How's Isabel doing?

Warriors Path State Park

While we were visiting my family, we went to Warriors Path State Park. It has a Narnia themed playground, and the kids really enjoyed it.


Duck begging for Goldfish:


The kids loved this thing, but they couldn't stand up straight when they got off of it:





Mr. Tumnus' house:


The Beaver house:


Isabel wants some raisins:


Pierce in front of the table where Aslan was:


The Mr. Tumnus statue:


Dad with his sidekick:





On top of Mr. Tumnus' house:

Family Picnic

Before we left for Florida, we spent some time back "home" with my family. We were able to visit with my extended family at a local park in my home town.

Madelyn loves to swing, and she's starting to make me nervous because she can swing so high.


My mom is a saint for pushing Isabel most of the afternoon. Isabel was pretty insistent that it was Mom who did the pushing. If Mom took a break, Isabel would fuss and point to Mom and say "Push! Push!"




Pierce really enjoyed the sand box.





Dad and J.D. kept the crowd entertained with a wonderful rendition of "Man of Constant Sorrow".


Then, the kids headed to the creek. They splashed, balanced on rocks, and tired to catch crawdads.






My cousin took some nice photos of our family and shared them with me. Thanks, Dawn!

Me with my parents:


Sweet Pierce with sand, chocolate, and dirt all over his face:


Madelyn with cousin Kathryn:


Me with my boyfriend:


It's always fun to see our family. I just wish it could happen more often.

Philip and Catherine's Wedding

For the week of the 4th of July, we drove down to visit my family. We had a great time visiting with extended family and relaxing and going to parks. For the second part of the week, we flew down to Palm Beach, FL to see my brother-in-law get married. It was a beautiful setting and a wonderful wedding, and I am so excited to have another sister-in-law. When we arrived in the "Sunshine State", it was anything but sunny:

However, things cleared up the next day. This is what I had to put up with for three days. (see below) And did I mention that we left the kids with my parents back home? So, yes. I had to put up with reading by the pool, getting manicures and pedicures, eating by the pool, walking on the beach--all without the kids.

The trolley took us from the hotel to the rehearsal dinner:

This was the view from our hotel room:

The wedding site:

Right after the wedding:

A glance at the beautiful couple right after the ceremony:

Thanks Catherine and Philip and Mom and Dad for a wonderful time!

An Upgraded Cast

The orthopedist confirmed today that Isabel does have a fractured right tibia. He described it as the bone being slightly buckled. Since the fracture is so close to the knee she has to wear a cast from her upper thigh to her ankle. The real bummer is that her leg is positioned at a right angle to prevent her knee from moving. Isabel was really angry for about 20 minutes after the new cast was applied. I think she enjoyed her 30 seconds of freedom between the first splint being removed and the new cast being applied. Once we got home, though, she picked up right where she left off, and I can't really tell that she's missed a step with the new cast.

So, what's next? Isabel has to wear this cast for 4 weeks. We will follow up with the orthopedist at that point. He seemed to think that that would be plenty of time for the leg to nearly heal, and at the next appointment, he will do another X-ray, and we will hopefully not need another cast. He said it would take about 6 weeks for complete healing, but the last two could be done without a cast. Other good news is that the cast is waterproof, and she is not restricted in her movements. He thought that she would be completely pain free within the week, but she's really not expressing much in the way of pain anyway. He said in the next couple of days she would start to crawl (but she started crawling as soon as we got home) and then try to stand up, and then she would probably start hobbling along.

Here are some pictures of the sweet girl:

Isabel, do you like your new cast?

"cheeeeeeeese"

Isabel, will you smile for another picture?

"Seriously?"

Isabel, are you sad that you have a cast?

"Not that sad"

"Nah, it's not too bad."

"Pierce, you are sooooo funny!"

"Did that doctor say I'd be standing in a few days?"

"Ha! Try two hours!"



Isabel, is your leg hurting?

"No, I want your camera!"

(Just keeping it real, folks.)

Please keep Isabel in your prayers--for continued pleasant attitude and quick healing!

Kind of pitiful

I had hoped my first post after our family visit and wedding would have been about all of the fun we had visiting and playing and sunning and seeing a wedding and staying at a wonderful resort. Unfortunately, Isabel decided to make our lives a bit more interesting yesterday. She fell down some stairs (leading to our basement) and then refused to put any weight on her right leg or foot. We decided an ER visit was needed since the fall occured after 5 pm and we couldn't visit our doctor's office. Friends came and stayed with the other kids for a while and then my sister-in-law and her husband came so that our friends could get home. We are very thankful for all of them!

They took X-rays of Isabel's lower leg and didn't see anything glaring so they X-rayed her femur, hip, and foot. After analyzing all of the X-rays, Isabel was diagnosed with a "suspected" right tibia fracture. We were told a few times that the doctor "really thinks" there is a fracture, but they obviously couldn't say they were 100% sure. So, they put a splint on her leg, and we are following up with an orthopedist on Friday morning. If she needs a cast, I'm hoping we can get a waterproof one!

As far as her demeanor, she's been a pretty good trooper. She really doesn't express much discomfort except when she tries to put pressure on her leg. I don't think she's in a lot of pain except when she does that. She's learning how to manuever a bit, even with the splint on. My main problem is guilt--feeling like I should have/could have done something to stop it. The kids are also continuing to act like 6 and 4 year olds. So, Pierce cried and cried when I told him he couldn't stay and play at the pool after swim lessons. Madelyn pouted and said she wasn't having any fun. I guess I really want to pout, too, but I'm trying not to.

So, if you don't mind, please pray for Isabel--for quick healing/better answers from the orthopedist on Friday, that it's not more serious than they expect, and that if she needs a new cast, it can be waterproof (This will make our summer much easier!).

Here's the trooper finishing her smile: