Tough Break

Our family has officially experienced our first broken bone. I guess with a house full of boys it was bound to happen eventually, but I was hoping for a few more years!  Cooper (3!) broke his arm Monday night. Yes, Memorial Day. That's when these things always happen, right? Right before bed on a holiday. The boys were wrestling and Cooper landed on his arm just right. It wasn't any major catastrophe, just a minor fall that ended badly. We didn't take him in until Tuesday morning because we just weren't sure. He seemed ok so we figured going to the pediatrician the next morning was way better than a holiday visit to the ER. Cooper  cried and screamed when it happened but if you know Cooper this wouldn't have surprised you. He can be a bit dramatic.  He calmed down and his arm didn't swell or bruise so we decided to wait for morning. 

In the morning he was no longer cradling his arm, instead he kept it straight down by his side. He was happy and ready to play, but did NOT want us to touch or move his arm. So Jeff took him to the pediatrician. The doctor examined him for about 30 seconds and decided Cooper needed X-rays. Sure enough, he had broken both bones in the middle of his right forearm. No bruising, no swelling, no pain medication, and to the doctors amazement Cooper slept through the whole night with his broken arm. 

After the X-rays our pediatrician had some trouble finding us an orthopedic doctor to cast him. Everyone's schedules were full until June! They were considering sending us to Lubbock. We were also under the impression that Cooper's bones were going to need to be set. Jeff has been through that process. He broke his wrist when he was 13. He said setting the bone was the worst pain he has felt in his life. I was scared for Cooper. If my husband said the pain was that bad I didn't know how my little 3 year old was going to stand it. 

Thankfully we had friends and family praying for us and God sent us Dr. Younger. This man, we found out later, is semi-retired. He only takes a few patients. We heard second-hand that he does it as a ministry so that when 3 year old little boys have a broken arm and can't find a doctor he's available. We also discovered that he just recently underwent colon surgery and a 2nd surgery to remove a sponge that was left behind. A friend that we talked to said he didn't even know Dr. Younger was back at work yet. But he made time for us and we are so thankful. 

Cooper was scared to go. He had already been through a rough day and he was scared about another doctor's visit and I was scared to take him. We gave him some prescription pain meds in anticipation of the pain he would experience then we headed to the doctor.  He cried for the whole car trip over. When we got there I explained that he needed to calm down so that we could go in. I gave him permission to scream at the top of his lungs. He did and then we both took a deep breath and went in. It was amazing! I knew that we were feeling the prayers of friends and family. Cooper walked in calm and collected and played with toys while we waited.

His bones didn't need to be set. Cooper just had to sit still while the doctor squeezed his arm and made sure everything was in place. The doctor and the two women who helped him were all so incredibly nice. They kept Cooper calm and even made him smile when they brought in Dr Younger's chihuahua. Cooper picked a bright green cast which we have now dubbed his 'Hulk' arm. 

Copper was so brave all day long. We're so proud of our little guy! He seemed instantly better once he had his cast on. And the next day he was back to his usual self, only with a huge green arm!  Praise the Lord for great doctors and for my little CooperLoop's health.  4 short weeks and the cast comes off!

Waiting to get his cast

Showing off that Hulk Arm!

All tuckered out after a crazy day

Heart Stops

Beating, beating beating, if your heart stopped beating... 

My beating heart.  It’s something that always seems to be on my mind lately.  I feel my heart beating in my chest; aware of when it speeds up and when it slows down.  I notice how those muscles tighten when I feel worry or stress.  I feel the lightness that laughter brings.  It’s an awareness that is new to me.  You see, my dad had a heart attack last year at the young age of 51.  We almost lost him.  I stood in the hallway of the ER while doctors shocked my dad’s heart back to life 3 different times.  

This wasn’t my family’s first bout with heart problems.  A little over 8 years ago, my mom received a pace maker.  It corrected a problem that she had lived with for years.  But at 42, a pace maker is the last thing you want to hear your doctor recommend.  Heart disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol - they all run rampant in my family.  There are times that I feel that my heart is quite literally a ticking time bomb.

After my dad’s double bypass I felt an urgency to start taking better care of my heart.  It became a huge priority to me to lose weight, to start eating healthier, to exercise more.  And I started reading a book on heart health.  The problem with reading the book is that every time I opened the pages I felt a rise in my blood pressure.  As I read about the importance of reducing stress in my life, I would start to stress about how I would make that happen.  Instead of focusing on the good I could do for my heart I would let the overwhelming flood of what ifs enter my head …

“What happens if I do everything right, but it doesn’t matter because my genetics predispose me to having a heart attack? What if I don’t catch the early warning signs? Will this be the way that I die?  Will my heart stop beating and that will be the end of it?  What if I can’t get to the hospital fast enough?  What if my children are there to see it?  What if I die but my kids still need their mommy? What if I’m not ready to die??”

If your heart stopped beating

The end of all you know

Has the life you just stopped living

Left anything to show?

Have you wasted so much time!?

Do you know what it’d be like

If your heart stops beating?

So what if my heart does stop beating?  What then? It shouldn’t matter, right?  I mean I would hope that I would be missed.  And I want the best for my husband and children.  But I know that they would be loved and cared for even I wasn’t here to do it.  So the real question is - Am I ready?

Tell me what you’d do if

You knew this for sure

That every breath that you breath

Will be accounted for

Would it make a difference

If you knew that all your life

Is being seen by the maker of all?

Am I living like this?  Like my every breath will be accounted for?  I don’t want to be scared to die.  I want to live my life for Christ and know that when my time comes I’m ready to face Him.

If the heart that pulsed within you

Always lived like time was short

Would the world that is all around you

Come to see your Lord?

I want to learn to live like my time is short.  I want people to see Jesus in me.  I want to not be scared of dying.  It’s going to happen eventually, but I want to rest in the fact that God already knows when and how.  He has a perfect plan for my life.  I need to trust him while my heart is beating and when it stops.

Beating, beating beating, if your heart stopped beating

“Heart Stops” by David Dunn
**press play at the top to hear the song

Garrett turns One

This little guy turns one tomorrow!  I cannot believe how fast this year has gone.  It seems like forever ago that I was pregnant with him but at the same time I feel like he has grown up way too fast.  He is such a cutie pie ... walking, and trying to talk, doing his sign language, and loving everything that his older brothers do!

 We celebrated his birthday on Saturday with a construction party!  It was a lot of fun!

The cakes - one bulldozer and one dump truck!

Poor Cooper wasn't feeling very well during the party.  But Hudson and Cooper both still enjoyed helping Garrett open his presents and blow out his candle!

It didn't take long for Garrett to dive right into his cupcake.  He devoured it and then started clapping his hands, signing for More!

He didn't even seem to notice everyone watching him :)

Then it was straight to the bath!

Afterward Garrett supervised Daddy while he was assembling his new toy!

Hudson turns 5

Hudson turned 5 in February!  I just can't believe how grown up he is lately.  My favorite thing that he has been saying lately is, "A long time ago, when I was 4 ..."  So cute!  

Here he is on his birthday morning having a doughnut.  His big day was on a Sunday this year so we went to church then let him pick where we went to eat ... he chose Rosas! :)

Then it was back home for some lego building.  He loved reading the instructions to Daddy.  

"Level 20 - find a yellow piece"

The next weekend we had a birthday party with one of Hudson's best friends, Joe.  They were born 10 days apart and have been friends ever since! :)  They had so much fun at their joint Lego party!

Lindsy made these super cute cupcakes!

The Birthday Boys

The Party Planners

Happy Birthday Boys!

Rub a Dub Dub ...

Three Men in a Tub!

Garrett is Walking!

My little guy is on the move - two weeks before his first birthday!  This is about the same time frame that my other two started walking, but Garrett has taken a different approach.  Instead of starting by a couch and venturing out, he stood up in the middle of the room and took 3 or 4 steps on his first try!  

For a couple of weeks he has been practicing getting to his feet unassisted.  He's gotten really good at it!  He can be in the middle of a room, stand up, squat down to pick up a toy and stand back up without falling!  The other day I showed him this toy train to push around and he took off!  I knew it wouldn't be long before he tried walking on his own.

These were his first few steps.  Now it's so fun to walk into a room and see him practicing!  

Master Bathroom: Check!

The bathroom is finished! Well, mostly.  We can't use the shower yet because we're waiting on one more piece, but we've moved back in and man are we enjoying it!  It's so nice to see it all come together. 

the bathtub when you first walk in

Our DOUBLE vanity!
The water bottles sitting out were Jeff's idea - Welcome to Hotel Beard :)

The HUGE shower that we'll use one of these days and the separate toilet room.  So wonderful!

When we sealed up the wall where the old closets were this space suddenly felt huge and empty.  So here's the tree I painted to fill the space!

It's so great to have another project checked off our list.  We actually only have one more room to do - the boys bathroom.  Unfortunately, the thought of another project right now makes us want to gag.  We'll get to it one of these days ...