Update from Last Week

I had an appointment with my doctor yesterday in regards to everything that went on last week. My EEG results were back and showed no major abnormalities. There were a few levels that were higher or lower than "normal" but nothing that was so out of the ordinary that would have caused what happened last week. It was also determined that I did not have a seizure. So all of my tests have come back normal and we are left wondering what the heck happened. My doc said he wasn't going to send me out of his office with a diagnosis of a migraine until all of the tests had been done. I don't know what those tests are but I am meeting with him again next week. There were no notes from the neurologist to suggest any kind of follow up or other possible tests to be done so I really have no idea what I'm in for next. Where's Dr. House when you need him??!!

I have had a headache since last Wednesday and the left side of my face is numb to some sort of degree almost all the time. I am also quite tired, I hope all of this subsides soon!

So I guess I don't really have anything new to update after last week's post, hopefully there will be more to say after my appointment next week. Thanks to everyone who has phoned, emailed and texted. Your prayers and support have meant so much to us all.

A little bit of drama

We have had a bit of drama in our household this week. I have just returned home from a short stint in the hospital! Tuesday morning at 3:00 my whole left side went numb, I collapsed on my bed and started shaking uncontrollably. Ron called his parents to come stay with the kids and then called 911. We headed into the hospital and immediately had blood work and a CT scan done. The results were normal and I was then scheduled for an MRI and EEG. My MRI results have come back normal as well and we are still waiting on the EEG results, which could take a few weeks. I was told that having normal CT and MRI results ruled out stroke, MS, tumors and an aneurism. The EEG will show signs of seizures. Apparently it takes the neurologist a while to get around to reading results so it will be a bit before I know what is going on. I know some have suggested it was a migraine and others are hitting the Google search engine for other suggestions as well but I'm being cautious and waiting to see what the last test results are and what doctors have to say before I say anything more as to what has happened.

I am home now, have a headache and my body is sore from lying in a bed for the last however many hours but I'm glad to be home and Ron and the kids are happy to have me home too. I missed sending the oldest two off to their first day of school today but made it home 10 minutes before the bus pulled up at the end of the day. My mom has been here to help out which means my house is clean and laundry is done!! I may need to fake something tomorrow so she doesn't leave! ;)

We are still in the process of figuring things out while waiting for test results so I will update here when I have more information. Thanks to all who have sent well wishes, it has meant a lot!!

What a summer

Have I really not posted since May? So much has happened I can't put pictures with all the events. I've done blog posts in my head as each event has finished but it doesn't seem to transfer automatically to the computer. Huh, go figure!

May and June were filled with soccer. The girls were in the same mini-soccer program so that made my life easy. I do all the running around with soccer, for the obvious farming reason, so to have two of the three kids on the same schedule makes life bearable. Nathan's soccer team plays two days a week, once home and once away. There were a few games cancelled due to weather, some that should have been cancelled due to weather, but it was a good season for the boys. The last game of the season was so exciting that I think my heart didn't slow down for a few hours after the game was done! It was one of those games that kept you on the edge of your seat from the get go. Tied at the end of the first half, they scored a few minutes into the second half, we scored a few minutes left in the half, it goes to double overtime and then to penalty kicks it went! They scored on shot 2, we scored on shot 5 so then it went to sudden death penalty kicks! They kicked first and missed, we kicked next and scored! I don't know how many of you are competitive but that game just about killed me! I'm competitive to a fault. Thankfully in my wisdom *cough* I do keep my thoughts to myself and I don't coach (from the bench or the sideline). I learned a great lesson from one of the moms. I can tell she's competitive but she is constantly talking to the boys and it is always encouraging, never coaching from the sidelines. I try to do the same thing, and if I can't say anything nice I try to be quiet!

June also saw the end of preschool for Bethany, grade 1 for Larissa and grade 4 for Nathan. All three kids are hitting years that seem hard for me. Nathan hits double digits in a couple of days, grade 2 seems so grown up, which Larissa is, and my baby is going to Kindergarten! Aaaaaaah!!! Good thing summer isn't finished yet, I can be in denial for a little while longer!

July was super busy for us. The local fair was the first Wednesday with horse competitions starting the evening before. We knew a few people competing so we had to go watch. The girls love horses so this was a great way for them to see horses in action and play with their friends who were there watching too. Nathan went to help Ron with the beef pit barbeque, he doesn't care so much for horses! The kids entered items in the fair so we were frantically getting those together the day before too. They showed well and all earned money, which they were thrilled with and have now been encouraged to enter more items next year! Two days after the fair we left on our family vacation! We headed to the Rockies with our camper in tow. It is the perfect way to travel in the summer time! We were in Drumheller to see the dinosaurs then off to Banff, Jasper and Edmonton. We spent only a couple of nights in each place and packed in as much as we could in the nine days we were gone and needed a vacation from our vacation when we got home! The kids thought the waterpark at West Edmonton Mall was the best part of the whole trip so I guess next time we can just camp there. They did have a good time in the mountains and thought it was great to throw snowballs in July! We got home from our trip and Nathan started sports camp in town. He did eight sports in four days and then played all of the sports they learned on the last day of camp. He learned how to play badminton, volleyball, basketball, lacrosse, field hockey, pickle ball (I have no idea what that is!) and a few others that I can't remember right now. He had a great time and told me our summer has to be planned around sports camp every year. Sports camp ended on a Friday and that Sunday we packed up Nathan and Larissa and left them at bible camp for five days. They went last year as well and could hardly wait to go back. Bethany wanted to stay too but she's too young, she's going to hold me to the promise of next year! When their time at camp was done Bethy & I picked up the older two and headed to my sister's place to meet our new niece/cousin and her two brothers. There are four nephews so this is the first girl on my side of the family, other than my two, and the youngest so she will be well spoiled. After that quick visit we went to my mom and dad's for night and saw my other sister and nephews. We got home on Friday and started an intensive week of swimming lessons on Monday! Each kid had two lessons a day and all three kids were in different levels so that meant we were at the pool for six lessons a day. It was a busy week but all three kids loved their lessons (they all moved on to the next level) and played with friends while waiting for each other's lessons to be finished. I got to visit with other moms so it wasn't a hard week. The weather was very cooperative too and there are some huge shade trees to stay cool under. We also started combining July 30. As for the house a deck was built, brick work done and lawn was seeded. I think I remembered everything for the month!

We kicked off August by going to family camp at the same camp Nathan & Larissa were at in July so Bethy could enjoy all the activities too, now she's really raring to go next summer! We had an "off" week last week but easily filled it by watching the Olympics. This week the kids are at VBS in town in the mornings and I'm cleaning house, which I didn't do last week while cheering on Team Canada! Did I mention I'm slightly competitive?

Next week the kids are off camping with Grandma & Grandpa V for a few days. That gives me an opportunity to spend time with one of my sisters and her family and then we're visiting friends and staying with my other sister to celebrate Nathan's birthday and my nephew's birthday. When we get home harvesting should be almost finished, Ron's sister and her family are out for a few days and school starts after the September long weekend. Thankfully school supply shopping is done. Whew, what a summer it has been!

Columbia Icefields

The brick on the house and weeds still on the "lawn"!

Future agronomists checking out the wheat field

Mmmmm, Rollkuchen

I'm a sucker for my kids. Especially when it comes to grocery shopping. I don't give in to all of their demands but there are a few I can't resist. Watermelon is one of them. When a certain 5 year old's big brown eyes look up at me and ask if we can have watermelon and rollkuchen for supper one night as she's standing right next to the watermelon, it's really hard to resist! So needless to say, I had some super happy kiddos yesterday when we had watermelon and rollkuchen for supper. For those of you who don't know what rollkuchen is, the best way I can describe it is dough fried in oil. As far as I know it's a Mennonite "dish". I haven't met a non-Mennonite yet who has known what rollkuchen is. My kids are shocked that there are people in this world who have not had rollkuchen. Ever.

This was the cooking station on the front veranda. There is oil on the veranda now but the mess and the smell are better left outside!

We don't have patio furniture yet but our tv trays and lawn chairs work well.

This is rollkuchen. The ones with the slits in them are crispy, the way Ron likes them. The other ones are puffy, the way the rest of us like them. The syrup pours easily into the puffy ones once an end has been bitten off! You can also stuff a piece of watermelon inside if you don't want syrup. But let's be honest, who doesn't want Rogers Syrup in their rollkuchen??!!

I was told these were the best ones ever. That's probably because they were the first ones of the summer season but hey, why not get an early start on Mother's Day gift bribes?

Spoil Mom Day

Yesterday was Mother's Day. This is the day where you find out how your kids truly feel about you and what they take away from their life with you. Do they remember all the discipline moments, the learning moments, the "mom is so frustrated she doesn't know what to do with you" moments? Or will they remember the fun moments, the read-to-me moments, the "I'm laughing so hard I'm going to pee my pants" moments? Thankfully my kids remember the latter rather than the former!!

I had been given strict instructions on Thursday already that I was to sleep in on Sunday. The day started off at 7:50 with Larissa "sneaking" into our bedroom to wake up Ron so they could make me breakfast (not in bed, I don't like food in bed!!). They came to get me at 8:20. First I was given my gifts then I was treated to bacon, eggs, toast & jam, tea and orange juice. We went to church then out for lunch with two families, came home for a couple of hours and then headed to the lake where we met up with the same friends we had lunch with and had supper by the beach. It was a great day, I am truly loved!

Here are the gifts I was blessed with:

This one's from Nathan. The wall plaque he chose on his own from the grand re-opening of the church library. The card and bath salts are from school. The card has a haiku on it:

Mom

nice, kind

cooking, relaxing, visiting

I love my Mom

scrapbooking, reading, singing,

awesome, caring

Mommy

These are all from Larissa. I think if you click on the picture you can see what they all are. My favourite is  the "I Love You" card. Inside was fill in the blank sentences, here are some of my favourite answers:

My mom is "35" years old. (I'm not, but thanks!)

My mom weighs "55" pounds. (really??!!)

My mom's favourite food is "pantkacks" (pancakes, apparently)

My mom's job is "being a mom" (it's true!)

My mom really loves "me" (there were two lines for that answer, apparently only one word was needed!!)

This was Bethany's gift to me. It was so cute. She jumped up onto the bed and "read" it to me. She then said, "It's not true, Mom. My arms are longer so I love you more!"

Now the challenge will be to top this for Father's Day!!

More Construction

We are adding a sidewalk and patio to our house this spring. It was all supposed to happen last week, but as our luck would have it, it started raining! We told Josiah that if we needed rain all we had to do was hire him for a project. He's now booked for mid-July. Just kidding! The sidewalk up front is the only thing that's really progressed for now.

As you can see, the puddles are preventing work from getting done. I think the guys have been here about an hour a day before they get rained on....again.

This is our back patio area. It's tempting to just dig a hole and make a pool!!

I wonder how long that trackhoe will be a yard ornament....

Ron has said that we have had enough rain now to make up for the lack of snow this winter. We are not saturated like we were last spring, so that's good. We are just over half finished seeding and Ron's not in panic mode yet. The forecast is promising for the rest of the week so hopefully yard and field work can get well on it's way to being finished!

Look Who's Five!!

Our baby is five today! Five is a big number. Five means she's no longer a little preschooler. Five means she'll be leaving home in the fall to be swallowed up by the big yellow school bus. Five means she will gain more independence as she is away from home and playing on the playground without us right there watching her. Five is scary for us as parents. Five is exciting beyond words for Bethy. I keep telling Bethany that every birthday she has from now on she will turn four all over again so she can stay home with me and just keep going to preschool. She refuses. I said the same thing to the other kids when they turned five. They refused too. Either I'm doing something wrong that they don't want to stay home with me forever, or I'm doing something right that they don't want to stay home with me forever. It depends on the day!!

Bethany loves life. I don't quite know how to describe her in a way that would actually capture who she is. She says what she thinks (she gets that from her Great-Oma V AND her Great-Opa B!!). She's not afraid to be who she is. She can't sit still. I think the highest Ron & I have counted when she is actually still is 4....maybe. She's discreetly attentive. You don't think she's paying attention to what you are saying and weeks later she will give you the details on the conversation you had. She's competitive. It's how she passed swimming lessons, she couldn't let the other kids do better than she did! She's inquisitive. There are no less than 10 questions from her brain in five minutes. Ron took her to the elevator one day. Forty minutes into the drive he sent me a text saying she hadn't stopped asking questions since they left the yard. He wondered how I could answer questions all day! I say Bethany might be a genius some day because of all the questions she asks. Or not so much because I'm the one answering all the questions! She retains all the answers too. Random information comes out of her mouth and when I ask her where she learned that information she can tell me exactly where she heard it. Be careful what you say around her!! Bethany loves music. She is constantly singing some song from some show or preschool class. If she's not singing she's dancing. She has attitude. It's going to either get her into trouble or keep her out of it. Hopefully we can steer her in the right direction! She knows how to assert herself. If there's a line drawn she will erase it and tell you exactly where she thinks it should be. (It's a good thing her mother is just as assertive!) Bethany wakes up every day with a smile on her face, a sparkle in her eye, and a desire to live life so it's always exciting. We hope we can enjoy her enthusiasm!

Love you Sweetie!!