Monday, May 19

What I Did On Summer Vacation - by Sis



What you are looking at is Sis' left upper arm bone. She managed to snap it, just above the elbow, and dislocate the elbow as well. She had just finished up a soccer game and was killin' time on the monkey bars before Bud's game started.

Can you believe our good fortune that our family doctor happened to be right there! He was at the soccer field for his son's game, heard her screaming, and was on the scene in seconds. He called ahead to the ER and met us there.

Unfortunately, the original X-rays didn't show a break, only a dislocation. Our doc said "better safe, than sorry". He ordered up our transfer to Children's Hospital in the Cities for a pediatric bone specialist to take over. So "off" our middle child went, via ambulance to St. Paul. Daddy was able to ride with her. Praise God.

In the meantime, I was frantically shuttling Bud & Mudge to their aunt & uncle's house, packing an overnight bag, and high-tailing it to the Cities on my own. A very understanding state trooper pulled me over doing 80 in a 55. He basically shook his head and turned the other cheek once he knew the reason. He did instruct me to slow down, and get there in once piece. I arrived in one piece, drove straight to the ER like I'd been there everyday, even though I hadn't a clue where I was (Thanks Lord!), and met Daddy & Sis in another ER.

For what seemed like an eternity, we waited in the ER for the surgeon to arrive and get the show on the road! As soon as she arrived, things took off at light speed and before I knew it, Sis was being prepped for surgery. I was allowed to stay with her while they put her under, and it was equally cute & terrifying to watch her drift off in mid sentence. I kissed her and prayed over her before they shuttled me out.

Steve & I were able to watch updates on a monitor. "In surgery", "out of surgery", "in post-op". It went very quickly, and before we knew it she was eating Popsicles in her hospital room watching Disney. I'm the one who was in shock. She was her typical self, cracking jokes and paying no mind to the HUGE temporary cast on her arm. All the while, Daddy hung back in the shadows while I micro-managed. Then we all hit the wall and finally were able to sleep, even though the nurses were in every hour.

We were finally discharged at 2 pm on Sunday, and made it home by late afternoon. We gathered up the other kidlettes, ate supper, and then breathed a collective sigh of relief.

We were all so thankful that Sis was doing well. We are thankful that she only broke her arm. We are thankful for our doctor being right there, and even calling us today to see how we were doing.

I am thankful for each & every one of you who prayed for Sis, offered your help, offered your encouragement, and showed your love for us. I am thankful for your self-less acts of love.

And so is she.......

Monday, May 12

Can't Get It Out of My Head!

Heard from the back seat of the van....

Mudge [In sing-song voice]:

If you're happy and you know it,

you're

a

snake!


Try singing that without smiling!

Then, guess what? You can't get it out of your head either.

You're welcome.

Tuesday, May 6

Dinner Conversation

Tonight we had my BIL Joe over for supper. It was "Joe Appreciation Night" here at Anderson Adventures, as he has been making contributions of building materials to my growing farm (more on that later).

Our kids get so excited when Uncle Joe is here. He rough-houses with them, he tells them jokes, and he puts up with their shenanigans, for the most part. Tonight was no exception.

During dinner Bud was sharing stories about this & that. Sis was telling about loose teeth, baby chickens, etc. Finally Mudge piped up:

"Joe guess what! I went poop on the potty chair!

How do you top that?! All fell silent for a few seconds and then the house was filled with laughter.

Life with children is never dull!