Cam's heart

I know I said I would post about birthdays. Cameron turned nineteen in March and Maddy turned thirteen three weeks later. Whew! There! I did it!



Now onto what I really wanted to post.



Cameron has slowly been getting all the things he needs to get done before he submits his mission papers. He had his wisdom teeth out, his general doctor appointment, dentist appointment, blood drawn and Four expensive shots.

At his doctor's appointment, the doctor asked about his heart murmur. I again recounted how he had had a coarctation (narrowing) of the aorta, and had it repaired at 4 days old. See here for more details. He also has a couple of valves that aren't "normal" that cause a murmur. I like to tease Cameron that we should name his heart Laman. He He. I am so FUNNY! He wouldn't completely sign him off as ready for a mission until we got the o.k. from Cam's cardiologist on the level of activity he can do.

He had his appointment with the pediatric cardiologist on Monday. Interesting note-- because Cam has a congenital heart defect, he will always go to a pediatric cardiologist. Even when he is eighty-three, he will be sitting on the little table with the space theme room and the latest Disney movie on the t.v. screen to pass the time.

Cam has been going to these appointments every year or two his entire life. I am pretty familiar with the process, and nothing has changed much over the years. Cam has two valves that are not normal. His aortic valve is bicuspid, it is supposed to be tricuspid, and his mitral valve doesn't open and close like it is designed to do. I like his doctor he is very thorough and has a great memory. He can remember subtle changes from previous years. There was nothing new or different at this appointment, other than he gave his approval for him having no restrictions as a missionary. He also told me that his heart is different than normal, but it works well.

After he signed the papers, and gave him the o.k. to walk eight hours a day, I looked over the forms again. I was desperately trying to find the box where he could check that said Cam's heart was strong enough to handle the door slams and rejections he was sure to get. Sniff sniff.

The move

I have been a very delinquent blogger. I have so much to post, I don't even know where to begin! There is the move, of course, the unpacking, (which is far from done) two birthdays, missionary preparations, Easter, and discovering that we have been using our septic tank for weeks without it being "ON"! Who knew???!!!

I will start with the move. Tom is not one to ask for help. He likes to brag that he and I moved our piano by ourselves in one of our moves many Moon's ago ( literally and figuratively). Our backs were younger and stronger back then, and our brains were younger and dumber too. I was most grateful when I saw SEVERAL strapping young men show up with large trucks and even larger trailers. They made quick work of loading and unloading all of our stuff from one place to another.

Let the unloading begin!

Even with the heavy lifting, he can still smile for the camera!

Without the help of this guy, and a couple of other handy men, Tom would still be working on the wood floor. One night, at midnight, Tom tried to get these men to go home to their families. Scott finally agreed to leave.

Jory, (another wonderful man who went without sleep for us) looked at Tom and said, "He'll be back. He got hungry and ran to Taco Bell."

Sure enough, he came back and stayed until 2:30 AM cutting and gluing. Every time my foot steps on the beautiful warm wood, my heart is filled with gratitude for their kindness and sacrifice.



Some of the "strapping young men!"

This man, the father of this girl , brought my husband to tears. He saw what needed to be done, and did it. He saw some construction garbage and loaded it up and hauled it to the dump. He discovered a pitchfork that Tom had been meaning to fix for years. He bought a new handle for it, but it didn't fit. This wonderful man took the pitchfork and handle to his shop, cut the hole to fit and made it better than new! He also wrote Tom's name in the metal of the handle. Tom was moved by his generosity and thoughtfulness. So was I.

Next: Birthdays!

Home

We are HOME! Of course, right now, it doesn't feel very homey. The boxes and stuff waiting to find a permanent home are getting in the way of sitting by the fire and enjoying my new surroundings. Little by little, we are slowly unpacking. The kitchen is functioning, except for the gas range that has yet to be installed. Our builder has confidence that Tom could convert it to propane. The instructions are unclear, so we are waiting for more parts, or a professional. Either way, it looks like about a week before I will have a cook top. Luckily, I have an electric frying pan that has been getting plenty of use the last few days.

___________________

~

Tom called me this morning to tell me Cam's car died, he had taken it to work so I could use his truck. He said it was making a horrible knocking sound and then quit, he had to walk a block-and a half back to work. He asked me to come get him to tow the car with the Suburban. I wasn't that surprised. We belong to the "how many miles can we squeeze out of our cars" club. I drove out to work, picked him up and went in the direction he told me to go.

~

After more than a couple of blocks, I said, "Wow, you walked really far!"

~

He grinned, and said, "I thought this was a great way to get you to go out to lunch with me."

~

He was very pleased with himself for pulling off a great prank. He gloated all the way to Wendy's and back. I fell for it because it is so unlike him to do anything like this.

~

Next year sweetie.....next year;)

True or False

A simple little test:

::True or False::

• 
  
  I have had ample sleep for several weeks.


• 
  
  The prospect of scrubbing down this rental at the same time as cleaning all the construction mess at our new home has me excited beyond belief.


• 
  
  I feel great! Bronchitis is awesome!


• 
  
  I LOVE tiling floors, back splashes, bathtubs and around fireplaces!


• 
  
  Grouting is the best!


• 
  
  I see my sweetie way too much.


• 
  
  My kids have been fed the most nutritious, well-balanced meals while we have been working at the house.


• 
  
  I am completely relaxed.


• 
  
  I will miss renting. I could stay here forever!


• 
  
  This building process has been so much fun, I can't wait to do it again!

Obviously, the answer to all of the above is False!

I don't want to seem ungrateful. I am. Our family is getting excited for next week when we officially get the keys. We are all just a little tired of the process. I actually heard a teenage girl near me, murmur under her breath, "I hate this house." Tom has been working until midnight or later almost every night, on top of work and bishop stuff, he is exhausted. We can't wait to be together as a family.

We have also been blessed, a post I will do another time. Right now, I need to keep my lung from trying to come up;)

Sooooo tired....

I am so glad I don't have surveillance cameras mounted in my house. This morning, I caught myself with my head in my hand, the wetness of my own saliva waking me from an unexpected drift off. The reason for my sleepy state was to take Court to school at 4:30 this morning to promote Jungle Book, the high school play she has been rehearsing for months as a dancer and colorguard member. Courtney was also very tired and had me come and pick her up early from school to catch a little nap before opening night tonight.

This is the very short clip of the local morning news show she was on. She is the first flag on screen and the center flag for a few seconds toward the end of the scene.

This past week---a photo essay

Tom spent this week in a great deal of pain. He did get some enjoyment out of playing with this big boy toy.

Howard the incredible, came over to help Tom get started with measuring and cutting. Howard is Tom's brother-in-law. He is very smart, and a hard worker! We are so grateful for his help.

This is the place Tom should have been most of the week. He finally went to the doctor on Tuesday because of severe shoulder pain. The doctor diagnosed him with this.

He was prescribed meds for pain and inflammation, but his main recommendation was REST!!!

Yes, that's right, the water is back! The septic pipe was not sealed properly. The builder sent someone to fix it. I so hope this is the last time I see water on the floor of the basement.

The "hero", Cameron. He willingly did anything and everything that we asked of him. He ran me home one night at eleven completely exhausted. As he was leaving to go back and help his dad, I told him he was my hero. They worked until two-thirty in the morning. Throughout the week, he cut tile, cut and glued pipe, measured, and grouted. He was always so pleasant and a bit silly. Even though, I was turning into a grouch, working with him was a pleasure.

The cabinets were delivered and partially installed.

Our "Cinderella". She made a mouse helper out of masking tape and wanted to wear an old raggedy dress. We got a good laugh when her dad asked her for something, she grabbed a roll of paper towels, shoved them up her back, and hobbled to him. With her best Igor voice, she said, "Yes, Master".

Setting the last few tiles in the master bath. This week has been hard. One I hope not to repeat. My kids have shown me they can handle tough situations with a great attitude. They are a wonderful example to me.

What makes me smile....

I Spent the day yesterday, taking sofa and loveseat cushion covers off of our very used but comfortable set and washing them. I decided they were old enough, I was willing to risk tossing them in the washer to see what would happen. The back cushions were floppy and no longer did their job. So I bought some new foam, (there was an amazing Presidents' day sale!) cut it to fit and stuffed them back into the cushions.

They went from this...

and this...

To this.....

and this....

The picture doesn't show how much better they really look. They are still old and a bit grungy looking, but the improvement is huge! While the covers were washing, I took the opportunity to scrub the dirty arm rests and back. I feel like I bought new furniture!


Last night, I watched Courtney perform in her winter concert. She has a sixth sense when it comes to my camera, and has learned some pretty evasive moves to avoid being caught by my lens. Luckily, I captured this image by sheer luck. The rest of the pitures I took of the evening, have a music stand stratigically placed in front of her face.

And finally, the lighting was put in the house and this pretty little number makes me grin every time I see it. I LOVE it! It now hangs in the entry way waiting to welcome visitors.