Candle By Night

What does the title mean? Well...I will tell you. Here is the ouchie part. It's sort of hard to tell. But Special K kissed the pavement one day. She scratched up her nose and had the biggest fat lip I have ever seen on a baby. :-( And of course it had to happen before a trip to see family. The family part of the title is just that. We went to Indiana for a family Christmas. Yes, I did say Christmas. My grandparents go to Florida for the winter so the beginning of November is usually Christmas time for us. Here is a picture of all the grandchildren plus 4 great grandchildren with Nana and Grandpa. I almost forgot to post this. Before we went to see my Mom's side of the family we stopped off to see our oldest niece at college. We didn't get to spend much time with her but we did have a chance to take her out for supper. We miss having her around, but we know she is loving college.  And the pick-up part of the title has to do with leaves. Every year when the leaf truck ...

Yes, I am still alive. Anna and her daughter Chloe came to visit for the week and sadly they will be leaving Friday morning. Haven't posted much because today we went to Amish Country, but on Monday we had an emergency. Literally! We had to call 911 and have the ambulance come and get Chloe (at 6 in the morning.) It turns out that she had a seizure . She has never had one before and we are not sure, exactly, what caused it, but we are praising the Lord that she is all right. I probably won't update again until they leave. I just wanted to let you all know what is going on. :D Blessings to all!

Boy...I sure "dropped off the face of the Earth" didn't I? I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted. We are staying busy around here as usual and I have pictures I need to download. But all of that has been put on hold because Beloved has come down with Strep. So...we are taking care of him right now. I hope to update very soon. :D

We took Beloved to the chiropractor yesterday to get a second opinion about his knee. The Chiropractor had some tests that he could do to see what it damaged. He is confident that Beloved's ACL is not torn, but instead his lateral meniscous. The meniscous is the cushion/padding on either side of the knee cap between the bones. He believe that it is what is damaged. It will take a long time to heal fully, but it is definitely better than the ACL being torn. And...the doctor said that if he does have to have surgery it is minor and not a big deal at all. Thank you to those that have been praying for us! We praise the Lord for this news. Hopefully I will be able to update sometime soon with some pics of the family. :D

First...Big T didn't get sick anymore that day. It must have just been a one time thing or something. Anyway, Beloved went to the doctor. He determined that it was not dislocated and the ligaments on the outside of the knee are fine. He said there are 2 possibilities. One...it can be a really bad sprain that will take 2 weeks to heal. Or two....he tore his ACL and that would require surgery as it does not heal itself. So....We are praying hard that it is the first option. We have given it all over to the Lord and are doing or best to find joy during this time. It was hard at first to rejoice, but it is easier now. Anyway, Just wanted to let you all know what is going on. :D

Isn't it amazing how you can be going along in your day, just like you always do, and then just one itsy, bitsy tiny thing happens....And then it all changes. When I say little...I do mean little. As in something around an 1/8th of an inch. Big T and Sweet E were playing downstairs and then next thing I knew Big T was screaming about his toe. Well, I looked at his toe and didn't notice anything. He was walking funny as he went back into the other room and just kept complaining about the pain. After looking closer I discovered what appeared to be a sliver of glass in the ball of his foot. I have absolutely no idea where this little triangle shape piece came from, but it didn't matter at this point. I needed to get it out and he wasn't about to let me. Beloved told me to soak his foot in warm water to help soften the skin up. I thank the Lord that Beloved only works about 20 minutes away from home. He came home and helped to get the piece out. It's amazing how strong...

(I need to first say that all 5 of us came down with the same thing Friday night.) Sorry to say that I don't have much else to post about right now. We have all had fluctuating fevers today and hubby's cough is just getting worse. He has had bronchitis probably 3 or 4 times in a year, so when he gets sick it usually causes it to come back and with a great deal of pain. I praise the Lord that the Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen seem to be working for the children to get their temps down (at least for a while). I have been having cold sweats at night and feel pretty bad, but trying my best to suppress the symptoms so I can take care of the other 4. Hubby is getting ready to head to the doctor once again. I pray that he can do something to help my Beloved. Hubby did some reading online today and we think we may have the flu. I never would have guessed it because I always thought of the flue including vomiting and diarrhea. But I guess those typically aren't symptoms for all types ...

Today I had to go to the dentist to have a cavity filled. Now, the last time I had a cavity I think I was around seven years old. I haven't had one since. Plus I had a bad experience with a dentist as a child, so that all played a factor today. My nerves started to get the better of me. (They probably thought I was the biggest chicken!) :o) But the Lord helped my nerves to calm down. I went ahead an opted to have a shot of Nov@caine and I am glad I did, but at least if I get one again I will know what to expect. But you can make sure I am brushing more than I did before to try and prevent having to have that done again. :D So...now I can relax. Hubby is up for his appointment next. ;o)

Who knew that wood floors are hard to sleep on? I mean...I always thought they would be comfy cozy....NOT! Well, a couple of weeks ago Sweet E had a fever for 4 days (no other symptoms) and then a few days later Big T and Little E got it. Same thing...just a fever...nothing else. Little E's was over in 2 days, but Big T's lasted for 5 days! His temp was at 104 at one point. Now....hubby is sick. Doctor says it is tonsillitis. I can not afford to get sick....so I haven't been sleeping in bed with Hubby. But...I don't want to sleep downstairs in case on of the children needs help during the night and I can't sleep in their rooms because I may wake them up since I go to bed later and sometimes get up in the night. So...I have made a bed on the wood floor in our bedroom. Sure hope hubby gets over this soon. But I guess it is good training for mission work if God ever decides to send me. :D

My, oh my...what a weekend we have had. First of all...the crazy weather! I know Ohio's weather is always strange, but this hot 90 degree weather needs to go! Anyway, after our church service at the retirement center yesterday we took the children out to eat. While the older two were playing I was feeding Little E a banana. He seems to do just fine with the banana, no reactions or anything. Well, he somehow got his little fingers on the banana peel and started chewing on it. I took it from him and went back to talking with Hubby. Then we both looked at little E and he was all red and blotchy! So...he can eat the banana, but not the peel. :D What a crazy thing. Not like he should be eating the peel anyway I just don't know for sure what is making him break out. Oh yeah...after all of that we thought we had lost our digital camera. Not fun! We went searching and making calls only to finally find it at home once we arrived after our long day. When Little E got his diaper changed ...

It is so hard to believe that it is already September! I was going to start preschool with Big T and Sweet E yesterday, but I had a sick boy on my hands. Big T wasn't throwing up or anything but he had a fever of 102 for almost two whole days. Yesterday I think he slept most of the day away, but today he is back to his old routine or going "rounds" with his sister. :o) Well...at least things are "back to normal". Not sure what was going on with him, but whatever it is...it appears to have gone away. I hope to write more very soon, but I need to get things together and get started on preschool.

Yep...that's right...we are battling fleas. I know some of you may be wondering where in the world I have been lately. Well......I have had many long days battling these unwelcomed visitors. And no....the dog does not stay inside. They got in somehow and the poor dog is just having a terrible time with them. It was really bad the other day...Hubby went to check on the dog...only saw a few fleas, but then he lifted up his flea collar and a lot of fleas scattered. What is the point of a flea collar if it doesn't kill them!!!!!???? Hubby only saw one on Shad tonight though. Do you all remember this post ? I talked about the numerous bites I had on my foot. A friend of mine mentioned that they might be flea bites, but I never saw any. Now Big T has bites all over his back, chest, and a few on his neck. They are starting to fade away now, but every once in a while he has a new one. I have only seen two fleas so far today. Sweet E had one on her this morning and I caught one on me th...

Well, a picture of my arm has been requested. It is a lot better. It is barely pink and just a little swollen, but a ton better than it was a few days ago. What do you all think?

I just wanted to take time to post some pictures from Sunday. My FIL/MIL and BIL/SIL met us at Ye Old Mil l for a Father's day get together and some ice cream. My other BIL and his family were at a Cleveland Indian's baseball game....so I guess their excuse will have to hold up. ;) Here is a picture of my FIL and Little E. Little E loves his Papaw a lot (just as the other children do.) This picture is of all the Papas (FIL, Hubby, and BIL). This last picture is of Hubby, his dad, and his sister. As I mentioned before his brother was at a baseball game. We had a good time. The children enjoyed seeing their aunt, uncle and cousins. They get so excited when they see them! I must have gotten my bite while we were down there because my MIL had some of the same symptoms, but on her ear and face. As of yesterday it wasn't nearly as bad as mine. Here are a couple of pictures of mine. Not the greatest, but I think you can get the idea. The pen outline is what the doctor did. And by...

Well, the swollen area on my right arm (assuming it's some sort of bite) has at least doubled in size. It's still growing. I reluctantly went to the doctor's office when we got back to town and they put me on antibiotics. I was very leary about taking them since I am nursing Little E, but the doctor said it should be fine. You can believe I will be watching him like a hawk though. Before I ever made it to the doctor's office though I went to the chiropractor this morning. He had to adjust my back and my neck. After he adjusted my neck he said, "boy....those were out to lunch." Meaning that they were way out of place. I need to go back next week. But, I better get back to doing stuff around the house since I have only been home for a couple of hours. Just wanted to give an update.