Thursday, February 21, 2013

Austin Children's Museum

Either we have high standards for children's museums or the other museums in the area are far superior, but we were very disappointed in the Austin Children's Museum.  I heard they are opening a new one, let's just hope it is bigger and they update their exhibits more than once every ten years.  I went when I was teaching and only one room had changed since.
R2 enjoyed the play kitchen and trains, Ben and the girls enjoyed the engineering room and HR and I hung out and watched all of the loud children.
There were 5 buses out front when we arrived, by noon they had left, but by then we were hungry, tired and had visited every room at least twice.


Wednesday, February 20, 2013

peas

You want me to do what?  Peas weren't much of a hit either.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

new skins

 PawPaw completed LE's buckskins for her Native American dress, only to discover we cannot get them over her cast.  Hopefully the cast will come off in 6 weeks or less and she can see how it fits.  Boo's outfit will be a pioneer dress, so the girls can take turns wearing the different outfits.  They picked out the calico material this weekend during our visit.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Longest. Night. Ever.

This past Sunday afternoon, the kids were in the backyard playing with Rachel and Hannah on the trampoline, H came running in to tell us LE was hurt.  Ben went out and a few moments later I peeked out and saw him running in, he greeted me with "her arm's broken".  I am thinking how in the world could he know for certain it was broken.  She is laying on the trampoline as calm as she could be and said, "Mommy, I want a doctor".  The bone was protruding out of her arm, not through the skin, but this bump coming out near her elbow.  I had Rachel run get her mom, R2 and HR were napping and we loaded her in the backseat in a makeshift sling made from a pillow case.
Ben held her in the backseat and I found every single bump between our home and Williamson Seton Hospital's ER.  We walked right into a room and two doctors were there to examine her.  We had x-rays within minutes and I was standing behind the x-ray machine to see the ulna bone was broken in half and the radial bone had come loose from the elbow socket.  They gave her an IV and a dose of morphine.  The doctor recommended surgery, but he wanted to transfer her to Dell Children's Hospital b/c they would not administer anesthesia to her at Williamson.  They had to call an ambulance from Austin to transfer her and I told her I would run home and get Fluffles and the Ipad, b/c they informed us it was going to be a long night ahead.  Little did they know...
I took the back route to our house and Ben rode with her in the ambulance.  They did not make it very far onto I-35 when they were diverted onto the access road, along with everyone on the interstate due to a young man falling from an overpass in RR.  It took them over 2 1/2 hours to get to the children's hospital, a trip that should have taken less than 30 minutes.  Poor baby's meds were worn off and she had to use a make-shift potty in the back of an ambulance (with no a.c).  Let's just say it was ordained by God, that Mommy ran to the house to get supplies and Daddy got to ride in the ambulance.  In the time she left the hospital in RR, Gigi left her house and made it to our house before she arrived to the children's hospital (2+ hour long drive).
When she finally arrived at Dell, they immediately took her into a room and got her settled and took more x-rays.  She was down the hall and I could her scream when they adjusted her arm to take the pics.  The nurses were great, but she was so thirsty and she could not have anything to eat or drink b/c of the pending surgery.

The surgeon's nurse practitioner came in to inform us what to expect.  We were given 6 options,  5 of them would involve surgery and option A could be done without, but was the least probable of occurring given the circumstances.  We began praying and about an hour (1 a.m.) later they took us to the prep room for the operating room.  They administered the anesthesia while we were still with her and she kept begging me to please stop them and she did not want surgery.  She began to fall asleep, but was still not unconscious before they wheeled her away.  She was crying and begging for me.  Being the cryer that I am, well that pretty much got me.  They told us it would be any where from 45 minutes to 8 hours.  We were ushered to the OR waiting room and I finally found some vending machines.  We had a trail mix and within about 25 minutes a nurse came to tell us, they were able to set her arm without surgery.  Around 2 a.m. we were able to see her in the recovery room and about an hour later she was able to go to her own room.  She began to wake up when they took her vitals and I was able to tell her she did not have to have surgery.  She just smiled from ear to ear, and then fell back asleep.  She slept most of the remainder of the night, Ben was able to sleep on the hide-a-bed in her room and I tossed and turned all night.  The next morning, they told us if she could keep breakfast down they would begin the discharge process.  I told her during the night she could have anything she wanted for breakfast.  When I gave her the room service menu, she noticed they served coke for breakfast.  So, my 7 year old ordered her first soft drink ever for breakfast, along with bacon, biscuits and blueberry muffins.  Around 10 am, they discharged us and we drove home with a big blue block to support her arm in a 90 degree upright angle for 48 hours and a hot pink cast.


Thursday, February 07, 2013

6 months old

Seriously, this little guy is six months old today.
He is the happiest, smiliest, friendliest baby.  He has learned to sit up, has the best belly laughs, and still not a fan of cereal (but we have not been real consistent with it).  He has little teeth nobs, but true to form they are taking forever to breakthrough.   He goes to bed around 8, and has slept till around 6 a.m. a few times, but usually wakes once for a feeding.  He loves his siblings and doesn't really like to be alone.
He enjoys sitting in his bumbo while the kids do school work, loves to swing and sit in his exersaucer.
He has the bluest eyes of all the kids and there is a slight tint of red to his hair.  It is still darker than the other kiddos.
These are my favorite jammies, all four of the kids wore them.

Wednesday, February 06, 2013

Texas Military Museum

This past month's field trip was to the Texas Military Museum at Camp Mabry.  Very cool museum of war relics from WWI, II, Texas Independence, and War on Terror.  There were vehicles, weapons, a fighter pilot cockpit to climb in, and fatigues to try on. It was definitely a field trip geared for the testosterone-infused side of the population, but the girls still enjoyed it.  We walked over to the jets that you can view when you drive down Mopac.  It was free to the public, will definitely do again when boys are older.

Tuesday, February 05, 2013

our new church

We have been without a "home" church for almost a year.  It has been such a difficult task with six people to consider, and we did not take the decision lightly.
The first church we visited I really liked, but no one else was on board, church #2 was good and probably worth a 2nd visit, but too far, church #3 was a great fit for the kids, but the parental units were not longing to return.  Church #4, the kids enjoyed, but knew right away it was not the right fit for the family.  Church #5 Ben and I LOVED, but it was even farther and seemed to have red flags that we originally tried to over look.  Church #6 Ben and I instantly felt connected to; incredibly laid back, Spirit-filled, amazing worship, amazing life-giving word, not flashy, not perfect, but home.
The girls have been a little apprehensive b/c they really liked church #3.  I mean that church gets kids.  Amazing set up, powerful worship for kids, bright colors, great word, great take-homes and Vacation Bible School, and very, very close to our home.

A question I have asked of each church I have attended in the past few years was answered this week in the way I needed it answered.  During the final moments of service the lady sitting to the right of Ben began answering the pastor.  You know what I mean, "Amen, Yes, Sir" type answering.  From the sound of her voice and her dialect I could tell she was an older African-American woman.  But my favorite part was as the pastor released us, She answers him out loud, "Thank you, that was good preachin'"  I look over and the lady next to Ben was a homeless woman.  It was the most amazing thing to know she was welcome and it didn't matter what she was wearing or how she looked.  That is a church I want to be a part of.

You can hear this week's sermon here.  It was the most freeing message I have ever heard on giving.








Monday, February 04, 2013

new park in the area

Have you been to the Play for All-Abilities Park in RR?  I heart this park.  It is clean, it is huge, clean bathrooms, has something for everyone, completely fenced in, and lots of shade.  We have been several times with the home school group and this last family day we went after church and had a family picnic.
There is sand to dig in, a music station, more sand to dig in, LARGE playscape, a mini replica of RR buildings for the kids to zip through on scooters and bikes (but I think bikes should  be left at home unless they are little kids).
We have been attending a new church and the parental units really, really like it, but the girls prefer the last church we visited.  I will admit the kid's ministry was amazing at the last church, but it was not a good fit for the entire family.  We challenged the kids whoever met the most people at church that morning could pick the lunch for our picnic.  They also had to remember their names.  score:  Daddy - 1, Mama - 2, LE - 2, Boo-7!  She walked out of her class so proudly and started popping of new friends' names.  Her input for lunch - cheetos, thanks Granny.

Friday, February 01, 2013

not a fan of cereal

I don't think HR quite has the tongue control for cereal.  This is not the face of a child who is enjoying their food.  He is trying though.  We are hoping it fills his tummy more and he will begin sleeping through the night soon, so he can start sleeping in his room with big brother.
January 22nd, 2013