Caroline's Cast

Caroline is doing really well with her cast. Thank goodness it is waterproof!

What a blessing!!

I think I am doing pretty well with my 30 day "No Mumblin, No Grumblin" challenge. (Today is Day 4 already)

Life is so much better when I try to focus on the positive instead of the negative . . . try it, you'll like it!

:)

Being Positive (about broken bones?)

Today, John and I were excited because for the first time in a LONG time, we were going to be able to go out to dinner alone.

Someone had offered to watch the kids and John had received a gift card to eat out for an end of the year present.

Perfect . . . free babysitters, free dinner.

BUT, about an hour before we were supposed to go . . . .I can't believe it . . . Caroline broke her arm . . . again!!

She was swinging from the pole on our little swing set and she jumped down, landed wrong, and broke her left arm.

:(

I am trying my best to be positive about this.

It is kind of ironic because just this morning I decided that I was going to try to not complain so much about things. My favorite radio station (K-Love . . . I am sure you all get it, too) is having a "No Mumblin', No Grumblin' 30 Day Challenge". They have been talking about it for some time now and I think they are on day 21. I have loved hearing about how this challenge has been making such a difference in their lives.

Soooo . . . I decided I must try it and I happily declared this morning that I was officially starting my complaint-free 30 days.

OK . . . then this happened.

I thought of the challenge right away. I decided that I needed to be positive and handle the situation without feeling sorry for myself, blaming anyone, or being angry about it. Everything went much smoother that way!

I was shocked, actually.

I really believe that life IS better when you count the positive things (blessings) instead of focusing on the negatives.

Some positive things about Caroline breaking her arm today:

* it was a buckle fracture instead of breaking the entire bone

*she got a short cast instead of a long arm cast

*her cast is waterproof (swimming can still happen!!)

* I found an orthopaedic doctor that I love

*the doctor and his nurses stayed in the office extra long to take care of Caroline (we called 15 minutes before they were closing and they still told us to come on in. . .they would wait for us) This was a HUGE blessing because it is Friday and we would have had to have waited all weekend for her to see an orthopaedic doctor (been there . . . not fun)

* it was her left arm

I could easily make a long list of all the negatives, but I won't because they are obvious and it wouldn't do me any good, right??

Caroline is doing well . . she picked out a pretty purple cast (I'll post a pic tomorrow) and she is liking the extra attention. We went out for dinner (with the kids, of course) and came home and watched a movie. And now she is sleeping in our bed. (breaking your arm does have perks, you know)

I encourage you to try the "30-day No Mumblin', No Grumblin' Challenge." It's fun, really!

Overcoming Fear

Ever since Caroline badly broke her arm riding her bike with training wheels, she has not had any desire to learn how to ride a "two wheeler". (can't say that I blame her) Grandma Koz gave her birthday money last year to buy a new bike, but Caroline would not even talk about getting a new one . . . she was just afraid that she would never be able to learn without falling down and getting hurt. :(

Well, I decided to finally just take her to the store and ask her which one was her favorite and I just bought it (thanks Grandma Koz!!). We went home and Caroline didn't want to try it. The next day, I told her that she would probably learn really quickly and I kept telling her that once she learned how to ride a bike, she would never forget it. She liked that. :)

Well, in perfect Caroline style, she got on that bike and I ran along side and let go and she took off . . . and she's been riding ever since. :) She LOVES it!! I think that what she loves the most is that she really thought she would never learn how to ride a bike and this is just such a major victory for her. She rides and rides almost every day. She has only fallen once and that is because Luke tried to lasso her as she was going by and his lasso got stuck in her wheel.
I'm so proud of her!!

"So do not fear, for I am with you."

Isaiah 41:10a

Dem bones, dem bones, dem .... broken bones

Tonight I am counting it a wonderful blessing that right now, none of my children have a broken bone. Just today, I was playing in the basement with Luke and Caroline and I found myself being so overprotective of their every move. "Watch out!" "Don't run!" "Don't do that or you might break your arm!" Yikes!! I guess one wouldn't blame me for being overly cautious. When Jake was three, he fell off of a slide and completely broke his collar bone. Then last year he broke two of his toes simply running into his bedroom. Then he broke his elbow (radial head) jumping off of a swing (one week before he was supposed to play in the all-star game for baseball). A couple months after getting out of his cast, he broke his radius and ulna galloping backwards in gym class! (he kind of wishes that he could say that he broke his bones while playing a cool sport) Anyway... then there is poor Caroline who was trying to keep up with Jake on her bike with training wheels. I guess going downhill (fast) and around a corner with training wheels is not really a good idea. The bones are all healed now, but I still have some battle scars of worry and fear. I will never forget when Jake was in the hospital the first time after breaking his arm he kept telling me that God had a purpose for it. Even after he realized that he was not going to be able to play in the all-star game, which was incredibly important to him, he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "God has a reason for this, and I am going to make the best of it!" I wish I could be more like Jake. I would like to keep my kids with me at all times wrapped in bubble wrap, but I know that would not benefit them! I am working on trusting the Lord to protect them.

Psalm 56:3 When I am afraid, I will trust in you.

This is what Caroline's poor arm looked like before the doctor put the pins in. : (