I took Tristan to the dr. yesterday where we learned that he has mono with a possibility for strep throat as well. He has never been this sick before and it is kind of worrisome and upsetting. He has a high fever all the time and can’t keep anything down. He usually just lies on the couch all day.
This weekend we’ve had our share of fun and games. Yesterday the weather was cool and rainy but today it was perfect: sunny and in the high 60s.
In addition to getting another van, which was exciting enough on its own, we made a trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden along with 10 million other people (or so it appeared) to see the Spring blooms.
Cohen was a real stinker the whole time, running away when he was told to stay put, climbing on things he wasn’t supposed to, stepping in the flower beds, and on and on. Not sure what was wrong with him; maybe he was just more excited than usual. Brinley, on the other hand, was pretty quiet and meek the whole time. She has been unwell for a few days now with fever and sore throat so it’s no wonder. She slept on the way to the gardens and then sort of kept behind everyone else as we walked everywhere. Even though the place was crawling with people, more than we had ever seen before, it was worth the trip. The Spring flowers were gorgeous, especially the tulips.
We went on some walkways that led out into the lagoon a little bit and were amused to discover a great big ‘ol carp looking for us to feed it, surrounded by a large school of bluegills. (I wish I had had my fishing pole to catch those bluegills!)
Overall it was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. On our way home we stopped and ate a nice meal at Chipotle’s. Click here to see the full set of photos from the trip.
Word from my mother this a.m. is good in that my sister-in-law, Linda, is doing a bit better than last night, even though she is still in tremendous pain. She has a very low blood count and has had four units of blood. I’m feeling better than yesterday, when I basically slept most of the day. Tristan still has a fever this a.m. but it is lower than before. It’s a rather cloudy day outside — looks like it’s going to rain, again. Michele and I need to clean the garage because we’re hosting a garage sale next Saturday, for which the profits will be donated to MOPS. I’ll not be able to help next Saturday with the garage sale as that is graduation day for Taylor and I have to participate in the faculty march. Every morning I continue to enjoy watching the birds at the feeders. This morning I identified a new sparrow that I hadn’t known about, a song sparrow. It’s very common but I hadn’t identified it before. I’m waiting for the goldfinches to feed at the special feeder hanging from the overhang next to the patio door. I don’t think they’ve noticed that it’s full of thistle seed yet. I need to fill up the hummingbird feeder and hang it. Today is also the day when Keegan’s school has its annual carnival and Keegan really wants to go. We’ll see.
War is imminent in the Middle East and I don’t think I’ve ever been this anxious about the state of the world and where things are going. God is in control, I know that. I just pray that His people and those who are innocent will be specially protected. One of the concerns I have is for safe travels for us on our Spring Break trip to Florida. Michele and I and the kids are really looking forward to the trip and I hope that the flights will be safe and that other family members who are driving will be safe as well. Michele and I recently sold our Honda Accord and Ford Windstar to buy a new, used Honda Odyssey minivan. It’s got power everything and has low mileage. What a difference! We are relieved to have more reliable transportation and don’t mind downsizing to just one vehicle. Living in a small town like this, and so close to my work, makes it quite doable for us. Tristan and Keegan have been quite sick of late. Keegan is better and has been back to school the last several days. However, Tristan hasn’t been doing well, continuing to have a fever and not eating hardly anything for several days. Michele took him to the doctor yesterday. Hopefully he’ll turn the corner soon. He’s been very clingy to me, like a remora is to a shark 
I just finished reading a thoughtful, sometimes droll, book called The Lobster Chronicles: Life on a Very Small Island written by Linda Greenlaw of The Perfect Storm fame. Since I have a special fondness for Maine, where this book is written (and is the home of the author), it was an entertaining read. As I read it while lying in bed, every once in a while I’d laugh or chuckle. Michele would then roll over and, in annoyance, tell me “Go to sleep!” This is one of the many joys of married life We were there in Maine for our family vacation last year and had a great time. I wish we could go back this year but we simply can’t afford it. My favorite area is the Harpswells. I’d love to own a summer house there! Tristan has once again spiked a bit of a fever and last night was a fairly restless one. Hopefully he’ll feel better today. Sometimes this happens when he is teething, other times we don’t know what causes it. Keegan, I think, is hoping to spend more time on his new skateboard today. His grandma bought it for him when we were at her house this past weekend. Yes, his grandma loves to spoil him rotten! Next door, a new access road is being built to the elementary school. Every morning now for the last few weeks, we’ve been woken up by extremely loud and heavy machinery starting up. It’s so loud that quite often, our entire house shakes. Then there are the gravel trucks rumbling to and fro in front of our house. They are filling in part of the parking lot at our church to enable new classroom space to be built. I’ll be glad when all of this construction work is done.