School Pics are Here!

Well, for Ben & Matthew, at least!! Aren't they handsome boys?

Update & a Couple of Things

Greetings beloved friends! I know I owe y’all some updates, so here goes:

Patrick is working on standing up and is managing pretty well. He’s not using as much pain medication, either, so YAY! He’s not ready for the walker full-time yet, but if him wanting to be on the treadmill on Saturday is any indication, he’s gaining ground and motivation. Patrick’s doing well back in school, too…getting into the swing of his routine—5th grade!!!! Last week his class stopped by for a field trip; they were visiting everyone’s homes as part of a unit about home & community. Was fun to see his classmates and visit with them for a bit, since we don’t often have that opportunity with the school so far away.

Abbey still loves her new school. She comes home every day with funny little stories about the friends in her class. She takes it personally when one of them isn’t there to play with her. We are also enjoying her little adaptations of classroom rules to home. a la: “Miss Jenn says never, never, EBER, run around with paint, Mommy. I think you should be telling Ben toofpaste is da same.”

Matthew is adapting well to 3rd grade and is finding the work a bit more challenging. ‘Course if I were learning new math, fact family based-twiddle, I’d probably find 3rd grade math challenging, too. GACK. NOT impressed with the way he’s learning math these days…

Ben is having fun with 1st grade and is highly motivated by the reward bucket. He found out the other day that one of his teachers at after-school care had the same 1st grade teacher he does; he’s not quite sure what to do with that tidbit, though. Hee hee hee

Katie is really feeling top of the heap in 8th grade, but juggling an all-honors load has her hopping. And her toe issues are clearing up—FINALLY!—so the hopping is a wee bit less painful.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

As many of you know, we like to take a family vacation to the beach in October. It’s that time again. We are usually blessed in that Patrick has the opportunity to take a vacation of his own during this time. He’s scheduled to go to respite this Wednesday for the duration of our family vacay—nice break for everyone—and especially desired after the intense focus on him for the last few months. PLEASE pray that he will be accepted into care for the week. (Always some intense nursing scrutiny before he’s allowed in! He’s doing well, but sometimes…)

Please keep my father outlaw in your prayers. He’s had some heart trouble lately and the way ahead is unclear. He had an angiogram done last week that showed several serious blockages.

Thanks and much appreciation for keeping us lifted up!

Happy Anniversary, Hubby!

Congratulations on surviving 14 years of adventures with me, darling husband!




7 homes, 5 kids, 3 states, more wrinkles, less hair...and I'd pick you all over again.

Fun in the Sun...and the heat...and the rain....

Saturday was probably one of the worst days to have an outdoor ANYthing.

It was hot.
It was sticky.
It was extremely sunny.

It was a BLAST!!

Katie and I went to Awakening Music Festival at Bull Run Park with a group of equally insane but enthusiastic folks. We joined the early-bird crowd at 9 am, staking our claim to a *good* lawn seating spot when the gates opened at 11 am. (Just for the record—that’s a LONG time to wait then it’s already over 90 degrees outside!)

Thunderstorms (severe ones, even!) threatened on and off during the day, but the crowd prayed them away. YAY God! In the end, we were treated to a bit of a nice cooling rain and some FABULOUS music. Not a dud act in the bunch...I even enjoyed Skillet and found out that I know more of their songs than I thought, hee hee hee. Gee, who'd have thunk it? Discovering my "inner metal head" at 40? My brothers will be sooooooooooo proud!

Check out the day in my pictures here. Not nearly as cool as the slideshow as one of the other moms did, but hey…

I FINALLY got to see the Newsboys live & in concert! WHOO HOO! (Ever wanna feel really old and super young at the same time? Go to a concert for one of your favorite bands with your teenage kid!!)

Came home tired, sunburned and toting some good memories!

You Asked for It....

Long time, no post. Sorry gang! Getting everyone off to school and trying to get in the rhythm of the school year has been an adventure.

But no more excuses…on with the news you can use! Patrick is doing well. His casts came off last week—YAY! Let me just say that there was GREAT rejoicing in Zoo Crew Land at the news that we could bathe the beast. He still can’t put weight on his legs, but the surgeon has already noted bone regrowth at the surgical sites. YAY! Even better news—it looks like his legs are pretty much the SAME LENGTH now AND--wait for it--he has feeling back in his right foot. YAY! YAY! And double YAY!!! Still not much motor control over that foot, but feeling is good.

He started physical therapy and—despite the fact that it’s a struggle for him—he’s mostly complying with the exercises. It has helped that his former therapist is available to work with him. (Thank you, God!) We’re sticking with strengthening and stretching for now, but his doctor has cleared him to do weight-bearing as early as next week. We’re hopeful and we’ve been talking with him a LOT about what he’ll have to do so he can walk again. This is rubber hitting the road time…he’s got a shot at walking almost normally IF we can get both legs under him and strong at the same rate. Trying to apply our lessons learned from last time ‘round and keep him from trusting one leg over the other—may prove to be a challenge, but I think we just might be up to it.

Earlier this week, he was down for the count with the lovely stomach virus going around. Ummmmm…NOT fun. (GACK, really!)

But now, Patrick man is feeling well enough that he’s figured out how to drop the sides of his hospital bed and begin maneuvers into his wheelchair on his own. Let’s just say I found this out when I came up from the basement the other day and found him happily nuking tacquitos when I *thought* he was napping. Almost wet my pants, he gave me such a surprise!

Next hurdle? There are TWO…
1—Getting on his feet (no walking, just aiming for standing!)
2—Going back to school (maybe next week?)

Thanks again to everyone who has been praying and thinking of him. I have EVERY confidence that it’s your prayers and well-wishes that are keeping our family afloat during this crazy and challenging time.