It's Easy Bein' Green (Casted)....for Nate!

Nate had his Dr.'s appt. this morning and he's ALL smiles! Why, you ask? He doesn't have to have surgery on his arm!! The doc is 95% positive that it will heal properly without having to put pins in it. Hooray for Nate and hooray for our checkbook! A huge thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers. The doctor was very pleasantly surprised when he saw today's x-rays--he really wasn't optimistic on Saturday because it was so tough for them to get his bone back in place. Nate chose his favorite color green for the cast color. In his words, "A green cast is just SO totally cool lookin'!" Nate--I LOVE your positive attitude and your strength! He told me it didn't hurt a bit when the Dr. was putting pressure on his wrist today to nudge the bone back into place. He just sat there and didn't so much as wince. Tough. Way tough kid. It really IS easy for him to be green!!

I also got the privilege of being the first person to sign his cast. I was such a dork as a kid--I always wanted to have a broken arm JUST so that I could walk around with a sling on and have people sign my cast! After seeing what a major inconvenience/pain it is, I'm SO glad I didn't!

Rock on, green-casted boy!

For my stampin' friends...I'll post my fave make n takes (from the Utah SCS get-together) tomorrow!

Our first broken bone

We knew it was only a matter of time before it happened. And we had our bets on this kid being the first. Now if only we GOT money for being right (instead of paying our lovely $1,000.00 co-pay to our insurance company)!! But what we didn't think would be the cause was something as simple as falling out of a bunk bed!! Nate's our high-adventure/no fear kid. We figured it would be sledding, tubing, the tramp, or a bike accident that would put our son in a cast. Instead it was a scout campout with his dad that ended in a trip to the ER at 3:00 a.m. Saturday morning.

They were staying in a lodge that had cement floors and Nate really wanted to sleep on the top bunk. My hubby let him, figuring he'd be just fine as he's 9 years old and sleeps on a bunk bed at home. Sam woke up to a big thud and Nate screaming. He figured he was just scared from the fall and brought him in to bed with him. But when the painful cry persisted, Sam flipped the light on to check it out. The second he saw his arm, he knew it was broken. Apparently there's 2 bones right where he broke his arm, and one of the bones completely dislogded and went "up and over" the other bone--YUCK! (I know all you moms out there are getting queasy just thinking about it--I am!!) So they packed up as quickly as possible, gave Nate a blessing, and headed down the canyon to the nearest hospital an hour away. A HUGE thanks to Ben Romney!! Poor guy had to get up at 3 a.m. and drive someone else's kid down the canyon to the hospital (Sam didn't take his truck)! We owe you your favorite treat, buddy!

Here's the x-ray of Nate's arm AFTER they "fixed" it. Do you see where it's still not lined up? That has me worried. Sam said they put Nate out and then 2 ER doctors spent the next 20 minutes twisting and wrenching on his arm trying to get it back into place. He stood there watching and bawling as Nate cried out in pain--even with being knocked out. I was glad I wasn't there for that! He broke it down close to his wrist, but VERY luckily missed the growth plate about an inch down (to the left). We go back in on Wednesday to see if it can be casted or if he will need to have pins put in (read: surgery). Keep him in your prayers, k?

This is the makeshift splint that my hubby used on Nate up at the Scout Lodge. Once they got the splint on, his pain eased up a bit. It just makes me cry to think of how much this hurt my sweet boy! And to top it all off--it's his left arm and he's Left Handed!! This should make school very interesting for the next 6 weeks. We told him it's a great opportunity to become ambidextrous!

On the upside of this whole thing, he's getting the royal treatment. No chores, staying home from school, get-well balloons, phone calls, presents. If it weren't for that pesky break in his bone, he'd be absolutely lovin' life!! Ah, life with kids--it's one big adventure, isn't it?!?!

Five Faves and a Favor to ask..

I went through the swaps I got on Wednesday and picked a handful of my very favorites...

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The first card was made by Tina Larson (tinatuna) - Love her colors and layout!!

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2nd card is Debora's (liandrin16) and it's just beautiful and sparkly!

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I don't know who created the middle card, but I loved the color combo and pullout card.

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4th card was Amy's (amysings)--it's a really cool fold-out card. Very ingenious!

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And the last card was made by my darling friend Vicky (TTFN). Her cards are always a work of art--I luv them almost as much as I luv my sweet friend!!

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Here's where the favor comes in....

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For those of you who use blogspot, could you post a message here and tell me how on earth I get the text intermixed with the pictures? I would have loved to be able to indicate right below each pic who made it, but for some reason it never lets me do that. Do I have to pick something in the format to allow that? Thanks in advance for your help!!

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Thanks to all who read my blog--it really does make my day to come and find more comments!!

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Hugs to all!!

Park City Stampin'

What a FUN day I had yesterday!!

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I spent the good part of the day stampin' and chattin' with a bunch of gals at a Park City Lodge Clubhouse. There were familiar faces as well as new friends made. I forgot to take pics--even though I had my camera with me!! Tina Larson (tinatuna on SCS), who hosted the event, took group pics as well as individual ones, so I'll try to have her send me copies. Thanks again Tina and Evie for a great get-together!

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We had a shoebox swap as well as a regular (pre-made before we came) swap and they were just AWESOME!! Some supa supa creative ladies out there. These pics are the swaps I came up with. The little 3x3 cuttlebug'd cards were my make n take swap and the pink criss cross card was mine for the other swap. I luv how the criss cross card turned out, but man did it take foreva to crank out 13 of those suckers!!!

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I'll post some of my fave swaps from the other gals tomorrow. Thanks Utah girls for a fabulous day!!!

Quick post to let you all know I still have a pulse...

Sorry for the WAY too long absence from my bloggin' adventures. Our internet was out for almost 2 weeks (don't get me started on Qwest--it makes me swear in my thoughts!) and then I've been supa supa supa busy this past week with Valentine's parties, LOTS of sickness at our house, and a birthday.

My stamping friends....your lonnnnnnng wait to see some creations will pay off tomorrow--I went to a fun stampin' get-together today and have some FAB things to show you!!

Hugs to you all!!

-Melissa

Music to my Ears

I am a music person.

I'm the person who is walking down the hall humming a little tune. I'm the one you hear coming around the corner in the grocery store singing to herself. When I'm by myself in the car, I'm belting it out at the top of my lungs along with whoever's on the radio.

Music moves me. It gets me motivated and going in the morning. It's my go-to when I need to tackle a big project. I guess you could say it's my "cuppa joe" since I'm not a coffee drinker! My husband has, on more than one occasion, come home to me dancing and singing with the kids instead of making dinner like a good wife should.

Music stirs deep memories for me. Just by hitting the play button, I can be taken to another time and place and remember details I would have otherwise forgotten. Some of those memories are bittersweet, but I'm still grateful for them.

I spent a bit of time earlier today revamping my musicplayer at the bottom of my blog to include many more of my faves. Ironically, some of my all-time faves still aren't in there because no one has uploaded them to the web yet and I didn't have the time (nor the computer-savvy skills--let's be honest!!) to burn a bunch of my CD's to the computer.

I've got a very eclectic group of songs on here--I don't think you could put me into one "category" of music. I'm all over the map from Enya to the Steve Miller Band to Country. Other than rap and hard rock, I'm pretty open and love A LOT.

So if you care to browse through, feel free. If you find a fave, go ahead and click on it and listen for a bit. If my style isn't your style, that's cool too--these are just the tunes that make my little heart happy!!

My little girl just walked in and wants to dance to my "sassy girl" music (as she calls it!), so of course I'll oblige...

I am SO Blessed

Blessed - sung by Martina McBride

I get kissed by the sun each mornin'

Put my feet on a hardwood floor

I get to hear my children laughing

Down the hall through the bedroom door

Sometimes I sit on my front porch swing

Just soakin' up the day

I think to myself, I think to myself

This world is a beautiful place!

I have been blessed

And I feel like I’ve found my way

I thank God for all I’ve been given

At the end of every day

I have been blessed

With so much more than I deserve

To be here with the ones that love me

To love them so much it hurts

I have been blessed

When I, when I’m singin' my kids to sleep...

When I feel you holding me...

I know--I am SO blessed...

I really do KNOW how blessed I am. I have an incredible husband. I have four gorgeous, healthy children. We have a home full of love. I have amazing parents, sisters, and extended family. I have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. Truly, I couldn't ask for more.

I am so blessed.