On Sunday we had a huge scare from Ruthie. Things started out normal, she woke up, had a cup of milk, ate breakfast, and we got ready to go to church. For some reason I had this strong urge to get to church yesterday, even though Josh had been up late trying for some outside pics and slept in till 10.
Got to church, all was fine. During the sermon (sunday school is not going on for the summer) Ruthie was kneeling, coloring on the pew. Then she leaned over on Josh's lap - sometimes she does this, wanting a quick cuddle - he rubbed her back, then told her to keep coloring. He kinda pulled her up off his lap. She sat on her knees for a second, then slumped into my lap. She wouldn't respond when I said her name, I put my hand under her chin and tilted her head up, to make her look at me. But there was nothing in her eyes. And she rolled out of my hands and under the pew in front of us.
Still Josh and I thought maybe she was messing around, trying to be silly. I grabbed her arm to pull her out and it was like grabbing a rag doll - there was no tone, totally limp, no life there at all. Her head slumped back and her eyes were rolled right back in her head. Josh grabbed her and ran for outside. I followed, yelled at poor Zech (who was standing there with us the whole time) to "stay there!". When we got outside she had her eyes open, but was scared and had no idea what was happening.
I went back inside to figure things out with the boys and figure out what we needed to do. We weren't sure whether to call 911 or just rush to the hospital ourselves. The youth pastor's wife ran out, dropped her new baby in my arms and said "I'll get the boys." A young girl came to me, said "I'm a nurse, can I go look at her?" Of course I said "yes, thank you." She went out with Josh. A lady from the church (does sunday school stuff, knows Ruthie) had run out right behind us. She came inside and said that Ruthie had started vomiting. A young guy came by me, said "I'm a paramedic. I'm going out to check her." He went out, started taking her vitals, and called 911 on another guy's cell.
We ended up leaving the boys with friends at the church, they took them to their house for lunch and the afternoon.
Ruthie went in the ambulance to the hospital, I went with her in it, Josh drove the van. They had me give her blow-by O2 in the ambulance, which pinked her up after a few seconds - she had NO color at all through all this, after she'd vomited 4 or 5 times, she slumped on Josh. We asked was she tired, she nodded, the EMT said to lay her on her left side and let her close her eyes if she wanted to. - that whole time she was just grey, no color, even her lips were completely grey/blue. But the O2 helped. They checked her blood sugar, fine at 6.1.
In the ER we were lucky that the ped (from Winnipeg) was on duty here. He talked to us, I was telling him what had happened and poor Ruthie just got tears in her eyes. I think it scares her that we talk about what she did (falling, vomiting) and she doesn't remember any of it. She remembers her tummy started hurting, and she remembers leaning on Josh. That's it. She remembers bits and pieces from in the ambulance, and then at the hospital. But she lost a good chunk of time.
We have no family history of seizures (actually, I found out while talking to my parents last night that my great-grandma had seizures when she was little, but she outgrew them), but we have a strong history of migraines. Josh has them, I have them, Josh's sister, both my parents, my grandpa, and his dad too. They're all over our family.
The ped thinks this was a seizure caused by a migraine. Her tummy pain may have actually been a stomach migraine (same thing, bundle of nerves freaking out, but in the abdomen instead of the head). We all hope it's an isolated thing, but for now she's going for an EEG this afternoon and we're to watch her closely. No being alone in the bath or while swimming we have to be near her always.
If it only happens this once, and the EEG shows nothing, that's it. But if it happens again, we'll have to do more testing and go to the city to see the neurology department there.
She is fine and normal now. Back to reading, talking a bunch, and bossing her brothers around. THank goodness!
It's not a huge wonder that she was good for her finger prick in the ambulance - she was still dopey and fairly non responsive. But in the ER, we had to wait and have bloodwork done, and she was awesome for that! We each held a hand, told her to squeeze but try to be still. She didn't move at all, just watched the needle going in her arm (just like I always do!) and squeezed a little bit. Done. Brave girl!
7.15.2008
6.27.2008
Yay for summer! - 06/27
Well, at the end of today we're officially on summer break! Josh has his last day of work today. Ruthie had her graduation (from preschool) on Tuesday - pictures are being uploaded right now. It went great, she was very cute! On Monday she went to kindergarten for the morning (orientation day), which she really liked! She can't wait to go next year, and to get to go to school EVERY day!
Really, that's about all there is to report. We have one more swim lesson - this Saturday - and that's done for the summer, too. We're thinking about going to Yorkton next week with our friends, but I'm not sure it'll all work out, what with the animals here. But we'll see.
Anyways, go check out the new pictures!
Really, that's about all there is to report. We have one more swim lesson - this Saturday - and that's done for the summer, too. We're thinking about going to Yorkton next week with our friends, but I'm not sure it'll all work out, what with the animals here. But we'll see.
Anyways, go check out the new pictures!
6.18.2008
nearly there! - 06/18
It's almost summer break!! Yay! Well, I'm excited anyways. I know Ruthie will miss school, though, but I think getting to go every day in the fall will make up for having to take the summer off! She's got today (she's there right now) and then graduation next week and then she's done nursery school!
Josh is pretty much done, he's taking the day off for her graduation so he won't miss it - I know that'll mean a lot to her.
And there's only 2 more swimming days left until break, too! I'm sure we'll be swimming lots during the summer, though, especially now that Isaac loves the water!
There's nothing really major to report. Mainly I wanted to post that I just got some new pictures up on the site - there are a bunch of new ones from Josh's camera, some from Isaac's birthday, some from the kids' recital, too, if you want to go back and catch them.
Oh, one new thing - we got a new kitten a couple weeks ago. His name is Caspian (Ruthie named him aafter Prince Caspian [from the Narnia books]). We weren't really looking to get a cat, but had thought maybe we would get one this summer, now that we know we aren't moving. At MOTS, though, one of the older ladies in the church was asking around if anyone wanted this kitten - she lives in a small apartment, has an older cat, and couldn't keep this guy, and she really didn't want to leave him at the shelter. So, I called Josh and he said sure.
He's a nice little kitten, clean, likes the kids (well, puts up with them without too much clawing anyways). Crazy sometimes, but that's all part of a kitten!
5.22.2008
oops, forgot to mention
the job hunt in NB is a no-go, unfortunately. They called just Tuesday to say that Josh was just then able to be put on the "eligible to hire" list. Definitely not soon enough, and that's not even a position offer or anything.
We tried, but it's definitely not in the cards for us to get closer, apparently.
We tried, but it's definitely not in the cards for us to get closer, apparently.
Isaac Benjamin is 2 years old!!! - 05/22
Isaac turned 2 on Monday (the 19th)!! Very hard to believe that he's 2 all ready... though if you ask him, he's not! Whenever we ask him "are you 2, Isaac?" he says " NO!" in a sad voice. Guess 1 is just old enough for him!!
We had cupcakes for he and Gracie (our friends' daughter, born on the 18th) at our MOTS group last week. Gracie loved it, Isaac cried when everyone sang!
Then we had cake and presents, just the 5 of us, at the house on Monday. I made him a "dine-sor" cake, which he LOVED! But wouldn't eat, and got very mad when I cut pieces for Ruth and Zech!
I'm just putting some pictures up online from my camera, and I know Josh has more on his, so I'll have to get those on here later.
Yesterday Ruthie had a field trip for nursery school, to one girl's house to see the miniature horses there! They were "so cute", Isaac says. I stayed with the boys, and let them mingle with the rest of the nursery school kids, which was neat to see. Isaac loved playing with the others, but wanted nothing to do with sitting with them or playing a game or story-time. On the other hand, Zech fit right in! He walked with another nursery school boy to the park in pairs, and really did well. I was happy to see that, as I know he'll be ready for it in the fall, for sure. I'm sure, too, that he'll love school!
Best of all, my parents let us know last night that they've booked a flight to come and visit! They're flying in on the 19th. Because of how full flights are all ready, they'll only be able to stay a week (otherwise they can't get home until into August). So, it'll be a short visit, but very fun. I can't wait all ready! We do wish that they could stay all summer!!! But we know work doesn't always quite allow for that.
We had cupcakes for he and Gracie (our friends' daughter, born on the 18th) at our MOTS group last week. Gracie loved it, Isaac cried when everyone sang!
Then we had cake and presents, just the 5 of us, at the house on Monday. I made him a "dine-sor" cake, which he LOVED! But wouldn't eat, and got very mad when I cut pieces for Ruth and Zech!
I'm just putting some pictures up online from my camera, and I know Josh has more on his, so I'll have to get those on here later.
Yesterday Ruthie had a field trip for nursery school, to one girl's house to see the miniature horses there! They were "so cute", Isaac says. I stayed with the boys, and let them mingle with the rest of the nursery school kids, which was neat to see. Isaac loved playing with the others, but wanted nothing to do with sitting with them or playing a game or story-time. On the other hand, Zech fit right in! He walked with another nursery school boy to the park in pairs, and really did well. I was happy to see that, as I know he'll be ready for it in the fall, for sure. I'm sure, too, that he'll love school!
Best of all, my parents let us know last night that they've booked a flight to come and visit! They're flying in on the 19th. Because of how full flights are all ready, they'll only be able to stay a week (otherwise they can't get home until into August). So, it'll be a short visit, but very fun. I can't wait all ready! We do wish that they could stay all summer!!! But we know work doesn't always quite allow for that.
5.14.2008
no news yet - 05/14
No news on the MB job yet. I'd like to think " no news is good news", because at least that means there's still a chance, but we're running out of waiting time. We can't just leave this job here with a maybe in NB, it has to be a definite permanent contract for Josh to sign. But we've heard nothing so far.
So far hearing nothing means that they haven't said no - which is a good thing. But, like I say, we're running out of time to wait on this end. Randy (Josh's boss now) needs to figure things out for next year, who he's got and what courses he can offer. This may not seem like a big deal as far as Josh is concerned, but Josh has created and implemented a technology course this semester and it's gone over very well. Randy would like to have it next year, both semesters, but he can't offer it at all unless Josh is there. Basically, Randy is at a point of needing to know what the final word is.
Ultimately, we've done all we can to get closer to home. This week is pretty much the cut-off for word. Unfortunately.
Otherwise, things are going well. Ruthie and Zech are finishing up dance - just one more class next week, then dress rehearsal and recital and we're done! I do love watching them dance, and they really do enjoy classes, but I'll be glad for a bit of a break. I hope that they'll be able to continue with dance in the fall, and I'm sure Isaac would love to begin then as well, but we'll have to see what the school schedule is like for Ruthie.
Swimming lessons are going very well. We did miss last Saturday's class because of dance pictures, but that's okay. Ruthie is doing great, on her own in the water - she can even touch the bottom (shallow end) and have her heard above water! Zech is doing really well again. We're still not sure what he got scared about at the end of last lesson "term" (not swimming on his own, wouldn't let go of Josh, wouldn't use a noodle) but he seems to be over whatever it was! He does it all on his own, with a noodle. We're just there because we have to be! Isaac is doing SO much better than we ever imagined. We thought he'd be scared, as he always has been in the water, but he LOVES it! He jumps right in, and doesn't want to be held for swimming. We have tried him with a noodle, but he can't really hold onto it yet. We tried him with a life jacket, and as long as someone's holding him (so he doesn't flip right onto his back) he likes that freedom.
And that's about it! For now anyways.
So far hearing nothing means that they haven't said no - which is a good thing. But, like I say, we're running out of time to wait on this end. Randy (Josh's boss now) needs to figure things out for next year, who he's got and what courses he can offer. This may not seem like a big deal as far as Josh is concerned, but Josh has created and implemented a technology course this semester and it's gone over very well. Randy would like to have it next year, both semesters, but he can't offer it at all unless Josh is there. Basically, Randy is at a point of needing to know what the final word is.
Ultimately, we've done all we can to get closer to home. This week is pretty much the cut-off for word. Unfortunately.
Otherwise, things are going well. Ruthie and Zech are finishing up dance - just one more class next week, then dress rehearsal and recital and we're done! I do love watching them dance, and they really do enjoy classes, but I'll be glad for a bit of a break. I hope that they'll be able to continue with dance in the fall, and I'm sure Isaac would love to begin then as well, but we'll have to see what the school schedule is like for Ruthie.
Swimming lessons are going very well. We did miss last Saturday's class because of dance pictures, but that's okay. Ruthie is doing great, on her own in the water - she can even touch the bottom (shallow end) and have her heard above water! Zech is doing really well again. We're still not sure what he got scared about at the end of last lesson "term" (not swimming on his own, wouldn't let go of Josh, wouldn't use a noodle) but he seems to be over whatever it was! He does it all on his own, with a noodle. We're just there because we have to be! Isaac is doing SO much better than we ever imagined. We thought he'd be scared, as he always has been in the water, but he LOVES it! He jumps right in, and doesn't want to be held for swimming. We have tried him with a noodle, but he can't really hold onto it yet. We tried him with a life jacket, and as long as someone's holding him (so he doesn't flip right onto his back) he likes that freedom.
And that's about it! For now anyways.
4.13.2008
Hello Spring! - 04/13
I had better not end up jinxing us, but I think today was our "hello" to spring, finally!
It hit 20 degrees this afternoon!!! We were out in the yard with just t-shirts! Well, except Isaac who 'wuvs' his jacket and wouldn't leave the house without it on.
Hurray!
It hit 20 degrees this afternoon!!! We were out in the yard with just t-shirts! Well, except Isaac who 'wuvs' his jacket and wouldn't leave the house without it on.
Hurray!
4.11.2008
back from spring break - 04/11
No, we didn't actually go anywhere for spring break - at least not home for visits or anything big like that - but we sure weren't at the house and having a break very often!
The Tuesday of break we packed everyone up and drove to Winnipeg hunting for a new van. Josh wanted to look in a town called Plumas - just a little way out of the way - which ended up being a lot more out of the way than we thought, and added another near 2 hours onto our drive to the city! There were a few vans there, but they all had higher (near 200k) mileage, so we continued on. We looked at a couple places in Winnipeg, stopped for a quick lunch, and ended up driving ALL the way around the city (did you know, even by taking the perimeter highway which goes around Winnipeg, it still takes the better part of an hour to drive from one side to the other???! That's crazy! Anyways...) to look at a van - which we ended up buying and driving back to Brandon!
It's the identical van to what we had - 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. Just has a white "detailing" stripe down the sides, and doesn't have power windows (actually a good thing, as ours sucked in the old van). So, van's here, but there're crappy tires on it and no tether anchors for the kids' seats.
Wednesday we actually did nothing. Well, I guess really we all lazed around and napped well, as we didn't end up getting home until 12:30am Tuesday night (Wed morning, technically)!! Oh, I must mention that the kids were AMAZING that whole long day - they were stuck in their car seats most of the time, all in all... probably in their seats nearly 10 hours that day - but they were awesome. We did stop at Toys R Us and get them all a toy after we bought the van. They definitely deserved that!
Thursday morning we had to get into town to pick up Lukie (our friends' son, Zech's good buddy). He was coming for a sleep-over at our house! We hauled everyone, including Luke, around all day in town while we first got the tires switched over from one van to the other (so we kept our good winter tires ourselves), then went to the dealership to have anchors installed, then had to stand in the parking lot there and switch over and install all FOUR seats (!!!!), then go to Reg and Jill's where Reg helped us switch over the CD player to the new van, THEN to MPI where we got the old van written off. Yikes! Another full day. But we managed, even with an extra kid, and ended the day driving home, all of us, in our new (to us!) van.
Friday we packed everyone up and went in to the Winter Fair (livestock exhibition) in Brandon. Spent the afternoon and evening there, looking at things and watching the evening show.
All in all, a pretty good, though very busy, spring break!
On Saturday, I went in alone to get groceries and Josh stayed at home with all the kids. They all had a good nap, so I think it was the best choice!
Now we're back in the swing of things yet again - Josh back to work and the kids back to their activities. We start swimming lessons again this Saturday! Wish us luck - all 3 kids are in them this time, both boys will need us with them in the pool... at the same time!
On a good note - we haven't been dwelling too much on this whole Moncton thing. We don't want to think about it too much and get all our hopes up. We're trying really hard not to! Josh had done everything he could - putting together his resume, applying with all his transcripts and everything. Yesterday we heard from a lady with the division there. She'd emailed Josh about setting up a phone interview for April 21 (a week from this coming Monday).
So, this is one more step to us getting home. Everyone pray and keep your fingers crossed that Josh does well and we hear good news soon!
The Tuesday of break we packed everyone up and drove to Winnipeg hunting for a new van. Josh wanted to look in a town called Plumas - just a little way out of the way - which ended up being a lot more out of the way than we thought, and added another near 2 hours onto our drive to the city! There were a few vans there, but they all had higher (near 200k) mileage, so we continued on. We looked at a couple places in Winnipeg, stopped for a quick lunch, and ended up driving ALL the way around the city (did you know, even by taking the perimeter highway which goes around Winnipeg, it still takes the better part of an hour to drive from one side to the other???! That's crazy! Anyways...) to look at a van - which we ended up buying and driving back to Brandon!
It's the identical van to what we had - 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. Just has a white "detailing" stripe down the sides, and doesn't have power windows (actually a good thing, as ours sucked in the old van). So, van's here, but there're crappy tires on it and no tether anchors for the kids' seats.
Wednesday we actually did nothing. Well, I guess really we all lazed around and napped well, as we didn't end up getting home until 12:30am Tuesday night (Wed morning, technically)!! Oh, I must mention that the kids were AMAZING that whole long day - they were stuck in their car seats most of the time, all in all... probably in their seats nearly 10 hours that day - but they were awesome. We did stop at Toys R Us and get them all a toy after we bought the van. They definitely deserved that!
Thursday morning we had to get into town to pick up Lukie (our friends' son, Zech's good buddy). He was coming for a sleep-over at our house! We hauled everyone, including Luke, around all day in town while we first got the tires switched over from one van to the other (so we kept our good winter tires ourselves), then went to the dealership to have anchors installed, then had to stand in the parking lot there and switch over and install all FOUR seats (!!!!), then go to Reg and Jill's where Reg helped us switch over the CD player to the new van, THEN to MPI where we got the old van written off. Yikes! Another full day. But we managed, even with an extra kid, and ended the day driving home, all of us, in our new (to us!) van.
Friday we packed everyone up and went in to the Winter Fair (livestock exhibition) in Brandon. Spent the afternoon and evening there, looking at things and watching the evening show.
All in all, a pretty good, though very busy, spring break!
On Saturday, I went in alone to get groceries and Josh stayed at home with all the kids. They all had a good nap, so I think it was the best choice!
Now we're back in the swing of things yet again - Josh back to work and the kids back to their activities. We start swimming lessons again this Saturday! Wish us luck - all 3 kids are in them this time, both boys will need us with them in the pool... at the same time!
On a good note - we haven't been dwelling too much on this whole Moncton thing. We don't want to think about it too much and get all our hopes up. We're trying really hard not to! Josh had done everything he could - putting together his resume, applying with all his transcripts and everything. Yesterday we heard from a lady with the division there. She'd emailed Josh about setting up a phone interview for April 21 (a week from this coming Monday).
So, this is one more step to us getting home. Everyone pray and keep your fingers crossed that Josh does well and we hear good news soon!
3.23.2008
Hoppy Easter!! - 03/23
Hope everyone is having a great Easter - lots of candy and eggs left by the Easter Bunny?!
We had our egg hunt this morning, ending with the kids getting their toys - a skipping rope and a 'my little pony' tea set for Ruthie, a dinasour play set for the boys. All enjoyed the egg hunt, though Isaac quickly figured out there was candy in the eggs and set to work eating all he could open!
No big plans for today, just sticking around the house, playing with toys. No very adventurous, I know.
Other than Easter, nothing much is going on. Ruthie and Zech still are doing dance classes on Monday, Isaac is very eager to join in unfortunately! (because he tried to run in and join the class while we're there!) Ruthie's doing great with nursery school, and getting excited about going to kindergarten in the fall - she's very happy it will be every day. Swimming lessons will start again after Spring Break. I'm not sure how well it will work out, as both boys need to have someone with them, meaning Josh and I both have to get in and Ruthie will have to be a very big girl and sit waiting for us, but we'll see. If it's not going to work out, then at least Zech and Ruthie will continue. But we'll give it a shot for a couple weeks, anyways.
Josh (finally) has just one more week before Spring Break. It's very late this year - apparently they always start it the last Monday of March, just happened to be the last DAY of March this year. From what he's said, all the teachers are in agreement that this is too late - the kids have been nuts for weeks waiting for the break! Of course, so have the teachers! I'm not sure of everything we'll be doing during the break, though I'm sure we'll spend a day (probably the Friday) at the Winter Fair in Brandon. Our friends have the petting farm there, so we've always spent at least one day looking around and visiting them.
Josh has been looking into getting a job in NB. He has spoken to a guy (who we spoke to in September, and who told Josh to call him back in March) and he explained the whole application process to Josh. Josh is now getting together his resume, and all his transcripts to send off to the Moncton school board. We'll (hopefully) hear in the next few weeks whether he's been short-listed (for interviews). It would kind of be nice, if we're not going, if he doesn't even get a call-back. Though I know that would be hard for all of us. Either way, we'll know (latest) by the end of May what is happening.
Technically, Josh has to give notice with his board here by Apr 30, but there is a clause whereby he can go to them after the cut off date and make a formal request to be let out of his contract. He's been in talking to his principal this past week (asking him about being a reference for him, actually) and Randy told Josh that basically the formal request just means that they go and ask Randy if he's okay with Josh leaving. Makes sense to us, as Randy is the one who then has to fill the position, and he doesn't want to be hunting for a teacher come July or August. So, he basically said that as long as he knows before June, he's fine with it all, and Josh will be all right to break the contract.
We're not putting all hopes on being home come fall, but we definitely have our fingers crossed!
We had our egg hunt this morning, ending with the kids getting their toys - a skipping rope and a 'my little pony' tea set for Ruthie, a dinasour play set for the boys. All enjoyed the egg hunt, though Isaac quickly figured out there was candy in the eggs and set to work eating all he could open!
No big plans for today, just sticking around the house, playing with toys. No very adventurous, I know.
Other than Easter, nothing much is going on. Ruthie and Zech still are doing dance classes on Monday, Isaac is very eager to join in unfortunately! (because he tried to run in and join the class while we're there!) Ruthie's doing great with nursery school, and getting excited about going to kindergarten in the fall - she's very happy it will be every day. Swimming lessons will start again after Spring Break. I'm not sure how well it will work out, as both boys need to have someone with them, meaning Josh and I both have to get in and Ruthie will have to be a very big girl and sit waiting for us, but we'll see. If it's not going to work out, then at least Zech and Ruthie will continue. But we'll give it a shot for a couple weeks, anyways.
Josh (finally) has just one more week before Spring Break. It's very late this year - apparently they always start it the last Monday of March, just happened to be the last DAY of March this year. From what he's said, all the teachers are in agreement that this is too late - the kids have been nuts for weeks waiting for the break! Of course, so have the teachers! I'm not sure of everything we'll be doing during the break, though I'm sure we'll spend a day (probably the Friday) at the Winter Fair in Brandon. Our friends have the petting farm there, so we've always spent at least one day looking around and visiting them.
Josh has been looking into getting a job in NB. He has spoken to a guy (who we spoke to in September, and who told Josh to call him back in March) and he explained the whole application process to Josh. Josh is now getting together his resume, and all his transcripts to send off to the Moncton school board. We'll (hopefully) hear in the next few weeks whether he's been short-listed (for interviews). It would kind of be nice, if we're not going, if he doesn't even get a call-back. Though I know that would be hard for all of us. Either way, we'll know (latest) by the end of May what is happening.
Technically, Josh has to give notice with his board here by Apr 30, but there is a clause whereby he can go to them after the cut off date and make a formal request to be let out of his contract. He's been in talking to his principal this past week (asking him about being a reference for him, actually) and Randy told Josh that basically the formal request just means that they go and ask Randy if he's okay with Josh leaving. Makes sense to us, as Randy is the one who then has to fill the position, and he doesn't want to be hunting for a teacher come July or August. So, he basically said that as long as he knows before June, he's fine with it all, and Josh will be all right to break the contract.
We're not putting all hopes on being home come fall, but we definitely have our fingers crossed!
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