it’s a hip day

Carter had another procedure today (under anesthesia) and I had a doctor appointment. I was actually suppose to fly out to Arizona, instead of drive, but I got really sick. So poor Laun drove yet again from Utah to Arizona, just to get Carter in. Thankfully, my sister Rachel came out to Utah to babysit for me, so we just left the older kids home with her, while we went to Arizona.

I still felt a little under the weather this morning, so Laun graciously let me sleep in, while he walked Carter over to the hospital across the street for his cast change.

Poor Carter…no eating again, since he’s going under anesthesia. Today Dr. Vincent is pulling the pin out that has been in for 2 weeks and then recasting Carter. Carter has seemed pretty uncomfortable with that pin in, so I’m thankful it is coming out. Now we just hope that his hip stays in the correct position.

 

While Laun and Carter were at the hospital I went to my appointment. Oh the irony, Carter is getting his left hip fixed today, while I am seeing how my new left hip is doing…poor kid got my hip genes.

This is what my hips looked like at my appointment on July 22nd, before my left hip got replaced (that circle floating around by my left hip is a metal washer, that used to be on one of my screws):

This is what my hips looked like on November 13th, just 2 weeks after I got my left hip replaced (as you can see my pelvis is still way crooked, but hey at least my hip is in a socket now, instead of sticking out so far):

And I’m happy to say that today’s x-ray looks quite a bit better. My stand is getting better, my leg length is slowly getting more even and my pelvis isn’t so crooked):

 

When I headed back to the hotel I was greeted from the balcony by Laun and Carter. The hotel was great, the breakfast was good and they gave us a discount since Carter was a hospital patient.

Carter’s in a red cast again, because I thought that would be fun for Christmas. We then headed to Toyota and got the truck maintenance done. While they were working on it we went to Jason’s Deli for lunch, which we really liked and wished we had known about while we lived in Tucson!  Carter ate like crazy, you would think the kid hadn’t eaten all day or something;)

On the drive home we took a little break, love this picture of Laun and Carter in the desert, that I actually miss.

We went on a dirt road a bit, since Carter needed to take the wheel and help his dad drive. I love that Laun has done this with all of our kids.

We got home crazy late, but we made it. Thank heavens Rachel was here to watch our older kids while we were gone. Again, I’m so grateful for all the help we’ve received.

let it snow

Carter discovered the ornaments this morning. There’s a reason why the non-breakables are placed lower on the tree.

Having a child is like rediscovering the world all over again. I’m lucky enough to have rediscovered my world 5 times now through the eyes of my children. Today’s discovery: snow.

I love his hair sprinkled with snow.

The big kids built a snowman.

Raggles looks like a statue standing by Mr. Snowman.

I’m pretty sure she thinks she’s a guard dog.

Then we went on a drive through winter wonderland.

I love seeing animals out in the wild.

Turkeys:

Look up, Porter’s chasing the turkeys and they are flying through the air.  

Laun has this magical thing, where his eyes tell you he loves you. He doesn’t even have to say it, it’s written all over his face. Laun loves his family something fierce.

I love these pictures of him and Carter, because his face is telling you how much he loves that baby boy of his.

Everyone did some sledding , except for me, I need a little more time to heal from my hip replacement.

Clayton- at one point he landed right in a puddle of water and it was cold. He was still happy, so you know he was having a good time.

Porter- it’s too bad you can never get a good facial expression from the kid (NOT). He makes the funniest faces.

Marlee- She wants to keep right up with her brothers. Laun’s running over to catch her when she reaches the bottom of the hill, since we were right near a road.

Even Carter had a turn…he pretty much had zero reaction, unlike Laun in this picture.

We are far from perfect parents. In fact, we have a lot to change and improve, but one things for sure…we love our kids and we always will.

The drive home was beautiful.

Oh what a wonderful world…

I spot a deer!