February 2023

 What an interesting month. From toenail removals, to work, to school and more, we stayed busy almost every day this month. 

The month started with a Saturday work day for me. We held a dental screening for MCC and had patients come in to see if they qualified for cleanings. It was only a morning of work for me that day, and right after I came home, we had to get up and get out for a showing. 

We decided to take our house back off the market. We were sick of having it ready for showings, and it was taking a mental toll on Gwen and Emily. We are so happy to just have that off the table and we immediately got to work on other house projects! 

Jake's basketball season ended. He loved the time and opportunity and was sad to have the season end.

J also had his paternity leave end! He's back to work. It's been a great transition. His boss and colleagues are wonderful and we feel blessed to be with this company. 

Wade had an ingrown toenail for a few weeks. We tried to soak it to let the toe fix itself, but it wasn't improving. I tried one more time to soak and gently lift the nail and when it didn't work I scheduled a same day appointment with a pediatric podiatrist. I am SO glad I did. As soon as the doctor saw the toe, he confirmed it was infected. He told me by the time patients come to him, they've already seen their pediatrician and had a round of antibiotics. Since we hadn't done that, he said we could do that but ultimately he didn't think Wade's infection would get better. He said that anytime he removed toenails from infants, he sends them to a lab to be cultured. Dr. Jarman said that 50% of the time the culture would come back positive with community acquired MRSA!!!! So we just opted to remove the nail. We got the results last week that it was indeed MRSA! Luckily, after the toenail was removed we just had to use iodine to keep it healthy. Wade was a champ. He took the numbing shots in his toe with all the strength he could muster, and I held him as the nail was removed. I didn't look at the procedure being done, but I did notice that the instruments used were similar to dental instruments! Wade is doing great and hasn't had any issues apart from a tough night the day he got the nail removed. He's so cute. His nail will grow back and he's got no remnant of infection. 

Tree climbing! Such a cool and brave woman! 

Emily loved hanging out here. 

They've always wanted to see this horse! 

A picture from our neighbor. This is her yard and her view from the yard involves the kids always being on the fence! haha!