Four Pounds

Bethany had a check up with the doctor this afternoon. She is doing great. They couldn't hear any wheezing at all. We get to go down another level on the steroids and if she continues to do well she will be completely off of them in 10 days. We are looking foward to that. She has gained four pounds since she got sick. I think a couple of our other kiddos could benefit from a round of steroids....hee hee!

Operation Goobers to Drubers

A few weeks ago, my friend Lori emailed me about planning a midnight trip to Drubers for our 6th graders. For those of you not from this area, Drubers is an all night Donut Shop in Newton. I had never been there but am always up for a fun time. So "Operation Goobers to Drubers" was formed. We both did a great job keeping it a secret from the kids. The surprise might have been on us though, because Lori called me at 11:00 and told me to look outside. We were in a snow storm! That didn't stop us though. So at 11:40, I went downstairs and told the girls (Alli and her friend Anna) that it was time to go. They ran around going nuts trying to find their shoes and really freaked when they saw Frazer's van in the driveway. Good thing we drove separately because in between phone calls to Cade and Colton to try to guess where we were going, they were fixing their hair in the mirror. Girls, girls, girls! They had no idea where we were going but in the end, the two biggest guesses were Cosmic Bowling or a graveyard. I think they were happy with the outcome. Here are a few pics.The girls waiting in line....

This was my imitation of the old V8 commercials where everyone stood diagonal until they drank one. The kids were too young to remember them, but Lori thought I was funny.

Eating their donuts.

We made them pose for some pics afterwards. I'm not sure if Cade was trying to poke Alli in the eye or not. But it sure looks funny. Notice the girls are in their pjs and the boys are still in their band clothes from the field trip to Lindsborg. Gotta love the difference between boys and girls.

"Operation Goobers to Drubers" was a great success. I don't think any of them will forget their first trip anytime soon.

Hospital

Last Thursday night after a couple days of bad asthma, Bethany had the worst attacks she had ever had. She was absolutely terrified and so were we. We rushed her to the ER where we found out that her oxygen level was in the 80s. They admitted her right away, put her on oxygen and began IV steroids, antibiotics and increased her breathing treatments. We were able to wean her off the oxygen yesterday and she was dismissed late this morning. As we pulled away from the hospital, she said, "I think I'm gonna start crying I am so happy." I felt the same way. We are so glad to have her home with the rest of our family. Thank you so much to all the people who helped out with our other kiddos and entertained them during the last 4 days. They experienced everything from pizza parties to sleepovers to softball games and basketball games to a musical in McPherson. It's often during these times of struggle that we are able to see our blessings so clearly.
I'll try to update soon on how Bethany is doing.

Projects

I cannot believe Spring Break is almost over. Why is it that lazy days seem to go by so quickly and school days can drag on? Today was project day at our house. We got a several miscellaneous projects done or part way done.

--I cleaned out the flower beds. Several things I purchased at Stone Creek Nursery on clearance in the fall are coming up. So I am very excited. I also ordered a few things from Michigan Bulb Company. They will be here in mid-April. I definitely do not have a green thumb but I am trying my best.

--Randy dug up several shrubs for his mom. She said she could do it herself and I don't doubt that, but in the end we both agreed it was much more enjoyable watching Randy do it. He was glad to help.

--Alli has been asking us to paint her night stand/bookshelf in her bedroom. We finally got around to it today. She did most of it herself with some help from Mom.It looks great and will look much better in her room now. (It used to be dark brown).

--In the background, you can also see some dresser drawers. Some friends of ours gave us a dresser, so Randy spent some time sanding it. He only got 2 drawers done before he ran out of sandpaper though. We didn't feel like making a trip to town to get more, so it will have to wait. I did get those 2 drawers primed and eventually it will be Crimson Red (KU) and will go in E's room.

--All of these tools in the driveway gave E the itch. So, him and his buddy, Parker decided to build something. The end product...a birdhouse! They used scrap wood and worked very hard most of the afternoon. Here are some pics of them painting it. Once it is completely dry and up in our backyard, I will take some more.

Bethany and Avery spent the day outside with us as well. They rode bikes, did cartwheels and somersaults, dug in the dirt and of course....each of them got to paint their own board. Avery's leg must look a lot like a piece of wood because there was more paint on that than anywhere else.

It feels like summer to us. Slight sunburns (better get back into the sunscreen habit). Lemonade. Bike rides. Water balloons. Trips to Pack Park. What fun! I say we just skip Spring. Summer here we come.

We are the champions

Ethan's Mayb team won the Halstead tournament this past weekend. They did a great job defeating teams from 5A schools (we are 2A).

They all received 1st place medals and the coach got a trophy. Ethan was pretty excited to hold it for the pictures. They are a really fun team to watch. They all play so hard and do a great job of passing the ball to whoever has the best shot.

We are finally on Spring Break. The cousins from Wichita are here and having a great time. I've taken some pics so I will try to post thos later

Music City Hall

Ok, it wasn't really Music City Hall. It was actually Moundridge High School Auditorium, but I don't think Bethany knew the difference. Her Kindergarten music program was actually a few weeks ago, but I just got the pictures off the camera, so I thought I would post about it. Bethany had missed 7 days of school because of her asthma, but thankfully got to go back just in time for her program. After all, she has sat through countless concerts of her older siblings and it was finally her time to shine. And shine she did....they all did!
Enjoy the pics.

Bethany playing her bell part.

The whole Kindergarten class.

Winter Jam 2009

Yesterday afternoon/evening, I took the youth to the Winter Jam 2009 concert in Wichita. It was 100% amazing! We loved it. We left McPherson at 2:30 and met up with the Moundridge youth group and traveled together. We got home just before 11:30 last night. The weather here has been unbelievably warm, up until 2 days ago. We had to stand out in the cold in line for over an hour. Alli took this pic of Lori and I while we were waiting. Don't we look great?



I was thankful to have a little time to take Cell Phone 101 from Lindsey. Now I know how to take pics with my phone.

The wait in the cold was well worth it.....
We got to see pureNRG, Francesca Battistelli, Stephanie Smith, Speaker Tony Nolan, NewSong, Brandon Heath and tobyMac. tobyMac was definitely the fan favorite. He was major high energy..bouncing off of trampolines, crowd surfing and climbing clear to the top of the stage. It was a fantastic concert. Unfortunately, none of my pics from inside turned out, but maybe someone will send me some.

Ethan loved it, but got a little freaked out by the crowd getting in. At one point, he told me he couldn't breathe. I was feeling the same way, so I wasn't much help. Alli had a fever all day Friday, but claimed to be "fine" yesterday. She popped a few motrin during the concert and put a smile on her face, but looked miserable by the time we got home. As you can guess, she was not "fine." She's home with a 102.3 temp today. But, even she says it was worth it!