Mom & Dad's Visit

We had a nice visit from Mom & Dad the first week of June! We packed a lot in, including a camping trip for the guys while we ladies put on "Camp 2 Year Old" for Wade. Garrett lost his first tooth while they were here...here is G wiggling it for Gpa:

 

 

 

Wade gave them lots of big hugs, and they came to our new church 2 times which was great.

 

Garrett's first tooth out! (He doesn't want to trade it for $$ from the tooth fairy though because he says his teeth are more precious to him than diamonds. ;)

 

Mom and Dad were so cute putting up the decorations for a special summer party for the boys the next day.

 

Mashing up oreos for a "Dirt Cup" dessert at the party.

 

Gpa led a game of Simon Says with the boys...

 

The blindfold cotton ball scooping game was a hit!

 

Fishing for prizes was fun too.

 

Then the guys were off to the mountains for a camping/fishing/shooting nerf guns at targets/campfires and s'mores trip. LOTS of fun and good memories were made by all!

 

They even accidentally caught and brought home a crawdad! Always fun to surprise the ladies with...

 

I was happy that we got to have an end-of-year show and tell of the boys' school work. We had just finished up the year, and it was really fun and encouraging to have Mom and Dad see it all, and for me to see how much we actually did that year!

 

Besides that, Mom and I got pedicures, Mom and Dad babysat for us so we could go see a movie, Mom and I had fun going out to Mimi's and driving around looking at possible neighborhoods where we might buy a house, and working a little on the website. So nice!

The Kids' Sayings

I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted about the boys' sayings and doings. I keep a pad of paper in the kitchen and jot down clever or funny things the boys do before I forget them. I want to keep them for posterity's sake, and I'll post them here for you to enjoy too. :)

So here goes...from November on...

11/17/13

I was singing Edelweiss from The Sound of Music to Wyatt tonight at bedtime, and after I finished he said, “I think Edelweiss must be a device that catches Edels!”

Garrett and Wyatt have named their mini-tower fans. G’s is Joe Joe. W’s is Pee Wee. J

12/5/13

Wade is so cute when I leave the room at nap or bedtime. He is now copying me with cute kissing sounds and “Love you!”

When we sing before bed he has been asking for “Oh Darlin” – “Oh my darling, Clementine.”

Tonight Jim and I shared with the boys about how we both prayed for God’s provision of a husband or wife and wanted His best, even if that meant that He didn’t want us to be married. Jim shared that he was 14 when he first started praying for me. And God ANSWERED!! The boys were very interested. Wyatt immediately said, “Well, when I get to be an adult I want to marry a nice woman that God chooses for me.” And so we all stopped right there and both Wyatt and Garrett earnestly prayed for God to provide them a good wife when they got older.

12/10/13

Wade says “fingies” for fingers and sometimes says “Jesus…. God” and when I open up a book he has been saying “Bible.” So cute!

2/27/14

Wade, randomly during breakfast: He gives me a sly sideways look and says quietly, “Doughnuts in fridge.” He asked me for doughnuts, suggesting they were in the fridge, last week and apparently he still has his heart set on that scenario!

11/18/13

Garrett: “Strawberries are hollow just like string instruments!”

Wade is counting “one, two, three” correctly. He runs around saying “cutie!” when doing something.

Wyatt: Seeing lights on next door: “Oh! People live over there! I wish I could jump over the fence and say hello and then jump back over.”

Garrett: “I love you with a steadfast love.”

Wade: “Dada, soon, back, drive.”

12/4/13:

Wade says “fingies” for fingers, gives me kissie noises and “love you’s” when I go out of his room at nap or bedtime.

12/6/13: Wade has gotten it, it seems, on not being able to eat certain nuts. I gave him chocolate bunnies for lunch and he immediately held one up for me and said “no nuts” with his eyebrows furrowed and did it with each one for a while!

He said his first sentence today: “the big one.” J

12/9/13

Wade said another sentence: “Turn on movie.”

1/9/14

Wade said his first question: “Where’s pup?” about his favorite stuffed animal when he woke up from nap and saw pup wasn’t there.

Calls Jim “Jimbob” sometimes. J

About the music in the car: “Turn the music – off. Pause it.”

1/20/14

Wade on a walk: “Wind-cold-ice cream.”

“Human baby.”

Sang to spotty dog and laid him down on his high chair. Said, “Spotty dot tired, go upstairs…”

Sang “Jesus died for you…Jesus, Jesus.”

1/21/14:

Wade: “Beautiful cars.”

2/2/14:

Wade, looking at the ants in our ant farm: “Bugs – eating – dirt.”

2/4/14:

Wade: “Dad! Dad! Jimbob help you!”

2/8/14:

Wade: “Granola bar has nuts in it!!”

“Ready to go soon.” (Has been bringing me his shoes lately to see if we can go somewhere. One day he brought them to me and said, “Go to the beach!”)

2/16/14:

Me: “Should we have dinner?”

Wade: “Go to McDonalds!”

2/20/14

Me: “What else would you like for breakfast?
Wade: “Krispy Cream’s.”

Wade wanted pickles for lunch and kept mentioning them even though I couldn’t find them. Finally he said, “In the garage. Daddy bought them.” He remembered they were in the car in the garage when they brought them home from Costco. On looking further, he was right – they were in the fridge after all!

2/21/14

Wyatt: “The paint wanted to stay on my hands forever, but the soap tore it off.”

2/23/14

Garrett and Wyatt frequently talk about amazing inventions they are going to make someday that will change the world.

2/24/14

Wyatt: “What’s the enemy of light? Shadows. What’s the enemy of shadows? Light.”

3/9/14

Wyatt says he wants to “extrasize” for exercise, and things are “wondraful” for wonderful.

3/12/14

Wade, drinking at the end of cup: “See a crawdad there. That was crazy!” Later, looking out the window: “I see California out there…that’s crazy!”

3/21/14

Wade, looking out the window at bedtime, stalling: “I see Uncle Wiggly out there. I see a dog out there. I see a cat out there.”

About his rash: “Maybe it’s a little pink….put some medicine on it.”

When he is upset he frequently says, “I’m just tired.”

“Nope.” “Yep.”

3/27/14

Wade, after going down a tall slide by himself, “That wasn’t scary.”

3/29/14

Wyatt, putting heart stickers all over my shirt: “I’m putting hearts all over your shirt so you know how much I love you. Even when you’re alone you can remember how much you are loved.”

3/31

I asked Garrett to get coconut oil out of the pantry for me. He couldn't find it but then Wade trotted up and immediately found it. Garrett says, "Ha ha! I think Wade could be my little employee!"

4/20/14

Wade, eating a Peep at Easter, with a concerned look on his face: “I eating a baby bird.”

4/21/14

Wyatt: “Mom, our mind jails things in our mind once they get there.”

4/23/14

Garrett, talking to the neighbors over the fence: “My mom is very loving to everyone. She does get cross sometimes, but she doesn’t really mean it.”

Wade to Garrett: “Guess what? Guess what? It’s a secret.”

4/27/14

Picking Wade up at the nursery, the teacher said, “Wade is such a great helper. REALLY. I was wiping the table and he pointed to spots I had missed. And he put a LOT of toys away!”

When Garrett got hurt, Wade came up and said “Poor Garrett” and gave him a block.

5/1/14

Wyatt, at the store to buy cake for Wade’s 2^nd birthday: “I’m going to miss the cuteness of Wade when he was a baby.”

5/2/14

Wade on his birthday with upside down sunglasses on, pushing a trash truck around: “I a big man!”

5/6/14

Wade loves to open doors or do things for me, and says proudly, “I did it for you!” If I ask him to do something he will usually say magnanimously, “Of COOUURSE!” and do it!

I’ve started calling him Jim’s little butler because he runs and gets Jim’s shoes and socks and opens the shower door for him, and if he needs a shirt in the morning he, "You need a shirt!" and runs into the closet and picks one out for Jim. So cute!

I picked my homeschool book off the floor and he said, “You read that out on the lawn.” Which.I.Did. a few days before (!)

5/9/14

While holding Wade, he patted my back, cocked his head, and said, “I love you so much! I love you.” Awww…and just in time for mother’s day coming up too. J

5/19/14

Wade looked at the two yogurt makers on the counter and said, “That one’s not working very well.” One is new with a dimmer light than the other.

5/20/14 Wade bonked his head, put his hand up, and swiped it then said, “I ripped it off!” and was fine.

5/23/14 Wade drew a picture and ripped a piece off and said, “For Grandpa.” He then said, “Want to write Wade Barnes” so we wrote his name together.

5/27/14 Wade, asking for pepper, said, “Want some …. Green salt.”

6/16/14 Wade picked up two pencils, held them next to each other, and said, “I made train tracks!”

6/22/14 Garrett’s invention ideas: A sink that puts soap out with water when you want to wash your hands, and a fishing line that doesn’t have to be threaded.

7/14 Wade calls donut holes “donut balls” after commenting that they don’t have holes in them.

Wade loves his Kitty, calls him "Meow Meow," and takes care of him giving him sips of his drinks or food and changing his diaper by laying him on his back and making some motions in the right place then saying, "It's all fresh now."

7/10/14 I’ve been having some pain and so Jim and the boys prayed for me at bedtime. Wade piped up with his own prayer several times: “Dear Lord, please help Mama get better IMMEDIATELY.”

May Happenings

The boys did some artwork, including drawing caterpillars and doing a paint-by-number. Wade really does well drawing. He has great concentration and makes things that look like what he says they are sometimes. :)

 

We watched our caterpillars grow into chrysalises and then butterflies and let them go! It was amazing to watch this mysterious process. 

 

We had quite a few thunderstorms, and one brought hail this size:

 

We enjoyed a few trips to the Butterfly Pavilion with the last of our yearly pass, and got to take cousin David when he visited for a work event. It was really nice having him here! A butterfly landed on him and stayed on him most of the walk around the Pavilion.

 

 

The boys enjoyed being doted on by David.

 

Jim and the boys worked on some projects together. Wade is a great helper and loved being with Daddy in the garage.

 

After seeing Jim help the neighbor put a barbeque together, Garrett wanted to build a replica with lots of burners and an igniter...

 

The weather started getting warmer! Popsicles and playing in the water outside are now in order!

 

Garrett built these antennas and speakers...

 

 

...and a picture frame out of Kinnex for Wade's 2 year old photo.

 

 

I love this shot of the "Barnes Boys" lined up for movie night!

 

Wade started to feel his oats and get to sit in a big chair at certain meals. He ate much better that way, I noticed. :)

 

We set up the pool I got on clearance last Fall and the boys promptly broke the slide in their exuberance. :) Ah, well, the pool still works!

 

We had our last day of school on May 30, right before Mom and Dad arrived! We made it through our first year of homeschool!!

 

We've loved using My Father's World curriculum this year and plan on using it again for 1st grade next year. Garrett has read a lot of great books, including quite a few chapter books, has improved on his handwriting and letter formation, practiced some math skills, and learned more about God's world. Wyatt has joined in and heard lots of great books, done enriching activities, and has learned to read a little this year! He has learned how to hold his pencil correctly and is interested in learning how to write letters so we'll work on reading and writing and small motor activities next year while Garrett does 1st Grade. Garrett will also go to a charter school  for homeschoolers for electives one day a week. While he does that on Wednesdays, the other boys and I will go to Bible Study Fellowship. I'm looking forward to next year and am enjoying the summer break.

Latest...

Last week we had a nice time with Mom and Dad, and the DeHarts just left after a great time together on their way out to CA!
When Mom was here, she went with me to the appointment and I had the ultrasound which showed that the mass had gone down in size slightly, the first time it has done so since I've started getting checked! The Dr. advised waiting through another cycle to see if I have pain this month. I haven't had pain so I've just put a call in to tell her that. She didn't think we would do another shot of Methotrexate because it didn't dissolve the mass completely like she thought so thinks it might be a fibroid now. If I have pain another month she wants to have me get an MRI and then have surgery to see what it is and whether they can safely remove it. A hysterectomy would be another option if they can't remove it safely.

The latest in the shot saga...

In April I had no pain at all. But this past week I've had the worst pain yet, for the longest period of time...five days this time. After having no pain in April, though, I thought I'd wait to see if I had pain in May before I got the shot of Methotrexate. Thankfully I had someone tell me their experience with it and heard of a couple of others who have taken it and they had all been fine with no side effects or problems to speak of. That really calmed my mind, and I was able to be ready to get mentally ready for getting the shot if needed.

The timing of everything around this week was really interesting. I can't see it as anything other than God watching out for me and others, and divinely appointing all of the details...

So, this last week was "the week of pain." Also, Wade came down with a bad cough and fever and the Dr. thinks it's walking Pneumonia so we had a very sad, sick little boy on antibiotics to take care of this week. I was able to get through the first 2 days of pain with the kids but the pain intensified and by Wednesday afternoon I had to call Jim to see if he could come home early. I was in severe pain, in tears, desperate for help. He had a big presentation so thought he couldn't make it until after that, a couple of hours later. But it turned out that one of his coworkers overheard me on the phone and told Jim he'd better get home, and that he and the others would make the presentation for him. He got home after I had gotten the kids down for nap/quiet time and I went right to bed.

Earlier in the morning I had called my mom and she had offered to call the Dr. to see what blood tests, etc. needed to be done to get the ball rolling for the shot. A little while after Jim got home, my pain went away (!) and then right after that the nurse called and said they could get me in for the shot that afternoon in the next hour!

So we hustled everyone into the car, and drove down there. The infusion center had a really nice, caring staff, and had a great patio with a snack bar for Jim and the kids. The boys enjoyed running around and getting treats...it had been a hard week for them, with me sometimes not even able to get up to help them or even talk at times, and certainly not able to do anything extra or creative!

I was in the room for a while getting the shot, and as Jim was getting a second round of snacks for everyone, a lady came up to the snack bar at the same time and said, "I know you! You were fishing next to us last fall with your boys! In fact, we were just talking about you guys as we were fishing last week. We were remembering how your boys would yell, 'congratulations!!' every time someone caught a fish!"

Jim totally remembered them, too, and had had a great conversation with them. Her husband was there for chemo treatments, and this lady asked a few times if she could take Garrett and Wyatt over to see him...he loves chatting with them. So they did, and they had a good time talking to Bill, and at one point Garrett got going on explaining how an engine works (in vivid detail from his car books) and they just loved it. It turns out that Bill was a mechanic and so he loved hearing all the details. I saw them for just a minute as we left, and he told me, "I'll be praying for you. God bless you!" and I was able to say the same thing to him. What an encouragement.

This "chance" meeting really was amazing, and we just had this confirmation that we were supposed to be there that day with those people, and it gave me a lot of peace about the shot and everything I've been going through. I reminds me again that God is in control, and he knows exactly what is going on, and he CARES. I know that I won't always understand why things happen in this world, but I know I can always rest in His care and provision even in the midst of hard times. Hard times don't mean He doesn't care...in fact, He is so good to use those hard times to turn things around for good for those who love Him! I've seen it with Crohn's and the diet and helping others find health, through moving away and being pushed to grow even more in Him and finding joy in resting in Him even when I don't understand, in Post Partum Depression and coming out of it knowing that no matter what I face I can rest in His provision, and see it yet again in this circumstance.

I think it was amazing that the pain went away just in time for me to get down there to get the shot! I thought it was gone, but it turned out to return again really strong in the middle of the night and then I couldn't get out of bed all morning so Jim stayed home Thursday. Cousin David came that night to stay with us while he taught a class in Denver. It was so nice to have him! I was able to make it through Friday with almost no pain and then it returned in the afternoon so Jim came home a little early again and I stayed in bed all afternoon and evening. Saturday it was gone! :) So we had a nice time at the Butterfly Pavilion and getting pizza.

The Methotrexate should work within 2 weeks, and I'm really glad that I'll be able to go to the follow-up appointment with my mom when she and dad are visiting at the beginning of June. June 3rd we'll find out by ultrasound if the mass was dissolved by the shot, and if not we'll have to consider surgery. I'm thinking I can't deal with this pain much longer; it throws the whole family off to have me down like this. So, we'll talk about whether I'll need a hysterectomy if that's a safer surgery than trying to remove the mass in a dangerous location. It's a big deal, but we have to do something pretty soon because I dread the "week of pain" every month now, and it's hard to have it affect everyone. Praying for wisdom and peace while we wait...