More Christmas Pictures....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOWELL!

I hope you have a wonderful 30th birthday!! I love you, and only hope the next decade is even better than the last......

God is good!!

We just left Aubrey's re-check appointment at the doctor, and I'm proud to say that for the first time in her young life she has been deemed perfectly healthy!! Praise the Lord! I was worried about her weight as she had lost a little, and has boycotted milk (she's now completely weaned from nursing and has NO interest in the bottle). But she's gained a full pound in the last week, and at 18 pounds 8 ounces is back up to the 20th percentile! The doctor said not to worry about the fact that I'm lucky if she drinks 3 small bottles a day. he said at 9 months he would tell me to cut back on the milk and focus more on the food, so she's ahead of the game!

She's been a noticeably happier baby since the tubes and her chest has cleared up. She loves playing with her new toys and even learned a new skill today - clapping her hands!!

Sunday Dresses

The girls got lots of cute dresses, and I gave Clint a nice new camera for his birthday, so I'll probably be posting pictures of them every Sunday in their church attire.....

Holiday Festivities

We had another wonderful Christmas. Santa and everyone else was good to the girls, and we got way more than any of us know what to do with!! This is the first year that Madelyn seemed to have any concept of what was going on around her, so it was extra fun!! Christmas Eve we went to church and then to my cousin's house to do Christmas with my whole family. Unfortunately, Madelyn is at an age that makes it nearly impossible to get any picture of her at all. Thanks to Mimi for the beautiful dress!! This picture just doesn't capture it.



My cute-as-ever nephew Colton was excited.....


Santa's big gift was a slide and swing that will eventually go in the backyard, but for now is in our living room. Madelyn LOVES it!



Christmas Day was crazy hectic, as we shuffled back and forth between our house and Clint's parents' house and ended the day at my brother's. It was an exciting, exhausting day.



Clint's birthday is next week and he'll be the big 3-0, so I threw him a surprise party Friday night. Of course, Clint can't seem to ever turn off the police officer in himself, and noticed as we pulled in to the parking lot at Fox and Hound that all his friend's cars were there. But at least I had him clueless until then. We had a good turnout, with about 30 of our closest friends and family, and enjoyed ourselves tremendously!! Thanks to everyone for coming out and making this a special birthday for Clint. We always talk about how blessed we are with such an amazing group of friends!! Here are some of my favorite pics from the night, which didn't end until the wee hours of the morning Saturday.





Thanks to Mom for watching the girls and even getting up with them Saturday morning so Clint and I could sleep in!! The rest of the day was spent cleaning house and cooking. Amanda and Houston came over for dinner, which was a really nice time to visit with them.

Getting better.....

Aubrey went back to the dr today. She had a breathing treatment and got an inhaler so we can continue the breathing treatments at home. It seems like this will help her. She has some form of bronchilitis. The good news is that there was a ton of NASTY gunk coming out of her ears. The tubes are working :)

I hope everyone has a fabulous Christmas!!

Busy busy

It's been a while since I last posted, mainly because we've all been sick. Last week I had a 24 hour stomach bug, and the kids have been trying to get over their sinus infections.

Aubrey had her surgery Friday to get the tubes put in her ears. She did really well with the surgery. She was only under anesthesia for about 15 minutes, and upon waking only cried for a few minutes. We were home by 8:30 in the morning, and had a fairly normal day.

Saturday we had our annual Christmas celebration with the Salvaggios and Thornburgs. It was crazy with 8 kids there! Emily made some yummy black bean chili, and we all visited. I was able to get a few pictures, but the kids were running around like crazy, so there aren't very many good ones.



Saturday night Mom came over for dinner and decided to spend the night. Aubrey has still had her cough, but when Mom was feeding her before bed we noticed she was wheezing pretty badly. You can hear a rattle in her chest, and she sounded like she was having a hard time breathing. She was pretty fussy and running about 101 fever. We both tried for hours to get her to sleep, but everytime she would fall asleep, she was coughing a few monutes later and woke herself up. She finally fell asleep in my bed after a combination of Vicks vapor rub, Tylenol and lots of snuggling. Mom and I worked in shifts with her until Clint got home at 3:30 am and took over.

Because we had such a bad night, Mom took Madelyn to church with her and spent the day with her so that Aubrey and I could try to get some rest this morning. We slept about all morning, and Aubrey would go back and forth between 102 temp and normal. I went to my cousin's birthday party at 3:30 to get Madelyn, and Aubrey hasn't run any fever since I've been home. She's actually in her bed right now, which she hasn't been in about 2 days. Clint will take her to the doctor tomorrow. I guess I was naive hoping that the tubes would be the magic we needed to keep Aubrey healthy.

Clint's off work all week after tomorrow night, and I only have tomorrow and a half day Tuesday. I'm hoping we can all get well enough to enjoy the holidays!!

Good News......

Madelyn's at such a fun age now. She says the funniest things every day.
On the way home today, Clint heard Madelyn talking and asked her what she said.

Madelyn "I'm not talking to you Daddy. I'm talking to Sissy. I'm telling her the good news."

Clint "What's the good news"

Madelyn "That Jesus was born!!!"

Clint "Where was He born?"

Madelyn "On the dirt. By the flowers"

A story about an ark.....

Yesterday morning on the way to school, Madelyn told me that she wanted to tell me a story about an ark. It went something like this.....

Madelyn "Mama, I want to tell you about an ark."

Me "Who lived on that ark? Was is Noah?"

Madelyn "No, mama!! JESUS lived on the ark"

Me "Ohhhhhh! And who live don the ark with Jesus?"

Madelyn "His friends"

Me "Were there animals on the ark?"

Madelyn "Yes. There were boy animals and girl animals. And it was crowded. And Mama, Jesus has a bucket"

Let me pause here to explain. Madleyn has an Elmo trick-or-treat bucket that she likes to carry. She had it in her lap while telling me the story.

Me "Oh really? And what is in Jesus' bucket?"

Madelyn "BRACLETS!!!"

Me "So, let me get this straight. Jesus and his friends and the animals live in a crowded ark. And Jesus carries a bucket full of bracelets???"

Madelyn "YES!!!!!"

Good story.....

You have to be kidding me.....

Yup, we have the 7th or 8th ear infection, I've lost count now. She also has a sinus infection. Madelyn has sinus infection also.

Sunday night Aubrey woke up at about 10:00 pm and didn't go back to sleep until 4:00 Monday morning. We're just praying that this ear infection will clear up so the poor baby can get the tubes next week. PLEASE Lord, let the tubes help.

Besides that we're just busy with work and the holidays.

Tonight's Prayer....

As said by Madelyn....

"Jesus, thank you for my school, and church, and Mommy, and peaches and Superman. Amen"

Lolly

Ok, so Aubrey has this lovey that we've named Lolly. This is her best friend, her sleep buddy, in desperate times, even her paci. I've tried giving her other loveys, as Lolly is all ready getting pretty ragged. But she wants nothing to do with any imitations. So I looked online thinking that I may buy some extras for Christmas, to avoid any Lolly disasters in the future. Apparently they've discontinued this certain lovey, so the only ones I could find were $40 and used!! Outrageous!!
This is what she's doing right now.....


Oh, and we went to the ENT. Aubrey's having tubes put in on December 19th. It's a pretty simple procedure, but it is considered outpatient surgery since she has to have anesthesia. So please pray for my baby......

Relaxing, Eating and Crawling....

That's about all we've been up to the last few weeks. Clint and I went for our big anniversary trip. We went to Riveria Maya, about 30 minutes south of Cancun. We were there for 7 days and 6 nights and it was WONDERFUL!!! The first night we were thre I slept better than I had in about 3 years. We did very little except hang out at the beach, the pool, eat, drink and do it all over again. Here are a couple of pics....

This is the view from the side of our balcony.


This is also from our balcony looking over the Caribbean Sea. It was beautiful!! Every day was sunny and about 85 degrees.


Our room....
The first night (after several drinks!!)
Pics at random spots across the resort. It was beautiful!! We never left the resort grounds...




Pool side. There were several covered beds around the pools, and swim up bars. The shade was crucial for me because I was purple after the 1st day!! There were 11 pools total, but this is at the main pool.
The lobby..... After being picked up at the airport in a personal Lincoln, we were greeted with champagne at the resort and walked into this beautiful lobby. There were also shops in the lobby (I was in the jewelry store every day splurging!) and a martini lounge where we went each night after dinner.


The covered beds on the beach... We hung out in the same area every day by the beach volleyball net. On the last day we came in 2nd place in the beach volleyball tournament!!


It was an extraordinary trip, but we were definitely excited to see the girls!! It seemed like they grew a ton while we were gone! They did well with the family. Aubrey didn't seem to notice we were gone, but Madelyn missed us a lot when she got tired. We came home Wednesday night and put Aubrey on the ground, and she crawled across the floor!! I can't believe it, but she can move!! She's perfected it over the weekend and it into everything. I also feel like her hair grew a ton. It's really really curly, which I'm not sure if you can see in this picture.

Thanksgiving Day was nice. We hung out with lots of family and enjoyed being home. Here is Madelyn after all the holiday festivities.....Tomorrow is back to work and back to the routine. I take Aubrey in the morning to the ENT. Right before we left she was diagnosed with her 6th ear infection.

Prayers....

We leave for our big trip in the morning. Please pray that we'll have safe travels. I'm getting a little worried about the girls missing us, so please pray that they will have a fun time with their family and not miss Mommy and daddy too much.

I haven't posted much because last week I was sick. Friday the doctor gave me antibiotics for a sinus infection and strep. I feel much better, but i"m hoping Clint doesn't start to feel bad while we're gone! Also, Aubrey began running fever again last night. I'm thinking it may be another ear infection. If so, this will be 3 in 6 weeks!!

i'll post when we get back and hopefully have lots of pictures :)

Finally - a haircut!!

Before...

And After...





And this is what Aubrey was doing when we got home....

No Regrets.....

I've heard several stories in the last 2 days of people my age either passing away or having serious health issues. It made me think about if the Lord called me away at this young age. So I've decided that I want to use this season of Thanksgiving to let the people I love the most know how much they mean to me. Here goes.....

Clinton Lowell
I don't even know where to begin. You are my best friend, my love and my companion. I love you more every day and you never cease to amaze me. Every day since that first night I saw you in the Notre Dame jacket and chain wallet, I've thanked God for bringing you into my life. I pray that our girls will someday find a Husband as loving as you. I love you more than I could ever express.

Mom
People have often asked me if I've ever wanted to find my birth parents. I've always considered myself luckier than most children because if God allowed me to pick my own Mother, I would have picked you. You inspire me every day to me a better woman, wife and mother. I use your example everyday to try to instill your love of the Lord into my own children. I can't imagine my life without you.

Gisele
I'm sure when you met me when I was 14 it never entered your mind that I would be your daughter-in-law someday. But the last 15 years I've known you I've felt a part of your family. I think of you as another Mother, that I am truly blessed to have. Clint and I could never thank you enough for all you do for us and the girls. Your thoughtfulness and selflessness are an inspiration.

Kelly M.
I knew the night I first met you that you would change my brother's life (especially when he made me change clothes 3 times!!) You make him a better Man. I couldn't be more proud to have you as a sister!

Amanda B.
You are perhaps the most beautiful person, inside and out, that I know. Your love of life and love of the Lord shine through in everything you do and everyone you meet. I love you!

Ashlie
What can I say??? I cherish all the times that Clint and Jerome say we "cackle" together!! You are such an amazing Mom, and the one I call for advice! I often pray that God will bless me with the patience you have with all of your children and your husband :) I know we have that security with each other where although we may not talk as often as we'd like to, we'll always be close!!

Emily
What would I do at night without our hours of phone conversations? I always know that no matter what kind of day I've had, I can call you and forget all my worries, or just vent about them for hours! You're so thoughtful and caring, and I thank God everyday for our friendship.

Amanda K.
You're an inspiration to me in more ways than you'll know. Whether trying to turn away some chips and dip or making more time for Bible study, I always think of you and know that I can do anything I try.

Erin
We have had more good times than I could possibly mention. Some of the best memories of my life are with you - whether at Jazz Fest in New Orleans, or just hanging out at your apartment, I know true friends like you are few and far between. we can talk about ANYTHING! We can boast about our genius children, and discuss accounting principles all over one lunch. I cherish all my memories with you and only wish we saw each other more now.

To all my other friends.....
I only wish I had the time and the words to let every one of you know what you mean to me. Whether I'm having lunch with Marta, who probably truly knows me better than anyone else on this planet, or laughing with Claire and Page, I cherish the place each of you has in my heart. Kelley - I'm so thankful that we have reconnected. I almost feel as if God put us here to be friends with each other, for a purpose than only He may know.

Regardless, with each of you in my life I have SO much to be thankful for!

Hold You, Mommy

A friend of mine at work brought me a book called "Hold You, Mommy" the other day. She saw it at the Christian book store and she got it for me because she knows that Madelyn says that phrase to me numerous times a day. I have to say, anyone with young children should pick up the book. It's described as "Moments with God for Moms on the go" and it's really made me think a lot more about my precious children. Just last night I got annoyed when Madelyn followed me into the bathroom and asked her, "Do you have to follow Mommy into the potty?" She looked up at me with those innocent blue eyes and stated, "Yes, Mommy, you are my friend" It melted my heart.

Yay Hubby!!!

I'm so proud of my husband - he decided about a month ago that he really wants to run. So Saturday was his first race. He finished 8 miles in 1 hour and 27 minutes :) I'm so proud of you baby!! Now he's training for a half marathon next month.

Also, Saturday was 15 years sine our first kiss!! My how time flies......

Happy Halloween