Turning 36

I've had a fabulous birthday today. If today sets the tone for what it's like to be 36, then I think 36 is going to be a great year for me. :) This morning I made french toast for breakfast. (my fave!) Braylen wanted to make it and serve it to me in bed, but I needed to have Aaron to a doctor's appointment at 8:30. I told Braylen it's the thought that counts! We enjoyed our breakfast at the kitchen table. :)

Braylen and Kaleb spent the rest of the morning mowing 3 yards, along with Grandpa's help. Aaron and I had some quiet time at home. He watched a Thomas the Train movie for a while, which gave me a little alone time to open my cards and answer texts.

For lunch I enjoyed my first taste of Thai food with my mom-in-law and sis-in-law. It was so yummy! I love and respect both of these women immensely, so this lunch was a special time for sure.

The afternoon was supposed to be restful, but it kind of flew by. I did get to facetime with my dad, which was a treat in the middle of the day. Since school starts tomorrow, I spent some time sharpening Aaron's pencils and labeling all of his crayons. Pretty soon none of my sons will need crayons for school, and that makes me enjoy labeling Aaron's crayons. :)

I received lots of texts and calls today, along with many facebook messages. My brother called me on Skype, and I loved watching my one year old nephew dance to his favorite song--"C is for Cookie." One unique thing about my birthday today...every single call and text and facetime and Skype came through my cell phone or my computer or my iPad. My home phone was silent today. I wonder if that means it's time to think about doing away with a landline?

My amazing husband arranged for a flower delivery for me today. He really went out of his way this year to make sure I felt loved on my birthday. More about that in another post.

This evening was all about our elementary school's open house. Kaleb and Aaron filled their desks with their supplies, met with their teachers, and had their pictures taken for this new school year. It's still a weird feeling for me to think of Kaleb as a 5th grader. I still think Braylen should be in 5th grade...

Tomorrow is a day of transition for us, as all 3 boys will be in school for the day. But today we were together, and I enjoyed celebrating the gift of this life that I'm living here in our corner of the world. There's no greater gift on earth than that, which means I am very happy to be 36 years old. :)

My sweet fellas!
Kaleb wished me a happy birthday more times than I can count.
It means a lot to me that he is so intentional with his words.
Braylen cleaned up the kitchen and cared for the dog,
his servant's heart shining through.
Aaron was himself...cuddly and a bit clingy as school starts tomorrow.
Always and forever my baby.
Happy Birthday to me! :)

CRASH!

Okay, back to our Colorado vacation...

On day 3 we decided as an entire family to spend the day at Winter Park Resort. Even in the summer, there are lots of things to do there. We really had a great time! At the end of our very fun day, we had an accident on the alpine slide. I sent an email to my parents the next day, telling them what happened to us. Here's part of that email...

On our last run down the alpine slide, the four of us, in this order (Kaleb, Sarah, Aaron, Derek) lined our sleds up in the start zone. Braylen was riding the chair lift up the mountain with Grandpa at this point. A staff employee went down the slide ahead of Kaleb in order to clean the slide, so we waited in the start zone for the "all clear." Moments later the employee at the start zone removed the orange cone and told Kaleb to go. (We were on the fast slide, where we had been all day.)

Kaleb went down the mountain. I followed him. Almost halfway down I came upon a very slow Kaleb telling me to stop. The employee cleaning the slide had not reached the bottom yet, and Kaleb had come upon her, stopping in time. I don't know how, but I stopped in time. Then I heard Aaron coming. I screamed at him to stop. He stopped, but hit the back of my sled. Thankfully he's light, and he didn't hit hard at all. Then we heard Derek coming. I will never forget the terror I felt in that moment. This all happened in a matter of seconds and there was no time to get out of the way. Derek hit Aaron's sled at 29 mph. (He was tracking this run on his GPS phone app, so that's how we know the speed.) Aaron flew off his sled, and so did Derek, and they tumbled together in a horrible mess of sleds and bodies. I must have screamed, because later Kaleb told me that's what scared him the most. I clawed my way up the slide, trying to throw Aaron off into the grass. I was terrified of slide burns all over his body, not to mention everything else that could go wrong. Derek gave himself up for Aaron, doing everything he could to lift him up above the wreck. Both Derek and I were in long pants and long sleeves, and that is what saved Derek from serious burns. When everyone came to a stop, we immediately assessed Aaron. He could stand, walk, and talk. I was frantic, peeling off his shirt to look at his body.

Getting back on the sleds to ride to the bottom was so very hard. The employee stayed with us of course, and we went very slow. Nobody ever came down after Derek, which is a huge blessing. The employee had radioed to the top when Kaleb came down, and they shut the slide down after Derek had left the start zone. We made a train on the sleds all the way down. At this point, Aaron began screaming. He cried like a siren all the way down the mountain. 

We went straight to the medical clinic and here are the injuries. Aaron has a slide burn on his left elbow, about the size of a nickel. His left pinky, ring finger, and index fingers all have burns on the palm side. He has some bruises at the base of his neck and his lower back. And THAT IS ALL!!! No head bumps. No broken bones. Miracle of miracles. Derek is sore all over. He has no burns, thanks to his long pants and shirt. He didn't bump his head either. His ankles are very sore, and the heels of his shoes show where he used his feet to try to stop himself. More miracles that he escaped serious injuries.

Braylen and Grandpa saw the whole crash from above. They found us in the medical clinic and they were both in tears. Needless to say, we spent all of last night debriefing as a family. We were all very shaken up.

Today is a new day, and we are all doing well. Aaron is his old self, very spirited and happy. (Except when I change his bandages!) Derek needs to rest, and he needs to ice some joints, but he is otherwise doing very well. We were SO VERY PROTECTED through this traumatic ordeal. We are resting in God's protective hands today.

This happened 3 weeks ago, but it is something all of us will never forget. Derek and I have had a lot of conversations about our crash, sharing things we've learned and how this experience has changed us. Aaron healed so quickly. We talked about God having big plans for him, since he sure does go through one ordeal after another!

Aaron riding the chairlift up the mountain. We did this so many times that day!

Kaleb jumping on the trampoline. Aaron, Braylen, and I also did this.
(I forgot I'm not 15 anymore, did too many backflips,
and felt queasy much of that night and the next morning.)

Kaleb on a mini zip line. Aaron did this too.

One of our many times at the top of the alpine slide.

This is us, all lined up right before the crash. We planned this to be our last
time down the slide, so Derek took our picture. This is one of those pictures
I like to look at, but at the same time I don't like to look at it.

What a day, right?! Thankfully, when I think of this day, I also think of playing mini-golf with Aaron. Going through the life-size maze with much of our family members. Watching our boys fly high on the bungee trampoline. Riding the chair lift up the mountain with Derek. When rain threatened to shut down our day, the sun came back out. And we all came home in one piece. Amen. :)

Our First Teenager

Our firstborn son is 13 years old today!!! We had a lot of fun celebrating him all day long. What fun for him to have a Saturday birthday this year. That gave Braylen more time with Daddy. :) They went out for donuts this morning and even brought some home for the rest of us. His friend Hunter came over for the day, which is what Braylen wanted more than anything. Throw in some gifts, a trip to the lake, fishing, and good food--and that adds up to a really great 13th birthday. :)

Happy Birthday Braylen!

13 Fun Facts About Braylen

• His feet are the same size as mine right now.
• His voice is getting lower.
• He asked both of his brothers if they had a fun day today. I love to see that side of him.
• He picks up one end of the rowboat and carries it like it weighs nothing, while I can barely lift it.
• In 5 days he'll be a 7th grader.
• Plums and peaches are still favorites of his. More so than sweets.
• He gobbles up books as fast as I do. Faster, since he's not a mom with responsibilities.
• He asks me for a haircut every 2-3 weeks. Think of the money we save!
• His love language is quality time, so one of his gifts is a 4-wheeling trip with Daddy.
• He really likes to draw and design houses.
• He has an eye for photography. His pictures turn out really cool.
• His smile is contagious. It always has been.
• So far he's making the teen years look like a lot of fun! :)

Another mom recently told me that she thinks her years with her teenage sons were even better than their elementary years. I like her perspective. So many people focus on the negative parts of raising teenagers. I hope to dwell on the good parts.

Derek and I are so blessed to raise these boys the Lord has placed in our care. Thank you God, for our son Braylen.

Mountain High

Derek's parents decided to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary and 60th birthdays in a big way...by taking their entire family on a Colorado vacation! We were so blessed to make this trip! Each day I kept a journal of what we did, hoping to remember this vacation always. When I think back to our week in the mountains, I am reminded of God's majestic creation, His divine protection, and the delight He must find in families. I will let our pictures tell more of the story...

Our home for the week

This is how I found the kids one morning. Happily playing a game of Uno.
Other mornings they had breakfast together in their jammies.

All the kids loved bouldering on the rocks beneath the house.
I called this one "Braylen's Peak."

We spent lots of time relaxing on one of the decks watching the hummingbirds.
That was one of the restful moments of this trip.

Grandpa and the kids worked on this puzzle all week.

The pool room was a favorite place for many.

Brothers and cousins, taking in the beautiful scenery

One day Grandma and Grandpa took all 6 kids on an adventure.
They had a picnic, looked for wildlife, and swam at a rec center.

Derek and I spent our free day hiking.

We ran into our brother & sister-in-law at Big Meadows!

Here they are. :)

And here we are. :)

And that wraps up days 1 and 2. Day 3 proved to be one we will never forget. It's so memorable, it deserves it's own post...next time!