The picture on the birthing suite

The day Caleb was born seems like yesterday. Right outside the door of my birthing suite was a picture of a wheat field and 3 short-haired mischievous boys overlooking the field with intent to have some fun. I remember laughing on the inside about the print. I had one of those rare moments when you realize - hey that means something to me!

It was clear from the picture that in a few short moments that field would never be the same. It was also clear from the look on the boys' profiles that in a few short moments they were going to be the ones who rearranged that field.

At the time I only had 2 sons. But here we are, a few years later with 3 short-haired boys of our own.

Fast forward now 'til last week.

It is VERY hot and I am driving to Janesville for some errands.

I pass field after field and that picture comes to mind.

Much to my boys' annoyance I insist we go home change into jeans and go back for that picture.

(Did I mention we have no air conditioning in our van and it is a heat index over 100 degrees.)

Here is the final product:

I will have this print made and hang it outside my bedroom door.

My birthing suite days are over. smile.

my 3 tough guys

Mom B. take a look at David's tilted head and facial expression on the 1st picture. It reminds me of John in a picture you gave us from a family reunion when John was a middle schooler.

Nathan Dialogue This Morning

Nathan: (In pajamas) Dad, can you get me some clothes?

Dad: Sure...here you go.

Nathan: Not these clothes. These were the clothes I was saving for when I go to Saturn.

Dad: Oh, I see. Well they haven't even built the spaceship that will take us to Saturn yet, so it will be a long time before we fly there.

Nathan: (Putting on clothes) OK. Well, me and you will need to put on our capes then, and fly into space. Then we can help them build the spaceship! We just need the pieces.

Dad: Yep, sounds good. We just need the pieces.

Nathan hits a home run at Tball

Here is a clip of Nathan hitting a homerun at Tball last week.
When you are the last batter you get to run all the bases. He just loves to play Tball.

sleepover with the cousins

Just a cute picture of the sleepover with cousins Zach and Sam.

Lake Emily

Our weekend trip to Lake Emily with Karen, Zach and Sam, our boys and Maddie.

The stuff is overwhelming. How did Rosalie do it? I can't imagine all the packing of stuff for more children. Geez!

John took the younger boys for a boat ride and Caleb caught a fish.

I stayed at the playground with the older kids. That was a bit weird. I should've had a book. I had to be there, but I didn't have to actively help anyone with stairs or slides or swings. I started to get bored and sleepy. 'Could've been because we got up so early.

The cousins were early risers - like 4:55 am early. I heard them giggling and foraging thru the screen tent for food, which woke up Maddie. Oh well. I'll sleep when I am dead.

The weather was great until Sunday AM. A storm front came in and we had to break down the camp site earlier than expected and in a bit more of a rush than desired. We got all the tents down before the rain hit - just barely. Whew. Our food stuff got wet and our camping dishes but those are a lot easier to deal with than a wet tent.

For the first time since we have camped at Lake Emily, there were open campsites on a weekend. The ranger thought it was due to the economy. 7 Sites were unoccupied. I was amazed. It was great weather - perfect for camping.

I would sure like to have a Rosalie/Art Baierl family reunion there - hint hint. Anyone game for an August or September weekend? I'll do the leg work - but you have to fly in - and show up with your suit. We have 3 tents that can hold a total of 15 or so.

Caleb in the Ambulance

Here is a picture of Caleb riding to Meriter Hospital in the ambulance.

If you look closely you can see the ice packs in the back of his head.

At baseball last night his feet slipped out from under him on wet concrete. He fell backwards hitting his head and back with full force. I was lucky to watch in complete horror. I expected blood everywhere.

He rang his bell pretty good. I held him for a bit until he calmed down, checked for broken bones, bleeding, and made sure he could talk and move his fingers and toes. Then we got all the other kids loaded up and headed to urgent care to get him checked out for any internal trauma.

We were on route to the hospital when he began to cry about the pain in his head (no kidding!) and then his eyelids got pink and droopy. A few minutes later there was lots of vomit.

We were on hold with urgent care since loading the kids in the van, but once he vomited we hung up and dialed 911. We knew at minimum he had a concussion, but became alarmed once he had 3 head trauma symptoms. We met an ambulance about 8 miles outside of Evansville where Caleb was then transported to the ER for a CT scan.

John drove the van with David and Nathan and I rode in the ambulance with Caleb. It was very hard to keep him awake. He was so brave thru the whole thing. The CT scan was a scary ordeal for him but he only asked to hold my hand thru it all. The technicians allowed me to come in with a lead vest and I was able to be near him holding his hand thru the CT Scan. His eyes got VERY wide when the red lasers moved over his face. I had to reassure him that the lasers where not the ones used on a gun.

We got the CT results around 11:30 PM. No internal bleeding or skull fractures. We were then allowed to give him medicine and let him fall asleep. It was a scary ordeal for him and me!

We got home around 12:30 AM and I was instructed to awaken him every 2 hours to check on him. No easy task. He is ok.

He has a headache and a bump on the head but is acting normally today.

Pretty scary, but considering what could have been, we are blessed to have just a concussion.

Whew.

What seems to be the problem, officer?

This Sheriff's Deputy happens to be a friend of the family (the kids love him) and was part of this year's 4th of July parade. After the parade, he met up with us and we got this awesome shot of him and Nathan.

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The writing on the table

Quick post:

We drive to Lake Leota Park to have the boys ride their bikes over the skateboarding ramps. After a few thrills and spills we sit on the picnic table for refreshments.

I hear the following observations regarding the graffiti on the table.

David says: "boy this kid needs to learn how to spell! He has written here: _____(boy name) licks _____ (girl name). I mean doesn't he know how to spell like or what? It is L I K E for goodness sake. Ha Ha Ha Ha he wrote lick by mistake!"

(I doubt it was a mistake, but I grin at the innocence of it)

Not to be outdone Caleb pipes up: "Yes and over here someone spelled flag wrong. They forgot the L. Geez, learn how to spell people."

(I smile - sheltered from the world for a little while longer.)