Life As We Know It

So here's the latest from the Crouse house:

Starting with Draven: he has now been sickness free for almost 4 months! I think that is definitely a milestone worth celebrating! He's gotten his first tooth, starting to crawl, and can down some jar food like nobody's business! He's come so far. I'm so proud of him! Dominic had to get his nose glued this week after tripping over his own two feet. He gashed his nose pretty good. Not even a week later, his brother pushed him and he fell with the pringles can he was holding going right into his mouth. Thankfully, he didn't end up seriously hurt and I was thankful we didn't have to take him to the ER for the second time in a week. That little boy is something else!! =) Bradren has been Bradren..wild and crazy and full of life! He's starting to talk a little more now in complete sentences which makes mommy really happy! His favorite lines are "Let me do it" and "What are you doing?". Bradren and Dominic constantly keep me on my toes!! If it's quiet, I better be go checking it out because they are into something! Jovie had her 5 year check up this past week...She's all ready to start Kindergarten =(. She checked out perfectly and the doctor said that if she stays on the same growth curve she will be 5' 4"...taller than her mama! She got shots and the same night she got a stomach bug...Fun fun. Aeris has been probably the most uneventful one. She did get pushed in the floor by her brother the other day and the blood started pouring from her nose. At first I was scared to death she broke it...but the worst she got was rug burn on the tip of her nose. She's a tough little girl though!!! Kylee has been having a horrible time with her feet. She has to see a podiatrist this next week on Wednesday to hopefully find out what's going on. It bothers her to walk or anything. I feel bad for her! She also has some pretty bad allergies and has to take medicine to control it everyday. Otherwise she's good though--the same really sweet Kylee girl! The only major thing that has been going on with Keyser is that we found out that he's still pretty highly allergic to peanuts. Dominic had covered himself in peanut butter and Keyser went to pick him up Keyser then started having respiratory issues. They were resolved with breathing treatments but they wanted to see him at the ER anyways. They did x-rays at the ER which showed that his lungs were larger than normal. That let them know it was indeed an allergic reaction. We now have an epee-pen with him at all times. We were told that the next reaction could be milder or it could be worse. We are taking him in for allergy testing on Monday to see if he is allergic to any other types of nuts as well. As for Chris and me...we're doing pretty good. I'm enjoying my new job and the biggest news that either of us have is that Chris is going back to school!!! He starts New River in a couple of weeks working towards his Associates degree in IT: Game design. I think this is pretty cool. I'm excited!

I'm dreading the kids going back to school now. It starts in less than 2 weeks and I'm not ready. Chris and I were contemplating homeschooling this year...but we started considering it too late to feel like we could even be prepared by this year. We're hoping that this is their last year in public schools and we can home school starting next year. We want to make sure that they the kids are all on-board for that decision though if we do it. We've asked their opinions on it and they all seem interested. It's going to take a lot of work for us..but we are really wanting to try it out. We shall see!!

Promotion!!!!

I have very exciting news to share today! I was promoted to Customer Service Manager today and will start my new position this coming Saturday!!! I could not be more excited! I have worked so hard for this and it's just one step closer to being where I want to be....I worried because I interview so horribly...but it worked out for me! I'm feeling so blessed tonight. Maybe my luck is going in a whole different direction! That would be awesome!

Crouse House Summertime Fun

We're having a great summer in the Crouse house. For a weekend in June we got away to go camping and had a FABULOUS time. It's always a ton of work, but it's always fun times. The inlaws made a pirate ship for them, did pirate games, and had a treasure chest for them to pick out of when they finished their game. 

 We spent time at the pool, went on a wagon ride, played at the park, had s'mores of course, and just enjoyed each others company with no distractions. It's not very often we get away, so it was definitely great fun. I can't wait for next years camping trip!! The kids are also enjoying going over to Kim's house this summer. It's awesome friend time for Kim and me, it's pretty cool that Chris can have her husband James to hang out with, and our kids get along great with hers! We've been trying out Pinterest ideas with them and of course the kids love them! These are what we made the last time:

They were a big hit with the kids! I think we have just as much fun with them as they do, it's awesome!

There hasn't been too much else going on around here, which I'm thankful for. We had a stomach bug last weekend, but thankfully it passed pretty quick and only hit 4/9 of us. Draven has stayed completely healthy for a couple of months now and we're stoked!! Life is overall going pretty well. I'm currently hoping to get a promotion for the job that I backup for right now. It's a full time Customer Service Manager job. It was posted this past week, so hopefully I find something out in the next week or so! I really really want this!!

Honesty is the Best Policy

Most everyone that knows me knows that I will tell you that I absolutely love my job. I really do. I love my job and I love my co-workers. I do however, hate some of the reality that I have faced with working retail. I used to be a very trusting person---honestly, probably a little too trusting. In my eyes, everyone meant well, no one lied, and no one was out to deceive you. Unfortunately, I have been proven wrong. It really disturbs me how many dishonest people are out there. I've seen so much theft and dishonesty and it breaks my heart. I've known people to have their children help them steal and watch them steal. It breaks my heart!!! Why in the world would you ever steal to begin with and why would you ever bring your child up to steal? I never realized how many dishonest people are in the world. It makes me sad and it also makes me just angry. I work hard for every dollar I make and the next person is doing everything they can to lie, cheat, and steal. It doesn't seem fair, but I do believe that what goes around, comes around. They will in one way or another have to deal with the consequences.

I'm the kind of person that if a cashier overcharges me and I know it...I give the money back. I accidentally had a .97 sponge under my purse one time at Dollar General and took it back to pay for it. I could NEVER live with my conscience knowing that I took something that I didn't earn or pay for, no matter how big or small it was. I thank my mom for that too. She taught me better. I remember her doing the same thing with a package of hair ties once. She went back and paid for them because she didn't notice and the cashier didn't notice that they were sitting on the inside of her buggy when she walked out. I hate the reality of knowing that people aren't as trusting as I once thought. Instead of trusting every person that I come in contact with, I've turned into the person that is skeptical of every person I come in contact with. All I can tell you is my children are going to know the good values and morals that I was taught growing up. They will know you work for what you want and you are always honest. I don't care what anyone else thinks, I still truly believe that honesty is the best policy.

Giving Back

We had a rough start to this week this week. Kylee was admitted into the hospital because she was having an entirely difficult time breathing. She was discharged today after lots and lots of breathing treatments, some fluids, and some antibiotics. They decided she had a virus that triggered some Asthma. She's been a trooper and I'm so proud of her.

So I got to thinking...She came home today with a "Project Linus" blanket. It was a handmade blanket that the pediatrics units give to the patients. It's funny how something so small has made that child's day...she loves that blanket! It made me realize again how awesome it is to give. Someone took the time to knit those blankets and put a smile on little kid's faces. I've decided that now that I am out of school, I would love to put my spare time to use by giving to others. I'm not sure yet what I want to do but I just want to make other people's day and I want to teach my children to do the same...There's so many organizations that I'm ready to give back to too and just people in general! This is going to be a main focus for us this Summer.

This mommy is an OFFICIAL college graduate!!

So this week past week I officially became a college graduate!! My college career has taken me through so many paths. I've switched majors a couple times and found out that God had other plans in mind for me at this time. I'm content. I wanted my nursing degree, but it was made obvious that now was not the time to pursue it and I don't think it could have been made any clearer. I did, however, graduate with my Associates in Business Management....and you know what? For once in my life, I'm proud of myself! I have worked HARD for this! I started college the same week that I lost my daddy, which was a huge struggle....I've had to take books to the hospital so I could work on schoolwork after the delivery of my children so I could keep up.....I've stayed up many nights working on assignments and having to go into work the very next day because there just aren't enough hours to work, do class work, and sleep when you're taking full time credits....and I've had the obvious traumatic experiences during the last 6 months to deal with. Plus, I'm just a mommy. There's been so many obstacles and it's been a long journey for me....but it's been so worth it!!!! I'm so happy!

What??? Mother of SEVEN? How old are you??

A younger associate at work (19) was exchanging diapers for her baby today. She has a 3 month old. We got in the conversation of babies and kids and the older man behind us kind of pushed his way into our conversation. He asked how old she was and she told him. He said that she needed to wait to have any more babies and definitely didn't need to get married yet. He said she didn't need any more babies until she was at least 26. For some reason, these kinds of conversations get me kind of heated so I was trying not to be part of the conversation. She then pointed out to him that I had 7 children. Of course I get the reaction I always get when people learn this fact. The "OMG, do you really? How do you do it?" kind of reaction. Then of course comes the nosy questions.....ya know the "how old are you" and other personal questions. When people ask me these questions I feel like asking them if they'd like my phone number, address, credit card information, and social security number as well.   It always angers me so I just try to smile through the annoyed emotions that I get. So, according to this man I was too young to have my child at 19 and marry at 18? I didn't know there was an age on love! Yes, for most people...18 may be too young to marry and 19 may be too young to have babies, but for some people 30 is too young to marry and 30 is too young to have babies!!! What's right for someone may be completely wrong for the next!!! I will tell you that I have been happily married for almost 10 years now and I have 7 children that I love more than life itself. I have no regrets of starting my family so young! "You sir, have a right to your opinion, but you sir, are WRONG!"----if I hadn't been at work, I would have loved to have given my opinion as well.

Daddy

I'm not a great writer at all, but for my last speech I had to write a commemorative speech. I chose to pay tribute to my father. I miss this man on a daily basis and it felt good to be able to tell people what kind of man my daddy was, even if they don't know him. He was a wonderful man and this is the Eulogy I wrote for him:


For those who don’t know me, My name is Jeanette and I am Larry’s youngest daughter. Thank you for helping me pay tribute to my father today.

My dad was an amazing man. He would give anyone the shirt off his back if they needed it. I knew growing up I could always count on my dad for anything. He never let me down. Even as I got older, married, and moved out of the house I knew he was only a phone call away and so did my sister and brother. Actually one of the very last memories I have of him was him putting antifreeze in my vehicle because I had a leak and he was worried about my vehicle breaking down on me. It was freezing cold that night and little did we know he was coughing so hard because he had pneumonia. The very next day when I showed up to the hospital because his pneumonia was bad enough to be admitted, he wasn’t worried about himself at all. The first words out of his mouth were asking me if my vehicle was still giving me problems. He was worried about me driving around. That’s just the kind of man he was.

My dad showed his family on a daily basis how much he loved them. He was married to my mother for 30 years and he treated her like every woman deserves to be treated. My siblings and I understood at a young age what true love was because we saw it everyday with the love that they shared. They never left one another without a kiss goodbye. My dad also always made time for his kids. Some of the best memories that I have I shared with my dad. It was the simple things. I won’t forget walking to the grocery store in 3 feet of snow when I was 8 just because he thought it would be exciting, or biking on the Huckleberry Trail with him while I was 8 months pregnant with my first child because he said I wouldn’t do it. I used to come home at night from doing whatever I was doing and just sit at the edge of the bed and talk to my dad while he was watching TV and I had the privilege of my daddy walking me down the aisle when I got married. I’ll never forget him being so upset about letting his little girl go. He was so excited to get grand kids though. He loved his grand kids so much! He would come over every day or at least every other day and give them some kind of treat or toy. He would sit on the floor and play with them for a while. He would take their pictures and show them off to everyone he knew.  I think he sometimes even showed them to people he didn’t know! They absolutely knew they were loved by their paw paw. We’re all going to miss that knock on the door everyday. His love for his family didn’t stop with his wife, kids, and grand kids. Since the day his dad passed away, he would take his mom a cup of coffee every day and sit to talk a while. My daddy was just a family man.

My dad was an example to all who knew him. He was hardworking and he showed us what it was like to earn a paycheck. He worked 60 hour weeks in a factory to help support his family and he raised us to know that you work for what you want and need in life.  He was an honest and simple man with great morals and values and he put more emphasis on the important things in life like spending time with loved ones and just being a good person. He enjoyed the little things in life like going to auctions, watching NASCAR races, taking his dog for a ride, and fishing.

I’m sad to know that he’ll never take my son fishing like he wanted to, but we’ll take him fishing and I’ll teach him everything my daddy taught me about fishing and life. I hope that I can leave an impact on my kids and everyone else like my daddy left on all that knew him. Our time with him was cut way too short, but we will hold onto the memories forever.

The Little Things

I'm so ready for Summer. I'll be graduated and won't have to worry about going back, the kids will be out of school, and all I will have to focus on is working, being a good wife, and a good mother. I feel like I've just been waiting on this...but everything I've done and sacrificed, I've done for them and it will finally be all over!!  I've been putting things off till I have more time to do them and I'm finally going to have that it! I almost wondered what I was going to do with all that "extra" time I'm going to have, but I've found the best use possible =).  Ready to just watch our little blessings grow and enjoy those little things with them! After all, they won't be like this for long =(.

Looking forward to the little things, like coming home and cooking dinner WITH my hubby instead of him having to do it by himself. Ready for our trips with the kids to the park and the pool, ready for our camping trip, ready for our special movie nights (I even have a cool drive in movie night planned for them for their last day of school), ready for our cookouts, and ready to just enjoy them!!! I'm going to make sure that my children remember the time we spent together. I've said this before....but one of the most awesome things about having a big family is that we can make anything into a big party!!!! I love it....and we're going to party all summer long! =P

Just so grateful

Every time that I've been pregnant, everyone has always asked me if I wanted a boy or a girl. My reply to them was I didn't care as long as it's healthy. This has always been true, but I never realized how true. It seems that I have taken my healthy babies for granted. Draven was born fighting for his life and has had a number of sicknesses since he was born. He's gone through Flu A which sent him into Hypothermia and apnea,  Pneumonia, Klebsiella Oxytoca (a rare infection in his blood stream, which can be life threatening), an inguinal hernia, Flu B, and Bronchitis. It's sad that it took me till child #7 to realize what a blessing it has been to have healthy children. I know that people think that I'm a little overbearing at times now, I freak out about everything....but I have to say that it's hard to understand until you go through it. I've experienced lots of scary firsts with him and I DO worry about the slightest sickness because the slightest sicknesses has become really serious for him. This boy has taught me a lot. I am thankful for his health because it could always be worse and I am thankful for the health of his brothers and sisters. Never again will I take my children's health for granted.

Bad Luck....or Good?

I haven't decided if I'm really as unlucky as it's felt like, or if I'm actually lucky and we're looking at it all the wrong way. Everyone knows the issues that I had with the birth of our 7th child, but things could have been worse. Both of us made it through and he's doing awesome now. That's a huge blessing. Right after I get home I start having van trouble, but once again, it could have been worse. Thank God I had the trouble when we got home and not while we were still in Roanoke. Plus I have awesome friends that are technicians who took good care of us and had us fixed up in no time. Not two weeks after we get home, little Draven gets the flu, his temperature drops, he starts having spells of apnea and we have to call 911 on him. He gets transported back to Roanoke. Thank God we got him an ambulance,...who knows what could have happened had we not got him there fast enough. He was considered hypothermic and his Oxygen saturation was going down a lot. Everyone in our house at this time gets the flu and/or bronchitis. After we get settled back in with Draven at home and I get back to work I have to take Chris to the ER because he has pneumonia. At this point, I feel like I'm at my breaking point and I can take no more. About a week later we have to take him back to the ER because he gets worse. He was close to being admitted and I was close to an emotional breakdown. Come to find out, they gave him half the medication that he should have been on for as bad as his pneumonia really was. Luckily, we find this out before we leave and he doesn't get admitted. The same week we're dealing with his pneumonia we get a huge snow and my van gets stuck very close to a bank. After struggling to get up the hill, I decide to leave it. The next day when my brother comes to jump my van because the battery is dead, he asked me if I realized how close I was to heading off that bank. Thank God I left that van sitting that night instead of trying to get up anymore. I could have flipped right off that bank. After crying because we're going to have to pay to get a tow, my awesome neighbors saved the day and got us out. Soon after this happens, I finally think things are getting better. Things are getting back to normal, everyone is healthy, and I'm enjoying being back to work with a little routine. Then...here we go again....I hit a pole in the Walmart parking lot and total my van. To this day, I'm not sure what my thought process was....I can't see out my window, so instead of stopping until I can see I keep going? I know..I know...not so smart, and trust me, I've beat myself up over it a million times! Okay, so here I am....a week later trying to remind myself that it could have been worse. Thank goodness it was a pole and not a person or even another car! I was hurt, but could have been hurt much worse and could have had to be out of work for a long time with no pay. It is totally inconvenient that I have to purchase another car right now, but the timing could have been even more terrible. What if this would have happened when all this other stuff was going on? It can definitely always be worse.

Someone told me that with everything I've gone through, I'm going to see a big rainbow. But...maybe I already have. All of my family is alive and healthy. That is a blessing in itself! We've definitely gone through the trials lately, but considering what could have been.....the outcomes haven't been so bad. I'm praying though that after everything gets settled with our car situation, our trials can be over for now. The past 3 months have been emotionally draining. I know all things happen for a reason and you never are given more than you can handle...but I feel that my "how much I can handle meter" is about full.

The Best of Friends

There's two things that you can notice if you were to just watch my children. One is that they are very loving children. The expression "has never met a stranger" is very fitting for my kids. Just step foot in my house and you'll see! They are more than likely to meet you at the door and attack you....and on your way out they will be expecting a hug goodbye. The other thing you would notice is not only their love for people....but especially their love for one another. They are seriously the best of friends. Of course they have their little arguments and fights...but they are the closest siblings I've ever seen. If I go to the store with just a couple of them, they are always so concerned on bringing something back for the other brothers and sisters. It's seriously amazing. When we asked Jovie one day what she wanted for Christmas she said "I want another dream lite". When we asked her what she would possibly do with ANOTHER dream lite because she already had one, her reply was...."I want another dream lite so Kylee can have mine." These things are not things that just happen occasionally at our house, this is simply how they are most of the time.

My wish for them as they grow older is that they continue to stay so loving and caring and keep those great relationships that they have with one another. I'm sure that every parent wants this for their children, but my hope is that I can teach them and show them how important family is. This is my goal and I believe that the best way to know how to love is to BE loved and they definitely are surrounded by that in this house! So I will just sit back, love them, give them my time and attention, and pray for the best as they grow and continue their own lives.