The kids who cried wolf

Over the years of parenting Bruce and I have gotten use to the fact that our kids are loud-really loud sometimes. Most of the time our kids are good, but they seem to scream and overreact a lot-I think most kids are like this. Anyway, today I was downstairs on the computer and doing laundry when I heard some screaming. I ignored it at first since it's usually isn't anything serious. Today was not the case.

The screams were coming from more than one kid and kept getting worse so I ran upstairs to investigate. Thankfully Samantha was in the backyard playing with her friend so she didn't have to witness it. Somehow in preventing Sadie from going outside Gerrit got his finger wrapped so tightly in Sadie's collar that Sadie couldn't hardly breathe. Gerrit, Aleah, and Donovan were all screaming (they absolutely love Sadie and were really scared for her) and they said Sadie's choking. It all happened so fast and it takes a bit to register, but at first I thought Sadie was choking on some toy or something. They said no it's Gerrit's finger-so then I thought she was choking on his finger. When I figured out that Gerrit's finger was stuck and wrapped around Sadie's collar I was able to cut off the collar. Sadie lost just a bit of hair and Gerrit's finger was okay, although Sadie did nip at Gerrit's other hand and drew some blood as well as Aleah's when she was trying to help before I got upstairs.

I was shaking so bad after it happened. It was a scary couple of minutes-maybe it wasn't even that long, but it was intense. I didn't want Sadie to die like that and have the kids feel responsible. Everything turned out okay and Sadie is okay. I did wonder what would have happened if I wasn't at home, but Aleah was getting ready to get the scissors when I came upstairs.

Remembering

Today marks one year since the doctor told us that there was nothing else that could be done for my dad which marks one year since that last very sad week. It's times like these that I don't like having a good memory. Unfortunately, it also falls during a holiday weekend. Last Fourth of July was awful for mom, Loren, and I. We spent almost all day at the hospital We came home a bit to eat and watch fireworks. Mom just ate and then went back to the hospital. Loren and I sat there watching fireworks all around us-our neighborhood is spectacular on July 4th. I don't remember much other than wishing it was over so I could go back to the hospital. Barb, Jason, and family were there. We decided to go ahead with our usual activities since dad could have lasted a few more days and we didn't want the kids' holiday to be ruined.

I remember watching the clock hit midnight and being thankful that dad didn't die on July 4th. My mom had a brother that died on July 4th from pneumonia when he was only four years old-she wasn't even born yet. I'm sure the holiday was always a little hard for my grandparents. I hope in the years to come that my sad memories of the 4th of July 2010 will fade.

This year there is a burn ban in Burleigh county in areas inundated with flood waters or protected by dikes which we are so we cannot shoot fireworks off this year. I think it will help that we won't be at our house. We'll be at Bruce's parents with all of his family. I do however teach the fifth so it will be a short night for me.

15 Years

Even though I could blog about a lot of depressing things right now I am choosing to blog about what happened 15 years ago today. Bruce and I got married! It was a beautifully cool June day-much like today. We really appreciated this as the church we were married in did not have air conditioning.

It's hard to believe 15 years have passed already. Everyone said it was a beautiful wedding and I have to agree. No one knows what the future holds when you get married. There have been good times and bad, ups and downs, four amazing children, and quite a few moves, and I can honestly say I wouldn't have wanted to do it with anyone else. Bruce is my rock and he keeps me grounded. He has a calming presence about him that keeps me calm through life's storms.

So I'm just going to praise God that he put Bruce in my life and pray we get many more years together. Happy Anniversary!

A new normal

The river continues to rise. We've seen pictures of the kids' school and one can canoe around the playground. So far the school is dry. The corps of engineers is going to release high amounts of water until mid-August so it's highly unlikely that the kids will start school there in the fall. Plans are being made if they can't go there.

Now everyone sits and watches and waits. There's really nothing else to do. Everyone has done what they can to prepare. We hope any pray that the water doesn't get much higher. So many people can't live in their homes. It's all so sad.

We've had eight days of Camp Edventure now-20 more to go-it would be 22, but we are going to do two full days so we can be done earlier. I'm enjoying myself, but it is exhausting and I have some real stinkers in my class. I wish they would be gone a day here or there, but the other teachers all tell me that the ones you would love to see gone never are absent. Samantha is really enjoying it, but is ready for bed by 7:30 each night.

The other kids are doing very well at home in the mornings. They each have some chores to do and they sleep until at least nine. One morning Gerrit woke Donovan up just past eleven. He had been sleeping for 12 over hours.

Today was nice. The kids and I rode bike to the park by the wave pool since I had book club there. It was absolutely gorgeous weather. There was a strong wind on the way there, but it was a super easy ride home.

The River Rises

Each day continues to be a roller coaster-a little good news a little bad news. The river does continue to rise but it is rising at a much slower rate than they first thought so that is good. More people continue to have to leave their homes-a good friend of mine had to leave her house today. It wasn't mandatory yet but the water is coming across the roads now. The kids' school playground resembles a slough and it will only get worse. The kids' first and fifth grade teachers homes are in danger of being completely damaged. This flood is causing so much destruction and mental anguish and it's not even on national news yet. My aunt and friends in Minot had to evacuate this week too-10,000 people and still not on national news.

We are sandbagged, but if the dike holds we should be fine. The question is for both my mom and us is should we move things? Should we move things which is A LOT of work when we might not need too? My mom is certain she'll at least get water seepage. We have moved some of her things and she has things off the floor. I've gotten irreplaceable things out of our basement but not furniture. We've talked about moving the boys' beds upstairs into the girls' rooms, but we had enough instability last summer with my dad being sick that I hate to disrupt sleep patterns again. I hate this uncertainty.

It felt so good on Thursday to go to a day long meeting!! It was nice to talk about summer school and plans for that. I felt a bit guilty that I was able to escape for the day. I worked at The Children's Place last night and as I was straightening the store which normally doesn't bother me it just felt unnecessary to be doing that when people are fighting a flood. I need to finish up my classroom and lessons plans for school tomorrow. I may have a few kids that are being directly affected by the flood or they at least know someone that is. I hope by coming to school (although an unfamiliar one to them) they get some normalcy back in their lives.