hopefully we are done visiting the e.r. . . .

i SO should be in bed,but just a QUICK update on rick. . .
since sunday, he's still been having SOME dizziness, but the dr. said it could last up to SIX weeks, so 2 days is to be expected . . . what was NOT expected was a fever (almost 103) and the SHAKES that he started with today. i was up at school going over some things with tina (my friend & co-worker) when the girls called and put rick on the phone and he told me how sick he was . . . so off the the e.r. we headed again. this time it was TWO bags of i.v. fluids and a bag of an antiboitic, 5 tubes of blood, a urine sample (sorry, i know, t.m.i.), a chest x-ray and two swabs up his NOSE - YUCK. the dr. really seemed to think it was the H1N1 flu (a.k.a. SWINE FLU), but that came back negative, but his little sample in a cup indicated a bladder infection . . . totally unrelated to the sunday issues . . . hopefully this antibiotic will kick the infection out quickly and rick can be back to feeling himself soon! :)
(he's not the greatest patient, and i am most definately NOT the best nurse - obviously - he is in bed and i'm out here on the computer!)

e.k.g.'s, c.t. scans & would you like any sauce with that??

some days just end up differently than you think they will! to give a little background here, do you remember me mentioning that is was just a little warm this week? well, warm, as in HOT? and i mean HOT (in "yooper-speak" at least!) we had 3 days where our thermometer read over 90 degrees. (for any non-yoopers out there - that is HOT for us!) and, it's even HOTTER when you are building houses for a living! so, when rick complained of being tired, and even a little dizzy, i chalked it up the the heat and outdoor work this week - maybe a little dehydration . . . being thankful that yesterday was relatively cool and rainy! so, this morning, when he wakes up and says he has a shooting pain in his left ear, we immediately assume ear infection. i'm realizing that it must be quite miserable as he doesn't argue when i say i'm taking him to the walk-in clinic after church! so, after church, we head down town for a quick stop at the walk in to get a prescription for antibiotics, then off to a quick drive through lunch and home to mow the lawn and enjoy today's cooler weather . . . so the girls and i wandered around a bit (the walk in clinic is in shopko), and waited . . . rick was out really quickly and he told me that they refunded his $45.00 charge? what?? why?? doctors DON'T do that!! oh, yes they do, when they are sending you the the E.R.!!!!!! so, now, i'm a little stressed, but the girls are with us, so let's make it a bit of an adventure . . . off to the hospital we go (rick DID tell them he'd just go to his dr. tomorrow, and they said, no, you really should go to the e.r.)
so we get to the hospital, check in, and get into a "room" (more on that later) quite quickly. the dr. comes in and reviews rick's sypmtoms with him . . . dizziness, ear pain, a bit nauseous feeling . . . and informs us that 3 people already today have come in with symptoms similar to that . . . the first 2 had a viral ear infection - it's running through the community . . . whew - what a relief . . . oh, but the 3rd, well, we sent him for a c.t. scan and found a brain tumor. comforting.
so, since rick is over 50, with odd symptoms, the dr. orders bloodwork, an e.k.g. and a c.t. scan (looking for a brain tumor??) in between tests and while we waited, the girls were out in the lobby acting like they were at a party, not the hospital e.r. waiting room sitting like the perfectly, well behaved young ladies that they are (for TWO hours and 16 minutes, mama, kajz informed me!)
rick and i were in his nice, little private room "group" cubicle where we sat in peace, quiet, and much privacy were entertained by the patients near us, seperated by just a thin curtain . . . . we knew their heights, weights, alcohol & tobacco habits, whether they were going home or being admitted . . . just about everything they shared with medical personnel remained in complete confidentiality was providing us with our entertainment for the afternoon! so much for HIPA or whatever it's supposed to be called!! :) well after that nice doctor (he really was a NICE guy!) scared us a bit (brain tumors?) he came in and went over all the results which were all quite PERFECT and it must be the viral ear infection thing - "there are 2 more people have come in since you got here with the SAME symptoms" . . . so rick came home with an anti-dizzy medicine and instructions to take it easy this week and not climb! - ha! right! we'll see how THAT goes! after all the excitement, we were quite hungry so we stopped at taco bell and got some "lupper" (lunch/supper) and headed home. but, the "fruitista" that tessa & i got looked so good to taya & rick & kajsa that we stopped at the OTHER taco bell and got 3 more of those and some cinnamon twists . . . when we got to the window, the girl politely asked us "would you like any sauce with that today?" now, if i hadn't been TIRED and really ready to just GET HOME, maybe it wouldn't have been SO FUNNY, but i lost it!! :) and then, rick says, "yeah, some HOT sauce"!! :) it was nice to end the "journey" on a silly note! :)
now, rick is off to bed, resting up for the week that looks to be a good 20 degrees cooler than last week, the girls are camping out in the tent and i'm looking around at all the "stuff" that i should be doing rather than playing around on the internet!! :)

happy anniversary!

a very special happy anniversary TODAY to
DAD & MOM RYE
and to
TIM & ROCHET!
we love you all!
have a wonderful day!

we love kaci♥

it's as bad as having a new baby in the house

when you can devote an entire slide show to the puppy!

but, she's sure cute, isn't she?!

she LOVES to be WITH us!

if we are on the pool deck,

or at a bonfire roasting s'mores,

or playing in the yard,

or typing at the computer,

or sleeping out in this . . .

which is what we did last night!

all of us girls!

mommy

tessa

taya

kajsa

&

kaci!

daddy slept in his own comfy bed! :)

we could have left the cats with him . . .

but that would have been worse than being alone i think!

birthday - take TWO!

this morning we woke up to more heat!

after breakfast out on the deck, the little girls hit the pool by 9:45 a.m.!

(the big girls were babysitting)

after a quick run to stephenson, daisy and kajsa were back

in the pool for the afternoon!

our thermometer read 100 degrees this afternoon . . .

and our A/C isn't working!! :(

kajz brought popsicles to church for a treat tonight and now

we are home getting read for a relaxing evening with

an EARLY bedtime! :)

birthdays & birds & "beauty" shop!! :)

aahhhh, 10 years ago RIGHT NOW (11:08 p.m.) . . .

I REMEMBER IT WELL! :)

actually, it was probably about NOW i was telling rick that i

JUST WANTED TO GO HOME! :)

but of course that couldn't happen

and an hour and 15 minutes later,

i was sure glad to be where we were, welcoming

KAJSA JO into our lives! :)

WHERE have those 10 years gone? our "BABY"

is in "double digits"! :)

above are some pictures of fun in the pool today with friends!

and what a PERFECT day it was for a swimming party! :)

below are a few more quick "fun" shots!

sitting w/papa jerry,

watching a little bird who may have been injured or who

may have just been hoping we'd all go away and leave it alone! :)

eating popsicles and being SILLY!

and . . .

cutting hair ("beauty" shop)

to donate for people who need wigs! :)

BUSY, FUN, HOT day! :)

just a quick shot as it was BEDTIME!! :)
more tomorrow after she gets to "play" with it a bit! :)
it made her "grow up" a little too much! :)

happy father's day! :) ♥

happy father's day!!
first to BUCK (rick's dad) and JERRY (my dad)!!
thank you both for being the dads that you are!
for always loving us unconditionally and for always being there for us when we need you!
(you both are pretty AWESOME in the PAPA department too!) :)
WE LOVE YOU MORE THAN WORDS CAN SAY!!!
happy father's day to RICK!!
thank you for being my best friend and such a GREAT dad to our 3 little girls and to your 2 "big" kids!! and a great papa to presten, daila, maddie & ty! :)
WE ALL LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!
and finally, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to NICK! :)
presten, daila & maddie are so lucky to have you to call DADDY! :)
lots of LOVE to you today!
and...
HAPPY FIRST FATHER'S DAY TO BRIAN!
it is so much fun to watch you loving on ty! :) he is one LUCKY little boy to have you for his daddy! thank you for coming into ashley's life - WE LOVE YOU! :)

summer fun!! i love these lazy days of summer

even though it hasn't even been HOT yet!!

next week they say it'll be in the 80's!

k is excited about that as it's her BIRTHDAY!!

10 years old already!!

HOW did THAT happen??? :)

we've had a nice, relaxing week!

today we got lots of little "projects" done around the house

so now the weekend can be relaxing! :)

tomorrow (saturday) we go and get tessa from LLBC!! :)

we've missed her! :(

then off to heather's wedding! :)

that's about it for us - life has been quiet, and quiet is good! :)

o.k., i'm a WIMP!! :)

well, usually i'm not wimpy at all, but for some reason when it comes to my feet, i'm a BIG BABY - me the "queen" of barefootin'!! :) yesterday, on the pool deck i got a sliver that we couldn't get out - we couldn't even see it actually . . . i soaked my foot in epsom salt (the internet said that would work - along with putting an eggshell (with wet, raw egg still on it) on the area) . . . neither of those worked. neither did the watkins petro-carbo salve and a band aid over night. i tried putting on elmer's glue on the area and letting it dry then pulling it off - only problem with that - you have to be able to SEE some of the sliver first - which we couldn't. so after bringing bev (HAPPY BIRTHDAY) her birthday daisies (i won't say HOW MANY), and showing her my foot, and getting her (former nurse) opinion, i headed up to dr. carlson's office. now, this usually wouldn't be so bad, but she's not ONLY our dr., she's the MOM of kajsa's BEST FRIEND! - so, FIRST she scalpels it (yes, that's right - with a SHARP blade - NO FREEZING) and can "touch" the sliver, but can't grab it. so when i (as politely as i could) informed her that she "was killing me", she asked the nurse to get a numbing shot. ah, yes, a needle stuck into your already throbbing toe feels MUCH better! . . . but, it DID help and after the numbing took effect, she was able to disect this lovely 1/2" long piece of our deck from my poor toe! (i OF COURSE asked to bring it home as a souvenier!)

since i had been such a WIMP and i left that piece of our deck in my foot for over 24 hours, infection was ALREALY setting in, so now i am on a course of antibiotics for 10 days and was SUPPOSED to elevate my foot for the afternoon (which i "sort-of" did as i mowed the neighbor's lawn)!!! :)
this is my toe all nicely bandaged after the "procedure"! :)

as i mentioned, it was bev's birthday today . . . rick started a tradidion YEARS AGO of giving her daisies for her birthday (the number of daisies received = the number of years old she is!). we have not missed a year since we have been married (that's 18 of bev's birthdays), though one year, it was so cold we had to PURCHASE the daisies rather than picking them! today, we picked them and delivered them to their "new" home in wallace. which resulted in a "swim date" later in the day . . . which i posted pictures of over on my facebook page! :)
below is a picture of the "card" we made for bev's birthday . . .

now we are home for the rest of the evening . . . getting ready to read my book and relax a bit before turning in. even with the quick visit to the dr., it was a wonderful day - a day that the LORD made and we DID rejoice and were GLAD IN IT! :)

fun times

finally, a post about NOTHING!! :) or just "normal life at least! these are some pictures from our adventure last week! we started out at 5:00 a.m. on thursday and headed to the milwaukee rescue mission where we split into 3 groups and did different types of work. some of us sorted clothing, some sorted housewares and some washed windows. when the ladies complete the program, they are allowed to "shop" for things to set up their new apartment - it was fun to be just a little part of organizing the things that they will be taking with them as they start their new lives! from there we went to the pacific garden mission in chicago. it was pretty cool after listening to the "unshackled" radio program all these years! after that, the youth group kids went to kristin's apartment for some fun times and the little girls and i were off to KEY LIME COVE! we highly recommend it! :)

we had lots of fun which i think is evident in the pictures! :)

back to "normal" this week - a little work, some time in the pool - FINALLY, grass to mow and laundry to do! :) tessa is gone to LLBC for the week, so we are missing her :(

other than that, all is well! :)

back to normal ! :)

pictures of our fun time away coming soon, but for now just a quick shot of our girls!
aren't they sweet?? :)
glad to be back to "normal" life this week! it was an interesting week last week - kind of like living in a surreal dream! :( our prayers will continue for beccah, and we hope to hear from her in the future, that she has gotten the help she needs and has moved on to a fulfilling, productive life! she truly is a gifted writer, and hopefully can use that gift for GOOD in the future! :)
today, tessa leaves for a week at BIBLE CAMP which she is looking forward to! :)
we will miss her while she is gone :(

my mind is on overload!

first of all, the girls and i had a WONDERFUL time during our time away the past couple of days! (it was a much needed "mental" rest for me as i had NO internet access for almost 3 whole days!) rick & kaci on the other hand . . . well, they didn't BOND as well as we had hoped! :( i will post more pictures soon of our fun times while were away, but for now, i just have to post a quick "aside".
it is in regards to "beccah" otherwise known as "april rose's mommy" or simply "b". if you google her full name, you will get pages and pages of hits from wgn t.v./radio & the chicago tribune . . . all the way to CNN news! mckmama, angie, and raechel have also posted their thoughts on the "outcome" of this whole saga . . . although i really don't think it's over yet. information seems to surface and details change daily. ultimately, though, beccah will have to answer to GOD, not to any of us who followed her blog faithfully, or the news media, or even to law enforcement. GOD alone knows her heart AND her mind (and that is where the problem seems to lie at the moment). from what i can discern, beccah is suffering greatly from some sort of mental illness. IF this is the truth of the matter, she needs my prayers and support NOW more than she ever did before! i will continue to pray for her - MANY times daily, and i will continue to LOVE her. i'm sure i will never understand what led her to mislead so many of us, and having had personal contact with her it is even more confusing. i have "picked apart" every single e-mail and text correspondence we ever had. i have "analyzed" our meeting several weeks ago, and i can't point to any particular thing that would have alerted me to such instability. am i just a poor judge of character? i don't think so. maybe i am. it really doesn't matter. what beccah did WAS wrong. but, she is a human being with an obviously hurting heart. i will believe only what is KNOWN to be true as the story progresses, and i will pray continually for the healing of this wounded CHILD OF GOD! :) if you are reading this becasue you know my family and don't really know this story, ignore this last paragraph. if you have stumbled upon my blog because you are "hungry for more", you won't find it here. i have stated in the past, and will state it again, yes, i met beccah. she IS a real person. she did NOT appear unstable to me at the time i met her. we chatted via e-mail and text messages for about 1 month. we chatted in person for about an hour sometime during the month of may. THE END! i have no further information for you, and i will not participate in any discussion on the matter. i will only do what the LORD commands me to do, and that is to PRAY FOR HER! :)

life's a beach?

that's the title of my new background . . . but is the saying true? after the last few days, i don't really think so! sometimes it is, but sometimes it's not the fun, sunny, carefree beach it seems. sometimes it's the gritty, dirty sand that you just can't shake, no matter how much you try to clean it up! such is the last few days here! a month ago yesterday (may 9), the girls and i took a road trip and adpoted our puppy, kaci . . . you know the rest of the story . . . young girl, single, pregnant, baby with a terminal condition (2 of them a least) . . .
all i can say FOR SURE is, we DID meet "beccah".
she DID have a little tummy. (baby was supposed to be under 3 pounds - b is tall - small seemed normal).
she DID exist.
we chatted for about an hour in a mcdonald's parking lot.
we HAVE her puppy.
end of my story.
or it should be, but it's hard to get it out of my mind.
if you haven't already, check out mckmama, angie or raechel's blog. they have collectively written a much better post than i ever could.
i'm not sure what to believe. there are certainly holes in beccah's story., there are several blogs out there "attacking" her (that is why i took my old blog down - those attacking her were looking for "the chick with the dog" - perhaps to "prove" she exists?). her blog is gone. her twitter account is gone. she is not giving me any of the answers i have asked for.
however, i will continue to pray for this young woman. she is obviously hurting. she needs our prayers. that i will continue to do.
and try to move on. without a baby april rose to pray for . . . because even in this, as strange as it seems/feels GOD IS IN CONTROL! HE IS STILL ON THE THRONE! and NONE of this has caught HIM by surprise!
so, now, i will go back to blogging about our quiet little life and some of the fun we have here at home! :)