What's in the air?

Man I tell you. There is something in the air that is causing people to be really crabby. I suppose it has something to do with the economy and the uncertainy of it, the rising gas prices, or maybe even the weather. I have had my share of run ins with people who have been having a bad day and have taken it out on me, personally. When people have a bad day I wish they would take a step back and realize what they are thinking of saying or how they are thinking of treating someone. It's amazing how many people take their frustrations out on innocent people at Wal-Mart. The last two days I have felt sorry for myself and for many of our cashiers for the situations they have had to deal with and the rudeness of the many customers. Maybe if these customers would actually think that WE also live in this economy and WE also have to deal with the rising prices they would stop and just keep it to them selves. Could just be me dreaming of that ever so perfect world again.

The house is coming along well. We have almost made it to third base. The appraisal was done on Wednesday. I ran into our mortgage lender and she said we would be getting a phone call on Monday regarding the appraisal. We are praying for nothing major to have been found. Considering we had an inspection done and there wasn't anything to major found on that we figure we should be ok. The soffit (over hang by roof) has a rotten spot, so we figure we might have to have that replaced before we can close. We'll see. We're anxious! We haven't even begun packing because we don't have any place to put our boxes unless we want to start stacking them in the living room. Gosh I can't wait for the day when we are in our house with double the space!!

Today I took my PRAXIS exam. It's an exam I have to take in order to get my diploma. If I don't pass this test, I don't get the diploma. I do have the option to retake the test, but it costs $140 each time. I thought it was fairly difficult....enough so to make me nervous. But I was nervous about the last PRAXIS I took and I passed that with flying colors. It's hard to believe I'm graduating in December! Wow, where has the time gone. 6 credits and I'm done!

We took the kids over to Volga on Friday to see the school. I think I will like it and I think they will too. Right now they are pretty excited, except Shaylee. She doesn't want to leave Brookings. The nice thing about Volga is they can actually pick their teachers. Registration is August 5th and school starts on August 25th.

Family Update

Joseph went to the doctor yesterday. His arm is healing nicely. He will get his cast off in two weeks. Just in time to help us move!! Only kidding. Shaylee and Shawndra are slightly bummed that they have to stop their paper route here in Brookings. We're hoping maybe someday there will be a route open close to our house in Volga. It's been a great opportunity for them to earn some money. Jayden is doing well. He's been OFF, yes OFF, of his antibiotics for two weeks and his ears STILL look great! Here are a few pictures from the other day.

Busy Preparing

I can't believe it's already been a week since I last updated this! Wow, time really flies by when you are buying a house and even if you aren't!! Things are rolling along well. As our realtor says, we're on 2nd base. The house is ours when we make it to home plate. The inspection went pretty good. Anything that was found was minor, except one spot in the sofit (sp?). There is a rotten section, so I'm sure the appraisers will find that. We had the appraisal and title work ordered last Friday. They have until the 28th to get it completed. We've already made appointments to get the carpets cleaned and a window installed. I just hope my work schedule allows for me to get a bunch of cleaning and painting done that week.

Not much is new around the house. I've got some cold or something. We have three kids on antibiotics for strep throat. I've never had strep....knock on wood.

Mike and I went to Sioux Falls on Sunday and did more window shopping than I have ever done. We were trying to get an idea on prices on the appliances, furniture, grills, and patio sets. That sure adds up quick!

House!

Some of you may have heard...we retracted our offer on the house we originally wanted. However, we have found a different house that suits us much better and the yard is much bigger. We are super happy to have found this home and to have found out today that the sellers accepted the offer! We have it inspected on Friday.

Pictures of a Broken Boy

The broken arm was bad. Then the next day he thought he'd stand on a ball to see if he could balance. He couldn't. He face planted into the asphalt and scraped his chin, cheek, and bit it. He was really puffy.

Hey Sylvester...how's it going?

House/Joseph/General

I never knew buying a house could be so nerve wracking and stressful. I mean I've always heard people say that, but thought how bad can it be. Well I found out. The thought of getting into that loan with the huge payments is really scary. In the past 24 hours we have even gone as far as possibly retracting our offer in order to find something that is cheaper. The part that is so hard about this process is the amount of change we are encountering right now and all at once. I have to make some phone calls to the bank tomorrow and find out some answers to some very real questions we have. And we also plan to look at another house on Tuesday. Who knows...plans could change once again. Sometimes I think I shouldn't say anything at all, until I am for certain what is happening...but that would spoil all of the fun.

Joseph is now sporting a red cast up to his elbow. It has quite a few signatures on it already! The silly boy took a good tumble yesterday now. Is this where I say "boys will be boys"?? He actually stood on a ball to see if he could balance. Needless to say, he couldn't, and tumbled to the ground. He scraped his chin and his cheek and he bit his cheek really hard as well. Today it's all puffy. The best way to describe that side of his face is to imagine someone who has had their wisdom teeth pulled. He's still in good spirits though!

The kids are finally done with swimming lessons for this summer. It's been a long 6 weeks, but a skill that is so important for them to learn. Shaylee has passed level 6 now. I believe she's considered a junior lifeguard at this point, but am not totally for sure. Shawndra is moving on to level 5. She needs to work on the breast stroke. Joseph even passed to level 4 and he missed the last week of swimming lessons. So that was pretty amazing! Dalton will need to retake level 2. He tends to be more afraid of the water and doesn't want to do things on his own. I'm sure this will improve with age and practice.

The boys are not in t-ball anymore. We felt Dalton wasn't ready for it and then when Joseph broke his arm, the doctor said no more. The girls are done the end of this month and then will have the month of August to just relax and do fun stuff.

Well I suppose...it's after midnight, so I should try to sleep.

House Update

So the whole house shopping thing moved into rush mode this week, but not solely on purpose. We looked at 3 houses on Tuesday, but knew none of those would work. So we looked at 2 more on Thursday and ended up really liking one of the houses. We decided to make an offer on it this morning. The sellers counter offered and then we did the same. Finally today, they came back and accepted our offer. So needless to say, we're excited and nervous at the same time. We've made it to 1st base! YAY! It will have 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, huge laundry room, sun room, double attached garage and in a perfect location. As we move further through the process, I'll tell you more. Right now we feel scared and excited. We're so ready to have our family in a nice sized house where the kids actually have room to spread out and play! But on the other side, we're getting into a house payment so that is scary.

Good News and Bad News

First the good news. I took Jayden to feeding clinic yesterday. We got great news! He is no longer required to be on the feeding pump. I was so excited to hear this. He is doing so well with his oral intake that he no longer needs the additional calories at night! So now that we don't use his Mic-Key button, he might get it removed in 6 months. My goal is Christmas. Jayden has to go back to feeding clinic in November. At that time, we will discuss taking him off of his medicines and the possibility of taking out the button. When he does get the button removed, it is an actual surgery and he will be in the hospital. His stomach is sewn to inside wall of his body. The surgeon has to correct that when the button is removed. Jayden sure has come a long way!

The bad news. Joseph fell out of bed last night around 4am. He sleeps on the top bunk. He cried right away and Mike checked on him. This morning his wrist was swollen, he wouldn't eat, his throat hurt and all he wanted to do was sleep and lay around. I took him in to the clinic and he actually broke both bones in his right arm at the wrist. The breaks aren't bad and the doctor says they should heal up nicely. We go back tomorrow to see the ortho doctor and find out when it can be casted. Right now it's really swollen, so it's in a splint, and he has to ice it and keep it elevated. Needless to say, that means no more t-ball this summer. He's pretty bummed. To top it off, they tested his throat and he has Strep. Joseph is having a rough day. Poor kid.