7 Weeks

May 11- And Trent's cast is off. He had anxiously waited for this day for weeks,but I don't think he expected it to be such a stressful experience. He was a little concerned about the saw used to cut his cast off, especially since the nurse had to try several times in different spots to cut it all the way through and the sight of his arm being so skinny and frail looking was almost enough to send him over the edge. As we walked back to the holding room (for lack of a better term) to wait to talk to the Dr, Trent informed me he was feeling ill and might need a bathroom. I had him lay down and breathe slowly and deeply. He was really shook up, but thankfully did not end up needing a bathroom. He cried a little as we were leaving to go to our car, but it didn't take him long to start feeling a little more optimistic. A Sprite from Sonic and a trip to Kyle's was just what he needed to get his mind off of his current state.

On a good note, the Dr said his bones had healed nicely and everything looked good. He just asked that Trent were a brace on his wrist during periods of activity for the next four weeks. Trent has gotten so used to having something on his arm that he's glad to wear the brace.

Decatur Grasslands Nature Walk

May 04- Katina and I decided to drop everything and take the kids for a nature walk. We're always so busy just trying to meet our responsibilities it seems that the extra stuff, the fun stuff, always gets put off. This day we decided not to worry about our houses or laundry or any projects we had hanging over our heads. We loaded up and drove to the Grasslands in Decatur and just enjoyed nature, each other's company and our children. It felt really good to slow down for a little bit!

Our Way of Welcoming Spring

It has become our tradition to visit the Bedford Boys' Ranch every year at the conception of Spring. It started a few years ago as we studied a couple of Five in a Row books: Make Way for Ducklings and The Story About Ping. The main characters in both books are ducks so after reading these stories we had to find some real life ducks to observe.  We enjoyed it so much, that every year the kids ask to do it again.  Spring doesn't seem official until after our visit there.  

We usually start the day off at our favorite Chinese restaurant and end it with ice cream cones, but this year, our day was too full. We weren't able to do Chinese food, but we managed to fit in everything else.

We took our time feeding the ducks and exploring the grounds. The kids found a creek across the street from the pond and a small playground with swings. The boys spent a good deal of time swinging and seeing how far they could jump out of the swings, measuring their success by the footprints in the gravel, while Kristen sought out the shade of the nearby trees and the cool of the creek.

Art Show

The kids were so excited about the Art Show at their school on Thursday April 30th. Even with the threat of Swine Flu, I couldn't resist taking them. It was worth the trouble too. It is such a satisfying feeling to see your hard work on display and I know it made the kids feel proud. I was sure proud of them.

I made this page to showcase some of their art that was on display. I think it's kind of neat to combine my art with theirs. The fact that it cuts down on the clutter hanging on the refrigerator is just a bonus.