Updates on Boys

Thank you all so much for your prayers, emails, food, texts of encouragement, and visits. We have felt so loved and cared for by our family and friends during this time. The boys (the big one and the little one) are healing up quite well. Matt is up and walking around a lot. He is going pretty stir crazy but he has had some good buddies get him out of the house and one awesome mentor who brought him a half gallon of Blue Bell today!

He is also spending a lot of time with Moses. I think that ever since Moses was born, Matt has spent a lot of his time taking care of the older two so that I could give Mo the care he needs. However, this past week with not being able to be very far from the couch or bed, he has had a real opportunity to get to hold Moses on his chest and cuddle with him. It is sweet to watch them develop more of a bond.

The little guy got this awesome cast today. Once he found out that they had camouflage as a cast color option, he was thrilled. He told all the doctors that was what he was getting and then when they tried to talk me into a soft cast but told me the colors were blue, pink, or white...Boston exclaimed HARD CAST so he could get the camo one! Did I mention his favorite song is CAMOUFLAGE by Brad Paisley.

"Camouflage, Camouflage
designed by mother nature and by god
Camouflage, Camouflage
Oh you're my favorite color Camouflage"

And how am I you might ask? I am gonna be real with you...I am exhausted. The cute one with the camouflage cast is really cranky and Daddy is recovering well but can't physically do anything at this point besides lie down and take walks. His medicine keeps him in and out all day long so for about an hour he is talking and playing games with us and then all the sudden you look over and he's passed out for a couple hours. So each night when everyone goes to sleep, I have been taking in the alone time and gearing up for another day. But here's what I believe about it all...coincidences don't happen, there are only God ordained circumstances. God has our family right where He wants it and He is teaching us a lot about each other in this 1,000 sq foot house that we are all spending one hot July in together. And that excites me! I don't always love how the lessons are given but I do love that I worship a Heavenly Father who loves me enough to teach them to me.

The Cash Register Part II

So remember this from a few days ago...

"Now I get to watch that develop between my young men. There will be fights both with words and fists, there will be differences in character, there will be lots of getting on each others nerves...but that is all worth the friendship that develops through the years as they are deeply known by someone who unconditionally loves them."

Enter Boston after one good wrestling match...

This is right after x-rays (HORRIBLE) but he did get stickers!

This is the cast and sling.

I sat with him all the way to the ER and we talked about how cool his cast was going to be and how awesome he was going to look in it.


10:00pm with lots of medicine and a couple treats for his bravery!

Speaking of bravery, I told him the story of David and Goliath during the x-rays last night (AGAIN, HORRIBLE) and this morning he was walking around saying "I am a David." It's incredible to me that 1 minute of the entire experience stuck out in his mind. God was obviously working in his heart as much as he was in mine. Such a sweet little boy. We are thankful that he is "a David" and that he looks so stud in his little cast.

Creation Lesson

Creation

-Wall Mural of each day (as you can see, Boston did some scribbling on our days)

**This works well if you split it up into 2 days a week! Then you can get fun activities in with them and it's not overwhelming!**

- Day 1: Light & Darkness -Marco Polo

-Day 2: Water & Sky -Play in the rain or sprinkler, go to a water park

- Day 3: Dry Land & Plants- Go for a hike or a playground in the forest

-Day 4: Sun, Moon, Planets, Stars- Let the kids stay up late and look at the stars together on a blanket with hot chocolate!

-Day 5: Birds & Fish -Eat goldfish, go fishing, or go to the aquarium

-Day 6: Animals & People -Color pictures of animals or go to the zoo

The Cash Register

Over the summer, I have had the privilege of watching something significant happen with Jackson and Boston. I have broken up many fights, several wrestling matches, and heard "he did it" over and over but I have also seen "the switch". That moment in time when little brother goes from annoying to friend. There was one day about one month ago when Boston said, "Do you want to play cowboys Jack?"and Jack's face lit up like a firecracker. He was so excited. There have been several moments like that throughout this past month as they have become companions. My favorite though had to be about two nights ago. We all watched a movie together and ate popcorn. When the movie was over I told them to pick up and go brush their teeth. I was doing something with Moses and I heard giggling and whispering but didn't think anything of it. I put them to bed and then continued to hear a lot of giggling and whispering which slowly became a lot of laughter, or as my mother would say "a dull roar." I went in to check on them only to find them both on the floor eating popcorn out of toys. They had snuck popcorn into their room, filled their toys with it, hid them til I left the room and were now dumping it out of the toys and eating it on the floor.
I couldn't even get upset with them. Isn't that what siblings are for anyway? I spent two and half hours on the phone with my sister last week and I have no idea what we talked about but I know I laughed hysterically the whole time. Another day, I texted with my baby sister doing the same thing! And then spent some time crying on the phone with my other sister (I have a lot of sisters)! Those are the women who know me best, I don't have to impress them...I can JUST BE. Siblings are the people that stick with you through tears, through heartache...they know who your first boyfriend was and how he broke your heart, they know when you had your first kiss, they were there at your wedding and watched God weave together redemption, they know all the outfits you wore in high school (and occasionally describe them in graphic detail in public settings), they can describe the births of each of your children as if they were there in the delivery room themselves, and they know as soon as you say HELLO what your mood is for the day.
Now I get to watch that develop between my young men. There will be fights both with words and fists, there will be differences in character, there will be lots of getting on each others nerves...but that is all worth the friendship that develops through the years as they are deeply known by someone who unconditionally loves them.

Summer Fun

Mo's first meal

Cousins!

Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo Parade...rain or shine

Mutton Bustin: Jack looks forward to this all year long! This year he asked us what he had to do to win. We told him that he just had to hold on as long as he could. That tough little dude, was still holding on after he had been bucked off! Now that's mutton bustin!

Yes, that is my son on a mechanical bull!

What's not to love at Grammy's house?!

Matty's Surgery

Matt is recovering from surgery right now...I am waiting for him. I have already finished my Beth Moore, my raspberry mocha, and sending out updates....everything to keep my mind off of the fact he is in an operating room where I can't see him or talk to him. So I am going to give writing a shot. It's a weird thing, even when you know the surgery is pretty safe...it's that feeling that the person who leads you, takes care of you, and holds you every night as you fall asleep is in the hands of someone else. I know that he is in the hands of God but he's not in my hands and he isn't here with me so it's a scary feeling.

Matt has had back pain for 6 years. That's longer than I have known him. As long as I have known the man, he has had this horrible pain. I remember when we were dating he used to get through a day of work, drive half an hour to see me, and then lie on the hard floor trying to get the pain to go away so that we could spend time together. The last year it has intensified into nerve pain so not even that can temporarily take the pain away. Throughout these past years, he has maintained his regular drumming schedule because as he says, "Paul didn't stop ministering just because he had a thorn in his flesh and I won't either." He has not played with his boys, slept in a bed, played the drums, or sat at his desk in 6 years without pain. When the doctor came out, he actually said the disk was bigger and the pain was worse than they had thought. But today that thorn leaves.

The past month as been a whirlwind for us. Just trying to soak up as much family time as possible. We also had a family decision that we thought was going to happen for us change. And as I was crying about how my dreams were crushed my husband brought home a pint of blue bell, a rose, and a card with a description of how God was changing our dreams and that was okay. As my five year old broke down and had the worst fit of his life yesterday, Matt called him from work and calmed in down in 30 seconds. When Boston fell on the floor and started crying, Matt scooped him up and made it all better. When he walked in from work yesterday, Moses smiled and followed his voice until he greeted him. Whenever I think about the thought of doing this crazy life without Matty, I always think (please excuse the Jerry Maguire cliche quote, it's what I always hear in my head), "It just doesn't work without him." And it wouldn't...the Lord speaks through him and leads him like no other person I know. That's what makes it so easy to follow him.

Thank you Jesus for the gift of my husband and for the gift of recovery that you are giving him today.

Happy 4th of July

Okay, okay Happy 4th of July is a little late...but better late than never! I LOVE the 4th of July. If you haven't noticed, I just really love reasons to celebrate and honoring the freedom in our country and those who serve it so bravely are definitely reasons to celebrate!
We began our celebrating on Friday with America the Beautiful! Everyone got in on the fun, even little Mo.

And then we headed up to Mama's house for the weekend. We have an annual tradition of having a staycation at her house. She sets up guest rooms, cooks big meals 3 times a day, makes awesome desserts, we go on drives, fish, and of course, hit all the festivities that Motown has to offer. Ice cream sandwiches with sprinkles, obviously created by a grandmother.
Speaking of said grandmother, how cute are they?
It wouldn't have been complete without the fireworks.