I wanted to update everyone on Bill's leg. So far, he has had no real progress. He fell again on Sunday because he rolled his ankle. He came home swollen and had to ice it down. He will be seeing a neurologist on Thursday to do some further testing. It has pretty much been decided that it is the peroneal nerve that is being pinched. It just hasn't been determined exactly where or why. So that is what we are set to find out. We're so grateful that he has insurance as of June. He has been without for six years. God has really blessed in the timing of all of this. I cannot imagine if he were still trying to do tile and we didn't have any insurance to help with this. God's timing is perfect.
Meanwhile, he continues to practice swinging with the clubs he's settled on to continue with and keep preparing for the PAT's on August 4 in Moses Lake, barring any immediate surgeries, etc. God knows. We've also discovered that flip-flops do not work for him, since his foot only flops and has lost it's flip.
Family Updates
For a summer that had virtually nothing planned, boy has it been busy! We made a trip to my grandma's at the end of June (pictures already posted in an earlier post) to celebrate her 79th birthday and meet my dad for a little fishing with the boys. She lives on the Cascade Resevoir in Donnelly on a beautiful peninsula. The water was so high this year, that their "beach" was completely submerged, so we fished from the dock and went swimming at another part of the lake. It is always such a peaceful and restful place to go. I always feel like I'm staying at a posh resort for free. Where else can you sit in a big wooden chair on the deck, overlooking the lake, with your favorite book; have grandma's cooking; laugh 'til your sides hurt; go to bed early; and sleep in late? This visit brought a special treat as my Aunt Renee and cousins David and Hannah came up from Arizona. I hadn't seen them in about eight years, and David and Hannah are all grown up. We had a great visit!
I brought my brother Casey back with me for a week and a half and enjoyed some time with him. We did a little bit of driving lessons and had a great time!
THEN, we took Casey back to Springfield, Oregon, and spent a few days there. On the way, Casey and I hiked with all the boys to the top of Multnomah Falls. We usually stop there to stretch a little and sometimes hike to the bridge. But we'd never been to the top. It is only a mile up, but it is all uphill. It took about 2 hours to go up and back, but it was beautiful and very worth it. At the top the boys played in a creek for a while and cooled up before we headed back down.
In Springfield, we did our traditional visit to one of their city's indoor water parks, did a little yard-saling, and played lots of Facebook Scramble together. The biggest thing we did, though, was help start their VBS week. Mom and dad's church doesn't have a building, so they have to do their VBS in a park. Every night, they bring a U-haul to the park and unload and set up all their supplies and tear it all down at the end of the night. They have an amazing team, and it was really fun to work with all of them and witness their teamwork and excitement for what God is doing in their neighborhoods. This is the church that Bill and I have gone and done some small group training with, so we feel very connected with their growth and progress. I helped with registration the two nights I was there, and had a great time. They busted their attendance goal. The really cool thing is that the 5th and 6th grade class was the biggest. That is usually the age that VBS is becoming "uncool", but these kids just kept coming. Every one of them will be a middle-schooler next year. So God is really doing something there. (I'm going to post more pictures of it later.)
We came home, spent one night, and then headed up to Riley Creek between Sandpoint and Priest River to camp with Bill's parents for a couple of nights. It was nice to just have some time to sit and read. They boys went swimming while I sat and read. The boys practiced skateboarding moves while I sat by the road and read. The boys went to the playground to play while I sat and read. So nice. We also had great fun making s'mores each night.Finally Home!
So this week, I've finally been tackling the house projects that have been left behind. I finished re-doing my patio furniture...and now really LOVE to sit out there. Hey! I even like to just look out the window and see it. It has been so long since I just did something creative - or sewed! It gives me a great since of accomplishment. I love the rustic, wood interior of our home, but sometimes wish I had a way to add more color. So I decided to start outside. :D I resigned any ambitions this year of a garden, and decided to settle for things I could maintain in individual pots. I'm really proud of my flowers, though. Even with all the trips, I haven't killed anything yet! (Well, others have helped me water when I've been gone, so It's not all me. :D)
Before Pics:
After Pics:
About Those Kids
So a little summer update about all the kiddos:
ClaytonYou would never, ever know that Clayton was the smallest baby in the nursery. This kids is solid and getting bigger everyday. Last week we went and bought shoes...or was it a couple of weeks before...or, I know, it was BOTH! Good grief! He is built like his Papa Dan and could go against any beanpole twice his height. He also has really made our hearts pound this summer as his consciences seems to be awakening. It makes us so proud to see him come back and admit when he's blown it, and apologize on his own. Wow! He also has an affinity for driving. But for now, he'll have to settle for the riding mower - which he does with joy! I never thought it could be so easy to get some chores done around here. Ha! Ha! This morning he got up, got dressed, asked if he could please mow, mowed the whole yard, put away the mower, and then even closed up the garage. Then he sheepishly came in and grinned through his comments about loving to drive. He purchased and electric guitar with his birthday money, and his mom really needs to spend more time working with him on that. :P He also used the rest of his birthday money to put with four other bikes and trade them all in for a Redline. He is very proud of it, and has been biking most everywhere - when he's not skateboarding. It's really good to see him out and active like that.
RileyRiley ended up with three stitches last month after simply running by something metal and catching his knee on it. He did fine with all the recovery, but did end up helping the doctor by pulling one of the stitches out himself. He said it just needed done because it was already loose and that part had already scabbed over. His latest thing is "body art". Often when I come upstairs in the morning, he has already piled his hair full of some goop and sculpted it into a "fauxhawk" or something similar. If he gets bored, I often find him drawing on his brothers' legs, arms, stomaches, etc. In a recent "Upwards" game, he asked the meaning of "mellow", to which Aunt Michelle replied, "The opposite of Riley." He grinned a little and said, "You mean, like, calm." When we played "Whoonu", Riley declared that his favorite thing ever was microwaves. Who knew? Aunt Michelle also overheard a bathtime conversation where he and Ian were re-playing a Spiderman 3 scene with their newly gifted-by-Uncle-Taylor-Marvel characters. Ian (playing Spiderman) asked Sandman (played by Riley) why he had to rob a bank to pay for his daughter's medical care. Why couldn't he just write a check. Sandman (aka Riley) tried to explain that you can't just write a check when you don't have any money. That would be wrong. (But somehow robbing the bank was better?) Riley amazes us at "Boggle". He finds words that others don't see and never mispells them. He never sees the three letter words. Just the long ones. He still loves music, and has finally asked me to start teaching him piano. YEAH!
IanI still miss his hair. What can I say? I really hope it grows fast. We went to the local BMX track yesterday, and Ian was able to get his newer bike all the way around the track and over all the jumps by himself. He was really proud! He is also a bit particular. He will only wear his BMX helmet for biking and will only wear his multi-purpose helmet for skating. He is amazing on a skateboard for such a little tike. He rarely falls, can turn in a full circle, do an ollie, flip the board off his feet and land on it. He is our boy who goes through stages, and fully immerses in each one. Right now we are between skateboards and the new Marvel action figures from Uncle Taylor. I love watching his creativity and role-play.
HaydenHayden rode his bike all the way home from Aunt Michelle and Uncle Jonathan's house last night...with Aunt Michelle. He is getting so big. He is built like Clayton - solid as a rock. He is still definitely the baby and likes his hugs and snuggles. He is going through a horrible scream-to-get-my-way stage right now, so that isn't a lot of fun. But in the meantime, his freckles just make your heart swell. We're sure he sprouts a couple of new ones each night. He really likes to draw letters right now. His mom should really work with him some more on that. He is always drawing a bunch of letters and asking me what it spells. Usually it doesn't spell a thing, but occasionally, he'll luck out and spell something like "ham." It is very exciting. :D
We're enjoying having Taylor home for the summer. He's hung around a lot and even taken the nephews on outings. We went huckleberry picking together last weekend. In his honor, we had a big family game night last weekend as well. There is nothing like laughing with my brothers...unless it is laughing with my dad and his sisters. Oh, gracious, they're all nuts!Well, it's 1:15 a.m., and I'm finally finishing this...which is why I haven't gotten around to it much lately. :P
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