Straight out of a movie...

Well, where to begin???

It has been quite an interesting month. September began with being at home (for only a few days) after my grandma's funeral. We got home from that trip on August 30th. I had a real tough time leaving my family and heading home, because I just wanted to be with them. I wanted to stay at my Grandma's house, be around her things, sleep with her favorite blanket (the one I made her) and be where she most recently was. It may sound weird to some, but to me it was my way of beginning to deal with her death. I muddled through the next week, and decided I would take the two kiddos back to spend some time with my family (and stay at Grandma's house), while DH stayed behind to work. Bless his heart, he totally understood why I needed to do this, and supported me 100%. I love him so much. So, I packed up both kids (and me) and headed to my hometown. We left there on September 12th, and came home on the 17th, just in time to head back on the 19th in preparation for my Dad's surprise 60th birthday party on the 20th. On the 21st, we left for DH's parents house for a visit, and so Little Man could meet his Great Grandma Ruth, Aunt Suzanne, and Uncle Bill for the first time. Finally, we left to come home yesterday the 23rd. That is the short version...

Some crazy things happened along the way: While visiting with my family (12th-17th), I was packing the car to come home (remember, we stayed at my Grandma's house). It was unseasonably hot that day, and thought.."gee, I wonder if we might see some hummingbirds yet this summer..." (Grandma LOVED hummingbirds, but was frustrated the last few summers, because they never came to her hummingbird feeder!) Literally, I turned around, and there was one hovering about two feet from my face at eye level. It turned around, followed the sidewalk, and flew into the breezeway (I had propped open the door to haul luggage out). I broke down and cried, knowing that God had sent this little bird to let me know Grandma is ok, and happy in heaven. It made me happy---I had been praying for some kind of sign--and I believe I got it this day.

No trip can be complete with out getting the "yarps". I think I had some bad red wine this past weekend, while staying at my brother-in-laws house. It had been a rough day with Bug that day, and she was very much acting like a two year old. My BIL offered me a "girly drink", and I accepted. Needless to say, at 4:30am (and again at 5:30am) the following morning, I was wishing I hadn't taken that "girly drink". I knew it had to be bad...that was the first time I have yarped since DH and I have been married! We just had our 10th anniversary....

And most memorable, happened on our trip home yesterday. As we were on the interstate, a semi passed us, and kicked up a vise-grip pliers (that we are assumming was just laying on the road) and it flew halfway through our windshield. YIKES!! Not a fun experience. Lets just say, we were on our knees thanking God that it wasn't a screwdriver, otherwise one of us probably would have been impaled. Very scary. DH only had two pieces of glass that he had to pick out of his skin, and I found one this morning in my leg (don't ask me why I didn't see/feel it yesterday). Luckily, the kids were fine. One of the scariest times of my life...almost like something you would see in a movie.

Here are tons of pictures from recent weeks: Little Man with his birthmom, "H" on a recent visit Little Man with "H's" mom on a recent visit Bug and her cousin Jaxon having storytimeDonna (my uncle's fiancee) and Little Man Taking a nap with Grandma on her birthdayCuddling up with Uncle Dan Happy Birthday, Mom (and Grandma)!! In memory of Great-Grandma Polly, we saved the bow (only to put it on LM's head)!! Bug having dinner with Grandpa Hoho This is a picture of the hummingbird that flew into my grandma's house as I was packing the car to head home. I ended up leaving the doors open and left, because the bird wouldn't fly out. My mom checked on the bird a few hours later, and it had finally flown out. Babies before baths... The Thinker... Here we are back at Grandma's house the day of Grandpa Hoho's surprise birthday party. DH is knocked out because Bug slept with us, and she is a very restless sleeper. He actually didn't get up till 10am this day...talk about lazy bones!! Trying to stall Grandpa before the (surprise) party--Reading to Bug The Cake SURPRISE!!! Helping Grandpa open his birthday gifts

Ok, here we are at DH's parents house--here is Great-Grandma Ruth holding Little Man for the first time Aunt Suzanne teaching Bug how to iron (toy iron of course!!) Aunt Kim cuddling with Little Man Bug ironing her cousin Erins' shirt---ahem, I think Aunt Suzanne needs to do some more teaching!! :-)

(Ok, there are a few that are out of order--they are from the second visit to my parents house)Bug up in a tree in my Grandma's backyard (the same tree I used to climb and a kid) Bug and her cousin Killian in the tree This is the dreaded vise-grip wrench--a picture from the outside. Bug kept saying..."Car-owies, Mama!" And a view from the inside--from this view it almost looks like some kind of metal rod--that is why initally, we sort of freaked out, thinking of what could have happened and how one of us could have been hurt real bad... The last two pictures were taken today in the new jumparoo the my sister gave to me to use for our active Little Man. He LOVES IT!! Thanks, Aunt Erin! Love you, and hope you had a great birthday today!!

My beautiful Grandma...

This has been by far one of the toughest weeks of my life. On Wednesday, August 27th at noon, my dear Grandmother became a heavenly angel. Not only was she my Gramma (or gram-crackers as I sometimes called her), but I always thought of her as my second mother. We were so close...my heart aches that she is no longer here. My solace is that she is not in pain anymore, she went how she wanted to (in her sleep), and she is rejoicing in Heaven.

I got the call that she had been life-flighted to the (big, fancy) hospital on Tuesday morning at 7am. She had gone into the (local) ER on Monday night around 11pm, complaining of severe leg/hip/back pain. Long story short, they gave her some morphine for the pain. Right before she fell asleep, she complained of a severe headache on her right side (she told the nurse about 3x's I guess). She fell asleep, and when they tried to wake her, she didn't wake up. They gave her some medicine to offset the morphine, and nothing. The doctor ordered a head scan which showed a major brain bleed (which was still bleeding--two hours after she complained of the "headache"). That is when they life-flighted her to the "fancy" hospital (the same one my dad was at for his 2 abdominal aortic aneurysms--so we know they can work miracles!). Anyway, upon arrival, the doctors assessed her, and basically she was already brain dead. This is when I get the call, and I called DH and he came home. We packed up the kiddos and drove down to say goodbye. Once we were all there, we prayed over her, said our goodbyes, and had the Dr's take out the respirator. That was at 4pm on Tuesday. The doctors were convinced that she wouldn't even take any breaths...boy were they wrong! This stubborn Norwegian breathed on her own, till noon on Wednesday. The Lord was ready for her in Heaven... it's just that none of us here were ready to see her go.

She was very strong in her faith, and always knew she would meet Jesus someday. In recent weeks, she would tell people that "she was ready now..." because she had so much leg pain (from her broken hip in november of 06'). When I hear that, it makes me sad and happy. Sad because she isn't here to talk to, hug, kiss, and see her hold and interact with her great-grandchildren. Happy because I know she in pain-free, and singing her favorite hymns with the angels...

Bug keeps saying "Mommy Kie (cry)?" "Mommy, all done kie?" It breaks my heart everytime I hear her say it, yet sometimes I just have to let the tears flow...

I miss my Grams so much...already, I have caught myself saying or doing something that reminds me of her (and then the tears). It had been awhile since I had talked to her--which is not the norm for me. Normally, I talk to her about once a week. Life had just gotten so busy for awhile there...and I faltered on calling her. I have to live with that. I imagine it will take me awhile to forgive myself for that. I am a firm believer that we should always tell those closest to us our feelings and what they mean to us, because you never know what tomorrow might bring--or even if there will be a tomorrow. I thought I had learned that lesson with my father. Therein lies the irony...

A "pack-a-day" cough...

Our two bumpkins...Bug is continuing to love on her baby brother, and Little Man is continuing to be entertained by his big sister. Bug is such a help when LM is crying or upset...she will walk over to him, and just talk to him, and immediately he will calm down. Many times when she talks to him he just smiles away. It is hard to believe he is two months old already...time flies so fast.

I have been so sick this week...I felt it coming on a couple of days before our cookout with Little Man's birthmom and her family (almost two weeks ago). Well, it was pretty bad this week...it was such a struggle to breathe. I can pretty much self-diagnose myself now, with my history of lung issues (chronic bronchitis, and more recently, asthma)...I think this week it was bronchitis again (third time this summer!). Good news is, the gunk is breaking up and I am starting to be able to breathe again with no major problems. Now, I just sound like a "pack-a-day" smoker when I talk or cough. Lovely. That will last for about a week or so. Anyway, needless to say, this week, nothing got done at our house. Some days, the kids were in their pajamas most of the day, and on those days, I was lucky to get a shower. O-well...Life goes on.

And since I was so sick and nothing happened, not alot of pictures were taken. I do have a few though...Please enjoy...
Couldn't you just squeeze him???
FOR THE RECORD...Bug is drinking pedialyte (albeit out of a shot glass, but only because it was just her size!) These times go so fast....before I know it, he will be running off to kindergarten... :-( Daddy and Bug running through the sprinkler Bug and Little Man going on their first wagon ride together...
Mommy trying to get Bug to smile for a bubble picture to no avail...
One of my favorite pictures

I just realized that I forgot to post some other pics from awhile back, so here are some more!Our gracious neighbor gave us the (practically brand new!) wagon for the kids...(their daughter had outgrown it) Our sweet little Bug Helping Mommy make brownies (having some Mommy time while Little Man sleeps)Daddy, don't worry, Mommy didn't give me any chocolate!

That's all for now~

Sanity is a good thing

Here is our Little Man who will be two months old (already!!) in a week. He is growing so fast!! He just recently (the last three days) started sleeping 8 hours through the night! Yay for Little Man!! Mommy and Daddy are happy about that!!

He had his two month check-up today. He is 12lbs 3oz, and 24 inches long (which puts him in the 75th percentile for both height and weight). He had 3 shots, and cried for just a few seconds and that was it! I remember when Bug would get shots, she cried for quite awhile. Anyway, the only new development is that Little Man had a slight umbilical hernia. Dr says it will more than likely fix itself, but if not, they wouldn't do surgery to fix till he was about 4 or 5 years old. It may be the reason for some random fits of crying though...so I am glad I asked about it.

Monday night, DH's sister and her family arrived to spend the night before their flight Tuesday morning to their Florida/Disney/beach/family vacation of a lifetime. The kids were pretty excited, and we were excited for them. They have been waiting a long time for this trip, so we are praying they are having a safe, and awesomely fun time!! After dinner on Monday night, we took the kids to the park to run off (the dinner and brownies we had for dessert) some energy, and Andrew was teaching Bug how to hold a baseball bat. It was the cutest thing...

Tuesday brought our placement ceremony with "H", her mom, us and "H's" social worker. Of course, I cried. It was so touching. Little Man, "H" and Mommy got matching bracelets with a poem that told about what each bead stands for in the adoption triad. We also prayed for each other and for Little Man. After that, we stayed and chatted, went out for dinner, then headed home. Bug didn't get a nap that day, so we were just buying time before an impending meltdown. Not much else going on...I am having a girls night out tomorrow night. Much needed down time for Mommy with a movie and dessert with a friend. Another reason I love Daddy so much--he is so supportive of me having these "Girls nights" with other Moms so we can keep our sanity. Sanity is a good thing.

First real smile...

Well, here is one of our Little Man's intentional first smiles. I know, I know, not enough updates, right?? I underestimated how busy I would get with two children, instead of just one (coupled with the fact that DH is in Ohio for business this entire week!). You are lucky that I am updating tonight...Last night was a doozie!! Here is the play-by-play: My night started at 11pm when I went to bed, next at 1am Bug had a night terror and needed to be rocked for about 45 minutes to calm her down enough to put her back to bed. So, that puts us at 1:45--I finally curl up back in bed, and low and behold, a whoppin' 15 minutes of rest (not sleep, just rest!) and guess who is up, thinking he is hungry?!?! So, I get him changed, fed, and then he wants to party and not sleep, because I swear, he knows I need sleep! Every time I would lay him down he would cry and fuss--not the hungry/dirty diaper/mad cry, just the "well, there is nothing wrong with me, but I guess I will cry anyway" cry. I would pick him up and hold him in bed, and he would just smile away......what a little stinker!! We did this back and forth for hmmm, oh about 3 hours!! Finally, I just took him downstairs and turned on the TV to watch the super early news, and fed him a few ounces (just to make him sleepy). So at 4:50am, he finally fell asleep....and I did too! That is until he was back up at 6:45am for another feeding...I didn't bother trying to go back to sleep. I figured the way my day/night had been going so far, if I didn't shower now, I probably wouldn't get a shower today, so I showered and went on with my day. Do you know how long it has been since I tried to function on 4 hours of sleep?!?!? Probably dating back to my single/party days...

I kept my play date this morning for a kiddie museum with a friend and her son. My friend said..."You look like a zombie..." Thanks, I think. We had a fun time, and mercifully, Little Man slept the entire 3 hours (gee, too bad Mommy couldn't have gotten some zzzzzz's!) we were there in the front carrier. We all had a fun time playing, and finished off our visit with lunch before heading home. Fast forward to 1pm....Bug and Little Man are napping peacefully, I shut the ringers on the phones off, and the last thing I remember is laying my head on the pillow on the couch. I was out! Next thing I hear, is Bug screaming (a happy scream) and a door slamming. I jolt awake, and look at the clock...4pm! I groggily make it up the stairs...the first thing I see is the contents of my purse scattered everywhere in the living room. Not wanting to see what else has transpired when I was in my coma, I make it to the kitchen--kitchen is clear. I walk down the hall and see that Bug had brought her potty chair in her bedroom and is standing on it and jumping off repeatedly....

Little Man was baptized on Sunday. It was hard to get through without crying...It was such a nice ceremony. We are in awe everyday with the blessing bestowed onto us in Little Man. "H" and her mom were there along with "H's" friend "D". Afterward, we took lots of pictures, and went home for a party with lots of food/cake (we are still eating leftovers!!). Here is a massive collection of pictures from the last week...Enjoy! At dinner one night at a kids play place... This her favorite thing to do...if she can't eat food, the next best thing is to play with it! Riding in a very happy car... This is Brie, Little Man's Godparents' daughter...the look in LM's face is hilarious! The Ceremony... Officially, a member of Christ's family... After church pictures... Little Man and his Godparents, Michelle and Bob "H", her mom and Little Man Grammy and Grandpa with Little Man Grandma and Grandpa HoHo with Little Man Bug, DH, me, and Pastor Frank holding Little Man Same people, add Little Man's first mommy, "H". First Mommy "H" and Mommy with Little Man I don't know who took this picture, but I love it! This is Grandma (my mom) with Little Man
Resting after everyone left on Sunday--I guess they thought the floor was much more comfortable than a bed. The pink blanket the Daddy has on him was knit by our baby blanket ministry at church. Each time a baby is baptized, the group knits a baby blanket for the baby being baptized (crib sized), while praying thru each stitch. The woman who does these blankets is in my bible study, so she also knit Bug a little blanket for her babies...how sweet was that?!!?

Ok, these were all taken today (sorry for the bad lighting on some of these--I am using my outdoor camera inside (DH has the other camera with him...): Bug being goofy, sucking both thumbs at the same time... Playing in her ball pit... How is it that she looks like a little girl all of a sudden....?? Self-portrait...turned out pretty good, huh??Little Man is full of smiles...when he wants to be! (before a bath--can you see his hair and how it has the "pasted down" look?)After a bath tonight...look at those curls!! His hair is growing pretty fast...it used to go straight after it dried, now it is staying curly after it is dry! How CUTE!!!

That is all for now...