SNOW Mountain

I don't know what I expected out of an event at Snow Mountain, but considering it was taking place in the deep south, I certainly wasn't expecting this:

Abby kept telling us she got to ride on the snow in a "tool", and we just kept making excited faces and saying "that's awesome!" It wasn't until Josh's mom sent me the pictures from their weekend that we finally knew what she was trying to tell us. She got to sled down the man-made "snow mountain" in a tube. Here she is getting ready for her turn...

...and here's what she had to look forward to!

Some of the other fun things they got to do were build a snowman stand by a snowman that another little boy there built...

...and have a snowball fight with PaPaw!



Natalie had a great time making snow angels...

...but I'm not sure Abby really understood the concept.

GrandPam said the girls' favorite part, though, was splashing around in the puddles in their new froggy galoshes.

Thank you PaPaw and GrandPam for a fun and fabulous weekend!!

A Quiet Weekend

What are some of the characteristics I think of when I think of Abigail? She has a tender heart, she loves to serve by helping others, she's one smart little cookie...and she talks.

She talks a lot.

Remember when I mentioned how much she looks like Josh's sister, Rebekah? Well let's just say they're alike in more ways than one. (I love you, Seester) :-)

Our family was supposed to head over to Marietta this past weekend to visit with Josh's family, but after "the fall" we decided to stick around here. But because GrandPam had already gotten tickets to Snow Mountain (which is Stone Mountain covered in a bajillion tons of imported snow!), Abigail and her cousin, Natalie, still headed east for the weekend.

So just a couple of hours after she left, we noticed something. Man, was it quiet! I will say this...it was neat to spend some devoted time "talking" with the little two, but we sure missed Abs.

A whole Snow Mountain picture fest is coming, but here's what was going on in our house for the weekend:
Before we could play, Jack and Izzy had some very important business to take care of on the remotes:


But then it was time for a game of chase:

Oops...took a spill!

Of course, there was definitely some "flat-on-the-floor-getting-tickled-until-you-can't-breathe" involved!

But that can only last so long. There was a time for rest as well. Whether it was cuddling with a favorite blankie...

...or curling up with a favorite buddy (and yes, there is a story behind the "beans" shirt)...


...we all enjoyed an afternoon of rest.

But of course, that was short-lived, and we were up and going again soon. We read some books:

And we laughed at how much fun it is to wear "box hats":

But best of all, we posed for the camera and let Mommy get some sweet shots:


What a weekend!!

And in case you were wondering (and I know you were!), yes, we did spend a good bit of the day in our jammies!!!

Top Ten

As we've been walking through these past couple of weeks (sorry Honey, no pun intended!), we've been talking about some of the things we're thankful for. It's something we like to do when things seem to be kind of rough...especially when things seem to be rough. Despite the hardships we face at times, we still recognize that we're incredibly blessed. We have a peace in our hearts that can't be shaken by any of the external circumstances of our lives. We have a joy that can't be stolen by the sorrows that may come our way. We love, and we are loved.

And that's something to be thankful for.

Now with that said, I give you a Top Ten of some of the other things we're thankful for:

10. Family. In a matter of hours of Josh's accident, four family members from four different cities had come to be with us and the children. I was still feeling pretty overwhelmed at the time, and it was such a welcome relief to have them step in and take care of everything that had to be done. They've been there for us in countless ways during this ordeal. And I'm pretty sure the kids would think it was just perfection if they all moved in full-time!

9. Friends. Our friends have gone out of their way to support us in whatever we've needed during this time. Whether it was meeting us at the house to get Josh upstairs when he first got out of the hospital, going to the pharmacy to get his prescription filled, or driving him around while he can't drive himself, our friends have ministered to us in so many ways.

8. Children who can sleep through almost anything. I think I mentioned this in a previous post, but despite the chaos of what was happening at the foot of the stairs, the munchkins never made a peep at the top of the stairs. That was one of the first blessings we recognized out of all of this.

7. Wheelchairs, walkers, and bath chairs. Really. You have no idea.

6. Meals on wheels. Our church, family, and friends have provided almost all of our dinners since we got home from the hospital. And that's more of a blessing and a help than I can possibly express!! Our delightfully happy children lose a smidgen of their joy around the 5:00 hour. They're tired, they're in extra need of cuddling, and they're hungry. And that makes for a tough time for me trying to get dinner prepared (especially with another larger family member who's feeling the same way as the little ones!)

5. Laughter. Those first few days after Josh's accident weren't exactly teeming over with laughter, but we definitely found moments (in between Josh's morphine-pump pushes) to laugh together.

4. Outside-the-box thinking. Family and friends have really been thinking about ways to serve and help us. And it's been neat to see some of the great ideas that have come from that...storage containers to refrigerate leftovers (from the fantastic dinners we've been given), paper plates so that we don't have to worry about doing dishes every night, magazines to keep Josh entertained when he was stuck in the bed, bagels and cream cheese for breakfast the next morning, and the list goes on. I'm definitely tucking some of these ideas away for when it's our turn to serve someone else!

3. Yahtzee. Do you know how great this game is?!? We lay in bed and play it every night now!!

2. MedJet. In case that doesn't ring a bell, that's the company Josh works for. At the time of his wipeout, he didn't have a single day of vacation or sick leave; however, they gave him a full week of time off to spend at home healing (not to mention the two days they gave him while he was still in the hospital). Josh is so happy there, and he would love for you to check the company out (http://www.medjet.com). (Yes, that was most certainly a shameless plug. But really, check it out!)

1. The peace that comes from knowing that God loves us and that He works all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). We don't always understand His ways, but we always trust in them.


Today was a big day for Josh...the surgeon had told him he needed to be out of work for at least two weeks, but just one week into that time frame, Josh felt like he could go back to work full-time. So after about an hour of getting everything ready last night (I felt like I was sending him off for his first day of school), he was ready to hit the ground running this morning. I'm just full of inappropriate puns today, aren't I? :-)

I was kind of resistant to his going back so early, but much to my pleasant surprise, he did great today. He's a little tired tonight, but he's feeling wonderful after "finally becoming productive again". His words...definitely not mine! Our prayer and the prayer of many others has been that he will have a fast recovery that defies what the doctors said was possible.

Looks like he's well on his way.

I ♥ Black & White

This week's theme on I ♥ Faces is "b&w". The thing I love about black and white photography is that you can take almost any shot, turn it from color to b&w, and it seems to automatically take on a deeper, more emotional feel. This is one of my all-time favorites of Jack (as you can tell from our blog header). He has the most gorgeous eyes, and this shot totally captures that. His eyes are definitely the windows to his soul...and what a happy little soul it is!!


Click on the button below to see all the fun b&w entries for this week's contest!

Guess What's In There

Oh, what a difference one week makes. At this time last Sunday, we had only been home from the hospital for 24 hours. Josh was only awake for a small percentage of the day, and his only means of transportation was by wheelchair or walker (and even that was limited by his pain and fatigue).

Now that he's been home for over a week, he's having much less pain, he's able to do a lot more, and he's moving around much better. We even went to church this morning! It feels so good to get back to doing the things we love.

And one little thing that we love is playing this goofy game that you probably haven't heard of. I've mentioned it in a previous post...anybody know about "CornHole?" CornHole used to make an appearance at casual company parties at Josh's previous job, and he loved it so much that my sister, Bethany, and her husband hand-crafted a CornHole game to give Josh for Christmas last year. But it wasn't just any CornHole game...it was a Boston Red Sox version!!

This is us several weeks ago playing CornHole out in the driveway:

Check out his form...Josh takes great pride in his beanbag-throwing skills. (He's actually being a total nut because he knows I'm taking pictures!)

As you can imagine, CornHole in the traditional sense isn't going to be on Josh's to-do list for the next couple of months while he's on crutches. So in thinking of something they could do to lift Josh's spirits, Bethany and Bailey had a brilliant idea! See for yourself...

It's a teeny-tiny version of CornHole, and each of the beanbags is tied to a string so that Josh can pull it back again after each throw. Hysterical!!!!!!

I laughed until I cried when I saw what they had done. Perfect gift! Oh, and back to my post title...guess what's in there!

Yep, that's right! Sweet little Emma (on the right) is going to be a big sister!

And Brayden (at just two years old) is going to have two little siblings in September. Hooray! Please join us in praying for the health of our newest little niece or nephew (by the way, Bailey's trying to convince Bethany to let this one be a surprise...that's what we did with Izzy, and it was so much fun!)

Please pray for Bethany also as she has a lot on her plate being pregnant with two little ones to care for as well. She developed gestational diabetes with Emma, and she's more likely to have it again with each subsequent pregnancy. She needs to be covered in prayer for rest and health during these next few months.

Who Will It Be?

It's been really surprising to learn what we took for granted before Josh's accident.

Getting dressed independently. Going up or down a staircase without having to sit on your bottom. Making a sandwich.

These are just a few of the things that Josh hasn't been able to do since last Thursday. But I can see it happening...we are officially re-entering normalish life now (albeit very, very slowly). The activities above are actually things that Josh has begun to accomplish on his own over the past couple of days. And while they may seem minor to you, they're pretty big milestones for us!

It's been so hard on Josh to be forced to take a spectator role in our home. He's normally extremely hands-on with so many of the daily happenings around here, but when the surgeon talked with us in the hospital, he explained to us how vital it was for Josh to be completely non-weight-bearing on his right leg for around two months. He said that any amount of weight at this point could rotate and pull away any or all of the twelve screws holding Josh's leg and ankle together. And who wants to have that gruelling surgery redone?


On a side note, we've got a little bet going on around here. Feel free to play along if you'd like!

Learning to walk is a slow, arduous task that requires great dedication, effort, concentration, and persistence. It's not a skill that comes easily, but once mastered, it brings with it freedom, independence, and joy.

So who will it be?

Who will be the first to take those all-important first steps?

JOSH or IZZY? :-)

Wonder

What do you say we take a little break from the drama that's been going on around here over the past week?


I've mentioned this fun new site (http://iheartfaces.com) before, and I just happened to look this afternoon and saw that this week's photo contest theme is "Wonder". I immediately thought of this picture that I took of a pint-sized client not too long ago. I love how intrigued she seems with my camera. She kept staring right at me, and I was able to grab some really sweet shots as she tried to figure me out.

Make sure to check out all the fun faces at I ♥ Faces!!

**OOPS--just checked the site, and I missed the 6:00 deadline. Oh well, she's still such a cutie-pie that I'll leave her picture up for all to enjoy! :-)