Injury

 Just a few days after Micah's birthday, he hurt his knee at school.  He was jumping for a ball and landed awkwardly, pushing his knee out to the side.  Since we were leaving for Indiana in the morning, I took him to the orthopedic urgent care, just to be safe.  The doctor assessed him, speculated that it was just a sprain/strain, but did an x-ray "just in case".  He came back with a surprised look on his face and said, "Actually, he has a fracture."

This description is probably not medically precise, but my understanding is that the awkward landing pushed his kneecap (patella) to the side.  It strained on the ligaments enough that where they attach to the patella, they actually pulled a little piece off (avulsion fracture) and damaged two ligaments (MPFL and medial patellar retinaculum).  We also learned later, from an MRI, that the attachment of one of Micah's ligaments is naturally on the very high side of normal, making him more susceptible to this type of injury.

So, for the second year in a row, Micah is starting his track season on the sidelines.  He has had to keep his leg immobilized for now. He goes for a physical therapy assessment early next week.  Although it will be impossible to make up for all the lost training time, we are hopeful that he will be able to rehab and get a little bit of running in towards the end of the season.

Micah was a trooper for the car trip to Indiana.  He sat on the back bench with his leg propped up.

It was great to spend time with our adorable Nana (wearing her new shirt for the IU game).  Dick had one of his best days in weeks, with a great improvement in energy.  In the past week or two, he has continued to make some progress, regaining strength.

"Helping" Papa with a Lego set

Last week was Cornerstone's "All School Unit".  Matthew was excited to be one of two third graders who had a speaking part.

Matthew is far left

Hannah had an all-nighter with the middle schoolers at church.

Sadie is back from her training.  What a difference!  We still have some practice to do, but she obeys so much better now!

Matthew has been reading the "Harry Potter" series.  He was excited to take on the challenge of the very thick fourth book and finished it in no time!

I made a s'mores cake for my birthday.  It had an insane amount of sugar.

Micah's Birthday

[I wrote this weeks ago, but was waiting to ask Micah questions about himself and forgot!]

Have you seen this clip before? "Inspirational texts from my teenage son".  It makes me laugh because it's spot on!  Here are 9 consecutive texts from Micah to me:

"Okay"

"Okay"

"Okay"

"Can I watch a show?"

"Okay"

"Sorry"

"I'll just do it tomorrow"

"No"

"Can I have some m and ms"

Also heavy in the rotation is "can u pick me up".  😄 So he's not a big talker, but we're not complaining.  He continues to be trustworthy, humble, and easy-going.  He's a good student, talented athlete, and well-liked by most people. We love his sense of humor, especially when he makes himself laugh. In my completely unbiased opinion, Micah is probably my favorite 15-year-old boy of all time.

Current likes:

TV shows: "Psych" and "White Collar"

Activities: skiing and running

Foods: soft pretzels, bread

Favorite color: blue

Book he's reading right now: "Champion" by Marie Lu (but he doesn't like it that much)

Book he liked: "Warrior Heir"

Movie he wants to see: the new black panther one

Who he hangs out with at school: Henri, Andreas

On Micah's actual birthday, Scott was out of town for work.  He opened a couple of presents, and we had chick-fil-a and cake for dinner.  On Friday night he went skiing with the Oysters. Sunday he had a late soccer game, then spent the night at his friend's house.  Then on Monday we went to Top Golf as a family.  Whomever came up with the idea of Top Golf is brilliant.  There are lots of games to choose from that make it fun for everyone, even if you are terrible at golf (like me). 

Evidence that I was winning at one point

Hannah's indoor soccer season has wrapped up.  Their last two games were on a weekend when many of her teammates were out of town.  So we called in some reinforcements to fill out the team - Hannah's friends Isla and Stella. 

kids playing video games at the Oysters'

Sadie got a haircut not long after this shaggy picture.

Scott was in Indiana with his parents this week.  In the past few weeks, scans have shown that Dick's cancer has not worsened.  Unfortunately, he was in the hospital for several days and diagnosed with congestive heart failure.  He has been back home for two weeks and seen a few incremental improvements, but in general is quite weak.  The kids and I are going out this weekend for a quick visit.

One huge blessing is that I haven't had to worry about Sadie this week.  She is doing some obedience training where she actually boards with the trainer.  The trainer has sent pictures and videos, and Sadie has learned a ton already!  

miscellaneous school picture from Hannah's math teacher

I think this one was from Christmas at school...