Poor Little Boy

Elijah is going to the ENT on Monday. He has had at least 3 sinus infections this winter. So, at the last visit to the doc she said that we would do a two week round of antibiotic and if he doesn't fully recover or if he gets one again we will just go see the ENT.

Well, guess what! Yes, he got sick last week, the day before he was to stop his meds. So, I kept giving it to him hoping to get through the week until his appt. My plan didn't work.

The doc had also said that his ears had a lot of wax in them, normal for ears fighting off infections. They start to overproduce wax. So, she recommended drops for him.

It's easiest to put them in his ears while he is sleeping because he doesn't move, and that's just what I did last night. Well, MUCH to my dismay he wakes up and is screaming and crying because his right ear is hurting him. It was awful. There is nothing you can do. The drops are in there, and they are basically peroxide drops so they are going to burn if you have something going on.

He cried and cried, and then cried some more while saying his ear was hurting. It was so sad.

It turns out his ear is infected. The poor little guy. The doc this morning said his throat is red, his ear is infected, of course his nose has been stuffy, and he has bronchitis. So, he needs yet another antibiotic, nebulizer treatments, etc.

The thing is he has been acting fine. I mean I knew he wasn't feeling well, especially at the beginning of the week, but not much gets this kid down. He is generally quite happy.

I am so glad we are going to the ENT Monday. I am thinking he will need his adenoids out, but I'll see what the doc says. Elijah's issues have mainly been in his nose whereas Madelyn's issues are now usually in her chest.

Oy. I don't know that this will ever end. The doc said today that with allergies and asthma we should basically move out west or to FL. Great.

When I told Dan that I could hear the wheels turning in his head. After the weeks we have had lately I have to admit it is tempting, but I have been telling Dan for a while that I like where we are and I don't want to leave any time soon. Of course, if our children don't ever stop coughing or getting infections in their chests and ears and noses, etc. I will be the first one packing up for their sakes.

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Madelyn is on a field trip today, and I hate knowing that she is not just up the road. I am trying to not worry, and I already worked through the "If I can't go, she can't go" phase of all of this.

I just am not separated from my kids very often, and that's pretty much by choice. I hate leaving them. I'm not a stay at home mom for nothing. I definitely have control issues ... but enough about me.

With Madelyn being sick lately she hasn't been allowed outside. So, this morning as she was getting ready to go she asked me this question:

"Mommy, am I allowed to walk outside to get to the bus or whatever transportation we are taking today?"

Of course she is, sweet thing, and I told her so.

Then she says, "Okay, I will tell Mrs. Paquette that I am allowed."

It kills me. You never know how they are processing things.

So, came home and Elijah is eating breakfast. He then says:

"Mommy, you say I am silly, and Madelyn says I am crazy."

"We just think you are fun. That's what it comes down to," I reply.

"Yeah, and I am cute. I am a cute little boy." He does not lack in confidence.

I just kind of looked at him and nodded in agreement and I thought to myself, "I really need to stop telling him how cute he is."

As I nod at him he says, "You know that's right."

Ha! It cracked me up.

Okay, and one last thing. My dad had surgery a few weeks ago. He is still recovering so Dan called him yesterday to find out how he was doing. So, last night Dan was telling me about his conversation with my dad. Next thing I know Madelyn is asking me for a card. Why? She's going to make one for my dad. So sweet!

She drew a picture in the card and then wrote, "I will be praying for you. Love, Madelyn." She also made him a book. She likes to make books. She drew a picture of our family with my dad in it too, and some other fun pictures to complete the book. She also made him a valentine by writing I love you on paper in the shape of a heart.

She is so thoughtful and sweet. It kills me. I hope he likes the card.

Okay, now I am just fighting the urge to drive up to the science center where they are having the field trip today, just so I can spy on them. But, I won't. I promise. I need to do my Bible study work and then do Power90, my insane workout system I am doing. It's absolutely insane. I don't know how to start out slow and I do myself in. I am going to try to change that today and take it a little easier. We'll see how it goes.

I think doing Power90 is why I was in a bikini in my dream the other night. The company that does it is called Beachbody. Yeah, we'll see.

So Gross

My kids LOVE pb&j so I thought Daisy would too, and she did. I gave her a piece of the crust that Elijah left behind. She ate it right up.

So, I went ahead and gave her the rest of the crust that he left behind thinking she would eat it up like the other piece.

I didn't think much of it again until ... ew! ... I found it next to my bed against the wall! She has that habit of saving treats until later. Ugh. Why can't she just eat it up like most dogs?

Have I mentioned Elijah is sick now and is coughing and coughing and coughing. The poor thing. He's so sweet about it too. He sneezes and sneezes and coughs and coughs. He's a mess, but just says, "Mommy, I'm still sick!" or "Mommy, I keep coughing!"

Will it ever end? I forget what it's like to live in a house that doesn't have almost constant coughing.

Oh, and I think I win the "I posted the most posts about my dog this week" award if there is such a thing.

Funny

I posted about the desire to shop yesterday and what do I dream about last night? That's right. Shopping. I was bargain shopping with someone, but I can't remember who it was now. We were looking at bags, my favorite. I think it actually helped me get over the desire because it seemed so real and there weren't really any great deals anyway.

It wasn't just bags I looked at though. I also looked at dogs at a shelter. One was a little jack russel, but not a crazy one like most. This one was really sweet. Thankfully, I woke up before I could bring it home.

And, why was I wearing a bikini for most of my dream? As if ...

Another Video

Don't worry. I am done posting pics and videos of me and Daisy in the field, for now anyway. It has been too blasted (to borrow a word from my hubby) cold lately! I know I wrote the post about feeling stronger after venturing out into the cold, but then we had a warm spell and since then I have been a total wuss.

Just being honest here.

Okay, so THIS video is a darling one of the children decorating the Christmas tree. Our tree was decorated in about ten minutes this year. The kids were so excited and notice how close the ornaments are hung together where Elijah is trying to put ANOTHER one on the tree. I love it. The tree was a little funny looking at the end, but I couldn't dare change it because it was the handiwork of my little darlings. One day I will have my beautifully coordinated tree and I will miss the days when the tree was decorated within minutes with a ton of mismatched nonbreakable ornaments.

Okay, so on to the video ... oh, but one more thing, that may or may not be me singing in the background. I will never tell.

Field Journal

And now I have figured out how to upload VIDEOS!!! YIPPEE!!!

Okay, notice how absolutely beautiful the sky is in these videos. And, keep in mind my chin was absolutely frozen in the second video. I sound a little funny.

Oh, and I might be exaggerating about the temperature that day, or I might not be. All you need to know is it was FREEZING.

This Feeling I Get

When things are hectic or crazy or stressful or out of control ... you get the picture right? I want to shop. I want to buy things. This kind of goes along with my desire to adopt another pet, but it's a little different. I want to spend money and I want to play with whatever I get.

Usually I can figure out something to buy. This time, I can't. This is probably a good thing though. I'm sure if I actually went out to a store I would come across something to buy, but I don't even know what store I would go to. This is odd for me. I am usually interested in clothes at least. But, now, not so much.

So, now what do I do?

Want to know why I am feeling this way in the first place?

My poor Madelyn had a rough morning. She's had a rough couple of weeks. But, add to that coming off of a steroid and heading to school the next day and you get a disaster. She had a meltdown almost immediately after I got her out of bed. She kept saying she didn't want to go to school. Well, usually when she says this she is just tired and once she is up and about she snaps out of it and is happy to go. Not this morning. Drastic measures needed to be taken.

She ate her breakfast and was fine. She was ... happy, actually. It was nice to see that.

It was stressful though. Dan was taking Madelyn to school. He's sick and waking up to a crying daughter screaming about not wanting to go to school does not bode well for a happy heart. Then his bacon burned. It was all I could do to just get them out the door. They leave, I take a deep breath, start to type an e-mail to Madelyn's teacher (she's also my good friend) to give her a heads up, when I hear a tapping at my door. I thought Dan forgot something, but it was my dear friend Jess.

She didn't get my e-mail. Her phone has been broken so I couldn't call her to tell her we weren't going to story time. Elijah is now sick. But, Jess and I lived together for 4 years in college and one sick kid isn't going to keep us apart so they come in for a bit. Not to mention she is pregnant with twins so she welcomed the break from driving. The kids are playing, we are relaxing. Of course, I had to then call Becky who I was supposed to go to Cabela's with and tell her Elijah is sick. She doesn't need this awful cold going through her household, especially since she has a newborn. So, back to relaxing with Jess after a crazy morning.

Then the phone rings. Madelyn is not in class. She's in Dan's office. She is just really struggling. Dan, of all people, knows well the feeling of coming down from a steroid and we believe this is what Madelyn is struggling with. I told him to keep me posted.

The phone rings again. This time it is dear Barbara (Mrs. Wilcox). She has been cradling Madelyn during this time and now thinks she needs to come home. She thinks she might have a fever. (Help me Jesus if this is the case.) Thankfully, she doesn't.

Wonderful Jess stays with the kids so I can just run up to the school and get my poor little girl. The school is 7 minutes away. I found that those 7 minutes can feel like an eternity when you are trying to get to your child who is out of sorts, crying, and just plain feeling awful.

I rescued her and wanted to just snuggle with her all day until her little world was right again, but Dan was good to remind me that she should do some work today and not get a vacation day, lest she think she can get out of going to school again in this way. I think she loves school too much to do that, but I see his point. So, the deal is one video to calm down and then some makeup work from the last week she missed.

So, back at home, kids playing and then Jess and I are just hanging out. Hangin' with a friend who probably knows pretty much everything there is to know about you on days like this is good medicine for the soul. Who cares that your house is a wreck, your kids are sick, you feel pretty crappy, and then the kids are fighting over a balloon.

Life is life right? And, good friends understand this.

So, back to wanting to shop. I know this is just some emotional longing for some kind of quick fix to my issues, especially since I don't even want anything.

What to do? Oh, I know, spend time with Jesus. Pray. Read the Word. Gain some perspective on life. Get over the silly notion that some kind of material good is going to soothe whatever pain. Even if it did for the fleeting moment, there is more that awaits around the corner. It's just how life is.

That's not to say I won't do some window shopping at Amazon.com. I just like looking, and I have a movie I want to add to my wish list.

But first, I have my date with Jesus ...

The Wait is Over

Aren't you happy? More pics of me and Daisy in the field ...

Okay, this is the part where we start to be back near the neighborhood so I need her to get back on the leash. As scared as my dog is of most little things, moving vehicles do not phase her in the least. She is clueless when it comes to cars, trucks, vans, tractor trailors, you name it. So, it is absolutely necessary to leash her when we are in the neighborhood.

Can you see her running towards me?

How 'bout now?

You must be able to now ... I love these parts ... she's so happy to come to me.

She's had a great time and is just happy to be alive and with her favorite person ... me.


"Aw, good girl Daisy! Good gi ... Ew, what is that? Daisy? Daisy, what is that??"



Poop. Go figure. Seems we can't end these wonderful days without a bath.

Heading home. Home to the tub.

But, overall, Daisy is one happy little pup.

Ahhh, the silence ...

I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to be around Madelyn and not have her coughing every 2 seconds. It has been weeks since we have enjoyed this silence. I forgot what it was like to not hear her coughing so much.

So, now we begin the process of getting her to catch up on her school work (not an easy task). As much as she loves school, getting her to do makeup work usually begins with a battle and then she figures out that she can just do it and get it over with, or be miserable just sitting around. She's a smart girl. It doesn't take her long to figure things out.

So, after a week that included a trip to the ER for her, more meds than I would ever want to give my child at one time, broken sleep, missed school, LOTS of tv, gatorade, and popsicles we seem to have rounded a bend in the road.

And, it feels darn good. It's like we've been to battle, but are emerging out of the trenches a little wounded, but surviving.

You don't realize how the stress gets to you. The one day I was leaving a message for the nurse and I completely forgot my phone number. I kept saying 610 ... 610 ... um, 610 ... different numbers were racing through my head. I could not remember. I felt so dumb. You don't just keep your home number posted somewhere because you usually remember it so I had no where to turn. It finally came back to me.

Yes, things got a bit stressful. It just makes me REALLY REALLY thankful for doctors and medicines and hospitals.

(big sigh of relief) God is good. He is faithful as always, even when we are not, and we give Him praise.

Conversations with a boy ...

Madelyn is still sick so we have been stuck at home all week. While in one sense I have enjoyed living like a hermit, another sense is thinking tomorrow I will be absolutely stir crazy. But, that's okay because Dan will be home tomorrow and I will be able to get out if necessary (it most likely will be).

Anyway, to pass the time today Elijah and I chatted.

A little more background first ... he was only wearing his underwear at this point in the day because well, to be quite honest, a boy just forgets to put his spiderman outfit back on at times after going to the bathroom. Even though I reminded him of where it was so he could put it back on he still somehow managed to get sidetracked and never did.

So, he came running upstairs saying he needed a blanket and that he was cold. That turned into need to be wrapped up in the blanket and snuggled. Well, who am I to deny my almost 4 year old a sweet snuggle on a cold windy afternoon. We snuggled and chatted and the conversation turned into something like this ...

Me: What is your favorite food?
E: A brownie ... cookie ... cake! (he's definitely my child)

Me: What is your favorite animal?
E: A frog ... caterpillar ... and a hippo, that's it! (apparently he has a hard time narrowing it down to just one)

Me: What is your favorite color?
E: Green and blue.

Me: Who is your favorite person?
E: You mean my friend?
Me: Sure. Who is your favorite friend?
E: Madelyn

This is the part where my heart completely melts, and we then talk for a few minutes about how much we love that girl.

Meanwhile, Elijah loves this game and tells me to keep asking him favorites. I say okay to which he replies, "Thank you." He's so polite sometimes. It's cute.

Me: What are your favorite clothes?
E: Long Sleeves. (He does not like to wear short sleeves right now. I asked him why and after a long drawn out explanation it basically came down to he didn't like his arms being "naked.")

His favorite video is 321 Penquins. His favorite shows on PBSkids are the boy ones, not the girl ones like Arthur. (?? I don't see Arthur being gender specific, but apparently Elijah does.) His favorite thing to do is play on the computer. His favorite thing to do outside is to play 321 Penguins.

It was very fun. He's one of those kids who would have been a perfect candidate on Kids Say the Darndest Things. I need to ask him questions more often.

Get Ready ...

Because these pics are exciting!

Remember when I blogged about me and Daisy going on hikes? That was here. Well, I finally found out where the pics and video ended up ... on my computer. Imagine that! Okay, in my defense, Dan uploaded them to a different hard drive because this one is out of space.

Okay, so get ready ... here goes me trying to remember everything about that day ...

The Field

Daisy in part of the field ...

(I warned you about the excitement factor)

Happy Daisy running free ...

(ew, is that trash there? why didn't I pick that up?)

More happy Daisy ...

Oh, I see. These pictures posted out of order. This is Daisy getting ready to leave.


To Be Continued ...
(Sorry, but I can only upload so many pics at a time! I know you are hanging onto the edge of your seats! Just be patient ...)

And so it continues ...

My dad (who is still recovering from major surgery and could use prayer for ease of pain so he can sleep and he needs his appetite back) sent me an e-mail yesterday. He loves to send forwards. Well, this one said something about a computer crashing or something crashed the computer, and here it's a picture of a little kitten sleeping on its back on the keyboard of the computer. I wanted to just pick it up and snuggle and love on it!

I used to never consider getting a kitten because we have 2 cats and I just thought there was no way we could do another cat until my 2 are in heaven (prove to me our animals don't go to heaven then I'll stop saying that). hee hee ...

Well, Dan's sister Susan and her hubby came to visit and brought their new kitten. Me oh my. He was cute. Dan even caught him and snuggled him for a while (another reason I love my husband so much. he just couldn't resist.)

So, that showed me it would not be impossible to get a kitten at this point. The kids loved the kitten too. His name is Bauer. Elijah was a little confused though because Susan is pregnant. He knows she is having a baby and was calling the kitten the baby kitten. He also asked Susan at one point if she still had a baby in her belly, etc. This is all new to him. His webkinz skunk (Potty) is now a baby skunk though.

Anyway, so all it took was this picture in a fwd to get me thinking of all those little kittens in shelters just needing a good home ... until last night.

I laid down to go to sleep. Everyone else was sleeping and then I hear Madelyn coughing (shudder) and coughing (another shudder). I go up and she needs the nebulizer. It turns into this whole ordeal because the neb decides to stop plugging into the contraption properly so I almost have a panic attach realizing I may not be able to give her the treatment if we can't get this straightened out. Well, I do and she does it, and we are both wide awake now at 12:30 a.m.

I stayed up with Madely in her room (which she LOVES) in case she had another fit.

A while later we drift off to sleep and Samson comes strolling in. He has always been my ornery cat, but he NEVER bothers me at night when I am in my own bed. He only bothers me when I sleep upstairs with the kids. On normal nights he snuggles with one of the kids after they go to sleep. Last night, a whole different story.

He comes in, jumps on the bed, meows and starts biting at my hair! Why?? Why are cats so weird at times?? I push him off the bed. He meows, jump back up and does it again. Argh!!!

I put him in the hallway and shut the door. That usually does it thankfully. Well, then Elijah wakes up a little after six, opens the door, wants to join me, Madelyn, and Daisy in bed, but I tell him to go sleep with Papa who has a queen size bed to himself! He does, but who sticks around? Samson. Again, meowing, biting at my hair, etc. I throw him out again.

As I lie there trying to go back to sleep I think to myself, "And, why would I want a kitten?"

So, for today I may be okay with not adopting a homeless animal, but may the Lord help me if one comes wandering up to my house or something. Or, like Kerry, she had a man approach her outside of PetSmart with a box of kittens. Get thee behind me Satan!!

So, I am realizing how much of an influence Dan has had on my animals because he doesn't tolerate any of the madness which is probably why Samson stays away from me at night when I am in bed with Dan. Daisy NEVER gets on our bed ... when Dan's around. That's why she sneaks onto the kids bed at night when she thinks of it and sacks out. I would be a stickler with them too if they weren't so darn cute and snuggly ... (sigh) ... again, my problem. Just keep the prayers coming ...

Opposites

I have my boy (extrovert) and my girl (introvert). They love each other so much. It's amazing how two completely different children can come from the same gene pool.

Here is yet another example of how they are different.

If someone is on the phone and wants to talk to Madelyn, she needs to know why they want to talk to her, and basically be convinced it will be a good thing to spend those moments on the phone with that person. Once on the phone she will stand in one place, say what she needs to say and then she's done.

Elijah on the other hand is always up for a conversation over the phone. This is an example of a conversation that he had with my mom the other night while he wandered throughout the house as he talked ...

Hi. What's your name? ... I'm Elijah. I am at my house. I will be coming to see you tomorrow (not true). I have my sister back because she lives at school all the time (M's been home all week sick). My Mommy's nice. What are you doing today? We have 2 cats, Samson and Simon. So, um, that's Simon ... So we ... I don't know where Simon is. Samson is on the piano. I love my mom. I have a baby skunk because it's a Webkinz. Skunks smell. They always spray sometimes ...

Finally, I think my mom cut him off. So, I'm hearing his side of it and thinking, "Wow, he really has the gift of conversation. Good for him for thinking of all those things to talk about."

Well, it turns out my mom was trying to ask her quesions on the other end and he wouldn't even consider them. He was too busy meandering through the house speaking whatever came to his brain.

I should say though that Madelyn will definitely talk if she has something to say. For instance, when she lost her tooth, she couldn't wait to call Mom-mom and tell her.

But, one time they had a school project where they needed to call classmates and speak in spanish to them. Meanwhile, I didn't realize they had this project until her friend called and next thing I hear Madelyn speaking in spanish to her in the other room. So funny.

Well, after the 3rd friend called her to go through the same drill she was done. She wasn't interested in talking on the phone anymore that day. Hopefully she will stay this way through her teen years.

Madelyn

She is finally back to school, but not without a cough and not without a worried mama at home.

I do praise God the amount of time we have had since we have had to deal with this type of coughing. Does that make sense? As I wrote that sentence it seemed to go on and on, but awkwardly. Basically, it's been a while since she has been this sick.

On the flip side though, just hearing her cough (any cough) makes me shudder inside. It just brings back the memories of sleepless nights holding my baby girl who was just hacking and hacking in her sleep while I was just helpless. Awful.

So, while she is a bit better, she's not completely better. It seems the meds have just kept the coughing at bay, but she is done her antibiotic now and the breathing treatments only seem to be doing so much. I actually had to give her the nebulizer in the night last night which was a first this week, not a good sign.

But, if you had seen her this morning, she was happy as a lark. They are having a V-day party at school today. She can't wait. It's not until 2 though. I told her the doc might want to see her again today and she about cried. She does not want to miss that party. I was on hold for 10 minutes though and finally just left a message for them to call me. So, I went ahead and sent her to school armed with her nebulizer and inhaler. Dan is there to keep an eye on her. Her teacher and I e-mail each other quite regularly throughout the day too, the perks of being good friends with the teacher. It's all business of course so don't tell my hubby (her boss) that one of his teachers is e-mailing friends during the day. hee hee ...

So, we'll see where things go from here. It doesn't help that I just read a story about a missionary family in Ukraine whose son just died. They thought he just had the flu and couldn't stop coughing. They took him to a clinic Monday morning and he died in the evening. So sad. He was 16. Please pray for that family. They are coming home to America to grieve. Tragic.

We do regularly thank God for provisions of doctors and medicines. When I read stories from the 1800s when it wasn't unusual for children to die from common illnesses due to the lack of care I count my blessings. Wasn't it Calvin's wife who was almost frowned upon because she had so many children and none of them died? I'll have to check my facts on that, but I remember reading that about someone's wife.

We do have so much to be thankful for.

So, here I sit, waiting for the doc's office to call back. I need to run some errands, but I know as soon as I leave they will call so in the meantime I will keep rambling away on my blog.

Weeks Like This ...

Craziness. Sick kids, mainly Madelyn. Although Elijah did tell me yesterday that he has a fever in his nose.

My kids have always had asthma issues when they get colds. The cold lingers and they end up with an asthmatic cough that you just can't control.

So, that is where we are now. It's been a while with Madelyn since we've been here. She has an inhaler now that she takes as soon as starts coughing. But, it turns out this time she wasn't doing it when I told her to. Now I know I need to follow through with her and make sure she takes it because the less we go through times like this the better we all will be.

She was crying and crying last night because she just could not stop coughing. There was nothing more I could do for her. It was awful. We read for a while and then she watched a video so she calmed down and slept through the night.

Well, here we are again. She is coughing like crazy this morning. I'm waiting to hear from the doc ... and waiting some more ...

Thankfully, Madelyn is distracted by the computer right now. That helps the coughing a little bit. There are a few breaks here and there. Overall though, it's just maddening. That's why I am typing this, to distract myself a bit.

Madelyn has no idea that we went through this ALL the time when she was a baby. Oh, the sleepless nights. We didn't realize she had allergies, etc. and the docs were not very helpful in figuring that out either. They mostly told us to ride it out. She was my first baby. I had no idea. Neither Dan nor I suffer from allergies. So, I couldn't understand why she was just coughing and coughing all night long in her sleep even!

Craziness.

But, hopefully today we will get some relief one way or another ... still waiting for that call ...

Tidbits

MADELYN FOUND OUR CAMERA!!! Yippee!!!!!!! I was so happy I wanted to high five her, but was scrubbing the tub. I still did and managed to not get her too wet!

Where was it you ask? Underneath/between the couch cushion .............................

Yeah, I have no idea why or how it got there. Last I knew it was on the back counter where we stash things when we are in a hurry. Last Dan knew it was on our desk because he was going to upload the pictures to clear some space. I have my suspicions about a little boy who lives in our house. I'm thinking he or his sister may have gotten a hold of it, but in all actuality it was probably me. We'll never know right? So, let's just be happy it's been found! Now I can grace my blog with more pictures of us again!!!

Oh, I will say though that I blame Elijah only because we lost our 3rd phone for a very long time and it was finally found where you ask? In the chair cushion. That's right. You're probably wondering why I didn't just check there first. Well, I don't know, but I can tell you I will always check there first no matter what I am looking for.

Madelyn is sick, really sick. I kept her home on Friday to hang out with family we had visiting and she came down with a fever that afternoon. I didn't feel so guilty about keeping her home that day after that. Actually, she was bummed I kept her home because she wanted to paint in Enrichment class. Her teacher is going to let her make it up though so it's all good.

So, I thought it would be a virus that would just run its course and she would be back to school today. Wrong. While she had a few good hours yesterday, she had a terrible night of coughing, fever, etc. The doctor today said that it was probably a combination of a virus/bronchitus. Poor little girl. She just looked so sick today with her red eyes, yucky nose, and raspy voice.

Elijah has yet another sinus infection. I see an adenoid removal surgery in his future.

I am fighting the urge to cut off all my hair. It took me so long to grow it long and it is hard for me to keep it this way, even though I like it most days. I don't want short hair again until I lose 20 lbs. though. Uh-oh. I may have long hair forever now. Okay, I would settle for losing 15. Does that mean I need to cut out donuts? That's the problem with weight loss.

I am going through another one of those phases where I want to buy something or take in a homeless pet. These phases can be rough. I think it's cabin fever or something. I need warm weather. We got Daisy in March so I fear I still have another month or so of being in this phase. Pray for me. Or, better yet, pray for Dan because he's the one who has to deal with me asking if we can take in another animal. A turtle even! I dreamed I wanted to take in a turtle!! I seriously need help. Or a hobby maybe.

We just spent a few days with Susan (Dan's prego sister - due on April 3), her hubby Josh, and MIL Lois. Good times! I talked to Daisy (the baby) so she would know my voice. I hope she remembers me. I bought her a ton of clothes so if she doesn't remember my voice, hopefully she will know me as the aunt who bought her a bunch of clothes with daisies on them.

I think our country is in such a crazy time right now. Don't worry. I won't turn this blog into a political thing, but it is interesting to hear how people are reacting to all that's going on. End times anyone?

I think the end times are going to come when we least expect it. I think things will be going better than ever and Christ is going to come back. Wouldn't that be so great? I hope our country has this great revival and Christ comes back welcoming so many more into His kingdom.

Who really knows though? I am doing a Bible Study on Thessalonians and it's a great study so far.

These are my random thoughts for the day. Maybe I should read back through them so I know what I wrote ... nah.

Family

So, our family is here. Susan and Josh, and Grandma. Susan read to Madelyn last night and the conversation went something like this ...

M: When do you leave?
S: Saturday.
M: I don't want you to leave.
S: I don't want to leave either. Maybe I could just live here with you.
M: mmm ... no.

It's too funny because Madelyn LOVES Susan, but I guess it's just too close for comfort for Susan to move in.

14 Years Baby!!

Today marks the 14th year that Dan and I have been dating ... (pitter-pat, pitter-pat).

I love him. I do.

And, I love this day. It reminds me of what we were doing on that day. He may hate that I posted this, but oh well.

We had been hanging out for a few months, but were just friends, friends who went everywhere together and did everything together. But, officially, we were still just friends.

Well, this particular night, Feb. 3, 1995 Dan was walking me back to my dorm. We stopped in a parking lot for a snow ball fight. We are throwing snow at each other and laughing like crazy. Next thing he says, "Oh, you have some snow on your face!" and kissed me ... (sigh) I need a moment ... Okay, but then he runs off and continues to throw snow at me!

Next thing I know we are kissing again and then he says, "Will you date me?" ... Um, isn't the kiss supposed to come AFTER the question? As if I really cared at that point ... hee hee ...

And, that was the official start to where we are now. Holy Moly! In some ways it seems like forever ago. In others, it seems like just yesterday. Either way I wouldn't change a thing ...

Spaghetti and Meatballs

My dear friend Jess is prego with twins (#4 & 5 for her). This morning I was telling Elijah about her having two babies in her belly and I asked him what he thought she should name her babies ...

Spaghetti and Meatballs ... and Hamburger was what he said. Then he cracked up and said, "Those are silly names."

Jess and I are thinking maybe Hamburger would make a nice middle name for the children.