Happy 10 Years to Us!

2000


2010

Thanksgiving, Part Two

See below for Part One! :)

Part Two is our celebrations with Paul's family! We had Thanksgiving/Christmas with his Mom/Dad and brothers/sisters on Friday. Good time, as usual!


It's exhausting being an Ortho Resident. Notice Amber's smile, she's pretty used to Joel falling asleep anywhere and everywhere! :)


More then the kids enjoyed Dakota's present.


More time getting to know extended family.
Christy (my niece), Ali, Adrian, Noah (Luke and Ann Schafers boys) and Dakota at the Bahler gathering. Dakota was loving having the Schafer boys to rough house with.


Ali and her youngest cousin June

Whirlwind Thanksgiving! Part One

I had too many pictures I wanted to post so I am splitting them up! I feel like the long Thanksgiving weekend flew by since we were so busy. It was well worth it though, to spend time with friends and family! We have more to be thankful for then I could ever list. Here are some pictures from our fun times the past few days! Part One is my family gathering:


So thankful that my Dad is here with us to celebrate Thanksgiving, and walked into my grandparent's house on his own 2 feet!


Trae with my Grandma Wuethrich


Good food!


So fun to see my kids having a good time with my cousin's kids! Trae and Una (Tia and Billy's little girl) giving each other a hug!


Trae and Uncle Jesse in their slightly matching gray pullover sweaters.

Just Because....

Just because this picture makes me smile! Ali got to have a sleepover at Uncle Aaron and Aunt Kayla's this past summer and it just happened to be over Riley's birthday. Let's just say she was more then a little excited about it! :)

The stomach flu bug.....

...has bitten us very badly! In 8 days, 4 of us had the flu. We made the mistake of being hopeful that we had it beat and spent some time with my siblings on Sunday. Unfortunately, it had not passed and we infected my siblings also. So sorry guys! I was the last to have it and am still a little weak but feeling much better. However, I am very tired of laundry as there have been mini mountains of it to take care of during this time!

Since we were hit around the time my Dad came home from the hospital I have not yet been able to see him since then. I hear he is doing very well though! Therapy 3 days a week and he is making progress. He even got to go to church for the afternoon service on Sunday, such a blessing!

Home Sweet Home

Dad is home! He was able to come home today and is settling in. It's very exciting but also a little scary to be in a new place and not have doctors and nurses near by. Please pray for him and mom as they adjust to their new "normal" for the time being. They are still trying to get insurance approval for where he will have his out patient therapy so prayers that that process could go smoothly would be appreciated also!

Celebrations!

Trae's actual birthday was Friday and we had his birthday party planned for Sunday. Since Dad was not going to be able to come home for the party, we took the kids to him and celebrated on Friday in his hospital room. So Trae got to have cake and ice cream twice and he loved it! :) The ice cream was a tad bit melted by the time we got there and got around to eating it but no one seemed to mind!





Sunday's party was at my parents house, which was planned before the accident so even tho Mom and Dad weren't there, we still used their house and Dani helped me host.

Adorable cake and cupcakes made by Aunt Danielle! The cupcakes are a little tough to see but they are lions, zebras and elephants.

Month by month banner of his first year that I made.

You may not be able to tell very well from this picture but his shirt says "Trae 1", also made by Aunt Danielle. There was a matching hat but we couldn't convince the poor kid to wear it!

A little unsure if he likes all the attention.

The cake is a definite like!

As you can see, he had plenty of "help" opening his gifts!

I just love birthdays and had a great time planning his party and seeing our family and friends. Thanks for helping us celebrate!

Update on Dad: He has been taking some walks without any walking device! Praise the Lord! We are so excited! Plans are also being made for him to come home this week and we are so thankful for this. Please continue to pray as he still has much more recovery ahead of him though. We would also appreciate prayers as they decide where he will do out patient therapy and as Mom has some things done at home to make the house more accessible for him. We are just amazed at the blessings God has given us during this time!

Happy 1st Birthday Trae!

"...I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold I will heal thee..."

II Kings 20:5

Mom has this verse on one of the doors in Dad's hospital room. And I feel that we can truly say we are seeing the healing hand of God at work. Sunday night I got to watch Dad walk down the hallway! He uses a walker and the nurse must be with him at all times when he is out of bed, but that is still HUGE PROGRESS! And we are so very thankful!

Sunday we had family pictures scheduled, which had been the plan before the accident. Our first professional family photos in 10 years. Obviously, Dad couldn't be there but Mom wanted us kids/grandkids to go ahead and have them done. We even included the grand-dogs in a few of them. :) Can't wait to see how they turn out in a few weeks! Afterwards we all headed to the hospital for a visit and it was good to see how Dad was improving!

He has an evaluation today to see how much more improvement he needs before he can go home. Please pray that this goes well! Dad made the comment that he hadn't been outside in weeks which is highly unusual for him. :)

Easily Entertained

Mommy desperately needs to get some laundry done + little guy really wants some attention =



Works like a charm! Until he tips over the basket and bumps his head on the floor, of course! :)

Little By Little

Dad's therapy seems to be going well and he is making progress, which we are very thankful for. He even said he thinks that parts of the numbness may be going away a little bit which is a sign that the nerves are beginning the healing process! What an answer to prayer!

Kayla and I ran the cafe Saturday and yesterday and I think we did a decent job of muddling our way through! We had a good time with it too.

Yesterday was also the day for harvesting Dad's bean crop. We had many volunteers and I left before they were done but Mom said it seemed to be going well! Thank you to all of them!

Another big step

Dad is scheduled to be moved to St E in Lafayette for in-patient physical therapy today! Very exciting as it is one step closer to coming home.

Tuesday, a group of volunteers will be harvesting the rest of Dad's bean crop which we are so thankful for! Please pray for their safety, that the day would run smoothly and that God would bless them for their willingness to help!

We love progress!

Today in therapy my Dad took 4 steps forward, 4 steps backward and sat up for an hour and a half!! This is HUGE progress from yesterday when he could hardly sit up and only stood for a few seconds. This is simply amazing and we are SO THANKFUL! Keep those prayers coming, please!! :)

I was able to help Dani in the cafe Monday and I will be back there a few days yet this week also. I enjoy doing it and we have fun together even tho the reason I am needed is because of the accident. But God provides and we find reasons everyday to praise him even in this time!

My parents have been such an amazing example to me of clinging to Our Savior in this time of uncertainty and pain. This accident has thrown us all for a loop but IT WAS NOT A SURPRISE TO GOD! And we are so grateful for that. Please pray for them that they can continue to look to the Lord for strength as the recovery period stretches out and human weariness sets in.

Life keeps moving

It was very hard to leave the hospital yesterday. But life keeps moving and Ali has school, Paul has work and so on. And it was good to see my kiddos! :) I missed them terribly but we are so thankful to have family willing to step in and care for them. I know I'll be back there soon and he is in great hands!

Today is a big day as they will hopefully be getting him out of bed for the first time. Please be prayerful that all goes well, that he keeps his positive spirit and that he can have a great start on this healing process! Also, that God would guide his doctors, nurses and therapists as decisions are made. We feel the hand of God everywhere as he holds us up during this time. It's simply amazing.

Update

Again, thanks for all the prayers!

We made the comment last night that yesterday at the hospital we felt the hours were dragging but the day flew by.:) I think that's fairly common for hospital waiting rooms. Dad came through the surgery well. They stabilized his spine with pins, screws and rods. I am amazed by his spirit. He is for the most part upbeat and positive. The nurse said as he came out of the anesthesia yesterday he was singing about praising the Lord. When I talked to him about it later he said he was just singing what he felt in his heart. We are so thankful for this!

Now that we are over the hump of surgery there is a long recovery road ahead. It could be 12 -18 months before we know for sure what nerve damage will heal and what will be permanent.

Please continue to pray with us as Dad continues this long road of recovery that things would go well and that the Lord would grant healing!

"Life Changing"

As I am sure most of you know, yesterday was life changing for my family. My Dad fell from around 30 ft. off a grain bin, landing on the auger below. Surgery on his spine is today around noon. But he is alive and that in itself is a miracle! So many have expressed that they are praying and there are no words to describe how thankful we are for that. So many people have jumped up to help and do whatever they can and again it can't be expressed how thankful we are for that.

Those words "life changing" were uttered by my Dad as he lay in that Trauma Unit yesterday. So true.

Please keep praying!

Haircut

Ali has been begging to have her hair cut and we finally managed to get it done last weekend. It's been cut many times but this is the first time we did more then cut it straight across, we actually had it cut into a different style. Ali loves it and so do I, although I feel like it makes her look much more grown up. Not sure I am ready for that! :)

Before:

After:

11 Months

And as a side note: It was exactly 10 years ago today that I said yes to Paul's proposal! :)

It's the new style Mom!

Long Weekend

This post is very long with lots of pictures - just a warning!:)

For Labor Day weekend this year we headed up to Nate and Natalie's to spend some time with them. It was a busy but fun weekend and we packed lots into it! Trae was a trooper since nap time structure was non-existent!

Saturday the guys stayed home to watch football while Natalie and I headed up to the outlet mall for some shopping. It was crazy busy but we still had a good time!

Sunday after church we hit the zoo and Culver's. Ali's favorite was the white tiger while Dakota didn't want to leave the alligator. Plus they had a short train ride, so Dakota was having a blast.

Getting up close with the goats

Lined up to see the Koi Pond

This is a common stance for Dakota in public places, he has a very low tolerance for noise!

Poor Portia was NOT happy when the tiger came right up to the window.

Monday we headed to the beach, a little worried about the weather but it turned out to be AWESOME! The water was freezing but the kiddos didn't seem to mind! After the beach we had gelato at a little cafe, which Paul and I had never had, and it was delicious!

Trying to warm up after a dip in the cold lake.



Face plant into the sand!

Ouchie!

Ali had her upper frenum removed this afternoon. For those who aren't aware, it is a piece of muscle/skin that runs between your 2 front teeth. If yours is small you probably never even knew it was there! However, Ali's was very large and causing her teeth to gap and not space properly which can lead to crowding the teeth farther back so we had it removed.

She did VERY well and even had the staff laughing as she recited a poem from school called "Flat Stanley" even with gauze in her mouth, I believe!

We are stocked up on ice cream, popsicles, yogurt and jello!

Trying to keep an ice pack on it!

It's hard to tell from this picture but her upper lip is pretty swollen.

10 Months

Ending Summer

For the last day of Ali's summer vacation I wanted to do something fun for the kids. So I treated them to McDonald's for lunch, some playtime at Monkey Joe's and ice cream at Sonic. I think they had fun, however, this mom was exhausted! :)

If you have never been to Monkey Joe's it is a LARGE room full of inflatable slides, obstacle courses and such. This was our first time there and the kids LOVED it, of course!

And then it was time to go back to reality! Ali's school has an open house the the night before school starts so that parents can come see the classroom and you can drop off your child's supplies. Here is Ali at her new desk getting her things organized!

It was fun to see her recognize some kids from last year and meet some potential new friends!