April Comes to an End

My husband, Dwayne, celebrated his birthday.  I bought tickets for us to see Andrew Peterson in concert.  We got a sitter and went out to dinner before the show, but before I left the house, I snuck one of my oldest daughter's colorings off the wall, so I could try and get Andrew Peterson's autograph for her. Peterson wrote a series called The Wingfeather Saga, excellent books, that our daughter has read many times over. Norah was thrilled when I showed her the autograph the next morning.

Now that it is spring and the weather permits it, we fixed our front steps.  A few pieces of slate had come loose over the harsh winter and were causing serious safety concerns.  We're not masons, but we're homeowners on a budget, so that makes us masons, basically.  After watching a few You Tube videos and visiting Home Depot, we worked together to remove all the old mortar, which was easy enough because it was crumbling to bits anyway, and then we set the old pieces back in place with new mortar.  Now it all needs to dry - thus the bucket, level, and milk crate to keep the mailman and other visitors from stepping on anything until it is set.

We are finishing up our second year of Classical Conversations. We were studying American history this cycle, so my oldest daughter wrote an essay, dressed up, and presented an oral report on Sacagawea. Here's a photo of her with the rest of her class.  You can read a little more about our homeschool at myeclectichomeschool.com, though I am not really blogging there that often either as I have been so busy of late.  

Dwayne and I have started a 30 day cleanse.  We have shakes for breakfast and lunch, snacks throughout the day, and then we eat a healthy dinner.  My reasons for doing this cleanse include digestive issues and the need for more energy to sustain my activity levels.  Of course, I will probably lose a bunch of body fat this month and that will be great, but that's not my main, motivating goal.  

April has been a full, busy, and at times, difficult, month.  See the previous two posts. Luckily, we are visiting our family in a few days and we should some new adventures to post about soon.   

April Continued

Our youngest daughter Adele turned three this month.  On birthdays, we always buy cupcakes from the bakery, one for each of us.  And we always give the girls one small gift for every year, so she got three gifts: a mermaid, a seahorse, and a set of play dough toys. Here's a video of us singing her Happy Birthday.  Prepare your hearts. She's a cutie.  

Dwayne and I also celebrated 14 years of marriage.  We hired a sitter, went out for dinner, and then went to the book store and browsed the isles without any kids.  It was magical.

April: So Far, Not So Good

I've had a virus for almost a week now- fever, congestion, post nasal drip, soar throat, cough, sneezing, you name it. I have no appetite, not even for coffee.  

That's how bad it is.  

My youngest daughters have fevers and coughs now, too.  The doctor tested for strep, but we're not that lucky.  It's viral. So we just get to suffer.

I also woke up this morning with a stomach bug. I won't go into details, but apparently, you can be sick in several different ways at the same time. 

Only two fifths of our family made it to church on Easter, my oldest daughter and my husband, three casts between the two of them.  

Notice all the durable medical equipment in the photo. We didn't place it there. That's just where it was when we snapped the photo.  

Needless to say, we are in the midst of a difficult season.   

Our dear friends from church, the Mccandless family-Tim, Robin, Katie and Matt, and Jean Semeraro, insisted on coming to visit even though we are so ill.  I have lost all confidence in the human immune system, so I wondered at their confidence. They brought dinner: roasted lamb, vegetables, ham, twice baked potatoes, homemade pies.  

My kids missed the egg hunt at church, so we had a makeshift egg hunt in the yard. Katie and Matt McCandless hid the eggs and then they proceeded to help the kids find them.  I bundled up to go outside and watch and wonder at how unobservant my kids are while coughing into my elbow.  

I take what joy I am given in life.  

We took a group photo before our guests went home.  I look like I am wearing a wet mop on my head and I was holding my breath the whole time so as not to breathe on Jean.

But I'm so thankful for our friends.  I cherish this photo.  My eyes are stinging with happy tears as I look at it.

I should probably take some more antihistamine.