Betsy fell out of the tree, and birthdays

Malachi and Daddy feeding the chickens

I love my little cutie

Caleb wanted a cake made with strawberries, donuts, and bacon, this is what I came up with.

Caleb blowing out his candles

Caleb opening his presents

Caleb sleeping with his presents, especially his new scooter from Grandma and Grandpa Hardy

Sorry it's upside down, don't know what happened.  Malachi loves wearing his coat so he can go out and play

Betsy coming in from her accident falling out of the tree

Poor Betsy, she doesn't fell good

Here is the tree Betsy fell out of, she was about 15 feet up

Our lovely colorful assortment of chicken eggs

Caleb and Malachi trying to knock all the balloons for Austin's party off of the air hockey table, while the older kids all try to keep them on.  This was a great game that kept them entertained for a long time.  

Austin's b-day party, getting ready to have her cake.

Austin and her cake

Malachi fell asleep on Daddy's lap during the movie we were watching for Austin's party.

Caleb opening up his scooter from G and G Hardy

Caleb riding his scooter down the snowy hill instead of sledding.

It has been a very eventful week, full of both good and bad.  We finished celebrating Caleb's birthday on Tuesday.  He asked for a cake with bacon, donuts, and strawberries, and that's also what he wanted for dinner, so that is what we had.  He loved it!  It was also the one dinner, that no one complained about.  He also opened up his presents from us, and Grandma and Grandpa Hardy.  He was so excited to get his presents, and loved them all!  Malachi was also happy that Caleb gave him his old scooter, since Caleb got a new one from G and G Hardy.  I can't believe my little Caleb is 4 years old already, it has gone by so fast.
So, on to the next big event.  We had a big snowstorm, and got lots of snow, and the next day it was sunny and in the 60s and a lot of the snow was melting, but we had enough still on our hill to go sledding, so while Samuel's ABA therapist was here on Wednesday we were all out sledding.  Austin and Samuel were fighting so I sent Austin inside, and then Malachi needed a diaper change so we went inside.  Then Samuel came running inside screaming that Betsy fell out of the tree, and since Samuel screams about everything, I didn't think it was a big deal, but when I walked out there and saw Betsy laying flat on the ground in the snow, and the therapist kneeling down next to her, I knew it was serious and ran over to Betsy.  Betsy was conscious and not crying, but she was just laying there.  The therapist explained that Betsy had fallen from about 15 feet high out of the tree backwards (Betsy said the branch she was on broke) almost doing a backwards somersault and hitting her head and back as she fell.  After a few minutes, Betsy said she was getting too cold, and I helped her up, and walked her into the house and layed her down on the couch. She said her back and upper back hurt a lot, and after checking her pupils and noticing they weren't quite acting normal, , I decided to take her to the emergency room.  I left Austin and Joseph in charge of the little kids, and took Betsy very carefully to the Emergency Room.  Betsy said it hurt too much to sit up or stand or walk, so I helped her lie down as much as possible in the car and waiting room.  Once they called her name to check her in, they started taking her vitals and finding out what happened.  Betsy threw up everywhere, and then they took us right back to a room (bypassing the probably 5-7 wait in the waiting room).  Betsy wanted the lights off, and layed flat on her back with her eyes closed whenever there wasn't a nurse or dr. in the room checking on her or talking to us.  The Dr.  came in and checked her out, and said she needed some CT scans of her head, neck, and back, and an ultrasound of her abdomen to check for internal bleeding.  After waiting a while they wheeled her to get her CT scans, and gave her an IV, and did lots of CT scans, including a contrast scan where they pumped her full of iodine through her IV, she didn't like that test, but was very cooperative.  Finally after about 45 minutes of taking different scans, they wheeled her back to the room, and then did the ultrasound.  Everything was normal, no internal bleeding.  After waiting a very long time, the Dr. came in and said that Betsy had received a mild concussion, and had 3 compression fractures to her vertebrae in her upper back.  He said I could take her home, but she needed to just lie down in bed, and do nothing so her brain and back could rest for the next two days, then bring her back in to her dr. to follow up.  So, by this time it was almost 8 o clock, we had been at the hospital about 6 hours.  We grabbed some food on the way home, Betsy didn't eat much, and I tucked her into bed with a dose of Tylenol for the pain. Betsy slept well that night, and just stayed in bed the whole day.  She didn't watch T.V., read books, or do anything.  She listened to an Audiobook for a while, before realizing she wasn't supposed to do that either.  Betsy really wanted to go to school for a little while, so she went to school for a little bit on friday, and then I took her to her Dr. Appointment.  Apparently, Samuel had told everyone at school that Betsy had brain damage and a broken back.  So, Betsy got a lot of attention at school.  At Betsy's Dr. appointment the Dr. said that she seemed to be doing well, but her muscles were extremely tight, and prescribed valium to give to her, if they wouldnt' loosen up.  He also said that the CT scan showed some air in her chest, where there wasn't supposed to be any, so we had to go and do a follow up x ray to see if the problem had gone away or not.  And since we haven't heard from the dr. I'm assuming the x ray was fine.  The Dr. also said Betsy will need some Physical Therapy to help her recover.  He also told her she can do her normal things, but be careful, and not do any physical exercise for a while.  She also needs to refrain from watching t.v., or playing video games for a few more days.  Betsy has been an excellent patient, she has been sweet and kind to those around her, has helped out any way she can, and has not complained once.
Saturday I was in charge of the food for a baby shower I was helping to plan, so I got up at 5am, after being sick all night, and started making food.  By 9am, I had everything ready, and took it all to the baby shower.  The food was all delicious and the baby shower went great.  There was a lot of leftovers, but the kids and Travis were very happy about that.  Next I made Austin's cake and we got ready for her party that night.  There was a huge snow storm predicted but so far, it had just been a little snow and slush.  Right before the guests were to arrive, it started snowing like crazy.  I think we got about 3 inches in 15 minutes.  As parents dropped off there kids we realized that we would need to end early, because roads were going to get bad fast.  It wasn't too bad, since the last two hours of the party was just going to be watching a movie, so they wouldn't' miss much.  Everyone made individual pizzas, and we had cake and ice cream, and opened presents.  Then the girls had to start leaving, it was still snowing like crazy.  All the girls and Austin had a great time at the party.  Unfortunately Betsy had a hard time, it was too loud, and too much stimulus, because she kept leaving the party to rest up in her room.  While everyone was watching the movie, I played cards with Betsy, so she wouldn't feel too bad.  Also Joseph hit her in the back earlier, so her back was hurting worse too.
It still hasn't stopped snowing, and church was cancelled today, so we all stayed home, and made a nice big fire in the fireplace.  We played lots of games with Betsy, since her back has been bothering her, and I've given her lots of little massages to help with her tight muscles, they are really tight, but I really don't want to give her valium.  Tomorrow school has already been cancelled, so we should have another fun snow day tomorrow!