Step away from the glue gun

This sweet face has nothing to do with this post. It happens. I have been on pinterest a little too much lately. Greg would have to agree. I only browse a few minutes every couple of days but it is enough to have me knee deep in paint, glue, fabric, home improvement stores, etc. The "to do" list is growing as my creative energy cannot be contained. Spring fever is likely contributing too but I just can't seem to stop myself. It all started with the door. I love it. I really love that robin egg blue. Erin and I chose that color because we have it in a couple throw pillows in the living room. We now have it on bar stools, picture frames and table runners. It sort of snowballed and may be out of control.
Greg is building benches to replace our mix matched dining chairs that are beyond one more repair. Given they were all hand me downs or garage sale finds, we are pleased with our cheap solution. If we were only working on dining benches, Greg would be happy. BUT.... we are also replacing the flooring in our foyer, living room and hallway. That was another project we knew we couldn't avoid much longer but the addition of these little trouble makers expedited it.

It will be another working spring break and birthday for Greg, but I love getting into home improvement with him. We work together planning, shopping and installing. Our dates to the Home Depot are becoming famous.  If you happen to be around for this year's spring break, stop by. I'll feed you after you help demo ceramic tile, remove carpet and move very large and heavy pieces of furniture. An offer you can't refuse? I didn't think so.

Is Shopping a Sport?

Anne and I spent the day shopping for some household needs and a few wants. It ended with a meal we didn't have to prepare or clean up. It was a great day. Our waiter asked us about our day when we both quickly drained our iced tea. Anne said we'd shopped all day and I added that it was like a sport because we both needed Motrin for minor injuries at that point. It counts.

These photos have nothing to do with anything but I couldn't resist capturing my favorite little man yesterday dressed for church. He is just so stinking cute.

In other news, I have apparently lost my mind. The adoption of Woody is due to wrap up this week and I can't bring myself to turn him over. He's grown on me. I have talked with a few trusted animal lovers and learned that Brutus' behavior is normal male dominance and will work itself out with the right guidance. I'm sold. Greg is not. We've had an apparent role reversal around here. Please stand by.....this isn't over yet!

The play "date"

We have a new neighbor who eagerly walked up to the driveway a few weeks ago to introduce herself and her children. I invited her to a play date to get to know her and allow our kids to meet as well. The play date occurred this week. I prepped the house and made muffins. I talked to the boys about manners and how to play nicely with new friends. We were set, until they arrived anyway. Ty was not in the most cooperative mood, to say the least. I repeatedly removed him from the situation to further discuss how we treat our friends. Aiden came over that day in his "I am not going to be happy today" mood and Colby needed a nap. Our neighbor was gracious as she tried to persuade her son to share toys he had just picked up and offer them to Ty to which I responded that he didn't need to because Ty must learn to share....etc.  An hour after their arrival, she declared nap time to her son and made a quick exit. Our date ended with an awkward exchange at the door about calling if I ever need anything, not "we should do this again".  I messaged Anne later in the day and said that a second date would not be in our future. Anne was amused and by that time, I was too. What are you going to do? Of course this encounter came on the heels of the day I looked out back and discovered my son chasing the neighbor boy who happens to be a year and a half older around the yard with a large stick. That poor kid was running for his life. Sigh.

However, we also have moments like these and they redeem my beautiful son and keep me from using the dog crate for more than the dogs.

Colby mastered climbing onto chairs this week. Ty mastered climbing onto stools. They both tackled their new skills with determination. It was nice to see that energy channeled into something positive!

Our little guests have most likely found their forever homes. Mia will be living with my sister after next weekend. We are excited about that placement as we will be able to see her grow up and know she will be a member of a great family. Woody, on the other hand we toyed with the idea of keeping. He is just so sweet and loveable; however, Brutus has shown us that he is not pleased with our arrangement. He is simply too old to tolerate the energy level of growing puppies. As much as it pains Lauren, she knows this is best for Brutus and she loves him enough to put her feelings aside. Someone from our church is in the adoption process with Tracye and if all goes well, will have Woody this week. We don't know that family well but hope to work out some visitation occasionally. 

What's up with this weather?

This morning......

This afternoon......

Procrastination

It's March and we finally got enough snow to actually cover the ground.....four inches in our yard! I've had photo ideas brewing all winter long and only needed mother nature to cooperate to pull them off. Or so I thought. It appears that I also needed the schools to issue a snow day and my teenagers to believe their hair is always beautiful! One actually had the nerve to tell me that I need to plan ahead for photos. Hello! I can't force the weather to cooperate with your good hair days! Sigh. My little ones enjoyed our outing to the park I've had in mind for the perfect snow photos until we discovered it was closed. Lines were pulled across the entrance so we couldn't get into the wooden area at all. Again, sigh.

And these little guys.....they need a home sooner rather than later. Protests of our "temporary" situation are intensifying. Lauren refuses to believe we are allowing them to find permanent homes. Their presence has expedited our need to replace carpet and now that the chewing phase has arrived in full force, they need to go before furniture is also destroyed. As adorable as they are, they've worn out their welcome.

 

I have a serious task ahead of me and I am avoiding it. I am a people pleaser, to a fault. I don't like feeling like I've let anyone down. I have been asked to take on a larger role within our church. Greg and I have been in serious discussions about reigning in our family and getting us out of the rat race we've felt stuck in since August. This school year has been a huge adjustment with the drive that takes up two hours and 60 miles daily. Our church weekend adds another 120 miles just to keep up with everyone's individual services and volunteer hours. We are passing each other throughout the day and evening with barely enough time to cover the "needs attention now" list. It isn't healthy and Greg has felt strongly that it is time to do something to make this madness stop. Seeing that man die at work a few weeks ago really opened his eyes. If we aren't proactive about maintaining healthy family interactions, time will slip away in the busyness. I am not only choosing to not accept the leadership position but I am backing out of my volunteer obligations for a season. It will be the first time since Erin was a baby that I have not been in the classroom with the exception of the period around Greg's ankle fusion and Ty's birth. Our church is in transition so this decision is weighing heavily on me. It is the right thing for our family but hard for me to process as it means letting others down.

Ministry at home comes first and I have lots of little people to love on.

There's no place like home

My day started with a random, out of the blue email from a great friend I had in Ohio. I don't hear from her often, but treasure the little tidbits she shares. Tracy and I met at church and lamented our early parenting years over tea on a regular basis. We were certain we had all the answers until the day her three year old was upstairs yelling out her bedroom window at the traffic below (they lived on a very busy four way intersection) that her mother had her locked up there and never feeds her! That was the day said three year old used a thumb tack to punch the eyeballs out of her photographs of her mother. Let's just say we saw the teenage years with that one as something we'd rather not endure! Tracy's email stated that we were so dumb as to think that because we refused to let our kids watch Sponge Bob, they'd turn out to be good Christian kids with solid heads on their shoulders. She then stated, "they are still rotten"! I love her honesty. I have missed that lady since the day a job relocation took her to Texas, just a year before one brought us here.

I had to pick the kids up during the tornado warnings today. It was stressful to say the least. I was stuck in traffic listening to the alarms, praying we didn't need to take cover as I literally couldn't move. We were fine and our house is fine. Just up the road a few small towns, things were destroyed. Kids were trapped in a local high school for hours. All accounts as of now are that everyone is okay. The same God that was in control last week is in control this week. I repeated that truth quite a bit on the road today.

And tonight, a random text from another church friend in Ohio checking on us. I haven't talked with Lori in a long time either. It was sweet to hear from her as well. When I think about "home", our church is always forefront in my mind. That church was family to us. They carried us in the months that followed Greg's accident, through the trials and joys of life and lifted us from the babies in Christ we started out into the leaders they expected us to be. Even six years later, I still miss Salem. There is no place like home.

Celebrate!

Colby's back and ready to eat cupcakes.....

We got him back on Tuesday and took him to the library to play. He was all over the place, climbing, rearranging and exploring. It was good to see him healthy and strong. As we were wrapping up our outing, another mom told her child to use his inside voice. Colby yelled at her at the top of his! He's back! I didn't stifle my giggle and just enjoyed the moment.

Our little guests are getting big enough to be considering their forever homes. At this point, they are each eating a can of formula per day and working on puppy chow. They are chewing on everything but can't yet do any damage. They are spirited and fun but busy. Lauren is the only one holding out hope that we will keep them. Everyone else is over it. Ty is still rather taken by Mia and continues to call her his princess. He may be on Lauren's team but neither are old enough to vote.

Puppies....to love or not to love.

Ty hasn't been impressed enough to actually hold one of the puppies until today. And today, he was all over them. They like his bare toes and consider them snack-worthy. As of now, Ty can easily get away but we are all too close to a stage they will over power him if given half a chance.

Greg and I were both up in the night with Brutus who contracted Kennel Cough at his annual appointment two weeks ago. It was a miserable night as he vomited all over my house. At one point I was cleaning TWELVE spots after Brutus when I noticed an all too familiar odor coming from the crate. Woody pooped and then climbed over Mia. Not only did the crate need disinfected, but Mia needed a bath. IT WAS 4 AM!
No worries.....I was the only one bothered by the mess.

After a rough night, we enjoyed some fresh air, "mountain climbing" and dinosaur hunting today. Mia should have been named Killer.

And of course, a few of us were able to nap this afternoon because keeping me awake half the night is hard work.

God's in the Details.....

Friday night around 9:30 I got a frantic call from Robyn who was in Memphis, Tennessee. She asked me to go to Kosair Children's Hospital to support Brian, who was on his way there with Colby. He'd had a seizure. Greg and Lauren were at the Purity Ball and Erin was sent home from school sick that day, so she was at home with my little ones who were in bed. On a typical Friday night, jumping into the van to support a friend would have required me locating someone to watch my younger kids as Greg would be at work and the teens would be out with friends. I arrived at Kosair within 20 minutes of the call, almost immediately after Colby. He was still seizing. His little body was surrounded by a team of experts who were doing all they could to pull him out of it. Brian was calm and on the phone with Robyn, who was literally out of her mind with worry. A friend was driving her seven hours to the hospital. Colby's seizure lasted an hour. It was the most horrendous thing I have ever witnessed. I have never felt so helpless and spent the half hour I watched them work on Colby pleading with God to stop this thing. Once he came out of it, Robyn shared her belief he was reacting to his MMR vaccine from the Friday prior. Robyn is an infectious disease pediatrician and vaccines are an area of expertise for her. The ER doctors think a virus and the sudden onset of a fever caused it. Colby spent two nights at Kosair, had multiple tests run and has been discharged with no expectation that this will ever happen again. Thank God.
Once the seizure ended and we were finally able to hold him, Brian and I started talking about all the ways God was clearly in control. It could have been much worse. Colby's seizure started at a high school basketball game. Brian is a Campus Life minister for that school and wanted to support his teens by attending the game, even though it would have Colby up past bedtime. During the third period of the game, an ambulance was called to aid in an elderly person's medical issue. Two ambulances arrived for that call. One stayed. Brian was able to run to the EMT personnel as soon as the seizure started. As result, Colby was immediately given oxygen, preventing any brain damage.  We also realized that had Robyn been in town, Colby would have been in his bed when this occurred. No one would have realized he needed help. God is in the details. We would never want Colby to go through this but God can use it to reveal He has this precious boy in His hands. He is in control.

1 week ago

Last Friday we picked up these little cuties. They've grown quite a bit. Woody is eating moistened puppy chow. Mia is still being bottle fed even though she's expressed a little interest in the food. Both growl and wrestle. Woody also howls and it is adorable, especially when he's copying Lauren who likes to egg him on. Mia still has an issue with the fridge and has added the dishwasher to appliances she thinks she can beat. She is feisty and smart. Woody struts around like a little body builder with a wide stance.  Ty calls Mia his princess. It's very sweet. Kate's teacher has expressed interest in adopting Mia. I passed along Tracye's contact information. The girls are pretty upset with me as they see no reason why we can't adopt the puppies. Three full size dogs in this house with five kids? I don't think so. 

Lauren and Greg are attending the Purity Ball at church tonight. The annual event is always special and they anticipate a good time.

Greg is taking the girls to a defensive driving course tomorrow morning. It is an all day event they are not looking forward to as "it will do nothing to help us get our permits". Oh but it will, because we aren't signing for permits until they take this course. The parents aren't very popular around here this weekend.