1. Two weeks ago today I received a call that my biological father needed emergency open heart surgery. A few hours later, I was on my way to Indiana to be with him. The following morning he underwent sextuple bypass surgery (honestly, I didn't even know it was possible to bypass that many coronary arteries). Why do I consider emergency open heart surgery fabulous one might ask? Well, the doctors were very clear that, had he waited even a day or two more to be seen, he would've suffered a massive heart attack and due to the severity of the blockage, it would have been fatal. So, while open heart surgery is far from fabulous, I am grateful that my father, who probably hasn't set foot inside a doctor's office in at least 10 years, decided to act upon the prompting of that still, small voice (and the many voices of friends and family) to see a doctor before it was too late. Although he is still a bit battered and bruised (and probably will be for awhile), he is alive and healthy once again and THAT is pretty fabulous in my book!
A few days after surgery, Richard, the kids and I went to visit my father in the hospital. Alayna was especially excited for the opportunity to take a few laps around the hospital floor with her Papaw. It was the first time he had seen her walk since she received her prothesis.2. While I was in Indiana for my father's surgery, Richard was at home with the kids. In addition to playing the part of "stay-at-home dad" he also got to play the role of "substitute teacher." About halfway through the day I received a call from Mr. Substitute explaining that if he heard the phrase, "But Mommy doesn't do it that way," one more time, he was going to fail them all! It appears that all children, whether attending public/private school or homeschool, are one in the same; they all enjoy tormenting the substitute!
3. Last week Jacob and Lukas were playing quietly in the living room with their Legos when all of a sudden they both started singing "Send Me An Angel" (Real Life, 1983) at the top of their lungs. I couldn't help but laugh (and continue to do so daily as it appears to be their song of choice at the moment)! That song is older than me (but apparently just as catchy today as it was in the 80's)!
4. After I tuck the kids into bed each night I sit in the hallway outside of their bedrooms and read to them. After we have finished a book we have a book party. Last week we finished reading "Charlotte's Web" and on Friday we had our book party. The kids had a great time spelling words in "Charlotte's Web," making spider hats, and playing "Wilbur Says." After dinner we watched the movie (the animated version from 1973) and ate popcorn. It didn't quite rival our chocolate party from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (because really, what rival's a chocolate party?), but a great time was had by all!
Charlotte's Web
Spider hats
5. A few days ago (after launching a surprise "kiss" attack on Jacob), Lukas looked up from his Legos and said, "Mommy, can you come help me when you're done being crazy?" I laughed and thought, "You're going to be waiting for that for a LONG time, kid!"
6. Two weeks ago my mom, the girls and I went "camping" at our local KOA (I use the word camping very lightly because we were in an RV with running water, heat and a television, but hey, we DID have a camp fire and roast marshmallows!). We had a great time eating s'mores (don't worry, we kept Lily FAR away from the graham crackers this time), painting nails and mining for "precious gems" while the boys enjoyed a sleepover with Big Dawg (my step-dad)!
Walking up the steps at the playground all by herself!
Mining
7. Due to the MANY food allergies and intolerances in our family (gluten, dairy, eggs, peanuts and refined sugar), we decided to do Halloween a bit differently this year. Rather than going Trick-or-Treating, we had a family Halloween party. As with any radical change, I was a little nervous about how the kids would react to this change in tradition, but of course, was pleasantly surprised by their acceptance. We set up several games (including a fishing game, "Pin the Spider on the Web," a bean bag toss, and bobbing for apples) and gave out prizes, had a "Monster Ball" complete with Halloween music and at the end, gave out treat bags full of homemade gluten, dairy, egg and (mostly) refined sugar free treats! The kids also helped pass out treats to the neighborhood kids. They had a blast and I breathed a sigh of relief!
Tigger and Pooh (thank goodness for hand-me-down costumes)
Chef Evan
Gone fishin'
Bobbing for apples (Maren was the only one daring enough to stick her head into the water)
Look, Evan lost a tooth. . .and so did his pumpkin!
2 comments:
You have such a fun family! LOVE Evan's pumpkin missing a tooth - so cute! :D
The book party and Halloween party are such good ideas!
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