Love-Hate Relationship

I love this time of year. I will be headed back to work in about a week and although I love my time off, I'm ready to get back in the swing of things. Having kids has changed summer breaks. There no longer is sleeping in and I guess I must be getting old because even if I want too, I have been getting up earlier and earlier recently. We will be "Riding the Wave to Learning" this year at West Memorial Elementary and I'm excited about what this year will bring. I'm going to try my very best this year to be a real servant at school. Show God's love in any way that I can, even if I don't directly talk about it. I want to be as loving to these kiddos as possible. It is sad, but what I have seen in the past is that school is the only place where they feel loved, secure and feel like they really matter.
Now comes the hate part of this post. 7 years ago at this very time, I had to go through with my family what no 20 year old college girl should. We watched the era of an amazing women be taken by a stupid pneumonia essentially caused by the cancer that was taking over her body. I hate cancer. I hate that it effects so many people. Everytime I go to the dr. I secretly fear that they are going to tell me that I too have it. But, in the those final days at Mercy Medical Center we all somehow felt a peace. We knew that the afterlife that Mom was about to have she wouldn't have to worry about drawing her eyebrows or setting her wig on her head just right or spend hours at a cancer center. That hope and faith that she had carries me through times when I miss her terribly. I hated seeing her suffer. She was very quiet about it in a public setting, but watching her at home, you could see it differently. She never complained though, she went on like nothing was wrong. When someone I know is diagnosed with cancer that's the one thing I always tell them. Chin up and keep your attitude up, it does wonders! So as I start my new year and get into my school mode, August 15 will creep up on me. I sometimes am glad that it is during a busy time so that I don't have to be consumed by the date. I miss her everyday but secretly think God has sent a little bit of her in Carlie. There are many features and faces that remind me so much of her, which I am so thankful for.

Cohen

Last night was our adventure with our crazy little two year old. Last Monday when we were still in Fairfax at my dad and Brenda's, Cohen starting running a fever. We gave him Tylenol and it lasted until we started traveling back. But I wanted to just get home so if he needed to go to the doctor, we could bring him to his own. Well by the time we were back in Houston, it was gone. So I didn't think much more of it. Yesterday, we were heading to Galveston for our nephew Max's birthday celebration at Moody Gardens and Cohen threw up in the car on the way there. He has had car sickness in the past so we just kinda figured it was that. He continued to throw up pretty much all day so we left early from there and came home. He threw up again right when we pulled up in the driveway so we decided it was time to bring him somewhere so he didn't get dehydrated. We are lucky enough that Texas Children's Hospital just opened a campus just minutes from our house, so we brought him to the ER there. Once there, it was really quick with getting in and seen. He wasn't running fever, but by this time, he had it come out both ends. So they decided to do an ultrasound to make sure there wasn't something else going on. That came back clear so they decided to admit him to run IV fluides through him to make sure he didn't become dehydration. They got us to a new room and starting the IVs. He was a trooper, although there were lots of tears trying to get everything going. He slept good all night after some motrin and woke up in a much better mood. He has not thrown up since. We were discharged about 4 this afternoon and he is back to 2 year old crazy little boy self. We praise God for healing for Cohen last night!

Iowa

Ahh..the smell of pig poop and cow poop never smelled so good when you are here in Iowa. Just kidding, but it has been wonderful to be back in my stomping grounds this past week. We have done several things and rested. We got to my dad's in Sioux Center about 10:30 on Friday night. Cohen and Carlie were wired after riding in the car all day. They didn't end up falling asleep till at least 1. But, we could sleep as long as needed on Saturday so it wasn't so bad. We have been to Sioux City, Orange City and Le Mars so far. We have been to Pizza Ranch twice which is the best part for me. Oh, and I've had Grandma Bensema's mashed potatoes. Life is good again! Tonight we will be hanging out with my good friend Maggie (who I know will love I finally posted again! :) ) and Jon and their sweet baby Carter in Orange City. It is always good to catch up with old friends. Next weekend we will head to Cedar Rapids to my dad and Brenda's house and spend some time there and do a few small trips before heading back to Houston the last week of July. This summer has flown by, probably since I worked for most of it. But, the money that I made is such a good thing that I may consider doing it again, even though I got a little bored at times. Next time I will post some pictures of our trip, hopefully it won't be too long from now.

Summer

Summer vacation is here and I'm finally updating our blog. But really for me, I don't have much time these days. A week after school was out, I started teaching summer school. It really has been great so far. In our school district, Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten ESL students are offered summer school. At the school I am at, we have 15 kindergarten classes! But I've been lucky enough to only have 11 kids, which is so nice! We basically have the same schedule as my normal routine and we are just reviewing the major points of kindergarten. We only go Monday through Thursday and I love the three day weekend! I will be done July 7, and the very next day we are leaving to drive to Iowa. I am very excited to spend a few weeks at my dad's and also enjoy catching up with lots of family and friends. Between fire in Texas and flooding in Missouri and Iowa, it could be an interesting trip. But we are just praying things won't be so bad in a few weeks. Speaking of flooding, please pray for my family in North Dakota. Two of my aunts and uncles have had to leave their homes and it is predicted they could have 7 or more feet of water in them. So scarry. They are staying in their campers at one of my cousins. Be thinking of all the flooding that will be happening there and further down the river into Iowa also. We have enjoyed walks in the evenings and time at the park. Jerimiah has been had the lucky job of babysitting the two kiddos and it seems to be going alright.

Family Friday

I'm not even going to start by saying that it has been awhile, because we all know after a long vacation from blogging I always say I'm going to get better and all that jazz. Let's just skip it this time. We are down to a week and a half left of school and tonight, Jerimiah and I wanted more then to come home and be with our family and not do anything or have to go anywhere. Well besides the trip to Whataburger for dinner, we have spent the night watching cartoons, playing, drumming and just being a family. I am more then ready for this year to be over and move on to summer. Even though I am working summer school, I'm still just looking forward to times with my family and friends. We have been blessed to be part of a wonderful small group this past year from our Sunday School class at church and I know I speak for myself but I'm sure Jerimiah can say the same. I finally feel, after 5 years of living in Texas, I have found the place where I fit in and just another reason for why God brought me to Houston. So many friendships have been made, which I am so grateful for. Not only can we share our moments of kids, families, etc. but we can be open and real about the struggles of life and know that they will uphold each other in prayer. I feel so blessed! So thank you Northside Bible Study friends, you are more then friends to me, you have become my Texas family!

My New Toy

I decided to try out Carlie in her bouncy chair while I was getting ready. She was being fussy and I thought maybe if she could be sitting up and see me it might help. So I put her in as tight as it could go and she seemed to like it. I now have batteries in it so next time she will get to hear music and it will vibrate. Thanks Kristy and Katrina for the gift at the baby shower, she loves it!

Mom's Helper

I decided to keep Cohen home with me today and tomorrow. We decided to bake dad some cookies for when he gets home. Hopefully they turned out okay!