August 2017 Pt 1

We got a tiny bit of rain the first night in August. We'd been praying and praying for rain, so it was very welcome.

The older boys finished up their swimming lessons. Caleb passed level 4 and Ty passed level 2. Brettley wasn't able to do more than 2 classes since his croup was so bad. Caleb has asked to do 2 levels of swimming next year, which I'm totally fine with.

I finished up the last bit of school supply shopping I had to do for the kids. We also bought 2 huge Moses Lake watermelons, which were delicious.

John's mom left for her 10 days in the MTC before she heads to her mission at the end of this week. I got to be her companion for her last evening here after she was set apart.

We started harvesting the garden. I ended up with 16 pints of green beans. I snapped them all and my brother-in-law canned them for me. We are starting on the corn tomorrow.

My niece and I took the boys to the corn maze last week. We had fun and got to see and pet some animals. Ty especially loved the pigs. Brettley really loved the very tall slide that they had there.

We got the best news ever last week. John was approved to work remotely for his company from the Lethbridge office. He got here late on Friday night. It was a very happy day in our house. We are so happy to have him here with us and to be a complete family again. I have learned to not take the little things for granted. The things I ended up missing the most were getting to grocery shop together, getting to have a hug in the evening after a tough day and having John joke around and tease us. We feel very blessed to all be together again.

July 2017

On Canada Day we headed back up north. The boys went to stay with my mum and step-dad for the week and I went to E-town for a visit. That next Tuesday I went to see the Queen + Adam Lambert concert with my friend. It was an amazing experience and I'm so glad that I went. I also got through the entire evening without a single anxiety issue, which completely amazed me. I spent the next few days after that visiting with my best friend and her family, before we all headed back home.

My niece has been staying with me for the summer to help out with the kids, which has been the hugest blessing. John is still working up in Edmonton for now, which has been very difficult.

I switched my cell number to a local one so that the kids can call me from the house phone if they need to. We spent a lot of time in the irrigation sprinklers before they asked us to start restricting our use. It's been extremely hot and we've only had a dribble of rain 1 night in the past month.

Caleb started seeing a doctor here and we are going to start dealing with the anxiety itself, which will be a huge help to him. He's also being referred to a child psychiatrist, which will be good. I got the go ahead to get my Pertussis shot, which was a huge relief. I ended up with 2 needles that day, since apparently my MMR wasn't up to date.

Ty and I slept out on the deck one evening. Well, I made it until 3:30. He made it the whole night.

John came home for a week and we got to be with him for town celebrations and his birthday. The kids loved the parade, but they loved the fireworks the most. I managed to sprain my ankle after church, so I was barely moving for several days. I felt so bad for being injured during John's week here. However, on the Wednesday we finally were able to go in to Lethbridge to visit a few stores together and have supper at Firestone (yum!). Brettley ended up with croup and is just now getting over it.

The other two boys were doing swimming lessons last week and this week. Tomorrow is their last day.

John took the bus back to Edmonton so that my niece and I have the van to use for this month. And that pretty much sums up July.