Summer Update

"Stop the Horses!"

(This quote will only be understood by a few - for now.)

It seems that summer and blogging do not mix well for me.

Having 8 children at home - including 2 who love to be on my laptop - makes it hard for me to sit and write when I want.

Right now it is almost midnight and I would love to be in bed, but felt the need to sit and update a little before summer is over.

Our oldest 3 boys went to camp for a week.

They go to a Tourette Syndrome camp and get a chance to meet

other kids from all over the world who have TS and/or OCD.

It is wonderful.

They had a great time!

We picked them up on a Saturday and we were getting

ready to leave for our family vacation the next day.

Made for a busy day.

We decided to go to Lou Malnati's for lunch.

Noah and Rachel had both received certificates for free pizzas

from school for showing great character.

Our kiddos were very excited to be out at a restaurant and

our boys were telling us all about camp while our girls filled them in on what happened at home while they were gone.

Our pizza came - it was the wrong order.

Our waitress came back with the news that our pizza was

given to another table.

Ugh. But they brought us free pasta to satisfy our hungry family

while we waited for our pizza to be remade.

They also gave us a larger pizza than what we had ordered and

didn't charge us at all for it.

Nice.

We decided to go to church that

 evening since we were

planning to leave bright and early Sunday.

While walking in, an older couple held the door for us.

The wife wanted us to sit next to her and her husband.

She loved seeing a big family.

After mass she came up to me and slipped some money

into my hand and told me to take my family out for ice cream.

I told our children.

The next day we made sure to stop while driving to the lake for

some ice cream.

The 4th of July was spent with family at the lake.

We went to Wisconsin and had an incredible time.

Lots of swimming, boating, and hanging with family.

And amazingly enough - I won the adult tennis tournament ;o)

I just might have to take it up.

This week has been a bit stressful.

Little Cameron was hit with a high fever (104.5) for a couple

of days and had a high wbc.

After a couple of tests and lots of prayers - he is doing much better today.

Poor little guy.

He was wiped out from this fever. We are guessing it is a virus.

 He is on an antibiotic until we get the culture back from his UTI test.

And if he still has the fever by Friday they will admit him for tests...but

his wbc is down today and his fever went down to 101.

Praying he is all better soon and that no one else gets it.

So I am definitely sad to know summer break will soon be over.

We are doing the school shopping.

I have really enjoyed having my children home with me.

Brandon has been great with his siblings.

We went to the petting zoo last week with friends and he was

such a great help, esp. with Jakey - who adores B.

Ethan has also been great. We have been watching "thriller" movies

together at night after everyone else goes to bed. It's been fun.

Noah is always great to play with. He is a great older brother.

Rachel, Leah, and Sarah have really enjoyed being together.

They have done a lot of fashion shows and singing songs.

School and Talent Show have been the top things to play.

Jacob and Cameron amaze me with how much they have grown over the summer.

Jacob is talking and has such a great personality. He really looks up to his older siblings. Cameron is walking around and babbling a lot.

He really seems to understand what we say to him. Very observant.

Tommy and I are keeping busy and still trying to declutter our home.

That has been an ongoing goal.

Maybe when all of our children are grown :o)