Christmas in Franklin

We left Searcy on Monday morning to go visit my family in Franklin. Anna-Kate and Thomas did pretty good in the car- thank goodness! It is about a 5-6 hour drive, so that's not easy on a little one. 

When we got to my grandparents, we visited and then they let us open gifts. (I left my camera in the car so I don't have any pictures of that!) One of the things Thomas got was a tickle me elmo. I thought he would love it, but it completely scared him! Elmo starts off standing up and then laughs so hard he falls on his bottom and then lays on the floor. He eventually stands up but it's all the movement that frightens Thomas! I tried to get him over the fear but he's still not impressed. 

My grandmother completely surprised us with a dual screen portable dvd player for our car!! We were SO excited! Our car has never been quieter! :) 

After we exchanged gifts we got ready to go see my Dad and his side of the family. Two of my Dad's sisters came and their children and grandchildren! It was pretty crazy! Thomas and Anna-Kate had so many babies to play with! It was so much fun because I know that is how it was for my dad when we were all younger. 

There were a lot of people and it was pretty crazy so it took Thomas and Anna-Kate quite a while to warm up. 

We ate and visited and then we decided to attempt a picture of all our little ones! 

Thomas and my nephew Luke

Here goes: Luke (7 months), Anna-Kate (3 1/2), Thomas (14 months), Declan (5 years), Kara (8 months), Miles (almost 3), Willow (8), Edan (9 months), and Emberly (4 months)

We exchanged a few gifts. Let me just say, when you are 3 1/2 and are on your 7th Christmas "party" you start to expect presents at every gathering. I'm embarrassed to say that's how Anna-Kate acted! ha. She started seeing gifts and saying "I want to open presents." Then we would open gifts and she would say "I want more presents" or "I never get any presents" haha. It was so bad! Oh man. Thankfully, we are on present detox and hopefully by her birthday she won't be so greedy!  

When I was going through my pictures I found this one. Looks like Aunt Jessie and Anna-Kate "borrowed" mommy's camera! Too cute! 

As we were wrapping up I walked in the other room and caught Anna-Kate, Willow and Declan hanging out in the recliner. 

We had so much fun visiting with everyone. I especially loved getting to see family that I haven't seen in forever! 

Worst Week

Y'all this has been a really tough time for us! Last week was the worst week we've had in a while! I'm trying SO hard not to dwell on the bad things and to know that there is a lesson in all of this. So bear with me please! 

Last weekend, Derek and I had our phones turned off. I feel so embarrassed to admit it but that's what we decided needed to happen in order for us to catch up on other things. I really don't like talking about those things, but there you go! ha!

So it's been a tough week not having much contact with my family and having to really communicate, since we can't call each other as easily. 

I'll admit that I have had a bad attitude at times about it. Every time I kept feeling down, I realized how spoiled I really am! I mean honestly, my life is so horrible because my cell phone is not turned on??!! I feel silly even saying that! We have SO many other wonderful blessings in our life, I know better than to complain. 

Thursday I had another reminder of what's really important in my life. 

I got off work around 5:45 and headed to my house. When I saw that Derek wasn't in the driveway, I felt like I really should go out to Derek's parent's house and see if Derek was still there. I thought I would just pass him on the way and wind up turning around, but I decided that I should go out there. 

I didn't hesitate. I headed straight over. Just a couple of miles away from their house I noticed there were several police cars stopped on the side of the road, but the sun was in my eyes so bad I couldn't really see what was going on. Then I saw a worker out in the middle of the road directing traffic. Seriously, the sun was so bad in my eyes I could barely tell if he was waving me on or telling me to stop! I stopped to be on the safe side and creeped forward until I could tell that he was actually telling me to stop. While I was stopped I tried really hard to see what was going on. 

My first thought was "I hope that wasn't Crystal (a girl I work with)." Then I thought, "Surely that's not Derek." 

Finally they waved me forward and I crept past the wreckage. I didn't see anyone standing on the side of the road, just a family sitting on the other side watching what was going on. 

Then I saw the car. I saw the entire front end of the car was smushed up. I thought, that looks like my car. 

Then I noticed it was black. 

Then my eyes saw that it was a Corolla. 

I swerved into the nearest drive way and jumped out of the car and started to run over to someone who could tell me what happened to my car and my family, when Derek and his dad drove by and told me what had happened. 

Derek was on his way to pick up Thomas, with both girls in the backseat. Kristen was in Anna-Kate's car seat and Anna-Kate was buckled in the middle. Derek couldn't see the road very well because the sun at that time of day is right at the top of the hill he was going up. He could not see the car that had stopped in the road in front of him and by the time he knew it was there he had no chance to stop.

Derek's jaw hit the steering wheel and his body crumpled around it. He tried to turn the car back on and it wouldn't start. Then he got out and went to open the back door to get the girls out and it was locked. He saw his mom drive by and he waved her down. She came over and helped him get the girls out, both of whom were very scared and crying. 

The other woman was driving a Chevy Equinox. Her bumper was banged up pretty bad (Derek said the car went under hers. ) Thankfully she wasn't hurt.

The girls were pretty upset so Derek's mom took them on to her house. Once she got Anna-Kate out of the car, Anna-Kate started crying about her leg and ankle hurting. Both the girls were pretty upset by the whole thing. 

When we got to Derek's parents house it was so hard to see Anna-Kate so upset! She was crying about her leg/ ankle. She wouldn't put any weight on it and just wanted to be held. We decided to wait and take her to our pediatrician in the morning to get her checked out.

At that point I just wanted to maintain some normalcy for Anna-Kate and do something that would take her mind off of the wreck. I told her we could go get ice cream or go home or go to Ryne's football game.

Anna-Kate chose the football game. We went and ended up leaving about 5 or 10 minutes later. We wanted to give her a bath but she threw a fit, so we just read her a book and put her to bed.

She had a horrible night, waking up two or three times. I think Derek ended up sleeping with her for a while. When she woke up, she tried to stand up but her little knees buckled and she lost it.

Our normal pediatrician was off but we were able to get her to the doctor that afternoon. We kind of debated whether or not to take her because we thought it was just a sprain. Most of the swelling had gone away by the morning. Derek took the morning off work but I went to work until her appointment.

The doctor was so nice and seemed to think it was just a sprain too. He sent us for x-rays just to be sure. We were surprised to learn that Anna-Kate had actually broke both the bones in her leg, right above her ankle! They sent us over to have an orthopedic doctor evaluate the break. It's not a real serious break and they think that she will heal pretty quickly. They decided to put a cast on her.

Anna-Kate cried the whole time! We knew she loved pink so she has a nice pink little cast from just below her knee on. I had to hold her foot while he wrapped it. I was really glad to know that they now have water-proof casts, so she can take a bath without having to wrap it up or anything! She will be in the cast for a month!

Poor thing! While we were waiting to get the cast put on I saw where her little arm had bruises up it. It's so hard to think about what could have happened. We have definitely learned our lesson.

We picked Kristen up from school and let Anna-Kate go in and see her teachers and classmates. That really perked her up! We spent the evening with Derek's family, to help keep Anna-Kate's mind off of things. Then we took her for ice cream and let Kristen spend the night. They played really well and it didn't take Anna-Kate long to learn how to get Kristen to fetch what she wanted. At one point she sent Kristen in to tell us that she needed to go potty. Derek said, "has she gone already?" Kristen replied "umm... no her leg is broke, she can't walk!" lol. It was cute.

Anna-Kate woke up several times because she was uncomfortable. Neither girl slept too well so Anna-Kate was still pretty fussy today.

She finally got some rest and has slowly started getting back to her old self. We're just waiting on her to start walking in her cast! Right now she's pretty scared it's going to hurt. I am enjoying keeping her in one spot right now! :)

Derek and I are working hard on getting our attitudes right. I'm sorry for the complaining, it's just been such a tough time for us lately!

I really feel blessed to have my family. I know that things could have been so much worse.

Today we all managed to have a rather peaceful morning, despite a crazy drop-off routine (thanks to just having one car we have a bit of juggling to do for a while!). I had a much better day and I know that this week is going to be great. Plus, we had our phones turned on this morning! Yipee!!

Weekend In Franklin

Last Friday was my grandmother's 88th birthday. We all call her Nani. She's amazing! She was born and raised in Germany, was a nurse during WWII, met an american soldier, had 8 children and then moved to the United States! I always love talking to her because she has such strength. I feel like I grow so much, just from spending 5 minutes with her! Sadly, when I visit Franklin, I don't get to see her much because she lives in Nashville! She hadn't even met Thomas yet! So I knew I had to see her for her birthday!

Derek couldn't take off work to go see her so I headed out Friday morning with Thomas and Anna-Kate! It's a 5-6 hour drive there, so I was NOT looking forward to my drive! I tried to time it so that they both would nap along the way. Thomas fell asleep pretty quickly and Anna-Kate fell asleep about 30 minutes into the drive. They both woke up in Marion so we stopped for lunch. I had SUCH a wonderful time eating lunch with them! They were both in really great moods! They ate really well and then we all headed back to the car so I could nurse Thomas. We made a bathroom trip right before we left and then we headed on our way! Anna-Kate fell asleep right as we were getting into Memphis and Thomas slept off and on. They both did so well on the last part of the drive! I got very lucky with two great travelers!

We got into town on Friday around 4:30 and met my sister at my grandparent's house. We just all visited for a while and then went to meet my dad and other sister for dinner. Then we walked around Target a bit. Anna-Kate loves Target! Haha!  When I got back to my grandmother's we were all tired but we stayed up visiting a little more. I think I was dreading sleeping because I was afraid Thomas would do terribly!! Thomas totally surprised me when he crawled up on top of me and fell asleep just a few minutes after laying down! It was so sweet! He slid himself off pretty soon after and slept so great the rest of the night. Anna-Kate slept with my grandmother.

Saturday, I met my sisters at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Anna-Kate and Thomas were still sleeping, so I got to go alone! I didn't hardly know what to do with myself! haha!

My sister and her baby came back to my grandparents house and I got to show her how to make baby food for her son! It was really fun sharing that with her!

Then we all went around town to run some errands and to get my Nani a birthday gift. It was a little crazy, but we managed! Anna-Kate only got like a 30 minute nap, so she was really, really sleepy!

After that I went to pick my older sister up from work and we drove out to my Aunts house for my Nani's birthday party! It was SO nice to see all of my family! I think all the noise and the people scared Thomas a little bit but he warmed up to it. Anna-Kate had fun playing with everyone too!

Sunday we all got up and went to breakfast. My older sister came over afterwards and gave me a sewing lesson while she hemmed some of my pants! I'm so excited to try out a new pattern soon! Plus, I've got some fabric for some pillows for my sofa! My Aunt came over with her 3 children while we were sewing, so it was a good distraction for Anna-Kate. Greer gave Anna-Kate some of her Fancy Nancy things she had outgrown! It was really sweet! Anna-Kate had so much fun playing with Greer!! I was glad she wore herself out! After my sewing lesson, I packed our stuff up and loaded the car.

This was so cute! I'm glad my sister snapped a pic! I was feeding Thomas water out of a straw and then Anna-Kate picked up her straw and started doing the same! She's such a sweet big sister! 

Anna-Kate was asleep before we got out of the neighborhood! She slept until I got to Memphis, which was good because since I was meeting Derek in Lepanto, I only had an hour to go! Thomas woke up because Anna-Kate was loud but he didn't really fuss!

I was so glad to see Derek in Lepanto! So glad that I let Anna-Kate ride back to Searcy with him! Ha! She's great in the car but she's quite the chatter box!

Yesterday, I spent most of the morning trying to get things unpacked but I got distracted with uploading all of my pictures- imagine that! ha! Then I spent the afternoon tidying up the house for my first ever Bunko night!

I had a very small crowd but hopefully next month we'll have more! :)

Today I'm trying to get all my chores and blogging done because Anna-Kate has a half day! I'm picking her and Kristen up at 12:15 and then grabbing Ryne at 12:30. Then we are going to the County Fair! I've been in Searcy 6 years now and have yet to go! I'm really looking forward to Anna-Kate seeing all the animals! Then this evening we have our first parent teacher conference!! I am really excited to hear what Anna-Kate's teachers think of her!  Then, tonight is the premier of Parenthood!! Derek and I love to record shows and watch them together! A lot of our favorites are coming back so we are really excited! Tonight is just the start of the fall premiers!! 

Wordless Wednesday!

I Thought the Groundhog was Lying...

Almost a month ago, when Punxsutawney Phil came out of his little hole and saw his shadow, I was sorely dissapointed at the prognosis. Given that most of the state of Arkansas had been devistated by severe ice storms, the prospect of more winter weather was not a kind prediction.

However, as temperatures began to rise over the past week, I became hopeful that the grounhog was mistaken. Just two short days ago temperatures were in the near 70's in Searcy...then everything changed.

I had heard rumblings about possible cold temps this weekend but I paid it no mind. However, as I prepared to leave for Lepanto, northeast Arkansas was being hammered with winter storms. My grandmother called to tell us she had some snow, but it wasn't till I got two-thirds of the way there that I realized how bad it was. The conditions on the road began to deteriorate and the last few miles were without a doubt the worst weather I have ever been in.

Once I was able to get in and relax I realized just how much snow had actually fallen. Let me just say that there are not many things in this world I love more than to watch snow fall. It was absolutely beautiful. Myself, Nicki, Anna-Kate, and Reagan (our dog) immediatly bundled up and went out. Reagan loved the snow...Anna-Kate was less enthusastic.

What a wonderful snowfall. It was the perfect consistency too!! Not too wet, not too dry, and without a doubt the deepest snow I have been in. About 10 inches had fallen as of 9 pm with more on the way. For an Arkansas boy, that is amazing. Snow in March, however, not unusual...it's Arkansas after all.

Expect pics soon!!!