Playing Catch-up

Hey there! I can't sleep and thought I could at least catch up on blogging. HA. And Blogger is not arranging my pictures correctly or letting ME arrange them. But, you get the point.


My two kiddos are growing faster than I can fathom.

Ethan had a 5th Birthday Halloween Party this year! SOOO fun!

Emma Grace. I promise to catch up on her individually SOON!

Ethan, or as we call him, Ethee. His sister dubbed him that.

I look at this picture and can't really sum up how much I love these two.
Ethan played soccer this fall. By the last game I think he finally figured out what to do! : )

I LOVE PUMPKINS! And so does Emma. She prefers any pumpkin the same size or larger than herself.

Ethan's class field trip to "The Pumpkin Patch"!

This is one of my favorite pictures ever. Ethan never looks at the camera. Even if his FACE is looking his eyes are not. And Emma. She wanted to stand by the door for her picture. Her mouth is crooked because she is saying, "CHEESE!"

Zoo trip!

It was only in the 80's that day so it wasn't that bad.

POOL HONEY! We set up a soft side pool in the back this year. The kids LOVED it!!

Brian and I went to Dallas for the weekend with our LifeGroup. He and I toured Texas Stadium while we were there. Beautiful!

Playing in the hose IN the pool!

I hope to be catching up more often. Life is so busy. Fun, but busy.

Where I Am

I've been meaning to write this post for about a week. The words are in my head they are just hard to put down. So I'll just start at the beginning.


On June 25th, I took a pregnancy test and it immediately showed a positive result. I should have expected it seeing as how I'd been nauseated for over a week but I had chosen to ignore it. I began to cry. I was terrified that I would have a sick pregnancy like with Emma and didn't know what I would do. Brian just smiled. He was happy. And he assured me that while we didn't plan on this happening, our Creator did.


I met with my doctor's nurse the next week to confirm I was pregnant. Because I had no clue the first day of my last period we scheduled an ultrasound for July 9th.


On that morning, Brian went to the appointment with me. After the ultrasound my doctor told me that once she measured 6 weeks and once she measured 7 weeks. Her concern was that she did not see a heartbeat. If I was 6 weeks that didn't concern her as much as if I were 7. She wanted us to have a 2nd ultrasound at the hospital the following week. It was the longest week ever.


On the 14th I went for the 2nd ultrasound. I knew the tech couldn't tell me anything but I was hoping to see the monitor. All I saw was the back of the machine. About 4:30, one of the doctors in the practice called me. (My doc was out of town) I think deep down I knew the answer already but I hoped I was wrong. The 2nd ultrasound confirmed there was no heartbeat. We are not sure why. The doctors assured me that nothing could have prevented or caused it. Sometimes it just happens. She gave me a list of options- waiting, surgery or a pill. We decided to wait.


I met with my doctor on the 19th to discuss the options in detail. After talking to Brian and my mom and praying about it, I decided that the surgery would be best for me.


And that's where I am. Thursday I had surgery at noon. I remember walking back to the OR and the nurses putting on the monitors. I remember the anesthesiologist telling me he was giving me the gas to put me out. Then I remember waking up in the recovery area.

The physical recovery has not been hard but the emotional side of it has. I can't really describe how I feel. I'm sad and heartbroken that this child will not be part of our lives anymore. I feel like staying in bed with my head under the covers but I can't. I still have my 2 kids who need me. They keep me going. The hurt is easier each day.

Prayers are welcomed.

Halloween and Thanksgiving

Catching up...

HALLOWEEN! I love Halloween. It is one of my favorite holidays. It's even more fun when you are a parent. And rather than tell you all about it I'll just show you some pictures.


Emma the Octopus at Moter's Day Out. She really does have 8 legs- just look closely.

Caleb and Ethan a.k.a. Optimus Prime and Bumblebee the Transformers

Emma and Mommy

Lindsay came in town for the weekend (which was also Mom's birthday weekend). This was the only picture they were all looking at the camera.

See?

Brian and Lindsay

My beautiful family.

We had fun. We trick-or-treated in Mimi and Papa's neighborhood then came back to ours. Our neighborhood is always lively!

THANKSGIVING

Sadly, I have no pictures from Thanksgiving. It's probably because I was busy in the kitchen all morning. And, pardon me for tooting my own horn, it was probably the best meal I have ever made. The gravy was by far the best I've ever made. That's not saying alot considering my gravy is rarely ever great. But I don't generally eat it so it's hard to make.

My parents were in Florida and my sister went to her in-laws. My Uncle Paul and Papa Charles came over for lunch and we stuffed ourselves. We also had leftovers for a week!

Emma tried some sweet potatoes and really liked them. I'm hoping she'll continue to like them so I won't be the only one who eats them.

Happy Birthday, Ethan!

In October we celebrated Ethan's fourth birthday. 4! I can't believe it!

His birthday will almost always fall during Fall Break. This year we went to Alabama during break to visit with Brian's mom, sister, step-dad and his family.
For his birthday party at home we headed to The Pumpkin Patch! We had great weather that day. It was simple and easy- we had a ton of fun!

Evie and Emma- they are 3 weeks apart

The Birthday Boy

Ethan and his new friend, Mia.

Mimi took Ethan and Chloe to ride the camel.

I didn't think he would actually ride it but he loved it! I think it helped to ride with a pretty girl. He had to act all macho.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BUDDY!

This time I am for real. This time I'm really going to try to post more. That's all I will say. Posts coming.

LOOK! A POST!

(I had an entire post written before Blogger decided to go stupid on me so you get what you get. :) )

Emma is 6 months old today! I can hardly believe it!

Some facts about Emma:

1. She can sit by herself for short periods of time. Sometimes she's a bit wobbly still :)
2. Her tongue goes 90 miles an hour and is rarely her IN her mouth.
3. She is a great growler. Some people (strangers in Wal-Mart) confuse it for crying but we know she's just talking to us.
4. She started eating rice cereal about 4 weeks ago.
5. She tried green beans for the first time yesterday and ate half a jar. Today she finished the jar and SCREAMED (I mean SCREAMED) for more.
6. She thinks her brother, Ethan, is HILARIOUS. He can almost always make her smile and laugh. Especially in the car.
7. She likes Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Wow! Wow! Wubzy though she doesn't watch much. Those two can grab her attention more than any others.
8. She loves her feet.
9. She is still a happy, happy baby. I still pray she'll continue to be a happy, happy baby. When people comment on her happiness I assure them that it's because I prayed she would be and God answers prayer. Because He does.
10. She loves our animals. Kate, our dog, can get some good giggles out of her. Kate just lets Emma do whatever she wants- pull hair, drool on her, squeal at her. The cat fascinates her too but keeps more of a distance. He learned from Ethan that little people pull hair and sit on you.
11. She rolls back to front but not front to back...at least that I've seen. The other day she was on the playmat and when I looked back she wasn't near it. I assume she rolled but didn't see it.
12. My favorite thing she does is when she is eating. She will look up at my eyes and reach her hand toward my face and just grab at me. It's so sweet.

Here are some pictures! More posts will come soon!!




At Woodward Park for Mimi's birthday. (also see www.cadelinephotographyblog.com. To see all of them email me for the password on Cheri's site.)
Laughing at Papa McGuire at Ethan's soccer game. (Notice the short sleeves she's in...that was 1 1/2 weeks ago!)

No caption is needed for this one...besides- MY BEAUTIFUL GIRL!

Merry Christmas! Courtesy of Beth (www.bethhughesphotography.com) Beth took a few shots of Ethan and Emma as samples for her business.

Yes, she is the cutest thing in the world.

We still wouldn't trade her for the world!!

My Dinosaur- The Ethanosaurus

The other day Ethan was playing Hungry, Hungry Hippos on my bed. I walked in to check on him. He looked suspicious.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

He said, "I'm sitting on the marbles."

I paused for a second wondering why on Earth he was sitting on marbles.

Then he said, "I am a dinosaur and they are my eggs. I have to sit on them carefully."

"Oh, okay." I said. "It's time to put them away and go to bed."

"Okay, Mom, but please be gentle when you put them in the bag."

He is a smart, imaginitive kid who pretends to be a dinosaur. Not only that, he pretends to be a loving and caring dinosaur.

It makes all the bouncingoffthewalltalkingandsingingsoloudnotlisteningOMGdrivingmecrazy times totally worth it.