Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Learning to be independent
Luke has recently figured out how to dress and undress himself. This morning, I got his clothes out to dress him. I left out of the room for a few minutes and before I could return to his room to dress him, Luke came out dressed. I was so impressed with him and started to praise him. That was until he turned around. Then I started laughing.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Look who is 3
Happy 3rd Birthday Luke Sidney!
This past Sunday, Luke turned 3. To celebrate his special day, I made Diego Cupcakes for his Sunday School class and then for lunch we went to the ultimate birthday party place, Chuck E. Cheese. Luke and Eli enjoyed their Sunday afternoon running around playing all the arcade games. He will have his "real" party at the end of the month. Our mission trip and Dr. Brockway's mission trip to Venezuela have Daddy's weekends tied up until the end of the month.
Fighter Jet from some good friends
Pirate pool from the family
The Pirate Ship Pool came with two swords, two shields, two pirate hats, a treasure chest, a pirate flag, cannons, cannon balls, steering wheel and a plank slide -- and I had to blowALL of them up.
First Sunday in Nursery
I put Seth in the nursery for the first time this past Sunday morning. He was all dressed up for the occasion. The nursery ladies took his picture for me. Can you believe that he is already 5 months old?
Mission Trip 2008 - Kerrville, Texas
Last year our church sponsored a family mission trip to Creede, Colorado. It was so well received that our pastoral staff and the missions committee decided to have an annual family mission trip. This year the family mission trip was located in the Texas Hill Country in a town called Kerrville. Fifty-four of us left Saturday, July 26 and came back on Friday, August 1. We partnered up with Southern Oaks Baptist Church in Kerrville to do construction on a mobile home, paint a house, help paint SOBC Children's Building, make appreciation bags for civil servants and conduct VBS for a small church in the Kerrville. We had a lot to accomplish in the 3 1/2 days we had to work but with the Lord's help we got it all done to best of our abilities.
I worked with the children. We made the appreciation bags for the civil servants. The children drew pictures on the bags that we stuff the goodies in. They also made bookmarks to put inside the bags. Inside the bags we put beef jerky, package of peanut butter crackers, chap stick, bookmark, a brochure about SOBC, hand sanitizer, kleenex, and a CD that our church hands out to visitors. We made around 200 bags to hand out to the Kerrville Police and Fire Departments and the Kerr County Sheriff's Office. When we took the bags to each department, they couldn't believe that we had made the bags just for them. The Fire Department actually gave us a grand tour of their fire department.
Sunday night through Wednesday night we held a Vacation Bible School at Western Hills Baptist Church. This church is full of senior adults that desperately wants young family to join their fellowship. We had a high of around 15 one night. The pastor was so thankful for the two or three good contacts that they were able to get out of us holding the VBS. Several members from Western Hills helped us in different areas and they seemed to love every minute. Even though they were senior adults, they didn't mind our youth praise band playing loud!
Kevin helped with both construction projects during the morning and part of the afternoon. In the afternoon, he would get cleaned up for VBS. He played bass guitar in the praise band (he is the geriatric member) and was over the opening and closing assemblies. Kevin knows pretty much nothing about reconstructing a house. But he was able to learn how to sheet rock through the help of others.
We stayed at host families for Souther Oaks. We stayed at a home with 15 others from our group. A total of 23 people were at the house during the week. Our family actually stayed in a pop up camper outside. No we didn't have an air conditioner in the camper but neither did the people that stayed in the house. The lady that we stayed with is allergic to air conditioning. We actually had the better of sleeping arrangements of those at the house, because the lived right on a creek with a water fall (very pretty) so their was pretty much a constant air flow during the night. The Mentch's home at night was filled with laughter, singing, and just all around great fellowship.
On Thursday afternoon, we went to historic Fredricksburg to shop and eat German food. While in Fredricksburg, we got to meet up with Ms. Rachel, our host home from Creede. Rachel lived and worked in Creede last summer. She had just graduated from college and was living in her family's summer home. This past fall, she moved back home with her family in the San Antonio area. Her parents and herself just moved to Fredricksburg earlier that week. So we got a chance to drink cream soda and root beer with Ms. Rachel at an ice cream parlor in downtown Fredricksburg. By the way, I am glad I am not German. The meat was fine but the veggies .. well not much on cabbage and hot potato salad.
We enjoyed our week in Kerrville very much, even without air conditioning! The boys were great. Seth had a horrible night Saturday when we arrived at our house. He screamed for at least an hour and half. After a dose of tylenol, he settled down and fell asleep. He was fine the rest of the week. Although he started fighting getting in his car seat after such a long drive to Kerrville. Eli fell of some playground equipment and busted his chin on Monday. Several of us thought he was going to have to have stitches but Dr. Daddy came and checked him out. Dr. Daddy said that no stitches were needed. Luke also fell while wearing a batman mask. The mask cut into his face under his eye. So we had one with a black eye and one with a busted chin. But through all the falls, screaming babies, and many dirty diapers, I had a wonderful young lady, Meredith Elms, that helped me tremendously. Meredith helped me out even when I didn't ask for help. She just saw what needed to be done and just did them. She was truly a blessing to me.
I will hopefully get a CD of pictures from "Big Luke" (that is what Eli calls him). Big Luke took hundreds and hundreds of pictures of all the work sites. When and if I get the pictures, I will put some of them on the blog. But for know, here are some of the pictures I took at VBS and when we delivered the bags.
Rocket Jump House that we rented for VBS kick off.
The Rockets went along with our VBS theme - Cosmic City!
Rusty bagging popcorn at VBS kickoff.
Luke being his silly self.
Mohawk Jayden
Jayden became Eli's new friend at VBS.
Jayden's little brother Jake also sported a mohawk.
Some of the cute little girls at VBS.
Meredith Elms
I asked her Dad Sunday night if we could adopt her!
Dusty on guitar and Eric on keyboards
The pastor of Western Hills Baptist Church
and the snack ladies.
Space Aliens Caleb and Maggie helped with
the Bible Story drama
Sweet Laney colored more on herself than she did the bags!
Kerrville Fireman in full gear.
They actually got called out on a medical call while we were there.
Our kids and the three fireman that showed us around.
Kerr County Sheriff's Department and FBC children.
I worked with the children. We made the appreciation bags for the civil servants. The children drew pictures on the bags that we stuff the goodies in. They also made bookmarks to put inside the bags. Inside the bags we put beef jerky, package of peanut butter crackers, chap stick, bookmark, a brochure about SOBC, hand sanitizer, kleenex, and a CD that our church hands out to visitors. We made around 200 bags to hand out to the Kerrville Police and Fire Departments and the Kerr County Sheriff's Office. When we took the bags to each department, they couldn't believe that we had made the bags just for them. The Fire Department actually gave us a grand tour of their fire department.
Sunday night through Wednesday night we held a Vacation Bible School at Western Hills Baptist Church. This church is full of senior adults that desperately wants young family to join their fellowship. We had a high of around 15 one night. The pastor was so thankful for the two or three good contacts that they were able to get out of us holding the VBS. Several members from Western Hills helped us in different areas and they seemed to love every minute. Even though they were senior adults, they didn't mind our youth praise band playing loud!
Kevin helped with both construction projects during the morning and part of the afternoon. In the afternoon, he would get cleaned up for VBS. He played bass guitar in the praise band (he is the geriatric member) and was over the opening and closing assemblies. Kevin knows pretty much nothing about reconstructing a house. But he was able to learn how to sheet rock through the help of others.
We stayed at host families for Souther Oaks. We stayed at a home with 15 others from our group. A total of 23 people were at the house during the week. Our family actually stayed in a pop up camper outside. No we didn't have an air conditioner in the camper but neither did the people that stayed in the house. The lady that we stayed with is allergic to air conditioning. We actually had the better of sleeping arrangements of those at the house, because the lived right on a creek with a water fall (very pretty) so their was pretty much a constant air flow during the night. The Mentch's home at night was filled with laughter, singing, and just all around great fellowship.
On Thursday afternoon, we went to historic Fredricksburg to shop and eat German food. While in Fredricksburg, we got to meet up with Ms. Rachel, our host home from Creede. Rachel lived and worked in Creede last summer. She had just graduated from college and was living in her family's summer home. This past fall, she moved back home with her family in the San Antonio area. Her parents and herself just moved to Fredricksburg earlier that week. So we got a chance to drink cream soda and root beer with Ms. Rachel at an ice cream parlor in downtown Fredricksburg. By the way, I am glad I am not German. The meat was fine but the veggies .. well not much on cabbage and hot potato salad.
We enjoyed our week in Kerrville very much, even without air conditioning! The boys were great. Seth had a horrible night Saturday when we arrived at our house. He screamed for at least an hour and half. After a dose of tylenol, he settled down and fell asleep. He was fine the rest of the week. Although he started fighting getting in his car seat after such a long drive to Kerrville. Eli fell of some playground equipment and busted his chin on Monday. Several of us thought he was going to have to have stitches but Dr. Daddy came and checked him out. Dr. Daddy said that no stitches were needed. Luke also fell while wearing a batman mask. The mask cut into his face under his eye. So we had one with a black eye and one with a busted chin. But through all the falls, screaming babies, and many dirty diapers, I had a wonderful young lady, Meredith Elms, that helped me tremendously. Meredith helped me out even when I didn't ask for help. She just saw what needed to be done and just did them. She was truly a blessing to me.
I will hopefully get a CD of pictures from "Big Luke" (that is what Eli calls him). Big Luke took hundreds and hundreds of pictures of all the work sites. When and if I get the pictures, I will put some of them on the blog. But for know, here are some of the pictures I took at VBS and when we delivered the bags.
Rocket Jump House that we rented for VBS kick off.The Rockets went along with our VBS theme - Cosmic City!
Rusty bagging popcorn at VBS kickoff.
Luke being his silly self.
Mohawk JaydenJayden became Eli's new friend at VBS.
Jayden's little brother Jake also sported a mohawk.
Some of the cute little girls at VBS.
Meredith ElmsI asked her Dad Sunday night if we could adopt her!
Dusty on guitar and Eric on keyboards
The pastor of Western Hills Baptist Churchand the snack ladies.
Space Aliens Caleb and Maggie helped withthe Bible Story drama
Sweet Laney colored more on herself than she did the bags!
Kerrville Fireman in full gear.They actually got called out on a medical call while we were there.
Our kids and the three fireman that showed us around.
Kerr County Sheriff's Department and FBC children.Friday, July 18, 2008
A Major Milestone
Last night a major milestone occurred that I have been waiting to happen. Seth FINALLY slept through the night!! From 10:30 pm to 7:00 am. I checked a couple of times to make sure he was breathing and he was. He was just enjoying some good zzz's!On July 2nd, I took Seth in for his 4 month well visit. As you can tell from the picture above, our little peanut has packed on some pounds. At his appointment, he weighed 13 lbs 8 oz. and was 24 inches long. Dr. Delisi was extremely pleased with his weight again. In two months time he jumped from being in the lower 5th percentile in weight for his age group to the 20th percentile. I am amazed at how God has taken that frail little baby and made him into a normal baby that shows no signs of being a preemie.
Seth has also started doing push ups! He started pushing up on his hands this week. He is growing and developing by the minute! It is so fun to watch.
Seth is also taking after his uncles. Take a look for yourselves.
Uncle Chuck
Uncle Charlie
Uncle Marty
and Seth all have Male Pattern Baldness!Sunday, July 6, 2008
First ER Visit
Thursday night, we kicked off our 4th of July weekend by taking Luke to the Longview Regional Medical Center Emergency Room. Our friends, Matt and Valerie Gunter and their girls, stopped by to visit and eat supper with us on their way to Matt's parent's house. Matt, Kevin, and the children were outside playing. Around 7 pm, Eli and the girls came in the house and Luke stayed outside with Kevin and Matt. Eli, Claire, and Kate hadn't been in the house but a couple of minutes when Kevin brought Luke in crying. Kevin told me to look at his foot. I saw two swollen puncture wounds about an 3/4 to 1 inch apart. I knew immediately what it was -- SNAKE BITE!
Earlier that morning, while Kevin was having his quiet time out at the shop, he killed a 2 1/2 cottonmouth snake. He has seen rat snakes out there but this was the first poisonous snake that he had seen. We have been educating the boys on what to do if they saw a snake while they were playing outside. They both knew what to do. But Luke didn't see this one. He was out by the shop with Kevin and Matt. The grass out by the shop had not been mowed yet so it was thick and high. We think he stepped on it without even knowing. He just started screaming and saying his foot stung. Kevin took off his rubber boots and saw the puncture wounds but didn't want to believe it was a snake bite. But when it started swelling like wheels, he knew it was highly probable it was a snake bite.
Matt and Valerie stayed with Eli and Seth while we rushed Luke to the hospital. Luke was calm and pretty quiet on the way to the hospital. He was alert and aware of his surroundings because he made comments about the blue gorilla at the used car dealership. He also told us when we got to the hospital that he did not want to lay in a bed. He remembered me in the bed at that hospital. His foot was still swollen and was red when we arrived at the ER. Around 8 pm we saw the doctor. He examined him and said that it looked like a snake could have bitten him but he didn't think that he had been envenomed if he had been bitten by a snake because he would have had unbearable pain. He went ahead and ordered blood work to check for DIC and gave him tylenol with codeine. They also observed him for a couple of hours. The blood work was fine and he never showed any signs of being envenomed.
On the way to the hospital, we called our family and church family had them to start praying for Luke. Some of our friends from our Bible Fellowship group to come to the hospital to be with us. We are so thankful and blessed to have such loving and caring family and friends. Kevin and I believe that their prayers were the reason Luke faired so well with this accident.
Kevin educated me on the differences in poisonous and nonpoisonous snakes during our wait. There are four poisonous snakes in the United States - Rattlesnake, Water Moccasin (cottonmouth) , Copperhead, and Coral. A poisonous snake bite will leave two puncture wounds from the fangs which inject the venom. Non-poisonous snakebites leave teethmarks but no fang marks. Also the bite itself can cause just as many problems as venom due the nasty snake's mouth. Kevin also reread a journal article that he got sometime ago on snakebites. The article said that 25% of the time, poisonous snakes do not inject venom when they bite. Also, the puncture wounds on Luke's foot were pretty far apart, which meant that it was a pretty big snake. Big snakes also do not have as much venom in their bites as small snakes.
If you saw Luke today, you would never know anything had happen. His foot isn't swollen and the bite now looks like a two small scabs. I tried to take a picture of his foot on Friday but I couldn't get a good picture and he was ready to go and play. It is only by God's grace and healing that Luke didn't have any major problems from the snake bite. We praise God that Luke's speedy and complete recovery! We are also very thankful that Matt and Valerie Gunter were here to take care of our other boys. It is so awesome how the Lord takes care of little details before we know we need them.
Luke's friends, Brooke and Jack Tanner, came to the hospital and brought him a
Spiderman coloring book and a giant lollipop. The coloring book made our wait not seem so long.
Luke is always a clown but the codeine added fuel to this fire.
Here he has the cold pack that we put on him at the house on his head.
And no he isn't naked, you just can not see his diaper.
(Yes, he is nearly three and still in diapers.)
Before we left the hospital, a nurse put ointment on his foot and bandaged it up.
Luke told Eli Friday morning that he was like Curious George.
Earlier that morning, while Kevin was having his quiet time out at the shop, he killed a 2 1/2 cottonmouth snake. He has seen rat snakes out there but this was the first poisonous snake that he had seen. We have been educating the boys on what to do if they saw a snake while they were playing outside. They both knew what to do. But Luke didn't see this one. He was out by the shop with Kevin and Matt. The grass out by the shop had not been mowed yet so it was thick and high. We think he stepped on it without even knowing. He just started screaming and saying his foot stung. Kevin took off his rubber boots and saw the puncture wounds but didn't want to believe it was a snake bite. But when it started swelling like wheels, he knew it was highly probable it was a snake bite.
Matt and Valerie stayed with Eli and Seth while we rushed Luke to the hospital. Luke was calm and pretty quiet on the way to the hospital. He was alert and aware of his surroundings because he made comments about the blue gorilla at the used car dealership. He also told us when we got to the hospital that he did not want to lay in a bed. He remembered me in the bed at that hospital. His foot was still swollen and was red when we arrived at the ER. Around 8 pm we saw the doctor. He examined him and said that it looked like a snake could have bitten him but he didn't think that he had been envenomed if he had been bitten by a snake because he would have had unbearable pain. He went ahead and ordered blood work to check for DIC and gave him tylenol with codeine. They also observed him for a couple of hours. The blood work was fine and he never showed any signs of being envenomed.
On the way to the hospital, we called our family and church family had them to start praying for Luke. Some of our friends from our Bible Fellowship group to come to the hospital to be with us. We are so thankful and blessed to have such loving and caring family and friends. Kevin and I believe that their prayers were the reason Luke faired so well with this accident.
Kevin educated me on the differences in poisonous and nonpoisonous snakes during our wait. There are four poisonous snakes in the United States - Rattlesnake, Water Moccasin (cottonmouth) , Copperhead, and Coral. A poisonous snake bite will leave two puncture wounds from the fangs which inject the venom. Non-poisonous snakebites leave teethmarks but no fang marks. Also the bite itself can cause just as many problems as venom due the nasty snake's mouth. Kevin also reread a journal article that he got sometime ago on snakebites. The article said that 25% of the time, poisonous snakes do not inject venom when they bite. Also, the puncture wounds on Luke's foot were pretty far apart, which meant that it was a pretty big snake. Big snakes also do not have as much venom in their bites as small snakes.
If you saw Luke today, you would never know anything had happen. His foot isn't swollen and the bite now looks like a two small scabs. I tried to take a picture of his foot on Friday but I couldn't get a good picture and he was ready to go and play. It is only by God's grace and healing that Luke didn't have any major problems from the snake bite. We praise God that Luke's speedy and complete recovery! We are also very thankful that Matt and Valerie Gunter were here to take care of our other boys. It is so awesome how the Lord takes care of little details before we know we need them.
Luke's friends, Brooke and Jack Tanner, came to the hospital and brought him aSpiderman coloring book and a giant lollipop. The coloring book made our wait not seem so long.
Luke is always a clown but the codeine added fuel to this fire.Here he has the cold pack that we put on him at the house on his head.
And no he isn't naked, you just can not see his diaper.
(Yes, he is nearly three and still in diapers.)
Before we left the hospital, a nurse put ointment on his foot and bandaged it up.Luke told Eli Friday morning that he was like Curious George.
Monday, June 30, 2008
You Sure Have Your Hands Full
Anytime me and boys go out in public, I always hear "You sure have your hands full". I never really know what to say. I always just grin and say yes I do and then wonder why they made that comment. I know I have three kids under the age of 5 but I still think I am handling things pretty well considering. After hearing it a million times I have started to wonder if I really look that frazzled.This past Friday when I was in Shreveport, I got to visit with my cousin Cheryl, who know lives in Ohio. Cheryl and I were talking about how strangers comment on kids and the different things they comment on. I told her that the "hands full" comment was probably the most popular comment that I get. Cheryl shared with me that she read how someone grew tired of hearing that comment and she has started saying to people "My you are very blessed." That hit a chord with me. I have been blessed with three sweet, precious boys. My hands aren't full, my cup runs over. So I decided then and there that my response to all those "hands full" comments would be "Yes I am very blessed".
After we all (my mom, sister, aunt, and two cousins) split up and went our separate ways, I had to run by LifeWay before I headed back home. We got what we needed in LifeWay and was loading everyone up in the van, and a lady came around the back of the van and said "Boy, you sure do have your hands full". My response "Yes, I am very blessed!" :)
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