It's Starting to Feel a Lot Like Christmas

Abby's Baptism

Abby came to me one afternoon and very rapidly announced that she felt like God was telling her to be baptized, but that she was really afraid, and wasn't sure what to do.

My heart lept.

We talked through why we are baptized, what it means, and that most people are intimidated by the idea of being in front of everyone, but we still want to choose to obey and show everyone that we are followers of Jesus.

She asked us to sign her up.

Here's a video of Abby (and some others) explaining why she wants to be baptized.

Several friends and family members were there to witness it.

Her daddy was able to baptize her.

Pure joy.

There are no words.

Family Night with Play-doh

Stephen created a beach scene and I created a face.  It's the effort that counts, right?

How much is too much?

Ft. Lauderdale

Stephen called me yesterday to inform me that he's traveling next week, two weeks following and the first week in November.  He then proceeded to tell me that he is taking me with him on that last trip.  So I asked for details and found out it was 5 days (gulp!) in Ft. Lauderdale.  Tickets were already purchased. 

Ft. Lauderdale seemed a little strange to me because he's not taken me to some of his trips to "destination" spots but I was going with it.  Until I started to ask more questions and found out it was Saturday to Thursday (weird time for a business trip).  No one else I knew from ScanSource was going.  So I asked more questions.  Then he asked why I was smiling.  So I told him I was embarrassed to say but that I couldn't help but think there was some surprise involved.

I'd ruined the surprise.  The only time either of us had been to Ft. Lauderdale was on our honeymoon - in the airport.  I guessed it.

We're going on a CRUISE to celebrate our ten-year wedding anniversary and we'll be there on my birthday!  I'm so excited I cannot stand it. 

We had a great time on our honeymoon cruise but a cold front hit and we missed out on excursions and warm weather.  So we're getting a do-over of sorts.  We'll be hitting the pool deck the minute we get our luggage in the room.  I cannot be more thrilled!

Surprise Casting

Last night at the pool Abby had her Drycast bag covering her arm again. It has been great at keeping the water out. That is until last night.

About 3-4 tablespoons of pool water was floating in the tip of her bag and we realized the seal around her arm wasn't as tight as it once was. Last night I called the answering service for the orthopedist but decided it was not urgent and could wait until morning.

This morning I left a message and when I they called me back they asked us to be in the office within 15 minutes. So we rushed over, they cut off her hot-pink-full-arm cast, took several x-ray pictures and Dr. Posta decided to go ahead and give her a new short arm cast. She chose purple this time since Alexis already had purple.

It's amazing to me how puny her left bicep is compared to her right bicep after only 15 days! So now we have the short arm cast for 3 weeks, at least. September 1st we'll find out what comes next.

In the meantime I'm hoping she can figure out how to buckle and dress on her own again. Washing her hair will still be a challenge! :) Abby, Stephen, Sydney, Brody and I are all grateful for any added mobility she gains. This has made me even more grateful for the helper Abby is to our family. I am so proud to be her Mama!

Abby's Cast

I misunderstood Dr. Posta last week.  He had no intention of taking her cast off today.  Abby's x-ray today showed the angulation (where the bone was sticking out) has almost disappeared.  There was what he called a butterfly fracture - that part didn't look any different.  Dr. Posta said that will fuse back together, it will just take some time.

So now we go back in 2 more weeks for another x-ray and if everything looks good, he'll remove the full arm cast and replace it with a smaller one (below the elbow).  We're excited about that, hoping she'll gain some independence again (dressing herself, opening packages, buckling, erasing, etc.)

In the meantime, Abby has plenty of time for ALL her friends to sign her cast.  Yay!