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."

Boys on Broadway

Kaleb and Aaron recently participated in their school's music programs. This year's theme was, "On Broadway!" I just love these shows! I'm amazed at what my kids can do when they work hard. Kaleb did quite a bit of fancy footwork in his performances. First he was a chimney sweep in "Chim Chim Cher-ee," from Mary Poppins. Then he danced as a newspaper boy (newsie) to the song, "Seize the Day" from the broadway show Newsies. Derek and I noticed that Kaleb never looked to his neighbor for directions during the program. He memorized his songs and his steps and remained laser-focused on that. Quite typical for Kaleb, right Mom? :)

Kaleb the Chimney Sweep

Showing us his stuff as a Newsie

Moving right along...

Can you see his smile?

Kaleb's program ended with "Circle of Life" from The Lion King. Our school has an after-school drum circle, and those kids did an amazing job with this song. Between the different drums and the lion masks and choreography...this song was so cool. I know this sounds silly for an elementary music program, but that last song gave me goosebumps!

After the program and relieved to be done!

Aaron's program, one week after Kaleb's, was just as much fun. Being the youngest, his activities always remind Derek and me that our days with a cute little boy on stage are coming to an end. (Kaleb and Braylen, while ALWAYS cute to their mommy, are the big boys now.) This makes us hold onto Aaron's cuteness as long as we can. :)

Aaron's time to shine came during "Whistle a Happy Tune" from The King and I. He stood by himself at a microphone and sang a few lines from this song. We could hear his voice above the rest of the chorus of kids and there's no better sound than that. After that song ended, he stayed at his microphone and had a speaking part to introduce the next song, "The Bare Necessities" from Jungle Book. He did such a great job and didn't appear to be nervous...we were sure proud of him.

Not the clearest picture, but the best I have. Aaron's waiting for his song to begin.

All smiles after his program. Isn't he cute?!

We were happy that Grandma was able to come to Kaleb's program, and to Aaron's dress rehearsal. Even Aunt Sarena and her mom-in-law came to Aaron's rehearsal! When Aaron told me who came to see his practice program he said, "Grandma, Grandma, and Aunt Sarena." Cute!

Kaleb and Aaron, I love you, a bushel and a peck! (the closing song in Aaron's program, from Guys and Dolls.)