Shaking Butter

The kids and I are reading through the Little House on the Prairie books, starting with The Little House in the Big Woods. We're loving the book! Inspired by the Ingalls we are having fun with a few crafts as we read through the books. Our first activity was homemade butter. We don't own a cow or a goat (yet!) and we don't have a butter churn, instead we used a clean jar with a secure lid, and heavy cream bought from our local grocery store. We filled our jar half way with cream and started shaking. We had two jars, and I let the big kids go first while the little ones were able to have a turn when their older siblings arms became tired. The kids had to shake the jar for maybe 10 to 15 minutes before the cream turned to whip cream, and then finally butter sitting in a jar of buttermilk! The kids loved this project. They had so much fun, that they couldn't stop talking about it all day. We squeezed the buttermilk out of the butter and separated the liquid and the butter into two different containers. To enjoy the fruits of their labor the kids then baked some fresh homemade bread to go with their butter. We saved the buttermilk, which I plan to use to make some buttermilk pancakes.

Photo Shoot

Wanting some keepsake photos of the kids, and loving the beauty of my dad's cotton field, I loaded the kids up in the car and we headed over to my dad's farm. My only chance for this photo shoot was this morning, because cotton picking day is tomorrow. I only had my iphone for a camera, but I still think that I was able to capture some lovely pictures of the kids. They truly are precious and beautiful!

Skylar age 11

Maddox age 9

Mason age 3

Josiah age 2

Below is a side by side photo from when Mitch was 5 and Maddox today who is 9. These 2 truly are twins!

Maddox's Burn

    Even before we moved down to GA to be closer to my parents, Maddox has always enjoyed hanging out with his Papa on the farm. We would even arrange for extended vacations in the summer for the kids to hang out with their grandparents and explore the farm. For Maddox, moving down here just meant access to the farm whenever he wanted! On Saturday October 25th, 2014, Maddox was busy with his papa on the farm, just like he had been on most weekends. His papa had picked him up early in the morning, and I didn't hear or see them again until later that night. Typical farm day, working (playing) from sun up to sun down, Maddox loved it, still does! This particular weekend my dad and his brother were clearing land to put in a pond. To clear the land, they must push the trees over with a bulldozer, and then push the limbs into piles to burn. Maddox and Papa were cautious with each fire, and my dad was careful to keep an eye on Maddox, and as usual train him on farm safety with each farm equipment and situation. 

Accidents can and will happen. While my dad was on the tractor Maddox made a misstep, and stepped onto a bed of hot ashes. His boot filled with hot coals burning his skin. He thought the ground he was stepping on was solid gray dirt, and when his foot sank in he lost his balance, fell and burnt his arm. Maddox ran to my dad's Polaris to grab a bottle of water to pour into his boot. At the same time, my dad could see Maddox screaming, and he jumped off his tractor and ran to him. He tried to get Maddox's boot off, but his shoe laces were melted together, fortunately my dad was able to pull the boot off anyway.

I was working on dinner when my dad walked in the door in front of Maddox. Mitch was on his way home from work. As my dad walked in he let me know that there had been an accident, and though Maddox was ok, he was hurt pretty bad. We sat him on the counter for me to get a better look. The burn looked painful, and I could tell that he needed a doctor, but at this point I honestly didn't know how bad it was. Thinking that all he needed was some pain meds, burn cream, and some antibiotics, I took my dad's offer of having him take Maddox to the hospital while I stayed behind to finish dinner, and stay home with my other 3 children. I sent photos to Mitch and instead of heading home, he detoured to the hospital to meet Papa and Maddox.

Late into the night when they finally returned home armed with pain meds, Mitch updated me letting me know that the doctors had made him an appointment at our nearest burn center, an hour away in Valdosta. My dad seemed so heart broken over the situation, and covered Maddox in prayer. 

The accident happened on a Saturday, and the burn center is only open on Wednesdays. My poor child could not bring himself to move out of the bed for the pain was so severe . He cried on Tuesday when he tried to get up to go to school. He wanted to see his friends, but I made him stay in bed.

On Wednesday my dad offered to go with us to Valdosta. I was really only expecting to have an expert look his foot over, give him a special cream, and that the burn would soon scab over, fall off and heal on its own, but that was not the case. As a doctor came in to look at his left foot they explained to me that his burn was a 3rd degree burn and that they needed to wheel him off to surgery right then and there. He also had 2nd degree burns on his right arm and right foot, but they would heal fine with some burn cream. I was shocked! We all were. My dad was crushed. I felt as if I barely had enough time to explain to Maddox why he needed surgery before they took him away. Mitch took off work when he heard the news, and came straight to the burn center, so did my mom. While Maddox was in surgery his family was covering him in prayer from the waiting room.

This surgery would remove his damaged skin. We were told to come back in 2 weeks for another surgery where they would perform a skin graft. 

During his second surgery however, doctors decided that Maddox's burn was still too deep, so instead of a skin graft, they patched him up with cadaver skin. They told us to come back again the following week and would try again with a skin graft from his thigh. Recovery was rough for my poor boy, but he was so brave and so tough. 

I was hoping for a quick recovery. The doctors told me that his recovery would take a year, and we spent a year driving back and forth to the burn center in Valdosta.

Unfortunately this accident happened just days before Halloween. Maddox tried getting around on crutches, but physically couldn't put his foot down without crying in pain. A friend let us borrow a wheel chair, he would need it for a few weeks before he could move to crutches..

Walking for the first time after his accident.

He couldn't wear a shoe with a heel for months after his surgery, for doctors feared that the heel would disrupt his graft. His scar was slow to heal. The doctors worried about the thickness of his scar and prescribed a custom made sock that he would wear for 6 months.

You can see his custom sock in this photo above

A year later, his scar has softened, and though he will always have a mark, his leg has healed nicely. I am thankful that his injury wasn't worse. I'm thankful that the rest of his body was spared and thankful that he didn't land on his face in the hot ashes. The 3rd degree burn was so bad that not only was his skin burned, but his muscle was burned as well. I am grateful that he did not lose movement in his ankle, which was a concern a year ago. The doctors have offered an optional laser surgery that he could have now, or in the future to soften his scar further if we felt that he needed it. This would not lighten his scar, but soften it to prevent tightness. We are considering this option. 

First Dentist Visit

Cavity free! The boys did great on their first trip to the dentist. Everyone was complimenting them on how well behaved they were and how cooperative they were with the instruments.  

Music Camp

Skylar and Maddox have had music camp this week at the church. Mason, Jojo, and I have to figure out how to entertain ourselves for the 3 hours that they're gone, and since driving home 30 minutes away doesn't seem worth it we have spent our mornings at chick-fil-a.

After camp I take the kids to my mom's to go swimming. On Monday the kids found a bat in the patio umbrella! Skylar and Maddox came running, shouting "mom look! A precious bat!"

Ahhhh! The kids were oooo-ing and awe-ing while I was trying to keep my cool long enough to take his picture.

Yesterday after music camp Skylar and Maddox were able to bring 2 friends over to swim and spend the night. I love watching them have fun with their friends.

I hope they're enjoying their summer! But a part of me is ready for structure and getting back into the routine of school.

Skylar's First Big Haircut

My little girl who has always refused a trim, much less a haircut, the same girl who use to hold her hair in a ball in protest as we entered any salon asked me if she could get her hair cut off to her chin. I'm not sure where this idea came from, perhaps she has just grown tired of brushing so much hair. I must admit I was surprised and almost wanted to talk her out of it, because I too have grown attached to her long blonde hair. I made her an appointment, and we were both happy with the results! My little girl is growing up!

Calhouns Produce

We tricked the kids by telling them that we were going to spend our Saturday running errands and doing chores around the house, but instead we surprised them with a trip to Calhouns Produce, a pick your own strawberry farm.