The Other Men In My Life

My brother and his wife and kids along with my parents came out this weekend to bring supper and to see Lane.  Got a few snap shots of my nephew Payton.  This was very rare for him to stay in one spot for very long.

Got to spend some time with my Niece Kinley too.

My wonderful husband was in such a hurry to eat dinner with me Wednesday evening that he opted out on getting gas until after we ate.  Well......we decided to switch up vehicles so he could take Lane to Wally World and Karson & I took the truck home.  After I was on the road for about 10 minutes, I noticed that the gas light was on.  Guess What?  He forgot to tell me that I needed to get gas!!! And when you live out in the country, sometimes its just too late to head back to town.  All I can say is thank goodness for Daddys!

Thank you to my Dad who came to the rescue!

Went all over the world yesterday for Lane & Kris' doctor appointments.  Scheduling two appointments on the same day is not a good ideal!!! There was a mix up on Kris' appointment and each appointment were about an hour away from each other.  But Lanes went well and Kris has been released.  So back to work full force for him and more PT for Lane.

Special Project

A friend (co-worker) of my hubs seen the necklace I made out of Kris' in/out brass tag and  asked me to make some jewelry pieces for him.  And of course I said yes, cause crafting is one of my favorite things to do.   Well I just assumed they were for his wife but when he dropped the tags off my mouth dropped and tears filled my eyes.  A few months ago, one of our miners was on his way home from working 3rd shift, he was involved in fatal accident that took his life.  The tag on the bracelet was his belt tag.  For those who do not know, a miners belt tag is how the mines identify you.  Miners wear this tag on their miner belt at all times.  The tag on the necklace is an IN/OUT tag.  This tag is used by the coal company to check you IN/OUT (underground / above ground).  

So as you can see this was a very special project.  My stomach was in knots all week wondering if his wife would like LOVE them as much as I do.  I didn't want to mess up anything so precious to her.  So I carefully thought about what I would want if it were me.  Kris helped me with the bracelet and I really love the way it turned out.  I hope that she is able to wear it and feel him close to her.  The necklace by her heart and the bracelet by her hand.

Home & Doing Very Well!

The last night we were at St. Thomas, I had two friends from grade school stop in and visit with us.  Keitha (in the middle) and I have been friends since 5th grade.  Tiffany (on the right) and I have been friends since for as long as I can remember.  We actually lived just 4 houses apart, went to elementary - high school together, cheered & was in band together.  It was so great to get caught up with each other.  And Lane enjoyed the crazy stories as well.

Keitha has always been pretty close to Lane since he was very young.  So sweet.

Here's what the CPM machine looks like.  Its for mobility, he needs to use it about 6 hours a day.  No fun!

Dad passing time til we got to come home.

Finally home and doing very well.  His pain is finally being controlled.  Still there, but on a tolerable level.  My niece Isabella come to visit today.   She loves her Cousin Lane so much.

Lane will start PT 3 times a week and start Home Bound next week.  Hopefully the next 3 months will go by fast and he'll be a new boy with 2 new knees.  He's already planning his summer and will be studying for his drivers permit very soon.

Day 2 for Lane

Today has probably been the worst day Lane has ever had dealing with the pain from any of his surgeries.  His pain blocker that was injected before surgery yesterday morning wore off today.  So the oral and IV pain meds he's on hasn't been able to control the amount of pain he's been having today.  Most of it started this morning around 11am after PT had him up walking, it all seemed to go downhill from there.  PT wanted at least 6 hours of him on the CPM machine and we only got about 1 1/2 hours in.  After adjusting some of his meds, he is finally getting some ease this evening.  Please continue to pray for some comfort tonight.

PT, New Gun, and Lane's Surgery

Monday Kris graduated from PT.  Arm is still a lil weak and he's still on light duty at work til he sees the doctor at the end of the month. 

 This is Alton, Kris & Lane's favorite PT.  Kris just finished up and now Alton will have Lane (for the 3rd time) at the end of the week.

After PT, we came down to Nashville to spend the night before Lane's surgery.  His gun that was ordered back in December has never shipped so we stopped by the local "Guns & Leather" to see if we could find something he wanted.  And of course he found something.  We stayed afterwards for about an hour and tried it out at the shooting range.  This was a good distraction for the moment.

Lane.

Dad

Me!

Kris again.

A very happy boy! for now anyway.

We are currently sitting in a hospital room in Nashville.  Lane's reconstruction knee surgery was this morning.  Dr Anderson said there was a little more damage than what he first thought or expected, but he was able to repair it all and said that Lane should make a 100% recovery.  I'll post exactly what he did when I find out the correct medical terms.  Pain management for the first 2-3 hours was tough, but he's got some new meds and he's resting now.  There's nothing worse than watching your child suffer. I would take his place if I could.   

My Mom & Dad was here with us this morning.  Also, a friend  of ours (Adam) who Pastors a Church we have been visiting, came down this morning as well.  We appreciate all of our family & friends who have called, visited, prayed, or just had Lane in your thoughts today.  And thank you to our family & friends who are house setting and taking care of Karson for us.  We couldn't do it without all of you.  We are Hoping & Praying for a good night.  I expect after the pain block to wear off that we will have to get the pain under control once again with IV and oral meds.  Also please pray for Lane to have a positive attitude and patience.  This will be a huge part of his recovery.  Love to all you!

Boys & Guns

Whats been up in the Maddox house?   Just a little of this and that.  Kris got a new 9mm last week.  So he's been playing with it, gave the grips a new paint job.

I woke up to find this hanging on my bed post.  I think he likes his new toy.

The hubbys arm is getting better so we took the opportunity yesterday to take the boys shooting before Lane's surgery tomorrow.

Yep, us girls went too.  This is my mother-in-law Debbie.

Me having a turn.

Kids are so funny.  Lane said he didn't have the money to buy some type of ammo holder for his gun, so he made this one out of duck tape.  Can you say "Redneck"?

Lane gave his gun a new paint job, pretty cool I thought.

My Gun Lover.

The boys also started on their raised garden beds this weekend.

When you have all boys, you do as boys do!

On another note, we will be leaving for Nashville today.  Lane will have his surgery on his right knee tomorrow morning at 7:30am.  I will update after surgery.  Please keep him in your thoughts.  Thank you in advance!

Jr. Beta State Convention

Gooooooooooo Beta's!

Took a trip a few weeks ago with Karson's Jr. Beta Club at school to Louisville, Ky for the Ky State Jr. Beta Convention.  Here is our Rep for Reporter.  #4 Hannah and her mom Sherry.

My Bestie and I got to chaperon together.  Karson hung out with boys, so I was paired up with Jenny, her daughter Kennedy and about 6 other girls.

Hannah giving her speech for Reporter.

Kennedy (my Bff's daughter) aka My Step Child, Favorite Lil Friend, My Roo & Chelsea (her BFF).

Jenny & I during convention.

Our group up for Song Fest.

These girls were so much fun.  Really good and well behaved.

Some of the groups from other schools put on great performances.  Sorry for the blurred photos, I think its time for a new camera.

After competition, we took the girls down to 4th Street to get some grub.  There was hardly any time to eat during the day and by 9:30 that night, the girls decided to skip out on the dance and feed their face!  I have to say, I was starving too.

Like I said earlier, these girls were a blast.  Made my job so easy.

I think they were "smitten" over the waiter.  He was alot fun and catered to girls like crazy.

Here's the tip they left.  Some cash, coins that spelled out THX (Thanks in text) LOL, they also left nice lil tips on paper.

Curfew was 11:30 and we made it with 2 minutes to spare.  It was a late very late night (3 1/2 hours of sleep).  Jenny & I somehow got "creamed" with shaving cream.  So we got up early and decorated the girls room.

Oh, this is terrible.  Look at poor Chelsea.  She must of been very cold during the night, she's between the mattress and the liner.  Her parents are going to wash her down in Lysol when they see this.  Sorry.

I did manage to see Karson and some of his buddies during the events.  But other than that, he pretty much left me in the dust to run with the boys.

My sweet lil cousin Kaitlyn had a bruised hip but hung in there during the whole trip.

And the Winner is..... Hannah for Reporter!  Go MNMS!!!

I did get one photo together at the end of the trip with K and I got to eat with him and his friends at the Spaghetti Factory.

 
It was great trip!  After a few days of long naps and early nights, late mornings.  I'm finally caught up on my sleep and I'm ready to sign up for next year.  Go Betas!