Quiet Christmas

We have enjoyed a rather quiet Christmas holiday. I actually had Christmas Eve and the rest of the weekend off from work. Santa did make a stop at our house with a few items for each person even though our main gift for the family was the laptop that we didn't wait till Christmas to start using.
Mark's mom came for a visit on Saturday morning till Monday afternoon. We enjoy her visits and she is a great help with getting caught up on dishes and laundry which is never ending around our house.
The weather was such that on Christmas Eve, Mark & I almost hit a parked car directly across from our house head-on. There had been some mix of light precipitation throughout the day so the side roads were turning very slick. As much as we always enjoy the Christmas Eve service at our church, we didn't feel that we could chance wrecking a vehicle to go so we stayed home. Our candlelight service was held with a Gaither Homecoming Christmas in Atlanta (I saw a little of it but slept through most.).
Mark did get to use his snowblower again over the weekend. It was debatable as to whether he should bother with the blower or just use a shovel but the blower it was. No one was predicting much but we did end up with a couple of fresh inches here & there.
I have been back to work since Sunday evening so not much excitement for this week. I have Wednesday off but then back to work for New Year's Eve & the weekend.
The kids go back to school on Monday & we will all be getting back into the routine of things around here. Stephen is done with basketball (at least through school) so that should lighten up on some of the evening activities & running around that we had during Nov. & Dec. We haven't decided if we are signing Stephen & Joshua up for more basketball through the Y during their next session. We would sort of like to though because it is exciting to see their improvement each session.
That's about it for here. All's relatively quiet & I rather hope to keep it that way. I would really prefer that to some of the other options (illness, injuries, & such).

Survived

Well, we are all surviving this busy season. The puppet performance at church went very well. All three of our kids are developing into quite the little puppeteers.
Rachel turned 15 on Sunday. She had a party last night. We let her have 5 friends over from school. It got rather noisy around our house with 6 teenage girls. They watched videos & tried to make gingerbread houses. The Longenberger mold came in rather handy. Unfortunately, the houses didn't stay together very well. Ended up each girl took a part of the house and decorated it separately. Of course, that did make them all happy because they all had plenty of sugar in the decorations. I think Rachel had a good time!
Now we are focused on all the last minute preps that always need done. So not much out of the ordinary here. I am actually working until Wednesday night then will have 3 nights off. I will be working the New Year's holiday this year instead of the Christmas weekend. Some jobs just don't come with time off for holidays. The residents still need care.
Well, that is about it for now. Guess I just am not very "chatty" tonight but wanted to try to make sure it wasn't too long between posts.

Try again...

Well, I am going to once again try to start blogging regularly. I am hoping that it will be able to be a much more regular occasion because we finally did it...we broke down and got a laptop. We just really felt it would be beneficial to all of us, especially the kids. Our desktop is so old it doesn't have the software the kids need for school projects not to mention it is sooooooooooooo slow that it takes forever to do anything. When you have 2 that have lots schoolwork that requires either research or to be done on software it gets pretty frustrating. Of course, the only time I am actually awake enough to blog is when I have to be here at work. I won't go into all we went to get this laptop on Black Friday because that is a major blog in by itself.
It was so nice to see all the family for brother Mark's 50th! I just wish that it had been for longer. So many to visit with and so little time!
We are all doing fine since then. Busy is really an understatement to our lives right now. I hardly know where to start telling you about all that is going on. I am so glad that the kids didn't start sports till now. That seems to have added so much to our already busy schedule. We are so glad that the both boys are in basketball and are thrilled to see their improvements over the last year but I'm not sure I could have handled this for too many years.
Also adding to the craziness of this time of the year is the weather. We went from having no snow at all to getting 9 inches over night (forecasts were for 1-4 inches). That was the first week of December and all the kids got a snow day. Then last week we had a 3-4 day storm (near blizzard). The administrators just didn't know what to do with themselves. Ended up that Stephen & Joshua had 3 days off while Rachel only had one day off. One of the days she went may also not even count toward the states required hours because not enough kids were in attendance. In the 10 years that Rachel has been going to school, I don't remember a single year that they have had 4 snow days for the whole year. Now it is only December & they have already had 4! Or 2 in Rachel's case! This week now we have had 2 days of above freezing temps which has brought rain & fog. Today we are headed back below freezing & the lake effect is starting up again. None of my kids' school closed this fall for the flu though so we did bypass those days off. There are some systems in the area that I think used up all the "Snow days" as "flu days" this fall. Those kids may be in school till 4th of July next summer.
The snow days have also affected the basketball schedule which in turn dominoes and affects all the rest of our carefully planned out activities. It did, however, give Stephen lots of time for a research paper he had due this week.
Now don't expect something every night because I do sometimes get nights off, not often, but occasionally. And also, like I said, I have to share it, especially for homework. I also have other things I like to do when I have the chance too.
Love to all who actually keep checking on our family.

Where to start...

I know it has been FOREVER since I blogged last. Sorry about that. It isn't that we don't have anything to write about either. The problem is that we are so busy doing, it is hard to find time to write. Now, if someone would like to donate a laptop to my family so I could blog from work, I would promise to blog much more often. It seems lately, that if I'm not at work I'm either sleeping or busy doing & not doing much sitting at the computer either. I'll try to bring you all up to speed but I'll do it in short bursts so as to not tire all of you out=)
I should probably start with the fact that we are all fine. Rachel had a bad case of strep throat last week but other than that, we have all been healthy. Kids have just a week left of school before their summer vacation starts & they are anxious for that.
I figure I should probably start with an update on the state Science Olympiad that Rachel qualified for that I had mentioned previously. It was held at MI State University on May 2. We had to meet the bus at the kids' school to leave @ 6 a.m. We left Stephen & Joshua with Gramma @ our house & boy, is it a good thing we did! It was a full day! Rachel competed in 3 competitions, same as at regionals: ecology, crave the wave, & pentathalon. There were 48 schools from around the state competing that day. Our school came in 28th overall which isn't the greatest but yet the fact that we were even at the state level competition was a big deal. Rachel ended up placing 16th, 19th, & 24th (I think). So no medals this time. However, there were 2 competitions that our school did medal in which is not too bad for our first showing. Overall, it was a lot of fun & a great experience for us all! They're talking about changes to the program that would allow up to 5 9th graders to come back & compete next year & Rachel piped right up & said to count her in for that.
Speaking of Rachel, next Thursday (June 4th) is her 8th grade graduation! They make quite a big deal out of it at this school which I am not used to but can rather understand. Most schools the kids will all be together for the following years in high school. Not so with the charter schools. The kids are all from many different school districts & will now be scattered next year as they enter high school. It is rather tough when you realize some of these kids have been together for the last 9 years. You are all invited if you would like to come!
Well, I think that is enough to start with. I hope to get back on later today to tell you about Rachel & my trip to DC a couple of weeks ago. Right now, though, laundry is calling!

So proud, we might bust

Our children have us so proud of them that we could just about bust. This is the real reason I wanted to blog but figured I better give the other post as an update first.
Stephen & Joshua are both on YMCA basketball leagues again this 8-week session. They are both improving with leaps & bounds. It is really amazing to watch their progress from week to week. Who knows, maybe in the future, March Madness will have a greater meaning for all of us.
As for Rachel, all of the 8th graders at the school have spent the last 8 weeks studying different subjects for the regional Science Olympiad. Only 15 of them make the final team but all students are required to study & help build projects & attend the day of the competition. Rachel was sure that she wouldn't be competing but would just be there as a helper/coach for the day. The teacher has access to previous years tests for certain categories. By giving those & seeing their building skills, he chooses the 15 for the team & there is also criteria that has to be followed such as each person competing in at least 2 categories & also time schedules to consider. Well, when all was said & done, Rachel was chosen for 3 competitions: ecology, crave the wave, & a pentathalon. The first 2 are tests that she took with one other teammate. The last was her working with a team of 3 others to do 5 different activities that included both physical challenges as well as answering science questions.
The regional competition was last Saturday at Grand Valley State University. There were a total of 55 junior high/middle schools competing. Rachel did excellent! She came in with an 8th place (ecology), 11th place (crave the wave), and 17th place (pentathalon). Turns out that they give medals to the 8th place so she even came home with a medal.
Since this was our first time at the Science Olympiad, we didn't realize that the top 10 schools overall are then invited to go to the state competition. When we found that out it didn't seem too exciting because our school had only gotten 4 medals and most of them were around 7th or 8th place. We had only 1 first place. To everyone's amazement, including the coach/teacher, our school came in 10th place! The school is officially invited to send a team to the state competition! This is the first time in our school's 10 year history to have that honor! WOW! To have Rachel go from not even thinking that she would make the competing team to now having a medal & a chance to compete on a state level. It is really exciting! Science isn't even one of Rachel's major areas of interest but she applied herself anyway & now has great memories/honors to be proud of.
Of course, this means another 6 weeks of hard study, as the state competition is on May 2nd at MSU in East Lansing. The other thing is that her study time will have to be after school & not during science class now as they will be moving on to other areas of study & she'll have regular classwork to do in there as well as keeping up with all her other course work.
So, it should be pretty clear why Mark & I are so proud of these kids we have been blessed with. Now, I have something else to tell you that I am also rather proud of before I sign off of this post. My husband has lost 60# & 10 inches off his waist since last September. He has been logging everything he eats so he is watching his calories & eating much healthier. He also works out 5-6 days a week. We are currently participating in a challenge through the Y that keeps us motivated in our working out. Mark even goes mall walking during his lunch hours on days that he knows he won't be able to go to the Y in the evening. He still has a long way to go but he knows he didn't get this way overnight so it isn't coming off overnight either. Also, the way he is doing it is a lifestyle that the whole family can live with instead of a fad that no one can stick with for their entire life. I am really proud of all he is doing to keep himself around for our family as long as possible. We know this is no guarantee but it should help to ward off problems with his heart, diabetes, & all those other problems that arise with being overweight.
Well, I guess that is about it for now. I have to go make lunches for residents & do some cleaning before I get a resident up for work in a little while. I have been reading this while typing it, but if any of it doesn't quite make sense, remember what time I am doing this at=)

First week of March

So it has been awhile again since I have blogged & we have some updating to do. That first week of March was really a stressful week. I went Sunday to Alpena (after getting some sleep since I worked Saturday night). I was able to be there for Mom's shoulder surgery which went rather well. She was a bit disappointed when she woke up & had a sling on her arm because she knew that meant that the dr. had done some work on the rotator cuff which meant longer recovery time. I then came home to GR on Tuesday in time to pick up the kids from school. Tuesday's are always hectic in the evenings & this was no exception.
While in Alpena, we learned that Pauline Joder had passed away. It was tough on Mom to know that she couldn't travel for the funeral. You could tell by the look on her face, she was trying to figure if she could handle it or how to work around not being able to drive. I told her that I would make arrangements to go to the visitation at least which was Wednesday (funeral was Thursday). Since the children had 1/2 day on Thur & Parent/Teacher Conferences, I knew that the funeral would not work out at all. My husband was concerned with my doing more travelling by myself, so he took the day off & we travelled to Fort Wayne together on Wednesday. It was rather nice having a day to spend together. The Joders were all very thankful that we came. They kept calling me "Melanie-Pooh". I did pretty good at recognizing everyone except for calling Holly, Cheryl (her mom's name). It was a pleasant visit considering the circumstances.
One thing I hadn't considered in my planning to attend the visitation, was the amount of fresh flowers, particularly roses, that would be in that small of an area. These are becoming my worst migraine triggers. The minute I walked in the room, I could feel one coming on. (I haven't even been at church for a couple of months because of renovations that are creating migraines.) I wasn't about to just say "hello, sorry she's gone" and walk out again when it had been so long since I had seen them and we had driven 3 hours to get there. So I was extremely miserable by the time we left there which made it a very good thing that Mark had come with me so he could drive home.
The other news of the week was that we also had a resident pass away that week. His visitation & funeral lined right up with Pauline's. Mark & I considered going to the visitation on the way home from Fort Wayne but I was in no shape to expose myself to more flowers. Actually, by the time we got back almost to GR, my chest felt heavy & tight. This really bothered Mark so we went to the ER to have it checked out. We were there till 2AM to have them tell us everything was fine. There was no signs of any heart problems or blood clots (they looked for these since I had been travelling so much that week.). I have also had a stress test since then & it pretty much confirmed that it was probably just the major migraine that caused the problem.
Then on Thurs, the kids had a 1/2 day due to parent teacher conferences at school & then they had no school on Friday. So that was how we started March. I ended up calling in to work on Tues. & Wed. that week but now everything is back to just the normal stress of everyday living. More to blog but will make it a separate post.

Nothing to blog about...

Dad's wondering if I have had nothing to blog about this month & that why I haven't posted. Not at all. Actually we have been so busy that I hardly know where to start as well as haven't had the time & energy to blog. I'll try not to be too boring as I catch you up.

Stephen took his turn being sick a couple of days this month. Then Mark had to get in on the act. Although instead of being sick, he decided on something different. One Sunday afternoon about 3 weeks ago, Mark tripped in our bedroom. He put his hand out to catch himself & did on our closet door. His middle finger on his left hand really hurt after he did it but we just thought it a little jammed because he could still move it. By Monday, it was swollen to almost twice the size it should be and his range of motion was limited. So he spent 3 hours that evening at the med center & came home wearing a 1/2 cast most of the way up to his elbow. They told him is was broke. He followed up with his dr. on Thursday that week only to be told it "might" not be broke but to keep wearing the cast. He then had to have it re-xrayed 10-14 days after the incident. He did that and called Monday to find out the results. They now tell him that there is a sliver of bone lodged next to the knuckle. So, evidently, he somehow chipped the bone. He was now told he has to wear this 1/2 cast for 4 weeks. He isn't really thrilled with that thought. The swelling is down but he still doesn't have much movement & it really hurts when it gets bumped.

The most exciting part of the month was that Rachel performed in the middle school musical that she has been practicing for since late October. She was the jester in "Once Upon a Mattress". It was a very extensive role & she did a wonderful job. The whole production was wonderful! We were really impressed with Rachel. She had several special parts & did great in both the singing & choreography as well as speaking parts. She looked great in a dress that Mom made for her.

We didn't tell Rachel but we had invited some special friends over to our house for a post-production party at our house. We ended up with 6 people coming to congratulate Rachel on a great job on her performance. It was a rather fun time.

I am currently unable to attend our church. That's why I have time to blog right now. The rest of the family is at the Wednesday evening programs. The church has been having some renovations done to turn a room in the basement to more of a mini-auditorium. They did lots of things including adding sound-proofing, painting, and new carpets. I did fine while they were tearing things out but when they started putting new things in, I started having problems with the odors. I am getting much more sensitive to odors & they give me worse migraines. I am having problems in other places as well but currently church is the worse place. Both Sunday & tonight I went & tried to stay but couldn't handle it for long. Hopefully, the weather will get nice soon so they can open up the church more & get it aired out.

I have still been working 32-40hours a week on third shift. I really enjoy the work. The residents are all so special & it's not hard to get really attached to them. Currently we have one from our house in the hospital. His family is spending every day with him but since he is unable to communicate verbally, Harbor House is providing an aide for him every night. Last night, I spent 10 hours with him so his family could go home & get some rest. It is a special part of the services that HH offers & I was happy to minister to the family this way. The update this afternoon said that Jason may have to have surgery tomorrow or soon due to a bowel obstruction. He also is dealing with pneumonia. The family appreciates all prayers for him.

The kids are all doing well at school. We have parent/teacher conferences again next week. I don't expect any problems. Rachel & Stephen both made honor roll for the second quarter of the year. Joshua is still struggling in a few areas but nothing major. His biggest struggle is with remembering to bring homework home & return it the following day.

Grand Rapids is at 104 inches of snow for the season. Just another 3 inches and we will have the second snowest season on record. What's interesting is that we just set that record yesterday. HHHMMM...2 years of record setting snowfall...someone explain to me again about global warming! My husband isn't complaining though because it makes his

Hanging in there...

I'm busy as usual. Kids are taking turns with minor bugs getting them down for a few days here & there. Joshua started it with a strange virus that gave him stomach cramps & loose stools for 5 days. Now that he is better, Rachel is down. She had cramps & an upset stomach over the weekend. Then starting Monday afternoon, she has had problems with headaches, earaches, & dizziness. I don't know if she'll make it to school yet tomorrow. I really hope so. So far Stephen, as well as Mark & I, are fine & we hope to keep it that way. I'm just really tired from working 3rd shift & not sleeping well during the days because of dealing with sick kids & other appointments.
I guess appointments is where you would say that Stephen is keeping my hopping. He developed very red, dry skin on both hands most of the way to his elbows back in October. By Thanksgiving, I decided he needed to be seen. The dr. gave us some cream which helped for a while but then it got rather bad again . It was miserable to look at. When the cream Rx ran out, I called the dr. back & said that I either wanted a different Rx or a referral to a dermitologist. I got the referral & less than a week later we were in to see a dermitologist specializing in psoriasis & ezema. Stephen now goes for special light treatments 2x per week. Fortunately, we are able to go in after school & don't even have to have an appointment.
2 weeks & counting for Rachel's musical performance! On Feb. 10th she will be the minstrel in the middle school production of "Once Upon a Mattress". I have to make another lute for them to use. Fortunately, I thought they might need a second one so I kept all the leftover pieces from the first to use toward a second one if needed. I still haven't figured out how to make it have a strap attached to it to wear it like a guitar. Mom has made her a beautiful costume though it has some kinks I have to work out yet too.
The weather has finally settled down a bit. We were getting hit with a good amount of snow every 2-3 days for a couple of weeks. Then it went completely frigid for most of a week. Now, we haven't had more than just a few flakes here & there for over a week & we are just barely below normal for temps. The snow machine is supposed to start up here again. According to tonights 8 day forecast, we are supposed to get at least some every day for the next week. They did have one 32 degree forecast in there!
I don't remember if I put this in the blog yet or not but I'M GOING TO WASHINGTON D.C. in May! After school started up again after the holidays, it came to light that I had made it to the top of the waiting list of chaperones & a seat became available. We leave GR late in the afternoon on May 12, sleep on the bus overnight. Then we are in DC for the 13th, 14th, most of the 15th. We return to GR early on May 16th sleeping on the bus coming home as well. I figure I won't have a problem sleeping on the bus since this body can now sleep most anywhere at anytime when it is tired. Rachel may not be as fortunate in that category but then again, she's going to be so excited it will probably keep her from sleeping too. I have already got the time off approved from work & am saving up my PTO so that I will still get a paycheck while I am gone.
We have also been busy researching area high schools. We really don't want Rachel going to GR Public next year. At least not the neighborhood one that she is supposed to go to. We are looking at outlying districts to do as a school of choice. It is nice that 3 charter schools just held a HS fair where lots of area schools, public & private, had tables & you could talk over the pros & cons of each with representatives. This was the first year they held it & it was rather interesting. We think we know which school we would prefer she go to, now it is a matter of prayer to see if God wants her there. She is also going to do a "shadow day" with a girl she knows in that school to get a feel for the school. That will have to wait till after she is better & the musical is over though. We are going to attend a few more meetings & possible tour some other schools just to make sure we are taking a fair look at all the options.
Can't think of much else to write about right now. I don't want to get into the car struggles we've had lately. That is a bit of a downer. Just a constant matter of prayer.

Blogging from work...

I have a laptop with me at work tonight & was able to get it connected to the internet here so I can actually blog here tonight. The laptop belongs to the guy that Mark does accounting work on the side for. What is strange is that other times I have had it here, I haven't been able to get the wireless connection to work but tonight it does.
We are all doing just fine. All of us are doing well at getting back into the routine now that the holidays are over and the kids are back in school. The way the kids were intentionally irritating each other, it is a good thing that school is back up and running. Some of the area kids had an extra day or two on the end of their holiday break as well as starting the break early. Fortunately, that wasn't ours. It was really time for mine to get away from each other again.
The weather has been rather crazy this winter. We have already been "snowed in" more this winter than we are on most. We actually missed church 3 weeks in a row. It was cancelled complete the Sunday before Christmas. The week between the holidays was only morning worship, it was cold, & we decided we wanted some more family time. Then last week we weren't about to chance the ice even though it was open. If you've seen the slope to our road & saw the glare of ice it was, you'd understand. I came home from work & knew I wasn't venturing out again. We did make it to evening service since it had warmed up enough to melt the ice some. Their talking a winter storm watch to start this afternoon through tomorrow morning then artic temps for most of the rest of the week. That means inside recesses, oh fun! At least Joshua spent some time outside this weekend both shoveling with Mark & just for fun, playing with a neighbor boy.
Well, about time to go. I have some laundry to fold & cleaning to do before I get a resident up shortly after 5 a.m. We should have the computer for the next 2 weeks so I hope to bring it so I can blog more during that time.

Holidays are over...

The holidays are done & we have enjoyed them in a nice quiet ways. Mom was here to visit from Dec. 17-22. Then Mark's mom came on 12/24 till 12/27. Other than that, it has been just our little family. I have had to work off & on throughout the holidays, including Christmas Eve but Mark has had some extra time off.
I actually started off the new year very sore. On my way into work on 12/30, I took quite a spill on some ice in the parking lot. I guess that's what I get for actually parking where I'm supposed to instead of up by the house, where I sometimes do. I went down on my back hitting back, shoulder, & head all just slightly to my right side instead of smack center. I went in & actually worked my shift after dosing up good on ibuprofen. I reported the fall before I left work then decided I better get checked out before the holiday & the weekend. The dr. put me on some weight restrictions but did clear me to work. He said that it mostly looked like muscular bruising & nothing skeletal. Since then, I haven't had to work but go back tonight. The most painful area has been my neck but even it is coming along rather well this morning. Not a fun way to finish a year or start a new one but it could have been worse.
The kids go back to school on Monday. They got an extra day of vacation as they had a snow day on Dec. 19. The teachers were evidently really hoping for the snow day as most of them starting talking about it on Wed. that week & most of them did they fun party type activities on Thurs. I don't know what they would have done if the snow hadn't come.
We were late getting our Christmas decorations out but I think we'll try to get them down before the kids return to school. The schedule will be hectic again in just a few days so better to do it while I have the help.
Well, Rachel is wanting the computer & there is plenty waiting to get done around here. Hope you all had great holidays!