My Brave Girl

Josie broke her leg on August 11, 2010 while jumping on the trampoline with her older brothers.

Dr. Chamberlain used a metal plate and five screws to hold the pieces of her tibia together.

She had 3 casts, a walking boot, and a soft splint before she could walk unaided.

The Pink Cast

The Purple Cast

The Robo-Cast

Quite the Collection

October 25, 2010

She didn't let it slow her down too much.  And she is now good friends with Ben the Cast Man.

At Orthopedic Center of the Rockies for cast removal

Waiting for the steri strips to fall off was an unexpected trauma.  Josie hated "the tape" and cried often during the two weeks it took to come off.

One of the hardest things for me was knowing that she had a 2nd surgery looming.  The doctor said she had to get the plate removed once she had gained her strength and range of motion back.

She worked hard.  She went to PT twice a week and progressed quickly.  Just before the surgery, her PT began worrying about the strength of the intrinsic muscles in her foot, but she assured me Josie was still in a good position to undergo the surgery.

Josie felt back to her regular self and was already begging to jump on the trampoline again.

Notice her scar.  It's lookin' pretty good.

Crazy kid!

I didn't want Josie to feel the anxiety I was feeling so I decided not to tell her about the upcoming surgery until the morning I had to take her in.  As the day grew closer, I began questioning my decision.

I was feeling stressed and guilty about keeping it from her so I began a few family discussions on all the surgeries we've had.   We talked about how they put the mask on your face to help you go to sleep and how you don't feel anything.  Still, a few days before the surgery, I tried to bring it up.  I stopped when she began crying a little.

When the day of the surgery dawned, I was more nervous about how Josie would take the news than for the actual surgery.  I was prepared though...I had presents.

Isaac thought we were having a birthday party.

I had the gift in my hand as I said, "Josie--Dr. Chamberlain is a good doctor isn't he?"  She agreed so I pressed on, "He did a great job fixing your leg and now he says it's time to take the metal plate out.  We need to do it today, so I got you a gift to help you be brave."  

Her eyes stayed fastened on the pink present in my hands.  It was working!  She pulled out the Care Bears and I explained each one, "Braveheart Lion will help you to be brave for the surgery and Good Luck Bear will remind you that all will be well."

That's when Poppa Gary arrived to help Mat give her a priesthood blessing.  The blessing truly did assure that all would be well.

Grandma Cindy came with him and brought more presents which served their purpose in distracting her the one time she hid her face in the couch and looked like she might lose her composure.

She got into the van without reluctance despite the fact that the morning air was freezing and it was still dark.  As I helped her buckle in, I reminded her that I still had a big blue present waiting.  I told her that if she felt scared, she need to picture that present in her mind and know that it was waiting for her.  

I am a firm believer in distraction when trying to control ones thoughts or emotions.  I learned while potty training Isaac that if you can just think of something else for a split second besides how scared, mad, or frustrated you are, you can usually get a hold of yourself. (I would just like to say that I got all the Care Bears that were contained in the pink and blue presents from my stash of old toys in the basement.  I keep them around for times like this.)

I couldn't believe how well she took everything that morning.  She was a perfect patient as they prepared her for surgery and sincerely seemed unafraid.

When I showed Josie this picture she said, "I'm a muffin!"

The surgery went well.  We arrived at 6:20am and were discharged from the surgery center at 9am.  Josie's recovery nurse was counting her tears because she was so impressed that they were falling without any wailing accompanying them.  She counted five tears and declared Josie the best child she'd ever taken care of.  I must admit I counted a few more tears, but chose to believe her kind words about how well Josie was handling her pain.

Josie felt much better after she got settled at home.  She asked for the blue present right away.

Dr. Chamberlain gave us the hardware that had helped Josie's leg heal.  The kids all thought that was "way cool."

The plate is much smaller than I imagined.

Dr. Chamberlain also bandaged the legs of both of the Care Bears that accompanied her into surgery.  This is the same doctor who I thought was rather stiff when he worked with Kimball's broken elbow.  I think it's safe to say that he has a soft spot for Josie.

I'm sure Josie and the Care Bears will feel better before long.

Dr. Chamberlain did one other incredibly awesome thing.  He helped me understand how to care for her in a way that I've never understood even though my kids have had lots of broken bones and surgeries.  He explained to me that what we are battling for the next week or two is the swelling.  If fluid gets into the holes in her leg and remains, it will slow the healing process.  So her leg needs to be kept up with ice on it and she needs regular Motrin regardless of pain.  I have always based everything on the how much pain the child is experiencing.  It makes a huge difference for me to understand this.

I feel so relieved knowing that this time as she makes progress, she is truly working toward full health.  I hope to use this recovery time to teach her to read some BOB books and to get her into the pool so all her big and little muscles can get strong.  Dr. Chamberlain has urged me to have her swimming everyday if possible.  I watched her progress with PT last time and allowed myself to ignore that one piece of advice.  Seeing some problems develop with her foot and ankle have strengthened my resolve to find the time.

I hope our whole family can help her through this recovery and we can keep our spirits up while focusing on the fact that we can now see the light at the end of what has been a very long tunnel.

The New Schedule

 
Every fall, Air Traffic Controllers bid for what their schedule will be in the upcoming year.  This year Mat made a big switch.  He now works on "the other side of the week."

Beginning the first week of January, his days off changed from Wednesday/Thursday to Sunday/Monday.  However, he took the last spot on B-crew, so he now works "the mid."  Which means he leaves home at 6 o'clock on Friday morning and returns around 3pm, but then leaves again at 10pm and gets home at about 7am Saturday morning.

He hates mids.  We've avoided them like the plague for years, but he decided to switch so he could have Sundays off.  I am very happy he did!

For me it means that everyone in the house has the same weekend and it has changed my life!  I know that sounds dramatic, but it did.

I always used to spend Friday through Sunday having a weekend with the kids and trying to fit some sort of weekend fun for Mat on Wednesday and Thursday.  It made getting things done challenging.  Now, we have declared school nights as "No Screen Time" nights.  It is marvelous!  No more trying to fit in homework, therapy, dinner, baths, Scouts, etc. around all the movies and game time each child has earned.  (I have them do different things to earn gaming time to stop their brain cells from turning to mush.)  Now they can earn time and save it for Fridays and Saturdays.

I noticed changes in the children the first week.

I used to reward Isaac with Teen Titans after his homework was done, after a bath, etc., etc...Now, I think of other rewards like coloring pages of his favorite characters printed from the computer.  Isaac no longer cries to "watch something" whenever we ask him to do something he doesn't want to do.  He now cries, "I want to play!"  This is a huge change because he's had a hard time learning to play on his own. 

There is no more fighting over which show to watch or whose turn it is to pick the show.

The best part is that even on the weekends the kids aren't hooked to the screen because they've had so much fun with other pursuits throughout the week that they will walk away mid-show to do something else.

I'm getting lots more time with them for school work and teaching them how to better complete chores.  I usually have at least one helper while I fix dinner too.

One night we began making paper airplanes and played all night until we had around 25 planes and multiple contests.  And, I didn't have to talk anyone into it.  They just wandered over when I started folding.

 One night Isaac actually asked to go shovel the back porch.  (He usually hates the snow and cold weather, but I guess Evan and I had been making it look like fun.)  Then, Kimball and Josie went out front for a twilight snowball fight.

We also spent some time building a new cabinet for Isaac's most beloved toys and books so he can stop trying to sleep with everything in his bed.

Can you tell I'm loving this?

It's not like they did nothing but TV and video games before, but it was always such a struggle to pull their attention away, or keep it long enough to accomplish much.  My only problem now is that I'm already worried about what Mat will bid for 2012.  I know it's 11 months away, but I'm a worrier.  What can I say?

You like the mid now--right, honey?  It's invigorating to stay up all night, isn't it?  Maybe it's the quiet that you find so soothing...Wake up!  This post wasn't THAT long.

So Many Books. So Little Time.

I wrote this in 2009 when we had planned on our Family Stories topic being about hobbies.  We ended up writing about childhood games that year, but I still had this saved in the Family Stories file on the computer.  When I realized I hadn't written a single thing in my blog this month, I thought of this and decided I'd add it in with my other ramblings about life.

Books have meant a great deal to me since I was very young. I remember longing to learn how to read and following my mother around, toting a book, hoping to convince her to read it just one more time.  I spent much of the money I earned in my youth on books and a good deal of my free time reading them.  I not only love to read books, but I love how books smell and feel. I love how they look organized on shelves and desktops or in bins and baskets.

The first long conversation Mat and I shared was about books.  We have read many books together and to our kids. When we were dating, we read parts of The Book of Mormon together as he investigated the church.  When we were engaged, we read The Tao of Pooh snuggled up together between our college classes.  During one of those first lean years of marriage, Mat splurged and picked up a hardcover copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for a surprise family Christmas present, and we read it aloud together.  What warm feelings that memory brings!  Now, we have books in every room in our home.

When I was pregnant with Kimball, I excitedly signed up for The Children’s Book of the Month Club. I slowly began to build our library of children’s books before I even picked out a crib set.  Some of the first books I ordered were four Little Critter board books.  Whenever I see them, I think of Kimball pulling all the books down from the shelf in our living room in Aggie Village.  He would sit among them and “read.”  Each child, in turn, has pulled out whole bookshelves and explored the magic contained inside all different kinds of books.  Only Evan has pulled an actual bookshelf down on himself!

I have learned through the years that what I read has a strong impact on the way I feel and how I look at life.  I have learned to be wise about what I read, and I try to encourage the kids to choose good books.  I try to help them to find favorite authors and explore new genres.  We strive to read out of the scriptures as a family each day so we can bring the Spirit into our home.

I’m excited to see the growth our children make as they come to love different books, subjects, and authors.  And, I hope our family will continue to experience joy as we share our love of books.

Christmas All Year Round

Well, it's time to start thinking about taking the Christmas tree down.

Isaac is objecting to any such talk.  He loves to watch the lights slowly fade from white to multicolored and back again.  Many nights during the Christmas season, he sneaks from his bed to enjoy this relaxing site during the dark and quiet of the night and falls asleep on the couch.  Part of me says that I should be more careful not to let him form bad habits.  The other part of me leaves the Christmas tree lights on all night to allow him this small pleasure.

December 2008

Isaac is a kiddo that enjoys Christmas all year round.  His teachers at school know that he'll be interested in any book that has a reindeer in it, whether it's December or May.

July 2008

When Isaac was four, he began asking me to watch the Rudolph-the-Red-Nosed-Reindeer video in June.  At the time, I was desperately trying to get him to understand that any language he attempted would be rewarded, so I dug through the Christmas boxes under the stairs.  I emerged dusty and smiling.  I handed him the video proudly and said, "See, you asked Mommy for Rudolph and you got it!"


Little did I know I was creating a monster.  I dug through the boxes often that summer, pulling out all kinds of Christmas stuff.  I made him a Rudolph cake using my Cricut machine, putting sunglasses on Santa, to celebrate his summer birthday.

Isaac turns 5!

Isaac's love for the poem, The Night Before Christmas, inspired a game we played when he needed calming down.  I would recite it and leave out words for him to fill in.  This Christmas he worked extra hard and memorized the whole thing, with me jumping in every so often.  He performed it as a gift for his teacher and paras in his special ed classroom.  Then, he performed it for all the grandparents as well.


I love to watch all my kids enjoy Christmas, and I'm glad we have Isaac to remind us of the sweet things of Christmas all year round.

A Little More Holiday Spirit

Thanksgiving Break always ends with our annual Taylor Tree Lighting Ceremony.  OK--there's not much of a ceremony, but we put up the Christmas tree then turn off all the lights in the house and bask in the Christmas tree's soft glow.  It officially starts the Christmas season for me, and I love it!

This year putting up the Christmas tree brought more holiday spirit with it than usual.

Josie was full of her normal questions about everything, and one question caught me off guard.  She asked why we didn't have a star on top of our tree like everybody else.  The real answer is that I always had an angel on the top of my Christmas tree as a child, so that's what I looked for when purchasing a tree topper for my family.  But, as I glanced up at the angel and began to answer her, something else came out:  "We have an angel to remind us of the angels that came to announce the birth of the Savior to the shepherds on the very first Christmas."

"Oh!" she said, looking delighted.

I smiled and thought how odd it was that even though it's always my job to place the angel, I hadn't thought of the true meaning of this Christmas symbol in years.  I went on to explain that people put stars on the tree to remind them of the new star that appeared in the sky on the night of Christ's birth.

This little parenting moment, like so many others, had me thinking for days.  It's not that I'd forgotten what we are truly celebrating at Christmastime.  It's just that, for the past few years, all the "commercial stuff" of Christmas seemed completely separate from the true meaning.  Josie reminded me to look at the symbols of Christmas hung all around me and remember the meaning behind the symbol along with all the fun memories of Christmases past.  She reminded me that, even to a little child, the wonder of Christmas isn't about what is under the wrapping paper.  She reminded me that this season of giving places Christ and Santa in our thoughts together and, with a little effort, we can enjoy the wonder of both.

Each day, Josie asks me about hiding places for Christmas presents and vibrates with the excitement of unknown surprises.  Each night, Josie prays that Jesus will have a good birthday this year.  Thank you for these sweet reminders, Josie!

A Builder

I have often heard life described as a book in which each new day is a blank page upon which we can write.

Although I love to write, I feel this analogy lacking.

I have always felt more like a builder...

The Builders

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

All are architects of Fate,
Working in these walls of Time;
Some with massive deeds and great,

 Some with ornaments of rhyme.

 

Nothing useless is, or low;
Each thing in its place is best;
And what seems but idle show
Strengthens and supports the rest.

For the structure that we raise,
Time is with materials filled;
Our to-days and yesterdays
Are the blocks with which we build.

Truly shape and fashion these;
Leave no yawning gaps between;
Think not, because no man sees,
Such things will remain unseen.

In the elder days of Art,
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part;
For the Gods see everywhere.

Let us do our work as well,
Both the unseen and the seen;
Make the house, where Gods may dwell,
Beautiful, entire, and clean.

Else our lives are incomplete,
Standing in these walls of Time,
Broken stairways, where the feet
Stumble as they seek to climb.

 

Build to-day, then, strong and sure,
With a firm and ample base;
And ascending and secure
Shall to-morrow find its place.

Thus alone can we attain
To those turrets, where the eye
Sees the world as one vast plain,
And one boundless reach of sky.

Sweet Success

 Who says fine motor therapy can't be fun?

Ahhh, the sweet taste of success!