Cowgirl

We've got a pony lovin' girl! She's talked nonstop about riding and petting horsies after this weekend! So fun to break out the Texas outfit for a cowboy birthday. She put those boots to good use!

Cityfest

We spent Saturday morning at Cityfest. Kirkley bounced, watched the dog show, and rode ponies! This is such a great event that our city puts on for FREE!

Swim Lesson

Kirkley had her first swim lesson tonight. She was all smiles at the beginning letting me float her all around the pool. She'd climb the ladder, hold my hands, and jump in. Once class started...the smiles faded and the death grip ensued, but we'll be back again next week!

A-Day

Kirkley had so much fun this morning at the A-Day festivities on campus. She ran and played all over the practice field! She's using her right arm so much more. The ortho gave her a great report yesterday, and we're thrilled to see her getting back to normal!!!

Bread 101: Round Two

I had to give it one more try -- our house smells amazing! Pretty happy with the results -- dramatically better than round one!

Bread 101

So we were totally spoiled in the hospital with lots of treats from friends including homemade sourdough bread and cinnamon rolls from Sarah Beth's mom. I can't explain how good both were -- we rationed out the cinnamon rolls to make them last till we came home!

Sarah Beth's mom knows I love to bake and brought me some of her sourdough starter a week or two ago. Sarah Beth tried it this week so I thought I would too...we are dying laughing at the results!!!

Her bread...you can smell it through your screen:My bread before baking:
My bread after baking:Couldn't decide which picture was more appetizing! So I didn't totally follow the directions and instead used some breadmaking tips from Good Eats. I'll give it one more shot and follow her mom's directions exactly...then she can have all of my bread flour and potato flakes (to feed the starter!) if I can't do it.

I would love to be able to make this! My stepmom's Mamo used to make homemade sourdough bread that was fluffy and sweet. I'm hoping someone has the recipe for Mamo Bread as we always called it. The upside is my house still smells great even though my bread looks crazy -- and it's semi-edible! I'm about ready to crown Sarah Beth the breadmaking queen!

Hey Ducks!

One of Kirkley's favorite outings is to feed the ducks at a local pond. She's hilarious hollering at them, "Hey ducks!" or "Come see me ducks!" And, yes, she's throwing with her right arm!!!

School Party

Though she's still staying home, we've periodically taken her to school to play with her friends . She did great playing outside with them this morning, and we even saw her hang from one of the outdoor toys for a minute using BOTH arms! The peer pressure and playing may pay off to get her to use her right arm again more and more.

Today we did her class birthday party. It's been so cute taking her to see her friends at school. They all rush up to her to give hugs and say hi! She's missing them too!!!

So who will break the news...

that you only get pancakes with candles to blow out on your birthday?

Here we are the day after her birthday doing the ritual again! Alex's family always does a special breakfast for birthdays -- we love keeping this going. She had pancakes several mornings at the hospital and loved them so we made this her special breakfast yesterday...and today.

I couldn't resist her breakfast request, "Milk, pancakes, candles! Blow candles out, Mommy!" That was the last of the leftover pancakes so I'll be letting Alex be in charge of serving up the "back to the routine muffin" with no candles tomorrow morning!

Two Today!

Happy Birthday Kirkley!

The day she came -- posted last year.

Thank you Easter Bunny!

Kirkley was hilarious on Easter morning! She was awake bright and early ready to check out her basket. With each thing she took out, she said, "Thank you Easter Bunny!!" Too cute! She had a great time getting in to everything.

She loved hunting eggs and eating jelly beans!

HOME

SO glad to see our house today! Kirkley has been thrilled: sprinting around the house, playing with all of her toys, doing somersaults, and running barefoot in the grass!!!

We came home around lunch after her last round of IV antibiotics. The doctors seem fairly certain that if it had been something serious, the antibiotics would not have made such a quick impact. However, after lots of tests and cultures, nothing has shown up yet. Ped thinks toxic synovitis; ortho thinks a more serious infection based on how high her numbers were. So now it's a bit of a waiting game for us to see how the antibiotics work and if she gets full range of motion in her arm.

Prayers for no fever and continued healing are so appreciated!

A Blessed Man

It’s Alex. As I sit here in what has become my chair / bed over the past 48 hours in this hospital, I peek up from the computer only to see my precious wife and child asleep together in the toddler size bed; Holly with her arms around Kirkley, and Kirkley with her arms around an Aubie doll. Kirkley seems to be responding well to the antibiotics, her blood work looks good, and she seems to be moving her arm a little bit more. We don’t have an answer to what caused this, or what it really is, but whatever it is seems to be getting better. I am again reminded that the Lord watches out for his children. How fitting that this be happening on Easter weekend, as we celebrate the single greatest example of God’s love for us. I celebrate the incredible resurrection of Jesus; but also celebrate the active hand that God has in my life. God has entrusted me with an incredible woman who reminds me more of Jesus than anyone I have ever known. She has spent the last few days in this hospital keeping me calm, Kirkley calm, and getting answers. Once she was satisfied that there was progress with Kirkley, and that any immediate threat was gone, she switched gears to try to figure out if the Easter Bunny could somehow visit the ten foot by ten foot strip of grass at this hospital so Kirkley could hunt for some eggs. With needles and stitches and surgery and I.V.s and no real answers, my wife is wanting to be sure that the fact that we are celebrating this weekend a little differently then planned does not keep Kirkley from having some fun. She is the definition of selfless, and she has done an amazing job as a mommy during these rough past couple of days. I am without question, blessed. Happy Easter to everyone. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and friendships.

Alex

The Patient

Running the halls:

Pushing elevator buttons:
and escaping to the outdoors to enjoy this beautiful day:

The orthopedic and pediatric doctors came by this morning, and we all decided to stick it out here one more night. She's doing great, her counts are getting back to normal, and she's in good spirits! So we'll hopefully head home tomorrow morning, be on oral antibiotics for two weeks, check in with the doctors several times a week, and should be back to normal asap. Nothing is showing in the cultures yet so this was probably something viral (like the colds she's had this last month or two) that for whatever reason stuck around in her shoulder causing an infection. They're running all kinds of tests on her blood for random things to check it all out. Pretty crazy sounding, but we're thankful that the antibiotics are knocking it out!

She discovered the fish tank and the playroom yesterday and is having a ball -- good thing as we were stuck in there for several hours last night during the tornado warnings! Thanks again for thinking of us!


Funny conversations we've had:

Middle of the night, she sits up in bed (I'm sleeping with her), and hollers, "Alex! Alex!" She looks all over the room for Alex, I assure her he's asleep on the fancy fold out vinyl chair, and she lays back down to sleep.

Today I asked her, "Do you want to go home?" She says, "No, I go playroom!"

She opened up my cell phone and said, "Hello! Aubie, come see me!"


She's the best little patient ever!

Resurrection Buns

Thought I'd post the recipe for these since the Thames had so much fun making them. I wonder if yours will ask if the marshmallows are in heaven with Jesus too!? We started making these last year -- can't wait to make them when we're finally home. It's a super easy recipe...

Resurrection Buns
1 can Grands refrigerated biscuits
1/2 c butter (1 stick)
1 c sugar
2 t cinnamon
1 bag of large marshmallows
- Mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Put melted butter into another small bowl.
- Prepare baking sheet by lining with plenty of foil and spraying with Pam. The marshmallows may leak which is super sticky.
- Flatten each biscuit out until it's about 5 inches across -- big enough to wrap around the marshmallow.
- Wrap each biscuit around a marshmallow. The marshmallow represents Jesus. It is white because it stands for His purity and sinless life. Explain that folding the sides around it forms a "tomb." Be sure to pinch the biscuit closed as tightly as possible.
- Dip in butter, and roll in cinnamon sugar. Explain that the spices represent the spices used to anoint Jesus's body before His burial. Talk about the sweet taste of the spices and how Jesus gave us the sweetest gift we will ever receive. Place on prepared pan.
- At this point you can bake them or refrigerate overnight. Bake according to biscuit can directions. They need a little more cooling time as the center will be very hot.
- The center will be empty -- He is risen!

Update on Kirkley

To give a little update...took Kirkley in to the ped for a fever yesterday afternoon, we had bloodwork done, and then got a phone call around dinner time to meet the ortho at the ER. Kirkley's inflammation levels were high, and after doing an exam of her shoulder, the ortho decided to put her under and draw fluid from the shoulder.

So it turns out there's nothing mechanical going on -- it's some kind of infection in her shoulder. He ended up opening up her shoulder a bit to flush it out. We're now in a holding pattern till they have time to grow the cultures and determine what kind of infection she had. We didn't even know this was possible -- some kind of infection that spun off maybe from a cold, that settled in her shoulder??? I'm sure that is no kind of medical explanation, but that's where we are right now in our understanding of it.

Top picture is from first thing this morning -- pretty sleepy and pitiful. As the day has gone on, she's gotten up and moving, unslinged, played with treats, and is in better spirits! Though it was SO traumatic to be with her as she's going under anesthesia and be told she's going in for minor surgery, we are so grateful that it is minor and know God is in control!

Thanks for all of the prayers, phone calls, emails, texts, snacks, balloons -- she is loving it, and we are all feeling so loved!

The Masters

Alex got back from the Masters late last night. When I went to look at his pictures this morning, this is what I found. Is this who he hung out with all day? Weren't there famous golfers there?? Just kidding, Alex, there were like 300 pictures, I just don't know who anyone is! :)

In a sling...

Last week was a WEEK -- I know yall have all had those! Kirkley dislocated her elbow on Tuesday and being the tough little thing she is, didn't really make a fuss about it. And she was using it some -- like it came in handy when she took off her diaper in her playroom and...required us to hire a carpet cleaner. So we didn't get it popped back in until Thursday.

She was still tender with it Friday so we took her for x-rays of her right elbow and shoulder. Nothing showed up in the x-rays. Fast forward a few days, and it's still bothering her just as bad as it was last week.

We took her to an orthopedic doctor this morning who thinks it's torn cartilage in her shoulder. So she's in a sling for at least a week!! Don't worry that, yes, we let her bounce on Saturday at her party. We go back in a week to the ortho and hoping for a good report of a healed shoulder! And, yes, I did get her to pose for a sling shot. :)

Aubie Party

Kirkley loved her Aubie birthday party! We all had such a great time playing, dancing, bouncing, etc! Thanks to everyone who helped make her 2nd birthday so special!!! We were blessed with a great sunny day in between lots of rainy ones. She's still asking, "Aubie party again?"