concrete work

So what started as a sinking piece of concrete on the side of the driveway turned into quite the project. We made a call the beginning of May to a landscaper and he came and gave us an estimate. Well yesterday morning the men and trucks arrived and the kids remained in this position nearly the whole time. PJ especially has had two full days of entertainment! We now have a driveway that is now 4 foot wider, a heck of a level patio(the size of a small basketball court) in the back yard, and one awesome sandbox!

Once we have the whole yard back to normal I will take a final picture, but we are so excited and looking forward to many good times.

swim lessons

 Swimming lessons started for our crew tonight. We were very lucky that we were able to get all the kids at the same time on Thursday evenings! PJ cried before going and when I pushed to find out why he explained, "he was scared because he did not know how to swim the Olympics." so cute the poor little thing thought that he had to swim like a pro. I went on to explain to him how lessons worked and he walked right away with his teacher and did great! The little ones only have 2 other kiddos in there class.  The big girls have quite a few students but they held their own very well. Maggie surprised me with how well she can swim and do some of the strokes! This will become our Thursday evenings for the future.

love

I am one lucky momma to have 4 healthy and loving kiddos. They were extra loving tonight and full of snuggles, exactly what I needed! I came home a bit late tonight and they all were feed and bathed!  love each of them dearly!

Dr. Gaut

So our first meeting with the famous Dr. Gaut was back on June 18th when PJ wiped out on the bike and Dr. Gaut was so kind as to put PJ's smile back together. Then we got to know Dr. Gaut a bit better two weeks ago when he handled the whole PJ face and ear thing. Well PJ saw Dr. Gaut once again today,  he calls him cured and we can stop all meds!! and we do not have to see him for one month! woot woot!! PJ was so thrilled to not have to do ear drops anymore!! Dr. Gaut while we think you are a swell guy and so appreciate all that you have done for PJ this summer I sure hope our days of visiting you routinely are done. You do amazing work and we are grateful for all your help, reassurance and putting up with a slightly crazy mom!
Thanks again!!

Abby 2013

 So my little great niece Abby is a participant in a wonderful pageant called Dreams Made True. It is a beautiful event dedicated to girls with special needs. The girls have a casual dress round, a dress up round and a formal interview round. Abby was so excited and so proud each time she was on stage. Abby also was not shy about taking the microphone. :~)

This is Miss Abby's formal dress, so beautiful! I am jealous and my big girls went with me and Kayla leaned over and said I want that exact dress for prom someday.:~) Everyone deserves to feel like a princess once and awhile!
Abby you are one amazing little girl and we are so proud to have you in our family. We love you Abby!!


This is Miss Lindee Link who has been singing at the pagent for the last 4 years! She is also a rising star who does a fantastic job with these special little girls! My big girls are always so excited to talk with her after the pageant each year!

a huge thank you!

 

A big thank you to my mom, sister Coke and Pete's mom!!(he was instructed to get a picture of Granny and PJ but alas we are picture less from her time with PJ) sorry Granny! When PJ went into the hospital my girls went to my moms for the week. With the help of my sister I think the whole week was a success for all! The big girls attended a camp by day and Brie went to my sisters daycare. The kids had a great time with everyone and everything they did while there. A great big thank you to all that provided such a fun week for them! They and I love each of you dearly!!  I went to my mom's on the Friday night and we all had the joy of going to the community theater production of Annie, it was fantastic and the kids LOVED it!

We also owe a great big THANK YOU to Granny as well for coming into town to hang out with PJ. He was unable to travel due to his latest shenanigans. :~) Granny was full of fun and lots of treats! PJ had a great time spending the week at home with 3 adults at his beck and call! Pete's mom was so wonderful to have in town. It was nice to get to have her to ourselves a bit(being selfish a bit here) but we only had PJ and he went to bed easily so the evenings we were able to have some time to catch up. Thanks too Granny for all the cleaning, laundry and entertaining you provided for the week as well!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! we appreciate each of you!!

PJ's hospital stay July 2013

 Here is what we saw Wednesday night with PJ. I thought at dinner he was not eating or talking right. Doing this weird out of the side of his mouth thing. I did not say anything and just went about dinner. Pete noticed it during PJ's bath. I took a couple pictures and asked a great ENT if I should panic. No not to panic but this is unusual, darn, it is never good to be unusual or interesting in medicine! We went to see said fantastic ENT Thursday at 1015 am, PJ looked a little better but still did not have much movement on the right side of his face. So we were off to an MRI of the brain. Talk about a loud and pretty scary test, PJ handled it very well. We only had to repeat one 2 minute sequence during the whole 46 minute ordeal. The MRI showed that the ear infection PJ had was putting pressure on his facial nerve thus causing the loss of some facial movement. The infection was also trying to work its way down into his mastoid bone, that is a problem. We also had to do blood work that also said he was fighting an infection. So because of the mastoid involvement and labs it was admission to the hospital! I had definitely not planned for such an eventful Thursday! We got to his room, they started the IV for antibiotics and we settled in.

 The girls were staying with a dear friend of mine and so I went to get them to visit. It was the sweetest 2 minutes I have ever witnessed with my four kids. Each girl took about 20 or 30 seconds of time with PJ individually and expressed their care and concern. He kept reassuring them he was fine and that everything was going to be ok.  melt a momma's heart.

 PJ's has had 2 sets of ear tubes and the most recent check as of April the current set was doing great. Not after this last ear infection, for whatever the reason the tube was out and he needed another. The infection needed a way to get out. Friday morning we were off to surgery for his 3rd set of tubes. He came thru surgery fine and the doctor took cultures of the infection to see what kind of germ it is . We will not know the final results of that until Monday. PJ was very proud to get yet another surgery bear from the OR staff! I am not pleased to say he owns 3 of those little bears.:~( poor little guy, he is only 4 years old!

 We ended up staying in the hospital until Saturday morning when it was decided that we could manage at home with meds. A sweet friend stopped by with books and art supplies, PJ enjoyed passing the time with those.

While PJ's facial weakness is noticeable to Pete and I the public probably does not see it. It is predicted that the weakness could last 7 days or a couple months. He is expected to make a complete recovery and not have any long term effects from all of this! Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts during this somewhat chaotic time! Who know my day off was going to become so interesting. We are grateful God only gave us a little bump in the road, one that we can completely put behind us very soon! There are many families out there who are dealing with very bad situations and we feel fortunate.

1400 miles of fun

 Pete and I took a few days off around the Fourth of July and headed out to visit family. We spent a lot of hours in our van and crossed many miles, but a great time was had by all! We had several firsts, first long car ride, first time in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. First time visiting Pete's brother as a family, and first time to a beach with true beach sand. The kids experienced Duncan Donuts for the first time, and the sand dunes of Michigan. Pete and I went to the basilica at Notre Dame which was amazing! Also while at Sean's they caught a ground hog in a live trap, my kids were fascinated!

 

 We left on Wednesday and stayed with Pete's parents and visited with his sister and her family. The kids ran until 10 pm catching fireflies! This set of cousins recently moved from Oregon to the Midwest and they did not have fireflies there.  We woke up on the 4rth and headed for South Bend.

 We had a traditional cook out with all the fix-in's and ended the evening with a few fireworks. The kids really enjoyed the sparklers and the lantern we brought to share. Brie very sweetly was helping comfort an unsure Claire.

The kids of course enjoyed the town fireworks put on by the pros.

We traveled Friday and Saturday to two different beaches and had a blast. The kids so enjoyed the water and sand.  Have you ever heard of drip castles? Pete's family grew up making drip castles with his dad and he has described them to me to nothing beats seeing them in person, so neat! I think our family could live at the beach all summer! I was pleasantly surprised by Lake Michigan. We had real sand and a very nice beach to play on.

 PJ was crazy the whole time, in and out of the water constantly! To me Brie's legs in this picture just look super long!

 Makayla spent the second day at the beach looking for rocks and shells.

 Maggie and Kayla got in lots of swimming practice as they spent the entire time in the water. Maggie has mastered floating on her back!

 This picture is sweet and the two youngest ones try to figure out ice pops!
A huge thank you to the family of South Bend as this family had a fantastic time and are very excited to come visit again! Thank you for everything!!