Still here

...just extremely busy, as usual. Thought I would let you all know that the kids did get to meet the 2 starts from High School Musical and get their autograph. One of them had gone from blonde to black hair and Joshua even piped up to tell him he should go back to blonde.
I'll post about Christmas soon and what all the busy-ness is about but don't have time to now.

Hockey game

Well, big on the agenda tonight is a hockey game. We are going to see the GR Griffens play at the Van Andel arena. Now seeing a hockey game usually isn't that big of a deal. We usually get to several a year. However, there are 2 stars from the High School Musical movies that are going to be at this one. They are doing a pre-game autograph session and one of them will be singing during the intermission. The kids are totally excited. They would probably like to be standing in line already even though doors don't open till 6:30 for the 8 p.m. game. We, however, have more things going on then we know how to get all done. We will probably go down around 5-5:30 to see how long the line is. If there is a chance of getting an autograph then we will stay. If the line is too crazy, we'll come home and go back in time for the game. I'll let you know.

Important Note

If you notice on the list I posted a couple of days ago, there is no NASCAR driver listed for Rachel. That is because she has decided that she is not going to continue cheering for Dale Jr. when he switches next season. She has not at this time decided which driver is going to be "hers" but she is up in the air for now. So no more #8's and no #88's in this house at this time.

Catch up

Ok. Here's a post to try to get everyone caught up on our family.
I think most of you have probably heard that Rachel ended up with a hospital stay around mid-Nov. She had had abdominal pain for 4 days and we had made an ER visit the first day because it hurt so bad she couldn't sleep. So after 4 days, we went to our regular doctors office who ordered a second ultrasound. That came back normal and they just wanted us to go home and call back the next day but we pushed and said we wanted more done. So she was admitted through the ER to have a CT scan done and more blood work. It was rather funny when she was talking to our doctor that the doctor asked if there was anything that helped make it feel better and Rachel's response was "morphine". The doctor meant a certain position but all Rachel could think of was the morphine they had given her in the ER. After 2 days and numerous tests, the best educated guess was a virus. Basically, they said that instead of getting a cold that affects your sinuses or the flu that makes your joints all achy this virus went to her organs (kidneys, bladder, etc.). She is fine now and back at school trying to make up all the work she missed.
We were able to make a short trip up to Lake Ann. Mark had a "Camp Captain's Retreat" while the kids had time off from school so we all went and made it a work weekend. The kids and I pulled nails out of boards that were being taken out of a house they were tearing down while Mark was in his retreat. It was rather tiresome work but we got a lot done. What was rather interesting was that the maintenance supervisor told us as we were leaving that we had saved the camp between $3-$4 for each board that we had cleared.
We spent Thanksgiving at Mark's family in Detroit. We went over on Wednesday after Mark got out of work and then came home Friday afternoon. It was nice. We hadn't seen some of them in a couple of years. Mark & our kids did a lot of the cooking which is what they wanted to do. Rachel would have been most disappointed if she hadn't gotten to help bake the apple pies.
Before we came home on Friday, Mark & I & his sister spent the morning shopping. We were out of the house about 4:30 a.m. We knew we were crazy but it was fun too! What was really interesting was the number of times that we ended up with the last one of the items we were looking for. I think it happened at least 4 times that we managed to get the last one off the shelf! There was only 1 item that we wanted that was actually sold out before we got there. Not a bad average.
We came home Friday afternoon because we had free tickets to a GR Griffens hockey game that evening. The Griffens have a program that by reading the kids can get free tickets for certain games. Because there are only certain games you can get the tickets for, this was about the only date left that would work for us. 2 of the dates in Dec. are for Wednesday evenings. Even if we weren't already busy at church on Wednesdays, I wouldn't let my kids go to a hockey game on a school night. That would be way to late for them.
We spent much of the rest of the weekend cleaning up and Rachel working on homework. It would be hard to get out any Christmas decorations with all the mess in this house.
Also during all this, a friend of ours from church brought over his radon tester. He does home inspections for a living and so he thought we should have this checked (especially with all the illness in this family). Turns out that the EPA recommends taking action if your radon level is at a 4 and ours was at a 5.8. So we have got to have some work done around here. We are going to have to clean out the basement and then paint it with some type of special paint. We will retest after that and see if more is needed to be done. The EPA says that the only proven harm of radon gas is that it significantly increases the risk of lung cancer. There is no proof that it causes any other illnesses but I definitely don't like what has been going on in my family's health lately.
The latest being that Joshua has been complaining of headaches regularly. Then over the holiday, he started complaining that his neck hurt. I checked it out and there is was a spot that was tender to the touch. It then formed a lump right behind his ear, most of the length of his neck. By Sunday evening, there was the start of a lump at the same location on the other side of his neck.
I took him to the doctor then yesterday. She believes that his lymph nodes are enlarged due to a virus. She doesn't think that the headaches are necessarily related to the lumps. She ordered some blood work and said that it was possible that he still may come down with a cold or something in the next day or so. Well, by yesterday afternoon, he was not acting himself. He just spent the day on the couch and didn't look like he felt very good.
Today he is still home complaining that his stomach doesn't feel good but he looks quite a bit better. I hope that he can go back to school by tomorrow. He is only slightly sniffly and doesn't have a fever so maybe. The lumps are still there but the doctor said that they could last a while. She actually wants to see him back in 2 weeks and said if they aren't gone completely in a month she is sending us to an ENT.
We still only have 1 vehicle but friends of ours have loaned us their van because 1 of them has been laid up due to surgery. He goes back to work on Dec. 11 and we'll have to give it back before then but it has been a great help. We have seen some different vehicles for sale but haven't tried for anything because of trying to get out from under some debts and not sure about making payments right now. Christmas and birthdays don't help with these things at all for sure.
I know this is long but that about does it I believe. Back to work caring for Joshua, cleaning, and doing laundry.

Lists

I know that I owe you all a real post on what's happening here but let me do this first. I emailed this list to Mark's family and thought I would post it here for anyone else interested.


Here's what the kids are really into & you could get most anything that has to do with them and they would be pleased:

Rachel:
Hannah Montana
High School Musical
Jonas Brothers
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound (This is a gospel group that travels with the Gaithers.)
She wears an Adult Medium or Large depending on the cut

Stephen:
Home Depot - Tony Stewart
Pittsburgh Steelers
Football Cards (but not baseball)
Cars (the movie)
He has also recently been reading Hardy Boys and lots of Calvin & Hobbs
Wears a size 12-14 (Pants should be slims if possible.)

Joshua:
Go Diego Go!
Jeff Gordon
Webkinz - He would especially like a Chihuahua but would be happy with any.
Cars (the movie)
Anything doing with cars & trucks
Wears a size 6-8

All the kids also really like the show from Disney channel called "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody." They also all have Build-A-Bears that they like to get new clothes or accessories for.

Here's some DVD's that the kids would like that we don't have:
Ratatouille
Night at the Museum
Santa Clause 3
Meet the Robinsons
Firehouse Dog
Herbie Fully Loaded
Jump In

The kids also really like it when we can go to activities together as a family so tickets to see the Grand Rapids Griffins, West Michigan Whitecaps, or races at Berlin Raceway would be a big hit too.
I just like to give lots of choices for you to pick from. Email me directly if you have any specific questions. Rachel reads my posts regularly so more info is not secret here.

CT Scan

Stephen must have been jealous that Joshua had a procedure that he hadn't had because now he has had a CT Scan. (Not really...but the timing is really something.)
What happened is that Stephen was running around the AWANA circle last night when he lost balance and ended up hitting the wall with his head. There was an instant goose egg. I ran to get him some ice while Mark sat with him. One of the other leaders told me that her husband was helping with the Cubbies and he is an ambulance worker. So then I ran the 2 flights up to get him and back down. (Where fortunate I didn't need help by then.) He checked Stephen out and said he should be all right.
We had Stephen sit in with Mark for the rest of the evening but by the end he was starting to feel nauseous. Our friend checked him over again and recommended we take him in to have it checked out. So we ran Rachel & Joshua home and took a trip to the ER. Hadn't been there since June so it was about that time!
At first they thought they wouldn't do any extra tests but as Stephen complained of nausea everytime he moved much, they decided to do a CT Scan. The scan only took a couple of minutes but we asked the tech how long before the results and she told us an hour. Not what I wanted to hear when it was after 10p.m. by the time they took the CT. But it was really only 10-15 minutes before they came in and said that the scan was all clear. They officially called it a concussion and sent us home.
This morning, Stephen is doing rather well. I can't believe how much the swelling has gone down already. He also was really late going to bed but was still the first one awake. He wasn't moving very fast this morning but that is his usual speed in the morning.
It might have had something to do with today being Grandparent/VIP day at school. Since grandparents weren't available, Stephen invited one of our pastors who was very happy to be asked. Joshua has his Sparks leaders coming to see his classroom today.
So that was our excitement for last night. We have now had 2 hospital visits in 2 days. That should be our fill for a while again, I hope!

MRI

Well, everyone is home safe & sound and getting back into the routine of everyday life. The entire trip was wonderful! I hope to post some pictures when I can. Mark also had a great time in Austin and learned a lot for his new job!
Some of you know but not everyone so I thought it time to fill you all in. Joshua has been having trouble with controlling bowel movements. For quite a while we just brushed it aside as immaturity but this summer it became apparent that it was something more. We went to the pediatrician who did xrays and sent us to a pediatric gastro specialist. Fortunately, we were able to be on a cancellation list or else we would still be waiting for our initial appointment with them. We are told that he truly has lost sensation in his pelvic area but the question is why.
Yesterday, we took him in for an MRI to try to find out some answers.
Well, no answers yet but I have to tell you that Joshua did awesome! He was able to hold still enough that they didn't need to sedate him. Instead he was able to watch a movie while in the MRI machine. We were planning for them to sedate him but after the nurse talked to him a bit and mentioned possibly watching a video he wanted to try it without going to sleep. They gave it a try and it worked just fine. We could hardly believe it! Joshua isn't usually very still but he did for the test!
We are told that it will probably take a week before we hear from the doctor. Hopefully though this will give us some answers. I'll keep you all informed as we find out more.

Travelling

I just have a minute for an update here. I have been travelling with Mom and a group of "seniors" from our church since Sunday morning. Mom wanted to go on this trip and having me as a travelling companion wasn't going to be much more expensive then travelling alone so she invited me to join her and boy am I glad she did!
Sunday we travelled to Niagara Falls through Canada and stayed on the Canadian side. We saw the Falls twice. We just had to go back and see them after dark when they light them up. Monday we travelled to PA. We thought we were going to see the Flight 93 Memorial but there were no signs on the highway to get to it. We were told later there isn't much of a memorial yet so we didn't miss much. It was then on to Lancaster. Wednesday we went to Gettysburg in the morning and then to the Sights & Sound Presentation at the Millenium Theatre. We saw their presentation of "In the Beginning". It was really spectacular! They had angels wearing "Heelies" so that they could glide down the aisles and across the stage. They also use real animals and robotic ones. It is really had to describe the awesomeness of this production!
Today we head back to Niagara Falls and view them from the American side. We will spend the night back on the Canadian side then head back to GR tomorrow.
To add to the normal confussion before a trip, Mark has spent this week in Austin, TX. He had to have 4 days of training there for his new job. Friends of ours from church have had the 3 kids this week. It sounds like things are going well there. I even got an email from Stephen's teacher saying he is doing fine this week. Only 2 more days to go so hopefully it will keep going.
The weather & scenery has been nicer than we dared hope for. We even started on this "Creation Extravaganza" with a deer running in front of our bus less than a 1/2 mile from the church. We didn't get near hitting it but it was really something to see running along the road.
Well, the bus is starting to load and we don't want to be the last ones. (That has only been once.) I'll get this posted so we can get on there.

Last Day!

Today is Mark's last day to work at Camp & Cruise! He starts at URS on Monday! The last 2 weeks at C&C have been rather interesting. His boss has been pressuring him to stay, at least longer than the 2 weeks notice he had given. She even made him a rather substanial counter-offer but it wasn't worth continuing to work there. We really felt that Mark couldn't turn down the chance at URS.
It is amazing how quickly Mark came back to being himself as soon as he saw an end in sight to working at C&C. It is good to hear him laugh again and have him back to clowning around with the kids again. He is still taking the antidepressant but is sleeping just fine without any meds.
It has added some complications around here though. Mark will have to dress much nicer then the jeans & tshirts he wore at C&C. We went shopping and had to get him some more dress slacks. Of course, this also adds to my schedule as I get to hem them to the right length for him. I'll also have to do more ironing again. (I think I remember how.)
The kids are all doing well in school. Rachel has even qualified for the Midwest Academic Talent Search. They achieve this by getting a score of 95% or higher on a standardized computer test in the areas of reading, language usage, science, or math. She qualified last year but we didn't do anything about it. We're going to look more into it this year and see what all our options are. She probably qualified in the math area as she is actually doing 8th grade math this year while in the 7th grade. The Talent Search is only for middle schoolers or else we would probably have 2 qualified. Through testing they have determined Stephen is able to read as high as a 10th grade level! Not too shabby for a 5th grader! Joshua is loving school! His teacher says that he is doing very well and is really easy-going and happy all the time.
I am doing lunch duties on Mondays. I am also headed to Klackles Orchard with Joshua on Tuesday. Then they were short moms to help with the popcorn fundraiser for the 5th grade trip to Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum so I'm probably going to help with that 1 Friday per month.
The schedule is rather crazy to keep up with especially with 1 car and we did make a mistake this week. I let Mark take the car on Thurs. because he had a 4:15 appt. I thought I told him to get the kids from school and then pick me up when he dropped them off. Somehow we goofed and he didn't leave C&C until 4 and the kids were still at school. I ended up taking him to his appt. then going to get the kids (over 1 hr late), dropped the kids at home then went back to pick him up!
I'm rather hoping that it won't take him long and maybe he can find someone at the new office to carpool with. Even if we have to give them some money every week it would be easier than all the driving. Keep praying that God will provide another vehicle soon.
Well, I have to get moving around here. Somehow, I haven't been able to blog while the kids are at school. Maybe I can soon.

HE GOT IT!!!!!!!!

Mark had his second interview this morning at URS Corp. They offered him the job on the spot and he accepted it! We had already talked through all the pros and cons most of the weekend so he didn't need to think more about it, he took it. The pay isn't a lot more then currently but the benefits are better and so is the chance for advancement. We are really thrilled!
By the way, Nate, is EG&G who you work for? That is a part of URS Corp and they have military work at Hill AFB.
Mark is also rather nervous about the next 2 weeks at Camp & Cruise though. He doesn't expect his boss to take the news very gently. We did up his letter of resignation before he went in this morning. He plans to start at URS on October 1 so he had to give notice today. Mark has seen his current boss try to hold people's last pay check and other things just to try to be bothersome when someone is leaving so we are expecting some struggles. The good thing is that we know that his time there is coming to a close. I think he will miss the people that he works with but not the frustrations that he has there.
Well, busy day ahead as I have lunch duty on Mondays and I have been doing shopping on Monday plus I have catalogs to get out. I just had to share our good news though!

Interviews

Good news! Mark had an interview on Friday with a huge company called URS Corp. They then contacted him later in the day for another interview on Monday morning. It is for a position called a project accountant. It wouldn't be a giant jump in pay but it would be some also the benefits are better then where he is now. It would also be a place where he might possibly be able to move up in the future. It would also be straight 8-5, no evenings or weekends.
He is told that it is a rather high pressure position but we feel that it would be a "better" type of pressure then where he is now. Some of his problems where he is now is that one boss basically has made him a "whipping boy". It doesn't matter whose mistake/problem it is, Mark is to blame.
This company is so big, that the employment application asked if we were willing to move internationally. Then it went on to list 8-12 different companies where they have offices. There are at least 6-8 different offices right here in the state of MI.
Things are basically improving here. We are sort of settling into a routine now that we have 2 weeks of school under our belt. Mark's deppression seems to be improving. Either the antidepressant is working or by using the sleeping med to get better sleep, he is better controlling the depression. His counsellor was even a great confidence booster for him prior to his interview. He has a lot of experience with human resources in companies and offered some great tips.
Last night we went out to the Berlin Raceway and got to see some more school bus races. Stephen & Joshua had free tickets for completing the library reading program this summer and then we were able to get 1/2 price tickets for the rest of us through their school. We absolutely FROZE but it was fun!
We are in that tough time of year where it is in the 80's one day and then in the 60's the next. It is hard to know what to where from one day to the next. Yesterday's high was 61 but that was at 7 a.m. and it dropped after that and the wind was bitter. I have to get more warm clothes out for the kids this weekend.
Rachel went rafting with the 7th graders on Thursday. It was quite an experience. Maybe I'll try to get her to write about it. Some parents were an example of a practical joke gone too far and crossing the line.
Well, I have to keep moving around here. Kids don't like doing chores when they think I'm just playing around on the computer. I'll let you know about the job as soon as we know more.

School's IN!!!!!!!!

Well, the children are all off to their first day of a new school year! This will be the first year that they are ALL in school ALL day! Now I just have to figure out where to start at. Note that I didn't say "What to do with myself". I have plenty to do. It is just what order to do it all in. I'm also trying to arrange my priorities so that on days I don't have to pick up kids, I don't need the car. That will save on gas as well as time. Getting this family around with 1 vehicle is a real trick sometimes.
Rachel has her first "real" babysitting job starting tonight. It will be every other Tuesday evening for a little 6 yr. old girl and 3 yr. old boy. They are niece & nephew of some good friends of ours. It is only a few blocks from home and the kids will actually be in bed almost half of the time she is there. She is really excited about it.
I made her start "weening" herself off the crutches starting on Sunday. Her ankle is much better but did start bothering her when we did some last minute school shopping yesterday afternoon. She was able to start school without them today, except she did wrap her ankle for a little support. I think she rather likes the extra attention she gets with it.
Well, today is only a half day so I better get busy and not waste this time. But I also had to take a minute and enjoy the peace and quiet.

We're here, honest

I know it has been forever since I have blogged any. Rest assured we are all home and doing ok. It has been a rather rough summer though and sometimes Mom says I focus too much on the negative when I blog. I guess I was looking for positive to write about.
Stephen & Rachel both spent a week at Gramma's in Alpena. Whether they show it much or not, they really enjoy it. Rachel experienced the Brown Trout Festival this year and she had quite a bike adventure with Aunt Bette. Stephen was there for the car show again as well as getting to watch Watkins Glen at Aunt Marlene's.
Rachel then had another good time with Gramma going on vacation with her to Ohio. They stayed at Pete & Deb's for a couple of days then went over to see Mark & Barb. Tony & Angie were home as well & it was at Seth's court hearing so it was all quite exciting. Every now and then she still has new stories to tell of things they did down there.
Now it is back to school for them on Tuesday. Rachel will be in 7th grade, except she is taking 8th grade math, Stephen is in 5th grade, and Joshua starts 1st grade. We have met all their teachers and are pretty much all set. Joshua was a little disappointed before he met his teacher because it is the "new" teacher at school. But now that he has met her, he seems fine with it.
One of the big struggles this summer has been Mark's health. He had bronchitis just after the 4th of July. After that, he had a sinus infection. Throughout those times and continuing since then he hasn't been able to sleep. This makes life miserable. He also has a feeling in his throat as though something is stuck. We've made numerous trips to several doctors. The hardest thing has been not knowing if the lack of sleep has been causing different symptoms or if the symptoms were causing the lack of sleep.
Finally last week, he was listening to a radio program and called me and said this is describing exactly what he has been feeling. If you go to www.familylifetoday.org, you can listen to or get transcripts of the programs on Monday and Tuesday that talk to Pastor Tommy Nelson and his wife about his battle with depression, including an explanation of the biological causes of depression. This week Wednesday we got Mark to a counsellor and he confirmed that Mark is in moderate depression. It has been brought on by lots of different stress factors around here but I think not knowing what was happening to his body was adding on even more stress. His PCP had mentioned needing to deal with his stress and had even prescribed an anti-depressant but hadn't actually called it depression. Mark didn't like the way the anti-depressant was making him feel so he stopped after 2 weeks. Now that he understands all of it more, he is trying a different anti-depressant and is going to be working with the counsellor too. He is also using a sleep med that his starting to help. He was very fearful of using it to begin with for fear of addiction but now knows that it is needed to get him started back to getting better.
A lot of the stress here was probably caused by money problems. They aren't all gone and we still face some hurdles but we are making it through and God is providing in some amazing ways. Totally out of the blue, a family from our church said they wanted to buy the kids' school supplies this year. Not only did they buy them, the lady took each of the kids out individually to spend a day shopping together. She did her best to fulfill all their wishes for supplies including some extras that they hadn't even considered. Another family just handed Mark some cash after a morning service. We have had checks (refunds) show up just when needed and even some reward programs give us just a bit of encouragement when we needed a ray of hope. Mark was able to get a raise which is his first in 3 years. It wasn't much but every bit helps. He also had a man offer some accounting work that he needed done on the side. Once Mark gets the system up and running like the guy wants it, I'll be able to do most of the inputting to keep it going. It will bring in a little bit more each week.
One major hurdle we have yet is that we are down to one vehicle. The van didn't completely die but the best way to describe it is that it is in critical condition and we are being advised to "pull the plug" and that advise if from our friend who does the work on it for us. The latest thing that we believe to be wrong is the water pump and/or (lost it now). Anyway it is something right in the engine which isn't too bad on most vehicles but in a van like ours you almost have to pull the whole engine to get to it. Otherwise, you have try to work both inside and outside the van at the same time with very little top clearance. The van is out at Mark's work right now and we need to figure the best way to dispose of it. We will probably get $100 from a company that will tow it away for recycling.
So that is where we are and what we have been up to. Mark is working today so we didn't go anywhere for the holiday. I may take the kids to a park for a while this morning. Oh, forgot to mention that Rachel is currently on crutches with a sprained ankle. Hopefully, we will start getting her off of them today. She slipped off a curve last Friday playing kickball in the rain. I waited till the dr. was in on Mon and since it was still swollen took her in. After the xrays confirmed it just a sprain, she said to do RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, & Elevate) so it has been an interesting week.

Stephen @ Grandma's House

Stephen's trun to be @ Grandma's. He is having a lot of fun. Well that is what he said yesterday when they called. Not much is going on around here. On Tuesday I took Rachel and Joshua to the city pool. We stay for two whole hours. Rachel wanted to have Joshua try the big water slide at least once. So I took Joshua up to the top and he sat on my lap and we went do together. He thought that was awsome! So the next time he went up with Rachel and they asked the gaurd that the to tell the gaurd at the bottom to catch Joshua. He had so much fun that. He would not stop. All he did for the rest of the time was the water slide. He can't wait till next time that we get the time to go.
Well in two weeks, we get to go out to the school to meet the kids' new teachers for this year. Rachel got her science teacher from last year, Stephen got Rachel's 5th grade teacher who does half of the day and the other half of the day is a different teacher, and Joshua got a new teacher @ the school who just graduated last December. The resean that Stephen has two teachers is because they both have kids, but they still want to be teachers. So one teachs in the morning and gets time with her kids in the afternoon, it is just the oppiste with the other teachers. But by doing this they get paid, time with their kids, and save money on daycare.
Well have to go. I have to put in this order today!

Rachel's @ Gramma

I guess Gramma is keeping Rachel too busy to blog from Alpena. I thought maybe she would have time to tell tales of camp and Alpena from up there but she must be having too much fun! Although Rachel has been on the computer and you should no longer see the Campbell Soup boy wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving every time you get an email from Mom. Rachel is getting pretty good at technology and even learned to create powerpoint presentations last year at school. Now we just need a computer capable of keeping up with her abilities.
Well, I am staying busy with all the usual plus an Avon booth at the Berlin Fair. Van's overheating. We've been overheating too with the weather outside; although, this week isn't too bad. Gotta go.

Quiet 4th

We had a rather pleasant, & quiet 4th of July. We had to do Rachel's Advance Newspaper route and some shopping. We then did quite a bit of cleaning before we had a new family from church over. We spent a quiet (only intermittent neighborhood fireworks) evening getting to know this couple and their 4 kids. We had a simple picnic and lots of conversation. I feel a real easy friendship growing with this family. They are just 2 years moved down from the UP and he does accounting for Children's Bible Hour. They are a real blessing.
What I can't believe is how quickly camp week is flying by! I haven't gotten hardly anything done that I wanted to with only one child at home but I have had some offers for some babysitting of him today and tomorrow so I can get some work done. I just have to call and make arrangements.
We also plan to have the couple who "co-camp captain" with Mark on Friday evening. We do this each year to discuss the camp scholarship and other ideas for promoting camp. Then on Sunday, our church is having something called "F.I.S.H." (Fellowship in someone's home) in place of the normal Sunday evening service and we are hosting some other families here. I need to make contacts for that and plan out a menu. At least the house should stay fairly clean between the 3 different entertainment situations.
Saturday, Mark and I will be going to pick up the kids at camp and bring them all home. We have to be at camp at 9 a.m. so it means an early morning for us. Last year I didn't do pick up so this should be interesting. Now everyone should know the camp songs better then they did on the way up.
What Rachel failed to mention in her blogs is that we also have been to several park parties and she is also now a Red Cross certified babysitter. She spent a day taking the class with several of her friends and now even has a backpack full of supplies to take on babysitting jobs.
Well, I better get busy with phone calls.

Gone

Rachel & Stephen are off for the week to Lake Ann Camp. Mark & I took them and 25 other kids from church there yesterday. We will return to pick them up Saturday morning. If you would like to send them an email you can go to www.lakeanncamp.com. The emails are printed and given to them each day at lunch so Friday at 10 a.m. is the last chance to send them emails.
I have lots to do as we are still cleaning up from a yard sale last week and we have plans to have people over 3 times in the next week. Hopefully, though, I will have a chance for more blogging this week while I am down to just one child at home.

HOT!

It is sssooooooooooooooooooooooo hot here in MI!!!!!!! It has been 92 degrees outside!! HELP!!!

Well on Monday July 2, Stephen and I along with kids from church, will be going to Lake Ann Baptist Camp for a week. It is going to be alot of fun!!! Poor Joshua has to stay home:(!!!! Here is what he thinks he will do while we are gone.

The fisrt thing that I will do is probally go to the pool.
Joshua!!

The engilsh reading is "The first thing that I will do is probally go to the pool. Joshua!!" He is weird sometimes. Well maybe ALL the time.

TTYL (after camp)

Rachel

Summer

The things we have done so far this summer:

1. Went to the library
2. Got to see Grandma Joyce
3. Went to the park to do a LifeWalk
4. Had a birthday party for Stephen
5. Went to a WhiteCaps baseball game, which they lost 9 to 7
6. The only person who has gone swimming is me and only at youth group.

That is about it for this summer. I hope that we can have more fun this summer then what we have had. Will blog later.

Rachel

Upset

Our NASCAR fans here are most disappointed with the news about Dale, Jr. To be teammates with Jeff & Jimmy is not what was wanted here. I think they were all pulling for him to go to RCR instead. We'll have to see if Rachel sticks with Jr. after this year. She just may switch drivers. She was already bummed that he is no longer a Gillette Young Gun especially when they came out with the show Fast Cars & Superstars.
Well, I'll try to write more about what we are up to soon. Or maybe I can get the kids writing since they are on summer break now.

Where to start?

Here it is a holiday weekend and we have so much to do. House to clean, groceries to get, summer clothes to unpack, and companies coming. I also have to work this afternoon and the kids, especially Stephen, have homework to do. How's that sound for an exciting holiday? We have promised Stephen a round of frisbee golf down at the park but haven't decided when yet. The weather is cloudy and we had rain this morning. Hopefully that will help to get us busy working so when it clears we can have the fun.

All better

We seem to be finally mended around here. No ER visits in the last 5 days! Joshua even went back to school today!
Rachel & I went on the field trip to Mackinac Island last Thursday. Mom met up with us and we had a good time. The weather was beautiful--much warmer than I expected! Time just flew by and we had to leave much too soon.
Friday, Joshua had a follow up visit with our dr. and she gave him the "all clear" to get moving a bit more and told him "no more visits this summer". We'll have to wait and see if he listens to that instruction.
Saturday was booked solid with stuff and I really wasn't comfortable leaving Joshua with a teen babysitter since they might have to give him medications so Mark asked his mom to come and give us a hand. She came over Friday evening and stayed with the kids on Saturday then headed home as we left for church on Sunday morning.
I was registered for a table at a home business expo show at a local library on Saturday. I really didn't want to pull my Avon booth out of that. It was from 9:30-3 but we had to set up at 8 a.m. The day went rather slow because it was first year but not too bad either. It is still sort of a wait and see situation.
After the expo was done, I went straight to Meijer to work 4 hours decorating cakes. It was the first time I had been there in over a week. I guess rumors were starting to fly as to whether I had quit or been fired. They were really glad to see me.
Mark also had to work at Camp & Cruise on Saturday and he no more than got home when the guy he is doing work for on the side called and wanted to meet. So they met most of the time I was gone to Meijer.
Yesterday, it was rather a normal schedule as we had church in the morning, I worked at Meijer in the afternoon, and then back to church for evening service. Mark asked the photographer to bring her camera so I could still get a picture done even though it wasn't Mother's Day so we did that. Mark also borrowed a truck for the afternoon to go to Newaygo to pick up a snow blower from a guy he works with. This one is in better condition than ours which only starts part of the time. Rachel was also happy with this trip because she got to visit a little with Jackie.
I have lots to get caught up with around here. Fortunately, I don't have to worry about laundry as Mark's mom did that while she was here. Avon has suffered though and needs lots of attention.
I do have a cell phone again and with the same number as before. We checked everywhere for my phone that I lost last Monday and it didn't turn up and since that is the number I have on all my business info I couldn't be without it for long.
Joshua made it through his first day back to school today. He does have a bit of a headache this afternoon though. So it is a calm rest of the day now with plenty of rest again.

Unbelievable

The last week has really been rather unbelievable. We have made 4 trips to the ER in 5 days and the one day we didn't visit the ER, we were actually upstairs admitted during that time. We have even been in the same room in the ER 3 of those trips. I think we should have our name on a plaque pretty soon.
You know about 3 of the trips already. The 4th came yesterday. It was Joshua again. His headache pain was uncontrollable. I had given him all the pain meds that I had here for him. It was so bad it was making him vomit and then we have the threat of dehydration. Mark and I took him back to the ER and they gave him something for the nausea and then also morphine. Lovely drug...really does the trick. After observing him for a while, they sent us home with him again. We were told to do more meds when we got home and then to keep him rather well medicated all day today. I really hate to give him so much meds but it is better than another ER visit and more morphine. We are also to keep him on the couch pretty much completely inactive today.
On the way home last night, we had to pick up Stephen at the friend's house where we had left him and he had his fever back again. We got home and Rachel had spent most of the evening dozing in front of the TV. She had a headache and hadn't even gotten anything to eat. Checked her forehead and sure enough, she had a fever too. So I actually have all 3 home today from school. I'm pushing the vitamins and echenachia today. Rachel is scheduled to go on the main field trip all year tomorrow. We are to leave at 5:00 a.m. for Mackinaw Island. Right now, we're saying she is going to have to be much sicker to stay home and miss this.
I have also managed to lose my cell phone during all of this and have not gotten any AVON done in the last week. Oh, and Meijer's called today. Seems the cake decorator scheduled for today called in sick. They wanted to know if I could come in. Well, I would rather be there then home right now but that isn't a possibility and that's what I told them.
Let's see, what else...oh, Mark was contacted over the weekend by a man that he has done some accounting work for on the side. He had been trying to start up a business and Mark did the work on his planning for investors. Well, we haven't heard from him in over a year and we thought that he had pretty much given up on the company. Turns out that he had a new potential investor and needed some changes to the charts that Mark had done. So Mark has been trying to do some work for him over the last couple of days too. We are all so tired that Mark was falling asleep in the ER last night.
I think that is about all our news for now. Might not be very good news but it is what is happening. Except the extra work for Mark is good news because we could use the extra income since I have missed my last 2 days I was scheduled to work.

More hospital visits

but first I should tell you all that we had a wonderful visit with Mom last weekend. We even ended up with 2 mom's here since Mark's mom wanted to surprise him for his birthday and came to visit for the weekend. The kids loved having 2 grammas here for the weekend. Saturday evening, we went out to Berlin Raceway in Marne and watched some school bus races. There were other super stock races too but the highlight that took us there that night was the school bus races. It was really fun to watch. I think Mom took some pics and if she sends them to me, I'll try to post them. In a way, I guess you could say we had Mother's Day a week early. Of course, then we didn't bother with much of one this weekend and here's why:
Friday about dinner time, Joshua started complaining of a headache. When it didn't settle down shortly, I gave him some tylenol. He sort of laid around a bit Friday evening but we were all watching a video so it didn't seem strange. Then at bedtime, he complained more. I gave him some motrin and put him to bed. He was still crying almost an hour later that his head hurt so I took him to the ER. It was busy there so it took 4 hours for them to say he was simply dehydrated and send us home. We slept downstairs the rest of the night and I pushed him to drink every time he stirred. Saturday, he seemed to be improving so we thought they might have been right. Then around 1 p.m. he started having a fever and it went over 103 very quickly. While I was waiting for phone calls from the nurse at our dr.'s office, he vomited and that made up our minds that we were headed back to the ER which we did around 2. This time they did a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) and determined it was meningitis. All signs were pointing at viral (aseptic) meningitis but the cultures to determine that for sure take 48 hours to develop. As a precaution, they admitted him (us) and started him on IV antibiotics. They were also able to give him better pain medication to keep the headaches and fever under control.
The plans for Saturday had included a Gaither Homecoming concert that Mark's Mom had gotten us 4 tickets to. We felt Joshua too young to go but knew the other 2 would really enjoy it. When Joshua became sick and had to be admitted, we didn't want the tickets to go to waste. Mark took Rachel, Stephen, and a good friend from church to the concert. They did really enjoy it! Rachel was able to meet and get autographs from 4 Signature Sound members (only not meeting Ernie Haase). Stephen was also excited that he got to meet Ben Speer. They all stopped by the hospital to see Joshua and I afterwards. They even brought Joshua 2 Gaither's Pond DVD's.
Sunday, Mark took Rachel & Stephen to church before coming to spend the afternoon at the hospital. He brought me up clean clothes and other items I needed to spend another day & night at the hospital. They also brought my mother's day presents including a painted flower pot that Joshua made at school and had a flower planted in. He was really glad about that because he was upset thinking he wouldn't get to give it to me on Mother's Day. This was the first year that I can remember in the 12 years of being a mom that I didn't get a picture of the family done at church so that was a bit disappointing but Mark asked the photographer to bring her camera next weekend to get one for us.
Mark & I had to go over what needed done to be ready for the week and I sent them home mid-afternoon to work on some things before evening service. They came back for a visit afterwards and then one of our pastors came too. It turned out to be a second late night for Rachel & Stephen.
Yesterday, we had to wait for the results of the tests to come back at 4:30 before we could be released but as soon as they came I was ready to go. Mark and the kids came and got us and then we had to grab a quick dinner and I took Rachel and Stephen out to watch Stephen's spring program for school. Mark had some other things to do at home so he took his turn staying with Joshua who actually fell asleep on the couch as soon as we got home from the hospital and slept till 10:30 last night.
Stephen was really dragging after his concert and complaining of a headache. We had to stop by the store and get some stuff before coming home and he just was wiped out. By the time we did get home, he had a fever and said that it hurt to put his head to his chest (oh, boy, here we go again). I called the dr. afterhour care for advice and they said that he needed to be seen so back to the ER we went at 11:00 last night. It took till 1:30 for them to tell us that they thought it was just a virus and not the meningitis that Joshua had. My main concern was pain management and had been hoping that they wouldn't hospitalize him even if it was meningitis since Joshua's was not bacterial anyway.
So today I am home with both boys. Joshua is doing rather well, still some headache though. Stephen is rather miserable. He has been sneezing for over an hour straight. He has taken a claritin but it is slow in taking effect. He doesn't have a fever at this point yet but it is early in the day. We will have to see how he does at night. I did get a list of just how much of both tylenol and ibuprofen he can take at a time to help him with that. I'm even keeping a list of exactly who is taking what medicine when because keeping it straight for 2 is hard enough when you are thinking clearly but I am basically on fumes today with lack of sleep. Mark is too but he gets to go through it at work. Sometimes I think that would be easier because around here I have chairs and beds that would be so easy to curl up in but he doesn't and also has people needing his input and needing him to keep on tasks.
I just keep thanking God for his timing in all this. If this had happened a week earlier, Mark would have been out of town, Mom would have been here (she doesn't need exposed to viruses), Joshua would have missed Awana awards, and I had to spend a lot of time the first part of last week putting together the picnic for the last night of Awana and would have not been able to do.
We basically have a couple of down days right now anyway and the next big thing is Thursday. Rachel & I are going to Mackinac Island with the other 6th graders from school. Well, Mark has requested the day off so he will be here with any boys not able to go to school. If they both make it, he then has lunch duty and carpooling to deal with as well as a kindergarten ice cream social in the evening. Our biggest question there is getting Rachel & I back and forth to/from school at strange times but there are others that live nearby that can probably help.
Needing help with transportation should tell you that the van is down again. It worked for all of a day before having more trouble with getting fuel and for some reason (I wonder why...haha) we haven't had time to look into it.
So that has been our weekend around here. The picture of Rachel as Carrier of the Month finally came out in the Advance last week. We thought she was getting it for April but I guess it was for May. I'm going to try and get it scanned in later and posted but will have to get some other things caught up around here first.

Mom's coming

and my house is trashed. I have an Avon order due today, the kids have dentists appointments at 3, & Mark has left for a Men's Retreat at Lake Ann Camp this weekend. I worked at Meijer this morning and then had lunch duty. Sound busy enough for everyone. So much to do and so little time (and sometimes energy)!
As bad as my house looks, I'm still glad Mom is coming. It is nice to have her for a visit and we either completely blow off working or do it together and either way, it is enjoyable.
My hubby's birthday is tomorrow so I decorated a cake at work this morning and I'm sending it to the retreat with a different vehicle then he rode it. It should be a nice surprise for him tomorrow.
Well, I better get to that Avon order. It was due an hour ago and I have quite a bit to do before it goes in.

ER Visit

Well, we had to make a trip to the ER last night. After the evening service at church, Mark was talking with people about the camp program or the upcoming men's retreat & I was in a meeting planning a luau for the last night of AWANA. We were both interrupted with reports that Joshua was hurt outside. Turns out that he had been running a race (obstacle course) with 2 other boys along a stretch of sidewalk and took a spill. He says he was in a rocky area where they removed some trees (but not stumps) from last year when he fell. Mark had brought him into the nursery and had guaze taped to the wound by the time I got in there. We had several nurse or paramedics that had looked at in before he covered it and said it was going to need stitches. So after leaving Stephen & Rachel in the care of our friends, Mark & Lisa Ellison, we raced to the ER with only a momentary stop home for his pillow buddy, Diego.
The ER doc ordered xrays to check for any additional damage or foreign objects but all was fine there. He then had to clean and stitch up a "corner" gash. It is about 1 1/4 inches horizontal under his knee and then 3/4 to 1 in. vertical. They gave Joshua some nitrus oxide to help him relax and not move while they worked on it. He still did quite a bit of crying while they were injecting the site with numbing med but after that did quite well. It took either 9 or 10 stitches. There are only 8 visible from the outside but I am sure that the dr. did 1 or 2 under the skin first that are not visible now because I know I saw him with 2 different color sutures.
They said that Joshua could go to school today but it was after 10 when we left the ER and none of us had eaten dinner yet. We swung by Meijers for fresh bandages, Wendy's for dinner, and then picked up the other kids before we go home around 10:45. We was about 11:30 before we headed to bed. Joshua's leg hurt pretty bad and so we put him in bed with us for the night. That worked till his meds wore off about 3 a.m. I gave him more pain meds but he just won't settle down so he and I came downstairs. I laid him in a chair in the living room so I could clean off the couch for him to sleep on but he got rather comfortable there and didn't want to go to the couch. So he and I spent the rest of the night sleeping downstairs. I felt it was too much for him to go to school with that little bit of sleep and not knowing how it might feel when the meds wore off again. It is rather a good thing I didn't send him. He is having quite a bit of pain still this morning. The wound looks fine but I think it might be some soreness to the knee or muscle around it that is hurting. So he is just resting with his leg up and watching his Go, Diego, Go! DVD.
I forgot to mention something a little strange that happened at the ER. They have this nurse who comes through and explains everything to the kids and helps them understand what the doctor is going to do so that they aren't scared. When she walked in to the room last night, by the time she got done with the introduction she said that we looked familiar. She was the same one that saw Stephen the last time he was in for stitches. That was several years ago though and for her to recognize us I thought rather amazing. She is now buddies with both boys because after Joshua's procedure last night she brought him a slushie and also a "Huggable Diego" toy as a prize for being brave and following the directions we had for him. She gave Stephen a little block set but he makes friends with all the ER workers.

Taxes

Our taxes are done! I finished them up about 6:00 p.m. last night! With 2 businesses they get rather tricky and I am not much of a paperwork person. Next year should be better because I am no longer a licensed daycare so that takes part of the complications out of it. Also, our house is a wreck right now because serious organizing is underway. That should help make taxes easier next year too.
Now, I have to get busy catching up on Avon that has been put off so taxes could get done.

Sorry...

I know it has been way tooooo long since I blogged. I've had numerous phone calls telling me so. I've been as busy as can be but not much I felt notable enough to blog about.

The Awana games have come and gone. Both Rachel & Stephen were on the teams this year. The T&T girls took second place and the T&T boys took third. This was the first year that we have had 2 separate teams other years they have had a coed team.

Weather...we have seen about everything recently. We had a beautiful spring in March but now we are back to winter. My hyacinths look pretty pitiful covered in snow. Right now we are under a winter weather advisory expecting 4-8 inches of SNOW by tomorrow morning. When I left for work at Meijer this morning we were forecast 1-4 inches but had changed by noon. A lot of things are cancelled for tonight and I am anxiously awaiting to hear about our church services. I am usually one of the first to hear because of being in charge of the email prayer chain. They will either call or email me so I can put the announcement over the email. Personally, I am tired and have a lot to do so an evening at home wouldn't break my heart too much.

Spring break...the kids all had spring break last week. That was the reason I knew lousy weather wasn't done. Around here, it doesn't matter how early it turns spring, the weather for spring break is always lousy. We had plenty to keep busy with and didn't even get to do all the things we wanted.

We had a nice quiet Easter, however the rest of the week was rather crazy. Joshua turned 6 on the 6th which happened to be Good Friday this year. We decided to let him have 2 friends over for a little party on Thursday because he wanted to go to a Griffin hockey game on Friday (which we could do because our church didn't do an area Good Friday service this year). It was a fun time and I even got to visit with a mom I hadn't met before. The problem was that they sold out of hockey tickets before we got ours for Friday. He was disappointed but now he & I are going to the final home game of the year this coming Saturday instead. Both he and Stephen had earned free tickets to games by a reading program through school.

Saturday, I had an Avon booth at a local craft show. It was from 8:30 till 3 and there was set up and tear down time too. Rachel went with me and I had 1 other rep working it too. It was a worthwhile day I felt. Then after we unloaded the car, I changed clothes and worked at Meijer for 4 hours. I got done about 9:30 and still needed some groceries for Easter dinner. It was a long day!

We had a nice visit with Mom a couple of weeks ago too. It was good to see her. This was her first trip down since the heartattack. She took Rachel out for a belated birthday breakfast on Saturday and then took Joshua out for an early birthday breakfast on Sunday. They both really enjoy that.

Report cards came home just before Spring Break. All is looking pretty good. Rachel is back up to an A in band so I bought her a new sax book with Disney songs in it to practice on. We have been assured that Joshua is plenty ready for 1st grade and Stephen's teacher commented on how he is doing much better since Spring Break.

Update: Wednesday evening services at church are now cancelled. I don't think that has happened very often in the month of April but I remember one year that we missed 3 of them in Jan. & Feb. Now I can focus on getting things done here at home. The only thing is that now I have to make dinner. Our church offers dinners on Wednesday before the other programs and boy do I get spoiled. With the weather the way it is, I'll take fixing dinner over having to go out in it again.

Rachel will be home shortly and she has to deliver the Advance Newspaper in this. At least she can have some help since Stephen can do his homework later with no church tonight. Actually, the other exciting news is that Rachel has been named carrier of the month for the Advance. Usually they put the kids picture in the paper but they haven't called to set that up but she got a gift card to the movies which is all she cared about any way. Her supervisor says she hasn't had any complaints with Rachel's service which is pretty good.

So that's some of what we have been up to. I'll try to do better at getting on here more but no promises.

Regional Grand Prix Results

I have had an email asking about the results of the Grand Prix last Saturday. Unfortunately, my family came home rather disappointed. They didn't place at all. Mark was a little bit encouraged because he did manage to come in ahead of the car that took first place at our church races. He finished 7th and she came in 12th. Other than that, things didn't go too well. We learn a little more each year and I figure by the time Joshua is through T & T, we'll probably be able to bring home something.
By the way, we all seem to be on the mend around here. Joshua was able to go back to school on Tuesday but was rather worn out by the time he got home. They are all still doing a lot of coughing but since that could last 4-6 weeks, I'm not keeping them home for that. Rachel did get herself into quite a coughing fit last night at AWANA while running in the games. We pulled on our coats and stood outside for a little bit. The cool air seemed to calm it down but everytime we went back in, she started up again.
We are in the middle of a fasinating MI storm here. Not often we have thunder and lightening with snow, sleet, & freezing rain. It is now almost all rain at least till tonight. Overnight we are to get some more accumulating snow. That should make this slush real fun to deal with.
This weekend we are camping at church Friday night. It is the T & T campout. At first, Mark was going to take Stephen & Rachel while I stayed home with Joshua since he isn't old enough for T & T yet. Then last night they were saying that they are short handed, especially on female leaders so I guess Joshua & I are going too.

Joshua's turn

Well, Rachel is better. She started feeling better Friday afternoon and was able to go to the Father/Daughter Banquet at church. Then on Saturday, Mark, Stephen, and Rachel went to the Regional Grand Prix in the morning and to watch a Griffen's game in the evening. (I won tickets to the game from our radio station.)
However, Joshua started with a fever Friday afternoon and has been sick ever since. He had most of the same symptoms that Rachel had except his fever was lasting over 3 days and getting higher each time the meds wore off. When it hit 104.2 Sunday afternoon, we called the dr.'s office. The nurse there recommended we take him to the ER to be checked out. The dr. ordered up some xrays and decided probably pneumonia but also gave him a steroid because the coughing sounded "croupy". By the time we got home and them Mark went and got the Rx of amoxicillian filled, no one made it to church last night.
Since starting the antibiotic and having the steroid, he seems to be improving. His fever is down and he managed to sleep through the night. I was awake at 5 a.m. checking on him because the last 2 nights we were up between 2-3 a.m. when his ibuprofen and cough meds wore off. I'm going to call our dr. office for follow up shortly.
The good news is that this hasn't affected my working at Meijer's because I ended up with this whole week off. I didn't plan it that way but it is nice of the timing. Besides Joshua being sick, I need to spend some time down at my Avon upline's house sorting through and bagging up $6,000 worth of Avon for a fundraiser that we have been doing together. Now I just have to get Joshua back to school so I can get to this work.
The reason for the time off at Meijer is because corporate is being a stinker and thinks that our bakery has been going over budget on wages. After 3 weeks of getting in trouble for overscheduling, my "team leader" decided to give them what they ask for and let them see what the bakery looks like after a week. As it is we haven't been able to keep up with everything. I couldn't believe how crazy Valentine's week was! This schedule is going to leave them completely without a cake decorator for at least 2 days. I'm going in to go shopping just to watch the cases go bare! The team leader also told everyone that they are to walk out the minute their shift is over and they have to take all their breaks and lunches. She isn't going to stay over either. I know corporate may think they know how things work but hopefully they will learn a little something from this. Our store is actually closest to corporate and we are having remodeling done so a lot of "big wigs" are in regularly. This should be interesting!
Well, Joshua is well enough to be bored with TV but not well enough to play much by himself. I better tend to him.

Still Sick

Rachel is still down sick. She has now officially missed this whole week of school. We took her to the doctor yesterday and the official diagnosis was influenza. So the "flu" has hit and is making her miserable. She had been fever free since late Tuesday but it is back today. The doctor said that it could last 7-10 days from the start but the cough could actually last 3 weeks.
This is a real bummer around here. Rachel was supposed to go with Mark to a Father/Daughter banquet at church tonight. We have already paid for the tickets and a corsage is ordered to be picked up this afternoon. Also, Rachel qualified for her car to race in the regional Awana Grand Prix tomorrow morning. I don't know now if she will make it to that or not. Hopefully, they will let someone else race her car even if she can't be there.
The good news is that I haven't had to keep dragging her all over to get things done that I need to do. Since she is old enough, we leaver her for short periods of time like when I have kids to pick up at school or this morning when I had to take Mark to work because the van wouldn't start when he was to come home last night. It gives her a better chance to rest.

New link

I'm putting a new link on the side panel of the blog. This will be to my personal AVON website. Everyone is welcome to visit it and place orders if you like. If you are in the GR area, I can personally deliver the order. If you are not in the area but would like to help my business, you can do that too. Just choose delivery and the order will be shipped directly to you. I think I saw that the shipping charge is just $3 but you'll have to check into that more. Let me know what you think of the new site.
Rachel is still home from school today. The nurse at the dr.'s office says that this is probably the virus that is hitting our area. Right now, there isn't much that they can do for it but it has been leading to strep in some kids and pneumonia in others. We have to give it a few days to see where it might go from here. Too soon in and we will just have to make another trip in a couple of days. She has to be improving by Friday because there is a Father/Daughter banquet at church Friday evening that she and Mark are attend!

Sick

Well, the kids have taken turns being sick over the weekend only Rachel waited till their 5 day weekend was almost over to get it. Stephen started it with a fever and headache on Wednesday. Thursday & Friday everyone was pretty much fine except for a few sniffles. Then on Saturday, Joshua ended up with a fever and sore throat. He missed a family outing to see a Griffin hockey game Saturday evening. I also kept him home Sunday morning. We did all go to church Sunday evening but then he had another low grade fever by the time we came home.
Rachel started complaining that she felt like there was congestion in her chest yesterday. She had a little coughing but not much till last night. She is really miserable today - sore throat, fever, headache, and coughing. I am waiting for a return call from the pediatrician's office to get her seen later today. The good thing is that she is now old enough to stay by herself so I was able to work at Meijer even though she was home. She just got a couple of vaccinations last week and I am almost wondering if these have led to her being sick. One of the side effects say that it, on rare occassions, can lead to pneumonia but we will have to wait and see what the doctor says.
Hope all of you are doing well. We are in the middle of a February Thaw. It has hit 40 - 2 day's in a row now! That is really amazing when you consider that we haven't even hit 30 in about 3 weeks at least!

Prix Results

Well, the Awana Grand Prix was Wednesday evening. Stephen & I had to stay home because he had a fever and didn't feel well but he had his sister race his car for him. Turns out that all 3 cars are going to the regional's next weekend. (The last post said that regional's is March 24, actually that is the Awana games. Grand Prix Regional's is Feb. 24.) Stephen finished with a third place in design in the 3rd & 4th grade boys. Rachel had third place in both design & speed for the 5th & 6th grade girls. Mark placed second place in both design & speed among the leaders. This is the first year that our church has divided it up in the different ages but that is how the Regional's do it so we now do too.
I will try to update more soon but Stephen is doing fine now. Still a few sniffles but no fever anymore. We are headed to see the Griffins play hockey tonight and have a lot to do before then.

Cars in Progress

Ok. I took some digital pictures of the grand prix cars that the family has been working on the last couple of weeks. Hopefully, I will be able to post them here. Rachel's wheels are on but not glued in place yet. The guys still have to finish weighting theirs and then put on the axles and wheels. We have followed most recommendations. Rachel's design is at the suggestion of Nate. It made one pass down the track during pit time last Wednesday and worked well but that was just one heat. We have also buffed the axles and have a tool for alignment and graphite to help with speed.
The races will be this Wednesday night. They had to delay them because of the blizzard last week. If they finish well enough at our church races this Wednesday, they will get to go to regionals on Sat. March 24. Rachel is really hoping to get a ribbon or trophy this year because this is her last year in AWANA. Next year, she joins the "youth group" (is that really possible?).
Well, it is late and there is no reason that there won't be church tomorrow so I better get to bed. Besides, I'm sore from going with Rachel to a Middle School bounce party last night but more about that later.

Cancelled again

Schools are closed again today. It seems that the crews have gotten most of the snow off the roads; however, that has left them down to the layer of ice. There were some major accidents this morning. I love some of the ways that people are finding to keep warm. I'm going to try posting a couple of pictures. If that doesn't work then check these out at this link: http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6029303
Hey, I got one to work, I wonder if I can do a couple more. It worked! but not in my preference of order but I'm not good enough to try to change them around.
These are about my favorite but there is one more amazing one. There is a picture of someone's outdoor digital thermometer that reads -26 degrees. The picture was taken in Rockford at 7 a.m. on Monday. I think Phil was playing a cruel joke in PA last week.
Well, I have to figure out how to get some cake mixes from the store so I can get them baked for tomorrow evening. At least it will be nice having on the oven for a while.

Cancelled

Everything has been pretty much closed/cancelled all weekend. Yesterday was even a snow day from church. The cancellations started Friday evening and continue on through today at least. Saturday, banks, libraries, and even malls closed early. What was really amazing and as far as I know, completely unheard of was that they shut down the Grand Rapids city busses. But Meijers, stayed open the whole time and, being the only thing open, were very busy. Busses were up and running again yesterday but area churches were all pretty much closed including ours. Now there are over 400 area schools and businesses still closed today, including the kids'.
The sun is out and it really looks nice out side. Problem is that the air temp is -8 and wind chills are running -15 to -25. Even though snow plows have been working continously all weekend, the wind didn't settle down to stop the blowing and drifting till today. The temps are so cold that salt is useless to help with clearing the ice. Most of our roads are covered with packed snow and a layer of ice underneath. Even the interstates are only moving at about 25-30 mph. The closings of highways because of multicar accidents has been numerous, including on Saturday, a 10 mile stretch because of 2 different accidents--one involving around 25 cars and another involving 30. Fortunately, the accidents have not included much for injuries.
I did venture out for work on Saturday and Sunday, but other than that the family has pretty much hibernated for the weekend. Today, it is Mark's turn to venture out. With no heat in the van, Mark is even doing our errands on his lunch or on his way home from work. I'm not taking the kids in that van any where. I don't even know if the van would start right now. We haven't started it since Thursday.
I seriously considered calling in on Saturday but they were pretty desperate for workers. Then I made my team leader's day on Sunday. Since we were so far behind and since our church was closed, I offered to do an 8 hour shift instead of just the 4 I was scheduled. She jumped at it! The extra money will be nice too.
Since the schools were already closed for Monday, we let them stay up and watch all of the Super Bowl last night. Mark actually let the Super Bowl for them start at around noon with all of the football specials and pregame. I told them it was a good thing that I was at work or else it would not have started till at least 5 p.m. Stephen was cheering for the Bears so he was a bit disappointed by the game. The rest of the family was going for the Colts, however. I said that I had to go for the Colts since they were lead by Peyton MANNING. I know that there were Mannings on the Bears too but, somehow, I think we have a better chance of being related (distantly) to Peyton than the ones on the Bears.
Well, there is a lot to get done around here. And I have some children with lots of energy and no way to burn it off. (They did go out and shovel for a while yesterday but can't have them do that today with this windchill.) I think I need to find some productive ways to harness it. Somehow, I don't think they are going to appreciate the ways I can find to take care of energy.

Blizzard

Well, we aren't officially in a blizzard yet...we are just in a blizzard warning. Want to see the latest on our conditions, go to www.woodtv.com. We could be in an official blizzard by early afternoon or evening. Which is real nice since I'm supposed to go decorate cakes at Meijer this afternoon. For those who plan to watch the Super Bowl tomorrow in sunny Miami Florida, check out the sight and see how we are doing.
I don't have much time for an update right now but will try to get back on soon. If any of you hear unexplained laughing, I'm sure it is Dad rolling on the floor at his house looking at the pictures of our area.

Roughing it

Well, we are having a bit of a "Survivor" experience in our own house. Thursday evening we got home from running some errands to find that we had no water. Mark called a friend a few blocks away and they were without water too. I called a neighbor and they too were without water. By this time, I decided we needed further investigation and checked our local news website. Seems that there was a watermain break that was leaving 3,000 customers without water for the night. The city hoped to give us water by 7 a.m. the next morning. Sure enough they actually had it on by 6:30 a.m. but now we were under a boil water advisory. Now we are told that the advisory will last at least through the weekend and possibly longer. We are glad to have the water back for bathing and flushing but the everyone is still struggling with not using the water to brush teeth or drink. I keep boiling water and trying to keep a full pitcher in the fridge but that just adds to the crazy schedule.
I mentioned lots of things coming up in our schedule and haven't gotten back to writing about them. Now we are actually part way through them. Rachel started volleyball try-outs last week. She has them again this week through Wednesday before she finds out if she makes a team. They have 2 teams and there are 12 girls per team. Right now, there are only 31 trying out so she has a pretty good chance, I think. But this also means someone going back out to the school at 5:30 to pick her up after practice. The good news though is that our neighbor girl that rides with us to the school and a friend from church are all trying out too so we have broken up the extra trips. Now, we sort of hope that either they all make it or none of them do to keep the trips to a minimum.
Rachel didn't quite get all the info right on the AWANA grand prix cars. We did have pit day a couple of weeks ago but we are having another one next weekend to finish them up so we are still open to more suggestions if anyone has any for us. Mark even made a car this year since we are working with the program. Rachel's is going to look like a offering plate and she is using real money for the weights. Stephen made is basically a slim triangle painted red. He plans to put a white Coke symbol on the front of it. I don't think there is any question what Mark's looks like for anyone that knows his love of Nascar. Rachel is really hoping for a trophy or ribbon this year since it is her last chance. I think she might make best design if nothing else.
The kids had a 1/2 day of school yesterday since it was the end of the marking period. Joshua went on his second field trip. This one to the local children's museum. Then in the afternoon, there was tubing at a place called Pando Ski Area. It was sponsored by the school although no school supervision was provided. It was for 3rd through 8th graders so Joshua mainly got to watch. It was a beautiful day for it! Boy do these guys have it easy! The worst part of going sledding was always the trip back up the hill. Now, they just attach a tow rope to the line and sit back while they are pulled to the top of the hill again! It looked like lots of fun! There were even some teachers that joined in but only towards the end since they had to stay at school till all their grades were in the computer.
Stephen's class is in the middle of a series of water safety lessons. Rachel never had the opportunity to take these but I am really glad Stephen is. Each 4th grade class takes turns being driven to a pool of another school system and spending an afternoon learning water safety. They did it back in second grade too so this is more advanced. There are 5 classes and they have done 3. This week they even have to take an extra set of clothes to get wet and they will be jumping in fully dressed to work on how to stay afloat using the clothes. I used to teach the same thing back in Alpena only we only demonstrated and didn't have the kids do it too.
We also have the AWANA games that Stephen and Rachel both want to be part of. Practices are twice a week starting the end of Feb. and running through March. The area games are on a Saturday at the end of March. Last year is about the only year, I don't think that our team has placed with Rachel on the team. This year, we hope to have enough to take 2 teams to the area competition which would give Stephen a better shot of making the team. Last year he was an alternate and everyone showed up so he didn't get to compete.
Mark's also swamped at work. They had their FNI (finance) person quit at the first of the year and the bosses are dragging their feet at hiring another person. Now they are into boat show season and wondering why Mark can't keep up. He is really frustrated because the main show he will have to spend the entire show at is Daytona 500 weekend.
We have our car back! It is running good. It needs an alignment yet but other than that it looks and runs good. Our friend was able to get it going for just $450 in parts which leaves enough from the $500 to cover the alignment. Our next car adventure is to get heat in the van again especially now that the garage door is broke so we can't keep it in the garage at night and no heat means no help clearing windows.
Well, I have to get these kids motivated around here. We played yesterday, now everyone has homework to do today but while I'm at the computer they don't think they have to do it.

Tips

I need tips. Rachel here, and I am about to make a Grand Prix Car. I remember that I need to cut it so that it looks like upside down car. I can't remember were you put the weights. If you have any tips please tell me. I need them by tomrrow morning. Hope to hear from you Uncle Nate ir any one.

Back to school

The kids are finally back to school and we are working back into a routine. I'm so glad. There is always so much to do and so little time to do it and I seem to get everything done faster when I am doing it solo. With them back to school, I can at least focus on projects better and think through them more. I am glad that Rachel blogged during the break but she left quite a bit out so I'll try to bring you up to speed.
We survived all the programs during December. I think that I had previously mentioned 3, I don't remember putting anything about the 4th which was a puppet program that both Rachel & Stephen were part of. Rachel has been part of the church puppet team for almost a year now and Stephen decided to join in October or November. The team performed on Wed. Dec. 20 for our AWANA program. I'm told they did well. I was busy cutting cakes and didn't get to see the performance. It's on tape though and I'll watch it later.
Also, Rachel failed to mention that after the band concert the director had each child perform a piece in class. He then assigned them "seats" and Rachel is the second seat for the saxophones. Not bad since most of them have been on that instrument for 2 years and she just went to it in Sept.
For those that did hear, I had quite a surprise for my birthday. Dad managed to find out what Meijer I'm decorating cakes at (There are only about 8 in our area.) and called and talked to my manager. He placed an order and paid for it over the phone. I was a bit surprised when the main decorator handed me an order and it specified that I was to decorate it. I sort of thought maybe someone from church wanted me to look good to my manager. Then I looked at the name (Roger) and it had a 569 area code and it was a Pooh cake. I figured out it was for me by then but then I was wondering if he was coming to pick it up! He didn't but I got paid to decorate my own birthday cake this year!
For Rachel's birthday, we went to see the Santa Clause 3 on Saturday the 23rd. She brought 2 friends from school and all had a good time. She didn't like the idea of a store bought cake even if I did decorate it so I had to do hers at home.
We had very pleasant, relatively quiet, holidays. We were right here and didn't even have any family in. Usually part of Mark's family will come for New Year's but that didn't happen this year. We were so busy with things this fall that we didn't go anywhere except his family party for the day of the 16th. For New Year's Eve, we went to a church family's home and played games till the ball dropped. We then hurried home as I had to be at work at 7 a.m. on the first!
As for the car incident, we have been able to get $500 from the girl that hit us! She didn't have insurance so we really didn't think we would get anything without a trip to small claims court. It took some doing but I was finally able to reach her by phone on 1/3. She claims that her boyfriend was to have paid it and she didn't know that he hadn't. Anyway, I told her that all we were wanting was the $500 we would have gotten from her insurance company if she had had insurance. She agreed and came over with a personal money order the very same day! This should cover the parts needed and so we have moved the car to a friend's house who has a barn to work in. He also has a son & son-in-law to lend him a hand on the repairs. He's also the same one who has loaned us his Neon to use until our car is back up and running!
We were also able to go see Charlotte's Web over the holidays thanks to Nate. The movie was really cute and we all enjoyed it. Since we were at the theater the weekend before for Rachel's birthday, I picked up the tickets without the kids knowing it. I then put them in a popcorn bucket under the Christmas tree with the card that Nate had sent. After most of the presents were open, they saw the bucket and couldn't figure out what it was doing under the tree. As Stephen picked it up, he saw the tickets and the whole family was excited. They just couldn't figure out how Uncle Nate had gotten tickets for our theater all the way from Utah.
Our Christmas is all packed up just not put away yet. It is hard to do things in our attic after dark and Mark fell asleep Sunday afternoon while I was at work so the tubs are still in the living room. Of course, I have found several more items that needed put in the tubs since Sunday so I guess it isn't all bad.
We have a lot of things coming up so maybe I'll try to make my next post a look ahead but that is all the time I have for now. Time to pick up the kids.

I Have Been Part Of HISTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is Rachel here and I have been of HISTORY!!!!!!! We waited 3 whole hours to do a 30 sec. thing. But I guess if I if I was part of history ok it was fine. Most of the time I had a hold of the tail of the wolverine on the back of Daddy's sweatshirt. It was really crowded in there. I hope that if I do something like that every again that they make it so that we are in a single file line! My legs still hurt from that night.

I just got back from seeing the movie Night In The Museum. It was sssooooooooooooooooooooo
funny! I hope that we can own it on DVD when it comes out. You should go see it for yourself.

Hope to type soon!

History

Part of our family is proudly being part of history. Mark, Rachel, & Stephen are in line with thousands of other people to view the casket of former President Gerald Ford down at his presidential museum in downtown GR. I am home with Joshua as we felt him too young to understand and appreciate the experience (not to mention standing in a long line of people for who knows how long). If you want to see the news from our local perspective, we use www.woodtv.com. There is a lot of pride as Ford was a well-loved local hero!
It has been interesting to find out how the details have been worked through for many years (basically since he left office). We knew the city was wanting to pretty things up a bit because we would eventually be in the national spotlight, but we didn't know just how extensive the pre-planning was. This has been a really touching experience for us. Maybe I can get one of the kids to blog more about the actual experience tomorrow.

The New Year!

It is me again, Rachel. Mom and Dad are sleepping so I guess I should type. Stephen has been in front of the tv waiting for the Michigan vs. USC at 4:30, I think?

I am glad to say that I sayed up until 1:30 this morning. It was fun last night. We were invited to go to our babysitter's parent's house. We played a lot of fun games, ate some really good food, watch at lest 1 movie, and watch the ball drop in New York! I was hoping to stay up later but oh well.

Hope to type again soon for I have nothing elas to write about.