Talent Show

Middle school talent show was a success. I can't quickly figure out how to get the video of Brit's performance from my phone to my computer so hopefully I can figure it out tomorrow inbetween the baby's doctor's appointment in Brookings and Zeke's doctor's appointment in Sioux Falls.
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Riley Says

This was one of Riley's comments at breakfast this morning.
"When I grow up I want to be a Native American so I can hunt and live off the land!"
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Monday's Over, Now on to Tuesday :)

Monday's seem to get a bit hectic, especially when Steve's gone for the week like he is again this week. Between visits for the baby, picking up kids, Zeke's therapy and Riley's piano lessons, I feel like I run my own bussing service. Zeke had the opportunity to participate in an activity after School on Monday's. It's called Athletes Inspired and they concentrate on overall wellness. They do activities, crafts and other things revolving around eating well, keeping physically active and keeping your body healthy. Last night was Zeke's first night and he loved it! To enable him to participate, I've moved his physical therapy at the hospital to Tuesday afternoons.
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Zeke is now officially signed up for Special Olympics! I still have to take him in for a physical and get his doctor to sign off on the paperwork but it looks like he'll be able to participate. We went to our first meeting/potluck on Thursday and got to meet a lot of other families of athletes. I'll post when/where his meets are so anyone interested can attend. The spring sports he'll be participating in are swimming, soccer and track & field. Hopefully the weather starts to cooperate soon :)
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Brittney went out for Track this year. She thinks it'll help keep her in shape in the off-season for gymnastics. As of now, she'll be competing in the 100m, 200m and the pole vault. I'll try to post her meets ahead of time too. They start practice on Thursday.
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Brittney and a few of her friends were chosen to perform at the middle school talent show on Thursday night. They'll be doing a tumbling routine.
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The new refrigerator and freezer will be delivered today!
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Psalm 65:1-13

"What mighty praise, O God, belongs to you in Zion.
We will fulfill our vows to you, for you answer our prayers.
All of us must come to you. Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, you forgive them all.
What joy for those you choose to bring near, those who live in your holy courts.
What festivities await us inside your holy Temple.
You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our savior.
You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those who sail on distant seas.
You formed the mountains by your power and armed yourself with mighty strength.
You quieted the raging oceans with their pounding waves and silenced the shouting of the nations.
Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders.
From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy.
You take care of the earth and water it, making it rich and fertile.
The river of God has plenty of water; it provides a bountiful harvest of grain, for you have ordered it so.
You drench the plowed ground with rain, melting the clods and leveling the ridges.
You soften the earth with showers and bless its abundant crops.
You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture, and the hillsides blossom with joy.
The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain.
They all shout and sing for joy!"
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Refrigerator

Steve and I have been looking for a new refrigerator for quite a while now. I think the compressor is going out on our old one. Every hour or so it makes a loud rumbling and clunking sound. You can hear it anywhere in the house. I thought it had only been going on for a few months but my friend tells me it's been almost a year. It really isn't worth it to try to fix it anymore. Since we got our tax return in Febuary, I've been seriously looking for a new one. But I am definitely not impulsive and I don't do payments. So I finally found the one I wanted for a price I could live with. It's being installed on Tuesday afternoon.  :) Happy early birthday to me!
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It is good to be told you are loved.
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Recent Stuff

Zeke had another clinic appointment yesterday to check on the infection on his knee. The results of the culture were in. He had both a strep infection and a staph infection. Even though it's healing and looks much better after being on the medication for 10 days, because it's still not completely healed, the doctor prescribed another 10 days on another medication. We also don't have to put the cream and re-bandage the area three times a day. Of course, the first evening without a bandage, Zeke picked at the sore and made it bleed again. Mom was not happy!
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Because of the timing, I had to take all three boys to the clinic for Zeke's appointment. Then about halfway through, the DSS worker brought the baby back. The kids all behaved very well. So well, in fact, that the doctor commented on how well behaved they were! I can't even tell you how happy that made me. Perhaps I am making a bit of difference and they're leaning and growing up. A few years ago, I would have been scared, with good reason, to take 4 children to a clinic visit. They would have been running around, yelling, hitting each other and just generally looking like kids without good parental supervision. No matter how much I pretended not to, I still felt judged on my parenting skills when we were out in public. Sometimes I wanted to wear a shirt that said, "It's not my fault, I just got them!" Unfortunately, even that would have only been good for a few months! Anyway, the nurse at the clinic gave all three boys a gift certificate for a free icecream cone so we drove through Dairy Queen on the way home to celebrate everyones good behavior at the clinic. Even the baby got a cone!
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Steve's out of town for work again. He left Monday morning. I tried to find out when he would be back but he was very vague. So I guess he'll be home sometime between Wednesday evening and Friday evening.
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I'm very excited that my brother Jeremy's wife is home safely after months in Korea! They're already on the move again and will be relocating to Florida. Happy Home Coming Stacey!
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