handsful

The UPS guy at the door, that is. I was so excited to be able to ask him “do you KNOW what’s in that package you’re holding?!?!”

But, I was at the Dr. getting a cortisone shot in my elbow….which, by the way, didn’t hurt at all. Dr. Licause rocks.

Anyway! Randy called me on the way home with the news…Dylan’s prosthetic leg came!! I was surprised, the techs at Shriner’s said it would be a long shot for us to receive it by his birthday. This is 4 days earlier than that. They must have really pushed to get it done. Have I mentioned how much I love the Greenville, SC Shriner’s??

Lainey and Dylan had just come in from swimming with Abbey, and we showed him the box. When we asked him what he thought it was, he broke out in a big smile and said “two leg walk”.

He looks pleased. The camo/lizard print came out wonderfully…it’s definitely a big boy leg!

Time to saddle up. Sock, liner, leg, pants.

Feeling a little weird!

Hey, I can do this.

He’s not in pain.

He’s got a case of the goofies.

Walking to mama…

and back to daddy.

A close up. The cord attaches to the bottom of the leg and then to another velcro strip at the top. He can pull it, which unlocks the joint in his leg so he can sit in chairs and his car seat. He loves that part.

He’s worn it for about 15min at a time, 3 times today. Every time, he does a little better. Tonight, he got himself up onto the fireplace hearth, and could stand up and sit down on his own. We were laughing at his wild arms, trying to balance himself. Randy taught him “wax on – wax off”. Ha!

Oh, and today marks 7 MONTHS since our adoption was finalized for Dylan. I usually post on the Gotcha Day (yesterday), but as you can tell it slipped my mind. What a great early birthday present/adoption day present!

After I put Dylan to bed, I went to a drawer in his room and pulled out all the left shoes that have been waiting to be used. They’re now with their matching right shoes, all ready to be worn. Two shoes. :)

Being short 3 kids certainly makes for a quieter house. And, a cheaper grocery bill. Just an observation.

Abbey, Payton, and Ethan were gone last week, with their Testify Youth Choir. They arrived home late Sunday night.

Marley, Payton, and Ethan left early Monday morning for our church’s youth camp for a week. Yes, the boys are crazy. They’ll most likely sleep away all of next week.

With less food to cook and laundry to do, my days have been lighter. That leaves more time to do summer things like yard work, projects (I will go through all the toys and school materials…), and just hanging out on the dock.

Everyone already knows that Lainey is part girl / part fish. She’s fearless.

Dylan, on the other hand, is more cautious and takes to things more slowly. We’ve had him in the water, but only in short bits and we’ve always had to hold him – a regular life jacket made him bob straight onto his face. The boy hates water on his face! I found a combo waist / arm float at the store and this one seems to work better. Plus, he’s finally understanding that he has to kick his legs to keep them under him.

This week, he’s made huge progress.

He’ll now go in the water “no help”, he says. He’ll let me count 1-2-3 and dunk him under. Randy has even tossed him in without him fussing. We’re not sure what changed his mind about water, but we’re glad he’s embracing the “fish” lifestyle of the other kids.

Blowing bubbles! Forgive the pics, I only had my little camera.

Today, he showed me he could swim on his belly without his face smacking the water.

Swimming is what they both want to do these days. Everyday.

Lainey learned to swim last summer, and this year she’s doing so well! We let her go without the life jacket in short spurts to practice. It’s harder in the lake, since there aren’t as many places to swim to.

We’re enjoying these slower days, but I’m beginning to miss having all my kids under one roof. Four more “night-nights” and we’ll be back to a louder house. And, bigger grocery bills.

Better go cut those coupons.

Happy Summer :)

How many times have we heard that phrase? At least once a day, for the last…oh…5 months maybe? “I want two leg walk”

The day finally came.

His first look. Apprehensive? He was worried it might hurt. The prosthetic tech, Crissy, is fantastic. She looks a little creepy here, but she was working hard to ease his worry.

A smile…she was joking about his smelly foot. The boy does have a stinky foot.

Explaining about the insert that goes on before the leg. The little brown part helps the socket of the leg to slide on easily. And the insert gives the leg socket some cushion.

And, it’s on. He looks a little unsure!

Time to bear weight and see how it feels. She asked him a lot “does anything feel funny, etc.” to make sure the socket wasn’t hurting him anywhere.

After this shot, she decided that the socket came up too high on his leg (and could potentially wear roughly on his skin, so she trimmed it)

Being silly while waiting for the socket trimming!

Lainey shows Dylan some love!

This shot shows how the leg is attached. The sock is pulled up and goes around his waist. Then, he’ll slide the leg on, kinda like a pair of pants. And then velcro the belt around his waist. Should make going to the potty interesting…pants, leg, sock, unders – unders, sock, leg, pants!

First step!

He had to be shown how to take steps (duh, he’s never done it before!)

This shot totally makes me tear up.

As the tech was watching, she realized that the socket was a bit loose. She took it back to the shop and added some extra padding inside to make it more snug.

Adjustments made, time for another spin in the hallways.

He was doing so well by this time, his walking looked more like walking. Initially, he just wasn’t sure what to do with that thing attached to his short leg!

Great job, little man!

A close up. The pattern (camo with lizards!) that we took with us will cover the whole socket. The white part here will be taken off, it’s kind of like a temporary cast material. It was just to give support until they could laminate the whole socket with the pattern. The cord will be attached to the front of the socket. When we pull the cord, the locked knee will unlock, allowing his leg to bend when he sits down. It clicks back into a straight position. The rod will remain exposed…no covering. I love that it’s a cool red and purple!

Now, we wait for it to arrive in the mail. They said they’d try hard to get it to him by his birthday on July 4th, but they stay busy and are short a tech right now. We’ll just be happy to get it when it gets here!

And, what did Dylan ask tonight as I dressed him for bed?

“Mama, I want two leg walk”

My alarm went off at 5am. Yawn.

We were out the door by 5:50, and pulling into the church at 6am.

Abbey, Payton, and Ethan left for their Testify Youth Choir tour today…they’ll be in Orlando for about a week, doing concerts and a little sightseeing. They’ll be singing at a youth detention center, Wet and Wild amusement part, a church in St. Augustine, and a home for terminally ill children.

They’re very excited and admittedly a little nervous.

Payton’s family group…his “dad” passed out mustaches for everyone. Perfect for Payton.

I’m thankful there are so many strong Christian adults taking care of my kids. Each kid is in a small group with 1 tour mom or dad. Makes those headcounts much easier to handle, and gives the kids a stand-in parent to help whenever they need it. I can breathe easier because of that.

The boys, being the youngest, also have quite a few big brothers to watch out for them.

Praying that my kids stay safe, of course. But, even more so, praying that God uses them as He sees fit, to further His kingdom and for his glory.

We miss you already!

Life is going at break neck speed these days…where are the lazy summer days? Not here! Our calendar has been FULL. But, it’s been mostly fun stuff. Tons of company, lots of boating. Can’t really complain, eh?

So, now I’ll take a break from the craziness and blog.

Last weekend, we doubled our numbers. 4 adults, 12 kids, and 2 dogs. That happens when Tony (Randy’s brother), Dee Dee, and their six kids hang out with us for a few days. One word….LOUD! Oh, and fun.

What did we do? Randy split our big group into 2, and took us out in shifts on the boat. We ate a lot of food – including a night of made-to-order omelets with Dee Dee and I tag-team cooking. We introduced them to our new favorite frozen yogurt place. We laughed a lot. We ran out of food. We totally forgot about taking pictures until their last day with us.

And, here they are…

We call this “rodeo”…when we pile 5 kids (max we’ve been able to get on at once) onto the tube and off we go. Here we have our two big guys, Gabe, Micah, and Josiah.

Randy’s brother Tony and his wife Dee Dee.

Tony didn’t stand a chance of staying on long with his brother driving the boat.

I think he’s a little upset.

Payton and Micah…Micah’s the one in mid air.

Gabe and Ethan

Captain Randy

I don’t have any shots of the girls, since I wasn’t on the boat with the first shift. Maybe Tony will share some of the ones that he got.

My tubing partner was a cute little guy named Dylan.

Look, mama, no hands!

Ethan had to take a spin on the wakeboard, too.

catching some air

Gabe tried the wakeboard, and did well for his first time. It took Ethan a whole summer to master getting up.

And, then, it was time for them to go home. More pictures.

Abbey (15) and Samara (18) – they’ve always been close. And goofy.

cuteness

These three were quite a trio…Micah (11), Josiah (9), and Dylan (3)

Same with these three – Gabe (14), Payton (12), and Ethan (12)

Taking a cue from the older girls…Marley (12) and Anna Grace (12)

The dozen cousins!

And, I promise to take the time to blog more often! I sure do miss it when I don’t. This blogging thing can be addictive.

For as long as I shall live, I will testify to love

I’ll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough

With every breath I take

I will give thanks to God above

For as long as I shall live

I will testify to love

Last weekend, we had the privilege of traveling a few hours east to attend my grandma’s 90th birthday party. In this last year, she’s become more frail. She’s now living in a wonderful assisted living home, since she can no longer care for herself.

But, her mind is sound and she’s just as beautiful as ever.

About 80 some family members gathered to celebrate. Some I’d not seen in many, many years. That was a blessing to her and to the rest of us, too.

One of my favorite parts was looking at ALL the old photos. People brought in albums with photos of grandma as a child, teen, young married woman, and on and on. We laughed at our weird hair dos, 70’s clothing, and noticed how all the old shots were posed behind their cars. I absolutely love looking at my history.

Love the “90” balloon! And, the goofy grin on her face! That’s my mom in the pink and white shirt…she and my Aunt Gail arranged and planned the whole party. It was a lot of work, I’m sure, but oh how we appreciated it!

Grandma has had a hard life, and a great life. Married at the age of 15. She lost my granddaddy years ago, when my dad was just a teen. She married again, and lost him very soon after. Most of her life has been lived alone, but she’s always been surrounded by many friends and always family.

All of her children came…that’s my dad, 2nd from the left.

We were only missing one of her grandkids.

And a couple of great grands weren’t there. But, this is the first time that some of these kids have ever met. Ever.

Wonder what her wish was? And, I hope I inherit her gorgeous white hair. Softest hair ever. Dylan kept trying to play with it! She thought that was a hoot.

My favorite memories of her are when I had sleepovers at grandma’s house. We lived just down the road, so I spent a lot of time with her. She would always give me one of her pretty nightgowns to sleep in, and safety pin them so they’d fit. Her home was heated by coal, and the grate was in the hallway…I still remember how warm it was standing over that! Days were spent watching baseball games from the tree in her backyard (the fence looked down onto the little league field!) or climbing the tree in the front yard.

And, oh my, could she COOK. Chicken pastry, her creamy boiled potatoes, and chocolate pie to die for.

You are a treasure, Grandma, and I’m so glad that we could show you that on your special day.

Love, your granddaughter
Donna