One More Class Down!!!

It's approximately 1:06 a.m. on Sunday. Greg is asleep on the couch, all the kids are tucked in bed, and I have just completed HSER 508 (Studies in Interpersonal Communications). I'm only 23 hours prior to the required submission time, but considering my week, this is success! Evidently Liberty finds it within themselves to give us a one week break every four months so next week is my week off - oh, except for teaching Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, a bridal shower Tuesday night, church Wednesday night, a revival near Columbus Greg and I are to sing for Thursday through Sunday, and my aunt's graduation in Circleville on Saturday morning. I'm quite certain someone else in the family will break out with chicken pox about this time, as well. Did I mention I have a week "off"? Ha!
So long, it's time to clear the books off of the bed and tuck in for the remainder of the night. Tomorrow morning will be a little earlier than usual due to the fact that our soloist for the a.m. service called off today due to sickness. Greg and I will have to "quickly" find the Lord's leading and put something together. I get sick of doing re-runs, but at the last minute, what else is there? :)

Our Week

This IHC week was unlike any I've ever experienced! On Sunday evening, Greg had me feel a knot in his neck, in the gland area. By Monday evening there were three more of them, all the way up to the top of his head. I told him to try to get in to the Dr. before we left on Tuesday, so we could get antibiotic, etc., before leaving. When the Dr. took a look at him, she said, "Why do you people come to me with these things? You should be in the ER!" She sent him straight for a CAT scan because she didn't see any infection in his ear or throat. Because he was taking so long, I finally called to see where he was, and he said he was getting ready for a CAT scan. Well, you know we mothers tend to be on the nervous side of things, and my stomach immediately went into knots. Dr. put him on strong medication and told him they would call if anything was abnormal. Due to the lateness of the afternoon, we decided not to go to IHC that evening, but head on to the hotel, be there by 8:30 or so, and just relax. We were about 10 minutes from our exit, and Kaitlynn coughed really suspiciously. I asked her if she was ok, and said, "That sounded like a pukey cough." Sure enough 2 minutes later, she started vomiting. We contained things as well as we could until we reached our destination, and when I went to check in, I knew this hotel had issues. I will skip the graphic details, but needless to say, the hotel was so bad we could not stay in it. I have never had such an experience, and because we purchased the reservation on Priceline, there wasn't much we could do in the way of a refund. I had also made reservations for my parents, and Eric & Megan. We ended up having to pack everything back into the van, and fortunately we were able to find a great place to stay for a very reasonable price. By this time Kaitlynn had both dreaded flu symptoms, and they continued for 24 hours straight. I was up with her all night Tuesday night, and had just fallen asleep about 8:15 Wednesday morning, when the Dr. called. My stomach once again went into knots because they had said they would call if something was wrong. I guess they just wanted Greg to know it was an acute sinus infection, and he needed to be seen again in a week. Whew! Fortunately, my parents were able to make sure the boys didn't miss any children's services, and mom and Grandma Yount stayed with Kaitlynn Wednesday evening while I went to service. By Thursday morning, my little lady was feeling much better, but still very weak. We stayed at the hotel as long as we could without paying for an extra night, and then wrapped her in her stroller and headed for IHC. Needless to say, I didn't see too many people! Some were gone by the time I finally arrived. It was fun to see Holly Emory, Dorcas Bishop, Dan and Angie Edwards (who were on their way out the door with a puking kid), Erin (Gibson) Enyart...and many more. Two highlights were the children's program (awesome job, Char!) and the patriotic rally. I was only able to get in on the tail end of Dr. Gibbs' message, but had a chance to thank him afterward for his part in making the LU scholarships available to all who teach A.C.E. Dr. Gibbs made the connection with Dr. Jerry Falwell, who actually showed up in person at our A.C.E. conventions to tell us how impressed he was with the program. Dr. Falwell gave some pretty amazing statistics in regard to college entrance exams. Students were broken into three classes: public school grads, Christian school (non-A.C.E.) grads, and A.C.E./Homeschool grads. A.C.E./Homeschool grads outscored the others by quite a bit (I don't remember his exact figures), and he announced that A.C.E. high school students and teachers would be eligible for undergrad./grad./doctoral classes with the cost of only books and fees. Speaking of which, I still have half of my paper to write, and since it is due tomorrow at midnight, I must commence. I look forward to hearing from you!
p.s. By the way, for all of you who told me at IHC that you read my blog, please post! I love seeing who is hanging around!

"Pox" Update...

Thanks to each of you who have commented with consolation in regard to Kaitlynn's condition. I think it's funny how most women who have been moms for a few years love the idea of pox parties. I was wishing my kids could have gone to one earlier! Believe it or not, there are still parents who try to shield their kids from the inevitable, and believe me, it just prolongs the agony! Anyway, I figure Kaitlynn broke out last Wednesday(approximately 5 days ago), everyone has a different idea on when she was/is contagious, and I have just resigned myself to the fact that every kid gets the pox at some point and it's not really my fault if she passes along the virus...it's life and it happens! I'm glad someone is this house has finally gotten them, and hopefully the boys can get it over with within the next 30 days or so, also. They say the older the child, the worse the virus. I agree. If Kaitlynn would have had these before she really knew how to scratch, pick, or whine about treatment, the process would have been a little easier! So, you all just come on over anytime, bring sleeping bags, plenty of baking soda, Niagara spray starch, calamine lotion, and Popsicles, and we'll get this ball rolling!
I'll try to post a couple of pics of her breakout later this evening. She has a pretty good case, which means she should never have to worry about the pox again. By the way, her new nickname is "chix". :)

I Spoke Too Soon...

As I was writing yesterday's post, Kaitlynn was breaking out with chicken pox! We opted out of the varicella vaccine for our kids because at the time of Ryan's infancy it was relatively new, and even to this day they don't know how effective it is. Anyway, I would rather them have them in childhood than end up with shingles at 35. Now the time has come. Hopefully she doesn't suffer too much. So far they are mostly from the neck down, and although they look uncomfortable, she doesn't seem to mind. The lesson I learned? Never say "everyone is healthy"!

Just A Quick Update...

For my faithful readers who tire of logging onto blogs and reading week-old news for the 3rd time, I'll leave a short post. Nothing new has happened this week, except that everyone is healthy in the Burley household! That, my friends, is something to be thankful for! The most excitement we have had around here was Tuesday evening when Greg and the boys were re-stacking our winter wood supply. They found a precious little reptile (around 15-20 in.). I think Scripture refers to this reptile as "Satan", and I agree with Scripture. Anyway, knowing boys will be boys and not wanting to "feminize" them in any way, shape, or form (Amen, anyone?), we still have the little vermin living in our garage. I allowed Evan to take him/her to school Wednesday, and most of the kids really enjoyed it. The Mediamobile (local library bus) happened to be stopping at school the same day, and Ryan was able to find a book about snakes because he didn't feel we were taking proper care of the poor little thing. I tried, in my most sympathetic voice, to convince them that our home was not a proper habitat, and that this little gift would be better served in his natural, underground home, or wherever snakes like to roam. Evan is convinced, so this evening we will probably have a going away party, and release the snake down by the creek in the woods. On the same evening, they found a salamander. It is outside in a bucket, but due to the rains that have fallen in the last couple of days, is probably already gone onto its eternal reward. We may have to have a funeral for that one. Anyway, I tried to explain to the boys that we have a beautiful golden retriever, which is a very acceptable, all-American pet, and they won't hardly give him the time of day, yet they attempt to adopt a very unacceptable (sorry, Carrie), creepy, nasty...well, you get the picture...I don't like snakes!

On to other news...My goal for this weekend is to complete my final project for the communications class which is set to end a week from Sunday. When the project is completed, it will probably run about 20 pages total, and although that doesn't seem like much, the research is pretty time-consuming. If I complete it this weekend, I will have all next week (Spring Break, IHC) free to enjoy. Greg works Monday and a short day on Tuesday, then he is off for the remainder of the week. Eric, Megan, and Olivia are coming in during the night Sunday night, and will get to be at IHC until Thursday afternoon, so that is pretty exciting. We have school Monday (a field trip to some kind of a COSI-like place in Dayton), then we are off for the week.
I'll try to post some pics of the field trip. I have never been to this particular place, so if any of you have, please post and let me know what its about. I can't even remember what it's called!
Till next time...