Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree!

On Sunday we went to the Christmas tree farm and picked out a beauty.  It's something we all enjoy- for the most part..  Getting in the stand upright is another story :)

This year the Hall family wanted to join in on the fun and try a real tree.  We had a blast out there together and Kim and I tried to re-create  the little girls pic- close enough.  

Big Thanksgiving at Big Cedar Lodge

For Thanksgiving, we went to Big Cedar Lodge this year with all of the Bass and Vaught clan.  We had such a good time and the cousins had a blast.  We did what they had to offer, plus and minus some and have so much to be thankful for!  We also celebrated Grandpa's 70th birthday a little early.  One of the things on my thankful list is to be a part of this family.  

Proud of this Dude

It was his teams last football game, and since Franklin is the coach they went and of course wanted to be there.  Franklin coached and I thought it would be hard for DF to sit out, but he got to call plays and be the Offensive Coordinator and he really liked that.  He had a good attitude of being a team mate and player and wanting the best for his team, not him personally.  The Vikings finished with an undefeated season.  Go Vikings!   

After the game, Franklin took DF to Glenwood because it was youth hunt weekend in Arkansas for Deer hunting.  DF hunted in his wheelchair, but that is a genuine smile on his face.  Life has had to slow way down for him, but thank goodness he's a reader (he's read almost 10 chapter books and over 1,000 pages the past 2 weeks).  He had a great attitude and is building some character now that will be with him for the rest of his life.  

Ikey's first Field Trip

Lakeside Pre-K went to Little Rock last week for a field trip to The Museum of Discovery.  It was really cute and fun and a great size for them.  Afterwards we went for treats with some of his buddies from class.  He has a very sweet class and teachers.  He is loving his school and it makes me happy to see him learning and playing and having so much fun at school.  

Halloween 2018

Halloween was a low point for DF morale-wise.  It was hard to see his friends run and get candy and he was stuck in the chair.  Also, it rained cats and dogs, and there was a bomb threat at their school and they were in the safe room for over 4 hours, seriously.  But their costumes were precious if I do say so myself, and we tried to make the best of it all.  Isaac was a ghost, Nora a bride, and DF was going to be a Fortnite character, but we had to improvise and make something he could be in a wheelchair it.  He ended up being a solider, a wounded solider and it really was epic.  Making lemonade out of lemons ;)

Florida for Fall Break

Fall break- that is too literal for me now.  (It's our third fall with a broken bone) but we had a trip to a the beach planned with our friends, the Van Bebbers and the Halls and DF said he wanted to try it and go as planned.  It was not going to be the same, in fact, I thought it may be pretty miserable, but we were going to try it anyway.  We flew, and Franklin called and made arrangements for him to have more leg room, that made it much easier. 

It was not our best beach vacation of all time, but it was much better than I thought it would be actually!  In fact, it was a real turning point for us all.  DF got really good at his crutches (it was a three story house, with no elevator), and starting getting more confident.  I also, felt more confident and backed off of him a bit!  Both things were necessary.  We enjoyed our friends, and since the weather was cooler, we were all inside more and played games, cards, had talent shows, watched football and had a good time together away.  It was refreshing for us all.  We did attempt the beach and that is all thanks for Franklin.  He is so meticulous and a perfectionist that he wrapped DF's leg with such care not a drop or water or sand got in his cast!!!  I don't have the patience to do that, but he made it work and carried him to the beach and got him out in the water.  A memory I'll never forget.  Life goes on, but when I think about it I can't believe we really went to the beach with DF so incapacitated!

Daddy and Isaac campout at the Farm with buddies

Franklin realized that he had taken DF and his buddies and their dads to the farm to spend the night and on adventures when DF was 4 and he decided he wanted Isaac to have the same memories and opportunities so he organized a father son sleepover at the farm.  The Richardsons had to cancel at the last minute due to sickness but these three had a good time, and I think the daddies did too.  Thankful for an intentional daddy to our kiddos.

DF breaks his leg.

Well, on October 16th my 3 kids went to tennis lessons.  Isaac's third lesson ever, Nora's third time back this year (she's taken for a couple of years), and DF's third time back in a few years.  He was liking it and getting pretty good, pretty quickly.  I was enjoying our new Tuesday afternoon routine at the tennis courts.  Until the last 15 minutes of lesson, DF went down and couldn't stand back up.  I wasn't all that concerned at first, but then I became very concerned and he was in a lot of pain.  Dr. Mark Russell met us at a clinic with an  X-ray and we quickly found out he had a broken tibia.  A spiral fracture they refer to as a "tibia twist" which they say is hard to do.

It has not been a fun couple of weeks, DF was in a lot of pain and unable to move much at all without spasms and difficulty.  He has to quit his flag football season early and is iffy about basketball.  This has been trying on him and heartbreaking for me, but it also has been an opportunity for me to grow, appreciate our good health and fortune and appreciate the small things more.  I also have grown in empathy for people who cannot ever get out of a chair.  DF has been resilient, positive and we could not be prouder of how he's responded.  He is now pain free, and his bone is healing.  He is still non-weight bearing so he's in a wheelchair most of the day but has gotten really good at his crutches and prefers those.  He's had lots of buddies come by and help and check on him.  We've had meals, and chocolate, balloons and books, and they say it takes a village and ours is phenomenal! 

Left is before pain meds in IV, and right is after.