Christmas Concert 08

It was only Jacob in the Christmas Concert this year as the primary kids put on a singing show!

The gr. 2's looked so cute all decked out in green and red. Jacob sung his heart out. It was very cute.

Here's a photo of Jacob and Sophie. Sorry it's not the best as I was far away from the stage.

42 cm.............

That's how much snow we got over the last few days....and it's still coming down. Today driving was really treacherous....poor visibility and slippery.

I can't believe that tomorrow is the last day of school for the Christmas break.....it feels like it should only be Thanksgiving. Yet another school year is whizzing by.

Here are some photos of all our snow, and Nicholas and Jacob hard at work shovelling!

When will this snow stop???

Hi everyone, and greetings from snowville! Oh my, it started snowing yesterday and we've received over 20 cm of snow already and it's STILL coming down. I kind of see the beauty of it all, but that's really been clouded by the fact that my arms and back are KILLING me from all the shovelling we've been doing!

Oh ya, and throw in two hockey tournaments this weekend...one here for Michael, one out of town for Christopher and 2 in town games for the other boys! I think I'll become a bear, what a great idea, I could be hibernating right now!

I called Andy who's out of town with Christopher, and begged him to buy a snow blower......that could be my Christmas, Birthday and Anniversary gift for the next 10 yrs, I don't care.....at this point I'm desperate....we just came inside to warm up, and looked outside and the entire driveway is covered again....now I wouldn't complain normally because I like shovelling, but our driveway is almost 300 ft. long on a downhill slope no less. Uugh, it exhausts me to think that after Michael's next game we'll have to come home and re shovel the beast again.


They haven't ploughed our street or subdivision yet and some yahoo down the street used his snow blower and blew all the snow into the middle of the road in a pile..I didn't see it as the driving conditions are white out and 'hit' the pile which threw a ton of snow onto my windshield causing me to lose vision all together, and after the wiper blades cleared it I see this man jogging on the sidewalk laughing at me.....whatever buddy, I'm glad you got a chuckle out of it! Needless to say I've called the city road works and told them to get up into the hills where we live soon before someone causes an accident!

On a good note the boys teams have been winning at their tournaments! Christopher got player of the game today, and Nicholas got 1st star at his game this morning.

I'm going to soak in the tub. My body aches!

November is flying by too!

Here we are with a month left till Christmas! I'm on the ball this year, already have my Christmas letter typed and saved, ordered my photo greeting cards from Costco, and have completed a lot of my shopping! Woo Hoo!

I want to have everything in the mail by the end of the first week of December and then I can sit back and relax and enjoy the season ahead.


A month from now we'll have a teenager in the house! That sounds so strange and unbelievable! I'm making Christopher an album of photos taken over the last 13 years. Something he can look at and cherish in the years to come.

We got an e-mail the other night saying that Christopher had been cut from the select soccer team. This left us a bit stunned as they'd sent an e-mail a few days earlier stating that he'd made the team. Well, to make a long story short, I e-mailed the director as I'd noticed a mistake in the e-mail stating that Christopher is a goalie. He's not a goalie! They sent us an e-mail intended for someone else. Thankfully, they looked into it, and noticed their mistake and apologized profusely saying that they'd cut and pasted stuff and forgot to check who it was addressed to and hit send.....ah e-mail, it can be a wonderful tool or a dangerous tool! So, he's made the team, and is very happy about it!

Still haven't spoken to the in laws. I'm going to have to send an e-mail, but whenever I sit at the computer the words just don't come out the way I want them too. I mean I know what I want to say, but it's saying it without stooping to their level that's the problem!

Today is a busy day with 2 hockey practices, one piano lesson, and a soccer practice! Early to bed as tomorrow is an early start.

No snow here yet, and I'm loving that fact! It is getting colder though.

Dryer just buzzed........... why can't someone invent an automatic folder and putter away machine????

Sunshine and Happiness!

The sun is shining today, and it's beautiful!!!

I wish the entire winter was going to be like this. I could care less if it snowed at all, just keep it sunny and cold!

I worked out today with Lynn. It was great! I always come away from my sessions with her feeling energized and good.

Heck, I may even clean my patio windows today as the sun is shining through the window and I see some spots!

I'm taking Nicholas to the Rockets game tonight as Andy has a meeting. Nonna is coming over and the boys are excited.

Where do I go from here?

Last Thursday something terrible happened to me.

I wanted to write about it, but just couldn't.

Well, now that I've had time to digest it all, I can speak about it.

I had been at an appt. with my personal trainer for an assessment. It felt soooooooo good to get back at working out again.

After the appt. I got into the van and noticed that there were a few voice messages on my cell phone.

I listened to one of them and noticed that whoever had called me had gotten my voice mail, and didn't hang up their speaker phone, so, my cell phone recorded their entire conversation.

At first I heard the radio, and then I heard my father in law angry and yelling obscenities....to only realize that he was actually talking about ME!

He said some horrible things about me. Dropped the "F Bomb" followed by the B word repeatedly and said how F'in stupid I was etc. It was horrible. I cried when I heard it. It was like I had walked into a conversation that I was never supposed to hear. It left me shaking. Andy happened to call me that afternoon shortly after I'd listened to the message and he was stunned, didn't know what to say. He felt sick for me having to go through that.

Later that night he confronted his Dad on the phone and I over heard him say "How dare you talk about my wife like that, she's always been welcoming to you both, and she's the best thing that's ever happened to me, and if I have to choose between her and you guys, then you won't be seeing me again." " Even if you apologize to her, how do you expect things to go back to the way they were?" He NEVER apologized but he did say he regretted saying those things. (whatever!) And then all the crap that ever happened in their immediate family between Andy and his parents from the last 42 yrs. was re hashed, and of course I took the brunt of the blame.

The bottom line after 3 hrs on the phone with them and Andy is this:

1) They're worried about Andy
2) They think he's depressed about his work situation over the last few years which is my fault
3) They think we spent too much money on our house(none of which was borrowed from the bank of J & F Macdonnell btw!)
4) They think I spend too much money
5) We don't take the boys over there very much lately(again my fault)
6) They think that Andy does the majority of the work around here and that I'm taking advantage of him


So, after 2 days of crying, I then moved on to being pissed off. Angry that they said those things, angry that no attempt was made to apologize, angry that they were willing to sweep what happened under the carpet with the explanation that 'sometimes people say things they don't mean and that I should just forget about it'(like that's ever going to happen!) After that fiasco, she sent an e-mail to Andy stating the above, and then had the nerve to say "tell Maria to bring the boys hockey bags over tomorrow"(the three other boys had to stay with them this past weekend when I was away and that made me feel like vomiting.)Oh my did she really think I would go over there the next day after all that was said about me???????

Andy was so good about everything, never said that I should just forget it. He completely understands how I feel about this and if I never have to talk to them again, then I won't!

It's a difficult situation and I'm not sure how I get past this. I feel paranoid in my own home thinking that they'll pop over and I'll be here alone and have to talk to them. I just can't. I have nothing nice to say.


Then yesterday FIL called and left a message on my cell phone apologizing for the things he said, and for the language he used. What he said was unforgiveable.

I realize the Christian thing to do would be to forgive and forget, but I just can't at this point.

I also don't want to call them, even though they're expecting me to and to say that it's ok, well it's NOT ok!

I think I'll put my feelings down in an e-mail to them and leave it at that.

I certainly do not want ANY help from them with the boys. I'd rather run myself ragged than ask them for ANY help.

I can't talk to them, and I'm cringing about the fact that Christopher's Birthday is in December right before Christmas and I'll have to have them over then.

They're going to the coast for Christmas so we won't have to see them then, and after Christmas we're taking the boys skiing for a week. Believe me if I could avoid them for the rest of my life and not subject my kids to their mind games and stuff then I would!

Oh my, could you imagine if one of the boys had heard that voice message on my phone? That would have been the end of any sort of grandparent/grandchild relationship that's for sure.

Another thing that ticks me off is that how many other times did they talk about me behind my back and then come over here for dinner and act all nice and sweet?

I don't deserve any of this.

Highlights from the weekend.................

Christopher's hockey team had their first out of town tournament this past weekend. As Andy was busy taking a dental implant course, I got to take Christopher to his games. The trip to Trail took 4 hrs. and thankfully there wasn't much snow on the roads at the top of the hills through the pass.

The team did well, placing 2nd in their division. Christopher had a fantastic weekend and scored 5 goals, 2 assists. He did however spend some time in the penalty box too!

We got to know parents on the team, a really good group of people and I was really impressed with his coach, who had the team captain say Grace before our team meal!

We arrived back home on Sunday and I've been running ever since. Seems that the laundry didn't get itself done this weekend. Oh well.

The days are getting shorter......

ick! I hate that it starts getting dark so early now! We've been blessed with mild temps and sunny skies for the first two months of fall, and now the fog seems to have settled in, we're getting rain, and even a tad bit of snow up here last week.


Jacob has become an avid meteorologist.....the other day he says to me:

Jacob: "Mom, put the news on"

Me: "Why?"

Jacob: " I want to hear if it's going to snow tomorrow."

Me: "ok"

Jacob: " I heard snow!"

Me: "That doesn't necessarily mean it WILL snow tomorrow"

Jacob: "What percent did they say?"

Me: " 60%"

Jacob: Well, that means it WILL snow!"

What a funny little guy he is! Of course it didn't snow, and that concerned him because he'd heard it on the radio and what they say goes! lol

Today was a relatively quiet day......Nicholas had a hockey game this morning, Michael this afternoon, and Christopher is at his game now.

Jacob has one tomorrow morning @ 6:30 a.m. Uughhh! Looks like I'll be taking him since Andy got up to take Nicholas this morning.

The boys have 5 days off school! They had a half day on Friday, no school Monday or Tuesday. Gee, I should have been better organized and we could have gone somewhere this week!

I have a rotten sinus cold. I feel ok, just get the chills on and off, and am taking Advil Cold and Sinus which is helping with the sinus pain.

Nicholas has a croupy cough today(Great), and now a stuffy nose.

Jacob came into our room last night sniffling.

Ok, this has been bugging me for awhile........so minor hockey instituted this ridiculous policy that all rep teams have to wear dress pants, dress shirts, ties, dress shoes to every game. Let me first tell you that the novelty of this wears off pretty darn quickly! Today Michael came home WITHOUT his dress pants! Someone on his team must have put them on mistakenly. It's too much to ask 11 yr. old boys to get dressed up, go to the rink, get out of dress clothes, change into track suit, go to warm up, get out of track suit, put on hockey gear, play the game.....get out of hockey gear, get dressed into dress clothes again for the ride home! C'mon what was the minor hockey executive thinking when they instituted this policy? Morons! I can't tell you how many boys have misplaced their dress pants already this season and it's only November! Hopefully someone e-mails me that they have his pants.

I must get organized with the Christmas decorations.....it'll be here before I know it! I have to find an artificial tree for our living room. The live tree we had last year was a disaster, and our old artificial one is just too short.

Andy's off this weekend, and then has Tuesday off for Remembrance Day.

He surprised me the other night with flowers and had his parents come over to look after the boys so we could see a movie. Trouble is that movies don't run at 7 and 9 pm anymore, they start at 6:45, 6:55 , 9:45, and 10:05 pm. There was no way I wanted to wait till 10 pm to see a movie,I'd have fallen asleep in my seat....heck I can do that for free at home! So, we went to a furniture store, Future Shop, and then to have an appetizer and a cocktail. It was fun to be out.

The boys are watching Polar Express...they've hauled out all their Christmas movies already! Fa la la la la la la la la!

Hockey/Soccer Christopher

Christopher was selected as one of the Assistant Captains of his hockey team!

He also made the select soccer team and he's thrilled! He was a bit nervous as he only got one try out because he missed the other three due to his foot being broken.

A historical day............

We've been following the US election and today I said to the boys:

"Today history will be made. The USA will either vote in the first African American President, or the first female Vice President". They've been interested in it all day and we're so happy that Barrack Obama has been elected to President of the USA.

It's November!

My goodness October flew by, and November is already going by too quickly!

The boys had a good Halloween. The weather was great compared to last year when we lost all feeling in our fingers after 45 minutes outdoors. It was nasty! This year it was balmy and a bit wet, but tolerable for the kids.

Despite it being a Friday night, the crowds of kids that we've had in previous years didn't appear, and therefore I'm left with a tonne of candy and chips!

Christopher didn't go out this year, but instead had 2 friends over and they helped hand out candy to the kids. They did go for a walk around the neighbourhood as one of his friends was dressed up, and got a few treats from the neighbours.

Here are some photos from our pumpkin carving....the boys printed off stencils for their pumpkins and Andy carved them. It was their job to 'remove all the guts' from inside the pumpkin and I roasted all the pumpkin seeds. Yum! Christopher who is totally grossed out by the inside of the pumpkins chose not to clean his out this year! Guess he's not going to be a surgeon when he grows up! lol

Here's one of the whole group of them just as they headed out the door.................

Typo!

Ok, I seriously need to use spell check with posting this late at night on my blog!

In my last entry I misspelled Pumpkin!

It's PUMPKIN, not pumkin you ninny!

It's really amazing how fast this month has gone.........

Hard to believe that it's almost the end of October and Halloween!

The boys are doing well.

Hockey is in full swing and we finally have all the boys schedules so now we can figure out which directions we need to go in! Note I said 'directions!!'

Christopher's foot is not causing him any pain. He' s skating well and last game had 2 goals and 2 assists.

We are having homework and test score issues atm with Christopher. Seems he didn't do well on his latest Grammar test and neither did 90% of the class. I was shocked to see his mark, he can do so much better. He's a smart kid, but for some reason he's in la la land....could it because he'll be a teenager in a few months? Yikes!

Jacob's reading is coming along so well! He is a very keen reader and for that I'm thankful!

Nicholas devoured 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' and is now on to book 2 by the same author.

Michael's actually wanting to read novels now which is fantastic. Used to be that we'd say
" Michael pick a book to read(and he has tons!)", and he'd say or do anything to get out of reading. To see and hear him read now is wonderful.

Tomorrow is pumpkin carving day at our house! I had to laugh at Christopher's choice in pumpkins this year.. it's teeny tiny!...He hates the guts of the pumpkins and having to stick his hand into the pumpkin makes him gag! Last year I was laughing so hard at his facial expressions I nearly cried!

Andy started working out again with a personal trainer. I so want to go back to see her too, but am soooooooooooo exhausted at even the thought of a work out. Heck every day around here is a work out.....I've driven over 300 km in the last 4 days..........and that's just in town driving!

Tomorrow is another day...........come to think of it, I'd better get to bed cause tomorrow is only 31 minutes away!

Robo Boot is off.............

Christopher saw the Dr. yesterday and she said he can remove the robo boot now. He is of course thrilled with that! Repeat xray on Friday afternoon, and if all looks good then he can go back to his sports.

Nicholas saw the physio yesterday for tx of his ankle. He has some stretches to do each day and will go in for another physio session next week.

I'm loving this fall weather! Sunny, warm and just beautiful!

We still have to get to the pumpkin patch and start decorating for Halloween, and oh ya, get three of the boys their costumes!

Today was the Gr. 7 Mass. It was lovely. Christopher did a super job with his reading.

Have a little bit of quiet time before picking up the boys, then it's off to music for Nicholas.

Hard to believe that it's already mid October......good grief!

Oh, and the winner of the day was the guy at the dirt bike store....I went in to get a copy of the bill of sale for the gear and bikes that were stolen....and the guy behind the counter (Andrew)says.......

Andrew: " so no word on the bikes yet?
Me: "No, we're just waiting for the insurance money now."

Andrew: " A funny thing... about 2 weeks ago, someone called in who said they were going to buy a bike from some guy on the westside, and the guy suspected the bike was stolen, so he called us(M&M performance) to run the serial number. Sure enough it matched Andy's dirt bike!"

Me: " What? Did you call the police?"

Andrew: " Um, no it's really difficult because we tried to get more information out of the guy, but he wouldn't tell us anymore."

Me: Standing there in disbelief at their stupidity, and wanting to throttle the guy for not giving the police the heads up.

Uugh, makes me crazy!

Hockey Weekend in Abbotsford..........

Michael and I drove to the coast with some other parents yesterday as he had a hockey game at 2 p.m. We won that game 3-0!!

Andy and the other boys arrived last night.

This morning was an early game and we tied that one 3-3.

This afternoon we're going to Gianna's to drop off Christopher and then heading to Michael's other game tonight at 6:30 p.m.

The weather here is fantastic and the boys are enjoying the 80 ft. water slide and pool at the hotel.

Grade 6 Shots!

All the grade 6 students are getting their shots today. Michael was a bit nervous this morning asking how much it was going to hurt. Poor guy, I wish I could be there for him today. No one likes getting shots I know.

The shots they got were for: Hepatitis B and Meningitis

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is upon us and there are so many things to be thankful for....here are just a few:

• I thank God for my wonderful family
• I thank God for their health and happiness
• I thank God for all our wonderful friends
• I thank God that we have plenty of food to eat and clean water to drink
• I thank God that he watches over our family and friends and keeps them safe
• I thank God for the talents and abilities he's given my children
• I thank God for my husband and for loving me
• I thank God that we belong to a faithful and amazing school community
• I thank God that our parents are healthy and participating in our children's lives

Here is one of my favorite Thanksgiving Prayers:

"MY THANKSGIVING PRAYER TO YOU"

My Thanksgiving prayer to you from me;Is for love strong and true that you hold within thee. A heart that beats steady and holds love within; For your brothers and sisters and all creatures by Him. A soul that is worthy of all of His love; That is given to you from the Heavens above. Food on your table that you thank the Lord for; Friends to surround you forever and more. A house filled with love and the light how it shines; Showing all of its beauty till the end of time. Kindness towards others for all of your days; To be returned I pray in many a way. A good job to keep you and pay all your bills; That you spend it all wisely and not on the frills. A family around you that is loving and true; That you all stand together for there are so few. Children to bless you if that is God's will; To cherish and nourish so your life is fulfilled. Dreams of pure beauty as you lay there and sleep; Through the peaceful night when darkness is deep. An angel to guide you through morning and night; To protect you and love you till the end of your plight. And last but most important your love for God will shine through; To the Heavens above for He's waiting for you. Amen and God bless!

First Round of Dr's appts.

Flash back to May when Nicholas sprained his ankle and needed a cast....the cast that fell apart after only one week, and was supposed to have on for 2 weeks.

He went the whole summer not complaining of his ankle and then September comes around and he says....."Mom, I have a numb spot". I took a look at his ankle and it's still a bit swollen, no pain, but numb....so I made an appt. with our Dr. for Oct no less as she's been away.

We also took Michael in with us to get an RX for his excema and to look at his left foot as he's pronating quite a bit lately.

First Michael:

1. Got the new Rx
2. She had him walk bare foot to see his gait...and he's pronating(turning his ankle inwards)
3. Referral to the Orthoped. foot clinic for an assessment and possibly orthotics

Nicholas:

1. Still has some pain with manipulation of his ankle
2. Noted numbness
3. Referral for physio
4. Apparently he pronates worse than Michael!
5. Referral to the Orthoped. foot clinc for an assessment and possible orthotics and a sports brace for his ankle.

Can you say Ka ching??? $$$ Yikes! Better dealing with it now, rather than later as an adult with problems.........Andy are you reading this?

I've got tons to do today and I'm exhausted. Didn't get to bed till about 1:30 a.m. as I was working on the KMHA website last night, and it kept booting me off! I have scaled back on all the volunteer stuff at school this year, and what does my loving husband do? Signs me up for this duty at the hockey parents meeting! Oh my! I'm hoping it won't be a big task as it's just updating Michael's team info etc.

The other boys are settling into hockey season. Jacob is thrilled to have 10 boys from his school on his team this year!

Nicholas doesn't know anyone on his team :(, and if one more person says....."why is Nicholas here and not playing Sr. Atom" I think I may scream! Ya, he should probably be on the Rep. Team, and ya he got the short end of the stick this year, but what are we to do about it? Make a fuss with the organization? Forget it. I just pray that he has an ok season. He looks WAY out of place out there as he's a good skater and can play all positions and there are kids who can't even skate or make a pass on his team.

Christopher continues to heal and is getting annoyed with his inability to play sports. I actually caught him walking on his foot last night without his robo boot on and I quickly told him that if he did that again, that I'd be reporting to the Dr. about it next Tuesday!

Ok, I have to wrap Jenny's baby shower gift.

Christopher, Christopher, Christopher..........

Christopher had an accident at school during volleyball practice this morning. He rolled his ankle and then someone landed on it.

We went to the Dr. and then for an x-ray, and it looks like he's broken the 5th metatarsal bone in his foot just anterior to the ankle bone.

What this means is:

1) He has to wear the robo boot for about 4-6 weeks
2) X-Ray in 2 weeks
3) Physio after that for a number of weeks
4) No soccer try outs, no soccer tournament this weekend, and no hockey for 6 weeks.

He's resting now and playing Mario Kart on the Wii.

Back to school tomorrow with crutches for a week, and then he can put some weight on it.

He's obviously upset that he'll miss all his sports.....but if he doesn't listen to the Dr's orders he'll be out for much longer.

Pray that time passes quickly for him.

Thanks,

Maria

We just about have a schedule..........

You know, I'm starting to dislike the first 6 weeks of autumn because of all the hockey/soccer overlap!

Not only have Christopher and Michael been on the ice since the first day of school, but we're still waiting to find out which days two of the boys practices are on.

Being anal about schedules, this of course is driving me nutty!

So far this is what we know:

1. Michael is the only one of the boys to have made a Rep. Hockey Team
2. Michael made the select soccer team for the Spring
3. I had to move Nicholas' music lesson to another day due to a conflict with blessed hockey Uugh!
4. Christopher is a sports fiend and is playing school volleyball, hockey, and is wrapping up his select soccer season...next week on to try outs for select soccer in the Spring
5. Jacob likes piano, but not practicing!
6. Nicholas rated very high at his hockey evaluations, but apparently not high enough to have made the Development Team he tried out for!
7. Nicholas is a fantastic drummer and is enjoying his lessons
8. Christopher and Michael can play smoke on the water on their electric guitars!
9. We're still waiting for a phone call about when Jacob will have hockey practice and the suspense is nearly killing me!
10. My husband is wonderful and is being very helpful with driving/picking up the boys from their activities after he's finished work
11. The landscapers finally came back today...they're tackling the front yard
12. Michael's hockey team won their first game this past weekend.
13. I have amazing friends who took me out to lunch today to celebrate my belated Birthday.

Maria

Is it me, or are young girls today more aggressive than when I was a preteen?

Ok, so there's this new girl in Gr. 7 and all the boys liked her....until recently when her true colors started to show and now they avoid her like the plague! I've seen her in action at school and she's a classic bully. She makes kids look like fools to make herself look good, and using a loud voice so all can hear.

She has our home phone number and calls here all the time wanting to speak to Christopher.....sometimes he answers the call, and other times I screen the calls.....like last night........

The phone rings around 8:50 p.m. and Nicholas answers the phone...he immediately gets this weird look on his face, so I take the phone from him and the conversation goes like this.......

Maria: "Hello"

Girl: "Is Chris there?"

Maria: "Sorry, he's not home right now, can I take a message?"(he was home, but there was NO way I was going to get him on the phone at that time!)

Girl: " Where is he?"(in a very rude manner I might add!)

Maria: (at a loss for words because no 12 yr. old EVER has to speak to an adult in those tones!) " He's out with his Dad, do you want to leave a message?"

Girl: "No, bye."

Then tonight we just got home from Christopher's hockey evaluation and there are 3 messages from this girl!!!!

"Hi Chris, we just called to say we love you, and we'll see you on Monday"

"Hi Chris(insert giggling here), and then she hung up.

"Hi Chris, we hope you're having a good Birthday, and I'll be giving you your present on Monday" (his Birthday isn't until DECEMBER!)

Maybe I'm making too big a deal about this, but it's making Christopher feel uncomfortable, and he wants me to block her phone number!

What's your opinion?

Other than the rudeness(which still ticks me off), it's just school girl stuff, but it's getting to the point of annoying and harassing.

Help!

Maria

Recap of the last few weeks.............

It's been quiet around here lately......sorry I've been MIA, I had the stomach flu last week, and it knocked me flat for a few days, and the lingering vertigo I had finally is starting to go away.

The boys are settled nicely into school, with three of them already having colds, and a letter came home on Friday that someone in Jacob's class has head lice! Uuugggghhhh!

Hockey season is in full swing already with only Michael making a Rep team this fall, so that means only one of the boys has a early practice during the week.(yay)

It's been a nutty few weeks around here with weird stuff going on. I think I told you that the dirt bikes were stolen, right? Well, the police are on the case, but nothing has been found as of yet. We had some lovely teenagers, er complete idiots light a fire behind our retaining wall in the wooded area behind our house. Nothing better to do on a Friday night! My kids were on the trampoline in the backyard when all of a sudden the two little ones came in crying.....I figured someone had gotten their head bonked when they were jumping, so asked them what was wrong....Jacob said that there was a fire in the back, so I took a look and sure enough, there was a fire burning 100 ft. from our retaining wall! I called 911 and they sent the fire dept. It took them 40 mins to put it out.........with shovels and OUR garden hose! The teens didn't disperse either...they're not scared of anyone with authority it seems. The firefighters told them to get the heck out of there after they reprimanded them and asked them if they were stupid to have lit a fire in the treed area. There were approx. 20-25 teens up there having a great ole time....and you know what some parents down the street had to say? " Well, they're just kids they need to go somewhere to have fun." WTH? So, let them light a fire in YOUR backyard! No respect I tell you. It makes me really angry that society today tolerates this crap. They're your KIDS, not your FRIENDS....parent them!

Christopher got a letter sent home from the principal the other day. Usually that's not a good thing, but in this case it was great news. Apparently a fight broke out at school at lunchtime and Christopher saw this and tried repeatedly to break it up. They weren't listening, so he went to get a supervisor. The letter was commending him on following the rules and for being brave when fists were flying. (Aww way to go Christopher, you are listening to us!)

Ok, better get going. I have three hockey bags to get organized for after school today.

A beautiful sunny day, just ripe for a burglary!

Yup, you read it right.........

Today I was outside most of the day as it was sunny and hot....I even folded my laundry outside on the pool deck today!

After school Jacob had a friend over, and they went swimming. Christopher, Michael and Joseph went for a walk in the hills out behind our house. They left at 4:20 p.m and came back at 5 pm, when all He** broke loose.

The events unfolded like this:

Michael: " Mom, is Dad home?"
Maria: "No, why?"
Michael: "The shed door is open and Dad's dirt bike is gone"


So, I went to look and sure enough both Andy and Christopher's dirt bikes were gone, as well as Andy's helmet, boots and chest protector.

I called the police and filed a report and am still waiting for the officer to call me back for the serial numbers etc.

Bums, must have come in while Jacob and his friend were swimming and I was trimming the rose bushes by the pool! Michael swears he and Joseph looked right at the shed door(garage door type) on their way out to their walk and it was shut, so this theft occurred during the 40 mins that they were gone and while I was pulling weeds along the hedge!

They busted the lock on the garage door(a bolt that slides sideways to prevent anyone on the outside from getting in).

Thankfully we have insurance, but it makes me so angry that this happened in broad daylight and while we were home.

Next on the agenda.......getting a BIG dog!

Uugh!

Maria

Mommy, go to Jacob.com

So, Jacob sits beside me tonight and the conversation goes like this

• J:"mommy, go to Jacob.com"
• M: "there's no such thing as Jacob.com"
• J: " Please mommy"
• So I type in Jacob.com and this is what I find......anyone want to bid on it????

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120301586918

Andy's Granny............

Andy's Granny isn't doing very well. She had a heart attack last week and is deteriorating every day.

Andy will go and see her tonight.

Praying for you Granny Margaret.

Labour Day Long Weekend.............

Hey y'all....hard to believe the kiddos will go back to school on Tuesday! Where did the summer go?

Recap:

1. July- Soccer Provincials
2. July- Lisa & Ron's Wedding
3. July- Golf Camp
4. July- Pool Party for all the cousins/Aunts/Uncles
5. Auntie Gianna/Uncle Derek and the girls visit
6. Auntie Mina/Uncle Carlo and the kids visit
7. August- Hockey School for Christopher, Michael and Nicholas
8. August-Uncle Jason/Auntie Jen and the boys visit
9. August- Soccer Camp
10. August- Pool Party/Birthday/Sleepover-Nicholas
11. August- Pool Party/Birthday/Sleepover-Michael
12. August- Pool Party/Birthday-Christopher
13. August- Pool Party/Birthday- Jacob
14. September- Back to School!
15. September-Fiesta(for our adult friends only! ) Ole!
16. September-hockey try outs
17. September- Soccer resumes for Christopher,Nicholas and Jacob

And there you have it....................

Maria

August 14th.......Nicholas' Party

Thank goodness it was hot out today for the pool party!

Nicholas had 5 friends over for a pool party and they all had fun.

I'm so done with parties, and sadly I still have another three to go this month!

August 11th

Jen and the kids left today.

We had such a good visit, I'm sad to see them leave.

Alex is such a cutie,and sooooooooo funny!

One day I was helping him get his shoes on, and I asked him to slide his foot to the front of the shoe, and he winds his fingers through my curly hair and says........"you're pwitty"

Then the next day he had jumped into the pool with his diaper on, so I asked him to come out so that I could put a swimmer on him. We peeled off his massively wet diaper(had to re fill the pool after that load came out!) I asked him to jump so that I could slide the swimmer on which is not an easy task when you're soaking wet and 2 yrs. old! He says......."Ok pwitty Mawia" I laughed myself silly!

Lucas grew a ton while he was here. He's so sweet. The boys had fun playing with Alex and carting Lucas around.

August 7th..........Andy's Birthday!

Andy went golfing today, and I'm so glad that he took the time to do that. He's been so incredibly busy with work, that playing golf has become a distant memory.

The weather was fantastic today, and he played a good game.

We had a BBQ tonight.

Were originally going to have steak and chicken, but Karin P. called and asked me if I wanted a fresh salmon that they'd caught at the coast. They were kind enough to drop it off here and we cooked it on the BBQ for supper. It was amazing!

We got Andy a golf cart cake which was delicious by the way! Two cakes in two days, are not good for the old saddle bags! lol

Here are some photos. One is of the beautiful sunset we could see from our patio.

Happy 42nd Birthday Andy!

It's my Birthday!

I think this was one of my best Birthday's ever!

I had the most relaxing day which started with sleeping in! Andy took the boys to hockey school this morning, then came back and made me breakfast, and I was told to just go and sit by the pool and read my book! H E A V E N!

I did just that, and even had a nap in the lounge chair.

I got spoiled again with flowers that arrived from Jason, many phone calls and Birthday cards, and two beautiful charms for my bracelet, and a cream and sugar set from Pottery Barn that I love!

Hockey School Week....August 3-9th

Well, it's upon us again...........another round of hockey...in the summer no less.

As much as I like watching them play hockey, I have a real problem with going to the rink in the summer! I mean do you dress for the scorching heat of the outdoors, and then freeze you're butt off inside the arena, or do you dress for the cold rink and then sweat off 10 lbs. when you get outside?

The boys had a great week of camp. Christopher and Michael were in the same group this year which was fantastic. Nicholas was in the younger age group and made some friends as well as met up with a boy who's been in his camp for the last few years.

They all came home with medals for the Ironman which is a team relay skating laps around the ice.

Christopher also won for the hardest slap shot clocked at 53 mph(84km/h)!

Here's a photo of them with their medals.

August 2/08

The Macdonnell's arrived from Vancouver!

Alex and Lucas are so sweet!

The boys are loving having their cousins here and I'm thrilled that we can all be together for the week!

Here are some photos taken in our pool, and one of all the Macdonnell 'Men'!

The last week of July.............

The last week of July was filled with pool time, and just hanging out. Jason and Jen were to arrive with their kids at the beginning of August, so we were gearing up for that visit and getting excited, as they've never stayed with us before.

The weather has cooperated a bit more, finally realizing that it IS summer and it SHOULD be HOT!

Andy finishes work this week and then will have two weeks off! Yay!

We are enjoying our pool this summer! (July)

Christopher

Jacob surfing in the pool!

Our first outdoor dinner at our new table!

Our first pool party July 19/08

Julianna and Matteo are having a blast at our place!

Everyone came over today for a pool party.

When I say everyone, I mean all our cousins, Uncle Sal, Auntie Darlene, Mom and Dad etc.

We had the best day, and it was freaking hot out!

Everyone arrived in the early afternoon and stayed till about 11 pm. I love it when we all get together...we may have to make this an annual event!

Maria

July 15/08

Uncle Tony and the boys stayed in town for a few days after the Wedding. They came over for dinner and Jeff helped me cook Linguine and Prawns! Here are a few photos that Jacob took of us.

July 14-18/08

Golf Camp for the boys!

This week starts the beginning of summer camps for the boys. They've been attending this camp since Christopher was 6 yrs. old. Both Christopher and Michael set course records at the mini tournament they had on the last day of camp. The weather cooperated for them too which was nice. I got to have an hour and half to myself each day...and learned that you cannot possibly go to Costco and back in that time frame! Uugh! They managed ok though for the 20 minutes they had to wait for me. The staff there was great and gave them a bucket of balls to hit at the driving range.

My sister Gianna arrived on the 16th and they're staying with us till Monday. My nieces are having a great time swimming in the pool! I tell you Sofia is a fish! She was in the water yesterday from 10am-10pm! She only got out to eat!

Maria

HAPPY WEDDING DAY LISA AND RON!!

Today we woke to a beautifully sunny sky! What a great day for a Wedding.

Mom and Mina got up early to get to Lisa's so that they could do all the hair for the bridal party and Auntie Darlene. When I say early, I mean 5:30 a.m.!

Carlo and Andy made pancakes for the kids this morning. The ceremony was at 12:30p.m. and Lisa wanted Christopher and Michael at the Church early to start handing out programs.

Mom and Mina arrived back to Mina's at 11:30 a.m. and mom quickly pinned my hair up.

The Wedding was spectacular! The flowers were amazing....the food was delicious! We all had such a good time, I hated to see it come to an end....as did the boys as we had to haul them off the dance floor at 1:15 a.m.!! They didn't sit out a dance all night!

Here's a photo of me with mom as she's pinning on my corsage.

All 4 boys at Church.

The entire extended family!

Andy and I

July 11/08

We arrived safely into Vancouver. Mom and Dad travelled with us.

I spent the better part of the day finalizing the writing of everything required for my duty as MC at the Wedding.

I am praying that it all goes well. I'm not exactly a fan of speaking in public.....ya I like to talk, but not in front of 250 people at one time!

Everyone went to the rehearsal dinner and mom and dad had dinner with us at Mina's.

The suits are all laid out, my dress is ready to go. Have to get the boys to bed early cause tomorrow will be a fun day and I'm sure we'll be dancing till well into the early morning.

Maria

July 6-11/08

This week was spent getting ready for my cousins upcoming Wedding in Vancouver.


The boys needed to try on their suits, dress shoes etc.

Michael and Nicholas needed new suits, and three of the boys needed new dress shoes. Darn it anyway, Christopher is now into a men's shoe and it's getting pricier to outfit him in clothes/shoes! :(

I was happy to have found suits for Nicholas and Michael at The Bay and they were on sale!

We also had dental appts. this week(no cavities), orthodontic appts.(no braces required yet for Christopher or Michael), and Michael had a follow up with our family Dr. (He can resume normal activities now as he's been headache free) She also gave him the ok to go to hockey school in August.

I had my follow up with the OB/GYN and all the test results came back ok. No signs of anything sinister going on with my uterus! Yay!

We were supposed to leave for the coast on the 10th, but this freak storm came in with winds in excess of 100km/h and snow was flying on the connector so we decided to wait till Friday to go down for the Wedding. That afternoon during the storm, the boys and I were literally running all over the place chasing seat cushions that had blown down the hill, our patio table was turned upside down and the glass shattered, our pool cover that's on a roller blew into the pool and became submerged and had to be fished out. There was a lot of damage done to boats in the marina and trees were uprooted all over the city.

Went to bed early on the 10th as we wanted to head out early the next day.

Maria

Dropped our bags, and then packed some more.........

July 2-July 6/08

The boys and I are off to the coast today(July 2) in preparation for the Provincial Soccer Championships.

Unfortunately, Andy has to work this week, but he will be joining us on Friday.

The drive down was pretty good. Thankfully the boys travel well.

We arrived at Jason and Jen's in the afternoon, and Alex was thrilled to see/play with his older cousins.

We only got to see Jason for a day as he was headed to Paris on a business trip the next day.

Granny and Grandpa travelled to the coast to cheer on Christopher's team.

Unfortunately, we didn't play well and lost most of our games.

Auntie Chris, Uncle Gord, Auntie Joey, Auntie Jen, Uncle Jason and Alex, Uncle Carlo and the kids all came out to cheer us on too. It was so nice to see all of them!

The weather was less than spectacular....it rained almost every day! :(

We finished the provincials in 7th place. Not too bad.

Of course there were some parents who were disappointed that we finished that low in the standings as we claimed the 1st place position at home in league play. It's an entirely different ball game at the coast. Bigger kids, stronger teams. Greater population to pull talent from etc.

We did win our last game though so that was good for the boys morale.

Here are some photos from the weekend.

Maria

Happy Birthday Jacob!!!

June 28/08

Happy Birthday Jacob!

It's hard to believe that my baby boy is 7 today!

You are such a sweet and loving little boy, and I thank God everyday for you.

Here are some photos of you opening your presents!

Maria

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!

HAPPY CANADA DAY LONG WEEKEND!

We went out to the lake with Jen, Tim and the kids. The weather was hot and sunny.The boys had fun tubing, wakeboarding and just hanging out with their friends.

We had a big pasta dinner one night and a BBQ the next few.

Andy and Tim bought some fireworks in town, and set them off. They did a GREAT job!

As usual the kids were sad to leave the lake.

Here are some pics from our weekend at the lake.

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, what a great day! This school year went by so quickly....my brain is telling me it should only be May, but my body and mind are ready for the relaxing days of summer!

The boys all got great report cards, and will continue on in the following grades:

Christopher: Grade 7 (GULP!)

Michael: Grade 6 (When did that sneak up on me?)

Nicholas: Grade 4 (What?)

Jacob: Grade 2 (NO WAY!)


Despite Michael missing the last bit of school, he managed to get the best report card yet!


Today after school the boys are going to various pool parties. Christopher is coming along with Nicholas and Jacob to Sophie's pool party. He's going to help supervise the younger kids.

Jen hired a lady to come and build teddy bears for goodie bags! The kids each got to pick an animal, stuff it and then decorate it's t-shirt. They turned out great!

Now that school's done, we can start getting ready to head out to the lake for the long weekend!

Maria

The last week of school!!!!!!!!!!!

The boys are on cloud nine this week. The LAST week of school before Summer Break!

Michael's been feeling much better. He's been back at school for only short periods of time, but is doing all right and has been headache free.

Nicholas and Jacob wrapped up their soccer for the summer this past Saturday with some wins. Christopher's team will play till the end of July and take August off. His team is going to the Provincials July 3-6th in Richmond. Michael had to quit soccer due to his injury...he's not that bummed about it as his season was just so so. Not a lot of organizational skills on his coaching staff this year, which is too bad.

While Michael's been at school I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to pick up Teacher's gifts etc.

The boys also have a few Birthday parties to go to before School lets out.

Maria

June 23rd.......Looking ahead day!

Hi everyone,

Today is a day the boys look forward to....it's when they get to line up in their next years grade, meet their new teacher and spend 2 hrs. in that classroom!

I'm sooooooooo thrilled with all the teachers the boys got!

Maria

June 20th Family Fun Night...........

With so many things going on in our lives this month, I had to step aside and let the others take over the organizing of the Family Fun Night at school.

They did a great job. Everyone had fun and we made money to boot!

The kids loved the inflatable obstacle course and the bounce house. They came home with all sorts of treats and prizes.

Maria

June 19th.............

June 19th I had surgery(hysteroscopy). The lead up is always the worst, and I had made myself sick in the past worrying about stuff. This time was different though as I had so many people thinking about and praying for me. I will admit that I was a bit nervous, the unknown frightens me, but it all went well. Whatever they gave me for sedation worked really well, cause I was in recovery until after 4 p.m. Andy took the afternoon off to take me to and from my surgery.

I was pretty groggy for a good 24 hrs. afterwards and had some bleeding, but not as bad as I'd expected.

The next few days I took it easy, but was getting bored of watching TV, so I decided to go outside and pull some weeds in the backyard. Andy told me to go lie down, but you know me, I don't take orders well (lol). I paid for it though as the bleeding got worse and that was accompanied by cramping.

The nurse told me that my cycles probably wouldn't return to normal for 6 weeks(right on!) I was looking forward to missing a cycle....but alas my body runs like a Swiss watch and my cycle arrived right on the date it was supposed to! Shockingly though it was THE lightest cycle I've ever had! Makes me wonder why I didn't opt for this surgery sooner!

Michael and I are quite the pair though. He's still pretty tired and will nap during the day. We both had a nap this afternoon...I don't know who looked after who more today!

Looking forward to summer holidays!

Maria

Recap of June/08

It's hard to believe that summer holidays are almost over.

So much has happened since June, and unfortunately,I never did get a chance to document it all here.

To recap the first part of June:

June 4/08

Andy and I headed to Seattle for a few days. He finally found some time to take a dental course at the Kois Center for Dental Excellence. Granny and Grandpa were in charge of the boys this weekend. I picked up our rental car and headed to Andy's office to pick him up. (We had to leave the van for the grandparents to transport the boys in). We had just gotten onto the Coquihalla Hwy. when we received a phone call from Christopher that the van wouldn't start! (uugh) So I called our friend Tim and he turned around to go back to the school to see what was up. Apparently the battery was dead.(not sure how that happened, as it was running completely fine when I left them 20 minutes prior!) Anyway, they took the van to Honda and they replaced the battery.

5 hrs + later we arrived in Seattle. The hotel we were at was great! The concierge was fantastic! See today was our 14th Wedding Anniversary and after telling him that he promptly called Chandler's Crabhouse across the St. and made a reservation for us. We were seated immediately at a lovely table overlooking Lake Washington. An appetizer was brought over(compliments of our hotel.......very nice!) We had a great dinner and left completely stuffed! lol

June 5/08

Today Andy was up early and headed to his course. I heard him leave, but fell back asleep and actually MISSED breakfast!(it was included in our stay and only served until 9 am) So, I stayed in bed watched a TV show, as it was pouring rain outside, and I wasn't in a huge hurry to get out there. I located the nearest Mall on my GPS and headed out that way.Only trouble is that darn GPS wasn't cooperating with the fact that I wanted to go shopping in Seattle, and it took me WAY out of the way....kept thinking I was in Arkansas! Whatever! I finally got it to work properly and found the mall I was looking for. I had the B E S T day shopping and found lots of great things for the boys. I tell you, Macy's and Nordstrom's are my new FAV. stores!

June 6/08

Today I did some more shopping(sooooooooooo much fun!) Also had my nails done at one of those places in the mall that does nails for cheap. I had a french manicure done and it only cost me $15. I went back to the hotel and then waited for Andy to come back from his course so we could attend a dinner cruise hosted by Dr. Kois and his wife on thier yacht! I had purchased a nice pair of black dress pants and a sweater to wear (as it was STILL raining in Seattle and I had only brought 'summery' type clothing to wear). I had on some nice wedge heels and my blue trench coat. Anyway, we got to the boat and everyone was dressed in jeans and fleece jackets! Hmm, can you say overdressed??? I hate when that happens! We learned all about Seattle, got to see the outside of Bill Gates' residence. Did you know that his house is built on a cliff and 80% of it is built into the hill, so you don't even see that from the water. When they were building it, they needed to do a lot of blasting, so as a courtesy to his neighbours, he paid off all their mortgages! Nice!

June 7/08

Today was the last day for Andy's course. I was headed out to the Super Mall in Auburn, which was a 30 min. drive from the hotel. I almost turned back because the darn rain was coming down so strong and driving on the Freeway in those conditions in the rental car had me a bit freaked out.

I found the mall all right(thank you GPS unit). Found a Nordstrom Rack and GREAT deals on all kinds of stuff for the boys. All those brand names they love like Volcom, Hurley, Quiksilver etc., and sooooooooo cheap too....I had to restrain myself! lol Then I went into Bed, Bath and Beyond and let me tell you.....I was in there forever....they had Quiksilver bedding and accent pillows to boot! I got each of the boys some bedding and pillows.

On my way back to the hotel, I found a Target and got a Margaritaville Machine. Much less $ than in Canada.

My phone rang at 3:05 p.m. and it was Jacob. He was crying saying......" Mommy come home Michael's hurt bad". I asked him what happened and he said that Michael had fallen off his bike and was bleeding. My first question was did he have a helmet on? Jacob said he did. Now at this point I'm assuming that it's nothing major, that Jacob would call me if it was a small scratch, so I asked where Michael was bleeding from, and he said his mouth...to which I replied...."ok, that's ok, just give him a popsicle" (the cold would constrict the blood vessels and stop the bleeding). I then asked to speak to Granny and she came to the phone and said," I can't talk to you right now, I have to call 911!" Now I'm driving in the rain on the I-5 heading back to Seattle trying to figure out what the heck is going on at our house! Either A) Fran is over reacting, or B) She's a nurse and it must be pretty bad! I immediately call Jennifer to ask her if she could go over and see what's going on, but she's not at home.

The next phone call I get is from Fran who says that they're at the ER and that they've started an IV and are doing a CAT scan. My heart is in my throat, and I'm trying not to panic. I start to pray for Michael.Jacob and Nicholas rode to the hospital in the ambulance(both traumatic and exciting I'm sure).

I arrive back at the hotel. Jennifer and I are on the phone constantly trying to figure out what's going on.I then get a phone call from Liana who says that Tom phoned her and that they're all praying for Michael. My first reaction is to get my stuff and leave, but Jen convinces me that Andy will have a heart attack if he comes back to the hotel and finds a note that I've left. So I wait, and I try not to pace. I had all our stuff packed and ready to go at the door.

Andy arrives back at the hotel around 5:20 p.m. He's excited because we were 'supposed' to be going out for dinner that night just the two of us and the next day we would drive home. This sudden calm came over me and I said......." Andy, we need to leave now. Michael's been brought to the hospital via ambulance....they've started an IV and are doing a CAT scan." His reaction wasn't as calm. We packed up the rental car in less than 10 minutes and headed for the border. I don't think we spoke to each other till we reached Canada. Both of us were scared about what condition we'd find Michael in once we got back.

We did however finally get to speak to Fran about what happened and this is what she said Nicholas had told her:

Michael, Nicholas and Jacob were out riding bikes behind our house. Michael had taken a jump on his bike and flew over the handle bars. He landed on his chin and had a seizure. Nicholas sent Jacob back to get Granny. Poor little guy, he must have been so scared. Anyway, Granny runs up to where they are and realizes that she didn't even bring a phone with her. They flag down some guy who's out dune buggying and he brings Michael down the hill. He is bleeding quite badly from his mouth, but they can't figure out where it's coming from. Michael is conscious, and is screaming in pain. It's by the Grace of God that Michael wore the helmet that he did that day, or his injuries would have been much worse. He couldn't find his actual bike helmet, and instead found the proper mountain biking helmet with a full face shield!

We arrived at the hospital at 10:30 p.m. and Michael was still in Emergency. He was heavily sedated and they had just finished stitching his mouth. Apparently when he fell the iron jaw on his helmet pulled his lower lip down which tore the gingiva away from his mandible from bicuspid - bicuspid. He had 12 stitches in his mouth, and a severe concussion. No brain bleeds, no broken jaw, nothing done to his face on the outside.

The Dr. said he'd need to be in the hospital for a few days for observation. I stayed with him on Pediatrics. They woke him every hour and asked him all kinds of questions. His reaction or lack thereof scared the crap out of me....the nurse asked him if he knew where he was, and he was completely blank, no response. She kept repeating the question as he fell back to sleep.She woke him again, and then told him that he'd had a bad accident on his bike, that he was in the hospital etc.This went on all night long. He finally was able to respond to her at about 5 a.m., when she asked him if he knew where he was. He was able to get up to use the washroom and when he saw his face in the mirror, he cried. He was very swollen due to the trauma and all the IV fluids, but in the grand picture, it wasn't too bad considering what might have been.

The Pediatrician looking after him was Dr. Duncan whose son plays on Michael's soccer team. He was very good and stayed at the hospital late to make sure Michael was all right.

June 8/08

At 6:00 a.m.the nurse came in to check on Michael and wake him up. He answered her questions, then when she left, he says........" Mom, Nicholas and I went up to the sand hill on our bikes", and I said "do you remember that?" He said yes, but that's all he remembers.

Jen, Tim and the kids came to visit him today.They brought him some candy and magazines. He didn't want to come out of the bathroom because he didn't want them to see his face all swollen, poor thing.

The boys and Andy brought in balloons, and 3 stuffies for Michael.

Nonna, Nonno, Granny and Grandpa also came to visit. Michael slept a lot.

June 9/08

Elaine Johnson and Michelle Graham brought me a Starbucks Latte this morning! They're so sweet! Franca came in shortly thereafter and brought me a coffee and a balloon for Michael. He was doing a bit better today, and the nurse said we could probably go home.

Good thing Grandpa came up, cause we needed help getting everything to the van.

Michael was on IV antibiotics for an infection he got in his jaw from where the stitches were. He can't open his mouth very wide, so can only eat liquids and yogurt for now. Dr. Medinsky and Dr. Docherty came in today. We got the orders to go home! Yay!

Michael still had a long road to full recovery and we had to have him lay low.

The first few days/nights at home he slept most of the time.

He had to quit soccer, and couldn't go back to school until he was symptom free(no headaches, dizziness etc.)

He did manage to return to school for a few days at the end of June.

I thank God that he wasn't more seriously injured.

I thank God that Nicholas stayed with him and sent Jacob to get Granny.

I thank God that she called 911 and went to the hospital.

I thank God that Dr. Duncan was on call that day.

I thank God that he had caring nurses.

I thank God that he had a WONDERFUL Teacher this year.

I thank God for the wonderful loving family and friends we have.

I thank God that today he is back to normal and one of the many joys in my life.

I thank God that we belong to a wonderful school community that prayed for Michael everyday and sent him get well cards.

I thank God for the many amazing online friends that prayed for Michael even though they've never met him.

I thank God that we still have Michael in our lives.

Maria