Broken [pinkie] finger

Well, earlier this month Garrett, our 13 year old, pulled his left rib cage from the chest wall when we were moving and this past week end he broke his finger playing football with the guys.  The ribs are healing very nicely and so he decides to go play football with his buddies and we all know how guys can be when they are having fun….ruff.  Anyway, here we are in the ER again with Garrett and then today at the orthopedic surgeons’ office.  And so Wednesday he’ll be having surgery on his left hands’ PINKIE finger.  Thankfully the break wasn’t [ON] the growth plate, but it was on the phalange just above the knuckle. Look in the pic below...it was a clean break. The surgery will correct and repair the break with dual pins in a cris-cross manner. We're hoping the recovery won't be a full 6 weeks.

		Garrett’s broken pinkie VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Thanks Bro John and Sis Michelle for helping after it happened…John (a local fireman friend) actually had to set Garrett’s finger as it was terribly dislocated and Michelle (who is an ER nurse) set our minds at ease when she assessed it. Camille (who is in nursing school and the BIG sis) wrapped it up safely until we got him to the ER that night.  Thanks you guys!
Please keep him in your prayers as he will be having surgery this WED morning.  I’ll send an update afterward.

Here's what came for a visit

As we were clearing away an area of the fence line, we came upon this big guy.  He wasn't too happy we disturbed him as he was on his way to the pond.  We pulled the grass away from him and he reared his mouth open wide and stretched out his rough neck.  He was a thick, sturdy alligator snapping turtle.  His tail looked like an alligator with large bumps and ridges. 

So we watched him a little while and then left him alone. We must have found him while he was taking a little rest in the cool of the grass. 

We kindof figured that he knew where he was going and he didn't need any help to get there. Later that afternoon we came back and he was gone. It's pretty safe to say, we won't be going swimming in the pond this summer. 

{a new little CrEaTuRe}-boy what next? Ok, I probably don't need to know...

We found a little, baby turtle last week and have decided to keep him.  He is a tiny, little thing and loves to swim around.  He's called a Yellow-Bellied, Mud Slider and is not even as big as a half dollar.  We named him "Skip-Er-Dee Zapper". It really is our son's thing and he will be the primary {care-giver}.

Here is a picture of Skip-Er-Dee in the bowl.

Our youngest son found a 'GRUB' and put it in there with him...eeeeewww! 

We did a little research and took the grub out and found a teeny earthworm instead.  He ate it right up in a few seconds.   

We found a larger aquarium this week end and place the turtle in it.  We added water, some rocks and pebbles so he could climb and bask in the sun.  We sat him next to the window and he gets warm that way.  So cute! 

Baby Blue Jays

Well, you know how kids can be. They find the littlest thing and want to keep it. Earlier in the week, they came running into the house saying, "Mommy! Mommy! We have found 2 baby birds!! You've got to come and see them." So out the door I went and look what was sitting there looking up at us. These baby blue jays.

Surrounding our patio are some gorgeous trees that are taller than our roof. They provide shade and house several nests. These little creatures fell out of their nest and I guess they couldn't have fallen into better hands. Of course, I am completely bias...Hee, hee!!

We thought we'd just leave them under a tree and let the momma come and help them...she was squawking' up a storm. Flying around us, scared for her babies.

But that didn't work. They thought it would be best if the little creatures were back in their nest. So, the kids put them in a bucket and tied a rope around the bucket's handle. The boys leaned a ladder up to the tree and climbed straight up...with the other end of the rope tied to their belt loop. Ok, picture this: 1 girl, 2 boys, 2 baby birds, a bucket and a rope, a tree and a ladder & 1 empty nest. After getting to the top where the nest was (about 35-40 FEET in the air), they untied the end at their belt loop, hung it over a limb and filed it down to Micaylah and I, who were standing on the ground.

Micaylah, then pulls her end of the rope and up goes the bucket with the little birds in it...slowly and carefully. Austin was about half the way up to help guide it and then it made its way all the way up to Garrett. They are little team players and they worked together to get the birds back into their nest. Here the little birds are. Back into their cozy nest, with their momma flying around above them.They look pretty happy!!