The saga of sickness continues in our family. Andrew had strep, and we soon found out that he also has mono. I took him back to the doctor when I saw that he wasn't getting better, and his tonsils looked like cherries with cream cheese on them. ;-) I know, TMI!! Cherries is how the doctor described them, and once they were covered in pus, Andrew added the cream cheese description. Ha! Anyway, if that wasn't enough, he's now got a rash covering the top half of his body. So we may be seeing the doctor yet again!
When the doctor looked at his tonsils, his face definitely revealed shock. He told me they were some of the worst he's ever seen ... and then proceeded to tell me that he should have them out. So, once he's recovered some from the mono, we'll be going to the throat doctor. Our appointment is in six weeks.
Ashlee came down with the 24 hour stomach flu yesterday, but looks like she's on the mend. Shaun, me, and Jessie have escaped the lurking illnesses so far. Many families in our church are struggling too, so I'm guessing it's just a really bad flu season. Just another reason to be anxious for spring to get here! :-)
Oh yes, and let's not forget my brother, Larry, who had to have his appendix out today. I'm sure he'll be fine, especially since he'll be getting all that beloved morphine that he's so fond of. Ha! Get well soon, Uncle Larry!!!
Well, other than taking care of sickos, not much is new. I'm learning what it means to be a secretary, and more importantly, what it means to be a servant. Not just in secretarial duties, but in all areas of life. :-)
Hope you all are staying well.
Much love,
~PrairieBren
"If you can't make it better, you can laugh at it." Erma Bombeck
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Odds and Ends
The new pictures are just some odds and ends of some of the recent happenings around our household. Don't forget to look at the bottom of the page also. Most of them are from New Years Eve. We had quite the little party over here at my house. Since we didn't eat turkey for Thanksgiving OR Christmas, and Shaun's employer gives us a free turkey every year, I decided to put a New Years Eve party on -- with turkey! Hannah's family came, along with her friend, Amanda, as did Jim and Jeanine. After the big dinner, Jim and Shaun had a nice time catching up, while the rest of us played Pictionary. I don't think I've had that much fun in a long, long time! There's no better way to get crazy than to play Pictionary. ;-)
Meanwhile, Andrew, aka Wendy, has been really ill all week. I took him to the doctor today and he was diagnosed with strep, an ear infection, and a possible sinus infection. So he is one sick puppy! He's now on a hefty antibiotic that should start working by tomorrow afternoon. FYI, the picture with him and the Wendy hair was taken by Jessie with her cell phone -- at Wendy's, of course. That's what you call true fans! ;-)
Hope all is well with all my readers. Until next time, stay warm and healthy.
~PrairieBren
P.S. We are thankful new owners of a low mile, great running car! Woohooooo!!!
Meanwhile, Andrew, aka Wendy, has been really ill all week. I took him to the doctor today and he was diagnosed with strep, an ear infection, and a possible sinus infection. So he is one sick puppy! He's now on a hefty antibiotic that should start working by tomorrow afternoon. FYI, the picture with him and the Wendy hair was taken by Jessie with her cell phone -- at Wendy's, of course. That's what you call true fans! ;-)
Hope all is well with all my readers. Until next time, stay warm and healthy.
~PrairieBren
P.S. We are thankful new owners of a low mile, great running car! Woohooooo!!!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Cars In Crisis
The day after the Dodge decided to die, Ashlee's car decided to die - for good! And so the crisis of the cars continues. It makes for an interesting life, trying to tote five people around to their various schedules with one car, that's for sure! :-) Actually, we've rented a car to take some of the panicky feeling away while we decide what to do next (what to buy, if we should buy). At any rate, I'm sure the situation will be resolved shortly. And if not, you'll be seeing a lot more blogging going on here, since I will be confined to my house. ;-) On the brighter side ... I now know how to properly tow a vehicle.
Meanwhile, I am trying to get accustomed to being the new secretary for our Pastor. Our current secretary is moving out of state in a little over a week, so I'll officially be on my own very soon. I am internet savvy, but not so much computer savvy, so there's lots to be learned! Thankfully, I can do all the duties from home. So far, I'm enjoying learning new things, and I love being able to help. The fact that the job lets me stay at home is such a blessing, because it allows me to continue home schooling Andrew, and stay faithful to everything and everyone here at the homestead. In other words, I can still hold the fort down!
I've read two books recently, both of which hit on a subject that was beneficial to me and where I am in life right now. Unfortunately, I'm out of time. But, I promise to come back very soon with some gold nuggets that I retrieved from the books. Maybe even later tonight.
Hope you are all doing well, and that your new year has gotten off to a splendid start! More to come, and hopefully with some pictures. I've wanted to post pictures, but my computer just rebels every time I try. That should be fixed and up to par here very soon also ... so stay tuned.
Much love, prayers, and warm fuzzies to you all! ;-)
~PrairieBren
Meanwhile, I am trying to get accustomed to being the new secretary for our Pastor. Our current secretary is moving out of state in a little over a week, so I'll officially be on my own very soon. I am internet savvy, but not so much computer savvy, so there's lots to be learned! Thankfully, I can do all the duties from home. So far, I'm enjoying learning new things, and I love being able to help. The fact that the job lets me stay at home is such a blessing, because it allows me to continue home schooling Andrew, and stay faithful to everything and everyone here at the homestead. In other words, I can still hold the fort down!
I've read two books recently, both of which hit on a subject that was beneficial to me and where I am in life right now. Unfortunately, I'm out of time. But, I promise to come back very soon with some gold nuggets that I retrieved from the books. Maybe even later tonight.
Hope you are all doing well, and that your new year has gotten off to a splendid start! More to come, and hopefully with some pictures. I've wanted to post pictures, but my computer just rebels every time I try. That should be fixed and up to par here very soon also ... so stay tuned.
Much love, prayers, and warm fuzzies to you all! ;-)
~PrairieBren
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Two Damsels, One Dodge In Distress
On my way home from getting Jessie from school today, our Dodge truck finally gave up the ghost. At least the transmission did. I pulled up to a stop light. It was red, so I stopped. At the green signal, I gave it the gas, and it gave me a few sputters forward, but that's all I could get out of it.
"You've got to be kidding me," Jessie said, and snickered.
"Not kidding," I replied, pressing on the gas, begging Big Red to move forward. He wouldn't budge.
I tried to pull off the side of the road as best I could, but I didn't get far. With a trembling hand, I searched for the emergency flashers and finally found them. My first thought was how in the world I could get the truck off the road. I didn't see a way without more help. As usual, the first person that came to mind was my sister-in-law, Hannah! She was gracious enough to come to my rescue, and she showed up with one daughter with wet hair (who was kind enough not to scowl at me for abruptly putting an end to her shower), another daughter who was pretty bored with being there, and the baby that she provides daycare for.
We quickly decided that it would be best to at least try and get the truck off the road, so Jessie and Hannah pushed while I steered. I was able to get it mostly to the side, although I was sure that if a policeman drove up, I'd be in trouble. Next thing was to figure out how we'd get Big Red home. I called Shaun and asked about a tow rope. Lo and behold, we had one in the back of the truck (go figure). So Hannah and I went to the back of the truck, picked up the rope, and said, "Now what do we do with it?" This is the problem with always having your husband along when you break down. All the women stand around and giggle while the men hook up the truck, and the women never learn how accomplish these tasks! :-)
Next obvious thing was to call someone with some knowledge about tow ropes ... and hope they were home. Shaun and Ricardo were at work, so there was no help there. Shaun's dad, Jim, was the obvious choice, and he had just gotten home (whew!).
"Brenda's truck broke down and we have a tow rope, but we don't know how to hook it up," Hannah said over the phone.
I thought that was the worst thing she could have said ... but at least she was honest. ;-)
"Maybe I should watch you hook it up this time, so that next time, I'll know what I'm doing," she went on, chuckling. After talking a few more minutes, she hung up and reported that Jim was on his way to get us.
"He said he would be more than willing to come rescue us two damsel's in distress," she relayed, laughing.
Disgusted, I said, "I'd rather he come get this damdodgeindistress."
We looked at each other, wide eyed. But the hilarity of the statement was too much, and we went into yet another laughing fit. You know, the kind of laughing fit that only women in times of stress can have.
Jim arrived to relieve us damsels, and hooked the two trucks together in no time with his handy dandy chain. He would drive his truck, and I would steer Big Red.
"I've done this before, Jim, but it's been a really long time."
"You're going to be the breaks for us. Just make sure you keep the chain taut," he instructed. "It can be a hair raising experience, that's for sure."
He turned and walked away.
I assumed that was my refresher course.
My main fear was breaking what I knew to be precious to Jim - his tow chain. However, I was able to keep the chain taut, except for that one incident ... I think I kept it a little too taut, which may have resulted in a little whiplash.
Needless to say, we made it home in good time, and I will be forever grateful to Hannah and Jim who were willing to drop everything and come to my rescue. Thanks, guys!
The ridiculousness of the whole incident is in the conversation I had with Shaun before he left for work today.
"Maybe you should take Ashlee to work with her car, go get Jessie, and then you could go get Ashlee from work tonight," Shaun suggested.
With the plans I had for this evening, that wasn't going to be very convenient, so I decided (with his blessing) to go ahead and take the truck. We knew it had a transmission problem (it wouldn't go in reverse), but it had been driving forward just fine.
"Chances are that you'll be fine. But it could happen that the whole transmission will go out."
"Well," I said sarcastically, "you know that if the truck breaks down, it will be with me!"
Sigh ... If I could only stuff those words back into my mouth. ;-)
~PrairieBren
"You've got to be kidding me," Jessie said, and snickered.
"Not kidding," I replied, pressing on the gas, begging Big Red to move forward. He wouldn't budge.
I tried to pull off the side of the road as best I could, but I didn't get far. With a trembling hand, I searched for the emergency flashers and finally found them. My first thought was how in the world I could get the truck off the road. I didn't see a way without more help. As usual, the first person that came to mind was my sister-in-law, Hannah! She was gracious enough to come to my rescue, and she showed up with one daughter with wet hair (who was kind enough not to scowl at me for abruptly putting an end to her shower), another daughter who was pretty bored with being there, and the baby that she provides daycare for.
We quickly decided that it would be best to at least try and get the truck off the road, so Jessie and Hannah pushed while I steered. I was able to get it mostly to the side, although I was sure that if a policeman drove up, I'd be in trouble. Next thing was to figure out how we'd get Big Red home. I called Shaun and asked about a tow rope. Lo and behold, we had one in the back of the truck (go figure). So Hannah and I went to the back of the truck, picked up the rope, and said, "Now what do we do with it?" This is the problem with always having your husband along when you break down. All the women stand around and giggle while the men hook up the truck, and the women never learn how accomplish these tasks! :-)
Next obvious thing was to call someone with some knowledge about tow ropes ... and hope they were home. Shaun and Ricardo were at work, so there was no help there. Shaun's dad, Jim, was the obvious choice, and he had just gotten home (whew!).
"Brenda's truck broke down and we have a tow rope, but we don't know how to hook it up," Hannah said over the phone.
I thought that was the worst thing she could have said ... but at least she was honest. ;-)
"Maybe I should watch you hook it up this time, so that next time, I'll know what I'm doing," she went on, chuckling. After talking a few more minutes, she hung up and reported that Jim was on his way to get us.
"He said he would be more than willing to come rescue us two damsel's in distress," she relayed, laughing.
Disgusted, I said, "I'd rather he come get this damdodgeindistress."
We looked at each other, wide eyed. But the hilarity of the statement was too much, and we went into yet another laughing fit. You know, the kind of laughing fit that only women in times of stress can have.
Jim arrived to relieve us damsels, and hooked the two trucks together in no time with his handy dandy chain. He would drive his truck, and I would steer Big Red.
"I've done this before, Jim, but it's been a really long time."
"You're going to be the breaks for us. Just make sure you keep the chain taut," he instructed. "It can be a hair raising experience, that's for sure."
He turned and walked away.
I assumed that was my refresher course.
My main fear was breaking what I knew to be precious to Jim - his tow chain. However, I was able to keep the chain taut, except for that one incident ... I think I kept it a little too taut, which may have resulted in a little whiplash.
Needless to say, we made it home in good time, and I will be forever grateful to Hannah and Jim who were willing to drop everything and come to my rescue. Thanks, guys!
The ridiculousness of the whole incident is in the conversation I had with Shaun before he left for work today.
"Maybe you should take Ashlee to work with her car, go get Jessie, and then you could go get Ashlee from work tonight," Shaun suggested.
With the plans I had for this evening, that wasn't going to be very convenient, so I decided (with his blessing) to go ahead and take the truck. We knew it had a transmission problem (it wouldn't go in reverse), but it had been driving forward just fine.
"Chances are that you'll be fine. But it could happen that the whole transmission will go out."
"Well," I said sarcastically, "you know that if the truck breaks down, it will be with me!"
Sigh ... If I could only stuff those words back into my mouth. ;-)
~PrairieBren
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