Dane Breaks His Leg

It was my birthday.  Jason had been gone for almost 24 hours.  My mom and I spent the afternoon at lunch and shopping for much needed new pans.  Krista sat at the house why the babies slept.  We got home right when the older kids were getting home and the babies were waking up.  Most of us were in the kitchen discussing how we were going to get through the next 4 hours.  We had dinner, a choir concert, a wrestling match, and... something else, but I can't remember now.  Dane was sitting on the kitchen chair eating a snack and I was taking my pans out of boxes when we all heard a thud and a scream.  I turn around to see Dane on his back on the floor, he had hit his head on the cabinet behind him.  I pick him up,  thinking he was crying because he hurt his head.  He wailed for a long time, unusual for Dane.  After he calmed down enough to talk I asked him what hurt (knowing it was his head, just trying to get him to talk) and he said his leg hurt.  Weird, he fell straight back.  I spent the next 30 minutes trying to get him to calm down.  We offered candy, turned on a show, read book, everything to get him to stop crying, he wouldn't.  Very weird for Dane.  It was 5:00 and our "busy night" started at 6:00.  I had been to Children's ER before, they are quick, in and out.  I figured if I went right away I could be back in time for our first event.  I was wrong.

It was very very busy.  They told me it would be 2 hours before they even saw us.  I explained I was a mom of 6 with my husband out of town and older kids activities and that I couldn't sit in a waiting room for 2 hours, so I told them I would leave and come back later.  They must have felt sorry for Dane, they called us back 5 minutes later.  We were still there until 8.  I missed everything.  But that was ok.  My mom was there, she did it all.  And if we wouldn't have gone back 5 minutes later we could have been there until midnight!

Dane was awesome.  He almost always is.

It was a spiral break.

Dane is not fragile.  He is pretty tough and has a high pain tolerance.  Those first 3 days after the break were rough.   He was in so much pain and the soft cast didnt give him much relief.  Just moving any part of his body hurt his leg, and he started anticipating the pain even when I got close to him to move him.  He pretty much laid on the couch for 3 days.  Eve did not handle it well. She knew something was wrong, but didn't understand what. She didn't like Dane not playing with her,  she didn't like me taking care of and carrying around Dane, she didn't like being by herself.  It was rough but we made it through.

On the third day he was so tired of being on the couch AND we woke up to the first snow of the season.  He DESPERATLY wanted to go play in the snow (It is mid January and there is still snow and he still hasn't been able to play in it :(   I took 30 minutes bundled them both up, I put him in the stroller (screaming) but once we got outside we were able to be out there for 20 minutes, and they were happy.  

On about day four he was feeling good enough to get "set" around the house.  I put him up against the tree with ornaments or tools and he would decorate or "fix" the tree.  I also put him up against the window sill so he could look out and play with little animals.  We sat at the table and played with playdough, colored, painted, and played with tractors in rice and beans.  

He finally got a hard cast.  It was a whole leg cast so he couldn't really walk but he could crawl around and it didn't hurt him anymore.  He was happy with the Christmas colors.  I was still carrying him everywhere and my back is FEELING it. 

It got nice again and we bagged up his cast and we went outside a few times.  

 Currently the cast has been taken off and he is in a boot that he can walk around in and move all around in.  It was our first break in the family (except my broken leg as a 6 year old) and we hope it is the last.

Getting Ready for Christmas

When we found out Jason was leaving we went about getting a bunch of things done before he left - one big task was Christmas.  He graciously helped my get Christmas up, put up the lights, and made sure we got a tree all before he left.

I had been wanting new/more Christmas stuff for a few years.  My friend down the street was redoing her Christmas theme so she gave me her old decorations, I decorated more this year than ever before.  It was so fun and wonderful, although I knew I had too much.  I started with 9 boxes, I have dwindled it down to 5, I hope to get down to 4 next year.  But it was fun to have it all up this year.

Dane loved helping, especially with his new tool set he got for his birthday.

While Jason was gone the kids watched Christmas movies and slept in the living room under the tree a few nights.

For Christmas Madison said she wanted us all to go to the temple and see the nativity, so we did this one night when we went and looked at lights.

I did a few FB posts about my old christmas cards, I will post them below.

Jamie Hanna Herbert

Novep460mbser 2r960d9, 20h2h1  · 

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Several years ago I started keeping all the christmas cards sent to us. I wasnt sure why. I didnt have a vision. But oh, how I love that I did! My kids love going through them and seeing who knows the most people. It reminds us of dear friendships and how much we have been through together. It makes my heart so full to look through them. If you want to send a card to a family who will keep it send one to us!

Jamie Hanna Herbert

D6ecueumSib46ler7 29n6h,l 820omc21r 1at 93d:52 AM  · 

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Remember my post a few weeks back about keeping Christmas cards?

Well today we played a game where I drew a christmas card and you got a point (you could also do M&M or something) for every name you got right on the card, how we know or are related to that family, or if you could tell us one fact/story about that family. It was SO FUN and funny to see who knew what and what they remembered. Because of the pressure they sometimes couldn't come up with names of cousins or church friends - that was hilarious, but we also heard sweet memories like "he was our home teacher and one time I remember _________" (Karen Grish Burnside), "he was my nursery leader" (Kerry Hoeft Bright: For Mike). or she was my first crush (Mike Ulrich: for London) Good times and I think we have a new tradition. I HIGHLY recommend it!

 

Jason goes to Utah and my mom comes

I don't have any pictures of Jason in Utah, this is a picture I got texted of Randy's nurse (my cousin, Kaitlyn).  

Jason's siblings had a virtual meeting where they decided that they each needed to take 2 weeks and fly to Utah to help their parents out.  Jason left on December 8th.  He ended up coming home early (yay!) becasue the next brother (Matt) had a change of plans and it worked best for him to come out earlier.  I am so grateful that Jason was willing to go, he has a work life where he CAN go, and that the rest of them were willing to go.

I learned a lot about myself while he was gone.  At first he was all worried about leaving me.  It kind of offended me.  I see my self as a strong person and "of course he can go".  But as we got closer I started to questions my abilities.  He has been home for almost 2 years!  And when I say home I really mean it.  When Jason is home he is home.  He is present.  He is helpful.  He is involved.  I had never had 6 kids without his help.  What if I couldn't do it? 

The timing worked out pretty great. My mom was already planning to come for my birthday for a few days.  So when my mom got here Jason left.

I don't have any pictures of Jason in Utah and I don't have any pictures of my mom here.  I guess that shows how impressive it was.  Well... that isnt true.  Being with my mom was great.  Every night that week the kids had Christmas performances and my mom went to tall the concerts.  Then on my birthday (Jason was gone from the 8th to the 16th and my mom was here from the 7th to the 10th) my mom took me to lunch at Olive Garden and then we went shopping for my birthday where upon I got all new pans!  Particularly GIANT pans for my GIANT family!

But it was on my birthday, Wednesday evening when everything went crazy.  Dane broke his left falling off our kitchen chair.  I will cover all of that in another post.  I was so grateful my mom was here when it happened.  I don't know what I would have done.

Jason had a good time in Utah.  He enjoyed long conversations with his dad about the gospel and life, watching football together, and watching jeopardy every evening.  He helped his mom with family history and cleaning out her garage. 

I enjoyed exercising some mothering muscles that have atrophied over the years with Jason being home.  I do enjoy mothering and it is different when I am doing it alone.  But we were all glad for him to come home.  He definitely provides the joy that I sometimes struggle to muster (the kids LOVE his sense of humor).   

Singing at the Giving Machines

Our ward was asked to go downtown and sing Christmas Carols at the Giving Machines one Saturday morning.  I kept going back and forth about going.  I wanted to, but I didn't want to take the babies.  Jason and Brock had a wrestling match that morning.  I tried to find a babysitter but couldn't.  I decided it would be to hard with the babies and  that it wasn't fair to them.  But then 10 minutes before we needed to leave I ahd a rush of  the spirit tell me to go, it would be fine, and it would be worth it.  So off we went.  It was fine.  And it was worth it.

It was more than fine.  It was extraordinary.  It was one of the best things I have done with the kids in a while.  I was amazed at John and Mandy Ricks for heading it up and it continued my feeling of gratitude and unity.  The older kids really loved it and really sang.  The babies had a ball and were perfect.  Everyone was happy and we all felt the spirit.

After the babies were done singing/watching there was a dried up fountain right next to us that they played in.

After we took a bus ride up and down 16th street mall and walked around Laramar Square (a beautiful historic decorated street downtown)

I start prepping for December about 6  weeks in advance.  Not the presents really.  Many moms are done with Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving, if not earlier, not me.  I often am still shopping the week of Christmas.  What I DO do early is prepare for "light the world".  I come up with the years plan, theme, and I gather service projects.  Some we do as a family, some I have them do individually.  I had several things planned.  But as you will find out in future posts my December got turned on its head.  I think it was Heavenly Fathers way of telling me to slow down, although I don't know if I agree.  Why wouldn't He want us to do a lot of service?  I don't know, but he clearly didn't.  I think my target was off.  I think my kids needed something different.  Either way, we did one of our service projects the first weekend of December, packed hundreds of pounds of rice and beans into 1 lb bags for individual food bags, and then the rest was cancelled.  Why was it cancelled?  Well... the next day Jason flew to Utah for 2 weeks to be with his parents and help them through cancer treatments, and while he was gone Dane broke his leg.  I felt instantly that we should cancel everything, and enjoy and nice quiet Christmas at the house. 

 By the way - that is Jason reading to us while we pack, not just reading a book while we do all the work.  We love when Jason reads to us (he is currently re-reading The Chronicles of Narnia to us)