Catching Up....Take One

It has been well over a month since the last post. Life has been busy and time has gotten away from me, yet again. Here's is the first of many posts to catch up the blog. :)

One of the things we have been busy with is helping Sean learn to ride his bike. He sees all the other kids in the neighborhood ride without training wheels and has finally decided that he is brave enough to do it too. We tried to teach him over the summer a time or two, but he wasn't really into it. He is getting better everytime and it won't be long before he can ride without any help from us at all.

Avery turns 4!!!

The Princess Cake

Wednesday Avery celebrated her 4th Birthday! It is so hard to believe that four years have passed since Avery joined our family. Where did the time go? I just can't believe it! Her main present was her princess room but she did get a few little things to open and a super cute princess cake. And I took her to get her nails done for the very first time ever. She has been wanting that forever and I told her when she was 4 she could. She held very still and did a great job. I was so proud of her! (They have a great kids salon here that does haircuts, maniucres, special hairstyles, etc... )

Eric took the day off and Sean was off school still because of the snow/ice storm so we were all able to celebrate together. And Grammy and Grandpa came over for pizza, cake and presents. It was a great day! :)

The Dangers of Hide N Seek

North Carolina doesn't often get snow, and when we do, it doesn't often stay on the ground. Last Saturday, we were hit with a snowstorm that dumped 5 inches on us and then some freezing rain/sleet came and put a thick layer of ice over the snow. Because we get snow so rarely here, the whole world shut down. They just don't have the equipment or manpower to deal with the aftermath. So, we were basically shut in from Saturday until Tuesday. The reason I tell you this is so that you'll understand that we were all suffering from cabin fever, especially the kids. :) One of our favorite things to do as a family is to play hide n seek. So, on Monday, after the kids had their jammas on and were ready for bed, we agreed to play just one more game of hide n seek. Big mistake.

Eric was counting and I had just hidden. Avery was chasing Sean because she wanted to hide with him. Sean decided he didn't want Avery following him and slammed the door which hit her right in the face. As soon as I heard her cry I knew something really bad had happened. I rushed out of my hiding place and found Avery crying with blood gushing from her nose. To make a long story short, I took her to the ER where they told us her nose was broken. My poor baby! The miserable thing is that they can't do anything for a broken nose until all the swelling and bruising goes down. And Avery's nose is really swollen and bruised. They expect it to take two weeks to a month for her nose to lose most of the swelling. At that point, we will see how it's healing. If it doesn't look 100% normal and perfect like it was before, she will have to have surgery to correct it.

So for now, all we can do is wait and watch her beautiful little face turn more colors everyday as the swelling and bruising continues. Right now, it has spread so that one of her eyes is black and her cheek is starting to discolor. It looks so bad and I know it hurts. My poor little girl! I just wish there was more I could to for her. Waiting is so hard....

A Room Fit for A Princess

For Avery's birthday this year, we gave her a princess room. She has wanted a Cinderella carriage bed for over a year and we decided to give it to her for her birthday. Since we moved into the new house and her room needed to be re-done anyway, we decided to just lump it all together and give her a princess room. She choose the color for the walls (it was called Cinderellas Glass Slipper, go figure) and I painted it last week. Then, her carriage bed came for her birthday, complete with new bedding, and I added a castle, flowers and new curtains to complete the transformation. Avery loves it and spends lots of time in there playing. And I have to admit, it is nice to have one more room in the house done. I still have many left to go.... :)

Dinner....without the kids!!!

Last weekend, Eric and I got a sitter and went to dinner with my Mom and Dad. It was such a great thing to be able to sit and enjoy adult conversation without the kids around. :) We all chose Outback which is a family favorite....yummmm! Our waitress was kind enough to take this great picture and even gave us a free dessert to celebrate the occasion! Awesome!

We get to see my parents a lot since they are only 10 minutes down the road, but we seldom see them without the kiddos. We decided we need to do things like this more often so we can do things like see a movie, have a nice dinner, things like that. My mom was teasing me because I dressed up and put on high heels and all for our date night. Hey, sometimes it's nice to feel like a woman and not just a mommy, right?

O Holy Night

In our family, we celebrate the birth of Christ on Christmas Eve. We have a family Christmas Eve program where we read the story of Jesus' birth from the bible and make a nativity. We also sing songs, read stories, and spend the night focusing on the true meaning of Christmas, which is the celebration of our Savior's birth. This year, I bought a special Christmas star and gave one each to the kids. It was to remind them of the Savior and the night he was born, and I told them that just like that star guided the wise men and shepherds to Jesus, if we follow Jesus and his example, it can lead us back home to live with our Heavenly Father. The Savior and his life, teaching and example, are our guiding star. It was so neat to be able to share my testimony with them on such a special night.

I am so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ. For His life, for His love, for His sacrifice. And I am thankful that Christmas Eve gives us a chance to really reflect and be thankful for the miracle that is His birth.

Santa Came!!

Sean had asked Santa for two things this year, Bakugan stuff and a talking Zurg action figure. He was thrilled to come down the stairs and see that Santa had delivered!

Avery really wanted a "big girls" doll house so that she could put her princesses and barbies in it. She gave her old dollhouse to a little girl that needed it and so Santa was happy to bring her what she wanted. She LOVES her new one and plays with it all day everyday.

Eric did so well shopping for me this year and I LOVED everything he bought me!! He picked out a whole bunch of shirts at old navy and they were totally things I would have picked myself. :) I also got a pair of boots I had wanted forever and the big surprise gift was a chandelier to go over my bathtub. I have always wanted one and he picked out a beautiful one all by himself.

Eric's big gift this year was a ping pong table. He has wanted one for 8 years (at least) and I stayed up all night on black friday to get one at a great price (it was sooooo worth it). I had it at my parents house until Christmas Eve when I snuck it back to our house. He was so surprised on Christmas Day to find it with a big red bow on it. We all love his gift and have been playing everyday!

After we opened our family presents, my parents came over for our annual Christmas Day breakfast feast! We cooked up a yummy spread of breakfast goodies and ate until we couldn't eat anymore. Then we opened presents to and from the Grandparents.

Sean had been saving his money up since July so that he could buy his presents for everyone with his very own money. He did an amazing job! Not only did he buy thoughtful useful gifts but he also found some great bargains and really stretched his money far.

This year, we had the kids' picture made and framed it for my parents. It turned out really cute!