Kudos to Colleen!

We have been without curtains in our family room, for an embarassingly long time. It was a combination of not having any stores in South Haven and decorating stresses me out a little. So my sister in law, Colleen, offered to sew some curtains for me. I told her to work off the picture in between the windows, and here is what she made! I like how the curtains are a unique length and the pillows are great. I still need to add some colorful blankets and our walls are pretty bare, but it's progress!

Cardale saw the ENT Dr. today and he does need tubes. He's scheduled for the end of the month, but I'm hoping we can push that up. It really depends on how quickly the judge gets the permission signed. I would like to get the surgery done sooner because I'm afraid he'll get another ear infection before the end of April! We'll see what happens.

Time with Grandma

Caleb's preschool class- who's the tallest of them all?:)

Notice the double stroller- a huge blessing from a friend who doesn't need it this year!

I brought the boys lollipops from Denver and Isaac thoroughly enjoyed his.

Cardale looking cute

I am back from Denver and I had a great time! I enjoyed lots of quality time with my sister and some quality alone time.:) I read two books, exercised, and didn't abide by a schedule. I read the book Twilight, yes the one about vampires, and I am hooked. I'll have to borrow the other ones from the library. I also read a book called The Shack. I HIGHLY recommend this book. It really makes you think about God and your relationship with Him. The guy sitting next to me on the plane must have thought I was an emotional basketcase. I kept crying and blowing my nose and asking my sister for more Kleenex.:) I came back from the trip re-energized and ready to do what I do.

My Mom did a fantastic job with the kids, and they did not make her visit easy.:) Nate was working 12 hour shifts for the outage so he wasn't around much. My Mom is super-Grandma and took all 3 kids on Caleb's field trip. I don't even like doing that.:) Cardale also got ANOTHER ear infection and Mom had to bring him to the doctor. He is scheduled to see an ENT doctor on the 31st. I imagine they will want to put tubes in his ears. Please pray that this round of antibiotics works and keeps him healthy until he can get tubes. So, my Mom had fun with the kids but she was very tired by the time I returned.:) Thanks again, Mom!

I also want to say Happy 60th Birthday to Nate's Mom! She celebrated this milestone yesterday. We wish we could have celebrated with you, but we're looking forward to your visit next month. We love you very much!

Babysitting

Where's Zoey?

Line 'em up, it's time to eat!

This morning I babysat a little girl named, Zoey. Her Mom was in a pinch and needed a babysitter for the morning. I agreed, although I was slightly nervous. Zoey just turned 1, so I had a 12 month old, 15 month old and a 19 month old today. My boys have a hard enough time getting along, I was nervous how they would treat a girl littler than them. Thankfully the morning went well! The key is rotating the toys/activity often. I think my boys enjoyed having another kid around because it forced me to play alot with them.:) It's good to have days when I accept that I won't be getting anything done and can just play.

Isaac had his 18 month well child visit, about a month late. He is 28 lbs and 33 inches. He's in the 75th percentile for height and weight. His ears are clearing up, but still have fluid in them. The Dr. scheduled an audiologist appointment for Isaac and Cardale in a couple of weeks. Better to be on the safe side. Hopefully they can both stay healthy for a while! Isaac has learned the word "no" and has become a policeman. He is very aware of what the "rules of the house" are and is quick to yell for me when Cardale is doing something wrong.:)

In other news, I'll be in Denver this Sunday thru Wednesday! My sister is graduating from Calvin in May with her nursing degree and is moving to Denver. She is going out now to interview and figure out where to live. She asked me to go along for moral support. That was a hard decision- travelling with no kids and no responsibilites- sign me up! We'll have some good sister bonding before she moves far away. My Mom is coming over to help care for the kids while I'm gone, thanks Mom!

White flag of surrender

Ok, I give up! These ear infections are getting the best of us. I took Isaac and Cardale back to the Dr. today to see if the antibiotics worked. Cardale's ear infection was mostly cleared up, but he has alot of fluid still in one of his ears. So, the Dr. prescribed another round of the same antibiotic in hopes it will completely rid his ears of fluid. After this round, he may need to see an audiologist just to make sure his hearing isn't being affected by all of these ear infections. The Dr. wants to hold off on tubes in the ears a little bit longer.

Then there is Isaac. One of his ears is cleared up, the other one is still horrible and infected. So, he is on another round of a different antibiotic. On top of it all, he has a yeast infection in his groin area and needs prescription cream to clear it up. (Antibiotics can sometimes give babies yeast infections.) So, Isaac is scheduled to see the Dr. next Wednesday for his 18 month check-up and hopefully we'll be able to tell if the antibiotics are working. It's kind of funny that he has to go back for a well-child visit, we've been there so often lately!

And can I just complain about how challenging it is to keep two 1 year olds happy in a doctor's office?! We got into the room fairly quickly. The kids were undressed down to their socks and diaper and then we sat and waited for an hour! I brought my 10 lb diaper bag with different toys to keep them occupied, but that only worked for so long. In the past I would have grimaced at parents who would let their kids crawl around on the floor in Doctor's offices, not anymore! I figure it is a big accomplishment if I can keep them out of the garbage can and biohazard wastebasket. Thankfully there is antibacterial gel on the wall in the Doctor's office, so that was used liberally.:)

Needed: Your stuff!

I am putting out a call here to everyone I know for some help! We are hoping to do a huge garage sale this summer to raise money to bring baby DeMaster home!! I think everyone knows that international adoption is quite pricey. We need to come up with about $16,000 this year. I struggle sometimes with sharing that figure just because people feel funny talking about money. But, I want people to get the real picture of adoption- sometimes it isn't cheap. However, we serve a BIG God who can easily provide these funds. We just need to do some work too.:)

So, we are asking you to save your stuff and donate to our garage sale. Kids items/clothes are usually in high demand, but we'll take other stuff too! Also, if any of you have experience doing a garage sale- I need some advice! I've never done a garage sale so it seems intimidating. If any of you have other fundraising ideas we could try, let me know.

On a side note, I have to share what happened with Cardale yesterday. I made grilled cheese for lunch and decided to cut some up into little tiny pieces and offer him some. He ate it! I was so happy! I sometimes think he isn't progressing at all in his eating and then he has little breakthroughs. I'm trying to remember that slow and steady progress is still progress.:)

Busy Weekend

Ralph Rottingrape and Tiny Bubbles

Mmm, spaghetti
What a big helper!

On Friday night we hosted a Murder Mystery Dinner Party. We invited the women from the MOPS steering team and their spouses. We had never done a party like this before. I think it went well and everyone had a fun time. We all had characters with names related to wine/alcohol. Nate was Ralph Rottingrape and I was Tiny Bubbles. Neither one of us ended up being the murder suspect.

My sister is visiting us for the weekend. So Nate and I were able to go out to eat tonight, a nice treat! Caleb enjoys helping us clean the house on Saturdays. We should enjoy this stage while it lasts.:) He has always been nervous of the vacuum and he was quite proud of himself for doing it. I think we're finally getting over the latest round of sickness. I am very tired of being housebound! Cardale and Isaac are both on antibiotics for ear infections and they had some kind of virus on top of it. If Cardale's ear infection doesn't clear up he may have to get tubes in his ears. Hopefully that doesn't happen.