A Visit to The Lou

The kids and I made the trip home to be with my mom for her 60th birthday. Yep, that mom of mine is still sweet and sassy, but now she has sixty to go with it! For her birthday we reserved 2 rooms at a hotel in downtown STL. Even though she had to work on her birthday, we wanted her to not have the hassle of drivng through the fair traffic after work. We had so much fun just being together, and it was special for me to share with my children some of my childhood 4th of July activites. 

Here are a few highlights from our stay in St. Louis:

Mike, Ang, and I took the kids to the St. Louis Science Center, where Aiden was fascinated by the see-through floor in the bridge over the interstate. The girls and I were able to see the Body Worlds exhibit which was super cool! Our favorite part was being able to see a healthy lung, a smoker's lung, and a coal miner's lung! We also saw a body with metal fixations...just like daddy!!

We all joined Mom at the Arch for one of her programs. Here she is with all of her grandchildren just before the program.

It was great to see some old friends and meet some new ones at the Arch. The kids enjoyed mom's program, and they listened to the cowboy program as well. Emma was able to try her hand at using a lasso!

And we all had a chance to try the new Dyson hand dryers in the restroom!

One of my favorite things was one evening after my mom finished work we took the kids for a walk around downtown. We went to the City Garden where the kids played in a sprayground.

hehe...this one cracks me up!

The kids had a blast in the hotel pool on the roof!

Emma also cooled off thanks to the STL Fire Dept!

Our trip also included:

                                                 Fireworks under the Arch!

Imo's Pizza....always a favorite!

Pappy's Bbq...a new favorite!

A Bill of Rights Program at the Old Courthouse

Breakfast at Starbucks!

Garden Goodness!

One of my favorite things about summer is the abundance of fresh fruits and veggies!

The other day I shared a recipe for blueberry buckle  and now I have to share another summer favorite!!

Whole Wheat Penne With Veggies

Doesn't it look delicious?! Whole wheat pasta, veggies, and basil! Super easy and really yummy! This is one meatless meal that my dear hubby will eat, but you could easily add some chicken as well. During summer I often cut the recipe in half and make it at lunch time for Emma and me. There is always enough for the both of us and a little bit leftover. It's always better when the veggies and basil are fresh from the garden!

Whole Wheat Penne With Veggies

1 box whole wheat penne pasta

1 small onion, chopped

1 summer squash, chopped

1 zuchinni, chopped

1 c. chopped asparagus

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

2Tbsp olive oil

fresh basil

Cook pasta according to pkg.

While pasta is cooking, heat oil in large skillet over med. heat.

Add onions and cook until soft.

Add other veggies, except tomatoes, and cook until tender (about 5-7min.)

Add tomatoes.

Season with salt and pepper.

Cook for 3 min.

Toss w/pasta and fresh basil.

Blueberry Buckle

It's blueberry season here in Michigan and we love to pick blueberries! It's one of our usual summertime activities! Ryan has missed out on the picking, but the girls and I have gone twice. It's more difficult than usual for me with the shoulder, but we must have our fresh blueberries!!

The girls and I were out in the patch today and when we came home I baked one of our favorite blueberry treats, blueberry buckle. The recipe comes from an old church cookbook that was a wedding shower gift to me from Ryan's cousins. In order to respect her privacy, I will not share the name of the woman that submitted the recipe.

    Blueberry Buckle

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup shortening

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

2 cups flour

2tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups fresh blueberries, washed

Mix shortening, sugar and egg thoroughly. 

Stir in milk.

Mix together the dry ingredients.

Blend in the blueberries.

Spread batter in a greased and floured 9inch pan. Sprinkle with crumb topping.

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/2tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup stick butter, softened

Bake at 375 for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I didn't get a picture of the finished product soon enough, but you get the idea :)

The Weekend Update

My sister told me that it has almost been a month since I have posted on here! Must be I'm enjoying these summer days! Here's a quick update on our family.

The kids and I made a trip to my mom's at the beginning of July. That is where we were coming from when the accident happened; we had been home for Thanksgiving. To answer the question that I hear most often, yes, it was hard! Very hard. But it was very worth it! My mom turned 60 and I really wanted to be there to celebrate with her! Even though I tried to hide my anxiety about the trip, the girls and I were all feeling a bit anxious as we left home. Not even 10 miles from our house someone hit a deer right in front of us! My shoulder/neck was feeling sore that day, and we made a stop for motrin, but we made it to mom's!  My brother in laws, aka my BILS, take good care of us and they helped load and uload the van several times, carried the diaper bag, drove in downtown STL for me and helped in many other ways!  Ryan did stay home, he is not up for a road trip yet. It was hard being away from him, even the kids missed him more than usual. Every day one or more of them would cry about missing him. Even Aiden said several times, "I want to go back to my daddy." He was well taken care of by his mom and some other family and friends. Thanks to everyone who helped him out while we were gone! Even though it was a bit difficult for all of us, it was a good thing to get "back in the saddle."

Ryan does have a consultation with an oral surgeon in Midland concerning his jaw. He is still very limited in how wide he can open his mouth. That appt is late August.

He recently had an appt with the ENT surgeon in Flint. He said things are still continuing to heal well, and they will do a hearing test the next time they see him.

Last week I had an MRI to look for damage to a nerve bundle in the shoulder area and the MRI came back clear.  My doctor said that there can be damage to the nerve(like a stretched nerve) that may not show up on the MRI.  For now we are going to assume that is the issue. Damage to a nerve could cause the muscle loss that I have.  We are going to watch it and he'll see me again in a few weeks.

 We may not be able to do all the things we usually like to do, but we are enjoying this summer. I feel like I have been able to take a deep breath for the first time since the accident. I'll post more later on our summer fun!

The Weekend Update

There's not too much new to report this week. Ryan did have an appointment with the ortho surgeon in Flint this week. According to the Xray, the bone growth in the hip(where he should have scar tissue) has grown since last time, but not a lot. He was not willing to give us a time frame for surgery. He only said November would be the earliest they would do it. They will not do it until the bone has had time to grow and mature. He said if they remove it too soon, it is pretty much a 100% chance of it growing back, and growing even more than before. So, we'll wait till the time is right! He has been hurting this week. He described it as more of a sensitive pain rather than the dull, aching pain he has had.

As for my shoulder issue, we still do not know exactly what is going on there. They have scheduled another MRI to see if they can find something. The last MRI ruled out a tear in the rotator cuff, this time they'll be looking for an injury somewhere else. I still have pain from the back of my head, down through the shoulder and down to between the shoulder blades. I also have difficulty extending my right arm away from my body, or trying to lift while it's extended. So, lifting Aiden into a car seat, isn't as easy as it used to be!

Oh, Emily, How We Love Thee!

What a treat this week to have Liz and Emily come for a visit! We had a blast getting to know our little niece/cousin!! She is such a doll!! We love her so much and it's easy to see why!

We love her in the stroller heading out for a walk,

and rub a dub, we  love her in the tub!!

We love her smiling in the highchair, playing with a toy,

we love her listening to the owies of a little boy,

We love to give her a kiss good night.

Emily, dear, having you here, was this week's highlight!

What a great week we had with Liz and Emily! Our fun included:

a trip to the Amish store,

lunch at Pizza Sam's and a walk over the Tridge,

Liz watching all the kids while Ryan and I went to Flint,

a couple stops at Coffee Chaos,

bloodwork and grocery shopping,

a 14 mile bike ride for Moriah and Liz...way to go girls!

a few evening strolls together,

making a strawberry pie,

bedtime snuggles with Emily,

pizza with the Roman's,

girls only lunch,

Ghiradelli turtle brownies,

20 qts of berries, 3 batches of jam, and 4 kids!

One of my favorite things was making jam with Liz. We have so many memories picking berries and making jam with our mom, aunt, and cousins. Although  I usually make jam, it was extra special having her here to be a part of jam making memories for my kids. And besides, she cleaned all the berries!! We'll definitely need her back next year!







I Told My Wife No

Since the accident there have been many people that we have never met, yet they have prayed for our family. Last Friday we had the chance to meet some of them!

We enjoyed meeting these dear brothers and sisters in Christ and their precious families!

We are so thankful for them and so many others who approached the throne of God on our behalf.

While visiting with them, Ryan shared what he considers the greatest miracle of the accident.

He told me, "No."

This is the story in his words.

The trip to Michelle's mom's in Illinois is about 10 hours and we usually share the driving. I usually do the most driving, but sometimes Michelle gives me a break and drives a short leg of the trip. This trip I drove the whole time. Our last stop was in Marshall, MI where we filled the van up with gas and bought some snacks for the last leg of the trip. The next stop was home. As we loaded the kids in and buckled up, Michelle offered to drive. I told her, "No, I'm okay. I'll just finish it up."

As you already know it was during this stretch that the accident happened. The van was hit on the driver's side. Some of you know what the van looked like after the accident. I suffered multiple injuries, breaking 13 or 14 % of the bones in my body. The constant aches and pains that I have are nothing compared to what I would be feeling if I had to watch my wife through this.

I consider it a miracle that I was driving.  Seeing my wife go through something like this would make me feel lifeless. Just watching her with the aches, stiffness, and other issues she has still hurts me.

I just know I am thankful that I was in the driver's seat that night. 

Since the accident, I (Michelle) have heard my husband tell numerous people that he was thankful that it was him and not me or one of our children. Each time I was reminded how much he loves me and our children. I know he loves us so dearly he would give his own life for us. It is such a beautiful reflection of another man, Jesus Christ, who loved us so much He gave his life so that we can all be free from sin and live forever with Him.