Sunday, September 11, 2011

soccer and seriousness

I didn't forget, I never will. But first a post about some happier things. 

Yesterday, Ethan started soccer. If the weather stays like this, I might start liking soccer. :) 
After some playing around, Elliott and I sat down. This picture just makes me smile.
Today was their first game. Ethan went out with full force.  
He had some great shots that didn't quite make it. 
But, believe it or not, I actually caught a goal, on camera. YAY!
He takes the ball. 
And runs with it. 
He takes aim! 
Fires! 
And.........in!
He had a great game.  
Now the seriousness. 
Being part of the military family, we get to show support for each other through the good and the bad. 
This week has been the good. Several families were reunited with their loved ones after a long year. Elliott and I have been to 2 arrivals. We were late for the first one, and the second one was super early and we missed it too. Ugh. Today, after Ethan's game, we headed over, hoping to catch this one. 
It was a great welcome home. The police and fire trucks led the plane in while everyone cheered. Such an amazing sight on a day like today. 
I can tell you where I was, when I found out, and what I did 10 years ago today, but I had no idea that day would be impacting my life today. 
Ethan wasn't born yet, heck, we weren't even married yet. Nothing at that point in our lives could have told me that in 10 years, I would be surviving our second year long deployment while Jason serves for our country. To be honest, I didn't even really think that day would be etched into my memory so vividly. I had no idea of the significance of that day.
Seeing those soldiers return safely today gave me such a sense of pride (and in my head, it was like giving our enemies the finger). We are so lucky to live in a country where people we have never met, may never meet, and will likely never have the chance to thank, stand up and volunteer their lives to fight for our freedom and keep us safe everyday. 
While it was bitter sweet to celebrate with them, and not have our hero with us, it was the perfect way to spend our evening.  
So to all those who have given, and all the families who sacrifice........
Thank You. From the bottom of my heart.
And to my hero, I couldn't be more proud of you.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

they are getting big on us

We were told we could come hang out at the Hellbush house anytime, and being that they are out of the city limits (remember the 4th of July?), I thought it would be a great opportunity to let Ethan shoot his BB gun. He was so excited. So Saturday evening, we went out and shot for a little bit, then came home.

Ethan was doing pretty good with his aim. He was at least hitting the box. :) By the end of the night, he was able to hit a hanging soda can 3 times in a row. He was walking tall.
Elliott needed to try too!
Yes, I am awesome enough that we also hit the box. 
We were invited to come back on Sunday for an amazing ham dinner, and of course more shooting.
Elliott didn't want to shoot, but he had a great time setting up the targets for Ethan and I. 
Ethan got MUCH better the 2nd day. I'm pretty dang proud.
We had a nice relaxing holiday weekend.
 Today, Ethan went back to school, and Elliott started preschool. Monday night, I asked Elliott what he was going to do at preschool, he replied "be a rock star." 
It wasn't quite the "rock star" experience I was hoping for. He had a really hard time with me leaving. They said he didn't participate in the activities, and when I got there, he was standing on the back porch watching the other kids play with tears in his eyes. He started crying as soon as he saw me. It totally broke my heart. 
On the walk home, I asked him if he had fun and he said yes, and when I asked if he was excited to go back, he said yes. So I guess that means it wasn't as tragic as he made it seem.

Tomorrow we go back to the Dr to make sure Elliott's arm is healing right, and hopefully she can just re-cast it for us. 
He really wanted to ride his bike tonight, but settled for the scooter.
He looks pretty pitiful. 
Have a great rest of the week.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

place mats for mom

My mom ordered Halloween place mats for her birthday. While she was here, we got the fabric and accessories for them. I finally had time to sit down and get them finished. I'm pretty impressed with myself.

Frankenstein.

Black Cat. 

Jack-O-Lantern. 

Witch. 

Ghost. 

Bat. 



Thursday, September 1, 2011

you should see the other guy (that's what his daddy said)

Last night we were invited to dinner at our friend Andrea's house. I love getting together with friends, even if sometimes I would rather just make up an excuse not to go, I always feel great while we are there and afterwards. 

Elliott and Harlo (Andrea's daughter) were playing outside, and we ended up at the ER with Elliott. 

I knew something wasn't right when an ice cream cone couldn't make him stop crying. He couldn't move his arm at the elbow, and it started to swell up. I thought at worst it was dislocated and would need re-positioned.
After 3 hours at the ER, we had this. A broken arm.
A big dose of ibuprofen and his big brother playing with him, he was all smiles again. 
Here is the fracture. I'm not a Dr, but I was told that little line is it. Not too bad right? 
WRONG! 
I called the bone doctor (I'm sure there is a technical term for that) this morning like I was told. I was also told that it would probably be about a week before he would have a hard cast in order to let the swelling go down. 

When the bone doctor's office called back, they asked if I could bring him in today. "Uh, yeah, I guess so."

So he got more x-rays, and this time he was so brave. He set in the chair all by himself, talked to the tech, and didn't cry at all. 
Then the Dr told me, "It's a (yada-yada insert big words here) lateral fracture. It's serious, and if it moves it will be bad." So he had to get a cast today. 
He picked out his own colors and sat very still. He's such a big kid sometimes. 
Now we have to go back in a week, get this cast cut off, take more x-rays, and hopefully no re-setting, and just another cast.
Orange with blue stripes. He can't wait to show Ethan. 
He's pretty frustrated with his lack of the use of his arm, but he's getting by. 

I was kind of embarrassed last night to say that my 2 year old, who rides a bike with no training wheels, pops wheelies on the scooter, and tries to be a 7 year old, fell off of this 2 foot tall slide and broke his arm. 
However, when Elliott saw this picture this morning, I said "that's the slide you fell off of.", he informed me "I didn't fall, I jumped from right there!" and pointed to the very top of the slide. This is a much more believable story. He's not a clumsy kid, but he is definitely a dare devil. Something tells me this isn't his last broken bone. :)