Trick or Treat

Ty has been telling people the order in which he would be wearing costumes for Halloween since he started attracting attention for wearing them in June. I was concerned he expected costume changes during Trick-or-treat but eventually learned he has his whole life planned based on Halloween alone. It's good to have a plan.

He has never made it clear through the neighborhood because he savors every house. Each and every time he has to show me what he got at the door and exclaims, "can you believe they gave me that?"

This year though, I was all too eager to come inside after tackling part of one street. We were freezing. It literally sleeted and ultimately snowed on our trick or treat party. I brought Ty and Devyn home to play Hullaballoo in the heat while Kate walked another road with Devyn's parents and their friends.

We planned for 150 kids and only saw about 30. We have chocolate coming out our ears which is both a blessing and a curse. 

 Happy Halloween.

Fall Fun

Uncle Brad is quite the supervisor.

Saturday we attended a neighbor's bonfire. They had live music, delicious food and fun activities for the kids. It was a gorgeous, seventy degree evening and perfect. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. On Sunday we took a road trip to see Greg's parents. We also stopped by a fall festival at a church started by several families we once attended with in Dayton. It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces and catch up with people who were instrumental in helping us grow our faith in the early years of our marriage. I was a bit weepy as we left.

I seriously cannot get enough of this shot. Pumpkin guts are gross.

Kate drew her design and helped cut it out. Ty was furious. We were, "killing the pumpkin".

We have been wallowing in sunshine and breathing in the final days of warmth before the days are shorter and gloomy.

Sandbox time at sunrise? On October 28th? Yes, please.

I pulled the final harvest from the summer garden this morning. Only fall kale and little spinach remain. Ty is super excited about the carrots and should be a nice shade of orange soon as result of his consumption.

Did I mention the beautiful mornings?

This afternoon holds rain and the forecast is vastly different in the days ahead. All good things must come to an end.

This Week

Sometimes God gives us a break when we need it. Sometimes we need it for a very long time before we get it and I suspect those are the times God is trying to teach us to lean on Him more. Then there are rare weekends full of relaxation when we aren't feeling like we need time away to think clearly. As it turns out, weekends like that are preparatory for weeks like this. God said, "Rest now. You will need it" only I didn't necessarily realize that at the time.

Greg mentioned a toothache Friday as I was leaving town. I sent him immediately to the dentist who was closing up shop for the weekend in 25 minutes. The dentist ran x-rays and determined he needed a root canal and will also need a cap for that broken tooth. No one knows why or how that tooth broke but it did a few days prior to Greg mentioning a nagging tooth ache. Some men are teased about whining over every little sniffle but my husband notoriously downplays his symptoms. His tooth had been bothering him for days before he said a word about it.

By the time I got home from Nashville on Sunday, I insisted he get the pain med prescription filled he'd been holding onto since Friday. The man was pale, miserable and obviously in serious discomfort. The swelling and pain was increasing at an alarming rate and I suggested more than once he call the dentist. He waited until Monday morning despite the fact our dentist gave him his personal cell phone number in the office on Friday in case things worsened over the weekend. So on Monday morning, I ran to pick up antibiotics to start treating infection before he was due to see the endodontist that afternoon for the root canal.

By the time we arrived for the procedure, I was concerned they wouldn't proceed given how infected Greg's mouth appeared to be. The doctor felt 80% sure he could save Greg's tooth and the root canal would be successful so they went ahead and performed the root canal. An hour and a half later, we left the office and Greg was hungry. He hadn't been able to eat much of anything for days and thought chili sounded good. We were no sooner ordering the soup for pick up than Greg was shivering with feverish chills. He had our heat cranked up in the van and shaking uncontrollably. I dropped off his second antibiotic script and took him home. He stood in a hot shower for thirty minutes before collapsing into bed looking very ill. I ran to pick up the meds and returned to him running 102.6 fever and I was scared. Infections in the mouth can very quickly cause serious health complications and I was certain he was very sick. I called the doctor and he agreed. He wanted to send us to the UofL ER for IV antibiotics and to have an oral surgeon pull that tooth. Greg talked us both out of that course of action stating he wanted to give it a few hours.

The doctor called back a few hours later and Greg's temp was down to 100.4. Greg was celebrating the fact the antibiotics were kicking in and I was stressed because he was also on Motrin and Tylenol to control the fever. He decided to wait until morning to follow up again with the doctor but knew that a sudden spike in fever overnight would mean we would be going to UofL. I did not sleep any more than he did. Pain and swelling kept him awake whereas I was truly afraid he would get very sick overnight. I checked for fever countless times throughout the night.

By Tuesday morning, Greg convinced us all he was on the mend and tried to eat. The swelling in his face was horrendous. I teased he looked like the Godfather, Marlon Brando. Greg didn't see the humor. He didn't rest well and he was clearly still sick but at times, appeared to be on the mend.

By Wednesday morning I insisted once again he call the doctor back because the swelling had spread to his lips. The inside of his mouth was swollen up past the gum line and he was still trying to convince me he was fine and going back to work that night. We also had an argument about lawn care. Honestly. He wanted to mow the yard because all the neighbors had mowed theirs in a forty eight hour period. I was not amused.

The doctor agreed with Greg's fussy wife and wanted to see him. We loaded up three little ones and drove across town for Greg to have the swollen tissue cut open and hardened infection removed. It wasn't a comfortable process but it should expedite his healing by about a week. The good news gained in that appointment was learning the hardened infection indicates the antibiotics are working. Praise God.

Greg insisted on going back to work last night. A few hours after his arrival, the wonderful ladies he works with sent him home. The swelling was increasing and he was looking rather wiped out. He listened to them and we will be chatting about that irony later. Ahem.

He slept most of the day today. His pain is managed and he is eating again. We hope the follow up with the endodontist tomorrow will release him back to our family dentist to start the cap process next week. A couple of weeks and a lot of money later, he should be smiling again.

In the middle of all this drama, life was happening with five kids, a few extra little ones and resuming a routine after a two week fall break. I am still standing, laughing and grateful. Life is a ride and I am blessed God saw fit to have me rest before this little adventure.

Kate's gymnastics class hosted family night on Tuesday. This was her fourth week and she loves it. At the end of the class, she was promoted to the Monday night more advanced class. While we were discussing the possibility in my schedule, Makenna found herself offered a job as an assistant coach with the little kids. I am pretty excited for Makenna to have this opportunity; however, in the back of my mind I was scrambling to work out how we are going to navigate transportation for one more commitment. Operation, "Get Lauren a Car" needs to be implemented sooner rather than later but both Kate and Makenna are pretty excited.

Nashville!

Every once in a while I need to escape my world and speak in complete sentences so I can be more like Mary Poppins than Cruella Deville as I care for the people in my life. I have been spoiled rotten lately with day trips, weekend get-a ways and girlfriend time. I went years not taking time for me and all of the sudden, multiple reasonable opportunities have presented themselves. I am enjoying it. Kristin had to be in Nashville for a week of conferences where she works insane hours and lives on whatever finger food can be located in hotel conference rooms. We decided to make the most of the free hotel room since I am less than three hours away from her location this time and her weekend wouldn't be too crazy until Sunday.

I honestly didn't feel like a I needed time away so soon after Greg and I took our trip and missed my family immensely.  But Kristin and I had some long talks and quick walks in between her work demands. We enjoyed awesome food and a gorgeous botanical garden. I would have amazing photos from the garden had I not left my camera safely tucked away in the hotel room. Sigh.  These shots were all taken in the stunning Opryland Hotel where we stayed with a few thousand of our closest friends.

As I was leaving town, Greg discovered he needs to have a root canal on Monday. He is rather uncomfortable and can't wait to get it over with. He objects strongly to pain meds and has himself on a Tylenol and Motrin rotation until the procedure. Please keep him in your prayers. I hate to see him so miserable and realize how hard it had to be to hold down the fort while I lingered in Nashville for 48 hours.

Living Room

I referenced ordering new furniture Labor Day weekend. It finally arrived yesterday and we love it. Ty had fallen asleep on the couch in the middle of the showroom floor while we asked a few questions which confirmed this was perhaps the best of the best for our family. Greg and I had been casually looking for a few months to replace our red set. I still loved the color but it was destroyed by daily wear and tear. We are a rough crowd, apparently. Anyway, we left the showroom to measure and make sure the new would fit in our space since it was significantly larger. We had friends up to offer suggestions and eventually eliminated one bookcase and the kids' table to make it all work out. We are happy with the results. However, we got on Ashley's website to show Erin what we were going to order and couldn't find it online. I finally googled the name and ended up on Classyhome.com. Not only was the exact set there, it was significantly cheaper than the deal we were offered at Ashley. I read reviews, checked them with the Better Business Bureau and ultimately ordered from them instead of Ashley. Other than the lengthy time frame we waited, we are satisfied customers. We didn't pay sales tax and got a better price saving us $600 total. It was worth the wait.

My parents gave me a gift card for my birthday to satisfy my lamp envy after seeing my sister's new lamps. They are pretty awesome. The lamps are too. I still feel we need a square pillow with a pop of color on the couch and another on the chair and a half. Since the pillows that came with the set were large and dark, I have them tossed in the corners for the kids to cuddle with in hopes of keeping the decorative ones looking nice longer. I kid myself. Greg is working on my little end table this weekend. It sits between the sofa and the gliding rocker. It was blue and broken. (As I mentioned, we are a rough crowd) He will repair and paint it black this weekend. He too is pretty awesome.