August 2007

Just when you think things are going to get better, things happen and you don't understand why. We do have faith in God and trust in Him that it's His plan but it is hard to understand sometimes. Sandy started taking a turn for the worse. Most of truely believe that she knows her husband is gone and it is ok to finally let go. I wish I could have known her. I only know her through Jamie's stories. She is amazing lady and everyday I get choked up wishing I had known her. It kills me that my children never got to know her.

Sandy got sick and was put in the hospital. They said one thing but it wasn't that. They got things back on track and she was sent to the nursing home. At the nursing home, she took a turn for the worse. Jamie and Becky decided that their mother had suffered enough and signed the papers to take her off of her feeding tube and medications. Sandy would be coming to her home for her final days with Becky caring for her and working from home. I would go and pick Chad up in the mornings as Becky couldn't leave.

On August 23rd, I got there in the morning to pick up Chad. Becky said Sandy wasn't doing well and that she was calling the nurse. I gave Jamie the update when I got home. He said he was going to stop by after work. He had only visited once and said he wouldn't go back. How do you tell someone that has seen his mother basically die in front of his eyes that he needs to visit? You can't. Anyway, he went after work. Sandy's sisters were there. One of Jamie's uncles. And Becky and Jamie. They were all sitting around her. Jamie was about to come home and gave his mother a kiss, said he loved her and good bye. He gave her another kiss on her head and with that, Sandy took her last breathe. She went peacefully and without pain, surrounded by her sisters and children.

The children and I mourned the woman we would never know. It was so hard knowing that we just couldn't walk in and say hi to her. I always think she knew that the kids and I existed. I hope she knows that I'll always take care of her baby boy as well.

2007 has been a rough year.

The children missed their first day of school for the funeral. It was pretty hard going to the gravesite and seeing Richard's marker there. May Richard and Sandy rest in peace, together.

After everything that has happened, we went full blast into the school year and getting into a new "normal" routine. Whatever that may be.

Jordan has three different teachers this year. He is happy with his teachers although the one teacher he wanted in 3rd grade that moved to 5th, he didn't get. He's really excited to be in 5th grade. They do a lot of neat things this year. He is in the advanced math class and reading class.

James got a good teacher as well. She is known for her no-nonsense approach to teaching. James wasn't the happiest with who he got but Jamie and I were as he needs to buckle down on his school work. He is a smart kid but lacks the desire and confidence.

Jasmine was beyond excited with the teacher she got. She has wanted Mrs. Howington since Jordan had her as Miss Reed in 1st grade for a reading teacher. She married another teacher at the school ~ the one Jordan wanted but didn't get. Mrs. H and Jasmine were so excited to see each other. She is a wonderful teacher. You always have that one teacher that you will remember forever. She will be that teacher for Jasmine.

Jacob and Jenna are doing great. Jenna was not happy at all about the three going to school. The first week of school consisted of a lot of tears at the bus stop for Jenna. She's better now and enjoying her days with her best buddy, Jacob. Those two are funny, entertaining and bad. But the good kind of bad. The bad that makes you laugh. The bad that makes you remember that they are kids and won't be little forever.

Our most exciting news of the month was on August 5th. Jamie and I had been talking about getting another puppy. A rottweiler of course. We had been checking the Sunday papers and weren't finding much. This particular Sunday, Jamie actually checked the paper. Normally I did. He said he was going to go check out these 9 week old pups near us but didn't want the kids to know and get their hearts broken. About an hour and half later, he calls and says that they weren't 9 week old pups but 9 months old. I was dissapointed but figured it wasn't meant to be. An hour or so later, Jamie gets home and says he forgot my cell phone in his truck. So I run out to get it to be greeted by this adorable face....



Jamie named him Bear. If you could have seen the way he walked, you'd totally get it. He's my baby. He's an awesome dog. He has done so well. The kids weren't very sure about him at first. Jenna and Jacob are doing great with him now. Jasmine has her days. Some are great; others she isn't so sure. James is still pretty freaked out. He was bitten by a dog a few months ago and hurt pretty bad so it's understandable. Jordan does great with him. Bear is just a pup with lots of love that wants to play but has those sharp puppy teeth. He's a great dog though.

July 2007

We are making trips up to the mountains so Jamie can mow and take care of the millions of other things Richard took care of. We wonder how he managed to take care of it all. It is nice getting up there though. We wish we would have gone more to enjoy it with Richard though.



Jamie actually got a new truck to make the trips easier for us. He needs to be able to get up there in the winter and this baby sure will do the trick. It's beautiful. It's totally everything Jamie wanted. He so deserves it. He works so hard to take care of all of us and now has the added places in WV and VA.



The rest of our summer is watching Chad and our neighbor's kids, Kaylee and Taylor. The kids have a lot of fun playing and getting outside. We can't really go anywhere since it's too many kids for my van to hold but we are doing our best to enjoy the summer.

June 2007

Life is definitely different without Papa around. I don't know how many times Jamie has said "I need to call Dad" when something happened. We all miss him so much. Everytime chicken is on sale, I think to call and tell him. Everytime I make a package of hot dogs, I think of him. If you knew Richard, you know what I'm talking about.

We did have some great news during the month though. We became an uncle and aunt again. Steven and Joanna welcomed Hope Olivia to their family on June 20th. She weighed in at an even 8 lbs. She is a sweetie pie although missing the dark hair everyone thought she'd have. We sure wish they were closer so we could visit more.

The school year finished on the 14th. The kids were so happy to welcome summer as am I. I love them being home. I'm probably one of the few moms that doesn't enjoy the first day of school. I really wish the kids were home all the time. They all had a great year. Jordan ended the year with straight A's. James and Jasmine both finished with high marks (they don't receive letter grades yet).

We are looking to the summer and enjoying the warm weather and getting outdoors.

Our family was rocked with horrible news!

Today had started like any other day. Jamie went to work. The kids were off to school. Laundry and dishes were done. The children came home from school, got snacks and started homework. Then I received the phone call that changed us all.

Jamie's Aunt Sis called me from Shady Grove Hospital very upset to tell me that Richard was there and in very serious condition. She asked me to please get ahold of Jamie and Becky as soon as possible. I made those phone calls and no sooner had I hund up and Sis called again. Richard, my father-in-law, my children's grandfather, was gone.

Richard was coming home from work. About half way home, he suffered a massive heart attack. Thankfully he didn't hit anyone else when his Blazer swerved across the road. Doctors tell us that he was gone quickly and didn't suffer to which we do find some comfort.

The next few days were filled with planning his arrangements through lots of tears.

There were tons of people ~ family, friends (even friends from Virginia and West Virginia) and many co-workers ~ at his viewings and funerals. Richard impacted a lot of people's lives. We miss him so much.

His work put a really nice memorial on the side of his truck which they will not be taking down. Richard's nephew, Chris, drives the truck now and even took Richard's job. We all know Richard is very proud of Chris.



The City of Rockville did an amazing press release on him as well.

Press Release

News Release
CONTACT:
Tony Ruffin, Communication Officer, 240-314-8115
Kimberly O'Sullivan, Public Information Specialist, 240-314-8116



Long-Time Public Works Supervisor’s Death Leaves Tremendous Void, Sadness
Richard Combs Best Knew City Water Distribution System; Key Person in Reliable Water Service for Residents, Others

ROCKVILLE, Md., June 4, 2007 —Richard Combs was one of the many City of Rockville employees who most residents don't meet or read about. But every time residents turned on their faucets, they had Richard to thank as one of the key people who made sure that the water came out and that it was clean and of the highest quality. And every time the fire department needed a City fire hydrant, it could thank Richard for making sure it operated and that water came out at the pressure that was needed. Richard Combs passed away on Thursday, May 31, when he suffered a heart attack on his way home from work. Richard had served the City and its residents for 34 years, the past 23 as a utilities crew supervisor. He was 59 years old and had been planning on retiring soon.

“Richard knew the City’s water distribution system better than anyone,” said Craig Simoneau, Director of Public Works. “Whenever anyone had a question or problem with any part of the system, Richard was the first person they turned to, and invariably, he had the answer or knew where to find it. That kind of knowledge cannot be replaced, except over time—a long time.”

However, not all of Richard’s knowledge is lost. Those who worked with him said he was a tremendous teacher, and part of his legacy is a well-trained staff that is prepared and able to carry on providing a high level of technically proficient service.

Steve Sokol, the City’s Operations Maintenance Superintendent, said, “Richard will be truly missed not only for the valuable service he supplied the City, but also for the wonderful man that he was. Richard was a well-respected person and liked by all who knew him,” said Sokol. “He was the epitome of the dedicated and hard working public servants who work behind the scenes on a daily basis to make sure Rockville residents and businesses have the important services they need. Even when he was not on duty, he was available to answer questions from other utilities employees and to come in when needed.”

Richard Combs began his employment with the City as a utilities maintenance worker in 1973. He became a utilities crew supervisor in 1984. His work involved maintenance and repair of all parts of the City’s water distribution system, among them water tanks, water mains, fire hydrants, and pressure reducing valves. He also worked with City inspectors on water system hookups to new construction. For more than 20 years, he was a vital part of the City’s biennial water main flushing program, which cleans sediment out of the system and ensures the proper operation of the City’s fire hydrants. He also was the primary person to respond to residents when they had problems with their water service.

It's been too long and so much has gone on!

I really need to get better about doing this. So many things have happened in the last month and I'm sure I've forgotten a lot.

Jacob was sick, really sick, for a few days. He woke up on a Thursday morning, breathing hard, couldn't stay awake, with a really low body temperature (94.9!). With an appointment set for 4:15 pm, I started doing my normal morning things. Jasmine was home that day since it was Kindergarten registration at school and she was off. She helped so much watching him and talking to him when he did wake up. She told me something was wrong, that he was sweating way more than normal. I went and checked him and something was wrong. I called my mom, then Jamie, and both said to take him straight to the doctor or the hospital. I called the doctor back and finally spoke to the nurse that knows me and the kids really well. She said if I thought something was wrong, then I needed to come right up. They took him right back and she got the doctor right away. Upon questions and an examination, she said he needed to go straight to the ER. We ran home really quick and called Jamie, who left work right then. We got to the hospital and they triaged him right away. Jasmine was awesome the whole time with Jacob, holding his hand, since I was holding Jenna, who was a little freaked out with everything going on. The triage nurse said he would be going back in less than 5 minutes. 5 minutes? The ER? Yeah, ok. Well about 2 minutes later, Jacob was called back. He took us back to the Pediatric ER, pushing the stroller for me, since Jenna would NOT let me put her down. He said we needed to get Jacob in the oh so fashionable hospital gown and the nurse would be right in. The nurse came and hooked up the vitals, like temperature, blood pressure, heartbeat, etc. They started him on oxygen because you could just see his little body working so hard to breathe. About this time, Jamie got there. I took the girls home since the other kids were getting out of school and Jamie wanted to stay with Jacob. That was the hardest thing ~ leaving my baby at the hospital. My head knew he was safe with Daddy but my heart ached to stay with him. Jasmine burst into tears once we stepped outside the hospital. She was so strong and brave in front of Jacob that I didn't even realize it was bothering her. Jasmine and I prayed on the way home. While we were at home, they ran lots of tests and ruled out things like menigitis, pneumonia and asthma. Jamie said it was heartbreaking when they put tubes in his nose. They had him on Albuterol and steroid breathing treatments constantly. After a few hours, they decided to admit him to the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit). Once the other kids got home from school and did their homework, we went up to the hospital so that I could stay with Jacob. Jamie took all the other kids home. Jacob was sleeping when I got there. I just sat there with him. They finally took him from the Pediatric ER up to PICU. Thursday night was rough. I didn't sleep that much, worrying about him plus he needed help with the urinal to go potty. The constant IVs had him very hydrated by this point. And he kept rolling over and getting cords tangled up and uphooking his pulse monitor among other things. During the day, he did a great job keeping all the monitors, tubes and breathing mask on. Friday morning, he was doing better but still needed the constant breathing treatments. If he was off of it, his oxygen levels dropped a little bit. By the afternoon though, they took the mask off and they didn't drop. They said if they didn't drop for two hours, then he could do Albuterol treatments every two hours. That is exactly what happened. By Friday night, he was a completely different kid but they wanted to keep him one more night since he was in such rough shape just the night before. By Saturday morning, he was so ready to go home. He ate up everything they brought him for breakfast. He played in the toy room they had. He was back to his old self. They said we could do the treatments every four hours. The doctor said that he just had a virus that turned into an upper respiratory infection. We came home Saturday afternoon with instructions to do treatments every four hours for Saturday and Sunday. Then only as needed. He hasn't needed them and has been fine since. It was amazingly scary to see him like that in the hospital. The kids, the neighbors and obviously family were all so worried about him. We had so many people praying for him which means so much. It's amazing how quickly kids can bounce back!

Jasmine turned the big 6 on May 8th! Six years old. When did that happen? Where has the time gone? She is such a wonderful daughter. Jamie and I are so lucky to be her parents. She spent the weekend before her birthday with Oma and Opa for her Birthday Weekend which pretty much consists of Oma and Opa doing and getting her whatever she wants. Oma took her shopping and got her some clothes and things. She got a Cabbage Patch Doll named Jasmine. Mommy and Daddy got her a Bratz scooter which she is a pro at riding now. She's only had one accident on it that she roughed up her knees and elbows pretty bad but a few hours later and she was back on that scooter!

Jenna is talking up a storm and thinks she is so grown up. She's really showing her attitude, which some like to say is just like me. I just don't see it. ;-)

James and Jordan are both doing well in school. They are ready for summer though. Bike riding and skateboarding are on top of their lists.

I will definitely get better about updating this. I hope to do some gardening soon and more pictures of the kids. I have really slacked off on my picture taking!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter 2007! I love Easter, even if it's freezing outside today!

We colored eggs last night. That was uh, interesting. The kids, namely Jacob and Jenna, made a mess but they had a blast so that's all that matters, right? Here's some fun pictures from our time last night...

Jenna so proud of her first egg.


The gang coloring away. (Jordan is at his dad's this year for the holiday so that's why he is not in the pictures.)


A few of Jacob. Enjoy his hands! He sure is.



Showing off our hard work...




Then we had a little incident involving Jenna flinging her eggs around. This resulted in her poor, innocent Daddy being bathed in the egg coloring. He asked her to stop and she said No and laughed at him. This is her laughing at him.


Jacob and Jenna thought it would be more time effective to try to fit all the eggs in at one time.


The "Aftermath" of Coloring Eggs at the Combs House

Lots of updating to do!

It's been awhile. Since we've been moving things around and spring cleaning, I haven't been on as much. The computer is in the basement AKA kid's playroom, now so I just don't get on as much. Bad blogger, I know.

I guess I will give a rundown of what's been going on here, starting with the biggest news of all!

Becky and Carl had their baby BOY, Chad Curtis, yesterday. He is such a little sweetie pie! I could just hold him for hours and watch him sleep. The best part of going to that hospital yesterday was seeing how happy Becky was. She has wanted this for so long and was told this would never happen. Chad truly is a miracle baby. Oh yeah, you probably want to know his stats. April 4, 2007 at 1:11 PM ~ Becky and I joked everyone should go out and play triple ones in the lottery. He weighed in at 6 lbs 5 1/2 oz and 18 inches long with strawberry blond hair and blue eyes. We just couldn't get over that hair! So sweet. Jamie and Jasmine spent the morning at the hospital with Brenda, awaiting the baby's arrival. After some cuddle time, they finally came home so Jordan, James and I could go up. Jacob and Jenna will meet him at a later time where we can cage those wild ones! Ha ha.

Here's a picture of our nephew, who we love so much and tears come to our eyes everytime Jamie and I think about him.



Welcome to the family Chad! We love you buddy!

Jenna is turning into quite the crazy little lady of the house. She is one mean pistol (which people tell me she is acting just like me but I think I have a wonderful charming personality) so don't cross her. As long as you bow down to her and her needs, you are fine in her book. Don't get too close though if she hasn't given you permission. You will get this look... (Granted it's a side view but you get the idea. Man, does she look like me in this picture or what?)

She is really finding her words, "NO" being one of her favorites, along with "DOGGY". Here's a few new pictures of Miss Jenna.

And if you want to hear a little video of her talking, go here. Enjoy!

Jacob is as wild and crazy as ever. He is finally putting sentences together and most days we can understand what he is saying. He's a nut and makes us laugh constantly. Thankfully he's #4 so most of what he does, Jamie and I can just overlook and know (hopefully, fingers and toes crossed) that he will outgrow most of it. He learned to cross his eyes, freakishly well. Jamie sounds like such a dad when he does "Boy, your eyes are going to get stuck!" He is almost tall enough to really ride his bike although it's not slowing him down any not being quite tall enough. He finally has his own bed, thanks to our neighbor who gave us a twin bed. He loves it. He got Diego sheets so it's his "Diego bed". Here's a few pictures of our wild man.

Jasmine is doing great and will be starting baton soon. They offer it at her school, on Mondays, right after school. Two other girls in the neighborhood that are her close friends will be doing it as well. She is so excited. She is doing wonderful in school, of course. She is really taking off with her reading and can't wait to start reading "The Babysitter's Club" books. Oh memories there! I really only have one new picture of her (I've been horrible about getting pictures of the kids, especially the older ones since they are in school all day. It's my mission to get some pictures of them.)


Jamie taught James to ride his bike two weeks ago. James learned in about an hour, which we had a feeling it would be that way. You couldn't have wiped the smile off of his face the day he learned. Did I get a picture? Nope. *sigh* Have I gotten any of him on his bike? Nope. *double sigh* I will get some of him riding that bike. He's getting so big. I can't believe he is 7 already. He's doing well in school. Like Jordan, he's Mr. Social Bug. He has a new teacher as his other one quit. He really likes his new teacher, Mr. Hill, which is always great.

Jordan was learning to ride a skateboard but someone borrowed it off of our porch without asking and now it's broken. He'll be getting a new one soon though. Doing great academically in school and even doing better with his talking. He still has his days where he can't help but talk but he's learning to control it and that's all Jamie and I ask. The boy can get straight A's in his sleep. It was getting him to understand that distracting his friends could cost them to miss out on learning and their grades be affected that helped. He just finished up his basketball season, where his team came in second place. He loved playing. We were hoping to get him signed up for baseball but that fell through. We'll see what opens up next and sign him up for that. I don't have any new pictures of him either. *triple sigh*

That's about it for us now. Jamie and I are doing great. Working on the house some. Jamie will be off for a week later this month to do some painting. I can't wait. The poor walls have handprints and everything else all over them. We will be planting flowers soon, which I love to do. Jamie is getting the front and back yards ready and hopefully some more even, nice looking grass in them.

Easter is Sunday. Mom and Dad are coming over. Hopefully Becky and Chad will leave the hospital on Saturday, as Becky had a c-section. Definitely going to invite them over since her movement is limited right now and I'm sure she'll want a nice meal after all that hospital food. If nothing else, we can take them some dinner.

Spring Cleaning Starts

With two adults and five children, our house is always cluttered. I'm making it my mission to make it uncluttered, or at the very least, feel uncluttered. I am in a challenge to rid this house of 150 items by January 31st. I am just over 100 items currently and most of these items are big ~ infant toys, TVs, lamp, etc. It feels so good to get rid of things you don't use or need.

I found this great site called Organized Home. They have a lot of great advice on cleaning, decluttering and organizing your home. It's for real people, with real families, real lives. You can work it into your everyday life. I'm currently doing the 14-week Spring Cleaning Challenge.
Doing it over time may actually make it a completable task! And our everyday routine and normal chores won't be sacrificed.

I'm sure my blogs will be slow as I do not want to give up on this. Wish me well!

Yuckiness!

What a dreary day! It's raining and just plain blah outside. We might even had thunderstorms later. Now I'm not a winter person at all and actually prefer 90 degree weather but it's January and they are calling for 70s tomorrow. Come on now.

This warmer than usual weather has most of this house sick. Jordan had a horrid ear infection but is doing fine now. Jasmine and Jacob have a constant cough and runny nose. James has seemed to fair fine so far. He rarely gets sick and neither does Jordan so it was quite a surprise to have him sick. Poor Jenna is miserable this week. She has an ear infection and is just in general feeling bad. I think I've held her for the last three days. She played some this morning but is now fast asleep in my lap.

Last night was spent sleeping on the couch. Poor girl. I just want her to feel better and be back to my funny, silly, sweet girl. Jacob ended up in the living room with us and this is how I found him this morning.


I forgot to post this the other day but we got Jasmine's hair cut again. She wanted it to her shoulders and I thought it would look adorable. Jamie wasn't so stoked on the idea as he likes long hair on Jasmine and I, and one day, if it would ever grow, Jenna. Her hair looks adorable and Jamie thought so too of course. She could be bald and Jamie would think she is the cutest thing in the world.



Jordan has a basketball game tomorrow. He is excited. They haven't played the last two weekends because of the holidays. We will be signing him up for baseball soon which he is super stoked about.

Goodbye 2006! Hello 2007!

Out in the Country

Behind our home is state protected forest. It's beautiful with all the leaves. It's beautiful covered in snow (even though I dislike the snow). During the winter, without snow, it can be so beautiful with deer walking around. Lately, we've had a lot of deer visiting up close right behind our house. Jamie and I have been taking a ton of pictures in hopes of getting a few good shots to be able to frame and put up. Here's a few I took. I'm sure we will have more soon.

Christmas 2006

What a wonderful Christmas we had! The kids had a wonderful day and that meant so much to Jamie and I but the best gift to us was our families spending time with us and one another and having a great time. I wish I would have gotten more pictures of the day, especially when everyone was here but I was busy with cooking and talking and playing.

I think the best way to share our Christmas is through the pictures that we took. Enjoy!

I got some pictures in of what it looked like after Santa Claus came but before the kids were up.



Of course we had to get some nice pictures of the kids in front of the tree before opening their gifts. I thought Jasmine would explode from having to wait. She was up first, then Jenna, followed by Jacob, Jordan was next and then James.



Jordan's "big" gift was his PlayStation Portable (PSP). He wanted one so bad and through a little "fibbing", Jamie tricked him into thinking he was getting something totally different. Needless to say, he was totally surprised. He got a bunch of great games for it (Madden 2007, Sudoku, Tony Hawk to name a few), a couple of movies and a nice case. The graphics on it are unbelievable. It holds pictures, movies, videos and music as well. It's an amazing game system. Jamie and I kept wanting to play with it. I know what I'll be doing when he goes back to school on January 2nd.



Jasmine and James got VTech Nitro Notebooks. They can play games and it has a ton of learning utilities on it, including Social Studies and Spanish. There is even a part on it where they can just type and the keyboard is set up like a regular keyboard. Totally cool!



Jacob got a Diego *house*. It makes some cool sounds and has all the animals from his favorite episodes. He also got a Diego stuffed doll, the Diego rescue vehicle that goes with the house and some other Diego things.



Jasmine got a keyboard from her Daddy. It's really nice. It has a screen on it that teaches you songs and what keys to press. She wants to take lessons to play. Here's a little video we took when she opened it.

Jacob and James both got bikes and were super excited about them. James can't wait to learn WITHOUT training wheels. Santa knew this and got him a bike without them.



This is Jacob being "Diego" ~ he wore the utility belt all day long. He also got a Diego walkie talkie and field journal ~ if you have seen Diego, you know what these are. Now if he gets a rescue pack, he'll totally look like Diego!



Jasmine and James played with her dollhouse, which she already had. She just got a ton of the accessories to go with it. It's a really cute dollhouse with interactive pieces that make noise.




The kids got a lot of really nice things from Santa, from us, from our family and friends. It was a wonderful day filled with presents, family and food.