You can keep up with family news at www.rileycandra.blospot.com as there continues to be a lot going on.
Our 3rd Annual 'Run 143' is happening this week to raise awareness & support for orphan care and adoption. Check out www.run143.blogspot.com for regular updates or www.run143.com to donate to this important event! We're supporting 2 great families who are adopting from SA, 2 amazing baby homes, and our important local resource/support centre.
Thanks for checking in!
I.B.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
little update
Slowly getting better. Trying to do some lifting. borrrrrrrrring. It's been tough to keep things physically slow & not do too much - but I've almost made it!
And 4 weeks in, my mouth is still healing. I got it checked again today and it sounds like it will need another 2-4 weeks to heal. I guess that's what happens when you get a cut in your mouth that goes down to the bone.... But at least now I get to stop taking the medicine that has been reeking havoc with my system & energy levels. And I can take a few bites every meal on that side of my mouth.... Progress is progress.
House update: we're priming the basement now. Hopefully by the end of the weekend the entire house (up & down) will be primed and ready to paint. Our goal is to have the entire house painted 10 days from now - Super Lu took next week off to go for it. She's a really hard worker - so it's fun to see her progress.
I'll get some house pictures up once the paint is on the walls.
I.B.
And 4 weeks in, my mouth is still healing. I got it checked again today and it sounds like it will need another 2-4 weeks to heal. I guess that's what happens when you get a cut in your mouth that goes down to the bone.... But at least now I get to stop taking the medicine that has been reeking havoc with my system & energy levels. And I can take a few bites every meal on that side of my mouth.... Progress is progress.
House update: we're priming the basement now. Hopefully by the end of the weekend the entire house (up & down) will be primed and ready to paint. Our goal is to have the entire house painted 10 days from now - Super Lu took next week off to go for it. She's a really hard worker - so it's fun to see her progress.
I'll get some house pictures up once the paint is on the walls.
I.B.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Together At Last!
We had a pretty good time priming the walls (until 1am). Except that we forgot to get the primer shaken.... So this is the way we decided to mix the paint!
I.B.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Almost....
Well, February is here - we made it!
But...
I'm still dealing with the after effects of January. The most noticeable now is a good size cut in my mouth on my bottom gums from around my surgery time (I've had it 3 weeks now). It's gotten worse & swollen & gross... I won't get into details! But eating has been really difficult as well as talking (or functioning sometimes). I'm on an aggressive medication plan for the next week, so hopefully this won't go longer than a month....
I'm almost finished my protest of January 2012.
In good news, the main level & bonus room is ready to paint! I'll post some pictures soon. And the basement should be ready to tape & mud by the end of the day! FIL was in all last week & back again this week to help (along with Expert giving me some free help for a few days!). I'll be driving some screws in - at least I get to help a little without overdoing it while I heal from surgery. Super Lu will start priming tomorrow night & on the weekend - she's excited to finally be able to help (role reversal - I'll be taking care of the kids!).
I.B.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
And then the flu...
So now my wife is throwing up all day.
It's a little difficult to take care of 4 kids, get to church, etc. being post-surgery. Let's be honest, it's tough taking care of 4 little kids even when I'm healthy! The best I could muster on the 'fun level' was to go outside, stand there and watch 2 of them toboggan.
On the flip side, a family from church offered to bring us supper tonight which was pretty cool. We have some trouble receiving help - we chose this crazy life! And then my wife's sister stopped by with some popsicles & raspberry ginger ale for my bride. Our church is really awesome.
I may throw a party on February 1st because it means that January will be finished.
Any good idea for party names?
How about 'Uno Febbraio!"?
I.B.
It's a little difficult to take care of 4 kids, get to church, etc. being post-surgery. Let's be honest, it's tough taking care of 4 little kids even when I'm healthy! The best I could muster on the 'fun level' was to go outside, stand there and watch 2 of them toboggan.
On the flip side, a family from church offered to bring us supper tonight which was pretty cool. We have some trouble receiving help - we chose this crazy life! And then my wife's sister stopped by with some popsicles & raspberry ginger ale for my bride. Our church is really awesome.
I may throw a party on February 1st because it means that January will be finished.
Any good idea for party names?
How about 'Uno Febbraio!"?
I.B.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Gun discharged at school
Well....
In a very scary & odd development, an 11 year old boy brought a hand gun to our kids elementary school and it went off in his classroom (in his backpack & locker). No one was injured - thankfully!
This has made for some difficult times & worries for our kids, but they are doing alright (all things considered).
Apparently the boy was not aware that the gun was loaded - but there's still lots of questions to be answered. LOTS.
January will be over soon and I for one will not complain. What a 'unique' month for our family. That's the correct word, right? Unique?
I.B.
In a very scary & odd development, an 11 year old boy brought a hand gun to our kids elementary school and it went off in his classroom (in his backpack & locker). No one was injured - thankfully!
This has made for some difficult times & worries for our kids, but they are doing alright (all things considered).
Apparently the boy was not aware that the gun was loaded - but there's still lots of questions to be answered. LOTS.
January will be over soon and I for one will not complain. What a 'unique' month for our family. That's the correct word, right? Unique?
I.B.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Jerk Encounter
Because of a crazy schedule on Tuesday, we decided to grab some supper out as a family (my first big outing post-surgery). Our kids are great & well behaved in restaurants. The strangers are not....
I arrived a little early with our older 2 kids, ordered and collapsed into a chair. Super Lu & the younger 2 showed up 10 minutes later just as our name was called to get our food. As she left to pick up our meals, I noticed a man in his mid 30's (with 2 kids) standing up to leave. He then noticed Dude, looked around our table, stopped putting on his coat and stared at Dude for a few seconds shaking his head with a look of disgust. Before I could get into a position to get out of my chair to confront him, he was gone. Quickly.
Judging by the way things were going around the table, none of the kids noticed. I still felt bad that I didn't respond in a outward/tangible way - there's no way that I want our kids growing up with reactions like that held unaccountable. It's not acceptable or appropriate to me.
It was a tough supper in the reaction department. There was also an old couple sitting beside our table that started looking Dude's way and whispering a lot & covering their mouths when they talked. Then the man (who was sitting quite close to Dude), got up & moved to the far side of their table. And in case you are curious - Dude was very well behaved, clean, and eating well (with his oldest sister gushing over him the entire meal). This is NOT a case of a loud, obnoxious, dirty kid. I'd like to think the best of this old couple, but their actions were not helping me much....
We're quite used to having lingering stares and people watching us basically wherever we go (being a transracial family), but there's a line...
I.B.
I arrived a little early with our older 2 kids, ordered and collapsed into a chair. Super Lu & the younger 2 showed up 10 minutes later just as our name was called to get our food. As she left to pick up our meals, I noticed a man in his mid 30's (with 2 kids) standing up to leave. He then noticed Dude, looked around our table, stopped putting on his coat and stared at Dude for a few seconds shaking his head with a look of disgust. Before I could get into a position to get out of my chair to confront him, he was gone. Quickly.
Judging by the way things were going around the table, none of the kids noticed. I still felt bad that I didn't respond in a outward/tangible way - there's no way that I want our kids growing up with reactions like that held unaccountable. It's not acceptable or appropriate to me.
It was a tough supper in the reaction department. There was also an old couple sitting beside our table that started looking Dude's way and whispering a lot & covering their mouths when they talked. Then the man (who was sitting quite close to Dude), got up & moved to the far side of their table. And in case you are curious - Dude was very well behaved, clean, and eating well (with his oldest sister gushing over him the entire meal). This is NOT a case of a loud, obnoxious, dirty kid. I'd like to think the best of this old couple, but their actions were not helping me much....
We're quite used to having lingering stares and people watching us basically wherever we go (being a transracial family), but there's a line...
I.B.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Weird question at hospital
I'm slowly on the mend. Appendix surgery is not fun, but not the worst thing in the world (except that I've developed a deep cough that really hurts the surgery area). I jokingly wonder if my belly button will explode out along with everything inside.... I had no idea one of the 3 points of entry for this surgery was the belly button. Seems kind of like a bad horror movie to me....
On a funny note - Spark Plug thought that the surgery was her fault. She remembered shooting me in the stomach with a N*RF dart gun a few days earlier & assumed that's why I needed surgery! HA!
My hospital stay was fairly typical. You won't find me complaining about pain or other things since so many people experience this ailment or much much worse. I was pretty well taken care of.
But my time in the hospital was weird in one way....
On 3 different occasions
3 different times of day
from 3 different strangers
of 3 very different ages (& different genders)
I got asked this question:
"Are you a missionary?"
WHERE DOES THAT COME FROM?!?!
Why would that come up?
2 of those 'asks' were before I was sedated/medicated, so it's not like I was rambling incoherently. And there were tonnes of appendix surgeries that day, so it's not like it's a missionary disease....
Weird.
I.B.
On a funny note - Spark Plug thought that the surgery was her fault. She remembered shooting me in the stomach with a N*RF dart gun a few days earlier & assumed that's why I needed surgery! HA!
My hospital stay was fairly typical. You won't find me complaining about pain or other things since so many people experience this ailment or much much worse. I was pretty well taken care of.
But my time in the hospital was weird in one way....
On 3 different occasions
3 different times of day
from 3 different strangers
of 3 very different ages (& different genders)
I got asked this question:
"Are you a missionary?"
WHERE DOES THAT COME FROM?!?!
Why would that come up?
2 of those 'asks' were before I was sedated/medicated, so it's not like I was rambling incoherently. And there were tonnes of appendix surgeries that day, so it's not like it's a missionary disease....
Weird.
I.B.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Timing?
Sorry for the blogging absence. It's been an incredibly challenging 7-8 weeks. I'll share more in the upcoming months. But to sum up, after this past Monday I thought I had weathered & survived the tough season. My wife remarked that it's probably been the toughest month or 2 of at least the last decade for her (pretty close for me too).
And just when I thought things were getting better....
I was unexpectedly hospitalized. Appendix. Surgery.
Which means no working on the house for 4-6 weeks (a house that desperately needs finishing for a number of reasons). No lifting kids or wrestling or playing for 4+ weeks.... More stress for my beautiful wife who has to pick up the extra load... etc. Don't get me wrong - I won't be bored. I've got enough other stuff to do with my job (lots) and class I'm taking. But still... the timing of it all? Really?
Super Lu told me (just as I was getting wheeled into surgery), that it could have been worse - it could have happened while flying overseas whenever we get the call to go pick up our next child.
Good point.
But the timing still feels suspect.
And then to top it all off - the tire on the van got shredded in -40C weather when Super Lu was trying to get the kids to school & daycare so she could pick me up from the hospital.
In case you haven't picked up on it - I have an amazing wife. That's why she gets the Super reference to her nickname on this blog. And as I lay here typing, I get to listen to her play hide & go seek with our kids (and take care of screaming Dude who just got his fingers ran on...)
Later,
I.B.
And just when I thought things were getting better....
I was unexpectedly hospitalized. Appendix. Surgery.
Which means no working on the house for 4-6 weeks (a house that desperately needs finishing for a number of reasons). No lifting kids or wrestling or playing for 4+ weeks.... More stress for my beautiful wife who has to pick up the extra load... etc. Don't get me wrong - I won't be bored. I've got enough other stuff to do with my job (lots) and class I'm taking. But still... the timing of it all? Really?
Super Lu told me (just as I was getting wheeled into surgery), that it could have been worse - it could have happened while flying overseas whenever we get the call to go pick up our next child.
Good point.
But the timing still feels suspect.
And then to top it all off - the tire on the van got shredded in -40C weather when Super Lu was trying to get the kids to school & daycare so she could pick me up from the hospital.
In case you haven't picked up on it - I have an amazing wife. That's why she gets the Super reference to her nickname on this blog. And as I lay here typing, I get to listen to her play hide & go seek with our kids (and take care of screaming Dude who just got his fingers ran on...)
Later,
I.B.
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