Jonny's Birthday

Jonny wanted Jiffy Burger for supper so we made a quick trip in to get burgers and fries. Then we enjoyed our family Ninjago cake (sorry I didn't get a pic w the candles in but I'll try to upload the video when I have my laptop later.)

Then he couldn't wait to open his presents so he dug in. 

Lego Ninjago with Lloyd and a villain and a sticker book. 

He also got a rocket to build for the fair from Gma & Gpa S. And a really neat card with stand up characters and trading cards from Gma M. 

He had a great day at school and we finished the night by watching the first part of "The Sound of Music". 

School Christmas Programs 2014

I'm going to try to post each of the kids' school program videos in one post.  They will all be YouTube videos so hopefully you will be able to watch them all in one post.  I will warn you, some of them are long.  I recorded the whole thing to the best of my capabilities with only a few blimps excluded due to technical difficulties,  So, feel free to skip through if you want or enjoy the whole thing.

We will start with Jonny's part of the program on December 1st.  His class had a few individual parts before the 'skit' with the 3rd Graders.

Next is the joint skit of K-3.  This is where Nathan had a speaking part.

Next is Abigail's vocal program on the 4th.  Her class, like Jonny's, had a few individual songs, and then the whole 4-6 joint skit.  I think I put all of them into one video so this one is really long...like 40 minutes!

Finally we have Abi's band concert.  This was the entire school band program, but in this one I only kept the portions with Abi's participation.

I hope you enjoy all the videos.  Due to the length of time it takes to upload and create the videos you'll need to come back and check for the various links.  But I wanted to at least get the base post up and going.


Copyright © 2014 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

First Day of School 2014

Well, the kids are off to their first day of public school. I have to say the Farmer was a bit more emotional than I was and I was surprised at how well I did!

There was quite a bit of stress regarding the bus, but it all worked out! 

Here's to a great year with lots of growth for us all!

Scary Vacation Mishap

I am thanking the Good Lord this morning for His protection!

Last night was a typical night in the hotel. We got jammies on, read a story, and settled everyone in on their sleeping bags. Then, the Farmer and I turned in too! Everyone was more tired than usual from the very long hike at Agate Fossile Beds, but other than that, a normal night.

Though I was very tired, I wasn't sleeping very soundly when I thought I heard a door click. I laid there for a minute thinking one of the kids had gone to the bathroom when I realized the light in the room hadn't changed-which would have happened had someone gone to the bathroom!  So I got up to check the room: JONNY WAS GONE!

I rechecked the bathroom to make sure, but he wasn't in the room! Seeing as it was some time between 11 pm and 3 am, it took my brain a minute to put it all together. When I did, I opened the outside door which wasn't locked and looked out!

Way down at the opposite end of the hall, there was Jonny looking around like nothing was wrong and he was enjoying the scenery. Not caring that I was in my pjs, I quickly walked down to him and with a little persuasion coaxed him back to the room. Once inside, he laid down and was completely out!  Apparently he was sleep walking.

This morning when I asked him if he remembered any of it, he said he didn't remember anything but he did have a dream about going through a door and down this really cool road!  

All I can say for sure is that I didn't sleep much the rest of the night and the next time we stay in a hotel, I will be putting something in front of the door so it doesn't happen again! Thank God I woke up and nothing dreadful happened!

2014 School Enrollment

Well, it's done! All three older kids are set to go to Smith Cente Public school in 11 days!

This will be a big adjustment for us all, but I have an amazing peace. I pray for each of my children and I hope this new stage will be a huge blessing and time of enormous growth for them!

Fair 2014 Pedal Pull

Fair Results 2014

Here is the UPDATED and FINAL Fair 2014 Results for the kids.  We are SO proud of them!  They did a great job, not only talking to the judges but helping each other out as we had fevers and upset stomach throughout the whole fair.  (Not to mention, Mommy's little mishap that put her in a sling, but that is a story for another time.)  Our first 4-H Fair definitely was a fair to remember!

Abi:

Foods: 

Morning Glory Muffins:   Purple; Jr. Grand Champion

Cherry Jam:         Purple; Jr. Grand Champion

Trail Mix:             Purple  

Brownie:              Blue

               

Meat Goat:         Under 60 lbs:     Class Grand Champion

               

Garden:              

Carrots:              Red

Cucumbers:        Red

Beets:                 Red

Misshapen Vegetable: Purple; Reserve Champion

Beans, Green:   Blue

Potatoes:            Blue

               

Photography:   

Jr. Misc. Print:    Purple

Jr. Enlargement Color:  Blue       

Jr. Animal:           Red

Jr. People:           Blue

Jr. Building          Blue

Jr. Landscape:    Blue

               

Fiber Arts:

Latchhook:          Purple; Reserve Champion

Nate:

Entomology:      Purple; Jr. Grand Champion

Garden:              

Misshapen Vegetable: Purple; Jr. Grand Champion

Carrots:              Red

Onions, Red:      Red

Cucumbers:        Red

Potato:               Red

Beets:                Red

Peppers, Serrano:  Red

Zucchini:              Blue

               

Rooster:               Red

               

Pedal Pull:          Third Place Medal

               

Bucket Calf:        7-8 Year Olds:    Reserve Champion

               

Foods: 

Trail Mix:              Blue

Pumpkin Muffin:    Blue   

               

Rabbits:              

Sr. Doe             Red

Sr. Buck           Red

               

Rocket: Blue

               

Woodworking:  Birdhouse:  Purple

               

Self-Determined:  Three Little Pigs Display: Purple; Reserve Champion

                

Jonny:

Garden (Open):               

Beets:   First (Blue)

Tomatoes:          First (Blue)

Summer Squash: Second (Red)

Cucumbers:        Second (Red)

Beans, Green:   Third (White)

Carrots:                First (Blue)

               

Bucket Calf (Open):   Purple       

               

Pullet (Open):   First (Blue Ribbon)

               

Kitten (Open):  First (Blue Ribbon); Best of Show

Pedal Pull:          First Place Medal

               

Misc. Craft - Rocket (Open):  First (Blue)              

               

Woodworking (Open):  First (Blue)         

               

Wheat:   First (Blue)

               

Rabbit (Open): First (Blue Ribbon)

Ethan :

Garden (Open):               

Onions, Red:      First (Blue)

Potato, Irish:      First (Blue)

Cucumbers:        First (Blue)

               

               

Hen (Open):      First (Blue Ribbon)

               

Pedal Pull:          Participation

               

Sr. Doe Rabbit (Open): First (Blue Ribbon)

Copyright © 2014 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

Jonny's Plant Song

Jonny made up this little song that he wanted to share with you.

Copyright © 2014 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

Cowboy Jonny

As of late, Jonny has been declaring his intentions to be a rancher when he grows up.  He wants to have horses and cows and wear 'cowboy clothes'.

Here are some pictures of Cowboy Jonny and his calf:

Copyright © 2013 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

Jonny's First Day of School

Today was Jonny's first day of Kindergarten!

Yes, I know that technically it is in the middle of the year, but he is so anxious to start school and really there is no reason why he can't.  He will be 5 in a few weeks and our new year starts in May!

To be honest, we started him on some pre-k work books called the ABC Series.  It focuses on introducing things like holding a pencil the right way, sitting still while working, coloring correctly, writing your name and other basics like colors, shapes, letters and numbers (these are just basic introductory not in-depth learning yet).  

Well, he LOVED his first day! Despite his brother trying to sway him against school being enjoyable, he was upset that it was over so quickly!  He has three workbooks each day and they won't take that long, but for now I just want him to work on sitting still, being quiet (not disturbing the other kids) and listening to the teacher!

I was a little nervous to see how it all worked with the three of them together, but they actually did very well. Abi has gotten used to raising her hand when she needs my help and Nathan offered to do some things on his own to give me time to read Jonny's Bible Story to him.  It may take a few days to get the rhythm down, but I think it will all fall in to place quickly!

Now if I could only figure out how to keep Ethan occupied until Jonny finishes school...lol...he was NOT very happy with me taking his play pal away for an hour!

Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

The End - Jonny's Broken Leg

Well, the end of the Jonny's Broken Leg Saga has finally come!

Jonny had his surgery to remove the titanium rods from his leg on October 9th.  Can you believe it has been 6 months since he jumped out the window?! My how time flies.

His surgery was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. and we had to be at the Surgical Center (not the hospital) by 7:30, so we decided to go down the night before and stay with Uncle M and Aunt K.(thanks guys!)

We arrived right on time and they took us back to a small pre-op area where we hung out until 9:30.  About 9 a.m. they came and gave Jonny a drink to help him be more 'cooperative'.  When we talked to him later, he doesn't recall anything after about 9:05...lol!  Here is a picture we got of him with his pre-op hat - just before they took him back:

His fun hat!
(which he doesn't remember getting excited about...lol)

Since the Surgical Center has WiFi, we had taken the iPad with us, which turned out to be a very helpful thing.  It really helped Jonny pass the time before the surgery and gave us a few things to do afterward while we waited for Jonny to be released.

Now I'll have to tell you how things went...I had told the nurses before hand (they called several days in advance to get pre-registered and go over his history) that Jonny was very sick after his last surgery.  I told them I wasn't sure if it was the morphine they gave him or if it was the anesthesia, but that he threw up a lot!  So they told me they would 'pre-treat' him to try to prevent that.

Well, the surgery went very well and there were no complications at all - but either the pre-treatment didn't work, or they didn't do it because within an hour after he came out of surgery Jonny started throwing up.  And he continued to throw up all day long despite what they gave him to quiet it.  In fact, he kept throwing up for so long that the outpatient portion of the Surgical Center actually closed and we had to be admitted into Extended Stay In Patient Recovery!  Now, we didn't have to stay overnight or anything like that, they just had to close down the outpatient portion of the center, so they moved us over to inpatient until he stopped throwing up - which was about 2 hours later!

Jonny in the InPatient bed watching PBS Kids!

The Inpatient rooms were VERY nice and when they brought Jonny dinner, the tray actually had a REAL rose on it!  A REAL ROSE!  Ya, I'm sure our insurance would love to know they paid for that!  LOL!

But it was very nice to finally have Jonny off my lap (when he came out of recovery, they put you in a reclining chair in curtained sections of the outpatient phase 2 section.  Jonny had wanted to sit on my lap when he first came out, which I was glad to do but then that is where he stayed until just before we moved to Inpatient). I think he really enjoyed being able to stretch out in the bed for a couple of hours.  After dinner he was finally able to go an hour without throwing up so they gave us the option to leave.

While the nurse got things ready for discharge, I snapped this picture of Jonny's knee before we dressed him:

Bandaged knee after surgery to remove the titanium rods.

He could have walked out of the Surgical Center if he had wanted to, but after eating basically nothing all day and throwing up for 7 hours, he really wasn't up to that so the Farmer carried him out to the car.  We made it about 30 minutes down the road before I heard "Moooommmmyyyy, I don't feel well!".  Fortunately, he didn't throw up but I sat in the back with him just in case.  By the time we got to Beloit, he was begging for food.  Since he hadn't thrown up, we stopped and got him a sandwich which he kept down and the whole episode was over!

We arrived at the Surgical Center at 7:30 a.m. and left at 6:30 a.m.  ELEVEN hours for a 1 hour outpatient procedure!  We learned our lesson - Jonny does NOT do anesthesia well!

For anyone interested, they did give us the titanium rods!  Here is a picture of them:

Titanium rods from Jonny's leg!

They measure about 9 inches long and were completely straight when they went in. The doctor said that when they pull them out, they curl. What a souvenir Jonny now has (as if the scars on his leg wouldn't be memory enough ;0)!

Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

2012 Fair Results - Jonathan & Ethan

Okay...so I'm going to put Ethan and Jonny together in the same post because well...I'm just gonna ;0).

I have one more fair post of just miscellaneous pictures that I'll get to shortly but here is what Jonny and Ethan were up to at the fair:

Jonny

Big brother showing him how it's done!

helping keep the hay in its place

Jonny had one entry in the fair - Cuddles Lightning Schlatter - the kitty!

Waiting to show his kitty

We have NO idea what he is actually telling her....
It might be a very LARGE tale!

our charming Jonny!

Obviously the judge was smitten with our charmer, because Jonny got Second place with his kitten!  We can't imaging that it was because he was the most informed and capable showman there!  If we heard him right, at one time he told the judge that he never brushed his kitty, only fed it once a day, and when she asked about a litter box he responded "no, they just poop in their cage".

Nevertheless, the kitten must have earned some credits of its own.  It was a very nice looking kitty!

Ethan

Ethan did not have any entries at the fair, but he was enamored with going with the Farmer and Nathan to tend to the bucket calf.

Walking through the beef barn.

keeping track of the calf while Nathan went to find something!
(the Farmer was 'right' there to step in)

The funniest thing that happened while at the fair was when Ethan decided he wanted to take the calf for a drink.  He got the lead chain that the Farmer uses to help Nathan, and went up to the calf to untie it from the rail.  Then he tried and tried and tried to figure out how to get the calf loose.

Here is is getting ready to hook up the calf.

Look at that expression!
He was trying VERY hard.

I managed to get a little video clip before he gave up:

Can you hear the Farmer..."Are you getting this?"  He asked me that like six times before I actually videoed E's efforts.  And yes...the calf next door was RIGHT there to give Ethan a kiss when he gave up!  A most adorable video clip!




Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

Jonny can WALK!

We took Jonny to the Orthopedic doctor in Salina today for his 6 week check up.  He received a full release - meaning he has no restrictions on him as to what kind of activities he can do!  Well, except climb out windows! :0)  

Anyway, we were able to take the wheel chair back and when we got home we shot this short video!

As you can see, he has a funny gait in his walk and the doctor said he could even limp for up to a year, but that is all within normal ranges for this type of a break. It doesn't stop him from getting around, trying to run, and even riding his bike!

We have no more check ups or follow ups until October 9th, when he is scheduled to get the nails taken out of his leg!  We are so very THANKFUL!

Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

How is Jonny doing?

We've been asked how Jonny is doing.  So I thought I'd give you a photo explanation.  

Standing on one foot.
He is doing really well with this and can do all kinds of things standing now.

Doing tricks.
He has learned to do several tricks using his arms. 

Holding himself up.
This one is helpful in getting dressed...that is when he doesn't have his leg off to the side.

Getting on the stairs.

Going UP the stairs.
Though it is blurry, you can see his left leg is being held out.
He doesn't even try to put weight on it.

Proudly posing for a picture.

Scooting down the hall.
He just drags himself.  We tried to get him to crawl one legged
 like his friend Isaac, but he won't do that.

Getting up on his bed.
He just uses his arms and hops.

Posing again...he was really liking the attention!

He can pull himself into the playroom now.

And he uses the rocking chair to play with the trains.

 

As we were leaving, he decided to show me this stunt!
He pulled himself up using the bars at the end of the bed,
and then before I could stay stop...

He did this.!

Then he rolled out and stood by the ladder!
Crazy boy...and none of it hurt!

Getting ready to go back down stairs.
He often tries to go as fast as he can!

And sometimes, he has to grab on quick to keep from slipping.
The other day I saw him holding onto the rail and HOPPING down the stairs!

Once at the bottom, he just hops into the chair.

All done!
What an excursion that was!

As you can see, he gets around very well and does crazy things.  He is doing GREAT! And though we thought we'd have to try to keep him off his leg, we are now wondering if we will have a hard time getting him to USE his leg.  We will see in time.

Besides now doing the stairs and pretty much getting around normally, he can now also get himself in and out of the van.  This is a huge relief on Mommy and he likes having that freedom too!  One thing is for certain, he will have very strong arms!!

Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

Going Home

I will try to post a picture when we actually get dismissed, but we are going home today.

Jonny still has a bit of a fever, but the doctor is not overly concerned at this time as just the fracture itself could cause a fever as his body tries to heal. And, he responds well to Tylenol. He has had to take nothing but tylenol for fever and pain since surgery yesterday.

When the doctor came by this morning, he confirmed that we can see our local doctor for follow up in 2 weeks to check incisions and remove the splint. Then, in 6 weeks, we will come back to Salina to see Dr. Daily. Jonny will be in the wheelchair for those 6 weeks without any pressure on his leg. Then at the 6 week appointment, we will find out if he can start transitioning to adding pressure. We have been authorized to have the wheelchair for 3 months, but we hope we get to check it in earlier than that.

We are all vey exited to get back home and to some semblance of normalcy, but we know we will have some challenges as e try to figure out how to use the bathroom, get in the van, sleep comfortably, and just be at home. We greatly appreciate all the prayers, and wanted to say thanks to Marvin for going to the farm to help Jim get the cattle situated in Marion's absence.

So, until we get the dismissal picture....

Our New Ride

Jonny got his wheelchair!

We had a few issues with the wheelchair at first, but eventually my Farmer came to the rescue and got out his pliers so we could adjust the leg support!  

At first, Jonny was scared of it, but we told him it was his personal wagon and that they brought him the CASE IH version (it has red on it).  Then he began to warm up to the idea!  Once he got in, he was NOT going to get back in that bed!  He loved the freedom and mobility it provided him.

It didn't take him long before he was learning to wheel himself, turn, and even park it.  

It was a bit challenging to figure out how to use the bathroom, but once we got home, things got much easier!  

While at the hospital waiting to be dismissed, we took MANY turns around the pediatric unit.  It was a rather small area concerning how many times we circled it.  

Marion and I were both very proud of Jonny as while on one of his turns around the unit, he met a little boy who had to spend alot of time in the hospital and didn't have any toys of his own.  Jonny willingly gave him one of his bears so he wouldn't be so lonely!