June 9, 2006

Where do I start?

And where will I end? I feel like I have so much I should blog about, but I lack the time, and in a way, even the motivation to do it. I've decided I will just get started and hopefully something even remotely interesting will result. Don't be surprised if it is all out of order/sequence.

Garden: It is coming along nicely, although I have not been able to give it much attention lately. I did a 5-10 min. weeding job on it last week and today while I was trimming the grass along our fences, etc. with the weed wacker, I decided to trim the herbs with it! It was much faster than cutting it by hand! I noticed one of my herbs was starting to flower, so it was a good thing I did it when I did. We have some flowers on the snow pea plants, so as long as the weather stays cool to moderately warm, we should get a crop of peas (finally!). A lot of the broccoli plants have little buds in the middle, so it looks like they will all come at once, or close to it!

Break-in: We received an update on our break-in today. We both got letters from a victims unit, asking us to fill out a form for the court date, which is in July. I called the dept. to ask a few questions and found out he is being charged with a Class 4 Misdemeanor, basically for trespassing. They probably figure they can't get a conviction on breaking and entering since he may not have done it (and maybe he gave his "friends" up). Since the police saw him in our house there shouldn't be a problem with finding him guilty for trespassing. The great news? We may have to appear in court if it goes to trial. I'm not sure what determines if it goes to trial or not, but I certainly hope I don't have to testify in front of him! I don't want him to see my face! Now I know why abuse and rape victims have such a hard time appearing in court and what we experienced is NOTHING like that in severity.

Allergies: Gavin had an allergic reaction of some kind yesterday morning. He had hives all around his mouth after eating breakfast. He was supposed to leave for the dentist as I discovered it, so needless to say he missed his appt. and we drove half-way to the hospital just in case. By that time the Zyrtec had kicked in and the hives were gone. We still aren't sure what it was, so we are going to have to try the three different things he had to see if one of them caused it. I'm a little nervous a/b that, but we have to narrow it down. As for Peyton, he still seems to be allergy free. It is difficult for me though, b/c I look for every little mark, bump, skin irritation, everything. I've been trained to do that with Gavin, especially after he went several months before being diagnosed. I don't want that to happen to Peyton. Today I bit the bullet and gave him maybe ten bites of yogurt. He enjoyed it, but I am still nervous about it. That was what Gavin really reacted to, so it brings back BAD memories. I noticed he's been itching his one eye and it is all red, so that is something to keep an eye on (no pun intended!). I will keep feeding it to him for the next several days and see what happens. I really wish I could get him allergy tested just to be sure, but unfortunately it doesn't work that way. Which leads me to my next topic....

Doctor Troubles: My ped. office closed - unannounced. I found out when I called earlier in the week to schedule a follow-up weight check for Peyton (that was supposed to be next week). The worker said no one knew until the day it happened (May 22nd). I had just been there on the 12th and no one breathed a word of it. They have another office further away, but b/c of some other changes, we can't go there either. So I am very frustrated. I really liked our dr. and now I have to not only find a new one for the few more months we will be here, but also get the kids' records, and find out what follow-up the dr. wants me to do with Peyton. There are also shots that were left undone b/c she wanted to spread them out, so I have to find out what they were so they can be done when he is 15 months. I am so thankful that everything with Gavin was completed before now so I don't have both kids to worry about! Anything he needs, unless he gets sick, can be done through the allergist.

Free!: Tuesday we enjoyed a day at the Science & Industry Museum in Chicago - for free! We had to pay for parking, but it really wasn't that bad for Chicago. We did pay to take a tour on the German U-boat they have. The museum is very nice and appears just as large as it did when I was young. We got to see quite a bit, but of course there was a lot we didn't see too. There is just way too much to take in in one day! The first week in June the museums and the Art Institute are free Sunday though Thursday. We found out by accident two years ago, so last year and this year we took advantage of it!

Hurt: This week we received another blow - something we really didn't need. Being in the ministry, we have learned that you can't really have close friends in the church. Anyway, I guess I had grown a little lax in this area. I talked to "a friend" and asked her if her husband could talk to Jason to help him with some of the things he's been experiencing. I also thought he could encourage him to see a dr. someone had offered to pay for him to see. Well, she and her husband took what I told them and what Jason told the husband over lunch and told another couple. This couple took a church certification letter from the mission board we are applying for, which the husband was supposed to sign w/o anyone else's involvement and they called a mission committee meeting. They then spread our personal lives and what we have been going through in front of those ladies. One of the ladies (and her husband) took us out for ice cream that night to hear it from us. We were blown away and I know we didn't even hear half of what was said in the meeting. Jason was misrepresented, what I said was misconstrued, and I had never said any of those things to this couple firsthand - it was all second hand information that wasn't even supposed to be shared. On top of that the woman who took us out for ice cream had asked me a point blank question a/b something earlier in the day (she had stopped by our house before the meeting) and since I couldn't lie, I had to answer her question even though I didn't really want to. She wanted to be helpful in the situation, so she brought it up at the mission meeting. So that news was spread around too. Thankfully she apologized and called the other ladies, but one of them had already talked to someone else and told them too. I told Jason I never wanted to show my face at church again after this. I was so embarrassed and humiliated about both things. I could tell that Jason was hurt too. All the couple would have had to do is come to us to discuss the form and they could have talked to us about any concerns they had a/b Jason's health. Instead they spread information that wasn't even completely true and can never be taken back. Jason wants to talk to them about it, but he honestly doesn't know what to say. W/o this form, we cannot go to candidate school and we honestly feel like they are holding it hostage. If we don't do exactly what they want, it won't get signed. This is another reason Jason doesn't know what to say to them. It can't be left unresolved, but at the same time, if they get offended we are stuck. I'm not sure what God is trying to teach us through this, but I hope He thinks we've learned it! I've since decided I can't care what people think and I'm not responsible for what they do, so I can't be ashamed. I must admit though, I am very thankful we are not staying here. This couple nailed the coffin shut on that possibility. The deadline for the form to be in is the 15th, so we have less than a week for it to be signed. Please pray about this.

So, Rebecca, you are now the ONLY person (besides my mom) that I can talk to a/b our weird lives! Watch out!