A Week in Pictures by Kendal

Kendal taking a pictures of herself!

Kendal has become our want-to-be photographer. Anytime I have the camera out, she somehow talks me into allowing her to take a couple of pictures (you've gotta love digital cameras and photography). 150 pictures later...yes, that is the amount she took this week, we did come out with some pretty good pictures that will help give this weeks highlights.


Grandpa "G" blowing out his birthday candles!

Last Thursday was Grandpa "G"'s birthday. We were able to celebrate with him on the previous Sunday night when he made the trip to Alabama to see the girls in the primary program. Grandma "G" fixed his favorite Applesauce Chocolate Chip Birthday Cake, which we all enjoyed, and then we opened a few presents. The kids love their Grandpa "G" and all the time they get to spend with him now that we live so close. He goes out of his way to make sure the kids are happy and they love that he will always take time to play with them, regardless of how busy he may be. We also were able to see him on his actual birthday, so we were able to celebrate with him twice...you know my kids loved that!


Trey and Mommy (picture by Kendal)

Silly faces (picture by Kendal)


As the weather has cooled, I have resumed pushing the stroller while I walk/jog in the mornings. Kendal and Trey are usually pretty good sports, as long as they see a dog or two. Almost all of our neighbors have dogs and the golf course has one roaming dog, so we are usually pretty successful in seeing at least one or two dogs. Kendal, especially, is infatuated with dogs. She has let us know that she is going to buy herself a dog and take care of it all by herself...if only it were that easy. We do have one kind neighbor that we see a couple of times a week taking her dog Cider out. I had told her one day that Kendal would love to watch her dog if she ever had anything she needed to get done. Well, last week she took us up on the offer. Kendal of course was more than thrilled and loved the entire 2 hours that she took care of Cider here at home. For now, hopefully an occasional dog-sitting will pacify Kendal's desire to have a dog.

Kendal with Cider

Friday and Saturday we spent most of the day helping Grandma and Grandpa "G" do electrical at their lake house. It was fun to learn some new stuff and see the house begin to come together. It is going to be REALLY nice. The kids are so excited to spend some time there in the near future. While we worked the kids spent most of their time outside playing in the rocks that currently make up the driveway. They were filthy by the time we got home, but they had a good time!

Kendal posing in the new house after a hard days workThe rocks the kids love to play in (picture by Kendal)Bayley holding Kendal's new bear (picture my Kendal)

Sunday night the kids and I decorated the house for Halloween. My kids love Halloween! They love just about everything about it, except for maybe the scary ghosts. They love carving/painting pumpkins, dressing up, doing Halloween crafts, and of course trick-or-treating. Last year I hit Target's 90% off Halloween Clearance and found some fun new stuff that the kids have really enjoyed. They all are still trying to decide what they will be, they each have 2 or 3 costumes to choose from, so the next month should be a lot of fun as they change their minds a million times. Thank goodness there are usually one or two parties so if they can't make up their minds they can just wear each costume once!

Kendal showing off her Halloween puppet we put together Sunday night

A Weekend with Grandma Nancy and Pawpaw Rick

Thursday Jeff's mom (Grandma Nancy) and step-dad (Pawpaw Rick) drove down from Indiana for a visit. My kids were so excited that they were able to come and spend a busy weekend with us. Pretty much as soon as they arrived on Thursday night, we headed off for Kendal's soccer game. After the game we grabbed a quick dinner, then it was off to bed for a busy Friday! Bayley wanted to show off her grandparents at school, so she begged Nancy and Rick to come to lunch. We all enjoyed a yummy school lunch of grilled chicken sandwiches, pineapple, carrots, and baked chips. I think spending some time in the school lunchroom brought back some memories for Rick and Nancy. After lunch Bayley gave us a tour of her classroom and the computer lab. While she finished her school day, we headed home for an afternoon nap. Friday night after dinner we went fishing in the pond and the catfish were biting. Rick caught 3, including a pretty big one, and I caught one really big one until it snapped the line (or did Rick cut the line so that he was out done by me?). After fishing, Jeff set a fire in our fire pit and we roasted smores. It was a great evening and a lot of fun. Saturday we headed to Lake Wedowee to jet ski for a little while. Although it is definitely cooling off, we had a great time. Bayley was even able to participate fully by wearing a cast cover that our neighbor lent us...we are not going to let a broken elbow get in the way of our fun! After wearing out everyone at the lake, we headed home for pizza and more fishing. Rick caught 4 more catfish last night...I'm sure Jeff will spend the next couple of weekends seeing if he can match Rick's fishing skills! We really do appreciate Rick and Nancy making the long trip down to see us and for happily participating in our busy weekend! We hope to see you all again soon.

Today was the primary program at church. Bayley and Kendal both had 2 speaking parts each and did a good job. It was especially touching to hear the children sing this year's primary theme song "I am a Child of God". I'm so thankful for the primary program and for the great leaders and teachers who inspire our children at church. We are also thankful that Grandma and Grandpa "G" made the trip to see the girls perform at church. It definitely made the day that much more special for them.

So after a fun-filled weekend we are looking forward to another busy and exciting week. A quick update on Bayley's arm...we went back to the orthopedist's this week where they x-rayed her elbow and cleaned around her pins, and everything looks good. She is now in a "sky blue" hard cast for the next 3 weeks and then hopefully this elbow ordeal will be over!!

Surgery Update and Other Weekly Highlights!

Sunday Picture

Bayley had surgery this morning to repair her displaced elbow. She was of course a bit nervous going into the surgery, but was a champ through the whole ordeal. She was able to have the surgery on an outpatient basis, so we were in there at 6:30 am and were discharged by 9:30 am...I've spent more time in the doctor's office for a routine visit, so I was very impressed. She now has two pins sticking out of her elbow and they will be there for the next 4 weeks. The doctor said that everything went great and that she should make a complete recovery. For now she is heavily medicated and relaxing. I had promised her if she was good we would make a stop by her favorite donut shop after surgery. I tried to talk her into to going through the drive-thru, but she insisted that she wanted to be able to see the selection before she picked. She was quite the sight as she walked into the donut shop...heavily medicate and looking like she just walked out of surgery...hence the crazy looks from everyone in the shop. But as good as she was through her surgery, I was willing to do anything to keep her happy at that point. She picked out her donut and we are now home where she is resting comfortably. I'm sure each day she will feel a little bit better, but the next couple of weeks are going to be tough on our active girl. Thanks for all of you concerns and prayers. Bayley and her infamous cartwheel about 30 minutes before her LAST cartwheel
In other Thornton Family news, Kendal had her first soccer game on Tuesday. She is so excited about soccer. I think she likes it as much for social reasons as for athletic reasons, but nonetheless she gets out there and plays. She is still trying to catch on to all of the concepts of the game...like the ball does not come to you, that you have to go get the ball, but she did have a moment of brilliance in her first game when she dribbled the ball half the field length then her teammate kicked the ball in! She was so excited! Between soccer and dance she is a busy girl and she loves it! Kendal ready for her soccer game
Trey is still our busy little guy. He still doesn't say a whole lot, but he usually finds a way to communicate what he wants. We do have some early intervention speech therapists coming today to evaluate him for speech delays. Hopefully they can give us some things to work on to improve his communication skills. I have to admit though, with two sisters who are great communicators and who love to talk, it is going to be hard for him to get a word in even when his speaking does come around. Trey and Kendal have a new favorite toy...thanks to some nice neighbors!
Jeff is still very busy with work and his church calling as branch president. He is doing a great job balancing it all! I know that Heavenly Father is blessing him and our family as he serves. Jeff is one awesome Dad!
As for me, I still try to run 4-5 times a week. I keep motivated by scheduling to run races with my sister-in-law Leigh. In October we are meeting in Georgia to run another 5K. It should be a lot of fun. Other than that, between church and kids I keep plenty busy. Life is good!

Even less humerous when its not the humerus and it's the elbow

So its not the humerus that is broken, but a displaced elbow...basically the very end of the humerus. Surgery is scheduled on Friday to have the elbow replaced and 2 pins placed to hold it secure. What an ordeal...anyway, she is hanging in there...watching lots of cartoons and milking it for what it is worth. It should be an interesting couple of weeks! We will keep you posted!

No Humor in a Broken Humerus!

Yes, it has happened again. This time it's Bayley. Tonight while we are Kendal's first soccer game, Bayley was performing beautiful cartwheels...mind you she hasn't done cartwheels in quite a while, but tonight had figured it out. What she really figured out was when you had a running start it was much easier to turn over a cartwheel. After experimenting and completing many of her best ever cartwheels, she went down with a scream. Upon the initial examination, it looked like a dislocated elbow to me, but after a night at the ER with her Dad the initial diagnosis is a broken humerus. They sent her home in a splint and we will head to the Orthopedist office tomorrow to see what they need to do to start the healing process. I CANNOT believe it...3 casts in 4 months, on 3 different kids. We will keep you posted. I did take a picture of her disfigured arm tonight before she left for the ER, but I will spare you all the details!

Labor Day 2008!

Happy 30th Birthday Spencer!Spencer's wife Leigh with baby Spence
Olivia flew in from San Antonio for the party
The kiddie pools were a big hit
Running through the sprinkler

We just finished off a busy, fun and exciting Labor Day weekend. Saturday we celebrated my brother Spencer's 30th Birthday. His wife, Leigh, started planning his party about 6 months ago and orchestrated surprising my brother by having all of his siblings at the party...a mighty task since my brother Wes and his family flew in from Las Vegas and my brother Grant and his family flew in from San Antonio. Despite countless slips, Spencer was completely surprised when the out-of-towners showed up at his house. It was a great surprise! We had a lot of fun hanging out with all of them on Saturday and Sunday. We played games, watched football, ate great food, and talked until way too late at night. My kids were exhausted but loved every minute of it. Yesterday we spent most of the morning in Georgia, before heading home late yesterday afternoon. Yesterday Chick-fil-A (our favorite fast food restaurant of all time) was holding a promotion where each person wearing a football team attire/logo between 10:30am and close would receive a free Chicken strip meal (3 strips). As you know I can't pass up anything free, let alone Chick-fil-A, so we hit one store for lunch and another for dinner. That's what I call a good deal! By last night we were very tired so we all went to bed early...all lights were out by 8:45 p.m.