March 5 Procedures

Thursday:  I picked Jesse up today at 8:15 to take him to have two procedures: (1) an endoscopy; and (2) a colonoscopy. The reason he was having these tests was actually because he has had acid REFLUX for nearly 20 years and has been on antacids and other meds for that condition, he also has a hiatal hernia, so his doctor wanted to do the scope to check out the health of his esophagus -- and while they were knocking him out, why not do a colonoscopy since he's never had one?!

We drove over to the Metro Hospital complex (off from M-6) and found the professional building, which is right across from where Jesse goes for his veteran's stuff--so he knew how to find it. We got him checked in by 8:45 (exactly on time) and then we went through all of the hoops (medical questions, forms, signatures, etc.) from then until they wheeled him away at 10:00 to do what had to be done.

Jesse returned to the recovery area at 10:45 VERY sleepy. His nurses and doctor came in with the initial report that all was well on "both ends." YAY. There was a small benign-appearing polyp removed from both areas which they will biopsy (routine). 

Jesse had to wake up enough to get his street clothes back on, so we didn't actually wheel him out to the car until about 11:30. Once we were back at his house, Jesse was finally able to eat something (he hadn't eaten a single thing for 36 hours ... or smoked or vaped for that amount of time either), so he heated up some leftover pizza and laid down for a nap.

Kaity came home from school at her usual time and relaxed in her room for awhile before she came out to eat something. By that time, Jesse was awake and he visited with us awhile. It was such a nice time!

Kaity was showing me an algebra problem she had for homework. Whew. Algebra. Not exactly my strong suit whatsoever. Kaity seems to enjoy it, which is good!

It is very very VERY rare that I take a photo of Kaity, so I just had to sneak a few in while I had the chance. Isn't she pretty? And there is Jesse in the background!

How thankful I am to spend time with these two today. I feel super blessed.

March 4 Cardinal Couple

Wednesday:  I can't actually say which birds are my favorite ones BUT since my most favorite color is RED, the Cardinals do come very near to being my favorite to see at my window almost every day. They come together, the male and female, ALWAYS. How is it that they pair up like this and stay together? I am so curious about it! In eternity, when I am living in my new resurrected body (I will not be a disembodied spirt, but I will have a BODY), I'm going to have a whole bunch of beautiful birds and other wild animals that I will enjoy completely. I'd like to have a bunch of chipmunk pets and squirrels too!

I have been re-reading "Heaven" by Randy Alcorn and it has been so good for me to remember that because of what Jesus accomplished for me in his death and resurrection, He has promised and already granted eternal life to all who believe. Since I DO believe, this world really should not be my first love since it is only temporary. God has promised to make a "new heaven and a new earth" where He will live with us and we will serve Him ... forever ... no more curse, pain, tears, sorrow ... just JOY and PEACE and endless ADVENTURE. !!!

March 3 with the kiddos

Tuesday:  What a nice time I had with the kids this afternoon. The thing is--ALL of these guys are SO interesting to be with! And they sincerely seem happy to see me every single week, which is something I do not take for granted.

I think what I enjoyed most today was watching how they all play together. And Aidan seems so much more settled in his heart and mind these last few months--less edgy, and so much more happy. I'm so thankful to see him behaving more consistently ... normal. It's difficult to describe Aidan. I believe that he has a brilliant mind that oftentimes makes him miserable because he seems to be two steps ahead of everything and everyone around him and it vexes the daylights out of him. But lately, he just seems less bothered by life in general. Thank you, Lord.

Here are a few pictures I took of the kiddos today: This is SO typically CAL. He absolutely kills me and cracks me up completely. What a kid.

Aidan was very pleased to show me his new sneakers--very nice!

Erin came off the school bus reading her library book and continued to read as she walked down the sidewalk until she reached the crossing point. I was very relieved when she tucked her book under her arm before stepping out into the street. This is the little one who was somehow "delayed" in reading a year ago, which was a total surprise for her parents to find out (me too!), but apparently she has just "taken off" with reading this year. We all knew she would! She lives in a READING HOUSEHOLD for pity's sake.

I brought my Tetras game with me and we enjoyed playing a few rounds of it while the kids were eating their after-school snack.

Afterwards, Aidan beckoned me to the basement to show me the fancy car he had designed for Cal. I love these pictures of them so much! Aidan explained that HE was the engine.

Erin had a little vehicle of her own, with a fancy computer-operated system. She was quite pleased with it.

The kiddos grabbed my phone to take a few "selfies" and we all cracked up doing it.

Isn't Aidan growing so handsome? The picture below was the final "selfie" and totally cracked Aidan (and all of us) up.

I missed out taking any pictures of Brendan. Hopefully, I will make up for that this weekend when he comes for his overnight on Friday. I'm trying to pick a "wholesome" movie for the two of us to enjoy. The last few times I kind of let Brendan pick a movie, kind of out of the blue, one that I had never heard of, and I struggled to enjoy movie time! So, I'm going to make myself be aggressive and do the choosing of our movie this weekend. Hopefully, Brendan will be okay with this. He is FOURTEEN now, so any time he is actually willing to come over and spend a night I cherish highly! I know that pretty soon he will not want to do this anymore; and even though I accept that completely, it's something that I hope won't happen suddenly.