Year 2, Days 261-264: Happenings, Part 2

Friday and Saturday, September 22nd and 23rd, 2017

The first two days of fall and it's 90 degrees outside.  Figures, Indian summer in Indiana.  And that's why I haven't touch the winter clothes yet to switch them out.  In fact, we got the pool back out today to play with.  We did go out on Friday, but otherwise, it felt good to stay home for two full days catching up on cleaning and preparing for a busy Sunday and a regular week ahead.

Everybody got a room and to clean up toys and do some deep vacuuming.  I vacuumed a lot around the edges. 

Doing chores outside, like brushing the dog while checking clash of cans.

Tomatoes that won't turn red!

"I get you, 'Niah!"  Abishai has come up with a new nickname for Benaiah, Niah!"

Got 'em!

Funny: Justin made the mix in the same pan as he was going to use to back it.  So, I put the batter in a bowl, cleaned the pan and re sprayed it.  And look!  It came out perfectly!

Sleepy,  lazy teenager.

Justin wanted to make his own version of a cake block Mincraft.

Happy 12th birthday (Justing!)

We are going to the see Ninango Lego movie tomorrow with his friends as the big treat from us.  but I'm glad Justin enjoys making his own baked goods!

Cool box was exposed again so the kids could get in.  Sweet!

I love having a strong man child in the house.  It was a tight squeeze, but we got the desk in place!  Yeah!

Ta da!  This is before I added the boxes back in.  We need a tall bookcase with a shorter depth, average width, and then maybe a couple of short bookcases or cubby system or something under the windows for my craft supplies.  And if it doesn't all fit, well, I have to do some serious thinking about getting rid of some of it.  We will see.

So we took Keturah to the eye doctor today and of course Abishai had to line up some of the cars he found in the waiting room. 

Always cute, and he did a great job with the lollipop, even through away the handle.  Well, most of it.  A piece got stuck between his gum and teeth.

Keturah has been having some double vision when she looks to the right or left while doing her homework.  I thought that the doctor would just check out the one issue, but they went ahead and did a full exam anyway.  She was kind of due for that, so that's fine.  But what they did find is that her left eye is trying to refocus, but can't because it's weak.  It always has been weak, but either she couldn't articulate the double vision or the left eye is trying so hard to work right and can't because of more reading and schooling.  She can see fine when papers are in front of her for the most part.  Well, if it doesn't clear up, then we could be looking at muscle memory, which I believe is patching, or surgery.  It all depends on insurance I think, and with Medicaid, I suspect it will be patching.  I asked the doctor straight up how this is just now coming up when she's seen them for 8 years.  But he really didn't have an answer.  Ok, then, how are we going to put this into our busy lives? Grrr....if I had known it could get worse later on, maybe we could have done more therapy with her in the beginning when she was 2.  Oh well, it is what it is.  I just wanted expecting that.

Then we made a dollar store run for cake mix and icing.  We left with a few other things, too, as well as ideas for Christmas gifts.  Benaiah liked this mini "pew pew" keychain.

Talk about Decision Paralysis, this kid has it bad when deciding on what car or truck to buy.  He did like the monster truck and racing cars though.  But settled on a taxi and called it, "Noree" from the Tayo the Little Bus show.  He was even upset when we couldn't find Noree for bedtime.

We are making our lists for Christmas and how many movies do we want to add to our collection from the past year.  A Dog's Purpose might go on the list, but way down on it.  Cars 3 and Wonder Woman are the two top contenders.  And yes, we need to institute a 1 for 1 rule: one movie out for every one movie in.

Justin got his Child Safe badge today!  Now he's an official Indian Creek volunteer!  They run background checks on all volunteers to make sure everyone is safe, especially with the kids.  We have a numbered check in and check out badge system where the parent has one badge with the number on it and the the other tag is on the kid's back.  With having a large church and people coming in with all kinds of backgrounds, we have to be careful not to hand a child over to a parent or guardian when they are not in custody of that child, perhaps if the parents are divorced or something.  It does happen.  I don't know if it has happened at our church, but we take preventative measures for it.  Also, you have to sign a convenant stating that you also represent Christ and the church when you go about your every day lives, so be careful with what your involved in.  You also are agreeing to the church's vision and mission statements and core values.  It's a big deal!

I told the kids that they could pick out one $1 consummable treat while we were at the dollar store.  Abishai picked out pudding cups because it had a bus on the side.  Then he used the cardboard packaging as a garage for his cars.  When we went out to the airport to get Grandma, I heard him say in a hushed tone of voice (like wow, look at that!) "Garage!"

Justin also got a letter from his best friend Bryce, who now lives in Atlanta, GA.  I don't know if his mom noticed, but Bryce put his name, and Justin's name under the zip code in the address.  Whoops!  And when Justin wrote back, he did the same thing!  I guess we didn't get quite as far in Abeka Language Arts as I thought because they go over that thoroughly.  Oops!

Sissy has the tablet and big brother wants the big screen, so Abishai gets to watch his TV show on Justin's device.  And that's Noree, the Taxi, sitting next to him like he's a best friend or something.

Beautiful sunset on the way to the airport.  Note to self: I don't like driving at night at the airport or on big highways.  I'm familiar enough with the area, but I hadn't done it in the dark in awhile.  Oh well, deed was done.  And to think, just 12 hrs earlier, Jared and Gary left on a plane from the same airport for a 1 night stay in Atlanta for a conference.  Gary is in his "busy season" for the next couple of months, but then will stay closer to home through the holidays.  Yeah!  And I get to go with them next weekend!

A little bit grouchy, but it's always fun to see all 4 kids, in all 4 different phases of life, and that they are all mine.  And all so different, and yet, they look like us.  Cool!

They finally repaired this outdoor art display!  The red things squeeze in and squeeze out very slowly.  They had been heavily damaged in a snow or ice storm a few years ago.

The lights change color as you pass under them.

I geeked out when I saw this!  I've been watching the "tech talks" for these racing aircraft for a year now.  This is probably the plane they use in their videos.  I guess the air race is now an annual event at our Indianapolis Motor Speedway track in October.  What a creative way to generate income! The planes race against a clock and have to do dips and turns and go around pylons, etc.  It's an international sport, too.  Exciting!  Tickets aren't badly priced, but we don't have the money for this or the Monster Jam rally that also comes annually.  A friend said that event is usually held at the Lucas Oil Stadium, the monstrosity where the Colts play.  There's never a lack of family friendly entertainment in this city!

Not Grandma's plane, but we got to see it taxiing and Abishai did notice that the truck was helping the plane by pushing it.

Practicing her gymnastics moves.

Well, I guess the window washers will need to come through again.  Keturah showed Abishai what to do and Abishai did it multiple times.  He literally climbs the walls!

Again, a great compare and contrast statement that only large families can truly understand.  Waiting on Grandma to come down the hallway.  She was in Austria on a mission trip for 12 days.

Hugs!

Our teaching minster greeting his wife, who was also on the trip.  They have been barely married for 3 years.  I totally understand this kind of love and "I miss you so much" and "just hug/hold me" emotions.  I got a video of them, too, and sent it to them.  Dan said in the sermon this morning that they have known each other for 8 1/2 years, and are truly best friends.  Sweet!

Justin did a great job of entertaining Abishai while we waited for the checked luggage.

The airport run was Friday night, so this was Saturday morning after Abishai spent 30 minutes in the freezing cold waters of the pool.  He loves it and I got great footage of him going head first on his back into the water.  Yes, Grandpa, I kept watching him and made sure he didn't drown.  He's a daredevil, fearless, and I expect we will have some emergency room visits before he turns 18.  But for now, he was just a shivering baby.  Justin said he would sit next to him and warm him up with his body heat.  Sweet!

I took out a few scrapbooking things to show Keturah and came upon these. Somewhere I read or heard that you could take a day calender and write on the back of it, memories of the kids from that day.  I did it for a good portion of Keturah's 1st year of life!  Which means, I have plenty of info to put into her baby book, including her milestones.  Yeah!  I read some of them aloud to the kids and the ones they laughed at the most were about poop explosions!  I love this one because the top reads, "B (Benaiah) - laughed hysterically with Miss Christy and the fishin' game."  Woah, at first I thought this was Miss Christy who just left her position as preschool director of our church (to be home with her own daughter), but maybe this is Miss Christy from children's choir because he was 6 1/2 or so.  Hm,...Keturah's reads "Sundays are tough."

I was way into Suduko at the time.

Lots of memories captured right here.  I have always known that the stories behind the photos matter just as much as the photo itself.  That mantra was fermented when I sold Creative Memories scrapbooking supplies and they emphasized just getting the stories written down no matter if you are a writer or have bad handwriting, etc.  I stopped doing Keturah's album when my mom got sick.  But I did take the time to take pictures, print all the pictures before we left for Canada (haven't printed any since, but I think I'm going to go more digital) and wrote down the memories.  I have pregnancy journals, notes on calendars like this, and memorabilia too.  I believe family stories is what connects us, especially to our parents, and grandparents and other extended families.  Our family tree and history matter.  So, I want to provide at least some of that for the kids in a physical way.

Pregnancy journal.  I didn't have one for Benaiah but I did have a mini album I used to put pregnancy pics and notes in.  I also have one for Abishai, and it lasted for 2 years.  I write things he says in my phone and either write them here or in the last page of his book.  I might just add phrases on a piece of paper and put it in the back of his book.  Just as long as the pictures are taken (and printed) and the stories are written down, they can be matched up later. 

But finding time to actually sit down to work my crafts and scrapbooks will be very difficult.  It's not the season I'm in.  But it will make me feel better if I do have that stuff readily available since it was a huge part of my downtime when the kids were little.  And like my mother, I'll probably pick it up again when the kids get older.  And that's ok.  Up next: celebrating Justin's birthday with friends.  We had to wait until a certain movie came out.  But that story will have to wait until tomorrow!