Happy Fourth Of July!

On Sunday (the third) we picked up Brian and spent the day in the country with Daniel and Sheila...

after a rough start (four extra kids in the house) we took them all to the backyard pool for three hours

then it started raining and the temperature dropped about 20 degrees.. since it started at 105 it made for a much nicer evening of setting off fireworks and making smores

after a very late night and early morning we drove back to Saint Louis

we blew a tire and had to get a new one... but

we still made it to the Florrisant City fireworks and then put everyone to bed

it was very full but everyone had fun

Yosef is Eleven

Yosef is 11 today.. I cant quite believe it. Time really does rush by. Yesterday we took him bowling with a couple friends to celebrate.

May...

So all month I have been saying I would blog more but.. havent really taken the time. So I thought I would just post a few pictures of what we have been doing and try again next week:)
May 4th was Elie's recietal

On the sixth we had lunch with a friend from Bible study that owns a horse farm!

On the 10th we got big news:

I dont have pictures but we also went to Planet Fun, Zoo friends day, the science center, and the Renaissance Fair.

(did I mention we also finished the floors and bought a new van...)

Floors

So.. to make us happier with staying here.. we decided to take out the carpet in the living/dining room. At our own expense. It was much harder and took much longer than we expected but it is done. We are now working on unpacking all the boxes and re-arranging the bedrooms. I will put up after pictures soon.

Staying

Well.. since the house we really wanted didn't work out and we didn't find anything we really wanted, we have decided to stay. Yes, there are many things about this house and this neighborhood that we dont like, but, why contract ourselves into staying somewhere we don't love..

And it is financially beneficial to stay put for a while. It is possible by next year we would be able to get traditional financing to buy a home. This means I am unpacking instead of packing but.. I have enough changing this year. I am actually ok with this.

No pool practically in the backyard does disappoint though.. I guess I will have to look for that when it does come time to buy...

Long Day

As Mike was leaving a bit before 8 this morning he noticed the tire was half flat. He assured me that if I left right away and filled it, it would make it to walmart where we bought the tire with roadside. So I woke up Elie threw everyone in the van and headed to QT. We got air and a few doughnuts and some V8 since I hadn't given everyone a chance to eat. We head to walmart.

Of course the tire didn't make it... so there I am on the left side of the highway. Luckily only half of an hour later motorist assist came buy (Thank G-d for those guys!!!) and changed the ruined tire for the doughnut. We got to walmart around 1030.. about an hour later they called me on the intercom and let me know that the tire was ruined (duh) but we didn't buy it there. I called Mike who was sure he DID. A half hour later they found the tire purchase in their system but.. no roadside. SO... now it is noon and I end buying fast food. Mike calls around and the people with the cheapest tire are actually right by our house~! So we drove back across town and paid for a new tire WITH roadside.. and finally made it home around 330...

Finally heard from the owner that our house offer was rejected (for various crazy reasons) so we have to decide what to do about that

Oh and everything in the deep freezer was thawed so I had to STUFF the small freezer.. I dont know if the kids left the door open this morning or if it stopped working but really did it have to be today?

I then had a dentist appointment at 530 across town so I finally got home from my day around 7 and wanted to go to bed then....

Six Point Eight

We went for Nathaniel's 18mo checkup today. He is 21.5lbs and 31inches. He is a bit low on the weight and the doctor suggested we add some healthy fats to his diet like whole milk and olive oil. But the stat that we were looking for, that is unique to us, is 6.8, his current lead count. He spiked at over 15 when we were still living in the house that caused the problem. The fact that it has gone down so much in less than a year combined with the fact that he is showing no developmental issues is great. Of course we will never know for sure. Anything he ever does just a bit slower than his peers will give us pause. What if he had never been exposed? I think it is shameful that landlords are allowed to rent places laden with lead paint. Especially considering the government has programs to aid those who cant afford it with lead abatement. It should be illegal no exceptions to rent homes that are poisonous to the residents.