July Recap

Since today is the last day of July, and I cannot sum up an entire summer month in one blog post, I'll just hit some of the highlights. :)

We all met our newest nephew/cousin. Here's Aaron holding the little guy.

Fun with fireworks...

and more fireworks!

Making ice cream with Grandpa for his 60th birthday

Aaron knit a washcloth for his new baby cousin.

Ginger's staying cool in the summer heat.

One weekend we brought Braylen's buddy to the lake with us. The boys all slept in the camper while Derek and I stayed in the cabin. It was over 100 degrees while we were on the lake, but we didn't notice. We were too busy playing in the water!

Kaleb's new rod and reel

Back at home, we found more ways to stay cool. It involved more water, of course. :)

A few more highlights, and that will wrap up our July. Well, at least up until July 22nd. Someday I will get to writing about our big vacation that began on the 22nd. But that might have to wait a while. We just have too much living to do! :)

Ginger found a nest of 6 baby rabbits beneath our deck. We transplanted them to the field.

Kaleb's hairstyle after mowing the front yard. I love it!

The marigolds Aaron grew from seeds. Remember when we planted them for his birthday?

Our 2012 version of Cruise Nite. A trip to the fairgrounds to buy tickets for
the demo derby, and did we find? An indoor display of cars for the boys to look at.
Perfect.

Finally, an update on Aaron's rash. After just two applications of steroid cream, the rash went away. Every now and then a small patch appears on his neck, upper arm, or thigh. The dermatologist did say it would take 2-3 weeks for it to completely disappear, and she is right. We were SO glad the majority of the rash cleared up before our vacation. Aaron is still taking Depakote and so far, so good. We saw the neurologist yesterday, and if we need to start a new med, we have a plan for that. But for now, we are doing the "wait and see" thing. More opportunities to grow my faith, right?

This week my parents are here. We came home from vacation and they were already at our house. How nice of them to pick up our dog on their way here! We unloaded the vehicle--always a chore after a week away--and discovered our water heater here at home needed replaced. Derek jumped back in the car and made an emergency trip to Menard's. Sometimes it just never ends, does it?

Vacation + accident while on vacation + broken water heater + company + baptisms the next morning + demo derby + doctor visit (2 hours away) the next day= one very overwhelmed me. But here I am, on Tuesday, and all that stuff is behind me. The good and the not so good. We are having fun with my parents here and I plan on doing a whole lot of nothing this week. Along with lots of Olympic watching. :)

Goodbye July!

In This Moment

As you can tell, I've fallen behind with my blogging this summer. Since returning from Illinois, we've had lots of fun swimming, playing inside on extra hot days, boating, attending VBS, and going on ice cream date nights. Just to name a few. :)

Today I need to write about what we're going through right now, in this moment. Maybe I can recap our fun month of July next time.

I noticed a light rash on Aaron's chest and back last week. Of course I'm super-sensitive to him getting a rash, due to the seizure meds he's taking. The goose-bump-type rash faded within 2 days, so I never gave it much thought. Then it came back Saturday night. By Sunday he was itching all over, so I took him to our clinic. The doctor on call told me it was eczema, heat rash, or a viral rash. (Even though Aaron has shown no symptoms of having a virus.) He advised me to use Zyrtec, Aveeno lotion, and hydrocortisone cream. I tried doing that, but yesterday Aaron still itched and the rash was not improving. I just knew something wasn't right.

Miraculously, our dermatologist agreed to see him immediately. This doctor is not taking new patients, her appointments are booked for months and months ahead...but we got in right away. God was all over us yesterday. I need to remember that. One look at Aaron and this doctor said Aaron most definitely has a drug rash.

We stopped the drug causing this, the very drug (Lamictal) that was so effective at stopping the seizures. What a terrible bind to be in, don't you think? But we had no choice. We're treating the rash with a very strong steroid cream and Aaron is back to taking only one medicine (Depakote) for seizures, the very medicine that wasn't working for him back in March.

This morning I spoke with our neurologist's nurse. I've never met her in person, but she is such a wonderful person to speak with. Her voice is very calm and soothing, and she acts like she has all the time in the world for me. We're working with the doctors to figure out what Depakote dose Aaron should take until his next appointment on July 30th. That's another God thing--we made this appointment back in April, and we had no idea how perfect the timing would be for us to get Aaron back to the doctor. But God did.

And the best news today...when I lifted Aaron's shirt to apply his steroid cream, there was no more rash on his back or chest or thighs...just a palm-sized patch on his neck and below his ear. I have no way of knowing if it will flare back up again, but I'm thinking this is a VERY good sign!

We've been warned that the seizures will most likely return. This breaks our hearts. But we will not give up. We are praying for wisdom in the days ahead, in regards to the medication decisions before us. We are praying for a miracle for Aaron. We realize this could be so so so much worse. We are praising God for a Godly dermatologist who agreed to see us yesterday. I can't emphasize how great of a miracle that is. It looks like we stopped the Lamictal in time, before it could do the horrific damage it's capable of doing. I've seen what it can do to a child, back when I was a pediatric nurse, which is why I've been so fearful of this drug all along.

We're moving forward, with God going before us, like He always does. As I said in a text to my brother yesterday, I feel very sad that this is happening, but so very protected.

2 Corinthians 4:8: "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."

2 Corinthians 4:17-18: "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Reading with Daddy this past Sunday :)

Around the House

Before I wrap up our trip to Illinois, I need to mention that I finally had my Father's Day date with my dad at Woodfield. Baskin Robbins ice cream all around! As we ate our ice cream, things like escalators and displays at Rainforest Cafe kept the boys entertained. When Aaron was too full to finish his neon striped sherbet, Braylen finished it. Hmm. I used to get Aaron's leftovers! When Mom and Dad visit us later this month, I hope to have my Mother's Day date with my mom! :)

The best times while I'm at home are spent...well...at home. Grampy and Aaron built a car together. They also made lots of airplanes. We roasted marshmallows over a fire, played Scrabble, and walked Ginger. Kaleb came with Grammy and me on our walks, and I had fun walking to my elementary school and middle school with him. Again, those moments felt like I was walking in the past and in the present simultaneously. I love that.



Grammy and Aaron being silly, while Kaleb sits there and smiles!

I had a hard time getting pictures of Braylen. But here he is, watering one of the gardens.

Mom and I snuck away one afternoon for pedicures and shopping. So fun! Another time, she took Aaron to Michael's for more yarn. He still likes to knit, and frequently asks me to knit with him this summer. When we took him to Toys R Us, I think he could have stayed there all day. I think this was the first time he had ever been to a store that sells only toys. What a deprived son I have, never getting to experience this until 8 years old! :)

Braylen's project this week involved computers. He and my dad had 2 identical laptops, both not working. They managed to put parts together and come up with one working laptop! They literally spent all week building this computer. Braylen LOVED it. Thanks Dad! :)

Finally, Mom and I took Kaleb and Aaron to our pool. I call it our pool, because it is. It's super-duper close to the house. It's where I learned to swim. It's where we spent almost every day of every summer. It's where I swam for the swim team. It's where I worked as a life guard. It was so great to take my boys to my pool! :)

They had a blast at the splash pads, and had them all to themselves!

We stayed until closing time.

I did the math and figured out that the life guards today were probably 1-3 years old when I was a life guard at this pool. Such a crazy thought! Kaleb and Aaron took a while to feel at home here, but once they did, it was fun to watch them play. :)

Thank you Derek, for encouraging me to make this trip with our boys. I would have missed out on so much if I didn't just do it! Mom and Dad...now it's your turn to make the drive and visit us! We can't wait! :)

More Fun in Illinois

Kaleb riding the shipping line at Awana Headquarters

Aaron's right behind Kaleb!

Visiting Grammy at work will be a memory my boys keep with them always. They absolutely love to ride these shipping lines! Braylen opted to help put shipping labels on boxes instead of riding in a tote this time. I guess he's allowed to grow up...

Dad treated us to lunch at Chick-fil-A, and of course we brought some to my mom at Awana. Yummy! Since business is slow in the summer at Awana, the boys were able to have plenty of play time at Grammy's work. :)

Since Awana is close to Woodfield Mall, and Braylen wanted to visit the apple computer store, we had to make a stop. :) The boys couldn't believe apple has all their products out for people to "play" with. I think they could have stayed there much longer than Dad and I allowed them to. Correction. Dad and the boys would have stayed there much longer if I had allowed them to! :) Don't feel bad for them though...they had plenty of play time at apple.

Funny faces

Kaleb having fun with Grampy

Aaron camouflaged his face with the ocean

Back at the house, all 3 boys did some yard work to earn money for fireworks. Aaron raked up sticks and Braylen mowed the lawn. Braylen and Kaleb worked on the flagstones, and were quite proud to show Grampy the fruits of their labor. I wish I had a picture of them when the work was completed.

Grampy taught Kaleb what to do, and he and Braylen ran with it.

I am thankful for loving grandparents (and parents) who welcome us when we invite ourselves over to visit!

Just Do It

An idea popped into my head--why not take all 3 boys to Illinois to visit my parents? Derek has to work, but I found a 6 day window in our summer where the rest of us could get away. Derek supported this idea, while I remained undecided. Did I really want to make that drive? After talking it over with my parents and with Derek again, I decided to just do it! Oh, and to make things more interesting, I brought Ginger along too. :)

Friday
I brought along a few books on CD to help me pass the time on this looong drive. Silly me, I didn't listen to a single one of them. Instead, we all listened to countless hours of Adventures in Odyssey episodes. The boys also watched several movies. They are such good travelers, and I am very thankful. Even Ginger traveled well. We only stopped twice during the 11 hour trip!

On the west side of Iowa city, interstate traffic came to a screeching halt. As I braked hard, I kept an eye on the cars behind me. Were they going to stop? Yes, they all stopped in time. We began wondering what happened ahead of us, since there was no road construction on this stretch of road. (Probably the only part of our route without construction, actually!) I looked in my rear view mirror again and saw a huge cloud of dust, along with vehicles parked in the median and on the shoulder. I had a feeling there was now an accident in front of us and behind us. As it turns out, there was a car fire in front of us. We drove past the burned car as it was being loaded onto a flat bed. The next day I did an online search for these accidents and discovered the accident behind us had turned deadly. Someone didn't stop in time and plowed his truck into a semi. He didn't survive. The boys and I felt very protected in our bubble on the interstate, surrounded by accidents but untouched. We thanked God for our safety!

Saturday
The highlight of this day--attending a Schaumburg Boomers baseball game! Someday I hope to take my boys to a Cubs game. But this baseball game was a lot of fun! The weather was perfect, the game was entertaining, and the boys even ran the bases after the game ended. Oh, and the Boomers won--that's very important to Aaron, my most competitive son! It was also free hat night, so we all received these snazzy orange hats. :)

My parents and my boys before the game.
Dad looks tall, and Mom looks short!

Waiting in line to run the bases

They sure had fun!

Sunday
I never would have thought Aaron would hold a python snake at church, but he did. Not only is he competitive, but he's brave too! I love attending my parents' church. It's very different from when I grew up there, but it's still my home church. A friend of mine (Paul) from my youth group days attends church there with his family, and he's the one who keeps pythons in his office. The boys loved hearing stories about these snakes and even asked to see what they eat. Paul pulled a frozen rat from the freezer and that grossed me out. Aaron and Braylen thought it was cool. Can you guess what Kaleb thought? :) To his credit, he did touch one of the snakes. That is enough for him, and that's just fine by me!

Coming home is like stepping back in time for me. It's a weird feeling. In my mind, everything and everyone should still look like they do in my memory. But they don't. We live in Derek's hometown, with his past and his present all rolled into one. My past and present worlds are very different and going home feels a bit like stepping from one timeline into another. And as I step backwards in time, I bring my kids with me. So weird!!!

We made lots of memories during this trip, and I'll have more on that next time! :)

All About the Boys

Whoops--I almost forgot Father's Day! We drove home from our camping vacation on Father's Day. But before we did, the boys gave Derek a Top Ten list of reasons why they love having him as their dad. Braylen listed grown-up reasons such as, "He teaches me how to be a man." Kaleb's reasons included, "He lets me help him set up the camper." One of Aaron's reasons is, "He takes me fishing." I think Derek liked his "card" from our boys. :) He's such a great daddy.

We made a quick detour on our way home to show the boys a wacky display called Carhenge. Remember how I mentioned in an earlier post that it was 105 degrees?

These are real cars stuck in the ground and stacked to look like Stonehenge.

The car on top reminded the boys of Doc in the movie Cars.

Happy Father's Day Derek!

And a few more pictures of my guys during the month of June...

Rooftop Fellas

Kaleb's wild hair...or is it? :)

Speaking of hair, these two heads of hair look identical.
(Derek & Aaron)

15 Years

Our 15th wedding anniversary was sandwiched between our camping vacation and a trip to Illinois. You know, typical summer stuff. :) We celebrated by eating out at a new BBQ place in town...Derek knows how much I love BBQ. He ended up enjoying it as much as I did! After dinner we went for a walk at a favorite state park of ours. As we approached the trail, we saw a large doe standing just 20 feet from us. I've never been so close to a deer before! She stood there and stared at us, flicked her white tail, and disappeared. As we walked and talked, I thanked God for my husband.

June 21st, 2012

Standing on the bridge overlooking a river, we spotted more deer in the distance. We had Ginger with us, and I think she wanted to jump off the bridge and play with the deer. This was the most beautiful summer night, a perfect anniversary night. I can hardly believe we've been married for 15 years. 3 apartments, 2 houses, 2 states, and 3 kids later....here we are, hand-in-hand through the ups and downs of our lives, committed to each other for life. A happy anniversary indeed. :)

Thank you Pam and Brandon for keeping our boys on this evening. Their eyes always light up when we tell them they're going to your house. :)

Fort Robinson Part 2

Happy 4th of July! I'm still stuck in June, and believe I will forever be playing catch-up...

Camp site #95
One of the boys said it's just like Lightning McQueen, #95!

Fort Robinson is a horse-lovers paradise. Obviously we don't have any horses, and all I know about horses comes from books I read. Still, the stables looked nice and there are many trails to explore. There was a rodeo on our first night, but since we were setting up camp we didn't attend it. Derek offered to take us on a carriage ride around the park, but when we let the boys decide between horses and swimming, they chose swimming!

We visited a couple museums where we saw mammoths and various wildlife displays. We took funny photos in the photo room, and let the boys paint ceramic figurines. Aaron chose to paint a fawn, while Kaleb painted a wolf.

Tough guy

There's so much I could say here...

Painters!

In keeping with our relaxation theme, we let the boys watch a DVD one night while I made supper. Then after the boys were in bed, Derek and I watched Mission Impossible 3. It was the first time we watched movies while camping. I liked it. :) Getting ready to go camping, and coming home after camping--both of those times involve a LOT of work. But being at the campsite? Play time!

We watched a hot air balloon fail to launch. Still neat to see!

Driving home in 105 degree heat, we thanked God for a reliable truck with a/c. What a fun getaway for our family. This camper is such a blessing. It's definitely the only way for this girl to camp! :) Thank you Derek for taking us on this vacation!!!!!!!