Seventeen!

Yesterday my boy turned 17. Another hard one for me to wrap my head around. I traditionally tell him the story of his birth at bedtime on his birthday every year. Unfortunately last night we walked into his room to find the carpet soaking wet. So instead of story telling we were moving furniture and ripping up carpet. But that's ok... I will just tell it a day late. :)

We were living in the New Albany area because Aaron was working at UPS in Louisville. I had given up trying to get in and out of our waterbed a few months earlier, so we were sleeping in the spare bedroom. I spent the night sitting up in bed contracting every 10 minutes or so while watching OJ Simpsons now famous white bronco chase. When I think of my labor with Ethan... I always think of OJ.

We finally headed to the hospital about 5 a.m. We stopped at the McDonalds across the street first so Aaron could eat... while I contracted. However, Ethan was in no hurry and did not make his arrival until 6:16 that evening, after an extremely difficult forceps delivery. He weighed in at 8 lbs 3 oz. (same as his Uncle Kent) and had a head full of black hair. Not only was he our first baby, he was the biggest, outweighing both brothers and his sister by over a pound each, and also holds the record for most uncomfortable pregnancy, longest labor and most weight gained for me... I was HUGE!

The last seventeen years now seem like a blur, although some things seem like they happened only yesterday and are still vividly etched in my mind. His first steps, his seeing Austin for the first time, the first day of Kindergarten... etc. My tiny baby now stands at 6'2". I get whiplash trying to look up at him.

I had so many hopes and dreams for him the day he was born, so far they have all come true. He is such a country boy, so handsome, so smart, such a great person, always has a smile on his face, sensitive, considerate, caring, very aware of the feelings of others, and just a joy to be around.





Happy Birthday Ethan Michael!

Neverending story...

Tuesday we made the trip to Indy for more appointments. First we saw Ethan's hip doctor. The xrays showed everything looked great. No new bone growth. Doc said his strength and flexibility has greatly improved since his last visit. Due to his lower back deformity he will always be at risk for another hamstring injury so he needs to spend a lot of time trying to lengthen those muscles as much as possible. Other than that the nerve seems healed and he has been cleared. We can cross that one off the list.

Then it was on to the back doctor. Unfortunately that appt. did not go quite as well. We learned that the L4 vertebral fracture had not healed at all in the last six months and apparently won't without a bone graft...which may or may not even work. We want to avoid that at all costs so we all decided to just leave it as it is. Then we learned that L5 now has multiple stress fractures and he has three bulging discs. His spine in that area is starting to bow outward instead of curve inward. Explains all the increased pain. The reason behind all of these injuries boil down to a combination of two things... he has Scheuermann's disease, which is a juvenille degenerative disc disease, and he has a rare deformity of his 5th lumbar vertebrae. It is fused to his sacrum. He has no movement at all on one side of the joint and very limited movement on the other side. This causes a lot of pressure on his lower back and also causes his hamstrings to be short and tight...so the original avulsion fracture of his hamstring and pelvis was related after all.

So, now what to do. There is no quick fix. They were very clear in telling us this is a lifelong issue he will have to deal with. The extreme end of the treatment options would be to go in and fuse L3 L4 and L5 together which would give him very limited movement and end any sports he might want to be involved in pretty much forever. Because of his age we don't want any part of that until it becomes a necessity...which down the road it most likely will. There are other surgical options in between but for now we decided to do the least invasive and most conservative which would be to brace him. He will wear a custom made brace for the next 12 weeks in hopes that some of the new fractures in L5 will heal and the inflammation will calm down. If it works, he will move back into more therapy to focus on core strengthening and hopefully be able to function somewhat normally. If it doesn't work.... honestly I'm not even going there yet. We will just be praying very hard that it works.

He is taking it ok. He just says he is frustrated, and who wouldn't be. Poor kid has had almost 3 years of pain now, had an extremely invasive hip surgery that has left him with severe numbness in and around the 10" incision site, and for the last 6months has been very restricted on what he can and can't do. It's nothing an almost 17 year old should have to be dealing with that's for sure. But like I have said many times, he is an exceptional person and his faith is strong. We will just continue to take it one day at a time.

When life hands you lemons.....

I can tell you I have enough lemonade to last a lifetime. :) To say that we have had one crazy happening after another would be the understatement of the year. So much has happened in the last couple months I can't even remember it all....and if I did try to recount it all here no one would believe it anyway.

As I type this I am in bed recovering from a lovely hysterectomy. I got really sick at the end of january... had a blood transfusion, several iron infusions, three surgical procedures and now this, which I am hoping will put an end to all the madness. A couple of people have asked me if I feel "different" or "sad" or if I have an "empty" feeling now that my uterus is no longer. Even though this baby factory unofficially closed its doors five years ago...it's still a little bittersweet when the final shutdown comes. I find it a cruel twist of fate that they put recovering hysterectomy patients right across the hall from the baby nursery so you can lay there and hear the babies crying while you mourn the passing of your childbearing years. Oh well, such is life.

Before my surgery I managed to get Ethan to Indy for his back follow up. His lower back fracture has shown no sign of healing in the last six months and he has a new host of issues on his latest MRI, spondylolithesis being the most pressing, so that will be the next mountain to climb. The specialist will present us with our options for treatment on the 17th and has assured us we won't like any of them.

Between mine and Ethan's issues, Jaden and Ava both had stints with pneumonia. Ava's included her usual hospital stay. Prom came and went...as did Easter. Thank goodness and knock on wood the only thing Austin has in the works is braces. So far the first quarter of 2011 has been a big ol out of control blur. I'm hoping these last three weeks of school will go by peacefully and the Jones family will catch a much needed break. Here are a couple of recent pics...

Ethan and Victoria before the Shoals Prom

Ethan and Morgan (aka The girlfriend:) before Loogootee prom

Easter Sunday

View from my bed while recovering

5 years ago...

Five years ago this week I was given something I never thought I would have....a daughter. She was and still is a beauty.



I had heard "It's a Boy!" so many times, it took awhile for the whole girl thing to sink in. By that time I had boys all figured out. Boys are easy. So how much trouble could a precious tiny baby girl be... HA!

My illusions of what my little girl would be like didn't last long. At first it was great...pink frilly outfits and girly girl toys and even the hair bands I swore I would never put on my child's head. But as she developed her own little "personality" (which in her case is a BIG personality) she began to make her preferrences known.

So... I don't have a little girl who likes to wear dresses... she wears jeans.
I don't have a daughter who likes pretty little tops... she wears t-shirts.
Baby dolls... not so much. Baseballs and soccerballs...much better.
Pony tails or hair bows....Not a chance.
Furry little mittens.... Not practical. Work gloves... Now you're talking
A pink fairy princess bike won't do. An old brown hand me down boys bike rides much better.
Playing house...uh...No. Hauling wood... Heck Yes! (at least her john deere wheelbarrow is pink)

She is 32 pounds of pure opinion. She has her own mind and when it's made up ain't nobody gonna change it. She is stronger than all her brother's put together. If they can dish it out she can take it...and then some. She rules the roost. She's got us right where she wants us. She is the Queen.

Even though she isn't exactly the type of girl I envisioned, and despite all her bull headedness, she can be the sweetest thing I've ever seen or imagined. She has her sugar and spice moments....and they are THE best.

She wanted to make her own cake...


Blowing out the candles...


Her and her boys...


Her and her girls...


HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY AVA!

Happy 15th Austin

We celebrated Austin's 15th birthday last week in a typical low key Austin kinda way. His favorite foods...a dairy queen ice cream cake...and a trip to Guitar Center. He is a low maintenance kid and that's really all it takes to make him happy. He put his birthday money to great use and came back from his home away from home with a new acoustic guitar. His first acoustic. I could sit and listen to him play for hours. He does an amazing rendition of the Led Zeppelin song you are listening to right now on my playlist. SO much talent. SO clueless as to where it comes from. Lol

I find it very hard to believe that he could possibly be 15. He has grown into such an intellegent, genuine, caring, considerate, honest, sincere and trusting person with one of the best senses of humor ever. I could not possibly be any more proud of him than I am.



HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUB!!

Homecoming

Had to start with this picture. Born one month and one day apart...these two have been friends literally since birth. (I think this was their first argument. She still looks at him like this when he whines :)

They were sooooo cute then....



....and just look at them now <3


*(insert sobbing here... omg where does the time go)*

And even though the night didn't turn out exactly as we had hoped, we are soooo proud of them both.

The announcement


The crowning...(and a quick smooch I didn't catch on camera. lol)




Waiting for pictures



2011 Homecoming Court

Progress...

Progress is a good thing. Ethan is surpasing all of our expectations as far as his recovery is concerned. He graduated from walker, to crutches, to cane, had all 60 staples painstakingly removed...and a week from today he will be allowed to walk on his own. That's just shy of 5 weeks since surgery. Amazing considering what he's been thru.

The xray on the 7th showed things healing well. No new bone growth around the part they had to leave in, the hamstring appears to be reattaching, and the nerve looks great. We will go back on the first for another xray. If all is still ok, he will be able to begin some therapy and strength training.

His back, however, is in horrible condition. Came home from school yesterday and laid down on a heat pad. We will see the back specialist on the first also and hopefully come up with a plan of action. When your kid is in pain things just cannot move fast enough. It's especially hard to know there isn't going to be an easy fix.

He is handling things well. He has had his moments of frustration and depression but his spirit is strong. He's driving everywhere. Takes Austin and Jaden to and from school everyday. It's weird but kinda nice...sad but convenient. We are growing up together, he and I. Facing life's changes and challenges as they come. He supports and reassures me just as much as I do him. He helps me be a better mother to his brothers and his sister by working thru these times of adjustment with me. (They are sooo gonna thank him when their time comes:) I am very thankful for that and blessed beyond measure by what he brings to my life.