Happy Birthday baby Ellie!

There is a new member of the family! Elizabeth was born this morning via c-section to Dave's sister Jodi and her husband Jeremy. Both mom and baby are doing great! Ellie was 9 1/2 lbs and 19 1/2 inches long. She is beautiful! We are so happy for them and can't wait to see their sweet little girl in person. Anyone want to come watch our kiddos so we can go to Pennsylvania?

Here's a picture of her...

Emma's school pic

I just found the cd with Emma's school portrait on it. We didn't order Jackson's (for good reason) so I can't post his. Let's just say hopefully it's not a sign of the future - it looks like a mug shot - chin up, attitude on his face. We kept the proof for memory-sake, but wow. Not something I'd pay money to have. ;-) Luckily we had just gotten professional pics of the kids this summer, so we've got good ones of him that are recent.

Here's Emma's though. Probably the best school pic so far for her.

The House of Ick

Well it finally happened. Our house fell victim to the wonderful world of stomach bugs. It has been a very loooooong 5 days, and I'm not going to say we're done yet, but hopefully we are. Emma and Brian were the main victims, although Brian only got sick a few times and then he was right as rain. Emma on the other hand really struggled, had a trip to the ER, and lovely meds to help her along. Both kids seemed better for a full 48 hours, and then Emma got sick again. This time it was much like Brian - just one more time and then she was good to go. Weird. So far Jackson has escaped it, and I pray it stays that way, but I'm not holding my breath. Dave and I seemed to either skip it, or just have mild symptoms. It started on Wednesday, it's now Sunday, and I'm trying to figure out when I will know we're done. Sarah comes back tomorrow so I'd love to know we're not going to expose her to anything. And my mom is coming for a visit as well. Please, if you would, pray we're all healthy and stay that way for a while - thanks!
In other news, the kiddos wrote their letters to Santa yesterday. What a riot! Both older kids want a pogo stick - huh? Where'd that come from? And they both want Wall-E toys - which I've never seen anywhere. Jackson asked for new choles (clothes) and Emma wants a dress and a necklace. Oh, and she wants an Easy-Bake oven...yikes! How many things can Santa say no to? It was so cute though to watch their little brains at work. Brian sat and drew on his paper. He said "I'm going to write the letter D" - and he did! Dave and I were surprised that he could do it. I have always underestimated my kids though...not sure why. They're all pretty darn smart if I can say that w/o sounding boastful.
I have our christmas cards printed, but no letter to go along with it yet. Trying to decide if I'm going to write one this year. So much to do in so little time. Is it just me or did Christmas show up lightning fast this year? Sheesh! I don't have a singe present bought yet - yikes! Oh well, the kids won't even notice. We're spending christmas with my parents and my brother and his family, so cousins will be a good distraction. I'm really looking forward to our week with them.

So Merry Christmas everybody! Hope everyone has a wonderful, memorable holiday season.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

Sorry I'm so behind, but I just wanted to say I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving holiday. We have had a great time in Pennsylvania, and it will be sad to leave. But next time we come up, there will be a new baby to adore and spoil rotten! We are so excited for Jodi and Jeremy. Can't wait for baby Ellie to get here!

I'll put more up when we get back in town....

Tagged...

I have been tagged by fellow Oct. 05 momma Kristi and I'm supposed to tell you seven things about myself that most of you don't know. Problem is, those who know me personally will most likely know these things. So I guess this is meant more for the fellow bloggers out there that have never met me in real life.

1) I went to college for 4 years, but didn't graduate. (that was 11 years ago and it still bums me out)

2) I do not like any kind of fruit in my baked goods.

3) Part of me really wants to live in Seattle. If it wasn't so far away from everyone...

4) I have three cats and one (large) dog, and I still think about more pets. (this might scare those close to me)

5) I am a MAJOR germ-a-phobe.

6) I have never been a big reader, however I've read 14 books in the last three months. 10 of those since the middle of September.

7) I can play the violin (not well) and I want to buy a piano for the kids (but really it's for me).

So, like I said, a lot of you know all this already, but some of you wouldn't.

I have no idea who to tag, so forgive me if I repeat someone.

I tag Kristen, Dave, Heather, Adrienne, Jacinda, Angela, and Julie. So if you've been tagged, you're supposed to tell us 7 things about yourself we don't know, and then tag an additional 7 friends that have web pages. Enjoy!

A bit overdue...

but here's Jackson through the years in photos. It's hard to believe from looking at the first photo that he would be so healthy now. He's come a long way in 6 years! And I forgot how cute he was as a baby/toddler! (okay - I didn't forget, just hadn't seen these pictures in a long time). Of course now he's a handsome young man. Ahhh - it's just not right! :-)

























Isn't he just the cutest? Oiy - how did we get such good looking kids? They must take after their daddy!

Jackson is flying through kindergarten. We had his first parent/teacher conference and she said he is doing really well. His reading is insane - during his reading eval he read the sight words all the way through 4th grade. His comprehension needs to catch up, but it's crazy how well he reads. And the fact that he learned all on his own. We did not teach him how to read. Preschool did not teach him how to read. It's just the way he's wired. They are going to put him in a 1st grade reading group to start with and see how that goes. He's doing well in all his other subjects as well. He also got the comment "he keeps us entertained" on his report card. It is honestly the exact same comment his preschool teachers made last year. We all know how funny Jackson is. He is full of personality!
And if I can get sappy here for a moment...I love this kid so much it hurts. When I look at him I am just overwhelmed with all the possibilities of what he could become as an adult. I have no doubt he will be amazing.

Happy Birthday to my sweet big man!

I cannot and will not forget to post a birthday blog for Jackson! Even though we are somewhat focused on Emma's good news (see post below), we must remember to praise God for one of the sweetest, most genuinely kind kids you'll ever meet! He's an amazing boy with such character. I will be coming back either tonight or tomorrow and posting pics of Jackson over the years...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKSON!!!!!!!

The results are in! (And they are good!)

She's completely healthy!!!!!

The endocrinologist called this morning and went over all her test results. No Turner's syndrome, kidney, liver, thyroid all normal. The entire blood panel was totally normal! Can you believe that? Let it sink in for a moment....okay, so maybe you don't need a moment, but I sure did. I couldn't believe it when the doctor said it in her asian accent - I was afraid I heard her incorrectly. But nope - she's perfect! The Dr. did say that the only test that gave her any information was the bone age x-ray. It gave Emma a bone age of 6 yrs, 10 months, close to her actual age. Because of this, it showed that Emma is going to be pretty tiny as an adult. Her adult height will be 4'10" - without growth hormone replacement. We will be doing what's called a "growth hormone stimulation test" where they will put in an IV, give her two stimulants, and proceed to draw and test her blood every 20-30 minutes for 2-3 hours. Based on the results of this test we'll know if she's a candidate for the growth hormone replacement. If she is, the meds will gain her about 2-3 inches. Not much, but a significant difference for a girl to be at least 5 feet tall. Dave and I haven't had a chance to talk about any of this much, so no idea on if we'd have her take it, but I'm guessing we would. The Dr. gave her the diagnosis of idiopathic short stature - meaning short stature with no known cause. I can live with that!

Thank you everyone for praying for Emma. It's been a crazy ride and I'm ready to get off!

Update

After going to the mailbox today and still no results, I decided to call the office. The nurse put me on hold to go get her chart. Took a long time, because her chart was on the dr's desk. She said "the results are in, but the doctor is still reviewing them. I'll have her call you when she's back in the office on Monday." Phooey.

On a bright note - Emma hit a goal at occupational therapy yesterday. She learned to tie her shoes! I literally had tears in my eyes. It was a priceless moment.

No News Yet...

I see people are checking the blog regularly so I wanted to let you know that we haven't heard anything yet. I'm taking this as a very good sign, believing if it's something major they would call rather than just mail the results. And since we haven't heard anything from them, and the results haven't come in the mail yet, I'm praying no news is good news at this point. Although I won't lie to you - I'd like to get the results sooner vs. later.

Thank you all for praying for us. Emma is such an amazing little girl I know she'll handle whatever ends up being thrown at her.
Please continue to pray - we feel them and need them!

Thank you all so much!

The United Tour!

Last night Heather and I went and saw two christian music legends in a joint concert. Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W Smith on the same stage! It was music history (to those of us who love and follow their music). We had a wonderful time and it was an amazing concert. We were so close you could see the sweat. At one point Michael was introducing a song that H and I had just joked about, so we laughed (somewhat loudly) and he caught it - kind of funny moment - he stopped the song looked toward our direction and went "okaaaay....let's try this again" and then started the song. It was hilarious - and just goes to show how close we were. Oops!

I have some close photos to share, and I also have video clips before they went around and said no video allowed. I felt bad I had recorded some, so I won't post it online just to honor the artists. But if you would like to see a clip I will see if I can figure out a way to share it with you. Just know it was so amazing to see them on stage together.

Happy Birthday Little Man!

Well it happened. Even though I petitioned, pouted, refused to change the calendar...it happened anyway. Brian is three today! He is such an amazing little guy, full of energy and spirit. And when I say spirit, I mean attitude! :-) He definitely knows what he wants, and we do our best to accommodate him. As long as it's within our normal allowances, it's not worth fighting him on small stuff. But we obviously hold our ground when needed - and he's not a fan of that. But all in all he's a sweet kid with a huge personality and we treasure him. I really should get him in for his three year well-check, but haven't gotten around to that. I'm pretty sure he's 39 inches tall and about 35 pounds. Nothing like his older siblings. As we always say, thank goodness he looks just like his dad!

Here's a photo journal of the last three years (abbreviated, for sure).

for those curious

I just found this on the web...

http://www.icd9data.com/2009/Volume1/780-799/780-789/783/783.43.htm

Emma's encounter form had a diagnosis code of 783.43 so I decided to google codes to see what it said. Very basic stuff, but to see the word "failure" associated with my child hurts a lot.

89!!!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen...I have an announcement to make. Emma Turner's morning glucose number was an 89! That's before eating breakfast - an amazingly healthy number. I am so elated by this small victory. What it says to me is while she might be hypoglycemic, she's most likely not diabetic. I realize this was just one test on one day, but I'm taking any and all positive signs as an opportunity to celebrate. Join me, won't you!

Back from the appointment

We're back from the appointment...I'm in tears. The endocrinologist suspects the same thing we/pediatrician did - Turner's Syndrome. It's still not a diagnosis until the test results come back, but to have a specialist confirm it is enough to make me tear up.

We did her blood draw today, as well as test her sugars. She came home with a meter so we can test her here, too. She's pretty upset by the whole thing - but only the needles part. She still seems to be somewhat oblivious to what's going on and I'll keep it that way for now. She did say, however, that she did get bothered by people always saying how small she was. That's the first time I've heard her say it bothers her.

We won't know anything for two weeks. Two week wait - thought I was done with that!

I'll keep you posted as I find out anything.

Today is the day...

Alright everyone out there...today is a big day. Emma has her long-awaited appointment with the pediatric endocrinologist. We have been waiting 4 months for this appointment, and now that it's here, we're all a little nervous. I'm also anxious to find out what is going on with her. I have this feeling that this appointment will shed a lot of light on our little girl. I had reserved my concern about her having Turner's Syndrome, telling myself that it was highly unlikely. It felt good to kind of forget about it for a while. Then we had her evaluated by physical and occupational therapists back in August. I was very surprised by the results. Turns out Emma has the visual perception of a 5 year old, and the motor coordination of a 4 1/2 year old. That's a 2 1/2 year delay. The major downside to this finding is it does make Turner's a more likely diagnosis, however I'm still holding out hope that they're not related.

I am definitely worried and stressed, and even Dave is as well. That's when I knew I wasn't overreacting. When I saw him stressed, I knew it was okay for me to be also.

Her appointment is at 2:00 in Charlotte. I have to work tonight, but the minute I have a chance I will update here.

PLEASE pray that Emma is perfectly healthy and that her size and other concerns are a totally benign quirk (for lack of a better word). I have complete faith that whatever we find out we'll be able to work through, but I'd much prefer my daughter not have to struggle.

Thank you for your support....

Random Cuteness

I thought you might all like to see the cuteness we endure every day. Zoey and Henry are now 4 months old and have come into their personalities. They are super sweet, super cuddly kittens and everyone in the house loves them. Even Macy is learning to tolerate them pretty well. Greta, of course, wants to lick them to death and they don't stick around for it, but they get along surprisingly well. Anyway, on to the pics.



Apparently Henry thought Greta's bone looked pretty tasty.


Doesn't it look like Henry is smiling? Too sweet!

Pictures don't lie

Okay - Here's the answer...



Yup - that'd be over 6 inches we cut off sweet Emma's hair. I was going to trim it, and mentioned to her that if we cut it a little more, her bangs (that we started growing out over a year ago) would be the same length. She loved the idea of cutting it shorter - took me completely by surprise. I was all for it. We have had a bit of trouble teaching Emma that her identity isn't in her hair. She always got so much attention for it that I was ready for her to just be Emma. Not the girl with the really long hair. We'll see if she keeps it shorter or grows it back out.

What do you all think?

Any Guesses?

Can anyone guess what this is a picture of?

First Day of School!

I literally got to live out that infamous scene in Finding Nemo. Emma and Jackson woke up and came downstairs into our bedroom to wake us up. They were both soooo excited. It was adorable.
Emma is in second grade now and growing up really fast. She's starting to branch out into a few different activities as well. After her season of dance last year, she was honored by being asked to join their competition team for this year. We are very excited for her to try this out and see if it's something she really wants to invest her time and energy into. She'll take ballet, tap, and jazz on Friday afternoons for two hours. She starts tomorrow and is really looking forward to it. This afternoon we also visited one of our town's gymnastics gym. Emma has been begging us to take gymnastics, and we finally caved. They let her take the class today to see if she liked it. She was sooo overjoyed the entire class there was no way I could deny that joy. It was great to see her try stuff that would normally scare her, but she was determined to try everything and do her best. I think it will actually be a great source of self-esteem for her. Busy busy girl though. We've decided (I think) to forgo her doing fall soccer since she's already in two other time-consuming activities. Maybe we'll let her do spring soccer. We'll see.

Jackson did amazingly well on his first day. Not a fear, tear, or worry from this little man. He was so confident and social, as always. He really takes pride in his reading, and was showing off a little reading his book in the hallway (what they do waiting for the bell to ring in the a.m.). It was funny to see the looks from other parents watching him read that book without my help. I was probably a little prideful myself, but I'm still in that blown-away mindset that this kid taught himself how to read. He just amazes me. Jack also starts dance class tomorrow. Now before you envision him in a tutu, let me clarify. He is taking an all-boys hip hop class. We're trying to give him some cool points for later in life. Actually, it's just because this kid loves to move, and loves music. So hopefully it will be a good fit. He will also be playing soccer, both fall and spring most likely.

Brian did not do well yesterday with the kids gone. We went over to Heather's house to play with Allie and her daycare kids. It took B almost 30 minutes to finally let go of me and go play. He was so sad yesterday. He actually cried on my shoulder for 5 minutes in the morning when I told him they were gone. He was almost unconsolable. But he did much better today. We ran a few errands, and played with the kittens. He even played by himself for a little bit. I think he'll be fine once the routine sets in.

I've been off blogging for a while, and we had some fun during that time. It was amazing to see Jennifer and her girls. Made me realize just how much I've missed that girl. We lived together for over a year before we had kids. Dave even said having her here was the most natural house guest we've ever had. It took no time at all to feel like no time had passed and the only thing different was the 5 noisy children running around. I miss them terribly and will definitely not let 4 years go by before seeing them again. Hopefully next time we can get Scott and Dave together. They would get along really well I think.

Okay, enough babbling. I know there's lots more I forgot to post about, but I'm tired and needing sleep.

Not much going on

Hey everyone...didn't want to leave you all wondering what we've been up to, just not much to blog about. The kids have been somewhat trying the last few days. I think they're bored with summer already. I understand it to a point, it's been so hot that they haven't felt like playing outside much. I went back to work a few nights last week and today is Dave's last day for a week. We'll spend some time around the house organizing (it's in major need of an overhaul) and do some fun stuff with the kids. We were going to see about taking the kids to "A Day Out with Thomas" but it's too cost prohibitive right now. We'll try to do it when it's back in town around the boys' birthdays. Dave and I have a weekend in Asheville planned next weekend to see Steven Curtis Chapman play at the Biltmore. We're going with Jeff and Heather and it will be a great time. I'm not sure how well we'll handle the concert, as I hear the few concerts he's done so far have been quite emotional (understandably). But it will be fun nonetheless. And the kids will stay at my folk's house. We'll pick them up on Sunday and also pick up Jennifer and her two girls. I am unbelievably excited to see them - it's been over 4 years since I've seen Jenn. Considering we used to be inseparable as teenagers, I'm sure it will be an entertaining reunion. So I'll be neglecting the blog for a little bit, and when I come back I'll have lots of pictures to share.

So what do you think about the new background? (Aside from hating how long it takes to load?) I wish I knew how to do creative layouts and siggies, but I don't even know where to start. Luckily for me, there's free stuff out there so I don't have to learn!

See you in a couple weeks!

New Babies!!!

We finally have our last two babies to complete our family for a good long time. Here they are!



Introducing Henry and Zoey...

Woof.

What a shit-tacular day yesterday (sorry Dad). But it deserves that title. The day started out fine, other than being a Monday. I had a few things on my checklist to get done, but other than that it was a pretty easy day. I won't give you every detail of what went wrong, but let's say a lot. I'll just share the biggest ones. First I received a phone call from the neighborhood HOA mgmt. group. Turns out our pool opened last weekend and we knew nothing about it. And they weren't sorry about that either. I suggested they find a better way of communicating with the residents, which went unacknowledged. So she tells me she needs us to sign a liability waiver in order to get a key (there's no lifegaurd). Fine, so she emails it to me. Only, she didn't. She did, however, email me jpegs of all the city and county logos (most likely what's on their letterhead) and a copy of the pool rules. Thanks for that...however we can't get a key until we get and sign the waiver. So I emailed them back and I'm still waiting for a response. The kids are sad because they know the pool is open (hard to deny when you drive by and there's a slew of people in it) and these little delays are frustrating. The thing of it is, had we known about the pool opening, we could have gotten the waiver signed and gotten our key before the actual opening, like so many of our neighbors did. We could have used it the entire weekend. But, oh well. I could be there right now if they'd send me the stupid waiver. Grrr.
Okay, so while that is annoying, it's not a big deal in grand scheme of things. I understand that. Just frustrating. Even more frustrating was the next phone call I received - all of 5 minutes after the last one. It was the pediatrician's office. We had taken Emma a few weeks back to check on her growth. They wanted her to go see a specialist since she had fallen further off the charts. They were going to set up her appt for me but warned me it would be September before she got in. That stunk, but what can you do. They said they'd call us with the date in a few days, and if we didn't hear from them to give them a call. Well we left for TN before they called and I fully expected a message on our machine when we got home. Nada. So I called them - last Tuesday. They called me back - yesterday. The girl who does it was on vacation. Anyhow, she says that Emma's request must have been put in the wrong folder because she hadn't seen it until that morning. Greeaaat. She said she got her appt., but the first available was for OCTOBER 7th!!!! So because of their stupid mistakes we have to wait another whole month to get in. Total crap. This leaves me feeling very defeated. Not sure yet what we're going to do about it, but we're thinking. If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to share.
And the last, and by far the worst thing that happened yesterday. I have joined Facebook (it's awesome btw - a great way to reconnect with long-lost friends...) and with that I have been able to reconnect with some great people. Unfortunately, while chatting with a friend, I was informed that a good friend of ours from "back in the day" had committed suicide just a few weeks ago. Bryan Graham, a sweet soul, quiet, introspective, insanely creative, genuinely kind. At least that's how I remember him. He always gave me the funniest birthday presents - and they never cost a dime...he would just gather up random fun stuff from around and put it in a shoe box and give it to me. I remember for my 16th birthday, he gave me a "Rules of the road" handbook and a brick so I could drive fast. He was kidding of course, and there were a few other random things in that box, but I don't remember them all. He was in Jeff and Heather's wedding. We went to Jeff's lakehouse together as a group and had a bunch of fun. I'm just sad. I realize we had completely lost touch after college, but I still considered him a friend. I told Jeff and Heather about it last night and Heather said "don't you wish you could just rewind life to before that point and stop it from happening?" I couldn't agree more. I would do it for Bryan, and I'd do it for Blair. It really sucks that at such a young age we've already lost friends. But I hang on to my current favorite verse - We also glory in tribulations,knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4

Me, Jeff, and Bryan at the lakehouse.

Please pray for Bryan's family. His parents and his brother and sister have got to be hurting and trying to understand why. Pray hard.

Like I said - a crappy day

Long overdue

I know I'm long overdue for an update. It's been one crazy summer so far. We got our new playground and the kids have been loving that. Then Emma's birthday. Then we had a family reunion in Pigeon Forge, TN with some of my wonderful cousins and aunts/uncles. And now the neighborhood pool just opened up. Next week my mom is coming for a short visit and to attend a baby shower for our friend Shannon on Saturday. This weekend, aside from the 4th, we are working on the kids rooms trying to make them look more lived in by adding paint and wall decor. They are enjoying picking stuff out. It's sad that we've been here for 18 months and still haven't accomplished that much. But I'm definitely in project mode, so as long as the funds are available, I will start tackling small projects here and there.

Like I said, we've been pretty busy so far, and it's going to be busy pretty much until school starts on Aug. 20th. We'll have a week here or there without much going on, but mainly we'll be on the go. So forgive me if I don't post as often over the next several weeks.

The reunion was wonderful. I had a great time and it was nice to get to see people I hadn't seen in at least a decade. I'm glad we'll be able to keep up the reunions and maintain some connection with family. It felt weird for me during the reunion because I didn't really "know" anyone. Having spent what felt like soooo much time with all of them as a kid, I realized that we all grew up and went our own ways - understandably. But I just remember so vividly spending time with all of my cousins when we'd visit Iowa, which seemed like we did often. And my cousin Maria and I used to spend a week at each other's house in the summer. Life was fun back then and I enjoyed having a big family. I think that's part of why I wanted more than two kids. I wanted my kids to have people to play with at home and at family gatherings too. I think we accomplished that! Now that Dave's sister is adding to the cousin count, we'll have more family to play with.

Anyway, I'll leave with a few pics. Too many over the last few weeks to post them all, but I'll pic the good ones.