Still Sick!

This has got to be the longest running virus I've heard of in a while! Like I mentioned before, Evan's sickness started last Saturday. The others soon followed, and we are still fighting fever, much coughing, chills, stuffy noses, etc. I don't feel as bad, now knowing that half the town has it. Must not be a product of poor mothering! At least one of the local public schools had to shut down yesterday due to 25% of their kids being sick. If we are ever able to get out of the house, I might have something interesting to post! I wouldn't be totally honest if I didn't tell you that I have enjoyed having my kids home this week. There's something fun about being able to fix them what they want for breakfast without all the rush, read them books while cuddling on the couch, etc. - all while everyone else is at school! We're not perfect attendance sticklers, especially since most of our family lives away and we have to miss school to visit them, so it's not a total devastation to get to be at home -- together.
Until something exciting happens...

Olivia Update

Olivia carries on "Nichols-McCall Infant Pattern Baldness"

Two of my favorite people!

Better watch out -- she will soon be into everything!

Yum, Yum!

I've heard that a few of you love seeing Olivia on my blog, and her mommy sent me some more pics last night. They are a little fuzzy, but hopefully you'll enjoy them. She is just now 7 months old (hard to believe!) and starting to crawl. She obviously still enjoys tasting her toes!

Another Yount Baby!!!

The new little family - Jeremy, Emily, and Carl Isaac

I just love those newborns!

Congratulations to Jeremy and Emily Yount (and all of the John Yount family) of Greenville, S.C. on their 1st baby, Carl Isaac, born March 26th.

More Sickness...

Typical scene around our house lately...

As if we haven't had enough sickness around here in the last 3 or 4 months, my children all contracted the virus that is making its rounds. It is known for pounding headache, high fever, chills, and cough. My kids had a few extra symptoms, but they mostly followed the pattern. Evan started with it Saturday, and was pretty well finished by Monday. Ryan and Kaitlynn started Sunday, and are still down. Feeling that things were a little worse with Kaitlynn, I got her into the doc this morning. She has double ear infection (which was my guess), and according to the pharmacist at WalMart, took the last bottle of Omnicef off the shelf. I'm hoping they have something to give the other 150 kids that come in with this today! Kaitlynn, as usual, screamed every time the doc or nurse came near her. She has this phobia (maybe from me?) and it is just terribly annoying. Anyway, when we were ready to leave, I threw my purse over my shoulder and picked her up. She smiled the sweetest smile and said, "That was fun!" I could have smacked her at that moment! Although I feel terrible for my kids when they are sick, this illness has made things awfully quiet around the house! When they have the flu it is quiet, but I'm so busy cleaning up the "unmentionables" that I can't even enjoy the quietness! Tonight I guess I'll clean the house and then settle in for a couple of hours of intense study. Happy blogging!

Just a thought...

On January 7, 2007 I created my 1st blog. Since that time I have reconnected with many old friends, and connected with some new ones that I had previously only viewed from a distance. Since men aren't frequent visitors to my blog (maybe they lurk, but they don't post), it has become a place where women connect on a humerous and sometimes emotional level. Posting on other friend's blogs has given me a chance to "build" relationships in a way that would have never happened without the web. The other day I got to thinking about how it is going to feel when I go to IHC, campmeeting, or other spring/summer events and see these people with whom I have been communicating for 3 months, but have never really known. Will we stare across a large room at each other, trying to make sure we have the "right" person, or will we race across whatever chasm separates us and share a huge hug of friendship, while our husbands and children stare at us for acting so wierdly around "strangers"? The mental image had me cracking up, but I wanted to share that to say this: If you see me out and about, please make yourself known! It is sometimes much easier, especially as women, to converse in a world where we're not judged by our appearances (fashion, weight, beauty, etc.). When we come face to face we automatically become different, if we're not careful. Our barriers tend to go up, our inferiorities come out of hiding, and we spend more time trying to create "good" impressions of ourselves and our children than we do nurturing lasting relationships. Let me know if you're with me on this, and hopefully we'll get to see each other soon!

$$$ Our Dental Miracle

Evan - very excited to be going to the dentist. Even more excited when he found out he gets two silver teeth. Is this my child?

If any of you know me very well, you are probably aware of my dental phobias. I have spent multiplied millions (seems like it anyway) of hours in dental, orthodontic, and oral surgeon's chairs since the ripe old age of 3 or 4, and have hated it all the way through. Literally, my fear and apprehension before a filling is very comparable to the apprehension I have before my c-sections. Sounds totally stupid, I know, but it's true. One of my earliest dental recollections was when Dr. Scott, the bologna breath dentist of my childhood, started to give me the novocaine. I knocked the needle out of his hand and it stuck in his chest. My mom told me yesterday that she really feels he would have slapped me if she hadn't been there! It was terrible. He had to leave the room to regain his composure. I wonder to this day if he had feeling in his chest after that!

Anyway, I always tend to put off dental procedures due to fear and $, but I'm starting to learn my lesson. Take care of the problems early!!!

I took Evan to the pediatric dentist yesterday for a consultation due to 2 pretty deep cavities. He was not complaining of pain, but I knew they had to be getting close to the nerve. When I made the appt., the office manager told me she would not charge a consultation fee because Greg delivers to their office. This thrilled me because I had prayed that God would help us to do this in a cost effective manner. When the dentist checked his mouth, she informed me that, since the cavities were so deep, he would need stainless steel crowns on each tooth. My heart sank! My negligence was going to cost us an arm and a leg -- all to save to baby teeth! As I was approaching the reception area to find out what the damage would be, I noticed that the dentist took the office manager aside and whispered in her ear for a couple seconds. After that, she made our appointment, and I saw the scary figure on a computer printout: $623! I immediately started begging God to let that be someone else's invoice! As the office manager pulled out the statement, she began crossing off numbers. Her words, "After your discounts, this is what you will owe. We're only charging for one tooth, and are also removing the charge for the laughing gas." The number she circled was $293! Thank you, Lord! We don't usually get discounts from the places where Greg sells and delivers, and we don't expect them. This happened to be the only pediatric office that I know of in town, and is gorgeous inside and out. Evan especially enjoyed the flat-screen plasma TV that was in the ceiling above his chair, and the decor in the place was incredible -- all African safari with lots of greenery and wild animals. This is my miracle for the week! Please pray for me as he goes for this procedure the morning of April 2nd. I will definitely be a nervous wreck, and he will probably be excited to get to go back. What's wrong with this picture?

More Weekend of March 8th

Mom and Grandma Yount

Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jerry

The wild children

Grandma and Kaitlynn

Newlyweds, Aaron and Sarah

Check this out - One holiday, Uncle John saw this bike in one of the neighborhood garbage cans. Of course, in our family, anything seen in the garbage is public domain :), so he "obtained" it, and the kids enjoy it every time they go to grandma's house!

Boys Will Be Boys!

We have a small creek that runs through the field across the street from our house, and often the boys can be found down there enjoying "boy stuff" (worms, rock throwing, etc.). It was 70 degrees when we left school today, so naturally the boys went out to play. Greg hadn't heard from them in a few minutes, so he went to investigate. He couldn't get too upset with what he found, considering he and Mark put their mother through this laundry torture on a daily basis. Since it was a "sin of the father", Greg generously sprayed them down with frigid water from the hose, then showered them for me.

Birthday, cont.

Evan enjoys the Mc Donald's playland

Kaitlynn displays one of her newest "talents"

Happy Campers

Recent Happenings...

Granny's ride

1st day of Adult Daycare

Our students went to ACE student convention for the first time this year, and from what I have heard, did really well. They are going to present their entries at our Spring Program, so I'll have to wait until then to know the specifics, but they did place in many categories. Ordinarily, schools begin their prep work at the beginning of the year, but our students didn't find out until mid-January that they were able to go. From that point until March 10, or so, they raised well over the $25oo needed for their trip.
Greg and I stayed with grandma for the week, and she had her first days at Adult Day Care. She enjoyed it, although she had difficulty remembering what she did while she was there. :) We are finding this program to be a huge blessing, as the van picks her up in the morning and delivers her in the afternoon. She enjoys being with other seniors, and doing new things.

Girl's Day (and night) Out!

Chenoa, Stephenie, Angie, and I

A cheerful Momma of four boys, Angie

Designated driver, Stephenie

Chenoa looks a little odd without any kids hanging on her skirt!

Angie, acting as though she isn't used to being photographed in Dress Barn

I can't believe it has taken me this long to post about my trip to Cincinnati with my girlfriends! Since then I have taken care of my grandmother for a week, so I have been busy, as you can imagine.
March 8th, Stephenie Brugger picked me up here in Lima, and we headed for Cincy to meet Angie Edwards and Chenoa Miller. We checked in the hotel about 4:30, and unloaded all our junk. I looked like I was prepared to stay a week. I guess I'm just used to packing 14 bags around with me wherever I go...all a part of having kids, you know! Anyway, we were able to meet Deanna Kennedy at Olive Garden for dinner. A couple of other old friends were going to try to come, as well, but kids and other commitments prevented them from being with us. After an "interesting" time at Olive Garden with our dear, sweet waitress, Kathy, we headed out for more food...namely ice cream or coffee. Steph and I ended up w/Starbucks, and the Angie and Chenoa opted for a Jamocha shake from Arby's. Then we headed back to the hotel for girl talk and laughs. Three of us stayed up to witness the arrival of the next day, but poor, exhausted Angie was asleep before 9:30! The next morning we enjoyed breakfast at the largest Bob Evans I have ever seen (they said there are only 5 in the U.S.). If you have a party of 56, this is definitely the one to visit. After an awsome breakfast and many hot chocolate refills, we headed out to shop. It just so happened that this was the first 74 degree day we had experienced so far, and you know how awesome those initial rays of sunshine feel! We opted for the outdoor mall in Cresent Hills, KY. What a day, and what a mall! Steph had to leave around 2:00 to pick up paychecks for her hubby, and the rest of us broke up around 4:30. Chenoa and Angie dropped me off at my Grandma Yount's house, where mom, dad, Greg, and the kids joined me for the rest of the weekend. We ended up at Olive Garden again on Friday night with my aunt and uncle, Sarah and Jerry Casey. Saturday, we were visited by newlyweds, Sarah Ann and Aaron, as well as Craig and Parker. That evening we headed back home by way of Dillard's (groans from Dad and Greg), and made it in about 10 that night. Knowing that one must ultimately pay for any good times one has, I proceeded to pull an all-nighter Saturday night writing a paper, and I'm sure looked bright and chipper on the piano bench Sunday morning. After a long day (without a nap) I was definitely ready to crawl in bed Sunday night!

More Birthday...

Kaitlynn was resisting having her birthday party on March 17, stating, "I already had my birthday!" Once she figured out she was going to get another round of gifts, all was well. We had a very short and sweet party on Saturday, complete with cake, ice cream, balloons, and gifts. It's hard to believe she is halfway to 1st grade!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Kaitlynn!!!

Kaitlynn's Cookie

Today we celebrate the birth of my beautiful angel, Kaitlynn (okay, I know she's not an angel, but it sure seems like it sometimes!). Since her paternal grandparents are still in Florida, and her maternal grandparents, aunt and uncle are at A.C.E. student convention, we had a small celebration today, and will have the "big one" Saturday. She was fortunate enough to be the winner of the "Cookies by Design" cookie this month on our local radio station. It was delicious, and very cute, as you can see from the pictures. So far she has received an adorable shirt and skirt set, pink bathrobe, Dora pj's, very chic little pink flip-flops (Ryan), ivory dress shoes, and a cute little stuffed butterfly (Evan). Lots of church friends showered her with cards, candy, candy, candy...you get the picture! I wish I had some pics to post of her as an infant, but I haven't been home this week (babysitting granny again). Maybe I can get a few of those up with her party pics. Of course, the day has made me sentimental. Kaitlynn has been different by virtue of being a girl, and I think that gives us a special bond (at least until the teenage years!). I love all of my kids equally, but it has been fun having a girl.

Another Funny Conversation...

This conversation occurred in my Grandma Yount's car on Friday evening. Greg and I were in the front seat and Ryan was in the back with grandma. We had just left Olive Garden, and were headed past a string of restaurants. Enjoy...

Ryan: That's funny...Hooters? What's Hooters? (very curious and innocent)
Me: It's just a restaurant, Ryan. (In a very 'end of the conversation' tone of voice)
Ryan: I bet they have hoots or something...(grandmother in the back seat now about to crack up laughing)

If this child had persisted, what in the world would I have said?!

I'm Back, Finally!

Greg's going-away present for me (Yeah!!!)

For those of you who check this blog daily (I'm assuming, no, hoping someone does!), I apologize for the lack of activity. There has been no lack of activity at my house, I can assure you of that! Since last blog, I received my grade for the class that ended on Feb. 25. I was so thrilled! After writing my final research paper (28% of my grade) with 2-3 children and a grandmother needing my attention, I was sure it was going to be a miracle if I received a good grade. My topic was complicated, Stem Cell Research: The Moral and Ethical Dilemma, and had to be referenced by professional journals. If you don't know what that means, my references could not come just from books at the local library. 70% of them had to come from journals that had been written by professionals for professionals. Mostly these are found online, unless you want to go to a college library and dig through file after file. I choose the internet. Anyway, scholarly journals with stem cell research articles tend to use very complicated, scientific terms. I felt that I was in over my head, but had chosen this topic (as opposed to divorce, drug use, teen pregnancy, etc.) because I wanted to become more aware of the issues. Well, God helped me tremendously, as He always does when we ask, and I recieved a 98.5% on the paper. My class grade was higher than that. I told Greg that it was his grade, too, especially since he did an A+ job of running the household during my stressful hours! So if you're contemplating going back to school, make sure it is what God wants for you, then gather your courage and do it! It is hard, hard work, especially with kids, but it can be done. It is so rewarding! Now I am in week 2 of a "frontloaded" communications class that is awesome, but intense. If I can survive the next two weeks, I will be thrilled.

Today I am very excited because in about five hours, Stephenie Brugger is going to pick me up and we are heading for Cincinnati to spend the rest of today and part of tomorrow with Chenoa Miller and Angie Edwards. We are staying at the King's Island Resort and Conference Center tonight (probably sounds way more awesome than what it really is), and intend to laugh, cry, and party for the next 24 hours. I say laugh and cry because, you know, that's what women do when we get together. :) Anyway, one great benefit of Bible College has been the lifelong friendships I have made. We are each other's support system in the good and the bad. Leaving a combined 13 children at home, we are going to relax for awhile! Hopefully I'll have pictures to post on Saturday evening.

Until then...

Funny conversations...

I'm supposed to be studying...but one can't help doing some quick clicking through friends blogs when one is hopelessly tied to the internet! I click on to my class page, then my mind wanders and I click over to Carrie's blog, then Angie's blog, then Jana's blog, then Brenda's blog, then Betty's blog, then Connie's blog, and by that time Carrie has posted again...oh, well, you get the point!
Anyway, there were a couple of conversations that took place this week. I wanted to share them before I forget.

Scenario: Ryan, Evan, Kaitlynn, and myself travelling to school via Speedway on Monday morning.

Me: "Hey, boys, the guy that pitched for daddy's softball team is the manager at Speedway now."
Ryan: "When did Daddy play softball?"
Me: "When I was pregnant for you, Ryan. That was in the summer, and I had you later that year."
Evan (who is 14 months younger than Ryan): "So I was still 'in there'".
Me (very gingerly and cautiously): "No, Evan, God hadn't put you in my tummy yet."
Evan (pensive and thoughtful): "Oh."

Wow! Those scary moments of "birds and bees" conversations are getting too close for my comfort!

Scenario: Sitting on the couch putting Kaitlynn's socks on her before church. Kaitlynn is on my lap, facing away from me. Keep in mind, she is only 2 for another 2 weeks.

Kaitlynn (very expressive and sincere): "Hi, socks, I'm Kaitlynn, and this is my mom." (Looks at Evan who is entering his room down the hall) "That is Evan. He spends lots of time in his room every night." Conversation ceases, things return to "normal".

I'm so thankful I was able to meet "socks" yesterday. I am sure she (or he - I forgot to inquire as to the sex of socks) will have a great influence on my life and the life of my daughter...

And then, a great quote from Greg, "Yeeeaahh! It's March! We can go grocery shopping again!

Yes, honey, I'll try to re-stock those cabinets ASAP. I still like the once-a-month-shopping plan, even though I had to make an emergency run for tp last night.