At Home

Last week I was blessed with a trip to San Diego! What a week! Hopefully I can write about it soon. I just need to keep things in order, so here's what happened around here just before I left. (And while I was gone.) I know, the suspense! :)

Remember Aaron had to give up his dresser for his new cousin-to-be? My sister-in-law has the crib now. I can't wait to see pictures! Aaron went through a brief period of sadness when we took his dresser away. However, that didn't last long. Immediately after the crib dresser was gone, Derek put together the new dresser we bought for Aaron. It took an entire Sunday afternoon. Good thing Derek had so many helpers! :)

Assembling the new dresser...can you spot Derek's 3 helpers?

He likes it! It might seem like an odd place for a dresser, but a nightstand doesn't
provide enough storage. When 2 growing boys share a 10X12 room, this works!

While I prepared to be gone for a week, Ginger decided to stop eating. Wonderful. One more thing to deal with, right? I thought she had a parasite. Diagnosing her myself and taking in a sample to have tested at the vet's office, I sure was glad to save us the cost of an office visit. However, her sample came back clean. No parasites. When she refused her food day after day, and wouldn't even drink water for me, I decided it was time for an office visit after all.

Poor girl, can't you tell she's not feeling well?

We found out Ginger has a perineal fistula. That's a fancy way of saying she has a painful sore in her bottom. Why does she have this? What is it? How do we get rid of it? And most pressing on my mind...how much will this cost us? Turns out it's costing us a whole bunch. (But it could be much, much worse.) She requires a special diet for the rest of her life. She needs to be on medications for at least one month. Oh, and even better. Even if we do everything right, she might have a recurrence of this at any time. It's kind of like Crohn's Disease for dogs, with the fistula being the external evidence of the disease.

We're all giving Ginger lots of extra love and attention.

After switching her dog food and starting her on the medications, Ginger seems to feel much better. She's eating and drinking again. In fact, the prednisone she's taking makes her excessively thirsty and hungry. Next Wednesday she returns to the vet for a check-up. Hopefully we can stop her medications and we'll have our Ginger Girl back to normal. Kaleb noticed she had something wrong "down below" before I even took her to the vet, but I didn't pay attention to what he described to me. Lesson learned. Today after brushing Ginger, Kaleb told me everything looked all better "down there." I believe him! I'm thankful for a good report from Dr. Kaleb. :)

Now, moving on to the next patient. Aaron's latest blood test shows us he's within therapeutic range with his Depakote. He's at 60, and the target is between 50-100. We are still seeing several seizures every day, although it seems like some days are better than others. I'm not sure if this is the best we can hope for, or if there's still a way to eliminate these absence seizures. I feel like I have lots more questions than answers lately.

Derek did an amazing job caring for our boys and home while I was away. One thing I missed out on is the Blue and Gold banquet for Cub Scouts. Kaleb earned his Webelo rank, and Aaron earned his Tiger badge. Both boys received the Sportsmanship trophy from the Pinewood Derby Race, and we are super proud of them!

One more thing I missed is Braylen's band concert. For this event, Daddy taught him how to tie a tie. What a special father-son milestone for them to share. :) Braylen played the bass drum, suspended cymbals, and gong. Good thing Derek took videos for me to watch! Braylen loves following in his daddy's footsteps by becoming a percussion player. Pretty soon we'll be setting up the trap set in our basement...Braylen's dream come true. Oh my!

Handsome 12 year old

They're growing up, aren't they?

Once Upon a 4-Wheeler

A couple of weeks ago we escaped to the cabin for a day of 4-wheeling together. I must admit, I wasn't looking forward to spending the day in the cold. But when a mom has all boys, she does what the boys do. Looking back on this day, I'm SO glad I got over myself and went along with my family. We had the very best day together. A storybook day. Once upon a time. . .

Aaron being Aaron

Braylen being Braylen :)

Ginger couldn't get enough! She ran and ran and ran!

Aaron rode first, then he drove Daddy around!

Kaleb would drive this 4-wheeler all day if we let him.

Derek pulled the boys in the sled. I even took a turn in the sled!

There's something special about spending a winter day at the cabin.
I love this picture of Aaron riding in the sled behind Derek.

At the end of the day, I impressed my boys with my driving. I want them to learn from me that girls can do these things too! The one thing I didn't do was chow down on jerky. The boys (and Ginger) wanted no other snack but jerky. Good thing I packed some peanut butter crackers for myself. :)

Derek went to a lot of work to arrange this family outing, and I'm so thankful he did. I hope our boys will remember these fun days. I'd like to stop time right here and keep them like this forever. I guess the best I can do is capture the memories through pictures and writing. It's my way of remembering once upon a time. . .

Life Right Now

This week is a very busy week for our family. Extra shifts for Derek. Meetings for me. Planning for an upcoming trip. Thank goodness Braylen can babysit for us. He'll earn himself another iTunes gift card this week! Kaleb was sick last week and missed three days of school. His fever was high enough to stay home, yet low enough that he felt chipper most of the time. His cough is still with him, but I think it's getting better. One more virus we just had to ride out. Last week was definitely the week to be sick. Please, not this week!

Aaron's up to 1000 mg of Depakote per day. Today was a very good day for him. I didn't see any seizures, and he wasn't groggy like he was yesterday. I'll take it. :) He has another blood test on Friday to re-check his therapeutic level.

Braylen's really grabbing on to what his youth group leaders are teaching him in Sunday School. When he asks me to make a copy of the handout from class so he can share it with his science teacher at school, I take a step back and think to myself, "Where did my son get his boldness from? Certainly not from me! It must be from his dad!" Or more likely, it's from his Heavenly Dad. :)

I know Aaron and Kaleb have said some funny things lately, but I just can't remember them now. Tonight I grilled pork chops for supper and fixed twice-baked potatoes. Aaron told me it was the best supper he's ever had in his whole entire life! He even had seconds! Oh, and that helped me remember one more thing. For the past week or so, the boys have been obsessed with popcorn chicken. They have it for after-school snacks and before bed. I guess crackers and yogurt aren't enough anymore. Tonight Aaron asked for a hot dog for a bedtime snack. He settled for some sausage snack sticks instead. I expect to see some growth spurts from all of this eating they're doing!

Now to play catch-up through pictures...

Kaleb helped me deliver Derek's valentine treat to him at work,
since he didn't go to school that day. I loved having him with me!
He wrote Daddy a note and taped a piece of bubble gum on it.
Derek loved all of his goodies!

Sweet Aaron

Special K

My buddy Braylen

I'm not sure when Valentine's Day turned into such a big deal, but it's a great way to brighten up the month of February. This year we bought each of the boys a pair of pants. Pajama pants for B, wind pants for K, and sweat pants for A! I didn't plan that...they just all happened to need pants! :) Derek left me 21 yellow love notes hidden around the house. I think I found the last two just this past Sunday.

It's warm again and much of the snow has melted. Kaleb and Aaron brushed Ginger for almost an hour on Saturday. I should say, Kaleb brushed her...Aaron's job was to grab the hair off the brush after each stroke. I tried to capture what he looked like when they were done. He was covered in dog hair!

Our hairy Aaron

On Sunday, Aaron and Kaleb decided they needed to knit again. They're knitting bookmarks and washcloths to stock their knitting store. They priced their items and now they're waiting for customers. So far Daddy bought a washcloth and a bookmark. We might pack up the store and take it with us over spring break! Get ready Grammy!

18 Valentines

Derek, you've been my valentine for 18 years! Who would have thought 18 years ago we'd celebrate this valentine's day by going on a 4-wheeling trip with our 3 boys and our dog? You might have, but I sure never imagined it! :)

18 things I love about you

• You pursued me 18 years ago, and you're still pursuing me today.
• You make my coffee every morning, and you don't even drink coffee.
• Your smile :)
• You are always the first to say, "I'm sorry."
• Your dedication to bring up our sons to be Godly men.
• You are even-keeled while I am definitely not!
• You know what I mean when I'm not even sure what I mean.
• You took me to Hawaii.
• You became a dog person when you were not raised as one.
• You've taught me to love camping. (in a nice, fully equipped camper!)
• You understand what Cedarville means to me because it means the same to you.
• Your job is extremely intense and yet you don't bring it home very often.
• You greet me every day with a "good morning sweetheart" and don't expect me to answer back so cheerfully!
• You are strong in all the areas where I am not.
• You value my role as a stay-at-home mom and model that appreciation for our boys to see.
• You love my parents and let them come and stay for 10 days!
• You call me in the middle of the day just to say you love me.
• You picked me to be the only girl you'll love all your life.

That last one comes from a song that I like. You can listen to it by clicking here. Happy Valentine's Day to my loving husband and sons, the ones I get to hug and hold today. And Happy Valentine's Day to my first and forever valentines, my mom, dad, and brother. How blessed I am to have you all to love and be loved by. And now I'm going to go and snuggle my 10 year old son who happens to be home sick from school today. Secretly I'm glad he's home with me. We are having a special day together on this lovely day. :)