Christmas festivities

Today Zachary and I were able to drive to St Rita and watch Maddie's class perform "Jolly Old Saint Nicolas." The kids were great and so colorful. Maddie was able to get the last word in each sentence but the most amazing thing of all is that she sat the entire time and didn't get up....Unfortunatley, I couldn't get any video because I had a awrny 5 year old who refused to stand while I took video but I did get a few pictures of her on stag. Look out Broadway!

Then we ended the evening with opening up presents from Grandmommy and Aunt Christy. The kids throughly enjoyed their new gifts. Thank you Grandmommy and Christy!

First Few Weeks of December

We started December off with a bang with regards to getting ready for the holidays. Zachary was going through friend withdrawal so we invited the little guy's friend over. They helped Maddie and I make a gingerbread house (granted I bought it last year and intended to do it then but as you all know time gets away pretty quickly). Madison I believe had more fun spreading the frosting all over the table, what a mess!

Then the very next day we had our first snow. Didn't last long and I regretted saying the day before "If it is going to be this cold it might as well snow!" Yes, mother nature taught me a lesson.

Zachary made this beautiful advent wreath in his sunday school class.

Woke up in the wee hours of December 10 to high winds and was thankful that we had the trees trimmed prior to Mike's departure. I quickly made room in the garage for his (unsold) car only to find our lamppost out front broken...ugh, another thing to put on the to do list.

Another picture of our dog, Harley...just realized she is graying under the chin. Plus, I couldn't resist taking a picture of the bed aka nest of blankets and toys Zach covered her in.

Ashley finally got me motivated enough to finish the Christmas decorating. We put the finishing touches on the tree, made lots and lots of buckeyes (peanut butter balls covered in chocolate and yes, they are also considered poisiouns nuts) Madison and Zach actually worked together to put the toothpicks in each ball, nice job kiddos! Then we delivered cans to neighbors and the children's teachers....Ashley also talked me into going to Walmart to buy lights to decorate the trees outside (what am I crazy not only is it cold out there but it is really cold)...to digress it was a good thing we went this particular day in question because the big guy was there and the kids were able to get their picture taken with him (able to check antoher thing off of the to do list!) so we bought three LONG strands of lights to find out massive tree in the front required all three...so we just deocrated one and not all three trees. To top it off we pounded into the almost frozen ground the Santa blow up stacks for all to see our merriment. I stood my ground though on getting on the roof to hang lights....told the kids next year in the summer we will put up the hooks and make it easier to hang the lights (now I just have to remember to buy those hooks before the holiday season is up). So that is our first three weeks of December....now I just have to finish wrapping and attend Madison's performance at school. Merry Christmas to you all!

A LONG LONG Week

I am going to start with the good news. Mike got a promotion at work! It was wonderful that his whole family and my parents were able to come to Dayton and watch the event. He made an excellent speech.....he was nice to finally meet his co-workers!

Unfortunately, we lost our beloved Bailey boy tonight. We are not sure how it happened but we think the tree trimmers left the back gate open (they left in the dark) and we didn't know it until about 10pm....Ash, Uncle Phillip and I went searching for about an hour. We were going to try and find our way to a different neighborhood so I went down a very busy road (not expecting to find him) and there he was on the side. It looks as if someone hit him and dragged him to the side of the road. It was absolutely horrible and I was a mess BUT we have said out goodbyes to our Bailey boy...he no longer has to suffer from cancer and can run free all he wants in doggie heaven.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Lots of yummy food (too much)....my brother James came with his girlfriend and the great chef that he is he made the most delicious mashed potatoes ever. We had lots to give thanks for....Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. (imagine Thanksgiving pictures here!!!)

Mike has made it to his destination...and already received the box we sent. Weather is nice...he has no hot water but he has a nice room.....likes the job and is able to communicate with us when I get this skype thing up and running...thought I had it and the wee little one started touching buttons...ugh.....

Mike's Deployment

Mike’s Deployment
Well we have finally told everyone in the family about Mike’s upcoming deployment. So far everyone is taking it well. He will be leaving sometime at the end of November...just when it starts to get cold here....and he will be arriving in HOT HOT weather....please keep us in your prayers as I try and figure out life as a single parent for some time to come....We will miss you, honey!

Racking Leaves

Well after the fun field weekend with Nana and PawPaw it was time to get to work on the yard...we spent and entire day cleaning out gutters and racking the endless yard full of leaves....we all had blisters on the hands and aching backs...can I hear a “YARD SERVICE” next fall.

Carving Pumpkins

Pumpking Carving
Well for some reason we had such a hard time carving out time to carve out our pumpkins this year....so we spent one beautiful fall afternoon of cutting out the tops and scooping out the pumpkin guts...which Madison thoroughly enjoyed....then a little more than a week later when Nana and PawPaw came down to help celebrate Halloween we finished the carving....Thanks Nana and PawPaw for getting us motivated.

This is fun mommy....it is so gooey!

Mom, do I really have to touch this stuff!

Common, seriously, another pumpkin I have to gut!

Last Soccer Game
Zachary’s last soccer game was a bust..somehow I messed up the time....we arrived just as the team was coming off the field....I had one said Yellow Parrot on my hands....but the day was saved by eating pizza with the team and getting trophies. The famous quote by the coach was "Zachary the fireball" he was up for running up and down the field and never lost the energy...umm...I wonder why???

Halloween Night
Our trick or treaters were ready for a spooky evening of delight. Zach was besides himself and continued to tell me that his dinner could be the candy he received. Needless to say we were out at 6pm.....Zachary was GI Joe and Maddie a beautiful fairy princess. The weather was a tid bit warmer this year than last so that was nice....we were able to get a few more houses in....Didn’t get a picture of Ashley because she went to a friends to dress like a nerd!

To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate

A question we have pondered over and over....we finally relented and got everyone vaccinated except for Maddie. After visiting with her neurologist in September we were all for getting the flu shot for her but then we saw an episode on Fox news with a prominent doctor who advised against it for folks with mitochondrial issues and that is where it goes gray. Some doctors think there is more wrong with Maddie then what science can so far determine, “the technology just isn’t there yet,” is a phrase we have heard often. So after much research and endless phone calls to doctors, health departments and schools....I found that the base had a theramsol free flu shot available. So we decided to go ahead and give her that shot. Now fast forward a week and she has round two of the flu...so the question remains did the flu shot prevent this episode from being worse? A question I ponder in at night while laying in bed holding and praying that she doesn’t have another seizure....we are getting so close to that 8 month mark that we haven’t been able to get over in 16 months...ugh! I HATE this....

Trip to Alabama for the Boys

Mike and Zach went to AL for a long weekend. They had a great time see MomMaw (Zach's great grandma), visiting with Grandmommy, seeing the cousins, playing golf and eating lots of good food. Bonus, was Mike's tenacity paid off with two free tickets to go and watch the AL game versus TN (I think that is who they played)....Mike and his brother, Phillip had a great time....it was an awesome game and AL almost lost it! (from a Buckeye perspective!)

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Solar System

Well we finished Zach's first big homeschooling project, the solar system. He has done a wonderful job reading books about the planets, typing the planets names and making his own solar system...next it is off to study maps (when I can get my act together!)

Pumpkin picking!

Today we went to the farm to pick pumpkins from the field. This was Mike’s first experience actually pulling the pumpkins from the field. We rode a tractor out to the fields (Maddie was excited about that)....then we went on a search to find the perfect pumpkin (no the rule from when I was young did not apply....the kids could pick what ever pumpkin they wanted.....we had a wagon to pull them back to the tractor).....Ashley and Zachary got big pumpkins...and Maddie picked the pumpkin that had dirt and worms on it....I believe she had more fun picking off the dirt and playing with the worm. Then it was off to stand in line to get some yummy ice cream (mind you it was 6ish and time for dinner).....then we got in the car and came home to make dinner. A fun day was had by all!

Madison’s new slippers

I have been cleaning and sorting kids clothes since we are no longer in summer (where did it go??) and I found PJs that I thought wouldn’t fit Maddie until next year but I was wrong (she now outweighs her brother by 2 pounds...he has by 1" in height....ugh, the little guy has got to grow)...How I digress.....I put on her new purple Dora slippers and she started doing this dance in them...but I was to slow on the uptake to get the orginal dance....but I did manage to get her to move her feet to show Nana!

Maddie & her MRI

Madison had her 4th MRI today. She was a real trooper too! The MRI started at about 10AM then when it was over we headed to the Cincinnati Aquarium where there was no wait to get in (I believe that is the secret, go on a weekday).....we did a quick walk through...maybe we jogged at the end because we had to run over to Kentucky to see her neurologist. The report is promising...her Mylin is still producing which is good (one’s mylin normally finishes growing by the age of two).....we wonder if the fish oil and whole milk with DHA is making the difference. He did state though that he did not believe that she has CP in her right foot (we were happy to hear that)...but we will continue to monitor her progress. He was happy to hear her say her name and other things....we will continue to work with her and enjoy her for who she is.....Now we just have to ward off the flu this season so she doesn’t have any seizures.....Oh, Maddie just turned 3.5.....can’t believe how time flies!

Soccer season

This is Zachary’s first soccer game. Last year he played inside soccer so this is first game on the grass! Go Zach....

Beautiful Harley girl

Here is poor Harley getting dressed up again.

She takes so much love from Maddie!

Farm Field Trip

Today we went to Sunrock Farms near Cincinnati with Maddie's class from school. Zachary and Maddie were able to pet cows, sheep, horses, and hold chickens. Right before lunch each of the kids were able to milk a goat....that was a sight to see. Maddie just wanted to play in the warm milk. Lastly, they sat inside a wigwam (which was a structure that the Indians here in Ohio used to sleep and eat in) Enjoy the videos...

OSU a "BIG" game

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Mike and I were privileged to get to see The Ohio State University play at the "shoe." Mike made contact with the OSU staff and was able to score 2 seats in the press box. I had no idea exactly what that meant until we were there. OK, this was soooo cool. The seats were on the 40 yard line and overlooking everything. Food and drinks were free (no alcohol)....the press had to work. Plus, after the game were able to go on the field and take pictures. Being that I attended OSU I never went to the pre-game stuff....I was to busy enjoying beverages....man did I miss things...like the team warming up...and the "bee-hive" and the "post-game" song by the team....we were even found by my brother James in a massive crowd of people. So hope you enjoy the pictures!