Matthew's Arm

Yesterday Matthew had his follow up x-ray done on his arm. His fracture has healed and an added bonus was that new bone has already started growing in the cyst! So that fracture was a blessing in disguise. He is able to return to PE and recess. He has to go back in May for another x-ray to check on the cyst.

The phone call we almost missed

Yesterday as we were eating breakfast and getting ready to head to the doctor for my check up the phone rang. We didn’t recognize the phone number and almost didn’t answer the phone, but something made Chris go ahead and answer the phone. We are so glad he did!! It was his brother calling from Iraq! Steve knew there had been reports of bombing going on in Iraq, so he wanted to let us know he was fine. As he was talking to us, he said he could hear bombs going off. He sounded so calm about it! It was good to hear his voice and know he is doing okay. It has been so long since we have heard from him. He said he will have a couple of weeks of leave in September and then he has to return for a few more months.

This morning we saw the news that there was massive bombing in the Green Zone. We have no idea where Steve is stationed in Iraq. We wish he could call again to let us know he is doing all right. All we can do is keep praying that he stays safe during his tour over there.

My doctor appointment went well and the baby has a nice strong heartbeat. I was so relieved to hear that. For some reason I have such a feeling of doom with this pregnancy and I keep expecting to hear bad news at each appointment. I think once I feel this kiddo moving around on a regular basis I will calm down. Right now I only feel a slight bump once in a blue moon. I go back April 30th and we will get to find out if we are having a boy or a girl….provided we don’t have a modest child!

Here are a few pictures from this month:

Hannah receiving her trophy at the basketball tournament.

Hannah’s team won second place in the league.

Rebeckah with her birthday gifts.

The cake Chris got me for my birthday. Can you tell I wasn’t excited about turning 40? LOL

For some reason Sean thought it would be fun to pull all of the blankets off the shelves in the linen closet and take a little rest on one of the shelves.

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Today was such a beautiful (and windy) day we decided to fly kites. The last time we flew kites was when Rebeckah and Austin were 2 and 3. So really this was a new experience for all of the kids. They had a blast. We started out flying them in our front yard, but Rebeckah's kite went over the roof and got tangled in the shingles. Chris sent Matthew (our kid with the broken arm...but the only one unafraid to be on the roof) up on the roof to untangle the kite.

Rebeckah flying her kite right before it went over the house.

The kite hanging over the side of the house.

Matthew getting the kite.

We loaded up in our new van and headed to Hannah and Matthew's school to fly the kites. Sean wanted to play on the playground instead of flying kites, so Rebeckah and I took him to the smaller playground while Chris and the other kids flew their kites near the big playground. Hannah really got her kite flying high in the air and had it flying for a long time. Austin was doing pretty good flying his kite too. That is until his kite broke off the string. Chris managed to rescue the kite. As Chris was saving Austin's kite, Hannah's crashed down and the string got tangled in a fire hydrant. She got it untangled and tried to launch it again, but it broke off the string too. I went chasing after it while Chris stood there screaming for the video camera. I am so thankful I got the kite before he ever got the camera. Chris was in hysterics by the time I got back and said that we could have won big money if he had managed to get that on film. I didn't' think it was that funny.

Our new 12 passenger van.

Hannah flying her kite. If you look carefully you can see Hannah right above the 2 in the date.

Once all of the kites were broken the kids just played on the playground for a while. For the first time ever Sean wanted to swing on the swings. He has always been afraid of the swings, so this was a big deal to us. So, of course I had to video tape it!

After the park we headed to the library where the kids checked out TONS of books. As soon as they walked in the door they went straight to their rooms and started reading them. Rebeckah has already read three of her books and Austin has read 2 of his. Hannah and Matthew didn't get as far because they fell asleep as they were reading.

The bad news is that when Matthew woke up he was running a fever of 101! So here we go again. I thought we were finally over all of this illness, but it seems we are starting over again. The good thing is he won't miss any school since his school is on spring break this week(Rebeckah and Austin's school has spring break the following week).

Hannah has been sleeping on our couch since around 6:00 tonight (it is 9:30 as I type this). I hope she isn't coming down with something too! Tomorrow her basketball team is in the championship playoffs. I would hate for her to miss that.