Are you broken?

It was a cold, rainy day and the kids had been inside all morning. I needed to move a table at the church so I told them to grab a ball and they could play in the gym before we had to go to Morgan's speech therapy. They were thrilled to have space to run.

I put my stuff away and then joined them in the gym. Open space. Ball. Hoop. 

Suddenly, my brain forgot how old my body really is. I picked up the ball and shot a free throw. I used to be really good at this so I decided to shoot another. I jumped a little higher and was really working on my form. (I had to look good for my kids.) As soon as my left foot came back to the ground, my ankle rolled over. I felt the burning of tearing tissue and I sat in the middle of the floor trying to catch my breath. 

The kids were instantly by my side. The pain was so severe I was about to pass out. Morgan was starting to panic. I firmly called her name and said, "get me a chair and some ice. Go!" There was a chair right there so she slid it over to me and hurried to the kitchen.

She saw a large bag of ice in the freezer and knew that wouldn't work. Then she looked above it and there was a small bag of ice. Perfect. (One of those little miracles.)

I lay there, in the middle of the gym, with my feet on the chair and the ice on my ankle for about 10 minutes. I told the kids to play and assured them I would be fine. They sang and danced for me and tried to make me comfortable. Then, it was time to go.

I only have one key for our church and it goes to a door on the opposite side of the building. AND our church is made up of multiple levels. I not only had to walk from one end of the building to the other, I also had to go down stairs and up stairs and then down stairs again. By the time I reached my car I really thought I'd pass out. I found some Ibuprofen and took two.

After another hour of my foot elevated and the ice still on it, I was in complete pain. We stopped at the doctor's office before heading home. The x-rays showed where it had been broken before (10 years ago) but no new break. However, the doctor explained, torn ligaments hurt worse than a broken bone.

He gave me a beautiful air cast and told me to stay off of it as much as possible for TWO weeks. Then he added that it could take 4 - 6 weeks for it to heal. UGH! I took two more Ibuprofen.

After a sleepless night, I was afraid to look at it. When I broke my ankle my entire foot turned black. It doesn't look so bad. Does it?

Our summer school lesson this week has been real life problem solving skills along with a little first-aid.

Not the best start to our summer vacation. We all need bubble wrap.

Forever Family

For the first time ever I took my kids out of school early. They were disappointed to miss all the fun of the last day, but we had a good reason. My older brother and his wife just had baby number six and my other brother and his family flew to Oregon from Georgia. The last time we were all together was when Brit graduated, four years ago. Scott couldn't get time off so I loaded up the kids and made the drive to Oregon without him. 

We had a few things to finish up first. We couldn't miss the Indian Races. (How do they ride so fast without a saddle?) And there was a graduation card to make for Scott's niece and of course a baby gift to take to the new baby.

Nothing says family love quite like a paintball war.

Sweet little Hunter absolutely LOVED Levi. He kept calling him "police" even when he was reminded that Levi did have a name. Levi pinned his badge on him and let him wear it for a minute. Hunter beamed with pride. He is an amazing kid who melts everyone's hearts.

The kids helped sand and paint the front fence at my parents home. They worked hard and earned the paintball reward. There were a few minor injuries, some paint was eaten, and a few tears were shed. And that was just the fence painting! (Hahaha) 

For the most part, we had a great time!

Yes, even I got in on the action. (The mask really brings out my eyes. I may wear one more often.) Morgan and Levi worked on some strategy and Morgan captured the flag. Way to go!

The kids and I camped out at the Grange Hall while we were there. They loved sleeping in the camper and learning how to play the "real" UNO game. And there were more trees to climb. Heaven!

We had a few cold days but we found enough sunshine to go swimming a couple times. We also managed a rowdy soccer game between cloud bursts. My parents and I hung out with Hunter while the rest of them played. It was funny to watch the older "kids" start out dominating the game. They were all over the field and the younger kids hardly got to play. But, magically, about half way through the game the older guys were hanging back and letting the little guys go after the ball more. (wink-wink)

There was lots of yummy food to eat. Always. 

I didn't get a picture, but we were able to visit Great Grandma Hug. Her cat even let us pet her this time. And I managed to run up to the cemetery with my kids to bring a flower to their Grandma Mary.

My parent's cat had kittens a few weeks before we came. While we were there they all became very ill. They went from wild, feisty, playful babies to sleeping all the time and refusing to eat. I remembered the vet told us to give our dog Gatorade once when he wasn't feeling well. My mom happened to have some so they started feeding them with an eye dropper. I talked to Scott and he told me to get an electrolyte solution for animals. After a few days of the solution, all the kitties were starting to feel better. So glad we figured out how to save them!

We had to make a stop at Riverside Park. My kids call it the Castle Park because of the awesome play thing that looks like a giant castle. It amazes me how different the river looks now. They now have a walking bridge that goes over the river. One of our swimming holes isn't even there any more. Sometimes, it's hard to grow up and see everything change.

We had a wonderful week! It was hardly enough time to do all that we wanted to do and see all the people we wanted to see. Morgan says we have to go back soon.