It has been a busy time for our house.  I can't back us up to my last post but I can catch you up on the more recent past.  This last string of life started with our oldest daughter's 11th birthday on February 21st.  That day Hannah had to spend at Kettering Hospital for 2 hours when it was only to be a few minute trip for some pre-admission testing for my mom--should have known better.  We spent most of our time waiting on the doctor to come in and spend 10 minutes talking to my mom.  The intention of planning the testing on Hannah's birthday was to go out to eat with my parents in honor of Hannah's 11th birthday and my dad's 80th birthday earlier in February. 

Saturday, February 23rd we had a little get together at our house for Hannah's birthday.  It was tricky for folks to make it--everyone had something that day going on--the weather wasn't cooperating either.  It was a great time with friends though and Hannah was thrilled to finally get a webkin or three!

Sunday, February 24th, church and my mother-in-law Judy's birthday.  Paul, the kids and I sang during the evening service--"He's still working on me."

Monday, February 25th, Paul left for Toledo after working all day.  The kids and I were getting ready for our vacation trip to Florida.

Tuesday, February 26th, ran last minute errands, went to gym class, came home, packed the van.  Paul gets home from Toledo at 5 p.m. and we leave for our trip at 7.  He is not feeling well at all.  There had been 7 inches of new snow overnight when he was in Toledo, he never sleeps well in hotels, and he is fighting some type of cold.  He is miserable.   We drive to Elizabethtown, KY and stay the night.

Wednesday, February 27th, after packing the van back up and driving all day, we make it to Destin, FL.  We had snow flurries off and on all the way to Alabama.  Even Florida feels cold to us.  We head to the beach but it is after dark and Denny is freaked out by the enormity of the gulf.  The sky was beautiful though--the stars were amazing!

Thursday, February 28th, we had an easy going day--visited the beach (it's cold!) and a place that advertised alligators.  Paul and I were disappointed in the alligators but the kids were thrilled!  We were able to have an educational moment by sharing with them how cold-blooded animals are very, very, very passive in cold weather.  We had bought some food for the alligators (it was dog treats of all things) but they weren't the least bit interested in eating.  Again, at least the kids enjoyed seeing alligators on their trip to Florida! Ha!

Friday, February 29th, Grace has been falling apart the longer we are here.  I am convinced it is because she is not sleeping well.  She had gotten a fever the evening before and I stayed in the hotel with her while Paul and the kids went out to get dinner and bring it back for us.  She is just wilting.  This morning she had gotten up at 2 a.m. with a 103 fever.  Paul and I were up with her in the bathroom, trying to cool her down from 2 a.m. until 4.  I got up with her again at 7 a.m. when she had a 104 fever.  Not fun.  First order of business is to get Tylenol so we could start alternating acetaminophen and ibuprofen.  We did manage to go see a few things this day.  We visited the Emerald Island Science Center.   Paul was able to exchange email addresses with someone who takes awesome space pictures.  He hopes to use some of these wonderful photos in his Faith Explorer's programs at church. 

After the science center we visited an Indian Mound/Museum and a one room schoolhouse.  The one room schoolhouse was much like the Collins School here locally but it was neat to see the differences that very much reflected the difference in Ohio's climate and Florida's climate.

Friday evening Paul took the kids out on the pier of Ft. Walton Beach.  I was happy to stay back in the hotel room with Grace (Grace was napping) because it is still freezing when the wind blows.  We had a balcony facing the beach so I was able to bundle up and stand out there waving to Paul and the kids while they walked about a mile out into the gulf on the pier.

Saturday, March 1st, the day one of my friends from high school gets married.  We spent the morning at the Air Force Armament Museum at Eglin Air Force Base.  It is like a smaller version of the Air Force Museum here in Dayton.  Denny enjoyed this museum because there were guns, bullets, and bombs!

Mike and Melissa's wedding was on the beach outside the hotel where we stayed at.  It was a beautiful wedding.  The sun was setting and the weather had actually warmed up.  It was a "barefoot wedding" but all of the guys wore tuxes and her dress was beautiful!  Instead of a unity candle they poured sand into a vase--very pretty!  The minister gave a great message and used the symbolism of the sand of how their lives which had been separate could never be separated now.  The reception was at the Officer's Club at the Air Force Base.  We all had a great time.  It was so nice to see friends from my high school days. 

Mike's dad is with me and the kids in the picture.  His dad and mom were just great while we were in high school.  Their house was the place we went to for parties and movies.  Now that I'm a mom I understand the wisdom of them hosting the high school gathering place.

Cute picture of Denny at the Officer's Club:

These are two of my 4 best friends from high school:  Mike and Mike (missing are Terra and Alex).  Mike, Mike and Alex played soccer together in high school.  We were the "fab five"--well, that's what I call us now. :)  We have great memories from high school of all the crazy things we got into.  All of it was good, clean fun which makes the memories even better!

Sunday, March 2nd, we had spent the night in a wonderful Hampton in Pensacola Beach, FL.  I noticed at 6 a.m. (EST) that Grace was feverish again.  I had two choices--get up and give her medicine taking the chance she wouldn't go back to sleep or to let it go and risk her getting hotter.  I decided to do the right thing and give her medicine.  I was right, she wouldn't go back to sleep.  She and I watched the sunrise on the beach from our balcony--it was spectacular!  We went down for breakfast and when she was bored with that I brought her back up to our room.  Paul had gotten up and was getting a shower.  Everyone else was asleep so I thought I could relax on the bed for a minute.  I heard the door start to open so I jumped up to find Grace opening the door and going into the hallway.  I get there and try to pull her back in the room.  She wants to explore so she starts to fight me and drop her weight.  I had to reach out further to get her and then it happened...the door to the hotel room clicked shut behind me.  Paul is in the shower.  The kids are all asleep and even if I could wake them up, they know not to open the hotel door.  Ugh!  Thankfully a Hampton person finds us and lets us back in the room (after running a check on who I was and whether or not I belong to that room).

After everyone is up for the day, washed, dressed and fed, we walk the pier there at Pensacola Beach.  We find that the place to find great shells is here and not at the other beaches where we had stayed!  We scoop up shells by the bag full.

We are now time crunched to make it to Pensacola Christian College to meet up with our bus director's daughter.  We miss seeing her but got to take in some of how beautiful that campus is!  Paul and I decide our kids will go to college there and we will move there to be with them! :)  We pack up one last time and drive all the way to home.  We got in around 11:30 p.m.  We were purely exhausted.

Monday, March 3rd, Paul is back to work.  I'm washing tons of laundry.  It feels like spring--in the 60's--perfect weather for cleaning out our van that looks horrid after we practically lived in it for the past week.

Tuesday, March 4th, Mom is getting ready for her surgery on Thursday.  On to running errands for her and Dad.  The kids don't want to be in the van anymore.  We go to gym class.  It is good to see my friends and get their sympathy.  Paul's mom comes to town to dodge any bad weather that could prevent her from coming to our house and watch the kids during Mom's surgery.

Wednesday, March 5th, Paul is off to work, his mom takes Rebekah on a birthday shopping spree.  Hannah has piano.  Paul flies for Virginia.  I sing at church.  We get home from church and I help get the kids ready for bed.  Paul calls to tell me he has made it to NC waiting for his flight for Virginia.  I leave to go get Mom and Dad.  We get to the hospital and find that the hospital is not expecting Mom even though I had made arrangements for her to be there the night before surgery.  Thankfully the lady I was dealing with ended up being someone I had sang with during a cantata at our church 2 years ago.  She goes to a church in Calisle that our church had shared a cantata with.  She gets Mom a room. 

Once I get her settled in I find out that I have to be back in the morning at 5:30 a.m.  I quickly rush out of the hospital, take my dad home, get home at 11:30 p.m. and into bed.  I still don't fall asleep until after midnight because I laid awake waiting for Paul to call me and let me know he was in Virginia safe.

Thursday, March 6th, I wake up on my own at 4:11 a.m. I laid there thinking "NO!, I have 19 more minutes to sleep!"  Of course about the time I do fall asleep the alarm goes off.  I quietly get showered and ready without waking the house.

I pick up my dad, get parked, get up to Mom's room. They were supposed to take her down to surgery at 6 a.m.--I was still sitting with her in her room at 7:05 a.m.!  I joked with the nurse that I had prayed that the surgeon had a good night sleep and he must have and overslept!

Mom's surgery went well.  Her recovery was a little rough.  The tube in her throat during surgery had left her throat sore and her voice hoarse.  I sat by her bed feeding her ice chips when she would wake up for a moment and then encourage her to use the breathing exercise to ward off pneumonia.  Dad and I left sometime around 2 p.m.  I was just getting too tired.  I had to go home while I could still drive safely.

Friday, March 7th, I try to get out the door as soon as I could.  It started snowing at 8 a.m. and they were calling for a big winter storm.  I took Dad and Rebekah to see mom and we stayed only an hour.  Mom was more awake but her voice was still hoarse--I couldn't recognize her voice over the phone.  I stopped at Wal-Mart for a few last minute necessities and got Dad home and us home too.  The snow did come.  At one point I shoveled the 3 inches off the drive.  Sometime later I gave up.  It was just coming down too fast.  I was conscious that Paul was to fly home that evening.  He got to the airport in Virginia at 3:30 p.m. but they wouldn't move up his flight despite the weather.  Many hours, many prayers, and many checks on the flights later, Paul made it to Dayton at 2 a.m. and to our house just before 3 a.m.  He got the car as far into the drive as he could, stumbled into the house and into bed.  I was so thankful just to have him home.

Saturday, March 8th, major shoveling!  Even Paul when he got up at noon ;) got out there and shovelled.  The kids and I used buckets to move the snow becaue it was just unbearable to shovel it all.  We were able to dig ourselves to the street before we gave up.  At least we could make it to church the next day.

Grace in a snowdrift:

Well, that very long explanation to bring you pretty close to where we are today.  We went to church Sunday.  Paul's mom went home that afternoon.  We are thankful she came and saved the day (or days)!  It was awful timing for Paul to have to travel, thankfully Paul's mom didn't have anything big on her schedule that would prevent her from coming and watching the kids. 

Mom wasn't able to move to the rehab until Monday because she had had a fever during the night on Saturday/Sunday.  We stopped to see her after church Sunday night.  Paul, the kids and I visited her on Monday night.  I was finally able to take Dad to see her today (Tuesday). 

It has been quite a couple of weeks.  I'm hoping that if I'm this busy at the beginning of my year that will mean that the rest of the year can be more laid back.  Can it work that way?

To those of you who are still reading, God bless you!   Thanks for caring enough to read about all of my exciting life!

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