Oh boy this is a first

Yes, this is our family's first broken bone. We've had lots of stitches and staples, but no broken bones till now. What happened, you ask? Boys! That's how! Boys are rough and touch and that's how it was. Ty was playing indoor football/wrestling with his brothers and cousins and was - yes you guessed it - he was on the bottom of the pile. Sunday, November 29, 2009 was quite an experience. The tibia and fibula on his left leg were broken. Clean break says the Dr. and doesn't look like it will effect his growth plate in the knee area. That was good news. Ty was able to have his leg straightened under lite anesthesia at CMCH, here in Mt. Pleasant, so that was good too - no surgery. His Dr. was wonderful and very calm. Like he does this every day. (Actually he does).
When we left the Hospital, Rick and I were, let's just say, a little worried and anxious about what the next 4 to 6 weeks would be like. The first day and night were, umm... eventful. Between keeping him comfortable with pain meds and ice packs and pillows and keeping the rest of the kids from crying along with him... it was an emotional night. But we made it through. The 2nd night we had to take him into his Dr @ 11pm to get the cast cut in order to allow for the swelling. He was in such intense piercing pain from the cast being so tight on his swollen leg. And he was able to let us know that very well! So with the cast cut, we had to be a little bit more careful with him until another cast was put on. He and we survived and inside of one week we became quite attune as to how to pick him up, bath him, get him on the toilet, get him comfortable when the pain comes in waves, etc. Amazing how quickly you are able to adapt to sudden changes in your daily routine. Adjusting it has been for mom too; not used to staying home all day, every day. Sure mom does not work a full time job outside the home, but running the home is a full time job which requires one to be on the go all week! Even so, here we are, one week later, had an x-ray to check the bones, and more cast material put on top of the old cast that was cut. It is blue. We go back next week for another x-ray. More good news!

He received something to smile about, today, during this healing adventure. A wheelchair. Now for most people having to sit in a wheelchair would be traumatic; but not a child, I guess! We were able to rent a small wheelchair for him to use around the house. Yesterday he was doing an Army crawl and not listening to mom about taking it easy; now he can move himself around without having to ask to be carried or being brave and crawling (although it is funny to watch). His temperment has been unbelieveable, I think, for a 4 yr old. Of course he spent most of last week on the couches and mom's bed, and we were very tight on the pain med schedule. But really, up to this point, he has been content reading books, drawing in those write on/wipe off learning books, playing cards and games, doing puzzles, eating in bed, and sure, watching cartoons. Here is a link to a 3 minute watching him learn to use his chair. Enjoy! I promise to provide weekly updates on his healing process and anything else to report.
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What are we thankful for

Thanksgiving this year we spent in Orlando. We left MI Sat, 11/21 for the week. Yes, we know that the holiday is about being thankful and spending time with family... and that's just what we did. We took time to spend together: some may think we were selfish, and maybe so.
We had great weather - not beach or swimming weather - but very comfortable. Disney was, of course, overwhelming for our kids. It was for us too! Our last visit to Mickey Mouse Land was in 2005, Ty was just 4 months old. For Rick and I, it seems as we age, the ability to tolerate crowds diminishes. Magic Kingdom was so crowded that I don't think any of us truly enjoyed the day! Truly! It took so long to get anywhere. Can you believe out of 3 days visiting 3 parks, we did not get ONE character signature? Really! The lines were out of control. No recession down here, that's for sure. The sad thing is that I don't think Ty and Taryn even understood where they were. These two do not sit and watch movies like Tom and Trevor did at these ages. The older two know almost every Disney character, but not the younger ones. Taryn only knows who DORA is... not any of the Disney princess. Sad, but true. Ty likes "cowboy" who is actually Woody from Toy Story. See, he doesn't even know.
I am happy to say that Tom, Trevor, Ty and I visited the Hall of Presidents. This is an awesome experience. For anyone who has not visited this exhibit, the Presidents who are shown at the end of the program are wax figures. Many of them speak and in unbelievably accurate voices and let's just say unbelievably life like. Even Barak was there, speaking to us. I was proud to look over at each of their faces to see them completely engrossed in the spectacle. We talked about the exhibit after it was over and I was so glad they let me take them to see it. Another "must do" at Magic Kingdom is It's a Small World. This ride was fun for the older boys as I made them guess each country or region they saw as we toured this uniquely touching display of reality. Of course, Ty said "this is boring" about the dancing children in costume. Ha!
Saturday evening we fly back home. This has been a bonding vacation for us... in that I mean, Taryn bonded (attached) to Rick and Ty bonded (attached) to Julie! When not asking for a toy or candy, at least one of the 4 was crying, sobbing, or just plain whining, I think maybe they had a good time? Unsure, really. Who did we take this trip for? Them or us? That is the question!
We did enjoy an amazing turkey dinner at our timeshare. Dad did all the cooking and we spent Thursday - low key - no park that day. We devoured Dad's dinner and each of us went around the table saying what we were thankful for. It was very memorable.
What was the best part of our vacation? The little times where we laughed, tackled, tickled, chased and laughed some more. Sure being away from our family felt a tug at our hearts, however, we take this trip about every other Thanksgiving to step back and enjoy "family" time. For that, I am thankful. Thank you God for all that I have and all that I take for granted. I am truly blessed.

Taryn HOME 1 year today 10-16-09

That's right, 1 year ago today @ 11:30pm Taryn met her brothers and her Dad. We arrived at Flint airport tired and emotional. The year has been very smooth. Our first year's journey began with food. Getting Taryn to try new foods was easier than maybe most kiddos who come home. The sleep thing... well that's another story. We had the family bed for the first 9 months. She slept with us every night. We tired sleeping with her in her bed and sneaking out. We tried putting her to bed with each brother (that didn't last long, each brother kicked her out after the first couple of nights). Not surprising. Taryn has "asthma-type" symptoms which means that she cannot/is not labeled/diagnosed as having asthma until the age of 6. So we treat her symptoms exactly as we would if she did have asthma. If she gets a "bug" she will begin the coughing that so many people have. The cough is persistent, getting as bad as every other second. We began treating her symptoms with a neb machine in early January. Every time she the cough starts, we start the machine treatments. Every time she has been able to get better from her "bug" within days and we wean her off to her maintenance level (1 treatment every day). So anyway, back to the sleeping - her cough in those early months was thought by us as a way to get attention. We dismissed it, even told her to "STOP COUGHING". After doing some research, as all mom's do, we were overjoyed to have some relief to the coughing - simply treating her with asthma medication. So in August Taryn moved from sharing a bedroom with Tyler to her own bedroom. She has a "west wing" kinda bedroom; very long and very cool with neat attic ceiling angles, an awesome bathroom, a closet better that mom's, and a sweet play area/hideout just for girls who love pink. Oh, did I mention, she loves pink? Of course she does. What 2 year old little girl doesn't? (My niece Paige comes to mind...) And within days of moving into her new bedroom with a double size bed with lots of pink sheets, pillows, dollies, etc. she began sleeping in her own bed all night without us! I am sure that it was a combination of events that led to her being able to sleep alone, but the topper was her own pink room! I would say 5 of 7 nights a week she sleeps in her bed all night. Of course the sneak down in the middle of the night is not felt by mom and dad anymore as she stealthily climbs in between us and as we wake up find a small brown head laying on the pillow next to us.

And this week also marks the "baby book note : POTTY TRAINING DONE!" Yup, she has been dry all day/night for over two weeks now and actually is quite over the top about using the potty. Seems like every other minute she is on the potty... which is not a bad problem to have. So, during the day, our entire family, all 6 of us, use the potty! Yay! LOL

So as I woke up today to start my crazy morning of school prep, etc., the "babies" as they are still called - slept in. That is very unusual. Taryn is always up at 7am. She gets up before the big kids who have to go to school. Most mornings if she gets her way, she has eaten, gotten dressed, hair done and teeth brushed... all before 8:30am! OMG! I was able to send Dad and Tom and Trevor out the door, check on the babies, and lay back down! I don't think that has happened since she came home! We we got up and around for the day, we celebrated with donuts and fruit for breakfast; common maybe in some homes... but we don't have donuts here much - cuz mom eats them! Taryn spent the majority of her day with her brother Ty, and one of her favorite babysitters, Whitney. Mom got out of the house for a few hours which made everyone happy. Dinner was quiet. Ty fell asleep, Trevor had a play date with a friend after school, and Tom went to a neighbor's for dinner. So Mom, Dad and Sissy ate a quiet dinner of Scalloped Potatoes and Ham. Daddy picked up a small PINK cake to celebrate the occasion too. So as bed time nears, we will look at her pictures from Russia (a common occurrence) and ready an adoption story (also frequent).

What will the next year hold for Taryn? What adventures will she get to experience for the 1st time. Will she be a "terrible 3"? Keep checking back to read the details of her and our family as we try to share our journey of life, one ordinary day to another, one special day to another.