Update on Family Members (No Pictures... Shock!)

My dad is doing really well. 

He was released from the hospital yesterday, and checked into an intense physical therapy rehab place(?).   There he will get hours of therapy each day, with rest in the afternoon.  Just what he needs--he's really ready to see how much he can push his body. 

I'm not sure of I'm visiting Bama next week or not...

... Matt is leaving on Thursday for his grandmother's funeral (his mom's mom).  She died yesterday morning. Her passing wasn't unexpected, for she had been sick for a while.  

It's good that Matt's going, for many reason.  He hasn't seen his family since before he left for the last deployment, or when we moved from Idaho (so over a year for his parents and two years for his brother and other relatives);  and he hasn't been to Canada since Isaac was 1 years old.   

My Dad had a Stroke

If you've been keeping up with me via FB or IG, I'm sure you've picked up on that my dad had a stroke last week.

It.  Was.  Unnerving.  To say the least.

I didn't know how critical it all was till I arrived at the hospital on Friday.  My mom had been talking about how sick Dad was all week--all of us thinking that it was an inner ear infection, with an extreme case of vertigo.

I talked to my mom on Thursday morning.  She had taken Dad to the ER for the second time that week.  His speech was funny, he had fallen in the middle of the night, and he couldn't remember facts about his life.
After lunch my sister called and said that she just talked to Mom, and that Dad was suffering with a stroke and that he was being life-flighted to another hospital.

It was settled then that I was going to Bama for the weekend.
I left early Friday morning from coastal GA and arrived at the Birmingham AL hospital right at lunch… It was then that I realized that Dad had been having a stroke since Monday night.  And that it wasn't vertigo at all.  I was under the impression that the fall in the middle of the night Wednesday morn had prompted the stroke.

The facts about Dad's stroke:
-  It was in the cerebellum, the area under the brain that affects balance.
-  He did not have the typical signs of a stroke because of the area it was in.  That's why it was really hard to diagnose.
-  It was a clot stroke, not a bleeding stroke.
-  He was not at risk for a stroke, so it is thought that his sometimes abnormal heart rhythm caused the clot.  (If the heart doesn't pump correctly, the blood will spin, making a clot.)
-  He will be on blood thinner the rest of his life.
-  He has a shunt in his head to drain the excess brain fluid.

The three days that I was there me and Mom spent a majority of the time at the hospital.   Since my dad is in the ICU, there are only certain visiting hours.  So we'd visit for an hour, then go get something to eat and catch everyone up, then go visit again.  Like a 3 hour cycle.
We slept at my parents' home.

At the moment my dad is still in the ICU, but he should be moved to his own room soon.  (Kind of hoping today.  He just needs the shunt removed and his blood pressure to remain low.)  He is doing remarkably well!
He can eat by himself.
He can stand without weakness on either side.
It's pretty miraculous, actually!

My parents are well, well loved.  They have had a lot of support: during the week that Dad was so ill, and at the hospital.   Many friends have shown up, and his sister has even driven down from Pittsburg to be with him this week.

I don't know when I'm going back to Bama.  We had planned on going during memorial weekend, but I may go next week with the boys.  (Matt took the boys solo this last weekend while I was gone.)

aaaannnnndd…. Matt's Home. BOOM!

Okay, so from mid-Nov to now has been a big old blur.
But something of great note is that MATT. IS. HOME.  Say, "What?!?!?!?!"

He's been home a week.  It's been a fun, family centered, new phone and car, eating turkey and mashed potatoes week!   So good to have Matt home.  So good.

I'll just go over the homecoming, and hopefully catch everyone up on other events soon.  I promise--soon.

The homecoming synopsis:
Matt flew out of Afghanistan on Wednesday, Nov 20 to Romania.  Flew out of Romania on the 21st, stopping briefly in Amsterdam, then a straight shot to Savannah with the other 250 soldiers in his group. (There were 6 "main body groups" and Matt's was main body 4.)  At the airport they were loaded into buses then driven to the base.
Me and the boys made it to the base an hour before Matt and his group were scheduled to arrive.  We just hung out, climbing all over a Blackhawk helicopter for almost an hour.   It was pretty amazing ;)
It was dark by the time the buses arrived, but we had made a plan:  no matter what, me and the boys would stay in one spot--to the right in the bleachers and holding a specific sign.  (Too many horror stories of families unable to find their soldier in the first few minutes.)
The soldiers unloaded from the buses, got in formation, walked onto the field.  A prayer was said, the national anthem sung, a few short words from the commander were said, THEN THEY WERE ALL RELEASED.
Because it was close to 7:30pm, and pretty dark, I didn't see Matt at all.  Me and the boys were straining our eyes, but to no avail.  I just waited in that spot, to the right in the bleachers, holding my sign… then BAM!, Matt ran up to us.
I had no tact, screaming "THERE YOU ARE!" And jumped and hugged him.  I then realized the boys needed to see Matt too.  They were unsure what to do for a second or two, but quickly gave Matt big hugs.  Eli didn't want to let go.  (Insert tears from me and Matt.)
After picking up a few bags we were able to head back home.  The boys talked Matt's ear off the whole time--getting like 20 stories from each boy in 5 minutes.  All the highlights from the last 9 months were retold, including everyone's birthday cakes and finding crabs at the beach and running into mirrors at the hotel.  

Matt's adjusted well to being home.  Not really stressed, pretty relaxed, and almost completely caught up with sleep.  (Apparently he didn't sleep on any of the flights home so that he would be on our time with us.  Crazy dude, being up for over 24 hours.)

So life is good, guys.  Really good.

Here are a bunch of photos from that night.  Fabulous Paige took them for us, and considering the time of night, and lack of lighting, they actually turned out pretty great.  Thanks, Paige!

So September Happened :: The Weeks of "The Move"

Hello, new home!

This move without Matt has made September a complete blur.  I'm a little shocked that it's already in October.

To not make one huge blog post covering all of September, I'm going to break it up sections at a time, each post being labeled "So September Happened."  I hope, hope, hope, hope that once I'm caught up I'll be able to keep the blog updated at least 2 times a week--just like I was once able to do.

Here we go!

......................

It's amazing how it all came together.  One of the craziest things I've done by myself--including flying to Bama from Idaho and back, with 3 kids ages 1, 2, and 4, on my own!  Yeah...

I got a call from the new land lord on Monday night saying, "Yeah, I know we are doing the walk through tomorrow, so I'll just give you the keys then and you can move in a week before the lease opens."
Umm... okay!!
SOOOOO basically me and Roommate Shannon moved the whole house by ourselves on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  We borrowed a van (with seats taken out) and packed that full, and did the same with the 4runner, over and over and over again.  Had a lot of help from Friend Paige and Friend Jessica in watching the boys.  Friend Megan helped pack-up the kitchen.  Luckily each boy was in school those days we moved, so I had at least 3 hours each morning to run franticly around.
On Friday Friend Paige (with her husband) and Friend Lisa (with her awesome truck) helped get a lot of big things.  Like my bed :)   -- I had been sleeping on the couch cushions that were on the ground.    OHHHHH!!!  Also, the first day we had moved in the water wasn't on.  So we didn't stay the night.  But the next day the water WAS on, but the carpets were cleaned, so me and the boys slept in the two bedrooms that didn't have the carpets cleaned (because the rooms were never lived in, and didn't need any cleaning).  Crazy stuff, man.
On Saturday me and Roommate Shannon pull up to the old house and I see Friend Paige's car in the driveway... "Oh, so the husband must be here to help pick up the last big things... right?"  NOPE!  Friend Paige walks OUT of the house, declaring "You're house is clean!"  And then I yelled, "WHAT THE (HECK)?!?!  You must have gotten here at 7 in the morning!! CRAZY LADY!!"  The men in the church (the Elders Quorum) arrived at 9, and basically had very few things to do.  Easiest move ever, haha.  They did get the stuff down from the attic, packed up the trampoline (that I've sold), and brought over the washer and dryer (which is in the garage, since the townhome comes with energy efficient washer and dryer--and we'll sell those soon).
ANNNNDDD.... That Saturday I volunteered to watch 3 girls for Friend Dawn, and the 3 girls stayed with me and Shannon from Saturday at noon till Sunday at 8pm.  I was completely overwhelmed Sunday morning, cause I didn't know one thing about doing girls hair!  Shannon took over, though ;)  It was also Primary Program Sunday.  All the children in mine and Shannon's care did well.  Except Titus was too young to participate, and the littlest girl of the 3 refused to go on stage.  Oh well!  Good times.

The next week was spent arranging the new house, and working a lot on the old one to get it "full refund back" ready.
It took a lot of work, and wasn't complete till my parents came that weekend and honestly worked sooo hard to help me finish it all.  SO HARD.

All I really remember from those two weeks together is pure, unadulterated, exhaustion.  So very grateful to help.  And I really do hope I never have to move without Matt again.  But... That's probably not likely...

Before I knew we were moving the next day, I did a double batch of spinach muffins.
Inspired!  For that's what we lived on for days. 

BOO!
I was exhausted, dehydrated, and a lil scary looking during this move. 

Put this together by me self!  Handy.

Got a goodie bag from Friend Paige,
which included an organic-dark chocolate peanut butter cup.  Divine! 

Isaac now takes the bus in the morning!  His pick up stop is the last one before the school.
Plus me and my neighbor now take turn car pooling in the afternoon.  My vehicle-gas bill had been cut in half!! 

Eli didn't want to try sautéed kale, dipped in greek yogurt.  Shocking!  It's so good, Eli!
Oh well, just munch on that apple.  You're missing out. 

This move has been hard on us all.
Apparently Eli isn't sure where the sink in this new house is, haha

This crazy garden zipper spider is huge, and was outside our home the whole 2 weeks we moved. 

GOOD BYE, HOUSE!!