Why is it so hard to make lemonade?

I'm sure we're all familiar with the saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Well, I've been hit with a few lemons lately and I'm totally struggling to make something sweet out of it. What is the exact recipe anyway? How much sugar do you need to balance the bitter taste of lemons? Sometimes it seems an impossible task for me especially when I just keep adding my own lemons to the mix? So, we're told that this is what life is all about. Learning to make lemonade from lemons? Maybe it's all about the fine art of balancing the positive with the negative.

So here are a few of my lemons...Aaron came down with strep right after we got home from our Seattle trip. He was put on amoxicillin right away. And seven days later, he broke out with an allergic reaction to the meds. Remember the movie, where Martin Short gets stung by a bee and he's severely allergic to bee stings? I used to think that was so funny especially when he swells up so much that he has difficulty getting out of the helicopter. Well, I'm not sure that I will be able to laugh as much. And I am most certainly more sympathetic to those who have kids with severe allergies. So Aaron is now on steroids, benadryl and azithromycin. Poor little guy. I've never seen anything like this before and I hope we won't have to do it again in the future. Hopefully, he will be back to normal in the next few days. He's in pretty bad shape so please add him to your prayers.

During the beginning phase of Aaron's strep, I got a phone call from my mom. She had been in Utah for an annual quilting retreat with her sisters and she had gotten in an accident. As she was driving up from picking up a family friend in Provo, she was driving on the freeway near Centerville and collided with a car that had lost control of her vehicle during a lane change. Mom's car was totalled but amazingly enough, everyone walked away from the accident with only minor injuries. Fortunately, no one hit them from behind. Mom said that a week before she had a premonition that she would be in an accident while on her trip. She was always extra cautious and alert while on the road. The lady in the other car had three small children in the back seat. From the way mom explained it, it sounds like if mom hadn't hit the other car, it would have gone into the median and the damage could have been much worse for the other car. She is now at home and is doing better. Still a little sore and headachy. I am so grateful that she is doing better and is home safe and sound.

On a lighter note, the positives...Mike and I had the chance to go see Wicked and Phantom of the Opera last week with Mike's mom, sister, and niece. We had a great time and enjoyed the oppportunity to finally go see some shows on Broadway. It's only taken us almost a year. :)

Another positive this week was the 4th of July! Our town, Chatham, hosts an annual fourth of July parade where several surrounding towns participate. We enjoyed seeing all the old fashioned fire engines, the bag pipe bands, and the old guys on the old fashioned bicycles. Aaron had a few friends that were in the parade and they would run up to him and give him candy. Later, we invited some friends over for a barbeque and then we all went over to the middle school for the firework display. The kids had a great time running around chasing fireflys while waiting for the fireworks. Fun was had by all, including Aaron who is very nervous and anxious about the whole experience. This year we used some cordless headphones to tone down the noise for him.

She's a total daddy's girl!