Living in a Zoo

The zoo is a place that I love to take our children.  To the Como Zoo or the Wapheton Zoo we usually go.  The boys love to look at the animals and learn about what they eat and how they live.  A new kind of zoo that I am learning about is the zoo that our lives have become.  My in-laws home has become a zoo, it's not as bad as it sounds. 

There are constantly people coming over to see Aaron and our family.  On average we have 12-19 people for supper every night.  It is quite the change from our small, quiet home (well quiet compared to now.)  My mother-in-law and father-in-law love it though!  They love visiting with people and getting a never ending parade of company.  Lucky for us, we have received enough food where we have barely had to cook.  I can concentrate on my husband's health and my boys well-being. 

Tator-tot hot dish is a staple here in the Midwest.  I never realized that there are so many different varieties.  But we love every kind.  Buckets of stew, several different kind of hotdishes, chicken pot pies, baked potato casseroles, egg bake, lasagnas, bread, bread, and more bread grace our refrigerators and freezers.  They are all delicious and will really help us out in the long run.  I know that the parade will come to a stop soon and I will have to start cooking again, which will be fine too.  We are very thankful for everyone's kindness and delicious foods and gifts.

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On a side note, I have to share a catheter mishap.  My poor husband has had a lot of personal mishaps aired on this blog...so here comes another one (that is totally not his fault.)  I keep Aaron's catheter supplies in the bathroom that is off of our bedroom at Aaron's parents house.  His catheter tubes are usually hanging in the shower drying or soaking in a vinegar solution to help to disinfect them. 

We are fortunate enough to have a large family and two of our boys' cousins are Seth (age 4) and Eli (age 2) who love to come over and play.  All of the boys love to play with Kinex, which is also something that I love too. 



This is little Eli, helping himself to some yogurt at his house.

Seth eyeing cookies that inadvertently ended up looking like boobs. 


So, a couple of days ago I noticed that the house contained many extra kids but was exceptionally quiet.  Hmmm.... what does a house full of little boys plus quietness equal?  It equals trouble. 

I started hunting for the boys.  They were not playing in their usual domain, the basement.  Hmmm... they did not sneak outside.  My search took me to the bathroom, yes the same bathroom that contains Aaron's catheters.  There they were, playing quietly on the floor with their Kinex space ship and flying car creations, fueling up their ships with Aaron's catheters (they were clean.)  And Seth was weaving one catheter in and out and through his flying car.  I can't really blame them, they had absolutely no idea what those particular small, clear tubes were for.

Laughter bubbled out of me and the only thought entering my mind was "is it inappropriate to take a picture of this and blog about it?"  Well, I decided that since I have aired all of Aaron's personal problems, including bodily functions that I would forego this particular one.  But, I will still blog about it.

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It has been almost three weeks since Aaron's accident.  He has been doing surprisingly well.  We went for his second car ride today (including his car ride home,) out in the cold and wind.  He tolerated it very well.  We have been very fortunate that he has healed so well.  He still needs lots of help but is learning to do things on his own.  His walker is blessing, he walked a half of a mile today...just around the house but that is HUGE!  And the boys love to see their dad up and around.  I think that his progress has come through all of the prayers people have been sending his way.  It is the only explanation. Thank you to everyone who has prayed for him!  Our new kind of normal is still difficult but we are getting used to it.