A Birthday to Remember

Disclaimer: I have NO idea why the pictures are like this?!?

Anyway....

Hudson's 9th birthday this year is one that we will certainly not forget. The weekend prior to his big day we celebrated at our house with 10 of his buddies, grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins. This was his first big "sleep over" and we did it right!! They played football, basketball, spotlight tag, and wrestled. They ate pizza, cake, popcorn, and lots of soda! They went to bed way to late (sorry parents) and got up the next morning ready to do it all again. I think the party was a success!!

On the night of his actual birthday we decided to go for ice cream after church. He was in a mean game of chase with his siblings and cousins when he decided to leap off the play set. I knew by his scream that something was really, really wrong. As soon as he rolled over we saw that his right forearm was disfigured, disgustingly disfigured. We knew immediately we were headed for the E.R. and after a few X-rays we were told he had snapped both bones in his right forearm, in half!! At 6:00 a.m. the next morning (couldn't do it that night because he had a full belly of Snickers Blizzard) they put him to sleep and set his arm. He is now in a cast for 6 weeks.

He is enjoying "slacking" on his school work and jobs around the house. He is loving having his big sisters take care of some of this for him!?

As we set at the hospital that night I remember being overcome with gratitude that we were there for an arm that would heal. The E.R. is a sad place to be. I set with my son behind a curtain and listened to the sounds of people that were in some desperate, lost, very sad and difficult situations. Young, single moms with sick children. You could see the hopelessness on their faces. There were senior citizens that were very ill and alone. There was one man beside us that was biting, hitting, yelling and spitting and was being sent to a Mental Facility. Late that night an ambulance came in with a drunk driver injured in an accident that was his fault. I remember praying for these people as I would hear their voices and see their faces. I hugged and kissed Hudson's head and held him tight. That is certainly not how we wanted to spend the night of his 9th birthday, but the invaluable gift was the reminder of all that our family has been given.....and to remember "that to whom much is given, much is expected."

(Hats off to Aunt Renee and Uncle Brandon who were with us at Dairy Queen to take care of our other children and get them home when we raced off to the E.R......they are an "invaluable gift" as well!!)

Step by Step

The first picture was in our referral information packet we received in January of this year. He looked sick, sad, lost, hopeless, and miserable. It broke my heart every time I looked at it. I remember not wanting our friends and family to see this picture because I didn't want them to worry or question what we were doing. I was carrying enough doubt and anxiousness on my own. I remember asking myself, "Can we do this? How can he heal? Will he let us love him?"

We have come so far in just 5 months. I don't ever want to portray that this has been easy. It is not. There have been huge adjustments for all of us. Some days are great, some not so much!?! Some days we take 2 steps forward and then 3 steps back. But we are not alone. All glory, honor, and praise to our Healer, Counselor, and Mighty King.

End of Summer

Well, summer is officially over here at the Stivers' house. Gone are the days of late night movies, swimming, sleeping in, late afternoon trips to Dairy Queen, sunscreen, and trips to the water park. "His Call" Academy has now officially began it's 2nd year of school! We are reading, writing, and "arithmaticing". We are doing everything from learning our colors to Pre-Algebra.....please pray for the students (and the teacher).

We ended summer this past weekend at the St. Louis zoo with some very special friends (it was Luke's 8th birthday). We swam at the hotel pool, jumped on the beds (why do kids always like to jump on beds in hotels), saw lots of hot, stinky animals (us and them), and ate lots of snow cones and ice cream. It was a great time and a super way to end the summer of 2010!

Happy 4th

We spent the 4th of July weekend with a wonderful family, the Walters, that we met on our trip to Ethiopia. They were there adopting their son, Micah. We have kept in touch since we have gotten home and were so glad they could make the trip from Lexington for the weekend. The kids had a great time being together, swimming, watching fireworks, and playing in the yard. A.J. was so happy to see Micah, who he called by his Ethiopian name all weekend. They are a beautiful family with 2 adorable boys who are very close in age. We are already planning another get together in October.
Fireworks at my in-laws.
Happy 4th of July from Harper!!

Happy Birthday Syd

My girl is 11!! I can't believe she is 11!! We had a great time at Venture River with some sweet friends. We spent the day sliding, swimming, and floating!!! This 37 year old mom was worn out keeping up with these girls but we had a wonderful time.

Happy Birthday Syd!!

This says it all......

"I can not play it safe and please God."-Keith Seabourn

"Buzzin' Cousins"

These guys have so much fun when they are all together. It has been such a wonderful blessing watching them all grow up....now ages 13 to 3. The past week we enjoyed their bi-annual play, a great trip to Six Flags, and fireworks on the 4th of July.