flashbacks of the last 3 weeks......

The ways we stay cool.....

Finding ways to grill....



Just loving summer!

Donovan's Dr. appointment last week~The bandage was changed & the staples came out...

And he got a removable boot/cast. YEAH!!

Last week we also got to see my niece, Sierra play her last home game.

And the holiday weekend was off to a great start taking some family pictures & enjoying a family picnic. Can't wait to show you pictures of that....when I get more from the photographer! These are just some samples from my camera. :)

Grandpa and the girls.....


We also spent time with our small group....(cookout #1)

Suzy and her little friend Greta~who like to read and feed their babies.

Julie and her friend Carol...love those ladies.

Also spent some time with our friends Rob & Marlys (cookout #2) with a side of apple crisp and ice cream~which Donovan is modeling for you.

Does anything scream summer louder than cones with ice cream in them??

Their little honey girl, Ava. Love her!
It was...a perfect evening. With beautiful weather & an impromptu cookout with sweet friends. Don't you love the type of people you can invite your selves over to their house for food & fellowship? L.O.V.E. that!

And cookout #3...My aunt & uncles....we totally scored on the cookouts this weekend!!! Yummy!!!! Did you think that was my plate in the above picture? Um...No. that was crutches boys' plate being delivered. :) Between me and you...I think he's kinda getting used to this treatment.

Suzy modeling her first ever twinkie.

Lots of fun laughing and kicking back. Love these people.

I adore that kind of laugh that makes your cheeks hurt. That happens most of the time around my cousin Steve and his wife Jane.
Thank you crutches boy~for capturing the moment digitally.

And a little baseball....with limp-a-long trying his hardest to play along. Poor thing. See his crutches on either side of him? Still can not put any weight on his foot...but we are 1/2 way through baby! 3 more weeks to go. Looking forward to having him on his 2 feet again.

watching them grow....

Yesterday I was sitting in the recliner next to Donovan (who was in his recliner) and while he slept, I read. It was time for Suzy to nap...so I let her curl up to me while I curled up to my book. Which is new to me...because usually I'm all about her going to a bed and being in our routine~but wow, I do know how to flexible. Snap! Soon she fell asleep next to me and with all the sleepers in the room, the warm body next to me, the rain outside...I was thinking a nap was a very excellent choice. So I put the book down and pulled Suzy up to me and tried to remember when she got so big....I remember her curled up on my chest when she was a newborn. Now having her on my chest, and her stretched out puts her feet down to my knees!!! WHAT??? How did she get so tall so fast? Where did the time go? And to smell her sweet blonde hair, made me just get emotional to think who she is, her little personality that has developed, all of what makes her who she is....Suzanna Faye.

It has been over the last week, since Donovan's surgery that has made me realize how busy, too busy we are. That we better slow this train down....we already have one that reminds us weekly she will be having a "double digits" birthday this summer! WHAT!? 10 years since we had our first baby? How are the days so slow and the years so fast???
So feeling like this has made me want to make the most of this down time, of being at home a lot, and taking care of Donovan. Wanting to make the time~precious rather than be a drag of counting down the weeks/days until he is on his feet and we are in full motion again. Easier said than done.

And how very, very cool that some friends from church brought over their 3 wheeled electric scooter for Donovan to use while he is recovering. I thought...awesome we can take the kids for a bike ride, me walking, Suzy and Donovan riding the scooter.



Too bad we got only one block, until his foot throobed so badly we had to turn around. :( Well maybe next week we'll try the bike ride/scooter thing again.
So....with that garage sale money I made...I bought this. A porch swing, which screams to me~sit down and relax. I love it. We spent lots of time out there on the front porch Sunday afternoon and evening. Suzy is getting combed because we had some exciting visitors coming over...

Grandma & Grandpa were just coming home from their week long trip to the Ozarks, and called to see if they could stop in. We popped some corn, made some lemonade, and got some cookies ready.

We also showed Grandpa, William's debut in our local newspaper.
So here is the quote of the day:
I know it's a little early in the post to put this up~But that's me just keeping it tricky for you.

William's class was asked by the newspaper....."What do you want to be when you row up and what will you need?"
William: "I want to be a policeman. You have to get people in jail if they do something bad on the road like my mom and dad do."
So...when I read this in the paper...I ask,
Me: "William, what do you mean something bad?? I haven't gotten a ticket since I was 18!"
William: "Mom, the time you went around the railroad tracks." I wrote about it here.

Right. right.
You do make me proud William.
Thank you for your excellent memory.

So here we are the bad people. Chillaxin' or relaxing as it used to be called.

The views from this porch are amazing...little people growing up right before me, riding bikes & scooters, making dams out of water dripping from flower pots that have just been watered, playing catch, and just being who they are~and us being so UN-Busy to notice.

the afflicted

Remember back here, when Donovan twisted his ankle? He's been dealing with pain off & on ever since August & it was decided by the specialist that surgery would be a must, to fix the tendons that kept going slipping in and out because of the swelling that would not go down. So Wednesday this past week we checked in to the OSMC surgery center and signed up for new a new ankle.
Love how they required him to write "yes" on the correct ankle. So I saw the sharpie marker laying there on the table, and got to thinking....Let's just be extra careful and sure we got the correct foot, and write "NO" on the other one. I got as far as part of the "N" before nurse Betty let me know....if the Dr. would see markings on any other part of him...the surgery would be cancelled. So, I'm thinking the Dr. doesn't like to really joke around when it comes to which foot to operate on. I quickly got a alcohol wipe and it came right off. Whew...

The surgery went well, the Foot Surgeon reported after his surgery that the ligaments and tendons were shattered, he repaired what he could and used 2 screws to hold the rest in place. He also had to saw off part of his heel to correct the arch of his foot, to hopefully prevent further injury.

We farmed out all of the kids and got childcare to various very willing and wonderful people from 11-6 for Suzy and from after school on for the 3 oldest. Thank you Rose, Chris, & Julie!! When we got home we had a very yummy, homemade meal of freshly baked bread, poppy seed chicken, awesome applesauce, garden tea, cupcakes AND cookies! Oh how very very sweet, thank you Rose! So very tricky with all those cute little notes on each item, I can't stand to throw them away.

His first morning after surgery, it's looking like he's enjoying this just a little too much...do you think?

Don't worry I made him work for that special breakfast treatment. :) :)

It's been a very very different last 4 days for me~to say the least. Donovan picks up almost all of the slack in the evenings giving me down time...while still being at home. He usually is the one to bath the kids, tuck them in, pray with them, etc. I've always appreciated how he helps with the kids, and around the house~but now there is a whole new meaning to it. Esp. thinking about him being home for 6-8 more weeks. It's been a lot to keep up with medicine schedules, laundry, bathing one extra person in the evenings, meals, & cleaning. But I am very thankful I am healthy, esp. since I had strep throat last Monday and was majorly sweating still possibly being sick while he was having surgery.
And we've had some super sweet meals the last 2 nights brought in! And Ice cream cake!! Yummy! What a bonus.

I don't know what we would do without our church family & friends at a time like this.

Quote of the day:
From Suzy the night he got home from surgery:
Suzy: "Daddy, I'm just gonna stand right here until you need something, o.k.?" (standing 3 inches from the recliner)

what we did last night

For this post I thought I would upload the pictures and have my daughter step in as guest writer.....I will now hand over the keyboard to Isabella. She is 9 1/2 and in 4th grade. Enjoy!

We went on a special date to a musical called The Titanic. We had a relative {Kendra} in that musical. Here is all of us at Carrabba's before the musical. Suzy and William are at Grandma &
Grandpa's house.

When Jack is excited, he acts as goofy as possible.

Dad said to make a silly face, so I did. I didn't know
it looked that silly until I saw the picture.

Here is me & Jack talking to relatives that were sitting
right in front of us.

Here is mom, Jack, and I in front of the theater before the play. I really enjoyed the play, it was awesome. My favorite part was when the boat was sinking, it looked amazing.


Quote of the Day:

Mom:Jack, quit picking your boogers.
Jack:Why? There's nothing else to eat.