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!

Some Things I Love

I love how sitting in a "cool fort" in the trees for hours while their brother plays looong baseball games is actually fun.

I love this little boy.

I love this big boy.

I love togetherness and camaraderie.

I love simple things like Popsicles that make life a little happier.

I love dads who love their kids.

I love that Jake's team won a game on Sunday.

I love watching Jake play baseball and I love that he is learning important life lessons this year.

SUMMER

Well . . . it is officially SUMMER!!!

Here is Jake on his last day of fourth grade with his adorable teacher, Mrs. Mulsoff. We really like her and we are going to miss her. Jake had a great year!We decided to celebrate a good school year at the kids' favorite restaurant, Maggiano's. (they LOVE their fetuccini alfredo!)

The waitress put a candle in Jake's ice cream for all A's on his report card! What a great start to our summer break.

Sneak Peek at Family Room

OK . . . we have been very busy, so the family room is still not completed. We are loving how it looks so far, though. I kind of like taking my time to do the finishing touches. That is definitely my very favorite part.

I LOVE these curtains that I found at IKEA. (the Matilda curtains) I love how they brighten up the room and I also love that they come in a super long length so I can hang them close to the ceiling and they still have material left to pool on the floor. They are exactly what I was looking for.

* * Thank you, Kimba, from A Soft Place to Land (http://www.asoftplace.net/ ) for the idea!!* *

Aren't they lovely??

I love this fun birdhouse that my neighbor gave me for the room. (can you tell I love the color white?)

Here are the new baseboards that we put up after the board and batten was installed. (I LOVE how it turned out!)

I decided to try some vinyl letters on the wall and I was completely delighted with the results. I told John that every room in our house is soon going to have vinyl sayings on the walls. (Unfortunately, he didn't give me the OK to do that . . . shucks!)

I will post more pics soon . . . people have been asking me for "after" pictures, but I don't want to show the whole room until it is completely finished. Soon, very soon.
Oh, by the way, don't you just loooove these peonies that I got from my neighbor??? God is such an artist! Beautiful!! I am going to plant some of these in our back yard for sure!!

Please stay tuned for my family room "after" pictures. We just need to figure out how to mount a TV on a brick fireplace. Details.

Summer Fun

Today, Caroline had a play date with her good buddy, Alie. We were so happy that the weather was nice enough to swim. (it was chilly this morning!) We keep the pool at 85*, so the kids were pretty happy in the water. :)

Caroline brought out a couple of her butterflies. (she had ten caterpillars and ALL of them hatched . . . I will do a post on that soon)

What a fun play date! We are looking forward to many more this summer. :)

Baseball, Baseball, and more Baseball

We have been very busy with baseball lately. (this weekend, we had four games! very HOT games)

Jake's team is struggling a bit this season. Last year they were champs, so it is hard for them to keep losing. We are trying to keep it as fun as possible, though. :)

At first, I was a little reluctant about having to go to so many games, but I really love watching Jake play. It is so exciting and I am just so proud of him. It's really kind of nice to be "forced" to take the time to sit and visit with other moms and let the kids play with the other siblings.

Jake gets a little down on himself at times.

I am so grateful that John is there to keep encouraging him and to help him to be the best player he can be.

John is a great coach.

We are hoping for some wins very soon. Jake would appreciate any prayers about this.

:)

:)