Choo-choo trains and why I've been so absent - cliffs notes version...

A scatterbrained update from Summers' Hill...

(This is sort of old news by now, but bear with me. I'm just getting time to post about it.) After the snow finally cleared, we had issues with flooding. Thankfully, we live on a hill so the house didn't get flooded BUT we did have a scare when Rainer couldn't get home one morning (and I was stuck home alone with Lukas and Rainer's mom, ready to lose my mind. More on why later in this post...) Just up the road from our driveway, the roadway buckled and cracked and they closed it for a week or two for repairs. (I have pictures of that, but forgot to prep them to post here...now I'm on the laptop and can't...oh well.) Just down the road from our driveway was closed because it was covered by Scatter Creek and Rainer couldn't drive through it! He only had to wait a few hours for the water to subside before he could drive through, thank God!! This side road is just off of that road that leads to our driveway and was covered for many days. It's usually the "back way" we head home after stopping by the post office. Actually, this picture was taken after the water over the road to our driveway had subsided, and Rainer (the trusty photographer to whom all credit goes for these flood pictures...) was standing just a few feet from where it had been covered when he couldn't get home. (Does that make sense? You following me here?...)


We were starting to grow a pretty impressive babbling brook across our driveway. (There's usually nothing here other than maybe a mud puddle or two.)

This is a shot from the top of our hill looking out over some of our land. All that area that's covered by water? That's usually pasture... with cows. That somewhat straight line running horizontally across the middle of the photo? That's usually a road. It was closed too, for a while. I should post a picture of what it normally looks like so you can see the difference. Oh, and don't worry, the guy that rents our pasture land only had 3 cows on it at the time and they were all safe and accounted for closer up on the hill by our house.

Enough with the boring flood pictures, now time for some adorable pictures of Luke! I took our camera outside with us when we went on a little (boy-energy burning) jaunt around the yard the other day. I was hoping more trains would go by while we were outside for Luke's sake. He loves to watch the trains. (Obviously the train tracks are down the hill to Luke's left in this picture...)Whether we're inside or out, he says "Boh, boh.." in a low tone when he hears the train. I keep trying to say very clearly, "Train. Train. That's a choo-choo-train. Ooo! Ooo!"" (That would be my train whistle noise in case it was lost in translation...) I was hoping he'd pick up the words "train" or even "choo-choo", but it wasn't until this past week that I realized how closely his "Boh, boh" sounded like the real train whistle in the distance, and he said it every time he heard the train. It's much closer than my cartoony "Ooo! Ooo!" attempt.

Oh, would you just look at those big doe eyes of his? It's too much. Look away! I just can't handle the cuteness!

In other news from the homefront, I thought I should update you on Rainer's mom. She's been here with us and on Hospice since shortly before Thanksgiving. She's declined quite a bit since then and now needs round-the-clock care. She currently resides on a hospital bed in our living room, (at her request, and I don't blame her since she gets to be around us more instead of stuck in her bedroom away from everyone...). Rainer has the day shift while I'm at work and he goes to sleep for a few hours as soon as I get home and then I have the night shift while he goes to work the graveyard shift at work. Usually Lukas is waking up right around when Rainer comes home in the morning or shortly after and then I'm on toddler duty. When do I sleep? Well, I go to bed with a baby monitor on either side of me (one side is Luke, one side is mom-in-law) and I pray that she has a good night, or at least a good 4 hour chunk of time or so somewhere during the night where I can get a straight stretch of sleep. It was tough enough when I had a few weeks off over the Christmas/New Year's break, but when I had to go back to work full time and be at work at 6:30 in the morning each morning, it was just plain nuts. We had been doing that for weeks by the time the flooding happened, so you can see why I was ready to lose my mind when I was facing the possibility of being stuck home alone with Luke and mom-in-law that morning that Rainer couldn't get home. Oh yeah, and aren't I supposed to be "resting" more because I'm growing a human, too? (I was 20 weeks on Monday! Halfway there!)

Two weeks ago they thought she only had a few more weeks left, she was getting very weak and was rapidly losing the ability to do things like even drink from a straw and swallow her tiny pain pill. She went to a nursing home last week for a 5-day respite, giving us a breather and the chance to catch up on some much needed sleep. All her meds went with her, along with one she was being given for the panic attacks she was having (which hospice said was normal, especially since the cancer is in her lung(s) and it's harder for her to breathe) and we're not sure if it was because she wasn't having any of the panic attacks or because they simply made a mistake, but she wasn't given much or any of that medicine. She ended up regaining a little strength and could drink from a straw and take her pain pill again by the time she came back on Friday! She's not "getting better" in the sense that her cancer is going away or anything, but it still has been a pleasant surprise for her AND us. It may seem like such a small thing to be able to pick up her own cup and drink, or take her pain pill, but she's so much more comfortable when she's able to take her time-release pain pill regularly and it's much easier to help care for her and we get some decent sleep now that we don't have to jump up every hour or so when she weakly calls out to dribble water into her mouth or give her more liquid meds (which don't last as long as the time release pill).

So, now you're up to date on that. I'm a little concerned because I'm coming down with an illness that has knocked some of my coworkers on their buns and I'm really hoping I don't spread it to Hilda, (mom-in-law). Tonight is Rainer's first night back to work after his 2 nights off and so far I've been able to keep a distance. The few times I had to get closer to her, I went armed with rubber kitchen gloves over my hands and my shirt up over my nose and mouth. I'm sure I was an interesting sight. In hindsight, I should have brought home some masks from work. (Making a mental note to snag a few tomorrow...)

We've interviewed a company for in-home health care that we can call on if we need someone to come in and take care of her overnight or something, but so far this week she's been doing pretty good, all things considered. The hospice nurses didn't seem to think she'd make it to her birthday, but in just 3 days now, she'll celebrate her 76th! That'll teach 'em to doubt a stubborn German.

If you've happened to be praying for us, thank you!! And please, keep doing so! Hilda's probably going to decline further and it'll only get harder, (physically and emotionally, especially for Rainer. He's an only child and he's already lost his dad...) Luke is really starting to feel his toddler-ness and has been practicing his tantrums and his own stubborn German-ness and I'm only going to get more pregnant. (Did I mention it's a little GIRL!!!!!?) I KNOW the only thing that is going to carry us through is the Lord's strength and prayers from our loved ones. :o)

Until the next post...
"Later, dudes."