Easter Sunday

Today is Easter Sunday!! I'm thankful to know it didn't end on Friday and that Jesus rose from the dead.

It was even better today to have family celebrate with us. John's parents are here. Everything's better with a Grandma and Grandpa!!

Today was also special because Alex was able to lead worship with the band on one song. I love seeing that boy sing!!!

You can see it by clicking on the link below... He is singing "I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k0kiofc-30&feature=player_embedded

Hope you all had a great day today!!

American History Wax Museum

We just completed our 2nd year in the Unfailing Homeschoolers Wax Museum. The kids choose who they would like to showcase depending on the assignment. This year we were to do someone in American history.

The kids had to write a monologue to recite each time their "start" button was pushed. This brought their character to life. They also had to make a backdrop and an information board.

Alex decided he wanted to be John D. Rockefeller...


Micayla chose to be Elizabeth Dole....


They did a great job! It's always a lot of work but well worth it.

The guests bring their loose change to donate in each person's containers after the "figures" are done speaking.

This year the proceeds were given to Wolfson Children's Hospital NICU. They raised just over $500. YAY!!!!!

We were very proud of all the kids who participated. I always learn so much about people I've never heard of!!!

Wonder who we'll be next year??

History Fair

We just finished a six week project we've been working on for school. The kids were in a history fair last weekend with our homeschool group. It was called a wax museum really. They were to choose who they would like to be, from any time period, and then research, memorize a brief monologue, dress the part, have props and a backdrop. It was a lot of fun and turned out to be a great evening for everyone there. It was fun for me to get to make their costumes! I haven't sewn in a while so it was rather interesting to do it without a pattern! We had a box of hotel sheets in the garage my mom used to make curtains so it was the perfect costume and backdrop material... free! Thank God John was home to help with the backdrops! He has a much better eye than I do for art work! They also wore a button on them and when someone came to them, they pushed the button to "bring them to life."

Each child also made a donation box for "visitors" to drop change or bills in to raise money for Haiti Relief through World Vision. We raised over $500 as a group! It was very exciting!!!

Here are a few pics!

Alex making his backdrop:



Can you guess???



It makes me want to sing the song... "D a v y, D a v y C r o c k e t t, king of the wild frontier!!"



He loved having his Dad's REAL powder rifle and big knife! We didn't tell the other mom's it was a real gun!

Micayla chose...







At her Missions of Charity...



She did a great job "coming to life" each time. She said the only thing missing for her was the wrinkles!

Can't wait for next year!!!

Whew... long day!

Well... today was a rather long day. The block for John wore off around 11pm last night. We were up every two hours either changing his position, taking meds, or putting him on his machine for pain. He eventually ended up in the recliner. He was really hoping he would be able to sleep in our bed but it was too uncomfortable to lay down.

So... the day was spent taking 10 minute naps here and there, cooking, taking meds, hooking him up to his machine and keeping track of the kids. Thank you Grandpa John for being the taxi driver today! It started this morning taking Joshua and Alex to the church for them to go to a competition with several youth groups downtown called Teens Involved. They were both in different drama's and Joshua did puppets as well. They came home very excited since they were chosen to move on to regionals now!! Way to go guys!!

The Abel's took Micayla so she wouldn't be stuck home with the tired, worn out parents. Thanks guys!

Our friends made us dinner tonight. It was something I knew I was going to have to do.... eat FRESH meat, that he killed himself! UGH!

John couldn't wait for Marcus to cook some of his wild hog for him. He made us stroganoff, salad and bread. I will have to admit... it was good! Thank you Marcus and Devon for dinner!!

Did I tell you we have such wonderful friends?! We are very well loved. Thank you all for continuing to check in on John and keeping us in your prayers.

We've been told tomorrow is going to be the worst day. Fun times here in the Gentges' house!

Blessings~~~

Do You Need A Laugh??

This picture makes me laugh every time I see it. I thought I would post this for you... enjoy!

Homeschooling sure makes life interesting!!!

One day last week while we were doing our math, Alex got up to let the dog out. It was another beautiful fall day here. Sunny, warm and a slight breeze.

Alex walked outside noticing something down by the back fence. It went a little like this:

Alex: "Mom, come here!!!"
Me: "Alex, get in here, you need to get this math finished."
Alex: "Mom, there's a bird in the yard and it's hurt." (He tells his sister to get a box.)
Me: "Alex, leave it alone! Don't touch it! Get in here." (I walk to the backdoor, really not interested in this bird and just knowing Alex is trying to blow off school.)
Alex: "Mom... please come here. It's alive! We have to do something!!"
Me: (realizing math is losing it's luster) "Alex, don't touch it."

Meanwhile, Micayla is coming out with a shoebox with holes punched in the top.

Alex: "Mom, I don't think it's hurt, I just think it's stuck."

OH GREAT. Now all math is out of the minds of my babes and they are focusing on this bird. Alex pulls the grass weeds around the bird to get it loose.

Alex: "Mom, it's covered in burrs." (The soft, flat one's that stick to you.)

We examine the bird. He's in the box. The kids get out their winter gloves so they can hold it and start taking off the burrs. (There's one reason we need gloves in Florida!!)

So I realize we now have a bird and I don't want a bird. What are we going to do with this bird??

So I get on Google and look up wildlife rescue places in our zip code. I didn't want just a critter control person. I found an animal hospital, very close to the house. They are a wildlife drop off. Who knew???

So... we ended up taking the bird, who the kids named Lucky, to the vet. They cleaned it up and sent it off to a bird rescue who, if possible, will release it back out in the area it was found. Whew!

We did find out it's a Great Crested Fly Catcher. We did research on it when we came home so the school day wasn't a complete loss was it???

And just because I know you want to see...

Pumpkins!!!!

This past weekend we went to our local pumpkin patch where we go every year to carefully select our pumpkins for carving. Okay it's not really a pumpkin patch in the middle of the city, it's at a church. They put hay and pumpkins in their lot. It's the closest thing we're going to have to a pumpkin patch without having to drive 30+ miles.



Anyway... we brought them home Sunday and then waited until Tuesday to carve them. For one, Dad would be home (the only night of the week he's home this week.) Second, we learned very quickly living in a sub-tropical climate, that you should not carve a pumpkin too far out from Halloween or it will rot, cave in, and mold VERY QUICKLY. (I'll spare you those pictures.)

So... here are some pictures of our evening.



Micayla's is on the left, Alex's in the middle (he tries to make the mean one every year), and then Josh's on the right.



Alex and Micayla like to carve their names or initials in the backs of theirs. Just in case we happen to forget who made what!!! Josh didn't want to.



My favorite thing about pumpkin carving is I score the "lids" of the pumpkins and we put cinnamon and cloves on them. When they are heated from the candle inside, it makes the front porch smell really good!!!!!

We hope you have a safe weekend. For us it's just about pumpkins and candy!!

And Going....

Well, I think it's getting better actually, and I'm a little afraid to even say it but... there have been NO fevers in the house for two days. Whhooopppiiieeee!!!!!!

Everyone is feeling better although we're all getting a little stir-crazy. This has been the ONLY time I think I've ever been thankful for video games or television.

Thank you all for praying for our family. It really is the best thing you could do for us.

Please also include John in your prayers. After much conversation, I finally got him to the doctor, an orthopedic surgeon. He has an MRI Tuesday to confirm what I've been thinking all along, (just call me Dr. Mom), but I think, along with the doctor, that he has a rotator cuff tear with a labral tear as well. WONDERFUL! More doctor appointments.

He jokingly asked me if I was going to start a binder for him like I have for Joshua. I told him he was on his own. I can only manage one binder at a time!!

Thanks again for praying. You're comments really do boost us up and make Joshua feel really loved.

It Just Keeps Going

We just didn't have enough going on. The dust was beginning to settle. And POWWW....

Alex has tested positive for Influenza A. LOVELY!!!!! Can someone just shoot me now?? (Just kidding there, please don't - my kids need me!!) This is what happens when you send your son away to camp for four nights!

Of course, this is not such a big deal unless you have an older brother with health issues, a mom with a compromised immune system and a little sister at home.

Our pediatrician has put us all on flu meds. Only Alex had symptoms yesterday: fever, congestion in face and chest, cough.

He's doing such a fine job of sharing... now Joshua is running a fever!! I was on the phone FOUR times with UF - Gainesville yesterday between making sure the meds are okay for Joshua to take and asking a hundred more questions. The meds they gave us are inhaled so it's even trickier for someone with lung problems.

I was about ready to unload on someone yesterday. Be thankful you weren't here. It took me almost three hours and three different pharmacies to get our meds. Not to mention a payment that about made me fall over. However, I shall not complain about the money. The little bit I spent yesterday doesn't compare to the price we could be having to pay for Joshua's Tracleer.

{Little side note here: I also had the joy of spending 53 minutes on the phone with the nice lady from our insurance company yesterday. They were trying to update their records with all of Joshua's health info. They also called to make us aware just how much the Tracleer costs. I thought it was $3,000.00. WRONG. She let me know it's exactly $5,120.26, per month. GEE WHIZ!}

So my little check for $135.00 seems quite small now doesn't' it?

Joshua is so congested right now. I am giving him Robitussin, but he can not have anything with phenylephrine. It is a stimulant that can make his heart race, so thank God they make one without it. Just another thing to be checking for and putting in the memory bank. Which by the way, is about maxed out with information.

So far Alex and Joshua are the only one's with symptoms. Hopefully it will stay that way!

So... if you wouldn't mind, please pray for this flu to get out of our house and for us to get back to whatever normal is around here. I'm not sure I know.

Diamond D Ranch Field Trip

Today we had a field trip with our homeschool group to Diamond D Ranch. It was a beautiful day to be outside and we had a great time.

Waiting for everyone to get there...

They got to ride ponies, feed goats, rams, and catfish, see wild pigs, pet horses, go on an educational nature walk and ride upside down on a drum.

The ponies...

Feeding the catfish... Alex was SOOO wanting a fishing pole!

Then they fed the goats...

Then it was the cow's turn...


They loved the cookies... Check out that tongue....




Then they rode the drum-roll... I didn't get to take Alex's picture doing this since he ran ahead to be first... go figure!

Micayla and one of her best friends, getting ready to roll...


Upside down...

It was a great day. Micayla wanted to come home with a pony... of course!

Guess where we went last weekend.......

Any guesses????

Well, we took A and M to Disney World!! They have never been so we decided it was time to use their Christmas present from Grammie and take them to the place where dreams come true!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks Mom!!!

It was so much fun. It was wonderful to see the awe and excitement through their eyes. They loved the wonder of it all and were the perfect age to go. Tall enough for the "big" roller coasters and still young enough to appreciate the magic of it all. This was taken after riding space mountain!! woo hoo!!!! Our favorite!

It was a wonderful two nights away from everything here at home and just a great time to focus on the younger two. Life has been slightly stressful so it was nice to be able to relax and have a little fun!

One of the best parts of the day at the magic kingdom was heavily pushing Alex to get his picture taken with the princesses!! He was so cute. Doesn't he look thrilled to have his picture taken!?

Again it was very relaxing. This was where John chose to spend most of his time while at the resort....

while the kids were doing this....

and this....

here at the resort pool...

it was absolutely beautiful! It had a waterslide and three other pools. The kids were in heaven. John was severely past due for some relaxation time and I was past due getting to have some FUN family time AWAY from the house.

We gave Joshua the choice to come with us or stay home. He surprisingly chose to stay home and Brandon came over and stayed with him. I just prayed they weren't having their own magic kingdom while we were away!! They did fine and I was very thankful for Brandon staying with Josh and making sure he got picked up and taken where he needed to go.

Anyway, I'll spare you the rest of the pictures! If you haven't been I hope you get the change to go to Disney World sometime. It really is a magical place!!! We can't wait to go back!

Boys and Adventure!

Our 19 year old brought home a kayak/canoe type of boat this past weekend. The 10 year old was quite excited about this. He couldn't wait to take it out back on the pond/lake/water, whatever you want to call it.

So.. the 10 year old has been bugging me and being quite persistant about taking this boat out, by himself. I cleverly came up with an excuse about why he can't... there is no paddle with the boat and that would not be safe!

If you know the 10 year old... he is Mr. Resourceful. Sunday afternoon I hear banging and hammering of sorts. Since they were outside and not causing any trouble, I let the banging go and figured we'd run on a need to know basis and I didn't need want to know.

Well..... Mr. Resourceful made his own paddle. Quite the invention. It looks like a large golf putter, made of wood. You can see it in the pic below.

I thought you'd like to see what my boy does when he finally gets mom to say yes, and he has covered all the safety bases! He did look like a boy out on an adventure! Especially when he was out at the other end of the water, as far away as he could get from the house.

The Best Goalie Ever....

We're in full swing of soccer... Alex's team is called Team Punishment. What a name, eh? He moved to a different league this year since many of his friends are on this team. It's been a great change for him. He is a fantastic goalie, much to his fathers admiration!! He's walking in his daddy's footsteps. Look at that perfect pose!

Hope you all are enjoying the nice weather, and if you're not, then come visit us here in FL!