We have unpacked and have designated places for most items in our new house. We have located most everything of importance and unimportance, and are caught up on laundry and dishes. So far, I've avoided getting sick this season despite most of Texas catching the crud. I'm ready to dive in and get organized, hang pictures and land some seating and rugs for the house. The back fence should be completed last week, and I just emailed an inquiry for a baby beagle. It is all coming together! I've especially enjoyed being able to watch the sunsets from our living room and dining room. Pretty, pretty.
After a week of decongestants and Starbucks, Van drove himself to a clinic on Saturday to get two liters of fluid. His mom's crew watched the kids, welcomed all the family (cousin time!) and started Christmas dinner while I went to retrieve my pale husband and poke fun at him during his first IV of his life. We still were able to have a nice visit and watch the kids open their presents. Van was still weak on Sunday, and I am scared of germs, so we went ahead and skipped celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior and got on the road. Van felt better yesterday, so we celebrated in Utopia at the Methodist Church Christmas Eve service whispering to our kids, "and that is your cousin, and that is your cousin, and that is your cousin....." I think it was the first time that we trusted them to hold a candle, and they did very well. No one managed to burn themselves or their neighbor, and the fire department did not have to be summoned. The service was beautiful, and it was a great worship time. The little white church with stained glass windows is special to me because that is where many of our family attend, where my parents got married and where I ate many Oreos and drank red Kool-Aid at VBS. I even remember the nursery toy that could either be a rocking boat or be turned over to be a bridge. It is also where my sweet late grandmother took me to "prayer meetings" where we recited the Lord's prayer. Last night we came home and heated up steaks and tamales (my mom has great leftovers--the pinto beans were just right) before opening presents with the kids. The children had wonderful presents. Avi received a Radio Flyer All Terrain Wheels wagon, Cade got a bike, and Zane got a Nintendo DSi handheld game from us. Avi also got a "Baby Walk" as she calls it. That girl loves baby dolls, and it and some other toys have gotten rides in her new wagon and have been really loved on. Cousin time has been especially sweet, but there is a virus a-brewin'. My health is holding pretty well, but I've been a little sluggish. Ew. Slugs.
Van is headed to Fort Davis this afternoon for some quiet time. It is about five hours from here. He's planning on staying in my parent's rustic, high-altitude cabin with the toilet that ignites waste and hiking and biking around. I'm not sure what I'll do in the meantime. I might stay here in Utopia or I might get Mom to drive us back to Waco after my sister's crew and my uncles head out. I might steal any of my sister's kids that escape the crud. I'm itching to get organized in the new house, but at the same time, I have realistic expectations about how much can be accomplished with my three children and neighborhood friends. The priority needs to be doling out pickles and crackers and not sorting paper stacks. Those can wait. I hope to settle on a plan for some seating and rugs while Van is off from work to get comfy in the new place. That way, his muscles and his truck can be utilized! I found some great deals on craigslist but he has his doubts and wants to buy new. We have been debating the same thing but different items for 13 years now! December 18 was our anniversary. We'll carve out some special time soon. Van was volunteering at Mission Waco that night, and we want to celebrate when we have a slower pace. Ha!
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Helpful Cows, Purple and Brown
November 12 was the official moving day. We moved in and Mom and Dad got to work. Dad did manly man things with drills and trips to Home Depot and carried things to me and said "Where do you want this?" Pretty handy. Mom cooked and did laundry and then did laundry and cooked. I was at a point where it was hard to eat at all (super weird, I know), and it was especially helpful to have a mom here to offer things like purple cows (grape juice over ice cream) and Lindor truffles. I lost a ton of weight. I'm at my highschool weight but not exactly in my high school shape! It is not fair to be skinny AND have a double chin! Anywho, a bunch of friends pitched in, too, and got our kitchen Contact papered, beds put together and hardware put on the furniture. I sat and coughed. I was very thankful for the help! Since then, folks have been putting in grass, sprinklers, and fixing stuff that didn't work out quite right the first time--thankfully surface issues. Most everything is out of the box, and we are very disorganized, but happy. Mom and Dad are "back at the ranch", and we are keeping up. One of our friends stocked the freezer so we can just heat up meals, but I did make a nice HEB run to buy staples and lunch box items. The house literally has bells and whistles that I'm still deciphering. The one that kept stumping us is the refrigerator that chimes if the door is left open too long. I'm still too scared to figure out the alarm system, but I have turned on the oven by pressing buttons like a microwave, and I have finally found the buttons to the dishwasher. Cade was happy after he came home from school on the first day here, "Do the toilets work?" (um, yeah...) "YES!!!!" and he ran off happy. Zane came in and did a kitty-pounce on the couch. Avi plays for literally thirty minutes at a time by herself in her room during the day. She loves her little toys and role-playing with them. Neighborhood children show up in our yard. One time, after a few visits, a group of three little ones rang the doorbell. The oldest was the spokesman. His eyes never quite met mine, but were focused on the game room. He said, "My dad said that we could...." and the three of them bolted into the house. I loved it. I'm actually a pretty shy person (a.k.a. socially awkward!) but little neighbor kids running through our house is great, especially now that I'm up at at 'em. (I've also taught them where the plastic cups are so they can get their own water!) Zane summed it up the other day when he said, "In our old house I used to wake up and look out the window to see if we had any new neighbors." (...because they were renting the house, and sometimes I couldn't tell exactly who was living there either.)
Thanksgiving was quiet but nice. I felt lousy that day, but mom decided to cook. A friend had brought lots of very nice leftovers because they celebrated early. I had gone to Wal-Mart the day before and picked up some pies because I knew the kiddos would expect this and some turkey napkins. It all came together, despite my couch potato-ness, and we had a lovely traditional meal with my parents. As long as we kept feeding them rolls and let them put on their own butter, the children sat--very unusual, and very welcomed. We had hoped that my sister's family would be able to come, but one had a fever, and although it was killin' us all, we knew better than for me to risk getting another virus. That made me super sad, but we knew we were going to see them the next week, and that made things better. Van's mom was able to come down on Saturday which was great and we had a nice visit.
Van took off the next Friday, we picked up the boys early from school--a little scandelous. We met my sister's crew at Great Wolf Lodge near Dallasish. It is a hotel with a water park inside. No sunscreen! Van's sister and her friend were able to meet us there that night, and my sister made us microwave hotdogs and had cupcakes ready for my niece's, Cade's and Avi's birthdays. It was great. My sister founnd the exact pony toy that makes noise from 2002 still in the box that Avi had liked playing with at her house. My sister does things like this. Again, I didn't feel so hot and every one else did all the work (hey, kid, can you carry this for me?), but it was so good to see everyone. I sported a swimsuit and determined to go in the "lazy river" with my Avi as she requested. We got in, and she practically crawled on the top of my head yelling, "I want to get OUT of here!" It seemed like a thrill ride to her, but we slowly made our way to an exit with her perched on my head and an inner tube around me. Oh, well. She and I were both happier with me watching her in the kiddie pool. I watched Zane and Elise go around the same "river". Every time Zane came around, he had a silly grin on his face and was doing something different. One time, just his head was in the inner tube so you could barely even see him. The next time, he was flipping over the edges of it. A place like that is great for a hollerer like Zane. His antics didn't bother a soul, and he was having the time of his life. The 5 oldest kids kept Van and Gil, my brother-in-law, busy on the big slides. Van was TIRED at the end of the time. My sister's family came back to Waco with us and helped and played. "A good time was had by all." as they say in church bulletins. Speaking of church, we left my oldest niece, Carly (just turned 10), at church while we headed out to McAlisters to eat. Between the two minivans, we didn't manage to count six children. She was retrieved and forgave us. Sweet thing will have a story to tell on us all.
We were in survival mode for a little while. I was living off of expensive yogurt (Brown Cow mango and apricot) and Duck Dynasty. Van finally got sick of me being so weak, and asked me to talk to my doc. I sent him an email (how handy is that?) and based on my complaints at the last visit plus more details that I was able to write out better than verbalize, his nurse gave me a call and took me off of the offending med. Then, she called the next day relieving me of another med. Sweet. My appetite has been gradually increasing! (Thank you life group for praying about this. God has been merciful!) Also, my Bone Marrow doc wanted me to take further action about my dry eyes due to Graft vs. Host disease, and my Waco eye doc agreed that I could have contacts again to keep the moisture in better. I probably use half the eye drops that I used to, and I feel so much better in-between. I was giddy after that appointment. I felt like I was giving real smiles, not just polite ones or tired ones to folks or worse the quick-and-look-away ones. I really hate it when I do those. I'm still weaning off of steroids, but simply because I can eat more Brown Cow and swallow Dr. Pepper better, I have been able to function! I'm able to unpack, and lift small things. I'm able to holler and to even sing a little if I am sitting. Cade was impressed that I knew the prologue to "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". I feel confident watching my kids and others, and I can pull a whole day by myself. It feels really good. Pulmonary rehab is going well, too, and I can tell a difference in my breathing. I actually felt some satisfaction in mopping tonight because I realize that mopping is a privilege, not a right---ha!
It has hit me that the house will not be clean and organized by Christmas time. I'll shoot for disinfected and non-tripable paths. One reason is that although Van took two days off this week, much of that "free time" has been spent putting together a basketball goal for the kids. He said the instructions were written by an person who's first language was not English and more importantly....had never put together a basketball goal. And...it is missing 8 bolts that we'll need to pick up tomorrow. Ah, well. We still jaunted to Belton to cut our very first "real" Christmas tree. The imported ones were prettier, but we had beefed up the actual sawing experience to a degree that there was no going back. (We also snuck in a playdate with our long time friends.) Now, a naked tree is in our living room. It is quite lovely, do we have to unpack ornaments? I bought a candle stand as a table decoration at Goodwill, and Cade put it together for me. It is missing a candle, and the roundish candles are all warped from heat. Love it. I also bought two end tables to refinish at a consignment store. They will be cute one day, but right now, they are sitting in our living room being functional. Poor Van. He earned money for a beautiful, brand-spankin' new home, and I am filling it with practicality.
I've been thinking about this verse lately. James 1:25, "But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does." What in the world? "perfect law of liberty" Now isn't that amazing. My restrictions/guidelines are what give me freedom. Weird, but I like it. I'm going to keep an eye out for that. I want to be a "doer of the work". Now, how do I do that when there are days that I'm not capable of much "work"? Hmmmmmm...must be something there that I'm not looking at.
Cade is a little sick at the moment. Not fun. It is one of those in-between kind that makes me wonder whether or not to let him participate in the church program tomorrow. Zane has been pushing boundries (climbing shelves in the pantry to get to the gumballs) but happy as a lark. We're having to come up with a whole new set of rules in our new abode including neighbor etiquette and bus route protocol. ("And shut the refrigerator door. That beeping is driving me crazy!") Avi is in an easy phase--whew! She is content to color and cut and have playdates. I still don't have spell check figured out on this, so the reader will get to feel knowlegeable (see, I'm not sure how to even spell that one) and has permission to act superior.
Thanksgiving was quiet but nice. I felt lousy that day, but mom decided to cook. A friend had brought lots of very nice leftovers because they celebrated early. I had gone to Wal-Mart the day before and picked up some pies because I knew the kiddos would expect this and some turkey napkins. It all came together, despite my couch potato-ness, and we had a lovely traditional meal with my parents. As long as we kept feeding them rolls and let them put on their own butter, the children sat--very unusual, and very welcomed. We had hoped that my sister's family would be able to come, but one had a fever, and although it was killin' us all, we knew better than for me to risk getting another virus. That made me super sad, but we knew we were going to see them the next week, and that made things better. Van's mom was able to come down on Saturday which was great and we had a nice visit.
Van took off the next Friday, we picked up the boys early from school--a little scandelous. We met my sister's crew at Great Wolf Lodge near Dallasish. It is a hotel with a water park inside. No sunscreen! Van's sister and her friend were able to meet us there that night, and my sister made us microwave hotdogs and had cupcakes ready for my niece's, Cade's and Avi's birthdays. It was great. My sister founnd the exact pony toy that makes noise from 2002 still in the box that Avi had liked playing with at her house. My sister does things like this. Again, I didn't feel so hot and every one else did all the work (hey, kid, can you carry this for me?), but it was so good to see everyone. I sported a swimsuit and determined to go in the "lazy river" with my Avi as she requested. We got in, and she practically crawled on the top of my head yelling, "I want to get OUT of here!" It seemed like a thrill ride to her, but we slowly made our way to an exit with her perched on my head and an inner tube around me. Oh, well. She and I were both happier with me watching her in the kiddie pool. I watched Zane and Elise go around the same "river". Every time Zane came around, he had a silly grin on his face and was doing something different. One time, just his head was in the inner tube so you could barely even see him. The next time, he was flipping over the edges of it. A place like that is great for a hollerer like Zane. His antics didn't bother a soul, and he was having the time of his life. The 5 oldest kids kept Van and Gil, my brother-in-law, busy on the big slides. Van was TIRED at the end of the time. My sister's family came back to Waco with us and helped and played. "A good time was had by all." as they say in church bulletins. Speaking of church, we left my oldest niece, Carly (just turned 10), at church while we headed out to McAlisters to eat. Between the two minivans, we didn't manage to count six children. She was retrieved and forgave us. Sweet thing will have a story to tell on us all.
We were in survival mode for a little while. I was living off of expensive yogurt (Brown Cow mango and apricot) and Duck Dynasty. Van finally got sick of me being so weak, and asked me to talk to my doc. I sent him an email (how handy is that?) and based on my complaints at the last visit plus more details that I was able to write out better than verbalize, his nurse gave me a call and took me off of the offending med. Then, she called the next day relieving me of another med. Sweet. My appetite has been gradually increasing! (Thank you life group for praying about this. God has been merciful!) Also, my Bone Marrow doc wanted me to take further action about my dry eyes due to Graft vs. Host disease, and my Waco eye doc agreed that I could have contacts again to keep the moisture in better. I probably use half the eye drops that I used to, and I feel so much better in-between. I was giddy after that appointment. I felt like I was giving real smiles, not just polite ones or tired ones to folks or worse the quick-and-look-away ones. I really hate it when I do those. I'm still weaning off of steroids, but simply because I can eat more Brown Cow and swallow Dr. Pepper better, I have been able to function! I'm able to unpack, and lift small things. I'm able to holler and to even sing a little if I am sitting. Cade was impressed that I knew the prologue to "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". I feel confident watching my kids and others, and I can pull a whole day by myself. It feels really good. Pulmonary rehab is going well, too, and I can tell a difference in my breathing. I actually felt some satisfaction in mopping tonight because I realize that mopping is a privilege, not a right---ha!
It has hit me that the house will not be clean and organized by Christmas time. I'll shoot for disinfected and non-tripable paths. One reason is that although Van took two days off this week, much of that "free time" has been spent putting together a basketball goal for the kids. He said the instructions were written by an person who's first language was not English and more importantly....had never put together a basketball goal. And...it is missing 8 bolts that we'll need to pick up tomorrow. Ah, well. We still jaunted to Belton to cut our very first "real" Christmas tree. The imported ones were prettier, but we had beefed up the actual sawing experience to a degree that there was no going back. (We also snuck in a playdate with our long time friends.) Now, a naked tree is in our living room. It is quite lovely, do we have to unpack ornaments? I bought a candle stand as a table decoration at Goodwill, and Cade put it together for me. It is missing a candle, and the roundish candles are all warped from heat. Love it. I also bought two end tables to refinish at a consignment store. They will be cute one day, but right now, they are sitting in our living room being functional. Poor Van. He earned money for a beautiful, brand-spankin' new home, and I am filling it with practicality.
I've been thinking about this verse lately. James 1:25, "But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does." What in the world? "perfect law of liberty" Now isn't that amazing. My restrictions/guidelines are what give me freedom. Weird, but I like it. I'm going to keep an eye out for that. I want to be a "doer of the work". Now, how do I do that when there are days that I'm not capable of much "work"? Hmmmmmm...must be something there that I'm not looking at.
Cade is a little sick at the moment. Not fun. It is one of those in-between kind that makes me wonder whether or not to let him participate in the church program tomorrow. Zane has been pushing boundries (climbing shelves in the pantry to get to the gumballs) but happy as a lark. We're having to come up with a whole new set of rules in our new abode including neighbor etiquette and bus route protocol. ("And shut the refrigerator door. That beeping is driving me crazy!") Avi is in an easy phase--whew! She is content to color and cut and have playdates. I still don't have spell check figured out on this, so the reader will get to feel knowlegeable (see, I'm not sure how to even spell that one) and has permission to act superior.
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