A Lifetime of Love

Believe it or not, I don't really have much to talk about. The derm appointment went well considering I had one child who couldn't sit still, one who wouldn't sit still, and another that was about to break out into tears at any moment. Thankfully the nurse listened to me when I told her Ta was very nervous and asked the doc to take off her white coat (hence the term "White Coat Syndrome"- it really does exist!) before entering the room. It seemed to work great! Ta didn't like her looking at him, and he didn't say one word the entire time the doc was in the room, but he didn't cry, either. That is real progress! Oh, about the diagnosis. All 3 spots are unrelated to each other. The bumps on his foot are a birth mark that will continue to grow as his foot grows. The spot on his leg is, um, I don't remember because I had difficulty concentrating on what she was saying because I was distracted by 2 of my kids. I do know it's not contagious and it f...

I cleaned the house yesterday. I didn't finish everything I had hoped to accomplish, but I made good progress and feel better knowing the house is clean. . . even if it is short-lived. I just have a few minor chores (i.e. cleaning the downstairs bathroom, mopping the kitchen floor, & dusting the dining room) to do today in order to be totally finished, and will do it this afternoon while the kids are napping. Ta has an appointment with a dermatologist today. He has had some bumps on his foot for at least 2 years, if not longer. I mentioned it the pediatrician at one of his well-visits (either 9 or 12-month), and she wasn't sure what they were, but since the bumps weren't changing any, she wasn't overly concerned. Neither was I. Until about 2 months ago or so I noticed a bump on his stomach. It has now "spread" into the same type of bumps on his foot, except these bumps on his stomach itch. He was also scratched by one of our dogs a long time ago, and the s...

I planning on taking full advantage of the boys being at science camp this morning. I am hosting some friends of mine for Bible study on Wednesday morning, so today is the perfect opportunity to clean my house while the boys aren't here. I plan to begin upstairs with the bedrooms and full baths, then work my way downstairs to the half bath, kitchen, dining, and living rooms. I have 2 1/2 hours to finish. Ready! Set! Go!

It’s been a busy week for us. Monday night we promised the boys we’d take them bike riding in our church parking lot on Tuesday because Th wanted to learn to ride without training wheels and our neighborhood is too hilly. However, the worst storm we’ve had in months hit Tuesday night, forcing us to retreat to our house. We have been in a drought for a year and the night we want to do something fun for the kids, it doesn’t just rain, it storms! The storm was so bad that lightening struck TJ’s building at work, causing him to be extremely busy on Wednesday and work a 12-hour shift. We couldn’t go bike riding Wednesday because we go to church on Wednesday nights, so we finally made it there last night. Of course, it was overcast and threatened to rain the entire time we were there, but nevertheless the kids had fun and Th learned to ride his bike sans training wheels. Speaking of Th, I am so proud of him. We did the same thing last fall, and he was just so afraid of falling that he would...

TJ surprised me on Saturday by arranging to have a sitter come and stay with the kids while we went out to dinner for our anniversary. Although we didn’t make it to the Cheesecake Factory or the Melting Pot, we did try a restaurant that we had never been to before called Harry & Jean’s. It was very good, and although a little expensive, it had a quiet atmosphere and excellent food. We debated on going to watch a movie, but since neither of us knew what was playing, we decided to order our dessert to go, headed to Wal-Mart and bought “Radio” from the $5 bin, and came home to enjoy a peaceful evening. . . once we got the kids settled. They were really excited all day because a sitter was coming over. We got home shortly after 9pm, so it wasn’t terribly late for them to still be awake. When TJ and I got closer to our house, he asked me if he should park in the garage (he feared the opening garage door would wake up the kids). I chuckled and told him to go ahead because I knew the boys...

I guess the day my dad had to call 9-1-1 he was napping on the couch since it was raining outside. Erin came in and woke him up and said she thought he had better call for help. Well, he jumped off the couch, ran into the kitchen, and poured a glass of orange juice. He brought it back into the living room where Erin was sitting and told her to drink it, and that he wasn’t going to call until she did. She told him she didn’t really feel like drinking orange juice, but he insisted, so she did. When she was finished, he asked her if she was feeling any better, and when she wasn’t, he then called. She was a little confused as to why he did that, so I explained that my uncle (my dad’s twin) is a diabetic and has been since he was a child. My dad’s brain is programmed to give him orange juice to help bring his blood sugar back up, and it was probably just his first reaction, especially since he was asleep. His mind wasn’t really processing everything she was saying, and he just knows to give...

Erin was released from the ER last night. She was told she over-exerted herself yesterday which made her heart rate drop too low. I don't know exactly what tests the doctors did, but the last I spoke to my mom, Erin was having a chest x-ray taken. I'm not sure why; I think to check and see if her lungs were collapsing again. I spoke to Erin this morning and she sounded fairly good. Of course her voice was weak, but Paul was there and my mom was home from work today for the holiday. She said her biggest challenge was wanting to care for Kaylee and not being able to, especially when it came to nursing. She is not used to having to depend on others for so much help, especially since Paul has been gone since March. On the other hand, Erin told me a funny story that happened to my dad today, so at least her spirits were up and she was able to laugh (if you know my dad, you know how "accident" prone he is). As far as I know, Paul has to report back to NC this upcoming Thurs...