Year 4, November 15th-17th, 2019: Keturah Broke Her Arm!

Edit: Keturah broke her arm at church on Sunday, so if you want the details, please scroll down to the bottom of this post.  Thanks!

Oh me oh my, what a couple of days so far this weekend!  We had our first gym day yesterday (Friday), and it went pretty well.  Keturah brought homework to do in the "quiet" room, which is ok, but I wanted her to go make some new friends because I knew there were tons of newer families.  Abishai and I also stayed in the "quiet" room because there were duplos and kids his age.  He did AWESOME with asking if you could play with the Duplos and trading Duplo pieces back and forth.  He even went over and asked one the kids their name! I was very pleased to be able to observe his social skills in action. I know he's done pretty well in Sunday School as well.  I didn't interact with the moms that much because I was tired and trying to get my bearings overall.  I did get to speak with the Hancock County IAHE rep about the emails on my region's email because she was the one dealing with them.  So I am now one step closer to understanding it all. Justin found all his friends and got to play kickball in one of the gyms and basketball in the other.  We switched our gym location to the Boys and Girls club in Greenfield because we had grown too large for the other church's gym. I wasn't crazy about how we were a bit separated because it meant that I have to watch Abishai more closely so he doesn't go into the offices or other parts of the building. I'm sure I'll get more comfortable as time goes on.

The gym is still 30 minutes from our house though, and I tried every possible route to and from Greenfield that day because our Mom's Night Out location was about a block away from the gym.  I went our old route Thompson to US 52 and up US 9 the first time.  Then I went US 40/Washington St./Post on the way home and didn't like stopping at all the lights.  Then on my way to MNO I tried Post Rd/US 52 the whole way and got stuck in traffic in New Pal for a few minutes.  And finally, when I left MNO, I went north just a tad on US 9 and went home on I-70 to I-465 to I-74 because it was dark and I didn't want to be on the back roads.  We need to get the van fixed though if we are taking to to New Orleans for Christmas because boy was it shaky and felt off when I was going 70 mph. So, now I know how to go to Greenfield every single way possible.  Fun!  I make the effort to drive those 30 minutes because the women have become my homeschool circle. They have always been so welcoming and so kind and the more I go on the MNO's where I don't have to chase Abishai, the more I feel at home.  It's a great feeling.

But I did meet a brand new mom to our group.  She and her 9 yr old boy were actually in the quiet room with us in the morning, and her son and Abishai played together.  I sat across from her at MNO and boy is she chatty and has a pretty interesting life story.  It was fun getting to know her!  She's a Christian, but one of those strong personality type people. I sat next to another mom I've known for years and we too had some very chatty conversations. We talked about everything and anything and most of the topics I write about on here as well, but it's great to be able to interact with someone else face to face about it. It was so hard to stop talking!  I was there from 6:30 to 11:30!!  Wowzers! It was a little restaurant pub that sources  their ingredients locally and it was a pretty full place, too. The food was a little pricey but manageable.  I had a cobb salad with avocado, apples, and chicken.  The store owner even came out and apologized personally to my friend whose burger wasn't fully cooked. I was a tad nervous walking to the next block over from the restuarant where I parked at 11:30 on a Friday night, but it's a very quiet little downtown.  It's not rural per say, but the night scene was dead, lol. It's a very cute downtown, too. But I made it home just fine.

Meanwhile, Benaiah didn't have a shift so he woke up at 2 and Ava came over for the evening around 5.  He refused to take a shower, lol, but she made him brush his teeth, lol. Then they went to Kroger together because she needed some toiletries, and they both ate some supper and bought some baking supplies.  While I was gone to MNO, they made truffles and cinnamon rolls together in the kitchen and even cleaned up! How sweet and domestic of them!  Oh, and I overheard Benaiah holding Ava accountable to her homework.  She does fine, and doesn't really need the reminder, but Ava asked him to help her.  Again, so sweet! Ah!  I can't even! These love birds are the cutest romantic couple I've seen and I'm thoroughly enjoying watching their serious relationship bloom, especially the friendship side.  I'm so proud of them!

Gotta love Dolly Parton!  I can't wait for her Netflix series that are based on some of her songs!

Awww, this video said that Steve Irwin would gladly put down the mantle and let his kids take over the cause of conservation when they understand and can handle it.  And you know what? They are all grown up and they ARE carrying on their Dad's legacy!  It's a beautiful thing!

Benaiah's school had a contest to see which grades could bring in the most cans of green beans and corn.  His grade was behind so he got permission from Mr. Nanney to go purchase more.  And they won! !  They didn't bring them inside but snuck them into school a few minutes before the end of the collection period in order to trick the other kids into thinking they had won.  It sounded like a fun outing.

Yup, I did a thing. I couldn't let too much time pass before I saw my Michael W. Smith!  I was getting jealous from watching others' pictures and videos from the 35th anniversary tour. It was buy one/get one seats, and they are great seats!  But the fees were absolutely ridiculous and basically, I just paid for two seats.  I plan to take my friend Jessica with me.

Jared did a thing last night.  He attached the hose to a roll of chicken wire and then let it spray upwards overnight in the cold.  This is what we woke up to!  Pretty neat!

Wowzers!

A blade of grass!

This encased leaf was so cool!

One side looked like it was covered in glass.

And the other side was the leaf's surface! Crazy!

Keturah's glove got left outside too from the other day and the water soaked the glove and froze it solid.  We had to wait all day for it to thaw out.

At gym day, Abishai liked the "quiet" room ecause there were Duplos!  He played so well with the other little guys and gals.  No one argued and there was a ton of sharing going on. It was awesome!

Abishai did bring some over to Keturah and I, but when a little girl came up who seemed to want to play with a certain piece, Abishai let her have it.

Kickball in the other gym.

Abishai sharing with a little girl

Brotherly wrestling time.

Benaiah playing with Socks' mouth.  Socks was immediately submissive.

Friday afternoon quick naps before the girlie comes over.

Four nice warm blankets straight out of the dryer for the little (big) baby.

Yeah, Friday was crazy!  And I felt like Saturday was also full of stuff to do.  I haven't done a whole lot but I tried to stay moving.  We made moose chili with some ground up moose the church in Alaska sent to Gary.  Leah's freezer is full so we have to put some of the meat pieces in our freezer.  But boy is it yummy! I'm sure it will be more yummy tomorrow once all the flavors have had time to work with each other.

When Benaiah got off work, he, Keturah and I went to Old Navy to take advantage of the sales.  Benaiah was quick and got two pairs of jeans, plus sweatpants, but he didn't realize that they were a medium in boys, not men's and he didn't bother try them on.  Whoops.  Keturah didn't want to look at much either, but I had her try on size 14 jeggings with real buttons in the front and size 4 women's jeans to see where she would come out.  The size 4 jeans were too big yet.  But the size 14's are almost too small. Or we are just not used that feeling.  I found the two shirts I was previously missing from my order plus some costume jewelry.  Benaiah got pretty mad at me because I had overspent in his mind and he doesn't like it when we tell him to stop spending and yet we don't stop spending.  He's right. We are hypocrites on that. I did make a few returns as well.  After that, we went to Hallmark so that Keturah could pick out a diary to keep track of her womanly cycles.  Expensive but important to have the right brand. Then it was off to Game Stop to finally trade in those old PS4 games for cash.  We ended up renewing a pass, but that's fine.  Oh and Justin had wanted a PS4 gift card so he could buy a certain character.  Ok, then.  And we got gas on the way home.  Benaiah was very chatty the whole time and he was the one driving! Keturah kept quiet in the back seat.  I'm glad we were able to get that errand done and out of the way so everyone has the clothes they need for winter. No more gaps in the wardrobes.  Even Jared bought socks and t-shirts this week for himself, lol. But then he complained about the socks.  Well, they were the cheapest ones and I bet he didn't take time to read the labels.  Sigh. Oh well, live and learn.

Abishai came up with the idea to add a sleigh to the bottom of his fire truck.

So irritated around the wound sites, which is par for the course. Ouch!

This one seems to be scabbing over a bit better.  But still itchy.

All business, that Abishai.

Since Abishai had lost of the pieces to the AT walker guy, Justin decided to transform him to look like he's been in a few battles and had to hastily make repairs.  Cool and innovative!

Ava and Benaiah made Heather Bruce bon bons!  They aren't as pretty as hers, but I'm sure they taste good.

They also made cinnamon rolls AND Benaiah cleaned up.  Score!

Alaskan moose chili.  That's right.  Gary and Leah got this huge package of moose and fish from the church in Alaska and shared some of it with us.  I don't think it, or the spices in it, like me, but the taste was great!

Abishai's new bed set up.

Oh me, oh my! What a day! I was super tired and moody.  But there's nothing like a mini crisis to snap me out of it.  Actually, I think I work much better when I'm in crisis mode. I'm calm, methodically, and ready to figure out solutions. It's the mundane stuff at home that don't have deadlines that get to me. I was in a funk about everything, how cluttered our house is, how I can't keep my kids in line, and how I can't even speak intelligently like Jared can.  But when an emergency arises, I can think clearly and quickly a lot of the time.  I'm grateful for that. My detail oriented brain can handle that. When there's no black and white solution, I start to fail. Like what toys do I get rid of?  What do I do next to make my house more hospitable? That kind of stuff.  Anyway, here's the story.

I was in our prayer meeting before doing the nursery for the 4:30 service and Keturah had gone to her rehearsal for KP worship as she was doing that at 4:30. I look out the nursery door and Keturah quietly said, "Mom, can you come here please?"  She didn't want to show emotion or tears until I got to her.  But when I did, she started to tear up and said she fell and hurt her arm. The other girls had walked with her to make sure she got to me ok, so I sent them back to KP to do their thing.  Then when I went to grab her insurance card, my nursery friends told me to just go with her and not worry about the nursery.  I called Jared and he met us at church with Abishai.  Thank goodness Justin had been at a friend's house so he had transportation to youth group at 6. Keturah and I walked back over to KP to get her sweatshirt and signed off on a report about the accident.  Then we waited for Jared and Abishai to join us and the four of us went in Jared's car to the ER.

Keturah had climbed up on a bar stool chair to look at some boxes that will be handed out to families for Christmas.  Well, she forgot that it was higher than normal chairs and when she tried to step down, she slipped and fell on her side and lower arm.  The interesting thing is the location where she fell is almost the same exact location as where Justin fell 18 months ago into the gaga ball pit and broke his arm!  Chad Monahan teased Benaiah when Benaiah shared with his leadership group about what was happening, that Benaiah is not allowed to go to the KP area because it's not safe!  Lol. I'm not mad at all.  My kids are clumsy.  And they live 95% of their lives either at church or home so it's bound to happen at either place. Benaiah was very concerned about Keturah and kept asking for updates. I think that's so sweat that he really does loves her, despite their differences, and how he tends to correct her all the time. Justin didn't know what was going on despite me texting him because he had left his phone at home.  Smart move, Justin, smart move.  SMH

So, we take Keturah to the ER and we were in and out of their within 2 hrs!  It was very quiet when we arrived, but when we left, there were many people waiting.  We lucked out this time!  So we signed in, got triaged, went into an exam room, back to lab results waiting room which was odd.  Then she went for xrays and then we waited for the results. The verdict is that she has a torus fracture in her front arm bone. It's when the bone compacts from a trauma because it's softer than an adult's bone.  Basically, it's a just a thin line near her wrist.  For now, she's got a really neat splint.  The hard part of it starts soft but when the material is activated, it starts to warm up and then harden.  She also has a regular ace bandage wrap on it to keep the splint still.  After she got that on, she winced less.  She did cry a bit but she was very brave.  It only hurts when she moves her arm.  She doesn't want any pain medications.  But she got her bed all set up by herself and seems to be doing ok and listening to instructions.  Now we just have to hear from the specialist and go in to see him/her to see what's next.

Meanwhile after the ordeal, she wanted to go back to small gruops at church.  Yeah!  So I stayed at church because there was only 45 minutes of small groups left  and I wnated to be nearby in case she passes out or something.  But she didn't and one of her friends said she wants to sign her cast! I think that really brightened her day.  That's why she wanted to go back tonight.  She has friends!  Woot! Woot" While she was in small groups, I went ahead and responded to emails that were previously answered, maybe, by the phone before That felt good to accomplish that.  Anyway, she is doing well, all things considered.  She's only in pain when she moves her arm.  I just gave her some iburprofen to help her sleep.  She's being very mature and brave.  I told her it's ok to wince and cry and to not hold back because the doctors and I need to know how much pain she's in. So, we'll just add a doctor's appointment to this week. Thank goodness it's a light week.  And thank goodness it's her left arm so she can still do school! We are taking next week, Thanksgiving week, off, so she only has to deal with it for a week's worth of work. One last thing, she said she has been practicing getting on and off her loft bed using only one arm on the ladder just in case something like this happened. She remembers how Justin struggled with his arm when it was badly bruised by a baseball bat in Charlottetown.

All the kids are now asleep, including Benaiah who turned in early.  He almost lost his bracelet from Ava just now in the sink drain, but he was able to get it out of the trap under the sink.  I had no idea he knew how to do that.  Good for him!  And that was one of my fears that the bracelet would fall down the sink.  I move it to his desk if I see him leave it there on the sink. Anyway, I think I'll try to turn in early, too. I can barely put two words together and my tiredness affected my mood today big time.  Tomorrow is another day.

Hey, Mom!  There's still snow to stomp on!

New jeans and new shirt.  New necklaces and shoes were recent purchases as well.   Jared wasn't impressed.  I think it's ok.  I wroe a brown knitted short sleeve vest tso i told them.

The Beavers have half of a roof!

Jared broke out his phone right away in the waiting room.  He was using the kids Bible story app. story. 

Time to compare both arms.  This is the right arm that is healthy.

Here is the arm with the injury.  I see a divit in the middle of this arm and a bump towards her wrist with some swelling.  Honestly, I expected more bruising.

Waiting room antics.

The queen in her chair while we wait to get x rays and results.  Home Alone 3 was on TV.  Abishai didn't like it though.

If you have questions, message me!

All wrapped up with a special made just for you splint.  They take this material and in just a few minutes, it has become hard.  That lays on the bottom of her arm and then the wrap went over it.

Honestly, it's very hard to see anything on this printout of the x ray.  The large lines are her growth plates, so nothing to worry about there.

Oh hi, Shauna and Everly!  They got to go with friends to see the exact same concert we did, For King and Country!  Nice seats!  I'm thinking about switching up where we sit.  I think sitting in the middle, even if it's technically further away, might be worth it. That way you get a feel for the whole stage.  Nice shot!

Because Abishai is now sleeping on the couch in the fireside room at his request, Daddy does the kids' Bible app with him and does some reading with him (but not as much as they used to), in the fireside room as well. Maybe this will be the sad transition to Abishai not falling asleep in our bed anymore. We want to happen, but then again, we don't. I'm glad it's happening naturally, although I hope Jared brings books over to the fireside room to read with Abishai.  Or, they can read Christmas books together once I get those out next week and put them on the bench behind the other ouch in that room.

Abishai loves the kids' version of the Bible app, or whatever it's called.  It takes them through each story multiple times with reading the story, quizzing them, and playing games.  It's so sweet!

The End