Eureka

We have been waiting for a few days to hear this word... it has never come! One of the kindest guys from our church, Art Perry, has been working his tail off trying to find a leak in our pool! He has swam, drilled, ( I am sure prayed), listened, enlisted friends and endless other things to find the lost leak... but to no avail. We have a small wading pool now, a great place to breed some frogs but no cure for the leak. Art is our new hero... he tried super hard and we really appreciate him. It is nice to see someone really do their best when doing their job, always with a smile and a sincere attitude. Even though we still don't know where the leak is and our neighborhood pond and surrounding grass look great, we got to know someone that show's God's heart without being all watered down! Thanks Art!

Car Racing

We went on a small adventure Saturday night. We took the boys to a Formula One Car Race at the Homestead Speedway. I have always been one to bash car racing. I have always said "it is not a sport ". Well after being their this weekend, I am still not 100% convinced it is a sport in the traditional aspect but I will say those guys (and girls) are pretty amazing. We arrived about a 1/2 hour early and went straight to our seats. On the way in, I was blown away by how many people were there and how many of them were "FANatics". I have grown up a Gator Fan, I bleed orange and blue, we have fans like no others, but these people were over the top! After all the hoopla of introducint sponsors and drivers, they announcer called for the drivers to start their engines... Pace jumped a few feet at the start of the noise and immediately begged to go home. Lucky for us, my dad had received sky box passes so he was able to sit inside and watch. Dash, Trent and I stuck in the ear plugs and anxiously awaited the flag. Once they were off, it was amazing. The cars raced around that track in excess of 225 mph! You cant even look at them straight on. Their were crashes, near misses and lots of swerving. Dash didnt move for over an hour (this is a first!!!!). The pit crews were awesome, they changed tires and I am sure did a whole lot more in less time it took me to figure out which car was in the pit ( I wish Stewart Toyota could train from them). By the time it was over, we were exhausted. Mainly from just trying to figure out who was in what position and which car was which. Overall, it was a blast. We had a great night as a family, saw a new "sport" and had some time for Dash to actually sit!

Pictures

It is so hard to get a photo of three kiddos under 5 where they all look good at the same time! One will inevitably be pouting, crying or pulling someone else. I tried a different approach, perch them up on a table, where no one can get down, move or lean on someone else. Also, I loaded them with Easter Candy and then held their baskets ransom until they smiled. Seems it worked!

Being Sick

According to my calculations... I have slept an average of 5 hours per night , no longer than 2 hours at a time for the past 2 weeks, spent $800.00 on co-pays, perscriptions, supplies and over the counter meds, gone through 3 boxes of kleenex, 2 bottles of anitbacterial hand gel, cleaned my hands too many times to keep track, whiped runny noses over 200 times, checked temps in 5 sets of ears, cried repeatedly from exhaustion into my best friend's ear, saw 4 doctors in 5 days, andswore off ever going into a public place again.
We have been sick! Although, the D&C does not count as an illness, it still required mom to be off her feet and visits (money spent) to the doctors. This was followed by Dad getting hit by the B strain flu, 6 days of high fever and bedrest so I had to play single mom. While dad was down and out, Pace and Scout were hit hard with nasty head and chest colds that required nebulizer treatments, antibiotics and lots of kleenex. Just when we thought the tide was turning, Dash came down with 104.8 fever and a quick trip to the Dr. Lucky for us dr did a nose swab found it was HiB (HB influenza- super name for B strain flu) which carries 4-7 days of high fever, high risk of pnuemonia and upper respitory infection. Only problem was that the only one to have the flu already was dad, so Pace, Scout and I were left as targets. Off to the pharmacy for trip #4 to pick up Tamiflu for us three to prevent us from getting it. Dash rounds the corner, after a few scary moments... we actually got to hunt eggs and then mom comes down with sore throat, itchy eyes and a terrible head cold! AAHH, not to mention a little infection from the procedure we had a few weeks ago... back to the pharmacy and bed for mom.
Finally, it looks like we see the light at the end of the tunnel! We may be out of quarantine tomorrow! I can put up the clorox, kleenex and thermometer. Sounds like a downer huh? You know what though, I am blessed that we have a light at the end of the tunnel... makes me think about those parents who have children fighting sickness that doesn't get better with a whipe of the nose and a dose of antibiotics. Parents who stay up all night next to their child's hospital bed. Parents that would give anything to have one more day with their child. Being sick stinks, but being sick also makes you realize it how precious life is and how truly blessed we are when the ones we love get better!

This is War!

I am in a battle! And pictured is the carnage, the damage done. My enemy is the Sock Monster. He has some super secret guerilla warfare style of taking one sock hostage. I have tried to offer up matching socks in return for the missing sock to my favorite pairs but he is relentless. No matter my systerm, the monster always strikes again. I have an endless pile of poor, useless, one sock wonders! Every time I do laundry, I get a knot as I fold the last bib, roll the last set of PJs, hang the last shirt... because I know looming at the bottom of the hamper is the lastest victim of this evil creature!! How do I defeat him? Look what he has done! Help... anyone?

Visions of Sugar Plums...

AHH, night time, sleep time. Some of the best moments of parenthood are when your children are sleeping. Most people would think that this is the best time because you get a break, you get some time to yourself etc, while this is true, this is not the main reason this precious time is the best. It is because it allows you to see them in a time of peace, when you can just sit and pray over them. A time when you can reflect on all the lessons you tried to pour into their little heads and hearts. Some lessons a failure, some lessons that wont bear fruit for many years, some lessons that cause them to stare at you in wonder, some lessons that make you think "I am turning into my mother". A time when you can just stare in awe at this blessing God entrusted you with. A time when you marvel at how big they are getting and you wonder where did the time go? A time when you worry about the heartbreaks, failures, pain and hurt they will endure. A time when you hope about their successes, spouses, families and dreams. A time when you just know God has done a work no other could do, a time when you know God gave you these specific children, because only you can raise them for him. A time when you know God is so good at being God! When your children sleep, everything becomes so quiet and during those moments, you see things with eyes wide open...

Absence makes the Heart Grow Fonder

There is one day that is just depressing! Depressing!!!. The day after the BCS national title game. It means that college football season is over! For the past few years we have at least had basketball season to look forward to, but not this year. It was not unexpected with 5 starters gone, but there was a glimmer of hope in the first half of the season. Well, after last nights lack luster performance, what next? a whole 5 months of nothing but golf, baseball, car racing and hot, humid days! At least it will give me time to read all my gator sports pages! There are two rays of light in all of this: 1. we will get to beat, I mean demolish UM in the beginning of the season which will give us bragging rights for more than a year! 2. the national title game is in Miami, so we wont be traveling far to see the Gators bring home another cup to add to the collection. oh and 3. we will get to beat up on the wildcats (not that this is much fun, Lyndsey and JDUB) so we will have a fun time blogging....
I guess the lesson in the next few months is good things come to those who wait. GO GATORS!!!