Movin' On

For the first time in over 10 years, our home is a crib-free zone! Allison has, of course, been sleeping in the crib since outgrowing the bassinet (probably before that actually), and Kaitlynn has been in a toddler bed. Their room is smaller than small, so the two beds, dresser, and all of the toy stuff gets a little chaotic at times. Couple that with the fact that Kaitlynn's recent growth spurt has her curling up just to fit, and Allison's new gymnastics move has been to climb up on the railing of the crib and jump off, we felt it was time to change the dynamic a bit. Kaitlynn had begged for a new bed for her birthday (which reminds me that I forgot to post her birthday pics), and so we were able to get them a cute little cottage-like bedroom suite. It has a lot more storage (they don't have a closet in their room), and is much more practical for us. When we were hauling out the baby furniture, Kaitlynn and I both became a little sentimental, but within five seconds of laying in the new bed, she was on cloud nine. I was worried that we may have a few rough nights adjusting (nothing like a toddler roaming the house while everyone else sleeps), but things have been perfect since the switch. Being home sick has given them even more time to fall in love with their bed!

Germ Magnets...

that's what we are, it seems! The last seven days have been full of different activities and lots of sickness. Greg and I were able to pull our combined 80 plus hours at our respective jobs last week, but it wasn't without some difficulty. It didn't seem that Greg was recuperating as quickly as expected from the pneumonia, so he scheduled an early follow-up appt. for last Monday. The Dr. agreed that the antibiotics hadn't kicked it, and put him on steroids and breathing treatments.
We began some early spring cleaning due to the fact that we would be keeping UBC choir members on Friday night, and that involved deep carpet cleaning, which probably didn't help Greg's breathing issues too much.
By early Wednesday, Evan was coughing a really weird whooping-cough-type cough. He laid around pretty lifeless on Wednesday and Thursday, and although I expected the cough to break up, it didn't.
Since the bedrooms had been turned inside out for cleaning and some furniture removal and replacement, things were a little chaotic and there wasn't much place to rest, but Evan was cooperative.
Before lunch on Friday, Ryan started feeling dizzy, and had a bad headache and fever. I called the Dr. and took both of the boys that afternoon. She diagnosed them with bronchitis and put them on antibiotics, steroids, and breathing treatments.
All living room furniture was turned into makeshift beds, since UBC was only a few hours from coming, and the kids were able to rest. We had lots of fun with the guys that stayed at our house. Jon, Drew, Phil, and Anthony are all part of our denominational group, so we were able to chat about funny stories and events to which we could all relate (over pizza, wings, chili dip, and chocolate cake). It was pretty humorous to watch 6 guys surround a laptop in the kitchen to watch You Tube clips...definitely a guys night. I stood in the corner wishing I could videotape them practically falling off of their chairs, laughing for all they were worth. Our street definitely wasn't a quiet one on Friday! I think our night wound up at about 2 a.m. on Saturday. :)
Because I had come down with some kind of sinus issue on Friday, we all just laid around Saturday. We would get up and clean for a little bit, then rest some more. Pathetic really.
Sunday morning, around 4 a.m., I heard Allison coughing the same cough Evan had. She was a mess, and totally congested. During the afternoon Sunday, I gave her a breathing treatment, and kept her loaded with Motrin for her fever. Kait went to church, and mom brought a delicious meal to us when they returned Kait. By early evening, Kaitlynn was coughing, and looking pretty bad. By Sunday night, she had fever and the works.
Fortunately, Monday and today are Records and PTC days, so the kids have been off school without missing anything. I called the Dr. Monday, and explained that the girls must have bronchitis as well, because the sounds and symptoms were identical. I told her that all 4 kids and myself were sick, and there was no way I could take them all out, so she called in antibiotics (thank goodness...they aren't so generous about doing that these days!).
Now I'm just hoping the motor in our nebulizer doesn't burn up! It has never run this much, but with 5 people using it 2-3x daily, we don't have much choice!
Our dear friend, Marea, is bringing us dinner here in a few minutes. She is a gem...I only get her chicken and rice after having babies, but I guess since that isn't going to be happening anymore, she's gonna bless us anyway! :)
BTW, for those of you who have been worried that I wouldn't, I did call my Dr. today, and they are going to call me in an antibiotic, as well. When I called, they made sure to tell me that if the schedule wasn't full they would want to see me. I told them that would be impossible because I couldn't bring 4 sick kids out...not that they even care...they seem to be only worried that they can charge me for an office visit...even though I was just there like six weeks ago!
Since I'm starting to sound like a chatterbox (I have been cooped up without much adult conversation for like 4 days now, ya know), I will wrap this up.
Hopefully by this time tomorrow we will be on our way to a healthier spring!
p.s. While I was in line at WalMart waiting to pay for medicine, I went ahead and treated myself to a Reese's Dark Chocolate. My excuse? It was 50 cents, and with my "55 cents off" coupon, I couldn't really resist...I mean, THEY paid ME 5 cents to take THEIR Reese's! Did I really need an excuse? Probably not, but it was a pretty good one, anyway!

Heartland Regional Student Convention 2010

Watch out for flying candy bars, beach balls, potato chip bags, and cracker packets during pre-rally!

Forecast as wet and rainy, Wednesday proved to be a beautiful, sunny day on the track! This was an answer to prayer, especially since Greg had to spend the entire day out there. I was so worried that a chilly rain would do him in!

One of my favorite things about Heartland convention is being able to reconnect with so many friends. Muncie, Anderson, Frankfort, Bluffton, Indianapolis, Linton, Akron, Plainfield, on and on...here Greg and Travis J. enjoy the sunshine on the track.

Is he kissing the baton?

Watching from the press box...

Boy, were these two ever a help! Thanks, Mom & Dad!

Pre-rally noisemakers. This year: Bam Bam's (if you're not acquainted, you're fortunate), whistles, and lips that make a dentist drill sound. Listen to 400 of those for 15 minutes, and you're sure to have nightmares. :)

Hangin' out.

BSU's "gum tree"...eeewww...

Randall after bball...

This is my favorite part of the BSU campus. The bell tower. This is a terrible pic, as I was driving and couldn't really do much better! As I passed the next building, the evening sun cast an awesome reflection over the tower. I missed it. Oh, well.

Those blessed noisemakers...

Let the fun begin!

Everybody wants a candy bar!

Greg getting ready to send it to the back row.

Pruis Hall fills up...

You won't find two people who are any more dedicated to Christian education and the cause of training young people for service than Dennis and Connie Joslin. I love to talk with them and listen to them speak because their passion just flows through their words. We are fortunate to have him as our A.C.E. Rep, and Student Convention Director!

Is Bro. J checking his watch??? We evidently knocked him off schedule just a bit!

Bro. Steve Ballinger challenged us in the nightly rallies. His first message sticks with me like glue..."For with God, all things are possible." Why is that one of the most often forgotten promises? Bro. B reminded us that we can do ANYTHING as long as God is working in and through us!

New this year was the "Daily Rewind", which was a daily video produced by Dave Roeser, an A.C.E. graduate (a.k.a. Superstar :) ) I will put up the link to the videos...they were hilarious, and so well done! On the last day, Dave asked some of our kids to do some "moves" for his camera...

Friday morning's championship volleyball game was awesome! Pilgrim Holiness Academy (Muncie) came back to win (thanks in part to 17 consecutive serves by Kayla Raines!). We had fun watching them play and celebrating their victory!

I love being with the love of my life! We share so many common interests, it's only natural for us to enjoy doing things like this together!

Lookin' fine...

The gang...ready for the awards ceremony and then the trip home!

My camera takes pathetic pictures. I couldn't get it to adjust to the lighting. Probably just the person behind the control. :)

Meeting of the minds?????

Here comes another candy bar!

Bible Bowl #3!!!!!!!!!!! Go girls!

We are proud of the students of Pilgrim Christian. They did an awesome job this year, and brought home a stack of medals. More importantly, they learned more about God's Word, and stretched their physical and mental abilities beyond what they thought was possible. Training leaders. That's what it's all about.

Usually we are in a hurry as we drive through Portland, IN, but since we were on the way home from convention, we stopped to eat at Ponderosa. Daniel and Angie and the boys were able to meet us for awhile, and we were so glad they came! Can't wait to meet their little girl in a few months! Won't that be a change! :)

Exhausted and ready to be home...great job PCS!

Spring is in Sight!

Our family has had an eventful couple of months, although due to the lapse in blogging, you would never know it! It's been difficult to find time to reflect on our doings, let alone blog them. We have enjoyed the winter immensely. Our neck of the woods has seen more snow this year than in the last few, so that has made for some snow days (which are very beneficial to us...lol) and lots of outdoor fun. We are sharing a common feeling these days, though, because we are ready for SPRING! When the house starts getting a little "tight" and the nerves a little "frayed", we are looking toward warm, sunny days to give us the space we all need to survive and be mentally refreshed. In other words, cooped up kids make for stressed out parents!
Toward the end of January, Greg and I were able to enjoy one of the Christmas presents from my parents, which was an overnight package in Holmes County with lots of goodies. Babysitter included. :) Although temps were chilly, we had a great time and were able to relax and visit quite a few new places. I took some pics, but since most of them involved food, I decided not to post them...wouldn't want you to think all we do is eat. Ha! We did visit the Amish Door 2x, and Grandma's Kitchen 1x, and of course there are always the varieties of cheeses, pies, breads, etc. from all the other places...mmmm! We renewed our contracts with Verizon just before leaving, so we were able to figure out our new "toys" without 4 kids asking a bazillion (yes, that's a word) questions. Thank God for the small things! :)
Our Valentine's Day outing was to Outback with our friends, Josh and Crissie. We had fun shopping and, of course, eating. So thankful for a babysitter who was willing to watch 6 rowdy kids for 7 hours! My only pic is of Crissie striking a pose in front of Outback...I might post that one, if she doesn't kill me first!
The rest of February was busy with the typical routine plus all the busyness of preparing for Student Convention. Thanks to my mom and dad for going along to help shuttle students back and forth to events, and watch our kids for us. It was a great week, full of growth in many ways. Greg was just off a pneumonia diagnosis, and we weren't sure how that would affect everything. As Athletic Director, we knew his new responsibilities would require longer hours, and more energy, and we were right, but God gave him strength and our group of students was so helpful and responsible, making things much easier on me.
We are looking forward to the happenings of the weeks ahead, which at this point include readying our house for UBC choir members this Friday night!
Hope everyone is having a great week...I am always checking blogs, so even if I don't comment, know that we are keeping up with you!