Merry Christmas 2016 and Happy NEW YEAR!

This is my last post of 2016! I didn't write much here this year because, well, we were busy! My boys and I reflected back on the year today. WOW. What an incredible year. We made tons of memories that will never be forgotten. It'll go down in the books as one of our biggest. I am grateful for everything that 2016 brought our way. We are praying for another year filled with great memories, adventure, family and good health!

This month was crazy. At times I wanted to hide in bed for days, but we kept marching on and made some great memories with loved ones. We hosted Dan's family on Christmas Eve, my dad and stepmom flew in the following day and the day after we had my sisters and their families over. We have the best families and it's another big thing we are grateful for!

We have been loving our new house! It has been a comforting spot for us all and I don't think there's another family who would love it and feel as blessed to have it as we do. We say prayers of gratitude every day.

The boys had a fruitful Christmas. They received a few prize gifts and were genuinely grateful for everything, even though they didn't get everything they wished could have fallen into their laps. We made an effort to focus on giving more than ever this year, so hopefully it rubbed off a bit.

My dad and stepmom left today after being here for almost a week. We loved having them here and both boys were so sad not to have their Grammy and Gramps tuck-ins tonight. More fun memories with them were made this week.

We accomplished a momentous feat today. The glorious locks were chopped! I personally love long hair especially on Sammy, but both boys looked so super handsome afterward. Look at my handsome boys!

I am going to make more of an effort to get here more often this year. There are constantly so many funny/cute things coming from these boys and I need to be better at writing them down. More to come soon! Thanks for checking in!

Happy 2016!

We got home last night from our week in southern Indiana. The boys did GREAT in the car. They are such great travelers and I'm thankful for that, considering how much I enjoy galavanting around the country. Time with family was good. I have photos to share, but I've been too lazy to retrieve my camera. Or...too busy. We have been unpacking, packing, cleaning and doing more organizing since we have been home. Our Christmas tree is sadly gone, as are all of our decorations. This took a toll on Sammy. He has a tough time with this every year. He sat on the couch for 30 minutes today, sucking his thumb and processing the end of Christmas 2015. Eventually he picked himself back up and helped to pack up the decorations. He even helped to label the boxes.

Sammy has spent most of the past week sick. He has had a fever off and on, a goopy nose and a cough that kept him up for a few nights on our trip. Dan and I brought him to urgent care in Indiana because his fever and cough worried us enough. The doctor started him on antibiotics and ever since he has slowly been getting better. We got up to head back home yesterday morning and I knew I had caught Sammy's sickness. I have mostly pushed through it, but tonight I am feeling an ear infection invading the right side of my head. Dan is feeding me garlic and rubbing Thieves on my back, so hopefully those things help.

We all came home from vacation EXHAUSTED. It wasn't the restful reprieve we had hoped for, but we are glad we went. It was nice spending time with my dad, stepmom, brother and bro's girlfriend. The boys had such a good time and they (especially Sammy) fell in love with my brother's dog. When I asked Sammy what he missed the most from vacation he said, "The puppy, technology and eating SUGAR!" :)

Christmas is done, the new year is here and tomorrow we will mentally prepare for school and work on Monday. I pray that you all had a wonderful past few weeks being with friends and family! Happy 2016! May this year bring MANY blessings for you all!

Hang onto your hats (and happy 2015!)

Happy New Year! The boys and I rehashed 2014 today and talked about all of its highlights and lowlights. I'll use Elijah's favorite word and say that it was an "interesting" year. We had SO MANY good moments and some learning/challenging ones, as well. I'm excited to see what is in store for us in 2015!

Yesterday was Sammy's worst sickness day. His breathing was so scary. He sounded like Darth Vader while at rest and had a fever (although I don't know how high it was because the boys have managed to hide our thermometer in an undisclosed location). I was super nervous about getting him through the night last night, especially since Dan was working through the night. I eventually brought Darth Vader into bed with me so I could listen to (umm, obsess about) him whenever I wanted. By the time morning came he sounded much better and was so much better today. Thank goodness! He's on the mend.

Elijah, my sweet Elijah. He struggled today. It was one of those days when I envisioned myself on that terrible, old, shaky roller coaster at ValleyFair. The one where you feel like your brain is going to start oozing out of your ears and like the violent shaking may have done permanent damage to all of your internal organs. You hold on for dear life and will yourself to survive. "It's going to end. It WILL end. Get through the ride. HOLD ON TIGHT." That was today. I just got through it. As I've mentioned, it has not exactly been a restful "break," so Elijah is still well above boiling point. Today was filled with verbal lashings pretty much constantly. I have been praying all day that tomorrow will be better. And the next day even better. We have tried so hard to limit activity/noise/stimulation so that his brain can get back to a comfortable place. We're not there, but with some prayer maybe we can get there in the next few days.

I'll end with a few adorable Sammy funnies. :)

Lately he's been asking us random questions in the middle of the night. SMACK in the middle of the night, we hear questions such as the following:

"What is 4+2?"

"Is this breathing?" (which is followed by a HUGE deep breath)

"How old will Elijah be when I'm 7?"

"What color is blue plus orange plus purple?"

Since his sickness, he's said a few cute things:

"I think my smelling is stuck!"

"Why is my talking not working so well?"

"I think my cough is running out."

He told me that he didn't ever want to grow up (probably because I always tell him to stop growing up). Then:

Sammy: "What makes me grow up?"

Me: "Time!"

...long pause and lots of thinking...

S: "Well....then I should stop time. I think I'll put some tape on it. Or super glue."

I hope you all had a good day and that this year will be filled with good things for ALL of you! Thanks for peeking in!

2011

2010 is done, can you believe it? It is surreal to think back to a year ago. Elijah had JUST started walking. I was a few weeks away from the beginning of a 4-month period of bed rest. Sam was a tiny little growing peanut in my belly.

Now, Elijah is RUNNING around our home like a screaming tornado. Bed rest is long done, thank goodness, although I am still battling with the few extra pounds I added to my thighs during that time. Samson is no longer tiny. He is our chubby, cute 7-month-old babe whose smile makes me melt.

A lot happened in 2010. It was difficult and stressful at times, but also rewarding and fun. I always think it's cool to think about timing and how God times things in our lives juuuust right. 2010 is proof of that for us. We were told a handful of times that Elijah would need heart surgery in 2010, so we worried about how that would work with the birth of a baby and caring for a newborn, etc. Well! We didn't have to worry about any of that because heart surgery did not need to occur in 2010! This is a good reminder for me that things will work out the way they are supposed to. Worrying is so silly, yet it seems impossible for me to stop doing it.

I'm excited to see what 2011 will bring! We know that Elijah has a heart cath on February 17th, which will help determine his next big surgery. Based on the amount of energy this child has, I cannot imagine it will need to happen soon. We will see what the cath reveals, though.

Today we got back to our usual routine. Elijah got to see his friends at preschool and his best bud Paigey at daycare. I was back at work. Routine only for a few days, though, because the last part of this week will be a bit out of the ordinary. I am traveling to Los Angeles with a friend to help her with a photo shoot from Friday through late Monday night. Dan will be retreating to the Northern woods to spend time with friends. And the boys will get a few nights with Grandma.

Thanks for checking in! Happy 2011!

Goodbye 2009. You were a great year.

I'm a little bit sad to say goodbye to 2009. It was a really really good year for us. 2010 will bring some major changes for our family, and I feel partly afraid but mostly excited about it all.

Happy New Year to you all! (Turn up your volume and enjoy our 2009 slide show!)