Trip with Daddy to Black Acre Part 2

Today Jason took Anne-Marie, Caroline and William to Black Acre where Karen and Alden could get some rest. Despite the cloudy weather, the kids had a wonderful time with the horses and goats. William loves to grab the goats ears while they stick their heads through the fence. Jason taught Caroline how to feed the horse a piece of grass by holding grass with her teeth. (I know...what great talent we possess!) Also, on this trip the mule got a little excited and took a bite on Jason's arm, but thank goodness no stitches were needed (refer to previous blog).

A Big Measure of Pain for a Little Man

Yesterday was definitely a day to remember. It started out fun with Anne-Marie's kindergarten camp, milkshakes from Sonic, and naps for all. What started out to be a normal day quickly went chaotic after I thought of starting a little sewing project to get things ready for the nursery. Last year we were given a tape measure that never really worked properly (that's why I ended up with it). Once the tape was pulled out past 40 inches it would not recoil back into the canister, therefore you would have to push the tape to get it inside. This tape measure was exactly opposite of my dad's Stanley tape measure that was made of stainless steel, 1 inch thick and would make every nerve in your body tense as it fastly recoiled itself. This 1/2 inch plastic tape measure seemed perfectly harmless to me. Therefore as I was finishing my window measurements I reluctantly give it to little William requesting with good manners, "Momma, play with tape, please?" I pushed in the remaining tape, figuring he would only pull it out a couple of feet, and even that amount of length wouldn't recoil on him. Once the tape measure left my hands into his one distraction occurred after another. Alden awoke, still ill from his having tubes inserted in his ears on Monday. I got him out of his crib and herded everyone into my bedroom where I could do some fabric figuring from my measurements. Now that Alden is mobile and into everything he was my biggest concern as he was constantly trying to grab my pencil as I was writing. I looked up and saw Caroline in my bedroom holding one end of the tape and William was unseen in our bathroom holding the other end of the tape containing the canister. As I was doing some math in my head the thought came, I need to get that tape measure away from them before it breaks. About the time I finished my yardage, Anne-Marie informed me that William and Caroline broke the tape measure. Frustrated, I told them to bring me the broken tape, and then I heard a blood curdling scream come from the bathroom. Caroline then yelled, "Momma, there is blood everywhere." She was right. William came screaming out of the bathroom holding his bloody left hand. From a one second look I could tell this was deep and bad. I immediately called Jason and asked him to meet me across the street at an immediate care center. Anne-Marie gave me a towel to wrap up his hand. We loaded up and went to the center and waited for the paper work and insurance information to be processed. William was so good during the entire episode. He quickly stopped screaming and just wanted me to hold him. After Jason arrived they took him back and I left with the other kids to go home. I didn't think to pack Alden a bottle and it was past his feeding time. When returning home I assessed the situation and found that the tape didn't cut his hand but the metal faster that holds the tape in the canister was the culprit. I assumed all would be well with a couple of stitches, but Jason arrived home with unpleasant news. William would need to be put to sleep for them to stitch his hand and the cuts were worse than even I thought. Jason left shortly after and took him Kosair hospital where they stayed the next 6 hours. The "loopy" juice they give to help sedate children for IVs didn't even have the slightest effect on William. Then a nurse "in training" had to try 3 times before getting his IV correctly positioned. After much waiting he received 14 stitches in his thumb, third, and fifth finger on his left hand. They returned home around 1 am. William awoke and told me all about it until about 2 am and then fell asleep. This has been such a learning experience for me and our children. I don't think anyone will ever question me again when I say, "Don't do that, you could get hurt." Caroline felt bad that she was involved in the tape measure breaking and Anne-Marie couldn't go to sleep for worrying over her little brother. William awoke this morning to his normal self, wanting to eat and play. I am thankful to the Lord this wasn't a more severe situation and greatly desire "uneventful" days until the baby's arrival. Dr. and Mrs. Al Mohler along with Dan Dumas visited William while he was recovering and took a very sweet photo. You can see it (also above) and read Dr. Mohler's wise commentary on the situation at http://inside.sbts.edu/. Above are some pictures I took of William this morning displaying his battle scares with the tape measure.

Alden Gets Tubes

Well we saw it coming, after 10 days of Omnicef during vacation and 20 days of Augmenten when we returned, we knew this ear infection wasn't going to be an easy battle for little Alden. Karen could especially tell he was extra fussy throughout the day and not his normal sweet-tempered self. After going to what we thought was a "well checkup" on Thursday the exam revealed our suspension to be true, the ear infection was still there. We were then referred to the ENT on Friday and from there was scheduled for tubes to be inserted this morning. Jason did daddy-duty at the surgery center while Karen stayed at home with the other siblings (Alden had to be there at 6:30 am). Alden awoke around 11:00 am to his normal sweet self and hopefully feels much better. We are thankful to the Lord for continuing to watch over our children and the care they receive to feel good and enjoy life. Jason took these pictures on his cell phone and we can't resist from sharing them.

Happy Father's Day

We had a great time anticipating and celebrating Father's Day. The kids really got into making crafts and cards. We spent much time in Target trying to pick out a card that everyone could agree on (Caroline was very picky). The girls had a big time wrapping the present, a new fountain pen. Karen made one of Jason's favorite desserts, bread pudding. He enjoyed the dessert for several days, but made a little mistake on Father's Day. While Karen was feeding Alden, Jason decided to prepare his own dessert. He prepared himself an "extra-large" portion and topped it off with what he thought was the sauce and heated it in the microwave. Much to his surprise, he didn't look at the sauce carefully enough and used Alden's homemade baby food. It is a concoction of banana, applesauce, oatmeal cereal, green beans, and chicken. Of course, this didn't pair good with the bread pudding loaded with apples and pecans. There was no way it could be salvaged, but watching him stare at the infamous bowl of bread pudding gave us lots of laughs and memories to complete the day.

A Vacation to Remember

About a month ago, Jason realized that if we were going to have a family vacation then we would have to act soon with the upcoming arrival of our fifth child. We were so blessed to have the opportunity to stay at a fabulous beach resort (at a great price) that was fully equipped to entertain young children. Each day we enjoyed the pools and the lazy river. The kids really warmed up to the water and even Anne-Marie was swimming by the end of our stay. The resort's elevators were made of glass which the kids found nothing short of exciting. Each trip leaving and arriving our room was full of fun and smiles. We also made a couple of trips to a go-cart track where William and Caroline had the time of their life in the race cars riding with Jason. Each set of grandparents came for a couple of days to lend extra hands with the kids in the pools. Caroline and William enjoyed racing at the track with Jason and Papa Allen, while Anne-Marie earned tickets in the arcade to get prizes. Of course, no trip to the Gulf Coast would be complete without overdosing on seafood. We enjoyed lots of seafood, steamed, blackened, grilled and fried. Jason even coaxed Caroline into trying a raw oyster one night at dinner. To our surprise, she swallowed it down, but didn't go for a second one. The kids also learned how to eat crab claws and they quickly became a hit along with fried shrimp which William kept calling "chicken."

We spent the last few days with family which is always fun. The kids love spending time with their cousins. No trip back home would be complete without tractor rides. The three older kids enjoyed riding in Papa's lap while pulling everyone riding on the trailer. One night we decided to celebrate William's upcoming birthday. He was completely surprised but loved every minute and bite of it. He is still wearing his "Thomas the Train" watch. Also on this trip we acquired a new vehicle to transport our upcoming family of seven. The kids still love to reminisce about all the fun things we did and enjoyed together. It was definitely a vacation to remember.

Mom's Tea

At the girls' preschool they have been working for the last few weeks preparing for the annual "Mother's Tea." Anne-Marie was so excited that she woke up and got ready for school at 6:00 am this morning. Each child wore their "Sunday best" as they served his or her mom cake, chips, and/or a cookie. I am so thankful for the songs they have learned from their preschool teacher. Each afternoon as they are ending their school day they sing a most precious song: "Holy God, in love He came, perfect lamb to bear my shame. On the cross He took my sins, by His death I live again." What a blessing to hear my sweet girls sing that song! They had made me a picture frame and even decorated the paper it was wrapped in. They each also made me a card that I will cherish forever. In many ways it was as special to mom and it was to the girls.

Hospital Tests for Anne-Marie

After many mornings and evenings of sickness and stomach aches, we finally took took the doctor's advice to have some tests performed on Anne-Marie. As you can see from the smile on her face she enjoyed the upper GI, however, the blood work was another story completely. Daddy had to do this parenting job solo since mom (being pregnant) couldn't be around the x-ray machine. The upper GI revealed no issues to be concerned over and we are still waiting on the results from the blood work.