My Right Hand

Jonah's always been helpful. When you're the oldest of 5 and the next in line is 4 years younger,  that's probably to be expected.  And he really had to man up when his dad was deployed. He did awesome.  I couldn't have survived without him.  Since his dad has been home,  less has been expected of him.  And I'm sure he's enjoyed being more of a child again.

This past Tuesday,  I had to call Verizon about problems I was having with my cell phone.  If you've ever had children, you'll know that's secret code for bug mom. So I hid in my bedroom and told Jonah to man the fort. All was fine for 5 minutes, until someone answered my call and the kids heard me talking. Then secret-kid-code-rules dictated that they scream outside my door. And I mean scream. But I could hear that they were mad not hurt and know Jonah would tell me if there was a problem. (So I hid in my bathroom. )

After about a half hour, (no joke, Selah and Micah were outside my door fighting and screaming mom for a half hour straight) I heard Jonah tell them to be quiet because the baby was asleep. I look at the baby monitor,  and sure enough,  I see Jonah climb back into bed with Elijah.  Who was alseep.  He said he was crying with Selah and Micah so he picked him up and he laid on his chest so he brought him upstairs and he went right to sleep.  This was incredible since I ended up on the phone for 2.5 hours. (At which point it was made clear that the phone just needed replaced.) I feel so blessed to have such a kind, helpful, giving, and selfless almost-teenager in my house!

Sleepy Kid!

At 11am, the mommy fear had kicked into high gear and I could no longer assume Elijah was alive and well and had to check.  Unfortunately,  I just got a new phone and that was the first picture and I didn't verify it was good before rushing to "save" the sleeping baby.  But he's asleep, hanging off the bed. His feet are on the side rail.  He's not really stuck because he can get down from there. He never cried or yelled, our bedroom door was open and we were in the kitchen or living room all morning.  My best guess is that the kids woke him up and he was going to get up but was to tired to actually get all the way out of bed. What a precious boy.

Made it home!

After an unexpectedly long day, I'm happy to report we are home. Elijah is sleeping in the car. He was quite a mess in recovery, only quiet while nursing. Yelled and trashed around all the way to the car, and was quite a handful to buckle-not unlike this morning. But he's peacefully napping now, still sporting that bracelet.

Findings continued.

I can only post one picture at a time from my phone. And I just wanted a record in case I lose the papers. The only thing mentioned wad that the opening from his stomach into his intestine was smaller than expected and they had to work a little to get the scope through. Not concerning.

All looks good.

All areas examined look normal to the naked eye. We should have biopsy results Wednesday or Thursday.

Finally, peace!

We eventually took to the last resort of the tv and found something to grab his attention, a video about cars. He somehow ended up on the internet, and find this video. He watched it twice before he was bored, not bad for a non tv fan!

First a bracelet, now a dress?

Mom, they're very confused. Trek then I'm a boy. I don't like the bracelet, and I don't like the dress!
(He almost got it off but gave up just a wee bit too soon. Which is a good thing, because then he accepted it and found something new to complain about.)

Tricks I learned from Dad

After the second toy run wore out it's entertainment value, Elijah resorted to practicing tricks Daddy taught him. Namely, sticking things between his toes. He was quite proud of himself!

Still waiting!

Running out of ways to keep the little man distracted and happy. Surgery was scheduled for 830 but didn't actually start until about 1015. Given that we arrived the hospital before 7, the tired, hungry boy was getting pretty restless!  We played with toys, watched home videos, and finally resorted to taking pictures. Good thing he's so cute, my memory card has a hundred new pictures on it!

Boys don't wear bracelets!

Boy did Elijah hate that bracelet. He did a great job almost getting it off! Hopefully it doesn't works it's way off during the surgery and he ends up switched at 2 (instead of at birth). Never fear, he certainly knows who his mom is, I'm sure he'll find me.

Rabbit suit

Mom, I'm calling Dad abs trekking him how goofy you look in your rabbit suit! But don't wear the hat, I don't like that one!

Big, red button!

They sure do know how to attract the kids attention with things they shouldn't push! Don't worry, he only called the nurse 5 times. Not a huge deal given he tried a hundred. He wanted to make sure we weren't forgotten about!

Just a bit too short

Thankfully! Because he was desperate to push all of those buttons! He just kept reaching for them, looking at me, saying"mama!" (As in help!), and then he would run off, only to come right back and try again.

Follow the yellow brick road

Or red and yellow brick road. This kept is occupied a good 10 minutes.

Looking for Food

Poor little guy keeps asking to eat. And has now started tearing apart the diaper bag looking for food. Makes you feel bad!

Mom!

It said Michigan, so I crumpled it up. Aren't you proud?

Too much Daddy time?

I doubt there's really a such thing. But he took his sticker off his shirt, and stuck it to his head, and has just been walking around like nothing's out of the ordinary. I think he may think this is what one does with stickers, per daddy's Encouragement.

Today's the day!

Elijah has his scope this morning. We started off on a bad foot as he woke up before I was totally ready to go. And he was super mad that I wouldn't get back in bed with him and feed him. He was screaming and thrashing and I was sweating and out of breath the time we got to the door. Then I had to strap him into his car seat. Rough, but we survived. And he only screamed for the first 10 minutes of the drive and then was asleep by 20 minutes in and slept the rest of the way. Too bad in our mad (not hectic, just mad baby mad) rush out the door I forgot I never ate or packed breakfast (for me, he can't eat). Or my phone changer. Or Elijah's shoes. But I have the kid, so I guess it's all good enough! Here's to some answers!

Strike!

It's Mikey's night. He wanted to bowl. He and Daddy made a neat little bowling lane to play on. And he's gotten quite a few strikes!

No pictures, please!

Rough night, rough morning, hopefully all will be well in a few hours!

Sweet Dreams

Ah, finally. My mom wouldn't let me fall asleep in the car. I was so thrilled to fall asleep, but wanted to prove a point so I only slept for 6 minutes. Hey, cat naps are great. Of course, I'm one, so cat naps aren't enough sleep for me and I'm a grumpy, clingy mess. But it was fun while it lasted.

After fun in the sun...

This is what happens when you're almost two.

Safety First

If you look closely, you can see Selah has a rope tied around her waist, just in case. She got in trouble for doing this with Micah holding the other end last week. So now she says she thought it was okay since no one was holding the other end...well then, what's the point in the rope?? I do love her persistence, enthusiasm, and (occasionally) her fearlessness. And am pretty impressed at her ability to do the money bars alone. She is definitely a monkey, and get upper body strength is quite remarkable.

First fight!

Jonah's doing glider flights with CAP today. Hopefully he wasn't faking the fun look!

Daily cute sleeping baby picture

Can't help but love him.

The Beach at Hilton Head Island

Most of my pictures are on my camera, so you may never see them. But I did get a couple on my phone to share for now.

Selfies

Thanks to my cousins Beth and Ashley...The kids now know what selfies are.

Kings at Mellow Mushroom

Uncle Mike, Aunt Judy, Bethany, and Ashley have recently moved to Charlotte, NC. And it turns out that isn't far from Columbia, SC. So we were thrilled to be able to meet them for dinner at the kids favorite restaurant. There are very few places that everyone can eat, but mellow mushroom is one! It was great to see everyone, wish visits weren't so few and far between!
(Notice Jonah photo bombing in the background.)

I-20 exit 194

That was our exit in Georgia. It was very strange to be back in Augusta. So much has changed.

But one thing that hasn't was perpetual adoration at St Mary on the Hill. I haven't been able to find one in Michigan, though I do know of a couple(not close) churches that do have occasional adoration. It's amazing to me the instant comfort found in the presence. We took the kids who were all quiet and good. Elijah got antsy so Bryan took him and Selah and Micah out. Jonah left shortly thereafter.

After a few more minutes I motioned to Noah that it was time to go. (Mind you it's totally silent in there and there are a few other people.)
He says, "but I'm not done praying!"
I quickly motion for him to continue and he says, "it's okay, I still have 4 decades to go. I'll do the rest in the car."

He's 8. He is contemplating the priesthood. I love it.

Train them up when they're young...

The playground we found on Ft Jackson was basically an obstacle course. Seriously, it was even formed in a circle.  No slides, no swings, but there were money bars, chin up bars, rock walls, tires, etc. The kids loved it, besides thinking it was weird.

Field gun operator

Would have been easier if the gave me a class on this...

Ambulance driving

Turn here and go twenty yards. Pick up the soldier on the stretcher. Take him to the field hospital. And quickly, I'm not very good at tourniquets!

Fort Jackson Museum

The kids having fun at the museum. Besides being hot. And tired.

Selah the sloth

Ee Ot

When Noah was little, he used to say it's hot, "Ee Ot." Bryan and I still jokingly say that often. I've realized why that is the number one phase we remember from Noah at 2 (or perhaps one). We lived in Georgia. It was hot. ALL. THE. TIME.

Yesterday, we hung out at Fort Jackson, SC for a little bit while Daddy worked. We were at the outdoor part of the  museum because the indoor museum was already closed for the day. There was a little playground, plus the vehicles so it was fun. And we were there about 30 minutes when,

Selah: Mom, it's hot. Like, I'm just water. That's it. I'm serious. Feel me. I'm just water.

The killer is, I think it was only 80 degrees. The sun is so much hotter in the south, and the humidity is crazy all the time. It wasn't just whiny kids, it really was HOT compared to what we're used to. We were all sweaty and sticky. Thankfully the air conditioning in the car works!

Our First Real House

We drove past our old house today. Crazy how different it looks. Different railings, in the process of redoing the flower beds...I kind of miss that house, but boy would we be crowded there! (It was 3 small bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1600 square feet, no garage, no basement. We sometimes feel crowded now with 4 large bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, 2800 square feet, 3 car garage, large basement.) Probably most of all I miss my privacy fence!

All for 5 bucks...

It seems in Georgia, for only 5 dollars and 15 minutes of your time, you can buy a five year old happiness. At least for a little while. While on a quick trip down Memory Lane in Augusta, we stopped at the library to let the kids play the cool playground there. We went inside first to use the restrooms, and Bryan asked if the kids wanted to go play on the playground or read a couple of books. The boys unanimously voted to play outside, and Selah was heartbroken. So it was decided that Bryan would take the boys outside and Selah and I would see if there were any books for sale that we could take with us. There were, and she got a pile, and she was incredibly thrilled. She was on cloud nine as we left the library, with her new books hugged to her chest and singing a song about reading them in the car.  Unfortunately, her joy ended When her big, bad parents made her share those books with her brother. She was adamant that she definitely could read them all, AT THE SAME TIME. Ahh, to be 5 again.

It's not all gone!

Me: Micah, are there any chips left?
Jonah: They're all gone.
Micah: They're not all gone!
Me: Can you pass them up, please?

Making Do!

Selah: I forgot a headband. Good thing there was one on my bag, don't you think?

Um...yikes.

Made it to the island!

Pleased to report we made it safely to Hilton head with no crazy delays today! And while the temp was 100 for a some time while driving, thankfully it did drop when we got to the coast. Unfortunately, the heat index is still high. And sadly we're only here one night, but we'll make the best of it, even in July!

A pile of delays

We had quite the adventurous trip down to west Virginia. It took  11 hours to get there (should be about 7 hours drive time). First we hit rush hour in Detroit, which surprised us at 630 am. Then we sat in traffic because of an accident, it took almost 2 hours to drive about 5 miles. Mind you, we were still in Michigan and hadn't yet had breakfast! Thankfully, the kids were excited and stayed occupied sleeping (Elijah), playing video games (Jonah, Noah, Micah), and watching movies (Selah). Lastly, we got caught sitting on the highway that they closed for life flight to land. There wasn't an accident, at least not on our road, but an ambulance came up from a side road and met the helicopter. Guess that's how it works in the country.

But we made it safely to west Virginia, so that's all water under the bridge now, eh?

Incoming!

Elijah liked being out on the porch while the guys were shooting, but every time I took my hands off his ears, he covered them himself. He just walked around like this for a while. I guess he didn't like the loud noises!

100 degrees at 2 o'clock?

Yep. That's why I wasn't so sad to move north in May of 2008. And now I'm not so excited to be in South Carolina in July. In the summer, I hate the south. In the winter, I hate the north. Can't win.

Stretch when you can!

Selah took advantage at the gas station, in a fairly Peculiar way.

Chubby baby cheeks

Sunshine here has been a bit grumpy. So we gave him one of the kids' headphones and he promptly went to sleep.

Rough night!

Elijah's had some rough nights lately, probably mostly due to eating strawberries. And then we were without power for a while last night and he was  very restless. So it would figure this morning when it was time to leave he was OUT.

Grandma and Jonah

This one is to old to get drug into many pictures, but someone convinced him this time!

Elijah to the rescue!

Micah! She's a stranger! Come over here with me by mom!

Grandma and Fireman Micah

It's rare to get a nice smile out if Micah. He seems to always either be grumpy or goofy, this one isn't too bad.

Grandma and Elijah

Even the phone will only bring him this close. And that's after 2 days at their house! Talk about stranger anxiety!