Patient Shem

Shem had surgery yesterday....again. Other knee and is doing just fine. He's kind of a twerp when it comes to listening to anyone about doing anything. He came out of surgery, opened his eyes and calls to the nurse...,"Can I go now?"
Nevermind he was just coming out of surgery and anesthesia, but had also had a huge dose of pain meds. He kept asking until they said yes and then complained the whole time that they wouldn't let him stand up till the last minute.
Getting home was a lot easier. I called a friend and asked if they could help get him into the house (though it wasn't really needed) because they looked at me at the surgery center and said, "Is there anyone else besides you who could walk with him?" What's that supposed to mean? We do have some ice and snow on the ground so I obliged and called. Once we got home he was soooo much easier. Having three daughters yelling at him not to move is awesome. Landon just kept asking what he needed. After piling him high with food and drink, he was set and had a pretty great first night. His pain is managed well, and we are sooooo glad it's over.

Short Update

whew! alright brag time. This is what happens when you don't keep on top of the blog...you end up knowing there are things you need to record and know they are from all over the place...so hang on.

Landon just won some money for his essay contest he entered for the Veterans of Foreign War. They held a banquet today and handed out these amazing awards and surprised everyone with cash rewards as well. He took first at the local post and third at the regional level. Probably one of my highlights were the two old men who came up to Shem afterward and both said, "it sure shows all over your face every time they call that boys name...congratulations." In Kasi language, that means, "What an awesome Dad you are!" And they're right.

Landon can't wait til soccer starts again in March and has finally decided he's going to surpass Landon Donovan. His new hobby in the meantime....juggling...Nonnie sent him a little juggling kit and he had it down in two days. Only obnoxious when he is constantly trying new things and hitting people.

Hailey (4th grade) is now not only doing fifth grade reading, but fifth grade math as well. Didn't I tell ya I was gonna brag?! She loves loves loves doing her faith in God requirements for church and is just a little weird that she loves our little dog so much she sleeps with him every night! At least she doesn't bathe with him......hmmmmm.....yup that's for you LD.

Abby (3rd grade) is also moving forward and has moved into 4th grade reading. I remember what the teachers who had Hailey first would say after Abby, "Hailey would walk through fire for me....Abby says....I don't feel like it" It's quite a push to get this girl motivated, but when she is, she yells at everyone around her because..., " I can't concentrate". This makes sense out of the many times I would walk in to volunteer at the school and find Abby irritated behind a folder she had rigged to hide herself from others so they would, "quit bugging me."

Ireland (sigh) Oh Ireland. She talks about Hawaii all the time. Talks about the "airporch" we left from and how awesome it was to fly. She loves reading books all the time and we play a lot of "oxie" (Yahtzee). She knows that she gets a lot of Yahtzee's, but still asks her siblings to play oxie???

What'll come next, you never know ;-)

Easter and ....stuff

Wow, busy busy. Easter weekend was AWESOME! We went to my moms'. Friday we just hung out and played cards because we got there kinda late. Saturday was a day of reloading shells (for Shem and the kids), and a day of rest for me (woohoo!). In the afternoon we headed out for the range again and spent a couple of hours shooting and hunting shells and lead.
It was amazing. I got to shoot an old .45 colt with a pearl handle and let me tell ya, it was smooth. The .03-06 with the scope was my obvious favorite along with the colt simply because the scope made it sooo easy and I couldn't miss! Shem got to try out his new 7mm. It is so loud that no matter how many times I hear it, it scares the crap outta me. Landon was the only kid that wanted to go with us this time and after shooting the .32 he lost interest. I think it surprised him that such a little thing that looks like a water gun and fits perfectly into a tiny hand could hurt if not held right. His fave is the .22's. Hailey's too.

Easter Sunday, the Easter Bunny loves to hide our kids baskets and have them track them by a piece of string tied to the end of the basket and strung throughout every inch of the house. It is out of control with four kids and a labyrinth of string, and forget about getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Most of the time, every adult just tries to stay put in a central location until the children unwrap us. That's what the Easter Bunny gets after reading a cool Internet sight five years ago and thinking it would be great fun! @$%#! Aww deal with it! The kids hunted for eggs and then we went to my brothers for some yummy food! They were so nice to prepare so much and then had the kids search for the 500 some eggs we hid outside after lunch! Pretty cool for us all although it was a little cold. Then my little nephew and niece broke confetti filled eggs over my head and giggled hysterically. My brother didn't look too bothered either. What they must have not figured is that I don't play well with others. I grabbed what I could from on my head and after tackling them, dropped in in their mouths and then after letting them up (waited until they were in the kitchen) and showered them with cold water. Take that suckas!

Ireland got her first "official" haircut yesterday. She sat sooo patiently in that chair for an hour and 15 and just kept saying, "I'm pretty", when we got home. She just got some long layers and Jen kept saying that she really did a great job cutting her own hair since there was little to fix on evening out her own cutting job.

Isn't Jen so cute! She put glitter in her very tightly braided hair and stickers on her face by her eyes.

Today was Holocaust Day at the kids school. They have an amazing teacher who does this every year around this time (yes, I know it's not in January). She enlists the staff and her seventh grade class. They know it's coming, but not when. Today was it. The siren sounded and they were quickly escorted out of their classrooms. Each was marked with a yellow star and marched around by unforgiving teachers who yelled at them to keep their heads down and not speak. A few were caught talking and were made to do things like hold backpacks or water bottles over their heads. They were separated and at the end of the day, a few were sent into the "crematorium" marked classroom and even had to choose between themselves (when caught talking together) who would go and who would stay, all the while never knowing who would make out better.
It sounds awful to do that to kids, but this is an amazing tradition at our school and they look forward to it every year. They think it will be a fun experience or a new cool thing they've done. I was privileged enough to sit with them at the end of the day and hear how their necks hurt and how they developed Morse codes of their own to speak to one another and even some who cried and expressed remorse for their own treatment of other students throughout the year. They seemed to understand that every historical event can be traced to a playground. Fighting about who looks different, or doesn't believe the way you do. They talked vulnerably in front of their peers about feeling alone and scared. They were asked what they thought they would want to ask a Holocaust survivor if ever they met one. Then the door opened and a sweet woman of 84 years was ushered in to the sounds of gasps and sobs. She looked at all of the children in their yellow stars and said, "I feel I am in a familiar place with all these stars." When asked what kept her going, she responded, "Nothing kept me going, I didn't want to go on living, it's just by chance that I did."
I only write about this because it moved me as it does every year and I'm so grateful to this amazing teacher and staff that really TEACH our children the terrible detriment that prejudice, judgement, ignorance, intolerance and the misuse of perceived power can have. I say perceived power because I don't really believe that anyone is more powerful than another. I do believe, however, that if we think we are better than all, it proves we are below most.
Thank You Arch. Thank You Lilly.

Easily Entertained!

Tonight while Shem was sharing bedtime stories with the kids, he decided to tell Ireland a new story. She is particular to "The Three Little Pigs," but he stepped onto shaky ground and announced, "This time lets listen to "Little Red Robin Hood." ? Landon and I look at each other and Landon mutters, "She steals baskets from the rich and gives them to the poor." I try to smother a giggle and continue to listen to the worst rendition ever told. As Shem realized we were laughing at something, he mentally located his mistake, but couldn't quite remember her "proper name", and she quickly turned into "Little Red Robbing Hood" who was taking a "biscuit", no a "brisket" to Grandma. So I turn to Landon and mutter back, "Was up fool!, Give me all yo briskets for my gramma!" Ireland, while looking lovingly at her Daddy, just smiles and sucks her thumb. I get a kick outta my weirdos!

Best Compliment Ever!

So, yesterday was my first official night of being in charge of a RS enrichment night. I spent most of the morning not doing much of anything but taking care of two sick girls and relaxing before the main event. Then a dear friend of mine called and needed to go to the ER. I left at two. At five thirty I left the ER and got to the church in time to go over the agenda with they YW and prep. Bottom line, I didn't get home until about 9 or 9:30. I have had times away from my family, but when I got home I had never felt so blessed in all my life. My beautiful husband and kids were all here waiting for hugs and kisses and my son says in complete honesty, "The house is all outta whack when you're gone." What makes the heart sigh? That.

The Spirit Of God

This picture was taken just a week ago or so, and now most of the brick work is almost done. Our new church building in our own little town is AWESOME! The steeple can be seen from everywhere and it is the tallest thing in good old PW. We are so blessed.

Ireland!

The first time she did it, I figured it was her right of passage as a child. I told her no and she shook her head that she would not touch them again. Her first was a slight nip in the front just enough to make ponytails obnoxious.

SCISSORS!

The second time, she locked herself in her bedroom while under the care of her older siblings and went to it again. This time with much worse results. She gave herself bangs! I asked her why she did that and she sweetly looked at me and shrugged her shoulders then replied, "it's ok, I won't do it again," and walked away. She had been chopping and stuffing her hair in every nook and cranny so no one would be suspicious.

I hate to say it, but she kinda looks cute with bangs.