Houston, Here We Are!

We survived! Carter, Elise, and I made it to Houston. We left at 9:20 am and arrived at 7:15 pm. The 8 hour drive took much longer with traffic and we stopped a few times. I figured we would stop every 2 hours or so for a potty break and to stretch our legs. I had to laugh when we hadn't even made it past the Wal-Mart we normally grocery shop at before Carter asked to stop for a walk and to stretch his legs. We made it 3 hours before stopping for lunch. There was about a 30-40 mile stretch with no exits right before we stopped and, of course, that was when I noticed I needed gas and Carter decided he was starving but we both held it together and arrived at a little picnic area with our packed lunch in one piece. After we ate I let Carter run around in the grass while Elise crawled all over the place. It was quite a bit of fun. Then we were back on the road for what I hoped would be naptime. I think Elise napped because she was quiet and I can't see her but Carter did not nap. He played with his buddies, making them dance and then he played with his interactive world map his Gigi and Papa got him for his birthday. It was cute to hear him say, "Russia is far away from us! Is China far away too?" He loves to touch the countries to hear their names. When he lost interest in his toys I started pointing things out that we drove by. I pointed out some goats which he didn't see so he said, "I see no goats! You are kidding me! There are no goats! You are kidding me!" So then after that he kept telling me he saw a deer and then would say, "I'm just kidding you!"

Elise enjoying our picnic lunch.

After another hour in the car my phone died and I plugged it in to charge but it didn't turn on after 15 minutes. I panicked because I was using the map on my phone and had no idea how to get there without it. I tried plugging it in to a different spot and decided to stop at a gas station to walk around a bit and let it charge to make sure we didn't miss an exit. I let Carter pick out a Powerade and I got a soda because I felt the caffeine was needed although I rarely drink any caffeine. It was nice to use the restroom and walk around a bit. Back in the car we  made it another 2 hours while Carter read books and Elise possibly took another little nap and then talked her little head off. I watched Carter suck his thumb and then finally drift off to sleep at 3 pm. He napped for about an hour and woke up scream crying which caused Elise to cry. I talked to Carter and calmed him down. When we hit an exit we stopped. I was hoping for a play area but settled for a Dairy Queen with a "pet playground" in the back which was a fenced in grassy area. Carter's leg had fallen asleep so he didn't want to get out of the car. I was tired and didn't want to fight so I bribed him with an ice cream cone. We used the restroom, got some ice cream, and headed to the play area. We had so much fun playing chase and running around. Elise would laugh so hard when I carried her to chase Carter and then when I chased her she'd crack up when I caught her. It was a blast!

Playing in the pet park.

From there it should have taken around 2 hours but ended up taking over 2 and a half hours due to traffic. When we pulled into the parking area for Jeremy's facility it was almost 7:30 and the kids hadn't eaten yet. Mom, dad, and Jeremy met us at the doors and we all went to the cafeteria for dinner together. Carter was so excited to be out of the car and to see his Uncie J! Jeremy was looking good and was quite talkative! The facility is amazing. We got to see the gym where he goes for workouts and I was really impressed. This facility is out of network so the copay is 50% but it is worth it to be somewhere that specializes in TBI and has the resources and staff to meet Jeremy's needs. Just in our short visit I was so pleased with what I saw.

So excited to see Uncie J!

Jeremy's big new is that he is now up to 115 pounds! I can't believe I weigh more than him. I can't think of any other time in my life that has been the case other than possibly when I was in 4th grade as that was my chubby year! A sweet friend of the family suggested we start a Go Fund Me page to help Jeremy with the expenses of his hospitalization and rehabilitation after the accident. We met last night to put it together and she had written a very sweet and informative explanation of Jeremy's accident. I've had people asking how they can help and now we have a way for them to do so. I thought I'd share the link on here for those who have expressed interest. Click here to access the fundraising campaign for Jeremy's Medical Expenses.