Decorating is fun, but can wear you out...

Jerrel loves to help "det-o-wate." On Thursday, December 18th Jerrel was staying with Nana and Papaw (Krista's grandparents) and decided that they needed more "det-o-ray-shuns" and so Papaw said that they would need to go explore the attic to see if they could find more decorations to put out. (Is it any wonder that Papaw stays side-to-side with the great-grandchildren?) They climbed up the ladder and into the dark attic with only one light on an extension cord. As they were searching through the boxes and bags, Jerrel found something soft and thought that he might try it out for comfort. Being past his normal nap time, the following is what Krista and I returned to find. (The flash from the camera makes it look really light up there but it was not.)

A picture is worth a thousand words...

It's dressing time and that means that mommy has to do "range of motion" exercises with my hurt finger.

Need I say more???

Patrick vs A Candle

This post will have pictures at the bottom. The pictures are somewhat sad and so if you have a weak stomach just read about the burn and don't look at the pictures.

On Monday evening, December 1st, Krista and the boys went to Mimi's house to "det-o-wait (decorate) for Christmas." I was in class and therefore the boys and Krista could have fun and help Mimi all at the same time. A long story short (kind-of like a preacher saying, "in closing"), Patrick was roaming the house for just a few moments before being put in his bed. Krista and her mother (Mimi) were in the kitchen when they heard Patrick scream and Krista turned to see Jerrel running out of the den area. Krista thought that Jerrel may have taken something away from Patrick and that was the cause of the sudden loud outburst. Not so. She and her mother said "CANDLE!!!" at about the same time and they raced into the den where Patrick had extenguished the fire in a jar candle with his left index finger.

This is the part where I really shorten it.

Krista thought she saw wax on his finger and attempted to remove the wax. In doing so she removed the burned skin. Relax... The doctors told her that was probably the best thing that she could have done at that point.

She or her mother called our pediatricians after hours # and they recommended that they take him to the Childrens hospital ER to then be seen in the burn unit due to the fact that there was skin loss and it was on his hand (finger).

Krista called me. Thankfully I was on a short break from the 4 hour class.

They (Krista, her Daddy, and Patrick) headed to Children's and I headed to Children's. Jerrel stayed with Mimi, to take care of her. :-)

Patrick had finally calmed down by the time they arrived at the ER. I got there just a moment after they did. It was sad. He's a Daddy's boy and when he saw me he reached out for me and started to cry again. Well great, now there were two of us crying.

Finally, we saw a doctor in the burn unit. (I know I'm getting old. The Dr. did not look like he could have been out of H.S. let alone Med. School.) The doctor stated that Patrick had a third degree burn on the tip of his left index finger and second degree burns on most of the rest of that one finger. As bad as that may sound, and it is, it could have been a lot worse. He was wearing long sleeve P.J.'s and the doctor stated that sometimes the clothes catch on fire and that could have resulted in a much worse situation.

We were given all the necessary items to dress the wound at the house and the doctor expressed confidence in Krista's and her mother's (a former R.N.) capability to handle the dressing at home and to be alert for any signs of infection.

Needless to say, there has been much prayer about this situation. The pictures may look rough but to anyone who deals with burns they will see that God has been good to us.

The plastic surgeon at Children's (who specializes in children's hands) indicated that he does not feel like any skin grafting will be necessary. Praise the Lord.

Here comes the pictures. We took these each time we would change the dressing. The ones that look the worst are from a time when he had pulled the dressing off during the night and the wound dried out a little.

If you have a weak stomach this is where you stop.

Still here...

Just as a pastor once asked a church congregation to testify every once in a while so that he would know that everything is alright with them. I would like to just take a moment of your time to let you know that I am doing fine and that God is good. Although my blogging is suffering from my busy life, I am doing well.

And quite frankly, it's none of the devil's bit-ness.

So until I get more time to spend on this venue of communication, you can more accurately follow my life through the blogs of my family and friends. (I've even tried to make it easy for you by adding a link to their blogs on mine - Now how sweet is that.)

Thanks to Daniel and Holly (although we all know it's Holly who does the blog spot) and thanks to Andy and Julie (although we all know that it's Julie who does the blog spot) and also thanks to Ben and Beth (although we all know it's Beth who does the blog spot) for all their work keeping my friends and family apprised of my family and our wanderings and doings. I think that this is a good thing. Lets just keep the flattery going, you never know how many friends I have out there that may check out your blogs just to try and see glimpses of me. Y'all make me look good now, even if you need to photoshop some pictures and make up some kind flattering words about me. Thanks. ~Leonard.

Family Reunion Time...

The Dan and Deb Collins Family Reunion 2008

Krista, Jerrel, Patrick, and I loaded up and headed to Indiana for the week of August 4th through the 10th. We arrived late Monday night and as expected my mother was waiting up for us. Tuesday morning we drove up to Indianapolis and went to the Children's Science Museum. We had a great time and there were lots of thing for the children to do. Can someone say "sensory overload?" We stayed and played and laughed and cried right on through nap time and into dinner time. I joked with my sister-in-laws Rachel and Michelle that this excursion was about the most I'd ever been charged to babysit my own children. (Mom actually paid, thanks Mom) We took lots of pictures.

On late Wednesday night, my two brothers made it in. Mom, Krista, and I waited up until the wee hours of Thursday morning for them to get in.

Thursday the Children cooled down by playing in the water in Dad and Mom's back yard. (Sorry about the destroyed grass, Dad.) They had lots of fun sliding on a slip-n-slide.

Austin figures out how the thing works and made it all the way to the pool.

On Friday, we had the highlight of the reunion, for most. The entire family went to a lake. Mom had reserved a pontoon boat and we had a great time.

Jerrel and I get to ride "Big Bertha."

My brothers and I had to see who could stand up on the tube the longest. I won. They came up with reasons that I somehow was able to do it longer than them. They claim I was standing further back on the tube than they were. Fact remains I stood much much longer than they did.

There was so much more to this reunion than I can post on my blog but one thing that I want to be sure that everyone knows. The fact that my Mom works so hard for us all to be able to do this. She is truly the glue that holds this family together. I was blessed to be a part of family devotions when God's presence came to the Collins family reunion. What a memorable moment!

Mom, if you read this, know that I love you and I am proud to be your son. Your desire for our family to be Godly first and foremost is very important and I know that God will honor your prayers. You are worthy of much more praise than this short blog could hold. I thank God for you and pray that God blesses you in a special way. ~Leonard

(Mom, please note that I did not use my last name to sign off.)

It's Tigger Time...

I work for Allstate Insurance and they have a charity called Helping Hands. It is a volunteer organization that goes around getting involved in local community projects and charitable events. I had the most wonderful opportunity on Tuesday Evening, July 22nd, 2008. I volunteered to go to the Children's Hospital in Birmingham Alabama and take part in "A Magical Night of Disney." The company sponsored the event and there were many others who volunteered to make the night a huge success.



There were going to be two people from my office that dressed up in costumes, Cinderella and Tigger (other Allstate offices did other characters). I got to be Tigger. It was wonderful to see the children respond to the costume. Some would run to me and give "Tigger" a big hug while others would scurry behind a parent's leg to hide. I walked around in the lobby while the hospital staff brought the children, who were well enough to be moved, to the lobby for the event. For about an hour I walked around hugging everybody, having pictures made, hugging everybody again, getting more pictures made with babies and children and parents and nurses, and kneeling down to hug small children and getting up to hug taller children, faking to sign Tigger's autograph and handing out pictures of Tigger. This was work, but it was a pure joy. After about an hour of being in the main lobby, two costumed characters were chosen by the hospital staff to go upstairs to visit some of the children too sick to come down. (They did not tell us before but the staff was watching us to see who interacted with the children the best and then they were chosen to go upstairs.) Tigger and Goofy were chosen to go up.

I was asked to write about one experience of the night for the Helping Hands to use. This is the story I chose.

I was escorted, by hospital staff, to the room of a 5 year old little girl. The overhead light had been turned off and the room was lit by the light from the nurses station and lights of several medical equipment monitors. It was quiet in the room, only the whispers of her parents and the steady beeping of machines and the occasional murmur of people talking in the hallway could be heard. The dark haired girl with large brown eyes was laying in a bed with safety rails, the headboard surrounded with monitors and machines. She was nearly motionless as I approached her bedside. I saw both of her small hands had IV's taped into the back of them. A clear tube was coming out of her nose and taped to the side of her face. There were wires taped to her chest and a small pink and white hospital gown barely covering her torso. She looked tired and very sad. When I got to her bedside I reached over the railing and patted her arm. She just stared at me. In costume I was unable to speak, so I could only try to entertain her by my actions. I handed her a stuffed animal, a Tigger about 5 inches tall that would spring up and make noise if you pushed down on it's head, and she slowly reached out and took it. I then took a picture of Tigger and held it close to my Tigger-heart and then handed it to her. My heart was breaking with the effort that she seemed to be exerting to take the things that I was handing her so I just laid them in the bed beside her. I then held my big Tigger paws over my Tigger eyes and then removed them quickly to pretend to be playing peek-a-boo. She smiled. I continued to play peek-a-boo with her for just a moment when I saw her hands move slowly to her eyes and then slowly she turned them to the side and in a quiet voice she said "Boo." I was crying inside that hot Tigger head as I jumped back to make her believe that she had scared Tigger. We continued playing peek-a-boo while her face beamed with one of the cutest smiles that I've ever seen. It was then that I noticed the girl's mother walking towards me. She approached me and place her hand on my back and said, "I know that there is someone inside this costume, and while I may never know who you are, I want you to know that this is the first time that my baby has smiled in over three days. Thank you for being here." I patted the mother on her back and gave her the biggest 'thumbs up' that I could with a Tigger paw on my hand. She wiped a tear from her eye and walked back to her seat to allow me to continue playing with 'her baby.' For about another minute I was able to play peek-a-boo while behind the shield of a costumed Tigger head my tears continued to flow. The hospital staff advised me that we must keep going and with mixed emotions I left a little girl who had, if even for just a brief moment, smiled and forgotten about all the reasons that held her in that hospital bed.
That's why I volunteer. Money can't buy the feeling that I felt when I realized that with such little effort I was able to make such a huge difference in the lives of those who were dealing with indescribable pain.

Jerrel Turns 4 Years Old!!!

It is hard to believe that the boy who made me a member of the Daddy Club has just turned 4 years old. I have loved every moment of his life. God has used this little man to show me more love than I ever dreamed possible.

We asked Jerrel what kind of party he wanted and he told us that he wanted a Thomas the Tank Engine Party. We invited anyone that he wanted to have over to our yard for his birthday party. My lovely and talented wife, Krista, made his birthday cake.



Jerrel was blessed with so many friends and gifts. We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful family (blood and church).

I pray that Jerrel grows up to understand how blessed he is to be surrounded by so many people who love him.

Happy 4th Birthday Jerrel!

Patrick enjoys the party life.

Jerrel swings into this picture (hence the blur.)

I'm Still Here...

I know that many of you are quite perturbed by my delenquincy in updating the blog. Let me take a moment to asure you that I am fine and that things are happening in my life. When I do have the time to sit down and figure out how to load pictures here... you will see them. Until then, I will continue to be the front runner in the "Most Boring and Plain Blog" Catagory. As I stated in my very first post, I will likely have higher aspiration for this blog than the blog will actually ever see. If someone out there has plenty of time on your hands and you wish to handle this for me... sorry it's my blog and the instructions told me that I can put on it whatever I would like. I assume that means that I can leave off whatever I would like as well.
Now that I have filled enough space to make the blog look updated I will go and sit back and wait for another respite in my life so that I can once again communicate to all three of you who even know that I have a blog. (Who told me that it was a great way to meet long lost friends? Did we ever think that some of those people may be long lost for a reason???)

Why does it always happen while I'm away?

Well, I'm at work and I get a call from my sister-in-law. It goes something like this.

"Hey Leonard, your toilet is overflowing and I've told Nana how to shut off your water, but we need to know where the plunger is at."

What? Why? It was working fine when I left this morning...

"Uh, Leonard, we need to know where the plunger is at."

"Is this a current problem?"

"Well, Nana is standing over your toilet trying to prevent further damage."

"Damage, DAMAGE... Did you just tell me that my house has been damaged by a renegade toilet overflowing, while I'm at work, Nana there watching the boys?"

I told her where the plunger was at and she told me to have a nice day and that she needed to call Nana back right away so she hung up.

I'm sure there will be more to come on this story!!!

Why me???

Why me? This is the question I ask myself when others ask me why I don't "blog." Then it dawns on me. I am a social animal and I love to interact with people. Now I can be interacting with lots of people at the same time. Now that's a rush that I can hardly wrap my brain around. I wonder how long a sanguine can keep a blog going before something else comes along and distracts my attention and all of a sudden I find myself having forgotten the password to get into my account or forget all about even having an account. We'll see.

If this is my first and final post, it has been somewhat fun to think about who all might read this and then come back to see if I ever update it. For those of you who actually know me, you'll understand. For those of you who don't know me, I'm sorry.