Out of the mouths of babes

This evening as I was headed out the backdoor to light the grill, a HUGE spider dropped down right in front of me. I shrieked as it scurried faster than lightning into the house and then disappeared. Hysterically I slammed the door and frantically looked for the disgusting, creepy, big thing and muttered under my breath, "Lord, please help me find that spider".

Just then, I felt a small hand patting my back. It was lil J and he said, "It's okay Mommy." Then he walked around in front of me, took both of my hands in his and looked up at me with all seriousness, like a little man, and said, "Let's pray." He then proceeded to bow his head and pray, "Dear Jesus, please help Mommy and please help us find where the spider is hiding. In Jesus name, Amen." I opened my tear-filled eyes and was utterly dumbfounded and completely blessed by what I had just witnessed. I was dumbfounded by the spiritual leadership he had assumed at age 3 (in Daddy's absence) and blessed that his first reaction in a frightening situation was to pray.

We have a date!

After a follow up visit with Dr. Cutcliffe (the orthopedic surgeon) this morning, we have a date for cast removal!!!!! Monday, September 22nd is the big day! Only 27 more days to go!

Playing at the park

This afternoon Daddy took the boys down to the park to play for awhile. They had such a great time.

Brotherly Love

It has been so neat to see the boys interact since Michael's accident. Lil J has been very loving and thoughtful in helping me care for Michael. For the past few weeks I have been praying desperately for the Lord to develop their friendship and bring harmony to our home. Over the past 6+ months it seems that all I do is mediate and serve as a referee for their constant fights. Perhaps this trial is going to be the unexpected way that the Lord is going to answer my prayers and build their relationship!

Lil J "reading" a book to Michael after a diaper change.
I echo Hebrews 13:1, "Let brotherly love continue."

Coping with a Cast

Michael is adjusting and coping fairly well with his cast. There have been a lot of tears and going to sleep at night seems to be the biggest challenge. He doesn't want to be left alone and wants me to hold his hand all night. I am trying to balance giving him the comfort he needs without setting a precedence for the next five weeks.
Here the best picture I have of him in his spica cast. Yellow is his favorite color, but green is a close second. (The doctor said they didn't have yellow casts) During the day, Michael is wearing a pair of my exercise shorts. I never thought my two year old and I would have the same size waist! :-)

Breakfast with Michael on the floor in his car seat and scooted up to a little play table. Another challenge is keeping Michael stimulated with a variety of activities. Grammy and I took the boys to the library yesterday to get some new books and DVDs. In the above picture, Michael is reclined on a bean bag playing in the children's area of the library.

I am amazed (and grateful) at how content he is to just sit at his table and do puzzles, color and play with his cars.

Watercolor Painting

While Michael was having his cast put on Grandpa and Grandma Wesco came by the hospital. They brought some paint-with-water books for lil J and helped him paint.

Michael's First ER Visit & Hospital Stay

Tuesday evening during an Olympic Party we were hosting at Allegro, Michael slipped on a duplo lid on the wood floor. He cried uncontrollably and was unconsolable as we tried to assess his injury. Finally we placed him in his car seat and headed to the ER thinking that perhaps he had a dislocated hip. His car seat was the one place that seemed comfortable for him. So we wheeled him into the ER with his car seat in a wheelchair.

X-Rays revealed that his right femur has a spiral fracture. So, they admitted him for the night and scheduled a spica cast procedure with an Orthopedic Surgeon for Wednesday morning. He slept in his car seat on the hospital bed and received morphine through an IV hourly throughout the night. It was a very rough night as the uncasted broken bone caused muscle spasms every few minutes. It was so hard to see him in such agony and not even be able to hold him. Finally at about 6am, I moved his car seat over in the bed so I could lie there next to him. This seemed to comfort him tremendously and he finally fell into a deeper sleep.

They ended up doing the cast at 12:30pm on Wednesday. They put a spica cast on him, which is basically a lower half body cast. It nearly comes up to his armpits and extends down his entire right leg and halfway down his left leg. He has a small section cut out for elimination and "wears" a diaper taped and stuffed in place.

By the time he came out of recovery and was alert after the anethstesia, it was 7pm before we finally got to come home. We had a great night's sleep last night as he only wakened at 4:30am. This morning he had his first "bird bath" on the bathroom counter. We've figured out how to prop him up on the potty with pillows so he can do his stinky. The doctor said he'll be in the cast for 4-5 weeks. I've been telling myself all day to just look at this as one day at a time. So, I guess we have one day down and 34 to go!

I've also been reminded of the verses in I Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

"Explosive" Eggs

This morning as Lil J was eating his hot eggs, he said, "Look Mommy. My eggs are blowing up!" (They were steaming! :-)

Pot of Gold

When Daddy got home from work tonight the boys were in their pjs all ready for bed. It was such a beautiful evening that he wanted to take us all out for a walk anyway. I have spent the day baking for a bridal shower on Saturday (for my future sister-in-law) and so I was just exhausted. He said he'd take them for some one on one time while I caught a quick nap.

When I wakened I found this picture in my email which he took of the boys and a rainbow and then emailed to me from his iPhone. Isn't technology great?!

I can't help but smile when I see those precious smiles and think of my precious husband who was willing to let me get some rest. One thing is for sure...the pot of gold at the end of this rainbow is my sweet hubby and darling boys!

"On Sunday"

Lil J is always referring to a past event as, "We went to the Fair on Sunday" or "Grammy brought me here on Sunday". Instead of saying "yesterday", "last week", etc.

Well, this afternoon I asked him, "When was the last time you went potty?". Without even pausing he said with all seriousness, "On Sunday." I was literally rolling on the floor laughing as I considered his 3 year old concept of time.

At last...a sign!

Allegro finally has a sign on the front of the building and we are officially open for business! (We've been unofficially open for several months)

Lil J's Story

This afternoon I gave the boys both much needed haircuts after lunch. Then I gave them quick baths before their naps. While I was getting lil J dressed he started telling me a very random, unusual story. It went like this...

"Once upon a time there was a little boy named Samuel and this little piggy went to market." He then paused and asked, "Mommy, where is the one that's crying?" I was perplexed. "Crying?" I asked. Then it hit me "...and this little pigggy cried wee, wee, wee all the way home!" Silly boy!

Chicken Pox?!?!

Well, the boys spots never formed blisters, but they have run low grade fevers and their spots are now scabbing over. They have ceased spreading and I think we're on the mend. In the last two days I've showed their spots to several friends who think the spots definitely resemble chicken pox. So, I guess we now have chicken pox behind us!

Last week my mom gave me some Oil of Herbs which she used on my chicken pox 20 years ago. It worked amazingly! I've been putting it on the boys spots 3 times a day and as soon as a I do they stop itching for hours. What a blessing! I was excited to find that Oil of Herbs is still available and can be ordered at: http://www.nbizz.com/enorodes/listings/41.html

Blankie Bandits

This afternoon the boys were running around the house wrapped up in their blankets. They were giggling and laughing so hard.

Mystery Spots

Yesterday afternoon after playing outside for about ten minutes, lil J was covered with spots and itching uncontrollably. I brought him in the house and changed him, but by last night he was covered with welts. I thought he had just been bitten by something and had an allergic reaction which caused hives.

However, when Michael wakened this morning, he was covered with spots as well. After a visit to our Pediatrician, we have no more clues. He was very perplexed and frustrated that he couldn't give me a diagnosis. He said Michael's spots resembled chicken pox, but lil J's looked like somethiing else entirely. He said if it is chicken pox, then lil J is just having an extreme, unusual reaction to them. So, I guess we'll just have to wait and see how the spots progress before we know the exact cause.