Fourteen!

We celebrated Silas's 14th birthday in early August. He wanted to only invite family and two friends, Hunter and Lily, to celebrate with us this year. His plan included all of us going to Rock River Rapids, eating dinner from Olive Garden, playing basketball and wiffleball outside at home, gifts, and a cake from Sam's.

After dinner, they headed outside to play basketball. They had hardly gotten started playing, when Silas pump-faked Hunter. Hunter went up to block the shot and came down right on top of Silas's left foot. Silas immediately dropped to the ground in bad pain. We all examined Silas's foot and ankle (being the doctors we all are...HA!) I could tell it hurt badly though by how he was acting and how pale he began to look. Hunter and Phoebe helped him to a chair to sit for a few minutes. Then we decided to go inside and forgo the outside games, moving on to opening his birthday presents. Hunter carried him inside.

Phoebe crocheted him a funny lizard coaster and gave him some gummi candies.

Hunter and Lily got him some of his favorite types of candy.

A gift card came in the mail from Grandma Sharon.

Eric and I gave him some clothes, a few Christmas village pieces, some snacks, and a fitbit.

Sarah and Owen got him a water gun that he had been wanting all summer.

Happy 14th birthday, Silas! You amaze me every day with your knowledge about living creatures, sports, and the Bible. I love to hear you sing! You are a fierce competitor and a loyal friend. You care deeply for others. You are bold, strong, helpful, and fun. You are a leader and a warrior for God. Keep shining your light brightly for others to see. God loves you, Silas, and so do we!

Lastly that night, before bed, we played a few rounds of Boggle on Netflix together. Boggle is a word game introduced in 1973. Players try to find as many words as they can from a grid of lettered dice, within a set time limit.

The next morning, I took Silas to urgent care for x-rays to find out the extent of the foot injuries from the night before. There it was discovered that he had broken bones in his foot, and we were referred to the orthopedic doctor. So, a day later we saw the orthopedic doctor for more x-rays, a diagnosis, and a treatment plan. The orthopedic doctor confirmed there were two broken bones in his foot along with a severely sprained upper ankle which had caused some bones to pull apart that should not be so far apart. He got a cast and will wear it for the next six weeks. Then he will go back in for more x-rays to determine if it has healed and healed properly. If it has, he will go into a walking boot for the next 2-4 weeks and start physical therapy. If it has not healed properly, he will need surgery to fix some things. We hope it is healing properly.

A few days later, a surprise box came in the mail for Silas. It was from Hunter and Lily. It was a "cheer up" gift of Isopods! Exciting and thoughtful mail! Thanks Hunter and Lily!