Runaway

Today Em said, "I wanna run away"

Me "What???"

Em "run away, you come too, you run away too"

Me "where to?" (ahhh, proper english, let's end with a preposition)

Em "To Geedad's house, we go there and then to McDonalds"

A girl who knows the drill!

Reading and Dolls

Cam read his first page of a book ALL BY HIMSELF! Turtle and Snake. Its one of those early reading stages book. Anyhow, we started out reading together and he ended up doing a page alone. Most of the time he glances at the words, and look at the pictures to guess what it says. But this time he combined efforts, looked at the pictures for clues and then sounded out about 12 words. Cool. I cannot wait for him to read to himself and me and Em and Dad...having the pleasure of reading without depending on anyone else for help, NICE. And it'll be great in the car!

Yesterday Emmy informed me to NOT call her princesses dolls. THEY ARE NOT DOLLS, they are PRINCESSES. I stand corrected.

SNOW!!

For our Rockford friends, yes this is our snow day. No school. DO NOT LAUGH, well don't laugh too hard. However, it IS sticking and its beautiful...here's hoping there will be enough to sled in by tonight!

Meanwhile, Emmy ate a TON of it and Cam threw every bit he could in "snowballs". Then inside for the required hot chocolate! Good morning. Now I just need a nap!

Oh, and Stu had a fabulous time at his birthday present IU game!!! YEA!!! I love it when things like that work out...now what am I going to ebay to pay for the tickets :)

what do you want to be when you grow up?

The conversation in the back of the van from Camden to a buddy,

Cam: When I grow up I'm going to play baseball

Friend: That's cool. I don't know what I'm going to do

Cam: Maybe you could be like, that guy, um Abraham Lincoln, a president. But all the president does is sit around in a room and write down rules. I think it sounds boring.

Emmy (pipes up from the middle seat): When I glow up I'm gonna be a princess.

Baseball and Princess...Poo poo on the president, who wants to do that?

Happy Birthday Stuart

Today's the day. He's getting older!!!

Anyhow, Stu's big day consists of a first for him, he's going to an IU game in Bloomington.

Yup, the tickets were bought and he and his buddy Tom are on the road!

Hopefully its a night to remember, I know they've both wanted to go for a while now, so it should be fun.

Otherwise the birthday celebrations are limited, I think we'll have a special 'ssert later this week and sing, but for today, its all about college ball!

Have fun, I love you old guy :)

Cam's pic of me and a pic of him

Okay, I don't usually add a picture of me, but Cam took it (he actually took it to be upside down, but that was painful to look at...) SOOO here I am TIRED after Sunday, but having fun with him.

And my pic of HIM, trying to capture a true smile (so incredibly hard). He's such a sweet boy, drives me crazy, but sweet.

The Valentine Booty

The results of the shopping...the sweep Beauty princess and completed REALLY cool lego car.
Cam took the pic of the car alone. He's getting camera happy...I'll post his pic of a very tired me next...

Shopping

The kids had money burning a hole (from Valentines Day...ahhh grandparents).

So we decided to re-enter the land of shopping with a trip to Target and the mall.

Em quickly decided to get "Sweeping Beauty with a stwoler", she loves her princesses! (and that's SLEEPING beauty with a stroller)

Cam took MUCH longer.

In fact, we were at the mall and needed a snack (meaning the kids were getting grumpy and I was without my normal SUGER SHOCK treats that are in the purse) so Stu suggested we get a cookie. Stu asked Cam, "Do you want a cookie?"

Cam asked, "Do they cost money?"
Stu, "yes"
Cam, "Oh, well..." you could see the wheels turning, do I WANT to spend my Valentine $$ on a cookie or save it for a toy?
Stu, "Hey Bud, I'm going to buy it"
Cam, "OH! Well Yeah! I'd LOVE a cookie, thanks!"

Loved it!
And he and Daddy decided on a lego car that they built together, very very nice!

Great day...nice and relaxing hanging out together, and better yet WELL!

Blogger Stalking

Amanda told me to check this blog out.

The life here is amazing...faith...pain...joy...

AND with the blog community, you too can pray for this family and be encouraged by their faith.

http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/

Read thru the older posts to get caught up, basic run down: Husband, wife with CF, surprise pregnancy, preemie, wife awaiting lung transplant.

THEREFORE, the burnt dinner, pee on the bathroom floor from Em missing, front of the Mazda's exhaust system laying on the ground...no big deal. Its all a matter of perspective and I'm sure it is with this family too...in hospital receiving care, awaiting lungs, sleeping little...STILL...parentless child, with out a home etc....STILL...King of all, hanging on a cross, flesh ripped, struggling to breathe, feeling my sin pound on his shoulders...ahhhh perspective. Sometimes I can see a glimpse.

ANYHOW, read and be encouraged and remember to pray pray pray.

Bumble Bee

For the "Tiger Boys" get better quick...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4053057901361180347

Emmy Singing
Hope the link works....I think you have to copy and paste....

I am a princess Baalderinda

She is THE princess Baalderinda.

Em's been into dressing up. A LOT.
She is ALWAYS a princess, naturally...wouldn't you be?

She went to youth group Sun night as a princess, she proceeded to Aldi today as one. BUT, the ballerina thing? This was new to me. I was amazed that she struck the appropriate pose! I'm chalking it up to Julia's influence on our recent short visit, but who knows. And Em was quite serious about her pose. It was the same arm dealie each time this was repeated and she HAD to be on "stage" at the top of the slide.

Anyway you slice it, cute.

What we do...live DANGEROUSLY

What happens when you put a mattress on the floor in front of a climbing gym/slide?

THIS

And if you're wondering if Em follows suit? Well YEAH! Of course she does, what girl of 2 wouldn't?

Ccheaus Strikes again

This one goes out to the "Tiger Boys"
Get Well Soon and enjoy another Emmy tune heading your way shortly...

Happy Presidents Day!

In honor of Abe, here are our beards!

We've had a lovely day! We slept late (well, not daddy, but certainly Emmy), ate breakfast with our stuffed animals in Em's room, went outside 'cause it LOOKED warm, came back in,made a fort and put the jumping mattress down in Cam's room and then G-mom and G-dad visited!!! What a nice surprise for our day! Its so lovely that they can pop over, and as they're going to be traveling for a bit I thought today was a perfect visit with Cam out of school. G-dad got shown the Wii, and played baseball with Cam...Cam was NOT thrilled with the curve balls. Emmy got a chance to show G-mom her scissor skills and read and play hungry hippos, and dress up, and...you get the idea. Great day!

Cute Before Church Kiddos

They looked so nice this morning, so I decided to take a pic BEFORE church...you never know what they're going to look like after. On the way to church Emmy remarked, "We go to church, its my favorite".

Cam sat in "big" church with me today. Thoroughly enjoyed the singing, endured the rest :)

Laundry Room Re-do

The dryer install inspired a little rearrange in the laundry area (I LOVE that I have an area, so nice)

Anyhow, do we have a GIRL in this house or what???? PINK PINK PINK

The dryer looks so nice, but runs even better.

Crafting

This is a picture I took during all the sickness. Its the island in the kitchen and it pretty much looked like this for a long time. Crafts, crafts and more crafts.

We made undelivered valentines (made and didn't send...story of my life)
We made pictures
We made paintings
We made playdough
ANYTHING I could come up with to help the kids forget they were sick

Done

The new dryer is here, hooked up and the laundry room is now rearranged and cleaned spic n span.

Thanks to James for the loan of the truck.

Thanks to Craigslist folks for giving us a great price on a used dryer!

LOVE Craigslist

Does the dryer sound funny? What about...

...that smell???? (insert a burning smell)

Its official, the dryer has died.

Therefore there are a bunch of clothes hanging up on the mantle.

Makes for a lovely display. I'm thinking we should host a dinner party about now.

So, we are in the market for a new one. I've been calling everyone's "guy" around here, its been rather interesting.

We'll see what develops. All I know is I'm spoiled, I like having these modern conveniences A LOT!

The Land of the Living

We are, I believe, back.

Sent Cam off to Pre-K today and his comment was...."aren't I still sick?" Seriously!!! He has a Valentines Party today, fun fun fun and he's still wanting to laze around here with momma and sis. I kinda love that! Okay, I'd love it right up until he says, "I'm bored" and then I pretty much would be furious.

Emmy is STILL sleeping, but am I going to disturb that...NO WAY! In fact joining her sounds pretty alright.

Stu headed to work for the first time in over a week, well not counting Sunday and one foolish attempt last week. Can I just tell you how grateful we are for laptops? He actually, in the pneumonia haze, got work done! I'm so impressed, I didn't get anything done without any kind of haze.

We ended up "taking a trip" the last few days. Stu had a conference to go to and the kids and I went along. We had planned on going along and visiting some friends, but what with the illnesses I really didn't want Stu to drive the whole way alone and medicated. So, off we went to Granger, IN? Anyhow, we had a lovely time playing and then we popped up to Rockford to surprise visit some friends. We were only there for about 24 hours, so the visits were slim. But Stu popped in the office, had lunch with a friend, the kids and I surprised some buddies and had a lovely playdate and dinner with friends. We didn't get to see nearly enough friends, but it was what we could manage with still being exhausted from sick and travel on top. Anyhow, it was lovely to get away together!

We saw some SERIOUS snow!!!! Wow. Don't miss cleaning that off the drive. But just as always, I enjoyed the trapped in the car together drive time. We really do have a nice time chatting and listening to music, its somewhat relaxing.

Then HOME! We got here just in time to carry a sleeping Cam to bed (7pm folks, 7pm...he was asleep in the car at 6!) and then I had to head out and buy valentines. Ugg. We were going to make them, but we only got started on them and then he'd get to feeling bad and need to rest last week, so...fun dip ones were purchased. Then I had to make his box for school. Luckily I could use parts of the valentine stuff he'd worked on to cover the box, so its almost like Cam made it himself!

Alright, laundry is calling and a shower doesn't sound so bad either...

Happy Valentines Day to all...enjoy being loved and loving!

What do YOU do when you're sick?

When we're sick, we computer! And lay around, and sleep, and cough, and sweat, and ...well you get the idea. Its survival!

The Famous Bathtime Photos (BEWARE)

Emmy's hair wouldn't stand up as well, but they each got a big kick out of the whole proceedings. And their fevers came down! Also, bonus...with them trapped in the tub I can clean the bathroom!!! Its really bad that that is the bonus.

Up swing

We're on the upswing. I feel it.
We actually went OUT today. All of us...cracker barrel.

Then we came home and all the sickies slept!!! :)

Still, fresh air, sunshine...we're getting there

And ONE more

Emmy's got strep.

So, for those of you counting its:

Stu-pneumonia
Cam-strep
Em-strep
Me-nothing, Praise God

3 to 1

But, did you see the Illinois/Indiana game last night, it was a good one.
I think it was Stu's highlight of the week!

"S" as in Strep

Yup.
Cam is the latest victim.

Went to the Dr. today and luckily WHILE we were there his temp shot up and he fell asleep on me! Ugg.

Poor boy.

Emmy's well.
I'm well.

So, for those of you at home counting its 2 to 2. 2 up and 2 down for the count.

"P" as in Pneumonia

Yup, we are NOT well at the Jones household.

Stu went to the Dr. today and got the diagnosis that is PNEUMONIA, but in the early stages (THANK YOU GOD).

Sooo, a shot of steriods and bottle of antibiotics and a little rest in the Dr's office after feeling quite lightheaded and he's home and in BED. To stay.

Meanwhile, the kids are doing better today, ofcourse!

Em was up most of the middle of the night with tummy issues and the storm didn't help...bad one!

Cam slept thru and has even RUN AROUND the house today!

Our wonderful preschool friend Terri brought by bread and milk, bless her! I had chicken noodle soup that I scammed from Bunco, ahhhhh! And Angie brought over chic-fil-a earlier this week. Perhaps there's something to this sick family thing? :)

Thanks to all...pray for Stu to get better and to remember to NOT push it.

Pictures of "get the fever down" bathtime to come!

Not so much

Okay, so fevers are all still around. Cam, Em, Stu. Everyone has one, but luckily the kids are relatively low (101,102ish).

Stu came home and gallantly let me go to Bunco, shouldn't have gone, he's fried. Fevers back and up. I think the plan tomorrow is LAY LOW and by that I mean LAY.

Meanwhile I did enjoy my foray into the world.

Here's hoping for a better tomorrow!

Last sick day??? Lets hope

Its 60 some odd degrees today, raining with a peak of sunshine here and there.
So we went for a walk. We got down our hill and Cam says, "I'm tired!" Yup, he's getting better, but its a long road. After having a fever for about 4 days straight I'm sure walking made him pooped!
Em's been okay today, not great. Tired, grumpy and a little fever. She's having her moments of fun though.
Stu hit work today for a few hours, now he's back and laying down. I think a fever in an adult really takes it out of you! He's just hoping to be up to 70 percent by friday.

So there it is, kids on the mend, Stu trying to be on the mend. And a few pictures.
Emmy's been closing her eyes when I try and take pics, the flash. Sooo, its harder and harder to get good ones of her, here are some fun ones of her trying to be "feeling better" as well.

Emmy's Crown

Cam and Em did some "art" the other day. This was Friday while they were still feeling okay. Cam drew the crown and helped cut it out, Emmy colored the crown and wore it - like the princess she is!
What a nice brother to make the crown!

So, this is Cam, "feeling better"

Okay, if this is what he looks like when he "feels better" you'd have hated to see the sick! Funny boy!!! In the next picture he actually does look a bit better.

The Troopers

The boys are SICK. Emmy and I continue to soldier thru with not much. She was a little under this morning, but fine now.

Cam, oh he's so sick. I haven't seen him this way in a few years. He came to me at midnight burning up (already had motrin in him, so we added tylenol) and Stuart had moved down to the guest room, so in he climbed and we watched movies until about 3 am. He finally was able to fall asleep until 7:30 or so.

Made him take a bath, trying to get the fever down, but it didn't do much. So, we spent the morning snuggling in bed, watching more TV than ever and trying to get by. This afternoon he wanted me to hold him on the couch and sleep. Just set him down in bed and then had a tea party with Em. SHE'S BEEN FANTASTIC! Just running from room to room, bringing toys, trying to sing to Cam.

Stu went to church this morning and made it thru. Back home his fevers back up again...but he's sleeping. Maybe, maybe it will pass tonight. Until then, we're all drinking gallons of gatorade and watching tv. :)

Still, I'm so proud of how Cam has been. He's trying so hard to feel better and not complaining at all, just wants me around. Sweet boy, its not often he lets us cuddle him, we'll take it!

SERIOUSLY!!!!

Sick. AGAIN. Everyone, but me.

Last night we were all fine, playing together, eating dinner, laughing.

This morning, Emmy got up and just laid in our bed for hours.

Cam and Stu went to Home Depot this morning (made a football stool, very cool); then when Stu got home he headed up to bed.

Cam and I played some Wii and Sis and I played dolls, then Cam says, "Mom, can you play for me, my head hurts."

You bed it hurt!! 104. You know they're sick when they won't finish a popsicle.

ugg