UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, a lot of good and not so good things have happened since I last blogged. We never did hear from the job in Branson. We thought and prayed and decided to start house hunting again. We have a contract on a house in Carterville MO. We are suppose to close on the 23rd of this month. We are excited about that. Joy does not like to idea of moving to new schools, but I think it will be good for us all.

I titled this "ugh" because things have been so busy. Our normal routine has changed a bit the last 3 weeks. On the 19th of September Bruce was out of town. I was invited by a neighbor to go to a rodeo with the children in Diamond MO. It was sponsored by a church there. The children and I were standing in line near the entrance gate to go on up into the Rodeo. Well, a Surburban got too close to the crowd. Joy was standing with her back to it and the lady ran over the backs of her heels. She stopped when she heard Joy scream. We were yelling at her to move back. She did. There was a doctor there who felt her leg and said he didn't think it was broken. He said we could have it x-rayed, but didn't think it was necessary. She should elevate it and put ice on it. She could not bare weight on it there at the rodeo. Two men carried her to the van and put her in it. When we got home our neighbor helped me carry her up the stairs to our apartment. We put ice on it and elevated it. We were home about 30 minutes when she starting having shooting pains from her toes to her mid calf. I called a doctor friend from church and he said "Jennifer, a Surburban ran over her ankle, take her for an x-ray." I felt a little silly for not having done so earlier. So, the neighbor once again came to help me get her out of the apartment. I took her to the ER. They did an x-ray and said it wasn't broken. She still was not able to put weight on it so they splinted it and gave her crutches. The first appointment I could get with the Orthopedist they referred us too was on Thursday. When they took the splint off her ankle was blue and swollen. Lots of bruising. They did another x-ray and it was broken. She has a bright neon green cast. It currently has two holes in the heel so I have to take her this Thursday for repairs. She is suppose to get it off on the 22nd of this month. It has been a big challenge for her. I think it has left her a bit depressed. She feels like she can't do a anything. At least not the things she wants to do. Anyway, it has been an adjustment. I have seen the inside of her school a lot the last few weeks. Just 8 more days to go in the Joplin school district, for the children anyway. I will still be working as a Parent Educator for the district.

I hear the children sounding angry outside. I better go. It is dinner time anyway.

We Made It

Well, we made it through our first week of school. First 3 days anyway. Everyone is enjoying it except Joy. She said there is not enough color in the building, the teachers are mean, and she doesn't want to have to take a shower during PE. She does like watching TV during lunch. It is a big adjustment for her.

Patience came home the first day claiming to be the teacher's pet. Aurora has been excited to announce each day that she hasn't had to "pull a card." Logan says he's gotten in trouble a little, but I haven't received anything from the teacher.

It has been nice and tiring at the same time going back to work after working minimally for 6 weeks. It is nice to see the children, especially a few that weren't walking the last time I saw them and now are. I take joy in their successes.

We are still waiting to hear back from a job Bruce applied for in Branson. House hunting is on hold til then. I really don't like limbo.

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

Broken Record

It seems like I am constantly apologizing for not keeping this updated. If you want to know my thoughts more often, you can now find me on Facebook. I gave in.

As for an update, the children and I spent 3 days at my Mom's the first of the month. We went to Grant's farm with Uncle Bob and Aunt Sharon. Of course I forgot my camera. The children had fun feeding goats with a baby bottle. We also saw and fed camels and llamas. Joy and Patience spent 10 days with Grandma VanHoose. I hope Aurora and Logan will get to go for a long weekend this week. Joy and Patience are spending next week with Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becca. School starts on Bruce's b-day, Aug 19th. Logan is getting excited to be in the "trailer." The Kindergarten class is in a trailer room next to the school. Joy will be attending a brand new middle school called East. She is nervous and excited at the same time. I share her feelings. She had some bad experiences in Summer school so I am more nervous than excited for her. Bruce and I are in our second year with our employers. We are both expecting some changes from our work schedule and environment, but they should be for the good of our family. I guess that is about all in our world. Hope things are good in yours.

Sorry it has been soooooo long!

Hello All! The last few months have been busy for us. Mainly for me at work. We have been busy doing Kindergarten screenings. It has been like tax season in our office.

We have not settled up with the insurance company yet. Enterprise decided to take responsibility for the accident. Joy still has not been cleared by the doctor, at least not the eye doctor. She has been seeing double. It seems to be getting better.

Logan graduated from pre-school and Joy from 5th grade. Today was the last day of school. All three girls got second place in their class rooms for most books read. The all got a medal. Joy and Patience have strait A's for this quarter and are on the A-B honor role for this year. We were also pleased with Aurora's grades. She does not get letter grades yet. Everyone is doing summer school except Patience. It starts on Thursday.

We put a bid on a house on Friday. They countered and we countered their counter, but they are asking too much for their house. Our agent thought our offer was very good. There must be something else for us.

Anyway, I guess that is about all. Take care and I will try to do better about keeping caught up.

Crash, and Crash again

On Saturday I was driving down Rangeline and was waiting for the light to change. All of a sudden, crash from behind and then crash in the front. I was rear-ended by a person driving an enterprise rent a car. He claimed to have their insurance and would not tell me what his personal insurance was. He does not have their insurance and he will not answer his phone. A claims adjuster from our insurance company is trying to get in touch with him.

I had all the children with me except Patience. No one was seriously hurt. Joy was in the back of the van and took the worst hit. She hit her head on the window next to her. She also was pushed back by the seat belt. They took her off in an ambulance. She was complaining of a lot of pain and it was taking a lot of time to get cleared from the scene, so they took her away. I met up with her at the hospital. They did a CT scan and an x-ray and found nothing wrong. She and I were both really sore on Sunday. We all stayed home from church. Joy is still complaining of pain. I am taking her for a follow up visit with her doctor.

We appreciate all the thoughts and prayers we have received.