In the Mean Time

While Jerel is healing- slowly but surely- I am trying to keep the boy's schedule as normal as possible. So, we play golf off the deck and watch Mickey Mouse while eating tractors. That's normal, right?? :)

Update

We are home and feel very grateful. His surgery went as well as it could have and already he is able to stand and walk with some assistance- which were impossible this morning. For the next month he will not be able to pick up anything over 5 lbs. and we will have to wait and see how the nerve damage recovers. We are hopeful. Thank you for the many prayers- they were all felt!

Prayers Appreciated

It's been a wild few days around here. Jerel has been having back problems since December but lately it's been getting worse. On Thursday morning he went to stand up at his desk and was completely unable- and in excruciating pain. We were able to get in to see a neurosurgeon Friday morning and today have discovered that he has ruptured two disks in his back and his nerves are very upset about the whole thing. He is still unable to stand or walk and surgery is tomorrow morning. We are given no promises about the recovery of the nerve damage in his feet and legs- but we are really trusting God with this and praying that there will be a full recovery. We have been warned that it may take as long as a year. So, please feel free to pray about any of the above! Thanks!!!

Egg Hunt

 

We had our annual neighborhood egg hunt. We had a 100% improvement rate this year. Last year, it was Nolan's first hunt and he got two whole eggs. He would SLOWLY find an egg then SLOWLY open the egg to see what was in it, then SLOWLY put in in his basket. After two eggs the other kids had found all the other eggs. So this year I gave him a pep talk. I informed him that the goal was to get as many eggs as possible- the goal was to WIN! So as he helped me put jelly beans into the dozen eggs that we had to take to the hunt, we talked again about running to find as many eggs as possible and not opening them until we passed out from counting the hundreds of eggs that we he gathered.

The hunt began- he SLOWLY walked into the back yard as the other kids ran past him and managed to pick up four eggs- two of which were empty and had no candy in them. I am thinking that we are going to have to set a training ground in our own back yard this week as I try to survive Spring Break. Lord help me!! :)

Tis the Season...

Apparently it's caterpillar (or as Nolan says it cad-a-puder) season. They are everywhere, and they are a great source of entertainment. It's also, learn to climb a ladder and go down a slide season. Good times!

Dying to Self

Confession: I don't really like messes. I mean, I can handle some clutter, but I just don't love being messy. I have never been one to plunge my hands into the dirt. And I don't even want to talk about sand- I hate sand. So, needless to say I don't actually love when my children are covered in food. I am fairly sure I am part of the reason Nolan is OCD. I just never let him get really messy. However, with Elliott I don't have time to stay on top of his every move and he DOES NOT want me to feed him. So, lunch time looks like this...

Look at those chubby, filthy hands :)

 The real problem is the cleaning up process- it's everywhere and takes forever!

So, lets talk about his jacked up chipped tooth. Sadly, he fell at preschool on the gym floor, and for the next 5-6 years, this is what his sweet smile will look like. He already had a cute gappy grin, and now it's gappy, crooked, and broken. I have to confess that when it first happened the ugliness of my heart really showed up. I was afraid that kids would eventually make fun of him, that people would not think him cute anymore, blah, blah, blah. One- a little chip could not take away the cuteness of this baby- mostly because he has the loveliest, sweetest, spunkiest, determined soul. And two- 1 Samuel 16:7 says "The Lord does not look at the things that the man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart." Enough said. :)

"I don't want to talk about it Mama!" :)