Just a little update on life

Posted by Rachel in Kyrie, Family, Antonio (Thursday July 3, 2008 at 7:50 pm)

It’s been so long since I’ve actually written my thoughts or recorded any recent happenings with our family, so I thought I’d take a little break from posting pictures (although some favorite shots of our ocean trip will be posted soon) and give everyone a little update. Hopefully it won’t bore you all to tears. ;)

Antonio has his two bottom teeth! They are really cute. They came in only a few days apart from each other, and those were brutal days. I think he must be working on some more, because he’s been very needy and clingy. I’ve been wearing/holding him lots because he always wants to be up next to me (he’s sleeping on my lap right now). He’s also scooting all over the place, and quickly. I’ve been fishing lots of new foreign objects out of his mouth since he’s gained this ability to be mobile. It’s fun to see him getting around, but definitely keeps me more on my toes!

Kyrie is just having fun being a cute little 2-year-old, with tantrums in between. Her sweet moments make up for all the challenging ones. She’s talking so clearly and seeming so grown-up to me. I can’t believe how quickly she’s grown, even after every grandmother told me that they grow up way too quickly.

We’re doing fine in Spokane, enjoying the company of family and friends. Lately I’ve been feeling a bit out of place, anxious to have a home of our own again. I guess I feel homesick, but I’m not sure what home I’m missing. It’s not Monroe (though I do miss Hollie and the Amos kids terribly), and it’s not the house we packed up and left in May — it’s a home we’ve never lived in yet, but I want to find out what it is, where it is, and start making memories of our family in it. I’m really appreciative of the hospitality of family members, but there is only so much hospitality we can expect a family to extend, even if they are our loving relatives. I hate feeling like I’m imposing. I want to take a turn to open up my doors to my family and friends, cook them a meal, and serve them. When I think of what I’d like most about living in Spokane, it’s having the opportunity to have people over. We’re somewhat homeless here, and that makes me feel we have nothing to offer others, but that they’re always only giving to us. I want to change that. I want to be able to give to them. Okay, I should stop before this turns into a book. Suffice it to say, I will be thankful when this season of our life is over and we get settled again. I love being spontaneous to a degree, but I think Kyrie and Antonio suffer a bit from it.

Dinner is about to be served, so that about wraps it up for us.

Yep, more pictures.

Posted by Rachel in Kyrie, Family, Pics, Good ole days, Antonio (Tuesday June 17, 2008 at 12:49 am)

Here’s my regular contribution to the ol’ blog. A healthy dose of cuteness, in photos.

Here’s Antonio sleeping in a rather cute position.
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And here he is, simply looking cute in the Moby.
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Here’s Kyrie walking through the woods in north Idaho.
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She looks cute and small standing on a big stump.
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After the hike, we went to the lake where the kids had a great time wading and/or swimming.
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Kyrie and David tried to keep their clothes dry as they walked into the water.
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Eventually I remembered that I had packed a swimsuit for Kyrie.
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Antonio and Grandpa hung out together for a while.
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Esther plays “Panther”

Posted by Rick in Family, Music (Thursday May 29, 2008 at 2:17 am)

I’ve probably said this a million times, but Rachel’s family is freakishly musical. Her sister Rebekah plays viola and used to play flute. Isaiah can play everything well (really), but he has the musical drive of a potato. Rachel, of course, is a violinist. Matthew is a ridiculously good drummer (you can see him play here). Her brother Nathan just started playing guitar (though I recall him playing Toccata in Fugue D at the fair on a random piano when he was like 8–a song taught to him by his then 12-year-old brother, Andrew). And then there’s Esther, who is like a little Rachel in personality, and the gem of our hearts.

Esther started playing piano a couple of months ago, and after about ten lessons came up with this song which she named “Panther.”

They’ve got it all figured out…

Posted by Rick in Kyrie, Family, Humor, faith (Friday May 23, 2008 at 12:51 pm)

On traditional roles:

Noelle: Girls go shopping.
Kyrie: Yeah, girls go shopping!
Noelle: Boys go shopping too.
Kyrie: No, boys go to work.

Kyrie & Noelle

Posted by Rachel in Kyrie, Family, Pics (Thursday May 22, 2008 at 2:35 am)

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Grandpa update

Posted by Rick in Family, praise, Medical stuff (Sunday May 11, 2008 at 11:21 pm)

FYI, my grandpa has started to get a bit better from dialysis thrice weekly. He’s still not the same, but he’s been making some progress with physical therapy. He was able to dress himself a bit, but his muscles are still very weak.

Grandpa update

Posted by Rick in Family, prayer, Medical stuff (Tuesday April 22, 2008 at 5:08 pm)

Well, my grandpa had another code blue, but was revived again. He has some sort of heart damage, and they’re doing a scan now to check for a pulmonary embolysis. They plan on running a heart catheterization tomorrow, but he’s also scheduled for dialysis tomorrow.

He’s not functioning like he was just a few weeks ago. It looks like he’ll need permanent assistance for just basic needs like bathing and using the bathroom from now on. In any case, prognosis is not looking too good.

My mom seems exhausted, and everyone else is too.

Prayer request…

Posted by Rick in Family, prayer, Medical stuff (Wednesday April 16, 2008 at 11:06 pm)

My maternal grandpa has been in kidney failure for a few days. He had some surgery on Monday to put a hemodialysis catheter into his neck, and he was supposed to have four straight days of dialysis to see if that would jumpstart his kidneys into working again. Well, his heart went into atrial fibrillation (the heart spasms instead of beating) this morning, and he went code blue (legally dead) this morning. He was revived and he’s conscious and “doing well” (whatever that means at this point). In addition, this has been very stressful on my grandma, and she’s contracted pneumonia. My parents and aunts/uncles have been working hard to take care of them and be up at the hospital with my grandpa.

I’m very fortunate, as an adult, to have all of my grandparents still, and my relationship with this particular set of grandparents is very close. I would appreciate any prayers you could offer for any and all of my family.

Back from Spokane (with tons of pictures)

Posted by Rachel in Kyrie, Family, Pics, Travel, Home, Antonio (Monday March 31, 2008 at 10:21 am)

We’re back! We had a great time. I can’t wait to go back.

Here’s a picture at the Las Vegas airport from the plane:
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Papa and Antonio in the plane
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Noelle
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Timothy
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Noelle again
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Kyrie playing with Esther
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Making a snowman
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In the swing (can you tell it was really snowy there??)
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Antonio in Papa’s arms
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Aunt Esther holding Antonio
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Uncle Matthew holding Antonio
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Grandma Lisa holds Antonio while Kyrie and Esther run off to play
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Grandparents admiring the newest grandson
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Fresh snow
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Easter Sunday
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Timothy
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Esther
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Timothy again
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David
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Kyrie
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Pictures from around the house (where I grew up)
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Trip to an indoor waterpark
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The night before we left
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Happy birthday, Noelle!

Posted by Rachel in Family, birthdays (Saturday February 23, 2008 at 11:40 am)

We love you! Happy birthday, 2-year-old! :D

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