2 weeks down...LITERALLY!

I told myself I was going to push through the pain to update you on our lives.

These last 2 1/2 weeks have been a real trial and struggle. I have injured my back in a major way...no surgery in my future, yet. It all started with a sneeze...deja vu from when my water broke with Kaitlyn, but with a sneeze came a pop and the most intense pain I have EVER felt. Now, mind you, I have had 3 children and have known pain, but NEVER anything like THIS!!!

A trip to the ER and 2 class 3 narcotics later and I was stuck in bed. Well, the drugs not only took away my pain, but made me quite uneasy, so I stopped those quickly and just went to motrin and call my chiropractor. Well, besides my SI joint being locked out of place my spine is now straight where it is supposed to be curved, my pelvis is curved when it is supposed to be straight, my pelvis is tilted, and my L4 and L5 verts are degenerating! I am only 30, soon to be 31 years old and my back is giving out on me. The doctor said to expect it to take 4 to six 6 weeks until we are out of CRISIS MODE and can start my recovery!!!

I am 2 1/2 weeks in and still in pain. I cannot sit for any length of time. I went out to dinner with the girls for my mental sanity, but set myself back 3 days as far as my pain goes.

Have you ever tried to care for 3 kids from bed?? Have you ever had to look at your 2 year old crying and knowing you cannot pick him up to console him?? Have you ever had to homeschool 2 kids from your bed??

We have NO family around so it has been such a struggle to keep things going. Jeff goes in to work when he can and comes running home when the pain gets to be too much for me to handle. The house is disgusting, there's no time for Jeff to clean it between taking care of the kids and learning how to cook. At some point we just said 'forget it' when it comes to the house. The only way it's going to get clean is when my back gets better or by some miracle we win the lottery and a housekeeper! (too bad we don't play!)

This is SO hard and all I want is to be better...NOW! I know God has a purpose and a plan for this, but I just don't see it. Although we have seen that HE knew what He was doing b/c we certainly could not have afforeded to send the kids to school if I was out on disability...and how long would a company REALLY keep my job for me if there is NO WAY to know WHEN I would be coming back??

Well, must go lay down again, but if you think of it, pray for us! We could really use God's touch -- for healing, for mental clarity, for my emotional state, for family togetherness...for God to really use this time to bring us closer, not only to Him, but to each other.

2 weeks down...

Well, we are officially done with our 2nd week of school.
I would have to say things are going rather well! I think I was/am a little surprised by that!

Kaitlyn is really coming along in her curriculum, it is really challenging her, which is something she needed. Right now she is working on double-digit multiplication...unfortunately we are learning the hard way that she never really learned her multiplication tables in 3rd grade which is making this a little difficult at times. (she has been caught writing it all out...25*5 to her is 25 + 25 +25, etc...can't do multiplication that way!) We are beefing up the review as division starts next week and as we all know...if you can't multiply, you can't divide!

Hannah is doing SURPRISINGLY well. I was really worried about her. The curriculum I am using has her starting cursive. Now, if any of you have seen Hannah's printing you would know that it is not the most lovely in the world (trying to be nice). She has taken to cursive like a fish to water!! Her cursive is BEAUTIFUL!! After only 2weeks her writing looks like she's been writing in cursive her entire life! (no kidding, I'll have to scan a sheet to prove it!)

Caleb is also enjoying 'school'. I really think he likes being home. He had a rough year in daycare. He is enjoying the time he gets to spend with his sisters and his new toy box that only comes out during school time. There are all kinds of cool things in the box. He has done a couple of pages out of his number book, but doesn't seem interested being able to tell the difference between a 1 and a 2...no big deal, he'll get it! Right now he's just enjoying the company.

Labor Day Weekend

We had a FANTASIC Labor Day weekend! It all started with a visit from Nana and PapPap. The kids always have so much fun when they are here...the kids are sad they can only stay a day, but PapPap has to get back to his church. Sunday we spent the day at church, grilling, going to the grocery store, and spending time playing Wii. On Monday we headed to the Museum of Science in Boston. We have a membership, so it is an awesome FREE day! We packed our lunch, had some fun in the Discovery Center before heading to the Omni theatre. We still had free tickets, so we saw the newest film, Wild Ocean. Everyone enjoyed it, although Caleb spent the entire time with his hands over his ears :)
We then went to different exhibits -- we saw and did things we had never done before...that's what is great about that place! You can spend HOURS there and not see everything! After a couple of hours in the museum we headed for a walk down the Charles River (mom and dad's favorite pre-marriage walk -- free dates!). While on our walk we stopped at a great park along the river and let the kids roam free. After our trip to the park, we headed to the Cambridgeside Galleria for dinner and a little shopping....and I mean a 'little' shopping...Jeff bought a $5 dollar t-shirt at Old Navy :)
Once our feet were completely screaming at us we walked back to the museum, paid for our parking and headed home. Caleb did not last long in the car before he was OUT! It was a long day, but a FUN day! (and a CHEAP day!! only paid for dinner and parking...can't beat that!!!!)

BIG changes in our house!

 

 

 

For those of you that DON'T know,I resigned from my Kindergarten teaching position. We were unsure of where God would lead next, would I find another job, would we be able to afford to send the girls back to their Christian school we loved...but, as we had prayed, God made it CRYSTAL clear that HOME is where I am to be. Not only as a stay-at-home mom, but as a homeschooling mom!
We started on Monday and are having a GREAT time!! Now, ask us how we are doing come November or December :)

Above are some pictures from our first week of homeschooling! Everyone went outside to help Kaitlyn observe the plants and animals in our backyard. What fun we had! But, whatever you do, don't lift up any logs around the girls...too many bugs, lots of screams :)

Trying to catch up....

 

 

 

 

Well, shortly after our return from the Mediterranean we headed to Delaware to Ron and Wendy's house. We went to surprise Jeff's mom on her 60th birthday. WE PULLED IT OFF!! She was SO surprised, yes, there were tears involved. We had a great time together, although it was MUCH too short! Above are just some of the pictures from our fun weekend!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!

Our 10 Year Anniversary Trip

What an AMAZING trip we had!! We went on a Mediterranean cruise. We spent 2 1/2 days in Barcelona, Spain before heading off on the boat. We stopped in Valetta, Matla; Florence, Italy (where we went to Sorrento and Pompeii); Civitaveccia, Italy (where we went to Rome and the Vatican City); Naples, Italy (where we went to Lucca and Pisa); VilleFrance, France (where we went to Nice and Eze); the back to Spain where we caught a plane and headed home. It was truly wonderful. The places we saw were stunning, the time away from the kids was SO needed, and we just really enjoyed being together!
Here are just a few pictures- to see more Go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/siklep

Fun in the Sun

 

 

 

 

We had a GREAT time in Miami -- we were all very sad we had to come home!
We got to spend time on the boat, at the beach, at the children's museum, in the pool, and so much more. It was so nice being able to spend Father's day with Jeff's dad and mom, James, Kelley, Ron, Wendy, and Trip. There really is too much to tell in one blog...so, I'll be back to share some more photos and stories...especially the ones of the dolphins!!!