Fishin'

 
Awhile ago we borrowed a couple fishing poles and went to a park to fish. We found the bread balls dissolved rather quickly in the water so the kids went digging for worms in the empty river bed. They found one. I think they were more happy just to be digging around in the dirt.

Corn

 
At the farm we were able to eat corn and drink apple cider. Most of us were pretty excited to have some. Avery had just taken the last bit of her strep medicine, as you can see it wasn't agreeing with her tummy.

Indian Corn

 
We enjoyed a nice weekend at the beach. Even though we had a couple cases of strep throat, we managed to enjoy ourselves in spite of the obstacles. Obviously Carter's fractured collarbone made the beach and attempted Christmas card pictures rather interesting. Let's just say he wasn't a willing participant in the picture-taking process. Granted, broken bones or not, he does tend to be vocal about his objections from time to time.

We visited one of our favorite "farms" where we saw several varieties of pumpkins and Indian corn. We feel very blessed to be able to escape for awhile and enjoy another part of our beautiful state.

Boogie Buddies

 
No, no miraculous recovery for the C-Dawg. Just haven't posted for a while and wanted to give this shot from a while ago. Cole and Carter are wishing for a bit more water.

Clavicle

 
If you look closely at the upper left side of the x-ray you will see where the little guy broke his clavicle. He was a tough little guy. After visiting 2 walk-in clinics last night and his pediatrician today he has endured a lot of Dr. visits. Here are some quotes from the past 24 hours.

When getting Carter situated on the examining table, I asked him, "What can I do for you?" He replied, "Just comfort me."

While walking out of the Urgent Care, Blake said, "You did a great job, Carter. You were really brave. "It was nothing." was his response.

Helping him to lay on his side in bed, Carter said, "I have a tiny little bit of pain, just a little bit. . . like a circle." This was several hours after his injury and me realizing I hadn't given him anything for the pain.

After leaving the pediatrician, walking to our car I explained to him that he would have to wear his figure-eight strap/wrap for 2 weeks, Carter said, "You gotta be kidding me."

Needless to say, we're very thankful it wasn't more. I'm amazed at how fast the Dr. says it will heal. And I'm astonished that while looking this up onine last night that this is the most common break for a child. Ouch!

A Slice of Life

Dinner at the Team Hiemstra abode often is a rush of trying to get things on the table and then hurry up and relax quickly before the oncoming bed time hit. The words "relax quickly" normally don't play nice on the page together, but with a new kindergartner and the tired, demon-possession phase ever so slowly ebbing, trying to get kids in bed on time becomes much more difficult than in the summer. Last night, though, was an exception. Carla needed a little medicine after dinner, as she's apt to call chocolate. Of course, all the members of the team voiced their approval at this announcement. Little did they know that Mom had a trick up her sleeve: they'd need to perform for their peanut butter M&Ms. Jacie recited a large chunk of the Beatitudes beautifully. Kenna took an oral AR test on The Mysterious Benedict Society (the book that Carla's been reading to the kiddos in the car). Avery showed off her newfound Kindergarten, finger-snapping groove move. Carter channeled Mickey Mouse and squeaked like only a 4-year-old little, skinny chicken leg of a boy can. Carla and I each took the stage needing to make each other guffaw in order to gain the goods.

Such a treat, the family dinner table, along with the time to enjoy the gift of family.

Flower River

 
We saw this a couple of weeks ago. I'm unsure whether it's a "river" of water lillies. Either way this picture doesn't capture the beauty of it. It went for as far as the river and eye can see.