The Weekend Update--From the Kids' Perspective

• We recently were talking about the accident, and how far we have come. I asked the girls, "Don't you think we have come a long way?" Moriah responded, "No! Daddy still can't run! I want Daddy to be able to run!" She asked if we remembered the night last fall before the accident that we stayed outside and played hide and seek-tag. I had forgotten all about that night! We laughed as we remembered chasing each other in the dark on a warm fall night. I think one of the girls said, "Remember Dad hid up in the tree? And no one could catch him, but he caught all of us?"
• Aiden plays "crash" quite often. He will be driving his Jeep or tricycle in the backyard and have a crash. He lays on the ground and waits for the ambulance (his sisters) to come. Sometimes I laugh watching him play, I don't know if I want to laugh because it's so funny, or cry that this is part of what he plays. He still talks about his real ambulance ride. He remembers that he was in the ambulance with mommy (which is correct) and that mommy was all snuggled up (which to him means having a blanket up to your neck.)
• One evening a few weeks ago we were all in the living room and Emma was sharing a story. Suddenly, we heard the sirens of an ambulance. Emma stopped talking and her face grew dark. She looked at Moriah and said, "It's coming this way."  Within seconds the ambulance passed by the house and Emma said, "I don't like sirens. They make me feel sad and scared." Ryan and I were both surprised by her reaction. As we talked later we thought about what it must have been like for them that night--waiting in the van, in the dark, listening to sirens coming in the distance, hearing them get closer, knowing they're coming for you--it was something I had never thought of and it made my heart ache for my little ones! Thankfully, someone shared the idea of encouraging the kids to pray for the people in the ambulance. What a great idea to help them take the focus off their fears by saying a prayer for the other person!
• Although much has changed for our kids, there are somethings that never change--they still are growing like weeds!! We measured the kids this week and they have each grown an inch since July!
• And they still have fun together! They have been enjoying this gorgeous fall weather, making leaf piles, and leaf houses, and dens--because they are always pretending to be some sort of animal!