Sunday, May 31, 2009

Sunday Afternoon Hike


Some of the kids and I went for a hike in the woods today. It is so pretty right now...the flowering trees are pretty much done, but there are a lot of spring wildflowers blooming.















When we returned home, the little kids were done napping and came outside to play in the yard.

Zoey has taken a liking to this baseball hat she found in the closet. It completely escaped her attention that the hat and her ruffled shirt were incongruous.


"Jeff...you got, like, three feet of air that time." -Napoleon Dynamite


"There once was a girl, who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead..."
Kate is recovering well, although we have noticed that she is a bit puffy around the eyes. She also had some unusual sweating this morning that concerned us. I upped her Lasix (which the doctor gave me latitude to do), and we are hoping it does the trick.


Can you stand the cuteness?! This morning during church, I heard the people behind us say, "That little guy is so cute but you can sure see the mischief in his eyes." Snicker.... Oh, if they only knew...

Friday, May 29, 2009

Thursday, May 28, 2009

TODAY is Thursday....auuugggghhhhh....

Ha...some of you probably caught the fact that I posted "Thankful Thursday" on Wed. I didn't even realize it until about five minutes ago. This is where I should insert a witty comment about aging, but I just can't think of one.

Kate's appointment went fine. When we pulled into the hospital parking area, she said, "No surgery! No surgery!" Poor little lamb! I reassured her that they were just going to look at her teeth. She quietly said, "OK."

Despite taking SaraGrace and having the dentist pretend on her first, Kate got hysterical when it was her turn. Mercifully, it was over very quickly and it was confirmed that she will need to be admitted and put under anesthesia to do the dental work. We hope to get a date in early July.

We stopped by PICU to see baby Mason. He is on a CPAP machine and is wearing a little cap-like thing on his head to hold it in place. Please stop by his website to see a photo of him SMILING! Please keep praying--he is still having a tough time with his lung and they are considering a tracheotomy. His parents could use some encouragement, so if you stop by his website, please leave a comment!

Some pics from the past few days...


"I think I look very hip despite having my sunglasses on upside down."


"Would you like some of my sand chocolate pie?"


"I don't need no stinkin' bath!"


"My mom spotted this bench and wanted someone to pose so she could practice taking pictures."



Ryan graduates tomorrow! He brought his cap and gown home today and we are very excited for the big night!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Thankful Thursday


I am very thankful for a God who is living and active in my life. Miss Katie-bug has a mouthful of cavities and needs seven cavities and two crowns. Because of her heart condition, the cardiologist said that she needed to come to the U of M dentist school so that the work could be done in one fell swoop under anesthesia. She cannot have anesthesia in a dentist office because it's too risky. So...to the hospital she goes. She is having pain in her teeth, so I don't want to put off the dental work.

We received a notice in the mail that our dentist appointment was scheduled for July 23. Well, that was a problem. We will be moving around mid-July. I called them and explained our sob story situation. They said they were sorry, but they were fully booked. They do not keep a cancellation list, so if you want to get in, you just have to keep calling and hope you get lucky. *Sigh*

I hung up and prayed that God would get us in sooner. I knew that I would only occasionally think of calling the dentist, so if God didn't step in, we would not get an earlier appointment.

A few hours later, the phone rang. It was the dental office. They had just gotten a cancellation for Thursday. Could we come?! Woohoo!! So not only did they have an earlier date, but THEY CALLED ME!

Thank you, God, for caring about even the smallest details of our lives.
**************************************************************
Update on Ryan's decision re: the Army, he is proceeding in that direction and needs to go through some testing. He seems confident that he will end up enlisting. Our girls are just finding out and they are upset. Chloe, especially, has always been Ryan's little buddy. She is already very worried and asked me tonight,
"Mom is Ryan going to be in the Army?"

I said I wasn't sure and then she said fearfully, 'Will he get hurt?"

Watching them deal with it is worse than dealing with it myself. I pray that God will give us wisdom and enable us to reassure and comfort them.

Ryan and Katie-bug

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Random pictures


Busted, getting into the toothpaste!


"Jake...have you been eating sand again?"










India Trip Update

Sadly, my dad received the news today that his visa is still denied. He is very disappointed, but is trusting that God's plan is perfect. The conference will still be held because they have been able to get some other speakers. Thank you for praying for my dad. It was such an encouragement to him (and to me)!

Monday, May 25, 2009

In Memory...


...of our fallen hero's and their families...thank you. Thank you for your sacrifice, your service, your willingness to lay down your life so that we can be free.

In memory of my cousin, Jim, who was killed in Iraq on Thanksgiving Day 2006, and my grandfather, who fought in WWII and came home to raise a family.

We took the kids to the Memorial Day parade in our town because I wanted the kids to understand what the day is about.





To all of our brave military men and women, we stand...



...and salute you





THANK YOU!


"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men were created equal,


that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,


that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. "



We are thankful that you fought for our Freedom


and that you provided us with a safe haven.


Your sacrifice made it possible for us to have a family.


We are thankful to live in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave