Good bye August

August was a month that seemed to fly by for us. At the beginning of the month we were relaxing in Colorado on the annual family vacation and at the end of the month we were celebrating the wonderful news that Anna did not have to undergo surgery to repair her VUR (kidney reflux) issues. And in between those two events were lots of fun outings and several pool play dates at the cousins' house to try and beat the heat and keep the kids engaged...and Mama from going crazy. :)

Our washing machine went out on us (after 20 years of faithful service) and we replaced it with a new front load set that make our little laundry room look pretty fancy. At the same time we replaced the old cook top in our kitchen with a sleek new black one. Coincidentally, the appliances arrived on my birthday and they are awesome. The day they were installed the kids and I were mesmerized by the spinning clothes through the glass windows of the washer and dryer. Anna has always been my laundry helper so now she's even more excited to help because she can reach both the washer and the dryer without her step stool. I hope that enthusiasm continues into her teen years when she'll be doing her own laundry.

The afternoon of my birthday we met with the pediatric urologist at Children's Hospital and were quite relieved and thankful to learn that Anna's stage III VUR does not require surgery at this time. In fact, nearly 50% of all children with this stage outgrow it within five years. So we were given the option of putting her on a daily antibiotic for one full year as a preventive measure against future kidney infections or take a 'wait and see' approach. Either way, she will be evaluated after one year to check the progress of the VUR with hopes that it has decreased or diminished entirely. After praying, researching and speaking with Anna's pediatrician Mark and I chose not to give her the antibiotic and instead we opted for a more natural route of a daily chewable 'gummy' supplement of natural cranberry or whole cranberry juice pops. We are so thankful to God that Anna doesn't have to endure a surgery at this age and pray her kidney/bladder issues are healed by His hand in time.

We had a record-breaking summer with 61 days where the temperature was above 100 degrees and massive wild fires were part of the daily news. Brutal hot! But today was a very welcome change with highs only reaching 78 degrees and a, dare I say, crisp breeze all day long. This morning we all wore long sleeves and pants to church and I was so excited to open all the windows and air out the house this afternoon.

Fall is upon us and college football has begun (my husband is overjoyed) and the kids start back to school this coming week! Hard to believe summer is over.

Ian, Anna and Gram make paper airplanes to
launch on the air machine at the museum.