Update on Elijah

Since we weren't seeing improvement with Elijah's walking I brought him to the chiropractor this morning. He (the chiropractor) told me that his left hip was misaligned pretty bad, which made his left leg seem quite a bit shorter then his right leg. He also felt all around his foot, leg and hip and didn't think there was any hairline fractures. He adjusted Elijah's hip and sent us on our way. This afternoon I already saw improvement in his walking, he is at least trying to walk instead of only crawling! Poor guy still falls over quite a bit though. Hopefully a good nights rest will help and maybe another adjustment and he will be good as new. So thankful he is on the mend!

Ice Storm

It's not been a fun couple days at our house. We lost power Wednesday evening during supper, just before Mark had to leave for a meeting. It was ok for the first day I had all my laundry washed, but by day two I was tired of flipping switches only to be reminded we had no power! I am so thankful for our woodburning stove which kept the main part of the house in the mid 60's the entire time. Another positive, I didn't have to cook. :) Last night we went to Mark's parents house for pizza with the rest of his siblings (everyone was out of power). It was great to get out of the house! The kids had a fun time playing hide and seek with their cousins. Unfortunately, Elijah and Amelia had a fall and now Elijah isn't able to walk. We know that she was holding or hugging him and they both fell. I think she may have landed on top of him but we aren't sure. I took in to the Doctor this morning and he said that he should be ok in a day or two, if not we need to bring him back on Monday. They did a few x-rays and nothing was broke thankfully. I'm really hoping he heals soon not only for his sake but mine. It's not easy hauling him everywhere with my 9 month prego belly! On a side note I had his 18 month pictures taken last week and they sent me a little video of our session. You can view it on my Facebook page if you like.

The kids have some cleaning up to do before playing in the sandbox!

Our trees looked so "sad" and droopy.

This was taken several hours after the meltdown began. We had branches hanging nearly 10 feet lower than normal! We didn't loose any huge limbs but lots of little ones will need to be cleaned up.

Style Show

This weekend Amelia got to participate in Pella's Wedding Extravaganza as a flowergirl model. She was very excited to join two of her favorite people, Kristen and Emily to have her hair done and wear pretty dresses!

One of the dresses Amelia wore.

Kristen, Amelia & Emily ready to go on stage.

The little girls modeling for Bridal Dreams.

You can see by her smile that Amelia is very excited!

Amelia & Kristen showing the audience their gowns.

Amelia and Emily in their gowns.

Going Away Party

Mark's Aunt Beth & Uncle Dan along with their 4 children are moving to Africa. So Sunday we had a farewell lunch for them. We look forward to hearing about their experiences in Africa and the mission field but will miss seeing them!

A group shot of the siblings & spouses.

(Donna & Roger are missing)

Ameila holding her new cousin, Adalli. Ameila is so excited for another girl cousin!

Our afternoon entertainment was watching the guys ice race.

The Fremont group came back again this weekend, this time they brought along the "beast". The front had a blade to push of snow, the back a spinning broom to brush the track smooth.

Even the little guys got to ride. This is Ethan giving his cousin a ride.

Ice Racing

Mark's Christmas present to himself this year was ice tires for his dirt bike. This weekend he made use of them racing around the pond with his brothers and a bunch of guys from Fremont.

Mark sliding around a corner.

The start of another rat race.

Mark and his brother Kurt were always racing each other around the pond.

Taking a break.

You're looking a little frosted over Mark!

A quick way to warm your hands.

Hanging out.

Ethan likes riding Cody's 4-wheeler when the "big" guys are taking a break.

Ethan & Cody were tag team racing around the pond. It was so funny to watch them change drivers after each lap. For whatever reason they couldn't get the brakes on at the right time. You can see what I'm talking about in the video below. Cody is driver #1 and Ethan is running to take over.

Putting in Tile

Yesterday Mark and Rob did some tiling in the field around our house. Ethan enjoyed helping most of the day and was very pleased that Rob let him push the lever to make the tiling machine go forward. Elijah was disappointed that he couldn't help; so feeling sorry for him I bundled him and Amelia up and we headed outside to watch.

Just getting started at the bottom of the hill.

Everyone has to see what's going on.

Progressing up the hill.

Since it was so cold Elijah sat under the heater in the skidloader most of the time. He patiently waited for Mark to start backfilling. I asked him several times if he wanted to go to the house and he quickly shook his head no every time. He loves riding in the skidloader!