Tough Dog

So this afternoon we came home to the beginning of what supposedly will be around 3 inches of snow. As usual, rain (or snow!) or shine, one of our dogs, Jacob, was just lying down on the deck, oblivious to the weather around him! He does this all the time. Our deck is raised, and the dogs have shelter under the deck, plus there are wide eaves all around the back of the house that they can go lay under for protection from the weather. Champ and Jesse are usually smart enough to do this. Or maybe they're just wimps. Yeah, that's it, we'll just say Jacob's our tough dog! Despite his toughness, though, he was happy to comply with my invitation to come inside right after I took his picture! ;-)

Murder Mystery Solved!

I guess with all our birthdays and parties and such, I neglected to post about our Valentine's Day event. Our friends Robby & Kelly Fowler organized a murder mystery night! Brian and I had never done one before, so we didn't know what to expect, but it was lots of fun! We were notified of our "character" about a week before the event, then showed up and received little books that revealed more information about us and our fellow participants. Through dialogue with one another and listening to others' conversations, you eventually try to figure out "who dunnit". By the end of the evening, Lindy and Slade both correctly decided that it was Brian who committed the murder!
Chuck, a structural engineer; Slade, a professional football player, Brian, a major in the Air Force, and Robby, an archeologist.

Lindy, a famous jewelry designer; Kelly, a rich, spoiled woman, me, an Army nurse, and Mallery, a rich widow.

Owen's rendition of a classic song

"Take Me Out to the Ballgame" is on one of our kids' CDs we listen to in the Suburban. So, last night at dinner, out of the blue, Owen busts out with his version:
"Take me out to the ballgame
Take me out to the crowd
There might be some crackers and Apple Jacks..."
At this point Brian and I burst out laughing, and the song stops. Wish we hadn't, so that we could hear some more interesting lyrics!

Forever Changed

Four years ago today, our lives were forever changed. For those of you who don't know the background story, Kellen, Peyton and I were in a horrific car accident, and I was 17 weeks pregnant with Owen. Brian was at work, and the girls and I were headed to Kennett, MO, to meet up half-way with Brian's parents so that they could take Kellen home with them for the weekend. It was 9 days after Kellen's 3rd birthday, and just a day after Peyton's 1st birthday. I was going 60 mph on a two lane highway when an oncoming flatbed semi truck made a left hand turn in front of us. I saw him coming, swerved to the right in hopes of skidding along side of him, but still impacted at the front driver's side corner of our Suburban.
Kellen and Peyton were screaming, of course, but thanks to God's protection, ended up being okay. They were terrified, though, being taken out of their car seats on backboards and with c-collars. Kellen complained of a sore back for a few days, but ultimately they came out unscathed.
Since I had been braking in hopes of avoiding the crash, my right foot took the brunt of the impact. I could tell right away something was drastically wrong, as my foot was hanging in an unnatural direction and I could actually see the end of my tibia. That's a memory that is forever burned into my mind. To make a long story short, I had other minor injuries, but the most pressing was that my foot was 90% amputated. An incomplete amputation, they called it. After jaws of life, an ambulance trip to the Kennett hospital, and then a life flight helicopter ride to Cape Girardeau, I went through surgery to reattach my foot, and then stayed there for five more days. Obviously my pregnancy was of huge concern during this time. The day of the accident, they actually were not able to find fetal heart tones, and then a day or two later I experienced some bleeding. But, Owen truly is our miracle baby, and we feel so blessed to have him in our lives!
The next four or five months are a blur, as I had more surgeries, we had various family living with us, people bringing meals, me trying to learn to use a wheelchair, then a walker, then a cane, and delivering a new baby in the midst of that! I truly have made huge progress in the last four years!
However, it has also "forever changed" our family. I grieve the fact that I can no longer be the type of Mom that I envisioned. I have always been athletic and active, and vowed not to be one of those Moms that sat on the side while the Dad did all the playing outside, coaching sports teams, rough-housing, etc. Even with two young daughters, we were forever going on walks after dinner, camping and hiking, traveling, etc. I hate that now my children only know a Mom that has to sit down all the time, can't go out and play with them, and often can't even go get them a drink of water or some other mundane task, due to being in pain. It's not fair to them.
Through all this, though, I have prayed that God would instill a sense of compassion in my children; an innate feeling of selflessness and caring; a heart for the disabled or people in need. They have been troopers, and at the same time, Brian and I have sacrificed a lot in order to try to maintain some "normalcy" in their lives despite my limitations. My sacrifices relate to my pain levels, and his sacrifices are all the extra work he has to do and the time he devotes to us!
Sometimes I still pray for God to reveal His reasons for all this, but even if we never know, I have faith that He will use this for good. Regardless of what happens, February 18th will be a date that our family will always remember!

"my whole hand"

Today is Peyton's 5th birthday. Earlier she told me she was glad she was five, because now when people ask her how old she is "I can hold up my whole hand!" Here she is this morning. She had a donut for breakfast and opened her presents before going to pre-school.

I brought up a cookie cake and balloon to her school during snack time. She was thrilled!

Here is her beloved pre-school class. She's been with many of these kids for three years now--that's a long time for a 5 year old! The boys at the back table are Carson, Wyatt, Logan and Daniel. The front table of girls are Peyton, Layla, Brianna, Eva Grace, Sohpie, Jenna & Susannah.

Cheesing it up with her birthday balloon!

We sure love you, Pate. You add such life to our family, and keep Daddy and I laughing. We often say "She's too cute for her own good!" We are proud of the great young lady you're becoming!

Birthday Girls!

Kellen & Peyton still wanted to have a joint birthday party this year, so that was nice for us! They chose to have it at Pump It Up, an inflatable/jumping playplace. They had some mutual friends from church, as well as buddies from each of their school classes attend. All the kids really seemed to have a great time, and they sure were exhausted tonight! Hard to believe our little girls are 7 & 5 years old now!
Layla & Peyton

Kate & Bella

Molly, Bella, Kate, Peyton & Kellen in the main jumping inflatable.

You have to be 2 yrs. old to jump, so Dawson and a few other rugrats just ran around the floor and played in this Cozy Coupe. Brian had to chase him off the jumping things quite a bit, but overall Dawson was happy and not too distressed that he couldn't participate!

Kellen & Clara

Peyton and Deanne

Kate, Kellen & Halee

Hope and Deanne

Joanna & Molly

Big, crazy group shot!

Kellen & Peyton with their ice cream cake. Just like last year, Kellen chose mint chocolate chip for her half, and Peyton chose cotton candy explosion for her flavor! I had also bought cheese ball puffs as a "salty" snack to put out on the tables during this time. Kellen has been begging me for about 3 years to buy this GIANT TUB of these things at Sam's Club but I've never had a reason to get such a huge quantity. Anyway, this was a good occasion to "give in" to her wishes, and seriously folks, these 25 kids ate almost the entire tub! It was pretty hilarious!

The birthday girls sitting in their giant chair. This is where they opened their presents.

He ain't heavy, he's my brother!

So every night we go into the kids' rooms to check on them and do one last "cover-up" before we head to bed. The other night, we walked into the boys' room to find this situation!
The flash startled Dawson a little bit, but only enough to move his legs, not wake up and actually get off of Owen! And yes, we do zip up Dawson's p.j.'s---he did this himself, sometime after being put to bed!

Landry Blair Roberts

Landry Blair Roberts made her grand entrance into this world at 5:38 p.m. She weighed 8 lbs., 12 oz. and was 21 inches long. Here are some pictures of her taken when she was just minutes old!

Getting checked out by the nurse.

Adorable little baby feet with her "Baby Roberts" bracelet.

Beautiful mama and baby!

So fun to hold a little one again!

Our First Baby is 7!

I know every parent feels the same, but Brian and I really can't believe it was 7 years ago that we brought this sweet girl into the world. We were reminiscing while we were eating her birthday dinner, telling her all about the day. February 9, 2002 was the first day of the 2002 Winter Olympics, so as I "labored" all day (thank you, epidural!) we had a blast visiting with friends and watching the Olympics. She was finally born at 5:21 p.m., weighing 7 lbs., 11 oz. Above, here's a picture of her (52 lbs., now!) posing with all her presents, wearing a "Birthday Girl" t-shirt.

Here is an art studio and a puzzle, based off her American Girl, Felicity.

Opening a case for her DS. She also got a couple other DS games, and some clothes for her American Girl dolls.

She requested powdered donuts for her birthday breakfast! Easy enough! She had many people call her and wish her a Happy Birthday, her teacher let her be in charge of a lot of stuff at school, and Kelly Fowler bought her a sundae at Sonic on the way home from school! Lots of people together made it a very special day for her! We love you K-girl!

I just want to remember this....

Peyton and Owen are such great friends! They have been playing together for the last 5 hours and haven't fought, complained, or bothered me a bit! I love how they can be so imaginative together and make up all sorts of stories as they're playing "house". This morning, they were "Brian & Kelly" and Pate's baby doll was "Kellen Bailey". ;-) Or, if they're playing brother & sister (okay, maybe that's not very imaginative since they ARE brother and sister!), they usually say their parents died. Does anyone else hear their kids saying their parents died? I'm not sure what to think about that! Anyway, I'm thankful they get along and like playing with each other. Peyton and Owen are only 17 months apart, so I think that helps them get along. It also helps that Kellen is at school during the week, because when she's home, she and Peyton are usually off playing. I just needed to blog this so I can remember these days and remind them in the future!!!