Texas in just over a month

1. June 29-July 1--Jeff and big kids fishing at Devil's River

2. July 1-6--Visiting my parents in Belton

3. July 8-14--Ruth at singing camp/visiting my grandparents in Haskell

4. July 15-18--Big kids at Nana Camp in Port Aransas

5. July 27-Aug. 1--Jeff's grandmother's birthday party/visit to family ranch

6. Aug. 1-10--Campmeeting, just outside Ft. Davis

And, that, my friends, is how you do Texas in just over a month!

Biscuit Brothers

A few years ago, we had the opportunity to see the Biscuit Brothers in Austin. And, today, we got to see them again at Children's Day at Art Park. It was our first time to attend this event, but now that I know about it, we will make a plan to visit again next summer. (This was their last show for this year). The kids enjoyed jammin' to the music, visiting with the clowns, drinking the 10 cent lemonade, munching on the free Blue Bell bars and using their imaginations to create some original art.

Lots of distractions kept eyes from the camera

Visiting with one of the clowns

The Biscuit Brothers

Ruth's clay turtle

Silly Weston and his creation

Max's sailboat

All-American Diner

Last week, when I wasn't quite with it, my sweet big kids made a dinner plan. They spent the better part of the day creating a menu and cleaning up the loft, so that they could open a little "restaurant" for Jeff and I to go to on a date. They set the table, took our orders, cooked all the food and attentively waited on us. They also managed to feed themselves and their little brother, without Jeff or myself having to lift so much as a finger. It was just the sweetest, most creative thing!

What's on the menu?

All set

Cutest waitress/head chef/restaurant owner ever!

Check, please!

My Heart is Overwhelmed

Oh Lord, you know that my heart is overwhelmed this week--physically, with this crazy Prolonged QT Syndrome diagnosis, and emotionally, with all the questions: "Why did I pass out?" "Will it happen again?" "Will I be holding Clay next time?" "What if Jeff isn't here?" "Could it be worse next time?" Yeah, my heart is just a little overwhelmed. And my head is foggy. So, today I was engaged in a completely brain-dead activity--searching around on Pintrest--because that's all I felt I could handle at the moment. And, You, You met me right there. Right where my heart was so overwhelmed. And, where did you invite me to go? To the Rock. The enticement of a firm foundation was so very necessary to me, who has recently lost her footing in the most literal sense. But it wasn't an invitation to just any rock. It was to "the Rock that is higher than I." It is beyond my strength. Beyond my understanding. A place with a better view. So, that's where I'd like to go. Lead on.

What a headache!!

On Saturday, we dropped the big kids off at my parents' so they could begin their Nana Camp adventures. On Sunday morning, Mom called to say that all three kids had been throwing up and having diarrhea all night. They weren't feverish and felt fine between spells, so we decided it was probably food poisoning and to wait and see how the day progressed before pulling the plug on Nana Camp. Meanwhile, at our house, Jeff had woken up with much the same problem and proceeded to spend the rest of the day zonked out on the couch. Mom called several hours later to report that the kids seemed to be feeling pretty good and were all loathe to give up their Nana Camp, so off they all went to Port Aransas, and they having been feeling good and having fun ever since.

Clay and I had not felt even a flutter of the tummy bug, confirming the food poisoning theory. I was determined not to be sick, regardless, because I had a very busy week ahead, teaching a class for new and returning CC tutors and helping with the CC conference on our campus. As I prepared for bed last night, I was joking along these lines, telling Jeff I would just have to blow him a kiss goodnight, since I couldn't risk getting sick.

Well, about 1:30 am, I woke up and needed to go to the restroom. And that's where my plan broke down. And, where my memory starts to have gaps. Either before I actually made it to the restroom or right after, I felt a bit dizzy and thought I would just grab hold of the counter for a moment to steady myself. The next thing I knew, I was feeling a cold, hardness underneath me and a crazy stinging in my eyes. And, a little while later I realized I was lying on the bathroom floor, vomiting. I rolled over to my side, to try keep further debris from my eyes, and that's when I realized that my head hurt really, really badly. I reached up to touch it, noticed that it felt wrong, and surmised that I was having that dream of everything going wrong before a big event. This wasn't happening, it was just the stress in my head getting to me. Oh, but the headache just would not quit! I tried to find my voice, but, instead, only heard myself moaning.

Jeff had heard me get up and heard me throwing up but had assumed that I had caught what the rest of the family had and wasn't too worried. He heard me hit the floor, but in his middle-of-the-night fog, thought the crash was coming from outside. Eventually, he called out to see if I was all right, and I finally found my voice long enough to utter his name with some urgency. Imagine his surprise when he entered the bathroom, to find me lying in a pool of my own vomit and blood. He was talking to me, but I couldn't really make sense of his words. And then, he was trying to clean me up. When I went into the fetal position in the shower, cringing at every touch to my head, he declared that we were headed to the ER. I was in no position to argue, so off we went.

After administering an EKG, a CT scan, an i.v. and a shot of morphine, they began the process of trying to clean me up. When they finally got down to the wound itself, they determined I would need 8 staples to close up the 2-3 inch long gash. The sight of the staple gun terrified me, but with all the numbing shots and morphine, the installation of the staples wasn't too bad. And, fortunately, they didn't have to shave my head--just trim the hair in a few places. The CT scan reported no problems, but the EKG showed that I have Prolonged QT Syndrome, a congenital arrhythmia in the heart that may cause episodes of fainting. They don't know for sure that that is what caused me to pass out, but they did recommend I follow up with a cardiologist.

So, 2 1/2 hours later, I left the ER with a head full of staples, a prescription for pain meds and anti-nausea meds, and the worst headache of my life.

Needless to say, I didn't make it to my class today. My wonderful in-laws were here babysitting Clay and myself, while Jeff was in Austin. They were taking care, not only of us, but the house and laundry as well. I'm taking the pain meds and am resting, and obviously, have lived to blog another day. I hope to be back to my normal self before too many more days. The staples will come out in a week, and hopefully, the headache will go away before that. If it weren't for that pain, though, I would definitely feel like I was living in some made up drama. I have never, ever done anything like this before, and I hope to never do it again!

My new, fancy hair accessories

A pictorial journey of the last week

Fun and games on the first night of singing camp

The theme of the week for the boys was to see how many
playgrounds they could play at. This was the first of 10. 

Having fun, old-school style
(These merry-go-rounds have been at
this park since I was a little girl!)

Slide races

Mr. Monkey

Crazy climber

Good times

Hanging out

Cuddling with Grandaddy 

Playing with Granny

Bottoms up!

A trip to the Abilene Zoo, with one of my oldest
friends and her sweet little boy.

Feeding the friendly giraffe

Stylin' 

Half-birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's

Half-birthday gifts

Beautiful Ruth posing on the last night of singing camp.
She did such an amazing job at the performance!

The big kids got their beach bum on, and headed to Corpus for Nana Camp.
(The "beach bum" in the background was actually a cleverly wrapped,
early birthday present for me--a Keurig coffee maker!)

Walking around in my past

I am definitely not one to dwell on the past. But last week and this week have found me literally wandering the streets of my childhood and adolescence, revisiting the people and places of my youth. And, memories are a funny thing. They can be repressed for decades and then just come unbidden right to the forefront of your mind, with the slightest provocation, as if they happened recently. It's really weird. And, it's also weird that your hometown changes. Stuff that was there isn't there, and instead, new stuff is in its place. But, then, it's also weird that things you would have expected to change, haven't. The same thing happens internally. You find that you are not the same person you were (not even remotely!), but some piece of you remains the same. Those people and places have helped to make you who you are. You are new and old, all at once. I'm so thankful for where I have come from and for every single experience I've had that brought me to this point in my life. It has been an interesting exercise to walk around in my past for a while and to remember. And, it's has been even more fun to share that with my kiddos, because what has shaped me is also what is, in part, shaping them.

Gone Again

We spent most of this last week at my parents' and just got home last night. From the moment we walked in the door, I have been doing laundry and repacking, so we can take off again. We will be in Haskell for the next few days, staying with my grandparents and exploring the Big Country, while Ruth attends singing camp. The adventure never ends, people! Check in again soon, so you don't miss any of the excitement.

Waco Children's Museum

Blocks! 

keyboarding, old school style

The poor little homeschool kids don't know how to ride in the bus

Drive time

puzzled

horse lover 

horsing around

The train, the train!

Cowboy Max

John Wayne faces

This girl was born int he wrong era. She was meant to be a pioneer woman.

Clay's very favorite exhibit

Little drummer boys

Music Man

Body Bubble

This fashionista tried on every single outfit in the dress-up room.

Tea Party

Fun on the Fourth

Ruth's patriotic manicure...

 ...And wildly patriotic pedicure

Fruit Kabobs

Cake balls

"We've got spirit, yes we do!"