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.