Off to Lubbock

It's our first official trip of the summer (minus Casey). My mom and the kids and I are loading up the 'ol mini to make an eight hour trek across Texas. Isn't it remarkable that you could cover about 10 states if you drove eight hours in the Northeast but in Texas, you can drive all day and never cross state borders!?

It's totally worth it, though, to go and see my sister and her family. I love her so much. We were total opposites growing-up but have found such common ground in our adult years and I truly consider her my best friend. She typically drives to us so it's about time that we come to her.

Packing has been challenging for a 4 month old, 3 yr old, 5 yr old and rehabilitating mommy.

Bumbo?...check.
BooBoo?...check.
Barbies?...check.

Plus there's the added CIA-looking case that my robot arm gets transported in and a new toy for my finger....a bone stimulator. It's the latest gadget I have to use daily to try and get Mr. Pointer back up and running.

Robin is always a wonderful host when we come and I suppose it's because we come so sparingly, but she kicks her 'spiritual gift' as a social director into high gear. On the agenda is:

• A T-Ball game
• A pottery painting session
• A day of kids' camp
• A canyon hike
• A play
• A drive-in movie
• A parade
• A fireworks display...

Whew! I'm tired already but I'm sure that I'll have some fun posts out of our adventures so stay tuned. I'm also thrilled that my BIL, Matt, has volunteered to take my stitches out. Don't worry, he's more than qualified. The doctor said that they could come out as soon as Tue and when I told him that I'd be out of town, he asked if I knew anyone who could take them out. I'm going to pop some Vicotin and let him go to town and when they come out, I can finally get my hand wet. Hooray!

It's going to be an early start for us so I'm off to bed...West Texas, here we come!

Happy Anniversary

Eight years ago today, you made me the happiest bride who couldn't stop smiling all day. You said 'i do' to the start of what is now a precious and loving (and ever-growing) family. I love you. Happy Anniversary.

Watermelon

Mmmm. Mmmm. Good.

We ventured into solid foods last week. This is his first time out but he's got it now and is sleeping so much better at night! Bring on the fruits and veggies.

Four Months Old

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my husband, and the wonderful father of our three fantastic kiddos...
To my Father, who has always encouraged me, loved me and taught me how to be confident and strong...And to my Father-in-Law, who taught my husband what it means to be a father and a spiritual leader...And Happy Father's Day to any other Dads that stop by this blog. I hope you feel loved today!

The O'Quinns & The Watsons

Lindsay,
Here's my attempt at bringing together our crazy life in pictures :o)

Oh! We used to be so young. We've all known each other since middle school. All made the move from Houston to Nashville (and back to Nashville and back to Houston).

Been pregnant together for the first time...

resulting in Sam & Maggie

pregnant together a second time. Resulting in Gabe & Rory...

Lots of kids, right? Pregnant together a THIRD time (no one believes us when we say that we didn't plan this out.)
And now to be so blessed with Luke & Sully!...Whew. Through miscarriages and miles, I feel so blessed to have such a precious friend in my life.

I'm bionic!

I got my hands on a copy of my x-ray post-surgery and I must say, there is a whole lot going on in just one little bone of my finger. 3 plates, 11 screws, 2 bone graphs and 4 hours of surgery and I went from this...

to this...

So You Think...

...that I could love this show more!?!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this show and have been looking forward to it to start.

I am totally impressed by the talent this year. I usually feel like there are some stinkers right out of the gate on the first competition episode but last night, felt like everyone did such an amazing job.

I love to get to see ballroom, contemporary & hip-hop all in the same night. And then the group routines on the night of the results show are typically thrilling! Here are some of my all-time favorite routines from the past few seasons. If you aren't watching this show and you love dance...you should be. It's amazing!

Sam & Maggie

I had my heart set on gathering up photos through their 5 years together but Lindsay beat me to it so I'll just link to her post and cute slideshow of our babies together.

Sam & Maggie

On a roll...

Sully has rolled over a couple of times now but then he won't do it for a week, and so on. He's finally, officially rolling over and here is my documentation of how mad he got that we were making him do it multiple times in a row...

Lindsay in Houston

My dear, sweet friend, Lindsay was in town last week and with a lot of stuff on our itinerary, I royally screwed it up by breaking my finger. We did however get to fit in at least one playdate and one "Girls only" night out. I love being able to get to spend time with her in person and hug on all of her kids the way I wish I could more often.
Love you, Lindz and I miss you tons already.

Update

Several people have been requesting updates on my finger. So here's the latest.

What I didn't share with you regarding the surgery was that when I woke up from an operation for my FINGER, I looked down and saw this...
Why?, I asked myself, would a finger wound merit a total arm bandage? When the doctor came back to talk to Casey about how the surgery went, he explained that one of the machines they had been using early on in the procedure had malfunctioned and the wires shorted-out leaving these on my arm...
Yep...those are third degree burns.

I'm not looking for pity but rather a cyber "Seriously!?" As if I didn't have enough to deal with, did I really need third degree burns added to it? Then the next morning (which always happens to me under intense stress) I got a doosie of a cold sore.

Go ahead, I'm down, kick me some more :o)

I'm quite a pathetic piece of work.

Here is a fabulous shot of my rehabilitation. It's called a CPM (controlled positive movement) machine to help me regain range of motion in my fingers. I have to wear it 6 hours a day for a month in the hopes that by the end of that month, I'll be able to make a fist. My nephew thinks it makes me look like a cool robot and Casey calls it my Transformer arm.

Waiting Room

My second post since Carly started this blog...

This is a side-by-side of our views during Carly's four hour surgery.

My Summer 'Do

I have been so ready to cut my hair for a while now. When I was at the hand surgeons office two days after my surgery, he said that it was more important for my hand to stay completely dry than it was for me to stay clean. "Moisture is your enemy", he said. "No showers." He then suggested that my husband wash my hair for a while in the sink.

Hmmm.

I made an appointment as we pulled out of the parking lot and chopped it all off that night. It's a whole lot easier to manage and so much cooler! I love it.

Summer Swimming

Here are some pictures of my little fish!

Sully went from this...

...to this.

Update

Who knew one little, 'ol broken finger could cause this much trouble? I'm on a lot of pain meds, typing with one hand and still coming out of my anesthesia fog so forgive me if I don't make sense. The surgery went well but ended up taking FOUR hours. Apparently there were more shards and splintered bone than he had originally expected once he got in there. Four hours for a finger! I'm wrapped up like a mummy and am having to keep my arm elevated today so don't expect to bump into me at the gym :o)

Thank you again for all of your prayers yesterday. God is good.

Surgery

Thank you so much to all of you who have been thinking and praying for me. I have a peace beyond understanding about this whole crazy mess and I know that your prayers play a huge role in that.

The update regarding my surgery is...
The doctor couldn't squeeze my surgery in today so I'm on the books for 9 am tomorrow morning. Another day of Vicodin and ice packs. He will put me under and perform a 2-3 hour procedure to reattach everything and screw two plates on either side of the bone. There are, apparently, a lot of vessels, tendons, nerves, etc. that he has to be precise with in order to allow me the chance at future full range of motion (which I greatly appreciate). I am pleased that he is taking this route as opposed to a pin that would require my finger be immobile to heal. Do you know how difficult it is to change a diaper or put your hair in a pony tail without using your index finger?

I must go back and reiterate how blessed this whole ordeal has made me feel.

• Blessed that the injury was not as severe as it could have been. (I was preparing myself on the way to the ER that I may loose my finger, not to mention that had the wave runner pulled the rope any tighter...ugh, you know)
• Blessed that it was a finger and not something fatal like the man in the curtain next to me at the hospital
• Blessed to have both sets of parents right here, ready to take over with the kids so I didn't have to worry about how I was going to take care of them.
• Blessed to have such a wonderful husband who hasn't left my side since this happened
• Blessed that he works for himself so he didn't have to take personal days off
• Blessed to have good insurance to take care of an accident such as this

I could go on and on, but I am praising God right now for His goodness through this mess. Please continue to pray for me tomorrow and I'll update soon.

X-Ray

Warning: Not for the faint of heart...

This morning I had a mishap while water skiing. My finger got in the way of the rope and the rope won! I've never in my life broken a bone but had no doubt that that was what had happened here. My index finger was pointing at my middle finger...a very freaky sensation. After a fabulous trip to the ER where Casey listed my injury on the sign in sheet as "VERY broken finger", I got an x-ray that confirmed it was broken in 2 places. There were no orthopedic hand specialists on-call on a Sunday so I have to deal with the pain until Monday morning....OUCH! So much for this mother-of-three and water skiing.

Please pray for me as I will probably have to have a pin put in it and spend the next 2 months in a splint.

I've posted a picture below but I'm warning you---it's gross.