Updates all around

So we are in full swing here at the Holsted House...Lots of things up in the air. At church on Sunday our pastor Harold talked about sacrifices and sufferings and trials that a Christian would go through. I am feeling heavy with all that is rotating in my world...so I'd thought I'd update you and have some prayer warriors helping me...the more the better.

Jacob is busy 4-5 days / week with soccer.

Kobie will start gymnastics in October (after his foot completely heals).

Dylan is trying hard to learn spelling words for the first time.

I am taking a girls retreat next weekend to rejuvenate for the rest of fall and am looking forward to it. Currently working 2 days / week and keeping this house in order while the boys are at school. I am sick with allergies and am slowly loosing my voice (I guess I should stop yelling!).

Adam is working hard for our family and I am so proud of all that he has accomplished. He is a great man and I love him for all that he stands for.

Bob / Choo Choo is in CVICU he is stable and they are slowly nurturing him back to normal. He's off the breathing tube. It will take some time to get the old Choo Choo back...but we are all hopeful.

Aaron needs prayers to stay strong during this crazy time in his life...

Pray for Logan that he will be effected as little as possible by what is going on right now.

Jon & Celeste need prayers for 10 days that God's WILL will prevail in this adoption.

Gerald & Sonya need prayers for everything to go well in the upcoming weeks.

Kerri needs prayers to stay strong for her boys during this trial.

Kobie Update

We saw Dr. J this afternoon and he is 90% better. We stopped crutches Wednesday evening. No need for a boot now! He is still black and purple and pretty swollen but has a good range of motion. Thanks for the prayers.

-C

Goals!

I've decided my goals for this year (we do June to June) and they were to spend time with Crystal (#1 / my sister in law- Crys) once a quarter...and to get on a bike again...I haven't done either.

But I've already decided and am very excited about my next years goals June 09-June 2010.

1. To take an 8 week quilting class and actually make my own quilt. That sounds like so much fun to me. Crafty, meeting new people, and coming out with a finished project.
2. Start a group meeting once, every other month for Moms of boys...I have been presented this before by research online to have my own chapter, to join them for happy hour in TEXAS...but I want to start my own Chapter here. They have them all over in 12 states and Australia. It’s Good To Be The Queen is an international party of moms – who only have boys - who celebrate being the only source of estrogen in their castle and support each other as we face the challenges of raising responsible, respectful men. www.itsgoodtobethequeen.com/. I need inspiration from other moms of boys. We are out numbered and sometimes deal with disgusting situations (Daily). Spread the word on, because next June I'm going to need a list of names- so if you're interested or know anyone who qualifies send me their name(s).

Passing on the good news...now I've got to get started on this years goals.

mmmm...biking...yeah...ok...I crack like a one man band...Maybe Sarah's bike will fit just right...And as for the other one with Crystal...that is going to happen (the 1st of 4) shortly after she gets back from Hotter than Hell.

Back to School...with injury

I am SOOOOO Glad school is back in session. I have loved experiencing new things and teaching my kids over the summer...but now the familiar schedule comes through.

The understatement of the year: I LOVE schedules...I have something to look forward to; I can keep up with exercise, work, meals, etc. Now don't get me wrong, in my life, schedules are meant to be broken. And when that happens I say, "whoops", and go to plan B...C...D...and so forth. I tell people all the time, I plan to visit the ER everyday and if it doesn't happen then it's a great day. They just laugh at me. That happened yesterday. Adam was on the back deck giving the boys a hair cut, the plan was they would come in one at a time after they were done, hand me their dirty clothes and take a shower, get dressed for church and set out their clothes for school.

PLAN A : go to church and listen to upcoming new things & take communion.

And so the routine begins...Dylan was in the shower, I was finishing the dishes, and the other two + dad were outside. Jacob comes in a few minutes later saying, "uh, mom...dad needs you...like now". So I get on my sandals and head out the back door. Kobie is screaming on the trampoline. FILTHY! So I told him, let's take a bath and then we can check out the injury. He is in hysterics. Screaming, "I don't want the stinky gas, I don't want the stinky gas, I don't want surgery"

I told him it wasn't his fault, "it was an accident".

He then proceeded to say, "It wasn't an accident, no one else did this to me, I did it to myself."

I said, "Kobie, mom runs into the wall and that's an accident, I didn't mean to run into the wall, but it was still an accident."

Kobie replies back, "but mom, your accidents don't cause you to go to the hospital".

I said, "not now, but they used to when I was younger...you are not in trouble, no one is angry with you, we are happy to live where we do and we have medical help less than 5 miles away, they can fix you and take away your pain."

What is Stinky gas? Stinky gas is what they gave Kobie during his long sedated surgeries, he hated it. We could hear him screaming from the waiting room, about 4walls deep, when they administered the "stinky gas". According to Kobie, stinky gas gives you a major headache, not to mention the intense nausea. The smell stays in your nose and mouth for up to a week (even I could smell it) no amount of teeth brushing, scope swigging would get that smell out. It's Gross.

PLAN B: call JoBeth & See if she can come over to sit with the other two at our house while we

take Kobie to the ER. uh...she's already at the ER with Bob...okay

PLAN C: call Mammy, she's supposed to be returning from Oklahoma today...Yes! She was getting off at Sherwood exit so she was able to turn around. I packed a grocery bag full of snacks, hoddies, water, etc...I had no clue how long we were going to be there.

THE INJURY:
The kids use the plastic toddler slide (left) to sit on while they wait their turn for the tramp. Kobie decides to go from the trampoline and try to do a handstand on this plastic structure (like the Olympians) and over-rotates and flips over and lands on his foot. It doesn't look purple and his ankle isn't puffy. So I thought no big deal. After examining his feet side by side their was something sticking outside of his right foot. Close to the middle and no larger than a nickle size bump. If I touched it he screamed in agony, plus he could not pull his toes to his shin. Adam and I decided to go to the Hospital. We were in and out in under an hour and 1/2...Yes, we were rushed back since he couldn't move his foot. I was curious how a kid could break a little bone in his foot...Apparently in adults, bones are stronger than ligaments (which connect bones to other bones) and tendons (which connect bones to muscles). But in children, ligaments and tendons are relatively stronger than bone or cartilage. As a result, injuries that may only cause a sprain in an adult may cause a broken bone in a child. Kobie will be in a walking cast for 1-3 weeks and non-weight baring until he can apply pressure without pain. HE DID GO TO SCHOOL TODAY!

Banking with the Holsted's

I asked the kids to load up in the rain and off we went to the bank. We pulled up to the "money launcher" and my kids burst into hysteric laughter. This sound of their laughter was so funny, even I laughed. The tellers all were laughing as well. The kids laughed the entire time we sat at the launcher. Finally, I get my receipt and I tell the man, "this is a great sound, much better than crying or complaining". He agreed. I turned around and they were playing with the bike air pump. Jacob would pump it and Kobie had the nozzle thing on his skin. It made a hilarious FART sound. Silly boys!

The Laughter Roar...Jacob sounds like a hyena...Kobie has this bubbly "goofy-character" laugh...and Dylan just smiles and goes "huh huh"...To hear all three in unison was something any mom would wish for...excluding the fart sounds.

Have a great weekend!

AT LAST!

Well over this past week I have missed my boys to the point of crying. Yes crying. Adam asked if I wanted to go up and pick them up from the train stop in Memphis. I said, "yes", doubting my decision. Like, I thought I was going to get shunned from them or something. That they wouldn't be themselves.

We left NLR around 7pm and got to the train stop by 9:30. They arrived shortly after 10...Dylan saw us and lept into my arms a big bear hug. Holding onto me with only his arms around my necks and his legs wrapped around my waist if I let go of him, he would've still be hanging on. Then he went to Adam and did the same thing...but hung on a little longer.

Kobie just gave us a quick hug and that was it...but later that night as we tucked him bed (at the lake house). Our normal routine is Kiss, Hug, and High Fives. Adam leaned down to do our usual routine and Kobie started crying and said, "I missed that daddy". It was sweet.

We woke up and were out the door by 7am. My mood in the car changed drastically. I had all my chickens in view. Was I concerned about Adam's driving in the rain? NO...Was I nervous or anxious about anything? NO...I was at peace; able to sing and dance silly in the car. Listening to Kobie's laughter and Jacob talking to someone else for a change. Dylan slept on the way home.

My life IS Stressful, Challenging, and Chaotic, yes...but it's SO MUCH FUN!

Olympics / SYTYCDance?

I love watching "so you think you can dance" and finally the person I voted for won. I'm so happy for Joshua. If you haven't watched it, you should check out videos online http://www.fox.com/dance/.

I love watching athletics on tv. We spend many evenings sitting around the tv watching English Premier League soccer. I enjoy showing my kids more culture than "pop culture". I do not enjoy the "teen shows"that reflect poor child-parent relationships and portray bad friendships.

Now that the Olympics are on I'm obsessed with this swimming and diving...I'm even liking the weight lifting events and cheering on the USA. That opening ceremony was crazy. The men who were doing tai chi and then moved their circle lines by just a few inches and ran at full speed. That made me scream with delight. Plus to see the men moving those blocks in unison was an amazing act.

I hope you are watching and cheering the USA from your couches with friends and family.

What is in a name?

So my two younger boys are gone with DoDo and Choo Choo to Louisiana to spend a week together with Adam's family. They are riding the rain down from Memphis to New Orleans. Kobie has called 3 times to talk with Jacob! They are missing each other.

So I've been thinking about my kids growing up so quickly and thought about what their names meant. The name they will be called for the rest of their lives. It's a daunting task for any parent. Lots of thought and conversation are put into what the final name will be. Most mom's and dad's put a lot of thought into their children's names. They don't want kids to be teased and they might want a family traditional name, etc. My standard for naming kids was way crazy. 5 letters for the first name (they learned their names to "B-I-N-G-O" song)...and it HAD to sound good, strong, and flow effortlessly into the last name.

JACOB KYLE
Jacob was a girl after 3 ultrasounds. When he arrived a boy, the Doc said, "she's a he". I had no clue for a boy name. So I named him after my 15 year old cat "Jacob" and his middle name after the pediatrician that was on his little bassinet cart, Joan "Kyle". I was heavily medicated, stressed and that's the best I could come up with in 2 days.

Jacob - Supplanter
Kyle - Narrow (Jacob has the narrowest feet - like his Dad - it's fitting)

KOBIE JAY
Kobie was much harder. I had time to ponder names. Adam came to Christ through his Uncle Jay's mentoring, he really wanted to name a kid after him. We both love Cobi Jones, a soccer player. But I wanted the 5 letters and not colby (Jack cheese)...So we decided to flip flop Jacob's initials (jk to kj) and add an E to cobi- we made up our own spelling.

Kobie - Supplanter (Diminutive of JACOB, alternate form of COBY)
Jay- A Bird In The Crow Family (Kobie loves all animals- even birds)

DYLAN JAMES
With Dylan, we kept our minds open to any one's ideas on what to name a child. Another Boy...I couldn't flip flop initials. I had no clue. Again, Adam wanted a family name and what better name than James (his Grandpa, Uncle Jimmy, Uncle "Big" Jim). We covered three family members. Nancy came up with Dylan. It sounded good so it stuck. (Mandy had the same great idea a year later naming her son).

Dylan - Son Of The Sea (Dylan loves the water- NOT the lake)
James- Supplanter (Originally an English version of Jacob)

So yes all three of our kids names mean the same with one different meaning attached. Kinda weird. I miss my boys being little. I want them home with me. Camps and college are going to be very hard on me in years to come. I know it's good for both them and me to feel separation and for them to become more independent. I just wish it didn't happen so quickly.

***PS, IF we ever would've had a girl we set aside a name for her the first day Adam and I started discussing names- all rules aside. Her name would've been Frankie Noel Holsted. Just a family name. Adam's Grandma; Frankie Warden Holsted and his Grandpa Leon Holsted (Spelt backwards is Noel). Frankie is Free Or Truthful & Noel is Born On Christmas Day (to us a gift from God).

Interstate Truckers / Lake

Saturday morning Jacob and I walked to get donuts and brought them back to the rest of the family. It was a good 2 mile walk.

We ate and then headed to the lake and were joined by the Clouser Klan. We had a mini weekend filled with fishing, swimming, and games. The Clouser kids arrived with no clothes, swim suits, etc. We put Alexis and Ethan in Adam's great looking 80's neon shorts* (Pict). Alexis also got a swim shirt from one of our boys to complete her Neon green / pink / black ensemble. It all worked out great, no money was spent.

Sunday afternoon we decided to head back home. After we get close to the interstate, the boys requested MORE snacks, so we pull off the road I get the snacks out of the back of the car. Adam wanted a coke too. Well, we only had the antique bottled cokes...and I usually have a bottle opener attached to the picnic tote I carry around, but of course I wasn't prepared (SHOCKER- I know). We were both looking around for something to open the bottle with so I handed him the charcoal starter. It's a large round metal thing used to start coals without using lighter fluid. It worked but also broke the top of the bottle.

Back in the car and down the road LITERALLY 5 feet and I make him pull off the road again. His hand is bleeding. He must have gotten glass in it from the bottle breaking. Adam puts the car in park and sits there I get out of the car go around to the back...AND...of course the medical kit is in the very bottom and the furthest away from me. So my rear end is sticking up in the air and I scream at Adam, "Please come over here and stand behind me to hide my big tuckus". He laughs and obliges. Just about that time a big rig pulls up behind our car about 40 feet away. My butt is still in the air, sticking out of the suburban and Kobie says, "mom the trucker pulled over to watch the show". SERIOUSLY!!!

I didn't react or say anything. I got Adam patched up and shut the doors. I dare not to turn around and face the trucker. We got in the car Adam and I looking at each other in shock that our sweet child would say such a thing. I then asked him after I got back in the car and settled, "What kind of show would he be watching", Kobie said, "your booty show". Goodness gracious...

We finally got onto the interstate and Adam was trying to teach the kids how to pull your arm and the truckers would pull their horns. The boys didn't believe us they kept trying, but the tint was too dark. So I looked at Adam and put my arm up to the window and they saw me and tooted their horn. The boys giggled with delight. It is a LOT of FUN teaching the boys interesting things that we take for granted. Even a trucker pulling his horn can be entertainment.

My Girls get along!

Can you believe that we have 4 girls in our house?

Cali - 7 years (Golden Retriever)

Kayde- 3 years old (Cocker Spaniel)

Boots-2 years old (Mixed 1/2 Siamese 1/2 mutt)

Sasha-3 months old (pure Siamese)

Due to this hot weather we have had a zoo inside our 1400 sq. ft. house. Along with 5 people - it is a little cramped, but we love it. Adam finally talked me into shaving the golden retriever and now I'm not vacuuming near as often. I LOVE THAT! We recently went and got a kitten and our larger cat didn't like her at all. I went into the boys room after the house was empty of people this morning. And their the two girls lie together in harmony in Dylan's bed *(Pict). This is a pure example of how when you don't like someone you can always work things out if you learn to live with it and just try to get along.

*For those of you who wonder how all three boys fit in one bedroom, you can kinda see the bed layout, they all have a different level. It is not mandatory to make your bed in the morning (for those of you who are looking at that mess). Jacob is on the lower level, he wanted all black sheets and we settled for black and white. Dylan is in the middle (where the cats are) and he has about 20 stuffed animals...Plus he hung a blanket over the window, because I make them get in bed at 7pm when it's still light out. Kobie is up top and refuses to put sheets on his bed. He sleeps in his comforter like a cocoon, he has all of his personal treasures in his bed; in boxes and he also has a sheet hanging from the ceiling to block out the light from the other window in the room. We have tried to separate them and believe it or not even if they have their own room, they sneak back in and all sleep with each other. It's precious to me, they love each other but they can still fight.

Reunion

So we attended Adam's 10th High School Reunion. We didn't attend mine, held the previous weekend. We had a lot of fun and it was terribly hot.

The first night was at a bar...Let me tell you, me and bars, NO thank you. I can NOT handle all that contained smoke and loud music...I think I'm really 40.

The next day we had a family get together at LPOA...It was HOT and the kids bounced on a blowup thing and had a lot of fun. We left it early to hit up Senior Tequilla's with my family for A.P.'s bday.

Then that evening we had the semi-formal get together OUTSIDE* (picture above-courtsey of Mrs. James). It was so dang hot Adam and I hit up Bosco's to test some beers and sit at the bar in the A/C. We ended up sitting across the bar from some coaches from Ohio State. That was pretty cool to me...Kinda like seeing a rock/ movie star to the rest of the world. The Drew family spotted us and we sat down at their table and had some good conversation. We finally headed out to the river market pavilion for the awards ceremony. Our good friend Esther got hottest mom (she deserve it with the abs of steel).

I felt bad b/c the last night of the reunion, after the festivities were over, everyone decided to go to Sticky Fingers. Well WHOOPS! I didn't have my drivers license. I usually put it in Adam's wallet anytime we go out and I don't have my purse. I felt terrible not to let him go hang out longer with long lost buds. Then we got to the car...Adam had a parking ticket, he forgot to pay. So I laughed and said, "we all make mistakes, I forgot my license and you got a parking ticket, I think we are even." We ended the night earlier than most around 11pm. But that is still pretty late for me.

We decided since we didn't have children to wake up early- like 6:30 and catch a few games of the soccer national championships. It was great soccer! GREAT! A date at 7am is usually unheard of but we had a lot of fun. Then we went off to church to do our volunteering for the week. This weekend was jammed packed, but we had a lot of fun, I am still recouping my sleep deprivation.