Canche Chronicles: Major big time catch up

THURSDAY, November 7 is where I left off last on here. I may be behind on here, but I refuse to be an entire month behind so I'm going to quick catch up before it is December 7th. That Thursday was our last day with Mimi before she headed back to Pennsylvania. I had Bible study in the morning and she had stuff to do with the other trustee wives. Her last event was lunch at Barron's bookstore so when she was finished Haley and I went over there to pick her up. We ended up staying and shopping there for a little bit before bringing her back to our house. I put Haley down for a nap then and I think we went and did a little bit of shopping before I dropped her off at the hotel where she was meeting Dad for a dinner they had. Then David and I had dinner with the girls and then David watched the girls while I met with Ella and Chloe. When I got home David had just put the girls to bed and then we went to Mom and Dad's hotel where they were just getting back from their dinner. We met them there to watch the Billy Graham thing on their hotel cable TV but we really just caught the tail end of it and then the interviews afterwards. After the interviews we stayed and talked with Mom and Dad for a while and then headed back home. You may be pretty appalled right now as you think that we just left our kids at home sleeping by themselves but that means you forgot that we had the Feenstra's at our house. A huge advantage of having house guests is that you can put your kids to bed and then leave!

FRIDAY David got up early and drove Mimi to the airport. Dad had some meetings and David had to up early for a Bible study anyways so he did the honors. He said the drive was pretty uneventful and Mimi made it on her plane safely. He ended up having to fly after his Bible study. The girls and I got up and ready for the day a little earlier than usual for a Friday because we had been invited to Lucy Caldwell's Birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. I am actually using the term 'party' loosely because it was really just Lucy, her sister Evelyn, and two of her friends from church: Haley and Addy. Haley had not been to Chuck E. Cheese in over a year but when we pulled into the parking lot she told me she was afraid of the 'big bear.' I told her there wasn't a big bear and I was pretty confused. What she meant was she was scared of the giant mouse statue of Chuck E. Cheese that they have in there. It is situated in the back of the place so we didn't ever have to get real close to it unless I was taking her to the bathroom. I guess the statue kind of set the tone for our time there because Haley was not the most avid arcade player of the group. She didn't want to do most the rides or games but she and Emily did both enjoy a horse ride that they had there. In fact we used all of our coins on that horse ride and I spent the better part of an hour standing next to it putting coins in. Amanda had made some Birthday brownies and they ate those and drank some juice boxes and then we headed out. We were just in time to meet up with Pops for lunch. Mimi had left for PA a little bit earlier than Pops because she was playing the piano in my cousin's wedding on Saturday and needed to be there for the rehearsal on Friday night. Anyways, we called Pops and he said to meet us at LeTourneau and we could eat at the cafeteria. I thought the girls would eat a ton with all of the choices but they really just ended up mostly cleaning out the gold fish container at the salad bar. Who puts gold fish on their salad? After our lunch we came back home and I put the girls down for naps. David got home from his flight and we played Settlers with Pops while they slept. While we were playing Settlers one of the neighbors stopped by to ask what they could bring to the block party we were having on that following Sunday. I think they probably thought it was odd that we were both home playing a board game with my Dad, haha. Then I made dinner while Pops played with the girls. I don't recall that we really went anywhere that Friday night. I think Pops just played with the girls until bedtime and then we probably played another game and then Pops headed back to the hotel for the night.

SATURDAY morning Pops came and played with the girls a little bit before we had to head to the airport. We got there in plenty of time and the girls ended up roping Pops into buying them some M&Ms from the candy machine. Now everytime we take someone to the airport they will want some. I did tell Pops that but it didn't seem to deter him. Haley got pretty weepy as Pops got on the plane and then ended up crying most of the way home. She kept crying for 'Popsy' and telling me to go back to the airport to get him. I told her we would see him at Thanksgiving but she doesn't really know what that is so I don't think it was very comforting. When we got back I fed them some lunch and then put them to bed. As soon as they woke up we headed out to the grocery store to pick up everything we needed for Sunday's block party. We picked up a couple things at Sam's and the rest at Wal-mart. Then we came home and ate supper and then the girls played while we made the burgers and everything.

SUNDAY we went to church. David led worship so he had to get there a little bit earlier. After the service we left right away to get home in time to set up for the party. We really only got home thirty minute before the party started but we had done most of the work the night before. We set up the tables and David fired up the grill and then we waited for the neighbors to arrive. We actually had a pretty good turn out this year and the weather was amazing. Just about everybody came that had come last year and we had one neighbor bring along a friend. It was a lot earlier than years past because we already have a relationship with everyone who came so conversation was easy. One of our neighbors has had back problems and David and him realized that they have the same back doctor. The party started at 12:30 and everyone had left at about 3. David and I cleaned up and then came inside and took naps while the girls finished up their naps. I had put them down somewhere in the middle of the party. In the evening we had invited the Grubbs and Yeakleys to come play games at our house. We served leftovers from the block party for dinner, haha. We had a good time catching up with them and playing games.

MONDAY, November 11 (just to clarify what day we are on here) I think the girls and I went to the gym in the morning. I'm not entirely sure what we did that day and I already erased my November calendar so it really is all history at this point. I probably did the laundry since it was a Monday and I may have done some cleaning. David had prayer time at our house in the evening but they pray outside by the campfire so the girls and I had the house to ourselves.

TUESDAY we didn't have MOPs so the girls and I went to the gym again. The big motivation for me going to the gym is that I can shower and get ready for the day in peace. I am there for an hour but I am doing exercise for maybe half of that time. The other thirty minutes are spent in the locker room just showering in silence. Well, it's quiet unless the senior citizen classes have just let out and then it is actually pretty loud. The shower pressure is awesome on those showers too. After the gym we came home and the girls took naps and then I probably did some more cleaning. We don't have anything on Tuesday evenings so I probably gave the girls baths. I think David worked that day but he was probably home in the evening because he hasn't had an overnight in a while.

WEDNESDAY we had BSF in the morning and then we met up with some friends at Chick-fil-A for lunch. The girls were playing really well there so we ended up staying pretty long. When we came home I put them down for naps and they slept really well. In the evening we had Missio Dei and then we came home and went to bed.

THURSDAY I had women's Bible study in the morning and then I think we were going to meet with Chloe and Ella in the evening but they had to much school work or something so they couldn't. Instead we all hung out as a family and I'm not sure what we did but I think we did give baths. Sorry, my memory is failing me on this day so I guess there wasn't too much going on. However, the next three days should be vividly recounted because David wrote them a couple weeks ago right when they happened. He helped me out by writing a couple posts and then I realized that I was too behind to post them. Anyways, I have finally caught up to the posts that he wrote and I will insert them now:

Friday morning I didn't have to work so I was able to be home with Katelyn and the girls. Haley got up sometime in around seven I think and came to our bed. However, she did fall completely asleep with us. I think I took her to the potty and then she fell asleep next to me. I know she was completely out because around 8, Kelly Liebengood was texting me and I picked up my phone to text back and she didn't even budge. Usually, as soon as she sees my phone she starts asking for it. Emily woke up shortly after. She has been having kind of diarrhea lately and woke up with a poopie diaper. Once I changed her, I could tell she was up for the day. I put her in her high chair with a waffle, but she only ate a couple bites. This is further evidence that she is feeling under the weather. Haley got up a few minutes later but did not want to eat a waffle or cereal. Instead, she insisted on eating one of the leftover chocolate oatmeal no-bake cookies that Katelyn had made for Bible Study with Ella and Chloe last night. Katelyn and I decided rather abruptly to go to the gym this morning. It was already like 8:40 though and Katelyn had a MOPs event at 10 so we had to hurry. Haley was very eager to go watch Diego in the Healthy Hideaway. Emily, somewhat surprisingly to me, walked right in there and didn't cry at all. She now is old enough to be with the big kids. I think even just being able to walk in there and not have to be handed over like a baby makes her excited to be with the big kids. Both of them did well I think. I drove separately because I had something after the MOPs event. Katelyn showered there and then went to the event which was a tour of the biggest firehouse in Longview, which is kind of close to LeTourneau. I met up with them there after running home to shower and to the post office quick. I got there around 10:30 and they were just finishing up the tour. Haley was running out one of the main garage doors screaming. I hope she ran out because she saw me, but I think she really just wanted out of there. I held her while they blew the sirens and turned on the lights for the kids. I covered Haley's ears since she was already scared and I'm glad I did because it was so loud in there that I could feel my head vibrating. After talking there for a little while, Katelyn was invited to Chic-fil-a (for the second time this week, she's getting sick of it) and thought it would be good to go. I had been invited to eat at LeTourneau with some of the professors, although I think they just felt bad having me run a check over there for the kids' confirmation class city league basketball team without letting me get something out of it. Well, I got there a little early and talked with some LAS guys. Then I met Drs. Liebengood, Kuecker, Tallon, and Rudkovsky as they were wrapping up a discussion on a paper that Dr. Kuecker is presenting in Baltimore next week. It is about Theosis in Luke and Acts. In these kinds of situations, I apply to myself the old refrain: "Better to be silent and thought a fool than to open one's mouth and eradicate all doubts". Also, it helps to have an iphone where you can quickly and silently google: "define theosis" haha. Anyway, the only thing that didn't go completely over my head was that they compared Paul's blinding of the sorcerer to his own blinding. Is this violence related to Theosis or simply an example of Paul's becoming more like Christ as he never appears to do this type of thing again? Go to Baltimore to find out. Anyway, I had lunch with them while Katelyn ate at Chic-fil-a. She says the girls ate pretty well. Haley ate like 5 nuggets, which is quite a bit of protein for her. Emily only wanted bread which is probably why she looks the way she does. They came home and went down for naps soon after. I arrived a little later and Katelyn and I looked at our employee benefit package and tried to see how screwed we were with healthcare. Quite honestly, it's not that bad considering what I have heard on the news of people's costs doubling and tripling but it is a little high. After the girls woke up, we ran the paperwork over to the corporate office because (I know, I know) today was the last day to turn it in and I remembered yesterday. We are covered and thankful for it. Then we came home and I played with the girls and read them books while Katelyn made meaty manicotti. It was really good. Emily didn't eat that well compared to her usual self. She felt a little warm and seemed kind of out of it. Haley on the other hand, wowed us as she ate three helpings. Both kids had quite a bit of corn which we all know is the absolute healthiest of all vegetables. Actually, I will probably see that corn again soon because of Emily's previously mentioned intestinal rapidity. Katelyn then had a surprise Mary Kay party she had to go to. I say surprise because it was one of those where you are invited to a girls night IN only to later find out you are going to get your face analyzed and see some amazing cleansing products and then NOT put make up on but stay all "natural" because: oh yeah, you were supposed to wear pajamas to the girls house....SURPRISE!!!! I stayed home and gave the girls a bath which they really enjoyed. Even Emily in all her sickness had fun in the tub. After their bath, I rubbed some baby lotion on them as their mother requested for sick babies, and gave Emily some medicine. Emily loves taking medicine. She thinks it's a popsicle or something. She laughs no matter how sick she is. Very pleasant really compared to Haley. After her medicine, Emily went right down. I stayed up with Haley for a while. We read books and watched a video of the song "speak life" by toby mac. Haley heard the song on the radio the other day Katelyn says and has been obsessing about it ever since. What a teenager. After a while I put Haley to bed and began to write this very blog. Then she got up and wanted orange juice, followed by goldfish, followed by more orange juice, followed by a sip of water. Then I put her back in bed the final time and finished this up by typing the sentence you are currently reading.

Saturday Katelyn went and got Emily after she woke up for the second time. She just came to bed with us. Haley arrived shortly after, claiming she needed to use the potty. Within a few minutes we were all of us cuddling in our bed. Cuddling really isn't the right word. Emily and Haley were swatting at each other's hands playfully and laughing. Emily eventually got up and tried to look out the window. Haley soon followed. They both eventually had breakfast. Emily, again, did not eat very much. I actually gave her some medicine because she seemed kind of fussy. Haley had a bowl of cereal. Katelyn and I each had a couple over medium eggs and toast. Katelyn figured this was a bad idea because she felt sick shortly after. We had some errands to run so after we had both showered and gotten the kids ready for the day, we all piled in the van and headed to the bank. We had to deposit a couple checks, one of which was from Mundt Music who had bought from us the piano Katelyn found in a storage locker this summer. It had been in our house long enough, plus, as she puts it, that is where the christmas tree will eventually go. It was sad for Haley to see it go but once again, Katelyn doubled her money. After the bank, we ran to the post office where we picked up a couple of flat rate boxes. We ended up not using them anyway. We are sending a package to Mark, a little boy we sponsor in Uganda, and Chris in China for christmas. After that we headed to Walmart to do some shopping. The girls did ok while we were there. Haley wanted to see the fish when we were done, so we headed that way for a little while. When it was time to go, Haley did not obey Katelyn when she told her not to run away so she had to ride in the cart. Other than that though, they were really pretty good. When we got home, they were getting kind of fussy. Emily had some goldfish that Katelyn had given her to help appease her during the two minute long car ride home. Katelyn felt kind of sick so she lay down after she made the girls each a hot dog. Emily again did not eat much. Actually it was kind of difficult to calculate how much she had eaten due to the fact that when I came out of the kitchen to check on her, she was crying as she stuffed pieces of hot dog into the goldfish container she had been carrying. I tried to put her to bed immediately. Haley played for a little while after, but pretty much went right to bed as well. Haley fell asleep. Emily did not. Seriously, Emily would cry and cry or be quiet like 10 minutes and then cry again. At 1 I got her up and gave her medicine again. It seemed to help. I told katelyn that it must be psychological because as soon as I gave her medicine, which she happily took, she readily reached for her crib and just lay there quietly. I definitely spoke too soon because she lasted maybe 20 minutes. I also gave her some apple sauce which I think she liked because she is teething it was nice and cold on her gums. All in all she maybe slept like just over a half hour during Haley's whole nap time. Haley woke up and came out where I was reading so we watched a couple episodes of Charlie Brown on the ipad while we waited for mommy to wake up from her nap. We ended up watching snoopy gets married and a Charlie Brown thanksgiving. Katelyn must not have been sleeping very soundly because at different points during the episode, she would laugh remembering what was happening on screen. At one point she asked if they were making popcorn. After Emily got up for good, we just played in the den for a little while. Then I made mexican chowder while Katelyn vacuumed the van with the girls. So much for traditional gender roles. Haley was super excited about getting to eat corn bread muffins. I think she ate three. Katelyn got her to eat chicken in order to eat more muffins. Emily, who usually LOVES mexican chowder if only for the black beans, did not eat very much. Katelyn and Todd cleaned up the kitchen while I played with Haley and Emily. Then we read books with them for a little while until it was time for Emy to go to bed. After she went to bed, Haley helped us pack the box for Chris and even drew some artwork for her. She made a lot of "H"s and had me trace both her hands and her feet onto a piece of paper. It was clearly time for Haley to go to bed as she repeatedly colored on the table cloth to mommy's dismay. After cleaning up the den, Katelyn and I went to bed too.

Sunday morning, Emily woke up early wanting a bottle. I put some medicine in there too because she seemed a little warm. Haley ended up coming into bed with us at some point during the morning. Haley and Emily each ate a waffle then while Katelyn and I showered. The weather has been very warm as of late, so the girls were able to wear dresses without sweaters. The greatest result of this warm weather, at least according to Haley, is that she doesn't have to wear socks. She absolutely hates socks and would rather wear boots just so she doesn't have to put any on. She also likes wearing sandals even if it is very cold. When we got to church, we saw Ben Caldwell there with Evelyn. Katelyn and I both went up to him separately thinking that Amanda had had the baby or something. Turns out Lucy was just sick so she had to stay home with her. The girls were pretty good in church. We went ahead and put Emily in the nursery because we figure her fever is just from her teething. Haley was a little loud towards the end of the service when the kids come back in from the nursery. She has been trying to imitate Emily so she just randomly and loudly says: "DA SCA BA DA". It is a little weird and just makes her sound dumb. After church, we came home and put the girls down for a nap. Katelyn also slept because she felt kind of sick and I read for a while. When the girls woke up, Emily was pretty mad. They had taken seriously like 2:30 hrs to fall asleep. By the time they needed to be up, they had only been sleeping for an hour. Haley woke up on her own, but Emily was awakened by Haley running in her room and climbing on the crib after using the potty once. We figured Emily might do well to get out of the house and Katelyn wanted to go look at a Sit'N Stand stroller she saw on Craigslist. We headed out with Emily in her front facing seat. On the way to church she loved facing forward and was smiling and laughing the whole way there. On the way to pick up the stroller, we rediscovered the down side of a forward facing car seat: the sun. As the sun set, it was in a perfect position to blind, and overall infuriate that baby. Finally I remembered the sunshield we keep in the car and Katelyn held it in between our seats to block the harmful rays from causing any further annoyance. The stroller was just what Katelyn was looking for, with the exception of a cup holder which can be easily purchased online notwithstanding the fact that we never have cups to carry. We kind of had to hurry back because the Yeakley's, Grubbs', and Creech's were coming over to play games and eat pizza. Michael and Kelsey asked if they could bring their dog, Baxter, a red poodle or labradoodle or something. Haley was kind of scared of him especially at first. I had to leave for an hour for a prior commitment, but when I got home, everything had changed. Haley was in Baxter's kennel pretending to be a dog. she was trying to feed him a pig's ear and a bone. Emily of course loves dogs, so she played with him the whole time. Emily even went so far as to take his bed dog out of his kennel, and take it down the hall to her room to lay on it and pretend it was a bed. Had I known, we could have saved ourselves the expense of a crib! Haley and Emily went to bed during games but ended up both getting up again later to eat some yogurt. Then, finally they went to sleep.

Okay, that is definitely all I am posting for now because this is already almost a book. I will leave you with some pics!

When we had that game night the Sunday of the block party, the Grubbs brought their little dog along because they had been out and had him with them anyways. Anyhow, the girls loved all of the dog's accessories. I know this is kind of gross but here is Emily laying in its bed.