McKinney Falls

Camping has become a favorite activity for our family.  This past winter/spring we were able to go on multiple trips, starting with this trip to McKinney Falls Valentine's Day weekend.  This was a group trip with the Hrobars and Hendersons...and it was so fun, but also so scary.

 

We drove down to McKinney Falls on Friday evening, a trip that was supposed to take only 3-4 hours took us almost 6 hours!  The traffic was insane!  But we made it and we were all very happy to park the camper and get to sleep.

 

 

The hammock was a hit...it became a swing for the kids, they spent hours playing in it!

 

Saturday morning we decided to start off with a trip down to the falls.  It was over a mile away, so after much debate of whether to walk, bike, or drive, we decided to drive while the Hrobars biked.  The kids thought riding in the back of the truck was a blast!

 

Tex is quite the camper...he is the best!

 

Hannah loves hanging with the Henderson girls!

 

Daddy and Luke

 

The falls were really neat, they were beautiful!  The kids loved playing here on this beachy area, they threw rocks and just played together.  The water was freezing, but they did beg us to let them swim.

 

The dads had fun just catching up and hanging out.

 

After some playtime here we went back up to the top of the falls to walk out.  This area was very slippery and had big holes in it that were full of water and algae.  These holes were incredibly slick, but looked like puddles so they were magnets for the kids.  Luke decided to jump into one on our way out, his feet slipped out from under him and he fell back and hit his head on the edge of the rock.  It was BAD.  A man standing nearby yelled immediately, "He fell, there's blood!"  It was SO scary.  The blood was pouring out and he was screaming.  Carl scooped him up and carried him to the side where we could think.  A very kind stranger took off his undershirt for us to use to put pressure on his head.  Another called for help, but the campground did not have their own EMT.  We decided we needed to just start the walk to the truck because it would take some time.  I almost passed out, really I thought I might...I cannot handle that much blood or seeing my own child with such an injury.  Thank goodness we had our amazing friends with us, they jumped in to help with Isaac, Hannah, and Tex, as well as helping to keep me calm and on my feet.  By the time we got to the truck Luke stopped crying, so I held him while we drove.  Once we got to the camper he was calm, he let us check on it and rinse it with water without much fuss at all.  He was incredibly strong and brave!  Once we changed his clothes and stopped messing with it he was fine, even played with the kids.  Carl and I took a few minutes to collect ourselves and eat a sandwich before heading to the doctor.  We went to an urgent care center, which was a wise choice because it was empty.  We only waited about 10-15 minutes before being called back.  After examining it the doctor moved us to a room where he and an another doctor could clean it to see exactly how it looked.  It had stopped bleeding and clotted well which was very good.  Once again, Luke was so brave...he did not cry at all while they cleaned it!  Once again, I was not so strong, my legs were weak and I thought I might pass out again.  After cleaning it they gave him a few shots to numb the area, that was the worst, he screamed when they did it.  But then the staples were completely painless!  4 staples later we were done and heading back to everyone!  I am so thankful for our friends and their amazing support!  They took care of Isaac and Hannah for us so we could focus on Luke and be there for his every need.  Once we got back to the campground it was just like normal.  Luke was ready to play and have fun!

 

While we were gone Dana and Celisa made a scavenger hunt map for the kids to find their Valentine surprises.  The guys entertained the kids with a silly bootyshake walk so we could hide the surprises.

 

The hunt was a success, the kids loved it and worked together very well!

 

Hannah enjoyed the bubbles she got!

 

Tex is never far from the guys when they are cooking.

 

Breakfast!

 

Unfortunately before breakfast we had another accident.  Hudson was playing with a truck and walking backwards as he pulled it.  He fell back into the firepit that was full of the hot embers from the night before.  As he got up he put his hands down and burned one very badly.  Nobody was real sure what treatment was best for such a burn, which made it worse for him.  The poor guy was in a lot of pain for quite a while.  It was so sad.  Being the tough boy that he is he did bounce back and join the kids for some fun.  Kids are amazingly resilient!

 

Hannah loved the time with the girls!

 

Luke did not let his head injury slow him down...he and Wyatt were great buddies during hide and seek.

 

More hammock fun!

 

Luke and his "team" as he calls them.  He truly admires these guys...I'm okay with that, they are both great influences!

 

Hannah loved riding Brooke's bike around!

 

Luke, he cracks me up!  Love these three so much!

 

Best Friends!

 

Fun Dip!

 

 

The kids worked together and worked very hard to build this amazing fort!  They carried every log and branch and designed this all by themselves!  I love seeing them enjoy the outdoors, being creative, and working together.

 

Our big guy!

 

So even though the trip was not perfect and painfree, it was still so fun and we made great memories!  I'm so thankful for these special times with special friends!

She's 3!!!

I cannot believe our baby girl is 3!  I know I say that every birthday, but oh my gosh, where is my baby!?!  This girl is everything I'd expect a little girl to be and even more! 

 

She is sweet and has a big heart for all people, animals, and babies.  She is sassy and knows what she wants!  She is tough, I think this is partially from being the 3rd child, but the girl can hang with her brothers without a problem.  She is a princess and loves everything princess.  She loves to dress up and look pretty!  Arts and crafts is one of her favorite activities!

 

This year has brought so many changes.  A year ago she was talking some, but this year her vocabulary grew a million times, and her conversation skills took off!  It was amazing to watch her grasp onto language and conversation so quickly.  I love the talks we have and the things she says to me.  The girl does not forget anything, so that is always interesting, too.  This year she also potty trained, which was easier than I expected when we started, and she has done really well with it.  I still think it is weird to not have someone in diapers, my purse feels so empty without the diapers.  Hannah started gymnastics in August and her love for it grows every week!  She wakes up daily and asks me two questions..."What are we doing today?"  and "Is today gymnastics?"  She gets very upset when it's not a gymnastics day, she wants to go every day!  Her coach and the other coaches in the gym have been impressed by her love and excitement for the sport and her strength/ability have also caught their attention.  Who knows where this will lead, but right now I know that gymnastics has her heart.  I love watching her as she does her thing, her joy is contagious, and her focus during her time on the apparatus is impressive to me!  This year Hannah has learned to ride her bike with training wheels, and she is asking to take off the training wheels.  She's not ready for that yet, but she is getting faster and more controlled everyday!  The girl has never met a stranger...she talks to everyone we see, everywhere we go.  She cannot wait to start school like her brothers, she has already made friends with many of the teachers at Luke's school, and can't wait to start there herself.  She enjoys Sunday school very much!  She doesn't hesitate to go in the room, and honestly can't wait to go once we tell her we are doing that.  This past week she moved up to the 3 year old class, and she literally ran into the room straight to one of the teachers, she grabbed his leg and looked up to him with a big smile.  She didn't even say good bye to us, she was just so excited!  Afterward she had so much to tell us because it was so different than her previous class.  She got to go to big group lesson and worship and I could tell she enjoyed that.  She understood what was taught and was able to tell us so much about it!  It was pretty funny actually because Luke was in the same lesson, but he never tells us anything.  Once she started to tell us he jumped in and said things, too.  We laughed about the fact that we will now know what Luke is learning in SS lessons because Hannah will tell us.  The church gave her a bible for her birthday and she was thrilled!  She walked around all evening talking about "My very own bible!"  It was precious to see her reading it to herself.

 

Our Hannah is amazing, and we are so thankful for everything she brings to our family.  I can't wait to see her grow and see how the Lord uses her life.

 

 

Eating lunch with daddy shortly after she turned 2!

 

This girl has a special place in her daddy's heart...and around his finger.

 

 

Gymnastics...her life.

 

Our princess...she dresses up every chance she gets...and a princess dress is not complete without the crown and shoes.

 

Don't be mistaken, she is a princess, but also very much a tomboy who loves to "drive" and the faster the better!

 

Where did she learn to pose for pictures!?!

 

Her birthday party!

 

We are very proud of our princess...my prayer is that she never loses her passion, her tenderness, that she always puts all of her into all she does, and that she learns to love Jesus more deeply as she grows.

Winter 2015

This winter was our first REAL winter.  When we moved here in July we told the kids that we might see snow in the winter, but prepared them that it was a small chance, but bigger than Houston.  We were trying to get them excited about the move and thought that would help.  Never in a million years did I expect to have snow like we had this winter!  It was cold, it was beautiful, it was annoying, and it was fun!

 

 

 

This was the first snow, which was pretty icy, but still good snow for this south Texas family.

 

 

We had a lot of fun!

 

Their first snow man!

 

A few days later we got real snow!  It started light around 8:00 am and it kept falling all day!

 

I ended up getting pretty nervous about the roads, so I picked the boys up from school at about 10:00.  The roads were already getting slick, and I did not like driving on them!  Carl went to Fort Worth that morning and the drive home that normally takes 45 minutes took him 4 hours!  It was rough, but I was just thankful he made it safely.

 

Hannah thought the umbrella would help her stay warmer.

 

 

It kept snowing all day, so we went out multiple times that day to play in it.

 

SNOW ANGELS!

 

Once daddy got home we had to go out with him, too!

 

SNOWBALL FIGHT!

 

We ended up with about 6 inches of snow that day...real soft fluffy snow!

 

Then on March 5 we had ANOTHER snow day!

It started snowing around 11 pm on March 4, so we went to bed thinking we might have some snow on the ground, but we woke up to almost 6 inches!  This was the beautiful soft snow, too!

 

Tex enjoyed eating the snow, running in the snow, and wrestling with daddy in the snow.

 

Family TV time while trying to get warm after playing outside.

 

 

We had so much fun this winter, out little winter wonderland was beautiful!  I'm thankful for the blessing of this winter, it was a sweet time with the kids.  I will never forget their squeals of delight as they saw it falling, the laughs we had while playing, and the cute snow man we built.

Our first fracture...

January 28 was a beautiful day here in Texas.  The sun was shining, it was pretty warm, for January, so after school we decided to ride our bikes to the park.  We played for a while and were having a great time, the kids were sliding, climbing, and of course Isaac was going across the monkey bars over and over.  He loves the monkey bars, he is our monkey.

 

Just as we were getting close to leaving Isaac was starting another try on the monkey bars.  He stood on the tall platform, grabbed the first bar, and reached out for the second, but accidentally let go of the first one too soon.  He fell to the ground landing flat on his stomach, face planted in the mulch, arm bent trying to catch himself.  He has never had such a hard fall, it knocked the wind out of him, which really scared him.  I was right there helping Hannah, so I quickly scooped him up, he just said "I can't, I can't, put me on the bench."  Poor guy had to catch his breath.  He was covered in mulch, and looked terrible.

 

 

He laid on the bench like this for a while, and once he caught his breath he complained mostly about his arm/wrist.  I let him lay for a while, and the others continued playing.  Luke and Hannah were worried about him, they came over multiple times to check on him and Luke kissed his head many times.  So sweet.

 

After some time I decided we had to get home, problem was we rode our bikes there, and Isaac was still hurting pretty badly.  I didn't have another choice, we had to bike home (Carl was out of town, so there was nobody that could come pick us up).  With some encouragement, I finally got Isaac on his bike, but he was not happy about it.  He didn't hold the handle bar with his right hand, he just held it limp.  It was really sad and pathetic, I hate seeing my kids in pain.

 

He continued to complain about his arm for a few days, but it didn't swell or bruise.  It's hard to know sometimes how much is real and how much is exaggerated.  But on Friday and again on Sunday, he screamed and immediately began crying when we held his arm near his wrist.  We decided that we needed to get it checked.

 

After a doctor check and some x-rays, it was determined he had a buckle fracture in his forearm, just above his wrist.  He has to wear the splint for 3 weeks.  It was a sad day, but also a little fun for him because he was kind of excited about his splint.  The sweetest moment of this experience was right after the dr put the splint on Isaac.  As soon as she finished Luke climbed up next to Isaac, he gently took Isaac's arm, and sweetly kissed it.  Then he sat next to him holding his arm.  My mama heart melted, I love those tender moments shared between my kids.

 

I'm so proud of his determination and hard work...he has taught himself how to write with his left hand!  Before this I would have told you that he could never write with his left hand, his right hand is very much his dominant hand.  He has proved us all wrong!  He is doing great compensating for his injured right hand; he writes, eats, and does everything with his left hand.

 

He was scheduled for a follow up on Monday, Feb. 23, but the city is covered in ice/snow!  So now he is scheduled to get it checked on Wednesday...he is so ready to get it checked and get his splint off!