Sick kids and more

Last night I was up most of the night with a puking child.  Today we have another.  Sadly, I had thought we were in the clear after having three kids get sick overnight Friday night into Saturday morning.  It was not to be so.  Tim and I, thankfully, have been okay so far.  Levi, Alex, and Phoenix haven't yet succumbed.  Shiloh (last night's victim) has been the worst so far.  TJ has thrown up a few times today, but otherwise seems completely fine.  It's very strange...  It also occurred to me that it's really a blessing that he is sick in the daytime hours as this could be much worse in the middle of the night with bedding to deal with and a toddler who can't be left in bed with a bucket "just in case".

Later today I have my 6 week postpartum visit with the doctor.  I am NOT looking forward to heading out in the cold!  What I wouldn't give for a repeat of the temps we had Friday and Saturday!  If that could repeat all winter I'd be quite content. ;)  Thankfully, our house has been staying warm enough (even without the customary plastic on the windows), and I don't have too many places I need to be.  Staying indoors is just fine with me!

Speaking of staying indoors... Sometimes the house begins to feel even tinier when we are ALL stuck inside for days on end.  Thanks to the most popular Christmas gifts (KEVA planks, and Lincoln Logs) it hasn't been quite as bad the last few days.

(Posting these pictures reminds me I need to try to figure out some settings that will allow you to click on the pics to see a larger version... if anyone has any ideas let me know!  I'm posting the pics from my phone, but then editing on the computer.)

Trying to be like daddy

His legs need to grow a bit ;) This pose was even cuter when he had his hands behind his head, but he doesn't stay still for long... lol

She smiles

Six weeks tomorrow and we love these moments!

(Ahh, bummer! I forgot to move this from draft to publish... so, she's 6 weeks today!)

Belated Birthday Date

Victory got her meal out with Dad and Mom today. She chose Fuji. Our hibatchi chef called her "Princess" all through the meal. She brought home enough leftovers for two meals I think -- partially as a result of the chef giving her a triple size portion of rice.

When it Rains...

Tonight we had two liquid incidents within about 20 seconds of each other.  Both were large.  I may or may not have definitely responded inappropriately to one child.  Worst of all?  It wasn't even the one who was responsible for either of the messes.  It was his response to the perpetrators that drove me batty!

Anyway, back to the story... Shiloh was filling her water bottle in the kitchen and decided to wipe the dripping water from the outside of the bottle before screwing on the lid.  Oops.  Water cascaded across the counter and down the front of the cabinets and dishwasher.  In the midst of the cleanup we realized TJ's pajamas were all wet - and he hadn't even been in the kitchen.  Chase had left his can of Mountain Dew on the breakfast bar and while we were all in the kitchen dealing with Shiloh's mess, TJ had climbed the back of the couch and spilled the pop.

I now have one couch cushion cover in the washer and Chase is scrubbing the rear cushions (the stuffing inside the rear cushion doesn't lend itself well to being uncovered.  Gah!) and the floor.

I also have a child who needs an apology. :(  You know how your mom always used to tell you if you didn't have something nice to say you shouldn't say anything at all?  Sigh.  Even as an adult I have a tough time with that one.  Off to make amends...

Merry CHRISTmas

From our family to yours...

Alex (15), Tiberius (18 mo), Levi (8), Chase (14), Phoenix (3), Shiloh (6), Temperance (5 wks), Victory (10), Jericho (4) 

Snowpiles, and snowplows

Last night Grandpa and Grandma took us to Pizza Ranch as an early birthday supper for Victory. Tuesday is 'Kids Eat Free' day at the Ranch, making it a more economical night to visit. :)

When we parked the van there were several large trucks used for clearing/hauling snow in the parking lot. When we left all the trucks were gone, but we saw this:

Shiloh pipes up as she's climbing into her seat with, "The truck is buried in the snow!!" Gave us all a good chuckle. :) The comment also made me wish I'd taken a picture of the trucks as we pulled in! 

In other news, we are enjoying a brief warmup after several days of frigid temps. The kids have enjoyed going out to play. 

Also, I mentioned previously that our house was on the market. Two weeks ago we had a showing which resulted in an offer. It's not ideal, but it's being considered. We've also had two open house's which were a total bust - not even one looker. Today was another showing. It's too early to know anything, but we've been praying for a full price offer. We sure would like to move - sooner than later! Continued prayer for the sale of our home is certainly appreciated. 

Two final items: Temperance is ONE MONTH OLD already!! More on her later... She's very sweet ;) And, Phoenix had a birthday as well. Perhaps one day I'll get that post put together too...

Like Father, Like Son

Yesterday's post inspired today's :)

Catching Z's

No words needed...

Captions

These pics are BEGGING for captions...

(As an adorable side note, Phoenix is standing next to me as I post this saying, "Tempe is cute." over and over.)

Sharing

Phoenix says, "It's my baby!" "I'm sharing my blankie!" (with an accompanying huge grin). 

Temperance Grace

It's a very special day today! It would have been my grandpa's birthday were he still alive. I am so pleased that Temperance chose today to grace us with her presence. 

11/18/13 @ 6:14am

8lb  19.5in

Fruit Beds

Phoenix calls apricots, "applecots". Alex and Chase have therefore begun referring to them as "fruit beds". :)

Helmet anyone?

Back at the beginning of October Tiberius took a tumble down the front steps (concrete) and broke his fall with his face...

This little boy has no fear.  He is a perpetual climber.  Nothing makes him happier than teetering on the edge of something... sometimes just to get a reaction from the nearest adult.  Someday that may serve him well.  As for now, it only means he is always sporting a lump or bump of some sort somewhere on his body.

This last weekend while Alex and Chase were at Fall Retreat with their youth group, Tim and I made our weekly trek to the grocery store.  Usually we leave all the kids home... it's a "date" of sorts for us.  But, since the babysitters were off having fun we took the rest of the crew along with us.  They were well behaved, and it was a smooth trip. :)

TJ had been wearing his hat.  When we took it off his hair stood completely on end... not from static, but from being pushed in the wrong direction under the hat for so long.  No amount of smoothing was putting it down.  It was too cute to pass up a picture. :)

As you can see, his face was just fine (even if his hair wasn't.  LOL).  That changed shortly after arriving home.  Tim and I were busy putting groceries away in the house.  It was a beautiful day on Saturday so the kids stayed outside to play.  Victory was put in charge of keeping an eye on TJ.  

No one knows exactly what happened... (this is what happens when responsibilities get shoved off on someone else and no one knows who is watching whom any longer).  We think he tripped over the threshold in the garage?  Whatever happened, the result is pretty similar to the previous month.

So, anyone got a helmet?  Or, as a friend suggested, maybe some bubble wrap?  LOL  He's none the worse for wear, and thankfully he heals quickly.  I do use a combination of lavender, coconut oil, and some vitamin E to treat the scrapes.  Seems to be quite effective!

On another note, I had TJ to the doctor on Monday for an issue unrelated to the head... he weighs nearly 28 lb!  He also has feet that are very nearly the same size as his almost 3 year old brother.  All the clothes he's wearing now are the same ones Phoenix wore last fall... and they fit him about the same.  I'm certain many of them will not make it through the winter.  I've already had to pack away a few items that are just too short (sleeves, pant legs) for him already!

I also had my 38 week appointment on Monday.  Everything looks good, and we just continue to wait with anticipation for the arrival of the newest member of our family.  If you haven't made a guess on the poll, just click the link on the sidebar and guess away!

Baby Poll Time

I guess since there's just over 3 weeks left until my due date, it's about time to post a poll!  Click on the link below, or check out the sidebar. :)

FYI:

Estimated due date is November 16.  Our other babies have come as early as 6 days before and as late as 2 1/2 weeks after.  Weight range for the others is 7#3 up to 10#.  Have fun!!

(Oh, I should add that a recent doctor visit indicates some progress is being made.  Also, based on how much this baby moves around I think a smaller weight may be indicated.)

Chase Turns 14

Sigh. I can't believe my 2nd is already 14! On his birthday (Tuesday) we headed to the Science Museum. The kids all had a great time. TJ was especially excited in the Mayan exhibit. 

We headed home and met Grandpa and Grandma O at Perkins for a birthday meal. Later we went back to the house for presents and cake. 

Finally, tonight, Tim and I took Chase on his own to the restaurant of his choice. He wanted Boulder Taphouse. No argument here! We love their food!! Chase ordered "The Difibrillator"... he didn't quite finish it, so he'll have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. :) At the end of the meal they brought his free birthday dessert. It was a "Carmel Apple Sundae" and could easily have fed the whole family! Yum :P

Happy Birthday, Chase! We love you. Thank you for your hardworking, others-centered attitude. It is a joy to see you growing into a fine young man. 

Officially on the Market

Today we signed the paperwork to put the house on the market.  What a relief to have that step in the process completed!  The stress factor now comes from the need to keep the house clean and show-ready while still living our lives... with 8 kids... in the house 24/7...

Listings can be viewed here at the Coldwell Banker site, or at johnpearsonhomes.com under "Featured Listings".  Our house is on page 2 (the address is 2822 22nd Street South). If I'd taken the pictures myself I would have moved some things out of the way. LOL  Somehow what looks okay in person looks much more cluttered in a snapshot!  Oh well.  Someone is sure to love it. :)

Please pray along with us for a QUICK sale!  We know God has a buyer in mind, and ultimately the timing is His not ours.  It's tough not seeing the big picture! But we trust that He has a plan that is best for us...

Such an exciting time in our lives!

It's hot again...

Good day for the pool to come out since feels like temps were over 100 degrees. Even TJ got in on the fun. He enjoyed it - smiling and splashing - until he did a "faceplant" in the water.

First pic was after the faceplant. The last pic was after I asked if he was happy and he shook his head emphatically yes. :)

So Much Done... So Much To Do!

Thanks to the graciousness of my parents who are ever giving of themselves for their family, Tim and I were able to complete many of the painting and repair projects on our extensive list over the long weekend.  The fix it/paint it list is very short at this point... it's my cleaning list that just keeps growing! Yikes.

One of the major areas we painted while the kids were gone (out of necessity) was our bathroom.  Since we only have the one, there was no way we could get that done with everyone in the house.  It was awkward enough having no doors on the bathroom for the entire weekend with only the two of us in the house. :)  The other two major areas we completed with kids out of the house were the desk/office area of the living room, and the "toy closet".  Both were emptied completely and given a fresh coat of white paint.  Now they are put back together and looking much better!

All of the doors (interior and exterior) have been repainted.  Most of the living room was repainted and the rest retouched.  The dining room was painted.  The kitchen was painted... Are you sensing a theme? ;)

Some repairs have been minor, a few others major.  Thankfully, overall, the projects have gone smoothly and quickly.

Hopefully, we will soon have a sign in the yard... and would you pray with us that very soon after that we would have an offer in hand?

As is often the case with projects around here, "before" pictures are forgotten until projects are already begun.  I know I have pictures of most areas of the house in their "before" states... it's finding them that's the problem!  Somehow the "after" pictures don't seem as impressive if you don't know where we began.  Suffice to say, the old place is looking much better after it's facelift.  We did this one other time several years back and after fixing things up we decided the house wasn't so bad and we could stay for a while.  That isn't an issue this time around. ;)  While we will certainly enjoy living in a nicer environment for a while, we will be so thrilled when it sells and we can move to our new place!

Freshly painted and organized

Oh how I love my "new" bathroom!

When your kitchen moves to the dining room...

Fixin'

There will be a lot of fixin' going on around here in the coming days... This old house is going on the market! :)  God is SO good!!  He has provided for us beyond what we ever could have asked or imagined (Ephesians 3:20).

In trying to find some before pics of the front of the house (didn't have a whole lot of success, but this is what I got) I inadvertently found an entirely different before and after... Check out the difference in Tim from the center photo to the one at the bottom (he's the one in the orange shirt).  Someday I'll share a post all about that.  But for now, I need to get working so we can sell this house!

Mulberries

We've been eating a few here and there over the course of the summer, but this is the first time I've done more of a "mass harvest" of our mulberry tree. It sure would be nice to get more at once. These berries are so good and sweet! The kids enjoy swiping a few every time they play outside. :) Maybe next year I'll be more on top of it and get a better harvest. A ladder to reach the higher branches might be useful as well... or maybe I need to make an exception and enlist a kid to climb the tree. ;)

Official Announcement

I imagine most people who read this blog have probably already heard the news, but in case you haven't -- God has blessed us one more time.  We're expecting #9!  I kept intending to post.  Really, I did!  Then it got so late I thought I'd wait until the ultrasound.  It's hard to believe we've passed that 1/2 way point already. (For those viewing the mobile version of this post, you will need to view the web version to watch the videos - at least I did from my phone when I checked it.)

You can see her moving her hands, and also see her tongue move in her mouth. :)

I love the little twitch in her foot... as if she were dreaming?

Temperance Grace (praying fervently that she will live up to her name!) will join our family sometime around my birthday in mid-November.  Interestingly enough, her u/s was on Tim's birthday last week. :)  The kids are all very excited, and most were voting for a girl anyway, so the results were welcomed! Tim and I were especially relieved... we had a girl name chosen, but not even one idea for a boy name. LOL

The little "bubble" above her nose is part of the umbilical cord.

Precious little piggies.

The writing of this post was delayed further as I struggled with balancing our joy with the discovery that my dear friend had once again suffered the loss of a baby.  Last fall the family experienced the loss of twins at about 12 and 16 weeks gestation.  Her current due date was about 10 days after mine, and her ultrasound just two day after mine.  At that u/s they discovered her baby had passed away a few weeks ago.  This news has been devastating for them.  I grieve deeply with their family, and would ask for prayer for them at this time.  This is one of those times when I have to admit to questioning God.  It seems so unfair.  And while I grieve with them, I cannot begin to understand the depth of their grief.  Please, hold them up in prayer when you think of them... not just now, but over the coming difficult months.

Oddities

We took a spontaneous trip out to the back end of St. John's Arboretum today. Tim saw something interesting along the roadside while completing the 50 mile course for Tour of Saints yesterday. 

Despite the unexpected bloody nose Shi experienced while we walked the arboretum trail it was a fun time. :)

Delayed response

Last week there were several storms that affected many in our area. So many people lost trees, or had damage to buildings/roofs. We thought we made it through unscathed. 

Yesterday, however, it became apparent that one of our trees didn't quite look right. We noticed a drooping branch. When we woke this morning the tree looked like this:

So, five days after the last bad storm we saw the damage that had been done. That branch on the right used to be tall enough to ride under with the mower...

This evening Tim borrowed his buddy's chainsaw and fixed the problem. Good thing he had so much help. ;)

And, a few more pics - because I can...

As an aside:  In the clean-up process we also discovered we have ash plant bugs (a quick google search for "insects associated with ash trees" provided the answer). The tree has been dropping leaves for a couple years, and just doesn't look completely healthy. We knew there was something going on, but today we actually saw the bugs. The ash plant bug apparently won't kill the tree - just makes it look "unsightly".

 

6 years 1 month 23 days

That's how old Shiloh was the day she lost her first tooth.

First and Last

Today was TJ's first birthday! I cannot believe he's one!! He's a pretty happy kid. Loves his brothers and sisters, but I think Alex is his favorite. Sometimes sleeps through the night, but just as often is awake once or twice. He's got a great sense of humor, and a belly laugh that's contagious. Happy first birthday, baby!

As for lasts... Chase completed his final math test today. He's glad to he done with his last day of school this year but worried about what he'll do with his time tomorrow. I assured him I have plenty of chores and cleaning to keep him busy. ;)