One Day

While on the phone with my SIL (Pam) two nights ago, she asked me how my day was. Oh my. As if the entire month of April wasn't crazy enough, the last day of April gave new meaning to the term "stay-at-home-mom." I don't think there is such a thing as a stay-at-home-mom anymore. I also rejoiced yesterday when I turned the calendar to the month of May. :) May Day was delightful, but more on that another time.

Once Pam heard all about my busy day, she told me I needed to put it in my blog. For me to remember what just one day in my life looked like. So, here I go. (WARNING...this gets long.)

I knew today would be busy, so I set my alarm clock to wake me up earlier than usual. I don't like waking up early. To be honest, I make a terrible morning person. But today I don't have a choice. When it's time to wake up the boys, I discover one of them wet the bed. Strip the sheets, clean up the mess, get the boys going...all the while I'm thinking to myself, "At least I have 2 hours this morning to make my grocery list and go shopping. The rest of the day is full, but I can get a lot done in the next 2 hours." Braylen's walking out the door for school and he says, "Oh, Mom--I found some strange emails on my iPod this morning. I think someone hacked into my email. Bye!" I take Kaleb and Aaron to school, come home, and spend the next 2 hours cleaning up Braylen's hijacked email account. No groceries or meal plans today. Instead I learn all about email "spoofing" and other current-day lingo pertaining to computer hackers. I send an apology email to everyone on his contact list, change passwords on several accounts, delete emails, contacts, and trash folder, etc...

With 10 minutes before I need to leave for my meeting, I have enough sense to put the washed bedding in the dryer and put a chicken in the crock pot. Thank goodness I bought a chicken last week and never did anything with it. Troubled by the fact that Ginger's not acting like her normal spunky self, and still hasn't eaten her breakfast, I call the vet and set up an appointment for her. Subway has a $2 sub today, so I pack a bag of chips and a drink from home, run in and get my sub for $2.14, and arrive at my meeting only 1 minute late.

This is a women's ministry meeting at church. It passes by in a blur, but I do remember our leader (and very good friend of mine) asking me to share how I sense God leading me in the future of women's ministry. I have no idea what I said. I leave that meeting 30 minutes early, since I'm subbing at school today. I arrive at school and immerse myself in several projects. While visiting with another school employee, I discover she's been friends with my dog's vet since the 7th grade. She also tells me that this is our vet's last week at work, since she's moving out of state. Hmm, that's odd, since I suspect my dog needs surgery and I'm counting on this vet to do the procedure...I file that away for now.

The bell rings and I pass off my crosswalk duty to someone else, since Kaleb and Aaron have piano lessons in 15 minutes. We rush home and the teacher arrives 5 minutes early. Thank goodness for a piano teacher who comes to our house. I scribble out her check, make the boys promise me they'll be good, and take Ginger to her vet appointment. This place is a zoo, crowded with people and pets and just as jumbled as I'm feeling on the inside. They put me in a room with Ginger and we wait. And wait. And I find an issue of People magazine that keeps me blissfully occupied for the long 45 minute wait to see the doctor.

Once she comes in the room and looks at Ginger's fistula, she recommends it be removed through laser surgery. Just what I suspected she'd say. Can I bring her back tomorrow? Dollar signs flash before my eyes but I just want to get this taken care of, so I sign the paperwork and we talk about her upcoming move. Her troubles with her kids. She has some real serious stuff going on with her kids. I "wake up" in that moment and realize this is a Divine appointment. I tell her that my heart goes out to people who struggle, in any way, with their kids. Thanks to our battles with Aaron's epilepsy, I really do have genuine empathy and concern for other parents who just want to do what's best for their kids. She tells me her brother's son has the same kind of epilepsy Aaron has. We talk about anti-seizure meds. I'm thankful God "woke me up" to connect with this dear lady.

I drive home and tell Aaron to get his shoes on, it's time to go to his chiropractor appointment. We don't have a minute to spare, since my visit to the vet took so long. With much whining, he puts on his crocs. Just then my wonderful husband pulls into the driveway, and I realize he's taking Aaron to the doctor. Hallelujah! I have just enough time to put fries in the oven and heat up some frozen green beans. We sit down to eat and have 20 minutes before needing to leave for Cub Scouts.

Tonight we're flying kites at Scouts. I must say, while I'm standing outside in the open field watching dozens of kites fly in the blue sky, I feel a sense of peace wash over me. I did it. I made it through my crazy day. It's over now, and I can enjoy the moment. When the Scout meeting ends, we come home and fly kites in the not-yet-planted cornfield near our house. Even Braylen joins in. Ginger runs through the field fast as lightning, and I wonder how she'll be feeling after her surgery tomorrow.

Aaron flying a kite with Derek. The horse in the background is a nice touch. :)

When the boys are tucked in bed, I sort through backpacks and lunchboxes. I set my DVR for my favorite TV show, "Castle." I call Pam and tell her all about my day...and now I've come full circle with this blog post.

Someday I will miss these days I'm living in. But you know what? I don't think I'll miss this particular day. :)

The Evens

Not too old to swing!

For the next few months our boys are all even ages @ 12, 10, and 8! Someday I will wonder what life was like during the time of these evens, so. . .

BRAYLEN

1. Growing up, and yet I still see the little boy living inside him.
2. Thriving in middle school.
3. Best friends with Hunter; hangs out with Matthew most days after school.
4. Has the most obnoxious antics at the dinner table!
5. Just a couple inches shorter than me. It won't be long and he'll pass me up.
6. Glued to his iPod touch. Or a good book.
7. Likes to mow lawns and is good at it.
8. Still prays with us every night before bed.
9. Will not take many clothing suggestions from me. He knows what he likes without any input from his mother!
10. Loves to run sprints and long distances, and can run 1 mile in 7 minutes, 10 seconds.
11. Has become Derek's #1 go-to-guy for help around the house. I've been replaced in that area!
12. Calls me mom most of the time, but I still hear him call me mommy. :)

Playing the trap set at his band concert

KALEB

1. Looks forward to feeding Ginger every day.
2. Needs to be with people, and needs to be alone sometimes too.
3. When I think of Kaleb, I think of the word "delightful."
4. Plays all kinds of games with Aaron: Star Wars, GI Joe, cars, etc.
5. Still loves his meat and doesn't like casseroles.
6. Won't pick up a book to read unless he's told.
7. He likes to play with my hair.
8. Shoots hoops in the driveway many afternoons.
9. Has great compassion for Aaron, and prays for the seizures to go away.
10. Loves to tell us stories from his school day, and is able to do all kinds of voices!

AARON

1. Loud and wiggly and feisty!
2. Determined to get his own way at just about any cost.
3. Brilliant. Too much for his own good sometimes. :)
4. Snuggly at bedtime, just like he's always been.
5. Helpful in the kitchen. Maybe that's because his appetite has been huge lately!
6. Loves loves loves to go fishing.
7. Asks me all kinds of questions. Lots of them I can't answer.
8. Still a collector of many things. Mostly rocks, leaves, and sticks.

He asked me to take a picture of his barrel o' slime.
I agreed, only if he would be in the picture with it!

That's our life right now. This week we've had the camper in our driveway in anticipation of our first camping trip of the season. As expected, the boys have asked every night if they could sleep in the camper. They will soon get their wish. :)

Aaron has had a good week. Derek and I haven't seen many seizures, which is quite a change from last week when we saw several every hour. I'm not sure why that is. He's in week #3 of his new medicine, and the dose did increase from 5 to 10 mg per day on Tuesday. However, that is still way below the eventual dose of 100 mg per day. Also on Tuesday, I started taking him to our chiropractor. I asked him to be as aggressive as he can be with battling Aaron's epilepsy. Whatever he's doing is different than before, because Aaron notices the different positions and manipulations while on the table. Whatever the reason, I give God the credit for Aaron's spectacular week. :)

April is coming to an end, and that's more than okay with me. School will be out before too long. And we will have a new nephew in May, just as our first nephew turns 1 in May! Yay for May! :)

 

Aaron's Birthday

Now that I've had a few days to catch my breath, here are a few highlights from Aaron's 8th birthday.

Grandma took Aaron out for cookies and they visited the new pet store in town.
Aaron's little toy (he calls it Pokey) came from a stop at the local hardware store.

He LOVES his present from Uncle Eric and Aunt Amber.
Snap Circuits keep him entertained for hours! Only the Wii can compete for that honor!

Braylen and Kaleb each bought Aaron a package of fishing lures.
I posted this picture with Braylen since Kaleb was in the snap circuits picture. :)

Aaron's been begging me to plant seeds. Easy birthday gift! :)
As of today he has several marigold plants poking through the dirt.
(I came down with a cold on Aaron's birthday, and when this picture was taken I was feeling pretty lousy.)

Another big hit is this bow and arrow set from Grammy and Grampy!
Watch out! Aaron has good aim! :)

Aaron with his football cake. As we were lighting the candles, he told me he really
wanted a football FIELD cake. Well...next year!

Two days later we celebrated Aaron's birthday with our family in town. It was a stormy evening, and the party was cut short when it threatened to hail. Aaron is learning that with a spring birthday, you never know what's going to happen!

Jumping up to reach the birthday banner!

Our biggest hockey fan

The traditional family cake picture

How can my little boy be 8 already?

Planting those seeds he opened on his birthday

Because of the chaotic weather, I'm missing a picture of Aaron's favorite birthday gift from Grandma and Grandpa. They bought him his very own tackle box and stocked it with new lures (and some favorites from their own supply.) We've already taken Aaron fishing twice with his new tackle box. He's turning into quite the little fisherman. :)

I took the kids and their gear (plus an extra 12 year old boy) fishing on Saturday while Derek went hunting...but that story is for another post.

Happy Birthday Dear Aaron!!!!!!!! You are dearly loved by so many!!!!!!!!

A Little Bit of Spring

I have more to post about Aaron's birthday, but on this rainy Thursday I need to see a little bit of spring.

They came in from the garage to dye Easter eggs...Aaron even kept his safety glasses on. :)

Braylen agreed to dye only two Easter eggs...he used to want to do more than that.

Aaron, on the other hand, wanted to dye all 18 eggs! He had to settle for 8.

Kaleb wants me to point out that the red and orange eggs belong to Braylen.

Daddy joined us towards the end. I realized I was never worried about anyone spilling any of the dye this year. They can color eggs without any help from us, but I'm glad they still want us with them at the table. :) Good thing we like egg salad and hard-boiled eggs, since we have 18 eggs to use! Yesterday Aaron had rotisserie chicken and sweet corn for an after-school snack. Apparently the eggs can't compete with that.

Youth turkey season began on April 7th. Derek and his dad took all 3 boys hunting, and Braylen and Kaleb each carried a gun. Braylen was successful, and hopefully Kaleb will be next time!

Braylen's huge turkey! What a fun hunt for him!

They all had a great day in the field.

Easter Sunday kicked off a busy stretch of April for me. Doctor visits, music programs, a baby shower for my SIL, birthday celebrations, and a big-deal fundraising banquet...I needed the message of Easter to sustain me through the days ahead. "Up from the grave He arose, with a MIGHTY triumph over His foes!" Thank you Jesus!

My handsome fellas on Easter, complete with a turkey feather in Aaron's hand. :)

We spent the afternoon at a park with our extended family. 16 people and 2 dogs.
It was a beautiful day. :)

The very next day, we loaded our family into the Suburban and drove to Aaron's neurologist appointment. Braylen and Kaleb entertained themselves in the waiting room, and afterward we enjoyed a family lunch at Red Robin. I had planned on touring the capitol building that afternoon, but I was out-voted. We spent the afternoon at a sporting goods store instead. Maybe I'll get my wish next time!

So here we are, 10 days later. My busy April is behind me now. Not that the rest of the month is boring...far from it. But I definitely feel like my load is lighter on this side of April. Aaron had an MRI on the 13th. He stayed so still and we were very proud of him. Results came back normal, PTL! Waiting for those results was so hard for me. We did learn he has pansinusitus, which means every sinus cavity is inflamed and infected. To clear that up he's taking Augmentin for 2 weeks. So far the Lamictal + Depakote combination hasn't helped his seizures any, but we really won't know if it's working until the middle of June. Tuesday was a good day. Wednesday was a hard day. Sharing the events of Aaron's Wednesday with Derek last night brought us both to tears... I'm trying really hard not to let myself get stuck in the sadness of epilepsy all of the time, I really am. Like God provided the Israelites with enough manna for each day, He gives me just enough of His peace each day...one day at a time.

Hebrews 4:15-16 "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."