A tiny bit of snow

and the boys are out to play.  The dog was thrilled.  The trampoline is good all year round!

Be My Valentine

This morning the boys had a special breakfast and treats (no Valentine's peeps, for after school).

Then off to school for the Valentine's Day parties. Brayden and I joined their classes. 

Carter was happy with his Valentine's box him made at home with the Valentine's comics from the weekend.

Finally home, spread out all of the cards, read each and assess the candy situation.

Luke's Groundhog Day

I like his method. The groundhog definitely saw his shadow, bring on spring.

Carter to the Hospital

Carter started feeling bad last Thursday. He vomited several times. Friday, he was feeling better. Saturday, he played basketball in the morning; on the way home he got sick. Sunday, he stayed home. Monday, he went to school and then to basketball practice. After practice he refused to eat, complained of stomach pain and started crying from the pain. Tuesday he played a bit in the morning but by the afternoon he was doubled over in pain. His stomach large and hard. He would not get out of bed for anything. We called the pediatrician, they told us to go to the ER.

At the ER, they treated him as though it could be his appendix. Blood work, an ultrasound...inconclusive so a CAT scan. Carter is miserable and crying, then forced to drink the barium for the scan. He is crying, "Daddy, pray for me. Daddy, pray for me."

He got the scan, no appendicitis but an enlarged colon. Carter was admitted to the hospital from Tuesday - Thursday. A period of time on IV fluids then onto light diet.

He had many visitors. Lots of gifts, which he showed off to the nurses. His class sent him cards, which he poured over and grinned from ear to ear as he read them all (such a sweet group of kids in his class).

Luke missed him and wanted to stay. He kicked off his shoes and crawled into bed with Carter. According to them to room had a cool bed, awesome video games and good movies. As I was unpacking Luke's backpack for the day, I found his watercolor from art. He painted the hospital bed when visited with Carter. It says "I went to see brother." (the picture will only load into the blog sideways for some reason)

Carter's enlarged colon was from an unknown cause, possibly due to an infection. He is to have minimal activity for several days and slowly introduced a normal diet. His pain is gone and wants to eat.

Luke in Camo

Carter was home resting from his unexplained sickness. Luke was bouncing off the walls. Jeremy geared him up and they went geese hunting. Deep into a blind, with things to eat (Luke's favorite part of it all), they sat and watched from geese. While the big boys were talking Luke spotted geese coming in and shouted with excitement "GEESE!" just in time for them to get off some good shots.

Another snow day

The snow and ice made for another day at home. Brayden was playing in his room with his nurse.

I helped Carter and Luke get into all of their snow gear. Moments after stepping outside, Carter got sick. A big vomit on the white snow of the front yard. Luke ran to the door to tell me then to the garage for a shovel; he covered the spot with snow.

Carter spent the day curled up in bed with drinks and a movie.

Luke walked up and down the street looking for kids to play with and without much success. Several of the kids were home sick too. Luke walked our street several times, pulling his sled up and down the step hill. By the time he finally arrived home for hot chocolate, his little legs were exhausted.

Snow in the dark

About a foot of snow came tumbling out of the sky this evening. Heavy wet snow, the kind that is perfect to play in. Carter and Luke could not wait for the morning so they bundled up and headed outside right after dinner for a couple of hours (and I still had to tell them to come in). I could hear their excitement and laughter while I was inside the house. They launched each other down the hills, chased the dog around, climbed atop the piles of snow that Jeremy cleared from the driveway...all more fun when it was dark outside and staying up past bedtime.

More Basketball

A busy weekend starting with Luke's basketball at 8:00 a.m. Followed a couple of hours later by Carter's game.

Carter started off the game with free throws, putting in the first basket of the game.

Basketball 2011

Basketball season has started. Carter and Luke are playing in a league called Upward. Luke is playing with the kindergartners (it is chaotic and adorable). Today was their first game. The final score was 6 to 4. The Little Cobras, Luke's team, won.

Carter is playing with the 1st and 2nd graders...what a difference from the little Kindergartners. Carter did great rebounding, responsible for taking the ball down the court, and helping his teammates. Carter was confident and in control on the court.

Here's too more basketball games...

Carter - Student of the Week

Carter is the student of the week.

Highlights for being student of the week:

• Make a poster about yourself that hangs in the room - Carter sat at the computer and selected all of the photos to describe him. Then wrote little comments about them. He wrote: I play soccer, football and basketball; I have two brothers; I like to go on adventures; I love animals; I like sweet treats, Yum!; I like fishing; I have lots of family members; I am eight years old; and Watch out that turkey is frozen!


• You get to choose your job for the week in the classroom - Carter decided on Calendar Helper


• Have lunch with the principal - The principal called home a couple of weeks ago to say that she and Carter's teacher were impressed with Carter's math abilities, that he was excelling and to keep up the good work (he is now working on multiplication and liking it)


• A certificate

Christmas Day 2010

An early morning with little boys and their excitement for Christmas morning. First the stockings, Carter and Luke digging in to find all the fun goodies. Then, breakfast, made by Jeremy. While Carrie gets Brayden situated to come downstairs and join the festivities.

After breakfast, Carter and Luke sort out all of the presents, carefully reading the tags and trying to guess what their presents may contain. Before it is time to open the gifts, Jeremy reads from the Bible and prays. Carter and Luke were thrilled to give each other the gifts they had picked out. Brayden snuggled with daddy while enjoying some of his new Christmas items.

After a good Christmas mess was made, we shower up and head to Carrie's parent's home for the remainder of the day. Their house is a mountain of presents, a room filled with people and gifts. Papa starts off the day with a reading of the Christmas story.

Hours of unwrapping the gifts. Then Christmas dinner and dessert (singing Happy Birthday to Jesus).