The Titlers: May 2012

The last time I posted to the blog was Dec.--wow! A lot has happened since then that has kept us occupied. We went to Indiana for Christmas and, because we are underemployed right now, we were able to take a full two weeks to spend time in both Michigan visiting friends and in Indiana. In Michigan, we visited with my old friend Emily Greenberg and met her new baby, Claire. We also got to spend some time with Eric's best friend and his family. Then, in Indiana, in addition to seeing the usual suspects, we got the old gang of Jenni, Julie, Shelley and myself together for a morning of laughs and reminiscencing. Nothing beats getting out the Senior Book for a good laugh! That's the first time since college that we've all been together.
Then, the day after arriving back home, Kari called to tell me that mom was admitted into the hospital b/c she was having a hard time breathing. She was immediately put on a ventilator, placed in a drug induced coma, her kidneys weren't working, she had infections and sepsis--it was a very scary couple of weeks. I can think of few things in life that bring you to your knees screaming primal screams of fear--praying to God to save my mom was one of these moments for me. I flew to back to Indiana to be with her two days after returning home. I even packed a black dress. God is good and kept her going though. She's been through months of rehab and recovery and is doing pretty well right now. She was able to come home about a month ago, but has lots of doctor visits coming up to make sure she stays on recovery's path. Thank you for your prayers and well wishes, they meant a lot.

As soon as I returned, I started watching a little girl, Alyssa, full time for two months while she was between child care providers. She and Kai are close in age and they quickly developed the love-hate relationship of siblings! One minute best friends and the next minute competing for attention and justice.

Then, Spring arrived and I got busy fundraising for a mission trip to Guatemala that I am taking with my church in July. I sent out support letters, volunteered for a consignment sale and yard sale, and hosted a Thirty-One party to raise funds. So far, our church has raised $10,000 toward the housing materials we will use to build homes for widows and orphans while in Guatemala. The $1600 I needed to get there has been provided in full! Hooray!

Additionally, Eric's friend and missionary, Matt Tandy, started a Guatemala-based/U.S. bound web-based shoe company called Market 127 and Eric took on the responsibility of being the "US Head of Operations" (or a similar fancy title he gave himself). He ships the shoes that are ordered and manages inventory as well as anything other responsibilities Matt requests. The web-site launched on May 1 and we have been busy! When you purchase a pair of shoes, they go toward supporting the local Guatemalan economy, putting tradesmen to work, and providing school shoes for the children of the area. Please visit www.market127.com and check it out!

Also, I took on the task of making the outfits that the girls wore for my neice, Emmy's, wedding. I cannot sew, so the no-sew tutu-making option worked out great! The kids were all in the wedding and performed their duties wonderfully. The wedding was May 19 in Indiana. It was a beautiful day for a beautiful couple to share their beautiful covenant with us! Congratulations to Matt and Emmy!

Tomorrow is the last day of school and the kids are excited about daily trips to the neighborhood pool and not coming home until the street lights are on (although, I am actually going to insist upon daily reading and math time and frequent craft activities with the three kids and me). We are looking forward to some R&R and a break from tests and homework! Highlights of the end of the year: both girls won their class' limbo contest and Rylie got an award for Science.

Other updates:

Eric is still looking for full-time work and has some good prospects that should finalize in June;
We have a renter for our guest bedroom/bath--our friend, John--and it has been working out great since January;
Madelyn had a second surgery for vesicoureteral reflux in Feb. and all signs point to being free of that issue (huge praise);
She lost her second tooth and the tooth fairy forgot to come two nights in a row (how dare she?);
Kai is talkative and busy, constantly asking what this truck is for or that one and trying to understand vague concepts of time that his mommy throws out such as "in a little while" or "in a second";
He's also trying to make sense of the days and will often say, "Is today tomorrow?", then ensues confusing conversations for both parties;
I played up in tennis this season to the 3.5 level and got my butt kicked lots, but I really think it improved my game.

I have probably bored you at this point, so please enjoy the photos!