My Life in Bits and Pieces

Happy Gotcha Day

2012-02-14T06:46:00.000-06:00

To my children, Carly, Wesley and Ryan - Happy Gotcha Day. 9 years have passed since you joined your family. I loved you then. I love you more, now.

Cool Mom Points

2012-02-10T08:13:00.003-06:00

were awarded to me last night as Jacob and I attended the midnight showing of the new, improved Star Wars 3D movie. None of the other (smart) kids wanted to go. It was only the second midnight showing of a movie I've ever been too.

Probably about 20 years ago, I went to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show with my dad at midnight. It was the last showing of it in a theater that had showed it weekly on Saturday night for years. The theater was closing, so we went to see the hoopla.

I will never forget just watching his expression as we took in all the sights of the people dressed up in costume - throwing toasts, putting up their umbrellas and such. All night long there was almost a continued uttering of, "Well, if that don't beat anything I ever did see." from him. It was hilarious.

Not going into details but

2012-02-09T08:14:00.005-06:00

in order to continue to keep an accurate history of my family for my kids, Zac moved out a couple of days ago. It was his choice to do so. Benjamin will continue to come here on the weekends while Andie is at work.

I think my son is now officially homeless. That is a hard reality to accept --- especially when it was not necessary.

It breaks my heart, but he is fighting battles within himself that he was unwilling or unable to accept or seek help for. To sit and watch someone you love destroy themselves is gut wrenching.

Sometimes, motherhood is just plain hard. I truly feel we have done all we can. We continue to pray for Zac - - That God will protect him from his own stupidity and he will get his life in order, and be the man God intended for him to be. I love that kid of mine and want the best for him. I just don't think living in his car is it.

It has been 3 years since my dad died.

2012-02-02T08:39:00.003-06:00

Some days the weight of missing him feels likes it is crushing my heart and I can barely breathe.

Some days I can't pass a picture of him without tearing up as I touch the cold glass that covers his face.

Some days as I drive past Dairy Queen I see a vivid picture of him in my mind, buying an ice cream cone and tossing it into the back of the truck for his dog, Atticus.

Some days I laugh and some days not as I watch my kids, "take off their thumbs", a trick he did for them hundreds of times.

Some days I see or hear something funny and I know he would be throwing his head back and laughing his loud, distinctive laugh, which I miss every day.

Some days as I watch my grandkids, I can remember watching my kids do the same things, with him by my side.

Some days when I'm working on a project, my mind travels back to a time, when we would work on so many things together, having fun, no matter what we were doing.

Some days, as I struggle with my own children, I wonder how he ever put up with me.

Every day - I miss him.

Every single day.

One of my favorites

2012-01-27T10:56:00.002-06:00

Carly has been engrossed in going through boxes of old pictures lately. This one of her, from a Christmas pagent long ago is one of my favorites of her. I think she was the cutest, fluffiest little sheep ever.

Just the way he thinks

2012-01-10T15:29:00.002-06:00

Jacob was chosen to wrap my birthday gift from Billski. Somehow, the gift changed into a gift from Jacob.......and others as they came to his mind. Overall, the "wrapping" was obviously a skill he inherited from me.

Benjamin turns ONE!

2012-01-10T14:49:00.009-06:00

What a fast year! Benjamin is walking everywhere, can say a few words (important ones like Mamaw) and is generally a happy kid now. He is a joy to have around and it's been a blessing having him here so much.

Sunday, about 50 friends and family gathered to celebrate the event. Andie made Ben's cake, which was both beautiful and delicious. I took the last batch of Bits & Pieces ice cream to the party and Benjamin smiled and cooed his way through dinner, cake & presents.
and then he was done.

A new member of the family - Jasper

2012-01-09T11:42:00.006-06:00

Jasper belongs to Sophie and Keegan. He is an 8 week old boxer pup and they are head over heels crazy about him.

Christmas 2011

2012-01-09T09:28:00.004-06:00

Lots of pictures of grandkids - not so many of older kids - none of the entire family. What a Christmas picture slacker I was this year. Maybe it's because the younger kids are more excited opening gifts, and that excitement is contagious. Santa was very good to everyone this year.

Backtracking - Keegan's birthday

2012-01-09T08:39:00.007-06:00

Seems I've been a blogging slacker, so I'm gonna try to catch up a bit. Keegan turned 4 on December 9th and although we normally combine his birthday party with the town parade, the parade was postponed due to rain.

The party, however, went on as planned. Keegan added to his latest passion, Pillow Pets.

Baba and I got him a scooter, which he promptly started riding.

He got a hand crafted stocking from Andi's step-mom, which made his so happy, because he was the only one in the family who didn't have one.

It's hard to believe he is already four years old. He's my little buddy and I love him so.

Because I find it difficult to sit and do absolutely nothing

2011-12-20T07:35:00.003-06:00

except for sporadic short bursts of time, I will be cooking the Tuesday night meals at Studio Bee beginning in January. I think they feed about 60 kids per week every Tuesday. My own kids have been going for months and I liked knowing that while I was at work, they were getting a hot meal and being supervised by caring people.

Time to get up and give back.

Benjamin's Bath Time

2011-12-18T09:16:00.007-06:00

Oh - and did I mention that Zac and Benjamin are living with us?

2011-12-18T06:33:00.003-06:00

I didn't think so. After Andie moved out, Zac lost his job and subsequently ended up moving in with us a couple of weeks ago. Andie works 12 hour shifts three days a a week on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so Zac has Benjamin from Thursday night until either Sunday night or Monday morning every week.

We did some rearranging and Zac, Benjamin and Jacob share Carly's room (it's pink), while Carly is temporarily located in Jacob's orange and blue room. It's not ideal, but it's not forever either. Zac is looking for a job and once he's back on his feet, he will be out the door.

In the meantime, Benjamin is bonding with us in ways that never would have happened otherwise. He's wobbly walking everywhere and opening packages quicker than I can re-wrap them.

They've certainly added to the season's joy being here.

Benjamin - Blessed, blessed, blessed

2011-12-17T07:56:00.005-06:00

Last week I went out to get the mail and nearly tripped (whew, that would have been bad) over a box the delivery person had left on my porch. Quickly forgetting the mail, I went inside to open it and find literally dozens of things embroidered with Benjamin's name on them. This shirt was one of the crowd favorites. The outfits are all adorable, some even reversible, featuring 2 holidays in one pair of overalls! So cute!!!

We use this little backpack for a quick run diaper bag and he packs his toys for church into the lunchbox. All in all, Benjamin is decked out in abundantly cute monogrammed clothes. Stuff his parents would never have been able to afford for him. They are very thankful for this gift.

All of them were a gift from the sister of a blog friend - who just happens to have a Benjamin in her family, too. So thank you to Dana, sister of Lindsey Bolline. Your generosity really blessed us.

Sooooooo thankful for digital cameras

2011-12-17T07:30:00.005-06:00

All I wanted was a picture of Benjamin in his cute Santa pajamas. All he wanted was to NOT have his picture made while sitting still, tongue in, looking at the camera in his cute Santa pajamas. About 4 dozen picture attempts later, I gave up. Somewhere in the process, I did manage to get these though......

After our extended photo session, Zac was able to snap this one quite easily.

Dolphin Tale -- Just in time for Christmas gift giving!

2011-12-15T10:54:00.003-06:00

Just a few days from now, you'll be able to grab a copy of "Dolphin Tale." It will be available on both a DVD and a DVD Blue Ray 3D combo pack.

This family friendly move is about a young dolphin who loses her tail after getting it caught in a crab trap. After being rescued, she is transported to Clearwater Marine hospital and given the name, Winter.

The real Winter, plays herself in this true story. She is seen as a symbol of courage and hope to people -- especially those facing their own physical challenges.

You can't help but be touched by this remarkable story of recovery and rehabilitation. The amazing group of compassionate people who banded together to save Winter's life are portrayed by Harry Connick, Jr., Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman. It's a great movie and I'm sure the kids on your Christmas list would love to have one! Be watching for it on the 20th.

have a little faith

2011-12-13T13:57:00.002-06:00

Mitch Albom's little book about faith, properly titled "have a little faith" found its' way to my desk via a request to review and give away this book.

Interestingly enough, the day after the book arrived, the movie version of it was shown on television. I debated watching it or not, but in the end, sat down with the kids and watched it.

The movie was well done - the book even better. It starts out with the author being asked to deliver an eulogy and from there it takes on a life of its' own.

The way Mr. Albom intertwines the stories of the principal characters in the book keeps you easily flowing from one life to another, from the past to the present, from drug dealers to Godly people.

It's not a thick book. But it packs a LOT of thought provoking and awe inspiring factual episodes that in the end show just what amazing things can happen if you just have a little faith.

Anyway - I have a copy to give away. Who wants it? Leave a comment and I'll pick a winner on Sunday.

New, improved hardware x-ray

2011-12-07T16:19:00.001-06:00

Had my staples removed today and got a picture of my new hardware ~~ although in this picture the staples are still in (at least the ones we hadn't taken out at home.) Still no lifting over 10 pounds for the next 2 weeks and then I go back for another check up.

Benjamin - almost 11 months old

2011-12-03T07:12:00.007-06:00

and much too busy to do something mundane like look at the camera for a picture. He's off, crawling and exploring. Testing his boundaries and finding out just how many ornaments he can pluck from the tree in 30 seconds. Christmas trees and toddlers are always an interesting combination. All of the "good" ornaments are way up out of their reach, put on branches that are then twisted into a bow practically to make sure they stay put.

As always, our half tree is bungeed to the wall. Gotta say, every year we have only half a tree, I'm even more impressed with it. It looks great and only takes up half the floor space it would otherwise.

Zac has Benjamin every weekend while Andie is at work, so they have been hanging out more at Mamawland, and Ben is getting more and more comfortable with me. Yesterday, he even laid his head on me when he was sleepy. Might not mean much to most people, but that's a major breakthrough around here. He has always just wanted his mom or dad to hold him.

I know the day is coming when he loves Mamawland as much as Soph and Keegan do. I can't wait.

Healing nicely

2011-12-03T07:00:00.002-06:00

Today is 12 days since my surgery to reset the broken collar bone. It already feels better after 12 days than it felt after 4 months before. Very exciting to me to think that it could feel normal again someday soon. I don't go back to the doctor for another 5 days. So far, Jacob has removed 2 pesky staples and Zac took one out last night. They're a bit grossed out doing it, but it really doesn't hurt much at all.

My God Moment of the Day

2011-11-29T22:10:00.006-06:00

The day my dad died, I sat for hours by him on the bed, holding his hand and quietly singing the song, "There will be a Day." That song has always had a special place in my heart.

When we opened the ice cream shop, Andi and Big Guy gave me a plaque, with a picture of me and my dad that read,

Bits & Pieces
established in memory of my dad
Carroll Edmondson
who loved ice cream until the day he died.

and he did. More than anyone I ever met. Every day I worked, I saw that plaque hanging by the cash register and it made me smile and think of him.

Today, I closed the shop for business for the last time. I went to my car, turned on the motor and about 3 seconds later, a song came on ~~ "There Will be a Day."

God is always there. Planning things like that to make you aware that He is indeed always with us. Caring about our feelings and sending reminders that we are never alone.

Jacob's quote of the day........

2011-11-26T09:53:00.002-06:00

"Sarcasm is the body's natural defense to stupid questions."

When asked about his biggest mistake he's made in life he came up with something he didn't want posted. But I knew right what he was going to say before he said it. I'm smart that way.

No illusions here

2011-11-26T07:43:00.005-06:00

The illusionist was one of my favorite acts of the circus yesterday. I, however, am under no illusions that the lovely scar left from my first surgery (notice the tiny thin line in the picture on the left) and the one that will be left by the third surgery on the same site since the accident will be the same.

Bring on the next act.

Accident Aftermath

2011-11-26T05:45:00.001-06:00

This accident has changed a lot of things in our family ~~ all for the good. It has given me the opportunity to talk to hundreds of people in person at the ice cream shop about God's provisions for me that day. Still, not a day goes by that someone does not ask how I'm doing since the accident and I'm able to do that.

It has made us all more aware of how precious life is and how a single action can affect so many people. It has made us re-evaluate whether we want to spend our days as business owners or as a family ~~ and family has won out. We will be closing the business.

And above all it has reaffirmed what I have always known to be true.

God is good. All the time.

When exactly did this happen?

2011-11-25T22:17:00.002-06:00

Look how TALL these kids are getting!
OK, so Wes is on a stool in that picture, but still ~~

and who put that fireplace hearth basket up on top of that cabinet? It doesn't go there. Oh, and Carly is kneeling, so you can't see how tall she is in this picture ~~ but you can here. Right by Jacob, who is almost as tall as the tree (no stool needed).

Even the babies are growing up.

The Circus

2011-11-25T22:08:00.003-06:00

Andi and I took Sophie and Keegan to the circus today. We had front row seats and an unobstructed view of everything. It was amazing. It was not, however, enough to keep this from happening....
Ring pops, balloons, cotton candy, glow light necklaces.........and a nap. That's what Keegan got from the circus. Oh, and the guy riding the motorcycle up in the air pretty much right over his head. He thought that was awesome.

Sophie's favorite part was the human cannonball -- a 69 year old man, no less. We had a great time and I'll do it again in about 5 years with Benjamin.

The murderous farmer

2011-11-25T22:05:00.002-06:00

As we were headed to the circus today, Sophie was singing in the back seat.

The Farmer takes a life, The Farmer takes a life,
Hi ho the cherry O, the Farmer takes a life.

Interesting conversations to be heard if you just listen...

2011-11-25T11:04:00.003-06:00

This should be good. Listening to the kids in the next room discuss "the biggest mistake I ever made." Carly's question to the boys..."Are we talking mildly bad, really bad or Oh Good Grief bad?"

Ryan said we all knew what his was and he wasn't saying it out loud. (He's right. We did.)

Wesley had a hard time coming up with anything. Once prompted to really think he came up with lying one time and stealing/hoarding the candy.

Carly was able to ramble off a list a half a mile long without much of a pause whatsoever. She mentioned breaking her retainer. Hitting the kid with the chair. Trying to hit Jacob and getting her finger smashed. Leaning on Ryan's legs and breaking her tooth when he jerked his legs away from her. Eating Fried Koolaid at the Fall Festival.

She continued on with Breaking Billski's boat charger (Don't think we even knew this). Cheating. Letting Jacob, Luke, Aiden and Seth tie her hands together and hang her from a bunk bed. (I can see where she might regret that) Lying. Standing by and watching a 2 year old break countless (well, actually 11) Little Precious figurines and doing nothing to stop him. Spanking Ryan. (yes, she did -- an actual spanking) Hitting Jacob in the head with a baseball bat.

Well, I think she's about done. She came to the conclusion on her own that the majority of the problems in her young life came from disobeying and lying. Wise kid.

Jacob happens to be gone. I'll have to ask him later.

Little Angel DVDS -- Giveaway

2011-11-25T09:15:00.003-06:00

A couple of months ago, the PR company that handles the DVD sales for Roma Downey contacted me about doing a review for some DVDs she was launching. As you probably know, Roma Downey starred on "Touched by an Angel" for years. They sent me a preview disk and I promptly let the critics review it. The critics being Sophie and Keegan. A few weeks later along came the entire DVD and I let them open it on a day when I was in particular need of a long piece of quiet.

The timing was perfect. They were content to watch them again and again and again and again. And I was content to let them. Along the way, we all fell in love with the Little Angels that come to life in the stories.

Eight little angels live on the ceiling of preschool twins, Alex and Zoe, painted there by their parents to watch over them. These angels come to life when the children need them most and help guide them through the challenges of life.

You can search the internet for reviews of these DVDs and without fail, every one I've found has been a 5 star. The songs are catchy, the graphics great and the lessons worth learning. Not to mention (but I will) and the kids absolutely LOVE them.

Every morning when Keegan walks through the door, we head to my recliner for a glass of chocolate milk and a long snoogleing session. These sessions used to include PBS, but PBS has been replaced by the daily request of "Can we watch the Little Angels?"

Little Angels was created exclusively for preschoolers to teach not only practical learning skills, like ABCs, numbers and animals, but also to introduce them to the spiritual, moral and ethical principles of the Bible.

All that to say this -- I have 3 sets of videos to give away. I will take any comments left here, add them to those left on my personal Facebook page as well as my business Facebook page and then randomly draw three winners on Sunday night at 8.

What to do to enter? Leave me a comment.

It's not pretty - but it's all mine (well, not really)

2011-11-24T16:41:00.005-06:00

I had surgery on Monday, the 21st to reset my bone again. This time the cut is about twice as large and is stapled with 20 staples instead of a few stitches. I also have a bone from someone else in me. This came as a surprise since I was told I would be having "synthetic material from a jar" put into my body. So imagine my surprise when I was given a paper with a code on it to write a thank you note to my donor family. WHAT?

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I think it could be perceived as a good ol' bait and switch routine. Why not just explain up front? The surgeon came out and told me all about how all the donor's cells are eradicated, so it really is just a piece of "structure" they are using. Really? Do I write a thank you and say thanks for your structure? I think not.

Would I have accepted a donor bone? Sure. I'm giving all mine away when I die, why not take one from somebody else. I just think the donees should be better informed about what's going on. Some people might not be as understanding as I was.

Anyway, it's done. It's ugly and once again, I am recouping at home. Oh and it's Thanksgiving Day -- much to be thankful for around here. Including the bone of someone else helping me heal.

I Knew I Wasn't Crazy

2011-11-15T16:17:00.003-06:00

It was about 36 hours after my hardware was removed that I heard a large popping sound, felt horrid pain and cried like a baby muttering, "Something's not right." I had, in fact, rebroke my collar bone. I wasn't doing anything exciting. I was going to the bathroom in the middle of the night when it happened. My scream woke both Jacob and Billski.

In the 9 days since then, it has hurt worse each day. Today, an x-ray confirmed what I had been saying for days. Something was indeed not right. The bone had snapped where the original break was. I go to the surgeon in the morning to see what happens next, but I'm pretty much right back where I was 4 months ago.

Discouraging, to say the least.

Hardware Removal

2011-11-04T18:24:00.002-05:00

This afternoon I had surery to remove the plate and screws from my collarbone. I was so happy to get this done. It was so close to the surface of my skin that it hurt constantly. Looking forward to feeling great when the incision is healed.

Zac and Andie

2011-11-03T17:34:00.006-05:00

I first met Andie April 25, 2005 ~~ 6 1/2 years ago. She and Zac have had their ups and downs like all couples who date. They have lived together and apart. Several times. They have had a child together. But they have decided to split up ~~ and they both seem to think it is for good this time.

I will have to say I didn't see this one coming. Other times I could tell they were unhappy, but since Benjamin was born, it seemed as if all was well. Obviously, not. Some things I would rather not blog about, but if this blog is supposed to be an accurate description of our family life and history, well, I can't just ignore that this is happening.

They are still working out the details of splitting up with a child involved. Andie came over today with Benjamin and we had a good visit and a nice long talk about things. I'm very blessed that she is a firm believer in the more people that love Benjamin, the better off he will be. And I know she knows I meant it when I told her she would always be welcome at our home.

First Halloween

2011-10-31T18:45:00.002-05:00

Benjamin ~~ Cutest gnome ever.

Day 4 - St. Louis Zoo

2011-10-26T11:39:00.011-05:00

Sure, there were lots of animals at the zoo. Keegan loved the hippos, Sophie the giraffe and Carly liked anything not in the llama family. Me, I'm content to watch the penguins and monkeys all day long. The St. Louis Zoo is free, it's beautiful and as lots of shade. It's my favorite zoo around here, by far.

So although there were lots of animals to take pictures of - on this particular day, it's these faces I want to remember.

Days 3 - St. Louis = Grant's Farm

2011-10-26T08:34:00.008-05:00

We were much too busy having fun to bother with blogging, but we're home now, the kids are doing their school work and I am blocking out the groans so I can post some pictures.

We went to visit Grant's Farm Sunday. Everyone loved feeding the goats. And the camel -- and to some extent the llama. Carly had the most memorable experience. Right after enjoying her up close and personal contact with this camel, she walked across the lane and as she was saying something like, "Look how cute the llama is. AHHH" Well, that's when the memory occurred. That's when the llama spit at her. And hit her square in her wide open mouth with its' spit. -- and I think she would have been happy to have stayed at home.

She sputtered and spit and nearly barfed as Jacob, Seth and Wesley howled with laughter. She can now say with authority that llama spit taste horrible. Come to think of it - it was quite memorable for those of us just watching as well.

Sophie volunteering at the explosive demonstration

2011-10-22T21:24:00.001-05:00

Sophie "volunteered" today -- and Carly was able to get it on video.

St. Louis Science Center

2011-10-22T20:17:00.010-05:00

The funnest part of the day for some of us would be riding Segways. I always wanted to do that and once I learned to have "loose elbows", I did pretty good. Carly was a natural at it and Jacob had the look of concentration during his entire ride.

Keegan and Sophie loved the Discovery Room and the first thing they did was race cars, which was all well and good until....

Keegan lost. Then he had this face -- but it was just a put on. He really couldn't care less. He was off to the next thing.

There were several interesting demonstration and classes today. Sophie participated in the one on explosives.

Although Wesley made the minimum age of 12, he didn't make the minimum weight of 100 pounds by about 30 pounds. Maybe next time....

St. Louis - Day One

2011-10-21T19:47:00.008-05:00

Today we went to the City Museum in St. Louis - it was AWESOME. If your kid loves to climb, go through tunnels, be a daredevil in general, this is the place to go.

Benjamin - 8 1/2 months

2011-10-19T17:01:00.002-05:00

Today I visited with Benjamin in his house - and we had a blast. He gave me kisses and high fives and rolled his truck around. We had a lot of fun, before heading out to do a bit of shopping for some winter clothes and lunch.

Shock Probation

2011-10-19T15:37:00.002-05:00

Isn't that what it's called when a prisoner is released early after possibly learning a lesson? Anyway, that's what I'm calling it. I spoke to the warden and got Carly an early release from her punishment. Something that is practically unheard of in our house. She's not totally ungrounded, but she will be going to St. Louis this weekend. She's happy -- and so am I.

Big Splash Adventure

2011-10-18T13:32:00.017-05:00

Our first day at Big Splash Adventure was much fun. Some liked the slides (not me), some liked to drift through the lazy river (not me) and some liked the floating disks (not me). What I liked was watching them and taking lots of pictures. But I did the rest anyway. At least one time each -- fulfilling a promise I made to do the water slides someday. The kids said the ones at Holiday World are a much smoother ride - maybe I'll try them. But those slides banged me around like I was a feather.

More than that though, was the "lifeguard" who sent Jacob down the slide pretty much right behind me and the water flow through the slides weren't enough to keep a person going, so while I'm waiting for the next flush of water, Jacob slams into me full force - his feet into my shoulder.

That pretty much ended my pain free day and I was quite glad I thought to take my handy dandy RX of pain pills.

The favorite thing of just about everyone was a series of floating disks that had a rope over them to help you navigate across. Keegan just jumped from one to another and he loved them.

Retreat!

2011-10-18T12:56:00.012-05:00

This past weekend, four friends from church and I went on a spur of the moment retreat. When I say spur of the moment, I mean, we saw it on the internet on Sunday afternoon, registered Monday morning and left Friday afternoon. It was a wonderful time of solidifying friendships, sharing, and laughing till the wee hours of the morning. We attended some great classes, had some wonderful food, beautiful weather and learned some things about ourselves & each other.Nancy only looks like she was giving us what for. Me, I was a bit apprehensive to line up for a group shot before we took off since the last time I did that was for the canoe trip - and we all know how that day turned out. But we got it together and made our picture.

Cathy came straight from work and the plan was for her to sleep on the drive so she could stay up late to play games. This is her "I'm sleeping" face.

Trying to get 4 adult women to be good for a picture is about as easy as putting panty hose on a worm. It just wasn't happening.

Gwen touched and rode a horse for the first time ever. She was a natural equestrian.

Although our original intent was to check out this camp for a church wide retreat for next year, I learned something I didn't know before leaving. Lutherans serve wine at their retreats. Quite a shock to my Southern Baptist roots. But they sure knew how to have a great retreat - very relaxing (even without the wine.)

It was a fantastic weekend and we ended it by heading to Nashville, Indiana where we did a bit of shopping then had some dinner before heading back to the real world of work and motherhood. All in all - I'm planning on doing it again next year -- with these same lovely ladies.

Gwen, Me, Kelli, Nancy & Cathy

Explaining an absence

2011-10-17T08:53:00.004-05:00

Today we are going to Big Splash Adventure. It should be a lot of fun and I will post pictures later. This weekend we are going to St. Louis and I posted some weeks ago why Ryan wouldn't be going along, but it seems another party has dropped out of our merry band.

About 10 days ago I got a text from Carly saying, "You need to call Mendy. I got in trouble for hitting a boy." Hmmmm. Mendy is the director of Studio Bee. Studio Bee is the youth community center where the kids hang out, have been to camp for years, where I volunteer, where Keegan goes to story time, where we go to our homeschool group and where all of the tip money from Bits & Pieces is donated to. Our family is involved there in many ways.

Before I called Mendy, I called the texter, Carly to get more details. She told me that a boy, whom I will call Innocent Dude, was annoying her and she hit him.

OK, not exactly what a mom wants to hear -- but on the surface it didn't seem all that horrible. So I call Mendy. She asked if Carly had told me what happened. I told her I had Carly's version of what happened (the past has taught me much about Carly) but I was sure I didn't have the whole story. Oh, little did I know how much of the story I didn't have.

Carly was in a room where Innocent Dude and his friend, Witness to the Incident were talking to each other -- not even bothering her. Innocent Dude was making a noise that Carly deemed annoying and she told him to shut up. I'm sure Innocent Dude must have thought, "You're not my mother." (which for the record, she's not) and continued making whatever noise it is that a 12 year old boy makes that makes a 13 year old girl think it's annoying.

Carly, using all her feminine wiles, told him to shut up. Again. Nice huh? Does a mother's heart good to hear how their kids act in public. He didn't, so Carly hit him. Now here's where the story took a BIG turn from what Carly told me happened.

True, she hit him. What she neglected to mention in either her text or our conversation was that she hit him.........with.........a.........chair. Yep. A chair. She picked up a chair, backed Innocent Dude into a corner and commenced to whacking him with a metal chair.

It was at this moment I found myself speechless. Something that doesn't happen often and in 28 years of motherhood, I could probably count the number of times on 2 fingers. Not hands - fingers.

I finally recovered enough to ask if Innocent Dude was OK and he was, but had multiple red welts up and down his arm -- something I'm sure would be considered defensive marks. I spoke with his mother later, a woman I will call "Far more understanding than I ever would have been" and she was very nice about the whole thing.

I was really just too dumbfounded to even think straight. The next day Bill and I went to lunch and he declared what would happen. Several things came into play in the thought that went into Carly's punishment. Wesley and Jacob were at this lunch too, so perhaps they learned from her mistakes as they listened to their dad.

First, Carly had lied to him. She told him that she had "sorta shoved" Innocent Boy and he hit the wall. About as far from the truth as you could go and stay on the same continent.

But more importantly, she had just turned 13 a mere 4 days before. The day BEFORE she turned 13, she told me she hoped she would be able to control herself when she was a teenager because "teenagers get out of control."

I told her that not all teenagers get out of control and if teenagers couldn't control themselves, then their parents could certainly do it for them. Obviously, she wanted to test that theory. Bad idea. Very bad idea.

So we all listened as Bill laid out her punishment. It was swift and severe and long lasting. She was grounded from seven different things and has the opportunity to regain one thing every 2 weeks - if she stays out of trouble.

His mind goes where the dad's mind goes - how we could have been sued if she had injured Innocent Boy, how Studio Bee could have been held liable - those kind of things.

So Carly is not going to St. Louis with us. This is probably a punishment as much for me as it is her, because she is such a good helper with the kids, but he was quite firm -- she will staying at home with him and Ryan.

Sometimes this whole motherhood gig is tough stuff.

Passing conversation with Soph

2011-10-17T07:38:00.002-05:00

Sophie walked by this morning as I was turning on a lamp and told me, "I remember when those lamps where silver and you painted them red."

Somewhat amazed, I replied, "Wow, you have a good memory."

As she passed on through the room, she informed me, "Thanks. I keep it in my brain."

Open wide and say fried...........

2011-10-12T15:04:00.006-05:00

Last week was the Fall Festival in Evansville. It is supposed to be the second largest street fair in the country - right behind Mardi Gras. I don't know about all that, but I do know if you want your food fried, this is the place to be. The kids tried fried cookie dough, fried candy bar, fried oreos, fried thin mints -- even fried Kool-aid. They ate cotton candy, cookies, walking tacos, a pronto pup, a steak sandwiches and a sandwich made on a donut with sausage, bacon and cheese. They chowed down on a peanut butter and bacon sandwich and hot pretzels with cheese. They didn't EACH get those things - they shared them all but the most amazing part....

We did it all in under an hour.

Zac and Benjamin -age 9 Months (Benjamin, not Zac)

2011-10-10T18:46:00.001-05:00

Sophie and Mamaw

2011-10-05T17:31:00.002-05:00

Keegan & the Pumpkin Roll Cupcakes

2011-10-05T17:00:00.009-05:00

Keegan loves to help in the kitchen -- and he's good at it. Today we made Pumpkin Roll Cupcakes. He mixed the entire batter himself and once they were in the oven, he guarded the door so that nobody but him could see when they "got tall and were all done."
He patiently sat there for 20 minutes, watching the timer and the oven door window.

Of course, he had to eat a bit of ice cream while he waited. It is an ice cream shop after all.

and when they were all done - although not a one of us like pumpkin, we managed to taste test our way through 6 cupcakes. They are delicious - cream cheese filled and iced. YUMYMY!

Few things in our house constitute an emergency

2011-10-04T10:50:00.003-05:00

like running out of coffee does. When Billski runs out of coffee, it is just not a pretty sight. Over the years, I have come up with the genius plan to ward off the coffeeless monster by keeping one snack size ziplock bag of coffee in the freezer. That gives me 24 hours to get to the store and buy more Folgers.

It's a good plan. It's worked many times over the years until Monday. Monday, instead of grabbing the bag of coffee, Billski grabbed a bag that his friend had given him and brewed it up -- and drank it. Or at least one sip of it. Then he quickly realized he had brewed up a big ol' pot of cajun spices.

and before you know it --- she's a teenagaer!

2011-10-02T07:06:00.016-05:00

Her hair length may change but her heart never does. She tries to do good, she loves her family and God is her best friend. She's well on her way to achieving her dreams.

I love you Carly Beth and I thank God for blessing our family with you!

One more surgery to go

2011-09-29T17:17:00.005-05:00

I realize that there are people that walk around with surgical hardware in their bodies for years. I am not going to be one of those people. The plate that held my collarbone together quite nicely while it healed is bulging under my skin. You can just run your hand over it and feel the entire outline of it. It's really sorta gross, actually.

Anyway, it is sore in many situations - such as wearing a seat belt (or a certain piece of clothing that women my age should certainly wear). I can't sleep on that side, but the thing that about sends me through the roof is when Keegan sits in my lap -- which we like to do -- and he snuggles up -- which we like to do -- while we read or watch TV. Ouch. But when he lays his head on that area -- which he likes to do -- oh good grief that hurts. I'm not OK with not holding my grandkids.

I will be waiting about another month to give the bone time to heal since there will be 9 holes in the bone from the screws, but then the hardware will be coming out.

Spot the Puppy

2011-09-29T09:33:00.004-05:00

This week I received a book in the mail to use as a prize for people who read my blog. This book, Spot the Puppy is the first in a series written by 19 year old Emily G. Simmons.

Each of these easy to read, paperback books highlight a virtue and lay out the plan of salvation. Hard to beat that combination in a child's book.

This particular book is about integrity - and how it sometimes comes at a price that people (or puppies) aren't always willing to pay. This quote pretty much sums up message the book conveys..."I've learned that not doing right is just as bad as doing wrong." What a different world we would live in if everyone lived that way!

You can contact Emily through her blog, Emily's Memories to follow her adventures as she attends college. If you would like to purchase Spot the Puppy or any of the subsequent books Emily writes, you can search Facebook for Spot the Puppy.

If you would like a chance to win this book, please leave a comment. A random drawing will be held at 7 pm Sunday, October 2nd to choose the winner. Good luck!

Conversations

2011-09-27T20:47:00.004-05:00

Sophie has informed me that she does not like it when I buy Keegan things while she is at school. She went on to say that I was buying her zero things. And for emphasis, she said "Zeee EEEE roooo." I was about to remind her of several things that I had bought her, but she continued on with, "And it makes my heart sad."

As I was trying not to laugh at her, Keegan piped up, "But it makes my heart happy."

*******

Keegan told me this morning that he would like for me to buy him some multicolored cereal that is shaped like an O. Yes, he actually used the word multicolored. He now has a box of Fruit Loops.

*******

Jacob asked Sophie if she was a bus person -- meaning that she rides the bus. Before she could even answer, Keegan pipes up...."No, she's a human person."

*******

As I tucked Sophie into bed tonight she told me, "Mamaw, I wish I was already graduated so we would have more time to spend together."

"What a year your family has had."

2011-09-24T07:27:00.009-05:00

Can't begin to tell you how many times I've heard that in the last few weeks. I couldn't agree more. It's been an amazing year. I'm sure the "year" people refer to started in April, when Andi suddenly started slurring her words, had a killer headache, couldn't sit up for days without vomiting and was hospitalized with each day bringing more puzzling symptoms.

After speech therapy, 2 weeks later, she still talked like this and now she spends Saturday mornings cheering on the sidelines as Sophie plays soccer. She coaches middle school volleyball and high school swimming. She is awesome and seemingly tireless.
If you didn't ever hear Andi speak when she first got sick, then her recovery might not be as amazing to you as it is to us. But that video does more than document the beginning of her recovery - it documents the goodness of God.

Tomorrow is the 5 month mark since Andi first got sick. The doctors said it could take up to a year for her to get well -- and then she still might have some lingering issues. She still has ongoing effects of having had viral encephalitis. She still gets major headaches, but her neurologist this week gave her 2 additional medicines that appear to be helping those. She still has some days she can't even sit up without being nauseous. Her speech still gets choppy when she is under stress or has a bad headache. And her short term memory makes Nemo's friend, Dorie appear to be Einstein. But even that is getting better.

But she's here and can live with all those things if need be. She's HERE. And I thank God for that every day.

In July, I had a little accident that certainly could have changed my family forever. Instead, just 10 weeks later, I have a few dings and dents that will be with me forever and I know without God watching over me that day, it would certainly be different.

Which brings us to last week when Andi had to have her appendix out - no big deal. She's was back to work a couple of days later.

So yep - it's been quite a year. We've seen the hand of God in action time and time again. We've experienced the kindness of friends over and over. We've been through a lot and there's still three more months to go. Hoping for a quiet end of the year for us - but so thankful to God that He's been with us every day.

The results

2011-09-21T08:33:00.004-05:00

of my posting about our recent struggles with Ryan -- I had 19 supportive comments and emails. 1 from a reader, 1 from a parent struggling with their own child, 2 from people who know details of Ryan's behavior that very few people know and 15 from parents who have adopted children.

Their common theme........"You know I know exactly what you mean."

Fun Day Monday

2011-09-19T18:39:00.004-05:00

Today begins our week off from school and as we are apt to do, we spent it doing fun things. We went to our homeschool group this morning and then to Evansville to get tickets to Toby Mac. After that, we did a bit of shopping while waiting for the Putt-Putt and Lazer Tag place to open. Lazer Tag was a first for Keegan and Wesley and they both loved it.

A few hours there and the kids were ready for some pizza. We had a Groupon coupon for Gerontes on Vogel Road and this is the pizza we came out with. It was quite yummy. First time we've ever been there - but it won't be the last.

Holiday World

2011-09-19T08:28:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was Toyota family day at Holiday World. Toyota rents the entire park and it's closed to the public. It was a chilly, rain drizzly day. The park being closed makes for pretty short lines for the most part. Or else a bunch of chickens work at Toyota. Not sure which but Carly and her friend, Daushinay managed to ride the roller coasters 22 times. That probably wouldn't happen on a normal day.

Today, Carly is wishing she hadn't. She is sore from head to toe. Ryan gave Billski all kinds of trouble Saturday, so Ryan's ticket was given to Daushinay, who went in place of Ryan. Everyone had a great time. I even rode some rides, much to the amazement of my children. I was a wild woman on the carousel, riding that rabbit. But then once I had survived that, rode the bumper cars, the scrambler and several others with Wes and Jacob. The girls were pretty much gone from the entrance till we left.

Jacob and his friend, Eli, braved the water park and it was COLD. Jacob said you lost feeling in your legs as soon as you got in the water. Of course that did not inspire them to get out. The water park is usually just a sea of people and from what we saw there were maybe two dozen ~~idiots~~ brave souls practicing for the Polar Plunge Club. They just looked like little blue Popsicles floating by on the rafts.

After we left the park we went out for Chinese food, which Daushinay had never eaten. It was interesting to watch her reactions. She tried just about everything, before basically eating a lettuce wedge for dinner. That child is not a fan of Chinese, although she loved the chopsticks.

I didn't take my camera, so you will just have to picture Carly popping Tylenol like tic tacs, Jacob blue and Wes grinning from ear to ear.

Keegan Michael & Mamaw

2011-09-16T22:09:00.000-05:00

Keegan is taking Sophie being gone to school much better than I ever thought he would. He has become much more talkative and LOVES to hang out with Mamaw. We are having a blast!

Benjamin - 8 months

2011-09-16T22:02:00.002-05:00

Benjamin is crawling everywhere and getting to where he is much happier to stay at Mamawland. I think the combination of teeth finally coming in and becoming mobile has made him quite happy.

Andie and I went to lunch yesterday and Benjamin was a blast all during lunch. He ate a few noodles and then today at the shop, he ate some ice cream. His first bite brought a scream, but he immediately adjusted his attitude and wanted every bite of everyone's ice cream.

The Baby Muter

2011-09-16T21:48:00.000-05:00

Carly had an assignment to draw an invention and write a bit about her invention. Introducing ....... The Baby Muter -- it works just like an universal remote control. If only there were such a thing. I think the baby in the picture must be Benjamin because his shirt says, "Momma's Boy" -- and he certainly is.

Sophie's first question

2011-09-16T13:53:00.002-05:00

when I told her Andi's bellyache had gotten worse and she had to go to the hospital was...."Where's the helicopter gonna land?"

I had to explain not everyone GETS to ride in the helicopter. It was at that point I think my stock went up a bit in her eyes.

No more bellyachin'

2011-09-15T19:23:00.001-05:00

at least for Andi - she had to have an appendectomy this afternoon. Home, but sore and exhausted, hopefully she will feel better in a couple of days.

A tale of 2 Ryans

2011-09-13T09:30:00.006-05:00

The "public" Ryan and the "home" Ryan are obviously 2 different people. It seems that everywhere I go, somebody wants to share with me how sweet, funny or helpful Ryan is. This is hard for me to wrap my head around and truthfully, although I'm glad he's well behaved for them, it just makes his behavior at home that much harder to take. Obviously, he CAN behave. He just chooses NOT to at home.

This summer each child in the house was given a section of the flower bed to weed - and by weed, I mean tear everything OUT. It wasn't as if they had to be careful or anything - just clear it out. Much like I remember doing to my dad's flowerbed as a child -- only I WAS supposed to be careful and I cleared it out entirely.

Wes and Jacob got in theirs and went at it like a warrior set on destroying a village and were done in about 4 minutes. Ryan - not so much. He did nothing. But sit. This behavior got rewarded by the addition of a section of fence row to also be weeded. Which didn't get done and was added to and so on and so on and so on till it seemed as if Ryan would be weeding the entire neighborhood - except he didn't.

When Bill and I went to Louisville for my doctor's appointment and his birthday, Ryan was supposed to be pulling weeds on the Saturday. Was he? Nope. He had gone outside, walked around the house and climbed through our bedroom window - breaking it in the process - where he had intended to just hang out all day in the air conditioned bedroom. Our nice weekend trip was interrupted by a call about Ryan's behavior that pretty much ruined Bill's birthday.

Of course Bill was the one giving out the punishment and I was the one that was supposed to be enforcing it because Bill would be at work. Frankly, I was tired of dealing with it so I made a great deal with Ryan. Sweep off and clean up the garage patio and we would call it even. This chore would have taken about 10 minutes at most while working in complete shade, compared with HOURS of pulling weeds in the hot sun. He jumped at the chance to do it and I went off to work - feeling a bit better about the world - glad the punishment would be behind us and Ryan would have yet another fresh start.

I felt great -- till I got home 6 hours later. The porch was untouched and Ryan had gone to bed right before he knew I was to be home. I sent for him and told him to go out and get his job done. It was about 8:15 in August. Not dark by any means. Plus he had the kitchen light, the dining room light, the porch light, the garage light and the flood light on the garage turned on. The yard was lit up like a stadium.

Does he sweep the porch so he can go back to bed? Nope. He stands out in the back yard and yells at the top of his lungs for about 30 minutes. "MY MOTHER HAS LOCKED ME OUT OF THE HOUSE. MY MOTHER IS MAKING ME DO CHORES IN THE DARK. MY MOTHER WON'T LET ME GO TO BED TILL I GET MY CHORE DONE." Over and over and over.

I sat inside - turned the TV up and indeed, made him do the chore before he went to bed. Call me harsh that way.

School started and with it, a glorious period of time every day when Ryan was out of the house and peace permeated the premises. He came home from school and was cheerfully telling me about the chore he volunteered to do at school - take out the trash cans from the school cafeteria every day.

UNBELIEVABLE. The kid who mutters and mumbles hatefully through every chore at home is volunteering to take the trash out for hundreds of kids at school.

Ryan has not been allowed to go fishing by himself for a year - due to some behavioral issues. The behavior led to him being hospitalized in a residential psychiatric hospital for almost 4 months. Two weeks ago, I relented on this and let him go fishing. Truthfully, I think it was as much for me as for him. It's peaceful in the house when he's gone. Sad, but true.

The Saturday before Labor Day I let Ryan fish all day. Sunday, after church, Bill took him fishing out on the boat for hours. Labor Day, they fished on the boat till about 1, then Bill came home, dropping Ryan off at the park where Ryan continued fishing till Bill went to get him for dinner about 6:30.

When he came in from over 12 straight hours of fishing I told him to take the trash cans to the curb after dinner. He exploded and threw a hissy fit over having to do that -- the same kid who voluntarily took trash out every day at school was raging over having to wheel two containers 12 feet.

He finally did it and after his rant, I was about done for. Bill had taken Keegan to Wal-Mart and I was going to go meet some friends for a bit. We had just sat down to our chips and salsa when my phone rang. Ryan had wanted Carly to do something for him and when she told him no, he immediately had her on the ground in a choke hold. I had to leave and go home to deal with Ryan -- again.

Every day is like that with Ryan - one battle after another. All. The. Time.

It's hard to reconcile the two personas of Ryan. It would be nice if he would show his school side at home. If he would show the "camp favorite" I hear about from the leaders at Studio Bee to his family. But he doesn't. And knowing that he could just makes it harder to accept. Truthfully, I'm pretty fed up with dealing with him.

This summer we were scheduled to go on a little trip to St. Louis. Instead I took a little trip in a helicopter to the hospital. And our St. Louis trip was rescheduled. We will be going in a few weeks. Me, Jacob, Carly, Wesley, Sophie and Keegan. Not Ryan. Nobody wants to deal with his behavior. Least of all me. We all just want to go have a good time.

So we are. And he's not. He will be staying home with Bill. I'm perfectly OK with that decision. In fact, I'm kinda relieved by it.

I know there will be people who will think badly of me for making this decision. Know what? I don't care. At all. Those people don't live in our house. Specifically, they don't live with Ryan. They don't see what we see or hear what we hear. They aren't treated like we are.

One thing Ryan has certainly taught me is to not be so judgmental. You truly never know what goes on in a house unless you live there. And then ~~ sometimes, you wish you didn't.

"Help me, neighbor"

2011-09-13T08:38:00.003-05:00

I just gave Wesley a haircut and the entire time he's moaning softly, "Help me, neighbor, Help me, Neighbor Jim." I don't think it's a coincidence that our neighbor, Jim, is a barber.

Words of Wisdom from a 14 year old

2011-09-13T07:56:00.003-05:00

Jacob was up and showered by 7 this morning, ready to do his school work. Then, the next time I checked in on him about 30 minutes later, he was wrapped in a blanket, lying on the living room floor. Hmmm. I told him to get up and get going because I had high hopes for him (getting his school work done in a timely manner.) His reply...........

"Don't set your expectations high for me. You'll only be disappointed. Set them low and then you'll be quite impressed."

A year ago today

2011-09-12T16:35:00.002-05:00

Carly smashed the crap out of her finger, breaking it and having to have 9 stitches around the end to sew it back on. And then there was this..........

These pictures of Zac and Andie oohing and ahhing over how cute my new granddaughter would look in her new outfits. Only she turned out to be a boy. There were SO many cute outfits, too. I hope their next child is a girl born in winter.

Sophie's first soccer game

2011-09-10T12:45:00.002-05:00

No action shots today - not because she didn't play, but because my camera battery died. But there will be more games...and this Mamaw will be there.

Lunchtime with Sophie

2011-08-29T17:18:00.003-05:00

Today I made my first lunch time trip down to the little school down the street to have lunch with Sophie. She was so excited to introduce me to her friends, Kylie, Miss Logan and Chloe. There is a Miss Logan and a Mr. Logan in her class and so that is how they distinguish the two. I can't help but wonder if she will just get used to that because when I asked her what her name was, she answered, "Miss Logan."

Anyway, Sos was quite happy to have a hot lunch with cold homemade banana pudding and a big Princess thermos of chocolate milk. It was quite interesting and Chloe already earned extra points by telling me that Bits & Pieces was her favorite ice cream shop in the whole world and that I was a great Mamaw. Hard to not like a kid like that.

Keegan's Storytime

2011-08-26T16:17:00.000-05:00

Today Keegan and I attended our first storytime at Studio Bee. There was singing and sonds with motion and reading and then we visited the Bookmobile. It took him a few minutes to warm up to the whole situation, but he liked it and we will be going again next week.

It's Official

2011-08-25T08:45:00.003-05:00

Went to my favorite orthopaedic doctor this morning and got discharged from care for my collarbone. That was the last doctor I was seeing from the accident, so I suppose I'm officially considered healed.

I still have pain in my ear where it was sewed and my shoulder aches, but you will not hear me complaining about those little aches. Even if I have those pains for the rest of my life -- and a flat, lopsided head to boot -- I'm good to go.

And very grateful to be able to write that.

Baby steps -- big milestones

2011-08-23T12:59:00.001-05:00

Today, for the first time since the accident I was able to lean my neck over far enough to hold the phone with my chin while talking on it.

You never realize how much you do this till you can't.

Sophie's soccer practice

2011-08-22T19:26:00.000-05:00

Sophie might not be a fan of school so far, but she loves soccer -- much to her daddy's delight. He played soccer in school and on a traveling team and you can see the gleam at the thought of watching her play.

Big Guy is actually playing in an alumni soccer game next month, so that should be as interesting to watch as Sophie's first game.

Benjamin - 7 1/2 months old

2011-08-19T21:51:00.004-05:00

almost crawling - pulling himself up - clapping - he's both smart and handsome. No, I'm not biased.

What must they be going through?

2011-08-19T15:39:00.003-05:00

The family of Matthew Bias - the father who killed Annaliese this week. As I sat at the service yesterday it was pretty obvious who they were. They took up one pew in the church, all staring straight ahead and never making eye contact with anyone. Never approaching Barb, the mother whose daughter had been murdered by their loved one.

And my heart was breaking for them as well. Obviously this man was not in his right mind, but I'm sure they loved him. He was their son, their brother, their uncle. And surely they were grieving for Annalise, their granddaughter, their niece, their cousin. Yet it was hard for them to even be able to do that publicly.

They have to reconcile the man they loved with the monster who did such a horrendous thing. and that certainly can't be easy. How difficult it must be for them to even accept condolences, under these circumstances.

So I find myself praying for the Bias family and not just Barb. I'm sure Barb would approve of this prayer. At the graveyard yesterday as they all stood around, yet back from the crowd, Barb took a pink flower for each of them out of Annaliese's grave flowers and presented it to them ~~ with the love of God shining through her.

A matter of perspective

2011-08-18T17:21:00.006-05:00

This was the biggest irritation in my life today. My brand new cookie sheet "cleaned" by that kid named Not Me, who lives somewhere in the house. It really ticked me off to see that when I pulled it out of the cabinet today to make biscuits. And then the reality of the world quickly sat in......This afternoon I attended the celebration of life for Annaliese Bias. As I walked into the church and saw that small white casket at the alter, my first thought was, "Caskets shouldn't be that small."
I first met Barb and her only child, Annaliese last spring, the week after I got back from our girls' trip to Huntington. They came to our church after having just moved to town from Huntington and we immediately struck up a conversation about Tudor's Biscuit World and all the things I had just done in Huntington.

Barb had moved here with her husband, because his family lived in this area and although they had a shaky relationship, she was trying to be an obedient wife. Over the course of the next months, she would confide more and more disturbing things that he was doing and it got to the point that she was fearing for the safety of Annaliese. After much prayer and anguish, she separated and filed for divorce.

Amazingly - he was granted custody because he didn't have a job and could watch Annaliese while Barb was the working one in the family. Barb got a new lawyer and after another hearing on Monday this week, was awarded custody of Annaliese. She was to pick her up after school Tuesday to begin their new life together.

Instead, Tuesday morning, Annaliese was killed at the hand of her father. On the morning Barb should have been sending Anna off to school, she was instead waiting for autopsy results so that her daughter could be released for burial.

Annaliese lived 7 years and in that time she had a closer relationship with God than most people I know who have lived 70 years. She was just recently baptised and I know she is spending eternity with God, whom she loved so much.

I don't know what good could possibly come out of this but I know what God says...

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

So I wait for the good to reveal itself and ask for prayers for Barb, who surely longs for heaven like never before.

Keegan - ever the gentleman

2011-08-18T16:38:00.001-05:00

Keegan wanted to play on the playground at the little school down the street from us after picking up Sophie today. Andi told him she didn't feel well, so they were going to go on home.

His solution.........."Mom, if you puke on the rocks, I'll cover it up for you."

What makes a person an adult?

2011-08-17T20:37:00.001-05:00

According to Jacob, he is an adult because he is opening a bank account and will have debit card.

But then he added, "Well, Sophie is so smart, she is sort of an adult -- she's just fun sized."

It's a Funday Monday at Mamawland

2011-08-15T14:58:00.001-05:00

Today is Sophie's 5th birthday - hard to believe, but it's here. She spent the night last night so this morning we started off the day with breakfast at McDonald's before school. Then I walked her to her class (without crying - either of us) and we dropped off her cupcakes that she was taking to all her classmates. Just in case there was anyone who didn't know it was her birthday, she wore the crown she got last night at Chuck E. Cheese. Nothing like a visual to help in figuring out who is the birthday girl as they go down the school hallway.After we dropped her off, Jacob and I took Keegan to Holiday World. Jacob got to go because Keegan needed someone to ride with him and Jacob has a season pass. I had told Keegan I would take him when Sophie started school and he has been remembering it every night in his prayers...."Dear God, thank you for Mamaw taking me to Holdiay World without Sophie."

As much as he might have thought he wanted to be there by himself, it was easy to see how his mind worked. Anytime he got on a ride and there was a seat available by a little girl about Sophie's age, he would climb into that seat. Quite a few little girls were surprised today to see a little blonde boy who was determined to sit by them.

After Sophie gets out of school, we are finishing up our day by going to see Kung Fu Panda, 2.

Happy birthday, Sos . And K-Man, I had a blast with you at Holiday World! We are going to have lots of adventures over the next 2 years till you have to go to the little school down the street, too. Mamaw loves you and LOVES being your Mamaw

Nuerosurgeon Visit

2011-08-14T07:38:00.004-05:00

Billski and I went to Louisville Friday for my appointment and had this x-ray shown to me. The little arrow points to the three disks that are still bulged out. They are no longer pinching against my spinal cord so I don't have to wear the neck brace any more. They are however, still quite bulged out and "impeding the flow of the spinal fluid". Not sure exactly what that has to do with anything, but the doctor was quite candid in telling me that I was a good candidate to have surgery and have my spinal fused there. Did I want to go ahead and discuss that?

Since I feel great (relatively speaking), and have no sypmtoms from these disks, I quickly assured him I was NOT going to do that and thanked him for his time and hit the road.

Billski and I enjoyed the rest of the day in Louisville at Famous Dave's BBQ and Bass Pro Shop where he bought his birthday present. We spent the night and then met Teri and Shane for lunch at Joe's Crab Shack on Saturday, where Bill celebrated turning 52 with a big bucket of lobster and crab legs.

In the short time we were away from home, we managed to do quite a bit of eating and Christmas shopping before coming home and watching Rango with the kids and grandkids Saturday night.

A good doctor visit, good food, good friends and good times. All in all, quite a sucessful weekend.

Kindergarten - Day 2

2011-08-14T07:36:00.002-05:00

went much better. Seems Sos was a bit perturbed that "they didn't even do any math" on day one. When questioned about how day 2 went she answered, "Now THAT wasn't boring." She's looking forward to making cupcakes with me today to take to school for her birthday tomorrow, so I'm sure she will have a good Monday as well.

She's so ready! Who said that and who were they talking about?

2011-08-11T16:19:00.002-05:00

With much anticipation the question was asked, "Well, how did you like school?"

And it was answered.........."It was really boring and I had to stay there ALLLL day. Do I have to stay there all day every day?"

And thus, Sophie's educational career gets off to a less than wonderful start.

When I asked her if she was ready to go again tomorrow, she said she would rather just go to Mamawland and watch a movie if that was OK with everyone.

It might just be a long 13 years at this rate.

She's so ready -- kindergarten orientation

2011-08-10T15:52:00.002-05:00

Overheard Conversation

2011-08-10T12:06:00.002-05:00

Keegan: My shirt smells like the Holiday World water.

Baba: Your shirt smells like water?

Keegan: Yes, the Holiday World water.

Baba: What does Holiday World water smell like?

Keegan: My shirt.

Rock on, Sophie

2011-08-09T10:27:00.001-05:00

We ended up our back to school celebration day yesterday with Sophie getting to pick out the birthday present she's been dreaming about for months - her own pink guitar.

Post Accident - Month One

2011-08-09T08:41:00.007-05:00

Today is one month since my canoe accident. My family has experienced such an outpouring of love and support from our friends, church and community. I had a long list of people who would drive me or the kids everywhere. Another list of people bringing in meals for my family. We were well loved by many.

Volunteers have worked in the shop for me, doing everything from making ice cream to running the cash register and cleaning. My employees, Sammie & Madi, have been nothing short of amazing, basically taking over the entire day to day operation of the business and leaving me to do nothing but heal. They both leave for college next week and short of their families, I think I'm going to be the sorriest to see them leave town. Those girls are THE BEST!

I think I've been healing remarkably well. I'm going to attempt to go to work today ~~ and for the next two days. So far, I've managed to work about a total of 6 hours, so if I can pull this off, I'm going to consider myself practically healed. My shoulder is looking great, considering it did look like I had a garter snake sewed to my skin a few weeks ago. I'm able to move my arm in all directions and lift 5 pounds. I had an x-ray Friday and it's healing great. I have to go back to the orthopaedic doctor in 2 weeks.

My eardrum has healed and although my ear remains very sore to the touch, the plastic surgeon did a great job and it looks wonderful. Andi told me the other day that in the hospital my ear looked like a huge, dried apricot, so I'm really happy not to have that image attached to the side of my head.

Where I had a puncture wound on my chin line, there is a scar that ends in what feels like a BB under my skin. Jacob, always that optimist, tells me not to worry about it - you can't hardly see it for all the fuzzy hair on my face.

My jaw hurts when I open my mouth wide, so I've tried to give up yawning by making sure I get lots of rest. So far I've managed to do this by taking about 3 naps per day. Not sure how that's gonna work out when I go back to work.

I go back to the neurosurgeon in Louisville on Friday, where I suppose we will discuss my neck and head. I'll be asking some questions about why I have a large black spot on side of my head. This may be what finally leads me into wearing make-up.

It is not a bruise and not dirt - so don't try to wipe it off. Especially if you lick your thumb first. I'm past that age. Although I'm probably approaching the age where I'll be needing it again, I'm not there yet.

And my face is dented. I suppose that will be permanent, but from what I'm told, considering how dented it was when I was pulled from the river, I'm good with tiny dents and one side of my face flattened. How flat? Let's just say -- One of these sides is not like the other and leave it at that.
I was just goofing off when Jacob made this picture and when I saw it, I will admit, it threw me for a loop. I can run my hand down the side of my face and feel multiple dents but I don't guess I realized it was quite so flat. Then, when I asked the kids if that was what it really looked like now, I got an immediate yes from them.

And just about the time I was getting ready to feel sorry for myself, Sophie kissed the side of my face and says, "Mamaw, I love the way you look now."

And that folks, pretty much sums up just how blessed I am. Immensely.

Lazy days of summer

2011-08-08T13:49:00.000-05:00

Enjoying the last days of summer before life as we know it changes and Sophie starts Kindergarten. We've been swimming this morning at Sherie's (they swam, I watched) and now we are taking a little rest before beginning our new tradition today -- dinner and a movie before the start of school. They are very excited to go see Smurfs. Not being a Smurfs fan, I am very happy to spend time with them, no matter what we're doing.

Abbreviated Girl's Trip

2011-08-03T09:05:00.002-05:00

During July we had a family girl's trip planned for 3 days of fun and feasting. It was sidetracked by a certain canoe trip and helicopter ride and all reservations were cancelled. As I laid in the hospital getting ready to go to surgery, I remember commenting that I was supposed to be getting a pedicure that morning - not having screws and plates put into my collarbone.

Yesterday, we had a very short, but much fun girl's time. My mom and stepfather treated me, my two sister in laws, 2 of my nieces, Andi and Andie to a wonderful day. We started off with a big breakfast followed up by whatever we wanted done at the salon. I had my first pedicure and I don't know what joy juice that girl was rubbing into my feet, but I was quite content to let her do it for about 4 hours. Everyone had their fill of haircuts, highlights, pedicures, manicures and facials.

We did a bit of shopping and went to see the movie, Crazy, Stupid Love. It was funny and then we shopped a bit more before we went to dinner at O'Charley's. Everyone had to head home then -- (I think they thought I was gong home to rest), but nope.

I went to get Carly, who had volunteered to watch Benjamin and then took her to see Soul Surfer at the theater. That was a really good movie as well and then she and I did a bit of clothes shopping for Sophie, who starts school next week.

Did you read that right? Starts School Next Week. Not preschool, but real, live kindergarten. She is so ready. I am soooooooooo not. I remember writing on this blog when we found out Andi was pregnant and now that baby is starting school? Crazy. I've told Andi I'm going to be needing the PTSD therapy after next week -- and I'm only about half kidding.

Time sure flies when you're having fun ~~ but then again ~~ if flies even if you're not. So, you might as well try to have some fun!

Benjamin - almost 7 months old

2011-08-02T06:44:00.003-05:00

Hard to accept so much time has passed already, but he is a drooling, teething, sitting up, mama's boy. He gives her big ol' sloppy kisses and pulls her face to him for nose smashin hugs. I can't carry him right now, but I sure did enjoy snuggling up with him for a nap yesterday afternoon.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

2011-07-25T14:56:00.004-05:00

This morning, Andi and I went to a therapy session that made all the difference in the world to her. It is called EMDR Therapy and I can't fully explain how it works. I know it involves the brain transferring the memories from one part of your brain where they are "stuck", to another part where they are filed and can be recalled without the overwhelming emotions you are currently experiencing. Andi has not been able to answer any questions or discuss the accident without getting horribly emotional.

In fact, we were told it wasn't so much a therapy as it is a Neuro Science process, because there really isn't a lot of talking to it. Basically, it starts off with just 2 questions.

Andi was asked to recall the most horrible part of the accident and rate it on a scale of 1 - 10 with 10 being the worst memory imaginable. She ranked a 10 as seeing me blue, under the water and eyes staring vacantly at her, knowing I was dead.

When asked to recall how she felt at that point and rank it on a scale of 1 - 7, she said, "I didn't do all I could to help her." and ranked it a 2.

Now - in reality, we KNOW this isn't so. There were 3 strong adults working as hard as they could to pull one tiny aluminum canoe off of me - the current was just too strong. They were all getting banged up head to toe in there efforts and trying their hardest, but I think she believes if they had done more, done it quicker, whatever, it wouldn't have ever gotten to that point.

With those 2 questions answered, the session began. It simply involved Andi watching a light bar about 3 feet wide with 25 tiny lights on it. She followed the lights with her eyes back and forth and every few minutes the lights would stop and Andi would say what she was seeing in her mind then - or how she was feeling. They started with the accident and went through Andi seeing me at the hospital later in the day. This process went on for awhile and then Andi re-ranked the memory. It was down to a 6.

The process continued and after a few more intervals, the memory was down to a 4. During the light flashing part, Andi was able to talk about things I hadn't heard her mention ~~ how she knew I was dead and she was going to have to tell Sophie and Keegan. She later said it was like seeing the whole day in little snips of a movie.

The therapist then started on the other part of Andi's reality. The fact she felt she didn't do enough to help.

By the time she was done, she acknowledged that they HAD done enough and ranked their efforts at a 6. That they had done all they could, as fast as they could under the circumstances. At one point, Andi was talking about how there wasn't anything to use for a wedge to get between the canoe and my head and that her own hand was even stuck in there as well where she had tried to grab me.

The therapist said, "There's always room for God's hand." Indeed.

The whole thing took about 90 minutes and Andi was amazingly calmer and less anxious about things. She was able to answer questions I hadn't asked anyone. She was able to discuss things calmly, without tears. She said the difference was astounding.

The therapist said she uses this method 1 - 2 times weekly and the results are always the same - phenomenal. So with Andi's permission, I wanted to help spread the word about this PTSD therapy. It doesn't matter if your trauma is new or old, it helps. She said sometimes it will even link up previous events in your life and helps them all. Sometimes it may take more than one session, but it's not a long term thing.

It's quick. It worked. It's unbelievable. We highly recommend it.

Strange encounter of the Wal-Mart Kind

2011-07-21T14:35:00.003-05:00

Went to the orthopaedic doctor this morning and got to see the handiwork of the surgeon in Louisville. After my stitches were removed, Dr. Goris said I could move my arm a bit and lift up to 5 pounds occasionally. I still have to use the sling, unless I'm just sitting around with my arm resting on something.

I was hoping that he would say I didn't have to wear the neck brace, but I asked him about it and he said he had looked at the MRI and I had to continue wearing it. I kinda thought he might be a bit more lenient since he let me lift with my arm. Not so much.

This afternoon, after spending the morning watching Vicki Alvey and her daughter, Sam make ice cream for the shop, my friend, Terry came to take me to Wal-Mart. As I was wandering the aisle, putting groceries in my cart, this woman approached me and asked, "Why are you doing this? Don't you have any friends to help you?"

I assured her I did but I just wanted to get out of the house for a bit. Not convinced, she asked if she could take my list and get my groceries for me. I was trying not to laugh at her kind offer, but you could tell she thought I was lying and was all alone in the world. I told her I needed to get on my way, my friend would be waiting and she just sorta rolled her eyes and turned away.

I almost felt like I should go find Terry and produce proof that I had at least ONE friend.

Healing - Week One aka Be Careful What You Wish For

2011-07-20T04:39:00.003-05:00

This afternoon marks one week since I've been home from the hospital. Well, it hasn't officially been a week, but it's 4 in the morning and basically, I'm too sore to lay in bed any longer. Since I'm up, I thought I would jot down a few things.

If you ever wish for some time off from your job, you may want to be more specific in the your wording of your wish than I was. I can remember saying something along the lines of, "I really would like a few days off this summer to do things with my friends."

WRONG. You need to say something like, "I really would like a few days off this summer on days when the weather is fantastic, I feel great, the kids are all taken care of, transportation is no problem and there's some fun things to do with my friends.' I'm tellin' ya. Learn from my mistake. Be specific.

All in all, I have zero complaints. Who can complain when my family could be writing thank you notes for unnecessary flowers at my funeral? Instead, I have a long list of thank you notes to write for wonderful things.

We have been well loved by our friends who have shown up with meals, gift cards for meals, transportation for the kids everywhere and they've even spent their day off making ice cream for the shop so that it can remain open. My employees have been nothing short of FANTASTIC. I have not worried one second about the shop. They are great! We even had our first surprise health inspection yesterday - zero violations. We run a tidy shop.

I've ventured out to church, to the shop twice and once to Sam's Club. I think that was a social experiment of sorts for Amy, who wanted to see how people would react to seeing someone so banged up. Would I get preferential treatment? Would people get out of the way of someone who looked like they had been drug behind a car for a block?

I don't know. I couldn't really see anyone's faces because the neck brace pretty much keeps me looking downward, unless I want to put extra pressure on my throat. Which I don't. So all I saw were little kids. But one little kid really, really put the stink eye to me. He was in a Scout uniform though, and Amy said he was just wanting to help me out in some way. I'm not entirely convinced.

I do know that the lady giving out the peach samples gave me an extra one with the comment, "You look like you need another bite, sweetie." Really? How did she figure that? It didn't really matter because the peaches were delicious. Usually you have to circle the entire aisle before you can come back for more without getting a dirty look. So I just moaned at bit and gratefully stuck my bruised hand out for more. Then I bought a case to bring home. I told you they were delicious.

I have my return appointments made with various doctors. I go see my favorite orthopaedic doctor Thursday to check out the handiwork of another surgeon on my shoulder. My ENT will see me the following week but I don't go back to the neurosurgeon in Louisville until August 12th. Which seems like an eternity from now. So I will be wearing the neck brace and not driving for at least the next 23 days.

I think I am doing amazing considering how I looked a week ago. Bruises are fading, new bruises are showing up and every day brings a renewed appreciation for the wonderful feeling of a long, hot shower.

Diagnosis for Andi

2011-07-14T21:43:00.003-05:00

Andi went to Indy this week and had the diagnosis of viral encephalitis confirmed by the doctor there. It is the best we could hope for. It shows up after a virus and last about a year. Her initial flare up should be the worse it is and she will continue to have minor flareups while her body recovers. Stress makes it worse and a few days this week she had trouble speaking for a few hours. She will probably have to take the medication for her entire life and may have some residual memory problems.

We were very excited to have something to go with and look forward to her feeling great again as a matter of routine.

The Canoe Accident

2011-07-14T18:17:00.006-05:00

It was a beautiful Saturday morning, July 9, 2011, when we left for our annual Blue River Bruisers canoe trip. We were all glad Jimmy had decided to join us for the first time and within a few hours, I would be thanking God for that decision.

I had been apprehensive about going this year. I didn't want to irritate my shoulder, which after physical therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic treatment and a cortisone shot finally felt great. Why mess with a good thing? The irony of that worry was not lost upon me later that night.

Everything started out great. I asked the young man setting us off if he was a prayimg kid. He answered "Yes, mam" and I asked him to say one for our safety. He said he would. I'll believe he did.

We canoed for several hours, no mishaps or turn overs to speak of. We picnicked, floated and ran across some other people from our hometown. Soon our two merry bands became one and we continued on our way. One of the new found members turned out to be a nurse -- another touch God had planned for our day.

Awhile later as I sit in the front of the canoe dangling my feet over the sides, that my son in law, Jacob, paddled (so I didn't have to), our canoe turned sideways and I saw we were going to run into a tree. This has NEVER been a problem in the past. You just sorta bump the tree, push off and continue on, none the worse for the bump. That's the way it ALWAYS happens. Only it didn't happen that way this time.

I told Jacob we were gonna hit it and he said just push us off. OK, no big deal. Except I couldn't. We were being sucked into a vortex of sorts between this huge tree that had fallen into the river. I had stood up to push us off, but then had to sit down to avoid falling out and then basically tried to lean back and just float under the tree. Except the canoe kept getting sucked further DOWN, not just forward. Out canoe flipped and I was sucked down under the log, with the canoe going right behind me, pinning my head between the canoe and the tree -- under the water.

Our canoe had been last in the line of our original 5 canoes and Jimmy was about 20 yards down the river. He ran back to help Jacob and as I struggled to free myself, to no avail. Time passed and I was running out of air. I could hear Andi screaming "Momma" over and over, at the top of her lungs and it made me want to hold her and tell her it was OK - only it clearly wasn't.

It's strange how many thoughts you can think about when you realize you are about to die. I thought of how silly it was to die doing something so fun. I thought of all of my kids and how I hoped they knew how much I loved them. I wondered if Zac and Andie would get married and I thought of Benjamin and was sad that we wouldn't even remember me at his age.

I remember clearly thinking, "It's over, it's time to let go" and I let go of the branch I was holding onto. I started thinking of my dad and was picturing his face when the next thing I saw was Andi ~~ dunking under water and breathing air into my mouth.

She did this over and over and over. I don't remember finally being pulled out as the guys were at last able to get the log and canoe apart. I was unconscious and blue. Soon enough I was coughing and sputtering and ready to go get some dinner. Just kidding. I knew my fun day was over.

By this time, one of God's angel's, Nurse Michelle, from our town had come along and quickly took over. I managed to get into the canoe, because I knew I didn't want anyone touching my shoulder. It hurt like all get out. Only NOT the one that I had just had fixed. The one I had surgery on back in 2009. The one that had been in perfect shape. The one I was worried about seemed to feel OK.

There was no phone service, so Jacob rowed us down the river like an Olympian on steorids, with Michelle holding my head still and a towel on the sides of my head. I didn't know why exactly, but wasn't really in the questioning mood. I could see the blood flowing freely down both sides of my neck. As we passed our friend, Amy Willis, also a nurse, I hear her chiming in with instructions of her own.

About 20 minutes later, Jacob saw some campers who were waiting on us, flagging us down - they had been alerted to the situation by members of our party. We stopped there and waited on a kid who had run to get his truck which was about a mile away. I made my way out of the canoe and up the huge embankment to wait. As we waited, Susan prayed, thanking God for saving my life and asking him to look over me as I continued on my way.

I just about laughed out loud when the kid gets back and grabs his blanket to wrap me up in. A HUGE bedspread size blanket with a humongous pot leaf covering the blanket. Whatever, drowning victims can't be choosy, so I got into the back of the truck and we bounced our way across the cornfield, Stoner Dude, Andi, Nurse Michelle and me. Me, feet dangling off the back and them trying to get the blood to stop flowing down both sides of my neck. Jacob was behind me, kneeling and holding my head straight, praying for me.

We met the first rescue vehicle down the road, a Conservation officer who looked about 12. He was quickly flustered that his tiny emergency kit wasn't going to do the trick, but he was very kind.

We met the ambulance in the field, and from there I was strapped to what can only be described as a medieval form of torture - the back board - loaded into the ambulance and taken to a fire station. Andi rode to the fire station with me and I know I heard later that Jacob rode somewhere with young Conservation guy, but I'm fuzzy on that detail.

From there, due to dimished breathing and the fact that I kept passing out, I was lifeflighted to the University of Louisville Trauma Center. Within minutes my bathing suit and cover up were cut away, which I clearly remember as being overkill and I lay shaking under about 8 blankets, wishing Andi was there to tell me it was going to be alright. I'm sure I could have gotten them off and obviously these men had no idea how horrid it is to go shop for bathing suits in the first place.

Over the next couple of days it was determined by my trauma team of many doctors that I had a burst eardrum, 3 bulging disks in my neck with specific damage caused by the accident, brain fluid leaking out of my ear, a severely fractured collarbone that required plates and screws during a surgery almost 48 hours later. I also had a puncture wound in the right side of my neck and my left ear had huge lacerations on it that were repaired by a plastic surgeon at 4 a.m., my first night there. Thus, the towel holding on the side of the head. It had been sliced by a piece of metal that was stuck under the tree as well.

The jury is still out on whether or not I have 2 skull fractures. The ortho team and the neuro team say yes, the ENT team says they don't think so. I don't know and it really doesn't matter. There isn't anything to do one way or the other on that.

My head was swollen pretty much beyond recognition on the sides and my neck and it wasn't until day 3 that my nurse commented on how I had looked like a hamster when I was admitted. "You know, how they have such big heads and all." I let it go witout smacking him because he was in charge of my pain meds.

When I went down for an MRI on Day 4, the tech asked what happened. As I was about to explain it for the umpteenth time, she jumped in as soon as I said, "I had a canoe accident." "You're THAT woman? I read about you in the newspaper."
HUH??? She pulled up the paper on her computer and indeed, for the most part there was an accurate recount of our day. I ended up having to change rooms and be put under an alias because a reporter wouldn't quit calling for a personal interview with Andi. As she said, "I know they want a feel good story, but it was the worst day of my life." I'm absolutely positive she meant except for the part where I survived :-)

Survive I did - not I just have to heal. I have a neck brace to wear that is sweltering hot in this weather, so if you come to visit, I have a stack of blankets handy because I am sitting in the equivalent of the south pole of a house. I can't drive or work until I'm released by the neuro team and I don't even go back to Louisville to see the neurologist for several weeks.

My left shoulder is now pinned and the surgeon told me that in 95% of the cases he just puts people in a sling and they are well in a week with a clavicle fracture. Me, not so much. I am under strict orders to not put my arm out sideways or even lift a glass of water for at least 8 weeks.

Which brings me to my friends. Good friends, who have prayed for me and with me, friends who have rallied to transport me and my kids where we need to go, to feed us, to run the shop and to make ice cream for as long as I need them to while I heal. When the surgeon mentioned that if I didn't mind him and insisted on bending my arm, don't be surprised when the metal plate broke, because "When you bend metal back and forth, that's what it does." And if I did that, I could expect it to pop through my skin and we would be at worse than square one. Kinda inspirational to mind, in my opinion.

I love my friends. I love my town. I love my family. I love my God and I'm so thankful that He "talked" Jimmy into going at the last minute. That on a river 70 miles from home, he brought a nurse into our life that would support my head and tend to my injuries as we went for help. That Andi just recently started a job that required her to become recertified as a lifeguard. And just because I always knew God had a sense of humor, I'm thankful to have the pot leaf blanket as part of my memories. It makes me smile every time I think of it.

There have been a lot of pictures made, but I'm just posting two. The first is my shoulder after surgery and the second is my UNhurt right side. The bruising is mainly a representation of my upper torso, head and neck. You can also see bruising under my ear in that picture.

All in all -- Praising God for letting my live some more and getting my fair share of gentle forehead kisses.

Updated on November 4, 2011

I had my metal plates removed today because they were very close to the surface and really caused a lot of pain when anything (like a grandchild's head) touched them.

November 21st update....

Which might not have been the best idea because the next day there was a loud snap, a whole lot of pain and it hurt BAD for two weeks. I tried to tell them that it HURT, but just got the run around until a physician assistant ordered an X-ray and we could clearly see why it hurt.The bone had snapped into two pieces again, resulting in a third surgery -- complete with a lovely row of staples instead of stitches.

Amazingly, even that ugly scar turned out to look ok to me. The picture below was made December 26th - just barely a month after surgery.So on November 21st, I received not only a bigger plate and more screws but a donor bone. I was once again ready to go.
or not go as the case may be ~~ to work. All of this has made us rethink the ice cream shop. We have decided that it would be in the best interest of everyone for us to close the shop so that I can spend more time with the kids at home. God was gracious to give me more time with them and I intend to enjoy it.

I love my employees

2011-06-27T13:11:00.003-05:00

I have some great employees ~~ and some of those same great employees are also mischevious. Two in particular, Sammie and Madi just enjoy their lives to the fullest and they are a joy to work with. They are constantly doing silly things and I'm always laughing at their pictures.

Below is a picture of the girls, posing with the mascot of the other ice cream shop in town, while wearing their work shirts. They added their own wording and posted this picture on their Facebook pages. Not sure how the owner of Tastee Freeze would feel about it, but it cracked me up. I should probably point out that our family still goes to T.F. for ice cream. I love their pineapple sherbet. Always have, probably always will.

Give a kid some gas........

2011-06-27T13:03:00.003-05:00

I won't say that Jacob exactly enjoyed getting a tooth pulled this morning -- but he sure didn't seem to mind it much. Movies and potato soup are on the agenda for the rest of his FunDay Monday.

The Bike Fairy

2011-06-27T12:30:00.005-05:00

Billski has a tradition of buying kids their first bikes - and today was Keegan's day. Andi told him Baba was coming to take him to Wal-Mart and Keegan immediately got excited and told Andi he was getting a new bike today. And he did. And he loved it ~~ and he was one happy little kid.

Update on Andi

2011-06-14T14:37:00.002-05:00

Every day I am asked, "How is Andi doing?" Well, she has bad days and she has good days and her good days sometimes have bad hours in them and her bad days sometimes have good hours. In other words, she is so-so.

She continues to have headaches. She continues to have trouble with her speech at times. And another symptom has emerged. Tingling and numbness of her arm and leg. She went to her neurologist today. Her recent MRIs on her head, neck and spine were normal. He started her on two medications. One is for headaches and one for the numbness and tingling.

She will be getting a second opinion from a neurologist at IU Medical Center on July 12th. Continued prayers are appreciated.

Benjamin @ 5 months

2011-06-14T08:11:00.003-05:00

Benjamin spent the weekend with us and we had the best time yet. He's really learning to do lots of things and is much easier to entertain ~~ in fact, he did the entertaining. Love this kid!

First and Last

2011-06-14T08:03:00.002-05:00

This was the last VBS commencement program for Carly and Wes and Keegan's first. All the kids did great and the only camera I had with me was on my phone. So the pictures are grainy, but I'm posting them just the same.