Driving with Dad

There is a new housing development near our house. There are still not too many houses there and not much through traffic. Every now & then the kids get a special treat. They get to sit in Joel's lap in the driver's seat & "drive" the van. They think it's pretty much one of the best things ever. Emily even told me the other day that when she's old enough to drive she won't need lessons because she already knows how. My reply was that it gets a little more complicated when you add your feet to the mix. ;-) Katherine even got in on the action for the first time a few weeks ago. When asked if she wanted to drive too she got a huge smile on her face & couldn't wait to get out of her car seat for her chance.

Here are shots of each of the kids driving with Daddy. These are those memories I hope stick in their heads for years to come. I know they will be etched in mine for sure.

Little Love Notes

So the last few weeks have been...um, interesting for our family. Pretty much everyone who reads these knows what's been going on. But, in the rare chance that some stranger happens onto my mere little blog here's the story in a nutshell. The Sunday before Thanksgiving our littlest one went to urgent care for a bronchial infection & ended up being taken by ambulance to the hospital because she wasn't keeping her oxygen levels up well enough on her own. I had to send her off in the ambulance alone because there was not room for me. She got discharged later that night. The next day my husband went to the doctor with arm pain & was sent to the er. He had a huge blood clot in his arm. They would discover that he'd also had at least 2 pulmonary embolisms. He did not get discharged for 5 days. Then the next day (Tuesday) my oldest woke from her sleep having the longest seizure she's ever had. I had to call 911 & send her off in the ambulance alone as I was the only one home with the other 2 kids at the time. She spent 3 days in the hospital until the seizures were under control again.

So...we did not have a Thanksgiving this year. There were 2 things I was really, really looking forward to for that day. One was watching the parade on tv in bed with the kids. I did watch some of it with Emily in the hospital, but it was not the same. The other thing I was really looking forward to was pecan pie. The day after Thanksgiving was when our family was all finally back under one roof again. It was late that evening that I discovered a single piece of homemade pecan pie under some foil that had made it's way home with Joel from the hospital. I cried when I found it because I was going to get that pie I'd wanted after all. I knew it was a little love note to me from the only person who knew how much it would mean for me to receive it: the Lord.

Today was kind of a hard day. I've been tired from everything and Joel and I are both a little shocked at the amount of time it is taking for him to recover. We're still glad he's doing as well as he is. It's just a hard process to go through. Normal routine is out the window. So tonight when going through my email I discovered one from Blue Mesa grill. Apparently I'd signed up for their email promotions a month ago & I was the winner in their December drawing. I won a $50 gift certificate to one of their locations. Again...another love note exactly when I needed it. A promise of a free date night with my husband when he's feeling better. Something I really needed to have to look forward to today.

Over the years he's sent me these reminders that he's very present and that he knows me & exactly what will make me smile or lift my load a little bit. I love that. It meant so much to me today that I felt compelled to share. I pray that He will send a love note your way when you need it too. Be watching for them.

Thanksgiving Memory

This photo was taken on Thanksgiving Day 2008. We drove up to Virginia to spend the holiday with Joel's dad & step-mom, Jan. Jan's son, Dan, and his wife, Adriane, opened their home to us as well as their family that day. It was beautiful weather and the home they were renting was set back away from the city among some beautiful scenery. I even got to take a walk alone on the property that day. The meal was delicious & Dan, a gifted wine maker, shared several of his favorite bottles with us all. The kids had a blast playing and looking at Dan's pet lizards. We stayed past dark & Joel even got to photograph the beauiful night sky. It was truly a perfect day and one of my favorite Thanksgivings ever. I am thankful for it today especially as this Thanksgiving approaches. As I was browsing Facebook this morning Jan's post told me it was Dan's birthday. It got me to thinking about him & this particular holiday we had in Virginia. Dan is no longer with us. He was hit by a drunk driver just over a year ago. It makes this memory all that more priceless. I did not know Dan terribly well, but each occasion I got to be around him he was kind, warm, funny and generous. It is very hard to watch the suffering of his family that loved him so very much. My heart breaks for them and this great loss. There is comfort in something Jan frequently says: that she has hope in the day of their reunion will all things sad will be untrue.

Kerry's Visit

My sister, Kerry, came to visit for the first time this past weekend since moving to California 3 months ago. We had a great time with her. The kids were talking about her coming to visit for days before. They had fun just hanging out with her on several occasions. I got to have a fun girly day one-on-one with Kerry. We went shopping & I pretty much finished out my Christmas list (yay!), had a very nice & super yummy lunch downtown at one of her favorite places, and grabbed a quick chair massage at the mall. Joel also got to shop with her on Sunday for my Christmas gifts & have some good alone time with her too. We really do miss her a lot. It's weird not having her just up the road anymore, but we really enjoyed the time we got. We will be planning a trip out to see them too, most likely over the summer. Look out California...the Harrisons are headed your way soon!

The kids making a Thanksgiving craft with their aunt.

Sister lunch. So, so yum!

Emily's Earrings!

Emily's Aunt Kerry is in town this weekend from California for the first time since moving there. I asked her if she wanted to get her ears pierced while her aunt was here. She quickly said, "yes!" So this morning her sister, brother, mom, dad, 2 aunts, and 2 grandma's all joined her for the event. She did really great and, as you can see, got very emotional after they were in. Her sweet burst of happy emotion caused mom & dad to tear up too. She's growing up so fast & turning into such a little lady. It is fun and slightly sad to watch. Joel did a fantastic job, as usual, capturing the occasion. Enjoy the photos...I sure did!

Joel's Favorite Place in the World

This is our backyard fire pit. It has been described by Joel as his favorite spot in the world. Very sweetly he said sitting by the fire with me is his favorite thing to do. I have to admit it is very peaceful and relaxing. We usually head out there after the kids are tucked in bed, glass of wine in hand, and just sit, stare & share conversation as it arrises. It most definitely ranks in my list of favorite spots too.

Dress Up

This past month offered a wealth of opportunities for the kids to dress up. We had 2 carnivals & a trunk or treat to attend. There were also some fun themed days at Em's school. Here are some pics from the out of the ordinary dress days.

Emily's school had a "dress like your favorite literary character" day on Halloween. She (with some brainstorming help from her momma) dressed like Pinkalicious. I let her wear pink blush & lipstick too. She looked super cute & even got to read the whole book to her class.

Her school had a crazy sock & crazy hair day too. Here's the craziness we came up with for that.

Jon's school let them wear their costumes the Thursday before Halloween. He was a super fast flying superhero. He styled his hair himself. Nice!

And Kat did not want to be left out of the fun. She brought Jon's cape to me one day with a smile that said "put it on me mom!" I did & added the mask. She felt pretty special (as the photo shows).