Snow! Lots of Snow in North Carolina!

 We have lovely beautiful snow!!! It snowed last night so we didn't get to fully enjoy it coming down--but what we saw we loved!

 Yes, in case you were wondering that really is 7.5 inches of snow in ONE storm!! Apparently areas near Henderson got close to 9 inches but south of us got much less. We are so happy we got so much wonderful snow!

 We built a really big snow man! We decided that it was a "Daddy" snowman and Seth put his fire hat on it. He also tried to give it his gloves but I convinced him to wear them himself.

 We are loving the snow!

 Then of course since we had a "Daddy" snowman--we had to have a "Mommy" one as well!

 Getting another big ball ready for the "Mommy". Once we got that done--Lily wanted a Lily snowman. Then Madeline wanted one and it snowballed :) into a snow family!

  

The decoration got a little less fancy as we went but the kids were all so excited to have a snowman that represents them!

Here is Madeline with the "Madeline" snowman that she helped to decorate!

 Lots of snow on our cars too! Luckily Justin's work is cancelled today so he doesn't have to try to leave. Since it is melting slightly on the bottom and it's easier to clear snow than ice, we cleaned off the van in case he has to go in tomorrow.

 So much snow you can't read the license plate!

We are so excited that we have so much snow to play in and enjoy! And we are also very grateful that though our power has flickered more times than we can count--we still have power (and heat and water)!

Cast Off and Camping!

Updates on our family--Lily's cast off and our camping trip.

 Lily was very happy to get her cast off (and the woman who took the cast off commented on how well behaved she was).

 But she still loved the bright pink--she was very excited to be able to bend her arm and it became a whole lot easier to get her dressed! The follow up x-rays the doctor took showed both her ulna and radius were broken and 90% healed. The doctor wasn't going to put a cast back on and didn't see a reason to put a splint on that Lily would just take off. Luckily she finished healing just fine--even though not even a week later she was back to tripping and falling on her hands!

 Justin and I were able to go to the temple on the Friday before camping (some friends watched the girls and the boys were in school) and I took some photos of the girls in front of the Raleigh temple. They did good being reverent while on the grounds.

And then we went camping! We have only been once (with borrowed camping gear), but this time we bought a tent and went and had oodles of fun.

 We brought plenty of blankets since it was October and getting pretty cool even in North Carolina. We stayed close to home and just went camping at Falls Lake. We are only going to venture farther away when we get better organized and can actually camp for two days without running home for things we forgot!

  There was a playground at the campground and the kids enjoyed playing! It was a little wet but fun just the same!

 All the kids marched around the "fence" of our campsite and had a blast--though we had to tell them to stop because Lily kept falling trying to keep up with them.

 Lily of course got blissfully dirty and loved getting pictures taken--this one is the best shot of her hands though her face looks cleaner than it was.

She kept going over to the tent and sneaking in with just her head inside then giggling madly when I would come to pull her out.

We love our family and had a lot of fun camping.

Halloween Pictures

Sorry it took so long to get these photos posted. The kids loved Halloween and dressing up. Lily originally wanted to be Anna from Frozen but as soon as I unpacked the Tigger costume she wore last year (and that Benjamin and Seth have both worn), she insisted on being Tigger.

 Madeline as a ballerina (though it is the same dress she wore last year to be a princess).

 So excited about her hair in a bun!

 Lily loving her tigger costume!

 They love posing for the camera.

 A close up of Lily's whiskers.

 Seth wanted to be Harry Potter (same costume Benjamin wore last year), and we drew the glasses on so he wouldn't have to worry about them falling off--the scar was there too but hard to see because of his shaggy hair!

 Benjamin was the Dread Pirate Roberts! Several people though he was Zorro while we trick-or-treated around the businesses in Oxford and he figured that was okay too!

They all love each other and were so happy to get to dress up. I was happy because I recycled three costumes and was able to adapt one of Justin's shirts for Benjamin's costume and use leftover fabric from the Harry Potter robe last year to make the mask! It made life easy for me, and Halloween was fun for us all!

Lily's Broken Arm

So Lily broke her right arm two weeks ago--we're not exactly sure how. What we do know is that she was running down the hall with Madeline and that the type of break (a "buckle" fracture) comes from falling onto an outstretched hand. She walked out of her room screaming so hard she was hardly breathing and wouldn't really calm down. She finally stopped crying when we got some ice on her arm and cuddled up next to Justin watching "Let It Go" music videos on his computer. After about 10-15 min of ice, I gave her some Tylenol and we had her try to move her fingers. She was doing okay but wouldn't do much and really screamed when she accidentally turned her palm up. We considered our options for medical care (thanks to those who offered perspective and advice!) and were about ready to take her to an urgent care (though we really wanted to avoid that option if possible) when she started to do better (the Tylenol was kicking in). She would mimic Justin's movements mostly and actually let him press on the bones in her arm where the swelling was (an inch or two above her wrist). He couldn't feel anything out of place and she was calm. She was even tentatively and carefully using her arm. We decided that it would be okay to wait until Monday when we could take her to her regular doctor and avoid a Saturday night emergency room visit. She went to sleep fine and we breathed a sigh of relief.

 Sunday we went to church as usual and Lily seemed fine. However, she was excited after taking the sacrament and started swinging her legs on her chair (of course my back was turned to give the sacrament tray back) which caused her to overbalance and fall onto the floor. She caught herself with her hands and started shrieking. Those who know Lily realize that she is really easy going and bounces back from bumps and bruises really well. She kept crying off and on for a good hour (Justin relieved me after a few minutes but we had to switch back later because she just wouldn't stop fussing). She loves her nursery class but refused to even walk in the door. She came with me to Sunday School and then Primary and even sat on my lap while I played the piano. We knew something was very much wrong but since she was able to sleep we figured nothing would get worse overnight to wait until Monday morning.

Monday morning I got her into her doctor at 8:30 am. The doctor ordered an x-ray. Since the office doesn't have x-ray capabilities we traveled to another clinic that does (in the same health system). Though we arrived by 9:20, it was noon before we had the x-ray taken and could leave.

Lily waiting for her "picture" of her arm--so taken to help her calm her nerves, not helped by the 2+ hour wait.

I held Lily while she got her x-rays (she didn't cry once and cooperated really quite well). Madeline was a trooper and stood patiently out in the hall with my purse and other bags while the x-rays were taken.

They love their princess things from the treasure chest!

The ladies were so impressed that the girls were so great (including Madeline) that they both got to choose things from the treasure chest--and Lily got the "I Got an X-Ray" sticker.

After we had the x-ray, we went home and had lunch. The doctor had expected to have the results by noon. I called a few times to check on the results, but the x-ray didn't get read until 4:45 pm. Lily's doctor called to tell me that Lily's arm (ulna) was broken and that we needed to take her in to the ER--precisely what I'd been trying to avoid. I called Justin to let him know then loaded Seth, Madeline, and Lily into the van and headed for the ER in Oxford. I checked Lily in and tried to make sure that they did know we were coming and had the x-ray. Justin picked Benjamin up from strings and then met us at the hospital. He took the three oldest to McDonalds for dinner. Lily was really upset she didn't get to go with Daddy. Right before they got back, a nurse called us back. As we were walking back she talked about going to take a picture of Lily's arm. I told the nurse we'd already had x-rays taken and we got to head back to the waiting room while she figured all that out. Justin came back with the other kids and decided to take them home for bed while I stayed with Lily. Almost right as they left, we were called back to a room. Lily was examined briefly (we were told both her ulna and radius had buckle fractures) and her arm splinted. We got a sling, a referral to an orthopedic doctor, and we got to go home by 8 pm.

Though I left her in her clothes, she got up in the middle of the night crying for her jammies. She loved her hospital arm bracelet (though she'd hated it at the hospital) and didn't want to take it off. When I misunderstood her and cut it off later, she cried almost as hard as when she broke her arm! I taped it back on and she calmed right back down. We were able to get into the orthopedic doctor Tuesday afternoon.

After the orthopedic doctor had taken off her splint, Lily was laying on the floor coloring with her broken arm and not even flinching. Lily of course picked a pink cast and LOVES it! We tried using her sling but she kept wanting to use her arm and see the pink cast.

Loves doing everything she normally does!

Having a cast is tiring!

She has been cheerful and happy through the whole thing but it is definitely tiring--she keeps napping off schedule and trying to get healed. She probably isn't sleeping very well with the cast either.

She loves to play with her cast but is so ready for it to come off--the doctor put a long arm cast to make sure she couldn't wiggle out of it. It was a good thing too because she has tried to take it off!

Luckily it comes off on Tuesday! Thankfully young kids heal quickly and her break wasn't a bad one! We are so happy our sweet Lily is part of our family!

The Jorgensen Family's First Flight Countdown

We've got great neighbors lined up to take care of our house and garden and the countdown to our first flight as a family is below! We have a paper chain on our mantle to remind us (especially the kids) of how many days are left but thought it would be fun to let everyone else countdown too. We are heading to UT and ID to visit family and we are so excited!!

Countdown Clocks

Christmas Fun

So...no tree pictures but some other pictures of family fun this Christmas season!

The boys' present from us this year was a construction project on their room. The picture below shows the project mid-build. Justin had already removed the ledge that originally was there (shorter and narrower) and built the new window seat.

Here is the completed project: bookshelves for all their books and storage for their toys in bins underneath the window seat.

They are very excited about their desks as well. To do homework on, to color, and all in all they are just ecstatic to have their own individual space where they can keep their stuff and not have it mixed up with other stuff.

You can see their joy and excitement! (The girls are pretty excited too, and Madeline has asked when she is getting a desk and bookshelves in her room!)

We also made gingerbread houses at our local library (thanks to Miss Angie, our wonderful children's librarian for having wonderful activities!). We brought them home and took a picture before allowing them to eat them.

Growing Family

Our family has grown so much! Here are some pictures that really show the growth.

                                                                     Fall 2012

                                                                       Fall 2013

Lily has grown the most!

Easter 2013

Much more recently

The girls hugging Justin on his way out the door

The cute frame from Nate and Kelly that we finally updated the pictures to reflect our two additional children!

We are amazed at how much our family grows and how much our love for them grows as well!