What a week!

So much has happened in the last week; I'm not sure where to begin...

Well, last Monday I found out I would have surgery on Friday (to have a cyst removed). So I made plans and my wonderful mom agreed to come watch the kids for us so that Johnny could take me to the hospital for the outpatient surgery. On Tuesday I introduced Bryn to a bottle and had success- you can see from my last post; Katherine was running a fever and stayed home. Wednesday my sweet mother-in-law came and watched the girls for me to go have a test done in Lufkin, which was so painful, I never want to do it again, and Katherine was still home sick. The doctor's office told me to be at the hospital at 1 o'clock and my test would be at 2. I got to the desk at 1:10-1:15 and waited for about 15 min. Then the lady that gets you to sign all the papers to tell you you might die came and said, "They've been waiting for you for a while." (Meaning the lab people.) She told me that I was supposed to be there at 12:30 and that my test was at 1. She was not nice. But it worked out fine, everyone else was nice and I apologized for the misunderstanding and they said it was no big deal. SO...

Thursday Katherine went back to school and I was preparing for the surgery and for my mom to come by cleaning my house. Olivia had just fallen asleep and I was vacuuming the kitchen when the doctor's office called. They had been waiting for authorization from Medicaid for the surgery and for the test results to come back. The results from the test were good and Medicaid approved the surgery, so now I was supposed to get to the doctor's office to pick up the paperwork to deliver to the hospital and to preregister- all before 5 o'clock. It was 2:35 and it takes an hour to get to Lufkin, going the speed limit. I panicked! I hurried and put shoes on the kids and Olivia woke up crying, but not because she didn't finish her nap, she was running a fever. Great! I gave her some Tylenol and ran out the door, leaving the vacuum cleaner in the middle of the kitchen. I dropped Ella off at AmyLyn's house and still had to fill the tank with gas. By now it was 3 o'clock, and oh! Did I mention that the doctor's office closes at 4 and they have signs posted "No Children Allowed". (They don't want to spread germs at the doctor's office.) Okay, so maybe I didn't go the speed limit exactly, but we made it with a little time to spare. The doctor's office had an enclosed foyer. I had Olivia wait with Bryn while I went in to get the paperwork. Then we ran to the hospital down the street and got to the same desk as the day before. The same lady came out and said, "They've been looking for you for a while." WHAT? I don't even have an appointment! (Of course I didn't say this) I said, "That figures." She was training another lady to do the computer/paperwork and that lady was nice- everyone was nice except her. Anyway, it worked out so nice that I had only Olivia and Bryn. My friend Joy picked up the school kids and took them to her house, then took Travis to music class and AmyLyn let Katherine help babysit during music. Johnny got home and cleaned the house and picked up the kids and cooked dinner! I didn't get home until 6:30 or 7 that night. By then my mom was there and Travis and Olivia both had fevers! Poor things!



So the surgery went well and I was home by lunchtime. Luckily Johnny didn't have school that day. The kids did pretty well for my mom and my friends Kim and Joy helped a ton by picking up and dropping Katherine off so my mom wouldn't have to load the kids up.

I slept nearly the whole day on Saturday because I had taken pain medicine. Which in retrospect I don't think I really needed. Thankfully Johnny was able to take up the slack. I kept all of the kids home on Sunday. Johnny was teaching his Sunday School class and planned to sub for my Primary class. He was supposed to give a talk at a baptism after church, but that got canceled. Katherine had a cough, Ella started running a fever and Travis and Olivia still had fevers too.
It was a good thing they stayed home. Katherine was helpful and I was feeling better too. Ella can't be sick with anything without throwing up too. Somehow, when she gets sick her stomach stops digesting food and comes up.
This pictures was just before the volcano erupted. Sorry I don't have pictures of that, that's not something I thought would be worth saving for posterity. You're welcome. After we got all cleaned up and settled down, my sweet sister-in-law Kayla, and my mother-in-law drove all the way up to my house to bring us dinner! It was soo good, she brought homemade vegetable soup and crackers and a package of cookies, none of which lasted very long!

I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining about the week, I'm actually really grateful for the help I received from so many. Every week is not like this, so why not enjoy it while it lasts!

Just when you think you can't handle anymore, angels come and lift you up.