What a day!!!!!

Well obviously since I am posting, I am not on my trip. Long story, but SOOOO glad I didn't go. I would have had to turn right around and come back home.

I decided last night not to go. Grandpa Hains was being released from the hospital today after having surgery yesterday, so Mary Jo felt like she should be with him tonight b/c he would need some care. So since I was on the fence about all the other things I had going on anyway, I didn't go, so she wouldn't have to take care of her father AND my kids. Grandpa did end up coming home today- he had a stint put in yesterday and still has the tube in his side, so probably pretty cumbersome. They did a biopsy yesterday when they put the stint in his bile duct, and the results showed that he does have cancer. It is contained in his bile duct and supposedly, it is a slow-growing cancer. Thank goodness it wasn't in his pancreas. Treatment options will be discussed at a later date- he goes back to the hospital on Monday to have his tube clamped off???? (can't remember exactly what he'll have done on Monday). He has the stint and the tube/bag for now to make sure the stint is working before they get rid of the other. Mary Jo said the doctors are optimistic that he can live for a few years with this kind of cancer.

Cobe had basketball camp again this morning and then spent the morning with his friend Mark. I picked them up for lunch and we headed off to Pizza Hut for the buffet to meet up with the Boeves as well. We went to Apple Valley for some groceries and Old Navy for some flip flops and rash guards first, then hogged down at Pizza Hut. Brooks ate and ate and ate. This is important for a story to come. :-) After that, we came home and Cobe went back to Mark's, Sis went home with the Boeve girls to nap and play and I made some cookies. Things were still going pretty smoothly at this point.

It started raining- pouring at times, lighter at others. Cobe is supposed to have a baseball game at 6:00 which means he has to be at the field at 5:15. At 4:45 I still hadn't heard anything, but couldn't imagine that they'd have the game, so I called his coach, and his coach said, "Yep- be at the field at 5:15; it's barely raining." Meanwhile, Cobe had gone to his friend Jake's house, so I called him to come home to get ready. Brooks had fallen asleep watching a movie, but hopped right up and asked for a bowl of cereal. So he ate, Cobe got dressed, and we headed to the fields in the pouring rain. When we were getting close to Community Church, Brooks started to throw up EVERYWHERE in the van. I whipped into the parking lot at church, flung open the van door, but unfortunately, Brooks didn't react quickly enough and continued to throw up massive amounts IN THE VAN. Well those of you who know me well, know that throw up and me don't mix. I was a wreck. Ryan had just stopped by home when we were pulling out of the driveway to tell me his phone had died and to pick up a charger, so he wasn't answering his phone at this point. I was bawling, gagging and not knowing how I was going to get Cobe to his stupid game even though it was pouring rain and take care of Brooks. Poor kid- he was covered in throw up so I made him take off all his clothes, so he was standing in the parking lot "bare naked" as he kept saying. My van floor was covered in puke, and I had nothing to even begin to clean it up with. So what logical thing do I do? I called 911! Haha Yep- I called 911 to get them to get a hold of Ryan some way so he could come rescue me from my nightmare. And you know what? My knight in shining armor rode up on his white stallion and rescued me from my blubbering, puke-filled mess. Ryan took out all of my floormats and the car seat and headed to the fire station to clean it all up. I took Cobe to the fields IN THE POURING RAIN. Brooks sat in the back "bare naked". (Don't forget- we had a showing going on at our house, so there was no way we could come home.) I knew Cobe's team wasn't going to play because it was raining so hard, so it was a waiting game. My van was still stinking to high heaven at this point, so I ran to the field to tell the coaches we were going to bag it, right as they were deciding at the same time to call off the game. I grabbed Cobe and went to the fire station to meet Ryan so he could clean my van from top to bottom. Brooks had completely recovered by this point and was content to play on the fire trucks as his dad worked his magic as only Ryan can do when it comes to cleaning. My van was spotless, and I owed everyone a huge apology for freaking out on them. Lisa had kept Sadie the whole time which was a HUGE help, so we went and got her and headed home. Aaahhh- I have washed all the clothes Brooks had on, bathed him, and now I feel like things are back to normal. My kids are the best kids in the world, my husband is the best husband in the world, and Lisa is the best friend in the world. It's funny how such good can come out of such a rotten situation. Looking back, it wasn't as big of a deal as it seemed at the time, but at the moment I was completely overwhelmed. I saw Pizza Hut in a non-appealing way the second time around. YUCK! So, back to the first line of the post, I would have had to come home from my trip anyway because I couldn't send a sick kid to someone else's house to take care of. Brooks seems fine, but you never know.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a calmer day! ;-)

Forgot I was tagged.....

Okay, I have to start by laughing at Tonya. She tagged me, but since she usually only posts pictures, she didn't really say WHAT the tag was, so I was clueless until she told me in person today what I was supposed to write about. haha- she cracks me up! So the tag is.... to post 5 random things about you. Here goes:

1. I weigh myself daily. Sometimes several times because I am hoping that a few pounds will have mysteriously fallen off since the last time I weighed (even if it was minutes before).
2. I want 3 more kids, even though I know it isn't possible and even though I know I couldn't handle it- I still want 3 more. :-)
3. I love to read recipes. Usually I have all intentions of making all of the recipes I dog-ear and read, but never get around to most of them.
4. I am obsessed with brushing my teeth. My gums are receding b/c I brush them so much, but I guess I"d rather deal with receding gums than a cavity.
5. They poured the driveway at our new house today.

Random enough for you?????? :-) I tag Lynette, Missy and Wendie.

Catching Up

It seems like a lot has gone on since I last posted, but I can't quite remember what! :-) Saturday was spent at Cobe's baseball game in the morning. I ran some errands after the game, went for a walk, then we headed to the Boeves for dinner. I'm loving these early season cook-outs- LOVE burgers and dogs on the grill. Sunday we spent the whole afternoon at our new pool soaking up some rays, swimming, and letting the kids play on the playground and b-ball courts. I didn't feel so great when we got home- combination of too much sun and a stomach virus I think. I came home and showered then got in bed. The rest of my family went to the Overzets for dinner/cake for Justin's birthday. We had a showing today, so I had to clean in spurts as well as I felt like it. So today started off bright and early b/c Cobe has b-ball camp all week from 8:00-9:30 at the high school. Ryan took him there while I finished up for the showing, then met me at Carpet Bonanza to finalize all our house stuff. Our decorator met us there and we picked out Sadie's bathroom stuff and all of our paint colors. Can't wait to see the finished product!!!! I'm thrilled about the paint colors. We have been looking at the same ole walls in this house for so many years, that any new color seems exciting!!!!!!! And the showing this morning was to a couple who have already been through 3 other times, so we are hopeful. We have ANOTHER showing tomorrow night, so at least the house is still semi-clean and picked up.

Today was also spent at the pool. Overzets, Grotenhuis', and Boeves joined us there as well as Landon. There were 13 kids together, so they all had a blast. The boys and girls had wars on the playground, but all got along great in the pool. I have a feeling we'll be spending lots of time there this summer.

Cobe found out today who his 3rd grade teacher is (Mrs. Thompson), and he has a lot of his friends in his class. She was my first pick for his teacher, so I was happy he got her. I taught her son when he was in 7th grade, so I know her. She is a really strong teacher.

I leave tomorrow on a girls' get-a-way to Fountain Point near Traverse City. We are going to do a winery tour, kayaking/canoeing, dinners out, etc. so I am looking forward to the few days away.... sort of. I feel like it is a lot of work to just get away so I am hoping once I leave, I'll be glad I went. Right now, I am feeling like it would be a lot easier to stay home with so much going on here. Cobe is in camp every morning, he has 2 ball games, showings, possible offer, Grandpa's having another surgery right now as I type this, Ryan's working the whole time I'm gone, etc. etc. etc. I think if it were later in the summer, it'd be easier to get away.

Off to put my 3 little cherubs to bed- 8:00am comes early!!!!!

School's Out for Summer!!!!

We had some fun on our first day out of school! I got out at 11:00, went and picked up Sadie and Brooks, headed to Cobe's school to get him and the fun began. We picked up pizza and Chase came over. Chase and Cobe went to a party at Crazy Bounce and I went to visit Gpa Hains in the hospital. After that, Brooks, Jake, Jeffrey, Chase, Cobe and I went to see Speed Racer. It was 2 hrs. and 15 minutes long. I got bored until the last hour, then it got really good. The boys all seemed to enjoy it. After the movie, we came home, grilled hot dogs and ate outside. The boys got up a great game of baseball with Ryan. We have some tired kids tonight! Tomorrow morning, Cobe has another baseball game, then we are heading to the Boeves for some guitar hero and grilling out. Can't wait for the summer activities to begin!!!!!!! Haven't posted pictures in awhile, so here are a few from our outdoor fun:

Jake

Jeffrey

Sadie

Cobe

Brooks

Chase

Sadie

Ella Pearl

Brooks

Cobe

Baseball, baseball and more baseball

3 games this week makes for a busy week! Cobe's team played the Tigers last night and won 12-2. They asked Cobe to pitch in the last inning b/c it was 12-1 at that point, and I think they thought they'd let a 5th stringer pitch. He said no! I couldn't believe it. I thought he should have tried it, but he was too nervous. I pumped him up in case they ask him again. I told him they could always take him out if the other team got too many runs. :-) Tonight he has another game against the Phillies to make up the one game that got rained out. He and Ryan are headed there now for us to soon follow. And Saturday is his third game of the week against the Mets. The games are fun to go to so I don't mind them as much as I thought I would.

Updates from last post: Grandpa Hains got horrible news yesterday, then better news today. Yesterday they told him he most likely had 1 if not 2 tumors because they could not get to his bile duct at all to drain the bile that has backed up in him. They did a CAT scan after they couldn't do the procedure they intended to and told him to expect the worst. They also said there was nothing they could do for him. There were many a tear shed last night. But the doctor came in at 6:30 this morning and told him that the CAT scan showed no tumors at all. Wow! God is good and prayers were answered! Is he out of the woods? Most likely not. They also took tissue samples to send to pathology, so the results from that are still pending. And something is causing the bile duct to be so blocked that the Dr.'s can't even get to it. He was having another surgical procedure done today at 4:30 to drain the bile through a tube in his side to give him some relief. A specialist had to be called in for that. Please continue to pray that they find answers for Grandpa's illness and that it is not life-threatening.

Sadie is better today. 1st day of no fever since Sunday! Yay! She is majorly congested, but we can deal with that.

Wanda sent a CarePage update today as well plus it was all over the news that a helicopter in training crashed into Spectrum and the helicopter was on fire, so they had to evacuate the building. How horrible! She said all of the pediatric units were evacuated, but not the cancer ward were Odee was b/c he still needed to receive his chemo. Please continue to pray for him.

We had another showing last night so I had to bust a move to clean by myself since Ryan was out of town. I am sooooooooooo glad he is home. We haven't heard any feedback yet from the showing.

My mom's retirement party is tonight in NC. So wish we could be there to celebrate with her. Jeff and his family and Brent were able to go. I tried to work out going, but life gets in the way sometimes when you live 880 miles away. Congratulations Mom on a hugely successful career!!!!!!

Off to dress the kids warmer- it always seems 10 degrees cooler at the ball fields than it is at home and since Cobe's game is starting so late, I am sure we'll still be there after the sun goes down.

Last day of school/work tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!! Yippee-yi-yay!!!!!

We covet your prayers

Please pray for Ryan's Grandpa Hains. He has surgery tomorrow at 2:30 to figure out what is causing all of his problems these past two weeks. He is 88 and weaker than usual, so many prayers are needed. Please pray specifically that whatever is blocking his bile duct is benign and easily fixed with a stint.

Also, please pray for Ryan's uncle Odee (Arend Lenderink) He was just diagnosed with Leukemia on Friday and started chemo on Saturday. Please specifically pray that he is pain-free as he has been in severe pain for weeks and pray that the chemo works to fight his cancer.

And please pray for Sadie as she is still sick with a fever.

We all know from experience that God is good and He does deliver through prayer. Thank you!

4 more days!!!!!!!!

Wow! Each year I can't believe how time flies! 4 more days of the school year, and it seems in some ways that we just started this year. In 4 days, I will have a 3rd grader, a kindergartner and a 3-schooler! I can't be getting that old! :-) My work schedule changed for next year too- still only teaching 2 classes a day, but they will be in the morning, so I'll have the whole day free which will be nice instead of having to watch the clock all morning anticipating going to work. I'm sure it will be much nicer.

Pretty low-key here today b/c Sadie is still sick. She has perked up a ton this afternoon, but still had a high fever this morning. She slept all morning, but hasn't wanted to sleep again this afternoon, and she ate lunch and has been snacking as well, so I am assuming she has turned the corner. I ran some errands this morning- got some hanging baskets and some other flowers to plant as well as dropped off a planter for my porch for the greenhouse to fill. I hit Wal-mart, Party America and the dollar store before heading home. When I got home, the men of the house went to the Kaat fields to practice ball, and Sadie and I planted our flowers. She rode her bike for awhile too. I washed all the bedding- sheets, blankets, mattress pads, pillow shams, stuffed animals, etc. on Sadie's, Brooks' and our bed to hopefully get all the germs out of here. Poor Cobe is the only one who doesn't get clean sheets tonight! Haha- That's what he gets for sleeping on the top bunk!

Saturday, Lisa and I went to Tangier Outlet Mall in Howell, MI, and we put a hurtin' on that place! We got lots of shopping done. I have gone down 2-3 sizes in clothes lately (Yay for me!), so I needed a whole new summer wardrobe. Yesterday, I spent a few hours going through my closet and all my drawers and trying on clothes. It was nice to weed out so many old things and replace them with new things! Thanks to Missy too- she gave me some of her clothes that she has down-sized out of. It's funny though how I go and blow so much money and when I get home I think.... hmmmm.... still don't feel like I have anything to wear! :-) I live in shorts and t-shirts all summer though, so I guess I'm set!

I think the pool in our new neighborhood probably opened today, so we will start hitting that soon. It looks like the weather will be too cool for the next few days, but hopefully by the weekend!!!!!!!!! Looking forward to some good pool days and beach days this summer! FREE fun times will be top on our agenda!

We are going to grill some burgers and dogs, so I think I'll go start getting that ready. I'm hungry!