Only God can truly heal, and my spirit is healing as well as my body. I am thankful. And taking a lot of naps. :o)

4th of July with Miss Kathy.

We had a full day. The substitute nurse came early and then we went to church. Seth took cookies for the fellowship time afterwards because he has a July birhtday. We had Burger King for lunch and naptime. Mommy worked on school stuff. After naptime Miss Kathy came over. She made t-shirts with the boys. We had brats and watermelon for dinner, Kathy brought over some yummy cookies. After dinner the boys were still bouncing off the walls. We took them outside and made them run races around the house. Seth was very into it, Gavin not so much. Then they ran races inside for an hour or so. And they were super high energy even after getting them bathed and in bed... We so need a normal sleep schedule and no more fireworks till 1 or 2 am!!! Here are a few pictures of our evening for your viewing enjoyment.

Sticker boy.

4th of July Fireworks at the Base Lake

We got there after Red Robin for dinner, early enough to stake out a good spot (close to the entrance to the lake, car pointing towards the road.) We got settled in. Andrew do you like your new chair? Papa Buzz tested it out for you. It should hold up with you plus kiddos in your lap!
As it got dark we broke out the glow necklaces and sticks. We got a lot of entertainment and joy out of the $1 glow necklaces.
Seth is an angel!
Mommy's halo is a little crooked. :o)
I think these guys are hippies or something. We were sure having a lot of fun.
Gavin shared some of the necklaces with the pretty little girls sitting next to us. Then the four kids had fun running around as it got dark. The lake was flooded. In the background of the picture below you can see some pylons. The were several feet above the water level last year. I would say that there was 1/3 or less bank to sit on from last year. I guess I didn't take any pictures with the lake behind us. There was a nice breeze, so we didn't have to worry too much about mosquitos, but we wore long sleeve and pants just in case. it was peaceful and beautiful and we had a great time.

Swim Lessons.

This summer the boys had 2 weeks of swim lessons. Papa Buzz took them everyday and I had him take them early. Last time Seth had swim lessons he was more afraid of the water after they were over than when he started. I figured if they had more time to play in the baby pool before the lessons started he would be more relaxed. It was great. They kept begging to go earlier each day. By the end of week one, though, Gavin wanted to stay home with Mommy. I think he is still feeling insecure since I have been sick and Daddy is gone. I promised him if he went to all the rest of his classes I would come on the last day and take his picture. Here are my swimming boys having fun in the baby pool before class.My water baby.

Seth was happy as a clam in the baby pool.
See how Gavin jumps in - belly first, everytime. Papa Buzz gave him a talking to about not going in head first in shallow water.
Seth leaping in feet first for sure!
I challenged them to try floating on the top of the water. They had been successful in the bathtub a few weeks ago.
Gavin's peaceful success! (He was a lot more nervous in the deep water with his teacher holding on to him, though.)
Seth trying to float and propel himself through the water.
Papa Buzz and his boys.
Thanks, Dad for taking them and helping them enjoy their experience so much!

Seth's Swim Lesson.

Seth gets really nervous in the water. When he got to his lesson he was nervous to even get off the steps or wall. He was happy to have his teacher tow him around while he kicked. For their last class they got to choose what they wanted to do and try out the kickboards for the first time.Seth didn't want to even try to get off the stairs with it till Emily showed up. If Emily can do it, Seth can do it. I was so thankful he got to be moved up into a class with her!
My brave boy trying out the kickboard in the deeper water all by himself!
Very proud moment - certificate and bubble gum lollypop in hand!

Gavin's Swim Lesson.

Gavin is so happy to finally be starting his swim lesson after watching Seth's class.When Gavin is happy his little tongue sticks out. In almost every picture from his class his little tongue was hanging out! He was so excited to try the kickboards for the first time. He got pulled around the pool on it, and at the end of his first try he was doing so well his teacher let go of the board and he rolled into the water. He barely spluttered coming out, and she was shocked. He was hesitant to try it again, but I convinced him I needed more pictures, so off he went with no problems - as you can see. :o)
He was the only one in his class that could pull himself out of the water.
The kid in the goggles was so stinkin' cute!
Making big splashes playing red light, green light. He was very into it.
His whole class - even waiting for his certificate he is happy!
Gavin passed pre-school swimming with flying colors!