OUCH! J's First ER Visit!! *Warning Pictures!!

Well it's happened.. J has had his 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ER visits and multiple other visits from the home care nurses.. who are all super people btw..

Papa had two weeks off after S was born and so one day when S was 6 days old he decided to take J, L and E for a nature trek to the back 'lease' area for a walkabout. They found a neat nest full of babies, E brought me a wild strawberry! And J was walking along, fell on a stick and punctured his leg. I was asleep but Papa told me it squirted blood... I believe him.. J's shoe was a bloody mess! Apparently J cried a little at first. I imagine it hurt a bit and it's pretty scary to see blood pumping out of your leg! Papa stripped off his shirt and tied it around J's leg to use as a tourniquet. It was his DAD shirt. Dedicated and Devoted. Yup that fits! J walked a bit of the way home but it hurt pretty good so Papa back packed him the rest of the way. By they time they got to the house they'd had a heck of an adventure, were sweaty and covered in bug bites. Papa was just thinking he'd clean up the wound and we'd bandage it and keep on with life.. Until he thought about it for a minute and remembered the squirting blood.. and, I think, saw my face. J was holding up pretty good by now and he braved us taking a quick look before walking out the door to go to the ER with Papa. 

Papa says he tried to prepare him a little about them numbing his leg with a needle and cleaning it out before they got there, but when they talked to the doc on call the doc talked about freezing it and poor J thought that meant they wouldn't need needles.. until Papa explained that it was the same thing. But J bravely took everything they threw at him, needles, cleaning it, stitching it up and all. Papa even had to run down to the pharmacy to fill his antibiotic's and J had to stay behind, the store was closing!, and he was still brave and did great! Oh and btw J is the first of our kids to EVER BE ON ANTIBIOTICS. That was weird! How do you remember to take them 3 times a day! Anyway here is J the night after the first ER visit. 

July 5th.

OUCH!! Wait it gets worse... 5 days of antibiotics later it starts to weep.. pus and clear stuff.. Both Papa and I sighed and they headed back to the ER. J had been feeling wonderful and even riding his bike!! But there was a LARGE red area in the area behind the wound and it felt warm to the touch and we both knew what that meant. So off they went. 

They came back hours later. J had to have minor surgery to clean out the wound and it had been left open packed with packing and would need a lot of care over the next few weeks. For the next couple of days Papa brought him to the ER every evening to get it unpacked, cleaned and repacked. The hole was quite deep.. deep enough I could have easily put my little finger tip inside of it.. and remember I didn't see it the first few days!! It had been bigger yet! 

A few days later a home care nurse, our first but far from last, came and showed me my first good look at the wound and showed me how to change his dressings.. including packing it with stuff so it would heal from the inside out and be sure to heal the hole they had found in his leg. This next picture is a bit nasty. J was very insistent on doing as much as he could with his dressings and we found it hurt him a LOT less if he could do it himself. Taking band aids off, pulling out the packing which is what he's doing in the next picture, and re wrapping it after I packed it. 

July 14th.

We did try to keep things sterile like the nurses taught us.. 

That whole first 10 days or so is a bit blurry for me. S was just newborn and not sleeping super tons. Papa was home to help and I did rest a LOT and napped almost everyday but I'm pretty sure J had the roughest time of us all. He was on bedrest. Pretty much. By the time the home care nurse came several days after the surgery he'd read at least two books. He read roughly ten total. He'd watched movies and played while laying on the couch with his leg up. At her visit I asked for some getting up and about guildlines and she said wrap his leg in tensur wraps and he can be up for an hour at a time 3 times a day. J learned how to play lego with his leg up, watched way more movies then normal, and pretty much did nothing for about a week. Tough on a 9 year old active boy who was missing out on summer!! Thankfully his siblings were quite willing to entertain him :) 

July 19th.

Soon we didn't have to pack it but we did need to keep it covered and re bandage it every day. 

It started to close from the inside out and healed quite nicely!! 

July 29th

Then one day after a swim J had a spot of pus with this little splinter in it.. 

We think it was the cause of the infection!! July 31st! 

All and all it was about a month from injury to going without a bandaid!! 

This was taken this morning.. Aug 27th! Still not completely done healing. 

Camping Out With Cousins

Uncle D, Auntie A and O and K asked if J and L could spend a night out at the lake and when Grandma F found out she invited E and R to spend the night out with her too!! So we spent the day at the lake and then the kids slept over with cousins and Grandma and we went home, did cow chores, slept the night and came back the next afternoon to pick them up. 

J couldn't swim but he could boat!! Here is him and E in Uncle D's boat.. Later on Papa took J, L and E for a row and they were gone about two hours. They had a blast!! 

Uncle D braving 5 girls in Grandpa's boat! Going for a ride. They did do some fishing in smaller groups.

L swimming with several floaties. 

Uncle D and J, L and E fishing. They didn't catch any. E had one on her line but it got away at the last minute. 

A closer fishing picture!! That Uncle D is sure a great guy!! 

G and J3 playing on shore! 

Waterfight!! Auntie A and Cousin K in the background! 

J3 and G sleeping on the way home.. very strange to only have 3 kids for the night. The truck felt super empty! 

I never did get a picture of all the cousins.. My sister A and her family were there too.. We had a great time though!! 

The Chicken Whisperer

Those hens know who feeds them :) 

We call L 'The Chicken Whisperer' 

And a random picture of Milton and some hens.. 

E's Smile

She popped that second top one out in bed one night and came running out to tell me :) 

Now she has another one loose on the bottom!! 

Gilts Piglets!

Gilt made this big nest before she had her babies. The nest was about 12 feet in diameter.

 She had 12, lost one the second day and is doing very well with the other 11. 

About an hour or two old.

They are 10 days old now and she brings them out to see us several times a day!

 Super cute!! 

L and S

Brothers. 

OHHH Those Hens!!

The pictures really do say it all... and now you know why we started 

'The Great Hen Roundup!' 

a bit early this year but we also got about 50 new laying hens that need to be trained to the chicken house.. so it worked out well. Most of the hens are staying in. We need to go catch a few that have escaped and clip a wing and put them back in. 

S's Newborn Photo Shoot

Some of my favorites from S's photo shoot :) Thanks SO MUCH DI!!! 

Diana Davis Photography

MY TRUCK!

Papa and I had chiropractor appointments early (ok 10:15 and 10:30) Saturday morning and so we packed up and headed out. Made it with all 7 kids in tow with everyone dressed, hair brushed and we even had breakfast!! Mind you it wasn't much of a breakfast. We had BIG plans for the day. Chiropractor, Papa had to work on a truck for an hour or so, taking the chicken plucker back and Papa had to prepare his sermon for the next days preaching. Full day! I was going to prepare our potluck meal and keep the kids busy so Papa could study.

ANYWAY we got to Dr. M's office, our wonderful Chiropractor :), on time and only slightly frantic from our crazy rushed morning. M called me in and Papa took S and sat down with the kids to wait. M and I had a lovely visit while she straightened me out and showed me how to relax my jaw. I'd tripped over a kids lawn chair and landed on another kids lawn chair and put myself out big time. By the time she was done and we left her office I was feeling much better.. A, her receptionist, was digging in a back pack when we stepped out which was weird but I whatever.. or so I thought until I looked at Papa.. I knew that look. Adrenaline was running HIGH!! A turned to me and said 'two kids tried to steal your truck!' WHAT!!! MY TRUCK!! MY PEGGY SUE!!! If it hadn't been for the look on Papa's face I'm not sure I'd have believed her.. Sorry A :) That's NUTS!! Why on earth would anyone want MY truck!! Sure she looks nice but most people couldn't tell you what breed she is or have any idea WHAT she was at all. We are ALWAYS getting people who want to know WHAT she is.

She is btw a International Travelall. A 1973 International Travelall.. 

She's not the kind of rig most people would try and steal. In fact Papa has always said that she had no value to anyone so he's always left his keys in her. "Who wants to steal a old rig like her' WAS his line about all our IHC's for years. Max worth for her is $5000. Seriously. That's it. 

Never mind the car seats!! Who steals a rig with 4 car seats and a base for a baby seat!! 

Well two 17 year old teenage boys tried too. Apparently they thought it might be fun to joyride and trash. 

Thankfully my Papa loves his trucks and recognizes the sound each one makes at start up.

Seriously. I'm still having a hard time processing it. 

Papa was sitting there in the waiting room. Heard Peggy Sue roar to life, Internationals never do anything by half's, looked up and saw our Peggy Sue pull a u turn RIGHT in front of the big 'ol picture window Megan has there in her office!! So what does he do? Jumps up, puts S on the chair he was sitting on and RUNS SOCK FOOT out on to the street. 

Now just a little note here. Peggy Sue is a good truck. She starts. She stops. She's never ever stalled on either one of us. EVER! 

Back to the story. Peggy Sue, being loyal?, stalled.  Her stalling... that was a God thing!! 

Yup, just as they were taking off down the street. 

So what did Papa do?? Papa ran up behind the drivers window which he'd left open and grabbed the kid by the throat. 

Apparently this is where Papa thinks the kid did something like Sid says in Ice Age

 'involuntary and messy!' 

Yeah apparently while you are stealing a truck your adrenaline is running pretty high and if someone sneaks up on you and grabs you in the act it's pretty darn frighting. 

A said when the kid ran past the window he still looked terrified but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Papa grabbed the kid by the throat because he wasn't wearing a shirt. Only a thin chain. He had his backpack on his lap. The truck was stalled. So Papa grabbed the kids back pack but when the kid left the truck he dropped his backpack and ran. Oh and the other kid.. the one in the passenger side.. he took off too.. the other way! So Papa threw the backpack on to the sidewalk.. and went to check on the kids.  

A, who had run outside on the sidewalk herself to see what all the fuss was about and didn't have quite so much adrenaline running through her, suggested they should look in the backpack and see if he had any ID. He did :) Oh and by the way.. Unless something like this happens to you.. which I sincerely hope not,  NEVER LOOK IN A 17 YEAR OLD BOYS BACKPACK.  The smell was enough for me. A was very brave! 

Papa called the police and they asked him a million questions and then nothing happened. Dr. M took another patient. Papa, A, the kids and I all waited. A cop car went by once.. twice.. six or seven times.. We thought hmm.. must be looking for them. Dr. M's patient is done so Papa goes in. Soon it's almost noon and we are wondering if they are coming at all and what we should do with the backpack. A and Dr. M were only working until noon so Papa took the kids over the block to the police station.. yes we were a whole block away from the police station when these boys tried to steal our truck. The station was empty but there were two ladies sitting out front. They told Papa the police had told them they'd be at the station in 15 minutes. So they walked back to Dr. M's office. Sure enough trucks pull by 15 minutes later and Papa went to meet them at the station. A few minutes later he was back with a cop.. who talked to everyone and told us, to our surprise, that they had already caught the boys. They'd trapped them in Riverside Park. Trapping them on 3 sides and the river and flushed them out. They were known to the police and Papa gave a pretty good description. He wanted Papa to go give his statement and so Papa walked us to the park next door, not Riverside, and the kids played in the park, I nursed the baby and visited with a friend and Papa gave his statement to the police... yeah so not your normal trip to town!! 

Turns out both kids where let out that afternoon as they are underage.

 Papa did press charges and he will have to go to court and testify against them. Those two ladies waiting for the cops?? Turned out to be the drivers mom and sister.. Papa had quite a chat with them. His mom apologized for her sons behavior and then told Papa that she'd stolen 14 vehicles in her years. That apple didn't fall very far from the tree did it? 

Anyway our day was half over by the time we got home. We both completely forgot about taking the plucker back, but Papa did fix the truck and prepare his sermon.. James 5.. and he did a super good job on it too :) 

Oh and our kids.. saw quite a bit of it. I wish I'd seen it. They were pretty impressed by their Papa, as well they should be. The description I got of him running the truck down and grabbing the kid's neck was awesome. It reminded me of Mel Gibson in the Lethal Weapon movies.. 

But this was MY MAN and HE IS AWESOME!!

Don't you mess with his kids, his wife, his trucks or anything/one he loves!! 

Oh yeah and we have a new agreement.. WE KEEP THE KEYS IN OUR POCKETS NOW :) 

We've had sort of an eye opening in several areas recently.

Either a couple days before or a couple after this event there was a white SUV driving really slowly past our place. This happens sometimes.. sometimes people even stop or come talk to us. A critter is out. They like the way we farm. We have piglets beside the road and they are cute.. they are on their phone and they get reception there. This person was leaning out of her SUV staring at the place. Papa and I were both instantly on alert. The kids were driving their bikes up and down the driveway. Papa started walking out to the road and I held back a bit.. I had S sleeping on me and I knew if there was a problem closer to the house would be a better place to be. I heard some words and I remember Papa saying "Hey I got 7 kids there" and what am I suppose to think? and then saw Papa relax a bit.. Turns out the area we live in is doing some sort of farm survey and she was suppose to drive around and see what areas were being used as a farm and what kind of things people were farming. Papa talked to her for quite a while and she gave him a newsletter that explained what she was doing. I think we must have missed that memo. 

Oh and that other guy selling books?? He's not out to get your kids.. did a bit of research.. he's driving around trying to sell books. I googled his company and so did many others. Here is a link. They might not be the best company out there but he does work for an actually company who sells books door to door.. he's not a creep trying to get your kids... in fact he seems like a big kid himself. 

Our New Table :) Picnic Table :)

Kids and I build this picnic table and benches the other day with a couple of boxes of help and a bunch of 2x4's. We bought it as a kit idea from Princess Auto and got a couple extra benches. The uprights came in the kit and we just added 2x4's and followed the directions :)

 The boys did the cutting, the girls took care of the screws/washers and the we took turns on the drill. It's not square, it's not even.. but it's ours and we are ok with that :) It was a wonderful group project!! 

First snack on the picnic table :) 

It's not perfect, but what is?? 

 We are going to sand it a bit and get the letters off and Papa is going to trim the ends to get rid of the green and even them up and then we will find a stain for it. 

Beautiful side..

From the other side.. a bit more reveling about our home life :) 

Laundry drying on the line, hay bales hidden under trees to keep them out of the rain (makes a great 1st step to tree climbing Hey L??) the fire pile waiting to be burnt as well as the blue wheel barrow full of sticks to be burnt later, the stroller in the shade by the tree, boxes from our project laying on the ground.. 

But mostly I see a Family.