Latest on Pike

Pike's injuries are healing so well! I am amazed at how much he has healed in just a few days. It really makes me marvel at how God made us. What better example of how we were made by an Intelligent Designer. What else could explain the way the cells in our bodies work?? Absolutely leaves me in awe!!

Here are the latest 2 pictures of Pike:

This was taken on Easter Sunday - exactly one week after the bite. The scab under his eye came off and it did split open again, but not too bad. He has his medicine on it to keep it from drying out. He loves using that cocoa butter stick!

I took this one on Thursday evening - 12 days after. He looks great! All the swelling is gone...and he's back to the 'cool' stage!! We still have to keep him out of the sun for 6 months, which means lots of sunblock all summer...but that's the easy part!

And, just so you don't have to scroll down or find my other posts, this is what he looked like less than 2 weeks ago...

Say it with me...Wow!!! Thank You Lord!!!! :)

A Real Bike Ride

As I mentioned before, Emma can ride her bike without training wheels and is "ready for real bike rides"! Everyday after school, she puts up her backpack and heads out to ride up and down the street.

Now this is one reason I love our street...it's a big curved cul-de-sac off the beaten path, so she can ride without traffic. The other reason I love our street is our neighbors. We have the absolute BEST neighbors ever!! From one end of the block to the other - it's just full of great people and great kids!!

When we first moved here (almost 3 years ago), Emma is the reason we met our neighbors so quickly. She was always running up to everyone saying 'hi' and giving out hugs. One day Emma and I pulled into the driveway and she said, "Hey, Momma, look...it's Grandpa!" I looked over and our neighbor, who was getting out of his truck, did resemble my Dad, but I told her that wasn't Grandpa. She said he looked like a Grandpa to her, so she started calling him Grandpa and his wife Grandma. They didn't mind and they loved Emma, so our new neighbors became known as just Grandma and Grandpa. For the longest time, I didn't even know their real names!

Emma goes over to ring their doorbell to give them a hug and she comes home with a baggie full of candy or crackers. When they go out of town, they leave Emma a note on my windshield asking her to please take care of their house while they're gone. She puts their newspaper on their front porch and checks their mail. When they get home, she takes them their mail and comes back with $5. And, you would not believe how much lip gloss the girl can buy for $5!!

What a blessing to have them next door, when our real Grandparents live so far away!

After Emma learned how to ride her bike, Grandpa told me she passed a note to him through the fence that said, "Grandpa, will you wash me ride my bike?" He thought that was so funny and kept saying, "Emma...I'm washing you!"

Well, last week, Grandma and Grandpa came home with bikes of their own...and now Emma gets to go on real bike rides to the lake with them! She loves it...and I have a feeling that they do, too!

All ready to go!

Emma is with them...she's hidden by Grandma

Pike's Progression

Here's the latest on Pike. I've been trying to take a picture everyday...just to see the progression. He is very funny - he sees me get the camera and he just stops and smiles! I love this boy!!

Monday morning on his way to school. I let him sleep in and wasn't expecting it to be so swollen!




Monday evening - after the swelling went down, we noticed his eye was bloodshot.



Monday evening

Tuesday evening

Wednesday morning before school - it's starting to get yellow and the swelling is going across the bridge of his nose. This is when he told me it didn't look as cool as it did on Sunday. :)

I'll post an update after our appointment today!

Pike's Trip to the ER

Most of you have heard the story and have seen some pictures, but I'm going to post my email that I sent out on Sunday here. Pike is feeling good and has been back at school. He's not sore at all which surprises me. It looks like it hurts! He is starting to swell and change colors - kind of purple-ish yellow. He said it doesn't look as cool as it did on Sunday. I told him it would get back there once the swelling went down. We have a follow-up appointment tomorrow with the plastic surgery clinic at Texas Children's. I'll post an update after that.

Here's the email I sent out...

We had an eventful night Saturday night....Pike got bit by a dog – just a freak accident – and we ended up in the ER for most of the night. He’s actually doing really good today (Sunday) and the plastic surgeon said it should heal fine. We are sooo thankful that God’s hand of protection was on him. It could have been so much worse and we are praising Him that everything turned out the way it did...

Some of the many praises...
· We knew the dog was up-to-date on shots
· Pike was wearing his glasses which deflected the cuts away from his eye
· The cut on his eyelid was fairly deep, but without his glasses, it probably would have gone all the way through and damaged his eye
· We initially went to the Kingwood ER, which had an 8 hour wait (can you believe??), so we went to TX Children’s downtown where they had a pediatric plastic surgeon in house and only 1 person ahead of us
· The plastic surgeon said all 3 cuts were easily stitched together and were in the best spots possible to show minimal scarring. All 3 are in natural creases in the face and should be almost unnoticeable after they heal.

Thank you Lord!!!!

I actually had my camera in my purse and Pike wanted to look at himself. There wasn’t a mirror in the room, so I took a couple of pictures to show him what it looked like. We were so proud of Pike! He was such a trooper and did so good! Guess I’m going to have to postpone family pictures for a little bit. :)

We are waiting in the ER for the plastic surgeon.

I wanted to take the bandage off, but we just got the bleeding to stop...didn’t want to risk it.


Stitched up and ready to go home. This picture was taken at 4:00 a.m. He is amazing!!

This morning (Sunday) it’s more swollen and starting to bruise. He woke me up at 9:30 (after less than 5 hours of sleep) and said he felt ‘refreshed’!! :) I love that kid!!!

Lift him up in prayer when you think about it – that he continues to heal quickly and without noticeable scarring. We were told to keep him out of the sun for 6 months! Really?? The only thing to do in Houston during the summer to stay cool is swim!! We will invest in a lot of sunscreen – I told him he would have to carry one around in his pocket!!

I’ll keep taking pictures and posting updates when I get a chance.

Another Milestone...of sorts...

We reached another milestone this week and, even though I'm extrememly proud, it also leaves me wanting to shout what my friend Amy said, "Time, Stand Still"!

If you read my post when the kids started school, First Day, you know this has been a year of transition for our family - and it just won't stop! They keep changing and growing, and I'm slowly replacing all remants of baby-hood and toddler-hood for childhood and beyond. No more living room with a strategically placed bouncy chair or 360. No more dining room with a high chair. No more kids' bathroom with a step stool to reach the sink. And, now, no more bicycles with training wheels!

Emma learned how to ride a bike this past week! Honestly, I've really been looking forward to this. For Mother's Day last year, I asked for and received a bike, and couldn't wait until Emma could ride without training wheels. Our family bike rides consisted of Jeff, Pike and Grace motoring ahead, and me pedalling slowly waiting on Emma with her squeaky training wheels grinding along. I encouraged her every now and then to try to ride Grace's old bike that didn't have any training wheels. She would attempt a few times with me running along beside her, holding the back of the seat, but she wasn't ready.

Well, last weekend she asked her Dad to go out and practice with her. They were outside for about 2 minutes when she comes running in, "Momma, you've got to come outside. I have something to show you!" And there she goes...takes off riding the bike all by herself!!! I was so excited (and secretly thought...I'm pretty sure I did all the hard work on that one...you know, like loosening the really tight lid on a jar when someone comes along behind you and opens it immediately!). But, as I watched her, I realized...Wow! That's one more thing we'll never have in our garage again - a bike with training wheels. I know it's silly, but time keeps flying by and they keep changing and growing, and I really do want to shout, "Time Stand Still"!

Thankfully, I got a few pictures of the girl riding on her own the first time. One of my favorite things about some of these is Gretta, our sweet dog, running along beside her. It was so fun to watch! And, even though I can get a little nostalgic about minor milestones, I can also smile because I know that each new accomplishment brings a wide range of adventures for our family!

Good Job Emma!!

Here's Emma and Daddy - who came along and opened the lid after I loosened it! :)

I love the way Gretta just ran with her and followed her up and down the street!

The only problem she had was pedalling too fast. One of my 'lessons' was telling her that the faster she pedalled the easier it would be. And, man...that girl can pedal fast!!

And her fast pedalling led to a few falls. But, as you can see, she was a trooper and it didn't bother her too much.

She kept getting right back on and riding again. I'm sure Gretta had something to do with that! Everything is always easier with a buddy!

Talent Show and Science Fair

The school had its Talent Show and Science Fair at the end of February. We had a fantastic turn-out and some really great acts. Grace did a dance to Taylor Swift's "Our Song" with 2 of her friends - Kayla and Christina. They made up the dance themselves and it was really cute! The Talent Show is only for 3rd - 5th graders...I bet you can guess that there was someone who was a little disappointed that she couldn't get her kindergarten self up there to perform in front of everyone! :)

Grace also entered the Science Fair with Jordan, a boy in her class. They announced the winners right before the Talent Show started...and Grace and Jordan won 1st place for the 3rd grade!! It was completely unexpected, so the only picture I have is from a friend. Thanks Julie!

Here are a few pictures from the fun evening...

Kayla, Christina and Grace "with their hair undone in the front seat of his car".

"Our song is the way you laugh"...

"I pulled out a pen and an old napkin, and I wrote down our song."

Here's Grace after she got her Science Fair ribbon and her partner Jordan getting his ribbon on stage. I sure wish I had been prepared!

They go to the district Science Fair at the end of March...at least I can get a picture of them in front of their project when they have to set it up again there.

We are very proud of you Grace!!

Retro-Post II

One more catch-up post, and then I'll try to stay a little more current.

The week after Christmas, we went to Amarillo to visit my Dad and my brother and his family. Now by 'we' I mean my family and my sister's family. We were quite a sight during that almost 12 hour drive. The 2 cars were loaded down with 4 adults, 6 children, 2 dogs and enough luggage, games, movies, crayons and coloring books, snacks and suckers to keep all of us entertained. We did make a stop at a Gander Mountain along the way to get some hunting supplies, and I had to buy a jacket. I guess living in Houston for 3 years makes you forget how cold it really is once you get a little further north!

We had a great trip. The boys went hunting one day and then went to the river to shoot skeet (is that how you spell that?) another time. The girls shopped and played and talked. There was lots of good food and fun! We even got to go with Dad and Quentin to Wild Wings for their now-traditional Wing Night! Nothin' like eating wings and drinking beer with the greatest family in the world!!

I also got to spend some time with my sweet friend Amy and her precious kids. It was alot of fun to catch up with her. Emma got to play with Macy and even spend the night with her! What a treat! She still talks about it. Grace got to go play with her friend Camryn and spend the night, too. They had not seen each other in 3 years - and Camryn told me that if that happens again, they would be 11 the next time they saw each other! Yikes...we will have to work really hard to make sure that doesn't happen! (Cara...bring the family to Houston anytime!!!) :)


Here are some pictures from our time there...


The boys out hunting birds...Austin, Jeff, Adrian, Pike, Caden, Caden's friend, Quentin and Kyle



Showing off their kill...Adrian, Caden's friend, Caden, Pike and Austin...and, yes, they had to clean them when they got back to Quentin's. Pike still has a bloodstain on his jeans!


This picture makes me laugh! Kyle was outside talking to Kayla, Emma and Kade and realized they were playing with something in the yard. He asks them what it is and Emma picks up a dead bird! Guess they wanted to go hunting, too. The funny (gross) part is that I didn't know about this for a little bit and then I see this picture Kyle took...and there's Emma on the couch sucking her thumb...and she had not washed her hands!! (Gross...I know!!)

Gina and Grace climbing the tree in Grandpa's front yard.

The annual Christmas toast with Scotch...a favorite tradition of the boys!




Dad, Jeff, Quentin and Kyle...next year I need to get a picture of thier faces after the shot! :)

The girls hanging out...Linda, me, Deonna and Angie

Siblings and Spouses....Angie and Kyle, Quentin and Deonna, me and Jeff

Wing Night!!! And it wouldn't be complete without a picture of the Wing Leader...none other than POD!!