Noah..."The Cuteness"

 I know I'm biased, but this kid kills me with his cuteness on a daily basis!  After 5 kids, I think I finally started really embracing the toddler age, and just wanted to share a few of his adorable moments.  Like...

...falling asleep wherever he is....

...rockin' the tie...(He just loved it & would have slept with it on probably!)

First day with his new shoes...just couldn't stop touching them, even when he fell asleep!  A year ago, I couldn't get him to keep shoes on, and he wore these all day until I finally convinced him to take them off before bedtime!

Here are 2 videos (sorry the one is sideways...that's what I get for trying to video with a device different from my usual!) 

This is him displaying his hopscotch skills. 

 

The next is him at the Children's Museum.  An assistant saw him having so much fun with stuffed dinosaurs, she mentioned that they had a costume.  Here's how it transformed him...

Myhre family continues to grow!

 Here is an updated picture of the Myhre cousins and how much they've grown.  We realized how much they are growing up when, after we took this picture, noticed that it only took a minute to get the desired picture, and finally, with not a one of them asleep or crying!  (Timing can be attributed, but the fact that most of them are now school-aged, helps quite a bit.)  This is taken at our yearly trip to Lake Cocharan in SD.  Lots of fishing, tubing, swimming, playing and eating & most of all laughing and having a great time together!

 Growing up, I didn't have any sisters and didn't have a girl cousin to play with until I was 13 years old.  Now I have 6 beautiful sister-in-laws, 2 on my side and 4 on Jason's side.  Bridget is our most recent addition with her and Jason's youngest brother, Craig, getting hitched on June 20th.  This picture was taken with Jason's mom, Mary, at a cousin's wedding.  We realized we were all "color coordinated" and it would make a neat picture.  Mom brightens us up in the picture just as she does in life.  So blessed to have so many wonderful sisters in my life and I love every one of them and we all get along like we've spent a lifetime together.

Oh, and speaking of growing family...Teresa & Seth are expecting baby #4!  You can't really see her baby bump because of the black dress (and because she's tiny anyways!), but we know soon there will be a new little Myhre to hold.  Picture L-R:  Teresa, Bridget, Stephanie, Mary, Janice & me.

Reno 911

No, not the show...these are renovations to our home and even though they were not emergencies, they have been projects that had been put aside since we moved in 15 months ago.  Not only did we finally get the time to do them, the desire to tackle home improvement projects has emerged again.  The patio deck was one of the many things I noticed that needed attention when we bought the home, but it's one of those projects that requires the right conditions for it all to work smoothly and quickly.  Fortunately, the weather (and the kids) cooperated well and I was able to get this one tackled in a few days time.

  

 

 The next step will be to re-paint all of the posts...not really excited to dig into that!!

So this unfinished built-in is right in our front entryway, so there's no hiding this.  There were unfinished shelves and it had become the catch-all area for everything I needed handy, but didn't know where to put yet.  My goal was to build it into a bench/basket holding/coat hook hanging area, but as we started to take the shelves off, we realized that it was going to be more work to sand it all down and it really wasn't going to turn out like we wanted, (OK, how I wanted!)  

So after staring at the bare wall for a day, I re-vamped my plans and changed it into an area for my Dad's old buffet cabinet and shifted my organizational wall to the other side of the door, making for a better flow into the living room.  We haven't quite finished making the hanging shelf to put above the bench that we re-claimed from the school. 

Once again, this was a project that consumed more time that originally planned because when we took out the plywood, we discovered that it was glued to the sheetrock.  Well, anyone that knows what happens to sheetrock when you pull off things attached with glue, is that it usually means you have to replace it or patch it.  Luckily it was only on one wall and Jason was able to patch it beautifully so you could never tell what was there before.

Of course, when you uncover things, you find other things that need attention, and in this case, it was unfinished baseboard trim and flooring that didn't go close enough to the wall to be covered by average base trim.  More monkeying around with that, but Jason worked his magic and made it look great.

 

I love the new look and am excited to get the other shelf up before backpacks and coats start piling up as school starts.  Updates to come!

Record setting

It's not one I'm proud of, but I think 2 months between posts is a new record for me.  I must say, the month of May was crazy-insane, and June was spent decompressing from that.  Now that we're in July, it's starting to feel like a summer.

In May, we had the end of school for the kids.  Jason finished his classes for his Masters in Administration, (well, so we thought...his advisor missed one of his classes before Jason's exit interview, so he is in the process of taking that one...last...class.)  He also transitioned out of his Principal job, caught up with scheduling and stuff in his Athletic Director job and now started his Area Faith Director of Religious Education, which is a fancy way of saying he's in charge of catechesis programs for Catholic kids not in Catholic school for the 4 parishes in our area.  He's done this job in the past, but just not for several parishes.  It fits into his schedule better and we are hoping it is something that will work out for a while.  Transition is not always easy.

AJ was cleared for normal activity 4 months after his ACL surgery.  He went through the rehab program wonderfully & he's now working hard with the school strengthening/weight lifting program to get to his top strength.  Even though his knee is as strong as the other, he was told that even the good one is lacking in strength, so to protect from further possible injuries, he needs to work on certain muscles that protect his ACL.  (That information would have been beneficial to me back before I had 3 ACL surgeries myself!)  He is looking forward to football season, which will be here before you know it!

Laney has been busy immersing herself in books, time with SuzyCat and friends.  She is mesmerized with cooking shows and has taken many opportunities to cook meals.  Yesterday morning she made pancakes from scratch and used fresh blueberries to make smiley faces in them.  She definitely has a creative side and I love to see that come out in her cooking.  If I need anything artsy, I just call on her.  She also blesses us often with her piano playing.

Faith is right where AJ left off regarding sports and activities.  She went to an FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) basketball camp, played softball, and has volleyball camp this week.  She enjoys spending most of her time playing with friends or being at the pool.  Her tan lines can prove that!  Both girls also attended a week-long girls camp at Schoenstatt.  It involves spending time with the Sisters there and growing in friendships and faith.  Many of their friends from church and school went as well, and they made new friends and connected with old ones.  It's a camp that I think they will continue to be long-involved with and I really like that.

Ian is also a busy bee and will be a go-getter like Jason.  When he's not with Jason when he's playing for the Mudhens, he's either hitting or throwing a ball.  I joke that he would sleep on the baseball field if I let him...he never tires of being out on the diamond!  He never misses an opportunity to be at any of the home games, and is usually there from the moment Jason gets there to get ready (usually and hour or 2 before the game) until the last light goes out (usually an hour after a 3-hour game).  When most people are tired and ready to go home, he's out there running the bases and sliding into home.  Of course he played on his own team, but they didn't get any games in with other teams, so he probably got more experience playing with the Mudhens during practice.  He also, like Faith, enjoys playing with friends and being at the pool.

Noah is starting to come out of his shell and finally let me leave his side at the last ECFE class.  He enjoys going to the pool, but doesn't get too wet yet.  He finally started putting his face in and blowing bubbles and doesn't completely lose it when he gets water splashed on his head.  He loves being around Daddy and has enjoyed just-the-boys fishing trips.  He actually caught the biggest fish the last trip.  He loves playing with his brothers, but they usually get crazy and he ends up getting hurt, so he usually plays with Faith.  She has a great imagination and they can play for hours.

I have been trying to keep up with these 6 and still find some time to clean and have some quiet reflection and prayer time.  I need both to keep me somewhat sane.  With Jason's new job, we needed a little income to replace, so an opportunity came up for me to help part-time with the preschool program for the upcoming school year.  This will be the first paying job for me since I left my vet tech job over 10 years ago.  I have certainly kept busy with volunteer opportunities, but they don't require resumes, applications and interviews.  It has been months of discerning God's will for me and He has definitely put the pieces together for us.  It hasn't always been easy waiting for Him to open up doors, but the peace that comes from allowing Him to present His gifts to us is so rewarding. 

Noah will have one more year at home before he starts preschool, so this opportunity filled my desire of being able to work but not have to put him into daycare.  Jason's new job gives him the flexibility to work from home, so we will be at home in the mornings while I work.  I will be home by lunch time and after that, he will start his workday at the public school.  Since his AD job has him working mostly afternoons and evenings, this shift in jobs and schedules will work out nicely, (at least it looks like it will on paper!  We'll see how this year goes!)  But, either way, we trust that this is the path that God has put us on for now and we look forward to starting a new school year...that is, after we enjoy the last few weeks of summer!

Grandma's job

The other day, Faith and I were walking toward home from the high school with Jason's parents, since they live just 2 houses down.  Mom is a construction manager for a business that will be working on the school this summer.  I asked her when they will get started and we were talking about it.  Faith then asked her, "Grandma, what do you do?"  She explained to Faith, "Well, I set up bids for commercial buildings, write up estimates, and if we get the bid, I oversee the contractors and organize the scheduling and keep the project moving forward."  (That might not be what she said word-for-word, but the point is that she went on explaining in great detail all that she does as a construction manager.)  After all that, Faith replied, "So Grandma, you make commercials??"  I'm still laughing.

Time flies when you marry a courageous heart!

It's been 17 years since I married my soul mate.  He's taken me on so many adventures and he managed to make our anniversary day one as well!

Saturday morning he said he felt like he was getting a chest cold and I was wondering if he was going to make it to the special concert that AJ & Laney were a part of in another town.  (They were chosen by their band teacher to be in Honor Band, where they meet with kids from other area schools and learn some songs to play together for a one-day event.  AJ is in percussion & Laney plays clarinet.)  He figured he would be fine to make it to that.

Later that morning, he rode his bike down to the baseball field to make sure the high school tournament started ok.  On his way back, he felt more pressure in his chest.  With the history of heart issues in his family, and from past experiences from people we know, we wanted to make sure something more serious wasn't going on.  So, he decided that I should go up to see the kids in Honor Band while he went to the doctor.  He left and just as I was ready to head out the door, he came back in & said, "I think you better take me...it's getting worse."

So we left Faith with the 2 younger boys and headed to the ER.  On the way, he complained that his chest hurt and that it ached into his shoulders.  "Here we go," I thought to myself, "here come the heart issues!"  I called the ER to let them know we were coming and about the time we got into Marshall, he tells me, "I'm starting to sweat...You better hurry!  I'm getting dizzy...now my vision is getting blurry."  And then he scared me when he looked me right in the eyes, with fear in his own, and said, "I love you."  I just thought, "Oh no you don't!  You're not saying going anywhere!" and I just tried to get him to breathe and relax.

I'm now dealing with street lights and a situation that's getting worse.  I pulled up the ER door and ran inside to get a nurse and a wheelchair.  Now my adrenaline was going because I started to feel shaky, but we were at the hospital, so I felt much better.  He felt better as soon as we got him in the ER, and in hindsight, we guess he was so uncomfortable from the car ride and also nervous, that his symptoms in the car were from the ride making his pain worse.

They hooked him up to EKG and the monitors to check heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen levels, and all were pretty normal.  They put an IV catheter in and took all of the precautions of someone with his family history presenting with chest pain.  They did an x-ray and based on the tests ran, they diagnosed him with pericarditis, which is inflammation of the sac around the heart.  All of his symptoms correlated to that as well.  We were very grateful that no signs of heart attack were present.

He was sent home on anti-inflammatory meds and a schedule of resting.  The rest of that day was pretty uncomfortable for him.  Pericarditis makes it painful and difficult to breathe because the heart "rubs" on the adjacent body parts.  Lying reclined makes it even more uncomfortable, so resting as prescribed is easier said than done.  How can you rest and relax when you can't lay down??  So our Saturday was spent trying to keep him comfortable and resting while the kids ran around. 

To make things more stressed, he started developing a fever later that afternoon....a sign of infection that can get serious quickly.  I called the ER to ask if I should bring him in and they had me give him some Tylenol and monitor his temperature.  They were ok with it getting up to 103 degrees.  I, on the other hand, was not.  After just reading the discharge sheet, remembering a conversation with the nurse in the ER, and reading online info, a fever over 100.5 was reason enough to go back to the ER.  Well his got up to 101.  I was willing to meet in the middle, and when/if it hit 102, I would be taking him in.  Thankfully, the fever leveled off at 101, and just before bedtime, it subsided and we both were able to relax and get some rest.  I knew he was resting well when he started snoring.

Each day he has gotten much better and we will know more when the results from his ECG (ultrasound) come back today or tomorrow.  It's one of those conditions that comes up suddenly, and the causes vary.  It is treated based on the symptoms and concerns arise if it doesn't improve or continues to reoccur.  Even though he is starting to feel normal again, he has orders to refrain from physical exertion for at least 2 weeks when they will recheck his blood work for signs of inflammation. 

We are not sure what will become of all of this, but what we do know is that we are thankful for the outcome so far.  We are grateful, (as serious as the condition is), that it didn't turn out more serious as other heart conditions can be.  For now, we continue to trust in the Lord in our lives and thank Him for the gift of life and our time together on this earth, for too many of us know how quickly it can change.

On that day, I was especially grateful for the opportunity to have family close, (Jason's mom went over to get the kids when we knew we'd be in the ER for a while), that we have a hospital close by, for the anniversary lunch date we had when we left the ER, and for understanding kids that realize how important their Daddy is.  I am grateful also to a gracious God who allows me opportunities to recognize what's important each day.

 

Appointments!

I realized the other day how many appointments I have been running to when the receptionist asked me (while scheduling his 6 year exam), if Ian had his 5 year exam.  Don't they have records for that kind of question?  Seriously, with 5 kids and myself to keep track of, between the doctor, dentist, a pediatric dentist, orthodontist, chiropractor, physical therapist, and orthopedic surgeons, not to mention lab appointments & radiology, I struggle to remember who is due for what.  Thank you to those who send reminders and give phone calls! 

My calendar has become a rotational schedule of certain appointments at certain times of the year, and don't forget about "No school" days!  Let's pack them all into one day so we don't have to disrupt the "after school schedule", but find a way to completely wear everybody's mood down to a "aww, do I have to?"  I don't think I'll do that again.  I spent 4 hours of my day running them back and forth from home to the dentist's office, and then came home to hungry, tired kids and a messy house!

Let's just say that I let Jason schedule his own appointments...