Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

A blog that I read regularly has suggested the challenge of listing 50 things we are thankful for this year--I thought it would be a great way to start our Thanksgiving before the chaos of cooking and travel begin so here goes-
1-A God who loves me despite my flaws
2-Our friends who love and support us in countless ways!
3-Our house
4-The furnace that is blowing out heat right now
5-A full refrigerator
6-Baskets of laundry to fold which means we have lots of clothes to wear
7-Winter coats to keep us warm
8-Jobs for both Chuck and I that provide paychecks to pay the bills as well as personal fulfillment
9-A classroom full of students that come to school excited to learn
10-Toys all over my living room floor
11-Modern medical science that put ninja in me to grow into our new baby
12-Money to buy our wants as well as our needs
13-A car to take us to visit family today
14-A safe community to live in
15-Wonderful neighbors
16-Freedom to post this
17-Running water
18-Technology that allows me to be all over the world
19-Our health
20-A husband who loves me and would do anything for me
21-A daughter who is simply amazing
22-Parents who support everything I do
23-Siblings who are friends as well
24-In laws who I consider family and friends
25-Extended family who are awesome
26-The library and the fact that Emily loves it so much she cried when we couldn't stop there yesterday
27-a fitness center membership that allows me to walk even when it is bitterly cold outside
28-all of the military that are having to spend Thanksgiving away from their families so we can feel safe and secure
29-all of the people that support the military, and allow us opportunities to show our support as well
30-the drs. that keep us healthy
31-the blogs and message boards that I read, and the support they provide without even knowing it
32-the struggles in our life that remind us to count our many blessings
33-My pets who provide unconditional love
34-My education--as much as I hate doing homework I know it is such a privilege to be able to continue to learn
35-A warm bed to sleep in
36-Feeling safe and secure in my house
37-A preschool that Emily loves going to
38-Parents who give of their time to take care of Emily and provide her opportunities
39-Music
40-Comfortable furniture in our house
41-Indoor plumbing
42-Health insurance that affords us the opportunity to stay healthy without major financial concern
43-My 5 senses and the fact that all of them work
44-The opportunities I am given to serve others
45-Yummy smells that tell me I will have lots of good food to eat today
46-Sunshine
47-Cloudy days that remind me to appreciate the sunshine
48-For the baby growing inside me
49-Technology that will allow me to talk to family in 3 different states today, even though we can't be together
50-Milk...it keeps my girl happy all the time!

Your turn...can you list 50 things you are thankful for today??

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Capturing the perfect moment...

With Thanksgiving tomorrow, it is time to start "thinking about" Christmas cards. For those of you know me well, you know that I have a tendency to not actually get cards sent out until the week after Christmas, but this year is going to be different, thanks to an awesome promotion from Shutterfly. I am going to be on the ball and mail them out before Christmas actually comes, and maybe even in time for you to enjoy them before Christmas :)
Ever since we have had Emily, the big question is what kind of design to use for the card? Prior to Em it was just Chuck and I, and I went to Hallmark, bought a box of cards and sent them. But now with Em, we like to share a picture or 2 for those that don't get to see her as often as they would like. Well, Shutterfly makes that easy :) All we do is pick a design, upload a picture, and tada...a Christmas card is done. So, now we have to pick a design....here are some contenders...any opinions?



http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/woodblock-joy-christmas-card-5x7-flat?sortType=1&fa=2&storeNode=93476&fc=1



http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/snowflake-sprinkles-christmas-card-5x7-flat?sortType=1&fa=2&storeNode=93476&fc=1






http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/get-glowing-christmas-card-5x7-flat?sortType=1&fa=2&storeNode=93476&fc=1


And then...once we decide on a card, we have the next challenge...capturing the perfect Emily moment to be forever shared on our 2010 cards. Emily has 100s of cute moments every day, the challenge is capturing one of them. She loves to look at her picture, so the minute she sees the camera come out, she wants to look, not be photographed. We are hoping when we set up the tree this weekend, to catch her off guard at some moment and have the perfect picture to share with you all!


Check out more Shutterfly cards and learn how to get 50 free cards here.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Emily's surgery part 2...

Emily had her 2nd surgery yesterday. It was quite the day for sure. A couple of weeks ago we had a drs. appt with the ENT to check her tubes. Our speech path had mentioned several times she was concerned about her adenoids and tonsils getting in the way of her speech. I had asked at a previous appt and he had said she was too young to do anything about it. I brought it up again at this appt and he said her adenoids were indeed swollen and set up the surgery to take them out.

Overall the day went well. Surgery was fine, once it got started. The hospital was aobut 45 min. behind schedule because they had an emergency. Em had been no food or drink since 8 the night before and was not very happy about the wait. Our room was right by the nurses station and she walked out multiple times and told the nurses "ready". Fortunately Pastor Lou stopped by to visit so that filled some time and they had a wide assortment of magazines Emily enjoyed reading.

The dr. took the adenoids and then had said he wanted to check her tubes that he had put in July 09 to make sure they were ok. When he checked the tubes he said she had a significant amount of wax buildup (this is nothing new and is what they tell us every time we get her ears checked). Since she was under anesthesia it was much easier to clean them out. He cleaned them out and discovered the tube in the left hear was smashed up against the ear drum, and the tube in the right ear was out in the ear canal, so neither where they belonged! He took the old out and put new in.

She did great in recovery, they said she didn't cry at all, but was rubbing her face, to the point she has scratches on it now. They bought her out to us, and she immediately fell back asleep on me. She slept for about 1/2 hour and then they said we needed her to drink something before we could go home. This is where things got difficult. She flat out refused to drink anything. We had juice, milk, popsicles, ice cream, you name it we tried it, and she sobbed hysterically the second you put anything near her lips. About the time the nurse said she was going to call the dr. to see if he would just let us go home, she fell asleep again, so we said we'll wait until she wakes up and see how she does. 2 hours later (it's now 3 o'clock!), she wakes up and still refusing to drink. I happened to be eating a banana, she sees it and decides that is what she wants. One bite of banana and she is happy as can be, downs an entire glass of apple juice and is good to go.

She did good once we got home, ate a ton, and vegged on her beanbag chair. She seems back to her happy self this morning, enjoying being a lump on the bean bag chair watching her new Dora movie. The dr. said no school for a week (I had planned on sending her back Monday), but fortunately my mom is free and is going to stay with her next week.

So hopefully the hard part is over and we are on the road to recovery :) Thanks for all the good thoughts and prayers yesterday!

Here are some pictures of our day.....

Picking out stickers before surgery...they had Dora stickers!



Watching some weird cartoon on cartoon network while we waited....


Sleeping on mommy after coming out...


Looking very grumpy after waking up the 1st time....


The car ride home...this was banana #2 because banana #1 wasn't enough!