Wednesday, July 27, 2011

It all started with a pair of black shorts....

A few weeks ago while I was packing my oldest son for one of his many adventures (church camp, boy scout camp, vacation....really can't remember which one), he asked me to pack his new black shorts. (the shorts he's never worn) So I look for the black shorts in the 2 dresser drawers with shorts and cannot find them. I proceed to look through the rest of his 3 drawers, his closet, his brother's drawers (all 11 of them...drawers not brothers), my husband's underwear drawer, his sister's drawers (4 drawers, 1 sister), the pantry, every bag and backpack we own, behind the washer and dryer, our vehicles, and the barn. I. never. found. the. shorts.

Then my oldest son lost his retainers. Not the ones he's been wearing all summer, his old ones. I again look everywhere for them and never. find. the. retainers.

That same week my oldest son lost his dog (he ended up at the local animal shelter) and his bicycle (which we think was picked up on a hot night by someone walking by our house). It cost us $45 to get the dog back and $120 for a new bike.

While all this was going on, I decided to be funny and post this all on facebook. Now I really hardly ever do facebook status updates. I'm not one to tell my business to my facebook friends. But for some reason, I felt like venting and chose to complain about all the things we had lost.

And then the next week, my 6 year old fractured his femur, had emergency surgery, and is in a wheelchair for (at least) 4 weeks. Kind of makes a pair of black shorts, retainers, and a bicycle not all that important! So for the rest of the summer, I am not going to focus on the things we have lost and be more positive and grateful for what we do have!!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Summer Update

Three days ago our summer and all the things we had planned came to a screeching halt. Our six year old, who we call Moose fractured his femur. It happened on our trampoline with his 10 year old brother whom he was wrestling with. Now the femur is the strongest bone in your body, so to snap it in half takes a lot of force (like 850 pounds of force). The Emergency Room doctor we saw at first almost had me convinced that it wasn't really broken. But an hour later when they took the first xray and it popped up on their computer screen, I knew we were in for a long ride! Here are some of the highlights of the past couple of days:

*Moose got to ride in an ambulance to Riley Children's Hospital.
*They did emergency surgery only 6 hours after his injury!
*He has a plate and 8 screws holding his femur together.
*He does not have a cast, just an immobilizer.
*He cannot put weight on his leg for at least 4 weeks.
*He has done extremely well considering all he has gone through.
*He didn't eat a piece of candy for 2 whole days! (if you know Moose, you know that doesn't happen!!)
*He has a wheelchair to ride in. He is already learning to steer and turn.
*Right now he's only taking regular Tylenol for the pain and valium right before bed.

Now, if I was able to pick one of my sons to be unable to walk for 4 weeks, Moose would have been last. He is the most active of my children. He loves people and loves to go places. Yesterday I asked him if he needed a drink or food, and his answer was, "I just need friends". Talk about melting my heart! Today he woke up in a good mood, has worked on Legos for a little bit, now he and his brother are playing with Mario Kart on the DSi. If you prayed for us, a big THANK YOU. I think that is what is helping us get through each hour sometimes. I'm trying to enjoy this time at home (really it's too hot to do anything except stay inside) and hopefully Moose will continue doing so well!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Carolina Critters

We spent last week in South Carolina at Surfside Beach. The Plantation Resort to be exact. We had a great time at the various bodies of water around us (pools, lazy river, beach, aquirium, and even the pond). My boys (who love anything to do with water) had a blast catching animals. *Please note: no animals were harmed by my children and all were returned to their natural habitat*

Whose afraid of a jellyfish? Not Moose! But the ladies on the beach were screaming when he came near.


Checking out the horseshoe crabs at the Ripley's Aquarium.


A little crab that the boys dug up.


And of course, we invited the ducks in for a visit. They didn't make it in the door.


The boys loved catching the turtles in the pond right out our back door (I think they spent more time doing this than anything else, seriously!). They each bought a sturdy net and with a package of bologna, some leftover chicken, and some trail mix they were able to catch (and release) many many turtles!

Friday, July 1, 2011

Where did June go?!?

We've spent several days at the pool this month. My boys love love love to swim. The boy's hair is getting lighter and lighter every day!
Noah got a little more brave with his 4 wheeler this year. He threw caution to the wind and had lots of fun getting muddy!The next Tim Tebow? Maybe so. This boy has the upper body strength that amazes everyone!
And our last boy learned to ride on two wheels this month. Although he said he was going to have training wheels until he was ten, he decided to give it a try. No more training wheels for us!!