Beauty of Summer

Today, I would have to say that this is my favorite time of year. In the fall, I will probably say the same thing. But today is definitely making me smile.
The boys are growing, growing, growing-physically, mentally, spiritually, and in personality. I have loved spending time with each of them, learning about each of them as individuals. They are alike, and yet so unbelievably different and unique from one another.


Kalvin is the meek and gentle one in the house. He tries to please at every turn. He is a thinker, an analyzer. There is well thought out reasoning for everything that he does. Kalvin loves to read. And give hugs. He has got to be the friendliest kid I have ever known.

Yes, he is wearing snow boots. And yes, he dressed himself today!

Xander is on the go all the time. He just loves life and has to live every moment of it to the absolute fullest. The multiple times we've gone to the doctor for sutures or to treat a broken arm are proof of it! Sometimes we wonder how much he hears or takes in, and we are always pleasantly surprised when he asks questions or comments about spiritual matters or other serious subjects. He really does have a strong understanding of such things, even if we don't always perceive it.



Talmage is our big teddy bear. He knows he is tough. He comes across as tough. But he also has a very sensitive side. He picks up on visual cues of others who are hurting or sad and will give a big hug to make it all better. His smile lights up a room instantly.


We have had the most unusual weather this summer--thunderstorms every few days. But the sunsets...Oh, the sunsets are amazing when the sky has cleared partially by the evening. The landscape has remained rather green, and combined with the coral sunsets and the dark blue clouds, it is breathtaking.



Growing a garden this year has been difficult due to the ever present rain, the 2nd week of June blizzard, our already short growing season, etc. But we have managed to start reaping the benefits somewhat. Tonight we had roasted veggies: yellow squash, zucchini, beets, onions and potatoes from the garden, combined with red pepper, asparagus and baby bella mushrooms from the store. Yum.



And although they are not "local", these peaches from Washington are pretty darn good. Especially for homemade peach ice cream.

Recovery Notes

As noted in earlier posts, life for us has been downright stressful this past week. Yet I've been a really good girl the past three weeks. No lifting or carrying anything (unfortunately, though, this has also included my cute boys). No vacuuming. No driving for two weeks. No housework. Basically, I've just slept, walked around, eaten, read books, or sat and painted the mural in the office waiting room.
Pain meds were discontinued about four days ago. And I had only been taking them in the evenings the preceding week. I have felt stronger this week, and have finally been able to give up the forever long midday naps.
Alas, I think I over did it today. I have felt so good that its hard to remember to take it easy. But I'm paying for it tonight. My back really hurts and I have quite a bit of lower tummy cramping and pain. I didn't think I had done too much, but evidently I was wrong. Guess I'm back to being 'lazy' again. Oy. It is so hard to see all that needs to be done at the Strawhouse and our house and not be able to do any of it. Frustrating!

Inspections, inspections, inspections!

What an absolutely crazy day! And I thought Matt was stressed out last week-hah! Seriously, it was a very nerve wracking day. Why? Because if we didn't pass inspections today, then we couldn't start seeing patients tomorrow as scheduled.

Yeah, we started thinking this morning that that was probably not the best way to go about having a first official working day with patients in the office. So we did a bit of fudging and were able to shift out working days from Tues-Thurs to Wed-Fri. Normally, there would be no way to feasibly do this, but we got lucky-it is GA (general anesthesia) week. Which means that we only have 4 patients a day instead of 40-50 patients a day. So rescheduling this week was still a viable option for us, thank goodness.

What did a day of inspections mean for us? What didn't it mean?
First, the architects came by around 10:00. They started the "punch" list for things incompleted or not done very well workmanship wise. There wasn't anything of serious concern, but definitely some cosmetic issues such as areas lacking caulking, a few "butchered" tiles around outlets in the bathrooms, etc.
Then came the mechanical and electrical engineers. The building has been rather warm in some areas. The air system had not be "balanced" yet and it could definitely be felt. The mechanical engineer made some suggestions, and within an hour, the hot spots were cooling down.
The fire marshall arrived at 11:00. If we didn't pass his inspection, then nothing else mattered. Well, we didn't. At least right away. Some extinguishers needed to be moved or replaced. Signs had to be placed on the medical gas room doors. A couple of emergency lighting units were not working and had to be repaired. And a few more things. But we were able to call him back later, and we passed then.
Plumbing inspections have been a bit tedious. First, we had to have a second party verifier come in and do his own inspections on the medical gas and piping systems. He came and did so on Thursday last week. Today we had the city inspections. A few minor blips that were resolved on the spot, and that was also a pass. Tomorrow, we have the state medical gases inspection. It should go easily since the verifier already passed us, but there's always the chance...
Electrical passed. No major issues there.
City inspection went alright. There are still some things that need to be addressed (such as railing around ventilation units on the roof).

But we did get our temporary certificate of occupancy. Via phone. At 5 pm today. Whew!

And here's what the waiting room mural looked like tonight: