Well, today is the day that Tyson can start taking off his boot while in the house. He has it off now and is doing well. His was little nervous, understandably, but doing well. Who would have thought that watching my five year old walk would be such a wonderful event. It is one that has been 10 very ling weeks in the making. Hopefully in 2 more weeks he will be completely hardware free.

On another note, Kyler is growing up way to fast! Yesterday he had girls calling him on the phone. Granted it was daughters of a close family friend, but it was still girls calling him on the phone. The things he says and does, constantly remind me that my innocent little boy is but a memory. I honestly don't know how I am going to survive his teenage years!! Dating and driving and dating... Lord give me strength.

One step closer...

to complete freedom for Tyson. He went to the doctor yesterday and got his cast off. He is now in a walking boot. He has to wear it all the time for two weeks, and then he can take it off in the house, but must wear the boot when he is outside. The best part is he can take off the boot to go swimming and to take a bath!! We are so thankful for this new freedom. It has been a long summer, but I think he will be enjoying things a lot more from here on out. I am very thankful to the Lord for his healing power.

Great Week

Well Ray was on vacation last week, and it was so nice to have him home. He works so hard to provide for us; I am glad he had a chance to take a break from all of the stress. I would say that I am glad he got a chance to relax, but that was not the case. He had so many projects that he wanted to do, that he almost worked himself to death. I am glad that he got his projects accomplished, so now he can make another list of things he wants to do, lol.

We did manage to squeeze in a short trip during the week as well. It was so nice to get away for a little bit. The hotel was nice and I did not have to clean it! We went to a place called Fossil Rim and it was a wonderful place to visit. It is a wildlife center that has exotic animals that you get to feed. You drive through the park (you must stay in your vehicle), and the animals come up to you waiting for you to feed them. Some of the deer and the giraffe would even go so far as sticking their heads in the windows. It was an awesome experience. It is not every day that you get to hand feed a giraffe or reach out and pet a zebra (the zebra would bite so you had to be careful with them). It took a little over two hours to drive through and every minute was amazing. We also went to Dinosaur Valley State Park and saw the dinosaur tracks. That was also a cool thing. To think that that place had once been inhabited by these mysterious creatures and that their mark survived all of this time for us to see. Ray also proved, yet again, what a wonderful father he is while at the park. The tracks are in the middle of the Paluxy River, so Ray carried Tyson over rocks and boulders so that he could see the tracks like everyone else. It was not an easy task, but Ray did not care and he scooped Tyson up and headed out. We all had a great week and I know this will be a vacation that will be remembered fondly by all of us.




The first 2 are at Fossil Rim and the last one is some of the dino tracks.

Vacation

Ray is actually taking a weeks vacation starting tomorrow! The boys and I are very excited that to have him to ourselves this week. The last few years, his vacation has actually been trips revolving around work. We are planning on taking a short trip and then hanging out here the rest of the time. I can not wait to get away for a few days. This summer has been very stressful with Tyson, so it will be nice to get away and relax for a few days. Plus, mother is going as well, so I will have plenty of help. The boys are very excited as well, they love staying in hotels, lol. We are going to Fossil Rim, which is an exotic animal, safari place. The kids can not wait to see all of the animals. I am sure I will have lots of pictures to show when we get back. So, here's to our vacation!

Inflatable Boat...PRICELESS

Even though Tyson has been a real trooper about not being able to swim, he has really missed it. So, now that he has a smaller cast, we decided that we were going to figure out a way for him to get in the pool. Solution...an inflatable boat! We wrapped his leg in a trash sack to protect against splashes and away he went. The boat worked wonderfully. Even though he is not completely in the water, he can still reach in with his hand and float around. He loves it! Yesterday we even took off his shirt and soaked it in the pool and then put it back on, so he got a little wet, at least. I am sure that this simple little boat will help the rest of Tyson's time in the cast go by a little faster, and gives him a chance to enjoy some of the summer things that he loves to do.



Tyson's boat

Tyson "arresting" Kyler

Update on Tyson

Well Tyson had a check-up today, with the ortho. He said his leg looks good and is healing nicely. Tyson goes back on July 2nd to have a short leg cast put on, and he will be able to start putting a little weight on it. I am very excited about this. It will be so much easier to take care of him! Right now the cast goes from his toes all the way up his thigh. So, he has to use a wheel chair or mommy (or daddy) power to get anywhere. So it was a good visit and I know we are reaching the half way point. We are all looking forward to having a healed Tyson back!

I finally got pics uploaded so here is one of Tyson with his cast.

What next?

What a week this has been! Like Tyson has not been through enough with his broken leg, he spent Monday afternoon through yesterday with the stomach bug. I will spare the details, but it is was not a fun time with a child in a cast!! You would think it would be against the laws of nature for all of this to happen to one child. Plus I was suppose to be helping with Vacation Bible School this week, but had to bale on that.

Kyler has been having a good time at VBS though, so that is good. It gives him something to do. His summer has been a bust too because of Tyson's limitations. Normally we would be in the pool everyday, but now he has to wait until weekends when Ray can go out with him. He understands though, at least he gets to swim some, unlike his little brother.

I find myself answering, "maybe when Tyson gets his cast off" to a lot of questions. I do know that we will do as many things as possible when he does get it off to make up for lost time. I am sure we will be spending a LOT of time in the pool when that happens.

On another note Ray and I celebrated another year of matrimony yesterday. It has been 14 years since we said I do. Some days I can not believe it has been that long and other days I can not believe it has only been 14 years, lol. I do know that I love him more now than I did then. He is my best friend, my biggest cheerleader, and greatest comforter. If I had to do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat! Ray I love you so much and I can not wait to see what this next year will bring.

Let's give this another try.

Well looking at the date of my last post shows that I am perhaps one of the worst bloggers ever! I am determined to give it another try though, so we will see. Just when I think things are as complicated as they can get BOOM, something else comes up. I know all things happen for a reason but I would not mind having a little time off every now and then.

Kyler started things off with his dog bite and following round of rabies shots. That was very scary for all of us, but I am thankful that it was not worse. Kyler handled the situation as well as can be expected and at least he is no longer afraid of shots. He is however afraid of stray dogs. Even dogs barking in the distance almost sends him in a panic. I pray that he will one day be able to overcome this and go on with his life.

My current "drama" is Tyson. On Memorial Day, while jumping on the trampoline with Kyler, Tyson broke his leg. As a parent you know by your child's cry, the severity of the situation. Tyson's scream was heart stopping for Ray and I. Then seeing his deformed leg showed the gravity of the situation. I did not have to rely on my EMT training to know that is was broke. It was obvious. He is doing well though and I am sure will take something away from all of this. Being in a cast for most of the summer is going to be a major bummer, but I keeping praying for fast healing so maybe he will be able to enjoy swimming and things sooner rather than later. Time will tell. He is very resilient and I have not no doubt he will handle everything just fine.

All in all things could be a lot worse at the Walls' house. Whenever I find myself slipping into self pity, I try to remind myself of that. Everyday I pray for strength to handle the day ahead and I know that God and a wonderful group of family and friends are there with me for each step. That is very comforting!

Germs, germs go away!

I am so ready for Spring, I can not seem to get my kids well! Kyler had the stomach yuck on Sunday, then I took Tyson to the doctor on Monday (he has an ear infection) and now I think Kyler has strep throat! This is just one more reason to hate winter!!