It's Been Awhile

I realized that it has been a while since I have posted. This summer has been busy filled with ups and downs. I took care of my nephew, Samuel, this summer which was a lot of fun! He is 5 and has a very active imagination, and he asks a lot of questions. So, he really kept me on my toes. Here is an example...

Samuel: "Aunt AH, if you don't believe in Jesus when you die will you go to heaven?"
Me: "No Samuel you won't. That is very sad. That is why we should tell everyone about Jesus!"
Samuel: "No. I don't want to."
Me: "Oh but you should. Jesus tells us to spread the good news of the gospel."
Samuel: "Okay, but not until I'm older."
Me: "Well when you are ready you definitely should."
Samuel: "I'm not going to yet, and I'm not going to tell Mary Ryburn (his sister) about Jesus until she is 4."
Me: "Okay."

As you can see, I would give up after a few go rounds in these theological discussions. Other questions where not so deep, but he always has lots to say. Samuel and Anna Dixon have always loved each other, but this summer they have become big buddies. Most mornings AD would jump down as soon as I got her out of the crib and give Samuel a big hug. I took care of him Monday through Wednesdays, and on Thursday mornings AD would run out into the den and give me a very sad look when Samuel wasn't there. He definitely made this summer much more fun for both of us.

Poor AD had a bit of a rough go physically this summer. First she tripped on the living room rug while running through the house and busted her lip very badly. It looked at first like she bit all the way through it. After a very traumatic trip to the emergency room, we discovered that she had not bitten all the way through and thank goodness did not even have to have stitches. About a month ago she fell off the step going down into our carport and fractured her tibia! When it happened, she was hysterical, but I did not see any cuts or bleeding. When she wouldn't walk or put any weight on her left foot, I realized something was wrong. Thankfully Tommy came home about 30 minutes later, and we called the after hours line at our doctor's office. Because she was not weight bearing, the nurse said we needed to take her to the emergency room. Thankfully, this time we got in at a smaller emergency clinic closer to our house. They discovered that it was actually her leg and not her foot that was hurt, did x-rays, but didn't see anything on them. They put her in a splint and sent us to the orthopedist the next day. He also did not see anything on the x-ray, but said that it was most likely a "toddler fracture." Apparently, in children her age a fracture does not show up on an x-ray until healing begins. So, she got a cute little pink cast, and wore if for 3 weeks. Last week we went back to the doctor. He confirmed that it was a fracture but was healing nicely. Poor AD did not enjoy having the cast removed. You can't blame her, though. I would have screamed too if someone came at my leg with a spinning blade! Bless her heart! The doctor said it may take a couple of days for her to feel comfortable walking again. She was running and climbing all over the place in the cast. But in true AD fashion, she was up and walking again within the hour.

This summer hasn't been all bad, though. We have made lots of fun trips to the Dora exhibit at our science center, the zoo, and the children's gallery at our art museum. AD even had a sleep over with her cousins and Bibi while Tommy and I were out of town. And, a couple of weeks ago we took a family vacation to the beach. Yes, AD was in her cast, and it didn't slow her down a bit! I hope everyone has had a good summer too! Of course, here are a few picture of our summer fun...

4th of July watermelon!

sleepover with the cousins!