A Nice Way To Think About Things. . .

I AM THANKFUL: FOR THE WIFE
WHO SAYS IT'S HOT DOGS TONIGHT,
BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME,
AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.


FOR THE HUSBAND
WHO IS ON THE SOFA
BEING A COUCH POTATO,
BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME
AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.


FOR THE TEENAGER
WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES
BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME,
NOT ON THE STREETS.


FOR THE TAXES I PAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM EMPLOYED .



FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE
BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.


FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.



FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE



FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING,
WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING,
AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME .


FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING
I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT
BECAUSE IT MEANS
WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.


FOR THE PARKING SPOT
I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING
AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION .


FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM WARM.


FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH
WHO SINGS OFF KEY BECAUSE IT MEANS
I CAN HEAR.



FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.



FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES
AT THE END OF THE DAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN
CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.



FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF
IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE.


AND FINALLY, FOR TOO MUCH E-MAIL

BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE
FRIENDS WHO ARE THINKING OF ME.


SEND THIS TO SOMEONE YOU CARE ABOUT. I JUST DID.

Live well, Laugh often, & Love with all of your heart!

Jason was released today

Jason is now home from the hospital. I am so relieved because I was really finding it challenging to cover childcare. My parents really came through for us these past few days even though they were completely exhausted. My dad even came to our house over the weekend to handle things when our plumbing backed up and had to be snaked out (thank goodness for rentals at Home Depot). It is hard on me to feel like I'm such a burden to them, but I'm glad they made the sacrifice.

Hospitals are such scary places anymore. There were several mistakes made when Jason was there that terrified me when it came to leaving him alone. Fortunately, God protected him, but it amazes me that things of this nature have happened so often during his hospital stays. To complicate matters, his pain medicine makes him somewhat incoherent and his memory is not very good. So when no one can be there, it is difficult for me to take over when I do show up because I'm never quite certain what has transpired.

Jason is very sore, and it is a little early to determine whether the surgery is successful or not. The surgeon is considering it a success, but I guess we will have to see what his pain level does before we know for sure. He will have to begin rebuilding his strength again, and we are using the walker we purchased for him last fall so that he can take several walks each day. I'm sure he will get plenty of rest at home and I'm thankful I spent the past month or so doing a lot of work in our bedroom so that he can get around easier in there with his walker and also so that he rests more comfortably. Jason will return to the surgeon a week from Thursday to have his staples and drain removed.

Now I need to figure out what our financial options are. Lord willing, I'll make a trip to DHS tomorrow to see what type of help is available to us. For the next few months, we will live out the daily bread principle because we have no more paychecks and I won't be able to consider working until after the baby is born. The Lord has always been gracious to us, so I'm trying not to stress too much about it at this point, but I'm sure I will have my moments. It will be a harder adjustment on the kids, as we are all going to have to tighten our belts and see how the Lord provides for our needs.

Thank you for all of the prayers!

Jason is Having Another Surgery!

PTL!! We faxed an appeal to the surgeon this morning and he called us back in less than two hours. After an office visit today, he scheduled Jason for another bowel resection this Wednesday August 20th at 1:45pm. He is also having a central line put in this time, so that hopefully, there won't be such an issue with them blowing out his veins all the time. He doesn't have very many good ones left :-(

Last time, he was off work for two months after the surgery. His work still does not have to hold his job, and we are out of paychecks, so please pray for the job situation and for our finances. We are out of money but are trying to do some checking into what assistance might be available for us. We truly feel that God has orchestrated this whole turnaround because last time it took us two or three weeks to get on the surgeon's schedule. We trust that He has a plan to get us through.

Please pray for me to have the strength to do everything I need to do between now and Wednesday and also to care for him after the surgery. I was awake for three hours last night having painful contractions :-0 I am 33 weeks, so pray for Baby Girl to wait until end of Sept or beginning of Oct to make her appearance so that Jason will be a little more self-sufficient by that time. Also that I can get the sleep and rest I need in the midst of all of this.

Pray for Dr. Hemric to have wisdom and discernment as he prepares for the surgery and during this entire process. Jason's other health conditions cause him to be out of the normal range for most patients so sometimes it is difficult to know how to treat him. Also, Jason's blood sugars have been high, so pray for these to be stabilized.

Thank you so much for your prayers!

Just blink your eyes. . .

and they've all grown up. Time has flown so quickly in the last ten years. "Eenie" turned 10 years old yesterday. It amazes me how much she has grown, changed and matured over the last ten years. She is truly a joy to be with, and it is a blessing to have a daughter old enough to have "girl dates" with. God has been very good to me.

On Sunday, we celebrated "Eenie's" birthday with a family birthday party. She got a movie, a bible study book and a doll that she chose herself. Her cake was a rice Krispy treat in the shape of a purse (milk and egg free, so that "Miney" could enjoy it too). After the party, she stayed to enjoy the evening with Grammy and Grandpa. Yesterday, on her actual birthday, I took the kids to McDonald's for breakfast and to the park for a play date. After that, they enjoyed a few hours at Grammy's while Mommy took a nap (I don't remember the last time I got to take a nap while someone else watched the kids!). Tonight, she will spend the night with her aunt and uncle and have pizza and watch her movie on their big screen TV. Since we don't generally allow sleepovers, this is a special treat for her. We were going to go on a field trip to a museum today per her request, but "Meanie" woke up in the night, running a fever. We have decided to postpone the trip so that we can all enjoy it at a later date. All in all, she has had a very nice birthday :-)

Homemade Bread

I baked three loaves of homemade bread last night :-) I have never made homemade bread by myself before (I baked it once with a friend from church a few years ago--at her home). When I did our family grocery shopping last Monday, I realized that our bread had gone from around $2 a loaf to $2.50 a loaf :-0 We can't buy the cheap bread or go to the Day old Bread store because "Miney" is allergic to milk and we can't find cheaper bread without milk in it (that doesn't go rotten too quickly). Realizing that the prices are only going to continue rising, we buckled down and invested in a Bosch and a Nutrimill. They were having a Mother's Day special, so I got them cheaper than I normally would have. I had never used either of these before, and with Jason's help I managed to figure out how to get the job done last night. This bread is so yummy and much healthier than what we can buy at the store. I got a great recipe and tips from my friend, Beth, who checked on me a couple of times throughout the process. I'm looking forward to making other yummy and healthier foods with my new equipment.

Level II Ultrasound results :-)

We are having a little girl :-) We got to have quite a long look at her today, and she is healthy and beautiful. We also got to have a 3D ultrasound, which we weren't expecting. Very exciting!!!! "Meanie" has resigned himself and is actually very excited even though he had prayed and hoped for a boy. Oh well. . . I told him that God must want him to learn to protect and defend, rather than wrestle :-)

Convention and Catch-Up

I have been so busy with the OCHEC convention (held May 2nd & 3rd) over the last week or so that I haven't had time to post. Normally, I spend my winter months planning and praying over the next school year, so that by the time I get to convention, I know exactly what I'm going to do with each child. With things so topsy-turvy this winter, that did not happen, so convention left me feeling a little scattered. I'm still not sure if I have all the bases covered for next year, but I will evaluate things over the next couple of months, and make any additional purchases over the summer. Mardels will have their education sale in July, so I can probably finish up then, if I need to.

This was my first year to be part of the convention committee. It was amazing to see what goes on behind the scenes as far as coordinating the convention each year. I still have a lot to learn, and I have really enjoyed the opportunities I've had this year to meet new people and help (a little) with the convention.

I have spent the last couple of days trying to catch up on the house after being gone so much. Also, I did the grocery shopping thing yesterday, and went to my mother's to cook up batches of meat. I have not been able to use my kitchen for several weeks due to sink problems (which are now fixed) and now ant problems. It seems that we are spraying poison (which I hate!!) every day, and things are not getting much better. They are all over everything--even clean dishes, so I've had to remove things from my cabinets and they are stacked everywhere. It is driving me NUTS!! With some pre-cooked meat, I can at least do some crockpot meals. We are using paper products for now (thank God for the Dollar Tree), so that we don't have to wash our dishes before and after we eat :-0

I will probably post again tomorrow after I have my big ultrasound. I am hoping that he/she will be ready to show us who they are :-)