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The Stinker.......


And the Winker!

Stress= Creative Explosion

So Kate's broken leg has sent me into stress city. I am gradually calming down but stress for me was at its peak this past Saturday and Sunday. I just had to make something. Use my hands, sew, create.......Well that's just what I did. Take a look at the results.Oh my goodness...
Ok. This falls under the heading of "I saw this at a craft show and I just had to see if I could do it." It's a diaper wipes cover. I even monogrammed it. Considering Kate will be potty training in a couple of months (wink wink) this might have been in vain.

Ok, I wanted to kick myself (not really) when I found out how easy and cheap these hair doo dads were to make.In the past I had been paying $6 and sometimes **cringe** $8 for a cute hairbow. It took me all of 5 minutes and it cost me under a $1.00 in materials. Now that Kate is leaving bows in her hair longer I fear that I may make her into a bow head. :)



Probably my favoriteproject this week. I got the eggs at Hobby Lobby for 1/2 off. I originally put them on a wreath and then I was inspired by one of the crafty blogs on my side bar to turn it into a Easter Egg tree. The branches are from a branch I pruned in our back yard. And the tinsel stuff is left over from the kids Birthday party.

Kate's Purple Sock

We had a Dr's appointment this morning and we came out with the best case scenario. The Dr. called it a tiny fracture that is miles away from her growth plate. That is very good news. When she showed us the X ray and zoomed in on the break, we could barely see it but it was definitely still there. They put a cast on her leg (we chose a pretty purple) and fitted her with a special boot so that she can walk on it. This was especially good news since I just couldn't picture Kate laying or sitting around for 4 weeks. And that's the other piece of good news. The cast only has to be on her leg for 4 weeks. Then we will come back and take it off and get an X ray to make sure everything has healed properly.
The Dr. said that she probably would not want to try walking on it for a week. But when we got home she was ready to try walking on it while leaning on Carson's walker. Such a brave girl. I was very concerned that her eczema would get worse with the cast on. (Kate has extremely bad eczema, especially on her legs.)But the Dr. said that the moisture that the cast creates makes eczema better sometimes, not worse.
So all in all we are feeling very positive for our girl. She does have some periods of extreme frustration because she can't be as mobile as she would like. And she can't take a proper bath while the cast is on so I know that she will miss that. And the aspect that I am struggling with is discipline. I just want to give her everything and let her do everything because of her leg but I know that in about 4 weeks I would have a little monster girl on my hands so I am TRYING to keep everything status quo in that department. As in "just because you have a broken leg you STILL cannot push Carson around!" I am also trying to decipher what is frustration from her lack of mobility and what is just normal 2 year old behavior. But my goodness, this whole experience has shown me how resilient our little girl is. She is so brave and just doesn't let anything get in her way. And now some purple sock pictures.........
I love this picture because it shows how much she isenjoying life right now despite her little set back. Kids just naturally have amazingly positive attitudes.

Kate with her temporary splint

Our very brave girl

The purple "sock"

Working on getting her mobility back



She definitely needs more down time than usual and Daddy's shoulder is perfect for cuddling.

Taking a Get Well call from her Mimi

Her little table has been put to good use.

Kate has acquired SIX new dresses from her ordeal. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we can get by with just wearing dresses. SO easy!

A Bad Break

Today Kate was going down one of those twisty tunnel slides with her Daddy. Somehow her leg got caught at the sharp turn of the slide which resulted in a hairline fracture to her leg just below the knee. We knew that something was wrong when she couldn't stop crying. We knew something was really wrong when she couldn't put weight on her leg. So off we went for our first trip to Cooks Urgent care. After some X rays were taken the Dr confirmed that her leg was fractured. They put a temporary splint on it and next week we will follow up with an orthopedic specialist to see what the next steps will be. The Cooks doc said that she will be in a cast from her foot to her hip for at least 4 weeks. But we will wait on the final word from the orthopedic specialist. I imagine that it will be challenging in the next month or so to keep an active toddler immobilized but we will find a way to get through it some how. I have already bought Kate a couple of cute dresses so that we won't have to worry about pants or shorts. She is in good spirits for what she has been through today. She was laughing and smiling before bed tonight. Please pray that her spirits will continue to be good and that her bone will heal quickly and that her recovery time will be minimal. And if I could selfishly ask for prayers of strength as I figure out how to navigate with two little ones that aren't walking. Especially when Jared leaves next week for Midland.:( A couple of weeks ago I was asking God if we could have just one good break. I think He knows that this is not what I had in mind!
I assure you, there is no sadder sight than the scenes in the next 2 pictures.


Carson was being especially goofy when we got home. And then I got it. He was trying to make Kate laugh. :) Sweet little brother. He also tried to lay his head in her lap but Kate wasn't having it. Amazing how he can, at 14 months, already clue into his sister's pain. Just amazing.

She doesn't understand why we are waiting on her hand and foot or why Mommy is suddenly so generous with sweets but she is enjoying it and not asking any questions.

Family Time

For the past 7 days, Jared has been working 12 hour days. We miss him and as it turns out we are about to miss him even more. BUT for the past 2 days we have had him all to ourselves and we have been enjoying every second. Today we went to the park to just enjoy being a family and to take some pictures (of course!) I love these pictures because Jared and I both took turns photographing each other with our kids. I love the pictures of Jared and Carson. I noticed as I was looking through them that Carson's hand never left Jared's knee. Kate does it to when she comes in to the picture. They wanted to make sure he was near. The picture that I absolutely love is a close up of Jared where you can see all of us reflected in his shades. How's that for symbolism? I love these sweet little moments. These are the little moments that make up our family these days.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Spring!

So it seems that mother nature is trying to coax Spring out of its shell this week. We have had some beautiful days this week. Twice this week we have laid a quilt down in our back yard and just enjoyed the sunshine. And today we had an occasion to break out the spring shorts. Although I felt a little bit sheepish about it as the temperature guage in the truck kept fluctuating from 59 to 60 degree. But I felt much better we arrived at our destination and it seemed like everyone was wearing shorts. It seems like everyone is ready to get this weird strangely snow filled winter behind us and enjoy all that Spring has to offer.
New Sandals always mark the beginning of Spring for a girl



In between being mean to Carson Kate likes to show us how much she loves her brother.






I love these these two little ones sooo much!

Simply Syrup

This morning after having 2 waffles already he decided to help himself to his sister's waffles. He's very good about being unassuming. He'll just stand by her chair and sort of carry on a baby conversation with Kate. Kate being a natural talked just jabbers on and on and Carson jabbers as if to say, "Hmmmm Kate that is SO interesting." All the while he is sneaking his chubby hand up to her tray to swipe a bite of waffle. It's a pretty good racket he's got going. I loved it at the end when he got the coveted prize: a plate with syrup. Simple pleasures!


Love the plate stuck to his leg

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

March 15th was going to be a day that has become all too familar to me. I was prepared for it this time. My mind set was in order. My game plan was tight. My point of view and attitude were different. I was in full trusting God mode. I planned to take a job at a very large bank in the area and start on March 15th. My prayer at the time that I got the job went something like this, "Dear God, thank you so much for this opportunity. I feel fully blessed to be able to work and I thank you so much that this time our kids will be in Jared's care. I trust the plan that you have for our family Lord. Help me to be brave and face this new job head on and with the hope that you want me to have in our future." And then I would throw in this extra prayer."And God, if there is ANY way that you can make it to where I can still stay home with our kids PLEASE make it so." I had prayed that last prayer before. When I took my last job I prayed that prayer up until the morning of my first day. At the time God said no to that prayer. But this time, it was different.

On Saturday afternoon Jared and I were sitting there watching TV when Jared got a call. He mentioned that it was an Abilene area code. The conversation from Jared's end went something like, "Oh, I'm just working on building business for my mobile closing business." "No I don't have anything full time." "Really???" "Is it stable?" "Really???" "Hmmmm...well let me talk to Betsy and I'll give you a call back."
As you can imagine I was on pins and needles. It turns out a guy who he had worked with on the gas rig last year was calling him to offer him a position. They were bringing the rig out of repair and just signed up for 18 holes (which translates to about 1 year of work at least.) We really couldn't believe it. It seemed amazing to us that out of the blue this guy called with this kind of opportunity. Of course this opportunity is not with out sacrifice. One MAJOR sacrifice as a matter of fact. But Jared took it as the gift from God that it was. We are so thankful that God dropped this right in our lap. So this picture will again be a familiar sight.

And can I just say how amazing this man that I married is? This man that is going to work so very hard to provide for his family. This incredible man who is working so hard so that I can stay home with our kids. He is sacrificing A LOT for us. So we will continue to trust in the promise of Jeremiah 29:11. Trust that God is leading our family every step of the way. Trust that God will protect my husband every second. Trusting God that he will protect our marriage and our family. Trusting God in ALL aspects of our life.

Close up

Here are some pictures I took and used Picasa to crop and add effects. The first one is one of my new favorites. Kate's hair on Saturday was something extra special. Not really sure how it turned out that way. Wild sleep, static, and some cowlicks I guess. Either way I was in awe of her hair all day!