Way, way too close to home

Today I made plans to head north for a visit with some friends, and had a ton of errands to run along the way.  I called Andrew while he was at lunch to confirm a few things he was handling for me after school, and then he told me about a school shooting that happened, right here in our county.  I immediately wanted to get home because not only is it right here, but it is actually geographically very close to our former school district.  I kept my plans though, and listened as much as I could to information coming out.  I learned this afternoon that two teens were shot and two others injured, either by debris or by attempting to escape.  I know one of the latter.  He was previously a student at our former school district, and I knew him not only as a substitute teacher, but because he was in class with Catherine.  To be honest, I kind of wanted to throw up a little bit at that point.  Fortunately, none of the injuries are life threatening, but oh goodness.  The nerves of this parent just skyrocketed.  Prayers to all.

I wish there was email in Heaven

Last evening I was re-reading some emails from years and years ago that my dad and I sent to each other.  Because he couldn't be mobile much, he spent a great deal of time on the computer, and we communicated that way a great deal.  I am so grateful for those emails.  Not only did I relay cute stories about the kids that I am grateful are in writing, but I can almost hear his voice when I read them.  I'll be honest, it makes me a little emotional, but I am so incredibly grateful for them.  I sure wish there was email in Heaven...I miss him more than I can even express.

Leap Day

Here is the day that only comes along once every four years.  It truly amazes me how quickly each four years, or time in general passes.  I find myself being so acutely aware of the passage of time.  I find myself becoming emotional so quickly...especially watching movies or TV regarding kids growing and moving on.  I know that day is going to come, but I'm just now sure how I'm ever going to be ready for that.  In spite of attitudes, I've been truly enjoying this point of our lives.  We are having so much togetherness (maybe too much, on some days) but the kids seem to be really enjoying it as well.  Our family dinners are full of so much laughter, and I just can't imagine how quiet it's going to be someday.  I'm trying to soak it up while I can.


It's hard to imagine that the next time we have a Leap Day, Catherine will be a senior and Thomas a sophomore, and Robert will be doing his own thing.  My goodness...that just doesn't seem possible, and yet it will be hear before I can blink.

Hand update

Yesterday was another follow up with Robert's hand injury.  We are now seven weeks out from his surgery, and sadly, there just hasn't been that much healing.  The doctor said he's never seen anything not heal like Robert's hand.  We are going back in a month, and that's going to be a big deal.  If there isn't a significant amount of healing, there isn't going to be.  If that ends up being the case, he will be looking at surgery including a metal plate put in.  Prayers are being sent up that won't be necessary!

Newest family member

Our family has been blessed with a new bundle of joy this morning!  Isabella Lynn arrived early this morning weighing 9lbs and 14oz and is 21" long...a large baby!!!  We are so excited about this newest cousin...especially since she is here in town and easy to get to hug and love on!

A kid with the stomach flu

Last night about 12:30 I heard it beginning...the sound of coughing and vomiting.  Robert is home today with the stomach flu.  Andrew had it during our long weekend, and when I called the school this morning I was told he is definitely not the only one.  Hopefully the germs don't continue to be shared and the rest of us stay healthy!

Champs again!

Thomas's team played their final games of the season this past weekend in the year end tourney.  They were the #2 seed having won all of their games except the two they played against the undefeated #1 seed.  Both times they had played them in the regular season, it had been the second part of a double header so there was definitely some fatigue.  There was also some really lousy officiating as well, especially in the one the prior week.  Both teams won their first game and met in the championship game that evening.  After an intense 2-0 deficit in the first quarter, the boys really got rolling.  Our team ended up being victorious 28-16!  This is the second time in three seasons (both times with the same coach) that Thomas has been able to be a part of a championship team.  God love him, he is the worst player on the team (and possibly the league) but he loves the game and was so happy to be finishing the season on such a high note.  I am so grateful that while my children are far from star athletes, they have had opportunities to be a part of such fabulous experiences!

She enjoyed her day of job shadowing

Catherine spent yesterday job shadowing my sister, the attorney.  To be totally honest, she really isn't interested in being an attorney...she really wants to be a teacher.  However, because students get to see teachers in action every day they are encouraged to look elsewhere.  One time, someone told Catherine that she talks so much she would make a great attorney, and she decided to try this with Aunt K.  My sister really enjoyed having her and Catherine got to see many different things happen yesterday.  I doubt this is going to be her career path, but I'm glad it went well!

Listening to Mickey Mouse

Last evening we took Catherine to my sister's house so that she could spend the night and participate in job shadow day today (I'll post about that separately after she returns).  Since Robert goes to school with Andrew,  I told Thomas I would take him to school today so we could both sleep in a bit.  When I take the kids to the middle school, we have to be out the door about 30 minutes later than if they are riding the bus.  Andrew and Robert left about 20 minutes before I needed to leave with Thomas, and I told him he could watch TV while eating breakfast.  My sweet little guy turned on Mickey Mouse to watch this morning.  It certainly is different than the teen crap that is often on in the morning with the other two!  I told Thomas I enjoyed hearing Mickey and he replied, "Mickey is funny."  I know there are times when Thomas needs to be tougher and more mature, but at the same time his sweet little innocence just melts my heart!

The middle of February

The middle of February is always one of my least favorite times of the year.  Since I'm not an NBA or NHL fan, I don't find much decent on TV, and the weather usually stinks.  This time last year we were in the middle of a major snow storm and about to have an entire week off school.  This year the weather isn't that way at all, but there just isn't much to be excited about in the middle of February.  I counted yesterday and there are 65 days of school left as of today.  That's probably a really negative attitude, but it's just kind of the way I feel.  I"m grateful though, that life isn't crazy and overwhelming, although I am finding myself losing sleep over small things.  I need to learn to let go!

Prayers for my mother-in-law

Thursday evening Andrew and I took some time and celebrated our anniversary and Valentine's Day with dinner out at our favorite local restaurant.  While there, Andrew's cell phone rang and he saw that it was his parents, but he didn't answer.  Fortunately, he did return the call when we got home, and we learned his mother is in the hospital with pneumonia.  Andrew has been able to chat with her and overall she sounds good, but it's now three days and she is still there.  They know she isn't going home tomorrow either.  The meds are not working like they had hoped.  I'm extremely concerned, and I'll be honest, it brings back lots of less than pleasant memories regarding my dad's illness.  Any and all prayers for my mother-in-law's healing are greatly appreciated!

A very quiet and uneventful Valentine's Day

It has been an extraordinarily quiet day around here.  We all slept in and Robert had to work for four hours, but other than we have been quietly hanging out at home.  Andrew is feeling better today, but doesn't have full strength.  In fact, I feel a little guilty that we've all spent the day doing pretty nothing more than staring at screens, and mostly in separate rooms. There is still tomorrow though, and no one has anywhere to be all day so maybe we can have some fun family time.  We did take a bit of time this afternoon to give the kids some Valentine's candy and open cards.

We originally had a pretty packed weekend, but Andrew getting sick changed that.  I'll be honest, I am very grateful for the downtime.  There just isn't a lot of that with three active kids!  I'm also enjoying the snow that has been falling all afternoon.  Originally they were calling for a major storm over the next 36 hours, but unfortunately it looks more to be about 3" ending by tomorrow morning, and then our temps go up and everything changes over to rain.  I was so disappointed!  It's still been a pretty afternoon though, and I've even been pleasantly surprised that even without football, we've been entertained by HGTV and the Ocean's movies!

She stood up for her brother

Catherine and Thomas have always been very close and each other's best friend.  This year is proving to be transitional, as Catherine is maturing and finding that her life fits a little better in Robert's world than in Thomas's world, and it's definitely causing some conflict in this house.

She is still a very protective big sister though, and a couple of weeks ago was proof positive of that.  Thomas was having an issue with a table mate at school stealing part of his lunch each day.  The students are allowed to choose their seats, but once chosen, are expected to sit there the rest of the year unless they ask permission to choose a new seat.  Andrew and I were not particularly pleased that although some adults had been informed about the problem, it was continuing because obviously the lunch monitors were not doing their jobs.  When Catherine learned about the situation, she had a chat with the young man.  She informed him that if didn't stop stealing Thomas's food, he was going to have to deal with her.  We told Thomas that he needed to request a new seat and he has done so, which has solved the problem.  Catherine has informed us that she is more than happy to deal with any situation that might arise.  I love the fact that she stood up for her brother...she really is a good big sister!

An evening of not sharing the remote control with anyone

Andrew unfortunately has an absolutely horrible stomach bug.  He woke up in the middle of the night being pretty miserable, and while things began to settle this morning, he's been feeling pretty awful all day.  He decided the smell of dinner was just more than he could handle, and I suggested he retire back to our bedroom.  Since things have settled, I think it will help him to sleep better, and that is important.  His fever is, for the most part, controlled with medication and I'm going to sleep in the family room so he can sleep however he needs and not worry about keeping me awake.  I always love spending the evening with my husband, but at the same time, I don't mind having four hours of not sharing the remote control.  I'm pretty sure it's four solid hours of Big Bang Theory!  Catherine and Thomas are in the sun room watching TV, Robert is in the front room watching TV, and Andrew has the TV in the bedroom.  I'm sure there are better ways to spend our lives than in front of the screen, but for tonight it is what it is!

A little more sadness

I just learned this morning about a young boy, I believe he is eight or so, who has been diagnosed with leukemia.  My heart breaks for the parents...I can only imagine their fears and worries.  Abby & Jake are such wonderful people, and Jake played football for my husband back in the coaching days...he still calls him "coach" every time he sees him.  We see him a lot too, because he works for the youth rec basketball league, and with eight brothers & sisters (Jake is the oldest) there are lots of family members running around.  We are very blessed in that the Cincinnati Children's Hospital is one of the best in the country in terms of pediatric cancers, but there just seem to be so many.  I can't fathom watching your child go through the Hell that is fighting a cancer battle.  It is one of my greatest fears in life, and I work very hard to try not to let those worries control my life!

Parenting and a lot of sadness

Maybe I don't even need to explain or elaborate.  Maybe parenting is just that stressful that this title stands alone.  Maybe (really, not maybe) parenting is the toughest job ever...because the stakes are higher than anything else in life.

Yesterday pretty much felt like a parenting fail.  Mostly this was due to the fact that I felt lousy and just wanted to be alone...which is not fair to my children whom I truly do love deeply.  Some of it my parental failing feelings were because crap happened...and keeps happening.  I know some of it is because they are kids, and some of it is because Robert just insists on doing it his way, regardless of how tough that makes it.  At the end of the day though, I was still grateful for parenting, and tried to remind myself that although I'm stressed and worried about the actions of my children and the impact on their ability to become productive healthy adults, they are still here on this earth for me to parent, and for the most part generally healthy.

Our former town has had three young men, all in their 20's, and all from absolutely fabulous stand-up families, pass away from a heroin overdose in just the last six months.  It is so terrifying to think how close it is hitting to home.  These aren't families who may be from the "wrong side of the tracks" or kids from families with a history of poor decisions.  These are families no different than mine...and that is terrifying.  How do I make sure it doesn't happen to my family?  I can't...there are no guarantees in life regardless of anything that you do.  All we can do is try our best, keep talking to our kids, and pray, pray, pray, they make the best decision.

In addition, our former town lost another young man last evening to a car accident.  The weather was terrible and that certainly was most likely a contributing factor, although the investigation is continuing.  This weekend, our current community experienced a teenage car accident.  The driver and passenger were treated and released, although a rear passenger is still in the hospital in a coma, and the MRI has revealed brain damage.  They won't know the extent of the brain damage until she wakes up, and even then some months later.  These teens were out "hill hopping", and it just makes me sick.  This was completely preventable.  I understand the mindset of kids..."it's never going to be me."  Except that it just might be.

I had trouble sleeping last night for a variety of reasons, but mostly my head was spinning with what at times is the overwhelming feeling of parenting.  Prayers are being sent out today to all parents everywhere, but especially to those involved in all of this sadness.

I really wish the house would clean itself

Our snow day has not been the most fun ever.  I really didn't want the kids to just be sitting around watching TV all day...especially since we have a four-day-weekend right around the corner.  The house needed a good pick up, and since everyone was home it needed done.  The kids were grumbling about it, and grumbling towards each other, and they've just been pretty unpleasant to be around today.   I haven't felt well for about a week, and haven't kept up with the house...and I don't have the patience for the grumbling.  I really want the house to be picked up, but I just don't have it in me to get off the couch right now!

We have a snow day!

We knew we were receiving some snow, but 1-3 inches over 48 hours didn't seem to be enough to warrant a snow day...not even close!  However, it seems as though around Midnight the forecast changed dramatically and suddenly we were to have 4-6" by noon today.  School was closed at 5AM...plenty of time for lots more sleep!!!!  I would say we have about 2-1/2", but it all came at the right time.  It is so exciting to have an unexpected day at home!

Happy Anniversary to my husband

It seems so hard to believe that my husband and I are celebrating another anniversary.  Many days I still feel like a newlywed...and not all that grown up!  It's true though, and I wouldn't trade our crazy life together for anything.  Unfortunately, we don't get to spend much of the day together.  He has parent-teacher conferences this evening so he won't be home until much later than usual.  We had hoped to go out to dinner this past weekend, but neither one of us felt particularly great.  Schools have a four-day-weekend coming up, so maybe we can take advantage of that time off.  Regardless though, I'm so grateful for each and every crazy day!

The Broncos won!

Our household is definitely a Steelers household.  However, before I got married, I was a Broncos fan.  More specifically, I was a John Elway fan, but I've always loved the Broncos.  Being a western team we don't always get to watch them and it's just easier to be a Steelers fan.  When the Broncos signed Peyton Manning, it definitely renewed my interest, and my youngest absolutely loves all things Manning.  He even knows about the older brother who never played in the NFL...he just loves Mannings!  Andrew claimed he didn't care who won the Super Bowl, but as the game went on, he realized he was definitely rooting for Denver...and especially Peyton.  We had to put our little Manning fan to bed at halftime, and although he was good about it, it just about broke my heart when he said, "Don't forget to tell me in the morning which team won."  I really wanted to let him stay up and then stay home today, but that sets a precedent that I just don't think is such a good idea.  It wasn't the prettiest game every, but I was so excited and so very happy that Manning and the Broncos brought home the trophy.  I was wearing my Elway jersey and I'm glad I didn't curse the team...they always seem to lose when I wear it.  This morning I met Thomas as I was coming out of my room, I put my arms up and smiled and he said very excitedly, "The Broncos won?"  When I confirmed he gave me a big hug.  I am so grateful to be able to share these moments with my little guy!

We had a fabulous weekend

Last weekend we had another really nice weekend around here.  I had really wanted to write Sunday because it is our special family day, but that just didn't happen...and that's okay.

Friday we drove back to our former town and visited dear friends.  These are the kind of friends that you can't possibly see often enough and we are grateful for every opportunity to visit.  It is always such an incredibly relaxing experience.  Robert had to attend a scout meeting while we were there, and it all worked out perfectly.  On Saturday, Thomas had a basketball game and Robert had to work.  Following that, my mother had asked to have the kids for the rest of the day.  She took them shopping to spend some gift cards, and then to my sister's for dinner.  We really appreciated that as Andrew and I were scheduled to spend hours upon hours at the dive/swim league meet, even though Robert isn't participating.  We were also grateful that she was willing to meet us to return them so we didn't have to drive all the way to get them.  Sunday we had church and Robert worked, although we were very happy he got off early.  We drove into downtown Cinci to celebrate our family day with dinner at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse.  We all love the food and although I love the original better because of the sports items, the kids love eating dinner while looking at the river.

It was such a busy weekend, but full of so much fun.  I am so grateful for these days!