Tues Aug 8 2 doctor appointments today

When Andrew & Kourtney moved in, we took them to the pediatrician for a check up.  That was the last week of February.  Andrew was fine, not behind on any shots or anything.  Kourtney was behind on her shots, having 6 or 7 to catch up on.  She also required a "finger-stick" to do some basic bloodwork.  While Andrew stayed in the exam room w/ Larry for his check up, I walked to the lab w/ Kourtney (in the same bldg) for her finger stick.  I was absolutely blown away by how she reacted.  Between the yelling & kicking, she flung her arms around & just went absolutely bonkers.  It took me and another lady to hold her down for the other lab tech to get a finger to poke.  I kept apologizing to the lab techs, who were standing back looking pretty stunned, too.  I can laugh about it now, but it was anything but funny at the time.

 

Because she reacted so wildly to the finger stick, we decided to only do 4 of the shots she needed at the time.  I knew I could always come back later & get the rest.  Oh, and on that day she weighed 65 or 66 lbs.

 

Today was the day to go back & get the rest of her shots.  I was pretty nervous about this b/c of her reaction the last time.  On top of that, Larry is still in Mexico, so I knew that I'd have to do it by myself.  But it went really well!  In the (almost) 6 months since that last check up, she's down to 58 lbs.  We've discussed her getting the other shots for a month or so now...complete with lots of cheering & high-fives about how I KNOW she's big & brave.  (Of course, there was also the threat of punishment if she threw a fit like that again!)  Yesterday, I told her that it was up to her.......if she wanted to get to go to McDonald's for lunch today, she had to behave when it was time for her shots.  It's ok to cry & say "ouch!" but the flailing arms, kicking feet, screaming & wailing was *NOT* gonna happen.  So when it got to be time for her shots, Savannah sat on the table w/ her & let her squeeze her hand.  I was on the other side w/ her squeezing my hand, too.  She got a little panicked at the last minute, claiming she needed to go potty, but she made it!  She was very brave & strong & never screamed, never cried...just sat there & squeezed our hands.  I was soooo proud of her & she was quite proud of herself, too!  She ended up showing off her bandaids to everyone in the office on the way out--even the other patients in the waiting room!  :)

 

Savannah is growing & doing fine, too!  She was up to 63 lbs (I think?) and was 50 1/2" tall.  For the average 10 year old, that's shorter & thinner than usual, but she's doing perfectly on her own growth curve.  She was excited to see that she was over 50" tall today!  :)

 

We had a nice lunch at McDonald's today on the way back home!  Hooray!  Healthy kids!

 

The one downside of the day.......one of Kourtney's shots has to wait a few more weeks.  It has to have been over 6 mo. before she can get the next one in a series & it's about 3 weeks shy of 6mo. since that last check up.  We'll get that one when she goes back in November for her annual check up.

Sun Aug 6

My sweet girl is 10!  TEN years old!  That's a decade, ya know?  That's just 3 shy of being a teenager.  WHERE has the time gone?  I know that it's been 10 years, but really......I can remember her birth and her 1st birthday...and the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th.....like they were just yesterday!  In just 8 years, she'll be old enough to walk out the door & go marry some yucky boy if she wants to!  Eeeekkkk!!!!!

Heavenly Father,  Thank you for the gift that is my daughter.  You knew her before I did.  You knit her together so tenderly in my womb.  You touched her with your hands before I did.  You had a vested interest in her eternal life before I ever layed eyes on her.  You gave her life, allowed her to take her first breath, and stand at her side, day in & day out.  Thank you for being the life-giver for my daughter.  Thank you for giving her to me, loaning her out for her time here on earth.  Thank you for choosing me to be her mother.  I have learned much through this precious vessel of your Spirit and am honored that you chose me to be the one to raise her.  THank you, Jesus.  Thank you.

Savannah's birthday tomorrow

Big plans....

We'll have cake for breakfast (a birthday tradition here!) & let her open her present.  (Shhh...don't tell....I got her one of the little 20 Question handheld games.)  We'll go on to church afterward as usual.  After church, I'm going to stop at the video store & let her pick out a movie for us to all watch together.  We'll come home & have lunch and naps & then we're going to be real heathens & stay home from Sunday PM church so that we can eat popcorn & watch her movie as a family.  She will "officially" be 10 at 6:43pm!

Andrew is also going home w/ a friend after church tomorrow, which he is ecstatic about!  He recently asked me why no one ever invited him over to their house, so now he gets a chance!

Sat Aug 5

Larry left the house about 6:40 this morning.  :::yawn:::  Of course, he woke me up before he left for a good-bye kiss, so I'm thinking a nap is in order today.  What am I going to do in a couple weeks when I have to start getting up at the crack of dawn to take kids to school?  Yikes!  The extra sleep time is my favorite part of summer!!  I talked to him about 11:50am & they had made it to Giddings, TX...somewhere way south of us.  He said they didn't expect to get to Mexico (where they're headed) til about 7:00 tonight.  If you know where it is, they're staying in Reynosa, Mexico.  They will be building a house for a homeless family and working in 2 orphanages.  Wait....have I already posted this info?  I can't recall.

Well.....life is back to normal.  The kids have spent the majority of the morning just trying to clean their rooms (ugh...always a mess!) & arguing about "this isn't mine...YOU put it up!", etc.  :::sigh:::  I'm glad they're home, though.  :)

Late Fri Aug 4

Our campers are home, safe & sound.  They enjoyed every MINUTE of camp, grinning non stop from ear to ear all evening....talking constantly about all the neat stuff they did.  We bought a camp week DVD w/ music & pictures.  We watched it tonight & it looks like they all had SOOOO much fun!  I'll let them share the week's events & excitement with you, but wanted to let you know they're here & safe and LOVED IT!!!!!!!  They have both already said they want to go back next year!! 

Fri Aug 4

My babies are coming home today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I can't wait to see them.  The kids & I are making "Welcome Home" signs today & will be holding them up for the kids when they step off the bus.  (Yes, we're complete saps over here---and I love it!!!!)

After we get them off the bus, Larry & I are going to take all 5 kiddies to Burger King for supper & to hear all the details of the kids' week.  Larry has to be back at the church about 7:00 to pack the van.  He's leaving at 7:30 tomorrow morning for a mission trip & won't be back til Wednesday evening.  We're going to work in that family time one way or the other!!!  :)  If you don't hear from me any more tonight, it's because we're trying to shove in every last minute of time together before he leaves.  I wish there was a short break (at least 24 hours!) between their return & his departure, but there's not.  :(  Oh well......we'll make it.

Sunday is Savannah's 10th birthday!  If you'd like to send her an e-card, feel free to send it to me & I will make sure she sees it.  I can't believe my baby is going to have a double digit age!  She's a decade old!  Man, what does that say about me?  (hee hee....I know, I know.....I'm not old.  I started out having babies early!  But I feel old!)

Thanks for your prayers for the kids this week & all the emails & cards & letters sent.  I know they loved that!!!  And if you're up for it.....start praying again!  Larry's group leaves early tomorrow & they will spend all day Sun/Mon/Tues building a house for a family in Mexico and doing a daily puppet show & Bible school of sorts for some children at an orphanage.  I know he'll be changed & will love this...but we sure will miss him!

Love & hugs to you all! 

our week so far July 31-Aug 2

I'm sorry that Monday's entry was so short & to the point, but I didn't the energy for much more.  Monday was very draining.  Andrew & Savannah left for camp that morning and I had a hard time watching the bus pull away.  Knowing that they would be gone for a week, far away....well, it just makes a mama sad.  I would've been OK, I think, had Andrew not looked out the window of the bus at me with a face that said "I'm not sure I want to do this!!".  As they pulled away, his sad little face locked eyes with me & I just lost it.  I knew he'd be fine & had no worries about his safety, but I am a big sap when it comes to my babies & their EMOTIONAL well being.  If I know a situation will make them sad, I'm crying right along with them........if I know it'll make them mad, I get angry, too.  So much for that umbilical cord connection.  I never shared that w/ Andrew physically, but I may as well have.  I'm as connected to that kiddo (emotionally) as the ones who grew in my belly.  Once I composed myself, it was time for the next adventure!

I ran home, ironed an outfit & got ready for court.  I knew that it wasn't until 1:30 (about 2 hours past my usual lunch time) but I also knew that there was no way I could eat anything.  I figured the judge would prefer NOT to see my lunch on her courtroom floor.  LOL!  Court was scheduled for 1:30, but it was closer to 2:00 before they got to us.  It was interesting to sit in a courtroom for the first time in my life & see how that all works.  The lawyer ended up only calling Larry to the witness stand, so it wasn't as bad (for me!) as I thought it could've been.  I just sat, listened & watched & then left.  At about 2:15pm CST, Judge Carole Clark signed the papers & we were officially named as Managing Conservators for the kids.  Yahoo!  It's done!  Afterward, we went to lunch w/ Larry's parents (who came to court with us) & enjoyed some time of breathing a big sigh of relief.  It's nice to have that behind us.

While we were at court, mom picked up Samuel from daycamp & kept he and the girls at the house.  When we got home, the girls went with mom to spend the night w/ her.  Larry took a nap.  I made a couple of phone calls while Samuel worked on cleaning up his room & then it was time for the next event of the day!  A friend babysat for us (for free!!  Thank you Angela!) & we went out to use a gift certificate we had for Texas Roadhouse.  Although the service wasn't so hot, it was nice to get out & just be a couple for a few hours.  We finally ended the day by eating our take out food in the front of the TV while watching a chick flick.  (It was Just Like Heaven in case you're looking for a sweet love story!)

Tuesday morning, Samuel went back to day camp.  The girls & I ran a couple of errands & then went back to get him.  I can't think of what we filled the rest of the day with, but it seems like we were busy then, too.....oh well.....

Today (Wednesday), the kids' camp picture got posted to the camp's website.  Here is our church group plus all the other kids who are at Camp His Way this week!  http://camphisway.com/images/group2006/August_1_2006_group.jpg   Savannah is sorta of out in the middle of the picture in a BRIGHT NEON yellow Tshirt.  Andrew is over to the right side.  Only his head is showing from behind a boy w/ a "B" baseball cap on.  Our children's pastor is the guy in the white sleeveless Tshirt back behind them.  They look like they're having fun.  And to show ya just how much fun........here is the group's GOOFY group picture:  http://camphisway.com/images/group2006/August_1_2006_goofy.jpg   I can't wait to get them all home on Friday & see how their week was!!!!!!!  I know they're going to have lots of stories to tell & pictures to show me (they both have a disposable camera with them).

Today was Sarah's annual check up with her allergist/asthma doctor.  He is a friend of ours from our old church & a real sweetheart.  The kids love him.  Today he got to meet Kourtney & he proceeded to hug her & tell her how much he loves our family...and that she's blessed to be a part of it.  He told her to make sure & bring Andrew back next time so he can meet him too.  :)  Sarah's check up went fine.  She has mild intermitent asthma & very mild allergies.  They were worse when she was a baby/toddler and it's progressively gotten better over the years.  I'm sure she'll probably be like me & have this sort of stuff her whole life, but it's nice to hear the doc say she's not getting worse!

Samuel is loving his cooking camp!  Tonight he told me that when he grows up, he thinks he might be a chef.  I love it!  I told him about Emeril & that he's really famous & makes a lot of money & he thinks that would be really neat.  Of course he also said it might be fun to be a paramedic or a fireman so who knows?!  He did decide today that he's going to continue swim classes this fall instead of doing Cub Scouts with Andrew.  That's fine with us.  We'll just have to figure out how to work it in & when the classes are.  So far, the kids are doing quite a few things that will keep us busy!

Savannah is taking art classes from Jan Widner.  If you live locally, I highly recommend her!  She's a super art teacher & a precious saint!  Jan is a member of our singles group & we all adore her.  Savannah's art class is Thurs afternoons from 3:30-5:00.  That ought to be a trick since I don't get her off of the daycare bus til 3:30!  Ouch.  She'll have to be a little late every week, but I won't have far to drive...maybe 5 minutes....so it won't be too bad.  And then the really interesting part will be getting back to Whitehouse by 5:15 for Sarah's "juh-nastics" class (as she calls it).  That's until 6:00.  So let me just tell ya now......once school starts, if you try to call me on a Thursday afternoon, don't bother til at least 7:00 so that I have time to come home, breathe for a minute & feed supper to everyone.  Hmm....Thursday may become our designated fast food night.

Andrew is planning to be in Cub Scouts & play soccer again.  We're not sure yet which day of the week Scouts will fall on.  Hopefully it'll be on a day when we can do it!!  Soccer is on Saturday mornings once it starts, so that won't be an issue as far as scheduling goes.

Kourtney is going to take twirling & jazz.  That's on Mondays.

I think that there was a Friday afternoon swim class Samuel could get into.  We'll see........

Whew.......I think I'm going to be signing up for all the free gasoline contests I can find.  I have a feeling I'm going to need it!