I am not trying to be sarcastic – I have been worried that we don’t do anything fun! It’s summer – a time for vacation and fun – and we aren’t doing anything special. Ahh…I figured it out. I am feeling entitled. Entitled to a vacation – a vacation far away from Houston. Somewhere cool maybe, in both senses of the word. Why the entitlement? I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I see some others doing it and I want it too. I remember when I worked downtown an exchange I had with a co-worker. She was going to get a massage and she told me “I deserve it.” It has stuck with me because “why?” Why does anyone deserve anything?Everyone that I know works hard every day, but I’m not sure we deserve anything. Anyway, just something I think about sometimes.
Better instead to count my blessings….So this week I tried to write down everything we did.
Sunday – Father’s Day. Daddy’s card. And we got him a new game that we can all play on his ipad. He made Cajun Roasted Stuffed Chicken. It was really good.
Radishes got harvested. Note to self – we don’t like radishes. They taste like pepper! Good thing we had some chocolate on hand!
Monday – Five of my girls went to the dentist. Report: Bec will need her wisdom teeth removed next summer, Sam, Jes and Liz have no cavities!! Joy has three! Kids with DS have, on average, fewer cavities than the normal kid. I was hoping that would be true with Joy, but alas, she is a Turpin. That trumped the extra chromosome.
Mama and her farm kept me anxious all day. They had a wildfire nearby. They were on the verge of evacuation all day. Gratefully, they were fine.
View Brazos Valley Fires in a larger map
At one point during my three thousand calls to check on Mama, she told me she was eating Monster Cookies – just my favorite cookies on the planet! I mentioned it to Jason when he got home. He turned around and went and got the few special ingredients and we made Monster Cookies for Family Home Evening!
The girls had four therapies and we had a play date.
Tuesday – While at the dentist, we talked about these bubbles that Lizzy gets next to one of her caps. They are abscesses. She gets them about every other month. I got tired of going to the dentist for them, so we started getting antibiotics from her pedi. Well, the dentist decided the cap should go so the bacteria could clear out of her body. So she got that tooth pulled. They sedate them pretty well, so she pretty well slept the rest of the day away.
Jessi had a play date. The little girls had two therapies. Jessi and Becca both had music lessons. I finally finished Joy’s birth mother’s book. That always is such a relief to have done. I hope she is well and knows Joy is loved an cared for. And we stopped and bought snow cones. The snow cone store has been there for years and we have just never stopped. It was like a million degrees that day – so they were very welcome!
Bella is feeling better – yeah! Joy had to go to music lessons. Hard to entertain a little one in an empty corridor, but she’s Joy. She found some fun!
Wednesday – it rained!! Lizzy and Joy played in the rain. Jessi and I got new shoes. The girls went to Young Women. We had four therapies.
Thursday – another play date, some cuddling time, the little girls watching Blue’s Clues with Daddy, four therapies, and I fired my nursing agency. It’s been a long time in coming. I’m hoping the new company will be better – it can only be better!
Jason had a cool experience. He has a bunch of contractors at his office right now and he has to set them all up with security stuff. This one guy came through his office and looked at him kinda funny. He said he had something he wanted to ask Jason later. Later when they talked he asked if Jason was LDS. Jason had guessed that was the question. Jas has just moved offices, so there was nothing on his desk or walls except for one family picture. How did you know, he asked the other guy. It was in your eyes, he told him. Very cool!
I was so glad Jason had that story to tell the girls at dinner because after dealing with the nursing agency problems all day, my eyes definitely were not showing the Light of Christ! Which brings me back to something I have been pondering. Being a good example, being a witness at all times, but standing up for my Bella. Rudeness isn’t the answer, but being a pushover isn’t either. Being firm and polite is the best, but confrontation is not my strong suit. An area I get to progress in over the next few years, I believe.
Friday – more cuddling, three piano lessons, I harvested our potato (one, I know, the quantity is astonishing!). Sammi says it tasted good! We got Jessi a new bed set. She will be sharing with Little Brother (I don’t know why), so she/we wanted to keep a blue theme so it’ll go with Little Brother’s bedding. Did I mention that Bella is feeling better? Wahoo! She is much happier and (easier to live with when she is healthy).
Saturday we did the yard – the grass loved the longed for rain! I had a baby shower and we prepped for a party. Jason has a group of friends from an old office that get together periodically. We had to bring dessert. The family that hosted this time has a pool. Everyone had a really fun time! They have a beautiful yard. The owner gave Sammi all of these beautiful flowers – she loved them!
So, no we didn’t do anything vacation-y or exceedingly fun this week, but I have many blessings – six beautiful children, a sweet husband, my Mom, brother and sister are safe, the girls get all the therapies they need, the sound of music is often heard in my home, we have shelter, clothing, food, and love and we have the Gospel. We are very, very blessed!
