Our Little Owlet: OHHHH April...

April has been a bit strange and challenging. We had a long round of bad illness for us all, and as always, Asher had it the worst... he had a terrible slow-moving virus that had him coughing up his little lungs for a long time and of course it went to his ears after that with a double ear infection. We took him to the doctor and she prescribed an antibiotic and he had a horrifying reaction to it (facial swelling, very bad swelling of the eyes and his upper lip started to swell also). It was clearly a severe allergic reaction that worried us greatly for a brief time but thankfully he was fine (it could have been MUCH worse). He then finished a round of the only antibiotic he seems to not be allergic to, and the illness held on for a while still after that. Poor little pumpkin :( He was sick for almost three full weeks. UGH.

Once we had all recuperated and were back on our feet we started trying hard to get more done around here (painting, decorating, lawn, etc), but that's overwhelming and expensive! Ross has been working hard (with the help of our super talented brother-in-law who happens to have an extensive background in professional painting) to get the house painted... room. by. room. It's taking forever, but this is a process, right?! We are having fun trying to decorate little by little as we can afford it, but we have a very tight budget, so it's just a very slow process. It's really interesting seeing the house become a home little by little. I can't believe we've been living here so long already! It doesn't seem as long since we were in the apartment for the first four months. We are settling in well and seem to be constantly busy with some project or idea or "need". Our next big project is the yard, which seems overwhelming. I am NOT a fan of gardening, mostly because I HATE bugs (particularly spiders) and also because I have no idea how to do it. My mom, on the other hand, LOVES gardening and is quite knowledgeable about it, so we hope that with her help, we can have a presentable yard by the end of the year ;) Ross also knows nothing about yards/lawns/etc, so we are doing a lot of reading.

Most recently, I received the very bad news that a childhood friend had died tragically from injuries sustained from a car accident. Brent was in my sister's class/grade, played sports with my brother, attended the same college as my brother, and Brent's father owns/runs the grain elevator/company where my dad and his family have always taken their grain for as long as I've been alive. I've known Brent forever and was connected to him in many ways, especially since the town is so small. He was not a super close friend of mine, but I knew him fairly well through all of the family connections and through mutual friends. He passed away only days after the accident due the the severe injuries he sustained. It's absolutely devastating particularly for his wife (she was a year younger than me and also from Watseka) and their three young children (11, 7, 2). "Sister" and I left the children and husbands at home and drove to Watseka Friday afternoon for the visitation. Brent and Casie grew up in Watseka... Casie is the high school English teacher and Brent was the junior high and high school art teacher, and also the junior high basketball coach and a high school football coach. We waited in line for over three hours at the visitation before getting up to speak to the families due to the huge turnout. I'm saddened not by the loss I have experienced, but entirely for the loss that Brent's wife and children have endured and will have to live with for the rest of their lives. Please pray for this family that during this awful and trying time, that they would be drawn closer to Jesus and that God would pour comfort and peace over them. Casie's brother has started a college fund for the children as a way to help support the family through this difficult time... I've shared a link on my facebook page if you're at all interested.

Isaiah 40:11
He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
He gently leads those that have young.

Here are a few shots and videos from the past month:

Easter morning... we were all sick and weren't able to go to church ;(