Yeah, it's been a while. I don't have anything terribly exciting to share, maybe that's why I haven't posted in weeks. I keep waiting for something "blogworthy" to happen, but nothing lately. You asked for it(Kelly V.), so here are the highlights of the last few weeks. I warned you.

1. 24- The Bartlett family is hooked on this show. We got the Season One DVD set and watched the whole season in under two weeks. The kids even enjoy it and it is so funny to hear Connor talk about Jack Bauer. Our good friend Lydia checked out Season 2 at the library and we have watched four episodes, I mean "hours". It's also been a good visual warning to the girls on why it is so dangerous to sneak out at night (even if their parents have no connection to counterterrorism whatsoever.)

2. Wedding- We have a young couple that is getting married in our church on Saturday. Chris K. was a kid in the youth group when Brett was youth director way back when, but we had lost touch over the years. He got back into church this spring and his fiance, Kelly, started attending too. They are really great together and are wanting to serve God with their lives. Just a few weeks ago they decided they would get married right away, as they are expecting a baby girl in a couple weeks. I really must commend the ladies at Victory for jumping in and helping Kelly with the planning. It has come together rather nicely and everyone has been so helpful in aiding her, welcoming her with open arms, and trying to keep her as stress-free as possible. We just need the baby to hold off for at least two more days. Connor will be the ring-bearer and will be walking down with Kaitlyn. I think he should do all right, let's keep our fingers crossed.

3. School- The girls will be starting school on September 7. Baylea will be in 2nd grade, and Molly will be a full-time 1st grader this year. That leaves just the boys at home during the day, which promises to be interesting. Cole is at that age where he is into everything. He is soo fast too, but is too big to hang out in his playpen. He still enjoys his Johnny Jump-Up, but his latest activity is to spin round and round in it until he throws up, literally. One night he made himself sick by spinning three times. He's caught on that if he slowly twists around, the strap will wind up so when he lifts up his feet he will spin like a top. He covers his eyes and has this big smile on his face, but he doesn't know how to spin in moderation and he ends up vomiting in a circle. It was funny the first time or two, but now we have to tell him to stop spinning.

4. Night shift- Brett also started working a night stocking position at Kroger last week. He goes in at night and comes back at 7:00, and the best part is it's only four minutes away. I'll start heading into work when he gets home so I can come home early afternoon and watch the kids while he gets some sleep. It's a complicated dance, but it will work for now. Brett is also contemplating starting up the cleaning business again, which might be a good thing as long as he sticks to offices and not restaurants. We'll see. We knew that church planting would require some sacrifices and whenever we discuss the people at Victory, how they have all come together as a family within 5 years from not knowing each other at all, how we've observed men turn their families around and serve the Lord, how over 30 souls have been saved, how members are going out and making disciples, how people are seeking to glorify God above all else, how Brett and I are continually taught things through ministering to others. . . Yeah, I'm not living in the house I thought I would live in, but there are many other things that I never dreamed I would be a part of. God has been good to us: we're healthy, our families are healthy, our relationships are all good, we've been given eternal life... honestly, I don't know why I get down sometimes.(There's nothing like a little self-therapeutic blogging.)

5. Victory-Just when we think how will anyone else find out about our church, along comes a couple more people! Around 5 more have been attending this past month, and another couple said they would visit this Sunday. (Another past youth group member we ran into at a restaurant.) Sunday mornings are visibly more crowded. If you come late you have to sit up front or squeeze into the center of the pew. Brett has been doing separate series in I John and Zechariah, which has been fascinating. Red horse riders (not the apocalyptic one), myrtle trees, flying rolls, comfort, prophecy. . .it has been an interesting study. We're streamlining our focus now and trimming some of the peripheral activities that haven't been working. We're really trying to focus on the Sunday morning service and making that a God-glorifying "success", not by our result, but by our effort.

6. House-We rearranged our rooms again, and think we've found the perfect combination. Brett's study in now in the yellow room, the dining room is back in the green room, and the living room is back to its original spot. It seems to make sense now, and if I believed in feng shui, our house would be a convert. Obviously, our kitchen doesn't count in the equation. The kitchen cabinets (or, what's left of them) disqualify that room.

7. Baylea-She went to the endocrinologist yesterday and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, which means her thyroid levels are low. Basically, she'll have to take a pill every day. Her pediatrician thought her thyroid felt enlarged and ordered a blood draw, which showed her low levels. Luckily, she never had any symptoms, her growth isn't stunted (she's actually on track to be two inches taller than me, lucky girl), and it was detected early enough there are no real problems. She even dealt with it really well. I thought she might freak out, but she was more like, "Cool, I take a pill every morning for the rest of my life? Will I take one on my wedding day?" One day at a time, kiddo.

So there you go. There's my month of August in a nutshell. It's been cooling down here and the air is starting to smell different. You know, that clean crisp smell that signals the arrival of fall? I love it. No more shorts, or worrying about how white my legs are. I hate that winter comes right after that, but I intend to enjoy every minute of fall.

Cole's First Trip

. . .to the ER. Is it sad that for every event in my life I think of how I can blog it the next day? Last night, Cole fell in his room and gashed his forehead on the handle of the air vent. I was in the other room when I heard a loud thud, then crying. It sounded like a shelf fell off the wall, but I knew there was nothing that heavy hanging in there. When I reached his room, he had a pretty good stream of blood pouring down in his face. That sight will always stop a mom's heart for a second.
I called Brett, who was at a friend's house, and he headed over. In the meantime, Cole calmed down after a bit, but it took longer for his sister to relax. Baylea, our resident worrywart, immediately broke out in tears and starting asking a million questions. Does he need stitches? Will he get a shot? Will the needle go into his brain?
Brett arrived and we decided he would stay home with the kids while I took Cole to get stitched up. Due to a bad experience when we took a two-week old Molly to the ER (another blog, another time), we are always worried that no one will believe us how an accident happened and child protective services will be involved. Isn't it sad how we have become afraid to seek emergency treatment for fear of having a child taken away? I know ER workers observe a lot of abusive situations, but it's unfortunate that non-abusive parents actually have to debate whether to take a child in or not.
Anyway, we got to the ER at 11:30 last night. Cole was being so good. His final prognosis was 2cm laceration on forehead. He didn't get stitches, but they glued it together with Dermabond, which it kind of interesting. After putting a numbing gel on, they just held the wound shut and squirted this clear gel on an area about the size of a nickel, waited for two minutes, then applied a second coat. It stays on for 8-10 days, then wears off. We were out of the ER by 1:00, so I was very pleased. Things can happen in an instant, but I thank the Lord that Cole is okay.