And Just Like that He's Backkk!!!

After a long break to recovery, today was Preston's first day back to the soccer field.  Being cleared to return to soccer was the best thing that happened over break for this kid.  I'm not going to lie though it's a bit hard to watch him walk onto the field . . . but I can't guard him forever.  So, I'll pray!!  

Spring Break 2021 Part 2

On Thursday we escaped to the mountains for a few days.  The weather was looking quite iffy, but we had already booked a place and a ziplining tour so we decided to risk it and head out of town anyway.

We arrived and went straight to the zip line at Hawksnest.  It sprinkled a little bit and was quite cool, but we all had a blast!  Our tour guides Dill and Lill were fantastic, which made the experience even better.

                                                

My favorite picture from the weekend away was Preston flying his drone at sunrise.

Friday morning we started the day by hiking at a place close to our rental.  The trails weren't very long, but it was still a nice hike for us all.

We headed back to the house and decided to pack lunches and venture out for some more intense hiking!  I had no idea where we would end up but boy were we in for an adventure!

Most of the hike was by the waterside and many times we had to cross the stream and all ended up with wet feet.  There was also one point where Preston opted to crawl across the tree over the water since it wasn't passable otherwise. . . well other than balancing on the branch.

These are just a few pictures of our 6+ mile hiking adventure at Julian Price Park.  We did get lost on the way back (even though it was just a complete circle, we still managed to take a wrong turn) and were all STARVING by the time we finally made it back to the car.  However, it was quite an amazing hike with awesome views and lots of quality time together.  Once we finally made it back I quickly grabbed lunches and we ate at the picnic table just before the heavy rain set in.

We enjoyed dinner at Macado's via take-out after some shopping in downtown Boone and decided to head back to Charlotte early because the weather forecast for Saturday looked terrible with storms and heavy rain.  Although it was cut short by a bit, we all still had a great time and enjoyed being able to escape for a little bit on Spring break!

Spring Break 2021 Part 1

So Spring break this year fell during month-end and a week that Preston had a couple of follow-up appointments, so we stayed home for the first part of the break.  On Tuesday Preston braved getting back on his bike for the first time since the crash.  He did great and wasn't nervous at all!  It was nice to have my workout partner back. :)

The kids and I ventured out to mini-golf one day before lunch.  It was quite crowded, but we still had a blast and enjoyed the warm sunshine for sure.

The mini-golf is right across from Lidl so we hopped in to get a few quick things and Savannah found this pizza for $.50!!  She was thrilled as we all love their fresh pizzas.  So we grabbed a couple to freeze for our Sunday night dinners.

On Wednesday Preston got the official clearance from the surgeon that he could resume all activity, including long-awaited SOCCER!!  We didn't wait long to jump right in with backyard soccer after dinner.  Dave and Savannah won, but they were all excited to finally be able to play again. 

Easter Weekend

 We had fun on Saturday dyeing eggs outside.  It was so nice and warm in the sun!!

On the way to church Sunday I realized this is what Preston was wearing . . and he didn't understand why it was a problem.

It was a great Sunday to worship in person as a family!

The kids were excited to head home and begin the search for their baskets.  They finally found them and were thrilled to get some more gum, candy, and new water bottles in their Easter baskets

We plan to enjoy a relaxing afternoon at home with an egg hunt and delicious holiday dinner too.

Happy Happy Easter!!

Surgery Day ~ Hardware Removal!!

 

We were so grateful Dr. Morgan was able to work us into the schedule in same-day surgery today!!  Even though it was a later surgery time (2:20pm) we were ever so grateful to have an OR booked.  It was a long morning of waiting after we arrived at the hospital. . . so the sweet nurse gave Preston a Lego set to work while we waited for surgery to begin.

It began close to the slated time and it wasn't long at all before they were calling us to talk to the doctor.  The actual removal of the hardware took about 15 minutes!  Dr. Morgan was pleased with the process and said that he just had to stitch a few of the holes that were a bit larger than expected.  However, in a matter of a few days, the holes should be closed and cleared up.  

We were anxious to see him, but thankfully my sweet friend Heather came to chat with us on her lunch break.  Before we knew it they were calling me back to recovery phase 1.  Preston was quite a bit numb and kept asking the same questions over and over.  His first question when Dr. Morgan hopped over to check on him was about soccer . . and unfortunately he is still not cleared to play until we follow up in two weeks.  The doctor then asked him when he wanted to go back to school, "never" Preston said.  LOL!  Dr. Morgan said, "well, that will certainly require me to write a lot of notes" :)  He'll spend tomorrow at home and plan to return to school on Friday.

We arrived home after a very long day and all enjoyed CFA dinner together. I am just grateful for this next step to be finished and humbled by the many calls, texts, visits, and Facebook messages checking on our little guy.  One step closer to normal . . . 

And They're Off to School!!!

It feels like forever since both kids went to school on the same day . . and it has been forever, one week shy of an entire year!  Both today was the day.  Savannah finally got to enter Providence High School as a freshman and Preston finally got to return to in-person school post-accident.

This girl was up bright and early ready to go (we'll see how long that lasts) by the time the car pool arrived at 6:35am. I have to say I was a bit nervous for her, but she handled it oh so well.

And there she goes, officially in the building as a high school freshman!

And this little guy was quite a bit anxious about going back, but he too handled it like a champ.  He is back with restrictions of course, but I'm so thankful he was able to see some real in-person friends today!  Apparently, the school rotations are changing again as of next week, so we're just taking it one day at a time.  This is a short 4 day week due to a teacher workday, so I think we can handle this one.

Sissy, Will you Bake Me a Cake?

 

The eating is going quite well for Preston!  He is eating pretty much all foods (except for sticky gooey ones and super hard things) in small pieces.  This has been life-changing for us all!  He has enjoyed pizza, sandwiches, peanut butter, cookies, lunch meat, etc.  We are definitely headed in the right direction.  We followed up with the surgeon again today and he made the call to schedule the next surgery to remove the hardware in Preston's mouth!  More x-rays were taken and the doctor is very pleased with the progress of the jaw.  He said that it wasn't perfect, but looks fantastic and so now we are waiting on a Pediatric OR room to be available to get the metal out.  When we got home he asked Savannah to bake him a cake to celebrate . . which of course she was happy to do!

In case you've been wondering about the metal and screws we speak of, check out his x-rays!  OUCH!