Abby's Surgery

Abby had surgery on Feb. 16 to correct her knees.  It was a day surgery and she came home after lunch.  It was very hard on Abby.  She was very nervous and got sick when we first went back.  They gave her something to calm her down and it just about put her to sleep.  Daddy was brave and went back with her when they put her to sleep.  The procedure took less than 2 hours but it sure seemed like forever to us. The surgery went well but she woke up very confused and upset and she was in a lot of pain.  They went ahead and brought her back early hoping to calm her down.  They gave her something else for pain and she just went back to sleep.  Little did we realize the hard part started when we left the surgery center.  The pain was rough for the first few days so she had to take the pain medicine.  Combining that with the lingering affects of anesthesia made for a rough first couple of days.  Eventually Bobby was able to get her started walking.  She is such a Daddy's girl and he always knows just what to say to encourage her.  It has been a slow process but she's getting there.  After mastering the walking, she has had to start working on getting up alone and bending her legs.  I have been home this week due to the weather so we have walking sessions each hour to help with her stiffness.   In the middle of her recovery Nathan developed a very painful ear infection and Bobby caught a stomach bug.  It was a crazy time at our house but we are slowly getting back to normal.  We have felt very loved.  Of course our family calls or texts daily to check on her progress.  In addition to family several of Abby's friends, teachers and Sunday School teachers have been checking in on her.  She is a very loved little girl.

With Bunny of course

Daddy getting ready to go back with her.

Abby with her support group (Pawpaw was on the other side)

Daddy helping her walk for the first time

She felt awful but she still did some ballet arms

First time standing alone

Mimi, Pawpaw and Clayton came to visit

cake from Mimi and Pawpaw

Flowers from Nana and Papa and her friend Mikayla

Look who surprised me and got up and walked to the sunroom alone

Snow Mountain

On Valentine's day we surprised our kids with a trip to Snow Mountain.  It was our Valentine's treat plus a little pre surgery treat for Abby.  Abby actually guessed before we got there.  We tried to throw her off and told her we were going to climb the mountain with climbing gear.  She was thrilled.  The kids were all excited when they figured out what we were doing.  With our passes we got unlimited play time in the snow.  Then we had a 2 hour time to do the tubing.  First we did the family tube and it was pretty steep and scary.  I screamed like a baby. We did that one several times and then did the individual ones.  That one was fun too.  The kids all loved every minute of it.    After a couple of hours of tubing plus playing in the snow we got ready to head home because we were exhausted.

Trying to make igloos...

Bobby tubing!

School Happenings

January was a actually a pretty busy month at school for the kids.  The boys celebrated the 100th day of school.  They dressed like they were 100 years old.    They brought in snacks and got to fill their bag with "100" snacks.  They also did lots of fun math activities.  Later that month 1st grade invited all the grandparents to come for lunch.  Mimi was able to work it out to come that day and surprise everyone.  Abby also had a busy month.  She has been working on a project in Gateway on the Wonders of the World.  She chose the Lighthouse of Alexandria and had to make a replica of it.  She couldn't make it larger than 20 inches and had to use several different types of recyclable materials. She  did all the planning and research and Bobby helped her to construct it. It turned out great and she got a 100.

Noah at 100

Nathan at 100

Fun Day off for MLK