The last two weeks have been a struggle to keep everyone healthy with a short vacation in the middle.
SICK PEOPLE. It all started when Nate was feeling bad a couple of Fridays ago (the 11th). It turns out that he had a flu-like bug that lasted about 48 hours. Ben and Jenna both got it by the following Thursday (the 17th) and wound up missing two days of school. This had us a little worried because we had scheduled an extended weekend in Pigeon Forge over the President's Day weekend (to which Vicki kept saying, "Nate and I will miss y'all while we're gone").
Fortunately everyone was feeling better by that Friday night so we packed to leave. Unfortunately, Ben woke up the next morning feeling bad. This time his symptoms pointed to strep. We packed anyway and took Nate to his ball game (since he was sick the previous Saturday). This turned out to be a good thing because we could get Ben in to see the pediatrician where he could get a penicillin shot. He felt a lot better by the time we got to Pigeon Forge (with the exception of his rear end).
We had a great time while we were away (more on that below), but by Tuesday morning Jenna was beginning to feel bad. At least we were able to stop by the pediatrician on the way home where Jenna could get her own penicillin shot, but she wound up missing school yesterday. Vicki made a return trip with Nate yesterday because he woke up feeling bad with his own case of strep. I was feeling increasingly bad all weekend and wound up being at my doctor's office at the same time as Nate, though my diagnosis is a sinus infection.
Vicki has been feeling below par as well and went to see her doctor today. She's skipped all the bacterial stuff the rest of us got, but has to have some tests run next week.
WACKY WEATHER. The last time I wrote I said we were expecting more snow the next day. On that Wednesday (the 9th) wound up going to school an hour late and dismissing early due to the weather. The temperature dropped and we got a nice snow which closed school the rest of the week. Road conditions were so bad I wound up getting the day off Thursday (the 10th). This was a lot of fun because I got to go play in the snow with Vicki and the kids. Mom's farm is fairly flat, but there is one nice little slope for sledding at the entrance to where the big pond used to be.
That afternoon we gathered around the kitchen table and Vicki and I taught the kids how to play Spades. They caught on very quickly and we had a lot of fun.
To get back to the wacky weather, that weekend started a warm up. By Monday of last week just about all the snow was gone and we saw 60° weather most of the week. We could still see more winter weather, but I'd say we're well on our way to spring now. Last week was the second full week of school we've had since Christmas break.
NATE'S BIRTHDAY. Last Monday was Nate's eighth birthday. Between one of them being under the weather, Scouts, and basketball practice we wound up celebrating with a birthday dinner at home. He asked for a chocolate cake and Vicki outdid herself making one from scratch. Hard to believe he's halfway to a driver's license.
SOME TIME AWAY. We originally chose to get away last weekend due to the President's Day holiday. Our abundance of snow canceled the holiday, but not our vacation. As I mentioned above, we drove to Pigeon Forge on Saturday and returned Tuesday. This left us two days to relax and do a few things in the area.
Sunday we stayed in Pigeon Forge where we went to the Apple Barn for breakfast and new Titanic museum (this was really cool). That evening we had a great time visiting with the Arnold family.
Monday was Gatlinburg day. We tried the Pancake Pantry this time and then spent a little time browsing through some shops. After that we headed into the mountains where we hiked to Laurel Falls. This is a nice little hike and the boys enjoyed climbing all the boulders along the side of the trail. When we got back to our condo I took the boys swimming and Vicki went shopping.
Of course, one of the boys' favorite things to do is to take bubble baths in our jacuzzi as you can tell from the following comments.
Ben (after Saturday night's bath was over): "Wasn't that fun Nate? This is the best part of our vacation. Every night we have something to look forward to."
Nate: "Yeah, and breakfast."
Joe
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
In the Groundhog's Shadow
I think the groundhog in our neck of the woods saw his shadow last week. When I last wrote a couple of weeks ago I said we were expecting snow. Sure enough, we got it causing us to miss two days of school (the 26th and 27th) and at the same time using our last two snow days. Incredibly, it warmed up that weekend and we even saw 60° weather. This was short lived as arctic air once again edged into Middle Tennessee. We got another blast of snow yesterday which made us dismiss school early (some buses couldn't complete their routes) and cancel school today. We're expecting more snow tomorrow.
NATE'S BAPTISM. At the beginning of the year I reported that Nate had become a Christian. He was baptized a week ago Sunday (the 30th). This is something he had been looking forward to for weeks, and he talked about it all that weekend. He even had some details of the day planned as I found out when I grabbed a shirt out of his closet to iron for Sunday only to have him tell me he was wearing another shirt -- something he has never done before.
When Bro. Bill baptizes someone he usually has them face the audience for a moment after they stand back up. When Nate did this he paused there longer than most people which caused Bro. Bill to quip that he was a bit of a ham. Vicki and I feel he was simply soaking up the moment.
To commemorate Nate's baptism we game him a model sailboat which had Philippians 4:13 written on the main sail. When Nate saw it he said, "Hey, it's in cursitive!" This gift really pleased him and we should have had the camera handy to capture his grin.
THE WORTH OF A KID. So Vicki and the kids were watching Antiques Roadshow which made Vicki ask Nate, "So, how much do you think you'd be worth if we put you on the show?" Nate decided he's worth about "fourteen million, trillion, infinity."
So then Vicki asked Jenna if she would sell Nate. Jenna said, "No!"
Vicki then said, "Gosh Nate, your sister loves you … 'cause I'd sell you."
Nate looked at Vicki with disbelief and says, "But I like this family!"
Immediately Vicki called him to her so she could assure him she was kidding. As they hugged she told him that she loves him and that she "wouldn't sell him for nothing." This led Nate to say, "You'd give me away!"
HER LOVING HEART. I have to brag on my daughter because she makes me proud. A few months ago we had a ministry fair at church so our members could be fully aware of what opportunities there are to serve. Several new ministries were kicked off at this time and two of them caught Jenna's interest.
The first of these is called "Grace Notes", and the team of people participating in this ministry rotate through a list of people who could use a note through the mail as a form of encouragement. Jenna has been mailing out notes for several months now and I know from some compliments I've heard that her notes are a blessing to those who receive them.
The other ministry Jenna is participating in is called "Bake and Take." This ministry is more along the lines of offering hospitality to anyone who is new to the community, has been sick, etc. by taking some kind of homemade baked good to them. She has been busily baking cookies for this.
In my biased opinion Jenna is a fine young lady.
Joe
NATE'S BAPTISM. At the beginning of the year I reported that Nate had become a Christian. He was baptized a week ago Sunday (the 30th). This is something he had been looking forward to for weeks, and he talked about it all that weekend. He even had some details of the day planned as I found out when I grabbed a shirt out of his closet to iron for Sunday only to have him tell me he was wearing another shirt -- something he has never done before.
When Bro. Bill baptizes someone he usually has them face the audience for a moment after they stand back up. When Nate did this he paused there longer than most people which caused Bro. Bill to quip that he was a bit of a ham. Vicki and I feel he was simply soaking up the moment.
To commemorate Nate's baptism we game him a model sailboat which had Philippians 4:13 written on the main sail. When Nate saw it he said, "Hey, it's in cursitive!" This gift really pleased him and we should have had the camera handy to capture his grin.
THE WORTH OF A KID. So Vicki and the kids were watching Antiques Roadshow which made Vicki ask Nate, "So, how much do you think you'd be worth if we put you on the show?" Nate decided he's worth about "fourteen million, trillion, infinity."
So then Vicki asked Jenna if she would sell Nate. Jenna said, "No!"
Vicki then said, "Gosh Nate, your sister loves you … 'cause I'd sell you."
Nate looked at Vicki with disbelief and says, "But I like this family!"
Immediately Vicki called him to her so she could assure him she was kidding. As they hugged she told him that she loves him and that she "wouldn't sell him for nothing." This led Nate to say, "You'd give me away!"
HER LOVING HEART. I have to brag on my daughter because she makes me proud. A few months ago we had a ministry fair at church so our members could be fully aware of what opportunities there are to serve. Several new ministries were kicked off at this time and two of them caught Jenna's interest.
The first of these is called "Grace Notes", and the team of people participating in this ministry rotate through a list of people who could use a note through the mail as a form of encouragement. Jenna has been mailing out notes for several months now and I know from some compliments I've heard that her notes are a blessing to those who receive them.
The other ministry Jenna is participating in is called "Bake and Take." This ministry is more along the lines of offering hospitality to anyone who is new to the community, has been sick, etc. by taking some kind of homemade baked good to them. She has been busily baking cookies for this.
In my biased opinion Jenna is a fine young lady.
Joe
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