Wisdom from my walk

Last year Caleb, Bo and I went to Ohio for caleb’s birthday week.   While there I found out I was pregnant again.    This week is so different from that week last year, and soooo different from the week 5 years ago when we anxiously awaited Caleb’s birth.    I looked back at pics from that week and was amazed at how little Bo was.   Amazed that Zeke was just being formed inside of me and today here he is rolling across the floor of his bedroom!  I’m very not pregnant this year, I know you were worried about that weren’t you?  So no big suprises this year on Caleb’s birthday like that.

All of the boys are asleep, rare unless it’s after 8 pm so I’m not sure what to do.  I laid down for a bit, knowing I should seize the chance to rest while I can considering how I feel, but the phone rang.  I didnt want it to wake the kids so I ran to get it.   I didnt answer in time, I dont know who it was, it was a Va. number.   I feel guilty for the thought, but afterward as I thought about who it could be I sprang to the idea that it could have been Christ in action calling to have Dean go for hurricane relief but I dont know that there are currently any hurricanes brewing.    but I feel guilty for dreading the thought that if they did call I know he’d go!  Yes becuase he’d go, but more importantly I’m really struggling with my calling, and lack thereof of ministry involvement.  I so want to sell the house and find a full time ministry job for Dean and I and our family.    We’ve discussed it before and with the current situation we are in financially we could probably pull it off, the only issue is where to go, what to do and are we trained enough?   oh yeah, and will the kids survive!  About a year ago Dean mentioned if we could just sell the house and have nothing to tie us down, no mortgage no car payment, and just go and serve someplace we would.   Not that with three kids that that would be easy, but if we are thinking of selling the house even if Dean doesnt have a job to go to in Ohio just so we can get out from the rising mortgage payment, why not consider something like that.  Sure it’s risky and sure it would freak out a lot of folks but someone has to be bold and step out and do it!!   I’ve looked for opportunities online and cant find any we could do, apparently not having a degree keeps us from qualifying, you would think there’d be a need for folks to serve even w/out a college degree someplace, we’d just have to find that place.  it’s all talk or rather thoughts right now in my head, I’ve planted them in Dean’s head.  for years we’ve wrestled with what we think God wants from us and where he wants us, and I think we should focus on figuring that out before we sell the house, because His plan may very well not include Ohio at all.   In fact I think it would be someplace a lot farther than that, it’s just figuring that out.   I just dont know if we could do anything so bold w/ three little ones, but I’d love to at least give it a shot!!   just thoughts for now…so dont freak out…some of you are still freaking out about the non existent at this point job transfer to Ohio.   so chill….just talk/thinking/ but truth is be prepared for something big in the next year from the McKenzie’s, I’m sick of sitting around taking care of kids and being sick, I’m ready to stand up and have a life!!   I might die trying but at least I can say I tried to enjoy this life I was given!   😉

Bo’s had a runny nose and cough for days.   Yesterday Caleb said his neck hurt, assumed at first it was from sleeping the wrong way on it or something.   took the kids to the library for story time, Caleb just sat there looking pitiful and said he wanted to come home.   He currently has a fever of almost 101 and is in bed resting.  this is usually how he is when he has strep….I so dont want to have to take the kids to the dr!  Going to wait it out a day or two, not too long since I dont want him sick for his birthday!   I’m feeling tons better than last week but still in pain.  Finished up my last dose of prednisone today, so we’ll see how things go from here.   I am still relying on 800 mg. of ibuprofen every few hours to keep moving comfortably.   gotta go…just wanted to check in.  fun around here today that’s for sure!

Friday night we went to a friend’s son’s birthday party at a miniature golf place. The kids had a lot of fun! Saturday morning Dean got up to make a run to the dump before we headed to his company’s picnic at a local camp. It was a blast! there were several pools, inflatable slides and climbing mountain, various kids crafts, a d.j, and tons of food, delicious food! It was completely free! Zeke even got to swim for his

first time, he didnt seem to mind it! we spent all afternoon there so the kids crashed in the car on the way home.

Dean even took a nap once we got home! Then he put up our new storm door out front. the last estimate we got to do it was $150 for installation and we buy the door, we got the door on sale for half price, around $60 and Dean was able to install it himself. it looks much nicer and actually functions like it should!! (our old door didnt!) He also worked on finishing the basement stairs. I had taken off the old carpet runner, cleaned the steps and painted them in preparation of putting this new carpet down. Friends of ours got new carpeting and were getting rid of this, it’s in great shape, the stairwell is much more inviting now, we still need put the raling back up but I want to see how much a newer one cost first.

Today we went to church, I was glad there werent that many children in nursery as I was supposed to be in there, so Dean stayed with another friend with the kids so I could enjoy the service for the first time in weeks, I’ve the leader of teachers for our church’s nursery so the last few weeks we’ve had too many kids to keep the ratio correct for adults to kids, so I’ve ended up in there working instead of getting to go to the service. My back is still hurting so not being in there was great! After that caleb spent the afternoon with friends while Dean, I and the other boys went to lunch at Famous Daves then to the mall for my appointment for an eye exam. We were there for hours and I still have to go back tomorrow to get my glasses! We went to meet our friends at another friend’s house for an unplanned bbq and swim. So two days the kids didnt nap, tonight was so funny, we got home and Bo went straight to his bed without being asked. it was shortly after 8 when we got in and he was wiped out! Both kids went to bed without a fight, well all three really!!

I just got done working on cleaning up the playroom and Dean was straightening up the rest of the rooms that are left to be worked on. So not much got done housewise this weekend but we had a lot of quality family time which we’d been lacking. Tomorrow I have to go pick up my new glasses, as I suspected I was in need of a stronger prescription, not to mention Bo broke the frames to my glasses last week. I also got a pair of prescription sun glasses so that will be nice, I’ve never had a pair and I am hoping it helps my driving! Our vision insurance is great, I get a free eye exam and pair of glasses every year! I went last May so just over a year ago and my prescription has changed a good deal the dr was suprised but said it will more than likely continue to get worse as I age, gee thanks! Well I am in a great deal of pain, so off to bed, just wanted to share some pics since Caleb is out of school for the next few weeks I will probably be too busy to be here much during the day.

When reading everyone talk about how great the Bumbo seat is that they hype was just that, hype.   Not to mention, I figured it was just another way to force our kids to grow up faster, to teach them to sit up sooner than they should.  Then…..Zeke started to hate laying down or even sitting up in his swing.  Instead he wants to sit up constantly and look around, which can be hard when we have things to do.  So we got out the exersaucer, even though I thought he was too young for it.  Put a blanket around him for support and he loves it.  My friend who just had a baby got a bumbo, she cant use it yet so she mentioned we can borrow it til her baby is ready, which wont be long and usually  my kids are mobile so early I”m sure the timing will work out great.   So we are using the bumbo that I was so negative about before.   I really dont know how people come up w/ these new things but it’s great.   I’ve tried to feed Zeke in the highchair but he always falls to the side since he cant hold himself up, so I might try doing so while he’s in the bumbo next.   I’m trying solids once a week until he acts more interested, which at this point he isnt.  I put some cereal in his bottle, another thing I always judged others for, but my lightweight needs to add some weight before his next appointment, and since I cant get him to eat it otherwise and drinking more formula makes him throw up, well it’s the best I could think of.  So far he’s doing well with the addition to his milk.

My back is doing better, as long as I take my medicine on the dot if not a tad sooner than I should.   I had to stop taking the percocet, it made me feel crazy, and didnt really help the pain.   So for now I’m on steroids and 800 mg of ibuprofen.   I am still in pain but it’s bearable.  if I dont take the medicine it’s back to the unbearable.   Hoping after this 6 day regimen things will be better, I am supposed to clean the church at the end of next week and it’s Caleb’s birthday party weekend so I’ll have lots to do.   I dont want to do too much and make things worse again.

Dean’s work company picnic is today at this place called Millgate Park, they have pools and a splash area and other things for the kiddos, not to mention free food and drinks(alcohol too!)   So we are all about a free day of fun stuff to do on a beautiful day!   I’m really looking forward to swimming. i havent been able to all summer yet so hoping today I can, it would probably feel good w/ my back the way it is too.    Dean has been taking the kids next door to swim but I always stay w/ zeke so today we will take turns, or maybe even let him try the water out, we had Bo in the pool as an infant at the Y when he was younger than Zeke is so as long as the water is warm I think we’ll see how he does today.

House wise, the project on updating our basement stairwell is almost complete, again mostly by me, Dean will do the last part of installing carpetting over the new paint I put on.  I think the old paint on the steps was just regular paint, but I had gotten some paint off the oops counter at Home Depot that was tinted beige floor and patio paint, so used it to do the steps and it already looks 100% better.   So next we will lay a carpet runner over the steps and it’s a whole new look!   it’s already looking better w/ just the new more durable paint.    I’d leave it but I know w/ the kids and the amt of up and down we do it would look bad too quickly.

Gotta go get a stinky diaper replaced….have a good weekend!

well here’s some pics(really wish I had taken some before photos, those who havent seen it wont be able to know how much better it looks!)  of the bathroom in our basement.   We didnt have the money to fix the shower, so while it’s still there it’s not functional.  the base of the shower is cracked and it’s a one peice unit so we cant just buy a new base.   so for sale purposes we’ll list it as a half bath I suppose w/ potential for full w/ repair.   but still…it’s so much better than it was down there.   we tore up the old floor, which is still visible where we left it in the playroom, we havent worked in there yet at all.   Then of course laid this new floor in the bathroom.  the sink and vanity are new as is the paint on the walls.  The only thing new on the toilet is the seat since it was in good shape already.   Still need to put up the light fixtures and somehow the plumbing for the sink didnt line up so Dean will have to fix that or have someone fix it for him.  but it’s done for now and it’s a huge weight off my shoulders!!  maybe that will help the back pain?? next on the list, well it’s too long a list to rattle off.   big ideas for making our basement stairwell more appealing thanks to a friend, started that process yesterday even w/ my bad back, yes I love to overdo it.  Tonight though I did no work on the house, evident in the fact the house is a mess!!   I did bake cupcakes for Caleb’s last day of preschool so they can celebrate his birthday which is next week.

So as usual things never go the way I intend! In our basement we had a room that for years we had used as a storage only room, believe me it was always filled w/ our junk, floor to ceiling.   Finally, as of yesterday the room was ready to be turned into what I originally planned to be a computer/hobby/game room.   We got one peice of furniture in tonight then as we were getting to move Dean’s computer desk we realized it wasnt going to fit through the doorway!!   So….I thought a bit and in the end it worked out and probably better so.   Although the comforter set I intended to use on this bed in the other room wont match the “blue room” as I refer to it, so I put our down comforter from our queen bed on it, and for now it will work.   I am confident I have a sheet set that will match just need to remember where!    I got that rug on sale for halfprice, at least and was worried I wouldnt get to use it since I didnt plan on having this furniture in there but it worked out.  For a spare bedroom it’s not too shabby.  I’m impressed w/ the fact we did it all ourselves, and that room I mainly did, well Dean put up new ceiling tiles, which I didnt manage to take a pic of and he put up 2 new baseboards but the rest was my creation.  I’m proud of it, if anything it looks 150 percent better than what it did before, I’m sure those who saw it before will agree!!

just because here’s a pic of the closet door I put in our living room that the boys broke, you can kind of see on the bottom right how it’s broken.    it’s late and Dean just came up and said he’s done laying the tile in the basement downstairs, hoping to get the toilet, new vanity and sink put in tomorrow and then I’ll get pics of it up too.   So glad we are nearing the end of the basement repairs!!  then our bathroom can be done, that should be fun!