We now have a new water heater after many problems with a technician and a plumbing company. We almost got taken advantage of but Bryan was too smart for them. He did have to go a few days without hot water but he made the best of it.
I, on the other hand, enjoyed all the hot water I could get at The Legacy House in Red Wing, MN. I had a great time scrapbooking with friends from Rochester. And I even got my sister-in-law, Chrystine, to come with me for one day. We had tasty food, good conversation and some time to relax. I am not the fastest scrapbooker but I did manage to get 17 pages done. Nothing compared to the fastest one there, Jill, who got over 80 pages done. I don't even dream of doing that many pages. My goal is to do just enough pages to remember the big times in life. I try to fit 2-3 years worth of pages in one book. I love scrapbooking because it helps me remember the good and important times in life. It makes me more of an optimist (which I am not). I love to remember the good times and dwell on them. It helps me appreciate more of what God has given me and blessed me with.
Now I just want some more time to scrapbook. I am only a year and half behind our current lives. My goal is to get within 6 months. I love sharing my scrapbooks with others so if you ever want to find out more about us, just ask to see any of them.
This has been a good week but a full week. I need to get more sleep. I am looking forward to hanging out with family and relaxing the weekend.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
good but chaotic life
The last couple of days have been days that go by so quickly that you don't realize what all has happened until you reflect on it. Our life has been full of chaos.
Clay has had so many peeing accidents, I lost track. Not sure what is going on there because he has been doing so good for the last few weeks. Last evening topped it off with an accident in the carseat with his underwear and pants soaked, the carseat cover soaked and the seat of our van soaked. How lovely.
Add to that, emotional stress from seeing Bryan's sister on Saturday with all of her issues right now. And seeing her with tired and cranky, sugared-up kids at the Mall of America during afternoon naptime.
Yesterday I had a lot to get done and was doing dishes and laundry and email and trying to entertain my misbehaving children. I finally got a shower around noon and about halfway through my shower the water went ice cold. I thought I had just used up all the hot water, no big deal, just get out, soon!
A few hours later after going grocery shopping and putting the kids down for naps, I was making some soup (for scrapbooking retreat) and realized that there was no hot water coming out of the facet when I needed it. Maybe I just didn't run it long enough but we had to leave for church. The more I thought about it, maybe we really didn't have hot water, the clothes kept coming out freezing cold out of the washing machine which seemed a little odd. I started thinking we really had no hot water and our water heater was broken.
Bryan met us at church after working Sunday. This was his weekend to work which probably made Saturday and Sunday more chaotic. He casually tells me as we are trying to find a seat that his boss has been trying to get him fired.
Wow, I thought, God is sure taking care of us (not sarcastically). Amidst the turmoil and interhospital problems that Bryan has been having, he had no idea that his boss disliked him that much. It was kind of nice to not know that for the last 3 months, his boss had been spreading the word about how much she disliked Bryan. We were really clueless and it wasn't bad.
We really do know that God is taking care of us because Bryan's boss has now been removed from her position and a new leader is in place now. The old boss has lots of character issues and her wanting to remove Bryan was just the last straw for a lot of people at the hospital. It was just enough for everyone to realize that she needed to go. The odd thing is that we really had no idea of all that was going on without Bryan in the loop.
We are grateful that Bryan has job and that there is a new leader of the hospitalists at work. We are also grateful to all of the fellow hospitalists that stood up for Bryan and defended him when his boss wanted to remove him. Bryan has gotten to hear lots of complements from coworkers that he otherwise wouldn't have heard because of this situation happening.
So, Bryan left this morning for work after not showering in two days (got up late yesterday and no hot water today). We'll see how his coworkers like him now. Thankfully he can get a shower at work. I on the other hand am still waiting for a shower because I am still waiting for the plumber to show up. Bryan tried to get a kiss from me before we parted for 3 days while I am away scrapbooking with friends. I say tried because there was a puddle of pee separating us that Clay had just sprayed (pants down) all over the bathroom and me.
There was a mistake on behalf of the plumbing company this morning. They were supposed to have someone here by 9am to fix our water heater but it was entered into the computer wrong. Now someone will hopefully be here in the next hour (3 hours late).
On top of that, our washing machine is on the fritz. It is 25 years old so we have been expecting it but it is still not a joy to have it happen. It won't get the soap out, probably because of the cold water so I am rinsing everything three times. It won't spin the clothes to wring out the water either. I have been having to spin it 2-3 times too. Very frustrating.
I am sitting here waiting for a repairman with all of my scrapbooking stuff ready to go on a retreat. After I get a shower and after I get the kids to school. Poor Bryan has the next three days without me and with the kids. I know he is trying to process all that has happened over the last three months and the last couple of days.
So much to take in but in the end, I know that God is with us and is still taking care of us.
Clay has had so many peeing accidents, I lost track. Not sure what is going on there because he has been doing so good for the last few weeks. Last evening topped it off with an accident in the carseat with his underwear and pants soaked, the carseat cover soaked and the seat of our van soaked. How lovely.
Add to that, emotional stress from seeing Bryan's sister on Saturday with all of her issues right now. And seeing her with tired and cranky, sugared-up kids at the Mall of America during afternoon naptime.
Yesterday I had a lot to get done and was doing dishes and laundry and email and trying to entertain my misbehaving children. I finally got a shower around noon and about halfway through my shower the water went ice cold. I thought I had just used up all the hot water, no big deal, just get out, soon!
A few hours later after going grocery shopping and putting the kids down for naps, I was making some soup (for scrapbooking retreat) and realized that there was no hot water coming out of the facet when I needed it. Maybe I just didn't run it long enough but we had to leave for church. The more I thought about it, maybe we really didn't have hot water, the clothes kept coming out freezing cold out of the washing machine which seemed a little odd. I started thinking we really had no hot water and our water heater was broken.
Bryan met us at church after working Sunday. This was his weekend to work which probably made Saturday and Sunday more chaotic. He casually tells me as we are trying to find a seat that his boss has been trying to get him fired.
Wow, I thought, God is sure taking care of us (not sarcastically). Amidst the turmoil and interhospital problems that Bryan has been having, he had no idea that his boss disliked him that much. It was kind of nice to not know that for the last 3 months, his boss had been spreading the word about how much she disliked Bryan. We were really clueless and it wasn't bad.
We really do know that God is taking care of us because Bryan's boss has now been removed from her position and a new leader is in place now. The old boss has lots of character issues and her wanting to remove Bryan was just the last straw for a lot of people at the hospital. It was just enough for everyone to realize that she needed to go. The odd thing is that we really had no idea of all that was going on without Bryan in the loop.
We are grateful that Bryan has job and that there is a new leader of the hospitalists at work. We are also grateful to all of the fellow hospitalists that stood up for Bryan and defended him when his boss wanted to remove him. Bryan has gotten to hear lots of complements from coworkers that he otherwise wouldn't have heard because of this situation happening.
So, Bryan left this morning for work after not showering in two days (got up late yesterday and no hot water today). We'll see how his coworkers like him now. Thankfully he can get a shower at work. I on the other hand am still waiting for a shower because I am still waiting for the plumber to show up. Bryan tried to get a kiss from me before we parted for 3 days while I am away scrapbooking with friends. I say tried because there was a puddle of pee separating us that Clay had just sprayed (pants down) all over the bathroom and me.
There was a mistake on behalf of the plumbing company this morning. They were supposed to have someone here by 9am to fix our water heater but it was entered into the computer wrong. Now someone will hopefully be here in the next hour (3 hours late).
On top of that, our washing machine is on the fritz. It is 25 years old so we have been expecting it but it is still not a joy to have it happen. It won't get the soap out, probably because of the cold water so I am rinsing everything three times. It won't spin the clothes to wring out the water either. I have been having to spin it 2-3 times too. Very frustrating.
I am sitting here waiting for a repairman with all of my scrapbooking stuff ready to go on a retreat. After I get a shower and after I get the kids to school. Poor Bryan has the next three days without me and with the kids. I know he is trying to process all that has happened over the last three months and the last couple of days.
So much to take in but in the end, I know that God is with us and is still taking care of us.
Monday, February 16, 2009
we are doing it again
Yep, we are going to Honduras again!
We have our tickets and are excited to go again. We were hoping to go again but weren't sure how soon it would be able to happen. Well, it is coming soon. We will be gone from July 2-20. We are going back to the same place, Loma de Luz Hospital in Balfate, Colon, Honduras. The even nicer thing this time is that we are taking Bryan's sister, Kim, with us. She is a college student who will help us with the boys and make it possible for me to help out more around the hospital grounds and with the local schools. Kim, the boys and I will probably stick together most of the time and just tag team the kids so that we can both help out wherever needed.
I am definitely looking forward to going again. I really can't wait. I can already taste the mouthwatering pineapple and avacados in my mouth. I can't wait to see Argentina (the staff housing housekeeper) again. And I can't wait for the boys to play with Marisela and Joshua again.
We are already praying for all that is in store. Bryan was completely excited to go again until he was looking at hotels in La Ceiba (on the way to get to the hospital) and the internet descriptions were reminding him of the danger that is possible there. We know that there is more risk there than here but it is easy to forget when you know you are doing what God wants you to be doing.
We have our tickets and are excited to go again. We were hoping to go again but weren't sure how soon it would be able to happen. Well, it is coming soon. We will be gone from July 2-20. We are going back to the same place, Loma de Luz Hospital in Balfate, Colon, Honduras. The even nicer thing this time is that we are taking Bryan's sister, Kim, with us. She is a college student who will help us with the boys and make it possible for me to help out more around the hospital grounds and with the local schools. Kim, the boys and I will probably stick together most of the time and just tag team the kids so that we can both help out wherever needed.
I am definitely looking forward to going again. I really can't wait. I can already taste the mouthwatering pineapple and avacados in my mouth. I can't wait to see Argentina (the staff housing housekeeper) again. And I can't wait for the boys to play with Marisela and Joshua again.
We are already praying for all that is in store. Bryan was completely excited to go again until he was looking at hotels in La Ceiba (on the way to get to the hospital) and the internet descriptions were reminding him of the danger that is possible there. We know that there is more risk there than here but it is easy to forget when you know you are doing what God wants you to be doing.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
all boy
My nephew, Austin Jaxon Jarabek, was born on February 8 at 11:07 pm. He weighed 6
lbs 12 oz, and was 18 1/4 inches long.
Here are the four Jarabek cousins. I am sure these boys will get into lots of mischief together in the future. (Jaden, Clay, Eli, Austin) Grandma Vicki is still hoping for a granddaughter someday.
too much clean-up
The kids have been sick repeatedly with all sorts of viruses. I think that we have cleaned up enough throw-up for the next few years to come.
We did manage to see our new nephew, Austin, this weekend and hopefully we didn't pass on any illnesses.
We were part of the world-record breaking pancake feast in Fargo, ND on Saturday and I think the kids picked up their newest virus there which caused more throwing up last night after we thought they were recovered from Thursday.
I am hoping and praying for a healthy week.
We did manage to see our new nephew, Austin, this weekend and hopefully we didn't pass on any illnesses.
We were part of the world-record breaking pancake feast in Fargo, ND on Saturday and I think the kids picked up their newest virus there which caused more throwing up last night after we thought they were recovered from Thursday.
I am hoping and praying for a healthy week.
Monday, February 9, 2009
new life
We went up to North Dakota this weekend. We got to spend about a day with my parents and grandma in Jamestown. Then in Fargo, we got to see Bryan's family. We had a little ladies' dinner out for my sister-in-law Laura who was pregnant with their second baby. We all chipped in and got her a double stroller that she wanted. It was a nice kid-free meal with great conversation.
We did not expect Laura to go into labor later that night. Good thing we didn't hold off on the dinner for another week. Laura was 2 weeks early with her first baby, Eli. Now she was 3 weeks early with her second baby.
My newest nephew, Austin Jaxon Jarabek, arrived at 11:07pm on Sunday, February 8th, 2009 to Eric and Laura. He was 6 pounds 12 ounces and 18 1/4" long. Laura did incredibly well and managed to deliver Austin without any drugs. She was happy to not have another c-section.
We can't wait to meet the little guy. It is so nice that our schedules are so flexible, so we are heading back to Fargo this weekend. I'm sure he will look like a little peanut compared to my big babies (9 lb. 1 oz. Jaden and 8 lb. 8 oz. Clay).
We did not expect Laura to go into labor later that night. Good thing we didn't hold off on the dinner for another week. Laura was 2 weeks early with her first baby, Eli. Now she was 3 weeks early with her second baby.
My newest nephew, Austin Jaxon Jarabek, arrived at 11:07pm on Sunday, February 8th, 2009 to Eric and Laura. He was 6 pounds 12 ounces and 18 1/4" long. Laura did incredibly well and managed to deliver Austin without any drugs. She was happy to not have another c-section.
We can't wait to meet the little guy. It is so nice that our schedules are so flexible, so we are heading back to Fargo this weekend. I'm sure he will look like a little peanut compared to my big babies (9 lb. 1 oz. Jaden and 8 lb. 8 oz. Clay).
Saturday, February 7, 2009
potential for change
I want to be a mom that allows my kids to change and grow and improve.
I don't want to be a mom that tags my kids and assumes they will always have that quality.
I know that some qualities are good and you want your kids to stay that way forever.
But when I see a bad quality, I want to realize it one day but believe that my child can change and improve with God's help the next day.
I will always hope and pray that my kids will continue to change for the better.
I pray that God will work in their lives to make them more kind and loving and to point others to Jesus.
God, help me be a mother that sees the best in my kids and sees the potential in them that you have given them.
I don't want to be a mom that tags my kids and assumes they will always have that quality.
I know that some qualities are good and you want your kids to stay that way forever.
But when I see a bad quality, I want to realize it one day but believe that my child can change and improve with God's help the next day.
I will always hope and pray that my kids will continue to change for the better.
I pray that God will work in their lives to make them more kind and loving and to point others to Jesus.
God, help me be a mother that sees the best in my kids and sees the potential in them that you have given them.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
sometimes God helps me appreciate life
Not sure I even want to blog about my night but I have decided to anyway.
The kids have been sick this week. It really hasn't been a big deal. I had to leave work early on Tuesday because Clay had a fever and then the boys had to stay home from school on Wednesday. I am so appreciative of my flexible job. I ended up working Thursday instead of Wednesday. Jaden developed pink eye Wednesday so Bryan was able to be with the boys today (Thursday). I have been fine with all of this and just thankful that we were able to make it work so easily. Sure we didn't get great sleep but our boys were still relatively happy despite the fever and one red eye.
Tonight I had a wakeup call or a wakeup drive is more like it. Bryan and I were happy to be out on a date. We had a great meal at our favorite local Mexican restaurant where we ate our favorite meal, chori pollo. I couldn't stop talking about work and beaming from how much I enjoy it. Bryan thankfully entertained my talking despite him wanting me to read The Shack to him.
We were having a nice drive around the city looking at the two possible locations our church might be moving to soon. We were kind of lost, well at least we lost track of north for a little while, when we drove by a very sad sight. A woman had just been hit by a car in the street. We didn't see the accident but were there right after it happened. We quickly made the decision to stop and Bryan got out to help. All I could do was pray. That woman's life will forever be changed. It was changed in an instant. She got hit by a car and then ran over by another car and a third car stopped just before running over her. Thankfully she was breathing with a faint heartbeat and the car only drove over her legs. She was in critical condition. Bryan helped load her in the ambulance once it got there. He got back in the car about 20 minutes later with 10 cop cars surrounding us.
Wow. So shocking. We sat stunned at what had just happened. Bryan with blood on his hands and clothing did all he could, which wasn't much in his estimation but was great by anyone else's. The woman who was driving and hit the pedestrian was hysterical as I would have been too.
A lot of prayers were coming out of our car. Bryan called the hospital later to find out how the lady was doing. Amazingly she was stable and getting some CT scans. She will most likely survive. Completely astounding!
I sure appreciate life. Life is such a gift.
The kids have been sick this week. It really hasn't been a big deal. I had to leave work early on Tuesday because Clay had a fever and then the boys had to stay home from school on Wednesday. I am so appreciative of my flexible job. I ended up working Thursday instead of Wednesday. Jaden developed pink eye Wednesday so Bryan was able to be with the boys today (Thursday). I have been fine with all of this and just thankful that we were able to make it work so easily. Sure we didn't get great sleep but our boys were still relatively happy despite the fever and one red eye.
Tonight I had a wakeup call or a wakeup drive is more like it. Bryan and I were happy to be out on a date. We had a great meal at our favorite local Mexican restaurant where we ate our favorite meal, chori pollo. I couldn't stop talking about work and beaming from how much I enjoy it. Bryan thankfully entertained my talking despite him wanting me to read The Shack to him.
We were having a nice drive around the city looking at the two possible locations our church might be moving to soon. We were kind of lost, well at least we lost track of north for a little while, when we drove by a very sad sight. A woman had just been hit by a car in the street. We didn't see the accident but were there right after it happened. We quickly made the decision to stop and Bryan got out to help. All I could do was pray. That woman's life will forever be changed. It was changed in an instant. She got hit by a car and then ran over by another car and a third car stopped just before running over her. Thankfully she was breathing with a faint heartbeat and the car only drove over her legs. She was in critical condition. Bryan helped load her in the ambulance once it got there. He got back in the car about 20 minutes later with 10 cop cars surrounding us.
Wow. So shocking. We sat stunned at what had just happened. Bryan with blood on his hands and clothing did all he could, which wasn't much in his estimation but was great by anyone else's. The woman who was driving and hit the pedestrian was hysterical as I would have been too.
A lot of prayers were coming out of our car. Bryan called the hospital later to find out how the lady was doing. Amazingly she was stable and getting some CT scans. She will most likely survive. Completely astounding!
I sure appreciate life. Life is such a gift.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
good life confession
I am loving my job and enjoying life right now. Something my husband keeps saying hasn't been sitting with me very well lately.
Bryan keeps saying that our life is good.
I will admit that our lives are just what we wanted. Bryan has a part-time doctor job. I have a part-time space job. We have lots of time to spend with family and time to donate to our church. We have our kids in a Montessori school. We live close to family in Minneapolis. Life couldn't get any better, it seems.
For some reason in my head, when I hear life is good, that means that life should be easy. Life does not feel easy right now. Sometimes life still feels hard. I am realizing that life being good is not the same as life being easy. I can say our life is good but it is not always easy.
I am enjoying life more than I have in years and if that means life is good, then I will say it. Life is good.
Bryan keeps saying that our life is good.
I will admit that our lives are just what we wanted. Bryan has a part-time doctor job. I have a part-time space job. We have lots of time to spend with family and time to donate to our church. We have our kids in a Montessori school. We live close to family in Minneapolis. Life couldn't get any better, it seems.
For some reason in my head, when I hear life is good, that means that life should be easy. Life does not feel easy right now. Sometimes life still feels hard. I am realizing that life being good is not the same as life being easy. I can say our life is good but it is not always easy.
I am enjoying life more than I have in years and if that means life is good, then I will say it. Life is good.
Monday, February 2, 2009
bad changes
I love my new job and like pretty much everything that it has brought to our family life. There are two things that are putting a dent in the perfection. Both of the boys have taken on bad habits since I have went back to work. Bryan thinks it might be a little too early to jump to any conclusions but he is just being an optimist.
Dent #1: Clay and his potty-training issues. He has had countless pee and poop accidents in his underwear over the last three weeks. This is no fun for us to clean-up. He has had a few accidents at school, which was to be expected because he does not go completely on his own yet. He has had about as many dry days as he has had wet days at school so that doesn't totally explain all of the accidents at home. Clay is smart enough to know what he is doing and communicate it so this is getting quite frustrating. Hopefully he adjusts soon.
Dent #2: Jaden and his misbehaving issues. He has had countless timeouts in a chair and in his room over the last three weeks. He has had recent issues with hitting, pushing, trying to bite Clay, disobeying, breaking things intentionally and just plain old not listening to us. This is wearing us out but Bryan and I are thankfully here to help each other carry out the discipline. I am sure he will adjust. He just needs to get through this time of transition, testing and boundary-pushing. He has done this before to us during difficult circumstances so it is kind of expected but still not fun. He is my constant boundary-pusher and I just wish that he would be a rule-follower now. I try to remind myself that boundary-pushers are world-changers and he will do great things someday. I know he will.
Dent #1: Clay and his potty-training issues. He has had countless pee and poop accidents in his underwear over the last three weeks. This is no fun for us to clean-up. He has had a few accidents at school, which was to be expected because he does not go completely on his own yet. He has had about as many dry days as he has had wet days at school so that doesn't totally explain all of the accidents at home. Clay is smart enough to know what he is doing and communicate it so this is getting quite frustrating. Hopefully he adjusts soon.
Dent #2: Jaden and his misbehaving issues. He has had countless timeouts in a chair and in his room over the last three weeks. He has had recent issues with hitting, pushing, trying to bite Clay, disobeying, breaking things intentionally and just plain old not listening to us. This is wearing us out but Bryan and I are thankfully here to help each other carry out the discipline. I am sure he will adjust. He just needs to get through this time of transition, testing and boundary-pushing. He has done this before to us during difficult circumstances so it is kind of expected but still not fun. He is my constant boundary-pusher and I just wish that he would be a rule-follower now. I try to remind myself that boundary-pushers are world-changers and he will do great things someday. I know he will.
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