Goodbye 2014

And with a blink this year is ending.....here is a few snippets of the last couple of months....

I had surgery in October to remove some scar tissue from a previous surgery five years ago.  It went well be I got what my husband liked to call a "two week medical vacation". Hopefully, this won't become an every five year thing.

Soon after my medical vacation was over we ended up in the ER with Ashley with a possible appendicitis.  After a couple of weeks of gross tests by the GI doctor, we found that she has an intolerance to some foods, ulcers in her stomach and GERD.  Poor thing has a three month diet of nothing acidic so her stomach can heal....and yes chocolate is very acidic.

We've had a couple of band and choir concerts, including John's first band concert at the Christmas one.  It is always so fun to get to watch them play and sing.

We spent Thanksgiving at my sister's house this year with her family and my parents.  We figured it had been 9 years since we had all been together at Thanksgiving.  That one was at my house when we lived in Iowa and my youngest and her oldest were both newborns.  When two families are in ministry and one family is in the Air Force that is what happens...we had a great time this year.

We didn't have our Christmas open house this year because, well, it just didn't happen.  We did have a fun month celebrating our Savior's birth though.  It included many evenings out with friends, fun and games with our kids, a night of progressive dinner with the youth kids and another trip to my sister's to celebrate with my family.

Celebrating Christmas with our kids was so fun this year.  I think they all got their most wanted gifts..except no iPhones or smartphones generally, but I don't think they really thought they were going to get those. Nathan has joined his brother in the Lego craze and the girls are definitely showing their age by enjoying everything that teenage girls do....clothes, make up, music, decor for their rooms, shoes,etc. We've played lots and lots of board games and hit the movie theater a couple of times.  We haven't seen The Hobbit yet and that will get done before we return to our regular schedule.

We have had a really sweet time celebrating Christmas with Joe's family after Christmas.  It has been three years since we've all been together.  It is somewhat bittersweet because in the back of our minds we all know why Joe's sister and our brother-in-law and their three girls are in the states. It has been fun to get to know some dear friends of theirs from China who are visiting as well.  The language barrier is definitely there, but non-verbal communication speaks loudly sometimes.  Please continue to pray for our brother-in-law James as he battles lung cancer.  He had a scan this week.  Many of the tumors were gone or had shrunk Praise God.  But there was one in his lymph node that had grown a little.  They meet with the oncologist next week to determine the next steps.  

And with that I will say goodbye 2014 and see you next year!

Veteran's Day 2014

I love what my kids's schools do to celebrate Veteran's Day. The older three are involved in a club that organizes a breakfast and then they hold an assembly. At Nathan's school the 2nd and 3rd graders walk to the cemetery to watch the ceremony. This year Nathan was also able to attend the assembly at the older threes' school.  Nate's school is raising money for the honor flight and he was chosen to attend and help collect money.  

As part of the assembly they chose students to share their essays on what veterans mean to them.  Ashley was honored to be chosen to share hers this year.  Here is her essay:

When I thought of what to do for a Veteran's Day project, I first thought of who veterans are.  That's simple.  I thought "a veteran is a person who has fought in a war."

Honestly, though, I think that people sometimes take seriously the importance of veterans, but undermine the importance of war.  When thinking about battle, we occasionally replace gore with glory. We see photographs in history books of George Washington kneeling proudly at the front of a boat with a cape draped over one shoulder, and his chest puffed out. We see pictures of men pushing the flag of the United States to an upright position.

We neglect, however, to remember the gross, gory, humbling moments that form the honorable men and women.  We forget the times these people were in knee deep in mud, watching grenades explode as sweat and blood drip down their calloused skin. We forget the bombs and bullets that pierce the hearts of people who lose loved ones.  We forget the tears shed in an attempt to fill the void where loved ones used to be.

Veterans themselves, have to sometimes live with the fact that they took another person's life.  That was someone's mother, or father, brother or sister. That was someone's best friend.

Veterans, though, keep me safe.  They fight for every citizen so others don't have to.  For that, I am eternally grateful.  They keep America beautiful.  That is why, for my Veteran's Day project, I decided to explain what a veteran meant to me.  I will always appreciate veterans because of what they do to protect my country from sea to shining sea.

Here's some pics....A huge thank you to my friend Kelsey for taking pics and video for me since neither Joe or I were able to go!

Nathan at the cemetery with his class.

The band and choir performed Battle Hymn of the Republic.  Ashley is singing in the front row and Sara is in the blue hoodie playing her flute.

Nathan with his fellow third graders getting ready to collect money.

Ashley reading her essay.

Speech Districts 2014

Ashley and John both are participating in speech this year.  I am a huge fan of speech because I think it teaches and helps kids speak in front of a group of people.  It really helps their confidence.  Plus, my kids that participate LOVE it!  John did a solo performance this year.  Our family rule is that the first year you participate in speech or any type of solo and ensemble type of competition, you do a solo.  If you do a solo, you truly know what you are capable of doing.  You don't have any other variables.  So John did a solo.  Ashley did a solo and a duet this year. 

My battery died out on John's solo.  Yes....mom fail.  I wasn't even working the week they had the competition so I can't use the excuse that I didn't have time to check it.  So that is why there are two videos for John.  I am also posting Ashley's solo.  I didn't get to see her duet as it was at the same time as John's solo.  Joe recorded her duet and I smartly uploaded it from his phone to my YouTube account only to then realize that I posted a video of the dog instead.  So the duet with get posted at a later time...

Homecoming

Our homecoming parade was a few weeks back.  It was the weekend after my surgery.  Fortunately, my parents were here and I was able to venture out to see the parade.  All four kids were in it this year.  Here are some pics from the day....it was beautiful!

 This is the girls' band...CEC.  John is in band this year too, but only 6th-8th grade marches.

 Ashley led the band.  She is on the color guard and was voted by the fellow members of the color guard to lead them (there is an odd number of them).  She was pretty nervous, but did a great job!

 Here is Sara leading the flutes.

 So I promise that John is on this float.  He is on the other side and if you know him really well you can probably spot the back of his head.  We called his name, but John was in the zone and we all know when he is in the zone he doesn't hear anything!

And, lastly, here is Nathan on his float.  Fortunately, he was on the right side...or maybe I should say we were on the right side!

The agony of de"feet"

So as I mentioned in a previous post, we had a rainy morning the other day.  Joe and I needed to make a trip to the store.  As we were making our list the subject of Nathan's shoes came up.  That boys goes through shoes like crazy and he had developed a hole in his current pair. We checked and he had also grown out of them so we measured to see what size he would need.  A size 8 folks...a men's size 8. And, yes, he has a birthday coming up, but he is 8. Years. Old.  So in the spirit of friendly competition ( because family competition is always friendly, right?😉) we decided to have the kids compare feet.  First up, the eldest son...

Nate is on the right. John is on the left and 21 months older than Nate. Yep...Nate wins. Poor John.

Nate is again on the right.  Big sis is on the left.  This is the oldest sis Sara...she's 13.  Yep...Nate wins again.

And this is Nate on the right with Ashley in the left. While Ashley wanted to claim victory, I think this was officially called a draw by the judges.  And, unfortunately (or fortunately since she is a girl!), Nate has the advantage since she is 12 and her feet haven't grown in a year.

And, finally, the big dog.  Dad is still significantly ahead, but again Nate is 8.  Someday I am sure Nathan will pass him up and Joe will suffer the agony of the de"feet". 

A rainy afternoon and a chuckle....

Today we have all been home with nothing to do.  Do you have any idea how rare that is.  So we measured feet this morning. What? That isn't what you do on a rainy day.  That post will be later.  Sara headed over to our fitness center for a class this afternoon and a joe and I made our way to the grocery store.  Aldi had honeycrisp apples for 99 cents a pound and galas for 50 cents a pound and joe wanted to see how I would do in the car. And Nathan needed a new pair of tennis shoes. Sadly...not good on the car front.  But we have tons of apples. I was able to peel some this afternoon. They are in the crockpot smelling yummy for some applesauce.  Most of the afternoon has been spent reading and listening to some Norah Jones.

We were just settling in for some family time of Once Upon a Time when someone commented on being excited.  I started singing "I'm so excited and I just can't hide it".  Sara say "that should be a song." Obviously we need to expose her to some more of the classics...sigh.

Recovery

So my surgery was Wednesday and I have been in recovery mode since.  I won't go into detail on what all the doc did.  To summarize, he basically put two holes in me...one for the camera and one for tools, did some things and then stitched me up.   The first 36 hours I was flat on my back.  For those who have had laproscopy done before, you may be familiar with shoulder pain afterwards.  Flat on the back is the best way to deal with it.  Now that the shoulder pain is gone, I have been sentenced to the couch.  The sentencing is for my protection....so I don't tear something and then they have to go back in to fix that (according to my protective hubby). So today I have painted my nails, played some Kingdom Chronicles on my iPad, watch some NCIS marathon, gotten text updates on the boys' football game, and am currently introducing Ashley to Ocean's Eleven. We have been super blessed by meals of lasagna and meatloaf.  And my parents have been a huge help in playing taxi for my kids.  It has been awhile since I've had a stay at home vacation, so I plan to enjoy it while it lasts.

And the answer is.....

....we always visit Arby's after I have had a hospital visit.  It started with the birth of my first born.  I had horrendous acid reflux and heartburn and didn't really enjoy food the last trimester.  As we headed home with Sara it was near lunchtime.  Joe asked me what I wanted to eat, we happened to be drivin past an Arby's and it sounded good to me.  And, thus, started a tradition as there just happened to be an Arby's near the hospital where I gave birth to the last three kids.  About 5 years ago I had a benign tumor removed and Joe ran me through Arby's on the way home.  So it has happened 5 times in the last 13 years.

So, tomorrow, as you have probably guessed, I am making another hospital visit.  Evidently that surgery 5 years ago left some scar tissue.  It has really started to bug me so them good doc is going to  go back in and do whatever they do to get rid of it...hopefully without causing more scarring; not really sure how that all works which, as they say, is why my doc gets the big bucks.  And now it is off to bed I go as I get one last refreshing drink of water...no food OR drink after midnight....sigh.

Arby's here we come...

So here is a little blog trivia for your Monday afternoon.   After a certain something happens in my life, my hubby runs me through the Arby's drive thru for a beef 'n cheddar hold the Arby's sauce.  A hint would be that this has happened 5 times in the last 13 years.  It is going to happen again this week. Any guesses?

No practice?!

So this is what happens when my boys have a free evening due to yucky weather and no football practice....

Nathan got a new Kindle because, sadly, his other one was stollen.  As he was trying out his new features, he and John realized they could enter each other's Minecraft worlds.  So while it looks like they are completely consumed and in their own little worlds, they are actually in each other's worlds.  They were having so much fun I couldn't bear to enforce our normal electronic time limit.  Every so often you would hear one of them say "this is so fun!  I love playing this with you!" Seriously, what mom can stop any activity that creates that kind of sibling play enthusiasm?!