Happy Birthday Kylie!

We had a very busy weekend, but I wanted to make sure and wish my baby girl a very happy birthday! Kylie turned eight on Saturday, and she was practically glowing. :) Birthdays are always extra special for her. I think she feels like she's catching up to her big sister. For me, they are always extra special since we almost lost her before we ever got a chance to meet her. She was my preemie who the doctors said could possibly have a variety of issues. She came out kicking and screaming and never spent a moment in the NICU! She's always been a fighter and our ball of fire! I love you, Smylie!

 
Q&A with Kylie...

Q: What's your favorite food?

A: Pizza!

Q: What's your favorite color?

A: I don't really have a favorite color, but the color I like the most is green.

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?

A: A chef.

Q: Why do you want to be a chef?

A: Because I like cooking and making food. 

Q: What is your favorite activity to do for fun?

A: Umm... jump on the trampoline, make bead jewelry.


Q: What is your favorite animal?

A: I would say dogs, for sure.

Q: What kind of dog is your favorite dog?

A: Black labs! (No surprise there. Our dog is a black lab) :)

Q: What are some of your goals for your life right now?

A: Get my purple belt in TaeKwonDo, learn how to be a good babysitter, and go ice skating.

Q: Anything else you would like to say on your eighth birthday?

A: I had fun with my friends at my sleepover, and I'm really excited that I don't have to sit in a car seat anymore!

Surgery Scheduled for Luke

Looks like my mischievous little sweetie will be heading back in for surgery again. Luke is still having issues with his ears, and when we saw the ENT yesterday, he wasn't happy with how they looked. So the doctor would like to re-insert his tubes, and remove his adenoids. On a good note, this same surgery seemed to do the trick for John David, so I'm hoping it will work for Luke too. :) Surgery is coming up quick, and was scheduled for next Friday the 18th! Please pray for a smooth and fast recovery.

Wordless Wednesday - Kylie Plays Hairdresser {Poor Luke!}

Happy Birthday Caitlyn!

Today is Caitlyn's birthday! Wow! We're so proud of her, and can't wait to see what the next year brings. Love you Caitybug!

Q&A with Caitlyn...

Q: What's your favorite food?

A: Pizza!

Q: What's your favorite color?

A: Purple, no doubt.

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?

A: I want to be an animal rescuer or a rancher.

Q: What is your favorite activity to do for fun?

A: Crafting and reading.

Q: Any crafts in particular?

A: Painting. .. Paint-by-numbers, actually.

Q: What is your favorite animal?

A: Horse, of course!

Q: Why do you want to be an animal rescuer?

A: Because I just love animals.

Q: What are some of your goals for your life right now?

A: To get to pointe in ballet, be a good Irish step dancer, and to get good grades. Be a good friend, and learn to be a better artist.

Q: Anything else you would like to say on your tenth birthday?

A: I love my family and I'm glad that they are there for me all the time!

Christmas at Our House

I still can't believe the holidays are over and it's already 2011! But it is, and I figured it's about time I got around to posting our holiday pictures. :) Our camera has been on the fritz, so I didn't get near as many pictures as I usually do of this time of year. Plus after I got home from the hospital and the whole gall bladder surgery thing on Christmas morning, somehow snapping photos wasn't at the forefront of my thoughts.

Mid-December, Jeremy headed out of town for a week on a business trip. So, the kids and I decided we would tackle the tree and surprise him when he got back home.

Uh, John David, I think that Santa hat is a little small! :)

Jeremy's mom was able to fly in for Christmas, and it was a huge blessing for all of us! In the 13 years Jeremy and I have been together, we have never been able to spend a Christmas with his mom, so to say the least, it was very meaningful to have her here. Plus, when I ended up in the hospital just a few hours after she arrived (the Thursday before Christmas), we knew God had it all worked out. She was able to spend some good quality time with the kids, and we didn't have to worry about them while Jeremy went back and forth between home and the hospital. While I was in the hospital, Jeremy, his mom, and the kids managed to do some quick Christmas light touring around our area, and enjoyed the lots of snow we got that weekend!

John David and Kylie using their sleds as snowboards - such fun!

Christmas morning came and it was a blur of wrapping paper, smiles, and thankfulness to finally be home with my family.

John David was pretty excited about his Dollar tree handcuffs!

Even Chewy was in the holiday spirit!

Kylie and her kissing frogs

Grandma and Luke

This is my favorite picture from Christmas weekend. It's a bit blurry, but I thought it was precious. As we were opening presents, it started to snow - a lot. Kylie is always so amazed with the snow, and she just went and stood by the windows watching it fall.

I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season! While ours may not have turned out exactly as we had planned, we were still able to enjoy each other and remember the true reason for the season!

Our Christmas Drama

Well, Christmas didn't turn out exactly as I had hoped, but we have so much to be thankful for! Thursday afternoon my mother-in-law arrived from Wisconsin for the holiday, and we were all so excited, making plans for the next few days to visit Santa at the Bass Pro Shop, drive around and look at Christmas lights, and view the live nativity at the local zoo. As it turned out though, Thursday night I was admitted to the hospital in severe abdominal pain. By the end of the night, the doctors had decided that I needed to have my gall bladder removed, due to several gallstones that had blocked my duct and caused a nasty case of infection. After doses of IV antibiotics, the surgeon took my gallbladder out yesterday (Christmas Eve), and I was thankfully able to get home just in time to open presents mid-morning (on Christmas day) with the kids.

While it wasn't exactly the Christmas I had planned. My mother-in-law has been a HUGE help and a trooper helping take care of the kids and cook most of Christmas dinner by herself. I am so thankful that I was able to make it home Christmas morning to be with my family! I had some sad little children, whose faces lit up with joy at the sight of mommy coming through the door just in time to open presents!

Hope you and your families had a fabulous holiday!!

Our Thanksgiving Holiday - The Rest of the Story

So after visiting my parents in Tennessee, we headed to Indiana where we celebrated a birthday with my cousin's stepson, helped my Nanny decorate for the holidays, visited with the Stults, saw our first snow of the season, and baked Christmas cookies! We didn't have much time, but we crammed as much fun as we could in what time we had!

Lunch at the Stults - Caitlyn and Issac

John David and Sam

Kylie and Gracie

Cutie Patootie Micah

Birthday Fun with Joey

I think Luke thought the new scooter was for him! :)

Todd, Jeremy, and Uncle Mike - talking guy talk

Tami and Rocky

Just the girls - Me, Tami, Angie, Vicki, and Lacy

It's Snowing - You can't really see it, but it is... I promise!

Kylie thought Nanny's old fashioned crank cookie press was pretty cool.

Yummy cookies!

More cookies!

Thank you Nanny!

Lastly it was off to Ohio, where we visited with two of my aunts and uncles, one of which we hadn't seen since Kylie was a newborn!

Uncle Mike and Mary Lu

The kids and Kramer

We were definitely happy to be home when we returned, but are looking forward to the next visit!