Bye-Bye Blood Thinners

As of Tuesday of this week, Casey is no longer on blood thinners. Woohoo!! They did a scan, shot some dye into his veins and everything is A-OK, and we are VERY thankful!!

However, he did gain a new "toy" to help him regain full rotation back in his wrist. He is to do it 3X/day for 30 minutes. He's at 75%...only 25 more to go!

Ryan also thought it was pretty cool and had to try it on - It's always more fun if you aren't the one who actually needs to use it.

Senior Pictures

It's really hard to believe Kaitlyn will be graduating in less than a month. She has worked so hard and will graduate Summa cum laude - Woohoo!!

A few weeks ago we went out around Athens to take her senior pictures. It was a perfectly sunny(but cool) day. We had so much fun!

She's our Art girl and will graduate with an Art History degree, minoring in French. So, we went to the Art Museum where she's been a docent and took some photos.

We had to get a picture with the famous Arch. Myth has it you cannot walk under the arch until you graduate or you won't graduate. She's close enough - I think she's safe!

And our picture taking wouldn't be complete if we didn't get a few shots with downtown Athens in the background! It's really the best place to live!

This last picture is the chosen one for Kaitlyn's announcements. Looking forward to celebrating a very well deserved graduation!!

Congratulations Kaitlyn!!

Easter

We had a fun Easter weekend spent with family. There was an Easter egg hunt, lots of playtime, and a delicious Easter dinner. The weather was beautiful, so it made for a perfect few days of fun.

We also received pictures from Cody in Canada showing us that he spent some time carrying on the egg coloring tradition.

I will share Cody's testimony of the Atonement he sent to us in his weekly email. After-all, that is the true meaning of this beautiful Easter weekend. We sure love our cute missionary. His words continue to uplift and inspire us.

"Romans 5 is one of the most well written chapters in the scriptures that talks about the Atonement (in my opinion), and I have really grown to Love the teachings of Paul in his different epistles. The Bible bears such a strong witness of the Savior and his divine mission and the more one reads it, the more they can see how it fits directly in line with the testimonies of the Book of Mormon prophets. They all testify of one thing: Jesus Christ. In the Bible dictionary it talks about the Atonement being the setting "at one" with those who have been estranged. Sin is what causes the estrangement. And no matter what has happened or where we are, we all have need of the same Atonement. I have seen it work in my life- and I continue to see it work every day for me- and I have seen it work in the lives of others. And I am so blessed to be able to help others learn about and understand how they can apply it in their lives- there is nothing more rewarding than that. I have seen it change people that I have been blessed to be able to work with thus far on my mission, and I know it is changing me in the process to become better. Granted we will never become perfect- it's not about that. "God doesn't expect perfection, but he does expect progression." And it's through the Atonement-understanding it more and more each day and in learning about the Savior's life-and using it's power continually that changes us as we do our best to "become a saint" And I loved the quote from conference "A Saint is a sinner that keeps on trying" How true that is. I love my Savior and Redeemer, I love His work. I love this time that has been given to me to help others come unto Christ, I love y'all- my family and friends, and I love the people here that I am able to teach in their own language. There is no greater happiness than that which is found through living the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Love, Elder Cody Warren Ritz

Kaitlyn is 22

Kaitlyn's birthday was last week, and she is 22. It's hard to believe she is 22 already. I feel like just yesterday she was 2. Where did my little Miss Kates go???

We had fun celebrating her birthday with a dinner(out) of her choosing and a party at home.

This was a milestone birthday of sorts, as it is probably the last one she will have at home. She graduates in May and is job hunting, so this summer will be a busy and eventful one for our girl! We are so excited and proud of her and cannot wait to see what the future holds!

Happy Birthday Kaitlyn!! We love you!!

Hubba Bubba

What happens when we buy a pack of "real" bubble gum??

A bubble blowing contest, of course!

Casey Update - 20 Weeks Post Accident

Friends and family have asked how Casey is doing, so I thought I'd update everyone on the blog as to his latest recovery status.

He is, for the most part, doing much better. Recovery is definitely a bumpy road. Some days are better than others. Casey made the comment last week that he would really like to fast forward past all of this painstakingly-seemingly slow recovery process, but each week is a little better than the last. He may have one more minor surgery next year to remove the plate that was placed in his wrist, as it causes more pain than is needed or wanted. The Orthopedic surgeon said the x-rays look good and the bones in his feet and wrist have healed up nicely and are exactly where they need to be. He is still on blood thinners for another 4-6 weeks - At which time he will go in for a scan to make sure he is free & clear of any lingering blood clots. He walks with a cane(to help thwart off any falls), and is pretty much self-reliant. He is driving to work a few times a week as well as having therapy twice a week, so his days are busy. He still has to take it somewhat easy though, or he is down for the count for several days. He is trying to find the balance of doing enough without doing too much. I think it's just trial and error at this point. It's good to push and build his endurance back, but he doesn't want to constantly be fighting the pain & exhaustion that comes along with it.

It's a new normal for all of us, but life is slowly regaining it's regular scheduled programming. One thing we both agreed on after the accident was, Family comes first. We want to slow down the pace of life and take more time to enjoy each other, because in the end that's all that matters!

We love our Casey, and we are so thankful he is still here with us to enjoy a lot more family time together!

Birthday and Baptism Weekend

Seth turned 8 this weekend. Not only was it his birthday, but it was also the weekend of his baptism. So, we headed over the mountain and joined in on the weekend festivities.

Parties are always fun, and he had quite the turnout for his Jumping Palace Party. Baby even enjoyed it, especially the cupcakes!

Things started to get a little messy...

There were a few games of ice hockey being played.

As well as selfies with baby -

After the party we went to dinner at a really good Mexican restaurant. As Cody would say, "It's wasn't Sr. Sol, but it was still really good!"

After dinner Andy suggested we head up to the Lookout for Sunset pictures. We arrived just in time! Only a few more mintues and we would have missed it. It was beautiful!!

Sunday was Seth's baptism. It was so nice to be able to be there for his special day. We are so proud of his example and the decision he made to follow our Savior Jesus Christ and be baptized.

We sure love this sweet family!

After the baptism we took a few more pictures outside before heading home. It was a fun & beautiful weekend spent with family.