The Gang

The Gang
October 2008 Sweet Potatoe Harvest

About Me

I am a busy mommy of 6, seeking to be a loving, godly helpmeet to my husband and a biblical discipler to my children. God has blessed us with a child with Autism. May the lessons that the Lord is teaching me and our family be a blessing to you and yours!

My Favorite Books

  • Bible
  • Created to be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl
  • Four-Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman
  • Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver
  • Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll
  • Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
  • Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp
  • The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Yesterday Caleb had another appointment at the Eye Institute at Children's Hospital of Milwaukee.

For those of you who are not aware of all that has happened with Caleb I will give a quick re-cap.

Mon July 23 Elizabeth, Samuel, & Caleb left the Reese Family Reunion in Michigan with their dad, grand parents & brother Steven. The kids were scheduled for a one month visit with Grandma & Grandpa. Phil was going to see about any possible job opportunities in Kitchener where his folks live.

Tues July 24, the kids were playing with neighborhood kids running through the woods. Caleb jumped over a pile of sticks, landing on a stick that flew into his left eye. They ran back to the house, he had blood on his face, coming from his eye. Phil called an ambulance and off to the hospital they went.

The Canadian Doctor they saw said he needed surgery right away however, we are not insured in Canada. So the Dr. called ahead to Children's Hospital in Milwaukee to let them know Caleb was coming. Phil's Dad, Phil & Caleb drove 9 hours through the night to get him to the hospital.

Wed. July 25, Caleb was seen by a Pediatric Ophthalmologist and had surgery around 7 that morning. They spent the night with friends from Brookside Baptist.

Thurs. July 26, Caleb saw his doctor again before coming home.

Since then we have been making trips to Milwaukee 1-3 times a week for Doctor appointments. Caleb wears a "pirate" patch on his eye 24 hours a day. He is very sensitive to light and has occasional very bad headaches.


Last week Doctor Ruttum expressed concern about the retina so he wanted us to see another doctor at the Eye institute which is who Caleb saw yesterday.

Yesterday at the appointment they saw one doctor first who ran Caleb through some tests in the office then sent him to get another Ultra Sound (he has had several Ultra Sounds of his eye). Finally at about 6:30 they were able to see the doctor they were scheduled to see. Doctor Connor let Phil look into Caleb's eye. Phil said his pupil is white. The doctor has decided that Caleb's lens is too severely damaged so they will be doing surgery to remove the stitches and his lens and place a special type of contact lens in place of his real lens. He is too young for a lens transplant. The contact lens will help with the astigmatism that he now has as a result of the injury. This lens will be doing the job that his real lens should be doing.

We will be scheduling his surgery tomorrow hopefully and will let you know when it is so you can pray.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
This morning at brunch Phil asked the boys if any of them would like to go "hunting". Our hunting adventures mean that we are going hiking through the woods that surround the school football field which is behind our house. The boys (ages 9, 7, 6, 4, &2) all shouted, "YEAH!!!"

So after brunch they made their weapons: stick harpoons, bow and arrows made of sticks & yarn, and stick knives. They put our new puppy Bandit (a pure bread Siberian Husky) on the leash and off they went.

Mom and I (my parents are visiting from Florida until Thursday) finished the dishes and were chatting when I looked out the back window and saw them returning. It has only been about 10 minutes and Phil had told me they'd be gone at least 30 minutes. At this point I started to hear the screams. My first thought was that Caleb had somehow hurt his injured eye (I'll post about Calebs eye later). Then I realized it was little Philip who was screaming the loudest, and that ALL the boys BUT Caleb were crying.

As they were wandering through the woods Samuel decided to start to hit a log with a stick. They were trying to scare out a rabbit to chase. Bandit then came sniffing around the log when he Yipped, then before they knew it bees were stinging all of them except Caleb because he was up on the hill. I grabbed the Benedryl bottle and my mom started to get wash cloths & ice. I double dosed Philip & Thomas because they had the most stings. Total sting count: Phil - 1, Sam - 1, Caleb - 0, Thomas - 3, Philip - 5, Nathan - 1, and Bandit - at least 1. Bandit looks quite pittiful, one of his stings is located at the base of his ear and his ear is floppy now. Philip was in the worst shape as two of his stings are on his left cheek, thus his eye is quite swollen.

Some of you may think I was wrong in double dosing but I have a very good reason to do so. I'm so highly allergic to bees that I have to have an epipen if I get stung. I thought it was vital to get the benedryl in the boys right away so we wouldn't have any aniphilactic issues. It took us a while to get everyone calmed down and feel relaxed about Philip not having a severe reaction.

This of course has been another good lesson for Samuel who is our cronic Dennis the Mennis. One of these days I will have to start posting past stories of Sam so you will have a better understanding of his "act before thinking" trauma's. Samuel will now think twice about hitting a log the next time he is out "hunting".

We praise the Lord that they each only received minor stings and that none of them reacted badly other than swelling up a bit.

Oh and if you are wondering who won the battle....................................... THE BEE'S of course! Ha Ha!
Welcome to the Adventures of the Reese's Pieces Gang. I am a middle aged busy mom of 6. One precious angel and 5 beastie boys. We are a family who are thankful for Jesus our Savior and all that He has done and will do in our lives.

Life in the Reese home is never dull! This blog will be used to journal the funny, sad, and amazing adventures of daily life and how the Lord is using these events to draw us closer to Himself. I hope you will enjoy reading and participating in our blog through your comments!

Since I am new to blogging and not very good with computers it will take me a while to learn how to post pictures, but I will make it a priority so those of you who are family & friends who live far away will be able to keep updated on the kids.

I'll do another entry later today sharing how Phil and the boys survived a war with the bees earlier today..................