Fun Times

Grace, Chase and Evan decorating the gingerbread train.
This is what a bad hair day looks like according to Grace.

The finished train!

First off, my brother and his wife had a beautiful little girl on November 24th. My sister in law was in labor for about 36 hours, so we were thankful when Cadence was finally born. She weighed in just under 8 pounds and was 21 inches long. Everyone is doing well and adjusting to their new rolls.

Evan's Botox has kicked in. He was a little debilitated by it for a day or so, but now when he is out of his braces, he has been running flat footed. We are excited to see this, but know that it probably is only temporary. In the mean time he has a few physical therapy appointments coming up to see if we can work with those muscles.

David has had a few weeks off from school, so we have enjoyed some much needed family time lately. We had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving weekend, with a little bit of shopping too. David has school again tomorrow, and then leaves for a quick trip to the east coast on Sunday. We will have to wait to get our tree next weekend.

Our kitty Roger has adopted another family. The lady who lives behind us is in love with our cat. He started visiting her, and she started feeding him, and well guess what? He likes it there since she takes care of him, and probably is able to pet him more through out the day then we do. I called her today though to send him home, since he really is "our" cat, and we really do pay his vet bills and pay for his prescribed food. (I didn't say that when I left the message , don't worry) I hope to see him show up soon.

Last weekend the kids and their friend Chase made a gingerbread train for Christmas. They helped me decorate the house too, and now all that is left his to get the tree and the wreath that we ordered from our neighbor kids.

Last night as we were getting ready for bed, Grace informed me when I took out her pig tails, that she was having a bad hair day. I was laughing so hard, because I never say that phrase and I have no idea where she picked that up. Then the other day I wanted to put a single pony tail in her hair, and she told me it would look "weird". What! Does she even know what weird means?

To top off the funny stories...Grace has been making pictures lately. She can draw just about anything, and makes about 50 pictures a day. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much. Anyway, we told her to make a picture of her Uncle Ryan (our good friend) and her to send in his Christmas card. So she did. Lately the men she has been making have had what looks like a 3rd leg. You probably know where this is going. So, when I asked her what that was, she said it was his "gina". Well, we knew what she was implying, and told her that boys don't have those. She said "I know, but I gave him one." We explained again what boys and girls have, and that those are private parts that we should leave out of pictures and not talk about. I am not sure if she really was drawing that, or said it to be funny, but it was hard not to laugh.

Kids! You never know what will come next~

Babies and Botox

Life has been busy, busy good not bad. The kids have been generally healthy with a few sniffles so far, which always makes life easier.

My brother Kevin and his wife are expecting their baby girl today. My poor sister in law has been in labor now for close to 20 hours, and their little girl still wants to stay inside a bit longer. I pray that she comes in the next few hours to give Mama's body some rest. For all of you who have children, you know what a blessing they are, but getting them into this world, anyway you do it, can sometimes be difficult. I find parenting to be the most humbling experience ever, more so than marriage. Kids don't always do what you want them to do....news flash news flash. They often times embarrass you at a store by throwing a tantrum, if it hasn't happened to you consider yourself lucky. My brother and sister in law will learn like all of us, the joys and the struggles, but also the rewards of these beautiful human beings.

Evan received Botox shots in his calf muscles on Friday. It was not an easy appointment at all. None of them are really, but you hope the decision you make as a parent will be the right one. You have to take a risk for the greater good of your child, but it does not come without guilt. Evan received Versed to relax him, but 3 of us still had to hold him down to get 3 shots in each calf muscle. He experienced some flu like symptoms over the weekend which is normal, and this morning he started having trouble walking, which is also normal until they realize how to use the muscle again without the tone. Overall he is doing well. He will be evaluated in a month to see how he is doing, along with ongoing physical therapy.

Grace had her Thanksgiving program this morning. It was cute with the feather paper hats and paper bag vests. She decided to bow after every song, which was hilarious and adorable all at the same time.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving....until next time.

Happy Veterans Day/Happy Birthday Marine

Today is Veterans day. Yesterday was the Marine Corps Birthday. This time of year is very special to our family. Yes, that is my Marine in the picture above. Once a Marine always a Marine. We have been together for nearly 15 years (married 12 1/2) He was in the Marine corps for almost 8 years before having to get out for having ulcerative colitis. That means we have spent 1/2 our life together in the military and the other 1/2 out. There has always been challenges no matter what. In the military we really had to rely on each other and our friends. We had no family near us, and David was deployed for over 1/2 the time he was in. We were young, newly married, and didn't have much in the way of money or possessions. It didn't matter though, because we had each other and we were so blessed by God. David served his Marine Corps well. I will never forget that chapter of our life and am so thankful for the many friends me met along the way. Now life presents new challenges to us every day. Even though he is home, he is a busy man finishing his masters degree and working hard at his job. We have 2 awesome children, both with very unique personalities. I was talking to David the other day that in 2 years we will have been together, longer than we haven't been together. I am so proud of you David, for all you did for our country, and all you do for our family now. You are loved and respected more than you know.