Foot Update

I went to the doctor yesterday morning and they are seeing some bone regrowth so that is good ... it is going very slowly so that is bad!!! The doctor broke the news to me that I have at a minimum of 6 weeks and most likely 8 - 10 more of no weight on the foot (ie crutches or my scooter) and no driving. 8 - 10 weeks ... how does that work!!!! My sweet mother in law will be here on Monday for a week and then we will just take it week by week!! I am still hoping to be able to make the trip to Indiana the following week to be with my mom and brother and sisters!! I am very blessed by the outpouring of help, meals, and encouragement from everyone ... I am sure after everything is healed and I am back on my feet (LOL), I will see this whole thing as a life lesson I needed to learn!!

Grand Slam

Last night at his little league game, Andrew hit a Grand Slam!!! That was his 2nd homerun of the season!! His Yankees team is 11 - 2 and are really playing well together. I was very bummed that I missed the hit!!! Hoping to get to his game on Friday night .....

To My Rescue

As soon as Meredith heard I broke my foot, without hesitation she flew from Atlanta (where she was celebrating Easter with her in-laws) with her 7 week old and 18 month old!! She took such good care of me, driving, cleaning, cooking, chasing the housefull of kids and trying to keep me still. I sometimes take for granted how amazing my sisters are ..... we had a fantastic time being together. I hopefully will be able to travel to Indiana for Mother's Day in two weeks ... that means Meredith and I have spent almost 3 weeks together in the past month and a half. I am praying that I will be cleared to travel with both of the little ones. I am so excited to see all of the litte cousins together!!

Seattle Fun

William, Mommy and Jules were so lucky to travel to Seattle to meet Meredith and Jeff's newest little boy, Pete Jeffrey. While the big kids and Sean were skiing in Park City, we traveled on a loooong flight all the way to Seattle. The flight out there was pretty rough with William (kind of like trying to hold a monkey or an eel on your lap) but Julia was such a big girl and had excellent behavior. We had so much fun during our trip.

1. Went to the Point Defiance Zoo for the day (it was beautiful weather)
2. Spent the afternoon at a fun park with Meredith's friend Julie and her son, Aiden (who is Julia's soul mate .. they became fast friends and played together like they had known each other forever)
3. Went with Meredith's friends Jacque and Stuart on their amazing boat for the afternoon
4. Attended Palm Sunday service at Meredith's church ... everyone was so nice and inviting.

Not Much of a Baby Anymore ....

My dear friend, Terri (http://www.terrizphoto.blogspot.com/) came to take some pictures of Meredith's boys (http://meg-a-maniacs.blogspot.com/) and snapped this picture of William. I know he is a toddler now but I still think of him as a baby. I was caught off guard when she sent me this picture .. wow, he really looks like a real boy (as Charlotte would say!). He also looks very much like Andrew did at this age (except for his strawberry hair). In the past few days, he is really starting to talk and string words together. All that babbling was words ... now we can understand him. Yesterday he learned to say "Brown Bear" ... so adorable and precious. Although it is sad to see your youngest getting big ... I am so excited to see his personality come out. Will he be sensitive like Andrew, confident like Katie, eccentric like Matthew, imaginative like Jules or something new .....

Matthew's Haiku

Eskimos Penguins

Arctic Fox very very Cool

Seals Humpback Whales

Matthew Reciting his own poem .... He spoke very cleary and was very confident!!! His poem was about the Arctic (thus the big, green ski jacket). All the first graders performed one poem ... and then they had a huge poetry picnic and ice cream sundae bar!!

Giving Mommy and Julia a big smile!!

Working it out in the group song!!

My Sweet Babies

I will post the Easter pictures soon, but I love this picture of the kids. I look at this picture and see all the wonderful blessings in my life. I know all the hard work and worry will be so worth it when I look into the eyes of my five adult children someday ... having my sister here this week reminds me how amazingly special a close relationship is with your siblings as an adult!! I love the separate relationships each of the kids have with one another ... whispering in the backseat of the car, have a secret handshake, cheering for each other at their games, snuggling on the couch, singing a crazy song or holding hands at Mass. God has so richly blessed our family ....

Easter Egg Hunt .. Matthew Style

Matthew was excited for the Egg Hunt ... he was in the 4 - 7 year old division so was happy to be the oldest in the group. He had a lot of moves when finding eggs and made sure his basket was filled to the brim. His hair is a bit messy ... he had it cut later that dare.

Easter Egg Hunt

Julia really had fun at the Easter Egg hunt ... she was her usual timid (and slow) self but did find alot of eggs. We arrived just as the hunt started because of Mom's slow gait!! Pawpie rushed the kids to the front and helped them fill their baskets..

William had no clue what was going on at the Egg Hunt ... Pawpie helped him get the eggs, but he kept throwing the eggs our like balls and then stomping on them. He saw his friends Anna Cate, Carly June, and Clayton (sitting with Will in the picture above) and was not too sure about the Easter Bunny!!

When in Rome ....

Andrew is taking Latin this year and is really loving the class and his teacher. We are so thrilled that WPS has Latin (what a help when the kids take their SATs!!). On Monday, there was a huge Roman Festival. The kids each dressed up as a Roman character or God (Andrew was Bacchus, the God of basically partying and wine ... and ritual madness!). They also had to make a chariot for chariot races ... Oma, Sean and Andrew worked together to create a really cool chariot!! I guess this is the only time that you are allowed to bring a bottle of wine to school

MIA (Momma in Action)

Ok ... so I am adjusting to life on the couch. Although my foot is feeling better, I know that I must keep it elevated and stay off of it as much as possible. Meredith is here now and waiting on my hand and foot (ha, ha). Thought everyone would get a kick out of seeing me with my crutches and my Roll-A-Bout. Sean keeps asking me where my oxygen tanks are and if I have my med alert bracelet on. I have to admit I was resistent to getting the scooter, but it really makes it easier to get around the house. Plus Will likes to ride around on it with me. Meredith and I might beadazzle my boot and add some festive decorations to my scooter!!

Broken Foot Update

So I am just sitting here with my foot in the air on day 3 of staying off my feet!! My bible study has set up meals for the next few weeks, I have gotten so many calls, emails, texts, offers to help, books ... it is amazing!! Meredith (and Pete and John) are coming tomorrow to stay with me for a week to help (and DRIVE) me. Merediths boys are 6 weeks and 18 months ... this is really a sacrifice for her ... I am very humbled by her service to me. I have crutches and a big boot but am getting this stylish Roll-About walker (right from the geriatric wing) .. Although I want to walk around and do my life ... I know that surgery is the worst option so I sit and wait and see how I heal.

April Fools a bit late

So on Wednesday, I fell on the stupid phone books that they leave at the front door and badly broke my foot. Doctors say I must completely stay off of it for 6 – 8 weeks or surgery … I am on crutches, my foot is killing me, and I know I have to listen because it is a complete break of the bone right where the artery comes into the bone, so if I put pressure on it or walk, the blood flow continues to go there, preventing healing … I go back in 2 weeks to have it relooked at to see if the healing has started. If not then surgery might be the only option .... I havent' quite figured out how staying off your foot works in our family. Although my running is on hold, I am quite sure that I am going to become ripped on my upper body from the crutches and really strong on my left side from hopping around and balancing on one foot. It will be like yoga all the time ....

Still Obsessed with Birds

As I have mentioned before (and evidenced by carrying around an adult duck) ... William is still constantly looking for birds, chasing them and of course pointing to the sky. I loved these pictures ... he finally did find a couple of big black birds high up in the sky!!!

Great Bunt!!

Last week Andrew played a great game at WPS for the JV team. His first at bat he laid down a perfect bunt for a hit (and moved the runners around!). I got the action shots ... pretty cool!!

Mr. Creativity

When you are at the ballfield everyday for hours, you must get creative for entertainment. Last week, William spent an hour looking inside of this tire at the WPS baseball field. Once we investigated, we saw baseballs sitting in a bit of water. How fun for a 20 mo. old!!

A Happy Birthday For Me

We celebrated my 38th birthday last week (on Tuesday) ... it was a nice day. Andrew had a game that morning and then we did dinner at Benihana (yummy!!!). I got some wonderful cards from the kids and Sean and some more Willow statues to add to my collection. Katie insisted that I have my picture taken for the blog. I was secretly hoping that my letters would have been hung up when I awoke ... maybe next year!! My friend Amy dropped off some beautiful tulips, I got two dozen amazing roses from my mom (plus some money to buy some new running shoes), a shirt and necklace from Melinda and some flipflops and a necklace from Mere. Ashley gave me a lovely bracelet .. and Melissa and Heather gave me a great frame for a picture of me and my sisters and I got a suprise bag of goodies from Kathy. I felt very loved .....

He Took One Deep

Monday night was a big night for Andrew ... he was playing the White Sox and we won big time!!! But the icing on the cake was his FIRST HOMERUN (over the fence!). He crushed a MONSTER hit that went over Centerfield, over the sidewalk and his the bleachers on the soccer field. He was looking forward to hitting one out this 12 year old little league season !!! I was so happy I was there ... I actually got a bit teary eyed. His team went crazy .... and everyone cheered. He gave the ball to me ... very sweet. On his next at bat, he crushed another ball to right field and just missed going over. He had a triple. It was a wonderful night for him ... he really works hard on his baseball..