whoopsie-daisy (you wouldn't believe the rabbit hole I fell down when researching the correct spelling of this...)

Goodness! (Apparently, I say that a lot, because Jacob has adopted it into his fairly-extensive vocabulary.) How is it that suppertime around here can drag on for what seems to be hours as we wait for the eldest child to do more chewing and less talking, yet I can't tell you where the four months since I last posted have gone?!  What I can tell you, however, is that we've been thoroughly enjoying the weather - outside playdates, making great progress in the garden, and splashing in whatever body of water we can get our feet in.  We now have a four-yr.-old (what?!) and a nearly one-yr.-old (again - what?!).  Though some parts of life seem to be back to the old normal, we have certainly adapted to and become fairly content with a new normal.

An additional (and significant) piece of news is Bryant nearly lost a finger while protecting his family from a ferocious wild bear.

;)

That's what he refers to as the "fun" story, as opposed to the "real" version.   The truth is he actually lost a fight with a table saw that hadn't quite stopped turning while he was cleaning up after a project.  It was an accident in all senses of the word.  While it certainly could've been worse, it was still an emergency situation that ended up requiring reparative surgery and rehab therapy.

The injury occurred on Bryant's right index finger, and the surgery also affected his wrist.   During his recovery, he was instructed not to drive or lift, and at the beginning of it, he was not supposed to get that upper arm wet.  Needless to say, that put a wrench in our normal routine.

If you have ever cared for someone after surgery, you know how much there is to manage.  (I had not.)  If you know me at all, you know I'm pretty terrible at asking for help, so was prepared to figure it all out myself.  (I couldn't have.)  Thankfully, our village stepped in immediately...for real - I didn't even take him to the ER when it happened right at the supper/bath/bedtime crunch.  They went on to help in countless ways; to name a few:

• weedeating
• rides to appointments (including the initial ER trip)
• watching kiddos
• providing meals
• sending thoughtful notes, etc.
• coming over to help with baths and bedtime
• offering to mow the lawn
• lots of prayer and moral support

This help was not provided by just one person or one circle of friends.  Our neighbors, family members, church friends, and many others stepped in to help in our time of need, and we are so thankful.  

We are also incredibly thankful that Bryant was permitted to work from home while he was in the cast and not able to drive.  His job requires him to be on location for about 90% of the work he does, so we were definitely not expecting him to be able to work during this time.  His employer was very accommodating, though, and as a bonus, we got a couple extra hours with Bryant during the days, since he didn't have to commute, at all, and I was also able to sneak out for the occasional short errand during naptime.  Typing and moving a mouse with one non-dominant hand was no walk in the park, but he never complained.

Bryant's wounds have healed, he has regained nearly all the strength and range of motion he lost, and he is optimistic about his recovery.  It's amazing to us that all this happened in April - a little over three months ago.  It feels like forever ago, yet at the same time, only yesterday

I'll spare you the gory documentation, but for posterity's sake, here are a couple pictures of our patient at various stages in the recovery process:

I appreciated Bryant's intentionality and thoughtfulness during this time, as well as his willingness to be creative in finding ways to make things as normal as possible for the kids and I.  I know it was not easy to navigate caring for a wiggly baby and playing with an active toddler with one non-dominant hand, but he figured it out.  He also managed to make this delicious Mother's Day dinner (albeit with a little help):  

God's protection, provision, and peace were so evident to us in this situation.  It is not lost on us that the outcome of this accident could have been much more severe, people could have looked past our tricky circumstances, Bryant could have taken a pay cut for several weeks, there could have been complications with the surgery and/or recovery - the list goes on and on.  This is yet another of life's seemingly-major obstacles that is so alarming and consuming in the moment, yet in hindsight, becomes a small bump in the road.  No matter the size, we are glad to have this "bump" behind us.

Gratefully,

Kensy

Favorites of the day:

hospitality - both giving and receiving

These two.  Jacob has been so excited, lately, to get to sit next to Lydia in shopping carts, and without a thought, immediately puts his arm around her. ♥
Remember that time I was worried about how I'd feel about having two kiddos and about how Jacob would feel about a sibling?  Many of you told me how wonderful it would be, and while I believed you then, I understand you, now.  It's just priceless.

Our matching swimsuits!