Here She Is

As predicted, Emma lost her other tooth yesterday morning just before gymnastics.

Our little girl is growing up!

All I want for 2009 is my 2 front teeth...

I am almost to the end of my holiday recap but I'm going to take a short detour today.

Last Friday Emma lost one of her front teeth on the top. The other one is very loose and will probably be out within a week. She has already lost the two on the bottom but the permanent ones were already coming in when those fell out so it never was obvious that she had lost the baby ones.

This time is different. There is now a gaping hole in the front and she has a beautiful toothless grin. Oh, the milestones of childhood!

She has been really good about losing her teeth. This time she was eating a bagel for breakfast when it fell out. I was in the other room when she came walking in holding her tooth and grinning. This girl has such a high tolerance for pain that most of life is a breeze for her.

Sometimes her pain tolerance level grieves my heart. I have to wonder if she figured out early on that crying over things didn't elicit a response from anyone so why bother. That makes me sad. It's amazing to me that so much can be learned and remembered in that first year of life outside the womb.

Anyway...I wanted to share her milestone with all of you. Here is a pic of my gorgeous girl with her beautiful new smile. I'm sure that another picture will be forthcoming in the next week or two with an even wider gap in the front. :)

Mr. Breakable

As I mentioned in a previous post, and most of you know already, Austin has taken up position as resident King of the Broken Bone in our house. We have decided that football is not his sport if he wants to stay healthy.

In October of 2007, he broke his right arm (both bones) playing in a football game in Paint Creek, Texas...picture the middle of nowhere surrounded by nothing but cotton fields. Thankfully, the bones did not pierce the skin and we made it the 2 1/2 hour drive home to the hospital without incident. He spent the night in the hospital and had surgery the next day where the doctor had to insert a pin to keep the bones in place until they healed.

Fast forward to October of 2008, and then hit the repeat button. Actually, this time it was his left arm, he was injured during practice here in town, and the break was a buckle fracture...much less traumatic than last year. He wore a cast for 4 weeks and a brace for 2 more and he was good to go.

That brings us to the day after Christmas 2008. He and Tyler were up at the school by our house playing football with some friends. Austin punted the ball and felt his hip pop. He fell to the ground and couldn't get up. Tyler came home to get someone to go and pick Austin up. I was in the middle of cooking with Kara and her new oven and didn't think it could possibly be anything serious and so I let him sit up there for the next 10 minutes waiting on me. Yea, I know...Mother of the Year. :(

As soon as I got to the school, I could tell that things were worse than I expected just by looking at his face. His face was flushed but he was really white around his eyes. I could literally see the pain in his eyes. I felt horrible.

I brought him home and called our doctor on base. He said to take him to the local walk in clinic since the base clinic was closed for the holidays. The nurse practitioner that was on duty didn't think it was anything other than a strained muscle until she saw the x-rays...then things got chaotic fairly quickly.

Turns out that Austin experienced an avulsion fracture where the tendon that runs from the knee up to the side of the pelvis actually pulled part of the pelvic bone away from the rest of the bone. In an adult the tendon would have sustained the injury but in kids, where the bones are still growing, the injury occurs in the bone and not the tendon.

We left the clinic with pain medication and crutches and orders to put no weight on the leg until he saw a specialist on Monday, which we did. If the displaced bone had been more than 1/2 inch away from the pelvis it would have required surgery to fix. Thankfully Austin's was not. It should heal on it's own eventually...the doc says 6 weeks to 3 months.

He is now walking without crutches and can do pretty much anything he wants within reason. The goal is to not reinjure the hip during the healing process. My goal for him is to not break anything else either.

Because of the number and nature of breaks in just a little over a year, the doc decided to test Austin for bone issues. All of the tests came back normal and the doc says he's just "unlucky". My personal thinking is that he has grown so much in the last year his poor bones have had a hard time keeping up. That...or he's trying to make up for his older three brothers that never broke anything.

I knew when Austin burned his hands when he was 13 months old and it didn't phase him we were in trouble. Nothing keeps this kid down. He is amazing. He can't wait to be cleared so he can go back out and play some more football. Mom's not so sure about that.

Petite Chef and Artiste Extraordinaire

For Christmas this year, we decided to encourage the girls' individual interests.

For months now, Kara has been enthralled with all things kitchen. She loves to be in the kitchen with me and pushes her little step stool right up next to me whenever I'm slicing, dicing, sauteing, boiling, mixing, baking or just making "peanut and jelly" sandwiches.

She loves the kitchen so much that at the tender age of 4 she requested a cookbook for her birthday. She wanted her very own cookbook and that is what she got...Paula Deen's My First Cookbook to be exact... and she was thrilled.

So...for Christmas this year she got an Easy Bake Oven along with her very own Chef outfit. When she opened the oven on Christmas Eve she shouted "MY OVEN!". She was so excited. It didn't take her long to figure out how to make chocolate cake in her own little stove. Here are a few pics of our personal chef and her new oven.

Emma's current interests are a bit different than her sister's. While she enjoys messing around in the kitchen as well, she has begun to excel in the art arena. She can color like it's nobody's business and can draw things that really look like what she's trying to draw. She obviously has not learned this talent from her mother.

So for Christmas we bought her an art set full of all the various implements that one needs to create. Daddy will have to teach her how to use them all because Momma is clueless. Along with her set of goodies, she received an art smock and an artist's beret.

The girls seemed really excited with their gifts and we are hoping that they will enjoy many hours of fun with them.

The day after Christmas, as Kara was busy watching her cake bake in it's oven, Tyler came rushing in the door from the football field to tell us that Austin had been injured while playing ball with some friends. I left Grandma Jan to finish the cake with Kara while I went to pick Austin up. We were a bit surprised by the nature of Austin's injury but you'll have to tune in next time to hear that story.

Christmas!!! Happy Birthday Jesus!!!

Our Christmas celebration began with our church's Christmas Eve service. Several of our church members participated in the service by singing, reciting poetry, reading the Christmas story, playing instruments, etc. It was a neat evening and we ended the service by singing Silent Night by candlelight. Beautiful!!!

It is our family's tradition to open our gifts on Christmas Eve. We have another tradition that some think is a little odd but we have come to enjoy and even look forward to...we eat McDonald's fast food as our Christmas Eve dinner.

It actually started years ago, the December that Austin was born. We went to church on Christmas Eve and then headed home to open gifts. We had not eaten dinner and everyone was hungry. We wanted to do something quick so we could open the gifts and then get the boys off to bed at a decent hour. McDonald's was on our way home so that was the choice of the evening.

Somehow that has grown into a yearly tradition. And hey, we like McDonald's and it makes my life easy. I have usually spent part of the day in the kitchen already prepping stuff for dinner on Christmas Day so the break is great for me.

Anyway, now that you know the history, after church this year we headed straight to McDonald's. They were closing at 8pm so we didn't have much time to dilly dally. After gathering the goods we drove home and joined around the table for some yummy fare. I know, I know...some of you would debate the yumminess...but you have to admit that McDonald's has great fries.

After dinner some little elves showed up to pass out the gifts. We take turns one at a time...going from youngest to oldest, opening the gifts. That way the little ones have to watch the older folks and everyone gets to see what everyone else gets. We like it that way and it stretches the event out a little longer.

I won't bore you with what everyone got but we had a wonderful time and we were all thankful for the gifts we received but mostly for the gift that God sent to each of us on that first Christmas Eve so long ago. I mean really...it just doesn't get any better than that. We are truly so blessed by God everyday. I am so grateful.

In the next post, you'll get to see pictures of some of the things the girls got for Christmas. We had fun catering to their individual interests.

I'll Be Home For Christmas

Keith's mom arrived on December 19th. The kids and I had not seen her in 2 1/2 years so we were really looking forward to her coming. Kara had asked me the day before if it was just one more sleep until Grandma came. When I replied that it was, she responded with "I saw her picture once". It was so funny the way she said it because Jan's picture sits on top of our piano all the time and Kara knows who she is.

Tyler and I had been looking through some of his pictures from when he was little just a few days before that and Kara had noticed one of Jan with Tyler from years ago. I think that is what she was talking about...but she's 4 so who really knows. Anyway, it brought a chuckle as she often does.

The girls were thrilled to have Grandma's attention and the boys couldn't wait to break out the cribbage board. We shopped, played, cooked, and ate...a lot. In short, we had a great visit. It was so good to see her and we are praying that it won't ever be that long again between visits.

The next day, the 20th of December, Jeremy arrived via American Eagle Airlines. It was wonderful as always to have all of my kids at home for the holidays. As the kids get older each year (notice I said "the kids"...Keith and I aren't getting any older) I cherish the time when they are all at home more than ever. I know that it won't always be possible so I'm especially thankful for it when it is.

The girls were in hog heaven. Not only did they have Grandma's almost full and undivided attention but now big brother was home too. They both adore Jeremy and he them. They were all over him the minute he walked through the doors at the airport. He had one sister on each knee as he sat waiting for his baggage to arrive. He looked at me with a huge smile on his face and said "I've got my girls."

I wish I had a picture of Kara the morning Jeremy had to leave to go home because she had a death grip on him and wouldn't let go. She was not happy that he was leaving. It was sweet but sad as well.

We celebrated a wonderful Christmas together but I'll recap that in the next post. Most of our time was just spent enjoying one another's company and playing games with the girls and each other.

Jan had sent the girls a game called Doodle Dice for their birthdays. We had not gotten around to playing it with them until the Christmas break. It turned out to be so fun that we adults would play it even after the girls went to bed. It's a great game... so check it out for yourselves (here).

Jeremy had to head home on Sunday morning after Christmas and Jan left the following day. It is always hard to say goodbye and I don't particularly like it very much. But, thankfully, they both got home safe and sound and we are already looking forward to the next time we will be together. We miss you both already. Thanks so much for making the trip to spend Christmas with us.

The girls were a little lost for a few days until Grandma Judy and Papa Wes arrived to spend New Year's Eve with us and they had a captive audience once again. I'll blog more about their visit in due time.

We have started back to school and life has already gotten crazy busy again but I'll try to keep up a little better than I was doing before the holidays. We'll see!

Messiah Baptist Church's Annual Cookie Exchange

On December 15th we held our church's annual cookie exchange here at our house. I look forward to this event every year. We always have fun and end up with lots of yummy goodies to enjoy throughout the holidays. Actually they never last that long around here but enjoy them we do.

This year we were blessed to have our pastor's mother in town for the event and she graciously consented to share her heart with us that night. Her challenge to us was to slow down and remember the real reason we celebrate Christmas. It is always so easy to get caught up in everything that the world has added to Christmas. It is vital that we don't lose sight of God's gift to us and what the birth of Jesus really means.

This is our pastor's wife, Liesl, and her mother-in-law, Jo Ellen.

Here is Jo Ellen giving the devotion.


My camera was not cooperating that night so the pictures are not the best but I'm going to share a few more with you anyway. Here are a couple pics of the ladies that attended.

After the devotion and snacks, some of the ladies participated in a little craft project that we had planned for the evening. We made a photo calendar for the new year. It was a fun project and I think everyone enjoyed it...at least I hope they did.

And here is the finished product.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening. It was warm inside in spite of the freezing (literally) cold outside. The food was wonderful, the devotion challenging, and the fellowship was oh so sweet. Thanks for coming everyone...I hope you had as much fun as I did.

The Gingerbread House

When the girls and I went to my parent's house last month, a friend of my mom's gave the girls one of those gingerbread house kits. We were going to put it together that weekend but knew that we would never get it home intact so we waited.

The girls nearly drove me nuts asking day after day when they could work on it. They had an absolute delight of a time when they finally got to get their hands "dirty". I was pleasantly surprised with how easy the whole thing was and how well it turned out. Here are some pictures of the event for your viewing pleasure.

If you look closely at the last two pictures, you will notice that the little trees are missing in the last one. Those were the first to be eaten after the girls finished the house. You have to be quick with the camera around here if food is involved.

Stay tuned for the next installment in this December rundown...

Austin's 14th Birthday - December 14, 2008

Wow, 14 years old...I can hardly believe it. I distinctly remember the day that he was born. Keith's squadron was deploying to Saudi Arabia before Austin's due date so he was encouraged to come a little early...2 weeks to be exact.

I had a doctor's appointment on the morning of the day he was born. My midwife told me that he was about 6 1/2 lbs. I laughed and told her there was no way. I told her that all of my other boys were bigger than that and I felt bigger with Austin than with any of them. She shrugged her shoulders with a "you'll see" look on her face.

He was born at 9:54 that night and weighed in at 8 lbs. 11 1/2 oz. Yeah, this mom knows a few things about baby boys. Can you imagine how big he would have been if he had come on time or even late? Yikes!

Here is a picture of him at 9 months.

We should have known when Austin was a baby that we were in for a wild ride with him. When he was 13 months old he pulled my curling iron off the counter and wrapped both hands around the barrel holding it and crying until I got to him. It resulted in 2nd and 3rd degree burns to both hands but never slowed him down a bit. Here he is with his bandages which we changed twice a day for weeks.

It was a grueling experience for his parents but God was merciful and healed him beautifully.

Austin was the first of all four of our boys to have staples in his head...thanks to a fall on the trampoline. He was also the first of our boys to ever break a bone...which he has now done three times in the last year and 2 months. We have decided that football is not his sport if he wants to keep his bones intact. This picture was taken when he broke his arm the first time in October of 2007.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we are thankful Austin has survived to see his 14th birthday. He is active, athletic, full of energy, and all boy and he always has been. We wouldn't have it any other way.

Here is Austin on his big day.

Austin, we hope your birthday was as special as you are. And we pray that God will see you through to celebrate many more wonderful birthdays in the future. We love you, Son.