A long week!

We left Monday for the visit to Children's Hospital in Omaha and then visited family. We just got back tonight and we're exhausted so I'll post pics later. But for those of you who have been praying for Alex I wanted to update you. He didn't do well on the EEG because he was so petrified he couldn't stop crying. So they said it would take awhile to read the EEG and try to see behind the crying. I hope we didn't waste 10 hours of driving and the expense of this test for nothing. Sometimes it can get pretty discouraging. Anyway, we won't have results until next week. We appreciate the prayers sent up on behalf of Alex.

Kris

Secret Sister Shoebox Swap

I think this is the third swap that I've done. I was paired with Michelle and she sent me a sweet and thoughtful package. There were the coolest gardening gloves, a pink water bottle so the boys will leave it alone, colorful pens, a magnetic list tablet, the coolest little flower picks...well it was just a sweet box and I loved it. But..I forgot to post my pictures before we left and right now my camera is buried in a suitcase. So I stole a picture off of Michelle's page to show you.
I sent her some of my favorite summer items like Crystal Light peach tea, a little picnic cookbook, a lemon cheesball mix, a peach candle and a cute peach scarf. My daughter wears these all the time and they're so cute! Oh, and I threw in a dvd for her kiddos when it's too hot to play outside, like today.

Thank you Carrie and Monica for hosting the swap again. I always enjoy it!

Home Made Pizza

This post could also be titled "why I never get to go out for pizza." Guess I should have never learned to cook.

Another EEG

These pictures are from October 2007 and taken at Children's Hospital in St Paul Minnesota. We had gone there for a 48 hour EEG.

First they mark on his head where the little electrodes will go.

After they get the electrodes on they wrap the cords so they stay together and are harder to pull off.

Then they plug him into the monitor. This measures brain waves and look for seizure activities.

Today, June 22, 2010 we are back in Omaha at Children's Hospital. We have seen no sign of seizures since September 2007 and we are hopeful for good news. If the EEG looks good we are going to be able to start weaning Alex off of the seizure medicine. We are hopeful, but yet fearful.

This has been such a long, hard road for our little guy. He still has a lot of work to do and we've had to accept that he will probably never be like other children. He is very bright but has a hard time communicating with us. He struggles with social skills and any kind of change in his schedule or surroundings can really upset him. He has the energy of 5 preschoolers and keeps us perpetually tired out. But he absolutely loves life with open arms and has such a contagious way about him. When he's mad, he's all mad, but when he's happy the whole world is happy with him.

So, we're going to be out of town this week. First the appointments at Children's, then a couple days in Lincoln to do some sight seeing, then finishing it out with some time spent with two of our older kids, my sister and her family and some old friend. We're praying for a good week and little disruption for Alex.

Summer flowers

Happy Father's Day

Naps can be hazardous at our house and for some reason we never feel rested after a snooze.

My baby is 21!

This is Ian. On June 14th he turned 21 years old. For the first twenty and half years he was my youngest child and my only son.

Here he is in the striped shirt with two of his cousins.

Dressed up for a Civil War reenactment ball in high school

This is Christmas of last year. I think he's pouting because he had just realized he was no longer the baby but had become a middle child after we adopted the boys! :>)  Don't worry sweetie, you'll always be my baby! LOL

Okay, seriously, I am so very proud of this young man. He is a hard worker, a man of integrity and is well thought of by many people. He is thoughtful, caring, knows how to have fun and more than I could have ever hoped for in a son. He is not only a good son, he's a good brother, friend and uncle. Oh yeah, I know he's not perfect....and he hates to have his picture taken. Can you tell?

Happy Birthday Ian! I love you!

Link A Doo

These are either places that I enjoyed, found something helpful or just made me smile:

Netflix has made my life easier. We ordered a dvd that you put in the Wii and you can watch movies on the instant play. Since we've gone through 2 dvd players in the last 6 months and our vcr player died, it's kind of hard to have a movie for the boys. Now I just keep some movies they like in our queue and we can call them up when we like. Their favorites are Veggie Tales and Fraggle Rock.

I made these grown up rice krispy treats last month. They have coffee, cream cheese and toffee bits in them and they are scrumptious! You can find the recipe here. While you're there, check out the rest of her blog, she has some great looking recipes.

When Queens Ride By gave me quite a bit to think about. You need to start at the bottom post and work your way up. It reminded me of the book, The Tyranny of the Urgent and how we spend so much time doing the things that demand our attention that we can easily neglect the things that make a difference in our lives. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and give it a read.

I didn't care for the colors in this wreath but I like the idea. I may make one....someday...in my spare time...

And then there is this jewelry made out of washers?

I like to read blogs. In fact, I love to read blogs. Reading blogs can consume many hours if you're not careful. That's why I use bloglines. This allows me to put in the blogs that I like to read and when I have time I simply go to bloglines and see what blogs have been updated. Then I can steal a few moments to read one. And lately a few moments is about all I get.

What we do for fun around here

A friend who works with Alex in Sunday school called last night and told us to bring the boys over, he had something he wanted them to see. He details cars and had a Lamboghini come in to the shop. Now these cars might be common place where you live, but here in the sticks they're quite the sight.

Now I would never in my wildest dreams have this kind of money to spend. But I'm pretty sure if I did, the last thing I would buy is a car like that. I'm thinking world travel sounds more fun!!

Garden Update- June 1, 2010

Alex standing next to the hollyhocks

Strawberries

cabbage and broccoli

peppers and beansupside down tomatoes

potatoes

This is the lilac bush the kids bought me last year. It bloomed later than other lilacs in the neighborhood and very tiny, petite blossoms. It smelled more refined, like a bottle of perfume. I'm anxious to see how it does in future years.
It's been a very cool and wet spring. Things have been very slow to start. The rabbits ate all of my beans so I had to replant them. The other night the hail beat up my peppers and my beans. Alex walked all over my beets. It could be a tough year for the garden. On the other hand, the strawberries are starting to fill in, and the potatoes look great.