The Holidays are Here

Good afternoon blogging friends!

Our family is so excited that the holidays are here! We have our Christmas letter written, Christmas cards being sealed shut and ready to mail, the tree has been decorated, the gifts are being worked on, and yesterday it SNOWed here in Texas. Yes, it seems the holidays are here.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family, despite my sweet husband having to work and my precious oldest son staying behind with the other side of his family. Baby G and I traveled a little bit to my aunt's house where everyone gathers each year. Besides a pretty darn awful trip home with much crying and such, the trip was a great one. It makes the start to the holiday season complete when we celebrate Thanksgiving with the whole family at Auntie M's! :)

The Christmas decorations are now up and we're feeling quite festive. We got a little tree this year because of the smaller space and just decorated a little corner of the apartment, but its enough for us- we don't need much! Big B has an awesome Lego Advent calendar (Thanks Aunt S) and each morning he rushes to see what little Lego character lies behind that day's door. He is also helping with the gifts this year that we have tried to make very personalized.

And yesterday it SNOWed! I was a terrible mom and checked B out of school a tad bit early just so I could see his face when he stared in awe at the snowflakes falling! Its the little things like this that matter.
Both kiddos loved it. Afterwards I put Baby G down for a nap and sat down to a nice cup of hot chocolate B had made the both of us and edited the pictures I took of them.

Hope you like them as much as I do. More posting and pictures to come much more often I hope!

I Just Knew

A friend of mine just recently became "one of us." She and her husband, who was diagnosed with lung cancer, have joined what is sometimes called the cancer community. A family of folks connected by a terrible disease each one of us wishes didn't exist. As I watch her fumble through these first few days after diagnosis it reminds me of when my precious child was diagnosed five years ago. I feel for her like only "one of us" can. So many memories are still so vivid in my mind and will never go away. My baby's screams throughout one of those first nights when they couldn't get the pain in his legs under control. And the tears streaming down his face as he begged me to lock his hospital room door so "they" (the doctors and nurses) couldn't come in any more. His blood shot eyes after crying so hard during his first spinal tap and bone marrow aspiration. The horror and embarrassment he felt when he vomited in his wheelchair on his first trip outside in 4 days. Although those memories are less stabbingly painful then just a few short years ago- they will remain with me forever. But- I learned this morning that some of those memories fade and some you almost forget! And that my friends is itself a small miracle. As I watch my friend struggle through some difficult decisions I shared with her that my decision to move B to the hospital where he ultimately received treatment was an easy one. I told her I just knew. And as I recalled- I did. However, when I shared my friend's struggles with my mom this morning she said "oh I remember how hard that was for you! You cried and cried and were so distraught over whether to transfer him or not." I had forgotten! As she reminded me of the events the details came back and I recalled just how tough that choice really was for me.... but only after we talked. What a blessing it is to know that I can forget. So, it is with HOPE that I can stand by my friend's side and help her through this journey. And it is with HOPE that I can tell her that God is in charge of the big things and the little ones. And it is with HOPE that I can tell her without a doubt that maybe one day at least a few of these struggles they are facing may fade and they might come to believe they just knew.

No bothering this year!

This year I got smart! In years past I have tried to take cute little pictures of cute little kids on Halloween night while dressed in their cute little costumes. But, understandably so, it never works out quite right. And this year with an infant, I was pretty certain history would repeat itself. I am taking a wild guess that Baby G might get a little bothered with his costume by about half-way through our Halloween adventure. And I know for sure (because its happened before) that Big B will get seriously bothered with me trying to snap photos when he is trying to obtain as much candy as possible and have as much fun as possible with friends and family. Posing for pictures (or even just being still long enough for mom to snap shots from close enough that the flash will work) just isn't in the cards on Halloween.

So- like I said, I got smart. We did pictures BEFORE Halloween. So now, I have cute little photos of my cute little kiddos and there was no bothering involved at all. Both were willing participants.

Sick but Cruising!

Hey there! Its been a long time! I would participate in a "Not Me Monday" post, however being that I haven't blogged in 2 weeks I thought I might better be able to catch you up on the happenings here with a "regular" post. Big B has been battling illness (just the usual viral winter stuff) for a whole week and Little G has been cruising along and has managed not to catch what his brother has had. We stayed in the house all last week, but had quite a bit of homework and a school project to keep us busy (not to mention 'round the clock medication for fever and cough!) and a very busy little 7 month old. B is back to feeling well and we look forward to the week ahead.

Friday evening the weather was gorgeous and B felt great, so we took the kiddos to the pumpkin patch. B found a very tall pumpkin just like he wanted and we got Baby G one just for him, too. The little guy seemed to somewhat enjoy himself amidst all the pumpkins and hay (which went directly in his mouth), however we could barely get him to give us a single smile for pictures. And what's important on these family outings anyway..... the fun or the pictures?!

Big brother was supposed to have a soccer game yesterday, but after being so sick all week I couldn't see allowing him to run his little heart out. There is no "half- rear-ending it" for that kid- its all or nothing, so I unforunately had to choose nothing and he missed the game. He was a little upset, but dealt with it pretty well. He'll be back at practice tomorrow and can't wait to hit the field!

Hope to update sooner rather than later,

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama to poke a little fun at herself and blog about the things she might typically leave out. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!

So please enjoy my very first Not Me! Monday! post:

Let's see...
It was not me who dropped her child off at school this morning and told him on his way out of the car "You need to start putting lotion on your legs. Didn't we discuss that already?" That could not have waited until later and the typical "Love you, Have a great day!" just wasn't good enough for today I guess.

I also did not allow my youngest child to continue pulling himself up to standing on the coffee table in the living room after falling and hitting his head several times before. I most certainly did not take pictures of the above events and think to myself that he's going to have to fall a few times in order to learn...
It couldn't have been my husband who had the same outlook while putting the said child to bed and I highly doubt it was my baby's head hitting the crib rail tonight while my husband said "I was trying to take a picture of him standing because it was so cute."

I did not have my older child come home from school today with a conduct mark.... his very first one EVER. I did not proceed to ask what on earth he was thinking and why he was "excessively talking" in class. And it wasn't my son who said "everybody in class" got a conduct mark today because they were all talking. And I am pretty sure it wasn't my kiddo who had a writing journal assignment for homework today and ended up writing about how his mother was "furious" with him this afternoon about his conduct mark.

What did you NOT do today and this past week? Feel free to tell me in the comments if you're brave enough! :)

Crawling Baby and Soccer Stud

Baby G is on the move!!! He's been physically able to crawl for about a week or so now, but he hadn't figured that out for himself until yesterday. He's in on the secret now though, and there's no stopping him! Well, there's no stopping him unless you are trying to show off his new crawling skills.... then he won't budge! We tried to show off for Daddy this morning (who was at work yesterday until after the little guy went to sleep) and he wasn't about to crawl very far. However, we enticed him with a checkbook (no way would he go for a "real" baby toy) and he shot across the room. And yes, I did let him play with the checkbook for a short minute because that would just be mean if I didn't!!! We went to "Book Babies" later this morning and he crawled a little there, too. Being "social" made the whole experience a little more fun I think. My little guy is growing so fast.... 7 months tomorrow!!!

Big brother is quite active himself! He had two soccer games this past weekend and although he played well at both, the second one was awesome! I believe the score was 6-0 and B scored 3 goals and had 1 assist. He was very proud of himself and it was extra special considering he had his own entourage there to watch him! Grandparents from both sides, Daddy and family, aunts, great aunts, and a family friend were all there. I had given everyone a schedule and they all just happened to show up on the same day. We were calling it "B's Brigade."

GOOOAALLL!!!

Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Yesterday was a PETastrophe!!

What a catastrophe of pets yesterday was!!! Or in B's terms "it was a pet tragedy day!"

We were invited by my sister and her husband to accompany them and their dog (a Great Dane named T) to the dog park today where a "pet adventure" day was being held. There was also supposed to be a carnival for the kids, but unfortunately when we showed up that was non-existant (maybe because of the looming possibility of rain?). The day was going well and Big B enjoyed seeing all the rescue shelter booths, dog costumes, and of course all the hundreds of different dogs! After perusing around the inside part we took the dog (and the kids) to the actual dog park to let her run off some steam. She played with all of her doggie friends and B even posed with her for some pictures because everybody loves to take pictures of the dog that resembles a horse I guess! :)
Eventually many more Great Danes came running through the park gate and they began chasing each other. Much to our dismay they were heading straight in our direction... the direction of my youngest kiddo in his stroller!!! I quickly tried to step in front to guard him so they wouldn't run into him, but I guess I wasn't so quick afterall! T ran me smooth over, throwing me into the air, proceeding to continue running under me, and I landed smack dab on my head (feet in the air and all!). ** Think human bowling pin ** Needless to say- a few hours later I am feeling the effects of my "pet adventure" today!!! That'll teach me not to step in front of a Dane running full speed ahead don't you think??!!

And.... as if that wasn't enough pet problems for one day....
After we got back home I took the kids to the pool. Since Baby G loves it outside and B loves to swim I thought it might be a good way to try to rest until the hubby got home. When we headed back inside B noticed a "cute black cat with food in it's mouth." It seems that a stray cat had found himself a rat. Only, he never got to eat that rat because he ran straight into the street and promptly got hit by a car. Right in front of my kiddo I might add!!! And not only did he get hit, he came running (if you can call it that) back towards us and then started "flopping around like a fish!" I thought he had maybe just broken a leg or something, but he quickly laid down and stopped moving. Needless to say- that poor black cat didn't survive. I checked. (and yes- I called my brother who works for a vet so at least I could feel like I did something). I was terribly worried about what B thought because he is typically very sensitive to things like that. His response.. "at least he had just caught that rat so he was happy." Lovely.

Please keep your pets away from us awhile! ;)

Lots of "S's"

School, Skeeters, Shots, Soccer, Scooting, Sick, no-Sleep, and Snapshots.....

The first few weeks of SCHOOL have gone pretty well. Big brother is loving his teacher and class and is working on getting back into the groove of things. The school work has always come pretty easy for him but the responsibility and organization of being a 3rd grader is something we're working on.

Baby G has been dealing with a lot in the last few weeks as well. He got torn up by the terrible SKEETERS around here during our nightly walks and being out at brother's practices. We've been using his mosquito net on his stroller, but those pesky things seem to get him anyway. Maybe he's just too sweet! We even took him to the doctor after the bumps just kept appearing despite being inside for a few days. We wanted to be sure he didn't have chickenpox or something! Of course he didn't and we just felt silly, but better safe than sorry. I had heard that they looked a little different in infants and wanted to be on the safe side. Silly Momma! Whatcha gonna do?!

Baby G also got his 6 month SHOTS about 2 weeks ago. That little guy and shots just don't mix! He ran a fever for a couple days, was terribly cranky, and had "flu-like" symptoms thanks to his flu shot. Grrr....

SOCCER is going really well. Brother had his first scrimmage the other night and scored 1 of the 2 goals. He has his first 2 games next weekend. He's looking forward to them!

Baby G is very close to crawling. However, right now he is settling for something more like SCOOTING. He starts on his hands and knees, then moves his hands forward, then slides down to his belly, and then gets back up on his hands and knees just to do it all over again. He got the hands part down and the moving his knees forward (or even sometimes his feet like a bear). He resembles an inch worm inching his way across the room. It won't be long, though!

Despite his masterful scooting skills, the little guy can't inch away from getting SICK I guess. He had his first playdate last week and 2 days later he ended up with a cold. I am pretending they are un-related because he thoroughly enjoyed it and I want to continue them. He seems to be feeling a little bit better this morning. Now if he will just let his poor parents catch up on their SLEEP!

Of course I took pictures of almost all of the events above (and have included a couple). What's life without SNAPSHOTS as you go??!

Heroes

Just thought I would share with you guys a sweet little story from this morning.

We were on our way to school—Me driving and B in the back. Baby G had stayed home with Daddy. We were listening to KSBJ (our local Christian radio station) as we do each morning and just driving as usual. The gentleman on the radio asked “Do you know who your child’s hero is?” The brief 1 min “lesson” went on to say that we as parents need to do a better job these days of staying in touch with our children and making sure we know who they look up to and want to emulate. I sat there for a minute trying to figure out what B’s answer would be… I went through a list in my head: Reggie Bush, his daddy, a policeman (what he wants to be when he grows up), the rapper with the most recent #1 song, Ben 10 (cartoons!), who could it be? I hoped it was someone at least *slightly* respectable…..
Then I thought- why not just ask him? So I did.

His answer?

Without hesitation he calmly stated:
“THE PEOPLE AT MD ANDERSON”

My son is my hero and I am so proud to be his mom!

Hope you have a wonderful night!

TOMORROW

I figured I would start this blogging experience off with a "re-post" of sorts. Please enjoy an email I sent out to family and friends on August 24th......

Tomorrow, August 25th 2009, marks the end of a wonderful summer for my boys and our family. Tomorrow marks the beginning of another school year. Tomorrow also marks TWO YEARS that B has been off treatment and CANCER FREE!!! What a great day that tomorrow will be don’t you think?? And of course, why wait? Let’s celebrate TOMORROW- TODAY and everyday!!!

When I was told B had leukemia I have to admit that although I was completely shocked and devastated and confused, I never believed that tomorrow wouldn’t come. I don’t know why- but it just didn’t enter my mind. Don’t get me wrong- during those 3+ years of treatment I definitely had my days of worry and fear and the crazy thoughts of the unknown, but on that diagnosis day I just always knew tomorrow would come. And so far it has. However, we don’t take tomorrow for granted….. and NEVER will. Because we have known others just like B that never got another tomorrow here on earth and parents who never got another tomorrow with their child. So- please join us in celebrating B’s tomorrow and pray with us that tomorrow continues for years and years to come.

We pray that your TOMORROW is a good one!