I took Gavin to the Dr on Monday and the Dr is worried, based on such a high fever and other symptoms, that it might be a bacterial infection in his blood.  He also has double ear infections…poor thing.

The Dr took blood for some tests, gave an antibiotic injection to help the fever, and we have another antibiotic. I’m not a huge antibiotic fan….but I won’t mess around with this high of a fever in a 9 mo old either.

Dr called on Tuesday…it’s a blood infection….we headed back to the Dr ASAP.

The Dr repeated the tests to see if the antibiotics from Monday are working. If it comes back positive again, then Gavin will end up in the hospital.

As of now, we still have all the results in, but Gavin’s fever has gone down, is a little more active, and has started to eat again.

Please keep him in your prayers.

We don’t get snow here in the desert, but just 2 1/2 hours north of us there is tons of snow.  So we packed the car, bundled up, and headed up for a day of snow fun and sledding.

We found this quiet sledding spot last year after we rode the Polar Express.  Little did we know it is not very well known and not on any of the “touristy lists”. 

I think next time we will stay the night so there is more time to play!!!  It was a last minute trip, we decided at 7:45 AM that we would go and were on the road before 9AM.  Not too bad with two kids who were both still sleeping.

John and a friend laid new flooring in the majority of the house over the Christmas holiday.  John was finishing up the hallway one evening and had a little extra help.

John’s work took all the families to Disney on Ice.  We were in the second row and could feel the skaters as they zoomed past.  Kaylynn and Gavin loved the show (okay John and I did too). 

Kaylynn is really interested in rocks and gems.  She says she wants to be a geologist when she grows up.  We found a free rock and gem show to go to early in January. 

She had so much fun, but boy did her collection of cool rocks grow.  She came home with a ton including dinosaur poop, a geode that she cracked herself, a rock that magnifies things, one that sticks to your mouth, a mother of pearl barrette, and many more that I forgot the name of. 

On New Year’s Day, we were out shopping for a rug for our new floor and when I went to take Gavin out of the stroller he fell onto the asphalt parking lot flat onto his face.  Needless to say asphalt and faces don’t do well together.

He had a softball sized knot on his head (you can sort of see it under his bangs on the left) and a messed up little nose.  He had a CT scan and was checked for a broken nose….but he was fine. 

His nose is still a little pink, but is healing nicely.

We had a great Christmas, but we’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to post.

We lost our beloved Rio last night. She was such a gentle giant and a beautiful great dane. She took her last breathes with John stroking her head and me close by. RIP Rio

…at least it will be for me.

Let me start by saying that I have a lot of posts coming to catch up from the holidays.  Gavin’s big accident that got him a CT scan, Kaylynn’s medical issues, new flooring, Christmas….all are coming.  I PROMISE!

I was standing in my kitchen this morning admiring my new floor in the living room.  The kitchen was clean, the dining area clean, the living room was clean and I felt a sense of peace wash over me.  And then I remembered the rest of the house…the papers that need filing, the clothes for the kids that are out of season and still need to be put away, the master bathroom that is always the last thing to be cleaned.  URGH!

Over the past few weeks, God has been laying the need to buy/consume less stuff.  This month I am on a no grocery shopping challenge in order to eat what I already have (with the exception of fresh produce and a little dairy).  So far it has been really nice.

As I sit in my office and wonder why it’s so hard to keep up with cleaning and putting things away, I realized we simply have too much. 

Last year, I vowed to stop buying things (stockpiling) just because it was an awesome price.  (Sale or no sale I no longer stockpile gifts, bbq sauce, clothes 2yrs ahead, etc).  That has been a hard habit to break, but I think I’ve got it under control.

So this year, my goal is to stop the mindless spending at places like Costco, Walmart, Target, Amazon, etc.  And as I spend less, I plan to weed out of my house all the items that we no longer need/use…no matter what!

We have been blessed with a nice income and sometimes it feels like it is wasted away on mindless things.  There are lots of things that I can think of that I’d like to do with the money we save during our adventure this year.

Anyone want to join me?

I can’t believe that life has gotten so busy that I haven’t posted in a while. 

We have been busy with school, work, shopping, the holidays, and spending time together!

Gavin has been pulling himself to standing for well over a month now.  He has 3 teeth and is working on 2 more.  Shortly after these pictures were taken we lowered the bottom in the pack and play so there is no chance that he can fall out. 

Gavin at Thanksgiving.

Gavin’s first time playing in a box.

Kaylynn is getting in one of her molars, but has still not lost any teeth.  She checks often to see if any are loose…but they just aren’t ready yet.

We went to the Science Center last weekend with friends, while John demolished the entry way.  The SC was having a free weekend, so it was a great activity.

One last fun picture….