may 1

Up and at 'em early. It is going to be a busy morning. I love it when John has every other Friday off. Especially today. He gets to watch Cade and Kendall all morning while I take Conner to his Dr. appointment and Kaylee to her Eye Doctor appointment. There is NO WAY I would attempt this with all 4 of them!

I got the kids ready for the morning and held them at bay upstairs. I cleaned Kaylee's glasses and gave them back to her to put on. As I was getting ready to load Conner in the car, I looked up through the banister from the main floor where Kaylee and Cade were playing and noticed Kaylee didn't have her glasses. She has taken them off only a couple of times and misplaced them - only to be quickly found on the floor. Oh boy. She needed them for her appointment. We looked everywhere upstairs. No good. Thankfully we still had her first pair (the backup emergency pair; the pair she had all twisted up before they were even 7 hours old). We put those on and headed out the door ... with a quick prayer to find the glasses later.

Conner's ear is still slightly infected. The doctor recommended hitting the infection with some oral antibiotics since he is having a difficult time shaking this infection. She could hear his drainage in his upper chest (not his lungs). He is 19 lbs 9.6 oz (bare naked this time) - 35%. He is 27 1/2 inches long (25%). (Shannon, correct me as I don't have the paper in front of me). His head is ____ and is in the 80%. He has tons of brains in there! He is sporting a Band-Aid from a shot. I had Kaylee wait in the hallway. She couldn't resist and had to stick her head in once Conner started to cry. I told her we were doing this to keep him healthy and safe and because we loved him. You should have seen the look I got from her. He stopped crying as soon as I picked him up and cuddled him.

Off to the eye doctor. The first office was 10 minutes away. I needed an appointment before 60 days after the original prescription. If her prescription changed, they would replace the lens for free ($98 lenses). No appointments were available until after the 60 day window. They wanted to keep the appointment with the original doctor. I told them I didn't care who or where, but I needed to get in. I also told them it didn't matter anyway because she wasn't going to be here for the next appointment that they would request to be scheduled because she will be back home in AZ. They fit me in. The office was 50 minutes away. Worth it. It pays to know your benefits, warrantees, etc.

At the eye appointment, Kaylee asked the nurse at least 10 times if she was going to get drops in her eyes. She asked the doctor 3 more times once she came in the room. She was "so happy" to find out she wasn't going to need drops. The doctor was VERY pleased with how Kaylee's eyes are responding to the treatment. No crossing while the glasses are on. The prescription didn't change either. She has to be seen by the eye doctor every 6 months until she is 7. Good girl Kaylee for wearing your glasses ALL of the time! She only fussed the first couple of days while she was adjusting to the prescription; I didn't give in.

We headed back home. I picked up the 12x18 posters of the musicals for our High School that I had printed at Costco. I then took the digital images to another place to have them printed as 24x36 prints to be framed in the hallway heading to the Auditorium. That printing was going to take an hour or two. I took the kids back home and then headed out by myself when posters were done to pick them up. Dropped them off at Hobby Lobby to be framed (their poster frames were half off ... I picked a really nice one too ... I LOVE Hobby Lobby). If you purchase their frames, they will put the print/poster in the frame for you for FREE! It will be done on Wednesday, just in time for the Choir Award Ceremony and Banquet.

More cousins came over tonight. Aunt Sarah and Uncle Aaron dropped off their 3 kiddos - Eleanor (5 months), Simon (2) and Kimball (4). They headed off for a date night at the temple. We were a hopping house ;o). Cheaper by the dozen? Not quite a dozen .... but nearly.

They came back and visited for a bit and then headed off ... I still kept thinking and praying that I could find those glasses. I put out a bounty out for them. It reminded me of the times that Bama and Papa would do the same when something of theirs went missing during one of their visits. Sometimes I wondered if Reed and Richard purposefully hid those items just for the reward ;o) I have searched everywhere. I even looked in all of the trashes upstairs. Toy boxes, bins, etc. Dirty clothes hamper. Clean clothes in the basket. Nothing.Time to tuck the kids in bed. Sharing sure wears them out! It is late. It is dark. The lights are out upstairs except my bathroom light. I head out of the bathroom and see something glistening. A tender mercy. I see it as a blessing for watching 3 more little friends while Sarah and Aaron attend the temple. The glasses. Safe and sound under the green chair in my room. I searched there already. I'm grateful for tender mercies ... especially when it comes in the form of a small pair of glasses. Prayers are answered. Always.