Katie Aunna's First 4th of July and Annie's Birthday

Fourth of July 2008

Annie and Katie. Look at the food in our tail-gate kitchen;-)

Pictured above is: Casey, Karissa, Katie, Christian, Annie,
Mary, and John








Kisty and Duane

Far right Karissa and Katie are best of friends and really enjoy each other so much. I think this picture of them says a lot about how much they love each other!!!!!

Below is a very nice picture of my 2nd cousin "Tanner". What a cutie!!!








Above Casey is coping with the use of only one arm!!!

Princess DeeDee on the 4TH of July;-)

Family and Friends eating and waiting for the fireworks to begin!!!

Then on Sunday, Annie celebrated her 5TH birthday, with a swim party!!!

Christian is so beautiful!!!!
Annie is FIVE and proud of it!!!




Annie saw her cake in the refrigerator in the garage the night before her party and she loved it!!!

Katie Aunna had a wonderful time for the 4th of July. She was a little shy at first with all the new people she was exposed to. However, it did not take her long to want a sparkler and to enjoy the aerial fireworks. The day's events began by cooking foods for the park. It is our annual tradition to go to the Green Acres Lake and watch what is called "Smoke Over The Water" which is funded by our local area business community and private donors. I understand the fireworks cost close to $30,000 this year and they were well worth it. They were breathtakingly beautiful and Katie Aunna was in absolute awe!!! It was so sweet as she said "Mommy, I love America!!!".

Well anyway, first we had a huge picnic. Above are some pictures of the tail-gate food festival for our pot luck picnic. It is a time when all of our family and friends join together to celebrate our country. It is always so much fun for both the adults and the children!!!! John did not cry last year, but, did this year. Katie Aunna jumped into my lap and there she remained until the end when she was finally delighted. Following the public display we went home and shot off our fireworks. By that time Katie and all the kids were having a blast!!!

On Sunday afternoon we celebrated Annie's 5TH birthday. It was so cute as Annie kept looking for her birthday cake. We put it into the refrigerator in the garage and thought maybe she would hold off looking for it out there. Guess again!!! Saturday evening she went right out to the garage and came running into the house screaming "I found it Mommy!!!" and so we showed it to her. I enjoyed watching her pleasure as she opened her presents on Sunday, ate cake, and swam with her family. Annie is the sweetest little girl. Once in a while she is a little ornery. However, she is the most mellow and laid back of all our children. Course, we all know Miss Mary is one hot tamale!!!!

There are times in our home when I feel the "OMG....I'm in over my head" and then one of them does something sweet and I feel like the luckiest person in the world. I have people ask how many children do we have and then they say "Gosh...I'm glad it's you and not me" and the only thing I can say is "I'm glad it's me and not you, too...LOL"!!!! Having a big family is not easy and often presents new challenges. However, they are all so very precious and we enjoy them immensely!!! I can not imagine our life without a single one of our children and would do it all over again.

Speaking of challenges.....Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is so wonderful. Poor Casey really broke his arm at a bad time. We took him to the Clovis ER where they wrapped his arm in a temporary soft cast until the swelling went down. That next week after the break we took him to the local recommended doctor. I have a lot of respect for this doctor as he said he felt Casey should see a pediatric ortho doc instead of a general ortho. So, naturally, I called our friend Mr. Conner. Unfortunately, the 4TH of July weekend was upon us by this time.

However, first thing Monday morning (July 7th) TTUHSC called and asked if we could bring Casey over to the doc that afternoon. WOW!!! So, I jumped into high speed and got Weldon to come home from work and watch the kids while I took Casey over to Lubbock. The doctor in Clovis thought Casey needed surgery to repair the break. Fortunately, the doc at Tech did not. So Casey finally got his hard cast (deep blue) ten days after the break. He is no longer in much pain and is tolerating it all quite well thus far. We will return in two weeks for a check up and more x-rays. I had also received a referral from the TTUHSC for Katie Aunna to see this doctor for her shoulder x-rays and I made an appointment for her at this time.

It will be interesting to find out what was done to her arm in the surgery she endured in Russia. I always feel sad when I think of my little girl in a Russian hospital all alone without parents to comfort her. The scar on her arm is very significant and although she is in neuromuscular and chiropractic therapy, I would really like to know what her exam will reveal. Next, I need to get her in with the strabismus specialist (Dallas if surgery is needed) and begin to make a decision (beside glasses for vision correction) what my next course will be for her vision issues. Then Annie has an appointment in September with the Shriners for her annual check up. John-John needs circumcised and Katie Aunna needs her tonsils out...they are huge and red all the time!!! Finally, Karissa is doing well with her new ear drum and it looks like we may be able to move on to the middle ear this winter!!! After this next surgery, in Dallas at Baylor, she will hear for the first time in that ear. How exciting!!!

Well, I guess this just about covers it for this week. I will post again after the weekend and share more about the kids. Our summer home school program is working nicely and I feel we have made a lot of progress so far. They should be well prepared for the next grade. Annie and Katie will be in kindergarten, Karissa and Christian in 2nd grade, and Casey in a mix of 7TH and 8TH grade work. I have found a wonderful Christian Home School Store in Lubbock and plan on getting remaining needed school materials there next month!!! Thanks for listening and following our family. Till next week.....Many blessings!!!