Michigan Summer Begins

So much to say, so little writing time!

•thank you for your thoughts and prayers as we laid Grandma K. To rest last week. She was a wonderful Godly woman whose love touched us deeply and eternally. I was honored to share an eulogy and simply read "Grandma's Lesson," my May 19 post. 

• twelve years Hubs and I celebrated last week! Because of the funeral, our outing was simply a quiet dinner away, but still perfect for the two of us. A dozen years and three silly boys and I love him more than the day we said "I do." We shared the day with Father's Day this year.  "Fantastic Dad potential" was something I looked for in my future spouse and I knew he had it.  Here's the proof:

June 15, 2014: Father's Day Pic

June 15, 2014: Our 12th Anniversary

•a splurge: my beautiful new dining set. This is also why our anniversary was subdued: this is our gift to each other (ok, me) for every 2014 celebration! We ordered it together from Amish folks who build furniture somewhere in Ohio via Tri City Furniture and was worth the wait. Thank you, honey!

Right now they all fit on the bench!

But we bought enough chairs because someday they won't!

•VBS. M and N participated in a good one last week and loved every minute of it! I confess to you I signed them up for another one, the one their preschool's parent school hosts, for next week. Seriously a lifesaver for me;)

•age 5. Wow, what a difference! Despite what I just said about VBS being a lifesaver, age 5 is like a magic spell that I hope lasts for many years to come! It's like a dream come true: they go to the bathroom and dress themselves, follow directions and eat the food I prepare for them. They ride their bikes sans training wheels and ask a thousand questions (I.e., why does A have two daddies? That was just this morning!) after a few seconds, I remembered that the simplest answer usually satisfies so I said, A was born before Uncle D met Aunt J. That was enough for him, thank goodness I didn't have to explain biological father/stepfather relationships. (Yet) even so I am reveling in their big boy-ness: reading, helping, aiding and playing with little bro C. 

•t ball: I can't believe the season is over tonight! It flew by but they loved loved loved it! Both boys have improved greatly in 2 months time and I'm certain I have real ball players on my hands!

•neighborhood kids: pros: there are a bunch this summer for the kids to play with. Con: I seem to be the only parent with a two year old to chase so there were 8 kids (!!!!) in my yard last night. Finally I sent them all away, off into outer space, so I could feed mine dinner. I hope they have parents.

Okay that's all the time I have for now.  Hope you're enjoying this fine Michigan summer - it's always worth the wait!

Minne-sota Vacation

Last week we spent 4 quick days visiting our beloved Minnesota, where we did a few important things:
1. Visit my doc.  Every girl has to do it, and it's a whole lot easier to just go see your old one, the one who delivered all 3 babies, than to find a new one.
2. Haircut.  Oh my goodness, we were all overdue!  When K finished, there was a pile of hair the size of a badger!  Here are the before and afters:

badger

3. MN Zoo...our favorite place!  We packed lunch and swimsuits so we could stay all day and play in the fountains.  It was nice and hot, and the kids loved it!

 N Waiting for the bird show with Dad

Mrs. W., our wonderful neighbor and hostess, poses for a photo taken by N.

Coconut starts every bird show...thank goodness he was still there!

My family about to be eaten by a giant tarantula!

C and M jump right in!

4. Visit some friends.  (Please forgive us if we missed you.)  We did have dinner with the M family, and for about 30 minutes, it was just like old times!  Our kids were busy playing  with their kids' toys and their kids were busy with their grandparents.  For a few moments, we were taken back to our shared newlywed-childless years.  Then someone who shall remain nameless filled his drawers.

Between us we had 5 boys in 4 years!

The kids and I also got to visit some twin friends, and when she sends me the pic, I'll show you all 6 of our boys together on her couch.  It's adorable.  So many boys!  There must be something in that Minnesota water...

5. Hang out with the neighbors.  Mr. J. gave Hubs and the kids a spin in his hot rod on Friday night!

"Hot Rod! Hot Rod!"

6. We visited the MOA and took the kids on the rides, which they were begging to do.  Now that C is big enough, we go through the points pretty fast!  But 4 rides was enough for all of us...Hubs picked out the kids' shoes for kindergarden, too.

Our trip went so fast, I can hardly believe we are already home!  The twins are excellent travellers, they breeze through TSA airport security with ease, they follow directions and stay in their seats.  The same can't be said of the their little brother yet, but

Look Ma, No Training Wheels!

 Taking a hands-off approach to bike riding lessons, when the kids wanted their training wheels off this spring, I removed one each.  M and N have spent the last two months riding around on one training wheel, learning how to balance and turn.

 Thursday last week we had a whole day of nothingness planned, so I asked them if they were ready to take off the second wheel - they'd been asking for a while, so I knew the answer would be YES!!

 I packed a bag with snacks, drinks, a first aid-kit, and a wrench, and we walked down the block to a nearby church for some extra room to ride. It wasn't too warm yet in the morning, so I had them change into long pants and sleeves just in case of major durfing.

 But that wasn't even necessary!  I showed them how to use the yellow curb at first to balance and push off, since their feet don't quite touch the ground if the bike is upright. They rode in giant circles and through a huge puddle created by the city guys washing their trucks next door.  (See above)

 The kids were naturals!  I only had to demonstrate a couple of times how to push off and stop, and they are pros!

 We spent the rest of the day riding around our house, N singing, "I'm doing it without training wheels!  I'm doing it without training wheels!  Hahahahahahaha!"

 The best part of all?  I didn't have to chase after either one, holding onto the back end and running for dear life.  Not. Even. Once.

There was one injury, I should mention - C scraped his right knee when he fell running after his brothers.  It required a band-aid from the box, but you can see how it's already healing, with the help of a snack and a juice box.

Happy 5th Birthday M and N!

A Lesson from Grandma

Caring for my dying grandmother is something special. It's an honor, really, but not one I've earned or hoped to achieve. 

Some of my shifts have been difficult and physically demanding. Almost all are confusing, trying to figure out what it is she's saying, to whom it's being said, in which decade she's existing at that moment.

Tonight she's been very quiet and peaceful, a welcome change, perhaps due to her healing hip and change in pain medication.

She talks about Grandpa, who passed away in 2006. She's told us she's mad at him for leaving her alone. Can't say I blame her. I'd probably feel the same way if the love of my life for 60 years went before me. She said they were "buddies." I asked her to tell me about him, how they met, what they did. She smiled and told me about dancing and bowling with him. I learned you never stop loving your one true love. 

She asked tonight about her kids. I went down the list, telling her how happily married all three of her children are, how they all have kids who have kids who have kids, and that they are all alright. She says if they are alright she won't worry. I reassured her several times they are. Almost every time I'm here she asks me where they are. I learn you never stop being a mom, even when you're a great-grandmother. I don't think she asks about them when they are here. No matter where her dementia takes her, she seems to know that that I am FROM them, but I am not ONE of them. 

She wants to call her mom. Her mother passed in the 80's, when I was a child. I have faint memories of her. Photos, really. Noni passed almost 30 years ago, and still she wants to call her. I learned you never stop being a daughter, ever.

Wife, mother, daughter. 

Even though her mind and body fail, love does not.

"Love never fails," 1 Corinthians 13:8. 

Happy Birthday C!

 Friday was C's Second Birthday!  We celebrated our special boy's day with a lunch outing and our first zoo visit of the year!  Above, C's smiles and claps as we sing Happy Birthday at Panera after lunch - he can polish off an entire kid's meal by himself now!

After riding the train and the carousel, M and N hopped into an old time truck at the zoo and C hopped up, too, saying, "cheese!" all the while.

Sunday afternoon we threw a big birthday party for all three boys - all our moms and grandmas were here, too, so it was the perfect Mother's Day/Birthday Party.  I don't even mind that it's raining today because the weather was so perfect - sunny and 80!  It just doesn't get any better here.  Below, C has his first Faygo - he was drinking everyone else's so I just gave in!

 Each boy had his own cake - C went first and blew out both candles by himself.  Everyone cheered and he was all smiles!

 Below, Hubs helps C open his gifts - well, a few of them.  C retired shortly after this shot for his afternoon nap while we resumed the celebration for M and N.

Little C is such a wonderful treasure and gift of love to us.  C, we are so in love with you and proud of the big boy you are becoming.  Happy Birthday, my little love!

Easter, ER, Garage Sale, Grandma....

What a month April was!

Many were the hours spent prepping for the Garage Sale of the Century at my in-law's house. Many were the treasures discovered in the garage, shed, and basement. Many were the dollars made by my mother-in-law, who slapped her knee and laughed herself silly every time someone gave her money "for junk that was just cluttering up my house!"

In two weeks, the remnants of her sale will be moved to my house for our town's "treasure hunt days," and she can park in her garage again, the goal of our efforts.

Easter came and went in a flash this year! We decided to tell our kids the truth about the Easter Bunny, and explain what the holiday is really about. I fretted about it for days, but the kids just asked, do we still get baskets? Of course, they are from mom and dad, we said. Ok, they said. I'm glad we started with the bunny, I think starting with Santa would have been harder.

My Grandma took a spill in her assisted living apartment last week, landing her in the hospital where it was discovered she broke her pelvis. Nine days later, I'm typing this on her love seat, watching her sleep because she can't be alone.  UPDATE MAY 5th: She's not doing very well.  I'm going in for my 5th shift in 5 days this evening.  Pray for her physical comfort and peace. 

In those nine days, I assisted with the before mentioned garage sale, then took N to the ER Sunday night for wheezing and shortness of breath, a road we traveled half a lifetime ago with him. He was diagnosed with viral pneumonia, given a bunch of meds, and the kids and I were essentially quarantined at home the entire week. I did not leave or property for 4 straight days, some kind of record.

During those 4 days, we celebrated Aunt L's birthday with homemade streamers and a store bought cake (because my range wasn't working). She's a respiratory therapist and coached N through his albuterol treatment like a pro that day.

Then the appliance repairman discovered what I, my husband, and our landlord did not: the range was unplugged! But only halfway, supplying enough power for the clock and lights, but not enough for the heating elements. Good news: we don't need a new range. Bad news: no one thought to check the outlet.

There is theme here, for on top of all that, we had no internet this week! Being house bound with three kids and no Netflix (we have no cable) was a challenge, but also a blessed relief for me from their favorite show "Busytown Mysteries." (My twins mimic Pig Will and Pig Won't so accurately that if I could delete the show from Netflix I would. Also it's VERY high pitched and every character's voice grates my nerves. Not to mention it's just banal. Watch it, you will agree). Hubs got home from his week long business trip last night and went to fix the internet this morning- he discovered the power cord in the "off" position.

What power cord? I asked. I'd been trying to fix the internet all week. Okay, for a day, until L told me something is going on with Charter and their modems because she had no internet either.

The one under my desk, behind it, along the wall, he said.

Huh?

C must have crawled under there and turned it off, he said.

(Sigh)

C has come into his two year old self a couple weeks early! He figured out how to climb the bunk beds, but cannot get down. He steals my iPhone and runs away with it every chance he gets, so I have to hide it...if if you receive a nonsense text from me, C has the phone, if I don't reply to you, I've hidden my phone from him and am searching for it because I can't find it either.

There you have it, what's been keeping me away from blogging, and I will post this just as soon as I get back home because guess what?

No internet at the assisted living apartment complex either!