Fever and Spring Fever

Believe it or not, we had another tough round of sickness since my last post! Both kids ended up with RSV a few days before I was supposed to take a quick girls trip to Las Vegas. Landry regressed on her eating and weight gain when she got sick, and then improved over the next few weeks. Then, she regressed again when Heath left for his yearly NASCAR trip to Vegas. She missed him, noticed him not being at the dinner table with us, and went back on her weight gain again. (She had been up 1 pound 2 ounces since we started therapy... and up 2 pounds total counting the weight she had gained back after RSV.) Once we got Daddy back home and things were back to normal, her allergies flared up, and the drainage caused another double ear infection, and she regressed again. It's a roller coaster for all of us, and we are praying she stays well after this sick season. The awesome therapist we're working with will only be at this facility for 2 more months, and so if Landry doesn't improve by then, we will have to make the transition to a new therapist. The goal by the end of therapy is for her to hold her weight gain and double her food choices - consistently eating one meat choice. She had added 2 new foods before regressing. She needs to add 8 new foods without dropping any. Not improving in 2 months will prolong her therapy because rapport will have to be built between Landry and her new therapist all over again. So, prayers for her, please!

On to a different note, we are gearing up for a new crop year, and I'm cautiously getting excited about it. When we have sand storms like we did a few days ago, it makes me a little less hopeful, but after the foot of snow we had at Olton, things started looking up! I'm still thankful for that moisture. Sometimes I think about what life might be like with a husband with an 8-5 salary job, and how easy it must be to budget and schedule things. I'm pretty type A. Type As don't fit farming life very good. Ha! That's why Heath's the farmer, and I'm the farmer's wife. But the benefits far outweigh those job vs. personality conflicts. Just so I don't sound regretful, I'll explain what I love about the farming life.
- I love the sovereignty of the Lord being right in your face some days, and how it pulls faithfulness and thankfulness out of us from our core. Heath has said, "May through August makes a praying man out of me." It's true for the whole family!
- I love how Luke can get his work gear on and feel 10 feet tall walking out the door to go to work with his Daddy on just about any given day. I even feel pretty special getting to go nowadays!
- I think it makes a family/marriage even more of a team because we see the good, bad, and ugly together.
- Heath doesn't have to take a "personal day" to spend the afternoon with me in Lubbock, helping with the kids at doctors appointments, therapy, etc. Sure, there are times when he simply is too busy, but for the most part, he is there when I need him.

Now I'm just gonna brag/whine about how big my kids are! Luke has a heart of gold just like Heath. Daily, he gives me "I love you more thans...". It started out as a sweet thing we'd do - "I love you more than all the stars in the sky." His response, "I love you more than the moon." Now, it's totally turned into boy stuff. He'll say, "I love you more than little einstein's dirty rocket.", or, "I love you more than alllllll the dirty clouds." haha - I never know what he's gonna say! Keeps me on my toes. He asked me to hold him today - "I wanna hold you." And I just thought... He'll say that the right way someday soon. Boo. :( And even more, he'll not want me to hold him! His feet already hit my knees when I'm holding him. -- One not so cute thing he's started doing: Lying. Double boo. :( He'll blame Landry when he is the guilty one. I've started giving him the chance to tell the truth before he lies, and then giving a harsher punishment for lying. He's catching on. It's just heartbreaking to see evil making its way into his heart. I want it to be pure and innocent for forever... mainly because I don't want him to struggle with sin. It's part of life, and it's my job to correct him and show him Truth, but it's a really tough imaginary picture for the angel and the devil on the shoulders on my own child. -- Anyway, Luke is very helpful in entertaining Landry so I can shower or do dishes. He likes jumping on the trampoline, riding his gator, and working on things. He loves spending time with grandparents, and he STILL comes to our bed at about 3 in the morning.

Landry might not be "growing", but she's gaining ground in other areas! She is talking better... She says lots of words now like "tay-too" for "thank you", "sigh" for "outside", "joju" for "hold you". She says most names of friends and family (her own version, of course), and knows most of her body parts. She loves playing with her babies, being outside, and helping me around the house. She's still a great sleeper. And it's crazy to me how motherly little girls are at 18 months! When Luke was 18 months, he could care less if there was a baby in the room. Landry will spot a baby across the room and fight to get to it. When we see little Karcyn Kauffman, she just zones in and gets all mommy-fied. Landry also loves bath time and going with grandparents, too. 

We got lots of use out of our nebulizer for a few weeks!

Heath got him and Luke matching hats in Vegas. Luke wanted me to wear Heath's hat.

We had a beautiful day in the middle of March, and the kids got some sun going to the park and playing outside in the dirt.

Only in West Texas can we have a blizzard, an 85 degree day, and a sand storm in one month.

Landry got a play kitchen to help with her therapy. She loves any excuse to have her picture taken, too.

 

 We started following the Whitharral girls are the regional tournament. They went to state and won!

Jordan and Norah came to the championship game in Austin. Norah was sleeping sweetly on Jordan's shoulder, and by the time I pulled my phone out of my purse for a picture, she had opened her eyes and stuck her finger in her nose. Ha!

Luke loves Batman, and so Landry does too. She insisted on wearing a batman shirt like Bubba's the other day, and when I took her to the doctor, someone told us, "We've seen lots of girls with pink on today. She's our first one with batman." Haha :)

Jaxon turned 4 and had a superhero birthday party. The kids had fun! 

Sweet Londyn turned 2! We will get a good picture of these two one of these days! The grandkids on the Gresham side are now 1, 2, and 3.... Not the ideal ages for picture taking!

I have met my match on ice cream loving. :) Even when Heath isn't up for it, I can always count on having an ice cream eating partner. 

Baby Karcyn! We need our friends to stay young and keep having kids so we can get our occasional baby fix without having to have another one of our own!