Ok, first off...many of you have emailed me with questions/comments/suggestions about my morning nausea thing. Thanks for all the ideas!! I think I finally got it figured out! I tried the OJ (instead of milk) earlier this week & it didn't help. Nothing changed...I was still queasy every day after breakfast. It didn't hit me til later this week that I might be dealing with nausea from taking a handful of vitamins/supplements every morning. It struck me that when I was pregnant each time, the OB would always suggest taking the prenatal vitamin at nighttime if it made you queasy in the morning. Apparently that's a pretty common thing for many people--not just pregnant ladies. Anyway, I gave it a shot one day & it worked! No nausea! Every day since then, I've taken everything but the multi-vitamin in the morning & then I take it at night. Problem solved! Yahoo! I'm glad, too. I sure was getting sick of feeling nasty in the mornings, even if it was only for a few minutes.
Last Sunday was the last day for one of the guys on staff at our church. Mike & Angeline McMullin were hired on the same day that we were in mid-December 2004. The guys both 'officially' came on staff January 3, 2005. It was from that point forward that Larry & Mike and Angeline & I were fast friends. Larry & Mike hit it off right away, sharing plenty of office jokes and work lunches over the years. Angeline & I were in MOPS together and had a lot of fun getting to know each other. In January, they were both offered positions with Lee University (the denomination's seminary & university in Tennessee). While it was a complete surprise for both of them --neither were LOOKING for a job-- it was a blessing. These jobs would put them back at "home", near their families and in a place they've lived before. They accepted positions in TN and Angeline moved back in early February. Mike stayed here to work on selling the house & to be a part of the worship conference we had earlier this month. And so, last week, he preached his last sermon from our pulpit, packed up his office and made the move. We were sad to see them go! Sure will miss you guys....
Larry's been in a smaller office at the church since he was hired & has always hoped to eventually move to a larger one. While hehated to have Mike move away, his office was larger, so this week, we made the move. On Monday, after Mike had a chance to pack up all his goodies, Larry moved in. The kids & I went up Monday evening & helped him hang pictures & diplomas. This is his old office, looking in from the doorway.
To the right of the doorway, he had allllll these books:
That's just a tiny portion of the shelves...they wouldn't all fit into the picture. Anyway, you can see why he's so tickled to have ALL THESE SHELVES now! (That's Sarah sitting at the desk playing on the computer while this was still technically Mike's office---those are his diplomas on the wall! Don't worry Mike...we didn't move anything in until after you had emptied it all out.)
Early Tuesday morning, Larry slipped away to Martin's Lake State Park (or something like that...Martin's Creek, maybe?) outside Longview, TX. About once a year, he sneaks away for a little private retreat...just him & God. No one goes with him, he turns off his cell phone and tries to just spend a lot of time in the presence of the Lord. Being in ministry is absolutely his heart's desire & the job he was created for...but it can be very draining, so once in a while he takes a break & spends time getting "refueled" by God. He loved the place he stayed & came home feeling refreshed & relaxed. This is where he went: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/martin_creek/
He came home late Wednesday afternoon & since he was still "off" work, we decided to spend the evening as a family instead of the kids and I going to church as we would usually do. We made a picnic & headed for the park. We ate supper and then had fun (all of us) on the see-saws & slides & swings and such. While we were there, Samuel went down the fireman pole a million times. One time, he got about 2/3 of the way down when he lost his grip & fell the rest of the way. He landed on his feet with 1 of his ankles slightly turned in and while he didn't cry or scream, he got up & limped to us, obviously injured. My first instinct was that his ankle was hurt, so I yanked off his shoe & sock to see if it was OK. There was no bruise, no swelling, no bones poking out. He said his knee on that leg hurt, but since he had on jeans, I couldn't see it there at the park. It was time to head home anyway, so we just left. He could walk on it, but that night & all day Thursday, he continued to complain that his knee hurt. It didn't seem swollen or anything either, so we gave him Ibuprofen & iced it until his already scheduled well visit w/ the pediatrician Friday morning. The doc looked at it & even did some Xrays. The doc thought his patella (kneecap) was broken, but when the radiologists and orthopedists at the hospital looked at the Xrays, they decided it was not. Whew! Turns out, he had some fluid built up in there, but that was it. Thankfully he seems to be totally recovered now.
As to that well visit---Samuel & Sarah both had a check up that morning. They're both totally healthy & doing fine. Samuel (8 yr old) weighed 46.4 lbs & is 44.25" tall. Sarah (7 yr old) was 59 lbs & is 46.5" tall. Both of them are right where they should be according to the growth curve chart thing the doc does.
Today was a busy day for us. Lots to be done! We got up about 8:30 and Larry headed outside to mow & weedeat. Samuel decided to join him....and ended up doing the mowing. While his job was not exactly stellar, he did a pretty decent job....even though the lawn mower is quite a bit taller than him!
While I did the dishes, cleaned up the kitchen & began the laundry, Savannah did a little vacuuming.
I think Samuel smelled the cookies baking & so he came inside to check out their progress. He set up his Spy Gear alarm system around the cooling cookies & even made a sign that said "don't touch". ha ha! Silly kid!
Afterward, he & Sarah helped with the laundry. Of course, he can't reach into the washing machine to give her the wet stuff without climbing on top.
After the morning chores were done, we took a break to eat lunch & then it was time to give King a bath. He needed it! He was sooo good about it though. He never tried to run off or jump around. He just stood there & let us hose him down, soap him up & rinse him off. After that, he really enjoyed the towel drying & brushing he got!
We stopped for a mid-day rest time/nap & then got up and got everyone bathed, dressed & fed and went to a wedding. Congratulations Bryan & Natalie! The wedding was beautiful.
When we got home, the kids thought it was great fun to chase each other around the house with Samuel's spy gear stuff (the same little alarm system he used to 'guard' the cookies earlier today).
It was pretty funny to watch them setting off the alarm on purpose so that it would shoot the darts out at a sibling. (Don't worry...the darts have rubber tips on them.)
By the night's end, the kids were climbing the walls......
.....so we put them to bed. It had been a very full day, so hopefully sleep did not allude them for long.
Goodnight.
