Aly's Series of Unfortunate Events

The Soccer Saga
Well, Aly's had a couple of minor accidents over the last week. The first was a soccer injury. She somehow ran her face into a little boy's head. Any guesses who that little boy might have been?Yep. Big brother. We knew it was bound to happen given the odds...
* 9 5-7 year-olds
* 3 older boys
* 6 younger, smaller,more timid girls
* Caleb's intensity
We were actually hoping that if Caleb did (accidentally, of course) run into or kick a little girl, that it would be Aly so we wouldn't have any issues of angry parents or lawsuits!! :) Well, it happened in practice as it turns out. To any onlookers, it may have appeared for a short time that Aly was dying. But thankfully, she came out of it with only a bloody fat lip. After she realized she would live, she was quick to show off her battle wound and proudly retell the story. Caleb felt bad. It didn't slow him down for too long, though! The "Dynamic Duo" was back at it by the game on Saturday and were even able to pull off a win!

The Trip to the Emergency Room
Less than a week after her soccer mishap, Aly decided to go for a quick bicycle ride. I let them ride on the sidewalk in front of our house to their little boundaries. I am able to keep an eye on them from inside, so it is nice usually. But Saturday night I was finishing up supper waiting for Chuck and the boys to get home and I heard the dreaded crying from outside. I ran to open the door expecting to find a scraped knee and elbow, but instead I saw Aly with blood splattered all over! I looked her over and found the source of all of the blood! Her chin had a gash about an inch long and lets just say I didn't have to wonder if it needed stitches. When Chuck got home, we headed for the emergency room. Aly was very nervous about the impending stitches but was remaining fairly calm. I quoted a few verses to her about being strong and courageous and the Lord being mighty and powerful and being right there with her. Then we prayed together for Aly to be brave and calm. She did a great job. I think it was Chuck and I who needed the prayers to be brave and strong. I looked over at Chuck at one point during the shots to deaden the area hoping for a bit of his strength to soothe my uneasiness and instead found him ready to pass out. One nurse was rubbing my back while the other put a cold pack on Chuck's head and neck. We felt like such wimps!! We have been to the emergency room 4 times with Caleb and have seen our share of cuts, but this was different! I could go in to detail, but I will spare you the goriness! Anyway, three stitches later (we think he could have fit 4-6 more!), Aly was well on the way to recovery. Chuck and I were a different story - we were still queasy the next morning!! We thank the Lord that this was just a "minor" injury.