Ouch!

One night last week after the boys had been in bed QUIETLY for about 30 minutes , I heard an ear-piercing scream...the kind that makes your blood run cold and your brain panic. As I ran to their room, I could not imagine the amount of blood that I would surely find. To my surprise, there was no blood - just tears and cries. Jason and I both looked at Jacob's left hand and it looked OK. So we gave him an ice-pack and plenty of hugs before sending him back to bed.
However, the next morning, his first words were how bad his hand hurt. And it was swollen on top of the bones on top. And his 3rd and 4th fingers were pretty bruised. So once again, I tried to not panic. Dad was still in the hospital, they had school in 45 minutes, doc does not take calls for 2 hours...what to do?!??! After Jason spoke with the sanity I was lacking, we decided to wrap it in an Ace bandage and send him to school. Then call the doc and see when we could get in.
After 4 x-rays it was determined that his hand was NOT broken! Just a deep bruise! Thank goodness!!! And what causes a "deep tissue bruise" 30 minutes past bedtime? So far, we've gotten 3 versions. Apparently, Jacob was crawling down the hall on his belly to see what we were doing. Then his body "did something weird" and his hand was hurt. We suspect that the "weird thing" involved Rylan somehow...and the covering for each other has begun...

(These pics were taken on day 5 from injury...poor baby!!!)

Reading

Jacob loves to read...always has loved to read! He has been listening to books since the womb and it is still one of his favorite things to do each day. I thought his posture was too cute the other day. Some of his favorite books...ANYTHING from the Bible (especially Moses, Elijah, Jesus, Joshua) * David Adler's Picture Book series * Let It Begin Here * Sam the Minuteman * George the Drummer Boy * Davy Crockett * Presidential history * "If You Lived in ..." series (esp Civil War and American Revolution) * Pirates * Texas history * Bernestein Bears * Laura Numeroff mouse series * Dr. Seuss

It warms my heart to see that Jacob loves to read so much! (Disclaimer: Rylan likes to read. He does it, and often, but it is not his favorite thing. )

In a Galaxy Far Far Away...

One day last week, the boys got to spend the day with Mrs. Sondra while Jason and I were at the hospital with Dad. She spoiled them rotten! Not only did they go to 2 parks and get sno-cones, but they also went to the Dollar Store and got 2 swords each!!! They could hardly wait until dark to break open these glow-in-the-dark swords!!!! Even though they have never seen Star Ward, they know several characters. Jacob is Luke and Rylan is Yoda. They have had MORE FUN with these swords. THANK YOU Mrs. Sondra!!!

Picking Round 1

While Jason and I were at the hospital with Dad one day, Daesha and Jeremy kept the boys. They had a super fun outing...the strawberry patch!!!The patch was a little picked over from the weekend rush, but they still picked enough to eat for several days. Daesha and Jeremy rock! Thank you for a great afternoon!!!!
Yes, they think they are too cool in those shades. All 4 of us are looking forward to more days picking at the patch!

YB...Our Favorite!

Today I took the boys to a local shop where you make your own frozen yogurt treat. It was so fun to get out with them after all the craziness of the last two weeks! We each got the pick our flavors and they picked two toppings each.
Rylan chose chocolate with green M&Ms and colored sprinkles. It was delicious! He even drank the milk-y part at the end that created the cutest go-tee I've ever seen!
Jacob chose strawberry-banana with white chocolate chips and colored sprinkles. He liked the fruit-y yogurt. He's usually a chocolate boy, so this was branching out! :)

There's hardly anything better than a date with my two favorite boys!

He's Walking!

He may kill me for posting this, but here goes! Dad is walking! This was 2 days ago. He's been eating "real food" since dinner last night. And if all goes well tonight, he will be home tomorrow! We are so grateful for all of the prayers and care given to our family these last two weeks. God is ever faithful!

Dad's 2nd Surgery

This has been an unexpected week! Sunday Dad was doing so good! Jason stayed with him during morning services so I could teach class and Mom could care for Granny and Popa. Dad walked 3 laps around the whole unit and then the unexpected. Chills...violent and uncontrollable...fever...HIGH fever...x-rays...tests...blood counts...then the news we knew but did not want to hear... Surgery.

Dad got a pin-hole leak in his colon. So at 7pm on Sunday, he was being rolled into the OR for his second surgery in 6 days. The Christian, and very skilled Doc was able to patch the hole and do a ileostomy. Then Dad was in ICU for 2 days and is finally back to a regular room. His spirits are good, but he is ready to get home. He will probably be in through the weekend.

So what have we learned through this...

1. Prayer is more valuable than words.

2. Christians sitting with you, praying, holding your hands is more valuable than words can say.

3. God has a perfect plan ALL THE TIME, even if we don't get it at that moment.

4. FOlks who bring a bag of snack food and magazines are really angels in disguise.

5. People who offer to take care of your kids are a life-saver and true friends. Knowing that the boys are in good hands, allows Jason and I to focus on helping Dad recover and give Mom a chance to go home and sleep.

6. Folks who bring a home-cooked meal are also a life-saver.

So I have been inspired and taught what to do when a crisis hits a family I love...offer child car, take treats, cook food. Nothing new, just a really good reminder. :) Please continue to keep us all in your prayers!

Dad's Surgery

Wondering where we have been??? The hospital! Dad had major digestive surgery on Monday. They took out a little over 4 feet of his colon due to diverticulitius. The diverticulitius was worse than they anticipated and his recovery has been slow. He was up and walking yesterday, so that is a step in the right direction. And he got to eat jello last night! He was never so happy to eat jello! No time frame for him coming home yet, so please pray for him as he recovers...and my mom as she juggles caring for him and my grandparents. We are SOOOOOOO thankful to our church family for child care, grandparent care, food, cards, calls and prayers. God is so good and we are so blessed!

Rylan's Surgery

We arrived at the outpatient center at 7:30. When we checked in the lady noticed a stuffed lion popping out of my bag. She asked if they were his favorite, to which I replied "Of course!" So she made a magic phone call and told the nurse that Rylan loved lions. When we got into pre-op, there was a lion waiting on his bed. Annnnd, it even had a green shirt! Does life get better? Not if you are Rylan! We talked to the anesthesiaologist (who was wonderful) and then they wheeled him back after another round of hugs and kisses from Daddy, Mommy, Granna and GPop. He was all grins!The doctor came out about 35 minutes later with the report. All went well! His adenoids were obstructing 90% of his nasal passageway! Poor baby!!! Jason and I got to go back to recovery where he was just beginning to wake up. The center was so great with kids! The anetheseologist picked him up and laid him in my lap. I cuddled him for about an hour as he came to, drank apple juice and assured the nurse that his tummy felt fine.
They wrapped the IV like a cast, which he thought was neat. And the oxygen thumb thing-y, we called a Buzz Lightyear laser, so he liked that too!
Once we got home, we got him settled in our bed. He wanted some green jello and milk. Nemo did not leave his side. He also named the new lion from the center...Snake Eyes. Snake Eyes is one of Jason's favorite GIJoes!
He finally went to sleep when Jason snuggled him up!
After a short rest, we was ready to go play...or so he thought! He laid on the couch and watched 3 episodes of Jake and the NeverLand Pirates. Then he watched Cars. When Jacob got home from school, they snuggled and cuddled up on the couch to finish Cars. Right before supper, Macy and Mrs. Heather came by with popsicles and watercolor Cars books. What a treat!!!
Rylan spent most of THursday like this...eating popsicles and watching movies.
He loved his surgery gifts from Daddy and Mommy...HeeWho the Lion, Animal Atlas DVD and Zoo Match game.
He also loved his surgery gifts from Granna and GPop..animal lacers, Bernstain Bears books and The Rescuers DVD.

Thank you for all your prayers, calls and cards. They made our whole family feel loved! :)

Texas Flag

In honor of he BIG 175th anniversary, we are practicing FULL Texas state pride. The boys have told me lots of projects that they want to do...make a cannon, build the Alamo, make an armadillo and more. We'll see how many we get to do over the next few weeks! :)

We started today by making a Texas flag. First the boys cut the blue paper into small pieces. Then they glued it in the blue section.
We repeated with the white and the red. Last, they glued on the Lone Star. It was good cutting practice. Their cutting skills are improved, but still need some work.
To complete the flag, they wrote "Texas" under the flag. Ta-Da! The finished products!

The Demi-Semi-Sesqusencential of the GREAT state

March 2nd was the 175th Anniversary of signing on the Texas Declaration of Independence. We love our state and have been looking forward to the Texas-size BD party for months! We did not tell the boys until Friday night. It was a good thing because their excitement could not be contained!!! Each stop along the Texas INdependence Trail has been having a big celebration. We decided to go to the one at Washington-on-the-Brazos. It was FREE (even parking...and museum entrance) and was wonderful!!! This is the only family photo from the day.Seeing Liberty and Justice longhorns was one of Jacob's favorite things. The trainer made a big deal out of the boys coon skin caps. They thought he was hilarious!
Inside Independence Hall they re-enacted the delegates signing the Declaration several times. We wanted to see the William Barrett Travis/Susanna Dickinson storytellers (which was Rylan's favorite part), so the only signing we could see was the 1:00 show. We got to the Hall at 12:30. They had out ink, feather pens and paper for the kids to doodle with before the show. Jacob thought this was the coolest thing ever!!!
Rylan concentrated so hard to control that feather! It was a lot harder than a crayon!
40 little piggies in Independence Hall. (Finally got a pair of Yellow Box. They may never leave my feet all summer!!!)
Momma and two of her favorite little Texans!
The delegates arriving...and then our show ended. Turns out that we sat at the end of the Hall where the delegates needed to walk. No one told us! So we had to leave...boo hiss. Try explaining leaving to two 4 year old history buffs who have been talking about this event for hours...it was NOT fun.
After a little fussing, we were OK though and the smiles came back! :)
After a $16 lunch of piccollos and shrimp creole (SO NOT Texan food, but it was what was offered), we got ready for the gun and cannon show. Jacob and Rylan both gave an excellent preview of the show.
Let the show begin!


After the gun and cannon show, we went to play about the delegates and the signing of the Dec. It was neat. A little long for our little ones, but still good.
We also got to tour the museum for free. Last year, we paid for the museum on our bluebonnet day and loved it. It was even better today!
THe boys have been saving their money in one of Jason's old wallets. So we took it and let them pick something from the gift shop. Jacon picked Republic of Texas money.
Rylan picked a Gonzales "Come and Take It" flag. Overall it was a wonderful day! We missed the Sam Houston storyteller, because the small theater was full when we arrived 30 minutes early. (another small melt-down from the little ones). But overall it was fantastic. Looking forward to more Texas pride filled times this spring! :)

Last Day...

In September, Rylan started going to Occupational Therapy once a week for an hour. His fine motor skills were quite delayed, especially in the area of grasp (almost 2 years behind) and visual-motor perception (about 1 year behind). Our pedi recommended a local therapy center and our OT has worked magic with Rylan! We love Mrs. Pam to pieces!!! She is so kind and caring. She is full of energy and has the perfect ideas to help him. They worked on buttons (which he totally refused to do with me) and she got him doing big buttons and now little buttons. He also would not hold a crayon correctly at all at home, but Mrs. Pam got that fixed too! Now he holds a crayon correctly without even being reminded. She taught him to cut paper, draw shapes, do dot-to-dots, and dig for pennies in putty. She helped to build his hand and finger strength. His favorite part of each session was the few minutes at the end that he got to play in the ball pit!

About a month ago, Pam said that his evaluation was due and I knew in my heart that he had made tremendous progress and would not qualify. Good news-Bad news, I was right. He is either average or above average in all categories!!!! WAY TO GO RYLAN!!!!! Even though I am thrilled that he is doing perfect, it makes me SO sad to leave Mrs. Pam and her safety net of development. Tonight as Rylan and I were talking about his last session on Monday, we both got a little teary eyed. Thank you Mrs. Pam!!! We are so grateful to you and appreciate all you have done to get Rylan where he needs to be! :)

Here are some scenes from his last day today...

In his favorite spot!!

Thank you Mrs. Pam and Miss Megan (an OT student, who ROCKS too!!!) We will miss you!

Prayers for Rylan

This morning Rylan is having his adenoids removed. We are all excited about the anticipated results - no more snoring and less sicknesses, but we are all a little anxious about the whole procedure. Everyone keeps telling me it is an easy procedure and recovery. Rylan has been asking what adenoids look like, what will they do with them after they are out of his head, will the doctor take out my skull, will he leave any skin on my face, will it hurt, etc. I think he is OK, but still anxious, Last night he prayed... "Dear God, Take away all my anxieties like my memory verse says." It was precious! I'll post after the surgery, but until then, please pray for us all!

****** Post surgery update ******* All went well! Rylan did very good for all the procedures. The doc said his adenoids were even larger than he expected and that the were blocking about 90% of his nasal passage-way. He did not have any reactions to the anesthesia and has eaten 3 popsicles (thank you Macy!), lime shebert and green jello (thanks Blaine and Lauren!) and he even had some mashed potatoes for supper (thanks Stacey and fam!) He has been a little cranky and groggy, but nothing major. God is good! Thanks for all of your prayers and phone calls. It is so comforting to feel loved! I'll post pics soon...

It's a ...

HOUSE! My little construction workers were so busy placing the pillows "just so" to make their house. Hours of fun ensued! :)