6 days and counting

Good evening! It has been a very crazy day here. We headed out about 10:30 to run errands and didn't make it back home until 3:00. That included the grocery, the school, 1 target, 2 target, office depot, and the post office. It took 4 trips to find crayola 8 pack crayons. Can you believe that? I couldn't either. We did get the basement cleaned up tonight and the kids rooms started. I also managed to cook dinner and if you know me that was a feat.

You will be proud of me though I haven't cried yet. I do say yet bc I know it will happen. They are in seriously big trouble for the way they have been acting so next week might end up being a relief (for a little while---maybe and hour or two) My plan was to go to the pool, sit in the big people section and read until school was out, but John is taking off and spending the day with me. He has something planned but I don't know what. I'll let you know.

Some very exciting stuff going on with me on the creative front. I was asked to be quest designer for a local kit company and my work is up on their website. Here is the link: http://www.scrapbookloversdream.com/store/information.php?info_id=72 I am very honored they asked. They are a great group of girls I enjoy getting together with to scrap once a month.

In other news I'm just trying to find a job. I applied at the school, but I haven't heard back. Sometimes it takes awhile so it could be after school starts. I can also be a substitute which might not be bad. I'm also looking into photography at a couple of the local studios. Photography is such a big deal to me. I love to take pictures and try to capture that moment. I also love pictures. You will never come to my house and see a picture covering another picture. I don't believe in it. K I guess I'm rambling.

Let me tell you about the pictures.

Caroline's feet under the lemonade stand! Aren't they adorable. She has gorgeous feet.
Nick picking out folders for school...I finally talked him out of the lebron James basketball one and the nascar one. He settled for puppies and general sports ones.

This is caroline showing me the book she found in a cart is really a composition book. How does she know what that is? I have no idea John and I just looked at each other thinking she is right!
Here is the family at the lemonade stand. Pretty sophisticated huh? Caroline was the boss and Nick was the contractor that way he could leave when he wanted. How she came up with that I have no idea either. She had her cash drawer and pen and paper to keep track of how many customers she had. She gets it from John.

This is her writing down a customer. I think it was Uncle Steve who I called and asked to come down. He was a good sport and that was great. He even paid extra for his lemonade.
That is it. We are going to try to go to the pool in the morning before it gets to hot. If that is possible. It is 77 degrees in my house right now and my ac is on 67. I don't think it will ever cool off.

Oh well day 7 was crazy in our countdown, but I did get to mark a few things off my list. Maybe day 6 will be better.

PS: Please keep DeeDee Barfield and her family in your prayers. Steve is deploying on Wednesday to Iraq. If you don't know that is Melanie's sister and she has 4 young girls. He will be gone for about 6 months. She will need all the prayer we can give her over the next 6 months. We love you dd and think about you everyday. You are in our prayers and hopefully everyone else that reads this. You are strong and can do it. Keep the faith.

7 days and counting!

Can you believe there are only 7 days until school starts????? Neither can I. We spent the day getting new uniform shorts for Nick and returning socks and getting the right ones. Nick also needed underwear and pj's.

The kids started the day off with a Lemonade stand. Caroline was so cute counting her money and pouring lemonade. We had 4 customers and I think they made $2.50 or $3. I love the pictures I got(wish I had new camera back). After the above mentioned mall trip we headed to the pool. It is sooooo hot outside. I was even in the water most of the time. I think we will spend most of our week there since it is going to be 100 degrees.

Tonight after dinner we went school supply shopping at Target. That was an adventure. They are out of most stuff and it was so crowded. For those of you that are keeping track I made it through all of that without a tear. I think I might be saving them for Monday. The kids have been such a handful the last couple of weeks I think it is God's way of making school a little easier for me. I could use a vacation about right now.

I'm working on my 35 item to do list. It is a little overwhelming to have so much to do in one week. It might have been better to not have a list except I would forget half of it.

I will update as the week goes. Hope everyone is good. Not letting me post pic. I'll do it tmorrow.

Ok I tried several times from Nashville to post and they didn't save for some reason. Have no idea why.

Just a quick post to let everyone know we are home safe after a very long 5 hour trip. We got stuck in Bowling Green in stand still traffic for over an hour. After lunch at Mcdonalds right next to the News Inn (where the Uhls, Barfields, and Deans swim) the kids were not happy about getting back in the car.

We are glad to be home and out of the car. We have a busy week ahead getting ready for school. We found out today which teacher the kids got (not one I wanted but not the least favorite) so Monday we have to go pick up a supply list. Can you believe I am one week (9 days) away from my babies going to kindergarten?????? Neither can I. Oh well.

I will post pictures tomorrow. Now I have to get kids to bed and get myself to bed. I'm exhausted after the week!!!!

Just wanted to let you know we are safe and sound in Nashville! Our 3 hour trip was very long. 10 minutes in Nick was already asking if we were here yet. We made it on half tank of gas, but made 3 stops to use the restroom. Oh well traveling with kids.

Our room is awesome (as the kids say). It is two rooms with a frig, microwave and living room. The couch is a pull out and the bedroom has a king size bed. At least if we all end up in it we will have enough room. Looks like we are going to try Nashville shores water park, the zoo and hit Oprymills mall and there is another mall right by our hotel that looks nice. It should be plenty to keep us busy until friday.

The weekend was great! Nick had his last ball game. He got his trophy and that made him very happy. We also spent time with Lauren, Emily, Don, and Vicki. The kids had a blast playing at Gattiland and Grandmas.

My leg is doing good. I will be glad when the 9th gets here and I can officially walk. It feels great and I can do almost everything. I have full range of motion. I can even move it in a circle. I think I am doing pretty good for 21 days out.

I forgot the camera in the van and John had to take it so I will take pictures tonight and update tomorrow. That is all that is going on here.

9 days until Aunt Carol gets here.
14 days until school starts.

Ok here are the "much anticipated" pictures. Of course they are not as good as they would be if I had my new camera, but at least they are pictures.

1st cast
The kids being happy! The moon boot!

The air cast!

The last one is what I am in now. I will probably be in this the rest of the time. I am doing good. It feels much better everyday. We are almost through week 3 and into week 4. Whoo hoo! Don and Vicki will be here fri. night. The kids can't wait to play with Lauren and Emily. We are leaving on Monday to go to Nashville for the week with John. He has another 5 day conference and after the San Diego trip I'm not staying with Nick by myself. We are talking about going to a water park Wednesday afternoon. This conference is weird bc John has 3 half days and 2 full days. So he will get to spend time with us. Our family vacation for this year. It will be fun and I'm just glad I'm getting to go.

We are counting down to the start of school. I just realized tonight that we are down to 2 weeks from Monday. Whew I can't believe it. Caroline told me tonight that she would still "like" me after she goes to school. So grown up acting.

That is about all that is going on here. I'm glad to be taking care of my family again and I know John is too. It feels good.

Another good day here! Nick's dentist apt. went great this morning. All is good from his fall. Just needs to have his teeth cleaned.

Then, John and the kids took me to take the paraeducator test. I passed! Whoo hoo! Now I just need to send my resume in and wait to hear. The math was very hard for someone who has been out of school for 15 years. That new math is going to be a challenge when the kids start doing homework.

Oh yes they have 3 weeks before school starts. Whew where did the summer go?????Oh yeah I know in the creek with my camera and leg!

My leg is feeling better today. I can put some weight on it even though I'm not supposed to. I had to try it out. Ok.Ok.Ok stop lecturing me! I'm not walking on it even though I want to so bad. So no one needs to call to yell at me. I think I might have tennis arms when I get off these crutches. Ok that is all that is going on here. I don't have time to post pics tonight. I will tomorrow.

Love ya all!

PS Aunt Carol will be here in 17days!

Great day!

Today has been a good day! I stayed with the kids by myself this morning while John enjoyed a well earned golf game. Then I cleaned the living room and bedroom up "from my wheelchair". It has come in so handy. I'm glad we rented it.

I also have quite a bit more range of motion in my foot. Yes I'm allowed to take it out of the cast and move it 3 times a day. It is not hurting as bad and feeling more stable. Whoo Hoo!

That is about all that is going on here. We take Nick back to dentist for check up from his fall and then I'm going to take the paraeducator test at the school board. I am trying to get a job as a teaching assistant at the kids school. Pray I pass...the math is a booger!!!!!!!!!! This new math is crazy. It has taken John and me both to figure it out.

I'll update again tomorrow.

Maybe our luck is changing!

Great news from today. I had my re-scan and the blood clot is stationary and has not moved. The tech told me today that it was not going anywhere. Whoo Hoo...Thank you LORD. The little bit of trouble breathing I had she thought was nerves.

Can you believe we went to the grocery today and still forgot batteries. I can't believe I did that. So still no pictures. Nick had a game this morning and he did great. He got to play pitcher and got 2 outs. He did get called out at 1st base for the first time. He did great!

Other than that we went to hospital for test, grocery, and to dinner tonight. Trying to get the kids to bed now. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers! 2 weeks down....2 to go!

Quick update. I had to go to dr yesterday for pain in my calf muscle. After a long morning we found out I have a blood clot in a secondary vein in my leg. I have to go back tomorrow for another scan to see if it has moved. If it has i will be admitted for a couple days observation. If it hasn't moved I will continue to take aspirin. I have also been taken out of my hard cast and put in a walking cast. Joy, Joy! I still can't walk on it and am using the crutches, but it is much better than being in the hard cast. melanie took pictures of my leg today so they will probably be on her blog.

I can't take or post any pictures bc my new camera (that I loved so very much) drowned in the creek with my leg. I finally found the old camera and after taking 2 pictures the batteries died. I have sent John twice to buy some and he keeps forgetting them. So I have a couple of pic when I get batteries.

I sent the new camera back to canon to see if it can be fixed. I don't think so, but we will see. It had a warranty on it, but not sure if it covers water damage. I loved that camera, I loved that camera, I loved that camera. Oh I'm so crying! I'm miserable without a camera. It is something i use everyday. Oh well! I'll let you know what happens.

Melanie, Riley, and Reed came to take care of us today. It was wonderful to hold Reed. He is the sweetest baby. I got to feed him twice whoo hoo! He smiled everytime Nick talked to him or walked by him. We are so thankful to have great friends that take good care of us.

I think that is all for now. I will keep everyone updated and will post pictures as soon as batteries arrive.

Update!

As you can probably tell from the last post I have not been in the best spirits. I didn't realize how much I wouldn't be able to do with a broken leg. I can't even take care of my own kids. (driving me crazy) But I decided today I couldn't just sit around and be depressed for the next 2 weeks.

S0.......I put my bathing suit on today that Dave had to get from the basement for me and hitched a ride with Lesley to the pool. I spent 4 hours laying in a lounge chair with my leg propped up. Not my chair of choice, but works with the broken leg. It is feeling much better today and tonight in bed I can lay on my side without my leg propped up. Whoo hoo. I might get a good nights sleep. 4 days down..... I am hoping bc of the way my leg is feeling I might be able to go into a walking cast on Monday. I would be much happier without the crutches. Plus I would be able to move around better and take care of my family. As you can tell that is very important to me.

To sum it up....the leg is feeling better today. That makes me hopefull I will continue to get better before monday and maybe get a walking cast on Monday. Lots of prayers going up from here for the walking cast. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

Love,
Muri

A quick update! For those of you that don't know....I fell Sunday at the creek in l'burg and broke my leg. I have a lovely green cast which I will have to wear until monday. Monday I go back to the dr and have it xrayed again to check it and then will have a cast for another week. Hopefully at that point I will get a walking cast. I will be in something for the next 6 weeks. Whoo Hoo!

The story: We went for Jaryn's bday and john and I decided to go early and take the kids fishing at the creek. We got to the creek got everyone bait and settled. I decided I could get great pictures of the kids from the other side of the creek. So I proceded to try to cross. The first step I took I fell. As I tried to get up I knew something wasn't right and told John I thought it was broken (i'm smart aren't I). IT took a little while to get me back up the embankment, but we made it. Took the kids to granny's and then went to Frankfort hospital. I saw the ortho here on Monday who said it is fractured in 2 places, but he also thinks I tore a ligament on the left side (opposite of fracture) which is why I'm in a hard cast. It has to remain stable for 2 weeks then I might be able to go into a walking cast. The reason I didn't get one from the start is bc of the ligament. I am supposed to keep it elevated and off of it as much as possible. I'm not very good at that, but the alternative is surgery and I don't want to have that. So I will sit here and be obedient and stay off my leg.

Oh yeah no pictures bc my brand new camera was in my pocket when I fell in the water and now it is dead. I think I'm most upset about the camera. I loved that camera. Oh well. I"m checking to see if it had any kind of warranty on it.

That is what is going on here. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. I love you all! I'll keep you posted.

Happy 4th!

Aren't fireworks wonderful things. The dog is barking her head off, Nick is holding his ears, and Caroline doesn't want to go to bed bc she might miss something. We shot off our rockets last night and 2 tonight. I think everyone in the neighborhood is shooting them off. I'll be glad when they are over.

We have been busy here. Monday We took off in the morning to run errands and to hit a couple of buckets of balls at the driving range. We stopped by the mall to pick up some biker shorts and navy blue mary janes for Caroline to wear to school. As we were passing Claire's Caroline decided she wanted to go in. We came out with earrings. I could not believe she sat there and let this stranger shot her ears 2 different times without flinching. She is very proud of herself and they look very cute.

The same day we were walking through Dick's sporting goods and they had cleats on sale. Oh yeah, Nick got a new pair for $9.97. He is in love with them.

We finally made it to the driving range around 2:00. We hit 2 buckets of balls and I had a blast watching the kids hit. Nick acts just like a professional and Caroline gives it her all, but is not so good. I couldn't quit taking pictures because they were so good. Check out the dirt flying up when Nick hits the ball.

John and I are almost ready to unveil the new bathroom. We are putting the finishing touches on it now. I got the floor down and just need to redo 1 tile. I can't wait for all of you to see it.

1. Nick playing ball with John

2. John, Caroline, and my feet. I love this picture.

3. My favorite pic of Caroline from today.

4. John and if you look hard you can see me in his sunglasses. Tricky photography.

5. Caroline in the water. Trying to mimick last years picture.

Ok, we are off to bed after a long day of playing, pooling, and fireworking! HOpe you all had a happy 4th. Enjoy!

PS: if you are reading this....please leave me a note. I have no idea who is reading (except Aunt Carol who tells me, but doesn't leave a note) and would like to know. Thanks.

Trip to l'burg!

John left on Saturday and on Monday afternoon we headed to l'burg. The kids had so much fun. We went fishing, where the kids caught their first fish, to the fair, for a sleepover at Skylar's, and to Sis' new boyfriends to do more fishing. Here are the pictures. Hope you enjoy them.

Nick's first fish!

Day 2 on the way to the creek!

Caroline's first fish!

Skylar's fish!

before CAroline fell in the creek
after Caroline crawling out of the creek!
Playing in pool with Grandaddy!

I love this picture of Skylar!

Riding at the fair! This was one of all the kids favorite rides!



One of Caroline's favorite parts: The kittens

Here is something you don't see every lifetime: Granny climbing a fence. This will be good blackmail one day!


Sis' new boyfriend Sonny. We are fishing on his farm. Aunt Carol I didn't know if you had seen his picture.

Jaryn's fish! He also put every other fish caught back in the water. He enjoyed touching them and none of the other kids would.


This is a long post: sorry, but as you can see a lot of fun was had by everyone. Especially the kids. They also had a sleepover at Skylar's and that is what they are talking about the most right now. Evidently it means they are big kids.

Aunt Carol, we can't wait to see you in August. Joe and Sara thank you for bringing Alex for his birthday we can't wait to see him too. He has gotten so big and will probably be chasing all the other kids. Hope you enjoyed your weekend with Carol and Danny. See all of you soon!

San Diego here comes Dad!

Lots going on here. It was a great week spending time with friends. We went to Bowling Green to spend Wed. & Thurs. with Melanie, Riley, Reed, DD, Leigha, Anna B, Mckenna, Sara Kate, Judy and Wayne. We went to the pool, played baseball in the backyard, cooked out, and played in the pool on the deck and just spent quality time with great friends. Can you believe I took my camera out and didn't take one picture. I too have left it up to Melanie. Sorry Aunt Mel. You can check her blog http://theuhlsfamily.blogspot.com/ I don't think she has updated it yet, but she will when she has time.



We are putting in a new bathroom floor. Nick enjoyed helping his daddy tear up the old floor. They were very cute working together. Caroline and I laid and watched a movie. That is boy stuff. I will be putting the new floor down though! That is girl stuff in this house.


Today Nick had his first big boy baseball game. He did great. I got some great pictures. Grandma and Pa-paw came to watch. Nick had a great time and I felt a little better about it after watching a game. John pitched and coached the outfield. Nick hit 2 off the pitch and had to hit one off the tee. But he did a great job. We are very proud of him.


After the game we went to Indiana to buy fireworks. Nick is crazy about the parachutes. We are trying to stock up bc they close after July 4th. We came home and shot some off. We did save some for Riley. He likes them too. We will get more for the boys when we go to Nashville.

Then John left today for San Diego. We took him to the airport where Nick completely lost it. He sobbed and asked him not to go, then escaped 3 times from the car before I could leave. I was teary anyway and that just set me off. So Nick and i cried for what felt like forever. After calming down we went to Mcdonalds, blockbuster, and the park. Now we are laying in the bed watching Disney Chanel. John has safely made it to Las Vegas and is now on his way to SD.



The kids also played in the sprinkler tonight after watering the flowers. After a shower Caroline asked if she could dry her hair with the "you know that thing that gets hot you use on your hair." Here is the picture. It was so funny.


As you can probably tell we are updating for John. He will be gone until Thurs. A long time. Tomorrow we will be hanging out at home. Maybe swimming, Grandma's, stuff like that. Monday we have 3 dr's apts. Then we are heading to Granny's for a couple of days. She is very excited about our visit and the kids are too. Then back home Thurs. to pick Dad from the airport.



Daddy, enjoy your golf tomorrow. We miss you and love you!

Uniforms

I took a big step today....We bought uniforms for school. Don't they look gorgeous? It took about an hour and a half to pick them out and find sizes. Caroline has decided to wear only dresses (jumpers). She got 2 navy and 3 plaid. The plaid is her favorite. She didn't like the polo shirts and the shirt she has on only comes in white. Nick got navy shorts and pants and light blue and white shirts. They can also wear light yellow, but the store was out of them today. Neither of them wanted to wear brown (khakis). I made it through without crying. Of course that could have been bc it was such a big job. Tonight I'm glad it is over. I hope you enjoy the pictures. I can't believe my kids are this big. Where did the time go?

Well alot has been going on!

T-ball was over last Saturday. We had a fun pizza party after the game at the park. The kids had a blast.

Nick started coach pitch on Tuesday. The fact that I was not prepared is an understatement. Coach pitch is BIGGER than tball. Nick is very excited about it though. John is just helping out this time.

We have been going to the pool almost everyday. The kids are still little fish.

We went to the science museum yesterday and had a lot of fun.

John and I are painting the bathroom. He is taking Friday off to help.

The biggest excitement of the week: Nick fell yesterday going up the stairs on the deck and hit his front teeth and busted his lip. We had to take him to the dentist this morning. He scrapped his gums above the front teeth and tore the skin between the gum and lip. His left front tooth is loose and there is still blood between the teeth and gums. Needless to say it hurt. The dentist took xrays and the root is not broken and that is good. We will have to wait and see if it tightens back up. She said it would take some time for the gums to heal and see if there would be any long term damage. Scared me to death.

That is all from here! Hope everyone is doing good.

Big hitter....3rd homerun

Lots has been going on around here since our last post. Nick hit his 2nd homerun while I was in the concession stand on Wed night (30th) and then hit his 3rd homerun on Saturday. He is on cloud 9 these days. We stopped on the way home and got plastic cases for the balls. I dated and numbered them for him. He is very proud to say the least.

The pool also opened on May 26th. You know what that means. We have been swimming like crazy. The big pool is still a little cold, but the baby pool is great when you just need to cool off. WE are all already brown especially Caroline. WE are having a blast like always.

This weekend was the Crusade for Children RC Airshow. IT is great fun and we all like to go. John was golfing, but the kids and I loaded on the sunscreen, grabbed our sunglasses, and water and off we went. It is amazing what these guys can do with a remote control. Nick's favorite are the helicopters. They went out this year for the candy drop and Nick went by himself for the egg drop. If caught you win $260. He didn't win.

Caroline and I have gotten really into art lately. We have found all kinds of cool mediums to use. We create something about everyday. She loves it. We both have sketch books that we are keeping. Yes hers is better than mine. I really love the time we spend doing it.

Here are some of my favorite pics since last post. The one of the right is my new centerpeice Enjoy.