Saturday, January 21, 2012

They don't have to be blood to be family...

What am I going to do with my Noah?? Sophia and I come home from her dance recital and no more than 30 minutes later he has run full-speed INTO the counter! He cried so I picked him up and hugged him and was going to send him off to play when I noticed blood on his hand. I looked at his head more closely and sure enough, he had cut his head open! It was a small, maybe 1/2 inch gash right above his hairline near his right temple, but was it DEEP~ I'm pretty sure I could've seen his brain if I looked hard enough! I debated for a few minutes, wondering if he would need a stitch or two... do I take him in, do I leave it? I decided that since it was a head wound I should take him to the ER to get checked out. The problem was, I did NOT want to take three kids under six to the ER on a Saturday evening by myself, especially if I had to hold one down for stitches! I literally called EVERYONE I could think of, but they either didn't answer or couldn't watch the kids. Finally, I called good old "Uncle Dave." This man has gotten me out of more pickles- we are so blessed to have him in our lives! Our conversation went something like this:

"Hey Erin, what's up?"
"Hey Dave, are you busy right now?"
"Ummm kinda, I was just headed to my parents' house for supper with the family, why?"
"Well, Noah cracked his head open and he might need some stitches. I was wondering if you could watch the other two. No big deal if you're busy though, we'll work it out."
"No problem, I'm only a few blocks away anyway. I'll swing by and pick them up- they can come with us."
"No, I don't want to interrupt your dinner!"
"It's no big deal, I'll be right there."

  And he was- he got to my house a few minutes later. He drove my suburban and he put a carseat in the back of his car so I could drive that to the ER with Noah. Then he took my other two kiddos out to the Dunham's (where they always have a good time!). Noah and I spent less than two hours in the ER and left with a coloring book and WITHOUT any more stitches (he got five stitches in his left ear right before Bennett was born). So I headed out to the Dunham's to get my kids, whom they had fed (I hadn't even started dinner before Noah's debacle!). And, they had supper waiting for me and Noah! The kids had a blast, and we stayed and visited for a little while before heading home and getting to bed. We are so very blessed with the people we have in our lives and so thankful to know the Dunham's!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

My baby is no longer a baby...


 This past year has gone by so very quickly- my sweet little Bennett Bear is ONE year old today!!! To be honest, there were times in my pregnancy when I wasn't sure we would even reach this milestone. It has been a whirlwind year and it was nice to be able to celebrate such a momentous occasion with all of our friends. Our families weren't able to join us, but we have a lot of friends around here that we count as family, so we still had a great time. Bennett got some great presents and LOVED his cake (Brandon again picked out marble with bavarian cream filling and a "Benny Bear" on top- B said Sophia picked out that bear because it had a heart on it), as did the rest of us.
  I am so blessed to have this little boy in my life, to watch him learn and grow and dance! He has so much fun with his big brother and sister, and it amazes me to watch the interaction among the three of them. It just reminds me what a joy it is each day to wake up and be a mother to those beautiful babies!