April Showers...

I realize it has been well over a month since I have posted.  I've had little to no time to post...life with two small children will do that to you somehow :o)  That, however, is a misleading statement - I've had time to post, but I've been trying to spend it with Jed and the kids as much as possible!

Let me begin with an "Archer Update".  Our baby boy has been doing wonderfully!  He is learning to sit up by himself, eating Cheerios and has sprouted two bottom teeth.  He really is growing like a weed.  His favorite pastime is to sit on my lap on our porch swing in the backyard after work and watch his sister play or watch his daddy doing yardwork.  He is a very happy little boy - his smile melts my soul into a puddle at my feet.

And now...a "Nora Update".  Geez, where to begin.  First off, I can now appreciate why these years are called the "terrible two's".  Her moods are about as stable as a summer thunderstorm during a low pressure system.  She is really testing her limitations with us to see how far we will bend before we break.  There really is a fine line between just letting them be children and just letting them be children with a set standard of rules that must be followed in order to raise well-adjusted children.  I've been doing my research - I don't think we're too far off the mark! Parenting is hard, hard work! 

Last Thursday, Jed, myself and the kids went to Menard's to look at some stones for a firepit that I am building in the backyard.  Most times when we go shopping with both of the kids, we use 2 carts, but we figured that since we would only be there for 10 minutes at the most that we would just use one cart and let Nora ride in the big basket part of the cart, provided she stay sitting down.  (Note to self:  Never trust a 2 year old to keep her word).  GIGANTIC mistake.  We were outside looking at the stones when Nora fell out of the cart and onto her head (onto the concrete ground).  When I saw her fall, all I could think was that she had broken her neck.  I knew right away that something was horribly wrong when I picked her up off the ground.  We quickly got ourselves out of there and rushed Nora to the hospital emergency room.  They took some X-rays and told us her forearm was broken in 2 places.  Great.  So they put it in the splint and told us to wait for the orthopedics department to call us which would probably be Monday or Tuesday.  I stayed home from work with Nora on Friday and they called and wanted to see her immediately that day, so I took her in.  I asked him about her elbow because she had been complaining that her elbow hurt.  She has a strong fear of doctor's due to her Iowa City visits, so she wouldn't let Dr. Schemmel examine her - I did it for him and sure enough, he could tell by her reaction that it was probably broken, so he did another X-ray.  Turns out that her elbow was broken too.  So Nora has now gotten her third cast - all before she is even 2 1/2 years old.  Goodness gracious!  She adapted to having the cast immediately and it hasn't slowed her down one bit.  She is my little super trooper!

We got news at work Friday that (5) of our maintenance employees are being "let go" due to budget reductions.  These men that I work with have become like fathers, uncles and brothers to me.  I feel so helpless and sickened that they are going to be out of jobs, especially when I see other things happening in the District that could eliminate some of the budget crises, potentially saving the jobs of some of these men.  Needless to say, it is going to be a tense, sad and hard couple of months ahead.  I still haven't heard about my own job yet.  Friday was supposed to be the deadline for doing so, but nothing has been said yet.  The unknown is the scariest part of life.

A few weeks ago, Jed and I decided to take Hope Church for a "test drive" and immediately fell in love with it.  We have been looking for something new to re-ignite our Christian faith and the Hope community has definitely been a start.  We look forward to integrating ourselves into the community and becoming better Christians in the process.  When we picked Nora up from the nursery area this morning after services, she cried because she didn't want to leave!  And on our way home from church, she was so excited because they "got to sing about Jesus today".  It. Was.  Awesome.

Needless to say, it has been hectic, busy and exciting at our house.  There are days it takes all I have not to pull my hair out by the roots, but then there are days when I don't even have words good enough to thank God for my good life....whiney children and all!