Recovering

Things have been pretty quiet around here this week - on purpose!  Rooke had his tonsils and adenoids removed on Monday. It was a routine surgery, but still a big deal for our little guy to go under general anaesthesia and then face a painful recovery.  We praise God that the surgery went according to plan and Rooke has been recovering with more stamina and strength than I anticipated.  He's still not back to his normal energetic self, but we are getting there and I'm enjoying the extra cuddles along the way!

One last look at his tonsils the night before.

The surgeon said his tonsils were "huge and ugly".  

All set to go in his stylish gown.

It too much longer than we expected for him to head to the OR, so he asked to change out of his scratchy gown and they let him watch a movie.  Whatever helped distract him from the fact that he hadn't eaten or drank anything all morning.

Waiting patiently for his turn in the operating room.  He was completely calm and collected the entire morning.  When they wheeled him down the hall to the OR, he gave me a confident smile and high five.  As I watched his bed be pushed through the double doors, I was comforted in knowing that God loves Rooke more than I ever could.  But that didn't stop the tears!

He heard someone offer him a popsicle and that was just what he needed to fully wake up after surgery.

Four popsicles, three jello cups, graham crackers, apple juice and a muffin later . . . he was asking to go home.

 

A thoughtful gift from his Sunday School teacher.

Heading home on the same day, being wheeled out like the rock start patient that he was!

The End of our Garden Beginnings

My mom has a green thumb.  Possibly two.  She once asked me to keep her indoor plants while she and my dad were going to be out of their house for several months.  Turns out she would have been better off just leaving the plants to fend for themselves.  I managed to keep two alive and have concluded that my thumbs are black.  I've decided that, for now, indoor plants stress me out and I need to just focus on keeping my kids watered and fed on a regular basis.

So instead of indoor plants, I thought I would try a little bit of outdoor gardening this year.  I'm starting small, folks.  Thankfully, our neighbors, Chris and Claire, are knowledgeable in the ways of vegetable gardens and were so helpful in getting things started.  My dad teased me that it was basically their garden, since they tilled the spot and helped plant most of the seeds or plant starters that they gave us!

It was fun to have a little plot out front and watch carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, and one onion grow.  The kids were a part of it all.  They liked pulling up carrots the most, and helped with our "clear-out final harvest" earlier this week.   

The girls with Claire, our kind friend and neighbor; AKA the gardening guru who told me to wait a few more weeks before pulling up the potatoes when I was ready to dig in a month ago.  So glad I took her advice!

There were SO many potatoes still clinging on to this one plant we pulled up

Look at the root system on that thing!

Someone decided he wanted to help after everything was cleared out and he could just dig!

I was shocked at how many potatoes we gathered.  It may not seem like much to most, but you have to remember that I'm only good at feeding and watering people and tend to kill all other living things.  Each of those potatoes was a ray of hope that I might actually be able to learn how to do this gardening thing!

Celebrating Him {34}

Ryan's birthday was this weekend!  We spent Sunday celebrating him and spending the day just the way Ryan wanted it - totally chilled out.  We started with a special breakfast and then headed out for church.   We came home for his favorite lunch of grilled haloumi cheese sandwiches and then everyone took a nap.  If you know our family, or have young children, you know that coordinating everyone to sleep at the same time IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY is a birthday miracle and was a gift all by itself!  We gave Ryan a new "daddy chair" and then enjoyed his favorite carrot cake before finishing the day watching football!

Ryan is a man worth celebrating.  I'm so grateful for a husband who shows steadfast love for God and for his family.  Even with one hand "tied behind his back" because of surgery, he is still active in helping out and thoughtful to engage with each of the kids.  We love this 34-year-old!  

Bridgette and I got in on the cake also!

Reading and a Kite Fail

We like reading around here.  Gretchen is our special story-teller.  I caught her giving Cherry Bear a creative version of Curious George!

Another book we've borrowed from the library and have been reading a lot lately is Sugar Cookies - Sweet Little Lessons on Love.  It's a cute and creative read (there are others by the same author worth looking at, too!), using sugar cookies to define and explain different ways to show love.  Of course, making sugar cookies was required!  Eating them together and sharing with neighbors was a great way to show love! =) 

And lastly, our first effort at a family kite-flying afternoon was a fail.  We couldn't get the kite flying.  We blame it all on the kite.  But there was plenty of running around, playing chase, and enjoying the perfectly Fall weather.

The Month That Was - from my phone

On our way to pick some apples . . .

Success! 

An up-close view of some planes we saw flying in an air show

Our big girl's first day of preschool.  She has done such a great job of transitioning to this new routine.

"Mommy - I just NEED to play outside!"

We're running out of room . . .

This epitomizes Bridgette at 17 months: so happy to be outside with her stroller and a hat!

James and Saisha sent Flat Stanley to us for a visit.  We let him help pick some of our tomatoes!

She probably plays with my make-up bag more than I do! 

More apples! 

The sicklings all snuggled up together.

Finally sleeping after a long day in the hospital

After missing a week of school and feeling awful, we were walking home from Rooke's first day back and Ryan sent me a text asking how he felt.  I turned to Rooke and asked him how he was feeling:

I think the hat really pulls the outfit together. =)

More hospital snuggles (until they told me I exceeded the weight limit for the crib and would need to get out!)

 Our hospital post-surgery recovery room date night

Trying out his first team sport.  Flag football, anyone?!

Thanks, Grammy Deb, for these cute matching outfits!