Lucky Number 5?

I didn't know I had five kids until my husband would become sick.




And that day has come again.

After a 2 hour visit to the pediatrician and a three hour visit to the outpatient center, here is a rundown of my basketball team on the injured reserve list:

Grant - bronchitis, ear infection, and we got to watch the huge tonsils
Will - bronchitis, fluid in the ears (along with some pussy eyes)
Adam - a cold, most likely the start of the above
Gise - not checked, because his chest was clear and phlegm loose at dog bite appointment last week, but his cough remains and his boogers remain green
Dave - gross, don't even let me explain, you would lose your lunch, he now knows he cannot wear white underwear

I didn't think this blog would take the direction it has taken in the last couple days, but it sure is fun letting you all in our world. Don't feel bad for us; this is no big deal. Now if there were 5 pukers, boy I would be pulling my hair out! Enjoy the day!

And then there were four...

Attention, attention!! Number four sickie has arrived at the Gibson household!! Please send help!!

The Monkey in the Cage

Grant never climbed out of his crib. In fact, after his transition to a "big boy" bed, he wouldn't even climb out of that. I had to go get him after his naps.

Will never climbed out either.

Adam, he climbed out, but I was diligent in doing the whole "Supernanny"-putting-him-back-in-his-crib-without-talking process. Eventually, he was trained to stay and go to sleep in his crib.

Number four child comes along. He climbs out of crib. We put him back. He climbs out of crib. We put him back. He climbs out of crib at 5am. We let him sleep in our bed. He climbs out of bed. We let him play unsupervised while we sleep.

Gise will climb out of his crib for his nap, up to 10 times, and play with his toys. I sometimes will sit in his room until he falls asleep. It works, but do I really want to do this every day? I wouldn't want to have a sitter do this.

The final straw was a 4:30am wake-up call at the top of the stairs from our little buddy. "Dah-dee!" Thus, the day had begun. Later, naptime was upon us; the crib tent was put together. Baby was put into his cage and was not happy.

When I only had Grant, one child around, if you told me that my fourth child would use a crib tent, I would never have believed it. How dare someone put their little baby in one of those cages! Yet, until you have been there, don't knock it!

Oh, I forgot.

I forgot to mention the trip to the dentist for a dead front tooth. And my youngest is now in a cage, I mean crib tent, because he is a monkey and wakes us up at 5 in the morning.

Oh, such is the life.

A Little Glimpse

I'm not complaining, but tonight I did ask God to give me more patience and to make my life a little easier. I know, selfish, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

It has been non-stop over here the last couple days. We have had a visit to the pediatrician for a dog bite and infection. We have 2 boys with super coughs and fevers. We have a toddler who won't stay in his crib. We have had 3 suppositories (or as Dave calls them, "butt bullets"). We have one who can blow his nose, one who doesn't blow hard enough, and another who sucks in. (Any methods for teaching a kid how to blow his nose?) We have 10 new Play-Doh cans all mixed together. We have had one sick day. We have had at least 7 changes of sheets in the last week from bed wetters.

Like I said earlier, I'm not complaining. But can you top it?

My Dad

My Dad went to meet his Creator two weeks ago today. I have been wanting to write about it, but was never inspired. Today I had to give some quotes, a personal view on my dad for a press release being sent out by the Jennifer S. Fallick Cancer Support Center. They are honoring him next Saturday at their President's Ball with the Spirit of Life Award. After typing out what I wanted to convey to her, in one simple e-mail (ha!), I felt what I wrote was just a tint of who my father was.

"My dad was filled with humility. He would be very appreciative and thankful for this award, but he didn't do all he did for the notoriety or recognition. He would use this award to turn around and inspire others to use their God-given talents and gifts for good in the areas in which their passion lies. And he was truly an inspirational man. I remember listening to him give a speech for a campaign or just addressing a crowd at an event. He would win me over time and time again. Maybe I was biased being his "Princess," his only daughter among five brothers, but I believe he could motivate others brilliantly.

In regard to his cancer, my dad was diagnosed 6 1/2 years before he died, when they only gave him 1 year to live. At the time of his diagnosis, he had only 1 grandchild. And at the end of his life he had 10 more. My dad would say he was so blessed; he would wake every day thanking God for another day to be alive, another day to give to his community and family.

His death came as a shock to some people, because my dad kept his cancer to himself for the most part. These others knew he had it, but he was in such great shape, they didn't believe it. He was still attending to business, still ushering at church, still wrestling around on the floor with my boys up until the day he went into the hospital last December. My dad didn't let his cancer define him. My dad is the most positive man I have ever met, never a complaint about anything, including his illness. Next to my heavenly Father, my earthly father was my hero, my rock. Now that he is gone, the world will be a more empty place - in the business world, in the philanthropic world, in the government, in our family. But he wouldn't want us to think like that. He would want us to step up, fill his void in all his ventures and endeavors. He would hope that we would be inspired, not by his fabulous rhetoric as I mentioned before, but in the silence of his absence from death."