College Kid Says

     I still find it hard to believe that I have a child in college and since he really isn't a kid anymore but he is mine and so instead of kids say for him I will title it College Kid Says.

     Lets be real and honest.  Most teenage boys are not talkers and often times unable to convey feelings in their language so when they do say something or they send you a text out of nowhere, you better pay attention.  Well I woke up on Sunday morning and discovered the following text message:

"I love you, Mom.  I don't say it enough but I really do.  You know me I'm just not that person to come out and say it.  I love you!  You are truly my best friend.  Thank you for everything you have done for me."

Yep, I love that college child of mine.  Warms my heart and makes me cry!!!!  For all the moms out there with teenagers, they LOVE you they really do.  They just don't say it enough but they do!

Kids Say

     After school today we ran to the store to go grocery shopping to prepare for our big storm heading our way.  On the way home David IV asked a question and the answers brought tears to this mommy.

The conversation went like this:

David IV:  If you could only have one thing on your bucket list what would it be?

Mom:  (I explain the bucket list)

Julianna:  To have $1000.00

Jensen: So Julianna you want to be rich?

Julianna: NO....I want the money to....(Jensen interrupts)

Jensen: I want to play board games with my grandchildren(this is where the tears start)

Julianna:  I want the money to go on trips with my grandchildren

David:  I wish we could go to the Great Wall every weekend

That Jensen of mine gets me every time.  He is one of the sweetest boys I know with a real sense of what is important and what is not!!!  Love him for keeping us focused on the "best".

A Terrifying Moment Followed by Gratitude

 

Saturday was our 11th anniversary and we spent it much like we spent our wedding day...it started off watching a soccer game in the freezing cold, followed be feeding people, and ending with putting someone sick to bed.

 

After the soccer game we noticed Jensen started to have a raspy voice but it seemed to be no big deal.  We came home after a lunch out and raked ourselves into exhaustion and after awhile Jensen needed a break. I was inside preparing chili for the a chili cook off(our chili came in third) and getting things into the van for the trunk or treat and getting the kids in their costumes all the while Jensen was chilling out.  I even decided to take his temperature before we left because we had spent the week prior with sick children and he was all good so off to the Ward Chili Cook-Off/Trunk or Treat we went. We returned home that night and Jensen was running a fever...a relatively high one at that of 103.9.  We called our friend and he was given a priesthood blessing.  He awoke in the morning with barely a sign of a fever and still a bit of a raspy voice but nothing like the day before but I gave him some meds anyways and on with our day we went.  By Sunday evening he was running a fever of 104.9 on ibuprofen so we gave him some Tylenol too and his fever came down enough that I was comfortable enough for us to head to bed with him right next to me.

 

He continued to run a fever and was a bit wheezy in the morning and so Jensen and I had a chill day.  As the day progressed he had a couple of times were he had a hard time catching his breath but we would just go outside and he would get better almost immediately.  I kept him in whatever room I was in until we picked up David and Julianna from school they all asked if they could watch a little TV show together and I said it seemed to be okay, since homework was done.  A few moments later David walked in early from work and we chatted for a moment and then I felt like we need to bring Jensen up with me again.  Julianna went down to get him and reported back he was sleeping, this alarmed me and so David went downstairs to get him.  The next thing that happened is all a bit chaotic and crazy and realize it all happened in 30 seconds and truly was the most terrifying moment I have ever had as a parent and I have held a limp unresponsive baby in my arms after a febrile seizure on numerous occasions so I know scary but it did not prepare me for what happened next..  I see Jensen on his knees gasping for air and in his hoarse little voice he musters in between gasps, "Help me" and with the next gasp, "Need doctor"...I was trying to calm him down but I could see his lips were turning blue and I could see in his eyes he knew he was in trouble. I quickly lifted up his shirt and knew immediately he need to go to the ER.  He was breathing with all of his stomach muscles, his rib cage, and the muscles in between his rib cage and I knew what would happen next if we did not get him help.  At the same time this is all happening David is scooping him up and running out the door with him to take him to the ER. 

 

There I was standing at the door watching my baby being rushed off for help.  I had enough wits about me to call the other children to say a family prayer for our sweet Jensen.  The next 30 minutes were rough for me.  With my thoughts whirling..did he get there in time, if so what are they doing to help him, what is he didn't get there in time 

 

 I needed know if he was okay..and then I get text saying they took him right back and are putting him on oxygen.  He is no longer blue and had calmed down and they were trying to get his ambient oxygen level up while trying to get his heart rate down.

 

A while later I was sent this picture:

 

 

Okay he is alive and breathing this is good, but the oxygen was not helping his airway was too closed off. 

As the night went on and they were running tests on him and taking him for xrays etc..I kept getting the play by play via text. 

 

They finally decided to give him a dose of steroids to open his airway and a while later I was sent this picture....

 

AHHH much better!!!

 

He has the beginnings of pneumonia, croup, and bronchitis...not a trio that helps with the whole breathing thing.  He will be on steroids for the rest of the week to keep his airways open, antibiotics to get rid of the crud, and the Tylenol/ibuprofen cocktail to keep his fever down.  With lots of rest and no exertion prescribed as well.

 

I look back at that day and am grateful to see the Lords hand in every bit or our experience.  I am grateful even more for my sweet boy that brings joy to our life everyday!!!

 

 

 

She Decided....

Our church has a Father/Son Campout every fall and this year it was windy, cold, and rainy so we had mercy on the poor boys in our life and shared our girls night with them which left us with one sad girl because no one was more excited about Father/Son Campout than Julianna!!!  Though the guys bringing us menus to order our breakfast in bed was a special treat and she was glowing like a princess(ssshhh don't tell she does not like princesses anymore) but she did say she felt loved and cherished...awwww!!!

 

Let's fast forwward a few days and we had a grouchy little lady on our hands and she said I spent more time with the boys than her...but after talking it was she was sad we didn't have time just us over Father/Son camput weekend. Dad was nice enough to take the boys with him to Young Mens(thank you boys for being so obedient and staying on the stage playing your games together) and we were able to have a small little girls night.

 

The one thing we always do on Girls Night is go to Claires.  She loves it and we always have fun picking out something super girly.  Well this time my sweet girl finally decided to get her ears pierced and I told her when she was ready to get her ears pierced....

 

so would I!!!

 

 

 

Our girls night really was a shopping trip for all things girly and so we now own a

One Direction CD(at least she is not a Bieber fan) and an American Girl Doll book. 

 

You could tell to day "what makes her feel beautiful"!!!

(for those that are unaware the above quote is form a One Direction song) 

 

 

 

 

Field Trip to the Farm

 

Today I had the oppurtunity to go on a field trip with David and all the 4th graders to

 

Laurenz Farm

 

This by far was David's favorite part...

Petting the animals:

 

 

They also learned about lambs, goats, pigs, cows, how corn is planted, harvested, stored, and shipped, they heard from a popcorn farmer, they learned about how all of their food comes from a farm including their favorite-PIZZA, about the biggest export from MI, grains and the things you can make out of them, they learned about soil, the water cycle, and pollution.  It was an information filled day that was a ton of fun ending by lunch under the big oak tree in front of the farm house...AHHHH!!!

The Most Fun Service EVER!!!!

David's company is BIG on community service and over the years

we have baked until we have ran out of counter and table space, popped popcorn until we couldn't pop anymore, and, grilled until there was nothing left to grill to make money for

Breast Cancer, AIDS, Diabetes, and the locale community. 

 The kids love participating in all the activities and this year by far was their most favorite.  We walked the Step Out:Walk to stop Diabetes and the walk was at THE DETROIT ZOO!!!!!

 

It was the best...first you get to get in the zoo early and for FREE, next they fed you breakfast(and my favorite at that), gave you snacks and drinks for duirng the walk,  you were able to walk around looking at the animals, walked around again went into the buildings.  The weather was perfect and the kids were beaming.  Great day spent as a family and we were giving to a good cause too(this one was for you Granny)!!!  Plus someone asked us to watch their child for for a couple of hours that day and well we stole him for the whole day instead and he had never been to the zoo before and well he loved it too(even having to wake up at 5 am to get there)!!!  Did I mention this also counted as a a day of work...SA-WEET!!!!

 

 

 



First Day of School 2012

This year was a bit different for all of my youngest because when we moved last year we had actually moved to a different area of town and they would attend a different elementary school but since we still owned our old home when school started we were able to continue to send them to the current school..this was great Jensen was able to have the best kindergarten teacher which all my other children had too.  We have school of choice in our district and so I could have continued to send them there but I was driving and this is just driving time only not waiting in the parking lot in the traffic at the school so just driving 1 hour and 30 minutes a day and that is only taking them to and from not including the days I would drive there to volunteer which was 3 or 4 times a week.  . 

 

 The elementary school in our neighborhood is at the end of our street so it made a lot of sense and felt like the right thing to do..This was very hard for me because your school and the people their are like part of your family.  It was hard to say good bye to that family I had been a part of for over 14 years, the, moms you chat with, walking down the familiar halls, waving back at the children you have served over the years who know you by name, talking with the teachers you have gotten to know over the years...it was emotionally hard for me but it felt like the right thing to do...so we did it, we made the big switch!!! 

 

The boys were fine with this change but for Julianna who is very social and had a group of friends she loved it was harder but this first day of school she was excited.  She met a girl there named Erin when went to visit last week and we asked her if she would be her helper and show her around the school and  I think they will be fast friends. 

 

It was raining this morning but it was just a light rain so we decided to go ahead with our original plan to walk to school...with our umbrellas in hand off we went for our 15 minute walk(some of us ar slower than others) and got the children to their classes and settled in.

 

 

I thought I might be super sad to have them all gone all day.  That sadness has yet to come.  Maybe because David is home with me this morning(so we will see what tomorrrow brings) but for today I am excited for them and there new adventure because I too will have a new adventure too(which I will talk about at a later time)!!!

 

  

 

As you can see Jensen will be in 1st grade, David 4th, and Julianna 3rd!!!

First Day of College

Our very first day of getting someone off at school was August 22nd and that was taking Christian off to SVSU to his dorm room, super excitng and soooo exhausting all at once, I was very grateful that Grandma took the three younger ones that day becasue it was a long long day. 

 

We started off by loading up the van with the already packed and previously bought items and then we shopped and shopped and shopped.  Did some last minute laptop prep(which we finally gave up on and worked on it that night) and off to college we took him.  It was interesting to see him a bit nervous and excited all at once.  The questions on his mind were Am I going to get along with my suitemates? Are they going to be messy? Am I going to be able to find my classes? do I have enough time between them to get to my dorm, grab my stuff for the next class, then get to that class?   Am I going to like the food?  Am I going to have enough time to study with 20 hours of track practice a week????

 

Once we were there at our designated time slot it was very organized and soon we had keys and id card in hand and were off to unload and unpack.  At the curb they had other SVSU students with red rolling bins that you loaded your stuff into and they lead you to your dorm and then you unloaded it.  It was so quick and simple I was impressed by how organized it was.  Christian knew who is actual roommate was going to be and he was there unloading as well.  It was fun listening to their interactions of how they were going to organize their room and they worked very well together.  I realized something right then I did a good job as his parent not a perfect job but  a really good job. 

 

Here is Christian and Steve his roomate:

 

 

After unpacking we ran to change his lunch account, sign up for a bank account with the bank they use on campus, and get his books and then we were off for more shopping.

 

It was a long day(we got home at 9ish pm) and am so glad he is on to the next part of his life, a new adventure.

 

Since this day I have been back 3 times.  The first time for the laptop delivery, a list of newly discovered needs, and a picture of our family was requested too(makes the heart happy), this was a good trip the other children came with me and it helped them to understand a little more where he was going to be.  The second was to pick him up for lunch and some track shopping.  The third was to pick him up for some family time on Labor Day, followed by some food shopping and bug spray(needed for the late night bball games). 

 

In good news with my last food delivery their dorm is still clean and organized.  I met a coouple more suitemates and all is well.  He was made for college life that is for sure.

 

 

 



CHICAGO

I can hardly believe I caught up over 8 months of blogging in 2 days...Phew

 

Our last adventure as a family for the summer was a trip to Chicago. 

 

 I had known about the first surprise for awhile and we kept it secret from the kids.  They are well versed in the rigors of air travel and so when we went to the airport and went to a different building at the airport I thought for sure the questions would start flying but they didn't.  Even as we waited and our plane landed and we pointed it out to them they didn't say anything.  They just didn't quite get it until we were sitting there and David said,  "Where are all the other people going to sit?"  and one of the grownups said no it is just us and then he said, "Oh we must be on a private jet." Yes we were on a private jet as a special treat from Grandpa and I tell you this is the way to travel with children.  No security, no waiting, no checking bags, no having to take shoes off and back on again, none of it and it was fabulous!!!

 

 

When we arrived at our hotel room the kids were surprised by this:

 

 

They each had their own bath robe, coloring book, and  a bedtime treat for them.  We thought it was a first night at the hotel treat but just wait to see what was waiting for them the next night.

 

 We went to Shedd Aquarium here we are waiting

for the dolphin and whale show to start.



 

It was spectacular and the kids loved it and the jellyfish exhibit

 

Jensen as soon as he saw this turtle he laid right down on top of it like this..he is my funny guy.

 

And I am realizing right now David is the one who took

most of the pictures at the aquarium so this is about what i got of the aquarium.

 

 

Our second night treat...someone stole a gummi bear????

 

 

We shopped on Michigan Ave. and if you have a little girl it is almost a must to go to the American Girl doll store.  Julianna was on a mission to get Julie as soon as we stepped foot in the store.  She loves Julie and the main reason is" She loves Julie's style."

 

 

and if you have a boy don't fear there is a Lego store too and the boys were in heaven!!!

 

The only said thing is the only store Christian wanted to go to was the

 3 story Nike store...guess what closed for renovation BOO HISS!!!!  Sorry C2!

 

I did however get to go and ooogle at 4 stories of

Crate and Barrel and try to hunt down an antique store to no avail.

 

Off to Navy Pier we headed and our first order of business was the Ferris Wheel...well no it wasn't, the kids were so excited about the Ferris Wheel they wanted it to be the first order of business.  The first thing we needed to do was go see Beauty and the Beast this was a bit of a bummer to them they wanted to go on that Ferris Wheel I had shown them a picture of on-line and I had kept Beauty and the Beast a surprise this back fired until it started they all loved it absolutely loved it!!!

 

After sitting through a play and lunch The Childrens Museum was just the thing they needed.  So while Christian and the grandparents shopped and designed hats and tshirts and went on the beloved Ferris Wheel,  David and I took the younger kids and climbed, played, crafted, took an art class, built airplanes, and other inventions too.

 

We meet up for dinner on the Pier and then departed from each other again..

we wore them out I think and we went on the Ferris Wheel.

 

For anyone that knows me well knows at this point my heart was beating out of my chest and my hands were dripping with sweat.  I felt near a panic attack actually.  I am not a fan of heights at all.  SO for me to be on this Ferris Wheel was a huge deal and once we quit going up it wasn't so bad.

 

Treat for night number three

 

Julianna and Julie in their matching jammies.

 

Christian also gave us a huge gift this trip we actually had 2 rooms on 2 different floors and all of us could have stayed in one room but he really wanted to take the kids and sleep in the other room so he could spend some time with them before he left for college and to give myself and David a break.  It was wonderful to have peace and quiet every night and morning at a huge sacrifice of Christian's beauty sleep.  Thank you Christian!!!

 

The view from our room at night it was awesome...

 and during the day

We went to The Field Museum

 

Here they are in the Egyptian exhibit

 



 

I forget exactly what this exhibit is called but

 we were shrunk to the size smaller than pennies

 

and worms

 

and katydid(I think that is right) skins

 

We went into other exhibits too but no photography was allowed..bummer but we loved them too!

 

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for our fun fun trip to the Windy City!!!