Lots of Extra Entertainment

Hillsong 2014

As a special birthday treat for Dave we decided to get a babysitter and go to the Hillsong concert, which was actually in Charlotte this year!  The concert was pretty good with a wide variety of songs.  I have to say that it was probably less enjoyable for me since I had done a fairly long run Saturday morning and my legs were pretty achy so I sat through most of the songs!

Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream treats after the concert

 Then on Sunday we traveled to Elon for the annual Saul reunion at Great Grandma's church.  The kids were super excited to see their cousins, even if it was only for a short time.

These five can provide quite the entertainment!

It was a very busy weekend, but we were glad to squeeze in a variety of fun things before school starts . . .  ever so soon!

A Healthy Celebration and a Birthday Party

What a crazy two weeks this has been . . . our sweet Savannah has endured over 9 days of super high fevers that only sometimes responded to Motrin.  She's been through many battles of shivering through the day and night where even 4 blankets would not make her warm.  The fevers also led to fatigue, muscle inflammation which made her unable to put any pressure on one leg, severe headaches, sweating episodes, loss of appetite (she lost 4.5 pounds last week alone), and let's not even talk about the heartbreak she's endured with having to miss out on so many fun things.  She missed a Carowinds play date, a pool play date, an ice cream party at the library, and the worst was that she was unable to sing with the rest of the Children's ministry at church on Sunday during the service.  After another temperature spike close to 105 last Friday afternoon we decided that as soon as we were all healthy we were going to have an "all healthy" party to celebrate . . and it would not include healthy food!  She was much better by Saturday afternoon, although still running a fever, so after dinner we went out for ice cream.  On Sunday we really thought we were in the clear until the fever once again spiked to around 104 in the afternoon.  After 3 separate doctor visits we were finally able to see our favorite Dr. Baker this Monday.  He immediately saw her and knew that she was really sick (although her fever was 97.6 when we left for his office it had spiked to 102 by the time we were home).  He ordered another strep test, an urine sample, and then when the rapid strep came back negative he ordered blood work.  Thankfully after 2 hours at his office we left with answers.  The blood work was just fine, Praise the Lord, the strep was negative, but the urine was highly contaminated.  So we left with a prescription for an antibiotic!  Finally, medicine!!  What a bummer to know that we wasted 10 days of summer when this could have been fixed much earlier . . but by Wednesday this girl was almost back to normal.  Her appetite was back, she was back to fighting with her brother and no more fevers.

It was the best birthday gift I could have received, a healthy child.  So she got to pick my birthday dinner place and of course she chose McAlisters.  It was kids eat free night so that was just fine with me. :)  Dave surprised me with Coldstone icecream cookies and we all celebrated my birthday along with Savannah being healthy.

Another lesson learned this summer . . . don't waste time with doctors that are unfamiliar with your child.  Stick to the best; it's worth the long wait!

A Reminder in Front of Carowinds . . .

This week has not started off according to my plans at all.  Savannah started running a high fever again Monday morning that was pretty unresponsive to Motrin.  She woke up at midnight last night with a fever of 104.2 (under her arm) and proceeded to throw up as she was calling for me.  After getting that all cleaned up and getting her settled back in bed Dave and I were finally back asleep by 1:30am . . only to be awoken again at 3am by Preston screaming/crying standing naked in the bathroom because he soaked the bed.  He has a cold, which frequently causes him to wet the bed at night. :(  

So we've cancelled lots of fun things with friends, postponed other errands, and are trying to stay close to home.  BUT, we had promised some friends of ours that we'd take them to Carowinds this week.  Not wanting to let them down I came up with the "great" plan to meet at Carowinds after I took Savannah to the doctor.  The other mom could watch the kids while I ran in and got the tickets for them.  Then we could leave them to play and we could come home and rest.  

On the way to the doctor this morning the kids were upset that they were having to miss so many fun things this week, but I reminded them that God always has a perfect plan.  I explained that we really don't know why Savannah got sick or when she would be better, but God did know and it was all part of His plan.  I tried to explain that maybe it was because we needed to spend more time at home, or maybe He was keeping us from something bad at one of our fun outings, I really didn't know but  we just had to trust He was in control.  I'm not sure how much of that they understood, but it seemed to occupy their thoughts for awhile and certainly gave Preston more fuel to ask questions about.

Anyway, so we left the doctor and proceeded to Carowinds to meet our friends.  We met in the parking lot and I ran in to get the tickets and complete my Cinnabon mystery shop.  When I was coming out I saw a kid sitting on the edge of the sidewalk sobbing and noticed there was blood all over his hands, face, and arms.  As I got closer a large lady who was clearly NOT his mom, but was supposed to be taking care of him came over and starting yelling "get up boy, what's wrong with you?"  At that point I about lost it.  I wasn't sure if I should cry or yell, but I made  a smart decision and politely asked her if she needed help.  Once she realized that I saw what was going on she changed her tune and starting asking the poor boy what was wrong.  "Is it your tooth?  Put out your tongue."  She said that they were fine and would take him inside.  

I left with tears in my eyes as I thought about the poor kid.  He clearly was in pain and hurt.  I bet he wanted his mama or at least someone to love on him.  Yet he was there with this seemingly uncaring lady and all of his friends watching him hurt.  I think that one of the reasons my sweet Savannah is sick was to send a gentle reminder to me!

* A reminder to be thankful I can always be with my kids; that they never have to be left in the care of someone who truly doesn't love them

* A reminder that in the midst of throw up, fevers, and wet beds I'm thankful that my children call "MOM" and I am the one who can answer

* A reminder that God is in control.  Soon all will be well in our house and we'll be back to fun play dates and outings . . but for now I should cherish the days when Savannah and Preston are here.  Safe.  Loved.  And knowing they can always call "mom".

Edisto Fun 2014

2014 Edisto Family Picture

Dave left early from work on Wednesday and we drove down to Edisto for a long weekend with his family. After a quick stop at Chick fil A we arrived at the beach around 8pm, just in time for dessert.  The kids were super excited about hitting the beach "early" on Thursday morning.

These four had a blast the entire weekend.  Day 1 was beautiful!  They had tons of fun tubing, using their boogie boards, digging in the sand, and looking for shells.Unfortunately, Savannah got a bit too much sun. :(  But she didn't let that slow her down.  We enjoyed dinner out Thursday night at a local restaurant.

Silly kids waiting for dinner

Friday we were up and at the beach by 10am.  Again, the kids had a blast playing in the water and sand with their cousins, grandparents, and daddy.  I'm not an ocean kind of girl so I enjoyed my time in the shade of the tent.

Are you ready to coming tubing Papa??

Lunch was really the only time everyone was sitting still together

It's a tradition for the kids to bury Dave in the sand

After of course Preston wanted to be buried too

Friday afternoon a big storm came in so we opted for leftovers for dinner and a Frozen movie night!

We all enjoyed another fun full day on Saturday and took lots of pictures.  Unfortunately our beach time was over, but there's always next year to look forward to. :)

Thank you Grammy and Papa for a super fun weekend at Edisto!

Catching Up with Forever Friends

Two of my favorites, Jessica & Donna

This summer we have already spent A LOT of time at the pool!  The kids have both become pretty good swimmers and both have swim bands.  Preston earned his yellow band this year and Savannah has her green band, which gives her free range of the pool solo.  So anytime I've wanted to catch up with some mommy friends, the pool has been the obvious choice . . . a place where the kids play and we can chat while keeping a watchful eye on the little ones. :)

Last Thursday my sweet friend Jessica, who now lives in Birmingham, came to Charlotte for a visit.  We met at the pool for a fun-filled morning.  It was a blast catching up with her and seeing her "little" ones too.

Hard to believe Jessica, Donna and I were in Bible study together long before any of these kiddos were born

On Friday we were able to spend some quality time with my precious friend Elaine, who just moved to Union county.  I forgot to take a picture of Kailyn and Ethan, but they have grown up too!  Elaine and I are both teachers so it was fun to compare notes and to catch up on life in general.

Savannah, Anna Kate, Preston, and "Baby" Ben

This week the fun started on Monday with a surprise play date at the park with the Marion crew.  Savannah knew that they were back in town (and in the USA for good, well at least for this year) but had no idea we were going to get to see them this week. :)  We drove up to the park and she started screaming "Anna Kate, Anna Kate!"  It was precious.  These four have so missed each other the past 3 years and we're all looking forward to having them back down the street from us.  It was a perfect park day and we enjoyed catching up and then a trip to the library too.

On Wednesday Preston had his friend Hamilton to the pool for a play date.  Savannah happily joined the boys playing and was thrilled when some of her own friends showed up for another play date.  So, these eight kiddos had a blast for over 4 hours at the pool!  Here is a picture of their picnic lunch time. :)

Yesterday we took the Poplin boys to the park for the morning and then ventured to Carowinds while we waited for Daddy to arrive home from Texas.  It was super fun, but we were quite exhausted after such a full day (week) and having to endure 485 traffic.  Yuck!  Dave was very delayed and didn't get home until after 1:15 am!  

We've also had a play date with Miss Jenny and her boys, had the Karhan boys over for an afternoon of fun, and been able to catch up with the Page's in Mebane . . . all in the past week and a half.  It's been a
fun filled time and long, long overdue in catching up with so many friends I love!  The cool thing is that with each of these girls we have picked up right where we left off.  Truly life long friends that I am blessed to have.

Happy 4th of July

For all 3 of them it was their first experience with sparklers!!

We had a super fun day at swim lessons and then the Y pool with our friends the Ezells.  Once Dave was home from work we grilled out burgers and then ventured to Carowinds for the firework show.  What a fun way to start the weekend.  Happy 4th of July!

McAllister's Dinner

Silly kids enjoying their lemonade!

Dave has been working late with month end "festivities".  I received a gift card this week from a student to McAllister's so we took advantage of kids eat free and had dinner out tonight.  Only on special dinners out do they get to enjoy Cheetos with macaroni and cheese for dinner . . . with super sweet lemonade AND teddy grahams.  We just happened to get Daddy's favorite number on our order card.