Desperate

After not sleeping for several months I became desperate and decided to try chiropractic care for Audrey.  She had been getting up several times throughout the night wanting to be nursed and to sleep in bed with us.  It was difficult to resist her, especially when she was standing in her crib, 3 feet away from our bed, pointing at us.  
In December we took her to the chiropractor hoping to allow her to stop taking her medication for reflux and to improve her sleep.  We saw a little improvement, but nothing drastic. 
A few days after Christmas I could tell Alexander was coming down with something.  I was up with him all night, as he struggled to breathe.  He continued to ask for his "fishy face," his Albuterol and nebulizer.  I was hoping to avoid this route, but finally gave in around midnight.  Just three hours later he was in need of it again.  It is prescribed to be give every 6-8 hours.  I continued giving him treatments since they did relieve his coughing and allowed us both a little sleep.  

At 8 am, I immediately called the chiropractor.  We took Alexander and he showed several sublaxations related to his breathing.  He received an adjustment and we were hopeful this would help.  We went to lunch, pizza, Alexander's favorite.  He didn't eat a bite.  He slept the entire way home, even after sleeping at the table at lunch.  I was worried.  I know that results from treatment are not instantaneous, but I was hoping this would be.  When we arrived home, Alexander woke up, perked up, and didn't struggle with his breathing again.  He returned to the chiropractor for follow up adjustments.  We were so thankful for this answer to prayers.  Although chiropractic care didn't seem to dramatically impact Audrey, it was an amazing experience for Alexander.  Remember, I have always been skeptical of chiropractors.  My only experiences, up until now, have been as a child I went to the chiropractor with my aunt.  My memory includes them twisting her neck and sitting on her back, probably not very accurate, but that was probably 20 years ago.  Audrey's sleep has improved tremendously.  More about that later.  I am way behind on blogging.  

Audrey’s First Christmas

We stayed in Nebraska for Christmas this year. Adam’s mom and sister were here for our first Christmas in Nebraska.  We were busy with church services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Alexander was very excited about all aspects of Christmas.  He began to grasp Santa Claus and gifts thanks to our Elf on the Shelf.  Unfortunately, it didn’t motivate him to behave though.  That is ok, because gifts are no really based on how you act.   We had our Elf sit and watch baby Jesus in the nativity scene.  We worked hard to emphasize the true meaning of Christmas with Alexander.  

On Christmas morning we made waffles for breakfast and let the kids open their stockings and receive their big unwrapped gifts.  Alexander got a puppet theater, penguin snow sled and new golf clubs.  Audrey got a princess chair and a doll stroller.  Audrey had been trying to unwrap gifts for several weeks.  She loved the shiny bows. 

We celebrated the birth of Christ with communion and a special Christmas service.  Both children took a long nap.  After naps we opened the rest of our gifts.  It was nearly 3:00 by this time.  I was so excited to give the kids their gifts. 

Adam got me a Cuisinart food processor.  I can’t wait to make lots of new things once we get into our new house. 

It was a great Christmas.  We enjoyed seeing the rest of our family in Kentucky through Skype.  We missed being in Kentucky though.  No matter where we are we can celebrate the birth of our Savior.  

Our First Visitor

We had barely been in Nebraska for a month and I was already desperate for my mom to visit.  It was not that I missed her, although I do, but I wanted her to see Oakland.  It is difficult to describe this place. 

My friend Amy was making a quick trip to Kentucky to visit her parents and asked if the kids and I would like to go along.  Although I would like to make the trip I couldn’t bear the thought of putting my kids in the car for an hour.  They can barely stand to be in the car for more than thirty minutes.  Amy graciously asked if my mom would like to ride back to Kentucky with her for a visit.  This would require my mom to fly back to Kentucky, ALONE.  She hates to fly and would definitely not want to fly alone. My mom and I knew this was a great opportunity for her to come because she would only have to fly home.  She reluctantly agreed.

She arrived on Tuesday, November 1^st. Alexander was so excited to see her.  On Wednesday we drove her around Oakland and showed her the dirty house, the parsonage.  On Thursday we went to Fremont for the Christmas Express.  We found some neat shops and I even got a pair of jeans for $25 that were originally priced at $175.  I love a good deal.  On Friday we walked around downtown Oakland.   That evening we had Secret Church, a telecast with David Platt.  On Saturday we went to Hooper for a craft show.  Sunday we went to church of course and on Monday we headed back to Omaha to do some shopping and take my mom to the airport. 

At the airport they allowed me to go through security with my mom and help her get settled at her gate.  I found a nice lady who was also a passenger on my mom’s flight to sit with her on the plane.  On her second flight she sat with a family who works for the Billy Graham Association.  My mom loves Billy Graham.  I was thankful when I heard she arrived safely in Louisville.  It was great to have her here and Alexander got to spend lots of special time with his Mimi.  Too bad Daddy isn’t alive to visit as well.  I pray my mom will become comfortable with flying and visit again regularly. 

Audrey’s First Halloween

Halloween was beautiful this year. I love the tradition in Oakland.  After school, about 4:00 the children go up and down Main Street collecting candy from the local businesses.  Later in the evening the kids can also go door to door.  Alexander was a cowboy.  We had to buy a new cowboy hat because the hat that went with the costume was too small for his fat head.  Audrey was a UK cheerleader.  We had to show our Kentucky spirit. 

Alexander was a little shy and had to be prompted to say, “Trick or Treat,” and “Thank you.”  After collecting candy from each house, he would say, “Can we go to another house?”  I think he would have gone all night long if we had let him.  He came home with lots of candy.  Audrey enjoyed chewing on the candy wrappers. 

Makes Life Interesting

 Here are some interesting or challenging things about living in Oakland.

We currently do not have a dishwasher.

Because we don’t have a dishwasher I am constantly washing dishes.  This is especially difficult because the water busts out of the faucet and it is nearly impossible to get warm water, because it is either boiling hot or ice cold.  Finding the perfect middle warm spot is quite a challenge.  Also they have water treatment with salt here, and it is difficult to get the soap off your hands and dishes.

These ladybug things are everywhere. (Asian beetles) I had one in my eye when I was going to sleep the other night.  Yuck!

There is no garbage collection.  We have to take our trash to the dump.  It is open on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and all day on Saturday.  They do recycle though :) 

We don't have internet at our current house.  We use our phones for internet and have a limited data plan.  I miss Pinterest and browsing the internet.  We will have internet when we get to the parsonage.  

On a more positive note…We joined a gym.  It is Anytime Fitness.  It is open 24 hours a day.  It is brand new.  Not only do they have great treadmills for running when it is super cold outside, but they have Fitness on Request.  I can choose to do an aerobics or spinning class at anytime.  I choose the class I want, close the doors, and a screen drops down and the video begins.  I did an aerobics class by myself at nine o’clock the other night.  It was great.  You know how much I love to exercise.  I am super excited about this.  

 Overall, I am really happy here.  I am super excited that my mom is coming to visit next week.  She is riding with my friend Amy who lives here in Nebraska.  She will have to fly back to KY on her own.  Pray for her, she hates flying.  I can't wait for her to see  Oakland.   I think it will remind her of Mt. Eden, where she grew up. 

One Year Ago

October 15, 2010 my amazing father went to be with the Lord.  So much has happened in the last year.  Audrey was born, I left my job, we moved to Nebraska.  It is hard to believe that he has been gone a year, but it seems so long since I have seen his sweet face. 

Moving to Nebraska was much more difficult knowing Daddy was gone.  I feel tremendous responsibility for my mom and being so far away makes it nearly impossible to make sure she is ok.  On the other hand it makes it easier because I never wanted to disappoint my Daddy.  It would hurt me to think that he was disappointed we were moving and he would be unable to see Audrey and Alexander frequently.  I feel this same pain about my mom.  I know that Daddy would be supportive of our ministry here in Nebraska, but he would have hated for us to be so far away.  My mom mentioned how if Daddy were here that he and my mom would probably have driven to Nebraska to help us move.  I can only imagine how helpful he would have been helping us get our new house ready.  I wish he was here for so many reasons. 

All week I had hoped to think of some way to honor Daddy today.  I couldn’t think of anything to do.  When Adam came home from church this afternoon he said we were going to Harvest Moon Pumpkin Patch.  The Pumpkin Patch is owned by a sweet family at our church.  

After dinner we headed to the farm.  It was amazing.  Alexander loved riding the tricylces, racing the roller coasters, doing the zipline, and eating smores.  I even did the zip line.  The salted caramel apple cider was amazing.  We brought home a 19 pound pumpkin.  We saw lots of animals, including miniature ponies, Daddy’s favorite.  Without even knowing it we had done something special in remembrance of Daddy.  When I think of Daddy, I definitely think of living on a farm.  We love and miss you so much Daddy.  We look forward to the day we join you in heaven and spend eternity there. 

I have been reading Heaven is For Real.  I hope that what is portrayed in this book is true.  I hope that we can recognize our family and they can see what is happening on earth.  I don’t know if this is true, but it gives me a little more peace about Daddy. 

Packing, Moving, and Life in Nebraska

On Monday, September 19th we started packing. The moving trucks would arrive on September 28th. I know this isn’t much time to pack, but I had to maintain normalcy until after Alexander’s third birthday. After living in our house for five and a half years it was difficult to take apart all that I had worked hard to get everything just the way I wanted it. The hardest part was taking apart sweet Audrey’s nursery. 

On Wednesday, September 28th, Adam and I picked up two U-Hauls. One was a 26 foot truck and the other was 17 feet. At first I thought there was no way we would fill two trucks. Early that afternoon I realized how wrong I was. As we started packing the truck, with the help of family and friends, I came to realize that not everything was going to be going with us to Nebraska. It was overwhelming at moments. I would just walk around wondering what to do next. We got to the point where we just started putting things in boxes regardless of the unusual combination. I am so thankful for all those who helped us pack and move, my brothers Rob and Derrick, and many from Providence Community Church, Ryan May, Paul & Carrie Valentine, Derek & Jessica Bostic, Colby & Christi Willen, Stephen Burnett, Carolyn McDonald, Lisa Karam, the Skidmores, Jerry Robinson, Keith Walters, Anthony Karam, and ….
On Thursday, Adam picked up two guys from Nebraska, Johnny and Daniel. They went straight to the Bostics and helped to pack their truck. We all quickly came to the same realization that all their things were not going to fit on one truck as well. Thankfully, they were able to make two trips rather than leave behind some things like we were going to have to do. We headed back to Lexington and began unloading their things while continuing to load our belongings onto the truck. Can you imagine what the neighbors were thinking? Three U-Hauls, two moving out and one moving in, simultaneously.
On Friday morning the trucks headed back to Frankfort for more packing. We squeezed in a few more pieces of furniture and lots of clothes for Alexander. In the end we ended up leaving the following things in Lexington. Porch swing, two rocking chairs (I pulled from the neighbors trash), kitchen cart, dresser, Adam’s smoker and grill, and Christmas tree. There just wasn’t enough room for these things. After the trucks left I realized several items had accidently been forgotten. The major thing included Alexander’s basketball goal. Guess we know what to get him for Christmas now.
Adam and Madeline drove to Nebraska on Saturday, October 1st. They didn’t get far when I realized Adam had left his new pillow. This isn’t just any pillow. I knew I wouldn’t have room for it in my luggage so he had to turn around and get it. Not a good way to start at 14 hour drive. Oh well. The brother and sister combo made it to Kansas City Saturday night. They finished their road trip Sunday afternoon. They arrived in Oakland where the church congregation was eagerly unloading the U-Hauls. Since our parsonage was not yet ready they provided us with a house to live in temporarily. The major downfall was that the house is only two bedrooms.
Sunday I went to Evergreen Baptist Church, where I grew up, and saw many familiar faces. It was odd being there without Daddy. It was also difficult to see many people who were young and vibrant, in my memory, aging. I am certainly thankful to not have to see my father in that state. He would have hated to be old and losing his physical capacities slowly.
On Monday the kids and I enjoyed dinner with the Geldhofs. Parker and Alexander have become good buddies. Jenn and I have grown so close as we have had several similar life experiences together in the last three years. Our boys are very close in age, we both lost a parent, and had our second children this year as well. On Tuesday I took Parker, Alexander, and Audrey to Monkey Joe’s. Alexander kept saying he wanted to go to Monkey Joe’s, “one more time.” Karla, Carolyn, and Ariel joined us as well. It was a quick trip, then we headed to Dixie for one last school responsibility. We gave several goodbye hugs. Earlier in the day we said goodbye to Derek, Jessica, and sweet baby Addison. Derek and Jessica have invested so much time and love in the lives of my children. Jessica and Alexander were so close. You develop a special bond with the person who takes care of your children. I couldn’t be more thankful for having such a wonderful childcare provider for my precious babies. Jessica and I have become extremely close friends as well. She spent many days with us early in Audrey’s life. She was there through the difficult colicy days when I wasn’t sure what to do with my crying baby. It was a difficult goodbye with lots of tears. I am thankful that Derek and Jess have the opportunity to live in our house, and that we don’t have to try to sell it now, but I know it will be difficult or awkward for them to live there since we are gone.
After Dixie we had dinner with Kelley. Adam said Chinese food may be hard to come by in Nebraska so we enjoyed some Moo Goo Gai Pan at IChing. We then made our final return down I-64 to Frankfort. We were greeted with many visitors, Rob, Cissy, and the entire Hudson family. The kids played and we all tried not to cry.
 

 On Wednesday morning we packed our things and went to visit Nana and Cissy one last time. Then we headed to Cracker Barrel for one last southern meal. We enjoyed our pancakes and eggs and headed for the airport. I was not sure how I was going to manage two children on two flights and two hours in Chicago Midway, but knew there were lots of people praying for us. From Louisville to Chicago, Audrey slept the entire flight and Alexander enjoyed playing with the tray table and eating pretzels. While in Chicago, Midway we got a snack and played. Passengers and airport staff were very helpful with the kids. Shortly after takeoff from Chicago Alexander fell asleep. I was hopeful that Audrey would go to sleep as well, but that didn’t happen. Not long into the flight I began to feel sick. I kept looking around trying to figure out who could hold Audrey if I got sick. I kept asking God to keep me from getting sick. I was counting the minutes until I could get off the plane. Upon arrival in Omaha I headed straight for the restrooms. By the time we were greeted by Adam and Madeline I knew I was turning green. Immediately upon reaching the car I threw up. This continued all the way to Oakland every twenty minutes or so. Due to a road closure the one hour drive turned into an almost two hour trip. I was never more excited to be at the new house. As soon as we walked in the door Alexander threw up on the kitchen floor. What an awesome welcome gift! I knew I was in for a long night. Alexander and I slept together taking turns getting sick. It was the night that would never end. By 5:00 am we had finally stopped throwing up. When I would throw up, Alexander would say, “Mommy, I know, I know.” Such a sympathetic little guy.
On Thursday we began to explore the new house as our energy returned. It was difficult for me to not be able to jump right in and get the house in order. I knew Friday I would feel much better, but guess what happened Friday morning. Yes, Adam was sick. Welcome to Nebraska. 

 This is just our temporary house.  The parsonage is not ready yet.  It is undergoing major renovations.