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Okay, so a few weeks ago, a bunch of our fantabulous friends and family showed up and we sanded, spackled, primed and painted…
And the guys finished installing the last of the rodge caps on the roof!
The weather was beautiful and the kids played outside. With sticks. And as the saying goes, it’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye…
Have you ever experienced watching your son being carried into the house with blood gushing from his eye?
I have.
I’ll cut to the good news, which is that little J.’s eye is fine, though it took almost two weeks to get the “all clear” from the doc. He suffered a hyphema, which is internal bleeding between the cornea and iris.
It is quite serious and a real threat to vision if pressure builds up during healing, which can permanently damage the optic nerve. Up until pretty recently, a kid with this injury would have been hospitalized for five days.
All we had to do was keep him on the couch and administer eye drops and ointment twice a day. Ever tried to keep a four year old boy from running and jumping and doing everything that a normal kid does? Or given him eye drops?
I have to give Sean the glory on this one. He came up with the wonderful idea of bribery with transformers. All J. had to do was cooperate to get drops for a couple of doses let the eye doctor get a good follow up exam and we would drive directly to Target to buy a new transformer.
The best eleven bucks we ever spent.
J. instantly became the bravest little man on the face of the planet. Here he is with his metal eye patch after that first follow up eye doctor visit. (The new transformer is in his lap.):
I seriously have never felt so proud of him before. My heart was just bursting with love for my little boy who was being so grown up. The staff at the eye clinic couldn’t say enough great things about well he did.
Identify some pictures? Sure!
Drops to numb the eye? No problem.
Pressure test with a little pen-like stick? Bring it on.
Shine a light into the eye? Sure, do that too.
It was awesome. He’s been back for a couple more appointments and has earned two more toys. The pressure was up at the second visit, but we continued the drops and at his last appointment, they declared him good as new.
And as we nursed J.’s eye, the worked continued…
Our friend Mark braved the cold and ladders to seal the windows, and then he and I cased the interior of several windows.
How much do you love the bright apple green and electric blue in C. and J.’s room?! I am more excited about the colors in this room than I am about any room in the house–and I didn’t even pick the colors. The kids did!
Tina painted and painted. Noel installed an outlet for the microwave and hooked up the electricity in the garage (hooray for not having to run a cord out to the table saw!). Jeremy and Sean installed basement windows.
While we worked, our sweet friend Linda took care of everyone’s children! I think she gets the hero award for the weekend!
This past week, Sean finished sanding the floors, the older girls painted their room, and I applied three coats of floor varnish…
I’ve recently given the camera a break from the dust, but I promise I’ll take some photos of the floor to amaze and astound you.
With any luck, we’ll get the carpet in this week and move in over MEA weekend. As for me, I can’t wait to be done living in two places and ignoring the kids for the sake of floors and walls.
For now, we’re neither here nor there.
I ended my Memorial weekend feeling absolutely blessed. Blessed by fabulous friendships and by God’s amazing and humbling synchronicity at work as we charge ahead.
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We have bartered a wood stove for window installation (and are getting the windows at a deep discount besides!).
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The labor for our roof tear off and installation is being donated.
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The application for a permit for our driveway has been approved, mostly because of who we know.
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The labor for our stairway installation is being donated.
Each one of these items has a long involved story to explain how they came about. The point of all of it is so clear: We are being blessed!
I also have to interject a few words about partnership and marriage. I have felt for a long time that this project is one giant metaphor for me and Sean and us taking time and energy to rebuild our life together. Moving forward prayerfully and intentionally. Establishing new financial habits. Being kind and respectful partners with a common goal: a safe, functional, spirit-filled home for our family. Few goals are so worthy!!
With that said, we were blessed this past weekend with a visit from the Malveys, who maintain a permanent spot on our list of our favorite people in the entire world.
I get giddy when we have plans to visit and our time together is never enough. Thanks for your help with everything this past weekend Malveys! I have a few more pictures I didn’t manage to get resized last night with this round, so keep an eye out for another round of Memorial Day shots!
Sean, Craig, Me and Lori hanging out on the stoop:
The ceiling above the stairs… or where the stairs USED to be!
My new favorite picture.
In the interest of preserving our lawnmower blades, we had a contest to see who could pick up the most sticks out of the yard. Complete with cheesy prizes! (Photos forthcoming.)
The kids formed alliances, in true reality TV style. J and L formed a team:
Against J, C, W, and A. Forces to be reckoned with for sure!
After a Saturday full of destruction and a Sunday full of mud and tape, the tile floor is installed at last… the plan is to apply grout this coming weekend. My knees and back will live a happy and complete life if I never install tile again.
I’m not sure what possessed me to start altering this picture, adding a sepia tone and fiddling with the gamma and contrast. I like this sort of pop art version of it, too:
I love that her eyelashes are such a prominent feature of her profile.
My parents’ dog, Elly, stayed with us for about six weeks this spring.
I need to make this one the wallpaper on my computer, to remind myself how sweet he can be.
J: This is the part where we blow up!
Me: Not today!
J: (sound effects of exploding and soaring through the air) Buzz, you’re flying!
Me: This isn’t flying; it’s falling with style.
J: Ha ha! To infinity and beyond! Uh, Buzz, we missed the truck.
Me: We’re not aiming for the truck…
