Wordless Wednesday

It's been a while since I have joined in on any of the games and such on here, so I decided to change that today and join Wordless Wednesdays with Tanya. Come join in on all the fun photos...

TEXAS Bound!!!!!!!!

I'm so excited that Landon and I will be leaving in the morning to go spend a few days in Texas with my family. My sister and baby brother are going to meet us there also, so we'll all be at moms together once again.

Landon seen the specialist on Monday and he said his nose is healing really well, and the sinus cavity and nostrils are looking great. His only suggestion was that Landon not bump his nose in any way or rub it or pick it for the next four to six weeks. Hmmmm...yeah...that's gonna be hard to watch out for. He's four. Four-yr old's pick their nose. You can't stop them. And, they are going to run and probably fall at some point in a month. Especially if they are boys! But, we'll try.

My cousin is getting married on Saturday, and Landon is the ring bearer. I'm hoping, praying, crossing my fingers, and anything else I can think of that he just walks down the aisle, and stands like he's supposed to and does not make any scenes to embarrass me. He's all boy and does not like to stand still very long and becomes bored pretty fast. This ought to be fun...

PRICELESS!!!

Going to church on Sunday...GOOD
Seeing God touch many lives in the service...BETTER
Watching your child reach out and pray to God...PRICELESS!


Landon praying at the pew in church on Sunday night...






Anthony praying with Landon at the altar...







Mommy and Daddy praying with their baby boy!





Landon and his friend, Logan praying at the altar...I love these two boys!

Update on Landon....

Landon went to see the specialist again this morning and his sinus cavities are 30% unblocked and he's breathing so much better. I'm so thankful that the test results today showed that he has very little damage to the cartilage of his nose and that in time (about six weeks), all the cartilage will be well and the inflammation will be gone. All I know is he's a tough little guy. He has not taken his pain medication in two days and says that he can handle the pain cause he don't want to sleep. (Guess he figured out real fast that the pain medicine makes him sleepy.)

He has another appointment on Monday morning to see if we will have to do a small procedure at the hospital on Tuesday morning to drain his sinus cavity and nasal passages. I'm hoping and praying that they continue to drain on their own because my plans are to leave Wednesday morning to go to my parents house and spend a week or two. If he has to have the procedure done, he won't be able to ride that far because of the bleeding risk. SO...here's to much prayer and hope that all goes well!

I'm SOOOO ready to see all my family in Texas! And, all my church family in GP!

Another day...Another Doctor!

Actually, it was TWO more doctors.

When we took Landon to the doctor this morning, he sent him straight over to see a new ENT specialist that only deals with children and mainly with the nose. He showed my husband and I just where the three fractures were and then told us that his main concern is that Landon has blood in his sinus cavities and his right nostril is 100% blocked by blood that has clotted and the left is 90% blocked with clotted blood. So, that fully explained why he has been having a difficult time breathing and has been having to breath through his mouth.





We really liked this new doctor and were very pleased with the way he explained everything to us. He is allowing us to wait until Monday to make the decision on whether or not we want to proceed with the surgical procedure that he would normally do for this type of fracture. The swelling must be down more and the blood must be drained before he can do anything else. We are praying that the blood loosens and begins to drain on it's own or we will have to do a procedure to drain it.




The ENT's main concern is Landon's age and his being able to handle the procedure and the pain involved. Since he can only be given a local anesthetic, he would feel a lot of the pain involved with going into the nose and packing it and putting a splint on the nose. He suggest that we wait and take it day by day and make our decisions as they need to be made. He's seen grown men and teenagers not be able to handle the procedure very well, so he is concerned that Landon would be too young for this to be a successful procedure.

Landon was not concerned...he said, "I'm tough. I've already had stitches."

He has NO CLUE! lol



He's been a trooper! He never complains unless his medicine has worn off and he's hurting a lot, or until he lays down to sleep and he can't breath well. He has to be propped up with lots of pillows to sleep but his favorite place to sleep has been in my arms in the rocking chair. He says he just feels better when I hold him that way. Honestly, I feel better too because I can check on him without getting up and I can know that he is breathing well. However...my arms HURT when I put them down to my side. I think they are beginning to shrink to that curved position.


For the next few days, Landon has to wear a mask when he's in public or anytime he's outside the house in order to try and keep all the allergens, pollen, and dirt and germs out of his inflamed nostrils. The last thing we need is to make this worse by an infection. He has a small infection now, but it's being treated with antibiotics. I hate the looks of this mask thingy, but he thinks it's super cool.





He feels like some kind of superhero in it! He even got out his Superman cape tonight and wore it around the house with his mask on. I just don't know about the boy...

Another battle scar...

The ER doctors and nurses here are going to know us by name...actually they already know Landon's name. When we walked in the door Saturday evening after Landon fell at the church playing basketball, they said, "Hey, there's our brave little buddy."

After a CT they found that his nose was broke in three places, and that his sinus cavity and nose is filled with blood. So, he's going to see an ENT specialist tomorrow morning to see what they need to do from here. After he got over the pain part of it and the medication started working, he was pretty proud of his battle scar.

Waiting to see the doctor after we got the blood cleaned off.


On his way to get a CT. He told the man that he didn't know why they had a wheelchair for him, because he could still walk...he just broke his nose.



He was pretty amazed by the CT machine and had a TON of questions when it was all over.







My baby's pretty bruises on Sunday evening. At least most of the swelling is gone down. I cannot wait till this heals. It makes he hurt to look at it. Landon, on the other hand is proud of it. BOYS!

Fishing

We took Landon to a friend's pond yesterday and let him fish a while. We've been running full speed ahead all week with the funeral services Monday night and Tuesday and then we had three individuals in the hospitals that we have been running back and forth to. We weren't able to take our normal days off on Monday and Thursday, so we had to stop the rush and spend some time with Landon. We decided to turn the cell phones off for a couple hours and just relax and spend the evening with a few of our friends fishing.





He's always a happy little boy when he has a hook in the water.


Landon took the next two pictures by himself. He wanted everyone to see his rubber boots and the view from his chair.




I was pretty impressed with this picture he took. He's getting pretty good at working my camera and the zoom lens too. Not bad for a four-yr. old! And you can see why he loved this fishing spot so much...he could watch the horse and fish.



Oh, and by the way...I caught the biggest fish.

Farewell to another hero...

What a beautiful Home going service today for Pastor G. David Hennigan. When a man lives his life in a manner that his spirit speaks even after the life has gone from his body, there are no words to describe the loss you feel.

The service today was a beautiful tribute to a great man of God. I have never sat in a funeral and felt such a sweet and overwhelming presence of God like I did today. There were many tears, but they were tears of sadness that we had all lost a special friend, confidante, pastor, mentor, here in this life. There was sadness at the thought of not being able to see him here and go to him for his counsel or advice on the situations we face. Yet, in the midst of the sadness and tears was that beautiful sense of peace that flooded your soul and just put a smile on your face.

We will miss you, Pastor Henningan. Anthony and I will miss your touch on our lives, we will miss your guidance, we will miss that voice that spoke such words of wisdom to us. That voice that we have found much strength and much peace in, especially in this last year of our lives. But as much as we will miss you, we know that your view today is much better than anything here on this earth. We know that cancer only took the body...not the soul. The cancer has been defeated in death, but you have won the final victory. Heaven.

We bid farewell to a great man of God. You carried the gospel of Jesus Christ like no other man will ever be able to do. You were a giant of a man in our lives. Not just physically, but spiritually.

Rail Road Festival

The town we live in is all about Rail Roads. Every year, on the second weekend in April, we have a RR Festival and it's a big thing for this small town.

Landon was super excited because he got to ride the fire truck in the parade on Friday. He was all about waving to everyone and throwing candy out the window.




He had that wave down...



Of course, when he seen me and my camera, he had to start with the goofy faces.



After the parade, it was time for the festival to open and all the fun to begin...



The bumper cars was one of his favorites.


My favorite time at the festival was at night, because it was so neat with all the lights from the booths and the rides.



I even got brave and let Anthony talk me into riding the Ferris wheel with him and Landon so I could get a picture of the whole festival and all the pretty lights at night, and pictures of the town.



On the way up to the top of the Ferris wheel, I got this picture of part of the town...







My next picture was supposed to be of the whole festival, but when I turned to look behind me, I got sick and felt light headed and decided to take a 'short nap'...OK, you can call it passing out if you want. WHATEVER!




I guess you and I will just have to take my husband's word for it that it was a beautiful sight since I have no pictures after that moment. Yep, he had to take me home. He says I was green by the time he got me home and on the couch. But, since we have no pictures of that either, I'm inclined to think maybe he was exaggerating a bit!

On Saturday, Landon was up and ready to head back to the festival again...







Oh, the fun we had Friday and Saturday...looking forward to doing it all again when the next one rolls into town.

Brave Soldier...Welcome Home!

A neighboring pastor and our sectional presbyter, Rev. David Hennigan, took his flight to glory land this morning. No more cancer, no more pain, no more tears for him. For those of us who knew him and have been influenced by his life, the tears flow freely. My heart is so mixed up in emotions at this time, and so many questions are zooming in my head. One thing I know...HIS ways are higher than our ways, and HIS thoughts are higher than our thoughts. God has a plan. A master plan. At this time, we can't seem to understand the way His plan has worked out, but we trust Him.


I'm amazed at how Pastor Hennigan has walked this road with such amazing grace and strength. I watched him sit in a Sunday night service a couple of months ago when Anthony and I visited his church, weak from his treatments, yet enjoying the presence of God. He called my husband to the front to help pray for some individuals, and my husband walked out of the church that night and said to me, "If I'm ever overtaken by a disease, my prayer is that I walk through it with the grace and dignity that Pastor Hennigan is."



This photo is probably one of my favorites of Pastor Hennigan. We were attending the annual Fall ministers and wives banquet this past October when all the ministers from the section gathered together in prayer along with our District Superintend and prayed for Pastor Hennigan. There was such a strong and sweet presence of God in that room at that moment. I'll never forget that feeling.


I've heard the statement, 'He lost his battle with cancer' many times this day, but I have to beg to differ with that. HE WON. Big Time! When heaven is involved, there is no loosing. Cancer took the temporary...not the eternal. Cancer destroyed the body...not the soul! Our loss is great here on earth without him being present in body, but the promise of spending eternity with the One he served with his whole heart allows us to cry and grieve with hope of a brighter day that's coming.

My prayers and thoughts are with his wife, who has just been an awesome role model for myself, and his son and his church family. There are some hard days ahead for everyone. But, oh what a promise we have...Heaven...and eternity together again one day!

Easter Sunday

My sweet boy on Easter Sunday...



Candy Rain time...



Landon's buddies that he stays with a lot when we have a funeral or something at church that he can't go to.