Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Surgery Date is Set


Assuming Joshua stays healthy, he will be having his palate surgery Thursday March 3rd. Just 9 days from today. I must admit when we received the letter and I saw the date, I did get a bit nervous. I mean, I knew this day was coming. This is a good thing. But still, something about seeing it in writing...the reality...made my stomach turn. There are so many unknowns with how Joshua will respond. He’s so much older than Abigail was for her surgery, so I know his understanding and fears about what all is going on will be completely different than hers.

If all goes as planned we will head out early, early on the 2nd and arrive at Shriners for our 10 a.m. check in time. They will make sure he’s healthy and then send us on to our room. We will spend the rest of the day hanging out in the hospital. (Ugh...does not sound fun to me at all...but then again I am a bit hospital adverse!) He will be the first one in for surgery on the 3rd, so it will be another early morning. They said he will be completely loopy before being taken back and nothing will be attached to him until he is in the OR. This should help a lot! Please start praying for us. He has had a very tiny runny nose. Pray that that clears. Pray for my ability to comfort him and for his ability to accept comfort from me. This has not been an issue to date, but the stress could cause him to withdraw. David will be staying home with the other kids. Pray for their hearts as I know they will be a little anxious about their bother and mommy being gone for three days. My grandmother will be making the trip with us! Pray for her safety as well and for great opportunities to connect with her. I’m so thankful for her heart to be a part of our lives! I’ll keep you posted in the days to come!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

What do you do when...


...you’re given a SURPRISE “DAY OFF”!?!

This morning was normal. David got up early, got the kids up for school, and then came and woke me up. I went and made lunches and started pouring cereal. He took them to school and then...that’s when the day changed. When he returned from dropping D and C off at school, he said “I know what you should do today!” I must admit my first thought was “Oh no...” Then the heavens opened and the angels started to sing as he said “pack up your backpack and get out of the house for the day...I’ll take care of the kids!” I can hear the heavens rejoicing even as I recount the moment! :) Thanks Honey! YOU. ARE. THE. BEST!!!

So what did I do! I quickly packed up my backpack with two books, my bible, my journal, two notebooks, my computer, and computer cord. Of course I knew I’d never get to all of it , but I wasn’t quite sure what I was in the mood for so I figured better to bring it all and get out quick before he changed his mind!!! :)

So, I’ve spent the day catching up on blogs and I got to enjoy a nice long lunch with a sweet friend!!! So Refreshing!

 think I’ve already posted up 5 or 6 blogs. So sorry for the overload, but that’s just my blogging reality these days. Of course they are all post dated so if you miss this blog you will never know they were all written on the same day! That’s just the way I roll. Anyway, just wanted to give a shout out to the most amazing husband in the whole world and let the whole blogging world know how much I love him!

There...now you know what I would do!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

What’s for Dinner?


Yesterday I had the privilege of going grocery shopping and stocking up on some much needed supplies. An added bonus was that I got to do this alone, with no kids in tow. Now, I fully understand the value of taking a kid or two with me...all the teachable moments along the way, the rare one on one time with mom, etc., but it sure is nice to complete this task alone from time to time!

So I prepared my meal list, separated my shopping list between Sam’s Club and Walmart, and headed out for the 3 hour cruise...I mean 4 hour shopping adventure.

Here are the meals I’ll be making and hopefully we’ll all be eating and enjoying over the next 30 or so days. I don’t have a “meal” for everyday, as there are always opportunities to eat out, have left overs, etc.

  • Pigs in a blanket with scrambled eggs or tomato soup 
  • Spaghetti and Meat Sauce (or meat balls)
  • Orange Chicken with rice and broccoli
  • Spicy Shredded Pork (this is a new one...hope it’s yummy!)
  • Tacos (family favorite!) - Red Beans and Rice
  • Foil Wrapped Shrimp Linguini 
  • Chicken Parmesan
  • Homemade Tomato Soup with grilled cheese 
  • Homemade Pizza (trying my hand at homemade dough this month too!)
  • Fajitas
  • Taco Soup (yummy and oh so easy!) 
  • Mini Meatball Sandwiches 
  • Hot Dogs and Mac and Cheese
  • Shrimp Quesadillas
  • Beef and Bean Burritos
  • Breakfast Burritos
  • Homemade Lasagna (new recipe for this one too)
  • Pancakes and Bacon 
  • Biscuits with Jelly and Scrambled Eggs 
What are you making for dinner tonight?...this week?...this month?

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Buzz Lightyear...and a Princess Too!


I think I’ve mentioned before that my kids (I) love Buzz Light year! When Daniel was 3 he had a Buzz Lightyear room, was Buzz Lightyear for Halloween, had a Buzz Lightyear birthday party, Toy Story was/is our family’s favorite movie, you get the idea. We love Buzz Lightyear around here. So when I came across pictures of each one of the kids in our Buzz Lightyear costume I just had to laugh...and it was totally worth a random post! Of course I didn’t find one of Abigail wearing it. I know she has, but she’s more of a princess kind of girl!

See if you can correctly identify all the Buzz Lightyear’s below. If you do, you will win one night of babysitting our kids while watching Toy Story 1, 2, and 3 while David and I go out on a date! Sounds like a pretty good deal to me! :) Just kidding...take a stab at it and see if you can get them all correct!







Friends


More evidence that these two are TWO PEAS IN A POD! It’s really funny to watch the two of them together. And the latest is Lilly saying “Hey Josh, you hit Abigail...okay??? You hit her!” She knows good and well that she will get in big trouble for hitting so she puts him up to the task! We’ve come down just as hard on her encouraging others to do wrong as we would her doing wrong. It seems to be working...a little! :)







Saturday, February 5, 2011

Snow Storm 2011


As predicted, the Snow Has Come...right on top of our two inches of ice. And not just a little snow, but 5 to 6 inches. This is an all out snow storm for Texas! After being cooped up for the past three days the kids were itching to get outside and explore the snow. They each got somewhat bundled up...I say somewhat because by this point several jackets were missing, and mittens and gloves were hard to come by. We managed to layer enough to keep us warm for a little bit. The kids...well the bigger four, really did enjoy their time in the snow. Lilly and I lasted long enough to take a few pictures and then we headed back in for another cup of cocoa! Here are the pictures from our day:
































Friday, February 4, 2011

More Ice + No School = What to Do?


February 1st brought more ice, sleet and snow to the area, so by Nov. 3rd we were going on our 3rd day with No School and forecasts of MORE SNOW in the days to come. We’ve spent the days snuggled up, drinking hot chocolate and trying to get creative with this ice storm we were not expecting! All the kids have enjoyed some time outside. The big two have especially enjoyed the fact that our driveway is literally a ice skating rink. Daniel worked hard to try and break up some of the ice around our doorway so we didn’t slip stepping out of the house. He’s also enjoyed football with our neighbor - they said it was perfect weather for their own super bowl! Slippery, sliding football!

Caroline passed the time working on a class project. She was to decorate a long strip of cloth any way she wanted. The strips would then be woven together with other students strips to make a giant tapestry. After gluing on puff balls and emptying a few bottles of glitter paint she decided use of the sewing machine was in order! She LOVED trying out different stitches and once I got her going she was determined to do it all by herself. It was so fun to watch her use my grandmother’s old machine.

While I love the days with no schedule and no expectations to go out and about, I will be thankful when the skies clear and the grass dries out! I’m ready for summer!