Battle of the Bull

Isn't it strange how you wake up every morning and most of the time, everything goes as you expect but every once in a while, you get a phone call that will just stop your heart and force you to forget everything else that's going on. Well, Thursday was Carson's birthday (refer to previous post) and we had dropped Gabby off at school and had run to the Dollar Store for a few things. My phone rang and it was mom. I thought she was just calling to check in but the tone of her voice told me otherwise when she asked if I had talked to Brian.

When I told her "no" she proceeded to tell me that my dad had been struck down by a bull. Pointblank! That was it! I had no details as to whether he had been hit in the chest or head and if he was even conscious. So, I stood in the middle of the store, with a babbling 3 year old and tried to collect myself. I told mom to close down the store and head for the hospital as one of the hired hands had picked him up and was headed that way. I got off the phone with her and immediately called Brad to ask him to rush to the hospital and be with dad until mom could be. It was there, in the middle of the store that I leaned on my cart and just started praying for comfort and that he was going to be o.k. If you aren't familiar with how bulls can be, they can pack a pretty powerful punch. I found a lot of peace just through praying and think it really helped me to hold it together for that time that I was waiting on edge for a phone call and an update to see how he was doing.

About an hour later, Brad called me to let me know that he had definitely broken his radius and ulna and they were moved about a half inch from where they should be. By 3:00 that day, he was on his way to Goshen Hospital for some more x-rays and possible surgery. As luck would have it, he was wheeled into surgery at 6p.m. and out around 9p.m. It took two, eight inch plates and 14 screws to put everything back together but now the healing can begin. Dad spent 3 days in the hospital and is now back home recovering.

After all this, I find myself in wonder at why he still thinks he is so invinceable as to take a chance with a bull that he knows was wild. As mom puts it, "That's all he knows. He's been doing it his whole life." Well dad, you're not as young as you used to be and sometimes it's not worth the risk! This obviously was not your time but I hope you will take it as a valuable lesson. We'd really like to keep you around for awhile. It always seems like you feel that you have to work to support and help with everything which is very much appreciated but I hope and pray that you will take this time of recovery to reflect on what is really important...like your life. I sometimes wonder if you would have just taken vacation with us in January if God would have prevented this from happening to you.

Moral of the story.....If you don't know your limits, God WILL reveal them to you! I love you dad and am grateful that you are still here! Take care of yourself and listen to those doctors!!!!

Happy Birthday, Carson!

Well, my baby turned 3 last week and it is so hard to believe! We've covered a lot of ground since the summer with him and he's made vast improvements. He officially "graduated" from First Steps last week because he aged out. I think both of his therapists would have continued services just to keep seeing him if it was their choice. They LOVED him and I think they liked the idea that when they entered our home, there was a parent present that did not expect them to "fix" him on their own. I feel confident that he made great gains in Occupational Therapy and won't need anymore. He qualified through the school to receive one hour per week, 3 times per month so he started that the second week of February and the first two sessions have gone well. I am so proud of him and although our days are occasionally still rough with him, we feel like we've given him a good foundation to learn how to cope with how he's feeling. I only expect that there will be speed bumps along the way from now on but know that we can handle whatever happens. I am so happy we decided to have him evaluated in the spring, I don't know where we'd be today without the help.

So, he had a busy, but fun birthday last week. He slept in until I had to wake him up for a MOPS meeting (something I always hate doing, waking kids up). He was dealing with an ear infection and the antibiotics had kicked in so he was finally sleeping all night again. After MOPS, we dropped Gabby off at school and took off for the Dollar Store, one of his favs, to get a few things and pick out a birthday balloon to which he of course, picked a Disney Cars balloon.
We then went to speech and came home to play a game and spend some one on one before we had to pick Gabby up from school.
That night, we made pancakes and bacon for dinner, his favorite! We then finished the meal off with some extra carbs...strawberry cake with white frosting. I told Brad it was very obviously "Carb Day" at the Beeman house. He had a great time and opened up a couple new gifts. After the day was over, he was pretty tired and slept very well as a 3 year old!

Our next journey will be potty training and I'm dreading it to say the least. He is not showing any interest so I think it's time for mommy to take matters into her own hands. Hopefully, I will be able to make this a fun experience for both of us.

We have so much enjoyed having you, Carson as a part of our family and feel so very blessed to have you as a part of it. You bring us much joy and laughter from day to day and your personality is really blooming. We all look forward to watching you grow! Love you so much!

We will be celebrating his birthday with the extended family on Saturday so I will post pics soon.

Long Week

It's been a weird, long and emotionally exhausting week. Monday was great, it was a nice day here and the sun was out. Tuesday came, school was cancelled and we were snowed in which wasn't so bad until early afternoon. I got a call from Brad's mom shortly before 1:00 that Lauren's, (our niece) close friend (on/off boyfriend) had been killed in a car accident. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Since Lauren started high school, there have been at least 3 students that I could remember that she has had to say good bye to. She is a senior this year and is preparing to attend college here in Fort Wayne at IPFW. She is a great girl and is headed in the right direction but has had to deal with so many obstacles and now this loss, I felt, could really set her back.

My heart just aches for her. This was her first love! The minute I heard the news, memories flooded back to when Jason was killed and how that affected my sister. I have never had to personally go through something like that (pray I never do) but this is the second time I've been a close relative to someone that has. Titus was such a nice kid. He had been to our house once or twice and was always polite and very respectful. Brad and I really liked him and thought a lot of him. This is really something coming from us as we joke that we must be getting old, we just don't understand teenagers right now. Hopefully, we'll get that figured out before our kids get there!

So this week, I've been mourning the loss of a great kid who I'm sure touched the lives of many during his time on Earth. I'm mourning for my niece who is hurting so deeply right now and there is nothing I can do to take away the pain. And yet, I'm comforted in the fact that I know Titus is in a much better place than we are. He will never have to endure pain ever again! And yet, why does God take such young people from us. It seems as I get older, I hear of babies and children being called home more and more and it just hurts.

It wasn't long after I got the news of Titus on Tuesday that I got news of another teenager (16) in the Noblesville area who had been accidentally shot by his 14 year old brother. They had been joking around and loved hunting, they didn't think the guns were loaded but they were. Another young, innocent life lost. Why God? Why? I know, that in your perfect time, you will reveal something good out of both of the situations but it doesn't make it any easier to understand now.

Love Grows, Love Changes

Brad and I were just talking a few minutes about something and I felt the need to blog it. We were talking about divorce and how we just don't understand the people that say, "I just fell out of love with him or her." OR.."I just needed to find myself." Like..I just want to say to these people, "How did you know you were lost?"

So what are my thoughts on this you may ask? My thoughts are this...when you get married, you are "in love" with that person because they make you feel different than anyone else ever has. They have swept you off your feet in one way or another and you envision yourself growing old with them. It's a fun time in your marriage! It's new and you are officially "playing" house. You have the money to go and do fun things together because you are "DINKS" (dual income, no kids).

When babies start rolling into the picture, you love that person because of they way that they get up with the baby every night or let you get an extra hour of sleep in the morning because they know you've been up all night. You are in love with them because of the way they have taken pride in their new role as a mommy or daddy and you love watching them swoon over that newborn. It's a whole new chapter of life. You may not have a lot of money left in the bank after the bills are paid but you've got each other and that's what life and love is about. You fall in love with them just listening to them wrestle downstairs with the kids and all the giggles and laughter that is taking place. Love might not feel as fluttery as it used to but it feels solid, and strong. There's a huge foundation that's been laid.

God forbid anything devastating would ever happen to your spouse but if it does, you continue loving that person because of what they are going through and what they are accomplishing through their healing. You see how strong or weak they can be in these instances and you love them by supporting them and walking the journey with them. THAT'S WHAT MARRIAGE IS!
Grandkids may or may not arrive but your love for your mate continues because the kids are grown and out of the house and you finally have that time to yourself back to live a different lifestyle. You go and do fun things as a couple again or you go with friends and do things or take up a new hobby!

And then you grow old together. And you fall in love with the way that he sits and waits on the mail, he still looks forward to getting it, just like the last 50 years and sometimes, just to spite him, you get the mail before he can, just to share a giggle!

You don't fall "out" of love and you don't lose yourself. You just love differently!!

Sorry!

Around Christmas time, Gabby put the game, "Sorry", which she calls "Sorry Sliders" on her list of wants. I knew as soon as she said she wanted that game that Santa or I would be the one to get it for her. As a child, we used to go spend the night at my grandparent's on both sides. I always found that you did different things at each house which made it a great time, no matter where you went. Well, at Grandma and Grandpa Lambright's, many a nights we spent playing board games, Uno or Skip-Bo. There were many memories made there. I remember sitting around their table like it was yesterday. I also remember the way grandpa would not let us quit a game early. If we started it, we had to finish it and if grandma ever overrode his motion because the kids were tired, he was not happy.

Anyway, let's just say Gabby got "Sorry Sliders" for Christmas and we've had a great time playing it. From time to time, Carson wants to play with us which usually turns out to be a near train wreck but we don't stop him from quitting if he so chooses. Instead, we're happy! Until he gets older, we'll just let him play at his own discretion. Gabby, I hope you gain as many memories from simple board games as your mama did!

New Year's Resolutions

So...I know that it's the last day of January but I thought I'd better take the month to think about my resolutions rather than just say what they are and watch myself blow them. So here's are my resolutions....

1. Lose 10 more pounds. A year ago, I lost 20 and then fell off the wagon. I knew this wasn't going to start while we were in Florida so I went ahead and took the whole month to prepare. In fact, Brad and I start a new contest, along with Brad's mom tomorrow to see who can go the most distance on our exercise machines during the month of February. I'm excited for the challenge and know that this will also motivate me to eat better. So, Brad and I have been eating like there may be no food in the house tomorrow so we can get it out of our systems and be ready to be on the fast track to healthy!

2. My only other resolution is to spend less time on Facebook (hold your gasps!) as well as less time checking email. I have become an addict to this since Gabby was little as it was quite often, my only form of adult interaction while Brad was away at work. It's so mindless and always just seemed like a good break. I mean, come on...I could be smoking pot, right? Just kidding! So, my goal for this year is to spend less time on email and FB and more time reading, spending time with the kids, blogging or even cleaning my own house. I've learned that I can rest my body and mind in so many better ways than the internet. I think they are great ways to get in touch with those you haven't seen in a long time but I need to not let it dominate my time so much!

So there they are...short, fairly simple, when you think about it. Now, DOING it will be a battle but I'm ready to try it. I need a life change. Gabby will be 6 next month and her foundation is here and she needs to get it here. I can't give that to her if I'm checking the latest posts!

What a week

It's been quite a week here. Last week, Carson had a cold but seemed to get over it in a few short days. Let's just say the day his congestion went away, he started waking up during the night again which was a pretty clear sign that he had an ear infection....AGAIN! So, on Tuesday morning, I called the peds. office to book our appointment. Got in there at 10:30 a.m. and waited for over a half hour to see the doc. Once he came in, I got the traditional, "Good call, Mom." from him. At that point, I wanted to just say, "Why do I have to come in and pay you $72 so you can tell me what I already know? My insurance isn't even going to cover half of this visit. I had two visits with you in December and here we are again AND YOU WANT ME TO COME BACK IN 3 WEEKS FOR A FOLLOW UP?!" So, we got our pink slip to drop off at Wal-Mart for his prescription, which I also had to pay $38 for and that was much better than the $68 I thought I was going to have to pay. We started the Augmentin that day and last night is the first night in over a week that I have slept from the time I went to bed until almost 8:00 this morning. Much thanks to Brad for that! While the infection is finally showing signs of healing, he has got a wretched case of diahrea from the meds.

To continue this saga, I woke up Friday morning to Gabby saying, "Mom, Benny (our dog) has thrown up all over the downstairs!" Well, PRAISE THE LORD! I can't think of any other way I'd like to start my day! After spending 20 minutes cleaning up dog vomit, it was time to make breakfast, to which I withdrew from having, but fed the kids and got on with the rest of my day. It's Sunday and Benny is still vomiting anywhere from 1-8 hours after eating. Otherwise, he acts completely normal so we've got our eye on him and he's fasting. We're hoping it gets better soon or we'll be headed to the vet. Tonight at the dinner table, Gabby says, "Mom, if Benny dies, can we get a puppy?"

Gabby, unfortunately for your dad, your mother will never be without a house dog so yes, we can get a puppy! However, I don't think Benny's going to bow out of the game that easily and none of us want him to anyway. He's became a part of our family 8 years ago on the 27th.

I'm ready for a new week! Bring it on, Monday!