David’s Lowe’s Project: Building a Drum

Today, we took David to a “Build and Grow” clinic at Lowe’s. Lowe’s provided kits and aprons for the kids to make their own little drums.

David worked hard to make sure his drum turned out just right. He hammered away while Daddy helped hold the pieces in place.

The drum came together quickly and David was one excited little guy. This was his first real woodworking project.

Now he’s ready to drum away. He even got a certificate and a badge to sew on his Lowe’s apron.

To find out about future projects, you can visit the Build and Grow page on Lowe’s website.

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Homemade Pizza Night

Recently we’ve started making Friday nights our homemade pizza nights. I make the crust and sauce, and the kids put on the toppings.

I have to admit, I really wasn’t big on homemade pizza before because I didn’t care for the crust you can get at the grocery store and I was afraid it would be too much trouble to make it from scratch.

topping-pizza1

Then, I found this easy pizza recipe at Tammy’s Recipes. Now, I’m hooked!! By the way, the crust recipe I use is actually the one on the demonstration video down towards the bottom of the post, not the written version. They’re a little different.

As far as the sauce goes, here is the way I make mine:

Pizza Sauce

  • 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
  • 1/3 – 1/2 cup water

The following spices to taste:

  • Oregano
  • Basil
  • Garlic Powder
  • Salt
  • Paprika

The kids love to help by putting the toppings on the pizza. I just have to make sure to shred a little extra cheese because it doesn’t all end up on the pizza.

As you can see, I caught a little girl red-handed. Looking at those eyes, it’s almost like she’s saying, “Yeah I’m eating the cheese, so what are you going to do about it?” No guilt whatsoever. ;)

Thank goodness though, in the end, we get this delicious pizza to enjoy together.

Oh so good!!

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Storytime with Daddy

David and Brooke listen intently as Daddy reads one of their favorite stories:

Harold and the Purple Crayon

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David Gets a Good Report

This morning we took David for the post-op doctor’s visit. The doctor said that David is doing extremely well for no longer than it has been since the surgery.

He said that David is above average and is healing better than expected. The doctor also thinks that this is a really good indication that he will be able to get him to “perfect” vision.

PRAISE THE LORD!!

David goes back to school on Monday, but can’t go outside to play. This will be the hardest part for him since recess is one of the highlights of his day.

Our next step will be going back to Children’s Hospital on September 18th for the surgery on his left eye. We’re praying that everything goes as well with the left eye as it has with the right one.

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David’s Surgery Goes Well

Today David had cataract surgery on his right eye. The doctor removed the cataract and replaced David’s natural lens with an artificial one. According to the doctor, the surgery went “as smooth as silk.” I definitely praise the Lord for that!!

I did manage to get a smile out of him today long enough to snap a picture with his bandaged eye. He is still feeling a little groggy from the anesthesia, but I’m sure that won’t last long.

Tomorrow morning the bulky patch will come off, but he will still have to wear a clear plastic eye shield for about a week to protect his eye from being bumped or bruised. We also have to put drops in his eyes about six times a day.

**Update**

Here David is with the eye shield over his eye. He is doing great with the eye drops and is feeling much better today. This morning, shortly after getting up and removing the patch, David said he could already see better with the right eye, even with the shield on, than he could with the left eye.

He goes back to the doctor for his checkup next Wednesday, August 26th. Of course, we’re expecting a good report then too.

Surgery on his left eye is scheduled for September 18th. Then he should be all fixed up.

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We May Not Have a Watch Dog, But We Have a Grasshopper

When Brooke and I got home after shopping today, we were welcomed by this big ole grasshopper.

There he was just hanging on the door upside down. Check out that body. Isn’t it cool how he looks so much like a leaf. You can even see what looks like the veins running through a leaf.

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Chuck’s Trip to Africa

We are still sitting here wishing it was time for Chuck (aka Daddy) to come back home. Right now he is working in Africa. He sent me these pictures and said I could share them with you.

This one is the view outside the window of the four star hotel where he is staying.

And these are a few pictures of the room. The picture quality is not too good, but you can see what the room looks like. At least it looks better inside than outside.

Well, let’s just say, it has that “lived-in look” to it. ;-)

For more pictures of the hotel, you can click here to go to the hotel’s website.

We’ll sure be glad when Chuck gets home.

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David’s First Day of School

I can’t believe my little guy is already in Kindergarten. Today I walked him up to the front of the school and left him with his teacher. Very unexpectedly, as I walked away, I became slightly teary-eyed. Boy am I glad I was used to leaving him at preschool. If not, I might have just bawled.

Well, he was so excited about going to school and meeting some new friends. I had absolutely no trouble with him cooperating this morning while getting ready to go.

Here are a couple of pictures I took before leaving the house. After all, what would a first day of school be without first day of school pictures.

Look at that backpack. It’s almost as big as he is, and he’s a big kindergartener. :-)

Now, we almost didn’t get any pictures. I grabbed the camera and started to take a picture and I got a nasty message saying I needed to charge the battery. Fortunately, I had decided to take the pictures a few minutes before time to actually leave the house.

I ran to the office, grabbed the charger, and charged the battery for about five minutes and hoped it would be long enough for a few pictures. Thank goodness it was, and I got several pictures. Whew!!

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Clowning Around

Brooke dug out David’s costume from last Halloween and just had to put it on.

Isn’t that the cutest clown you’ve ever seen? Well, I think she’s pretty cute.

Oh, and here’s David clowning around. And yes, that is a diaper on his head. And yes, it’s clean. I’m not sure what he was thinking, putting a diaper on his head.

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Sleepy Heads

On weekends, we sometimes all four camp out in the living room for the night. The kids really enjoy it and I think secretly, we do too. The other morning I had already gotten up and went back into the living room to check on the kids and this is the way I found them.

Now, isn’t that sweet! If only they got along this well all the time. A-h-h-h!!

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