P-A-R-K day

On Sunday, we packed up the whole family and took them to the P-A-R-K.

Aiden was so interested in everything there.

The birds in the trees



The cedar chips down below



Everything.



Michael amazes me. He has an arm that doesn't always do what it is told and a leg that just had surgery, but does he let that stop him? Never!



And I think that he is on to me when I say to the family, "Do you want to go to the P-A-R-K?" because last time he said, "Let's go to the park!"



While Aiden and Michael were swingin', Jared and Matt were practicing their tennis skills.



I asked Steve to watch Aiden while I took some pics. When I came back, I found him holding Aiden in the swing. I asked him why he didn't just leave Aiden in the baby swing (much easier, I think!) and he said that "He looked sad" so he took him out. Such a good daddy and grandpa, he is. :)



This shot came from out of the blue. I had just been composing the pics I took of the family on the swings, not really paying too much attention to what was behind them. When I was editing, I noticed this gorgeous fairyland behind them. Look at the way the sunlight is playing back there! I wish I would have paid more attention and took some purposeful shots!



Emily was with us too. See the lime green shirt hiding behind the slide way up there on top? Yep, that's Emily. She didn't want her picture taken because she has been sick and didn't want everyone to see her that way.



I have such a great family. Could I be blessed any more than I already am?!

Have a wonderful, sunshiny day! :)

A run-down of last week

Boy oh boy did I miss you all last week! It was one of *those* weeks. A week that had doctor's appointments on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Six doctors to be exact. And then a wedding dress fitting appointment on Saturday. My sympathies go to all of those who work an hour or more away from home; three of the four days were spend with long commutes (minimum 1 hour), the other one still had me about 40 minutes away from home.

Wednesday, Michael got his cast off. I would say, "HURRAY!" except that it is coming with its own challenges and difficulties. The poor little guy is having a tough time building back up the muscles he had before surgery, so he limps a lot and holds onto furniture most of the time. When I give him a bath, he doesn't want to put any weight on his unbraced foot. He has been terrific about wearing his braces on his leg though.

The second appointment on Wednesday was to be fitted for his braces. He had been casted for them during surgery, so the brace guy just had to trim off the excess off the toe. And they gave him a new pair of shoes! How sweet is that?! I really do love Shriner's Hospital. They are terrific!

On Thursday we were off to the children's hospital for appointments to the neurologist and rehab specialist. Not too much new news there. We were just checking in with the neurologist since Michael's seizures have morphed into new symptoms.

The rehab specialist gave us some things to work with Michael on to build up his strength and help his leg muscles to grow in good ways.

Friday I took Jared to the diabetes doc. His A1C this time was much better than the past few times. (Way to go, Jare! Keep up the good work, son!)

Then I took Amber to the doctor. She has been sick more in the past 3 months than she has been well. It all started with getting a positive culture for strep back at Valentine's Day and then not taking the antibiotics.... The doc didn't give her antibiotics this time, which frustrates me, but she (the doc) did take some blood to look at what is going on inside of Amber and also another strep culture. I really just wanted her to get that antibiotic though.

On Saturday, the seamstress measured and pinned Amber's wedding dress. It will be ready the first part of August, just in time for bridal pictures.

Sunday was the usual: church in the morning and family time for the rest of the day.

Today, I intend on *not* running around like a chicken with my head cut off but to go about my day calmly, taking care of things that got neglected next week.

I am the master of my own fate... when They (the big cumulative "they") let me be. ;)

Have a great day!

They're here! AKA: Amber's Graduation Present

Yesterday, Amber's graduation present came in the mail. Today, Steve, Michael, and I took it to her.

Since she not only graduated from high school but also graduated with a 1 year certificate in Culinary Arts from a community college,AND since she loves to cook, I thought that good quality pots and pans would be welcomed. :)

So, I started looking for the same pots and pans that I got for Christmas a couple of years ago because I LOVE THEM!!



The pots and pans that came to her were very similar, but not exact, dang it. Still, they are brushed stainless steel (Mine are only brushed on the outside; hers are brushed on the outside and inside. I hope that it works out okay. :/ ) with an aluminum core bottom encapsulated in stainless steel for even heating w/o hot spots. They also have silicone handles for cool touch handling. (I think I would scorch myself constantly with stainless steel handles!!)

I hope, I hope, I hope! that they work out well and she loves them for years and years and years to come.



I got them from Target.com, since they are only sold online. (As a side note: it appears that some have stainless steel lids, while other have glass even though the description says glass lids - I'm perfectly happy with that because I do not love glass lids.) And they were shipped free! Score!

Keep your fingers crossed that they work perfectly and that she loves them, will you? And I will let you know how they turn out. :)