Monday, May 20, 2013

Achievements...

 
 Friday, May 17th, we celebrated Ryan's 8th grade graduation.  It's difficult to believe that he is 13 and on the brink of high school! 

Receiving his certificate
 
Turning the tassels for the kindergarten grads.  This is one part
of being involved with the program that I will miss once the new
teacher is ready to assume her role!
Such fun teaching little ones to read
Proud daddy
Wow...he's getting tall.
With Grandma and Grandpa Burley...
so glad they were able to be here!
 
Nichols' family that were there
With Mama and Papa

Our family
Ryan's friend, Caleb, also graduated from 8th grade.  Our senior graduate was Ryan Eads...honors student and all around great kid.  :-)  Proud of our PCS family!

It WAS a beautiful day...

On May 8th, Greg and I set out for a quick overnight trip to Adrian, MI.  He was visiting Adrian College, and I was along for the ride.  The weather was perfect, and we had a leisurely trip to Perrysburg where we spent the night.  On Thursday morning, we made it to the college around 9:30,  and were preparing to head in separate directions for the next couple of hours. 
Green grass, blue skies...
and a cracked sidewalk.  If you expand this picture and follow
the walk to the last hanging planter, you'll see where it, er, I went
down...lol.  :-)
This was the last photo I took.  Such a pretty campus.

By 10:45 I was laying in the local E.R. with a trimalleolar fracture.
In other words, three breaks and a dislocated bone.
Apparently, there was a large downward crack in the sidewalk and my toes went down causing all my weight to come down on the top of my right foot.  That sort of blew everything apart above the ankle.  I heard it break and knew that there was no getting up.  Within just a couple of minutes, the sports medicine people from the college were hovering over me, and the ambulance was soon to follow.  Sometime around noon, I finally earned a dose of morphine, and the x-rays proved what they were all assuming.  This was going to require surgery.  The next question was whether to stay there or come back home.  I'm extremely fortunate in that Greg delivers to the Orthopedic Institute of Ohio five days a week, and knows quite a few employees and several of the doctors.  Within minutes (and to the amazement of the dr in MI), he had the cell number of the foot surgeon, and he wanted to see me asap.  We decided to transport ourselves, and felt that it was a good decision.  Within 30 minutes of the two hour trip, however, the morphine had worn off and I thought I was gonna die.  They had wrapped my foot tightly, but all the muscles were displaced and everything was just a mess.  Besides the break, my toes had the feeling of being on fire.  I moaned and cried while my poor husband drove 80 mph and watched for cops.  We were pre-admitted to the local hospital here, and thought that it would be a painless process once we arrived.  Long story short, they weren't able to find me in the system, doctor's orders supposedly weren't there, and it was another 90 minutes after arriving at our hospital before they could give me another dose of morphine.  They finally got it together, and I was taken for a CT scan to determine whether there were any other pieces of bone floating around.  From the scan, I was taken directly to surgery.  So...injury at 10:15 a.m., surgery 8:30 p.m.  Longest day ever.  The last thing I remember after going into the o.r. was, through my tears, thanking all the people that were in the room for being there late at night when I knew they all had a life, too.  They were like, "Oh, it's ok, honey.  That's what we're here for..."  They were probably dying laughing on the inside.  It just felt to me like they all dropped what they were doing and came in late to save me from torture...lol.

Really?  LOL

Our hospital has the best food ever.  :-)  Seriously, we've
gone to their cafeteria for dinner when we weren't even in
the hospital!

Back home by Saturday evening.
I'm definitely not used to room service.

Wearing this cast for 2 weeks.
After that, will have stitches removed
and a hard cast placed for another 4 weeks.


Mother's Day 2013

Through the last week and a half, we've made lots of adjustments.  I'm so thankful for my family, and especially for my amazing husband.  He shows his love every day and in many ways, but a situation like this really exposes someone's character.  He is living the "for better or for worse" part of his pledge to me, and I'm grateful to have the unconditional love of a good man.  

Celebrating...Me! :-)

Happy Birthday to us!
Megan always adds her creative touch to gifts.  :-)
 
Alli, Suzie, Kait, and Livvi love Olive Garden!
 
Pictures shouldn't be taken this late in the evening, especially
after a long day..lol.  Anyway, happy to be with my parents
to celebrate turning 37!

 
My mom...she's the one who should be celebrated on May 7.
I wasn't exactly the easiest child to birth.  :-)

Love our girls!

Ryan and Evan with Mama Yount

My sister was able to meet us in Dayton
 
Celebrating the Chick-fil-A way! 
 
So blessed to be able to celebrate another birthday with
Grandma.  Last year we weren't able to be together, then in
August she was given a cancer diagnosis.  I determined that if
there was to be another birthday, we'd be together. 
Thankful for that opportunity!
I don't particularly enjoy birthdays, but this year I was actually excited about it and found myself anticipating it...lol!  What a great week I had...I guess that was to get me psyched up for what was about to happen...

Glimpses of Our Spring

This has been a beautiful spring here in NW Ohio!

Allison with classmates

Alli and Will hanging out on Papa's trailer.

With Halie and Burl...self-explanatory!

I told you!!!

Spring Break

For the last 30 years, our school has scheduled its spring break to coincide with the Inter-Church Holiness Convention that is held in Dayton, OH.  The convention is primarily attended by people whose religious affiliation is similar to our own, and is what I would consider a premier opportunity to experience free-of-charge what many would pay hundreds of dollars in ticket fees to access.  Obviously, a three day event of this kind isn't totally free...there are meals, hotel, travel expenses, etc., but our family has made it an investment of sorts.  And we are already seeing a return on that investment because our children have developed a love for what we call IHC, and we hope that they will make it a tradition in their own lives and for their families in the future. 

Last year, we were unable to attend IHC because of the death of my grandmother.  This year it was highly anticipated.  :-)  Here are a few photos from our time at IHC:

So excited to be at IHC!  Kailynn's cheeks were a little
blushed more than once...I won't share details...lol

GBS choir and orchestra...just one of the many groups that
provided superior music throughout the convention
 
Greg with his kindergarten and 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Cowherd
Hanging with cousins, Aubrey and Annie

Lining up to sing in the massive children's choir
All smiles
Allison was so excited.  This pic cracked me up...I can see her
excitement in the clinched fists.  :-)
Kaitlynn was in there somewhere, but they shifted around and
I lost her.  They so enjoyed the children's ministry this year!
We packed a whole lot into our 3 days at IHC.  Every couple of years, we sit in on the alumni receptions for the colleges we attended.  Now that Ryan is entering high school this fall (eek), it's important for him to be exposed to these opportunities also.  IHC is a whole lot easier now that the kids are self-sufficient.  With my extra obligations as part of the Women of Worth committee, I was able to leave the hotel early Wednesday morning and meet up with the family around lunchtime, knowing Kaitlynn would be in charge of making sure that she and Allison's hair looked nice and they were dressed appropriately.  Greg will do anything but hair.  :-)

Spring Break was a blast, and we were rejuvenated to head into the final stretch of the 2012-2013 school year!