Broken Wing

Today was crazy and sad. The last two nights Ella and Abby have slept in the girls' room with Marie and Mina. When Marie was saying her prayers last night she prayed that Bubs and Ange wouldn't come for a long time. (They got home about 1:00 this morning.) Marie and Mina have just adored Ella. Jorja kept joking that "Ella was the new Jorja." Probably because Ella was around and Jorja was always gone. Anyways, it has been awesome how well these kids have gotten along. So nice for me too. It made this week a lot easier!

I took Jorja to softball this morning. She had a three hour practice. Isaac and his little brother Ben came over. Ben is one of Preston's friends and is in his Chinese class. When Jorja was at Isaac's house on Tuesday Ben was goofing around and grabbed her phone out of her pocket. He dropped it on the concrete and it shattered. Isaac felt horrible. He texted me asking if he could help pay for it. I asked if he and Ben could come work in our yard for a few hours and we would call it even. I thought it was really kind of Isaac to ask, but there was no way I was having him pay for something his little brother did. Plus, I know how awful Jorja would feel if Preston broke Isaac's phone. Mike went to rent a wood chipper, but it was too big to fit in the van, so we had to do without. I was talking to Isaac's mom while we were waiting for Mike. Rachel was just getting Grace in the car when someone came running upstairs saying Mina had broken her arm. I ran out to stop Rachel so she could check on her. Both of us thought it was probably just a little hurt and needed a bit of Mama love. Well, Rachel decided to take her right into the hospital. That was a wise choice. They were gone most of the day. Turns out that Mina broke her elbow and will need to have surgery on it tomorrow. So sad! From what we can figure out, the girls were having a dance party downstairs. Mina was standing on the footboard of Jorja's bed, balancing on one foot. She fell and her elbow smashed into the floor. Dance parties are dangerous!

That kind of threw everything into chaos the rest of the day. Mike had Isaac, Ben, Jorja and Preston out working on the tree limbs. Restacking, trimming, moving. It was too crazy to get the chipper, but at least it should be easy when we are able to get it.

These little girls watched The Last Unicorn. It was scary in some parts.

Amelia, Grace, Eve

We went swimming after the yard work was done. Bubs and Ange swam with their kids. I was in the pool watching Eve. Ben and Preston were playing. Jorja and Isaac spent the entire time playing with Grace. She was in heaven! At first she was scared of Isaac, but before the day was over she told him she was his third favorite cousin! (Jorja was her second and Trevor was her first.) Preston and Ben left the pool after awhile and played on the video game cabinet.

Ben & Preston

Mike had made homemade lasagna this morning. He had it in the fridge ready to go tonight. It was perfect. We did lasagna train. Mike would put a plate of lasagna on a train car. When someone was ready for seconds they would put their empty plate on the train and wait for refills. Preston was so proud. I took Isaac and Ben home after dinner. Ben was so sweet. He told me a couple of times how much fun he had. Preston loved having Ben over. It worked out quite nicely.

Rachel got Grace and Eve asleep while I was dropping Isaac and Ben off. I have no idea how she did it! Maysen, Jorja and I went to Leatherby's with the oldest girls. Maysen and Mina both were in their jammies. Marie earned a trip to Leatherby's by reaching a goal on her multiplication tables. Marie's school was anti memorizing multiplication facts. That is the craziest thing I have ever heard. Brett and Rachel have worked hard this summer with Marie trying to catch her up so she won't be behind when she enters 4th grade in Florida. Marie picked The Golden Nugget and was quite pleased with her choice.

Mina, Rachel, Marie

 Stephanie, Maysen, Jorja

Mina fell asleep on the giant red beanbag downstairs. That is where Rachel and Eve have been sleeping. (They do have a bed, Eve just prefers the beanbag.) Rachel said the beanbag was perfect for Mina because she had to keep her arm elevated. With the beanbag she was able to position her arm correctly and still able to sleep.