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4/13/06- What a morning. (Warning: this story has descriptive information- sorry, but I know some of you are concerned, so that's why I tried to carefully write what happened.)
Daniel woke up around 4:15am crying, which he doesn't usually do, so I went in and checked on him. I could tell as soon as I went in his room that he had a dirty diaper, so I went to change him. It was a BAD diaper (sorry- I won't give too many details!)- it just filled the whole thing, so it took many wipes to clean him up. Well, I only had the little light on in his room, and when I went to wipe around his private parts, something seemed wrong. I turned on the light and it was EXTREMELY swollen and red. I called for Aaron right away, and Aaron doesn't usually freak out. Well, he looked at it and said, "Chanelle, I think we need to take him to the hospital." So I knew it was bad if Aaron was saying that. He told me to call the doctor first and talk to the nurse who was on call, and when I described it to her, she said we better come in. So, we got Caleb and Daniel, put them in their car seats and headed to Chattanooga to TC Thompson's Children's Hospital at 4:45am. We took two cars, because Aaron works just past Chattanooga, and we didn't know how long we'd be and we wanted him to have his vehicle to get to school.
Thankfully, Daniel slept most of the way there, and when he did cry, Caleb was so sweet- he would say, "it's okay, Daniel." They got our information and took us right away. The nurse who looked at him first was so sweet to both boys, and she has a little19 month old boy, and after she saw it, she said she would have brought her boy in if that happened, and that we did the right thing.
The doctor that examined him said it was probably from the bad diaper he had, and however long he was sleeping in it, the bacteria just infected it, and it just got extremely irritated and swelled up. They had to check his urine to make sure that it was not filled with bacteria, so they had to do a cathetar. I'm so glad Aaron was there, because I don't think I could have handled that by myself. My poor little baby...
The urine came back okay, thankfully, and they gave me a prescription for a topical cream to put on the area 3 times a day. We just have to watch it closely and bring him back if it gets any redder and the irritation spreads. We also have go to the pediatrician and do a follow-up, so he'll be checked again, which will be good.
I, of course, called my school and got a sub for the day. They were so great and understanding and concerned, which was really nice. I stopped by to get my check and also my digital camera from the daycare, because I had forgotten it yesterday. Caleb wanted to stay at school, so I went ahead and left him there and went to Wal-mart to get the prescription. Then, Daniel and I went home to eat and rest after the crazy morning.
Daniel seems to be doing fine. As soon as I got home, I gave hime a little bath and just used warm water around the infected area, and then put that cream on. He's been eating fine and acting fine, so hopefully everything will heal and he'll be okay. What a scare this morning. Please pray for little Daniel that the irritation will go away and he will not be in too much pain. Thank you...
4/12/06- Today the kids had their Easter egg hunt and party at school! I dressed the boys in their matching light blue shirts (you can see the picture on the front page) and sent Caleb's Basketball easter basket. I didn't get to see Caleb searching for the eggs like I did last year, because I had a kindergarten class, but I saw them walking back to the daycare after the "hunt" and peeked my head out of my exterior door so I could see him. He came running to show me how many he got in his basket- it was so cute! And all of the kindergarteners wanted to see him, too. He had so much fun and both boys just looked so cute!!
4/11/06- Daniel has been kind of congested the last few days, so I decided to take him to the doctor. The other 2 babies at the daycare had both had ear infections in the last week, and I was so worried that he might have one, so I felt better taking him so I could find out for sure. Well, when they weighed him, he was 16lbs. Just 6 days ago we were there and he was 15lbs. 10oz!! I guess 3 days of cereal is sticking with him.
Dr. Fox said Daniel's ears looked fine- no infection- yeah! But, he gave me some Children's Dimetapp for the congestion, and said to just give it to him as needed.
4/9/06- Sweeten's Cove Sunday! We went to church at Sweeten's Cove this morning. Caleb is so cute; he'll ask us as we're driving to church, "which church are we going to?" So depending on which Sunday, we tell him, "Sweeten's Cove," or "North Terrace," and he just says, "Oh!! okay!!" It just amazes me that he knows when we're going somewhere different.
We got home from church, and quickly got the boys down for their naps, because Lorence's birthday party was from 3-5pm. (Lorence is Lisa's daughter, and Lisa is my friend who's also the PE teacher at my school.) The made it to party a little after 3pm, and when we parked the van, Caleb said, "get me out, please, Mommy- I'm excited! All the kids were playing outside on the swingset and trampoline, so Caleb ran right over. We all had a great time and then decided to go to church up in Sewanee, on Monteagle Mountain, since we hadn't visited up there before. Well, when we walked in, we saw Mr. Pinky, and also the Bracketts- fom North Terrace! So, counting our family, there were more members from North Terrace, than they had there that night! It is a small and very sweet group of people that meet there. We really enjoyed visiting there.
4/8/06- Let's get rid of some junk! We are trying so hard to get rid of stuff and clean out closets so we can get this house ready if we're going to sell it! We got a lot accomplished today, which was good. Sometimes it seems so overwhelming, but I know I just need to take a step back and concentrate on one thing at a time. It will all work out! God's in control...
Daniel started cereal today!! He did pretty good for eating for the first time with a spoon. It was the usual "what in the world is this thing your putting in my mouth and what's with the texture of the milk?!" But, he definitely got most of it down so we'll just keep working at eating with a spoon, because fruits and vegetables aren't far away!!
4/7/06- Aaron took the van to get some maintainance done on it. It was leaking a little bit of oil, and it has 17,000 miles on it, so he took it down and had it all checked out. It turned out to be a bad seal cap, so they fixed that, and balanced the tires, and a few other things.
The boys are still doing well at school. The ladies say Daniel is such a good baby, and I'm so thankful that he is such a good baby. He just entertains himself and has fun watching the other kids, and he sleeps good, eats good, and I still go over between 10:45 and 11:15 to feed him.
Caleb is just so much fun. Yes, he has his moments, but he's like talking to a little adult. He just loves to carry on conversations about whatever is on his mind. Lately, he's been really showing signs of trying to read. At school, Denita (the lady that runs the daycare) has all of their names on index cards, and she shows the kids a card with one of their names, and they have to spell it and say whose name it is. Well, my principal's grandson is over there, and the parents named him Moss. Well, we have a "Moss Motors" car dealership in South Pittsburg, so they have billboard signs around town and on the interstate, so one day on the way to school, Caleb saw one of these billboards and said loudly and with excitement, "M-O-S-S- that spells Moss!!! That's Moss's name!!!" I couldn't believe it. He always points at Lowe's and Wal-Mart, and Home Depot, and says their names, but a lot of times, Aaron and I just think he's recognizing the symbol that they all have for their signs. Well, after this, I don't know!
4/6/06- Aaron received a phone call today from the superintendent at Burke County. She just wanted to let Aaron know about something. The school board has to make the final decision about Aaron as an assistant principal in the school system there, and there is a girl
from there, went to school there, and is trying to come back and have this assistant principal position. The superintendent and principal want Aaron, but it's election year for the school board, and some of the school board members are just a little concerned about how the county will feel about getting some one from "out-of-house" instead of this "hometown girl." The superintendent seems to think everything will work out, but she just wanted Aaron to know what the situation was and that the next board meeting will be April 18th, so we'll know for sure after that. My mind is like a roller coaster: "are we moving? are we staying? what's going on?" We are still de-junking the house and getting it ready to sell, but we're just going to wait to put it on the market until we know for sure what the deal is.
4/5/06- Daniel is 4 months old today!! Yeah! Since Aaron was off from school this week, for spring break, he went with me and Daniel to the appointment. He's doing great and ready to start cereal, and slowly work up to eating fruits and vegetables! He weighed 15lbs. and 10 oz. and he grew almost 2 more inches, and is now 25 inches long! What a big boy!! He got his three shots and cried for while getting them, but was fine when I picked him up.
I told Mrs. Moss (my principal) about this job opportunity that Aaron has received and that it looks like we're going to be moving. It was hard to tell her, because she's the one who hired me 5 years ago and gave me the chance to be the music teacher at South Pittsburg Elementary, knowing it was my first job as a music teacher. She has just been wonderful and I really enjoy working there and with all of the teachers. But, she understood and agreed that it was a great opportunity for all of us.
The news spread like wildfire around my school. I told Mrs. Moss at 10:00am, and by lunch at 11:45, more than half the teachers knew. They are all really sweet, and I'll miss them.
Aaron also made the announcement at church that he accepted the job and we'd be moving. That was really hard, but everyone has had wonderful things to say to us in regards to missing us and happy that I'll be able to stay home.
4/3/06- Rise and shine! It's time to head up to Waynesboro! I called my school first thing in the morning to let them know I would need a substitute. Then we got ready and headed up to Waynesboro. Aaron and I work so well together and I just appreciate his help so much. He just asks me what he needs to do to help, and we just work everything out to help each other. We got up by 8:00am and we were on the road by 9:15am, with showers and breakfast!
Burke County schools in Waynesboro are also on Spring Break this week, so one of the maintaince guys was going to let us in the school so we could look at it. Aaron had already been through the school, but he wanted me to see it, and since the primary school was right next door, we went to see that, since its Pre-K through 2nd Grade, and Caleb would go there when he's 4 years old. Now, I almost can't believe that. Aaron and I were saying that it's only 15 more months until Caleb is in school for Pre-K!!!!! My little boy!!!
The schools were absolutely incredible. Built in just the last 5 years: 2001 and 2003. And t middle school and high school are just behind the elementary and primary school buildings. It was really neat to walk through the buildings.
After seeing the schools, we drove around the town and tried to find some of the houses that we saw for sale on the internet. The homes are all so neat, and there are so many trees and parks around town. After we drove by some houses that we liked, Aaron went to a realtor's office and talked with her about what we'd be looking for, and she was very helpful. He came back to the van with a map of Waynesboro, and a key to one of the houses that we liked, so we could walk through it! Oh, this house was just charming! It's an older home with all hardwood floors, and the arched entry ways in each room. It has 2 bedrooms downstairs, with a possible 3rd bedroom, that could be a den, because it has a cute little screened porch off of it. There's also the living room and dining room and kitchen and laundry room all downstairs, and a full bath. The upstairs has just been finished off and it has 2 more bedrooms and a new full bath and it's really nice with ceramic tile. The back yard is beautiful with trees all around the perimeter, and big open space to play, and there's even a workshop building in the back! We enjoyed walking through it and if we do move, it would be a very cute house for us.
We drove around some more, and found several nice areas. Then, we had lunch at Pizza Hut, and headed back home, because the boys and I were going to be back at school on Tuesday.
After today, we think we're going to accept the job and move...another chapter in our life!
4/2/06- Aaron is teaching the Adult Bible Class this quarter on Proverbs, and I think it's going to be a great study. Caleb will be learning about everything from creation through Moses this quarter, and he is excited about his new class and new teacher. We always try to prepare him each quarter for the new things that will happen, and that each teacher is different and to use good manners, listen well, and do a good job in class. When Daniel goes to bible class, he will be learning about Daniel!! He'll really get to know his name now!
Aaron asked for prayers from the congregation on the decisions that we'll be making in regards to this opportunity. It's so hard for us to think of leaving North Terrace. We have just loved it there and have appreciated all of the brethren there so much. But, like one of the members said: this is our comfort zone, and sometimes God wants us to get out of our comfort zone, even though it's hard.
We traveled after morning services to Augusta and made great time. The boys did very well. Thankfully, they both napped part of the time, and thankfully, we have a portable DVD player for them to watch videos! We found the church building and still had an hour, so we drove around a little bit. Augusta is very pretty and there are lots of stores around- yeah!
We got back to the church building about 20 minutes before services, so we could meet some people before church started. The group was very friendly and there were a good number of kids. There was a girl there that I went to FC with, and her and her husband have a little boy just a few months older than Daniel, so that was positive.
After church, we traveled down to Waynesboro, and Aaron drove around town so I could see what it looked like and he drove us by the schools. The town is very cute and the schools are beautiful- top of the line facilities. We had dinner at a Chinese Buffet next to Wal-mart, which was very good, and the people were very friendly.
We had reservations to stay at a hotel just south of Waynesboro, because it was the week of the Masters in Augusta (golf capital!), so hotels were very expensive in Augusta and Waynesboro, so we stayed in Statesboro, where Georgia Southern University is located. Daniel was tired of being in his car seat all day, so he was anxious to get in his porta-crib and sleep. Both boys settled down well when we got to the hotel.
4/1/06- Today, I spent the day trying to get everything ready so we could have the van packed Sunday morning, and just leave after church from North Terrace and head to Augusta, GA. After I finished all of the laundry and packed our overnight bags, we all went to my school so I could leave the plans for my substitute. Then, we went out to eat at Raphael's in Jasper- a good, inexpensive italian place that we like to go.
It's hard to believe we're thinking about moving. We've been here for almost 5 years in Marion County, Tennessee. I hate the thought of leaving, but this is such a great opportunity for Aaron and for our whole family. We'll just have to see what church is like and what the town is like down there and keep praying about what God wants us to do!
3/31/06- Well, today our family was thrown for a loop! Aaron was offered an Assistant Principal job for a school down in Waynesboro, Georgia, which is just 25 miles south of Augusta, Georgia. It's an elementary school, grades 3-5, and Aaron's been wanting to get into administration since he received his Master's last year. I hadn't posted on the website the stories about his 2 trips down there, but he received a call about 3 weeks ago, to come down and interview for this assistant principal job. He was excited about getting the experience of interviewing for an adminstrative job, so he went! Out of 50 applicants, he was one of 5 who was asked to interview. He went down and enjoyed the interview and seeing the wonderful facilites they have and also the pretty town, but came home thinking there was probably no way he would get the job. They called him back the next day and said he made the final cut, he was now one of 3 that they were looking at, and they wanted him to come and interview in front of the school board. That interview was just this past Tuesday. Then they tried calling him on Wednesday and Thursday, but Aaron left his phone at home on Wednesday when they tried calling, and then was outside mowing the grass on Thursday and missed the phone call. Finally, they reached him this morning, and offered him the job. He was shocked. They also made a position for me (Aaron had told them I was a music teacher), and wanted to hire me, without even meeting me, to get us to come down for the job! Aaron, of course, called me at school, and I was in shock the rest of the day!
We both have so many mixed emotions. We love where we live and all of the people we go to church with and teach with in the Chattanooga area. But, Aaron has applied for several jobs, and this is the one that wanted to interview him and offer him a job! Aaron found out that the salary would be what both of us are making now, combined, so we figured that even though they offered me a position, I could stay home with the boys until they are both in school, which is what I've always wanted to do. So, there are lots of positive things that could come from this opportunity.
We are going to go down there after morning services, so we can attend church services in Augusta, and then see the town of Waynesboro, and then go through the schools on Monday. Aaron is on Spring Break, so I will just take Monday off and leave plans for a substitute. Aaron is always so good about making sure I see everything before he gives an answer. We'll see what happens.
3/29/06- What a beautiful day outside! Caleb got to go outside during school today since it was so nice, and he and his little friends played kickball. He told me all about it on the way home from school. He said they used the bikes and cars in their playground area as the bases, and they would kick the ball and run the bases. I'm sure it was so cute! I'll have to get over there during one of my breaks while they're out there playing to see them.
Denita (the lady who runs the daycare) told me that Daniel is such a good baby. I'm so glad it is working out for him over there and that he is so good for them! That makes me feel so good. He seems to be wanting more to eat, so I think we're going to start cereal this weekend. He goes for his 4 month check-up on Wednesday, and that's when we started Caleb on cereal, so we'll see how Daniel does with it! I can't believe he's almost 4 months old!
Daniel went to the baby bible class tonight and did so great! He stayed in there for almost the whole time and just looked around at everybody and listened to the songs and sucked on his fingers. There are 4 other girls in the class- he's the only boy! Thankfully, Rachele is having a boy and Daniel and Baby Boy Watkins will be 6 months apart. I might just have Daniel go on Wednesday nights, since he is awake during that time and enjoys sitting in there. We'll see! They are studying "Daniel and the Lions Den" next, so he'll get to hear his name all the time!
3/25/06- Today Daniel went with me to Ladies Bible Class and Caleb and Aaron hung out at home. After class, I went to the church building to clean the downstairs, because Aaron and I were down to clean it this week. Thankfully, Laura Dyer from church came to help me, which was so nice! While we were downstairs cleaning, I decided to see how Daniel did sitting in the seats-in-the-table in the babies bible classroom. We've started putting him in his walker at home, and just stuffing blankets around him since he's not quite sitting up on his own yet. Well, I did stuffed blankets around him in the seat in the room, and he was so excited and happy to be sitting there! He just loved it!! So, now I'm debating bringing him down on Wednesday nights, just to see how he does, because he's ususally awake during church on Wednesday nights. And upstairs in the adult class, he's just distracting everyone with his adorable smiles and cooing! So, maybe we'll try that. He's going to be 4 months next week, believe it or not!
3/24/06- Daniel rolled over today!! He went down for a nap around 3:45 this afternoon, and normally he sleeps for at least an hour. Well, about 30 minutes later, I heard him cry a little bit, but waited to see if he would go back to sleep. Then a few minutes later I heard him cooing, and it didn't sound like he was on his belly, which is how he sleeps. I thought for a moment, "could he have rolled over already?" Sure enough, I went up to see him, and he was on his back!
As you can see, I figured out how to put some links on the website to see videos of the boys and other websites as well. I had fun working on that today. The Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburg is coming up, and now that I'm back at school, I'll be getting Chorus ready for their performance there.
3/21/06- Today we went to the Lowry Park Zoo with some of Aaron's family and had a great time. We planned on getting on the road after the zoo, since we would be by the interstate, so we packed up the van in the morning and were all set. The zoo was so much fun; Caleb always enjoys seeing all of the animals. Daniel slept the whole time, and woke up shortly before we were going to leave, so I fed him while Aaron and his dad took Caleb to see the elephants and giraffes. We went to lunch at Sonny's BBQ and then got on the road around 3pm. The boys were GREAT on the ride home and having the van makes the trip much easier. We made it home by 12:30am, so we made great time. I'm so glad we were able to make the trip- it was great to see everyone and be in sunny Florida! The weather was fantastic the whole time we were there.
3/20/06- Today we went to Winter Haven, FL to see my Granny (my dad's mom). We were also able to see several of my aunts and uncles, too. We all went to lunch at "Whistle's Junction," which use to be Ryan's in Florida. They have it all decorated like a train station, so Caleb just loved it. They also showed Thomas videos on the tv's, so he was pretty much glued to tv. He started running a fever out of the blue while we were there, but we gave him Tylenol, and he was fine by the time we got back to Granny's. Granny's retirement place has a pool, so he went down there, once with Uncle James and Uncle Tipton, and then another time with Daddy and Uncle Tipton. I let Uncle James know that I had an extra set of clothes, in case he got wet, so when he came back, we changed into those. But, then when he wanted to go with Daddy, we didn't have anymore clothes to change into, so Aaron stripped him down to his underwear to go in the pool! Luckily, I had an extra pair in the diaper bag. We all had a good visit and Granny really enjoyed seeing the us and the boys.
We went back to Tampa to have dinner, because Aaron's brother, Byron, and his wife, Heather, were coming over. We enjoyed spending time with them and even went over to their house to see some of the work they've done on their kitchen and their new wood floors. It was great to see them before we left Tampa.
3/19/06- We went to church with Nanny at Temple Terrace church of Christ and had a good bible class and worship service. They are in a brand new building now and it is incredible. Caleb did great going to Bible Class- I'm so glad that he is good about going to class and not being scared at a different congregation. He had a blast learning about Joseph, especially because he got to paint with water colors a picture of Joseph with his coat of many colors. He was so excited to show us what he did! We were able to see several people that we have known over the years and talk with them before and after services.
We went to Picadilly Cafeteria to eat after church, and got to see Buddy Payne and his wife and son, Benjy. They were there eating lunch and it was good to chat with them a little bit. Their son, Benjy, was just hired as one of the new music teachers there at Florida College, so it was nice to chat with him about music education.
After a restful afternoon, we went to Henderson Blvd. for evening services, where Ralph Walker (Jr.) preaches. It was great to hear him speak and we went over to his parent's house after services and got to visit with him and his sister and parents, which was nice. We always enjoy spending time with the Walkers.
3/18/06- We made it to Tampa, FL!! We made great time, even though there was some construction north of Atanta. When Caleb woke up, we said, "guess where we are?" and immediately he said, "FLORIDA!!!" Daniel woke up just before we arrived Aaron's dad's house, and he was ready to eat. Both boys slept great and rode well in the van through the night- we were so glad!
We spent the morning catching up on sleep while Daniel took his long morning nap and while Caleb had fun with Grandpa Collins. Then we headed over to Nanny's (Aaron's grandmother) after Daniel got up and ate. She enjoyed seeing the boys and we spent the afternoon visiting with her and the boys both took naps while we were there.
We went out to CDB's Italian Restaurant with Aaron's dad for dinner and got their yummy pizza and chef salad. Then it was time to get the boys ready for bed, since church was the next day.
3/17/06- Yeah! It's time for Spring Break! It's so nice to have a break after just being back at school for one week! We're getting ready to go down to Florida. We almost have everything packed, so once Daniel is fed for the last time at 7:30pm, we'll get the last minute stuff put in the van and get on the road.
Caleb is SO excited! He keeps asking "when are going to Florida?" And in the van, he asks "where's Florida?" It's almost like, "are we there yet?" We finally told him that he had to go to sleep for us to get to Florida, and when he woke up in the morning, we would be there. He finally went to sleep!
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