Dodge Rams Aren't Tough!

Well, we've had quite the week so far! Tuesday afternoon Weston started having intense stomach pains. He was crying, clutching his tummy, and sweating. Long story short, I drove him to the emergency room, they did a bunch of tests, and the doctor thinks it was just bad gas. While we are very relieved it wasn't appendicitus or something else, it is kind of funny that we went through all that hoopla for gas!
Now to the Dodge Ram. Last night Mike was walking home from the MAX station, and was hit by a Dodge Ram in the crosswalk. He was hit by the truck grill and thinks he was thrown about 5 feet. He's okay! We went to the emergency room AGAIN last night and they checked him all out. He had a bit of blood in his urine which was a concern, but all the other tests came back okay. Needless to say, he is pretty sore today! The driver of the truck stopped and was very concerned. He's cooperating fully and gave us all his information.
My friend, Courtney True, happened to call me when we were in the emergency room. She kindly came and met me at the hospital, helped me feed the kids some KFC, and then drove them home and got them in bed for us.
We think it's a miracle that I am not a widow and a single mother this morning! We are thanking God all day long that Mike's alive and unhurt. His clothes weren't even ripped or stained! We'll definitely be heading to the store soon to get some flashing lights and reflector tape to put on his coat. When you've been hit by a truck you don't take any chances :)
So I guess Dodge Rams aren't so tough after all!

Sunday Photos

Here's a few photos we took on Sunday before church. Elsie is wearing an outfit that my Grandma Gracie bought for Grace when she was about Elsie's age. Grace is wearing a birthday dress my brother bought for her when he was in town from South Korea (my mom picked it out). I thought they looked pretty cute in their plaids. Elsie isn't quite walking yet, but cautiously takes a few steps. Won't be long until she's running!

Back to Normal!

Well, we're finally feeling back to normal again! It took about 10 days for all the symptoms to disappear. The night I wrote the blog "Flu Mania" Grace threw up again all over her bed. This is really gross, so don't read if you have a sensitive stomach! I decided it would be best to take all her bedding outside to shake it out before putting it into the washing machine (there was a lot). As I was going through the pile of bedding, shaking it out, I flipped one of the blankets a little too hard. Some of the "stuff" came back onto my face, in my hair and on my arm!!! By that time I was so used to flu grossness that it didn't even bother me that much :) It's amazing what parents have to do sometimes! To all you who don't have kids yet, don't worry, they are still worth it!
We sure are enjoying our health after all that! The kids are also back to their normal, energetic selves.

Elsie and Her Bear Cake

On Saturday we did a small get-together for Elsie's 1st birthday. We had the Rasmussens come from next door and Elsie's little friend, Lise de Lijster, also came (she brought her parents, Guy and Becky, with her :) My parents came from Bend and my brother is also home on leave from South Korea right now. We all ate pizza and then watched Elsie dig into her bear cake my mom made for her. We decided to keep it low-key for this birthday as Elsie's not even aware of what's going on and Elsie's mom doesn't have the energy for large parties anymore ;)

Elsie liked her birthday cake and hung out on the table eating it casually for about 15 minutes. I decided I am a big fan of "low-key" parties, especially when I'm the one hostessing :)

Flu Mania!

Monday night began our flu "adventure" here in the Dahl household. Monday afternoon Elsie started us out by losing her dinner on our carpet (luckily we own a steam cleaner ;) Shortly after that I started to not feel so great. I was up almost every hour that night with flu "yuck" (Mike was up also). Mike started to feel sick the next day and had all the symptoms by evening. Around midnight Tuesday night Weston threw up in his bed (all over his bed, clothes, stuffed animals, etc). An hour later Grace started in with her symptoms. Weston and Grace took turns the rest of the night being sick which ended up being about every 15 minutes throughout the night. I think I did 5 loads of laundry that night alone! Even though it was hard, and we were exhausted and sick, it felt like God gave us an extra dose of patience and energy that night to make it through.
It's now Friday and the kids are still not feeling great. It's hard to see them just sitting there with no energy or spunk. Thankfully, Mike was able to take 3 days off work, but he's back to work today. We've been hunkered down all week trying to get better. Sometimes it feels like it's never going to end! It's made me realize how tough it must be for people dealing with chronic illnesses with no end in sight. I'll gladly take the flu with a good attitude when I think about it from that perspective! Here's a few photos from our week. Grace is especially good at looking very ill and forlorn ;)

Elsie is 1 Today!

Here's a few photos of Elsie on her 1st birthday! I caught her just as she was waking up from nap so she's a little cranky. Over her crib I stenciled a verse that Mike and I have chosen to pray for her. The font wasn't what I was picturing and it turned out a little bigger than I wanted, but I've gotten used to it and now I really like it. In the second photo you can tell she was trying not to smile but couldn't quite keep her cranky face on.

Weston Writes His Own Name!

Here's a photo of Mike's birthday card from Weston. I went over to Julie's for a minute and when I got back he had written his name all by himself! He's been working very hard practicing his letters on a little dry erase board. It's amazing how fast kids learn! Grace loves to write her name also but, so far, she's the only one who can read it :)
By the way, Mike turns the big 30 on Friday and Elsie is 1 today! How fast time flies!

Backyard Fun

Here's a few photos from playing outside on Friday. As you can see we've had a bit of rain lately ;) I dressed the kids up in their snow bibs to try to keep them dry (it didn't really work). Even though we're still sad about not having grass this winter, the kids sure did have fun in the mud!

Laelie also joined in on the fun!

Holding Baby

Here's Grace holding a new baby. Baby Kayla, is the daughter of our friends, John and Beth Opferman. We went over to see their new baby after we attended the adoption party for the Chupps. Lot's of new baby girls to hold! Grace is in heaven!

Adoption Blessing!

Here's a picture of our friend, Kara, holding her new baby girl, Selah Noelle. Jason and Kara Chupp just adopted Selah from here in the U.S. through a private adoption agency. Selah is their 4th child as they have 3 natural children already. I took this picture at Southwest Bible Church where we went last weekend for a little adoption party. We are so excited for their family to be blessed in this way. John and Noelle Piper greatly influenced the Chupps to welcome another child into their home through their website, Desiring God, and specifically their own experience with adopting a daughter. Here's a link to an article from their website.