moving, mites and skinned knees

So much to write about and so little time to blog!  As much as I love to write about our adventures and misadventures, I often find myself way too tired at the end of the day and wanting nothing more than to fall into bed.  So, tonight, while I'm feeling moderately energized and my sweet husband is watching the All-Star game, I'll catch you up on this week's happenings at our house.

We have made it through another week of busyness, as we are getting ready for the move.  Our movers will be here in less than 2 weeks and we'll packing up for the next chapter in our lives.  Military moves generally, in my experience, require quite a bit of planning.  We finally got a call from the movers and have our move dates set, pictures off the walls and a new address.  We're spending our evenings patching nail holes, touching up paint, repairing screens and sorting everything else.

While doing all this this weekend, Ken came across a bird's nest that had fallen to the ground which he allowed, nay encouraged,  the kids to play with.  I saw this and quickly dismissed the reminder in my head of my mom not allowing me to play with old bird's nests due to bird mites.  Nonsense and overprotective parenting, for sure.  About 10 minutes later,  while making playdough eggs to put in their new found nest, I noticed 1 of my kids doing quite a bit of scratching.  Oh yes.  Upon closer inspection, I see that at least 2 of my darlings were covered in itty-bitty bugs.  Eeek! Quickly, we grab all 4 of the older children and toss them into bathtubs and showers.  They each got their hair washed several times with lemon juice and vinegar (thanks to a little quick online research).  Clothes were all thrown immediately in the washer for sanitation and I went on a cleaning frenzy.  Thankfully, the nest was kept outside and disaster narrowly averted.  I feel sure that none of my children will ever look at birds nests the same again.

In a bird update,  the neighbor later found a tiny inhabitant of the earlier mentioned dishevelled nest.  She is nursing the baby bird back to health, and so far it seems to be doing well.  The girls have been digging worms for him every day and helping her feed him.

Here's the rest of the news of the week in (somewhat) bullet form:

After almost a month of back problems, I began seeing a chiropractor this week.  I was a little skeptical at first, but even with one adjustment I'm already feeling better.  I'm finally feeling hopeful that I may be back to normal soon.

Our van got a new radiator this week.  Those suckers normally cost about $800 and since the van is only about 5 years old, we were surprised to have to make this repair.  Ken suggested we call Toyota, just to see what could be done.  I called and, it turns out that our particular model of van has been known to have radiator problems, so they agreed to do all the work and replacement for free!  Yay!  I'm thankful for my husband's wisdom.... it never hurts to ask!

The low point of my week was falling up the front steps while holding 2 gallons of milk.  I haven't had a good fall-on-my-face in years, so I suppose I had it coming.  I gained 2 nicely skinned knees from the mishap, and had their been any cars passing at the time, they would have surely gotten a full moon, considering I was wearing a skirt at the time.  All in all, no harm done, but I was a little bummed that I punctured one of my gallons of milk.  

But so as not to end on a low note, I got a very sweet bouquet of flowers this week from my hubby.   He was biking back from dropping the van off at the shop.  {Sidenote: When you have 5 children, dropping the van off becomes a challenge.  We can't fit the kids in his truck and they can't stay home alone.  Therefore, we only have our cars repaired at places close enough for us to drop it off then run or bike home.}  Anyway, on his way home, he stopped along the side of the road and picked me a sweet handful of wild flowers.  He used to do that when we were dating.  And when we lived far apart, he would press flowers in cards and mail them to me.    I'm a sucker for stuff like that.  And he knows it.  Anyway, it was definitely a high point of my week.

Maybe it's my newly adjusted spine, but I am feeling particularly thankful for my family right now.  Even in the craziness that is surrounding us right now, we are blessed.  Hope you had a good week too.

"Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.  Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory.  Amen and amen."  Psalm 72:18-19