We started out the morning with Garett telling me his throat hurt very badly...uh oh!!
My mom and I were supposed to go buy school books for next year this morning, but our plans changed a little bit. My mom came over to watch the other kids, while I took Garett to the walk in clinic. When they asked what he was being seen for, I explained that I had just been in three days prior for a positive strep test. Thankfully, we had the same doctor that I saw on Tuesday, and as she examined Garett's throat, ears, and nose, she said that Garett had strep. She mentioned that his lymph nodes were really swollen, and that it was probably very painful to swallow. Since I had a positive strep test on Tuesday, Garett was prescribed the antibiotic without even taking the test. She asked how the other kids were feeling, and I said, "oh fine. I'll just bring in another child in three days!" :) So although the other kids seem to be fine, strep can come on very quickly. We were able to get his antibiotic filled quickly, and he took his first dose.
We still had time to get school books, but Garett definitely wasn't feeling like himself. He didn't quit eating, but he did eat much slower! I asked him if he just wanted to stop eating and he said in a horrified voice, "But mom, I still have to eat!" He was like my throat might be on fire, but I'll keep eating! :)
I ended up dropping off the kids at my friend, Gretchen's house, except for Garett. He just wanted to take a nap in the car anyways, so he came with my mom and I to get books. As painful as it was to buy books today, we did save $131.00 by going to the materials display today! I also had a house showing at 5:30pm, so my day was very full. After buying the books, we had lunch with my mom and did a few errands. Then I went back to Gretchen's to pick up my other children. Gretchen graciously suggested that I leave the kids there while I went back to my house to get ready for the house showing and to pack for our little get away to the Longsines. It was a busy full day with way too much in it...but we did it! God helped me to get the house picked up. We had a safe drive to Milwaukee. The weather was beautiful!! We have much to be thankful for today!
Saturday, May 16
Today was a very full day with lots of activity. The kids were up early to make the most of the day spent with friends. After breakfast, I went for a run (yes, the kind that you actually go places, rather than up and down the driveway!) Beka graciously watched the nine kids we have between us while Jared and I ran 3.1 miles. It's been a while, and it's something that I have greatly missed. I'm looking forward to getting back into that routine when our family is complete again!
After that, we helped get ready for the Sunday School class picnic that the Longsines were hosting. We set up chairs and tables, and the Lord allowed the rain to clear up. We had a little extra time in the morning before the picnic, so Beka and I walked all nine children down the road to the neighborhood yard sale. Everyone was very excited about going, but they were mostly dragging on the way home! Wyatt found a huge dump truck that he was willing to buy with some of his birthday money. Chandler picked up several items, but nothing caught his eye that he wanted to actually pay money to get! :) Garett found an aviation pencil sharpener that made his day! We found some golf balls to go with the clubs we have, and two pairs of nice swim googles. :) It was a fun time for the kids.
When we arrived back at the house, my realtor called me. She told me that we have another offer on our property. They can close in thirty days and do not need to sell a home. The problem is that the offer is low...very low...in my opinion. Roger and I will be doing some thinking and praying about that.
We had a good time at the pinnic at the Longsines. Children have a universal language to make friends easily, and I don't usually struggle to talk to people. It was good to get to know the families in their church, even though the afternoon was gone by the time the picnic was over and cleaned up. The kids were definitely ready for bed after playing outside all afternoon and running around.
Sunday, May 17
Happy Birthday to me! Today was my 32nd birthday, and although Roger wasn't here, Beka and Jared did work extra hard to make it special for me. Beka and I left early in the morning before the kids were even up, to get coffee and donuts for breakfast. It was nice to have some adult conversation in the morning. :) After coming back to the house, we fed all the kids, I loaded up the truck, and then we headed to church. We visited at the Longisnes church there in Oak Creek. It was good to fellowship and worship the Lord at their church even though I did miss being home. The kids did a good job of going to classes at at different church, although it helps that the Longsines children are roughly the same ages as ours!
After church, the Longsines spoiled our family again by taking us to lunch at Taco Bell before we headed home. It was a good visit, and I'm glad that we were able to visit and fellowship with good friends for a few days. Beka also gave me a lovely card and a skirt for my birthday, so yes, they really worked at making my day special!
On the way home, I called our realtor to find a place for us to meet up so that I could sign our counter offer contract. We met at the park, and she brought me coffee. :) We chatted for about 10 minutes before the rain just poured out of the sky! That was the end of that! We waited out the rain for a few minutes in the car before heading to Target. I needed to get a bag for a gift for our Pastor's wife and my friend. We had a few minutes to burn before church started so we wandered around for a bit before heading to church early so that the kids could play for a few minutes. They desperately needed to get out of the car, so I was glad they could play before church.
My friend, Autumn, gave me a card with some beautiful thoughts written inside. I love it when people write more than their name in a card. :) After church, the Schilder family, took us to Dairy Queen for Dilly bar treats. It was a good time of fun, even though it was a late night!
Roger called me several times over the course of the day to tell me happy birthday and that he loved me. We are waiting to celebrate our birthdays until we are actually together again...which seems like way too way away!! :(
Monday, May 18
Today was a busy day with Travis having his 4k class, Wyatt having speech lessons, and catching up on the things we missed while we were gone for a few days. I dropped the kids off at my parents house while I ran a few errands. After Travis finished his 4k class, we had lunch at Nana and Papas and then came home for rest time. The only child that actually slept was Emma, but that helped us a lot. My dad had brought over his zero turn lawnmower and his push mower. I've never driven the zero turn, but my dad explained how to start it over the phone. Starting it wasn't the problem, driving it was a big problem!! After accidently driving it into the trash cans in the garage, and almost hitting the truck, Garett asked it he could try. Since he's helped my dad many times with grass cutting, I figured it couldn't hurt. He started it himself, steered it carefully out of the garage, and starting cutting the grass...boy, I was impressed! He might not remember his multiplication facts, but he can drive that lawnmower! :) Chandler offered to do the push mower around the flower beds, and the new grass that we planted. He did a great job, and I mowed the ditch with the push mower. It takes quite a bit of power to mow the ditch, and I like to keep the boys away from the road.
So...there is quite a difference between our boys! :) Garett mowed the grass in nice straight rows and carefully cut the grass so that he didn't end up with piles of cut grass. Chandler couldn't have cared less about having straight rows, and he mowed in circles so that he could have a big pile of grass! He was a little disappointed when I told him to get the rake and scoop up those piles of grass! However, I'm very thankful for all the boys help, and it made getting the job done a lot easier!
Before we started cutting the grass, I thought that the grass looked shorter than when we left. But I thought I was just losing my mind; and since my dad had dropped off the mower, we should mow the grass. However, it was not my imagination!! Our dear, sweet neighbors had mowed our grass over the weekend, and they also checked on the house. I was so blessed by their thoughtfulness, and I wish I had noticed that it wasn't my imagination! :)
Chandler has a very bad cold, but I don't think he has strep. He's just very tired, a little cranky, and needs some extra rest. I'm thankful that school is done for the year, but we are working on reading every day, and doing some extra math sheets twice a week.
Tuesday, May 19
Today was a little busier than I originally planned, but that's the way life goes. :) My dad was officiating a funeral today, and he asked if I would be willing to sing. Although I don't consider myself a great singer, I was willing to help since my dad asked. The funeral home didn't have a piano, but they did have an organ. I played a few hymns before the service began, but I didn't want to sing to the organ, so I decided to sing acapell a. My mom graciously kept the kids so that I could sing at the funeral home. For the record....there will be NO organ music at my funeral! Ugg! I do not care for organ music, and I do not want any slow hymns sung at my funeral. We can sing "How Deep the Fathers Love for Us", which I sang today. I love that song as the words are so powerful. Actually, I don't think I'll care what people sing as long as God is glorified and there is NO organ music!!
I was supposed to have an appointment at 11:30, but the person called and cancelled. Since my mom was expecting to watch the kids until around noon, I was actually able to squeeze in a little run before picking up my kids. If there is one thing I really miss, it's running. My runs are sporadic at best, but it is truly something that I enjoy.
After I picked up my children, I took them home for rest time. Emma took a ten minute snooze on the way home, so she sat in her bed and sang loudly while every one else was resting! The boys were tired today, since everyone fell asleep except Garett. Following nap time, the boys were invited to go swimming with some friends at a hotel. All the kids love water, so they were very excited about swim my with their friends, the Longsines. I also knew that it would help them sleep better tonight. :)
After swimming, we washed and vacuumed out the truck since the boys will be taking it on their trip out west with Nana and Papa. My parents had invited us to have supper with them for a belated birthday dinner; but since Emma had only had a short nap, and Chandler was showing signs of fatigue, called and cancelled. It was a better and smarter choice to go home.
We also heard back on our counter offer today. They countered our counter offer by offering to come up 5k on their originally offer, and they want us to pay for the water to be tested. They also would like the riding lawn mower to be included in the sale....obviously, they don't realize its value! (None- it doesn't run!)
Roger and I still feel that this offer is lower than we would like it to be, so we are praying about what steps to take next. Although we need to sell this house, and we need to get our family moved to Arizona, we also need to be wise stewards with what we have been given. We still don't have a place to live in Arizona, so please continue to pray for all those details to be worked out in the next few days. I've moved back our tentative departure date a few days, just simply because we haven't been able to pack with all the house showings. It's difficult to get out boxes and clean out cupboards when I want the hose to be spotless for a showing! I'm looking into getting a storage unit this weekend, and if we can cement a closing date on the house, that would help us greatly!
Roger was able to get on a cross country flight today with the company, so that made his day. Also,his brother, Nate, came to visit for the day. Nate is also in aviation and I know Nate has been an encouragement to Roger at times over this past year. While he is getting flying hours, he also needs cross country hours to build his resume. We are thankful for the hours he is getting, but I'm starting to feel anxious about getting our family there. Please pray for us.
Wednesday, May 20
As always, it was a full day this Wednesday. Today was Travis's last day of 4k and Wyatt had his last speech lesson. We have been so blessed to have Mrs. Lind for the boys speech teacher. She has helped us know what areas to work on, and she has been so kind and thoughtful to us. We both shed a few tears as we said our good byes today. We've become more than just a student/ teacher relationship, she has become a dear friend. She thoughtfully put together little treat bags for the kids for the trip, and she wrote a beautiful card. She will be missed!
After Travis finished 4k we had a few moms and kiddos come over for a play date. It started out as just one or two moms, but the last I counted we had 23 kids and six mamas! It was a great time of fellowship, laughter, and coffee! For the most part all the kids got along together fabulously until it was time for nap time. That's one thing I love about having moms with young kids over for a play date- they will go home at nap time! :) I will miss these dear ladies, their children, and their fellowship. My friend, Katie, came over today for the mommy play date, and she brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers for my birthday, and she wrote a very thoughtful note to me. It brightened my day!
After all the moms and kids left, the boys picked up the yard. Then we got busy packing for their trip out west tomorrow. They are going with my parents to see some friends in Montana, and then they will meet my sister in South Dakota. The boys will be spending a few days with her before heading back to Wisconsin. I am so thankful that the boys have the opportunities to take these trips with my family. They get to have real, live history lessons that reinforce what they've been learning. Wyatt was a little emotional about leaving, and he wanted to make sure that I would still be here when he got back. I assured him that I would be here, and that a few days after he came back we would be leaving for Arizona.
Somehow we managed to pack up the truck, pick up some snacks for the road, get everyone ready for the Kings Kids awards program tonight, and be on time! The boys were excited about the awards program, and I am very proud of how hard they worked on their own this past year. They each received certificates for faithful attendance, meaning that they had only missed one or fewer Wednesday nights during the whole year. (Personally, I think the parents deserve that award!) :) Garett received an award for sportsmanship. This is a character award and its a medal that is given to the child that has a good attitude during game time, participates, and shows kindness to others. I am very proud of his award, and I'm very thankful for his spirit. Chandler received a certificate for placing in the top ten for Kings Kids. Basically it means that he brought his Bible, said verses, and participated in the various bonus nights. He is a hard worker, and he was one of the youngest children to be in the top ten. I do love these boys of ours so very much!
My friend, Amay, gave me a birthday card along with a gift certificate to Starbucks! I will be having coffee sometime this next week, and no one will ask me for a sip! :) Jenna also gave me a gift and a card. While the gift is lovely, it's the words that speak. She wrote me a long, beautiful birthday card that had me in tears. I could sense her heart, and I know we will both be deeply missing each other in a few weeks.
After church, I took the boys to my parents house. They want to get an early start in the morning for their trip. The boys were excited to sleep over at Nana and Papa's house, and my parents are taking our suburban on the trip. It's not as gas efficient as their car, but sometimes comfort will weigh out on a long trip. :)
And about the house....well, we haven't done anything with the low counter offer yet. However, God has opened the doors for us to have three showings on the property tomorrow!!! Yes!! Three!!! We are praying that one of these three will come forward with a nice, strong offer. I have to reminded myself that God knows exactly how I'm feeling, He knows that our family is apart, and He is working all things together for His glory. My flesh wants him to hurry up, but my spirit is learning to wait...again.
So, yes, please be in prayer for tomorrow!!
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