Happy Halloween

I managed to squeeze two years out of Will's costume and he was a tiger, or "Tigger" again:

Jane was a bear (thanks to Aunt Gretchen) and also sported cousin Evan's pumpkin sweat suit:


Will & Clara

Check-up

Will had a check-up today at Swedish and things are looking good. The doctor cleaned and checked the wound which was painful for the poor guy and he howled the whole time and used his favorite new word--"NO" (pronounced like "GNOCCHI," minus the "CHHI")
He got a little boot to wear that will allow him to get around better once he's strong enough to walk. The stitches come out in about 2 weeks (she couldn't believe the ER doc didn't use absorbable stitches) which will be painful but the doctor will put him under conscious-sedation so that she can get them out without hurting Will too much or risking him kicking around because of the pain. At that time, they'll also take more x-rays to make sure everything is healing properly.
We really appreciate everyone's concern for Will!

A random note--the Skyline High School football team (John and I both graduated from SHS in '00) is playing on ESPN tomorrow. Go Spartans!

Here's a pic of Will in his new boot, Will sleeping with his buddy, Pooh and one of my favorite little girl:

Update on Will

I want to give a brief update on our day as I'm pretty sure my mom called everyone she knows today (love you mom!) to tell them to pray for Will.

To give a brief rundown of the days events, Will dropped a 30 lb weight from Johnny's weight set directly on his foot this morning as we were in the garage preparing to head out on a family walk.
I took one look at the bloody mangled foot and knew something was broken or worse. I rushed Will to the local urgent care where the doctor told me to take him directly to the hospital. We then went home, picked up Johnny and Jane and headed down to the Valley ER.
I think having a moaning toddler and small baby in tow helped us get in quickly, and within the hour the doctor numbed, cleaned and had Will's foot x-rayed. He does have two fractures on his foot/toe region, got some stitches to close a laceration and had to have his big toenail removed, but it doesn't look like the growth plate will be affected, meaning that if all heals well he should be fine and won't require surgery. We head to an orthopedic specialist next week and will then have regular check-ups, but we're thankful that we have such great medical care available to us!
Will was SUCH a brave guy during the day, and Jane was her sweet usual self and even got a short nap in at the hospital. Will's doctor and nurses were very gentle and worked quickly to help him out. One nurse even gave Will's Peter Pan doll a pretend vital sign patch to match Will's and Will kept saying that Peter Pan was "hurt" too.
He had lots of family surrounding him with love and John and I were talking about how much we could feel God's presence and your prayers, as the way was made smooth for us today and we were both able to remain calm even though it was extremely difficult for us to see our baby in so much pain.
Will crashed around 6:30 this evening after taking some Tylenol/codeine. His little foot is all splinted up, and will hopefully be well protected. It will be interesting to see how he does getting around, as the doctor said to "keep him off of it as much as possible"--could be difficult to do :-)
We're supposed to be taking some family pictures with the Simons tomorrow, so we'll see how many smiles we get out of Will...

First Shave

Will is fascinated with watching John shave, so tonight we let him give it a try on himself. Don't worry, grandmas, the plastic protector was on the whole time.

Prayer Request

We have family friends serving as missionaries in India, and I just received an email from them with an urgent prayer request that I want to pass along if you can lift them up in prayer as well:

Last week, in Orissa (a state in India north of where our friends are living), a Hindu priest and four of his followers were gunned down by unknown assailants.

Orissa is the most resistant and hostile State in India as far as the Gospel is concerned. So, unfortunately, it's not a surprise that Christians were immediately blamed for the killings. In the past several days, extremists have burned or blown up hundreds of churches and homes of local Christians. Many Christians, including children, have also been murdered. There are many orphanages in the midst of this chaos, and as you can imagine, the children are undoubtedly terrified.

Thankfully, the federal government and local Hindu population have helped to shield and offer protection for local groups which has, in some cases, saved many lives.

I'm compelled to pass this on in the hopes that you'll lift these people up in prayer, especially over the next several days. Please pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa and India. My dad will be traveling there next month to visit our friends (Dan and Jenny) so your prayers for their safety are appreciated as well. Thanks!

$4.99 well spent

Last week, I took the kids to Babies R' Us to spend a $25 gift card that had been burning a hole in my pocket. I told Will he could pick out a toy. He was begging for a huge plush Pooh bear, but it was like 50 bucks so I wouldn't let him get it. We left without Pooh, and Will survived. Nonetheless, Will loves Pooh right now. Usually the first thing he says upon waking in the morning is either "Pooh," "Hook" (aka Peter Pan which he can't say), or "Milk," which is his other favorite thing (and he still takes a bottle even though he's almost two which is another story).
So, imagine my delight when I found a huge Winnie the Pooh doll at the Goodwill yesterday for $4.99. Yes!
I also managed to give Will a haircut today--you can kind of see the before and after in the pictures below:




I also got Will a fire hat at the Goodwill, but Will refuses to wear hats (like father, like son), so instead I had fun trying it on my little baby doll:

Kirk won't kiss another

John and I have talked flippantly about how hard it would be to be an actor and be expected to kiss someone else on screen. Acting or not, it just doesn't seem right. I saw this article about Kirk Cameron (of "Growing Pains" fame), who is starring in a movie called "Fireproof." In the movie, there's a scene where Cameron is supposed to kiss his wife. During filming, Kirk (who in real life is married with six kids) refused to kiss the actress who plays his wife because, well, she's not his wife. They found a way to make the scene work anyway. You can read more here.
Good for you, Kirk!