our big adventure

 

ok, so i know a lot of you are wondering how on earth this mama of four young children managed to break her ankle and land herself in a cast for the next two months.  and while i like to joke that it sounds more heroic to say the injury was incurred while saving my boys from a panther or some other wild beast, the true story is actually one i don't mind telling (even if it is a bit dumb).

from almost the moment our day began, i had a feeling that it was going to be a difficult one.  there are just some days that are tricky when you have four such young boys.  everyone was just a bit whiny after our late night out wednesday, and we had more than a few meltdowns before we had even completed our mid morning trip to target. after naps, it became quickly clear that we needed an outing of some sort to jar everyone out of their bad moods.  a quick discussion ensued and we all decided that a nature walk would do the trick.

not wanting to venture too far (dinner must be made, after all!), i decided we would try out a new trail  i had noticed a short drive up the road.  it was new, yes, but not at all treacherous... It had obviously been cleared for hiking and even had a welcome sign of sorts.  i would estimate we had walked about a quarter mile or so when we turned back to head for the car.

the boys were all running up and down the trail yielding a variety of stick weapons and fighting imaginary enemies to keep me and jonah safe.  i stopped for a second to simply enjoy being protected by such enthusiastic heroes when I felt something on the back of my leg.  when I reached back to brush it off, i saw from the corner of my eye that it was a large, waspish bug.  naturally, I did the "woman freaking out about a bug on her body" spasm (don't pretend you don't know what I mean, ladies!).  as I jumped to the side, i had a misstep of some sort (may have landed on a stick or a root, but I am really not sure) and my ankle turned.  I heard a loud crack and fell to the ground in pain.

after taking a few seconds to freak out to myself, i realized that i would need to figure out how to get back to the van on an ankle i was sure would not care to hold my weight.  i mustered up a smile and explained to the boys that mama was hurt, and very much in need of some strong young men to protect and lead her home.  the boys, of course, rose to the occasion, killing all manner of threatening wild animals with their sticks (and gabe even pushed the stroller half of the way for me!).  it took quite a while, but i did manage to get to the van by carefully and super slowly limping my way down the path.

unable to get ahold of steve, i had called kayla to meet me at the van.  she helped me get home and settled us all in (even finishing up dinner for me) while I figured out what to do next.  after we had the boys in bed, kayla stayed with them and steve took me to the doctor where they confirmed that my fibula was broken and placed it in a splint.

friday, danielle stayed with me, as did sarah and kayle and graceanna.  i truly could not have asked for  better help.  and then, my mom came and took the big boys for the weekend so that we could work out a plan for the next couple months.

honestly, it is probably going to be tough, and there is certainly a part of me that wishes that this was not happening.  a bigger part of me, however, is anxious to see how God will use this section of our family's story to sanctify me and further glorify himself.  He truly is always good and i am no less blessed today than I was wednesday.