Date Night

My Hubby came home with these last night~two long stemmed roses wrapped up, and presented them to me before we left for a date. Aren't they beautiful?!
For those of you with spouses in school, and probably those of you whose spouses AREN'T in school and just work long hours, or you have several children and lack of money, you know that date nights with your man are few and far in between. We never celebrated our anniversary in June of last year, so here's our date 6 months later. We're planning our next one to be for our anniversary this year, in another six months.

My mom told me we need to plan once a month or so to have an evening just to ourselves, but with Vern's studying needs and work schedule, that's not always possible. I have to remind myself when it seems he's spending so much time away from us even when he's home, that at least Vernon is alive, contrary to his cousin who died in May of last year and left behind a wife and four children, now five. So many of my wishes seem miniscule when I compare them to Lisa's situation. God has been good to us!
So about last night~Kaylie had her 9 month checkup yesterday morning, and since Morgan's dad was off work that day, he just kept Morgan all day, which freed me up after I got home. Funny how keeping a second baby makes it seem like your own is no big job anymore! Mondays are Vern's early day so we decided to find a babysitter and get away. We went out for supper and then went shopping for some attire Vern is to have for his glee club performances. All in all, we just enjoyed being out together, away from the books, phone, computer, parental needs, etc.
I did worry about Kaylie because she had had a shot that day, and had a cold, but then of course, she was an angel for her babysitter. I have been on the opposite end of this spectrum before and now can better understand both sides.

How often do you get date nights with your spouse? Do you plan them or do they randomly come about?

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My Two Girls

Kaylie~8 1/2 months & Morgan~2 1/2 months

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40 Years Together

The last two days my thoughts have been geared toward the party we Horst children are planning for Vernon's parents' 40th wedding anniversary in March.
I was just now thinking, WOW. I wonder what we'll be like when we've been married that long? How many descendants we'll have, where we'll be living, if Vern will have recognized his dream and be a doctor, etc.

Vernon's parents have 7 children, with all but 2 of those married, and there are 18 grandchildren, presently.

So now for the married folks: (sorry, single friends)
How many years have YOU been married? Do you have any children?

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It happened to me!

I could write into a parenting magazine with this one:
A warning to all parents!
We were in Food Lion yesterday, and I asked Vern to push the cart instead of my pushing, stop, gather item off the shelf, push, stop, gather....you get the idea. So he puts Kaylie in the seat of the cart, and most of the way, she keeps pulling her legs up and acting funny. I couldn't figure out what her problem was, though I did see that one side of the snap down part of the seat had a crack, but it wasn't touching her leg. Finally Vernon took her out, and I spotted the problem. There was a wire poking out from the other side of the seat that was gauging her leg, and she had marks down her leg. THIS is when I wish she could talk and tell me what hurts! I felt so guilty for not picking up on her signals earlier, and making her hurt longer. It happens to all us parents at some point or another, I know.
So for all you parents who put children in the seat of the cart, watch out for loose part that could injure your child! I had all kinds of tetanus thoughts running though my mind, wondering what all has contaminated that cart.

I guess the theme is: BE AWARE!

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I Love Saturdays!

I'm learning that Saturdays are a treasured day for me now. Usually Vern has a new work schedule every semester, but miraculously, he's had the same three day schedule since March.....well, this past week, that changed. He still has Saturdays, but the other two days changed. So for us, Saturdays weren't that special, because he still had to work. Kaylie and I just had one more day of the week that Daddy was gone.

Keeping Morgan 5 days a week has changed that. Even though Vern is still gone today, Saturdays are now my 'do everything' day! I did get laundry done one day this week, but it's due again today, along with dishes piling up, food to cook, cleaning to do, errands to run...the list goes on.
What I have found is I cherish this day partly because it's back to just me and my girl. Kaylie and I get to spend the entire day together, and I relish that! Don't get me wrong, I don't resent keeping Morgan during the week, but having time to spend with Kaylie is precious anymore, and so I'm learning to appreciate Saturdays for more than one reason!

Thank God for Saturdays! Without them, we wouldn't appreciate Sundays as much!

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Thrush Help

Any of you moms out there had to deal with thrush before? Kaylie was put on Nystatin suspension for it, and so of course I'm having to use it too.....my friend gave me the wise counsel of another med to use if this antibiotic didn't work. I'm curious what YOU have used or if you know of someone who has had this problem and what they've used.

Help, Moms out there, or anyone with thrush knowledge!

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God is MY MAN when our Man is gone

Kaylie and I just spent our first evening alone together. It was kinda sobering in a way! I'm sure she didn't know any different, but for me, I was thinking about the changes Vern's new schedule will bring to our family and how it's up to me as to how I accept those changes. I can allow those changes to be good or bad. Sometimes these long years of schooling look so huge, but as I tell people when they ask how many years he has left, etc.~We're taking it one year at a time, one semester at a time, one day at a time.

There are negative factors about Vern's being away that I could list, but I'm choosing to look at the bright side tonight! God has given us so much! Here are some of the highlights:

~Vern's hospital job is flexible, in that they adjust the schedule every semester as needed so that he can work around his classes. Not every job would be so gracious.
~God has allowed Vern to make it this far with scholarships, and without those, he wouldn't even BE in school, for lack of funds.
~I have plenty of projects to work on while he's away, so I shouldn't get bored!
~I have special bonding time with my daughter in the evenings that I don't get anymore during the day since Morgan has joined us 5 days a week.
~I have made two new friends in the last 6 months, namely because of the schooling/doctoring similarity in our families. I'm sure I wouldn't have been connected with them otherwise.
~I'm learning how to relate to others in a more sensitive way than I might have, had our circumstances been different.
~God knew I'd be lonely when Vern's away so much, so He gave us Kaylie Joy!
~God also provided another source of income by bringing a babysitting job to my door.

As I type this, "My Jesus Knows Just What I Need" is running through my mind. He's so faithful!

May you be reminded along with me this week of HIS CARING!

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Vern started back to ASU this week. Yes, I'm somewhat saddened because he has some LONG days.....but 3 of his days he's home earlier than he is on work days, so that's a nice change! On the other hand, I'm glad to be starting another semester, because it means he's that much closer to his goal!

This is my second week with Morgan. We're all getting used to each other, and things are looking up. Yes, some days are crazy, like yesterday, when she had a total of 2 hours for sleep in a 10 hour period....bizarre. Okay, there were a few 5, maybe 10 min. naps in there. Kaylie is doing really well playing by herself, which is wonderful. Now if she can just start sleeping through the night, I'll feel I have arrived!

The upside is......my daughter's first word that is actually said, without all the other rambling......is~Mama! Today's the first she's really said it without making my name 3 or 4 syllables......Daddy will be heartbroken!

How many of you heard Mama before Dada?

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It's 2007!

I started keeping Morgan Claire Montgomery, age 9 weeks, on Tuesday. Any mothers of twins have advice to share on how to cope with two babies crying at the same time? I never seemed to have much trouble controlling my children before......but I never had an 8 month old and a 2 month old at the same time either.
Today was the hairiest day I've had, of the four this week. As I told Jamie--Morgan's mom--all hell broke loose! It was the worst time I'd had yet trying to work down two inconsolable babies! I was ready to pull my hair out. Funny, how I used to keep 6, 5 and under, and survive......

We started the week on a raw note, and that hasn't helped.
For those of you keeping up, yes, Kaylie is still 'sick' but is getting better I think! She and I both came back from VA with runny noses, the works....mine has progressed to a very SORE throat, runny nose, coughing some.....not a great way to start keeping someone else's child. On top of that, I realized on Monday morning that Kaylie has thrush. SO! Another call to the nurse, and another prescription! She's now had four prescriptions since December 15. I think that's a record for any child under 1!

On another note, Vern starts school on Monday. Your prayers and good wishes are much appreciated as we start another semester. His hours will once again be LONG, and with keeping someone else's child ten hours+/5 days a week, I'm praying for strength only GOD can give. Those of you with spouses in school understand the strain it puts on the wife at times to keep up. But God is good, and will provide what I need, as long as I remember to give it all to HIM!

I'm especially thankful for our computer and internet service right now, because email and reading friends' blogs/xanga sites are what keep me from getting too lonely at times.

GOD be with you all this year!
~Lez

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