Ten Years of Mothering

There is something about your first child's birthday. I know it is supposed to be about them, but I can't help spending a lot of my thoughts today reflecting. Your first child's birthday is about so much more than how old they are getting or how big they are getting. It is a marker for how long you've been parenting. Ten years as a mom! I haven't stuck with many other things for that length of time. At the risk of sounding "Hollywood," it is so surreal!

....and there is nothing like 12 boys running through the yard with Super Soakers and then settling around the table to scream "Happy Birthday" and then hold a belching contest!

Riley's Accident

We usually host homegroup on Monday nights. Our house is all torn up while we work on the flooring, so this last week we decided to move the group.........to the porch. It was so warm outside. Everyone's kids were playing outside, too. Riley and Clayton went for a bike ride - but Riley didn't wear his helmet. We really didn't realize they were riding, or I would have caught him about the helmet. Anyway, we heard a scream. Our property is such that I can't see the road he was on from our house, so I ran through the field. On the way down, a couple of little boys I've never seen came running from our pond and hopped on bikes and tore off. I must have scared them! Riley had wrecked bad. A gentlemen who was on his way to our house had already stopped and loaded Riley into his truck and put his bike in the back. His face was really scraped up and swelling fast. I hopped in the truck too and we took him home.

Bill carried him in, but I really thought we were just dealing with cuts and scrapes - so I sent Bill back out with the group (he was supposed to be leading) and offered to clean Riley up. I put him in the tub since he was filthy, and he began to talk crazy. How did this happen? Was I riding my bike? Where am I going to sit during the service? I began asking him questions like, "What did we have for dinner?" "Do you remember what we did in the garden today?" He didn't remember anything.

Jonathan and Michelle were at our house in about three minutes. The took the other kids and a haphazardly packed suitcase of jammies, blankies, and toothbrushes. We tore off to the ER and left everyone at our house. "Close the doors when you leave!"

We couldn't even keep Riley awake on the way to the hospital. I couldn't remember the protocol, but thought we shouldn't let him go to sleep. After we got there, they said he could go to sleep, and they would wake him if they needed to. They began to ask lots of questions?
"Has he hit his head any other time recently?"
"Umm....actually....yes. Today, he knocked the ladder over while swinging on the rope from the tree. The ladder came down and hit him on the head."
"Hmm....two head whacks in a row like that compounds the possibility of a concussion. Has he been throwing up?"
"No."
"That's good. Are there any concerns for your children's safety in your home?"
"Ummm....maybe that there are four of them!"
Fortunately the triage nurse has two boys. One of hers has been in twice for the same thing, so there was a bit of compassion.

They wheeled him in for a CT scan shortly after, and he began throwing up. That is when I got worried. They said it was good that he hadn't thrown up. Now, he's throwing up. What does that mean?

All said and done, he has a concusion, but nothing worse. Praise God! We had to wake him every three hours that night and keep him down resting the next day. He is forbidden to do anything of risk for two weeks, and we have him sleeping in another bed (he usually has the top bunk).

So about two days later, Ian was throwing his shovel up in the air and trying to catch it. It landed at the corner of his eye with the point. Black eye and a small cut. Good grief! He learned quickly. He played it up well and every time we asked him to do anything, he would tell us that he couldn't remember how to do anything because he had a concussion and his brain was jiggled!

Bubble Gum Praise
Last night I had to grab a couple of things from Walmart for the birthday party today. The kids usually use their allowance to get gumballs from the big bubblegum machine at church. The money goes to kid's camp, and its their money. But, they haven't gotten allowance for awhile. We happened to have some quarters last night, so I decided I'd treat my boys with gumballs. I had a migraine, and wasn't thinking too very clearly. I only saw one .25 machine of green apple gumballs, so I plunked the first quarter in. The apple green gumble came out half dissolved and damp. Gross! I looked up inside and it looked like pop had been spilled or something. Yuck! So I threw it away, but was frustrated I'd wasted a quarter. I spotted another machine, and put in a quarter. One gumball came out. Then I put in the next quarter, and paused to say, "Lord, it would sure be nice if two would come out one of these times. I turned the dial and sure enough, two gumballs! Jesus has such a tender heart. I'm more and more convinced of it.

So many times the last few days I've realized what little things God has done to love on me - Like when I was rushing home to my own son's party today. I was late and took the wrong turn. I ended up in a town I didn't even mean to go through. At the same time, a friend called, whose son was supposed to be at my house for the party. She expressed some confusion about the party date and that he would be late. I knew it was the Lord. I was right there. I picked him up in two minutes and took him with me. I got home very tired, worn out from a marathon couple of days. There were twelve boys at my house...but my sister-in-law and another good friend were there too. I immediately thanked God for friends and the rest He was giving my spirit with the refreshment of fellowship.

Also, another praise...a refund we've been waiting on from the state for over two months, finally arrived today!