No words, just smiles

Okay, so a few words. We made several visits to my Granddad who is living in a long term care center now. It was hard saying goodbye today, but we are so thankful for all the time that we spent with him this trip. We love you Granddad!!

Coming and going

Yesterday I uploaded tons of photos from the little camera so I'll have lots of posts soon, however today my computer won't connect to the Internet. (I'm using my folks' now but have no access to photos).

This morning as I was getting ready I was thinking about our trip to Kansas. We've had a great time and created many wonderful memories with my family (and my sis and I haven't even started our drive back yet with our five children!) Talk about a chance to create family memories! :) Whether we're all screaming, laughing or crying, it's a trip we'll remember.

As I was thinking about these last couple days we have here, I couldn't help but get a little sad. The kids and I spent the last few days up at my sister's (Josh flew back last Thursday). It was fun to be there at her house and hang out. I helped her rearrange her living room and hang stuff on the walls. I miss that I can't just run up there any time and help her out or that our kids can't play together more than once or twice a year. Don't get me wrong, I love our life in Idaho, but I am sad about all the things we miss by living so far away.

Last Monday we took the kids to the zoo, then did some shopping and finally hit the pool with my brother. It was great-we were the only ones there until the very end. Plus, the pool was designed really well. It's L-shaped going from 2 to 3 1/2 feet, so the girls could touch a lot. Then there is a deep end with a board. All the girls jumped off to Ry and I. They had a blast. We went back to his apartment and had some pizza before heading back to Lace's. It was hard to leave him as I don't know for sure when we'll get to see him again. Hopefully he'll make a trip to see us this fall when his work slows down. Otherwise it may be next summer again. Fortunately, we had gotten to hang out with him the first weekend we arrived. Josh and I went over to my aunt/uncle's to visit friends and listened to him tell stories! I forgot how funny he is; oh the adventures of a young, single guy.

Now when you're living the day to day, you don't really have time to stop and think about being sad, but this morning I had some extra time to think and ponder. As I said, I wouldn't change where we're at or what we're doing, but it's only natural to miss family and friends who are so far away from us. I am thankful my parents gave me roots and wings though. And I am thankful for Josh and the kids, as well as his family and our friends back home. Idaho has become my home too. It will be nice to get back and get into the routine again; however, my time here just feels too short, yet again. My grandma is planning a dinner tonight, so we'll get to see everyone one last time before we take off, so that will be nice.

Some of the fun things we've done here include:
-Jayten tried his first foods
-we went swimming at two different pools
-we went to a couple fairs
-we've gone for several walks
-the girls played with their cousins and lots of toys that were "new" to them
-we visited with my grandparents
-we took a large family photo (the last one was Dec 07 and we've added two babies since then)
-the girls played on a huge water slide in the backyard
-the girls played dress-up with more cousins and friends
-we went to the zoo
-we had lunch with a high school friend and her daughter
-we learned to appreciate the hot and "dry" summers of Idaho as opposed to the hot and "humid" summers of Kansas
-and much more

The girls are getting a little homesick. I don't blame them. They miss their daddy and so do I. Plus we have a new little niece/cousin to meet when we return. It will be great being back home, but for the next two days I'm going to keep enjoying the Sunflower state, my little hometown and my family.

Happy Anniversary

The hubs and I celebrated 7 years of marriage today. I can honestly say that even though we've had our ups and downs, there is no one else I'd rather go through this crazy life with. I can still see us laughing together when we're 80.

We were able to enjoy a nice evening out while my folks watched the kids. We went out for Mexican food in a neighboring town. Mine was really great--thinly sliced seasoned beef on homemade flour tortillas and pico de galo. Yum! Josh ordered a chimichanga and honestly, it looked like the ones we get at Costco and microwave! We both just had to laugh. I did share mine with him and then we headed to Sonic for some dessert drinks. We weren't gone that long, but it was nice to just get away for a few hours. I really love spending time with him. :) When we got back, the kids and I took a walk with my parents and stopped by to see my Grandma. We're having a great time seeing family and hometown friends. We have more visiting to do the rest of the week.

Anyway, here's to many more years together with my hubby. Love you honey!

Heading out

We're heading out to visit family and friends in Kansas this week. Can't wait to see everyone. I probably won't be blogging much, if at all, but will have plenty of updates when we return. Hope everyone is enjoying summer; it's going by soooooo fast!

Much, much better

Our little guy and his little blue cast. Much, much better.

So, here's the story:

Thursday night I had Little J on the changing table getting ready for bed; it was about 9 p.m. Emma needed help in the bathroom so I told MJ to watch him while I helped E. On my way back, Josh needed something so I got distracted helping him. As I walked back into the bedroom I saw E pulling J off the dresser. She pulled the whole cushion off with him.

I scooped him up as fast as I could because he hadn't started crying yet and I thought maybe he was okay. Then, he did get really upset. I finally got him calmed down and he was able to eat, but when I moved him he started screaming again. Talk about mommy guilt. I felt awful. I couldn't get him calm again and it seemed like he was in pain, although he had no marks and I knew he didn't hit his head. So I told Josh I was going to take him in. He stayed with the girls and got them to bed. I called my friend Dawn on the way and she called our other friends. She and Christi met me at the ER.

It seemed like forever to get checked in, but finally the nurse called us back. When she took him out of his seat to weigh him he started crying again and we thought it might be a leg. Once the doctor came in and he was out of his seat and lying on the bed, we realized he wasn't moving his right leg at all, it was pretty limp. The doctor checked everything else out then we waited for x-rays. Again, it seemed like forever.

By this time, I was starting to feel ill. My girlfriends thought it might have been the adrenaline letdown, but when I was back with him for x-rays (a horrible ordeal to have put my baby through) I ended up getting sick. I ended getting sick five or six times while we were there. It was awful. Sidenote: E had gotten sick one time on Wednesday night, but I didn't think much of it. Little did I know this was only the beginning.

When the x-rays came back, it showed he had broken his femur bone right about the patella, but fortunately it wasn't displaced. They put a splint on it and gave us the number for the orthopedic doctor to call on Friday morning.

My friends got me home as I was too sick to drive. It was 3 a.m. when we walked in the door. J had been able to eat and sleep while at the hospital and after the splint was on and he had some Tylenol he didn't fuss at all. We were able to get some sleep when we got home.

The next day I called Carla to see if she could come get the girls as I was still feeling bad. I called the doctor's office and they said they wanted to see us first thing Monday morning to put the cast on. This would give time for the swelling to go down otherwise the cast might end up too loose.

MJ got sick once that morning and later we found out she had gotten sick in the night too. But, then she felt fine. J and I stayed in bed all day. That afternoon is when he started getting sick. I felt so bad for him.

Saturday was a much better day for both of us. I finally felt like myself when I woke up. I have never been so sick. Really, never. That was the worst and fastest moving bug ever. It finally hit Josh Sunday. Poor guy. I guess this has been going around the community a lot lately.

Monday morning we went in to the doctor and J received his little blue cast. The doctor said little ones heal really fast. We'll go back in three weeks to take it off and re-x-ray it.

We're all feeling back to normal and Jayten doesn't seem to mind at all. He still wakes up happy, talks and smiles and stills kick a lot.

Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers on our behalf this past weekend. Even though I was an emotional and physical wreck at times, I also felt at peace knowing we were surrounded by people who cared about us and that ultimately God is in control of all of this. We are so thankful that he didn't have a worse injury too. Praises for that! Josh and I both admitted we probably move too fast through this world and need to stop and pay attention more and not sweat the little things, like toothbrushes and paper jams!

There's a splint on my leg?

He really didn't seem to care at all on Saturday. He was back to his happy little self.

Much better

That's my baby, the day after our trip to the ER and after the stomach bug went away.

Much better.