Weekend

Our weekend was full this weekend. Ethan and I went to our friend's first birthday party. Ethan had a blast swimming and bouncing. Happy Birthday Andy! Ethan and I then went to tour the HGTV Green Home in PSL. Ethan was not happy about having to wear booties over his shoes and kept asking to leave. Ethan and George finished putting the bunk beds together. He was so excited you'd think it was Christmas morning! He got to sleep on it last night. The bunk beds came with some damage from shipping so we are waiting on some replacement pieces. When George called the furniture store about the damage, Ethan was in tears because he thought he'd have to send back the bunk beds:(

Hearing test for Ian

After picking Ethan up from school today, we made the long drive south and west to an ENT for Ian. (the same one who removed Ethan's adnoids). Ian absolutely hated the hearing test, I'm suprised they were able to determine anything (his hearing is fine). He wasn't happy about seeing the doctor either. The dr. said everything looks okay now with his ears. He also decided to take a look at Ethan since he was there anyway and said his sinus's look good (but did say that his tonsils are really big but gave no further explanation). I had noticed that since Ethan had his surgery that he is really sensitive to smells, even ones we don't notice ourselves. I aske the dr. if it were possible for Ethan's sense of smell to improve because of the surgery and he said yes. I believe that Ethan has actually discovered for the first time that he even has a sense of smell so another positive side effect of sinus surgery:)

Obstacle Course

It's been raining so much lately, though the past few days it's only been in the afternoon. I mentioned in a previous post that we had to come up with some fun indoor activities since we couldn't swim or play outside. The other day Ethan and I worked on an obstacle course in the living room. Ethan even drew his plan out on paper for how the course would go. We had tunnels to crawl through, pillows to jump over, a basketball to throw into a plastic bin, and more. Ethan kept changing it up to make it more interesting. I didn't fit too well through the end table I turned into a tunnel:)

Memorial Day

George had to work today so we got together with some friends. I am proud to say that I took the kids to the beach, yay me! I'm glad that we did meet friends there because Ian didn't want to have anything to do with the beach so Ethan was able to go into the water with our friends. I don't think Ian even liked the sound of the ocean as he kept covering his ears. I actually remembered to bring sand toys but he didn't play with them much (unless throwing sand is considered playing:) Ethan had a great time, I even got a picture of him jumping and dancing on the beach:)

Bunk Beds

We ordered the boy's bunkbeds a few weeks ago and they are expected to arrive on Tuesday. It was hard to narrow down the best bed among the thousands that are out there. We decided we wanted the one with the most storage and found one out of a kids furniture store at the Mall of America. It is a twin over twin with a trundle under the bottom bunk. Under the trundle are drawers. We plan to use both the trundle and the drawers for toy storage. I also found some cute firetruck quilts for both beds. After 9/11 it was easy to find lots of hero/firetruck related items but lately there are few to choose from. I didn't want to spend a fortune and I didn't want one that was too cutsie (like with dalmations) so that they would like it for a while. The amount of time it takes to research and find an item with the best price and the best quality takes forever. Several times I had to stop myself and say "what am I doing? None of this has any eternal significance." I can only hope they really enjoy the room and have fond memories of playing in their own fire station.

He sleeps

Ian slept the longest he's ever slept this morning, almost 12 hours. I guess he's making up for lost time the past few weeks of little sleep and short naps. I spent a lot of time thanking God for the extra rest he provided for both of us:) It looks like Ian's working on getting his 2yr. old molars so he will be suffering for a while. He seems to have more trouble with teething than I remember Ethan having. Thankfully there's only 4 left to come in.

Kicking My Tail

The sinus infection I had before we left on vacation is still kicking my tail. It's been over three weeks now of extreme exhaustion, dizziness and lightheadedness (trying driving a car like that--it's fun:), sinus pressure and headaches, ears hurting and ringing, congestion, coughing and last but not least, asthma. It's been made worse by all the dust here and I am very bad about using my inhaler. Eventually I'll have to go in again to the doctor but I know they'll put me on Prednisone which I'd rather not have. And so the reason I'm posting this is because Ian was up for two hours in the middle of the night and I'm really feeling knocked down. And did I mention that my husband is working a 48 hr. shift? As one of my friends says, "Oy!"

Rainy Day

Actually rainy days. It's been raining here for at least a week and it's getting old. It means we're stuck inside which is never a good idea for two active boys. This morning I covered the kitchen floor with huge pieces of architect's drawing paper (thanks Marilyn!) and the boys colored for a while. While Ian was sleeping, we painted some t'shirts. Ethan has been asking for a while for me to make him another super hero shirt. (I did one of Superman about a year ago and gave him a red pillow case for a cape). Ethan had previously drawn the design he wanted on the shirt and came up with a name for his superhero. (superhero's are big with preschool boys). So his hero is called Light Ethan. He painted a lightning bolt on it and said that the colors on his shirt light up when there is a problem that people need his superhero help for. I painted one for Ian and called him Lightning Ian. Now we only need one for George and one for me and we'll be the Incredibles!

Tuesday

Yesterday Ian got me up at his usual bright and early time of 5am. George has no sympathy for my pain, since he also gets up at that time. (I should note that he does not go and get Ian and let me sleep a little while longer unless its the weekend). It amazes me that Ian can sleep 9 hours or less at night and only take a 2hour nap. I think I requre more sleep than he does. It doesn't help that two of my allergy and asthma meds make me drowsy so I have a really hard time waking up in the morning. Despite the early waking, we had a good day. I'm still working on organizing and getting things back out of the living room and into the bedrooms. The dust continues to hover however and I had a problem with my asthma yesterday. The lady who cleans for me every other week dusted thoroughly but it's still here. I think it's all over our clothes in our closets. Last night, George and I went to dinner and a movie. It was so nice to get out together, eat at our fav restaurant and enjoy a movie. It was also nice that once I left the house I could breathe. Pretty ironic that we got the floors put in because of our allergies and having them put in is causing allergic reactions for Ian and I!

Ian and his ears

Ian had an ear infection a couple of weeks ago and the past few nights he's been waking up screaming in the middle of the night. He's also been pulling on his ears, saying "ow, ear." I took him in again and he doesn't yet have an infection but does have fluid in his ears. With all the dust we have around the house, its no wonder. We haven't yet put everything back in it's place from when the floors were put in and there is dust everywhere. I know I've been more congested so we're guessing that the fluid in his ears is related to allergies. The pediatrician recommended we take him to an ENT. She said with a smile, "you have an ENT don't you?" "Ha Ha, we actually have two," I responded.

Covenant's Graduation Pictures

Our friend whose graduation we went to see: Erica, second in from the left


The bagpiper's wear Covenant's registered Scottish plaid.

Love Letter

Yesterday I had suggested to Ethan that he draw a picture that we could send in the mail to one of his friends who is sick. He's known this little girl since he was born and loves playing with her. On his own, he decided he wanted to write "I love you" on the picture. His first love letter, so cute:) Today I was telling him about two friends of ours that are getting married. He said he wanted to marry the same friend whom he sent his drawing to and said "I should tell her and see if she wants to."

Sammy and His Shepherd

I was excited when Reformation Trust gave me the opportunity to read and review a new book by Susan Hunt titled "Sammy and His Shepherd." We have enjoyed two children's devotionals written by Susan and I was excited to see that she had written a children's picture book. This book is a fictional story about two sheep, Sammy and Precious, and is based on Psalm 23. Psalm 23 is one of the most well known passages in scripture and I remember memorizing it in Sunday school as a young child. Regular readers of my posts will know that I am always looking for books to read to the boys that are well written, well illustrated and solidly biblical. Well this is one I will add to that list. In "Sammy and His Shepherd," Susan Hunt uses a fictional story about a sheep named Sammy who is cared for by a loving and kind shepherd. Sammy meets another sheep whose shepherd is not kind and she is thin and poorly cared for. Sammy teaches her about his Good Shepherd and before long, she is bought by Sammy's shepherd and begins to learn for herself about the Shepherd's love. The book is divided into chapters where each verse of Psalm 23 is taught through the story of the two sheep friends. At the end of each chapter, the book directs the parents to a page at the end of the book where there are discussion questions for parents to use to discuss how the story relates to our Good Shepherd. This book is a great way for children to learn theological truths through a simple story; learning about God's love for his children and his work of grace at the cross. "Sammy and His Shepherd" will help children understand how our Good Shepherd has paid for us, provides for us, watches over us, teaches us, disciplines us, and leads us in righteousness. I definitely recommend this book, so much so that I've already given one to one of our little friends for her birthday:)

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10:11.

Some pictures from our vacation

Tennessee River

Glass Bridge by the Hunter Art Museum, Aquarium in the background



Fountains at Coolidge Park

Downtown Aquarium and Lookout Mtn. in the background

Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge

Bluff View Art District

Playing with Art

Coolidge Park



Tennessee Aquarium



Chattanooga Lookouts

View from Covenant--you can see 7 states from Lookout Mountain

The McKeon's helped us dig for dinosaur bones at the Children's Museum


Children's Museum



Such Sweet Friends!

Return Home

We arrived home Sunday night around 8:30. It was great to see the new flooring in and I love the brick wall. However, everything was still in our living room so I was a bit overwhelmed. I spent Monday doing laundrey, unpacking boxes and putting things back in our rooms and dusting. Who knew that laminate flooring could generate so much dust? I've posted a picture of one of the rooms.

Being a tourist

Well we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Chattanooga. The boys loved the Tennesse aquarium and Coolidge Park. We found a fun piece of functional art at the park that they kept wanting to make music on. They loved the merry go round but more so loved the fountains. I'm so glad Ian finally took the plunge and decided to try getting wet. He had a blast as did Ethan. I took Ethan to my favorite antique shop one day but he wasn't impressed, he kept saying he was sooo tired from all the walking. On Saturday we were able to enjoy Covenant's graduation without the kids as our friends Brian and Helen watched them for us. Thanks guys! We also enjoyed catching up with one of our favorite professors, Dr. Dennison. On Mother's Day we traveled back home. Eleven hours in the car with me sitting between the boys to entertain Ian and help Ethan with his math. What happened to my breakfast in bed?

Chattanooga

We spent the day yesterday at the Children's Discovery Museum. Ethan and George spent hours playing in the water discovery area. I'm looking forward to posting a picture of George in a big yellow raincoat:) I enjoyed my fifth nap of the trip yesterday afternoon (which is remarkable because I haven't had a nap since I was pregnant). We went up to the college (Ethan provided instructions all the way up the mountain on how to drive on mountain roads) and also had dinner at our favorite pizza place (Mr. T's). After dinner we went to watch a Chattanooga Lookouts game. Ethan loved it but Ian not so much so Ian and I left early.

We definitely need a suite

Well we had a great time in Atlanta visiting the Jackson's. Ethan just loves playing with their two boys and he was very sad to leave. We headed to Chattanooga yesterday. Yesterday evening we had dinner at the Kennedy's (Pam was in our wedding) and had a great time catching up. The boys had a blast playing with their 3kids. It's amazing how much our lives change in 13 years:) Our room at the hotel was pretty small, we usually like to get a suite but the Double Tree downtown didn't have any available. As usual Ian had trouble sleeping in the porta crib and kept us up in the middle of the night(although Ethan never heard a thing). Eventually I gave up and brought him our bed. Tonight we definitely need a suite or it will be both Ian and I crying in the middle of the night!

To work or not to work

I've posted before about Ian starting preschool in the fall, after he turns two. I've been praying about what I should do with the few hours of free time I will have. I've thought about volunteering, getting more involved at church and have even thought about writing about my experiences with post partum depression. I hadn't really thought much about finding a job since I won't really have that much free time. But one of my friends recently encouraged me to submit my resume to her company for a position at a private school, doing a lot of what I've done before. It's very part time which is perfect. So I did and I'm praying that God makes things clear to me what He wants me to do this fall as I begin to move into another season in my life. (George thinks its a great idea as it would make more money than me selling things on ebay or advertising on my blog:)

Traveling to Georgia

Well we left our house with everything in the living room. Ethan's room had already had the carpet torn out and had been repainted. We left Saturday morning and the drive was a long one to Atlanta where we are now visiting old Covenant friends. When Ian had his shots last week they told me that he may get a fever a week later from the shots. Well, he did get that fever, had it all during our trip and still has one. Our first night here had me up with him for about 3 hours in the middle of the night. We plan to be here for a few more days and then we'll drive up to Chattanooga where we will make our annual visit to Covenant and see more old friends and also go to Covenant's graduation on Saturday.

Yes, we are!

We are indeed crazy I've decided. Right now the contents of three bedrooms is stacked in my great room. Yikes! So much stuff. While we are gone the boy's bedrooms will be painted and our flooring replaced. In the midst of packing today I have to go and buy the laminate flooring and the paint. I also need to see if I can get Ian squeezed in at his dr.'s today because I think he has an eye infection. Did I mention that I have a sinus infection and I feel light headed all day?