Easter, Blurry Week & the News

Sunday, April 8, was Easter. Sadly, Heath had to work in the morning if he was going to have time to spend with us in the afternoon. So I took all the cupcakes and both the kids, and we headed to the church. We got there in plenty of time to drop off the treats where they were supposed to be and get everybody to their classes. Easter service was wonderful, and for the second service, I was helping in Julie's class. Their Easter worship service was a lot of fun too, and it was clear that the bunny cupcakes were a huge hit!

We came home and had a bit of lunch before the four of us took off for an Easter egg hunt. We went to a school park in Manitou Springs that was absolutely deserted. (Seemed like every park we passed was swarmed with people.) I stayed with the kids in the car while Heath went and hid all the eggs, then they were unleashed, armed with collection bags.






After all the eggs were found, they showed us everything they got. It made me exceedingly happy to see Heath really enjoying time with the kids. With all the tasks he has to do for work, those times seem very rare indeed.




Since Heath's biopsy from the week before, we were reminded a few times a day of what we might be going through as I helped change the bandages and clean the wound to keep it from scarring. We talked a lot while I was tending to him. My eyes have been opened to so much during these times--through fear of loss, through realizations of my deep unconditional love for Heath, and through God's clear direction about my place in this man's life.

Monday, April 9, we started the first work week with a single car. Julie made it to the bus stop, and we drove Everest to school. Then I took Heath by Starbucks (some students gave him a substantial gift card!), then to work. It was actually unexpectedly wonderful because we got to have about 15-20 minutes together in the morning--again, attention undivided. We talked about what we had to do that day for work or kids, what the dinner plans were, when I needed to pick him up, etc. It was incredibly valuable to have that connection time first thing in the morning. I treasured it so much during that week.

Everest and I had lunch at my mom's again that afternoon. Always a fun time. :o)



After school, we had Julie's friend M over for a homework playdate. She ended up coming with us when we had to go get Heath at work, which was fine. The girls actually got their homework done too--even if it took them the whole time and they only played together for about 10 minutes. Oh well. At least we knew it would work and could plan on trying it again.



The rest of the week is rather a busy blur. I enjoyed having all the extra time with Heath, forced upon us due to the single car. We did a good job of cooking meals at home (I even made homemade peanut butter) and spending quality time together as a family. The kids were much better than they had been in awhile. I think they somehow sensed that Heath and I were uneasy and off before, but things were starting to look up. Still, we had a lot of waiting going on until the very end of the week when Heath heard back from the dermatologist.






We got the results back: NOT CANCER. Hallelujah! The spot was merely an irregular mole, but the doc advised that we keep an eye out for strange spots like that. We will definitely be doing that! Also, Heath is going to take extra precautions about protection from the sun when we goes hiking and rock climbing outdoors.

God has taught us so much through this and brought our family together.

I pray that we will hold onto these lessons and continue on with what we have learned about ourselves and each other and the way we do things individually and as a family.

God's Most Efficient Way of Teaching Us

Well, being caught up didn't last long, did it? Shortly before I did get caught up, we were faced with a situation that I wasn't sure I wanted to publicize until I knew the scope of what was going on. I'm still processing it a bit, and considering what God has taught us through this trial.

You see, the week that I took Everest to the doctor, Heath also went to the doctor. He had a strange spot on his forehead that looks suspicious, so he went to get it checked out. The P.A. on duty examined him and said that it looked...well, just to be blunt: cancerous. Skin cancer runs in Heath's family, so this was not a totally impossible fact. Also taking into account the amount of time he spends in the sun and at higher elevations, it seemed very probable indeed.

He was referred to a specialist, but his appointment wasn't until the next week. We spent the rest of that week waiting and wondering and wrestling with questions we had never had to consider before. It was an eye-opening time. Heath and I talked, and while we weren't sure what God was doing, we were sure that He must be doing something. I was interested to see what He was teaching us, though not exuberantly so. Who truly can love suffering after all? Even if we are to find joy in it. But still, I had a silent but stirring calm about it--that it would all work out the way it should and that we would be stronger because of it.

Heath's appointment came on the next Monday. The dermatologist actually said that the thing on his forehead was nothing to be worried about--not cancerous or ever would be. It was, however, something that would get uglier if not removed, so he froze it like you would for a wart. But then Heath asked them to do a whole body check for anything weird. Well, they found something weird. On his back, there was a 7mm mark of some kind that the doc couldn't identify right away. They did a biopsy and then more waiting came.

That catches you up to where my blog left off. I shall try to reveal the rest of the story through the following posts for the next few weeks.

Wednesday, April 4, Everest and I went to my mom's for lunch after school. She is now making kids meals, so the kids can have mac n' cheese while the grown-ups enjoy their Thai food. Everest sure appreciated it!



I took a couple pictures retroactively that day. Our new screen door and the dinner post-it notes that the kids can choose from each day.




Thursday, April 5, I was feeling overwhelmed and exhausted from work and life. Heath was going to be gone all day, teaching a CPR class up north. It was unlikely he was going to make it back that night because class ended at 10:30 p.m. We figured he would probably spend the night in a hotel. I had a meeting in the morning, plus work to do at home and juggling Everest after picking him up. I mostly burned dinner that evening, though the honey carrots looked delicious when they started out. :oP The kids were fine with it though; we had some alternatives.



Around 5:00, I got a message from Heath: "Jeep's engine is dead." At this point, I actually had to laugh. It was getting rather humorous, this whole thing God was doing. With all of these things to go "wrong," surely this meant that God was teaching us something really good! I arranged to have my mom come be with the kids (while they slept) that night so I could go pick up Heath. After all, if we had car repairs coming up, a tank of gas was much cheaper than a hotel room. I put on my Sherlock Holmes audiobook and drove up to Denver to get Heath.



On the way back, something amazing happened: Heath and I had 1.5 hours completely to ourselves. That hasn't happened in months, if not years. We had each other's undivided attention, and we talked the whole time about everything. It was an incredible breakthrough moment for us.

Friday, April 6, I was basically a hermit and stayed at home with Everest all day. Heath took our only car and went to get a bunch of work done. I didn't even meet with Puella and Legolas because I needed to do some prep work before my newest writers group started the next day.

Saturday, April 7, my newest middle school Inkaholics group began. I have four teens in this one, all repeat participants. The characters we came up with are in line with the usual insanity that comes with these middle schoolers. It's going to be awesomely fun! It was great to be back with the kids and writing again. I didn't realize how much I missed them until we were sitting there, laughing together.




That night, I made a bunch of cupcakes to take to the elementary classes for Easter at church. (I was one of many parents who volunteered to do this.) The recipe and supplies were given, and we were to make the cupcakes and bring them in on Sunday morning. It was a nice time actually because the kids were in bed and Heath was working at the kitchen table. We chatted a bit while I worked, otherwise, I listened to my Sherlock Holmes audiobook while decorating bunnies.

Day at the Museum

Sunday, the kids and I drove up to Denver to meet Mike and Kate and their little ones at the museum, an outing we had been trying to nail down for weeks. The museum was a convenient place to get together because it's roughly halfway between us. My kids had a ball with their cousins--of course, Nikko is just a wee one, but still... How lovely it was to meet him for the first time!

We started out by visiting at the park behind the museum for a bit. Mike and Kate were finishing up a picnic lunch, so we went ahead and joined them in having a snack.




Space Odyssey was the first stop (after the bathroom). Amazingly, some of the shuttle controllers were open for play. That rarely happens when we go in there.




We continued on to see the Snakes & Lizards exhibit (again!), which was way cool. Much less crowded than last time. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed inside, so I have no pictures. Next stop was the dinosaur exhibit.





Everybody else made their way to Expedition Health after the dinos, but Everest and I took a short detour for a snack and a break. He was getting pretty frustrated and tired. Julie and Tessa were practically attached to each other, he couldn't play with Nikko or Kate, and his mother and uncle were trying to keep an eye on everybody. Taking a 15-minute break was really good for him though. He calmed down a lot, and the snack helped, as well as the individual attention I could give him.




Everest took that picture of me. He was very intentional about including the deer. :o) We joined everybody else at Expedition Health after that. Such a fun exhibit! There are lots of things to do, try out, and learn there. Very neat.







Nikko went between states of being underwhelmed (sleeping) and curiously interested in who was presently kissing or hugging him. :o)





After the museum, we got dinner at Toyko Joe's. Mike and Kate had never been there, and I think they liked it. It can get a little pricey, but the food is definitely worth it. We were all pretty exhausted at the point, but it was nice to slow down and have something yummy.







We made it home in record time--barely over an hour. Heath had cleaned the entire house while we were gone, did all the laundry, and even did some spring cleaning of the outside closet and patio areas. Sometimes you just have to do that. I was everso grateful to come home to a bleachy-smelling house. (Yes, I love the smell of bleach because it means things are CLEAN.)

I spent the rest of the evening folding all the laundry and doing some writing/editing. It was a good way to end the crazy busy weekend.

Playdate with Buddies

Saturday was a beautiful, warm, breezy day. We got up too late to make it to the gym, but the kids and I did manage to do some yoga together using a video from the library that we got for Julie. They really liked it--even Everest. Of course, flexible Julie could do all the moves. The stretches were great for me.




For lunch, we met up with Joy and her family at Chipotle. The kids always love getting together. I was hoping we could have made it up to their house over spring break, but it didn't work out. At least we got to see them at all! After lunch, we hit the park.






Big sisters pushing their little brothers on the swings.


Mom and daughters pictures. XD


They had to take off after the park, which was kind of sad. Our visits are never long enough. But I am thankful for the time we had together. I took the kids home to rest for a little bit, then we were off to Lowe's to get a new screen door. It's been literally years since we have had a screen door in the patio. I love wandering around a store like Lowe's. The smell of cut wood, all the shiny nuts and bolts and appliances... The kids had fun pretending they were trapped inside the model showers.



Thinking back, I realized that a few weeks before the 2007 CleanPlace Moot, I got fed up with the awful state of our screen door. It had been scratched up by the cats, run into by kids, and generally bent out of shape. I just ripped it off its tracks and put it out with the trash, unwilling to give such a bad impression to the teens and moms who only knew me online, who I would be meeting for the first time ever. Anyway, it's been ages now, and it is lovely having a screen door again! (Picture to come later.)

I took the kids to the Arc for a surprise since they were relatively patient through the whole screen door saga. (Which was unpleasant enough that I am attempting to blot it from my memory.) The store has a 50% off sale every Saturday, so it's one of the best days to go. The kids always have fun sifting through everything. I found a boxed set of all the Lord of the Rings books (including The Hobbit) for only $3.50. Now I can actually make an attempt at reading them.





We had dinner next door at Subway, always a healthy favorite for the kids. By time we got home, Heath was back from teaching a class up north all day. He helped get the kids in bed, and the rest of the evening is rather a blur to be honest. What a crazy busy week it was!