Okay, that's a bold-faced lie!  In the last five weeks so much has happened that I feel like I've been on a roller coaster...you know the kind that go through tunnels and loop d' loops and you're not really quite sure that the harness is gonna hold when you're upside down and that amazing sense of relief when you pull back into the station, glad to have survived the adventure alive.  And then you jump out of the roller coaster car and run back to stand in line and do it all again.  While there is a lot that happened in the last month that I wouldn't care to do again, I think we're all pretty much back at the roller coaster station....

Here's a few of the things that have happened:


My baby niece was born.......I'd say this was the most momentous (and enjoyable thing) that happened over the last month .  Here she is:



The girls & I made the trek to see her sweet little face with my sister, brother-in-law and their girls in the middle of March.  We got to swim, eat delicious food my daddy made, and see all seven cousins (yep, seven granddaughters!) hang out together.  Here they all are....please don't judge my photographic abilities based on this picture...have you ever tried to take a picture of seven kids that want nothing more than to run over to the playground and play? 




I would like to say that the trip was nothing but joyful but it wasn't.  The day after we got there, my mom fell coming in from the pool and dislocated her shoulder.  Now, I wish I could say that was the worst thing that happened but it wasn't.  On Wednesday morning when we left, we'd made it about fifteen miles when we had to stop for a potty break.  So, we pulled into a rest area and every one did what they needed to do.  As we were walking back to the car to leave, my sister tripped on a curb and fell.  I knew the moment that I saw her that it was not good.  The pain complety blanched all of the color out of her face - she said that both her feet were hurting badly.  Craig and I helped her get back in the car and we made the decision to head back to my brother's and take her to the Urgent Care there.  Craig and my dad waited with her while the girls and I hung out with my sister-in-law and my other nieces.  Finally, after several hours,  we got the word that my sister had broken her right foot and sprained her left ankle.  Somehow, and I'm still not sure how, we still made it back to my house that night and my sister and her family left the next morning.  How you travel 14 hours in two days with a broken foot and a sprained ankle is beyond comprehendable to me, but my sister is, and has always been, amazing.  Her visit to her hometown orthopedist revealed that her foot was indeed broken in multiple places and that the location of the breaks means that, instead of just wearing a boot like I did when I broke my foot a decade ago, she has to wear a cast and put no weight on that foot for six to eight weeks.  Not a fun situation but she is handling it with her usual grace.  They are taking the cast off regularly and x-raying the break to make sure that she doesn't need surgery.  So far, everything is healing nicely, but any prayers you can offer up would certainly be appreciated.  More than anything, I would like to drop everything and go up there and help her, but with everything else that's been going on around here, it just hasn't been feasible yet, which does nothing but add to the ache in my heart...

 
Since I lost wrote when Abigail was sick, she has gotten well, then sick again, then well, then sick again.  Right now, she's on her third round of antibiotics.  Her cough is still lingering but I think she may finally be over the army of viruses that have attacked her in the last month.  At least I hope so - I could do with a good night's sleep!  She is still as opinionated as ever and in between bouts of sickness, she's had a good time.  Apples appear to be her latest obsession!



Gracie, my child who tends to get freaked out when things are chaotic has actually handled the chaos of the last few weeks fairly well.  She's thriving at school and loved getting to spend time with her cousins.  Here she is at our first vist to the lake for 2009.  I'm so ready for it to be warm enough to swim!


Steve's life has been nothing if not tumultous for the last few weeks.  The morning after we got home from visiting my brother (the morning after the day my sister fell), he had to go to the Emergency Room because of a kidney stone.  He went back the next day because the pain was just too bad for him to function (but not bad enough for him to miss work - yep, he went to work the afternoon after he went to the emergency room and worked a full day the next day before he headed back).  The second time they gave him a shot that seemed to help with the pain.  He is finally, after almost two weeks feeling better.  I have a picture of the kidney stone, but it's gross and I think Steve would kill me if I posted it .  In the middle of all this, he actually interviewed for a new job, which he ended up accepting.  It's a big promotion for him with a lot more responsibility, but I know he's going to do a fantastic job.  He loves where he works now, though, so I know that he's feeling a lot of mixed emotions about this new job. 

And me?  Well, I'm basically just along for the ride.  It's been a tough few weeks for me - I hate to see anyone I love in pain and in the past month, too many of the people I love most in the world have been dealing with extreme pain.  I'm ready for the sun to start shining.  I've had a few photography sessions which have helped me keep my balance - there's nothing more peaceful to me than having my camera out at the beach at sunset....And remember those two jobs that I lost a few posts back....well, it looks like they may be back on the table...so I've been jumping through hoops again trying to convince them that I am the best person for the job.  We'll see how that turns out...

So, now that I've written War and Peace, I'm going to sign off with a few of my favorite shots of my nieces from our visit.