What my girls do for fun

I wanted to write these things today, but I would really appreciate you going down to yesterday's blog entry and reading that, too. It contains VERY important information. Thank you!

I will do my best to type this exactly as Shelby wrote it. I'm a bit of a proof-reading nerd, so this is really hard to do, but part of the beauty of what you will read is in the way she sounds out her words to come up with their spellings. Enjoy!

Titl 1st Grade

Thar is a grad I rilly like it is 1st Grad! I love it becas I like the fun wrks I like the lunch it tast so good! That is wi I like 1st grad. Wen I feel alon that tells me to do a...fun wrck! I love 1st grad 1st grad is fun ya!

Isn't that awesome?!?! And I was worried about her starting with a new teacher this year. She loved Mrs. G so much, but Mrs. Schach is pretty cool in Shelby's eyes. I'm so happy for my little girl!

Now here is Miss Riley's latest creation. She was recently tested on her reading level at school. The guidelines are more rigorous than last year's testing, but she came out at a 7th/8th grade level! Wow! Now this is a song that Riley wrote because the Rockford schools are promoting "Pennies for Peace." Riley has really been taken by this movement; this song even has a dance routine. Soon I hope to post a video of her performing it.

Charity Song

Donate for Charity
Donate for Charity

Pennies, Quarters, Nickels and Dimes
I like to donate all the time.

(Reprise)

5, 6, 7, 8
Come on guys
Its not too late!

(P.S. Scott is doing much better. Physical therapy started last week (ouch), but overall things are progressing nicely. On the 6th he will be starting as a Program Instructor in the after school program where I work. Hopefully, unless a really, really, really, fantastically great can't-pass-up full-time job offer comes in, he will start at Rock Valley College as a full-time student in January. Very exciting!)

Erika said it best...

Erika, thank you so much for writing your blog entry on organ donation. I will shamelessly follow your lead and spread the message to my readers, too.

Please follow the link above and read my fellow LF Mom, Erika's, blog entry today. Many of us from LF (see link to the right) are mourning the loss of a beautiful baby boy, Gavin, who was 2 weeks shy of his 1st birthday. Monday night his life was cut short as he passed away waiting for a liver transplant. In honor of Gavin, please sign up to be an organ donor. In Illinois you must sign up on here; doing it when you get your drivers license does not cut it now. Illinois has first-person consent. When you sign up here, now, this is what is looked at at your time of death, not your drivers license. Please do this in memory of Gavin, Haley, Jayli and in honor of Annika, Shelby, Emerson, Natalie and many, many more. Please.

He hurts

I know he's all happy-smiley in the pictures I've posted, but that face has now turned into one that is in pain. Serious pain. His polar care machine broke down yesterday and by the time we figured it out the pain had gotten ahead of him. He also called the nurse to see if they would prescribe the stronger Norco for him. He is now on the strongest version there is of it and we have a new polar care machine, but is still hurting a lot. In fact, his surgeon called him this morning to check on him and said that if he doesn't have some relief by 4 or 5 this afternoon to call and he'll give him something stronger. He (the doctor) doesn't want to have to do that because stronger pain meds = higher rate of dependency, but Scott has to be able to rest so he can heal. The doctor also wasn't surprised he was in so much pain because he said he had to do a lot more to this shoulder than he had to do on the other one. My hunny is hurting and its killing me. Please say prayers for him to get some relief. Thanks!

As a follow-up on Avery & Riley. I did get them in to the Ped's office in the a.m. Riley does not have an ear infection, but swimmer's ear. Different type of treatment is needed for that so that is why she wasn't getting any relief from the antibiotics. Avery checked out great - just an off night for her. All 3 girls slept over at my parent's house last night so I could have a bit of a break. Good thing, too, as last night was really rough on Scott and I don't know how I would have dealt with children up in the night, too.

Also, please, please, please pray for our little friend Annika. She is very sick right now and the doctors don't know why.

He made it!

Finally....at 5 p.m. they came for him. Two-and-a-half hours later I was talking with the surgeon. All went well. He said that this shoulder was worse than the other. He needed to repair a small tear in his rotator cuff, his labrum, shave down the bone spur and do general tightening and clean-up of his whole shoulder. He came out of it well and HUNGRY. We were on our way home by 9:30 p.m. We crossed the street and I got him a pizza from Lino's. He was very happy. I got him home and settled only for Avery to start crying. It was a long, long, long, long, long night. Did I say long?!?!? Riley was then up because her ear hurt- she has an ear infection. Shelby stumbled out then. I sent her in to bed with Grandma Nea, then Riley headed there. Then Scott needed meds. I think I slept for about 2 hours then Avery was up again. Scott needed meds, again. Do you see a pattern here? I sure hope the pediatrician has an opening this morning because Riley & Avery are headed there this morning with me and a HUGE cuppa Joe! Talk to you later!

Waiting...

Here's the update on the girls I said I would do. Last weekend we were given tickets by Scott's friend, Jake, to see Vanessa Hudgens at On The Waterfront. They were 12th row center seats - perfect. It was a perfect day, too, not a cloud in the sky. The girls were beyond thrilled and had a fabulous time. Here are some picture of them at the concert.


We are here, but his surgeon is running behind. Maybe he'll get in around 4 p.m. We're just hanging out in his room. He's watching TV and I'm surfin' the net. We couldn't resist taking some pictures with the webcam.

Remember this?

Scott will be doing this again tomorrow, but with his right shoulder this time. He has a bone spur and a tear they will be fixing (and whatever else they might find wrong once they're in there). Recovery will be long, hard and painful once again, but the daily pain he is dealing with right now is no walk in the park either. It really helped to have his left shoulder done so now its time for this one. He is anxious knowing how much it will hurt afterwards. Please pray for peace for him and that the surgeon will have very skillful hands tomorrow.

I'm needing some prayers, too, as I'm not quite sure how I'm going to juggle having an almost 17-month-old and working 35 hours a week this time around while caring for him. Last time I was doing in-home daycare for one child. Now, things are a lot more hectic around here. I'll have help from our Moms, but I still need some more. If you're available a weekday from 3-6 and would like to come over and help, just give me a call!

The girls are enjoying being back at school. I'm assuming that I'll have internet access at the hospital tomorrow during his surgery so I'll update more on the fun things they've been doing lately then. By the way, his surgery is at 3 p.m. so send some extra good thoughts and prayers his way around then. Thanks!