Renaissance 2008!

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Here are some pictures from our yearly visit to the Renaissance. The boys of course had their Knight costumes on and this year they picked out the axes for their new weapon of choice. It was truly a beautiful day for us and it would have been even better if I didn't have the flu! I was having bad fevers while we were there but I tried really really hard to keep a good attitude and not complain. Because it was so windy though, it made the flu much worse so the next morning I had to go to the hospital. Other than that, I wish circumstances had been better because there was just so many fun things to do! :) Ivy didn't care to see the joust though so that's the picture you see of her by herself below. I was following her around while the boys were watching the event. We really love visiting each year and playing in the events. Next year will be much better though, I'm sure, and everyone will be healthy! :D

Happy Easter!

Note: You can click on pictures for a larger version to see them better.

I hope you all had an awesome Easter! Charles and I were a little caught off guard because I miscalculated and thought Easter was the next weekend! So we ran off literally the night before and tried to find some Easter stuff. I think because we had been sick for two weeks with the flu, we were kind of out of it with all the dates and stuff. Ha ha! Anyway, so we rushed off and of course couldn't find any good Easter baskets at 10pm at night. Soooo, we decided to make them. This time though, we wanted to be practical. We thought, "what do they really need, but would also love"? Right then we walked past a bunch of kid's beach towels. We got them each their favorite characters. Had to run to different store to find chocolate bunnies and candy, and we were set. They LOVED it! They absolutely love to swim at The Lakes in the heated pool where my mom lives, so they are excited to use them. Since they are starting swimming lessons soon, it's perfect timing. Good for us too, that they loved it, because there were no more good Easter baskets at the stores! Ha!

(Pictures of kids in the morning before church with their Easter baskets, and later at Charles' aunt's house. Pic is of him and his grandma).

Influenza Type B

I disappeared on my blogging because I got so incredibly sick that night after Amazing Jakes. I felt it in my chest that night and it just went downhill from there. In and out of the hospital I found out I had caught the Influenza Type B bug. It was horrible! My husband had gotten us tickets to the Renaissance on a Saturday and I went because I thought maybe I just had real bad cold at first. I had already suffered constant fevers for two days nonstop and it was really foolish for me to go! I didn't want to let anyone down so I went. There, I could hardly breathe and it just got worse and worse. I had to keep sitting down because fevers were making me so shaky. My husband eventually had to put me in a tepid bath late at night to cool me down. I asked him if he would read his bible to me while I lay there so he did. Eventually, while reading about Jesus, he got real bad hiccups. Everytime he said "Jesus", he did a hiccup and would make him sound like he's yelling His name real high pitched! It was so funny. He was tired and grumpy though so he didn't have much patience for my giggling. Finally, he said, "if you laugh one time, I'm out of here." So, sitting in the tepid water (cold to me), I lay shivering trying my hardest not to even smile. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and let out giggle. Charles took off. After he left, I just let all my laughter loose until I was wheezing. I really lost that battle. Eventually, the pain in my chest was so bad I had to go back into the ER. Finally they gave me Vicadin and an inhaler. By the time I drove home, I was crying because I just wanted to be home in my bed and I was gone at the hospital so long waiting for help. I begged Charles to get me my medicine and mercifully, I fell into a deep sleep. I woke up with all my pain gone for the first time in 5 days. I just smiled and fell back deeper into my pillow. It was such a relief. For several days I just slept and slept while, thankfully, my husband cared for me. Thank God he was there for me. Constantly trying to cool me down because fevers came and went for so many days. Finally, on the 8th day, I had no more fevers. Then Charles fell ill and had to sleep right along with me. It was hard! My mom, on the worst days, had my younger two so my older boys were able to care for themselves. Thank goodness! As soon as I could, with my kids now suffering fevers, I went to church. I was so weak I could hardly push the gas petal. I made it though and sat down hard into my seat at church. It took all my energy to get there, but it was good to be in God's house. I've been having to sleep a lot at night and take naps in the day but hopefully my energy needed will come back soon.

The few times I laid awake in my bed while sick, I reflected on my daily tasks I was used to doing. I thought, "How in the world will I ever get back to that? How in the world did I have all that energy to do all that?" I started to get depressed just thinking about. Yesterday, I was feeling so much better but I couldn't do more than just sitting on the couch with a blanket. I longed to see the sunshine and the hills. This morning I cried to God for His strength. I asked Him to help me in such a weak time of my life. I sang songs, read His Word, prayed to Him. I knew now how much I really really needed Him. I know I can't do it without God. I realize how weak I am and how much Greater is He. I tend to rely on my own strengths, my own ingenuity, but God is the giver of Joy, of real peace. Nothing in this world is as fulfilling or as satisfying as serving Him. I hope soon to be back to my normal pace because I am falling really behind in their homeschooling. The doctor said the Influenza Type B is a Respiratory Virus so it really sets you back for awhile and makes you tired a lot...but eventually it'll pass. I hope so! I hope to be back to my high energy days. For now, I'll sit back, relax, and sip some hot tea and watch the sunset. :o)

Amazing Jakes!

I've been wanting to take the boys for awhile to Amazing Jakes so we chose last night, on Family Night, to go. These are some pics from being there. I would of loved to have played also but I was keeping little baby Ashley with me! LOL! What an absolute great place to have a party. There is just so much stuff, it's crazy. The pics show Ivy who loved the train. I asked her if she wanted to ride the teacups with me but she said, "mommy, I too scared!" So she kept going back and forth from the horses to the train. Was so cute. Chaz and Ryan mostly cared about the Lazer Tag and Race Cars. Kyle is in love with Thomas the Tank Engine so he of course constantly rode the train with Ivy. (He even has Thomas underwear, hee hee). Anyhow, for as much as it costs just to go there, I stayed as long as I could!

Battle For Minds In California

"Christian radio station 90.9 reported this morning that a California district court ruled on February 28th that children cannot be homeschooled unless the parent has teaching credentials. They reported that there are 166,000 homeschooled students in California."

I heard about it today on the radio. It is so wicked that they would do this to our children. In California, I know that there were parents who were pulling their kids out of school since homosexuality was being put into all the textbooks. It even more sad now that the government is fighting back by banning homeschool all together. Tom Horne, in our state, said that there is no such proposal here to ban homeschooling. Nevertheless, don't be fooled, it could come soon. They tried to do it in 1991 but thankfully it was shot down. I pray that this won't come into Arizona. Or at least any time soon. Some times when things get passed in a state, other states will follow suit. Whether we decide to have our children in a public, private, charter, or schooled at home, it should be our choice as parents. Regardless of what they say, it is our right.

Zoo Again!

My friend and I have a membership at the Phoenix zoo so we like to visit as often as we can. We never get sick of it.

I know there are no pictures of animals but you already know what an elephant looks like! Haha! Ruby (the elephant) pad is under construction. I did get to pet a stingray and I have to admit... it was absolutely disgusting and I'll never do it again. I know, I know, it must be a girl thing. But I was seriously grossed it. Yuck. Okay, now that the experience is behind me, I won't be visiting that section again.

And more painting...

So I have been painting more and bought some more curtains at IKEA to match the other ones in my dining room. There is cute little Ivy playing on her brother's laptop. You can't have a pic without at least one kid in it! LOL. I will show more pics when bathroom is done. :0)