Last Check-up

Today was the check-up. All is well. We were able to see the crack in his skull, and it looked so small on the CT scan. It is hard to believe that it could change our lives so drastically. It runs down the side of his skull to the base of his head. It looks like it goes to where his brain stem connects into the brain, and the doctor told us a little more about how the brain stem controls the base reactions and that probably had something to do with #1's yelling and flailing after beginning to regain consciousness. This was not a conversation #1 enjoyed. He doesn't like bodily functions. He has permission to go ahead and enjoy all activities that he desires, but I have put a limit on football. We are also still postponing our trip to Great Wolf Lodge until June. I just don't think it is wise to put him in concussive possibilities. He is a bit miffed about that, but I am the MOTHER! This week has been hectic. We had end-of-year testing this week. That means early mornings out of the house. Then there were regular activities in the afternoons, and before you know it the week is gone. Testing went well, and we should know in about a month if the boys are as smart as their parents. Sometimes they think they are smarter, but we are certain they aren't there yet. So they wanted to celebrate tonight for dinner...bacon and chocolate chip pancakes! They were good, but we need to head back to the healthy stuff tomorrow. By the way, I hit 10 pounds lost this week! Go Me!

Two weeks

So much can happen in two weeks, and so much can change in an instant. About an hour and two weeks ago #1 fell and cracked his skull. He is doing so well. Truly it is a blessing from God. He is able to read again with little pain, and this evening he went with the youth group to a rally for several hours. Two weeks ago I wasn't sure what he would ever do again. This Thursday we head back to the doctor to make sure everything is still going well. He will need to take the hearing test again and hopefully will pass it. Last week he didn't hear any of the beeps. All of the phone calls, emails, facebook comments, cards, and face-to-face inquiries were such a blessing to me and to him. #1 didn't know so many people like him or thought he was worth praying for. The doctors kept tellingme we would probably see a personality change in him. He would be irritable and perhaps mean. Just the opposite has been true. I think he has been sweeter since the accident than he has been in years. Maybe knowing how much he means to the world made him appreciate all of us more. He is good boy and I AM SO GLAD HE IS HEALTHY AND SAFE.

State Envirothon

I tried using the night vision on the camera, but it makes everything blurry. We had a great time at the State Envirothon. The boys were very concerned about how well they would do. They kept asking me how much of a chance they had of winning. So I found out that there were 52 teams competing, therefore they had about a 2% chance. They were flabbergasted! Anyway, I didn't know what to expect, and it was really, really difficult stuff. However, they came in #20! I was proud of them. I had hoped they would improve their score from the last competition, and they did. The team we lost to before beat us by 15 points and this time they only passed us by 2 points.

We camped at the park where the event was held. I was alone with 5 goofy boys. What a treat! #2 was excited about the otter/beaver hole that he found on the creek bank above. We camped at the creek and listened to that stupid beaver jump in the creek every couple of hours. I will enjoy my bed tonight.

I wanted to camp so that I wouldn't have to control the boys in a hotel. It turned out to be a perfect idea and the weather cooperated. They liked climbing on the rocks at night. We also went on a night hike, and of course they played lots of football. A hotel would have put a damper on all of that.

Here they are after the test. They said it was really hard and they were ready for pizza. They were disappointed by their score, but I think encouraged when we still went to Baskin-Robbins to celebrate. I am very proud of my Dirty Coon Foresters!

We attended the County 4H Talent Show last week. #1 didn't want to be involved in it, and I guess that ended up being a good thing since he wouldn't have been able to anyway. #2 was in a skit with some friends. He was a statue of General Sherman. The scientist and his assistant sprayed the statue with a potion to make it come alive.

After he was alive they asked what he would do first now that he was alive. He said he would shoot about 50,000 pesky pigeons.

#2 also did a juggling act in the talent show. He stated that as one of his goals this year. So he has learned to juggle and completed that goal. Now if he would just make cleaning his room a goal!

We went a couple of weeks ago to receive the boys' checks and certificates for their soil adventures. #1 won $100 for his speech on The Living Soil. He goes May 14 to the State competition. We have been practicing every day this week. I was worried last week when he was unable to read and practice, but I think he still has time to get done all he needs to do.

#2 won $160 for his poster and essay on The Living Soil. His essay was sent on to the state competition and we will also find out on the 14th how that went.

They also recognized our Envirothon team for their accomplishments. We leave tomorrow for the State competition in Burlington. We will be primitive camping on Friday night. I hope it goes well. I'll let you know.

Easter

Was Easter really only a few weeks ago?! It was the day before when I finally got out the Easter things and the boys were able to dye eggs. There wasn't even an egg hunt this year, except for the one the Easter Bunny always does on Easter morning.

The boys used wax resist to make some interesting looking eggs this year. Of course there were some interesting looking boys too.

#2 thought it was just the coolest thing that he could sit on the stool under the countertop.

You can see the miscellaneous items on the counter and the tomatoes waiting to be planted. Is it any wonder that I didn't get to Easter until so late? School will be out soon!

Out of Africa

These are the guys that participated in the History Expo with us in our Geography Club. This was our last African event for this year. We met on April 2 with other homeschoolers to display what we have done in the Social Sciences. The kids brought their Power Point presentations to run on a continuous loop, and the lone girl for the day made the backdrop. She had to be somewhere else when we took the picture.

I am not sure what #2 is doing with his crazy tongue, but it was a cool booth/presentation.

We have definitely seen growth in this group of kids. We started five years ago with a study of the American States, and then every year added a little more to our expectations of the kids while learning about a different continent. Next year will be Oceania, Australia, and Antarctica.

The boys also displayed their history tri-fold exhibits from the other History Day that they participated in. The little kids were intrigued with the phones, and a lot of parents went walking down memory lane.
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Just took my last quiz for my online class, 100!!! I take the final in a couple of weeks and then I AM DONE! I still haven't heard anything positive or negative about getting into a program.
Now we are off to the last Art Class for the year for my boys. School is almost finished for us all. YEAH!!

Change of Scenery and Subject

Yesterday I took the Envirothon team to Camp Don Lee on the Neuse River. It was a bit chilly, but really a beautiful day. How nice it was to be away and think of different things than head injuries. Life is getting back to normal for us. #1 has slept through the night 3 nights in a row now, and last night didn't even take any medicine. Praise God for His great gifts.

We took 5 classes at Camp Don Lee in order to review for the competition this weekend. I wasn't sure how much of a review it would be since what we have to learn is so advanced, but once the staff understood how far along the boys are, they amped up the lessons. All of our teachers/guides had some sort of degree in these fields, so it was really a great review! The first class we took was a tidal creek study, and we got to go canoeing for that. I didn't get any pix since I was unsure about losing the camera in the water. I shouldn't have worried, we didn't flip over. We had classes on ponds, forests, soils, and rivers. Everything was outside and very hands-on. The boys want to go back, and #2 is asking about going to summer camp there.

As I downloaded the pictures off my camera this morning, I realized there are a lot of events I haven't shown you or talked about. I remember a post not too long ago about bumps in the road getting me off-course. This was a really big bump in the road, and I am glad we are about done with it. I need to get some things done!

His Presence is a Present

I don't know how God works, but here are some things I do know. The neighbor that #2 ran to to call 911 used to be #1's basketball assistant coach. A doctor lives in the neighborhood. My dog loves his family. He came to help and ask questions. He told the EMT workers all they needed to know. My friend who came to rescue #2 and meet me at the hospital was not supposed to be in town. Her husband decided at the last minute to join her at her parents, and so they had to come back early for him to go to work. Another friend who works at the hospital never works night shift. He signed up for that particular shift a month or so ago. The insurance we had had would not have covered any of this. We were never admitted to the hospital, so it would have been up to us to pay it all. The insurance changed 10 days earlier. I switched it due to my hurt elbow. Hubby was at a Christian conference where much prayer was offered on our behalf. That may not sound out of the ordinary, but I coveted all prayers for my baby. #1 has only gone to the doctor once here, and I couldn't remember the doctor's name. Guess what. He is our neighbor that the dog loves. The biggest God Event however doesn't have any obvious sightings. It was His Peace that kept me calm. It was the knowledge that even if this went horribly wrong, He has our back. I placed #1 verbally (and visually in my head) in my Lord's arms to hold him tight. I didn't know if I would get him back, but the calm assurance of God's Presence was what I needed most. Our God is so loving, so faithful, kind, reassuring, protective, amazing, involved, ...Present!

Lighten the Mood

Last night was a bit rough. He needed more medicine than he ever has before. I think he wore himself out too much on Wednesday. He has slept nearly the whole day today, but is visiting with the "extra" kids now. He also hopes to attend the County 4H Talent Show this evening. Truly this is what has been foremost in my mind and I can't think of anything else to write about. I thought a couple lighthearted things might help though. #1 had some short term memory loss as part of the concussion. I think we were into the second day of all of the mess when he said his head really hurt. I answered of course it did, he cracked his skull. He looked at me a bit confused and said, "I broke my head? Really?" He just didn't seem to remember any of it. Maybe that was a good thing. I picked up the extra kids from school and they asked how #1 was doing. #4 said, "We've been praying for him. We prayed that he would get better and not have any brain damage." What a sweet boy and family. As we talked about #1 and some things that he will have to be careful about I commented that he can't swim for a couple of months because the pressure of the water could make his brain start bleeding. #4 wanted to know then if he could not wash his hair. I said yes that would be fine; he just can't go underwater. "So if he was outside and it started to suddenly rain he would still be ok?" What a sweetie!

Check-up

The doctor visit went well. #1 was feeling much better today. He sat up for an hour and watched tv, then ate a chicken salad sandwich and a glass of milk. During the check-up he said he was hungry, so the return of an appetite is a wonderful sign of improvement. His balance is good, vision nearly great, headaches fewer and less intense, and the sore shoulder has a full range of motion so must just be sore from a hard fall.

The only negative report was that he completely failed the hearing test. During a conversation that followed he made a comment that made it seem as if this is not a new thing related to the concussion. So perhaps he has a hearing deficiency; we will have to make an appointment with an audiologist.

We go back in two weeks for another check-up, but really he seemed to be doing great. Thank you soooooo much for all of your prayers. I am certain they made a difference! Praise the Lord!!!

I commented to Hubby that I was proud of how calm I stayed during all of the ordeal and how well I handled it. He said he wasn't surprised because I am always calm. I said but I have never had to deal with thinking my child might be dead. #1 said, "When was that?" He has no idea of the gravity of the situation. He just thinks he fell off his bike and we are all overreacting. He is getting fed up with having to stay slow and calm. Resting is not at the top of his to-do list. Continue to pray that he will understand the necessity of being careful for a while. Thanks.

Second Night

#1 stayed awake about 3 hours in the afternoon and about 5 or 6 in the evening. I kept him up until nearly midnight and then gave him his meds so that he might sleep through the night. It seemed to work. He slept until his dad called at 7:30, I gave him more pain medicine and then he went right back to sleep. Sleep is a good thing for healing his brain. He can't read or watch tv or the computer. Sleeping lets his brain heal instead of stimulating it. #2 slept on the couch upstairs last night. I think it might have been too scary for him to be alone in his room. It would have been farther away from us. This has been hard on him, because without Hubby here to help I have given all of my attention to #1. #2 doesn't have a problem with that and completely understands, but I think he could use some more comfort than I have been able to supply. Thanks for the prayers and well wishes. For myself, it is best to keep busy. Every time I slow down I picture my baby on the road convulsing and get scared again. God has protected and healed so wonderfully, but it is still scary stuff.

Update

Homemade Chicken Soup is on the stove waiting for my boy to wake up and eat. He kept down applesauce and ginger ale this afternoon, as well as a few oyster crackers. He spoke with his dad on the phone and asked him to come home early if he can. Hubby will be back tomorrow night instead of Thursday. We head to the doc on Weds to make sure he is progressing well. Thank you everyone for your prayers and thoughts. His progress so far has been superb. Keep praying!

Please Pray

#1 was riding his bike last evening when he fell and hit his head. He was taken to the hospital after seizing and losing consciousness. He has a fractured skull and concussion. I am back home with him, and my friend, a nurse, is with us. Hubby is in WV at a conference, and #2 is at a friend's house staying for the night. There is no bleeding in the brain. He has been talking coherently and remembers a lot that he didn't just a few hours ago. Please pray that he will completely heal and that the pain will be manageable. Thank you.

Heading Out of Town

After Hubby read my last entry he told me this little tidbit. They were having dinner at Arby's on the last Guys' Night Out. #2 had ordered cheese sticks and was pulling them apart really far. A man walked by and said, "Very cheesy." After the guy was out of earshot, #1 said, "So was that joke." I leave this morning to go to Raleigh. I am helping to judge 4H Project Records this weekend. I did it last year for the first time and it definitely helped me to guide the boys this past year. My own two sons have 4 books to be judged at this level: Videography, Electricity, Plant Science, and 4H Discovery. I hope they do better this year now that I have more knowledge of what is expected. I am travelling with a friend to Raleigh and we are going a little early so that we can go to a used bookstore for home school curriculum. I am already starting to think about next year and what we should be doing. Crazy, I know. I did compute #1's Science grade yesterday for the 7th grade and he got a B: 81%. This is the first time that I have kept grades on either of the boys; in high school you have to keep grades for a transcript. He was happy with the grade; he hates science. His mother thought he could have done better, but she kept her mouth shut and congratulated him. Small steps. School will be out in about 3 weeks. WooHoo!!

Witty

"It would be neat to be a coin collector," said #2. "Yeah," answered #1. "I found it! The rare and elusive Wisconsin Quarter! It's made of cheese!!" These little witty remarks have been coming frequently in the last few weeks. Last week #2 was telling us about Archimedes running naked from the tub when he discovered how to measure volume. He ran through the town yelling Eureka. After the story, #1 replied, "Yeah. I would be running too saying 'You reek-a!' When is the last time you showered?!" We replaced the battery and the lawn is now mowed. It is amazing how much better a yard looks when it is freshly mown. AND the newspaper confirmed what I believed. This is a really bad year for pollen. In fact, it is the worst since they started keeping air quality statistics! We should get rain tonight and that will help. Right now the wind is blowing little bits of pollen everywhere. That shower felt good! By the way, I managed to complete my quiz last night. 100!!!

Providence or Procrastination?

I don't know how it happens, but it does every time. I start to think that I am making progress in achieving my goals, and then BUMP! Something is in the road. This week it was goats that were in the road, literally. Hubby, with a little help from me, put up fence on Monday afternoon. The fence was already 4 feet tall, but Sam could bound it in one leap, and had taken to doing so frequently. The baby goats were always squeezing out the bottom and running willy-nilly where they pleased. So we strung barbed wire across the top of the fence, making it about 5 feet tall, and strung around the bottom of the fence to deter squeezers. It was all for naught. Sam can actually jump 5 feet from a standing position! The babies still found a few areas that were loose enough to push through, although they cried every time they did it because the barbs would get them. Now the babies seem to be inside (knock on wood) and Sam is safely ensconced in the dog kennel with the gate tied shut. Whew! What a mess. Now today's bump? I was planning to mow the yard, but it seems I have to replace the lawn mower's battery. I have decided to put it off for a while and study for my quiz. I will be out of town Friday and Saturday, and with 5 kids all day tomorrow the quiz needs to be accomplished today. This may be a BUMP of Providence.

Dissection

I went unnoticed as I filed papers in my bedroom when #2 and #3 ran inside. "Guys! We found a green grass snake! Come see!!" I thought this was not harmful and continued with my filing. "It's dead! I want to dissect it. Maybe I can make ear rings out of one of its bones!" That was #2, as if you didn't know. I kept on filing since #3 was saying he didn't think dissecting was a good idea. I can imagine the stories at their dinner table tonight.

Easter and Jumping Fences

This was the first Easter since having children that I didn't take pictures. The boys did color eggs, and I got a few pictures of that, but the early morning basket and egg find didn't happen. I guess they are growing up. We had to make #1 get up, and he kept trying to trick me into saying that I did it, not the Easter Bunny. #2 is still trying hard to believe, so I didn't make any comments. The pollen here has been horrific. Everywhere we have lived has presented new problems. Here it is the springtime yellow cloud of pine tree pollen. It looks like a West Texas sand storm brewing. You can actually drive through fogs of pollen if you are near pine trees. I am NOT hanging out clothes in that! We will be putting up some barbed wire in the next day or so. Sam is continually getting out. I let him out last evening so he could graze a bit and not end up with a stomach ache. Instead of grazing in the field with his girls, he jumped the fence. It seems that I should never have let him know what was on the other side of that fence. I have been thinking about that in a parental sort of fashion. I don't want my boys to "jump the fence" and try out all of the sinful things on the other side, but how do I not overprotect them and just plain hide what is on the other side? Still working on that. I have my extra boys all day today. They are on spring break. My boys don't get spring break since we finish school on April 29. They aren't working too hard though. Except for Math and a little Grammar for #1 we are done. We are spending this month working on projects and practicing his speech for the State Competition.

NC History Day

I heard about something last fall called National History Day. It is a competition in which kids can make an exhibit, perform a skit, make a documentary or website, or write a paper about something historical based on a theme. I thought it would be a good experience for the boys, but I was not prepared for how elaborate the competition would be. We definitely did not compete, but at least we have a better idea about next year. The theme this year is Innovation Through History. #1 studied about war a lot in history this year, so he chose to make an exhibit about innovations that have resulted from war. The title of his exhibit was "War: What Is It Good For?" He came up with three areas: Medical Advancements, Mechanical Advancements, and Political Advancements. I was pleased with his thought processes. He came up with things like: penicillin, better surgical methods, submarines for underwater study, the UN, and the Red Cross. Even our country and the idea of Democracy were the result of war. As I said, we didn't compare to other booths, but he will use this information for 4H presentations in a couple of months, so it wasn't all a wasted effort. Not that learning and telling others what you have learned is ever a wasted effort.

#2 studied a lot of different topics in History this year, so his was a little harder to match the theme. Earlier last year, though, I thought about the phone at Grandma's house and how much phones have changed. One of my uncles still had his first mobile phone, as well as many other phones from days gone by, and he loaned them to us. So #2 did a "Timeline of the Telephone." It was not original; there were at least two other phone exhibits, but his was the only one with such great props! He will also use this as a presentation for 4H.

Notice his new glasses. Yes, we are on pair #6 since the middle of August! I bought them at a local store this time and purchased the year long warranty. I never buy those things, but I decided it might be wise this time.

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Tomorrow is another History Day. It is the annual "History Expo" that the home school group does. We have participated every year. This year both boys will display their work from yesterday's competition, as well as participate in a booth on Africa. Our Geography club studied Africa this year, and we thought this would be a good place to display our work. It is more of a "Social Sciences Fair" than just History.

Spring...or Summer?

Summer is on its way. Spring is definitely here. The goats are going crazy. I made the mistake of letting them out now and then to feed on the new grass. Now they stand at the gate and try to slip out whenever I open it. The babies can get out under the fence and are always foraging. Now Sam has figured out he can jump over the fence with one big bound. That goat makes me insane! I put him in the kennel, and he has managed to get out of that. I just a few minutes ago tried putting him in another pen. We will see how that goes. I am about ready to put up barbed wire to keep everyone where they belong!

I had 18 chicks hatch in this last batch. That is 18 out of 18! Pretty good fertility statistics, if I do say so myself! I ended up with 9 male and 9 female. My dad was here visiting and he wanted some, so now I have only 9 male. I guess I will get some butchering practice in a few months. I have the next batch of 24 in the incubator now. They will be here on April 19th. I think that will be it for a while, but who knows.

My parents came down to watch the play over the weekend. There was nice weather, though nothing as hot as what we are having now. My dad and #1 took a bike ride. My mom did too, but I didn't get a picture of that. Too bad. It was funny to see her short self try to get off my tall bike! It was a nice visit with them. We worked, played, and visited...always good.

Scheherazade

This was the latest play here in Actor World. It was last weekend, and it wore me out so much I am only now getting pictures up! #1 was in both the first and second acts, so that meant the two weeks before the play we were there EVERY night! I had hoped he would get a small part (and he did) so we wouldn't have to be there so often. I guess if your part is in both acts, it doesn't matter how big the part is.

A lot of time is spent waiting backstage. Above, the kids are waiting for one of their scenes, or maybe it was for the curtain call. Below, they are waiting for their scenes to come up. Some kids read, most talk or play games. There was some weird card game going on called Peanutbutter and Jelly. I never knew what that was about.

#1 played the part of Captain Hussain. He was the Captain of the Guard and took all of the women to the king on their wedding. He was supposed to be a hot item for the girls of the harem. He did appear to be rather popular with some in real life. His mother was a bit disturbed by this! I help with stage make-up for the plays, so I see a lot of what goes on backstage. I need to have a lesson on how to hug a girl from the SIDE, not the front.

Below are two friends. The first on the left is a 4H friend who takes care of our animals when we go places. She is a sweetheart that we don't see enough of. This was her first play. The girl in the middle is a theater friend and also a sweetheart. We ran into her yesterday at the History Day at the university. I mentioned later in the van what a nice a girl she is..."Yeah, but she sure talks a lot." I managed not to laugh out loud. He isn't used to girls, I guess. Of course this is the boy that wanted cows when he was younger so he could talk and they could listen. Maybe this girl just didn't let HIM talk enough!

Notice how tall he is next to them. He is a few months older than them. I thought Middle School girls were supposed to be taller than boys. He grew a couple of inches during the two months of play practice, and his costume had to be refitted.

The play went well and I think he had a good time. This was the first time that he chose to go to the cast and crew party afterward. He also went to the party at McAlister's Deli the first night of the play. He asked that his family not attend. We dropped him off at 9:25 and he called at 10:50 to come get him. The bad part was that he waited until everyone else was gone before he called us! He was waiting outside with another parent; the waiters had locked them out.