Update

I promised you updates and here they are. Fortunately, much less graphic than the last post.

I wish I could tell you that the drama ended with Kerri's accident and ER trip, but it didn't. Friday night was a little difficult as Kerri obviously didn't feel very well, but the twins had a difficult time settling in as well. Saturday dawned cold, rainy and yucky! Natalie attended a dance clinic at her school Saturday morning. She even had her hands autographed by "Danny" and "Sandy" which she insisted I take a picture of before she washed them off. She really enjoyed her morning. While she was gone, the rest of us just hung out at the house and did your typical Saturday morning stuff. That is when the drama kicked up again. Hailey was having a meltdown so Kerri put her in Natalie's room to "regroup" and closed the door. I am sure you can figure out what happened next - she locked herself in the room. We thought, no big deal - just stick something in the little hole and release the lock. If only it were that easy. We tried everything to no avail. We even tried getting to the window, via ladder - in the rain, but of course that wasn't successful either. Frankie was out of town with a dead cell phone so we called my dad and Travis (Kerri's husband) for advice. Nothing they suggested worked either. Finally I broke down and called the contractor who built our house to see if he knew how to get them open. Jackpot! It wasn't a push button release - you have to have a small (precision) screwdriver and actually turn something inside the doorknob. Fortunately, Hailey was basically clueless about what was happening. She was just mad because she was being punished! Not long after that, they were working on cleaning up the TinkerToys in the living room when Harrison lost his balance and fell - with a stick in his mouth. More blood. Fortunately, this was very minor and had only scraped the roof of his mouth. Enough already. I can say that the remainder of the day Saturday was relatively quiet (injury wise) as has been today. I took another picture of Kerri this afternoon so you can see her progress ;). Surprisingly, the swelling has been minimal and unless you knew better, you probably wouldn't notice it. Some bruising is starting to appear on her eyelids (you really can't see it in this picture since she has make up on) and that will probably worsen as the days pass.

We are looking forward to a good day tomorrow - thinking positive! Suzan and Gracie are planning to come for a visit so we can't wait. We promised them there wouldn't be any drama! Keep your fingers crossed.

WHAM!

WARNING - This post is not for the faint of heart, seriously!

I told you in my last post that Kerri and the twins were coming to visit and I was sure the I would have some stories to share. Now you know I never tell a lie!

Today has been beautiful! The temps finally warmed up some and the sun was shining. The day started with Natalie participating in the spelling bee at her school. She didn't win but she made it to the 4th round before being eliminated. We are very proud of her. After she got home from school we decided to take advantage of the beautiful afternoon and strong breeze and fly some kites in the back yard. That is where we were when Kerri and the twins arrived. They joined us in our venture and we were all enjoying the time outside. As these things usually go, the kids lost interest and went off to play elsewhere. Kerri and I took advantage of everyone else being otherwise occupied and relived our childhood for a moment. The wind started whipping around a little and we were worried that the kites might get tangled (and I was trying to take a picture at the same time). Kerri started moving away from me to avoid a mess with the kites and the next thing I knew Kerri was screaming for help. I turned to find Kerri face down in the dirt with blood literally pouring from her mouth and nose. She had tripped over this stake on our property line (no, she didn't bend it).We had no clue what the injuries were at that point but we knew we had a mess, 5 onlookers under the age of 10 (a friend was here), and no clue as to how we were going to handle this. I started screaming instructions to a very overwhelmed Natalie and Alyson up the hill (and I must brag on them tremendously - they did fantastic - kept their cool and followed instructions to the letter, until the dust settled). About that time a neighbor (and an angel) showed up. She was on her way home from the school and saw us out back and stopped to make sure we were OK - THANK YOU Deirdre, Amellia and Abby! They were absolute lifesavers at that point. Deirdre helped me with Kerri while her girls corralled and took care of the kids. Next, another neighbor was out riding around on their golf cart and stopped to check on us. Jeff was Kerri's escort back to the house via the golf cart. (She looks very good here)

We cleaned Kerri up and tried to decide what the next step should be. We were pretty sure her nose was broken since it took the impact of the fall but also knew that there was very little that could be done since it didn't appear to be out of alignment. There was a small cut on the side of her nose but it wasn't as deep as we initially thought and the majority of the bleeding had subsided. Our primary reason for seeking medical attention was to get her a tetanus shot. So, off to the ER we go - leaving Deirdre, Amellia and Abby with all 4 of our kids (all a little shaken up)! Bless them!! The assessment there pretty much agreed with what we suspected - the tip had broken on the bone (will have to be evaluated by Kerri's local ENT after the swelling subsides), the bleeding had stopped and the cut only needed a butterfly type bandage. She received her tetanus shot and we were on our way. I must brag on the ER at Anderson's Medical Center on their kindess and efficiency. We were in and out in approximately an hour.

Finally, we are back at home. We got a quick supper and at this point have all but one child asleep. Kerri has taken her pain pill and is about ready to bed down herself. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little less eventful.

Stay tuned for follow up pictures.

Good Sports

Saturday afternoon we enjoyed a visit from Mimi and Pops during which the girls performed a concert consisting of their favorite Taylor Swift songs and their favorite selections from Grease (No, we have not let them see the movie. We recently went to the school version of the movie/play performed by Natalie's school and their addictive personalities took it from there). After the concert, Pops and Daddy sat quietly (while I am sure biting their tongues) as the girls "dressed" them up. We couldn't resist getting a couple of pictures.

After they shed the wigs, we regrouped (gave a little pep talk) and met Kim and Tom at the hibachi grill for supper (see Hibachi Hysterics post if you are not familiar with this story). Natalie was OK with the decision but Alyson took a little more convincing. When we arrived at the restaurant, she still wasn't crazy about the idea, but at least she was cooperative. She did move her chair directly behind mine at the grill and stayed there the entire time, but she remained calm and would take a peek at the show occassionally.

Other than the obvious with all the inaguration events and coverage, our week has started off pretty quiet and uneventful, just cold. Natalie was out of school yesterday so it was back to the grind today. We are looking forward to a visit from Kerri, Hailey and Harrison later in the week. I am sure I will have some stories to tell during and after their visit. Hopefully, I won't take so long to post next time.

Taylor Swift OVERLOAD

A very good friend, who shall remain nameless but knows who she is, has introduced my children to Taylor Swift (musician). Now anyone who knows my girls knows they have a somewhat addictive personality and when they find something they like, especially when introduced by someone they like-they are stuck to it like glue. I will probably have to purchase a new CD - I am sure this one is approaching the end of its functional life.

Here is a video of their rendition of "Love Story"