More Winter....and other adventures

We have had several nice snows this year that did not begin or end in rain!

We even had cold enough weather to go ice skating on our pond which lasted for about 5 days.  The first day that we were able to skate was a Sunday so we invited our church friends to come over.  We were having a really nice time and Lyn decided to grab my hand and take me for a romantic spin.  He was pulling me quite fast and on the third time down the length of the pond, when he was spinning me around (think crack the whip with 2 people), I lost my balance on a rough spot and came down hard landing on my wrist.  I could wiggle my fingers but when I removed my glove it was quite clear something was broke.

Lyn was not feeling very good about himself for doing that to me!  While everyone spent the evening skating, we were in the ER.  We were hoping they could set it and I could be on my way, but the orthopedic Dr. said my wrist was broke in more than one place and it needed surgery.  They couldn't do surgery Sunday night so they wanted me to spend the night and squeeze me in early before the scheduled surgeries.  If I went home, I would have had to go to the Dr. office on Monday and then get scheduled for surgery.  They felt it was important to have surgery asap so I kinda grudgingly stayed.  The pain meds helped me sleep pretty good.  There was a more urgent emergency in the a.m. so instead of going to surgery by 5 a.m. it was more like 10 til they took me to anesthesia and so I came home 24 hrs. after it happened with a metal plate in my wrist.

Still knocked out Sunday night in ER after they set wrist.

Lyn thought it funny that I drew my legs up when I went out.

I am thankful that I do not have a hard cast; instead I have a removeable velco arm splint.  It feels good to take it off and mesage my arm.  I am glad to be off narcotic pain meds (wrotten side effects); trust me, there is still lots of pain if i try to use or bump it.  I will go in to have the stitches removed after 2 wks. and I understand that they will give me exercises to start.  Sounds better than wearing a cast for 6-8 wks!  

Since it is my right wrist, I am quite handicapped.  I have ditched make-up and got my hair cut as short as I dare.  Lyn's sisters, Erma & Ida, brought in food which lasted for 5 days.  Everyone has to pitch in to keep the house in order, do the laundry, and get food to eat.  Hey, if nothing else, maybe my family will appreciate what all "the mom" does around here! :)  And as my mom said, at least I was having fun when it happened!

The Helmuth's

It has been 7 years since we have had a Helmuth family picture!

Christmas 2013

On left - Jolene & Lyn, Dwight (13), Devan (10), Ericka (16), Renae (11), Darryn (18)
Middle front - Mom, a.k.a. Grandma/Ida
Middle back - Brian & Tina
Middle right - Bill & Tammi, Naomi (5), Gracie (8), Rachael (16), Caleb (18), Colten (12)
On right - Joy & Shaun, Elena (6), Landis (23 mo.), Greta (4)

True colors shining through!

Snow

What a beautiful 8" snow we received this past Thursday night that did not begin or end in rain.  The kids were happy for a snow day.  The only pictures I took (unfortunately) were a few of my fine feathered friends.

Now they are getting another day off tomorrow because of the cold weather with high winds.  It is supposed to be down to 7* with strong winds.....an equivalent to MN's -35* with winds???  Do we have to keep up with all the other states across the midwest that have closed down schools for the same reason?  Kids are happy, but groaning 'cause I am coming up with some good chores.  I keep thinking that there are plenty of days of winter left and we don't want to "waste" snow days and have to make days up at the end!!  

And don't even get me started on the way DE wastes road salt and pays people to push snow banks on cleared shoulders off farther into ditch when the back roads haven't even been plowed once!! If my husband was a politician, there would be a job opening in that dept....

Does no good to complain, I guess.  I'll enjoy my day at home with the kids.

Devan's 10th birthday

We were in Minnesota at Grandma's for Devan's birthday this year.  His Mom forgot to pack any of his birthday presents so the poor guy had to wait until we got home to get his presents!!  We did buy him a cool Balsam, MN, sweatshirt so he would have something to open.  He was a pretty good sport about it considering he had to wait 3 extra days for his gifts!

Grandma made a delicious chocolate pudding cake

Minnesota

We were able to fly as a family to Minnesota this year for a quick visit. We overlapped with my sister and her family for a few hours for a short "Christmas" time on the afternoon we arrived.  We even got a much needed family picture which will be coming to a post later.

As always, we didn't get near the pictures taken that we should have.  We had 2 nice days (even hit 30*) to do outdoor things like skating, x-country skiing, (which the 3 oldest kids actually thought was fun) and snowmobiling.

 

Taking a break

The Byler and the Helmuth kids

Our last day there was cold....didn't get above -10*.  We went to church and spent time playing indoor games.  The next morning when we left for the airport the thermometer read -36*.

It was so nice being there.  Thanks everyone!

Our Family

It's always such a chore getting everyone to cooperate for a family picture.  This "goofy" one turned out to be one of the best ones.

Devan's 4th grade Indian project

For a school project, Devan needed to make a small village of an Indian tribe.  Everyone in the class had a different tribe.  Devan's was the Wichita Indians who lived in the plains of Oklahoma and Texas.  They had to show what type of home they lived in, the setting, their means of transportation, how they made their living, etc.  The Wichitas were farmers, hunted game, lived in grass houses, used dogs to carry things, used rafts in rivers, and made things like pottery and beads.  He got help with the house, but the rest he did mostly by himself.

He had fun and was really proud of his grade....105....had some bonus points!