The Dino Zoo

Here's a very good day in the life of Drake.

During Levi's nap, Mommy, Daddy, and Drake built a dinosaur zoo, complete with gift shop and dino-poop scooping robot. (Come on, what human would want to do that dangerous job?) Here is our finished product.

Notice the stairs; that's Drake's masterpiece. As are the "boats" at the bottom of the stairs to shuttle people around. (Apparently the Dino Zoo is in Venice?)

Big and little T-Rex pals...the big one wouldn't really eat the small one, it just looks that way in this picture.

Ready for customers at the Dino Zoo Gift Shop!

Apatosaurus (a.k.a. "Longneck," if you're a Land Before Time fan)

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We had a pretty good time! (And Mommy and Daddy are improving our K'nex skills. It's much harder than it seems like it would be!)

Hello again!

So you haven't heard from me in awhile...

Too bad it's because we're still sick. Yep, every last one of us, to varying degrees. Drake and I are both on antibiotics; Drake's are for an ear infection, and mine - the second round of them, I might add - are for a stubborn sinus infection. I'm once again feeling pretty good, though, so that's a huge bonus that gives me hope that things will soon return to normal. I'm also trying to catch back up from all that has not been accomplished properly during the past month (it's finally beginning to fall into place, I think). So we've been busy, in a not-so-fun way, to say the least.

I've also been feeling a little recluse - so to all the family and friends who think I'm non-communicative...well, you're right, I sort of have been. I'm working on it. As I come out of "survival mode" and my life settles back into place, I'll try to keep in touch a little better!

Well, there's a lot I could talk about, and not a lot of time to say it right now. In a few minutes, I'll be off to my Bible study, which is always exciting! I have a few pictures to post, and I'm hoping to get to that soon. So I suppose this post is not particularly informational, but more of an intro for me to get back to blogging more regularly again, something I enjoy doing (and I think that at least some of you enjoy reading/seeing!)...but I'm finding that lately it's going to need to be scheduled into my days in order to make sure it gets done. I'll try to get some new pictures on here soon!

Healing at last?

I've been coughing for several weeks, and while the length of this winter's cough doesn't rival last winter's two months, it still seems like way too long. I broke down and went to the doctor last week and was diagnosed with a sinus infection. And as much as I hate antibiotics, I also hate feeling as crummy as I've felt for the past few weeks. So I've been taking them. But I didn't notice much improvement until yesterday, when I talked to a different doctor who prescribed a couple of anti-inflammatories which are supposed to help drain the fluid from my sinuses and speed up the healing process. Wow! The combination seems to be working wonders. So while I'm still having coughing fits occasionally, I'm not nearly as "stuffy" as before, and my face no longer hurts from all the sinus pressure!

And I can smell again. It's a weird phenomenon when you haven't been able to smell for a few weeks and then suddenly you can! It's definitely a good thing (except when changing diapers, changing the litter box, and taking out the trash).

On a much more interesting note, our ladies' Bible study started up again today after a long break for the holidays! This time we're doing a study called The Patriarchs: Encountering the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, by - you guessed it - Beth Moore! It looks like it will include a lot of the very early history of the Jewish people, which I'm really excited to learn more about! The woman who has been leading our studies up until this point is moving out of state, which is really sad. So I had a hard time adjusting to the idea of someone else leading, and frankly, I have been a little intimidated in the past by the one who's taking her place. (Note: it doesn't take much to intimidate me!) But after today, I have to say I'm feeling very comfortable with her. I think I just didn't know her very well. (This happens to me frequently. I have "fear of man" issues.)

So anyway, you might be hearing some more about this study in the weeks to come. I'm looking forward to it!

Entering a new era

And that would be?

One where I am never pregnant again, unless we fall into the .05% failure rate for vasectomies. Yep, Adam went "under the knife" on Thursday. (Don't worry, I won't give TMI about it...and he's totally fine with this information being thrown out into blog-land, by the way!)

This has been a decision we've thought and prayed and talked a lot about over the past several years, and probably the most difficult decision we've ever made. We've perhaps never made a more permanent decision than this one, either, other than the decision to get married (which was made when we were quite young and tended to think less about decisions), and the decision to have our children in the first place (all of whose pregnancies were very much planned).

Growing new life is truly miraculous, and I don't have the eloquent words tonight that are necessary to convey my feelings about how precious and beautiful and magical it is to carry and give birth to a child. But pregnancy is also difficult for me. I have pretty severe morning sickness (which makes me nearly useless for well over half the pregnancy), and I've suffered some nasty post-partum depression, as well.

Given those reasons, as well as many other factors, we've decided to bow out of the child-bearing arena, but not without some longing glances behind and a lot of incredible memories. Being forever thankful to God for the four opportunities I've had to carry His precious creations within my body, I praise Him again for the two incredible little people we've been entrusted to raise! What an amazing privilege, and yet a great responsibility, to be Drake and Levi's parents.

We're also not completely sure we won't be adding any more children to our family, as we're considering the possibility of adoption and whether or not the Lord may have another little person in mind for us. It's an exciting prospect, but either way, we praise Him for the glimpse into following His will that this decision-making experience has given us.

Oh yes, one last comment... After much discussion about how to approach the subject of the vasectomy with Drake (and oh, it's a loaded topic if you've never thought of the implications on the mind of a 6-year-old), we were leaning toward explaining the surgery and its purpose to him...we tend to be pretty up-front type parents and have never shied away from tough topics (death, suffering, childbirth, private parts, etc.) in the past. But finally, we decided this might not be the best way to introduce the birds and the bees, as it could possibly leave a small child wondering if Mom and Dad were having second thoughts about babies because of him or his brother.

Sooo, the plan was that Daddy was going in for an "appointment," and then for a few days, Daddy would "not be feeling so well" and would be resting in bed a lot. However, when we were all leaving for the clinic early Thursday morning, Drake asked me, "So when are you going to pick Daddy up after his surgery?" Surgery? What? Where did that come from? I tell you, little ears don't miss a thing. We still don't know when it was that we slipped up and said the "s" word in front of him. So anyway, I found out later that his class at school heard that his daddy was having "eye surgery" and then he apparently told a neighbor that it was "stomach surgery"! So Drake ended up with a crash course in the mechanics of a vasectomy, but thankfully the question of why someone would want to do this was never posed.

Oh, my sweet Drake, you are adorable beyond words!

Brothers

I had the distinct pleasure of watching my boys play together last night. It was rough, "boy" play, and so heartwarming! Levi calls Drake "Buddy" now - we think he's trying to say "Brother" and that's how it comes out. So he was running and Drake was chasing and catching him, carrying him over to the couch and flopping him up onto it - over and over and over - amidst squeals of "Buddy!" and peals of laughter. What a joy they are!

Drake went back to school this week, and "Buddy" was a constant topic of conversation for Levi and me yesterday. Levi would approach me, asking, "Buddy?" and nodding his head with his eyebrows raised, as if hoping I could somehow produce Drake from behind a chair or something. I would remind him that Drake got on the bus this morning, and the bus took him to school (a place Levi has been many times). That would satisfy him for a few minutes, and then it would begin all over again!

This week will be a little stressful for our family. Adam and I have severely nasty coughs, and there's a lot going on for us. I may be able to elaborate at a later date. But anyway, I am taking the time now to be truly thankful for my caring husband and my two precious children, and to renew my mind to the idea that I am only the steward of these children. They do not belong to me, but to the Lord. Raising them is the most important and difficult thing I will ever do, but they are not mine. Our family rests in the hands of God; may He shape us as He wills.

I will hold on to these sweet moments of little-boyhood and never forget them.

Catching up

Is it possible to actually catch up? (That is supposed to be a rhetorical question, so if you think the answer is "yes," I do not want to know about it!)

I think we're finally over our second round of the flu - not the stomach flu this time, thank God! Unfortunately we've all (except Levi) got a nasty upper-respiratory thing going on. Still. But, at least we're now functioning at about 90%, and for me, that means I get to try to catch up on housework and thank-you notes and Christmas tear-down and et cetera...that could have been done in smaller, more manageable chunks at an earlier date if I hadn't been achy and sleeping for much of the past week or so.

However, since it's nearing the end of the day, I wanted to get one more post in before 2009 is upon us!

So here are a few photos from the past week or so...

Okay, so this picture was actually taken in August, by my sister when she and her husband were visiting. However...it was in my hometown newspaper on Christmas Eve as their Reader's Scrapbook photo of the day! And I quote: "Brothers Drake (last name), 6, and Levi (last name), 1, peer out the window of their (our town), Fla., home on a rainy day. Aunt Crystal (last name) of (hometown) snapped the photo while she and her husband, Jeff (last name), were visiting the family in August. Drake and Levi's parents are Adam and Melonie (last name), formerly of (hometown)." (Whew. That was a lot of editing.) So anyway, my kids are totally famous now. Only problem - for their fame anyway - as my husband's grandpa pointed out: "it looks like they put the wrong end in the paper." Well. At least they have cute backsides.

Super job, Aunt Crystal!

Our family before the Christmas Eve Glowstick Service at church. (Yes, that's Glowstick, not Candlelight!) The kids all sang at the beginning of the service, and it was so cute, and actually very uncharacteristic of our church to do something so, well, traditional. I was about to post a picture, but realized that would include posting scads of little kids' faces on the internet without their parents permission - not cool - so I'm refraining. Although I really wish you could see how cute they all looked!

Some gift-opening action! We do presents on Christmas Eve, stockings on Christmas morning...just in case anyone wonders about the date on the photo. It was a lot of fun! Particularly entertaining for all of us to watch Levi. At first he wasn't too interested in ripping paper off of stuff until he realized that every time paper was ripped, a new toy appeared! Wow! He got down to business after that.


After Levi went to bed, Adam and Drake played with Drake's new K'nex! Drake was very excited to have received them, and even more excited to have Mom and Dad play, too.

We were all feeling pretty well on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (and then got sick again on the 26th), but the guys just got too tired from all that building, I guess! I was on the phone with my mom and dad, and noticed the two of them conked out like this. Very sweet! They were both escorted to bed soon after...


Hey look! Socks in our stockings! Seriously cool stocking stuffers from Grandpa and Grandma S. They are so creative. The boys are both stoked about their new socks - they each got 3 new pairs (the others are very similar)!

Adam's turn for paybacks! Drake and I both had fever and chills, and spent the evening lying like this on the living room floor. Levi never wants to be left out of anything, nor does Heidi!

Drake and I were still sick a couple of days later, but slowly starting to feel a bit better. Here's Drake, catchin' some Zs on the couch, and Levi (of course) trying to do exactly the same thing his brother is doing. Heidi (of course) wants in on the action!

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So I think that's it - a week of exhaustion and illness and fun, all rolled into one. Oh yes, add in a visit to the emergency room and the loss, and recovery, of the diamond out of my wedding ring!! Yeah, can you say amazing? Adam found it, but God totally gets the credit for that one. I was taught by Adam's Grandma Jane many years ago to stop and pray whenever I lose something. (It was lost train tickets at the time. And they were found quickly.) You'd be amazed how often my lost items are found! So anyway...

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There. Now at least my blog is caught up! Can't exactly say the same for my life...

Some little boy "cuteness"

While the "photo shoot" I had today went a little less than smoothly, I have to say I can't get enough of these guys! What a pair they are...and what boys they are!

Big Bro, handsome and charming as always...

...and Little Bro, who would only smile when he was saying his new favorite word - mine!

Getting them both to look at me at the same time was, well, nearly impossible.

Oh, there's one!

And another good one! I'm so thankful to be doing this in the age of digital cameras, or I would have given up long before I ever got two smiles at the same time.

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We've had a fun past week or so, and I have every intention of posting pictures of at least some of our activities...decorating the tree, neighborhood parade, school concert, living nativity, and Christmas lights, to name a few. We will see. Our focus is narrowing a bit in these last couple of days before Christmas to focus primarily on the birth of Jesus. May these precious boys grow up loving and serving Him with all their hearts!