Happy Easter!

I hope you had a great Easter. We were so happy to have Sandy, Jeff, Carson and Macie with us this year. They have never been here for Easter, so it was a special treat. In fact, they had been here all week. My camera is not working very well, so I don't have many pictures. But this one was Sunday morning heading to church. All 8 of us got up, looked at Easter baskets, hunted for eggs, showered, got dressed and made it to church by 9:25. I thought that was very impressive!

My beautiful sister and children. Neither one of us have pictures of our entire family. I guess the guys were the last ones to be able to get dressed, so they were a minute or two behind us. Plus, neither Jeff nor Carey like posing for these pictures!

All 4 of the kids - Carson (5), Bryant (10), Ann Bennett (7), Macie (2). Aren't the azaleas beautiful? I'm in the process of chopping them down right now. They have gotten very "leggy" and overgrown. I'm hoping I don't kill them! They look beautiful for the couple of weeks they are blooming, but after that they just look overgrown!

Dying eggs. Everyone enjoyed it, but Ann Bennett and Jeff earn the most into it awards! This is one of those times my camera did not cooperate, but trust me, Jeff's brown egg - which eventually was dyed blue - was a sight to behold!

Looking for eggs. We went to an egg hunt and picnic at our friends' house, but we missed the egg hunt. Our kids handled it VERY well considering. I have no pics, but they did get to play with real rabbits. This hunt was in our back yard.

I'm loving this shirt on Bryant. SueSue got it for B for Easter, and it looks really good on him. Too bad he isn't showing us his teeth since this is pre-broken tooth!

If ever there was a little girl who would have loved having a sister, it is Ann Bennett - especially if her mother would have been one who dressed the girls alike! AB LOVES to be a twin with Macie. It's not the best picture, but SueSue got the girls these dresses, and fortunately it warmed up enough that they could wear them together.

We hope you had a fabulous Easter celebrating Jesus' resurrection! Last year, we were in Georgia and Mom was still in the hospital. My dear friend Katrina came and led a celebration in singing hymns. We visited with Mom in the hospital, but it was hard to balance our time between the kids and the hospital. Sandy and I struggled with what to cook. We were not used to being the planners of holiday meals. We did better this year, but it was kind of strange not to be with Mom. She and Randy were in GA, and we were in NC. I'm so thankful we were all healthy and away from hospitals!

It's funny how this whole year has seemed like a year of firsts. Mom's first birthday, first Christmas, Easter, etc., since the accident. It is one of those defining moments in my memory. I'm thankful that our family is not defined BY that moment. Easter especially reminds me of how much God loves each of us and desires to be in relationship with us. I think back a year ago and remember just how much pain we were in at the time, but I also see how so many of you prayed for us, walked with us, loved us and showed us God's love. I remember that pain but with the pain, I also remember just how much I felt God's arms around us. I pray that each of you feels surrounded by God's loving arms! Happy Easter all year long!

Doctors, Dentists and Drama

What a crazy week we have had in our house! Monday morning I quit working around the house and went to take a shower and get ready for my an appointment with the eye doctor. I have been wearing my monthly disposable contacts for about 3 months now, so it if very over due! I get in the car to go to the doctor and notice I have a message on the phone. I check it and find out that AB's teacher had called saying she has had her head down most of the morning complaining of a headache. I call Carey and ask him to go check on her and take her some motrin. While I am on the phone with him, her teacher calls back to say she's thrown up. Remember, I'm in the car on the way to MY appointment. Carey had an appraisal scheduled, so I had to go get her and miss my appointment. She spent the rest of the day at home just fine. She even played in the sprinkler that afternoon with B and our neighbor.

Tuesday afternoon, I take the kids to go buy B's new bat at a local batting cage. It was packed, and we knew some of the kids there. B was sitting on the ground watching a kid he knows hit the ball. AB was talking to his sister and I was chatting with the mom. Tanner, the neighbor who was with us, was hitting in the cage next to us. We were 1/2 a second away from leaving when the boy opened the gate to the cage and knocked Bryant in the mouth. I did not see it and didn't even realize he was hurt at first. Somehow, we realize he's upset -- I think the guy who owns the place noticed it first, and he says he chipped his tooth. He is folded up, in tears with his head down. My first thought was no big deal, a little chip. Well, it was a BIG chip, and I even recovered a baby tooth size piece of chip in front of him. This was 20 minutes before he was supposed to be at the ball park for his game that night. We left as quickly as we could. Bryant was TRAUMATIZED and mad as "H, E, double hockey sticks" to quote B. He says the boy saw him, told him to move and pushed the gate open hard when he didn't move quickly enough. The boy says he didn't see B. The truth is not such a big deal to me, but B's anger is a very real issue for me. Anyway, I convince Carey to wait on him at home, get him home, crying all the way. Our neighbor was trying very hard to help him -- it's OK, you don't look like a "retard" (so very inappropriate, but an 11 year old's comforting words), "dude, you shouldn't be embarrassed, he should be," "I chipped my tooth," etc. Bryant was having none of it. All he could think about was everyone seeing him looking ridiculous. I think the best thing that happened is that he had a game that night. He didn't play GREAT that night, but he was OK and the team won. So, it was a good distraction. The boy who bumped him is a child we know from the park, and Bryant was in no way discreet about what happened. He was ticked off and let everyone know it. Fortunately that child did not have a game the same night, and we probably won't see him for a while. I'm hoping B calms down by the time he sees him.

So, Wednesday Bryant did not go to school, and we spent 2 hours in the dentist's office. (OH, thanks to Dr. Browning, our friend who is an orthodontist for letting B stop by after the game to hear from an official doctor that he was going to make it! He really needed it.) They put a resin or plastic crown on the tooth, and it looks really good. Dr. Skip didn't get it quite as long as the other tooth, so he'll probably end up having a little more work on it, but overall it looks great. He felt much better and went back to school. He has to be careful of his teeth now. He can't really use that tooth to bite into things because it will come off if not careful. In fact, we've been told it will come off at some point, and we will get to know the dentist quite well in our visits to repair the tooth. After braces and all his perm. teeth are in, there will be another more permanent fix. I was so thankful that we had the funds to fix this. We don't have dental insurance, and it made me so appreciative that we were able to still do this for Bryant. It would have really messed him up if we had not been able to fix it.

When we left the dentist's office I said to B that I didn't even have a picture of the break! If the thing falls off, it will not look quite the same as it did that day because they had to file down the tooth to get the stuff to stick. (Without pain mx, I might add!) I didn't want to push it because he was so upset, but I asked out of curiosity if he would have let me. At first he said no, but then he said yes. I should have posted it here with a note that said who did this to him and how horrible he is. But, alas, I have no photo. Just a memory.

Then, Thursday afternoon Bryant had a previously scheduled allergist appointment. He had new testing done, and his allergies have changed some. I don't understand that at ALL. But, they are still in the same classes of allergies. He is going to start shots in 2 weeks -- his choice. But, that was another hour and 45 minutes.

And, on top of this, I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon (a reschedule from weeks ago when the doctor had to cancel) and my eye appointment was rescheduled for Monday. Hopefully that is the end of the doctor's offices for a while! We've had enough! And, if you're still reading, I'm amazed. It was about as exhausting to type as it was to live. Happy Friday!

Tagged

OK, I was not really tagged, but I was reading Kristie at Not Quite What I Had Planned, and she was tagged. She was told to post the 6th picture in the 6th folder of her pictures. It made me go take a look. This is what I found.

This is Bryant and his good friend Brad. They've been in school together since they started the toddler progam in the fall of 2000. This picture was in February 2007 at their school -- before uniforms were required. They look so young. They were in 2nd grade and look so much younger! As his mom, this was not my favorite year, but if you ask Bryant, this was the best year ever because it was the only year in elementary school that he and Brad were in the same class. In fact, that year his class had a lot of his friends in it. I really hope they get to be in 5th grade together. It might have been hard for B to behave with his buddy in the class earlier, but now, it would absolutely make the end of his elementary school experience fabulous.

So, what's the 6th picture in your 6th folder?