Medical Update

So here is a recap of the adventures in our house in the last couple of weeks. So two weeks ago, I got in a car accident and totaled the car. Then the following Friday, Jacob decided that he was going to jump of the highest spot in the room. On the following Tuesday he started to have blood in his stool. Of course, Noel was out of town and I was grateful that my mother was in town for some support.

On that Tuesday I took Jacob to see Art Cheng and he wanted me to collect his stool for three days and then back with him. Jacob was acting like a 3 year old and had no color change and he was not bleeding from his eyes, or ears. Also he was not complaining of any pain. The next day I called our pediatrician and she stated that she wanted to see him on Friday to make sure everything was okay and to see if she thought he needed to get tests. On Friday, I took him to Dr. Ranny and she stated that she thought he had a tare in his rectum. So Jacob is on stool softners and if he starts to bleed again after a week then we need to run some tests.

So in the last two weeks I have been in the emergency room, see the urgent care place, an orthopedic, and two pediatricians. I think we have had our share of medical treatment for a while.

I would like to thank Art Cheng for being such a great pediatrician. He called me several times through out the week to see how Jacob was doing. I love that kind of medical care we received, personal. If you are looking for a pediatrician I would recommend Art Cheng with Austin Regional Clinic.

Safari Got Mail!

I do not know about you, but I love to get mail, but I love to receive packages even more. The "safari" got a box yesterday. I participated in a Halloween Swap that involved our children and not me. I got a family in New York and they got us. We filled out a questionnaire and gave the other family things that my "safari" like. The "safari" and I filled our box and Noel mailed it. Yesterday we got a ring at our doorbell from the mailman. Our box had arrived.....

The "safari" loved the box and as soon as it was opened they found the candy. You know every kid can smell candy from at least 50 yards away. The box had really neat things in it. We got books, bags, candy, stickers, peeps, and a game. We want to thank Mind Games for our wonderful box and the "safari" loved everything that was in the box. We hope that you have a wonderful Halloween and that you enjoy our box as much as we enjoyed yours. Here is a picture of everything that was in our box.


Happy Halloween! Thank you very much C& J for our box, have fun this holiday!

When It Rains, It Pours!

Have you ever noticed that when something is going on in your life that is not so good that other things happen at the same time? For instance, when one person gets sick everyone gets sick. Well, it is no different in our house.

Like most of you know, last Friday I demolished Noel's car and then this Friday Jacob tried to trump me. Noel came home at lunch so that I could go clean a house and he was downstairs when he heard a thud. He knew that something bad happened because soon after the thud was the screams of Jacob. He goes upstairs to see Jacob rolling around on the floor screaming in pain.

Elijah, Esther Mae, and Jacob thought it would be good idea to put one of their mattresses up against the closet wall and climb up the mattress and then jump off. Well, we assume that Jacob was the sacrificial lamb in this endeavour. Jacob climbed up the mattress and grab a toddler rocking chair from the top shelf, when he jumped he landed wrong on his shoulder. After everyone was disciplined Noel brought Jacob downstairs and he slept on Noel's chest during nap time.

After some discussion we removed all the mattresses that where hard enough to be used as a climbing ladder and moved Jacob in the room with Joshua and Hannah; leaving the evil minds in the room together. You see, Hannah and Joshua are mellow enough together that there is hardly any trouble with them. So Jacob was given some Motrin and we let him sleep in the room with Hannah and Joshua.

This morning he woke up about 4:30 this morning crying because he was in pain. Jacob slept with Noel and I for the rest of the morning and then we decided to take him to urgent care when he could not get out of our bed. Noel took Esther Mae, Joshua and Elijah to T-ball and I went to Urgent Care with Hannah and Jacob.

Jacob has a fracture in his clavicle and has to see an orthopedic because of an AC might be torn. So on Monday I have to get him an appointment, to see what is going on and what we will have to do. Also did I mention that Noel is leaving on Sunday for Tennessee for the week because he is taking a class? I am thankful for my family that is close so I can take Jacob to his appointment. Please pray that we get seen soon in the week and that Jacob will understand that he cannot play as hard with his arm. Have you ever has to tell a 3 year old boy that he cannot move his arm and that he has to keep it in the sling and not play too hard? Let me tell you that it is hard.

Thank you for everyone that is praying for our family. We are doing well, considering we are healing and working hard to get the Firebird running so that Noel has a vehicle for travel season. Please pray that Noel and Dominic get the car up and running. Thank you Rob and Kimber for allowing us to use your vehicle while we get the Firebird running; you are great friends.

Bruises

It has almost been a week since the accident and I am now getting a chance to really look at the car pictures and the pictures of my bruises from day 3. It is a hard reality to know that most people would not have made it out of the car accident that I was in. I know that God protected me and the way the accident went and where everyone was is the reason that I am alive. I might make that another post, but who knows.

Every day since the accident I have seen and felt my bruises. Getting dressed and taking a shower there is a visual reminder of how thankful I am that I am still alive. Also the "safari" and all the questions about daddy's car. My favorite goes like this....
safari: "mommy did you break daddy's car?"
me: "yes, I did",
safari: "can you fix daddy's car?"
me: "no, it is really broken and I cannot fix it."
safari: "can you fix it later?"
me: "no, daddy's car is destroyed."
safari: "mommy did you get hurt?"
me: "yes, but God protected me."
safari: "well can God fix daddy's car?"

It is nice to have the thoughts of a toddler just so honest and precise. I love those moments. I am sitting here still struck to the core of how God is wonderful and how I am grateful that I am alive. Noel and I are grateful to be together and to be able to live through experience together instead of one of us in the ground while the other raises our children.

Noel and I are grateful for all the warm wishes and the prayers that we have received from lots of people that we know and people that we do not know. We are grateful to have family that loves us and that is there for us. We would just ask that you continue to pray for my healing, that the instant replay would go away, and that we could get the firebird up and running before travel season begins for Noel.

So without further delay here are what my bruises looked liked after day 3. I know that they look bad but actually that look even worse of day 5, and now there are starting to turn yellow, which is a great sign.

What does your car look like?

I think we should play a game called "what does your car look like?"

Here is what our car looks like:

I totaled the Mazda this morning. I was traveling on 183 north after Cedar Park and before Liberty Hill. It was still dark outside, I was traveling behind a BMC Lumber Supply truck when a box fell off the back of his truck. After changing lanes I decided that I would stay in a different lane then the truck. I was going with the flow of traffic when in a split second decision the car in front of me decided to change lanes without braking or using his signal. As soon as he/she changed lanes I saw the car at a complete stop trying to turn into the Summerlyn subdivision and knew that my day was not what I had planned for it. I hit that car and it pushed me into the lane with the BMC truck that swerved and rolled on its side and shot me into oncoming traffic where the passenger side of the car got hit. I was able to get out of the car and wait for the rescue crews.

For the damage that you see in the pictures I did not break anything and the only thing that I have is bruises. It was not my time to go and God knew that I was needed here on Earth. So I stopped traffic on 183 this morning going to Liberty Hill and all the people that were coming into the Austin Area. My mother even got my traffic when she was coming into town. I am grateful that I am alive and that the other people that were involved did not have serious injuries.

I appreciate all the prayers and the calls that we have received. For those of you wondering, yes I am still going to Arlington in the morning to see the A&M vs. Arkansas game. WHOOP!

What does 1100 Servings look like?

This last month, we did our normal monthly cooking. I started to ask the normal people that do the monthly cooking. So this was the breakdown. I wanted a half share, my mother wanted a half share, my sister wanted a full share, Katherine wanted one and a half shares, my brother wanted a full share, Kimber wanted a full share and Koby wanted a half share. A half share is 4 servings, and a full share is 7 servings. So that comes to 1100 servings.

The menu is as follows:

Beef Stroganoff
Beer Butt Chicken
Carolina shredded Chicken
Cheeseburger Meatloaf
Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken Tandoori
Chili Lime Kabobs
Chinese 5 Spice Chicken
Cordon Bleu
Creamy Chuck Roast
Dr. Thunder Ribs
Jalapeno Blue Cheese Burgers
Kansas City Hot Wings
Lemon Herb Chicken
Peach Glazed Pork Chops
Pork Chops w/ Applesauce
Pork Tacos w/ Pineapple Salsa
Potato Soup
Sausage Lasagna
Shepards Pie
Shredded Pork Tacos
Spicy Beef Kabobs
Spicy Turkey Burgers
Tex Mex burgers
Tomato Soup

Katherine and I have been thinking about teaching people how to do this from the menu making, the shopping, and all aspects of this program. Each time that we talk to people and every time that my mother and I talk to people they seem to be interested. So we are thinking about a webpage where you sign up for a monthly menu that would include shopping list, menu, labels, etc. Who knows what will come of it, but it is an idea.

I hope that you enjoyed my picture. That was half of the food that was made. My counters were full of food as well as the island, and my dining room table.

A Weekend at the Lake House!

Noel and I took the "safari" to the lake house this month to make sure that they got to swim before the weather changes. Nana and Poppy Bobby came to the lake house as well.

We arrived on Friday afternoon and the "safari" got to swim in a kids pool and just hanging out. Then Nana made hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner. The "safari" got to watch lot of TV and then got to sleep on a queen air mattress. On Saturday we rode on the boat to the sandbar. Then we had lunch and rest time before we went fishing. Everyone fell asleep for at least an hour. In the pictures you will see that everyone decided to sleep on the couch with momma except for Jacob. After nap we went fishing off the dock at the lake house. Now Poppy Bobby has learned that it is more fun for a kid if they actually get to catch the fish, so he has a fish feeder. Elijah, Jacob and Esther Mae fished and caught something. The other two did not want anything to do with the fishing, but wanted to touch the fish that were caught. Jacob caught the biggest fish with a 2 pound catfish. We had dinner and then watched some more football before coming home.

The funniest thing was that at the lake house there are not so many rules as the house. For example: there is no diet when you are at the lake house, there is no certain bedtime and you can pee on trees because there is only family at the lake house.

Enjoy the pictures.