Sully's Turn

Lauren and Avery love nothing more than to spend the night at one of their grandmas' houses, just for fun. 

Sully is always jealous. 

This past week, he got his turn. 

Here he is waiting at the curb. When he saw her car come around the corner he was literally jumping up and down he was so excited. 

Cant wait till next time! 

Oh little boys

Since going 'diaper-less' Sullivan has made some interesting discoveries about his, um, 'parts'. He is much more aware that they are there. 

So, we were driving through Cedar Falls one day last week and we went over a 'ramp' as the kids like to call it (or a bump as we call it). The van always takes a nice ride over the ramp and the kids love it. 

This time Sullivan said, "Daddy! That made my butt wiggle...and it made my penis wiggle!"

We about fell out of our seats laughing. 

Surgery Pictures

Pre-Op

She was pretty perky, excited even.

She had to hold this sign to remind the nurses to mark her left ear before taking her to the OR. She said she wanted to make sure they didn't do surgery on her nose or something accidently! She's so funny. 

They wrote, 'Yes' on her ear. She thought that was so funny. 

Post-op

Not quite as perky but truly she was already in a great mood when she got back to me. She was ready to go home and was hungry! 

She wanted a picture of the wheelchair she rode to the car in. She thought it was pretty cool. 

Update #2

Lauren and I are home. She did beautifully. 

She was so brave and I was so proud of her. Leaving your child in the hands of strangers...even very well trained strangers...is about the hardest thing a parent could do. Especially when they are administering drugs and cutting into them!

I managed to keep the tears at bay until she was fully sedated and then they led me out of the OR. 

I had a very long 2 hours waiting for her. Alone. 

That will be the last time I go to one of my kids' surgeries without Jordan. And his tears on the phone when I filled him in on leaving her with the surgeon told me that he agreed. 

The surgery went great. We go back in 3 weeks and she will have a hearing test at that time. 

Please pray for a quick recovery for her. And that she will calm down about the ear drops she has to have for the next 7 days. She hates ear drops. Hates with a passion. 

Tess still had a fever this morning and had a very cranky morning and wouldn't eat. But she actually seems better this afternoon. I am hoping she's on the tail end of this illness. 

Thank you for all your prayers, phone calls, text messages and emails. We are so loved. 

Better

Tess does NOT have a bladder infection. Thank GOODNESS!!!!!

Frankly I dont care what she's got as long as its not that!

Off for Lauren's surgery - 9:00 a.m. Friday. 

Not my best day

Tess came down with a fever yesterday. And a case of hives. I dont think the two are related. She has no symptoms but a fever. So yes, Im way concerned its another bladder infection. We go to the dr. at 2:30. 

Right now she is napping and I'm trying to collect her urine for the urine test. DONT ASK!

Sullivan has had another horrible excema breakout. Horrible. My hands are thrown up in the air of this. I give up. I hate it. I could cry over it. But for now, I give up. For just a week or so. 

Lauren and I are to leave at 4 to head to Cedar Rapids to stay with my brother. Her surgery is tomorrow early morning. 

Jordan and I are trying to get away for a couple of days. And so, everything is unraveling. 

Not my best day. I didnt get a lot of sleep last night. Im grumpy and tired and just not in a mood where I should be allowed around people. 

And my poor sweet kids deserve more. 

As usual. 

Updates later.

My rear view mirror

Sometimes all it takes is looking in your rear view to see how truly lucky you are. 

Golf 2009

Its no secret that Jordan's first love was golf. It was in fact his life before me. 

I just feel lucky that I became his second love! ;)

He kind of loves this too...golfing with his boy. 

As much as he loves it, he hasn't gotten much time at all on the golf course this year...something to do with the four kids he calls his...

Last summer we went out as a family quite a bit but this year there are just too many of us for the cart. So we took advantage of the big girls being at VBS...

Sully LOVES it. It may become his first love too...I hope it is. 

This one is just insanely cute, no matter where she is.

I like to play a game called, "Whose taller than the corn?" The answer is - none of us. 

 

pool time

Cousin Sandy, Avery, Lauren

Uncle Robert and Tess

Little Miss Blue Eyes

Family

Our week with my brothers is drawing to a close.

We've had so much fun but in the back of my mind is always how sad I'll be when they drive away.

And when we said good bye about 20 minutes ago I was sad. And I want Christmas to get here fast. So that I can see them again.

But even in that sadness I know how blessed we are, even in what we've lost I know how lucky we are to have each other.

Not all families come through a tragedy and hold on to each other and the memories tighter and value them even more.

Not all families enjoy each other like this, not all families look forward to time together like we do.

Not all families approach the game of Pepper like it is the most fun you could ever know!

Not all families are this competitive and this serious about 'games'.

Not all families laugh and give each other a hard time like we do.

Not all families can quote movie lines like we do.

Not all families like to eat the way we do!

Not all families have countless memories that make them laugh and cry together.

Not all families can pick right up where they left off even after months or years apart.

Not all families know the real bond of 'family'.

I would not be who I am with out my brothers. I think the world of each of them and I love when we are all together and it just feels, right. Complete.

I love to see my own kids looking up at them with so much joy. I love to know that they are making memories.

So while I am sad to see them go, I know that I am blessed that the seven of us 'kids' are tied together in a way that cannot be unbroken. Even when we dont always get along, even if we dont see each other as often as we'd like, there is a bond there, forever. Family. I hope my kids have the same bond between each other someday.

Oh, and I am so glad I have six brothers...I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Kick-ball

This was our kick ball crew on Saturday afternoon. Included in this picture are one of my cousins, 3 kids of some of my cousins, 3 brothers, 2 sister in laws, some of my nieces and our extended family of Jordan's nephew, Aaron and the Kirkpatricks who are always up for some 'Earle' fun (they've been part of our lives for almost 20 years...that makes them family).




This picture is minus the Kirkpatricks but plus my mom.
Eventually all the kids left the game and the adults were left. They likely left because the adults were taking the game far too seriously!

Excuses

Avery comes up with some unique excuses to get out of bed at night. 

Tonight's was the best yet:

Avery: Well, I cant sleep because this side of my nose is hot and this side is cold!

Mommy: Avery, that was a good one, but go back to bed. 

She is so hilarious. 

Tool Man

Sully has been fully enjoying his week with the 'guys'. 

He fell in love with power tools thanks to uncle Nick.

Wow!!!!

Then uncle Robert helped him learn how to pound nails. 

Wow!!! again!

Best Buds

Its pretty special to have my son's best friend be the son of my best friend.

I hope they are always, "best buds".

I'm a slow learner

We got our school shopping done this week and I took advantage of the $.25 markers and colors and restocked our supply at home. 

Avery and Sullivan have been THRILLED with this. Especially Sullivan, he's having so much fun making creations. And he's getting so much better...making stick figures with actual faces on them and today he made a really good flower! He absolutely loves the markers. I've never really let him play with markers before. 

Well I was so excited today...Tess sat herself up to the art table all by herself and wanted to color. She had a piece of paper so I gave her one of our big baby sized crayons. She was so proud. 

And I was so excited that they were all entertained. I went back to the kitchen to finish the dishes. About 10 minutes later I hear Avery calling, "Mommy! Tess got the black crayon and its all over her face."

I knew right away. I knew it was no crayon she was playing with. And I realized after 4 kids I am still not very smart. I left my 1 year old at a table with markers. 

So this is what I found...

This was AFTER I cleaned her up. Pretty. 

Could have been much much worse...but I wonder how much she ingested! And I wonder how long she'll have that cute little beard. 

Washable markers huh? Washable? Really? 

Guess Who?!

Guess who took her first steps tonight?!?!?!?

Jordan set her down on the floor and she stayed standing on her own, first time. 

She got a huge smile on her face. 

Then she took three steps to me. 

Laughing excitedly and VERY proud of herself. 

She's been taking 2-3 steps all night now. 

Very exciting, very fun. 

Very scary! 

They arrived!!!

My brothers are here!!!

We haven't seen Brian in three years...its been way too long. 

Its going to be a very fun week! 

Love/Hate

So this is our house. 
 

(pre-paint job)
 
We moved in 7 years ago. 

When we pulled up to see it the first time I said, 'Its cute, how have I never seen this house before when I lived around the corner for 5 years growing up?'
 
When we steped inside I knew it was our house. I felt it. 
 
Its not perfect, not by a long shot. 

It is old. 
 
Built in 1900. 
 
But if you know us, you know we care more about character and history than perfection. And this house is the epitomie of character! 

It has a parqued floor in one area that is truly beautiful and someday it might not be covered in toys! It is actually 2 homes put together....so there are 2 stairways to the basement, and 2 to the second story. Its the perfect hide and seek house. The ceilings upstairs are all slanted and at odd angles. 
 
It is also full of imperfections...as any 109 year old house is...the basement is OLD, OLD, OLD. One of my younger brother's had a girl friend who wouldnt even go down in it. The windows are drafty, our bedroom has no heat or central air. The list goes on. The front porch is sagging (The next project). 
 
But I love the history of it. I love that some of Jordan's relatives lived here long ago. I love that his grandpa on his dad's side delivered coal to the house for the furnace.
 
I love it that its been here so long there used to be a barn just outside the back door. 

Here's a picture of it from approximately 1915. 

(our scanner isnt working so I actually took a picture of the picture...)

I also love that I've brought 3 babies home to this house and that its the only home any of my kids remember. 

But yes, its a love/hate relationship we've got. Somedays we'd love to sell it and walk away. But somedays, I swear, I will never move. 

And now with the new paint job...the scale has tipped a little bit more to the Love side of the love/hate relationship! 

The lighting isnt the best here, but its a tan, with dark brown trim.  

The original porch...the next project...and what do you think? Should all that trim stay white? 

Here you can see the color a little better. I just love that window. 

This weekend there was a family reunion of the family who owned the house for a very long time. They asked for tours. Jordan gave three. It was a lot of fun to hear what the house used to look like and the memories that they had from visiting 'Aunt Margaret'.  More history!

Weekend pictures

Part of our weekend included a family get together for Jordan's dad's family. 

This picture is of most of the grandkids, grandkid in-laws and great grand kids. 

Tess takes full of advantage of the one person in the family she is bigger than...Adele.

Someday soon I'm sure Adele will fight back. 

Stop taking pictures and save me already! 

In my kitchen

So this morning Tess was in her high chair yelling, "Dada, Dada!"

Sully went to her and said, "Contessa Caroline, Dada is at work, cause he's bringing home the bacon for you."

Love it. Love it. Love it.

He Washed My Eyes With Tears

I received a huge blessing tonight when I opened my email. 

Our world's most amazing babysitter and friend 'Zanna' sent me the words to a song that she knew I needed to hear. 

She heard it on the radio in conjunction with a woman giving her testimony of the pain she went through when her husband died. The woman learned that tears are sometimes a gift from God. 

It is hard to accept that my dad's death was a gift...I do know that it was God's plan and that He is using it for His purpose. And I know that all His plans are perfect and meant for my good. So, in that way, yes, tragedy can be a gift. 

Thank you so much Rosanna. 

He Washed My Eyes With Tears 
Ira Stamphill

He washed my eyes with tears that I might see,
The broken heart I had was good for me,
He tore it all apart and looked inside,
He found it full of fear and foolish pride.

He swept away the things that made me blind,
And then I saw the clouds were silver lined,
And now I understand 'twas best for me,
He washed my eyes with tears that I might see.

He washed my eyes with tears that I might see,
The glory of himself revealed to me,
I did not know that He had wounded hands,
I saw the blood He spilt upon the sands.

I saw the marks of shame and wept and cried,
He was my substitute for me He died,
And now I'm glad He came so tenderly,

And washed my eyes with tears that I might see. 

My favorite

Big Girls

I didn't have much chance for pictures of Lauren and her friend Margaret...they were too busy.