Well, Joshua had his testing yesterday. After an intial stubborn streak where he didn't want to talk or otherwise cooperate was squelched, it went fine. The hearing test showed ears working just fine. We will have to wait 2 weeks for the official tests numbers. The tester though said she saw a very definite problem with his speech patterns and there would be some help that we can get for him this year. We meet with her on Oct. 11 to find out her recommendations and what programs she recommend for him. One thing that she did point out that I hadn't realized is that some sounds he says fine when it is in the middle of a word but not when the sound is at the beginning of the word. (Example: the f sound in fish or fun comes out more like a p sound but he can say elephant fine.) Some of the testing that tests for understanding she actually skipped because he was testing way above age level which doesn't surprise me at all.
Well, we are starting a second Advance Newspaper route today. This is a one day a week local paper. This route is just 5 more papers than our current one. Hopefully, Joshua and I can have it done by the time the kids get home today since they are forecasting rain for later. This is going around all 4 sides of 8 city blocks. It's rather good exercise. So we have a full day lined up.
Rachel took the clarinet to band yesterday and it worked just fine. Her band leader didn't seem to have any problem with the sound or anything! I thought it would but just felt like it wouldn't be completely done till it passed "professional inspection". Now I can cross that off my list.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Monday, September 26, 2005
Retreat
I haven't blogged because I haven't been home. At the last minute, arrangements were made for me to join our ladies from church for the retreat at Lake Ann Baptist Camp. I knew for just over a week that it was a possibility but it was literally the day before we left that the final details were worked out for me to be able to go.
It was really a nice retreat. We left on Thursday afternoon and returned Saturday around 4. We had rain on the way up but otherwise the weather was very nice. There wasn't many colors changing yet but the evenings were crisp and just right for enjoying L.A.'s delicious hot cocoa. We had 30 ladies from our church which is the largest group ever.
After I got home, Mark put the new alternator on the Cavilier. It seems to have done the trick. We are back to being a 2 vehicle family!
While I was gone, the supplies that I had been waiting for arrived in the mail. I have been working on getting my old clarinet ready for Rachel to use. I didn't think this was going to be such a big deal. I thought I should be able to get new pads and corks on it easily enough. The local music stores wanted $150-$200 to do the work! and also told me that the instrument wasn't valued at that much. The all wanted me to rent a new or used instrument from them. I also couldn't seem to get any supplies from them to do the work myself. As much on the internet as I am, surprisingly that was the last place I turned. I found a wonderful website, www.shopforband.com out of Mesa, AZ that had all the supplies plus step-by-step instructions to do the work myself. That is exactly what I did! Last week, I took all the keys off, removed the cork, and treated the wood. I was just waiting for the supplies which arrived on Thursday just after I left. I put the pads in the keys Saturday night. I then put the cork on Sunday afternoon and finished it up this morning. By lunch time, it seemed to be working fine! Putting the keys back on was quite a puzzle but I did it!
Now I'm trying to get caught up on cleaning, laundry, and AVON that all fell behind while I was gone.
Joshua will be tested tomorrow morning concerning his speech. It is a 2 hour period with 1/2 hour for hearing and the rest on language/speech. I'll let everyone know the results as soon as I know anything. I don't know if that will be tomorrow or whether we have to wait for results.
It was really a nice retreat. We left on Thursday afternoon and returned Saturday around 4. We had rain on the way up but otherwise the weather was very nice. There wasn't many colors changing yet but the evenings were crisp and just right for enjoying L.A.'s delicious hot cocoa. We had 30 ladies from our church which is the largest group ever.
After I got home, Mark put the new alternator on the Cavilier. It seems to have done the trick. We are back to being a 2 vehicle family!
While I was gone, the supplies that I had been waiting for arrived in the mail. I have been working on getting my old clarinet ready for Rachel to use. I didn't think this was going to be such a big deal. I thought I should be able to get new pads and corks on it easily enough. The local music stores wanted $150-$200 to do the work! and also told me that the instrument wasn't valued at that much. The all wanted me to rent a new or used instrument from them. I also couldn't seem to get any supplies from them to do the work myself. As much on the internet as I am, surprisingly that was the last place I turned. I found a wonderful website, www.shopforband.com out of Mesa, AZ that had all the supplies plus step-by-step instructions to do the work myself. That is exactly what I did! Last week, I took all the keys off, removed the cork, and treated the wood. I was just waiting for the supplies which arrived on Thursday just after I left. I put the pads in the keys Saturday night. I then put the cork on Sunday afternoon and finished it up this morning. By lunch time, it seemed to be working fine! Putting the keys back on was quite a puzzle but I did it!
Now I'm trying to get caught up on cleaning, laundry, and AVON that all fell behind while I was gone.
Joshua will be tested tomorrow morning concerning his speech. It is a 2 hour period with 1/2 hour for hearing and the rest on language/speech. I'll let everyone know the results as soon as I know anything. I don't know if that will be tomorrow or whether we have to wait for results.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Car troubles
Well, it's been almost 6 months since the last problems with the car so I guess we were about due. Rachel and I were out delivering AVON catalogs on Saturday when all of a sudden I noticed the battery warning light on. I pulled into the closest parking lot and shut off the car. It started up again just fine but the light didn't go off. So I brought the car home right away. The serpentine belt looked fine so we called a friend from church for suggestions. He said it would be easiest to have the problem diagnosised by a garage and then do the work ourselves. Since it was almost 8 on Saturday, we could have much done till yesterday.
PepBoys is about the closest garage we have to our house and since we knew they weren't going to do the work anyway, we decided to have them check it out. The news wasn't good. They said it was the alternator and the battery. They also say that the belt tensioner needs replaced. (Of course, they also said that we needed 3 or 4 other things done that have nothing to do with the electrical system for a grand total of $515!) We'll be starting with the alternator but not till at least Friday. Fortunately, this is something that we should be able to do ourselves or with just some help from a friend from church. I have to talk to that friend to see what he thinks about this belt tensioner business.
This means that we are having fun trying to get through this week with only one vehicle. With the type of schedule and the number of kids we have to haul around, this is a bit of a challenge. The only thing that I can say is "Thank you Lord that we have the van running". It would be a lot harder if we only had the car instead of the van.
The other thing we are thankful for is the fact that gas prices are going in a downward direction this week. We were rather excited to fill up yesterday at just $2.54/gallon. Of course, today I saw it at $2.39 which is frustrating but at least maybe it'll be lower still when we need more. But this is still a lot better than if this had been 2 weeks ago when it was over $3/gallon.
I better get busy with other things now. I'll have to fill you in on my instrument fixing later.
PepBoys is about the closest garage we have to our house and since we knew they weren't going to do the work anyway, we decided to have them check it out. The news wasn't good. They said it was the alternator and the battery. They also say that the belt tensioner needs replaced. (Of course, they also said that we needed 3 or 4 other things done that have nothing to do with the electrical system for a grand total of $515!) We'll be starting with the alternator but not till at least Friday. Fortunately, this is something that we should be able to do ourselves or with just some help from a friend from church. I have to talk to that friend to see what he thinks about this belt tensioner business.
This means that we are having fun trying to get through this week with only one vehicle. With the type of schedule and the number of kids we have to haul around, this is a bit of a challenge. The only thing that I can say is "Thank you Lord that we have the van running". It would be a lot harder if we only had the car instead of the van.
The other thing we are thankful for is the fact that gas prices are going in a downward direction this week. We were rather excited to fill up yesterday at just $2.54/gallon. Of course, today I saw it at $2.39 which is frustrating but at least maybe it'll be lower still when we need more. But this is still a lot better than if this had been 2 weeks ago when it was over $3/gallon.
I better get busy with other things now. I'll have to fill you in on my instrument fixing later.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Update
Figured I better get back here and fill everyone in. This is the kids first full week of school since it started 3 weeks ago. They went 2 1/2 days the first week, then 4 days for the next 2 weeks in compliance with state laws about Labor Day holiday. This is actually really nice when the kids are in kindergarten or first grade and just adjusting to the school schedule.
Rachel is in 5th grade this year. She is really happy with the teacher that she has. What's going to be really interesting is that she is in class with Sarah, aka daycare child and neighbor, and with Hannah, who is a friend from church. She's never had Hannah in class before but the last time she was with Sarah, it was not a good experience. Just too much time together for the good of their friendship. She also has chosen band over choir this year. She is going to play the clarinet. Actually, it is MY clarinet. We are waiting for the music store to get replacement pads in so I can fix them and the cork so it is ready to go. I was shocked that they wanted $145 to do the work at the store. Turns out that's almost all labor because I can get the pads and cork for around $35. Somehow, I'll find the time over trying to squeeze out the money. I've actually done the pads before myself. I haven't done the cork but it shouldn't be too hard. I think getting what is left of the old cork off will be the hardest part.
Stephen is in the 3rd grade this year. Things seem to be going rather well. He actually has a substitute till November 1 since his regular teacher adopted a new baby girl over the summer. The occupational therapy that we went through this summer seems to be paying off. With the exception of a small incident at 1 lunch, the only problem seems to be that he still struggles with shouting out the answers without raising his hand. (Not a big deal at all and I wish this would be the only problem all year. I'd be thrilled!) A lot of people were concerned that a charter school might not give us enough support for his Asperger's syndrome but they are. He receives "brushing & compressions" (recommended for his sensory issues) by a paraprofessional once or twice a day. He will also be starting a small social skills group with the social worker in the next week or so. There is also an occupational therapist at the school that we can work with if necessary. We are very pleased because the teachers are using some "Brain Gym" activities that we learned about at therapy with the whole class. They are good for everyone and it doesn't make Stephen feel separated from everyone if he is the only one that does them. They are just short, sensory stretches and activities that help children to focus and listen better. (I think they are so good that I hope to teach them to our Sunday school workers for them to use at church.) We are also pleased that he is not in the same class with some of the kids that seemed to make him an easy target last year. He actually has 3 other kids from our church in his class. We're hoping that this change will help him socially.
Now it is just Joshua and I home during the day. He is rather pleased with that. He gets more time with mom as well as more time on the computer. I have called and requested testing on his speech. There are times that he is difficult for me to understand as well as everyone else. I talked to the speech therapist at the kids' school and she can't do it there. I have to go there G. R. Public for his age. She was glad that I was being proactive about it. If he were to need her help next year, they would probably want to put him in a Young 5's program. I really don't think his other skills would require that so I don't want the speech to hold him back. She also said that speech difficulties can hamper learning to read which we definitely don't want. I'll keep you posted when the testing is scheduled.
Well, I better get on with my day. I have AVON, our budget, and some sewing to work on today. We had to go get pants for Mark & Rachel over Labor day and, of course, they all needed shortened. I have just one pair left to do then I'm done. I also have to make sure dress clothes are set for a family picture to be taken tonight for our new church directory. This is all in addition to the usual cooking and cleaning to be done before picking up kids and supervising homework.
Rachel is in 5th grade this year. She is really happy with the teacher that she has. What's going to be really interesting is that she is in class with Sarah, aka daycare child and neighbor, and with Hannah, who is a friend from church. She's never had Hannah in class before but the last time she was with Sarah, it was not a good experience. Just too much time together for the good of their friendship. She also has chosen band over choir this year. She is going to play the clarinet. Actually, it is MY clarinet. We are waiting for the music store to get replacement pads in so I can fix them and the cork so it is ready to go. I was shocked that they wanted $145 to do the work at the store. Turns out that's almost all labor because I can get the pads and cork for around $35. Somehow, I'll find the time over trying to squeeze out the money. I've actually done the pads before myself. I haven't done the cork but it shouldn't be too hard. I think getting what is left of the old cork off will be the hardest part.
Stephen is in the 3rd grade this year. Things seem to be going rather well. He actually has a substitute till November 1 since his regular teacher adopted a new baby girl over the summer. The occupational therapy that we went through this summer seems to be paying off. With the exception of a small incident at 1 lunch, the only problem seems to be that he still struggles with shouting out the answers without raising his hand. (Not a big deal at all and I wish this would be the only problem all year. I'd be thrilled!) A lot of people were concerned that a charter school might not give us enough support for his Asperger's syndrome but they are. He receives "brushing & compressions" (recommended for his sensory issues) by a paraprofessional once or twice a day. He will also be starting a small social skills group with the social worker in the next week or so. There is also an occupational therapist at the school that we can work with if necessary. We are very pleased because the teachers are using some "Brain Gym" activities that we learned about at therapy with the whole class. They are good for everyone and it doesn't make Stephen feel separated from everyone if he is the only one that does them. They are just short, sensory stretches and activities that help children to focus and listen better. (I think they are so good that I hope to teach them to our Sunday school workers for them to use at church.) We are also pleased that he is not in the same class with some of the kids that seemed to make him an easy target last year. He actually has 3 other kids from our church in his class. We're hoping that this change will help him socially.
Now it is just Joshua and I home during the day. He is rather pleased with that. He gets more time with mom as well as more time on the computer. I have called and requested testing on his speech. There are times that he is difficult for me to understand as well as everyone else. I talked to the speech therapist at the kids' school and she can't do it there. I have to go there G. R. Public for his age. She was glad that I was being proactive about it. If he were to need her help next year, they would probably want to put him in a Young 5's program. I really don't think his other skills would require that so I don't want the speech to hold him back. She also said that speech difficulties can hamper learning to read which we definitely don't want. I'll keep you posted when the testing is scheduled.
Well, I better get on with my day. I have AVON, our budget, and some sewing to work on today. We had to go get pants for Mark & Rachel over Labor day and, of course, they all needed shortened. I have just one pair left to do then I'm done. I also have to make sure dress clothes are set for a family picture to be taken tonight for our new church directory. This is all in addition to the usual cooking and cleaning to be done before picking up kids and supervising homework.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Shepherd's Notes
I'm putting a new link on the sidebar to the new blog we set up for some friends of ours. It is finally operational thanks to my big brother, Nate. It may be a couple of more weeks, however, before much is posted there. They need to unpack and get new internet service before they can get started. Hopefully, they don't lose the information before they get the service.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Blogging
I know...you would think with the kids in school this week that I would have more time to blog....but that's not been the case. The little amount of time I have had for blogging this week, I have spent trying to get another blog up and running for a friend. I am almost there. I'm still having some trouble with the Haloscan comments so I have brought in an expert, my big brother, Nate, who introduced me to blogging.
Our friends, the Shepherd's, moved to Wyoming (the state, not city in MI) this week. He was called as a pastor to a small church outside Cheyenne. That means that Joshua's best friend, Jake, is now a 20 hour car ride away. This family means a lot to our church and I know that there are a lot of people that would like to keep up with what is going on in their lives so that is why I thought I should introduce them to blogging. I showed our blog to Kris and she thought it a great idea. She was so busy packing though that she didn't have time to sit down and set it up with me. So I set it up for them and gave them all the info to get them started. I bet she'll be even better at putting in updates then I am once she gets started.
We have been busy getting into the school routine. The kids seem to be adjusting well. I have established much more of a bedtime routine which seems to be helping our mornings go better.
I have been trying to get back doing more AVON. Mark is still busy at Camp & Cruise 50+ hours a week and then this week he has been busy with Tom Hines again. For those of you that don't know about Tom, he is a gentleman that Mark did work for through a temp agency the last time that he was unemployed. After Mark went to work, Tom asked if Mark would work on accounting for him on the side. Tom hopes to start a business and it may be a new job for Mark, with quite a pay increase over his current job. It seems that Tom has a couple of investment groups are looking into his plans and may be willing to invest. We had all but given up on this opportunity but are hopeful again!
Well, I have to be going. We are spending as much time as possible this weekend trying to get some extra cleaning and organizing done around this house.
Our friends, the Shepherd's, moved to Wyoming (the state, not city in MI) this week. He was called as a pastor to a small church outside Cheyenne. That means that Joshua's best friend, Jake, is now a 20 hour car ride away. This family means a lot to our church and I know that there are a lot of people that would like to keep up with what is going on in their lives so that is why I thought I should introduce them to blogging. I showed our blog to Kris and she thought it a great idea. She was so busy packing though that she didn't have time to sit down and set it up with me. So I set it up for them and gave them all the info to get them started. I bet she'll be even better at putting in updates then I am once she gets started.
We have been busy getting into the school routine. The kids seem to be adjusting well. I have established much more of a bedtime routine which seems to be helping our mornings go better.
I have been trying to get back doing more AVON. Mark is still busy at Camp & Cruise 50+ hours a week and then this week he has been busy with Tom Hines again. For those of you that don't know about Tom, he is a gentleman that Mark did work for through a temp agency the last time that he was unemployed. After Mark went to work, Tom asked if Mark would work on accounting for him on the side. Tom hopes to start a business and it may be a new job for Mark, with quite a pay increase over his current job. It seems that Tom has a couple of investment groups are looking into his plans and may be willing to invest. We had all but given up on this opportunity but are hopeful again!
Well, I have to be going. We are spending as much time as possible this weekend trying to get some extra cleaning and organizing done around this house.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Back to school!
Rachel and Stephen started back to school yesterday! It was just a 1/2 day but today is the first full day. Hopefully, it will go better than last year. Last year, Rachel threw up and ended up with a urinary tract infection that had her hospitalized.
Even though they are in school today it doesn't give me much time to write. I have an AVON order to place by noon and cleaning to do to get ready for a meeting this evening. I'll try to write more often but you know how that goes.
Even though they are in school today it doesn't give me much time to write. I have an AVON order to place by noon and cleaning to do to get ready for a meeting this evening. I'll try to write more often but you know how that goes.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Monday
Thought you might like to hear about our day on Monday but warning...you may need an extra sugar boost after reading this! Rachel, Joshua, Sarah (a daycare girl) and I left the house around 8:30 to drive Mittens to the southwest end of town where she had a haircut appointment. After dropping her off, we went back by the house briefly and then continued north to Houghton Lake. We arrived there at 12:00 to meet up with Mom, Aunt Marlene, and Stephen. After lunch there, we headed back home to GR with Stephen in our van this time. We arrived back home around 4:15. I gave the kids a quick dinner around the same time that Sarah was picked up. We then jumped back into the van, retrieved our bald cat from the grooming school and deposited her at home before going to a park for an ice cream social for the kids' school. We got back from that around 8:30 and Mark came home from work shortly after that! Just another day!
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Catch up
Guess it's time to get everyone caught up on our happenings around here. We had a BALL riding the jet ski's that I mentioned before. The kids even had a chance to ride on a tube behind the jetski. Except for bit of a spill toward the end, it was great! The water was even rather warm for being in MI.
I'm back to having daycare kids again. They are all back from vacation and getting prepared for school. The kids start back exactly 1 week from today. Rachel has spent most of the month of August trying to find out who will be in her class. This year she will be with Sarah, a daycare girl, and Hannah, a friend from church. I hope this works out well.
We also went to the wedding of Rachel's 4th grade teacher. It was really nice and we got to see quite a few from the school there. Rachel's 5th grade teacher for this year was a bridesmaid as well as another one of the 4th grade teacher. Stephen's teachers for this year were also in attendance.
Mark's work is keeping him beyond busy! He has been putting in close to 60 hours most weeks. He'll have in at least 30 by the end of today already. The office is starting to slow down but they are short 2 workers so besides keeping up with all usual work, he has been busy interviewing perspective help. They hope to have the positions filled by the end of the week. The kids and I even took dinner out and had it at his office last night so we could be with him for a while.
At least Rachel & Joshua & I did. Stephen is now in Alpena with Gramma. They left on Tuesday just after Stephen's occupational therapy appointment. They made it safely and Stephen is getting to go to 2 VBS's in Alpena this week.
Today I will be going out to the school to fill out forms. Then tomorrow we meet with Rachel's teacher. Since we met with Stephen's teacher on Monday, that means 3 trips in one week. I guess I'm getting back into the school routine myself. I'm ready for school to start but I also can't quite figure out where the summer went!?
Enough for now. I'll try not to be so long between postings but can't promise.
I'm back to having daycare kids again. They are all back from vacation and getting prepared for school. The kids start back exactly 1 week from today. Rachel has spent most of the month of August trying to find out who will be in her class. This year she will be with Sarah, a daycare girl, and Hannah, a friend from church. I hope this works out well.
We also went to the wedding of Rachel's 4th grade teacher. It was really nice and we got to see quite a few from the school there. Rachel's 5th grade teacher for this year was a bridesmaid as well as another one of the 4th grade teacher. Stephen's teachers for this year were also in attendance.
Mark's work is keeping him beyond busy! He has been putting in close to 60 hours most weeks. He'll have in at least 30 by the end of today already. The office is starting to slow down but they are short 2 workers so besides keeping up with all usual work, he has been busy interviewing perspective help. They hope to have the positions filled by the end of the week. The kids and I even took dinner out and had it at his office last night so we could be with him for a while.
At least Rachel & Joshua & I did. Stephen is now in Alpena with Gramma. They left on Tuesday just after Stephen's occupational therapy appointment. They made it safely and Stephen is getting to go to 2 VBS's in Alpena this week.
Today I will be going out to the school to fill out forms. Then tomorrow we meet with Rachel's teacher. Since we met with Stephen's teacher on Monday, that means 3 trips in one week. I guess I'm getting back into the school routine myself. I'm ready for school to start but I also can't quite figure out where the summer went!?
Enough for now. I'll try not to be so long between postings but can't promise.
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Wet week
It's been a wet week for us but that doesn't mean we've had rain. The heat and humidity has returned so we have been trying to stay cool. We have a friend that lives rather close and she has been telling us to come for a visit so Tuesday we took her up on it. The kids and I went from around 11-2 and except for a quick lunch they were in the water the whole time. I spent most of the time in the shade and yet I'm the one who became a lobster! Stephen was a little pink on his shoulders and nose but I turned red!
Wednesday, we did our Advance route as early as possible but it was still miserable out there. So I called and we ran over for another dip.
A guy Mark works with invited us to join him at a lake for some fun on his jetski's so we are going to do that tonight. As soon as Mark is home from work we're going to load up a picnic and head out. I didn't tell the kids about it till just a little while ago. They are pretty excited!
Even though it is supposed to be much more comfortable tomorrow, we may be back in a pool. The friend with the pool is watching some kids from church and with her own kids isn't comfortable having them all in the pool with only herself to watch. She may be calling to ask us to join them if she needs another set of eyes. We'll see. This is pretty amazing for us to be swimming so much.
Well, I have to run and get our sandwiches made. Hope everyone else is surviving the heat this summer!
Wednesday, we did our Advance route as early as possible but it was still miserable out there. So I called and we ran over for another dip.
A guy Mark works with invited us to join him at a lake for some fun on his jetski's so we are going to do that tonight. As soon as Mark is home from work we're going to load up a picnic and head out. I didn't tell the kids about it till just a little while ago. They are pretty excited!
Even though it is supposed to be much more comfortable tomorrow, we may be back in a pool. The friend with the pool is watching some kids from church and with her own kids isn't comfortable having them all in the pool with only herself to watch. She may be calling to ask us to join them if she needs another set of eyes. We'll see. This is pretty amazing for us to be swimming so much.
Well, I have to run and get our sandwiches made. Hope everyone else is surviving the heat this summer!
Friday, July 29, 2005
Quiet evening
We're just sitting here relaxing for an evening. Mark actually came in right after 5:00 tonight. Yesterday it was only about 6:00 when he came home. These are the first evenings he has been home all week before the kids went to bed. Last night I actually sent him to bed when the kids went. They all went up stairs at the same time. It probably won't be much past that again tonight. He actually has to work again tomorrow.
It has actually been rather quiet around here this week. I've been doing some AVON but then have also been working to try to organize our attic.
I don't remember if I mentioned it but Mark and the boys worked hard to clean up the house while I was in Alpena over the Fourth of July getting Rachel. This meant putting anything sitting out in the hall or in bedrooms into the attic.
With these nice cool days and no daycare kids, it seems the perfect time to do these. All our hand-me-downs and garage sale clothes that I have stored in the attic have gotten out-of-control. A bag here, a box there, and some for each child in each container. I'm trying to sort through and get them organized again. I actually found some more shorts for each of the boys today that they should have been wearing this summer. I just barely scratched the surface but hope to be able to get through it before I have a full house of kids again.
I may not be much of a blogger but next week I'm going to be helping a friend get one started. Our friends, the Shepherd's, have accepted a pastor position out in Wyoming. (This means that Joshua will be losing his best freind, Jake, in about 6 weeks.) I suggested they need to start one to let all of their family and friends here in GR keep updated on their lives. She took a look at ours and thought it a neat idea. She asked me to show her how to do it next week. It may take some e-mails to Big Brother, Nate but I'll start her out best I can.
That's about it from our end.
It has actually been rather quiet around here this week. I've been doing some AVON but then have also been working to try to organize our attic.
I don't remember if I mentioned it but Mark and the boys worked hard to clean up the house while I was in Alpena over the Fourth of July getting Rachel. This meant putting anything sitting out in the hall or in bedrooms into the attic.
With these nice cool days and no daycare kids, it seems the perfect time to do these. All our hand-me-downs and garage sale clothes that I have stored in the attic have gotten out-of-control. A bag here, a box there, and some for each child in each container. I'm trying to sort through and get them organized again. I actually found some more shorts for each of the boys today that they should have been wearing this summer. I just barely scratched the surface but hope to be able to get through it before I have a full house of kids again.
I may not be much of a blogger but next week I'm going to be helping a friend get one started. Our friends, the Shepherd's, have accepted a pastor position out in Wyoming. (This means that Joshua will be losing his best freind, Jake, in about 6 weeks.) I suggested they need to start one to let all of their family and friends here in GR keep updated on their lives. She took a look at ours and thought it a neat idea. She asked me to show her how to do it next week. It may take some e-mails to Big Brother, Nate but I'll start her out best I can.
That's about it from our end.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
We're fine!
I know I haven't written anything lately. Have been extremely busy & with the heat we've had lately, I try not to spend too much time on the computer. Not to mention, everytime I sit down to write I have 3 kids asking to play on the computer too.
Rachel is home from Lake Ann Baptist Camp and should be home for the rest of the summer. And I don't have any daycare kids for most of 2 weeks so I guess you call this my "vacation".
Last week was crazy! I worked Tuesday & Thursday evenings at the Berlin Fair for our AVON booth. I didn't get any recruits on the spot but did get some to follow up on. I also will have plenty of customers to follow up with too. Mark always works late on Monday but also did on Wednesday this last week because of lots of work to get caught up on and being short handed. My 2 daycare kids were here on Wed. & Thursday. I took everyone to deliver the Advance paper on Wed. so we could be done before the heat got unbearable. I helped sign up a new recruit with one of my downline on Friday and took Stephen for a well-child visit that afternoon.
This last weekend was Mark's family reunion as well. SO in the middle of all this, I was packing to go camping for the weekend. We borrowed a couple of tents and packed everyone in the van for the trip to Gladwin. We hit a major traffic accident just 20 miles north of town. It was a parking lot for miles so we crossed the median and had to take some back roads to get around it. It was late when we got there so we set up a tent in the dark. It just fit us all for sleeping. On Saturday, we set up another tent. We used one for sleeping and one for supplies. Neither were in great shape but that's what was available so that's what we used. Sunday at 3:30-7 a.m. we got lots of rain with a thunderstorm. We all managed to stay dry but anything touching the walls got damp from water seeping through the sides. We then went out to survey the area and found a few dry clothes. Around 8, the rain let loose again and this time it was with a vengence! Anything that stayed dry overnight now got soaked! As soon as it let up, we just packed it all soaking wet and muddy in the van to get home. Since then we have had to take everything out again, clean it up and let it dry.
We pulled into town just in time for evening service at church and since it was to be a special business meeting, we were going to go even if we did look like drowned rats. I did have Mark pull over long enough so I could find a brush for my hair which hadn't seen one all day. As we pulled into the church lot we noticed a lack of cars. Turns out that the service was cancelled due to "extreme heat index". Our whole area was under a "heat index advisery" which I didn't know they ever officially issued. I really wasn't disappointed that church was cancelled so that we could get home and deal with all the wet stuff in the van.
We have basically been cleaning up ever since, with the exception of a dentist appointment for Joshua and occupational therapy for Stephen.
Today I had an appointment for possible new daycare kids. The parent actually showed up! I was pleased just by that. This would be for 2 little girls (1 & 2 years old) just every other Friday and part of the day on the same Saturdays. That would probably be about enough. I'm getting rather spoiled by having primarily older kids (Joshua being the youngest). They take less work and you can do more things with them. This would also leave plenty of time for doing AVON during the day when school starts.
That should about get everyone caught up on life here. If the weather stays cool hopefully I can get on more. I could have the whole summer like our weather today. It wouldn't hurt my feelings at all!
Rachel is home from Lake Ann Baptist Camp and should be home for the rest of the summer. And I don't have any daycare kids for most of 2 weeks so I guess you call this my "vacation".
Last week was crazy! I worked Tuesday & Thursday evenings at the Berlin Fair for our AVON booth. I didn't get any recruits on the spot but did get some to follow up on. I also will have plenty of customers to follow up with too. Mark always works late on Monday but also did on Wednesday this last week because of lots of work to get caught up on and being short handed. My 2 daycare kids were here on Wed. & Thursday. I took everyone to deliver the Advance paper on Wed. so we could be done before the heat got unbearable. I helped sign up a new recruit with one of my downline on Friday and took Stephen for a well-child visit that afternoon.
This last weekend was Mark's family reunion as well. SO in the middle of all this, I was packing to go camping for the weekend. We borrowed a couple of tents and packed everyone in the van for the trip to Gladwin. We hit a major traffic accident just 20 miles north of town. It was a parking lot for miles so we crossed the median and had to take some back roads to get around it. It was late when we got there so we set up a tent in the dark. It just fit us all for sleeping. On Saturday, we set up another tent. We used one for sleeping and one for supplies. Neither were in great shape but that's what was available so that's what we used. Sunday at 3:30-7 a.m. we got lots of rain with a thunderstorm. We all managed to stay dry but anything touching the walls got damp from water seeping through the sides. We then went out to survey the area and found a few dry clothes. Around 8, the rain let loose again and this time it was with a vengence! Anything that stayed dry overnight now got soaked! As soon as it let up, we just packed it all soaking wet and muddy in the van to get home. Since then we have had to take everything out again, clean it up and let it dry.
We pulled into town just in time for evening service at church and since it was to be a special business meeting, we were going to go even if we did look like drowned rats. I did have Mark pull over long enough so I could find a brush for my hair which hadn't seen one all day. As we pulled into the church lot we noticed a lack of cars. Turns out that the service was cancelled due to "extreme heat index". Our whole area was under a "heat index advisery" which I didn't know they ever officially issued. I really wasn't disappointed that church was cancelled so that we could get home and deal with all the wet stuff in the van.
We have basically been cleaning up ever since, with the exception of a dentist appointment for Joshua and occupational therapy for Stephen.
Today I had an appointment for possible new daycare kids. The parent actually showed up! I was pleased just by that. This would be for 2 little girls (1 & 2 years old) just every other Friday and part of the day on the same Saturdays. That would probably be about enough. I'm getting rather spoiled by having primarily older kids (Joshua being the youngest). They take less work and you can do more things with them. This would also leave plenty of time for doing AVON during the day when school starts.
That should about get everyone caught up on life here. If the weather stays cool hopefully I can get on more. I could have the whole summer like our weather today. It wouldn't hurt my feelings at all!
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Busy day
Rachel is off to Lake Ann Baptist Camp this week. Her friend, and a day care girl, Sarah is also gone. Sarah is actually gone for the next month as she is staying with her godmother after her week at camp. This means just 2 days of daycare kids this week, Wed. & Thurs.
We had a couple of busy days. I had all of the ones here help me with the Advance newspapers yesterday. I wanted to get them done before it was too hot and they were calling for rain in the afternoon.
Since they helped with work yesterday, we had a fun day today. The Ford museum was celebrating Ford's birthday today so it was free admission and then birthday cake for the first 500 people. I didn't figure that we would be there very long but we had quite a surprise when we came in the door. There is a travelling display about sports. Right inside the door there was Rusty's #2 car and a #94 McDonald's car of Bill Elliott's. Boy was Stephen thrilled!
After that we went to the zoo for a free zoo day! It was busy! We had to park way out in a field. There was an inflatable slide that looked like the Titanic before we ever got in. Then there were cookies to decorate right inside the gate. We went through the zoo and did some of the extras, like face painting, but not all of them. Stephen was a bit disappointed because there weren't any real koalas as part of the Australian trail exhibit that they have for the summer. It was almost 2 before we got home. Joshua was exhausted! This was a big day for him since his recovery from mono. I had Selena keep him awake on the way home so he would eat lunch and take a nap for me.
I finally put my Avon order in about 3:00 today. It was actually good that I was late putting it in because I had a call to place a $30 order from a new customer just before I put it in.
Gavin & Selena were picked up early and now I need to get busy cleaning up the kitchen. Then I have a meeting tonight. Just another typical day!
We had a couple of busy days. I had all of the ones here help me with the Advance newspapers yesterday. I wanted to get them done before it was too hot and they were calling for rain in the afternoon.
Since they helped with work yesterday, we had a fun day today. The Ford museum was celebrating Ford's birthday today so it was free admission and then birthday cake for the first 500 people. I didn't figure that we would be there very long but we had quite a surprise when we came in the door. There is a travelling display about sports. Right inside the door there was Rusty's #2 car and a #94 McDonald's car of Bill Elliott's. Boy was Stephen thrilled!
After that we went to the zoo for a free zoo day! It was busy! We had to park way out in a field. There was an inflatable slide that looked like the Titanic before we ever got in. Then there were cookies to decorate right inside the gate. We went through the zoo and did some of the extras, like face painting, but not all of them. Stephen was a bit disappointed because there weren't any real koalas as part of the Australian trail exhibit that they have for the summer. It was almost 2 before we got home. Joshua was exhausted! This was a big day for him since his recovery from mono. I had Selena keep him awake on the way home so he would eat lunch and take a nap for me.
I finally put my Avon order in about 3:00 today. It was actually good that I was late putting it in because I had a call to place a $30 order from a new customer just before I put it in.
Gavin & Selena were picked up early and now I need to get busy cleaning up the kitchen. Then I have a meeting tonight. Just another typical day!
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Doctors' visits
Just thought I'd tell you about a week of doctors' visits this week.
When Rachel & I arrived home from Alpena, all it took was one hug to know that Joshua was feverish. Mark said he sounded congested but it wasn't normal sounding congestion. After a little while, I noticed Joshua rubbing his neck. I asked if his throat hurt and he said yes. Without a flashlight, it was clearly visible that he had white spots all over his throat. I assumed this would mean strep. First thing Tuesday, I called for an appointment. When we got there and the nurse went to do a throat culture, he said he wasn't a physician but he wouldn't be surprised if it was positive. As the doctor was doing the exam, the nurse poked his head in and in amazement said that it was negative. The doctor then pretty much shocked me by saying that there's a good possibility that Joshua has MONO. I didn't know kids his age could get it. She said that it is actually easier on a person to have it at a young age. They didn't do any blood work because it would come back inconclusive that early on. We go back this Tuesday for a recheck. They may do blood work then but they really want to check on his spleen because mono can cause it to become enlarged.
Joshua is now on an upswing. He is eating a little better. Fortunately, it has been overly hot to cause dehydration even quicker. The first couple of mornings, he would wake up in bed crying because his throat hurt so bad. Then one day, he came to my room crying when he woke up. Yesterday and today, he came in complaining of a sore throat but not crying.
Now for the second doctor visit. Rachel started complaining of her right knee hurting on Thursday. I gave her some ibuprofen and just 6-7 hours later she was complaining again. She did the same on Friday. I wouldn't have thought too much about it and would have let it go a couple of more days except she goes to Lake Ann Baptist Camp at 7:30 Monday morning. There was no visible problems and she didn't remember any injuries to it. (The one she hurt on the way to Alliance was the left one.) When I called the nurse Friday afternoon, she agreed to give us one of the Saturday appointments. When I took her in today and the doctor checked her out, she called it patella femoral syndrome. This basically means that her kneecap is moving around more than it is supposed too. The groove in her knee isn't deep enough to keep it in place and her thigh muscle isn't strong enough to keep it in place either. The doctor wants her to stay on ibuprofen while at camp and also do some strenthening exercises. If it isn't better in 2-3 weeks, we'll have to go back for x-rays but she says this isn't that uncommon in girls that are getting close to puberty age (GULP!)
So that is about it for around here. Joshua is under quarantine and is vegging out with videos as much as possible and Rachel's poppin' pills for knee problems. What next! (Actually, that's rhetorical because I don't think I really want to know!) You'd think this was a house with a 70 year old and 92 year old with all these doctor visits!
When Rachel & I arrived home from Alpena, all it took was one hug to know that Joshua was feverish. Mark said he sounded congested but it wasn't normal sounding congestion. After a little while, I noticed Joshua rubbing his neck. I asked if his throat hurt and he said yes. Without a flashlight, it was clearly visible that he had white spots all over his throat. I assumed this would mean strep. First thing Tuesday, I called for an appointment. When we got there and the nurse went to do a throat culture, he said he wasn't a physician but he wouldn't be surprised if it was positive. As the doctor was doing the exam, the nurse poked his head in and in amazement said that it was negative. The doctor then pretty much shocked me by saying that there's a good possibility that Joshua has MONO. I didn't know kids his age could get it. She said that it is actually easier on a person to have it at a young age. They didn't do any blood work because it would come back inconclusive that early on. We go back this Tuesday for a recheck. They may do blood work then but they really want to check on his spleen because mono can cause it to become enlarged.
Joshua is now on an upswing. He is eating a little better. Fortunately, it has been overly hot to cause dehydration even quicker. The first couple of mornings, he would wake up in bed crying because his throat hurt so bad. Then one day, he came to my room crying when he woke up. Yesterday and today, he came in complaining of a sore throat but not crying.
Now for the second doctor visit. Rachel started complaining of her right knee hurting on Thursday. I gave her some ibuprofen and just 6-7 hours later she was complaining again. She did the same on Friday. I wouldn't have thought too much about it and would have let it go a couple of more days except she goes to Lake Ann Baptist Camp at 7:30 Monday morning. There was no visible problems and she didn't remember any injuries to it. (The one she hurt on the way to Alliance was the left one.) When I called the nurse Friday afternoon, she agreed to give us one of the Saturday appointments. When I took her in today and the doctor checked her out, she called it patella femoral syndrome. This basically means that her kneecap is moving around more than it is supposed too. The groove in her knee isn't deep enough to keep it in place and her thigh muscle isn't strong enough to keep it in place either. The doctor wants her to stay on ibuprofen while at camp and also do some strenthening exercises. If it isn't better in 2-3 weeks, we'll have to go back for x-rays but she says this isn't that uncommon in girls that are getting close to puberty age (GULP!)
So that is about it for around here. Joshua is under quarantine and is vegging out with videos as much as possible and Rachel's poppin' pills for knee problems. What next! (Actually, that's rhetorical because I don't think I really want to know!) You'd think this was a house with a 70 year old and 92 year old with all these doctor visits!
Friday, July 08, 2005
Last weekend
I haven't had a chance to write to let everyone know about our 4th of July weekend. Rachel had been with Gramma for 2 1/2 weeks and we decided it was time for her to come home. We decided that it would be good for her and I to have some mom/daughter time so I was going up to get her and Mark and the boys were staying here. We thought Mark was going to have to work on Saturday but they closed up instead. We considered me leaving when he got home from work Friday but decided on leaving first thing Saturday instead. (Which was a good choice since he didn't end up getting home till 7:30 p.m. Friday even though they closed at 5:00.)
It was a nice drive up. A little strange being by myself but nice. I pulled in as they were setting the table for lunch. How's that for timing? Actually, I hadn't told them I was coming early so I figured showing up at meal time would assure they were there. Big brother, Pete and Deb had gotten in just a little earlier that morning.
After dinner, Saturday evening, Rachel and I rode a tandem bike over to Aunt Marlene's house for a visit. Uncle Mike got quite a laugh out of the look on my face as we first tried to set out. Not only have I not ridden any bike in quite some time but this was a tandem, the seat was too high, and I was wearing sandels not hardly meant for riding bikes. We made it safely though.
Sunday, we went to church in the morning and Uncle Glen's boy, Phil and his family were there. They were presenting to the junior church about their work in Africa. Even though it was for kids in second grade and under, Rachel went down and watched it. They have a boy, Mark, that is just a year older than her. By the end of the weekend, they were playing around like we all used to on our trips north.
Pete and Deb wanted to learn to make strawberry jam so we spent most of Sunday afternoon doing that. We were just getting done when we got a call from Glen & Jeanette's family that they were ready to decorate the church for a surprise 50th anniversary party on Monday. We went over and helped out. They then asked Mom to come along while they did the food shopping for it. She had wanted to go to a patriotic concert at First Church but went along with them. Rachel & I went back to the house and worked at getting a banner out of Mom's computer. We took a break long enough to test out the new ice cream store at the top of the hill from the house. (It passed inspection!)
Monday it was a rainy morning. It stopped just long enough for us to think it was safe to go to the parade. Then started sprinkling just as the parade reached us. Mom, Gramma, and a lot of the others stayed at the house while Rachel and I went. We were able to find the right "Manning" spot where we always meet up and watch together. The kids came away with plenty of candy as usual.
After that it was back to the house for a quick lunch and then convincing Glen & Jeanette to go to the church. As the open house drew closer, I checked with Pam & Barb about sneaking over before they all came so any early birds would be greeted. They had Rachel & I do that. We then stayed around to help with the cutting of the cake and serving punch. By then it was time for Rachel and I to head home.
I'll have to post the surprises of this week later. Time to get busy around here.
It was a nice drive up. A little strange being by myself but nice. I pulled in as they were setting the table for lunch. How's that for timing? Actually, I hadn't told them I was coming early so I figured showing up at meal time would assure they were there. Big brother, Pete and Deb had gotten in just a little earlier that morning.
After dinner, Saturday evening, Rachel and I rode a tandem bike over to Aunt Marlene's house for a visit. Uncle Mike got quite a laugh out of the look on my face as we first tried to set out. Not only have I not ridden any bike in quite some time but this was a tandem, the seat was too high, and I was wearing sandels not hardly meant for riding bikes. We made it safely though.
Sunday, we went to church in the morning and Uncle Glen's boy, Phil and his family were there. They were presenting to the junior church about their work in Africa. Even though it was for kids in second grade and under, Rachel went down and watched it. They have a boy, Mark, that is just a year older than her. By the end of the weekend, they were playing around like we all used to on our trips north.
Pete and Deb wanted to learn to make strawberry jam so we spent most of Sunday afternoon doing that. We were just getting done when we got a call from Glen & Jeanette's family that they were ready to decorate the church for a surprise 50th anniversary party on Monday. We went over and helped out. They then asked Mom to come along while they did the food shopping for it. She had wanted to go to a patriotic concert at First Church but went along with them. Rachel & I went back to the house and worked at getting a banner out of Mom's computer. We took a break long enough to test out the new ice cream store at the top of the hill from the house. (It passed inspection!)
Monday it was a rainy morning. It stopped just long enough for us to think it was safe to go to the parade. Then started sprinkling just as the parade reached us. Mom, Gramma, and a lot of the others stayed at the house while Rachel and I went. We were able to find the right "Manning" spot where we always meet up and watch together. The kids came away with plenty of candy as usual.
After that it was back to the house for a quick lunch and then convincing Glen & Jeanette to go to the church. As the open house drew closer, I checked with Pam & Barb about sneaking over before they all came so any early birds would be greeted. They had Rachel & I do that. We then stayed around to help with the cutting of the cake and serving punch. By then it was time for Rachel and I to head home.
I'll have to post the surprises of this week later. Time to get busy around here.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Treasure Hunts
Joshua and I were off on 2 treasure hunts today. That's a way to put it for Joshua when we have to run to a bunch of different stores looking for something. Today we were looking for sandals for him and some material for Mom & Gramma. We were successful in 1 area but not both. Joshua is now proudly wearing Buzz Lightyear sandals!
We had checked the Jo-ann's on this end of town last night but didn't find what we needed. This morning we started at Field's Fabrics and were going to check a couple of other fabric stores before going to the other end of town to check those Jo-ann's. Field's didn't have it so we headed to Wal-mart. Along the way, Joshua said he needed to go to potty and since he wasn't wearing a pull-up, I stopped at the closest gas station. Would you believe this Circle-K didn't have a public bathroom? So we quickly loaded back into the van and went to a BK close by which had to have a bathroom. Then we continued to Wal-mart but when I reached into my pocket for the fabric sample, it was gone! Joshua and I looked all over the van, my purse, and all my pockets to no avail. It must have fallen out at one of the last 2 hurried stops. So I guess, I'll get another sample when I go to Alpena this weekend and then have another 'treasure hunt' after the 4th.
The other "fun" we had was that I evidently set my keys on the van seat when we were searching for the fabric sample. I didn't discover this until we were done shopping at Wal-mart. And I actually managed to get all the doors locked this time. So I called Mark on my cell phone. He was all the way in Coopersville picking up the office's paychecks. Joshua and I got to go back into Wal-mart and wait 45-60 minutes for him to get back to work then to Wal-mart. It wasn't too bad to wait. The bad thing was that Stephen's daycamp was doing a puppet show at 11:30 this morning and I was hoping to go see it. Mark got to us at 11:30 so I didn't figure there was anyway to get to the school in time for the show. I will make sure that I leave the house in time for the open house/ice cream social at the end of the day today.
Well, that's been our little adventure for the day.
We had checked the Jo-ann's on this end of town last night but didn't find what we needed. This morning we started at Field's Fabrics and were going to check a couple of other fabric stores before going to the other end of town to check those Jo-ann's. Field's didn't have it so we headed to Wal-mart. Along the way, Joshua said he needed to go to potty and since he wasn't wearing a pull-up, I stopped at the closest gas station. Would you believe this Circle-K didn't have a public bathroom? So we quickly loaded back into the van and went to a BK close by which had to have a bathroom. Then we continued to Wal-mart but when I reached into my pocket for the fabric sample, it was gone! Joshua and I looked all over the van, my purse, and all my pockets to no avail. It must have fallen out at one of the last 2 hurried stops. So I guess, I'll get another sample when I go to Alpena this weekend and then have another 'treasure hunt' after the 4th.
The other "fun" we had was that I evidently set my keys on the van seat when we were searching for the fabric sample. I didn't discover this until we were done shopping at Wal-mart. And I actually managed to get all the doors locked this time. So I called Mark on my cell phone. He was all the way in Coopersville picking up the office's paychecks. Joshua and I got to go back into Wal-mart and wait 45-60 minutes for him to get back to work then to Wal-mart. It wasn't too bad to wait. The bad thing was that Stephen's daycamp was doing a puppet show at 11:30 this morning and I was hoping to go see it. Mark got to us at 11:30 so I didn't figure there was anyway to get to the school in time for the show. I will make sure that I leave the house in time for the open house/ice cream social at the end of the day today.
Well, that's been our little adventure for the day.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Storms
We had a bunch of storms roll through the area this morning. It was the first significant rain we have had in 2 weeks. The only problem was that we got 3/4 of an inch of rain in only 15 minutes! There was lots of thunder and lightnening but we still have power. The air now feels wonderful outside but they say we have 1 more 90 degree day before a cold front comes through this evening. YEAH! The heat this last week has been awful! The heat indexes has been over a hundred degrees about 3 times in the last week and I don't like this kind of heat.
As for the trip to Ohio, we all had a great time! It was so nice getting to visit with everyone at one time. The trip home was very uneventful. We were able to do it with only 1 stop. The boys were so into watching the DVD's that they weren't wanting to stop all the time. It also only took us 6 hours to get home from Wooster!
We have been about the usual busy-ness since then. Stephen has had 2 weeks of daycamp at the school. The first week was Lego Maniacs and this week is Creation Station. It has been really good for him to have the structure and socialization of the daycamp. Joshua and I do lots of errands and AVON while Stephen and the other daycare kids are at daycamp. Mark has worked some long hours and is keeping very busy.
Joshua is headed to the dentist for another round of fillings. He has had 2 done but has 4 more to go. I'm thinking of trying to convince them to do all 4 today. He is getting a bit more apprehensive about going and it may be better if he doesn't have to worry about going back again for more discomfort. He did GREAT for them while he was there but was absolutely miserable after he got home. He really didn't like the numbness wearing off and then the pain from the work and pressure they put on his jaw. He spent most of the afternoon whining and moaning after his last visit.
Rachel is in Alpena with Gramma right now. She went down to Ohio early with her so we were able to take the car down instead of our gas-guzzling van. We then left Rachel in Alliance when we came home. When Gramma was ready to head home she called and asked if she was to bring Rachel here or take her to Alpena. I know Rachel was looking forward to making strawberry jam and she was being good so she went to Alpena with Gramma. I'm headed up this weekend to pick her up and bring her home. It's been quite a long time for her to be gone and actually she'll only be home for a week before heading to Lake Ann Camp in Traverse City for a week.
Well, that's all I have time for now. I want to get some work done before the dentist trip today.
As for the trip to Ohio, we all had a great time! It was so nice getting to visit with everyone at one time. The trip home was very uneventful. We were able to do it with only 1 stop. The boys were so into watching the DVD's that they weren't wanting to stop all the time. It also only took us 6 hours to get home from Wooster!
We have been about the usual busy-ness since then. Stephen has had 2 weeks of daycamp at the school. The first week was Lego Maniacs and this week is Creation Station. It has been really good for him to have the structure and socialization of the daycamp. Joshua and I do lots of errands and AVON while Stephen and the other daycare kids are at daycamp. Mark has worked some long hours and is keeping very busy.
Joshua is headed to the dentist for another round of fillings. He has had 2 done but has 4 more to go. I'm thinking of trying to convince them to do all 4 today. He is getting a bit more apprehensive about going and it may be better if he doesn't have to worry about going back again for more discomfort. He did GREAT for them while he was there but was absolutely miserable after he got home. He really didn't like the numbness wearing off and then the pain from the work and pressure they put on his jaw. He spent most of the afternoon whining and moaning after his last visit.
Rachel is in Alpena with Gramma right now. She went down to Ohio early with her so we were able to take the car down instead of our gas-guzzling van. We then left Rachel in Alliance when we came home. When Gramma was ready to head home she called and asked if she was to bring Rachel here or take her to Alpena. I know Rachel was looking forward to making strawberry jam and she was being good so she went to Alpena with Gramma. I'm headed up this weekend to pick her up and bring her home. It's been quite a long time for her to be gone and actually she'll only be home for a week before heading to Lake Ann Camp in Traverse City for a week.
Well, that's all I have time for now. I want to get some work done before the dentist trip today.
Monday, June 13, 2005
Lifewalk!
Our family is once again looking for sponsors as we plan to do the Lifewalk. This is a fundraiser for Alpha Women's Center, here in GR as well as 5 other prolife centers. They are celebrating 20 years of serving women in the GR area! Rachel & Stephen would like to raise $150 each (so they can get t-shirts). This year's total goal is $175,000. The official walk is this Saturday but since we are going to be out of town, we plan to do our walking independently and then send in our paperwork. To learn more about Lifewalk and Alpha Women's Center, you can check out their website at www.alphawomenscenter.org. If you are willing to sponsor Rachel or Stephen, send an e-mail with the amount and your address. Alpha will contact you after the walk is complete with information on sending your donation straight to them. Thanks!
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Power!
It's so nice to have power again! We lost it Sunday afternoon about 3:30 when a bunch of storms came through. It then came back on about 10:00 Monday morning.
Kids are on their last day and a half of school. Things are piling up around here and I'm about half crazy trying to keep up.
I got myself busy with cakes right now. I did one last week for a friend's son since they gave Rachel a loft bed last month. I'm working on 6 sheet cakes for a wedding this weekend. Stephen's birthday is next Tuesday and a friend is throwing a baby shower when we are going to be in Ohio. She wanted me to do it so much that it is baked and in the freezer right now. I'll pull it out next week in time to decorate it before leaving for Ohio. You should all know though that I do know how to say NO though. I had someone ask me about a cake for next Monday (just before Stephen's) and I told her I couldn't.
Of course, this is also when the heat and humidity kicks in. I'm committed to having the stove on and summer comes in full steam! At least the wedding cake isn't a tier that has flowers haning off the sides. This reception is being done "open house" style. It is from 12-3 at the bride's parents house. The bride and groom are more interested in the sundaes they are going to be eaten than cake but the parents insisted they had to have cakes too.
Well, Joshua and I are off to the store to do the shopping for the cakes.
Kids are on their last day and a half of school. Things are piling up around here and I'm about half crazy trying to keep up.
I got myself busy with cakes right now. I did one last week for a friend's son since they gave Rachel a loft bed last month. I'm working on 6 sheet cakes for a wedding this weekend. Stephen's birthday is next Tuesday and a friend is throwing a baby shower when we are going to be in Ohio. She wanted me to do it so much that it is baked and in the freezer right now. I'll pull it out next week in time to decorate it before leaving for Ohio. You should all know though that I do know how to say NO though. I had someone ask me about a cake for next Monday (just before Stephen's) and I told her I couldn't.
Of course, this is also when the heat and humidity kicks in. I'm committed to having the stove on and summer comes in full steam! At least the wedding cake isn't a tier that has flowers haning off the sides. This reception is being done "open house" style. It is from 12-3 at the bride's parents house. The bride and groom are more interested in the sundaes they are going to be eaten than cake but the parents insisted they had to have cakes too.
Well, Joshua and I are off to the store to do the shopping for the cakes.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Home
We are home after a long weekend at Lake Ann Baptist Camp. Every Memorial Day and Labor Day they have Work Bees. You arrive Friday night, spend Saturday doing work projects, then rest on Sunday, and work again Monday morning before heading home. They give you lodging and food in exchange for your working. It really is a lot of fun! This year we had around 40 people from our church go. Most of us try to stay in the Sunrise Lodge. It is nice because there are several common rooms that parents can use to play games and visit after the kids are tucked in bed.
Usually, the ladies from our church get signed up for food prep for the camp that the kids have to fix their own food. We get everything measured out right down to the packages of salt and pepper all sealed into baggies. This year we were late arriving and those from our group forgot to sign Rachel and I up to help them. Instead Rachel & I painted a hallway in the kitchen. The workers were thrilled. The building is 4 years old but according to one worker this hall hadn't had anything but the original primer on it the whole time. This was real good experience for Rachel. She learned how to spackle as well as tape and paint. She did a pretty good job for her first major painting job. She really got into the job you may say--including in her hair, and feet!
The men and boys usually set up TeePee Village. This also includes blowing up rafts and a few other projects. We were all done with our projects with over an hour left before dinner on Saturday.
Going there doesn't help get all the awaiting projects at home done but it really did a lot for our morale here. To spend time with the other families from church is great! Mark and I can't remember the last time we laughed as hard as we did this weekend, including with our daughter who managed to dump herself out of a kayak fully dressed! The messages at the services on Sunday were also just what we needed to hear. So now we are back at the grind but much more encouraged than before.
Lots to do to get caught up around here though. More when I can.
Usually, the ladies from our church get signed up for food prep for the camp that the kids have to fix their own food. We get everything measured out right down to the packages of salt and pepper all sealed into baggies. This year we were late arriving and those from our group forgot to sign Rachel and I up to help them. Instead Rachel & I painted a hallway in the kitchen. The workers were thrilled. The building is 4 years old but according to one worker this hall hadn't had anything but the original primer on it the whole time. This was real good experience for Rachel. She learned how to spackle as well as tape and paint. She did a pretty good job for her first major painting job. She really got into the job you may say--including in her hair, and feet!
The men and boys usually set up TeePee Village. This also includes blowing up rafts and a few other projects. We were all done with our projects with over an hour left before dinner on Saturday.
Going there doesn't help get all the awaiting projects at home done but it really did a lot for our morale here. To spend time with the other families from church is great! Mark and I can't remember the last time we laughed as hard as we did this weekend, including with our daughter who managed to dump herself out of a kayak fully dressed! The messages at the services on Sunday were also just what we needed to hear. So now we are back at the grind but much more encouraged than before.
Lots to do to get caught up around here though. More when I can.
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