The Broken Arm Story

Although most you of you already know about Delancey's accident a few weeks ago, I thought I'd write a few more details about what happened just to have the whole story down.

I had an appointment to get my haircut one afternoon and since it was around the time Blake gets off work then it worked out good for him to come by and pick up the kids while I was there. They decided to go to a nearby chic-fil-a that had an indoor playground since it was so hot outside. I had just finished and was calling Blake to let him know and when he answered he said they had just left to drive that way because Delancey had fallen and broken her arm. Of course, my heart just about stopped and I immediately started questioning how bad it was and how it happened. And then waiting for them to get there to pick me up so we could go to the ER was torture! All I could to was just pray until they got there and I could see her for myself.

I have to admit that it was way worse than I had imagined. It was one of those things that kinda makes you sick to your stomach but you have to just ignore your own feelings and be tough for the kids' sake. Needless to say everyone was pretty hysterical by the time they got there, but managed to calm down on the way to the hospital. They got us in fairly quickly but Delancey was shaking from all the stress and pain. The nurse said she would bring her some meds but the x-ray person ended up coming first trying to get a picture of it. She could hardly stand for them to touch it though so I asked if we could wait for the pain meds and they brought some then.
Once they took effect and she got wrapped in a temporary cast it was much better and we could finally go home.

The next couple of days were kinda rough and the orthopedic doctor we had seen before wasn't available but we managed to get in with another one in the same practice. We weren't at all prepared for him to tell us she needed to have surgery the next morning to set it straight, but it was pretty obvious once he explained it that there was really no other choice. It's hard to think about your kids being put to sleep for any reason and we were more than little upset and worried but hoped for the best. The surgery experience ended up being very traumatic since they had told us she would be asleep before leaving us but then ended up taking her away before giving her any meds at all. But the doctor did an amazing job of fixing it so other than not liking how they treated her over being put to sleep we were very thankful for how good it looked afterwards.

It's taken her a few weeks to get over being upset and scared about being taken away from us and I'm sure it will be something she won't ever forget totally. (and neither will I!!) It's horrible knowing that your child feels betrayed by something that while neccasary in some ways didn't have to be as bad as it was. We've determined that if anything like that ever happens again that we'll definitely be more prepared to step in and stop it.

She first had a long cast all the way up the arm and had to wear a sling. Then she moved down to a shorter one which was much easier to manage. Now she's wearing a brace (or splint) which is removable for baths and at night so she's loving that! It's healing up well so far and hopefully will look completely together at her next check-up in a few weeks. It's been a little hard and stressful at times but we're thankful that it's getting better.....I know it could have been something so much worse!

Well, this has been a much longer post than I intended but there's the story about Delancey's 2nd broken arm in her short life. Here are a few pictures to look at as well....

And the next picture we post will be of her beautiful arm without anything on it! :)

10 Month Cutie!

Hair getting longer that looks like it might just curl a little......

.....feet that are growing bigger and getting ready to walk....

....and hands that are so quick to be curious and even more fun just to hold onto if she'll be still long enough let you!

.       She's our little, brown-eyed, baby girl......

....and I can't believe she's already 10 months old today. We love our Darcey Ella! She's brought more joy and laughter into our lives than we ever could have imagined. :)

I Can't Believe He's Eight!

Eight years ago I was both anxious and excited as we got ready in the dark and drove to the hospital to be induced for the birth of our firstborn. Never could I have imagined just how life changing that day would become for us.

Birth plans didn't go exactly as wanted or expected, but he arrived safe and sound a few hours later....with a head full of red hair! I'm pretty sure he was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen and he very quickly stole a very special part of my heart. :)

After coming home we started our journey through the next few months of severe and unexplained health problems which included 3 more hospital stays where he had to endure some pretty awful things. But God was gracious enough to let us keep him, even though there were times when I was afraid we wouldn't get to.

The past few years have been full of many things both good and bad. But the best part of them has just been having the privilege to watch a fun-filled, joyful, laughing baby boy grow up into the wonderful young man he is so swiftly becoming. So I can easily say that the good has most definitely far outweighed the hard times.  

I never cease to be amazed and thankful at how blessed I am to be his mom. Happy Birthday, Dathan Levi!!

Things I Love {Thursday}

Although I fully intend each week to write other posts besides this one I am obviously not getting around to it since this has been the 3rd one in a row with this title! That's okay though... we definitely have plenty of other stuff going on around here that's more important than blogging. :) That being said, it's still nice to check in at least occasionally to just keep up a little so this is a fun way to do that I guess. Here's my list for this week. Hope you'll join in with sharing things you love too!

~ Cuddling with Blake in the same chair and laughing over the fact that it's a little more crowded than it used to be! ;)

~ Hearing a little baby girl voice say "momma" over and over throughout the day.

~ Watching Dathan and Delancey playing outside and giggling over whatever crazy thing they've come up with to do.

~ Seeing Darcey stand on tiptoe to peek out the window trying to see the older kids play.....and then laughing when she does.

~ Knowing that God hears and answers prayers and is working things out in your life for good. Even if you can't alway see how at the moment.

~ The way Darcey crinkles up her cute little nose every time she smiles or laughs.

~ Another good report at the doctor and Delancey being so excited to have her cast off.

~ Planning Dathan's birthday celebrations and hearing him talk about how much fun it will be.

~ The kids having so much fun doing our new schoolwork this year and the fact that even though it might not be what's "expected" by some...it works for us! :)

~ Watching Darcey taking her first step(today) and me and the kids going crazy clapping and cheering for her!!

~ Wrestling on the floor with all 3 kids and feeling blessed all over again to have them.

~ The couple of cooler days we had at the first of the week. (and also the idea that there might be more of them soon!)

So what are you loving this week? Come on, you know you want to join in with me!! :) Just leave something in the comments below.  (please and thank you, of course!)

Things I Love {Thursday}

Is it really Thursday again already?! I have no idea where this past week has gone! But gone it has so I'm ready to share some more stuff that I'm loving around here. Hope you'll join in me this time and share some of your own! But for now here's my list....

~ Greeting the kids as each of them wake up in the mornings and seeing the big grin on their faces.

~ Dathan's excitement as he signed up to play football again.....and the fun we had picking out new cleats together!

~ The fact that Delancey always wants to wear a "fancy" dress, no matter where we're going. :)

~ The way Darcey wrinkles up her nose when she smiles or laughs.

~ My understanding husband who makes late night runs to the grocery store for things like formula. Without complaining.

~ Playing out in the rain with the whole family and then seeing a beautiful rainbow in the sky afterwards.

~ Teaching fun stuff to the kids with our new school curriculum.

~ Watching Darcey start standing up on her own and feeling bittersweet that she's growing up so quickly, but yet excited that she's learning new things.

~ Reading and talking about things in the Bible with the kids.....and seeing them understand it for themselves.

~ Hearing Delancey ask if I really know I'm saved and then wanting me to tell her about when I got that way. One. more. time. :)

Wow, I think this week I could just keep going!! There's so much to be thankful for around here. It's amazing how good the Lord is to us. So what about you? What kind of things are you loving this week? Please don't forget to share about them in the comments!

Things I Love {Thursday}

Since there are so many little things around here for me to share about that I'm pretty crazy over, I thought another post about some of it was in order. I'm also thinking this might become a reoccurring thing....it's kinda habit forming. :) So here's this week's list of things I love.....

~ Good reports at the doctor and seeing my little girl so happy that she can move her arm more now. (Delancey got a smaller cast today!)

~ Darcey getting big enough to play with the older kids and hearing all 3 of them laugh together while they do.

~ Seeing Dathan use his imagination to come up with all kinds of things to do. (we never know what he'll be dressed up like next!)

~ Having the privilage of homeschooling my kids and being blessed enough to stay at home with them. All. the. time.

~ Rocking and singing my baby girl to sleep. (and not just because it's better on me than bouncing..it's also so very, very sweet!)

~ Singing songs about the Lord and feeling His sweet Spirit flood my soul all over again.

~ Reading things out of the Bible that I've heard thousands of times before.....but learning something new anyway.

~ Being able to spend more time with Blake since he doesn't have to work so much overtime anymore!

What are loving about your life this week? I'd love it if you'd share about them in the comments! :)

We Did It!!

So among the other every day life stuff going on around here I also decided to work on weaning Darcey off of the exercise ball last week. Don't laugh when you read that (even though I know you want to). This was a serious addiction for her! And becoming a serious hardship for us! 

Let me first of all say that I am extremely thankful for the use we got out of it while she was going through such a hard time. The fact that it could calm her down (at times) when nothing else would is well, nothing short of miraculous. I'll also add that I am grateful that we learned about using it before she was born rather than having to resort to "bumping" in a straight-back wooden chair like we did with Dathan and Delancey.(which we borrowed from my Momaw who did the same thing with her babies) Needless to say, as hard as holding a crying baby while bouncing on an exercise ball can get after awhile, it was way better than rubbing your back raw on a hard chair. (did I mention the marks it left on our then carpeted floor as well?) Okay, that's enough said about that I think. Not a pleasant trip down memory lane there. Ahem, where was I?! 

Oh, yes, bouncing on the ball. So anyway it was a life saver for us during all the horrible crying spells. (although granted there were days when I just held and bounced while she screamed anyway.....and I just cried too because I didn't know what else to do!) But fast forward to her being a 9 month old who weighs in at a whopping almost 24 pounds and holding her to bounce had become more than a little uncomfortable. And I really started feeling like she's doing well enough physically that it was more of a habit for her than a need for comfort. (On top of it being difficult for obvious reasons I also have chronic neck and shoulder pain most days so it was extremely painful getting her to sleep at nap time when that had flared up.) So I made the hard but neccassary decision to break her from it last Thursday. Cold turkey. No going back.

And I am more than happy to report that on this 5th day into it, she is falling asleep by only being rocked and sung to. Every. Single. Time. Am I excited about it?! Deliriously so. And what makes it even better than it not being painful is that I can actually enjoy the time holding her and putting her down now, instead of before when it was just something to get through. Just one more milestone to mark how amazing it is what the Lord has done in her life. I am so thankful for this healthy, happy, baby girl we are blessed to call ours!