Life and Everything that Comes With It

Updating posts becomes difficult when you don't get two seconds to yourself and that is how it has been for the past 3 months. Once Erick started school this semester, life took off on us and it has been a hard go. We've been running crazy with our schedules to the point where I have come super close to having a huge breakdown.

Ryker was diagnosed with a condition called tortacollis (stiff neck muscles), and plagiocephaly (flat head)at two months (in July). We went to physical therapy in September and got the tortacollis fixed; all it required was for us to do some muscle stretching exercises with Ryker every day. He still tilts a little to the right but for the most part, he can now turn his head all the way to the left and right without it hurting him. We were told once he started to turn his head more, the flat spot would fill in. However, it didn't and now we have had to go to Primary Children's Hospital to have him get treatment for a helmet. We have to go to the helmet business tomorrow to have measurements taken and a file sent to our insurance to see if they will pay for the helmet or at least a portion of it. The dang helmet costs $2,000 but no matter, we are going to help him get his head rounded out because the other option is to do nothing and then he will have ear and jaw problems later on in life.

Well, in the midst of this, my car's thermostat went crazy at the first of November and we ended up spending $700 to get the radiator components fixed. And then we got word from the shop that there was a lot more wrong with my car. Needless to say, that we had to spend another $1000 to get the belts changed, the spark plugs and wires fixed, the gasket and waterpump changed out, the pulleys for the belts, and the labor fees. I still need to do a few flushes totaling $200, get two new tires for the back of my car, and fix the right tie rod. This is when it would have been nice to have a degree in automotive repair. The blessing side of this is that if we hadn't had the repairs when we did, we would have lost the engine and the car.

Erick's schooling has kept him busy. He had to take the FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) exam on the 30th October that took 8 hours to complete. He has to pass this exam to graduate so there was and is a lot of pressure to complete this test. He spent all of September and October really studying in addition to doing his homework.
We rarely see each other (Sundays are the only full day) and so I have to try to keep things running while he's at school and work. They just called Erick to be the 1st counselor in the Sunday School Presidency and we're excited about the calling.

I've been working full-time and taking Ryker with me. I've been blessed to have an employer who will let me bring him with me and he's so good at work. However, the time is soon coming that he won't sit still and quiet and then they won't let me bring him anymore. I spend all day working at work and then go home to get dinner made, take care of Ryker, and then up until now, I have been running dinner to Erick at work. By the time I get done with all of that, I get Ryker to bed, do some dishes and clean up as much as possible and then go to bed at 11:30 most nights. That's my life.

In all, I'm thankful that we have made it through these past three months. I knew it was going to be tough, but we have had help from family and the Lord and I'm so grateful that He watches over us. When I think of what our lives could be in another country, without a knowledge of the Plan of Salvation, and not having access to medical care for Ryker, I just have to be thankful for what I do have. I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving and take the time to look at your life and blessings and thank the Lord for helping you get through another year!