He's Back

Cole is officially "out" of his wheelchair!  6 long weeks (for all of us!) has come to an end.  We got the thumbs up for the doc and Cole is able to walk. He has a little swagger in his walk now, but that will subside here in about a month!  He is already riding a big wheel like a banshee and has attempted his 2 wheeler!  Most importantly, he will be able to ride his 4 wheeler with his dad on his trip to Sand Mountain at the end of the month.   Cole has been an amazing trooper through out this whole thing with minimal complaint.  For a child that doesn't stop from sun up until sun down - he did surprisingly  well being confined to a small seat for so long.  I personally think he was relishing in the attention, but what do I know, I'm just the mom.  The human body is an amazing machine!  The x ray showed new bone forming already and you can hardly see the original fracture line.
 Our next hurdle will be taking out the rods in a couple months, but thanks to an amazing doctor and lots of prayers, little man is going to be just fine. 

There is a little boy in his kindergarten class that has taken an extreme interest in Cole. He likes to push him to and from different places and is always asking him how he is.  About once a week he brings him a picture that he has colored or drawn on.  His name is Owen (Owen2).  It brings me to tears each time this little boy brings something to Cole. It is so sweet .

(I hope your leg is better - better is spelled backwards!)

Cole has a best buddy that doesn't go to his school also named Owen(Owen1), who by the way, was an amazing friend to Cole while he was in his wheelchair.  He would come over and just sit with Cole and do whatever Cole wanted to do. Pretty awesome for a 6 year old. 

The journey has been long, but like everything else in life, there is always a lesson.
 Lesson learned - we have amazing family and friends.
Oh yea, and thank goodness for modern medicine!!

Run Coley Run!

another 1st day!

FINALLY!  Kennedy got to go to school to stay!

For 2 weeks my little tag along has been wishin, and pleadin' and beggin' to go to school.  She was helping me one day get Cole into class and get situated, she had picked up a bag from home and when she walked into Cole's classroom she hung up her bag on a hook, turned around, waved and said "Bye Mom" and off she went to sit at one of the tables.  With a reluctant chuckle, I quickly scooped her up and explained that this wasn't her classroom and that she soon would have her own hook and her own classroom.  She wasn't havin' it.  Big crocodile tears and lots of "but mom"s came wailing out as I literally drug her to the car. 

The night before, she asked me 4 times if I was leaving her. " You are leaving me right mom?" , with those huge blue eyes and her perfect little smile!  "Yes, Kennedy, I am leaving you."  The morning of, "O.K. mom, you are leaving me right?"  Cole protests every morning for me to stay at school with him and here is my little Ms. Independent who can wait to be dropped off by herself!

Once in the classroom , she wasted no time ditching the mama.  Hung her backpack up, a quick kiss and she didn't look back!  I was expecting to stay for a few minutes and kind of walk her around the room and check it out. Nope, she had it all under control!  I came to pick her up and she started crying because it wasn't time for her to leave.  So preschool was a hit! For both of us!

1st Day

1st day of school for 3 of the 4!

  And the 4th was not happy that it wasn't her day too! We rolled into Amity Elementary (literally!) backpacks packed with supplies, shiny new kicks and a mom holding back the tears.  Kyle is an upper class man in the 5th grade, Kate is in the middle, as always, in the 3rd grade and Mr. Coley takes the plunge into kindergarten.  I think I was more upset about him being in a wheelchair than I was about him "starting kindergarten".  But the chair proved to be quite a spectacle and a good topic of conversation! A long and emotional week has come to an end and I think everyone weathered the storm pretty well.  Next week , as reality sets in, or as the kids say, homework starts, Cole will venture to class without me by his side.

He will probably be just fine,

 I wonder how I will do.......

New Companion

A week ago today Cole received a new companion:

Compliments of a broken left femur bone that was obtained while having a fun day at the water park!  Last slide of the day, Cole went down with a huge smile and came up screaming like a banshee!  After trips to 2 different hospitals and an ambulance ride, the pediatric orthopedic surgeon at St. Luke's hospital  inserted 2 titanium rods in the poor little boys leg.  The wheel chair will be Cole's new side kick for 4 to 6 weeks. He will get to take it to the 1st day of kindergarten, to the state fair and maybe even camping! It has already been a hit with some of the neighborhood kids and has been clocked at a top speed of 8 miles an hour, assisted by an android speedometer app and a more than willing cousin behind the wheels!

One week ago today I too received a new companion:

A constant companion that was already pretty constant to begin with, this just intensifies our relationship a bit.  Cole has always been "mom partial".  Mom partial has become mom constant! Life has come to a screeching halt and the skid marks are a mile long.  Canceling and rearranging appointments, handing off responsibilities and commitments, letting normal life go by the way side. Its been a wake up call for this whole family. It seemed pretty devastating the 1st couple days, but after 2 nights stay in the pediatric ward at the hospital, a broken leg is not the end of the world. We were surrounded by kids that were terminally sick or that had limbs missing or that were mentally disabled.  My small little boy lying in that huge hospital bed didn't seem so catastrophic as I had thought and had made it out to be.  The doctor was confident that the  bone would heal and in 1 year, you won't even be able to tell it was broken. Time has slowed down here and I have had a lot of forced moments of reflection and thought.  It is funny how Heavenly Father presents us with situations that seem to be horrible and unbearable.  Than only to find out that really it isn't as bad as we make it out to be. I have a lot of time to just sit with Cole.
 He doesn't talk much being that he is in a constant state of "gaming".  I think he has had enough video game time to last him the rest of his life.  Cole is the kid that gets under my skin the most, the kid that wants all the attention good or bad, the kid that gets in the most trouble or causes the most trouble. So for this to happen to "this kid"  is both ironic and predictable. Of any of my kids I would expect Cole to have broken something a long time ago. He has had numerous accidents that have put us in the doctors office. And of any of my kids, he is probably the one that I need to spend more quality time with. 

Thus, the current situation unfolds.....

So while we are lazily wasting away our last few days of summer vaca, we are so grateful for the blessings we have had over the last  week. Meals, play dates, phone calls, pep talks, vistors, it has all been  so overwhelmingly amazing to know that we are surrounded with so many wonderful family and friends. Thank you to everyone for your thoughtfulness and generosity, we couldn't have made it this far without ya!  One week down!.......

When cousins come to stay....

As you can see we had a whole lot of fun days that were jammed packed with none stop crafts, activities, water, 2 birthday parties and COUSINS!  See ya next year Gums chickadees!

A hundred bucks - literally

Well she did it.  NO candy, NO soda for ONE YEAR!  Kate officially ended her sabbatical from soda and candy on August 1st and received a 100 dollar bills.  Much to my surprise she was strong as nails when it came to this challenge she inflicted upon herself. I agreed to the deal but I would never had thought to ask any of my children to do this. Candy and soda are a healthy staple in my daily diet!  100 dollars wouldn't even get me to quit for a week little alone a year. This little girl has got determination.  I, along with everyone else, offered her numerous times a week if she wanted a treat or a soda and every time, she would politely decline.  Never threw a fit, never gave me grief, and spent her free day wisely!  Wait to go Kate!!!

Number 10

The number 10 is a significant number in a lot of things.  A perfect 10 from a judge sends the crowd into hysterics and the athlete to a joyous celebration.
The number 10 is a milestone for a child that is learning to count.
The number 10 is the first double digit number is the numerical pattern.
The number 10, they say, is the easiest pattern for kids to remember when they are learning to "count by".
The number 10 is the number of fingers and toes Heavenly Father gave us.
The number 10 represents a DECADE!

10 years ago, June 28th, Heavenly Father gave me 10 perfect little fingers and toes attached to a sweet little boy.  He was 3 weeks early weighing in at 6lbs. 14 oz.  He was a little peanut that fit into his dads baseball cap.  Now that little peanut is as tall as me, tips the scales at 140 and is wearing a men's medium size shirt!

Kyle wanted his birthday to be celebrated with his family.  He just wanted his cousins and grandparents there.  One of the many proud moments of being Ky's mom, when all the family talks and emphasis on being together manifested itself in his simple request.  I couldn't ask for a better kid.  Ky makes me want to be a better person.  He has blessed this family with his patient and kind ways and our family would not be complete without him.  Thanks Kyle for being you!  I love ya! Oh and Happy Birthday, even though that makes me a decade older!

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