Catching up!

Well, hello, blog! How nice to see you! We might have met before....I'm your author...I've been MIA. I know. Terrible. I've been out making memories instead of recording them. But, before they do fall out of the grey matter, let me get some milestones on this little slice of our family's story. The spring for us has been very up and down...sort of like a country ride. Twists and turns...flat straightaways...hills and valleys. Lemme see if I can bring you up to speed. Major holidays since the last update: Easter and Mother's Day. Easter = super fun! I was able to sneak away from work thanks to community service leave to volunteer in each of the kids' classrooms for their Easter parties. Now, for Ben, in the infant room, an Easter "party" looks like this: 3 or 4 moms (and 1 rock star dad!) sitting around, holding their baby on the floor of the classroom with a pile of plastic, empty eggs in the middle. Fun? Eh, sort of. But, I was there, and that's what mattered to me. Now, just down the hall in the 2 year old classroom, the part-ay was ON! First up was a snack of Cheetos and Oreos (not the usual fare at Little Pros) -- Rachael snacked her little heart out. Then, it was out to the playground for an egg hunt. After 15 minutes of collecting and then climbing around the slide and other toys, it was back inside for diaper changes and hangin' out. Over the weekend, we dyed eggs together and then enjoyed Easter morning church (in the cry room with 3 other families!) and then a festive coffee hour in the fellowship hall. Rachael really had fun at the church egg hunt and then, we met up with our Amigo friends for a group photo. In the early evening, we had a potluck with the Beggs' and the Blazei's...2nd year in a row...so fun! After Easter, the rest of April was a blur...work was really busy for both of us and the kiddos help the days and weeks fly by and meld in to each other. Then, May hit...with a vengeance. It started on a high...at the NCACE conference, they handed over the gavel to me. Who knew? I am president of a state-wide professional association. It's an honor and a challenge...I'm looking forward to serving in this way. NCACE has been a very meaningful part of my professional life...and through the group, I've made some wonderful friends and colleagues. I also feel like I could go anywhere in NC and get a job...or at least, have a referral source! On the ride home from the conference, I got two pieces of not-good news. Ben was running a 101 degree fever and Gammy was admitted to the hospital. What followed was the worst virus either of my children has ever had -- Ben was running 105 by the middle of the night and I took him, terrified, to the ER. It was just a virus (thank God!), but, it was 5 days of a high-temp and general discomfort for my poor sweet Ben. Rachael started with her own variation of the virus just 2 days later...she spent 4 days not eating and drinking only milk, but, her fever remained low (100.8-101) and she was able to play with a good dose of Tylenol on board. Meanwhile, my Mom and Aunt Barb/Uncle Ted were taking care of Gammy and helping her navigate her way through a stay in the geriatric psych unit of the hospital. It seems the move was harder on Gammy then even she realized and so her brain compensated by going in to a depression of sorts. It's very difficult to watch someone who's strong-willed and typically very social have a hard time coping. The medicine is helping and the MRI did show that mini strokes from years' ago might have contributed to this. We're continuing to pray for a stronger Gammy -- day-by-day. My mom graciously agreed to leave the hospital and come help with our kids so that I could go back to work...what a lifesaver....yay for retired grandma's! :) Fortunately, her visit meant she was here for Mother's day. We celebrated with a trip to the park and a yummy char-broiled hamburger lunch. I'm so thankful for my Grandmothers, my aunts, my Mom, and my Mother-in-Law who have shown me what it means to love and live life fully!