Barely Normal

The definition of "normal" is rather relative, but Allison has proven that she far surpasses even the faintest margin of an idea the word might encompass. Well.....that is until the severe problem in her wrist/hand began to bother her again. Then the doctor teasingly proclaimed that she was still "a little bit in the range of normal" (meaning that to injure the ligaments and tendons then for it to be aggravated later on was normal). He put her in a cast to stabilize everything in there, and then the fun began! After all, if you have to have a cast, why be dull?!?

She chose hot pink to match her kinesio tape. (see Feb.25th blog post)

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Thumbs Up!

Want to "sign" her cast?......just leave a comment! : )

Rainy Day Adventures

If necessity is the mother of invention, then a rainy day definitely spurred a genius' mind into action. But whether it was a brainstorm or a rainstorm, two of our adventurers certainly didn't want to get wet.........so put a roof on they did. It was such a funny sight to watch them busy as beavers changing their fort into a little hut.

Kinesio Taping: What can three little pieces of tape do?

This is Allison at the end of January. Her MRI showed that everything was intact, but as you can very well see, something is wrong. She couldn't lift her shoulder or hold it in place without a figure-of-eight brace. Sometimes it would drop even with the brace on. The orthopedists finally determined that it was her collarbone popping in and out of the SC joint. The instability caused constant bruising where the scar tissue would break and bleed every time it popped in and out (which was with almost every breath). The only thing that they knew to do was for her to continue wearing her figure-of-eight brace and her sling all the time, and, if it wasn't healing in three weeks, they would refer her to a specialist in Charlotte if they could find someone that would accept her. What should we expect? This is not the first time a doctor has said he doesn't know what else to do with her. Considering the previous nine weeks in the same braces and nothing but worsening, we decided to ask for a referral to the specialist in Charlotte.
Certainly, the Lord is the Great Physician and knows exactly what needs to be done even when it seems so strange and silly to us. The morning after her appointment with the orthopedist, we had some appointments with our doctor. It "just so happens" that he had just gotten a new chiropractor in the office. Of course, with God there are no coincidences. This doctor had come from New York, and had seen the kinesio taping method. He had never actually taped, but if we were willing, he was willing. Sometimes you get to the point of "we've tried everything else and nothing is working......so why not?!?" We first envisioned Allison with tape from here to yonder, round and round, like a mummy, trying to keep pressure on the collarbone. You can imagine our shock when the doctor, as he's looking at his "instruction manual", cuts three small pieces of tape about an inch wide and six inches long. We popped her into joint, and he then proceeded to place them crossing over her SC joint. As he was carefully placing them, Mom spoke the question that was running through all of our minds and one that is probably running through yours at this very moment....."Now, what are three little pieces of tape going to do?" We soon found out.
The first thing that amazed us was that she got up off the table without help and didn't pop out! Then within an hour she was free of pain for the first time in nine weeks. This far exceeded our highest hopes. After the first taping, she went 10 hours without popping out of joint. What a blessing! The greatest accomplishment was when she went all the way from Thursday, Feb. 19th to Friday, Feb. 27th without popping out! The Lord certainly directed our paths in a way that was far beyond human reasoning. What a great God that we serve!

The doctor taught us how to tape her so that we could do it at home instead of having to take her to the office. The tape lasts for 3-5 days before it starts wearing out and coming loose, so, at the least, she would have to go in twice a week. These pictures are from our first in-home taping...what an experience!

This was when her collarbone wasn't staying in joint a whole 24 hours so the adhesive on the tape was still very much so intact. We found that baby oil gel works great to loosen it up. That way we can leave the skin with as little irritation as possible.

Peeling the tape off.

Okay, okay.....it does hurt a little bit....or is this the true colors shining through? : )



Whew! It's off!

Washing off the residue.

Popping it back into place.


Now, after all the preliminaries, the taping begins...

One...

So serious

Two...

Three...

All done!

This is what three little pieces of tape can do in two days compared to the first picture of what the braces were "accomplishing" in nine weeks. What a difference! We are so thankful to the Lord for giving the doctors wisdom!

Coupon Crazies

The Three Couponateers are at it again...only this time they recruited some not-so-enthusiastic helpers. : ) How can anyone be enthusiastic at 4:30 in the morning?!? The only occasion that would draw such commitment would be none other than TRIPLE COUPONS!!! Yes, they were tripling the value of the coupons at Harris Teeter starting at 7:00 this morning, sooooo in order to beat the coupon madhouse rush, we got up at 4:30, left the house at 5:15ish and got to the store in time to figure out all the good deals before the other dedicated couponers cleaned the shelves. We had a nice, quiet shopping trip with the whole store practically to ourselves.

Triple the deal, triple the fun......right? : )

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Shelf Price: $293.30

We Paid: $19.99

Savings with Coupons: $273.31

That's 93% savings!

A Day To Remember

Yesterday, there was another of those unforgetable moments at our house. There was no public recognition or big long ceremony, but we sure did have fun celebrating an occasion that probably deserved much more attention than it got. Happy Birthday, Daddy! We love you!

Belated Pictures

Here are the promised pictures although a little late in coming. : ) The computer didn't want to cooperate......do they ever????? They say a picture is worth a thousand words so maybe this will save you the grueling task of reading an essay. : ) (...and me the grueling task of writing one. : ) : )

Belated Birthdays and Broken Bones

Ten days late and many happy moments later....
Happy Birthday, Allison!!!

She got to spend her birthday camping (pictures coming soon!). Several weeks ago she slipped in the bedroom catching the bookcase to break her fall and instead broke her collarbone. Since then she has re-injured it twice. She really has been going through a lot! As far as we know, the bones have not separated, but it is still very painful.

Merry Christmas!

May the Lord bless each of you this Christmas season and always!

A Deer and a Dear

Firsts are always fun, exciting, and rather breath-taking at times, and it was no different for Ray, Jr. on Friday, Dec. 5th. It was quite a full day, starting at 3:45 that morning. With much anticipation, Ray, Sr., Ray, Jr., and Sara left at 4:30 to arrive an hour later at their designated hunting spot. As with all of their trips, there had been a lot of preparation as well as hunter's talk of all the big game they could get if only something would just walk out into their crosshairs....even if it would just make itself known. That particular morning was a little different, though. About 9:30, Ray, Jr. called home sounding quite breathless and radiant with the exciting news......HE HAD SHOT HIS FIRST BUCK!!!!

After having finally realized the dream of getting a deer, they then had to come back to planet Earth and figure out what they were going to do with it to get it home. As everyone knows, when you don't carry an umbrella it rains, so when you drive the car instead of the truck you get a deer....maybe. : ) So Ray's friendly 4-pointer, strapped to the trunk of the car, waved to all the people traveling through Charlotte on I-85.

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As if that wasn't enough excitement for one day..... That night was the Christmas party for the College and Career Sunday School class. For several weeks, Christina, Keisha, Ray, Jr., Valerie, and Sara had been preparing for the gift exchange which is comprised of gag gifts and a Chinese auction. Well, once again Ray, Jr. came up with a novel idea. He was going to propose......for someone else!!! And how exactly is this done? To begin, you get a large solid Hershey's kiss and put a pretty ribbon around it with a bead ring (complete with the phrase "With this ring...") tied in the bow on top. You then slip a note in it...

Will you marry me?

Please?!!?!

Nathan

To finish it off, you place it in a nice pink gift bag with the words "This Gift Is Not A Lemon" printed all over it. Oh! to see the faces of the unsuspecting!

Warning: Watch at your own risk! This video is not professional and is taken amidst laughter with no tripod.

New Additions

Our three newest, most adoreable additions were born October 10th -- when the last kittens were just a day shy of four months old.

Success

Success spelled with five letters......"Got 'im!" : )

Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut....

...so roast some!

Ray Sr. and Jr. have been working on the sheetrock on an old house, and if you've paid attention to the weather lately, you know that it's been mighty cold. It, being an old house without much insullation and no heat, is about the same temperature inside as it is outside. : ) Our old kerosene heater was a much needed blessing on the job, so they put it upstairs where they were working and cranked it up.

Ray, Jr. had bought some raw peanuts at the farmer's market and tried to roast them in the house, but it seems that Allison is allergic to them. That being the case, just suffice it to say that necessity always was the mother of invention. : )

Anyone feel like a nut?

Pecan Pickin' With A Twist

The pecans are falling, and the birds aren't the only thing that you have to beat this year!

That said, we have applied a new science to this pecan thing that most people either haven't thought of or are too timid to try........a three-man sling shot! (And, no, we're not catapulting Ray.) : )

There is no end to the laughter when you apply this method. Should we quote the old adage, "Kids, don't try this at home"? (Now you know the first thing we did as soon as we were turned loose was whatever they told us not to do.)Whatever the case, be warned ~ there are just as many bloopers as there are good, solid hits, and you never know who's watching you. It just may be the janitors at the elementary school across the road. : )

Ready.....Aim.......

...FIRE!!!

Uhhhh....Where'd it go?

Any day now, the pecans will be falling without our help, but, until then, we'll continue to use our brilliant ingenuity for the betterment (and entertainment) of all around. : )

Pecan Pickin' 101




How it's done.....

Rule # 1: When shooting over the road, look both ways to ensure that there is no oncoming traffic. Otherwise, this could be detrimental to one's well being.

Rule # 2: Before drawing back, make sure the people picking up the pecans are not in or around (or even within range) of the target area. If struck, ....well, this also could be detrimental to one's well being.

Rule # 3: To ensure lasting harmony and blissful peace, prepare a warm meal for those who had to stay out in the cold picking up the pecans that were knocked down.

....and how it's not.

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Pecans aren't the only things that are falling, and Allison enjoyed raking the leaves!


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"As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack."

II Corinthians 8:15