"Super" week

This past week I've noticed that the word "super" has become infiltrated into my boys' everyday language with some of the most common things suddenly appearing "super" in their eyes. It all started with a cloudy, yet warm Saturday, lots of duct tape and cardboard--that's all boys need!! What started out as just a fort, easily and quickly became a "Super Fort" (their words)--my three sons were built their very own castle of sorts in our backyard. It provided hours upon hours of entertainment...until the Nevada winds blew in and literally blew it apart. We were eating lunch on Sunday afternoon and watched out our window as "Super Fort" twisted and turned into "super slides". It was great while it lasted and I don't think it'll be last "super fort" that decorates our backyard. The boys were hopeful to sleep in it, in accordance with their father's suggestion, and that will not be forgotten easily. I have a feeling that come the mid-summer nights, more cardboard just might appear in our backyard once again.....

the construction phase...

halfway done--popsicle break :)

peeking out the windows

Austin jumping up in the "round room" :)

hey--even big boys like to play!! :)

having fun!

yep--mommy's fit too! :)

Super Fort!

We were once again treated to an awesome Student Art Show (compliments of my "super" talented and dedicated art teacher of a hubby). He, along with the other art teachers at the high school, put together a district-wide student art show every year for the month of March and this year was no exception to being, well, "super"!! It was in a new location and the crowds flocked to the opening--as we walked around, I couldn't help but beam with wifely pride as I know first-hand how many hours were spent both in preparation and actual set-up for this event. And yes, in my boys' words, a lot of those artworks "were super neat"! I think there just might have been a little inspiration given.

the museum--artworks in both buildings!

the boys checking out some of the high school artworks

my A-MAZING hubby..best art teacher around! :)

Student Art Show--opening night

 Austin's first grade class went to see the play at the high school this past week and in his exact words "it was super cool mom,  not scary at all! Well, there was one scary part but it was super cool. I really liked it." When I asked him if he had a good time overall: "yeah, it was super fun." :) See? Infiltrated in practically every sentence.

Carson, who is back to his "old self" and has been healing up quite nicely from his surgery over a week ago now, told me the other day that "you're my favortiest mom in the whole world because you make me super good lunch."  Yesterday as we were playing legos together, it was "this is super fun mom!" and "I'm building a super big house! :)  Even Mason got in on the action!

"super fun" lunch...at the kitchen island instead of the kitchen table.

lego concentration....

"de-die!"...yes, that's what he calls Lightning McQueen

We obtained a new movie, The Bee Movie, and in a week's worth already watched it 3 times (it was Carson's special little gift he picked out after his surgery). With the good ol' Nevada spring-like weather (aka--rain AND snow in the forecast...) I'm sure that particular movie will be viewed again because "it's super great mom!". It's me and my 3 sons hanging out together this weekend and I'm hoping we can find some super-fun, super-adventurous, super-cool things to do together. And I might see if I can't wear them out enough to get me some super-relaxing/super-book reading time in as well. Sounds super, huh?!

Unexpectedness...

The past 24 + hours have been filled with a variety of unexpectedness. Carson's surgery for his adenoids being removed and tubes put in his ears took place yesterday (Wednesday) and to say it was a long day is putting it quite lightly. Before I get into the detailed timeline of what took place, I'll set you up with some pictures of the days prior to our time in Reno with Carson.

We have been wonderfully teased with spring-like weather and all my boys have taken full advantage. We dug out the sidewalk chalk, washed the boys' bikes and then took them to the pavement. 

Austin getting ready for spring! :)

Carson washing the bike

way to go Austin!

feels to so good to run outside!!

Mason wanted to try the "big wheel"

Carson trying without training wheels!

water break :)

 Now comes the story of our first surgical experience as parents. Remember that word, unexpected? That pretty much sums it up. We drove through periodic blizzard-like conditions
and spotty slippery/slushy/WINDY (oh. my. wind.) roadways on Tuesday to get to Reno. The adventure had begun. But we were ready to have some fun with Carson and he had a new Cars 2 magazine to "read" so he was the least bit dazed as to what was happening outside the van windows. :) Needless to say we made it and headed to the mall for some lunch and to just walk around for a bit. The afternoon hours then consisted of a little Coldstone....

 ...a visit to Scheels (per Carson's request yet again) to ride the ferris wheel....

 ...and take a little target practice at the shooting gallery.

Carson's look after hitting one of the targets

 We relaxed a bit in our hotel room, which to Carson's sheer delight contained his very own swimming pool! (aka...hot tub in our room) Hey, when a room like that is cheaper than just a plain old room, you'd be crazy not to take advantage! And of course Carson loved the thought of his personal swimming pool at his disposal.

 So after dinner, he went for a "swim"! :)

 Now comes the story of the day. We had to be at the hospital between 6:30 and 7:00am to get Carson registered/checked-in. We arrived a little before 7, got the paperwork done, and headed to the waiting room for our scheduled surgery time of 8:30am. A long time to wait for a boy who wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything prior to surgery but who is used to eating breakfast within 10 minutes of waking up. We had prepped him for that but I still got a "I'm hungry mom" after 2 minutes of sitting in the waiting room. I was pleasantly surprised when a nurse came in the room about 5 minutes later calling Carson's name--apparently there was a cancellation so he was up next! We got him all ready to go--talked with the doctor, with the anesthesiologist, laughed a little, and walked behind him as they wheeled him back to the OR. He wasn't nervous. He was smiley. Calm. Now we wait. 
 I can't say as though I looked at the clock consistently but did sip on some coffee while texting to friends and family and just chatting with Andy. Before we knew it, the dr. was headed our way. He began with the good news of getting his "rather large" adenoids out and his right ear drained and the tubes put in. But then he said..." with his left ear, there was quite the surprise. Carson has a cyst growing on the bone of his left ear." Unexpectedness. I can't deny that my heart sank. But it explained so much in that one sentence. It was the answer to his slowly declining ear loss in his left ear (which we just assumed was fluid). The dr. went to explain that is congenital and primary, meaning he was more than likely born with it and it's just grown over time. It wasn't necessarily "caused" by anything. We were very pleased when he said it is not a rarity but it is also not common....and it is fixable. (PRAISE THE LORD!!) It will require additional surgeries. But again I say, it is fixable. We held on to that.  After talking for a few more minutes about what's next among other things, the dr. left and I had a few tears well up. I didn't have much time to process it with Andy as the nurse came in and called me back to the recovery room. What I was about to walk into was once again, unexpected. I hadn't prepared for how Carson would react to waking up from the anesthesia. She told me he was "having a really hard time and screaming for mommy." I walked through those ginormous double-doors to the recovery room and I was NOT prepared for what I saw. Complete unexpectedness. There was Carson on the bed with 3 nurses and a doctor (2 on each side of him) doing their best to semi-restrain him from leaping off the bed, SCREAMING my name, a face that beheld a look of confusion/fear/exhaustion as gigantic tears gushed down his cheeks and onto the blankets. It's a moment that I won't soon forget. A friend asked me if I lost it and just cried and honestly, I did feel my eyes begin to water but simply went into "mom mode". I didn't have time to cry. I nearly ran to his bedside and practically threw my purse on the floor. I know it's literally by the grace of God and the many of you who were praying at that exact moment that I was able to hold it together for the sake of my son. I stood there by his bedside for a few moments and was then able to get in the bed to lay next to him per Carson's request. Sparing the drawn out details, let's just say after 45 minutes of more meds, more screams and endless fights of wanting his IV out of his arm, a cough that just wouldn't stop (which was the main cause of his upsetness), humidifying air from a tube being placed in front of him, me laying beside him trying to console him as best I could figure out how, a blue popsicle, he gave up the kicking of his legs, constant coughs and random screams and just let me softly sing to him. I've never sang "Jesus Loves Me" and "You are My Sunshine" repetitively so many times. But it was helping. So I didn't stop. 

From there, once Carson was calm enough we were wheeled out into the hallway and able to get Andy who was still in the waiting room--yep, he had no clue all that was going down as we were only allowed to have one parent in the recovery room. (we'll see about getting that changed for his next surgery....) We were off to another room to wait and continue letting Carson work through the anesthesia. I was hopeful that he would sleep it off, but such was not the case. My back scratches seem to be helping and he was finally calming down--still puffy-eyed and pale-skinned, but calmer. We were told it would be 2 hours before we could be released as they wanted Carson's heart rate back up to normal as well as his oxygen levels. By this time we had been introduced to the hundredth nurse (well, maybe the 8th...but I can still only remember one of their names....) and I could tell my little man was exhausted but he just wouldn't give in to the sleep that wanted him. He was thirsty though so apple juice was given. He drank that while I continued the back scratching and talked with Andy about getting checked out of our hotel. We had gotten a late check out in hopes to go back there after his surgery to relax for a bit before heading home. Nope. Not this time. The unexpected reactions from Carson were causing us to wait just a little longer before getting the ok to leave. SO...Andy left to go get all of our things. Meanwhile, Carson and I sat together in this second recovery room, which didn't have a tv and the one leapster we did have with us decided not to work at that particular time. It was going to be a long 2 hours. The apple juice didn't sit well with him and he did end up getting sick--combination of being so upset and just getting the anesthesia out of his body--but it helped. After that, he laid with me and other than the random teary "I wanna go home mommy" and few tugs at his IV...it was a relatively calm 2 hours. Andy came back with the iPod and for 10 minutes straight we didn't hear a peep from our little man.

in the 'second' recovery room

playing the iPod was a big help

 We eventually got the ok to leave with Carson's heart rate back to normal, went through the discharge process, and got our little guy dressed and finally off the bed he had been begging to get off from for the past 3 hours. I can't even tell you how good it felt to stand up! I hadn't  moved much while laying there and my legs were a little wobbly. ;) As the afternoon went on, I saw my old Carson coming back--even when we walked out of the hospital doors, I got a big smile. That was all I needed. We went to a few stores to get him some applesauce (which he ate some of on the way home! yay for appetite!) and let him pick out a little something special. It wasn't until we were on I-80 heading north when Andy asked how I was doing that the waterworks began. I wasn't sure what we had just been through and I was not prepared for the emotions that I had just experienced. It really was a day filled with unexpectedness. 

sleeping on the way home

 (I didn't leave him like that with his neck all cock-eyed--he was propped up after I snapped the pic) So, where do we go from here? We will be going back to Reno for a cat scan to get the proper diagnosis and prognosis as to what is next. Surgery is inevitable to remove the cyst, it's just a matter of when and how many. I can't even begin to tell you how thankful we are for your prayers--what was to be considered a rather "routine" procedure did not end up that way. But the God we serve is bigger than any cyst, than any surgery, and we know He'll carry us through the next step in this process for our Carson Jeffrey.

Patient in prayer

This past week I have been witness to, and a part of, a variety of "stories" and happenings where God's faithfulness could not be denied. There's something to that whole practice of being patient in prayer. Parents waiting for a child to call their own (whether naturally or via adoption), couples just waiting for some answers after praying for months (and some, for years), direction finally being given, affirmation of decisions made, a child coming to know Jesus as his Savior...if I continue, this will be quite the run-on sentence. I think you get the idea. 

As I've gone about my week listening to podcasts, reading some heartfelt and amazing books, I've been challenged, reminded, refreshed, encouraged, and a bit more purposeful. I no longer sit outside the circle taking pictures, I choose to become a part of it. 

I watch from the sidelines as my boys play together but also do a little running down the driveway and exploring of the backyard alongside them. Life is too short and they grow up too fast to do otherwise.

Participating in a "wacky Wednesday" at school, thanks to a leap year this year, makes a normal day just that much more fun!

 I'm grateful to catch moments like this...checking on Mason during naptime only to find him sleeping on a pile of books rather than in the comforts of piles of blankets. It makes the frustrations of the morning pretty much disappear.

 As we head into the weekend and the beginning of next week, we continue to practice being patient in our praying as we look forward to Carson's little procedure with getting his tubes in and adenoids out. I didn't say looking forward to the prep work beforehand or seeing my little man in a hospital gown or knowing that he will be in a bit of discomfort when he wakes up. Looking forward to the end results. It'll be another little trip, just the three of us (me, Andy, CJ) and we've already gotten the answers prayed for in regards to some of the finite details.

CJ found this outside and wanted to paint it--"to put in our house because we love Jesus"

Carson with his little lego truck--he put it all together himself!

Whatever it might be that you are waiting an answer for, keep praying...God will answer you, in HIS perfect timing. That requires a little bit of faith and quite frankly at times, a whole bunch of faith! But nonetheless, as I've already said I've been witness to this week, God is most definitely faithful...and to those of us who follow Him, we have some awesome stories to share!!

A Day with CJ

We did something a little "out of the ordinary" yesterday and even though the reason itself wasn't exactly fun, the day overall was a good one. Andy and I took Carson to Reno....and it was just the three of us!! (my dear friend Becky watched Mason for us and Austin got to hang out with nanny after school) We took him to see an ENT doctor as he has had some hearing issues that have been slowly getting worse the older he gets. Even though the day would bring with it visits to unknown doctors, we still made it a "day for him"...donuts on our way out of town, a backpack full of his favorite things to do in the car, he got to pick where we ate for lunch, etc. 
 The conclusion of the doctors we saw basically boils down to this: Carson's ears are "completely clogged" and his adenoids "enlarged" which will lead us to surgery--adenoids out, tubes in. (We haven't set the time yet but it will be sometime in the morning of March 7th.) After the appts. we headed to a few stores with the "highlight" of the day being a quick stop at Scheel's. (for those of you who don't know what that is, it's like a glorified Cabela's) I mean, this place has a Ferris wheel in the middle of the store! So you can guess what we did...yep, we rode it. And when we were stuck at the very top, Carson talked as if there was no tomorrow! When that kid has something to say, look out! We talked the entire ride and it was just...so.....fun. I loved being able to 'stop' and really listen to him and laugh and then see his excitement come to it's near pinnacle as his eyes laid upon the little racecar area. You know where we headed next. It was here that I kick myself for not having my camera handy--the kind gentleman behind the iron gate which enclosed the life-size race cars asked Carson if he would like to come inside and see them. Are you kidding? Need you even ask? Carson's face lit up and I actually thought he might pop a blood vessel when the man opened the driver side door of one of the cars and let him sit behind the wheel. Like I said, no camera= epic failure! Pinnacle excitement reached. Carson loves all things cars and to be able to sit in this life-size-like one was, well, quite possibly a little piece of heaven right here on earth for him. :) It was fun to watch. So even though I didn't capture it with a photo, just picture my little CJ with a smile that truly did stretch bigger than "ear to ear." 
 On that note...I do have some random photos that have been taken since my last Valentine's post. One of them including my mini-man Mason and his new-found "swing"...you'll see what I mean. 
                                        We had a little "after Valentine" snow to play in!

Nice catch Ginger! :)

Mason trying his hand at jump-roping

                  What I walked in to see when I heard my boys rolling over with laughter....

being goofy

Carson working on his little lego set.

Doing something with just Carson yesterday made me realize that I don't take advantage of times I have with my boys like I should and desire to----those one-on-one times that is. It's something I want to be more purposeful in doing. Even if it's a simple thing like a trip to McD's for lunch, or to go get a hot cocoa at the coffee shop, or even spend an uninterrupted hour or two at home just playing games or racing cars or making artworks....you get the jist. Purposeful parenting...even though I know my boys, I want to "know" them even more. And that takes being purposeful in spending quality time with them. That's the only way I'll get to know my Heavenly Father more....ahhh, the concept of spending quality time. :)