Brent's surgery

We're home from the surgery center and Brent's doing great! The doctor said he removed several polyps and opened the sinus cavities again, and that he was pleased with how the surgery went. Praise God! Brent's pretty sore and will stay nice and drugged up for the next few days while he recovers. He's already feeling good about the surgery--one of the first things he said when he woke up is "I can't believe I can breathe through my nose!" I think he'll be a new man in the next few weeks--he's battled sinus issues forever!

THANK YOU for the kind words and encouragement!! I'll keep you posted on his progress over the weekend.

Brent's surgery

Brent is having sinus surgery tomorrow (Friday)! Please be praying. I'll update as soon as we're home.

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day! The weather is gorgeous here in Wichita, so hopefully the kids and I can hang out outside tonight.

In honor of Earth Day, Reynolds Wrap is doing a rebate offer for a free roll of their recycled aluminum foil. It's only available today, so be sure to visit their site to sign up! Visit: http://www.reynoldsrecycled.com/promotions.html

Circus!

We took Sophie to the circus on Saturday! She LOVED the first half. The trapeze artists and pony riders had her full attention--she kept yelling "My turn! Sophie's turn!" We got her a light-up "wand" that she's in love with.

At intermission she got to ride an elephant and a pony, and LOVED them both. Brent rode the elephant with her, and he's been complaining that he "pulled something"...I guess he's not used to doing the splits?!

We've been talking about clowns in her books, and were so glad she wasn't afraid of them at the circus! She shook their hands and talked to them like it was no big deal.

We left at intermission and went outside to see the elephants. They had just gotten bags of apples for lunch, and it was interesting to watch them eat them!

We took Sophie to Smashburger for lunch, which opened recently. It was good! (I swear I saw Saddam Hussein and James Blunt while I was there...but that's another post for another day...)

When we got home we played outside and had ice cream. We found out that the boys LOVE ice cream cones!! We stripped them down on the patio before bringing them inside for a bath. :-)

Easter Weekend Pictures

I didn't buy any Peeps this year! I can't believe it! I did find the time to cut the boys' hair, however...and it's NOT my best work. I used the clippers this time, and got it WAY too close. Brent likes it! Ever the military mindset. :-)

We started off the weekend at the zoo for the Easter festivities. The kids got to see the Easter bunny!

And the gorillas...

Then Dad and Louise got into town and we played outside. Blake loves to go down the slide by himself, and has done it a hundred times. Of course when Grandma and Grandpa are watching, he split his lip open!! Earlier in the day Sophie fell on the patio and scraped her hand. Poor kids!!

We decorated eggs (stickers on plastic eggs for this year!):

The kids loved opening their Easter gifts! Check out the new balls and jammies from Grandma & Grandpa!

Aunt Kelly came over later and brought baskets of goodies, too. Notice the boys' mouths FULL of fruit snacks??

Here is proof that he really DOES love to go down the slide by himself! (He might need some chiropractic care, though...) He gets mad if you try to help him--Mr. Independent!!

Mommy's turn!

I've had a sore throat since Sunday, and figured by yesterday it would let up. Last night it started feeling like a stabbing pain around my left tonsil, so I went to see the doctor. It turns out I have a bad ear infection! Who would have thought?? I don't know if I've ever had an ear infection in my life! Do you think this is God's way of keeping me compassionate towards Graham and his ear problems?

We're looking forward to celebrating Easter with Dad & Louise this weekend. I'll be posting Easter pictures of the kids!

HAPPY EASTER!!!!

Chairs that stay put!

I made the mistake of pulling a chair over to the counter ONE time so Sophie could stand on it and help me prepare dinner. She taught this skill to her brothers, and it's been a chair roller-derby at our house ever since. Sophie and Blake managed to get the child safety cap off of the flouride chewables recently (in the short span of Graham's diaper change), and after a call to Poison Control Brent and I realized we needed to nip this chair-scooting in the bud. (For those interested, a 2 1/2 year old needs to ingest approximately 60 flouride chewables before it's a real danger.)

So....here's our solution. See the bungee cords? Not pretty, but it does the trick.

Sick X 3!

Graham shared his sickness with Blake and Sophie! Niiiice. Fevers all around. My friend Stacy came over tonight to hold sick babies with me, and she brought me dinner. AWESOME!!! Here she is holding Sophie--Sophie was trying to hide from the camera's flash. Stacy thought Sophie's toes were cold, so she had her feet tucked up in her nightgown. It was too cute!

I found a great fruit dip recipe that I have to share!

CREAMY ORANGE FRUIT DIP

6 oz. can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1 1/2 cups cold milk

1 package (3.5 oz) vanilla pudding mix

1/4 cup sour cream

Whisk together first three ingredients for two minutes. Let stand 2-3 minutes until soft-set, then whisk in sour cream. Chill until ready to serve (at least 4 hours).

YUM!! Tastes like an Orange Julius, but creamier...Heaven! I can testify that it's great on strawberries, and I bet it would be great on angel food cake or pound cake, too.

Snow Pics!

The "Spring Blizzard" (don't you love the hype media gives weather??) arrived in Wichita last weekend, and the boys got their first real snow experience. Note the "boots" on the boys...the bags are held on by Sophie's stretchy headbands. I should have taken some video and added a little Flashdance music. The hats totally make up for the footwear fashion faux pas, though, don't they?? BEST...HATS...EVER!!!

The sun had come out and made the snow nice and heavy. Brent made the kids a great snowman! Complete with "two eyes made out of coal"!

UNRELATED (hopefully), Graham and I spent the evening Monday at Urgent Care because he wouldn't stop crying and seemed really hot. I worried it was one of his ear tubes giving him fits, so I wanted it checked out before nighttime. I figured it would be a quick visit, so I didn't even grab the diaper bag--just a sippy cup of water for him. (Wow, hindsight really is 20/20...) FOUR HOURS (and a strep test, blood workup, urine sample--that's an interesting story in itself--two chest x-rays and a breathing treatment) LATER, they determined that he has pneumonia. He's not coughing and never did register a fever, so his diagnosis kind of freaks me out! His blood work came back showing an infection and his oxygen levels were a little low (which I chalked up to the fact that any time someone acted like they were going to touch him and take him away from his mommy he broke down in hysterics, so by the time they got to the oxygen level test he'd practically hyperventilated). We see the doctor again next week.