Spring Pics

Our precious men:

SJ:

he's really getting expressive and showing us that he has a great sense of humor!

he's a kid of MANY faces!

Boo:

our smiley little man who always has a song on his lips, and such joy on his face!

T-Man:
loving life! full of energy! always laughing! loves to entertain us with his jokes!

Playing around...

Trip to the ER...

On Monday, Boo was playing with a plastic tent pole from a play tent the boys have, and he fell with the tent pole in his mouth!

I heard choking and so I ran to the kitchen, but Ryan had heard it too and was already there at his side. At first we didn't know what had happened. Boo was holding the tent pole while coughing gaging and then we the noticed blood filling his mouth. He was crying so hard and just kept saying over and over "it hurts!".

We got him calm enough to get a flashlight and look in his mouth and what we saw was horrible. There was a deep gash on the roof of his mouth, towards the back and another bleeding sore on the far back of his throat.

We figured that it must have jabbed him in the roof of his mouth and when that flesh gave way, it slide back and hit his throat.

So Ryan took him to the ER (where I later joined him) and after doing an X-ray we were pleased to hear there was no bone damage. But there was a serious laceration on the roof of his mouth and minor bruising and scrapes on his tonsil.

The doctor said if it would have been even an inch over on the roof of the mouth, it would have probably gone straight up through his nasal cavity.

Boo did great in the ER...even when they had to stick stuff down his throat he never cried!

After checking him a few times the doctor said they wouldn't do surgery yet because of the risk of infection and the difficult place the laceration was in. They wanted to see if it would heal on it's own...and it has!!!

The first night was the most difficult by far. None of us slept much. He was in so much pain that even in his sleep he was saying "hurt, hurt". It was very sad.

Now, Boo's talking normal again, using his tongue and even drinking out of his normal cups again! But he has been on soft foods (jello, mashed potatoes, applesauce) for almost 5 days and will be on them for at least another 5. He misses pretzels and crackers..but he's hanging in there!

Because of the depth of the gash, it's healing slowly, but it is healing!!! We are just SO thankful that surgery was not needed!

He's a trooper...I don't know, if I were in his shoes, if I'd be quite as cheerful as he's been through all this!

(I think he enjoyed being able to watch cable cartoons!!!)

Change is coming!

Since finding out we're having a girl, Ryan and I have been talking a lot about change...Things we need to change in our home and in ourselves.

In fact, Ryan (in the car on the way home from our ultrasound) said that his first thought in the doctors office, was "I'm going to have a daughter...I need to become a better man!"

I told him my first thought was, "I'm going to have a daughter...I have a lot to change about myself!"

For me, my desire is to be my daughters primary model of 1 Peter 3 and Titus 2. I want her to see first hand through my example that beauty is not about outward adornment but that a gentle and quiet spirit is what is of great worth. I don't care if she is fashionable or if she gets many compliments on her beauty...I want her focus to be inward--looking at her heart and what her Lord sees when examining her.
So that means I have some areas I need to focus less on--and some areas I need to focus more on--because I want to lead by example. I don't want her growing up seeing me get excited over a shopping trip or new shoes. I don't want her to watch me at the mirror adding things to my face that God has already created "fearfully and wonderfully".
I want her to see the opposite: A momma who is content with how God made her and a momma who is excited about eternal things like,
-the Word
-serving, loving and joyfully submitting to my husband
-taking great delight in loving, training and teaching my children
-adding to my family all that the Lord desires and ridding our home of the things that he detests
But then there are also the physical changes in our home that need to happen. Switching room, rearranging beds, etc.

We'll be making the current upstairs into the boys room.



We'll soon have bunk beds (thanks to my generous sister and brother-in-law, Marjie and Nate!), SJ's crib, and most of the toys upstairs.

And the boys current room will become our new baby girls room


(We'll be painting it and replacing the sports theme, of course!!!)

It's a...

We had our sonogram on Friday and found out Baby Wheeler #4 is a GIRL!!!

We're all so excited! Here's a quick synopsis of the reactions...

Grace: Laugh/Cried at first, then violently grabbed our doctors arm and said, "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Then cried and laughed more. I looked over at Ryan and said "See? You CAN make girls!"

Ryan: Cried and kept thanking the Lord! (She'll be born right around his birthday so this is definitely the best gift for him!)

T-Man: Hugged me and said, "Oh momma, I'm so happy it's a girl!"

Boo: "A Gurl baby? Oh yes!"

SJ: Just kept on eating his food :)

My mom: this video says it all--(*notice her leg goes up with her hands...true sign of being a former KC Chiefs Cheerleader)...


My dad: "Are you serious" and lots of tears!

My sisters: Cried and rejoiced with us!

Ryan's parents: (we had to tell them over the phone from Kansas City) were shocked and thrilled!

Ryan's sister: SO excited and said "I'm SO surprised!"