A Memorable Memorial - Part 2

The saga continues....

Friday night after the birthday road trip, we learned that my youngest brother, Joe, and his girlfriend, Carly, had gotten engaged! There's no date set yet, but I am beyond excited! What a day, I thought, tomorrow should be calmer. We stayed up late that night watching Netflix to squeeze the most out of the day. I always seem to regret staying up late! I should have known better, since we had plans to head to a cousin's graduation party the next afternoon.

Carly and Joe

Around 1am I was startled off the couch by cries coming from the boy's room. It was Liam. I spent the next three hours trying to figure out what was wrong and comforting him. I thought at first it was a bad dream, but he kept jumping awake like something hurt. I then suspected it was his belly until he started holding his ear and his throat. Ah, he's probably getting a cold, I thought. He screamed bloody murder when I got out the throat spray, so I poured a little in a medicine cup and had him sip it. Nothing seemed to help. Ian woke up around 4am crying, also needing me. In desperation I warmed up some olive oil, dropped it in Liam's ear, and gave him some Tylenol. He finally slept.

My poor baby!

Saturday morning I was up around 8am with Ian again. I hadn't got the chance to pick up Eli's gift the day before, and it was the last day of the grill sale. I decided to run out with Ian before everyone woke and grab a Weber grill quick. Who grabs a Weber quickly, you ask? Crazy, slightly addled, sleep deprived mamas do! I also picked up some flowers for by the back door, a couple hanging baskets for the front porch, and then decided to pick up a prescription from the pharmacy that I hadn't been able to get the day before. I was able to make it home and assemble the grill before anyone else woke up.

Ready to plant!

 I've already seen hummingbirds drinking from these flowers!

When Liam woke I noticed he had blood crusted on the side of his face and blood trickling out of his ear. I couldn't see anything inside and called my Mom to see if something had happened the day before. No, he had been fine. Maybe I just hadn't seen it in the night? Eli woke shortly after, and his grill surprise was muted by me running Liam to the emergency room. Liam was such a good, brave boy, though he never spoke above a whisper while the nurses or doctor were around. We found out he has swimmer's ear (external ear infection) and acute pharyngitis. We headed back to the pharmacy to get more medicine. And then I decided to plant some flowers while Eli got ready to head out. In hindsight, I probably should have waited since we were supposed to be leaving for a graduation party soon. I think I was trying to inject some sanity into the day. Digging in the dirt is like therapy for me.

I can't wait for the alyssum to fill in!

We loaded up the van for another long road trip to the graduation party. It was about the same distance away as the Amana Colonies was. They live on a farm, and the boys had a blast running, checking out the pigs and sheep, terrorizing cats, and disappearing into machine sheds they weren't supposed to be in. We left around 8pm amid protests and cries that they wanted to live there forever. It cemented more firmly in our minds the conviction that it is an acreage that we're on the hunt for, even though we may have to wait a little bit longer and be patient with this tiny little house. Just a little bit longer.

On the road!

Boys! Four are ours, two are cousins.

What are you looking at?

Does he bite?

 Grandpa Bucky and Ian

Ian staring down cousin Jenna. They really love each other!

 I don't know about all this...

 Cake!

Today (Monday) after the rain had passed, I went out and finished planting the garden (zucchini, squash, beans, and cucumbers). I planted a couple hanging baskets for the deck (alyssum that will withstand the scorching summer sun that the deck gets). I also planted some basil by the back door. Eli came out and helped me get half the chicken wire fencing around the garden. Tomorrow we'll have to get more fence posts. My favorite time of year is upon us and it's shaping up to be a great summer!

And a gorgeous sunset to end the day!

While I don't personally know anyone who has lost their life in service to our country, our families are studded with veterans, including my own husband and father. Never take the sacrifices of others for granted! 

Bees, Birthdays, Bowling, and Breweries

We had an eventful weekend...or Eli did, at the very least.

Saturday morning started out with plans for Eli, Aidan, and Gavin to go mushroom hunting with my Dad. I stayed home with Liam and Ian to catch up on some chores. Most of us are on the tail end of nasty head colds, and our two little guys got it the worst. Ian has returned to his two-nap-a-day schedule. Throw a wrench in that and he becomes a bear.

The big guys returned (mushroomless) and mid-nap for Ian. I had the boys clean up, eat a quick lunch (crescent ring!) and get ready for their cousin's birthday party. Ian slept on.

By 1:30 we were officially late, so Eli decided to take the older three boys to the party at the park. Eli was supposed to leave for his last night of bowling league by 3:00. Ian had just woke from his nap and was being a stinker. It took forever just to get clothes on him. Ever tried to bathe a cat? The struggle was similar.

Ian and I made it to the park just before 3:00. Eli came over and showed me his hand, where he had just been stung by a bee. His hand was slightly swollen with white blotches. Despite bee allergies that his siblings have, he wasn't too worried. He left as planned to bowl, 45 minutes away.

Within an hour of him leaving, he text me these photos:

"Oh my gosh," I replied.

"I'll be fine," he said. "I'll let you know if I have to go to the hospital."

What???

He's a big boy, I told myself, calm down. I headed home with my other four boys and spent some time outside with them, riding bikes in the driveway while I weeded the street-facing wildflower bed along the side of our house. When I finished I had them line up on the deck for haircuts.

They grow up too fast! Aidan looks so much older when his face isn't hidden by his glasses.

I had the little boys in the tub when I asked Aidan to grab my phone for me. I saw I had missed a couple texts from Eli. 

"At hospital but doing fine. Love you mama. Swelling starting to go away."

I called him right away. He said after bowling the first game his lips and hand/arm were swollen, with hives up to his neck, and he was so kindly driven to the emergency room. He said he would be released when they got his heart rate down.  No need for me to head up there, he said, everything was under control. He hoped to be back at the bowling alley to finish up there soon.

What???

Thank God it wasn't worse. Eli's tongue and throat never swelled. If he gets stung again it will probably be worse. By 8:30 he was released from the hospital. He picked up some meds from a 24-hour pharmacy (and will pick up an epi pen this morning), then went out to eat with his bowling buddies. After that they stopped at a local brewery. He made it home without further incident, but lips and hand were still noticeably swollen Sunday morning.

It's so strange the way things work out. The "coincidences" and patterns that are visible in everyday life. Sometimes it's so easy to "see" the unseen Hand guiding and shaping my own life. Just earlier in the day Saturday I had posted a question on social media, asking for suggestions for a great local brewery to visit. Eli's birthday is at the end of the month. I had succeeded in finding a sitter for the day, and I wanted to surprise him with a trip somewhere we had never been before. We never made it to tour the brewery in Colorado on our honeymoon, so one of the local microbreweries seemed like a great idea. I now have a back-up plan for the day, but I have to admit I did not deal with my disappointment well. Whatever we end up doing, it'll be great as long as we're together...and there are no bees.