Pastry chef in training...
Isn't this what the Mr. Potato Head bucket is for?
Princess Turtle... any good ham knows to wear the hat wrong whenever possible.
Isn't this what the Mr. Potato Head bucket is for?
Princess Turtle... any good ham knows to wear the hat wrong whenever possible.
Raggedy Em :-) This was Steph's handiwork.
We hit up a few friends in our neighborhood, David & Ericka's house, my mom's house, and then went to a party at Joel & Julie's house, where the kids did a little more door-to-door candy begging. Julie had dinner to eat at her house, but all our kids ate last night was candy... and it showed by the time bedtime came around.
This kids looked cute in their costumes, but I'm all for abolishment of this 'holiday'.
Emily enjoying the weather. (Photo by Ericka Gingerich)
Noah, Lili and Emily. :-) (Photo by Ericka Gingerich)
The photo of Noah was taken at my cousin Ben's place on Saturday. The other two were taken by Ericka, our two-day-a-week daycare provider. Her daughter Liliana is the one in the middle on the last photo -- the kids had a blast diving in the leaves. :-)
]]>She was able to go back on her thyroid medication today (yay!), and will be able to eat a normal diet starting Monday (if her scan is clear). She is still low on energy, but she has her appetite back, so that is good. It will be another week or so before she can kiss the kids or hold them more than 15 minutes a day, so we aren't totally back to normal yet. But at least we're together again!
]]>Finally, Fall has fell with ferocity. This forenoon we awoke to find the first frost of the Fall. The forecast was for fair skies, and for once, it came to fruition. After watching Noah flounder in frustration at his football (soccer) game, we found our way to our favorite coffee shop. After which we headed home for a few hours of fixing the place up for the forthcoming Winter. With a fine little fellow as my assistant, the task went faster than could have been foretold. For the first time in about five years, I feel fully prepared for a Winter fraught with rainfall.
]]>Once again, our friends have come through and things are in place for a smooth week ahead. But please be thinking of us -- this weekend as Steph copes with feeling run down (due to low thyroid hormone levels), and next week as she is isolated from almost all human contact. As many have noted, the isolation may actually be a nice retreat for her... but I hope she at least misses us a little bit. :-)
]]>I take Noah to school on Tuesdays & Wednesdays because Steph works those days. Last Tuesday, the first day of driving Noah to school, I walked him to the front doors of the school. I had intended to walk him to to his classroom, but before I could follow him through the blue double doors, he said, "I can take it from here, Papa".
It's great that he's so independent, but it's also kind of sad to think that he could be at this point in life already. :-(
]]>His first day and he's already schooling the teacher... I hope she's ready for this. :-)
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It was really just an orientation day for the kids, and information day for the parents -- lasting a whole hour. Noah seems to still be very excited about school, so hopefully his first full week will go well. I also hope that he is able make good use of his energy, imagination, and zeal for life; and that nobody will try to squelch his enthusiasm.
And yes, that's correct, Steph is back to work already. She took the doctor's "about one week" literally, and went back to work on Tuesday, just one week after surgery. I thought she should have gone with one week after getting out of the hospital, but as I stated before, she's a very strong and determined woman, and I couldn't convince her. She said that it was rough to make it through those two days, and that if she had to do it over, she would probably take the extra week off. Oh well...
Tomorrow is her one-week follow-up with the ENT surgeon, so hopefully we will soon have information about her pathology report, and regarding her upcoming radiation treatment.
]]>I brought Steph home Thursday afternoon, after waiting two-and-a-half hours for the hospital personnel to get the paperwork completed so we could check out. As Kris pointed out in the last post's comments section, Steph looks none the worse for wear, other than the pieces of tape covering her incision. I said this after each of our children were born [via C-section], and I'll say it again, she's one tough and determined girl -- her recovery has been nothing short of impressive.
Steph was exhausted when she got home, as she didn't get much sleep Wednesday night (her roommate's ailments kept her awake). I think she's happy to have her old bed back, because she went to bed at about 4:30 yesterday afternoon, and slept pretty much non-stop until this morning... it's very nice to know that she is home.
On the Sleep Apnea front... I was diagnosed with a mild case, but the results could have been swayed by the fact that I had so much trouble actually getting to sleep during the test. There were enough events where I stopped breathing (the longest was 41 seconds) that they felt I should at least try a CPAP machine -- so they gave me a loaner for a week.
I'm currently having a love-hate relationship with the CPAP (after two nights of use). I love the feeling of extra airflow going to my lungs; I love the deepness of the sleep I am getting; and I love actually waking up feeling rested -- I've never experienced this before. I do still wake up a few times during the night to adjust things, but I go right back to sleep, and then wake up at 5:00 or 5:30 and am ready to get out of bed.
The hate part comes from the mask, and occasionally from the extra airflow that comes during my apnea events. If I don't get the mask adjusted just right, it can put a lot of pressure on different parts of my face. Likewise, if I don't lay my head on the pillow just right, things can also get quite uncomfortable -- or a leak can be created because the mask isn't seated right, which blows air into my eyes. I have ripped the mask off both mornings because it was bugging me, but after getting up and visiting the water closet, I found that I wanted the mask back on when I got back in bed -- because the extra airflow when I breathe just feels so nice.
The jury is still out on the whether or not I will keep the CPAP, but I've got another five days to try it out. Steph said she didn't hear anything from it last night, so that is a major plus -- but she's pretty sure I'm going to scare the kids if they see me with the mask on. If I wake up feeling the way I have the last two days, I will definitely be keeping it -- I think I could actually kick my coffee habit with this thing!
So there you are... consider yourself updated! :-)
]]>I got home in time to rock both kids before tucking them into their beds. :-)
Tomorrow morning I will go up and get fitted for my CPAP machine, and then I will go over and spend the day with Steph. The plan is for her to be released Thursday around noon. Good night all!
]]>Here are a few words that have inspired Steph, and will be with her as she has her surgery today...
Sent to Steph from Kara:
What God Hath Promised
God hath not promised
Skies always blue
Flower-strewn pathways
All our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow,
Peace with out pain
But God hath promised
Strength for the day,
Rest for the labor,
Light for the way,
Grace for the trials,
Help from above,
Unfailing sympathy,
Undying love.
- Anne Johnson Flint
From the House Blessing at my mom's:
Spirit of peace, Quiet our hearts,
Heal our anxious thoughts,
Free us from our fretful ways.
Breathe on us your holy calm.
So that in the stillness of your presence,
We may open ourselves to trust
And be transformed. AMEN
I had about half a day to relax when Steph and the kids were up in Canada, but the rest of the time I've kept busy with things picking up at the box factory, doing odd jobs around the place, and doing a little work on the church's new video upgrades.
Next Tuesday, the 26th, is Steph's thyroid surgery. She is understandably nervous, and is definitely not thrilled about having her neck cut open, but I will be glad when the cancer is removed from her body. She is scheduled to be in the hospital for two nights following the surgery. Everything seems to be in order for next week... childcare is planned, meals are going to be delivered to us, an extra set of hands will be around to help with Steph's recovery -- thanks to some very thoughtful friends and family.
That's it for now... Steph has pictures from Canada to download to the computer, so maybe I'll do a photo entry this weekend...
]]>I don't need to do a full rundown of what made our week so busy, but a big part of it was helping out with Zion's Vacation Bible School. Steph managed the 8th graders, while I helped with running the outdoor sound system. It really is a lot of fun, but by the end of the week, we're glad it doesn't run any longer than five days.
During the VBS week, most of the teachers and group leaders dress up in outfits meant to resemble clothing warn in 'Bible times' -- I'm sure they wouldn't garner any Academy Award nominations if they were ever used in a movie, but they work for Bible School. On the first night, Emily was hanging out with me while we got the sound system up and running... and Pam, one of Em's favorite people, came out wearing a Bible-times costume. So Em had to wear one, too...
It's good to see I'm not the only one that blue-eyed girl has wrapped around her little finger... :-)
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I got this new laptop, kind of for work, kind of for play; and JD just stopped by today with a wireless router for us to use. So Noah and I (and Murphy) came out in the garage to do a little cleaning, and a little playing.
Noah loves being a helper, so I let him help with sweeping and organizing things -- the control freak in me sometimes has trouble letting the latter happen, though -- but I'm trying. Murphy loves being out here with us, so I put a long lead on him and he spends most of the time sitting in 'the grandma chair', enjoying the different perspective of the front of the house (new things to sniff, ya'know).
It's great being out here -- I can clean, organize, use my workbench, all while listening to my iTunes collection, surfing the web, and most importantly, hang out with my little buddy. :-)
Those are the fun times happening at our place on this Saturday afternoon, anyways...
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