Today a year ago was the worst day of my life. On September 27, 2009, a week after Myles was born, Marc, Matthew and Malachi were in an awful car accident. It is by the Lord's hand that Matthew is alive today. I struggle with worry over my children. I could really make myself crazy (and sometimes I do!) worrying about their safety. I am thankful that God is sovereign, and even when we don't understand everything that He allows in our lives, it happens for a bigger purpose.
So very grateful for this messy, scatter-brained, sometimes annoying teenage boy! :>)
A man at church that cleaned our van out after the wreck told Matthew that he should not be here, and that God must have something special for him to do. I look forward to seeing how God uses Matthew for His glory!
Ok, so where does "pink casts and Jane Fonda" come in? Well, this past Saturday Madeline and Mariah decided to ride horses. I gave my usual, "Be careful! Wear your riding helmets! Don't get behind the horses! Don't ride close to trees! Stay away from where Matt and Daddy are mowing!" and on and on... (Remember... I AM a worry wart!) I was sitting in the office with McKenzie and glanced out the window to see Matthew (who is NEVER in a hurry) run and jump the fence. He had a look of concern on his face. I then saw Madeline ride up on her horse looking scared. I ran out the door and immediately saw Mariah laying on the ground and her horse was nowhere in sight. My heart was beating out of my chest. Once I knew she could move her legs I calmed down. Marc and I both were ready to shoot all of the horses! (In the horses defense, we later found out she had been hitting the horse with a crop. That does tell a horse to run...) We calmed down and brought her in the house. I gave her a bath and Marc checked her over. She had a scraped face and her arm was bothering her. She seemed to be ok other than that. I had well check ups scheduled for today for the two little boys. When Mariah's arm was still bothering her last night Marc decided to take the day off of work and take Mariah to the doctor too. It was an all day affair of waiting rooms and doctor visits. Her arm was broken and she now has a pretty pink cast to show off! She was sure she wouldn't be able to do school work or practice piano. Her face fell when the doctor told her she could use her fingers.
We finally pulled into our driveway around 7:30 this evening. We had to unload tired children and groceries. I normally run in the morning, and I do not like to miss my run! This morning it was raining so I decided I would just run this afternoon. I had no idea we would be dark getting home! Finally at 9:30 McKenzie and I got ready to take off. I have a short little stretch that I run back and forth on when it is dark. Marc told me to take a light. I took a light weight flashlight. We hadn't gotten two tenths of a mile down the road when we saw a snake in the road. (There went my theory that if it was cool and wet snakes wouldn't be out!) We quickly turned and darted back to the house. We both were wanting to get some kind of exercise so I told her we could do aerobics in the picket fence area. It was dark and nobody would see us! McKenzie couldn't get the hang of all of my old aerobic moves! We burned more calories laughing than we did exercising. She said, "Mom, you are good!" I told her it was from my Jane Fonda days!
I am exhausted. Goodnight!
His strength is amazing! :>)
His 100% organic pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting! It is actually very good! :>)
We sang "Happy Birthday" to him all day long. By the time we all sang it to him for cake time he wasn't too impressed!
Mommy and her birthday boy.
So very grateful for this messy, scatter-brained, sometimes annoying teenage boy! :>) 
Myles was very content to sit and play.
They played hard all day and slept hard at night!
We did lots of jumping pictures. I chose not to post the ones of me. :>)
Looks like he might have a mouth full of sand!
River Street in Savannah is so much fun. The candy shops are the best!
Malachi's birthday was while we were at the beach. He lucked up and got a free piece of grape bubblegum from the gumball machine. He was so proud showing us his mouth. 
Opening birthday presents...
Showing us he is now 4!
McKenzie prefers her feet to be on solid ground. She did not enjoy her ride!
I had wondered if we would really see any dolphin. We actually saw a ton of them!
Where we stayed on the island we saw barges coming into port and lots of shrimp boats.
We ate at a really cool restaurant one night. I hate seafood, but the atmosphere was great and the guys enjoyed the food!
This was taken on the pier right after we found Mariah (thus the tears.) She was lost for what seemed like an eternity when you are out over the ocean at night. It was only seconds, but it was horrifying!
This shows how empty the place we stayed was. The pools were always empty.
Ready to go home.
