Field Trip

We were able to accompany Alex and his Home School Academy class on an awesome field trip today, to tour a recycling facility. Incredibly interesting operation!

Check out this bale of aluminum cans that we saw baled from start to finish! After being compressed into a bale, it was weighed and the weight was spray painted on. Almost 600 pounds of cans!!!

Our tour guide told us that a 900 lb bale of aluminum cans holds approximately 38,000 crushed cans! Astronomical!!

What a neat learning experience! His class continued on to the Division of Wildlife office and Garden of the Gods to hike and eat picnic lunches, but we let him experience a school bus and his classmates for those stops. Super fun and educational day for him!!

Weekend Happenings

Blessings abound for all of our physical health here in the thin mountain air. We have been fortunate to have put the nebulizer in the top of the closet here and not gotten it down even once!! So, when sickness invades, it's typically viral and hits hard. Alex was the victim this weekend. He laid around, basically silent, all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday...VERY out of character for him! He even opted out of his swim meet on Saturday. :( I took him to Urgent Care for a strep test and we waited 3.5 hours, only to find out it was viral and would just have to run its course. We gave him OTC meds all weekend and he rested lots. Yesterday, he was more himself. Today should be even better!!

Weekend goal was to keep Reagan busy, busy so he could get extra rest and heal faster! She and I didn't stop!

We went swimming at the Y. She tested for a green band and passed! This tells the lifeguards how well a child swims and determines which areas of pools they can access with and without an adult. I believe in the swim program there! This summer, Reagan was still wearing floaties and hanging onto an adult at all times, so we began group lessons. To earn the green band, she had to tread water for 30 seconds, then swim freestyle for 15 meters, swim back in backstroke mode and float on her back for 30 seconds, all without stopping to touch the wall or the bottom!! Impressive advancements!! She is so proud of her hard work!

Back to staying busy...we also went to an event at the local Humane Society, full of free crafts, pet visits, and face painting!!

We baked and "booed" a few neighbors and friends...

We also worked hard getting ready for the pumpkin decorating contest at her section of Home School Academy. Pics of finished product coming soon. She is super creative and I just let her run with her ideas...

She and I went to church Sunday night and participated in Team Gary Prayer Night on the way. It was a big deal that she chose to attend the children's class without Alex there, rather than staying upstairs with me. God is helping her with her anxiety so much!!

Sure hate Alex missed all the fun, but there is always more to come when he feels great again!!

Unexpected...

I had to laugh out loud when I saw that my most recent post was dated September 3, 2013. I was able to type that post and add pics because I was home alone, with a nagging abdominal pain I'd had for a week, while Eric was with the kids at an appointment. I had been to several different doctors and was being treated for a urinary tract and early kidney infection, but just wasn't feeling any better, really. Later that afternoon, I went to a follow up visit and nurse practitioner felt that once the round of mega antibiotics was taken in full, I would be 100%. I determined to continue to take it easy when needed and finish meds, praying for healing. In fact, I went to bed that night, excited for our kids to begin Home School Academy one day a week the very next morning and praising God for a job interview Eric was scheduled for the next day.

Sometime in the wee hours of that night, I awoke in way more pain. Tried some simple home remedies and, an hour later was in truly excruciating pain, unable to fully stand to walk, and vomiting. We made a decision to head back to the ER and a CT scan revealed that my large intestine was folded in half. I had emergency surgery shortly after being diagnosed, 8-9" incision, had a section of my large intestine removed, had some exploration for any unseen issues, and was put back together with stitches on the inside and 25 staples on the outside. My inpatient stay was 5 full days, then I was thrilled to go home to recover. My mom flew in from Alabama as soon as my surgery was definite and she and Eric juggled staying with me and hanging out with our sweet kiddos, running my taxi service for me and cooking/cleaning. Friends blessed us with childcare and meals, too! Now it has been 5 weeks and 2 days since my surgery and I have healed well thus far. I am feeling really good now and getting stronger each week! Recovery is said to be about 8 weeks, so I am past the halfway point and following drs orders exactly, while resuming as normal a life as I can!

Some days, I still cannot believe I had major surgery, but I praise God for prompting us to seek emergency help thy night and for providing talented professionals to find the problem quickly and respond immediately! God went before us that night, for sure, and continues to heal my body today!! We praised Him through the storm and He has blessed our obedience. The job Eric was supposed to interview for that day hasn't given up on us and he is at orientation today, as I type this update! God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He's so good to me!!

Recent Happenings

This long anticipated week has arrived! Though we have been back in school at home since early August, this first week of September is when everything "extra" kicks up a notch. Here is a first day of school pic from this year, taken August 6, 2013.

More posts to come this week about our new adventure called Home School Academy...

But first, our sweet girl had to go to the pediatrician today for a well check and to get one shot she was missing to complete her shot record to officially enroll in the academy program!

Reagan is 6.5 now, but we evidently missed a 6 yr well check in there somewhere! She is now 47.5" tall (near the 75th percentile in height) and weighs 44.4 pounds (near the 30th percentile), so tall and thin! She is a great eater and is very active with swim and soccer each week, so no concerns there!

She is in 2nd grade curriculum at home and is such a bright child. She loves to read and draw and would do these two things all day some days, if allowed. She is an animal lover, always playing with animal toys and pretending to be a zoo veterinarian (her future dream job). She is reading the Puppy Place series right now and is on book 6. 

Warms my heart to see her anxious to read her Jesus Calling devotion book for kids each morning and look up verses in her Bible all by herself. Love that she loves to read, but still enjoys being read to as well! 

As many of you know, Reagan has faced some complicated grief and anxiety in the last 6 months or so. She sees a Christian counselor and participates in play therapy once a week, and we are given coping strategies and tools for use at home, too. We have seen tremendous progress and pray it continues, even as we move again soon. Today, we used some calming techniques we have learned, for her shot, and she didn't even flinch or cry! She is maturing, in Gods strength and time! Big girl, but she will always be our baby!

Six and a HALF!!

Yesterday, this sweet girl celebrated a half birthday! So hard to believe 6 months have passed since she turned 6! To celebrate, she got to eat dessert after lunch. She chose a Honey Bun. Big treat!

She chose to play Glow Golf after school, with some $ Slash and Mimi gave us for this activity! That was good family fun!

She had a punch card for a free ride on the Monkey Train at the same mall, so she ended the celebration with a long ride, before heading to swim lessons!

Most years, the HALF birthday gets overlooked, but Reagan was counting down to this one! She loves a reason to celebrate and have some family fun!!

Big Adventures

Just a few days after turning 10, Alex went on his biggest adventure EVER!

After saying goodbye to our pets, he spent the 4th of July flying ALONE to visit some family in GA and AL!!

He was a little nervous just before boarding, but we prayed that away and he had a blast! I have no pics of his fun as of yet, but he did so many fun things and had Slash and Mimi and Aunt Rach and Uncle Eric all to himself for almost 3 weeks, and cats to spoil there, too!

We are so proud of him for his courage to travel alone and we are so thankful for family who made it possible and made his stay so special!!!

While he was away, Reagan had a big adventure of her own! She attended a week long daycamp (9am-3pm) at the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region. She has been experiencing some extreme separation anxiety, but she has a deep love for all things animal! She transitioned into the first day of camp without tears and it was as if the week was designed perfectly for her!

Each day, the campers at Camp Whiskers and Wags interacted with animals and participated in animal-themed games and crafts!

At the end of the week, a graduation ceremony was held, and all of the "puppies" were honored! Reagan thoroughly enjoyed each day, and God used it to heal some of her anxiety!

Fun times were had by all and now we are thankful to be reunited at home for some end of summer fun!

Double Digits!!

Alex is TEN! So hard to believe he has reached double digits and needs all of his fingers to show his age now! In so many ways, time has just flown by in the last 10 years. I want to blog with pictures from across the years, but I am focusing on the present day for now! Maybe a post across the years will follow soon!

When Alex awoke on his actual birthday, we surprised him with 10 streamers on his door and 10 balloons (plus one to grow on) leading up the stairs outside his room! He loved it, like we knew he would!!

All day on his actual birthday, we celebrated as a family. We enjoyed watching him open gifts and watching Lilly play in the gift wrap!

We had lunch at Cici's Pizza (his choice)!

We spent the afternoon bowling, using coupons he was awarded through the summer reading program! Bowling was different in a leg stabilizer, but we had lots of fun and laughter! Always great to be reassured that your sister loves you so much!!

Alex was so excited to Skype with Slash and Mimi so they could "see" him open the gift they mailed him! After our fun filled day, he spent time assembling the Lego set they sent! This boy loves se Legos!

He obliged me with some quick photos of this uber important milestone! My handsome 10 year old fella...

Happy Birthday, little man! We love you!

You are so creative and love to learn! You are still so playful and enjoy your play time so so much! We want to cherish your innocence and celebrate your deep love for God and family every day! Stay focused on God and grow in wisdom always!!

A couple of days after his birthday, we celebrated again, with a cookout/friend party! Alex chose a NASCAR theme and we had so much fun outside on a beautiful evening!

Looking forward to celebrating many more years to come! So thankful for Alex's strong health and never want to take it for granted!! Thank you, God, for our ten year old gift!!

Summer Reading Program

No words are adequate for how pleased I am with the Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD)! During the school year, we spent almost every Thursday afternoon at the Fountain library. Every other week we had a unique science lesson and hands-on experiments and, on in-between weeks, we made some cool crafts with lots of creative freedom. The kiddos looked forward to it each week and hated to miss.

This summer, we signed up for the summer reading program and it certainly hasn't disappointed either! Both kids love reading and being read to, but the logging of reading time and the prize earning have been so motivating! I'm taking some tips from that into our school plans for next year! ;)

Each week this summer, we are able to participate in free events, sponsored by various public libraries all around the city, in conjunction with summer reading. We have seen some great shows for sure! Below are some pics of shows we have seen and participated in over the past few weeks...