Thursday, July 19, 2012

Just a little over a week until...

Liisa and Zack's wedding!  We are in the final countdown and it sounds like she has everything under control.  I am very excited to be headed to MN--it's been over a year now since I was last up there and I have missed it dreadfully!

I have had some amazing conversations on the phone with Reimond of late.  Being away has been really good for him and I am so proud of the directions he is choosing to go.  He is a really neat kid!  Andrea and Justin got some really bad wasp stings last week after Justing ran through a ground wasp's nest (he didn't know it was there) on their way home from the beach.  Liisa and Rei took them to the ER and Andrea was at Abbott while Liis took Justing and Alexis to Childrens.  Andrea had 14+ stings and Justin had 9+ stings.  Both ended up on prednisone and benadryl, but both are much better now.  It was scary though (Alexis had one sting on her back and was fine). Rei ran as go-between from the two hospitals (across the street from each other and connected by an underground tunnel for those who are not familiar with it) and I am so relieved everything turned out well.  Tony was in Kansas and called me to see if he should try to fly home; I told him not unless things took a bad turn (e.g. bad allergic reactions), but he will be headed home for this weekend.  He blew out his knee doing PT and they had no clinic with an MRI available closer than 200 miles away, so he is needing to get that looked at when he gets home.  There is no break, but he can hardly walk on it.

Brie got home from AT and Skye was happy to have her home. Skye is still being a bit of a challenge in putting things up her nose (yesterday she blew out a piece of what looked like scrunched up tape torn off something) and it bled and ran for hours before it finally was visible and could be removed by her mother.  I suspected something was up there, but we couldn't *see* anything.

Patrick and his friends have had a series of misfortunate events in FL and currently he is staying at a parent's place of one of the girls.  He does have a job, and has been good to be in communication with us.  It's definitely been a learning experience for him!

Aurora continues to enjoy her summer vacation, and is glad Dan is back from Maine.  He grandfather is now in a rehab home, and is stable. Eric's vacation begins tomorrow, and we are counting the hours!  It will be so nice to have him home and be taking a trip together! 

I am doing ok: excited tosee/be with my family soon, excited to be bringing the grandkids back with us, and thrilled for Liisa and Zack. I am a little on edge over the pending surgery but am also looking forward to it... And now I have to go get Skye, who is yelling "Helloooooooo" from her bed quite loudly and melodically!  She is definitely awake!

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Phase 2 (or is it 3) of our summer:

Whichever it is, we are on the part where Brie is at AT for two + weeks (she should be home on the 9th), Aurora is continuing her job search, Dan has gone to Maine because his grandfather hasn't been doing well (had a stroke while their family was enroute, but is now a little better), Rei is continuing to baby sit the Soulak littles, Patrick is having his own struggles in FL (job-wise, we believe), Liisa is planning her wedding, and Tony passed phase two of his military training (B-NOC) "exceeding course standards" (or the top 10% of his class).   Tony is home briefly between phases, then returns to KS for phase 3 on the 8th.  Andrea is really appreciating having Rei in the house with her, another adult to entertain and keep track of the kids!

Eric is working hard at both school and work: this is his last term (we hope) and it's going ok so far. I am being run ragged by "Miss Almost Two" who is showing a strong will and a strong independent streak of late (no is her favorite word, she runs the opposite direction from where she is suppose to be, and she has learned the habit of selective hearing from her older role-models...).  Skye has figured out how to open the front inside door, and the storm door latch is no longer catching so she can let herself outside (and we fear the dogs too) so we have resorted to deadbolting it, which sucks for those needing to get in.  Today she announced to Aurora and I "back later" along with an emphatic finger shake at each of us, then headed for the front door to "go aside".  Aurora took her for a brief walk, because the temps were almost 100 degrees at 11 am.  What a monkey!  She is infuriating and frustrating, and loveable, all rolled into one precocious package (Skye that is).

I saw the eye surgeon and he said surgery is necessary. I am scheduled for August 22nd to do my right eye, followed by my left about three weeks later.  I am just having the basic package done, which means I will still be needing glasses when I am through--the astigmatism correction is considered "optional" and costs almost $1800/eye to fully correct the degree of astigmatism I have, and it's $2600/eye if I want my reading vision corrected too, with no guarentee that I won't need glasses still (at the $1800 level I would still likely need reading glasses). We just don't have it in the budget to get it all corrected, and I am ok with that.  Just so I can see clearly to do the things I love and enjoy them!  Today Aurora laughed with me when I got scared there was a dead animal on the back of the loveseat...  It was her hair draped over the back and off to the side of the loveseat, blending in ( because of my blurred vision) with the couch in places, except for where it was standing up/poking out in front of the window.  Looked like tufts of fur or feathers to me, seated perpendicular to her on the couch... As I said to her, I can generally differentiate things fairly easily when they are things I know well or expect to see.  In that instance, it was neither!

Liisa's wedding plans are coming along.  Our prior pastor from down here is a MN native, she is now back in Minnesota, and she will be performing the ceremony at my daughter's house (on the front lawn), followed by a reception/party. It's going to be small, intimate, and loving, and I am so happy for her and Zack. They have focused on ways to do this on a tight, limited budget, and it's going to be beautiful and fun!

We have been dealing with record breaking heat for the past week and today it's supposed to be the hottest it's been.  We blew up the kid's pool and have been enjoying it daily with Skye.  She developed a horrible yeast infection from her antibiotics, and having her in the pool multiple times a day, plus using the creams has been a god-send and she is looking much better. She is quite the waterbaby and loves to splash and swim.  We have to watch her like a hawk though because she makes a beeline for the pool any time we are outdoors, and she can get herself in and out of it without any struggle. She also loves to play in the sprinkler and helping Poppa with watering the yard in the evening is a favorite task.

I completed my May socks by deadline MY time, but not by deadline of the Sock Knitter's annonymous group.  Eric wore them to work yesterday and said they were wonderful. I have the June socks to finish before the 31st, and I have been spending time knitting on a gift shawl I started a while back. I have some other knitting that needs to be completed as well, so I have elected NOT to knit the July sock challenge.  I am pretty proud of myself though--I kept up thru june!  I have things I want to be doing but can't right now, for many reasons, so knitting is helping me to pass the time, as is my Nook (because I can change the font size) and audiobooks. I have played Everquest some, and still enjoy it, but it is hard to get involved with anything of significance (game-wise) while I have Skye to keep track of.  She loves computers, but isn't much help with playing games on them.

Like so many in similar circumstances we are in the process of tightening our belts some, and realigning some priorities.  I am trusting in God's grace to see us through these challenges, but it is stressful and frustrating, as well as humbling when we see how much we have been blessed with as well.  Lots of prayers are being lifted up on so many fronts for us, for family, for friends.   Everyone has their struggles these days, and prayers are an easy way to aid when there is nothing else to be done.  God knows the needs better than we do ourselves, and I trust in His plan to satisfy them in His own time (as much as I wish it were in MY time frame, unfortunately). 

Anyway, baby is awake from her nap, so it's time to hit the pool in the yard!  Stay cool!