bella and edward

update on Mckay's foot....

Here's an update on Mckay's foot....He is still in a cast!!! We have to go in weekly to get the dressings changed, and because it's Dr. Hansen, It takes about 3 hours to do!! I'm so sick of waiting!!
His toe burn is healing nicely. It's rosy pink and doing well. His stitches are now non-existent. The tear is healing well also. His heel burn is not co-operating as readily though. It is still extremely deep and pussy, thus the need to continue with the cast! I'm beyond excited when the weekly visits will end and he will be able to wear his other new school shoe!
We'll keep you posted.

mom tagged me!

Thanks mom for tagging me! Well, here we go.....



Four Places I go Over and Over:1. Work 2.Wal-mart 3. Church 4. jim's
Four people who email me regularly:1. Mom 2. Julie 3. Jason 4. Junk
Four places I would rather be right now:1.Reading Eclipse(yes, I'm hopelessly caught up with Bella and Edward!) 2. sleeping 3. on my bike( yes, Jason's riding it again!) 4. My dad's ranch with the rest of my family!
Four people I talk to on a regular basis:1. Kaden 2. Mckay 3. Jason 4. Jim
Four of my favorite places to eat:1.Brick Oven 2. Fat Jacks 3. Pizza Hut 4. Maple Garden
Four people I tag:1. Al 2. Ashley 3. Ally 4. Lesile

The Nine Lives of Mckay (This title is better suited)

Over the years of parenthood, I would like to say that things have been blissful and uneventful, but I would be telling a pretty big lie. It all started with the birth of Mckay! I think he knew that there would be competition with his older brother, so he felt that he needed to make a slightly bigger impact on our lives. Who knew that he would take the more difficult route!
It started with him jumping off of anything higher than his head. I would catch him trying to climb up shaky coolers to get over the balcony fence so he could, of course, jump off. Luckily I caught him right before he got to the top. It seems that something bad happens the second I turn my attention on to anything but him. Like the time that I was trying to get ready for Kaden's soccer game and I heard a loud thud and came running in and, if his story was correct, he had just jumped off of the TOP of my piano and landed on something hard, aka, Kaden's rock collection! ( He also talks about their little wooden step stool. The details were a little confusing, he was three after all.)
This resulted in a left foot that was broken in three different places!
His next adventure was when I went to get him a bedtime drink and he started screaming. I turned around and found that he had just CUT OFF the tip of his finger in his bedroom door. That resulted in an emergency room visit for both he and I! I was so sick and pale when we got there that they made me lay down until I got some color back. It miraculously missed his bone and a half of an inch of his finger needed to be sewn back on.
Two months later we decided to go swimming with the cousins, at a popular place for some, and he was found on the bottom of the pool! He wanted to try to swim without his tube. He figured out pretty quickly that because of his density he sank straight to the bottom and couldn't get back up. Luckily his dad looked down right at that moment and pulled him out. This little incident landed him in a certain red and white helicopter destined for primary children's hospital. We're still paying for that one and it's been a year and a half! The big coincident is that when I was about 6 I tried the exact same thing in the exact same pool on the exact same spot! Lucky for me, right as I was about to black out, my Mom spotted me and pulled me out. Can anyone say "apple"!(It's a phrase commonly used in our family that when one of our kids behave like us, we refer to the saying, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.")

Then, just as we think things have been going good, we get surprised with another little tid-bit. Jason had been gone with Doug to Sturgis for 10 days and he had just got home, so we decided to go on one of our favorite family Harley rides. We didn't get 5 mile marker posts out of Mt. Pleasant when Mckay decided to see what would happen if he stuck his right foot on my spinning back tire! Let's just say the results were not pretty.
His foot got lodged between the frame of the bike and the hub of the tire. The metal brake hub started to cut through his shoe and foot by the time I had got stopped, and he got a few pretty serious friction burns. I was shocked when I went to dislodge his foot because it was completely turned upside-down and he was still upright. He didn't suffer any breaks or sprains or anything. Luckily,(that seems to be an ongoing theme for this little boy's life! Believe me, we have said our prayers of thanks!) I had listened to a prompting to take hold of his left leg. I feel that if I hadn't listened to the spirit that he would have been pulled off and dragged!I am so thankful for whatever angel was watching over him at that time. Maybe it was Lyndzee? You know, she was always looking out for him while on this earth.

So, for now, our little man is sitting on the couch, t.v. tray in front, remote in hand, toys around, with a little bike bell that rings excessively every time that he needs to talk, eat or pee. We are so lucky to have him here still that we are willing to be annoyed by the bell for a while. Love you Mugs! You are now officially in the plastic bubble! At least until you can walk again!

(There are more graphic pics while the dressings were being changed today in the very bottom post. You can choose to look or not to look, depending on what you can handle.)

My little LuLu...

Nine years ago, around this time of year, a cute little family moved in across the street. They had 2 boys and 2 girls and were an ideal family to be friends with. But, of course, I couldn't make the first move to be friends with them. How could I let these new strangers into my private, twisted, crazy life??!! I was so grateful when she approached me. I was walking and crying, while pushing my one year old Kaden in his stroller, when she just happened to look up at the right time and ask if I was o.k.. I said "yes" of course and she continued with, "no you're not, come on, lets go talk about it." It was then that I met my best sister-friend Diana and her awesome family.
Within the next nine years we became quite reliant upon each other. We would share stories and adventures with our kids, all the while becoming closer and closer to each other. Our boys played with each other and, well, the girls played with my hair. I was in love instantly!

I had the awesome opportunity to be her kids "second mom" and am so grateful that I had Lyndzee for the time that I had her. We did crafts and built things when she would come over, and I even had the honor of teaching her how to sew and bought her her first machine. We always had something fun to do when she came. I am so glad that I didn't just stick the kids in front of the t.v. when they came to my house. Nothing was impossible when they were here. She would say, "lets build something?" and I would say, "o.k., what?" The sky was the limit for Lou."Gina could do it" quickly became Lyndzee's retaliation when ever her mom would say that she couldn't do something. It makes me grateful and honored that I got to be a part of her stewardship while she was on this earth.

Last Monday, she and her brother and sister were passengers on a Rhino that one of their friends were driving and it tipped over and landed on her head and killed her instantly. Nobody else was hurt at all. Now if that doesn't make you a strong believer in having a time to go, then I don't know what will.
At first I was shocked and then I was really mad and then I was selfish and wanted her back. I couldn't seem to believe that she was really gone, and I thought that at any moment she would sit up and wonder why everyone was so sad. It didn't happen, and now, after the funeral is all over and everybody has gone home, I am more grateful for her example, now so more than ever. Diana came and told me that Lyndzee relayed the message that everyone needs to work on their weaknesses and become stronger, so my first assignment was to say the opening prayer at her service!!! Are you kidding me!!! I said no!!!! And then with love in her eyes, she said, "go talk to Lyndzee!"I was humbled and scared to death to think that this was even possible. Then I said yes. (reluctantly, of course!) I think that I cried more for that reason than any other. The message that I got when I finally sat back down from the prayer was, "No more excuses!" We all have trials in our lives. Some worse than others, and we need to stop using these weaknesses as excuses to progress. We need to get over it, become stronger, and move on with our progression forward!
I am so grateful once again to be such a huge part of their lives, and I am also glad that Diana borrowed me a daughter to love as my own, if only for a short while! I love you Lulu! I'll see you later!
There has been a trust fund set up for Lyndzee Robbins at Zions bank if you want to help.