Our First Broken Bone

     This past September, Maddox was at a friend's house while Lance and I went out to eat.  When we got home, my friend was holding Maddox, and he had been crying.  She said that all the kids were sliding down the stairs in a sleeping bag (how fun!), and he must have landed funny, because he started crying. A lot.  She was getting ready to call us when we got there (about 15 minutes had passed).  I figured he was just overly tired, and after time, he would be fine. Well, he couldn't sleep at all that night, and he couldn't move his arm very well.  I asked him if he would like for me to take him to the doctor, and he said yes, so I knew it must hurt pretty bad.  So, we called my mom to come watch the other 2 kids and headed over to Jasper County Hospital for x-rays.
     When we got to the hospital, we double checked with him, "Maddox, before we go in to the hospital, are you sure your arm still hurts??" I mean, who wants an E.R. bill if it can be avoided, right?  He was very sure it still hurt, so we went in.  Once in the back, the nurse asked him how bad it hurt, and he said "A little."  What?!  A little?!  Ok.  Then the nurse proceeded to twist and turn his arm and asked him if that hurt, and he said "A little."  WHAT?!  Oh brother!
    Next came time for x-rays.  He was a little trooper and let them do whatever they needed to get the pictures.  While waiting for the doctor (a little annoyed at this point because I'm feeling like they are going to tell us he is fine and send us home with $500 ice pack), Lance all of a sudden looked out the door and got wide-eyed.  He said, "If that x-ray is Maddox's arm, then it's definitely broken!"  So Lance went out to ask the nurse about the x-ray he was seeing on the computer screen in the hallway.  Sure enough, it was Maddox's, and his left arm was broken.  At this point, I am nearly in tears because we waited several hours to get him checked out, and a little while ago I had been annoyed with him because he was saying it only hurt a little.  He proved how tough he actually is on this night!!
     JCH didn't feel like they should cast it until he saw an orthopedic doctor, just in case.  There is an orthopedic doctor that comes from Lafayette to JCH, so they sent us away with a splint and said they would call us Monday (this was Saturday) with an appointment time.
     That was a long weekend.  Maddox cried a lot because his arm hurt, and he hardly slept at all.  Monday couldn't come soon enough!  When Monday rolled around, we didn't hear from the hospital all day.  Lance finally called the doctor's office in Lafayette to see if they would just see him down there.  After much convincing, they squeezed us in.  Thankfully, no surgery was needed and they went ahead and put a cast on.
     Maddox was in a cast for 5 weeks and healed wonderfully!  The toughest part was getting him to keep his fingers moving.  Once we overcame that obstacle, it was easy sailing!

Here we are at JCH getting a splint

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All splinted and ready to go home!

No words needed.....ouch!

At the doctor's office getting his cast.  He chose orange to match his Bears outfit

He was excited to get some special deliveries from Nanny and Papa, and Uncle Kevin, Aunt Heather, Seth, and Linsey

Working on his homework that he missed from school

Trying to move those fingers!!

Last day with his cast - yay!!

It's off!

Aahhhh....back to normal!  Almost.

1st Day of School!

I seriously still can't get over that all of my babies are in school.  It's weird. I still miss them during the day when they are gone.  But, it's part of life, and I'm going to enjoy this stage too.  You would think I have all the spare time in the world, but that's not the case!  I try to go up to the school often and stay involved.  They are all doing really well in school.  I can't say they love it, but nonetheless, they do well.  I am so proud of each of them and just pray that they continue to do well with their schoolwork and can be a light to those around them!

2013 - Camping, Camping, and More Camping!

We were able to go camping several times this past year, which was a lot of fun.  Here are just a few pictures of some of our adventures:-)

This was at Caboose Lake in Remmington. Here we are getting ready to take paddle boats out on the lake.  They also had some fun activities for the kids to do (trampoline basketball and some water slides).  You had to buy wristbands to be able to use them, though, and since it was chilly we chose not to.  We will probably go back to this campground, so hopefully it will be a little warmer next time!

Maddox, Landon, and me out on the paddle boat:-)

Landon loved to chop wood...he actually did this quite a bit while camping!  We usually made him put on glasses....not sure how he got away with not wearing them here.

The kids got Indiana Beach tickets for meeting a reading goal at school, so we camped in Monticello and let them use their tickets. I can't remember for sure which campground we stayed at.  I'm thinking it was Lost Acres, which was not very nice....we probably won't be going back this year!

We went to Oak Lake Campground with the Pilarski's.  This was such a nice place! There was a beach area where the kids could play and swim.  Out on the water were trampolines and launch pillows (I can't believe I didn't put a picture on here!).  There were also several activities for the kids (with the purchase of a wristband), but it was well worth it.  We will definitely be going back this year!!

Kelsey and Emily riding "bikes."  I'm not sure what these are actually called.

We tried out Raccoon Lake for the first time, which is right by Turkey Run.  It was so fun, and I hope we can go back again this year! We went hiking at Turkey Run for a day.

Landon wanted to see these ladders SO bad.  They were a far hike away, but he really wanted to see them.  Kelsey and Maddox were tired of hiking, so Lance took them back, and Landon and I hiked on.  He was glad he continued....it was pretty neat!

Time to Update

Has it really been almost a year since I have last updated my blog?!  Holy cow, that's terrible!  Well, I am going to attempt to get caught up.  It make take a while, but I know I can do it!  I've already done a few posts, but I still have a lot to go, so bare with me and wish me luck!!

Random Summer Fun + LOTS of Baseball, Softball, and T-Ball

                                           
                                          

Cookout at Tyler and Lacie's.  The kids had a blast on Tyler's homemade Slip N Slide!

Boating with the Waibels:-)  Kelsey and Elijah are ready to go!

Landon and Caden

 

Kelsey and Maddox

Landon all ready for his first baseball game!

Hanging out in the dugout with the team:-)

His team got 2nd place in the end-of-the-season tourney

They played in a tournament in Star City and got 1st place!

Kelsey getting ready to bat.  I didn't get too many pictures this year.....Kelsey didn't really love softball this time around:-(

Maddox ready for his first T-Ball game

Such a cute, good ball-player!



Preschool Graduation

Maddox graduated from preschool in April.  The time went by so quickly!!  He loved his teacher, Mrs. Capouch and was sad to be done, but now on to Kindergarten!!  We love you Maddox and are so proud of you!!



Maddox's Birthday Celebrations

Celebrating at preschool

Do you think he's excited to open presents??

Team Umizoomi cake

Lego Firehouse from Nanny and Papa



His babysitter, Andria, made him a cake!



Happy 5th Birthday, Maddox!

I cannot believe my baby is 5! We love you so much, Maddox Lane.....you are so sweet, tender-hearted, and fun to be around! Happy Birthday, Buddy!

Playing Catch-Up: Snip-Its of the Past 4 Months...

So here I am again, going about 4 months without a single post on my blog, and the thought of getting caught up was extremely overwhelming to me.  So, instead of doing a bunch of different posts, here is one post

 with several different pictures to give you an idea of what we've been up to lately.  I have put all of my pictures on facebook, so feel free to see more there:-)



Christmas at our house



Florida......We did so much during this trip and had SO much fun, it was hard for me to just pick one picture!

While in Florida, we had our first incident that required stitches.  It's quite the interesting story.....ask me about it sometime:-)  (This is Maddox, by the way)



Christmas Day (in Florida)



Our sweet Landon got glasses and lost his first tooth on the same day!

Lance took me to Chicago one weekend for my birthday, and we saw the Blue Man Group.  SO FUN!!

Hotel weekend with our potluck group.....always a blast

Lots of fun in the snow

Coloring Easter eggs

Easter morning....ready for church!

We recently spent the night at a hotel after one of Kelsey's gymnastics meets

Kelsey at one of her meets:-)

It's been a crazy, busy last few months, but we've had a lot of fun.  I want to remember to cherish these times, even when we are so busy, because the kids are growing SO fast!  I can't believe that our kids are now 9, 7, and almost 5....where has the time gone?!

On another note, for those who have been wondering....nothing new is really happening with our adoption.  We have had our paperwork in Ethiopia and have been on the wait list for about 5 months now.  Our home study is getting ready to expire in 2 months, so we are currently working on updating that.  We remind ourselves daily that, while we are ready for our daughter NOW, God is in control, and this is all part of His will and in His timing.  So, for now, we wait and just look forward to the day we can bring her home!