My word, it's been a LONG time!

I just checked to see when the last time was that I posted. Yep, been a long time since a "real" post. I keep putting it off because I have so many pictures to upload and blog about, and I just haven't had the time. So, in case you were holding your breath in breathless anticipation, longing for me to post some real news, here are the highlights of this last month and a half(!!!). (Oh, and this is definitely in random order, because it feels like a year, rather than less than two months).

• Carli lost two teeth! We actually had to pull them because the teeth coming in were about as tall as the baby teeth. So we didn't get the cute little gap-toothed smile out of her. We're hoping for that with the top teeth.
• Olivia is talking more and more and making us laugh a lot in the process. She's a manipulator, too--she can turn on the charm like nobody's business.
• Carli graduated from Kindergarten at the end of May. I was very pleased with her report card. I am so happy to have her home with us now. I think she's enjoying sleeping in (today it was 10!).
• Olivia has already had a goose-egg-sized bite on her forehead and another bite that caused her eye to swell clear shut. Every year, I debate about taking her to the walk-in clinic, because they just tell me that it is indeed a bug bite and to give her Benadryl. This year was no different. I guess she must have her Granddaddy's sensitivities to things like that. Anyone that can remember his lip swelling understands what I'm talking about!
• Madeline was in the hospital for tests on June 1, scheduled, which is so much nicer than "ending up in the hospital." She had a bronchoscopy and lavage, esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), and an impedance probe placed to monitor her reflux. This probe was to determine whether or not Maddy will need a Nissen procedure done when she has her g-tube placed. As you may remember, Maddy has dsyphagia, or difficulty swallowing. She currently has a nasogastric tube for feeding because almost everything she was drinking, no matter how thick or how fast, was being aspirated into her lungs. The Nissen procedure would wrap her stomach around her esophagus to keep the reflux from being such an issue. The reflux could cause aspiration as well, and we don't want that. We go in on the 29th to find out the results of that study and to plan the g-tube placement. At surgery, she will also have tubes placed in her ears to relieve the fluid. Hopefully this will help her hearing test to go a lot better. (As a side note, on lavage, Maddy tested positive for mycobacterium avium. The cultures are growing now, and we will have more info when those are done. Because of that test result, though, she is being tested for some other serious stuff. You're prayers would be appreciated on that front. She doesn't need anything else on her plate!)
• Some GOOD Maddy news: She's about 14 1/2 lbs now! While we were in the hospital, I asked to see a dietitian, and they are very pleased with her weight and intake. She is making slow but steady progress, in good proportion between length and weight. She is interacting more and more--touching our faces, playing with her toys, smiling and "laughing" when we play with her. She's a delight. On Monday she started holding on to the side of her bouncy seat and pulling herself forward into a sitting position.
• Glen surprised me with a mini-trip to Florida, all by myself. I had a free ticket, and I had planned to help my Mom move into her (charming) new house. Unfortunately, it was going to cost $400 more for Maddy's o2, and there was just no way for me to leave her with Glen for a whole week, since he had a busy work/school schedule. But he could watch her on a weekend, so he booked me to fly to Daytona Beach, got an awesome deal on a hotel on the water and a rental car, too. I missed eveybody a lot, but it was very good for me to recharge a bit. I sat by the water and just read. That's my kind of vacation! :)
• Glen has been extremely busy with working on his current master's degree, teaching, and working. He has started a book group on The 5000 year leap. Glenn Beck diehards know all about this book, and what a crucial read it is for all Americans who care about their country. He's been in a Hoosier Congressional Leadership program, as well, so as you can imagine, he's in his element.
• We took a trip east for Daddy's memorial service at Stoneboro. Dan Fair and Bro. Cornell did a terrific job in their segments in telling about Daddy. That week was an especially hard week for Mom and Jordan who were at Stoneboro for the duration, with memories at every turn. The girls so enjoyed playing with Brianna and Daniel (Glen hopped the playground fence with them to play for a while when they were supposed to be in children's meeting!)
• On our trip, we visited with Keith and Louisa Thomas over scrod at Eat n Park, and then headed on over to Lisa and Benjy Sommers' house in beautiful Berkley Springs, WV. We enjoyed a couple very relaxing days (AND some very yummy food, including Italian lemon creme cake) before heading on to PA to see Mom's new house. I'm so happy that she found something so absolutely perfect. She has it feeling like "home" already. It is very difficult to imagine that Daddy's not there to share it with her. There are still reminders of him everywhere, though, and that helps a lot. She has Uppercase Living words above her bed that say "Real love stories never end." Yes, I know...a tearjerker.
• Carli turns 6 on July 7th, and Maddy turns 1 on the 14th. Hard to wrap my brain around that!
• Our patriotic musical is this weekend! For the record, my favorite songs this year are in the gospel section. I believe they are both Brooklyn Tabernacle songs: "So you would know" and "I bless Your name." I'll try to find them on playlist and put them on my site. They make me cry almost every time. And I'm not a crier. Ok, I have been a little bit more this last year. But that's beside the point.
• Wayne and Esther and Makayla were here for a visit on Monday. It was a lot of fun to watch Carli and Makayla marching around in their dress up shoes and purses and listening to their never ending stream of conversation. Esther hit the town for a bit though, and got in Hobby Lobby and Bath & Body Works before racing back for Maddy's therapy.
• Ok, last point, but a really huge announcement from our corner of the world (NO, I'm not pregnant...that I know of!): We have decided to take a huge leap into homeschooling. Carli and I are super excited. Just for the record, we weren't terribly disappointed in the school Carli was going to. We were especially in love with Mrs. Wiles, the principal who came from the huge Catholic school in town. She was such a "hands on" principal, even making 12 homemade pumpkin pies for the Thanksgiving meal. She genuinely loved the kids. However, Glen and I have been very concerned about where this country is headed. We have come a long way from what this country was founded upon, and we want to make sure that the framework of Christian values and principles are at the forefront of Carli's education. For the record, we are not going to be a homeschooling family that belittles or de-Christianizes other families that take other routes. I know plenty of very good parents with very good kids in great schools. This was our decision for our family. (I'd add a smiley face to let you know how much I truly mean that, but Glen has written a post mocking them, so I won't!)

So that's the news from Lake Wobegon, er, Kokomo. Seriously, I'll try to get on the ball and get some pics posted, but....