sinus, vitamin war and heart attack

my blogging has always been about memory keeping.  for myself, for my family.  kind of a scrap book.  all things i want to remember.

today i blog from my bed.  i've been fighting what i believe is a sinus infection that started last week when the weather here in MO went wonky dropping from 60 degrees to 30 within a few hours.  i felt that drop and it hit me like a bag of bricks. 

i've taken the morning off, allowing myself to rest which i haven't done much of these past few nights.  i'm not a good mouth breathing sleeper.  it just doesn't work for me.  poor Art, sleeping with me hasn't been easy on him. 

i didn't wake up thinking i would take the morning off.  it just happened.  it was one of those mornings i wished my kids rode a school bus.  after much grumbling on the girls part and mine, we made it to the car and on our way to school.  i said a pray as we drove that no other adult would see me or approach my car only because i am looking rough.  sandpaper on concrete rough. 

every morning i give my girls two vitamins.  it's juice plus and through the winter i don't back down on them taking these.  i'm a believer they help and with the nastiness going on in the schools this year, i'm on it.  well one of my kids takes these gummy vitamins with ease.  sarah resists every. single. morning.  and it never fails she is still sitting at the kitchen bar, nibbling on her vitamins at seven o'clock which is when she needs to be upstairs dressing, getting ready.  every morning she saves her veggie vitamin for the car.  so we have the joy of fighting to get it down, on the car ride.  this morning was no different.  she's been late getting to class because she hasn't had it eaten in time.  (yes! i am that mom).  do you see this face.... this is the face i see each morning as she nibbles.  isn't it just precious :).

man i love her.  i love her so much i make her take a vitamin.  best. mom. ever. if you ask her (ha!). she got it down and headed to grab her things and told me she loved me.  sweet words since we had just had a vitamin war.  *vitamin back story... i've started having her sit in the front seat in the mornings to eat these, so i can watch her.  she's sneaky i tell ya.  Grace and i were cleaning out the car and guess what we found under hear seat?  16 uneaten vitamins.  caught!*  little stinker.

driving home i felt the need to blog.  i get it in my head, i even think through what i would write.  fast forward and here i am at home and i've unmade my bed that Art lovingly made, the dog is at my feet keeping them warm (i hope Art isn't reading this).  my warm chai tea is by my side, sweat pants are on, big, bulky, warm Cardinals sweatshirt is my choice of clothing. i took my vitamins and the little red pill that helps stop the constant dripping of my nose, i have flonased.  i'm ready to rest. 

but i blog because i feel drawn to.

*heart attack back story....  so my dad had a heart attack on december 19th of last year.  i got the call from my sister at 3 a.m. that he had been taken to the emergency room.  i was packed and on the road by 4.  looking back now it was all a blur, but then it seemed to last forever.  dad was in the hospital for 5 days and if it weren't for him being in good physical shape beforehand, it would have been a longer stay.  tests were done, pointing them to a triple bypass.  i don't think any of us (siblings) knew exactly what was involved until talking to the surgeon.  when the doctor told us about the procedure and the point when they would cool down my dad's body and stop his heart.... 

what?... what did you say?..can you repeat that?... stop his heart?!?  is this really happening? 

stopping.his.heart. ya'll.  it took awhile to process it.  so many emotions, questions, thoughts went flooding into our brains and conversations.  the surgeon was super positive but come on, stopping the heart.  this is huge!

four very long hours after the surgery began we got to see him. there are no words to describe it.  they warmed us to what he would look like but as his kids, we all fell apart and were in shock. there were so many tubes coming in and out of him, there was blood, he was pale, hooked up to machine that kept him breathing, monitors everywhere, lights, sounds everywhere.  it truly felt chaotic but we knew it was needed.  

he woke up slowly.  we communicated with him and he wanted to talk but he couldn't with the air tube.  he seemed agitated so we kept telling him to rest, all was okay, mom was okay and he was going to be fine.  he nodded, i cried, blubbered.  it was him responding which in his state was just what we all needed.  it was relief.  i still get teary eyed just thinking about it.  

he had some rough nights in ICU coming off the anesthesia.  he was determined to get out of there and amazed them with his walking and strength the next day.  none of this surprised his kids though.  he wanted to get back home to mom.  Christmas eve came, dad had been doing really well, completing all the tasks they had asked of him.  the surgeon had talked of sending him home and that was our plan as well.  hospital time is not on our time.  it's slow and insane.  we waited all day for the surgeon to come.  we weren't patient.  we were frustrated, tired and ready already!  we found out later that afternoon that the surgeon had been called in for emergency surgery.  we understand but darn....  when the surgeon did show up at 5:00 i was ready to hug and kiss the man.  i withheld and prayed, waiting to hear the word "discharge".  two hours later, our wish came true and we were in the car.  again, it was a moment of relief but also of pure joy.  it was christmas eve and dad was going  home.  he would have Christmas at home.  God is good.  

we arrived to a house full of family, i think we overwhelmed him.  when we got him through the front door my mom had tears.  through her confusion she knew he was there and she expressed joy.  dad went straight to her, hugged her, kissed her head.  it felt like light filled the room.  it was one of those moments i will never forget.  true love right there.  joy right there.  prayers answered right there.  God working in our lives, right there.  oh Jesus, thank you.  thank you for this moment right there.  Dad was home.

so i need to stop there and move on because crying does not help one with an already stuffy head and nose.  the story continues, but it will be another post.

now i rest.  my story is partially told and documented. i can rest.

oh and my prayers were answered.... got in and out of the school parking lot without being seen.  SCORE!

Recollection Friday - vball, halloween and donut brain

another week, flown by.

sunday brought a decision on which club team to choose. grace got offers from the two we tried out for and sarah got one offer and one alternate.  by lunch time, after church it was made... we'd be going back to where we started. both girls are thrilled.  we were headed into commitment week as i like to call it.  it's THE week we commit ourselves into a crazy schedule of practices and games/tournaments, a commitment to long nights - staying up late to finish homework, commitment to eating out more than i like, commitment to hard core scheduling and note taking to keep myself sane.  why do we do this to ourselves?  Oh yeah, these two...

they love the game and it has so many benefits to their self esteem.  of course we have to do it! #lovenysvolleyballers

 

monday was halloween.  

halloween should be on a friday night, every year, seriously.  that's alot of work for a monday!

this year the dressing up was a breeze which this momma appreciated.  grace went as a volleyball player and sarah as a greek goddess (her sisters costume from last year).  they literally threw things on that night which was easy.  

each girl had their own friend over to t or t.  this is how you do it.  it used to be art and i with the girls but now, friends.  it was actually great, we all had fun.  we parked ourselves at the end of the driveway with our fire pit, roasted hot dogs, ate chips, cookies, drank lemonade - talked about how much candy was in store for us.  this is our first halloween in the neighborhood so we weren't sure what to expect.  we headed out once it got dark and were not disappointed.  our neighbor, her daughter and friend agreed to show us the ropes on merlin drive and i learned some new things.  

what did i learn about my new neighborhood you ask? 

1. my alderman lives two 4 doors down - he's very nice, introduced himself to me with a handshake and an offer for a candy bar.
2. orlando pace lived in my neighborhood, we trick or treated at his house.
3. there is a very old grave site, three to be exact, fenced off in a culdesac. it's so old, you can't read the stone.  me thinks i  will look into this 
4. our  neighbors go all out at halloween with elaborate decorations, full size candy bars, drink stations at homes with every bottled drink imaginable.  my kids were spoiled and their friends said they would be back next year! ha!

it was fun and i got 15K steps.  a win-win!

got a text from church, late night which is usually not good.  one of our little two year olds was taken to the hospital.  she was inconsolable and not moving her head/neck.  many tests and the threat of meningitis brought the conclusion of an abscess on her neck and surgery was done.  i visited this little girl in the hospital where we had taken grace when she had her seizures.  it brought back many memories, scary moments.  i understood what this mother was going through but i knew her daughter was in good hands at this children's  hospital.  i had a few sleepless nights over this little girl, she's a sweety.  she is home now, after surgery and recovering.  God is good.  it made me come home and love on my girls a little longer, scares like this make you reflect.  while i'm not sure what His plan was for grace and for this little girl, i do know he is perfect in all His ways and he was there for me and this other momma.

art's birthday is next week, coming up fast.  other than a new coffee mug i got nothing!  absolutely nothing!  art's not the easiest guy to buy for (he says the same about me).  i've asked for ideas because the girls want to get him something but nothing as of yet.  he traveled this week which  means i don't rest well.  house seems very big when he's gone. sarah ended up sleeping with me. she of course loves when he travels :).  truman has spent alot of time on our bed which is a no no while art's at home. he brings warmth and comfort that dog of mine.  

sarah's class won the candy contest.  they collected the most candy for the schools trunk or treat.  they won a cinnamon donut and apple cider party.  her teacher contacted me at the beginning of the week to see what she could have.  i have donuts and would send one.  that was wedensday when she asked, i wrote it on my planner and guess what friends?!? i forgot!!!  epic fail not only for my girl but for her teacher!  darn my absent minded brain, especially since i had written myself a note!  i made up for it though, i brought the teacher 6 plastic bins for operation christmas child shoe boxes.  no i wasn't trying to make up for my mistake.  in my defense i had purchased the bins before realizing i had forgotten the donut!   i made it up to sarah as well.  i delivered that forgotten donut to her for an after school snack.  all is well now.

but my brain people! if i don't write it down it gets lost in space (apparently even when i do write it down it's lost).  my system has failed me or maybe i've failed it.  either way i gotta get serious and get my head in the game.  it's times like this i think i'm headed down the dementia road already!!

back to donuts... i have officially sworn in hump day as our official, family donut day!  there's a donut shop not even two miles from our home.  it's also on our way to school (yikes for my waistline).  we could bike there and feel less guilty about indulging right?!?  good donuts are my weakness!!!  everything in moderation...

all this talk of donuts, now i'm hungry.

until next week...

fall at merlin drive

i love fall.

it's my favorite season.

things are cool and crisp.

sweatshirts have been pulled out of the basement boxes.

fall decor is up - starting with halloween.

we had fun pulling things out.

all made it safely from the move.

the inside.

this sun room is one of the reasons we purchased this house.

we love the light in this room.

i've enjoyed decorating this mantle thus far.

i've tried to keep things at a minimum.

i didn't want to compete with the view.

i already had the wooden box on this mantle but for fall i added faux leaves, sprigs of color and real pumpkins.
i like how it turned out.

i added this banner last year.
thank you dollar bin at target!

i made this two years ago.
still a favorite and my girls love the bling.
the slice of wood is from our backyard at the old house.
love it.

my grandmothers old bible and pumpkins.

 my new purchase this year.
not from the target dollar bin.
but from target $7.
fell in love with it.
it's fun on my coffee table.

fun with candle stands.
again, my girls like the blingy owl.

this scent.
yum.

now outside.
the front door.

mums and more mums.
art loves these and brought home four.
our tree stump that art worked so hard to bring down to the wood.
this was fun to move.

my kids have outgrown the little red wagon but...
the big pumpkin will be the one we carve as we get closer to halloween.

this scarecrow.
wouldn't be halloween without him.
my sister made him.
he's sporting a new shirt from goodwill this year.
he's so fun.

one of the mums, closet up.

and today i'm making my banana muffins.
no not pumpkin, banana because grace has been asking for these for awhile and it's perfect weather for warming up the oven and indulging.
here's the recipe.
the next batch will be pumpkin.

we're ready fall.

bring it on.

so much has happened this summer

we've moved.
it happened.
we weren't planning on it however God made us aware it was needed.
we lived in the car more than our house in the big woods.
it was tiring and took its toll.
we prayed, purged, cleaned and put the house in the big woods on the market.
three weeks later it was sold.
we were amazed and somewhat ready for the next adventure.
the girls were reluctant to the change.
all they had known was the house in the big woods, oh the memories we had made there. wonderful memories.
moving day came. we had our final walk through.  we stopped and prayed. tears came pouring out of us. it was all so bittersweet.
we left and like a scene in a movie, we watched the house in the big woods fade as we drove away.
kind of surreal for all of us.

God had his hand in it all and now we are here getting settled.
there are still boxes to unpack and will be for awhile.
there is a honey do list a mile long.
but we're home and we're already seeing the benefits to living closer to all the things we do and love.
the girls still question the change at times but being able to decorate their new rooms has been a plus.
with each new box we open they feel more and more at home.
God brought us to the house in the little woods.
i'll share more as we go along. some of the things that made art and i fall in love with the house in the little woods.

for now, here's a glimpse.

oh my gracious.... April 2016

it's been so long.
i hate that.
this is how i document life in my nest and all the things going on in our family.
i've failed.
i'm trying not to be too hard on myself.
this season of life is a bit crazy with two busy girls. a husband who is on a good, but challenging path in his profession. a job that is part time but feels like full time (and i don't mean that as a complaint).

so where to I begin, hmmm....

April 2016
we had our first travel tournament with Grace's volleyball team.  All the way to KC, a good 4 hour drive :). my kind of sports travel.  i've appreciated her coach recognizing this team as a developing team, one that is a work in progress.  they are learning and growing.  they learned alot from this tournament. the experience was fun, crazy busy with lots of teams there all hoping to bring home a medal.  we did not and it was okay.  we learned, had fun, made memories, laughed and walked away a better team.

i was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the parents to go to 6th grade camp with Grace's school class.  there were alot of parents who wanted to go but i luckily got my name in first.  i find spending time with her class gives me insight to her life at school.  i walked away from the experience pretty proud of my girl and the choices she's made in how she handles conflict and how she chooses her friends.  i saw alot of disrespect with the students towards the adults.  at one point i wanted to put on my preschool whistle and give them a what's what but i watched and let the teachers lead.  the experience also made me feel the need to pray more for this whole class.  i've seen it before where a few make the whole look bad and i'm worried this is the case with this group.  

well onto the lighter side now (if you can call it that)....  we had three cases of strep in our family in April.  all got it but me which makes me wonder if i'm a carrier.  i've never had it in my life and hopefully never will.  i've heard it's horrible for adults, ouch!

April was beautiful with spring blooms everywhere. i love spring, it's my second favorite season - the first being fall.

in late April we had some pretty strong storms come through.  one was so strong it knocked numerous trees down in our neighborhood making it impossible to get home one night.  power lines ended up on the main road causing it to be shut down for hours.  we sat, waiting, gave up and headed into town to meet Art for dinner.  we got home late that night and slept in one room with no power.  it was an adventure which the girls loved.  uno by candlelight was our time filler.

Sarah's 4th grade class had their spring musical - The Agape League.  a group of devil fighting crusaders out to save the world for Jesus!  it was cute and her last official Spring musical as an elementary kid since next year she is a middle schooler.  yes their school recognizes 5th grade as middle school, SIGH.

not your normal snow day

Today was a not so normal snow day here.
Not normal in the sense we were already out of school (Presidents Day).
And it was our first "big" snow of the season.
We went to bed last night to flurries and finger crossed for snow to play in.
We woke up to a blanket of white.

So we did what we normally would, we played.

Snowball fight.
Sledding.
Snow angels.
Even threw in a snow cartwheel.
Truman even enjoyed the moment.

We're loving every minute of our first snow.

toenails

We do alot of nails around here.

Having two girls, it's a given.

Grace pulled out the box today and I had to snap this picture to document part of process.

Sarah got these hand dryers for her last birthday.

Her words - "Why wouldn't you use them for your feet too?"

Sounds logical right?

She cracks me up.

{One thing to note: this girl is continually outgrowing her clothes at this point in her life.  I purchased those sweatpants only 4 weeks ago.  The sweatshirt is outgrown too but my girl won't give up either of them, she loves them both.  It makes me shiver with the frigid temps we've had, brrr.....}

blistery day, halloween and random

What a cold blistery kind of Fall day.
Every time I hear someone use that word, "blistery" I think of Winnie the Pooh.
We watched that video many a times when my kids were babies.
I miss those days.

My blistery day is simple.
Ran Truman to the groomers, he needed a haircut sooo badly.
Drop off drycleaning.
Work on church needs.
Throw a load of laundry in.
Fold a load of laundry.
Meeting at church this afternoon.
Defrost dinner.
Set out costumes, make sure everything is ready.
Call orthodontist for appointment.

Art's working from home today so every once in awhile he comes up for air to talk.
I love talking to him.
Having his full attention.
Seems those moments are fewer and fewer with the busyness of life.
Our talks usually are catch ups as our heads hit the pillow and we doze off each night.

Tonight is Halloween.
We will stay put, going from neighbor to neighbor.
The girls love our neighbors.
They give out normal candy bars, like the big ones and they buy them just for our girls.
Who wouldn't love that!?!

Pizza is on the menu tonight.
This afternoon, pumpkin carving with Daddy.
Truman even has his own costume.

This picture makes me kind of sad.
Look at those chubby cheeks on Sarah.
Grace is tiny here, so sweet.
Man I miss those days.

Got a text this morning from a friend who's kids go to my girls school.
Was lovely to hear they struggled with math last night as well as us.
Boy oh boy is 5th grade math a challenge for G this year.
Praying for her today.
We were so focused on math that I don't think we gave adequate time to Social Studies and there is a test today.
My little girl who used to listen and follow her momma and daddy's directions is now a big girl, questioning her parents and trying to assert her own independence.
It's good and bad.
When you know they will fail at things because they didn't listen to you.
It's a life lesson.
Hard for me to let go.
I mean look at her face, that sweet, little face.
So hard.

Blistery day = wind = more and more leaves falling to the ground.
I mowed yesterday and had the yard all nice and green again.
You wouldn't know it today.
I do enjoy watching them fall to the ground though.
Now raking them is not so much fun.
Just sayin'.

Project life app is not working.
Bummer.
I'm thinking it's on my end.
Not sure.
Gonna have my hubby look at my ipad to see if it is a space issue.
My ipad is getting up there in age.
I refuse to replace it though.
Not sure I'll buy another "i" product when it dies.

I'm finally getting over this sinus/allergy yuckiness.
At least I think I am although I currently have a headache from it.
These up and down temperatures are havoc on my head.

I am ready for the weekend.
I am ready for some down time with  my girls.
I am ready for some fun tonight.

Happy Halloween everyone!
Enjoy this weekend.

yesterday was a good day

Of all things yesterday was a good day.

And it was a Monday!

Go figure.

The girls were slow going as it usually is on a Monday but we got out the door.

I dropped the girls off and headed to a local park to walk the trail.

I can't even tell you how many laps I went, I lost count.

I put on Mandissa and went.

I started out with a scarf on.

By the time I was done (an hour later), it was off.

I got warm.

Felt good.

After my walk I grabbed some photos of the fall colors in the park.

So pretty.

I spent the rest of my morning and early afternoon with Jonica, diving into a new commitment I've made to our church.

All I can say is thank you for Jonica and her commitment to the children's ministry at WCC.

She is my trainer.

So helpful.

And patient.

And encouraging.

What a blessing she is.

She's my friend also (and most importantly).

She came to Grace's last volleyball game which was later that afternoon.

They won!

They rocked it.

So proud of these girls and how much they have learned this season and grown together as a team.

I have loved being with them in practice, helping out.

Enjoyed it all and somewhat sad to see it all come to an end.

Just somewhat :) though.

It will be nice to have our afternoons back.

I'm sure something will fill the time.

.

The hour I did make it home yesterday before picking up the girls I put tator-tot casserole in the slow cooker and I must say SOOOO happy I did.
Because after the game and travel time, we were home around 6:30.
Who wants to cook when we should be sitting down to eat?
I'm so happy I had the fore-thought to prepare and dump everything into the slow cooker.

The girls got their homework done.
We talked.
We laughed.
We read.
I jumped back on my laptop (church work).
Texted Jonica too many times for help (thanks J).
Went to bed WAY too late, around midnight.

This morning I'm tired but wouldn't change a thing about my day yesterday.
A nap is needed, even 15 minutes would refresh me.
Then onto household chores I ignored yesterday :).
Back to life, back to reality.

apple picking

We went apple picking over the weekend to our favorite orchard.

The girls look forward to this every year.

We picked our favorites - Blushing Gold (below) and Mutsu.

Yum.

Caught my girls picking.

Love those freckles.

Got the annual picture of the gang (minus me) walking the aisle.

There I am!
See, it's documented.

Feeding the lambs.
:)

There were alot of giggles doing this.

Fun with Art.

Another tradition.
The see how tall I've grown picture.

So pretty.
Serene.
Beautiful day too.

Hididng in the corn.

Again more freckles.

Wonderful afternoon with my family.
Now onto the apple recipes.

it's fall inside

I had fun getting the inside ready for Fall as well.

The mantle.

My cute owl is on his perch now.

Foyer decor.
We did some trimming of our Japanese maple this weekend.
So I brought in some of the branches which are a bright burgundy, perfect Fall colors for my entryway.
I also added some burlap that I instantly loved on the table.  {Thank you Jonica for that}
I'm wondering why I never had it there to begin with.
Love the look.

The "S" pumpkin was fun to make.
Got the idea off of pinterest here.
They used buttons but my girls actually found this adhesive S in a bin at Michaels and it was a "that's too easy, duh!" moment.
Thanks girlies!!
I like how it turned out.

I'm still working on the dining room.
I have a honey do project for Art that I'm excited about that will do double duty and easily change with each season.
More to come...