Back to normal... somewhat

Sam's disease (mononucleosis) of the past week has had us all pretty frazzled. Nobody except Aaron was able to get any sleep for about 5 days straight. His throat was so swollen and hurting so badly that he just cried and cried for days. He was basically living on Advil and Tylenol. We could tell exactly when it wore off because, exactly 5 hours after each dose, he would just start wailing and run to the bathroom to throw up. It was just no fun at all! Last night, finally, we were able to sleep thru the night... such a wonderful feeling. Today he woke up with plenty of energy and smiling like nothing had happened. He's still hurting, his voice still sounds terrible, and he took a 3 hour nap, but he's feeling a TON better. We are ALL feeling a TON better! Thanks for all the prayers... I don't know how we could have made it thru this past week without them.

*****

I thought I would share with you my awesome birthday gift too. I have been wanting a new ring for a few years now. My wedding ring is so big (not that I am complaining!!!) that I am constantly scratching the boys, catching my sweaters, pulling my hair, etc. that I wanted something a little flatter and simpler. So Ad bought me one for my bday this year. I absolutely love it!!! It's not much simpler, but it is flatter, and I can't wait to wear it - I had to get it sized, which takes a few weeks... bummer! All in all, it was a good birthday, spent with the people I love the most!

How could it possibly get any better?

Priceless...

Well... today (my birthday) started out pretty good (Adam wished me happy birthday right at midnight) but it quickly deteriorated from there. Samuel became really sick last night so we were up, off and on, taking care of him and just listening to him as he moaned and tossed back and forth in his bed just above our room. Poor guy! It's been a terrible day for him. He
has a very sore throat and is throwing up just about everything, which is making his sore throat even more unbearable. Please pray that he gets better soon. Aaron was recently sick as well, and it lasted 2 full weeks!

But, in the midst, of the sickness I received a precious card from Sam. Except for supplying the paper and helping him sound out a
few words from across the room (stop & mom), I didn't help him at all. In fact, I was not even allowed to see it till my birthday. It is definitely something I will treasure forever! It's funny how the most simple thing from your child can melt your heart and bring goodness to a very yucky day!

My Favorite Place

When we first bought this house, Adam and I both wondered if we would ever really even use the living room. The kitchen was so big and sunny, and we had the yard, our own hobby rooms, the basement... why would we just sit in the living room? Well, it has definitely become my favorite place in the whole house. I love how cozy and comfy it is. We spend hours in there... especially since starting Kindergarten. I nurse Aaron in the black recliner. We do Bible stories in the chair and a half - I sit on the ottoman while the boys snuggle up in the chair. I fold laundry on the big couch. We spend hours playing games and doing puzzles on the red rug. It's really a wonderful place, my favorite place!

SETH ~ Seffers

Seth is really into doing everything for himself lately... including dressing himself. I sent him upstairs to get some clothes one day. When he came down he assured me he had picked out an outfit that matched. "See Mom, there are orange stripes on my shirt and orange stripes on my pants." I guess he kinda gets it : ) Another day he picked out his Lightning McQueen outfit and was ecstatic because he could wear his Lightning McQueen shoes that matched. Anyway, I guess you could say we are on a matching kick, for now.

We are also (sort of) working on potty-training. I am letting him take charge of that. If I push him at all he seems to back off, so I've figured out that if I don't mention it he will come to me to go "poopy in the toilet." A huge help in the process has been the Bumbo potty seat. It works so much better than any other we have tried. I am hoping to have only one child in diapers by March (Seth's 3rd birthday), but we will see.

Silly Boy

Hopscotch - I love this one!

"I'm stronger than you" he says to Sam... everything is a competition between these two.

If ye shall ask anything in my name,
I will do it.
John 14:14

Kindergarten Korner

SAMUEL

We don't really have a whole room in our house to devote to kindergarten so we've set up a nice little corner. I found this great desk for $15 on craigslist and painted it red so it would look like it belonged in our living room. It's AWESOME! Sam loves it and he LOVES kindergarten. So far, we've been mostly just reviewing the vowels and their sounds. He's really great at picking out the vowels in each word. We are doing Bible class first thing each morning and both boys are soaking it up. We are memorizing verses, learning Bible doctrines and new songs. It's so much fun! We typically start between 7:30 and 8:oo and end by 10:00.

Today was an especially great day because Sam got to pick his first prize out of the prize bag. He has to earn 10 stickers (10 perfect papers) in order to pick a prize. Seth actually got to pick a prize as well. He looked at me with those huge brown eyes and said "I go to school too." How could I refuse that! So we spent the rest of the morning outside blowing bubbles and playing with rocket balloons.

The 3 cutest boys in the world!

Another thing Sam has learned recently is to ride his bike without training wheels. He picked it up so amazingly quick. I couldn't believe it the afternoon that Adam came in and told me Sam was riding his bike. What an amazing kid!