Project Life 2012: Weeks 51 & 52 {Christmas}

December 16 - 22

This week was crazier than expected when Valerie ended up having tonsil/adenoid surgery.  We were also busy finishing up last minute things on our Christmas to do list like mailing out Christmas cards & baby announcements and packing for a week in Michigan visiting Ted's family.  I blogged more about the surgery here.

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December 23 - 30

Saturday morning, we packed up the van and began the long drive to Michigan.  With three kids, including a newborn, we knew we'd be stopping at least for lunch and dinner, so we braced ourselves for an entire day of driving.  We brought along my laptop with DVDs and plenty of toys to keep the kids entertained.  We stopped for lunch at Sarah & Dan's new house and enjoyed a break from traveling to visit with Sarah and little Danny. The rest of the drive went well, but we arrived at Ted's parents house just before midnight, exhausted and tired from a long day of travel.

Ted's older sisters, Sarah and Lisa, and his brother, David, were not able to travel home for Christmas this year, so it was a much quieter Christmas.  We enjoyed visiting with Ted's parents and attending the Hanes family gathering after church on Sunday.  The kids had a blast playing with (uncle) Joey and (uncle) Robbie.  Almanzo and Robbie are so funny together, giggling over the silliest things and chasing each other all over the house.  Almanzo says, "My like Robbie.  He's fun." 

Laura & Eric and Justin came over the weekend to visit as well.  Along with Mackenzie and Vickie, we all enjoyed staying up at night to watch some Hallmark Christmas movies Ted's mom had recorded on the TV.  There's something about a quiet night in the country in a home heated by a wood stove that just says Christmas to me.  It was so relaxing and the smaller gathering this year allowed us to spend some more one on one time with family members we don't get to see often enough.  


Christmas morning, the kids woke us up bright and early at 6.  We opened the gifts from our stockings and gave the kids their gifts from us before gathering with the rest of the family for breakfast.  After breakfast, Ted's dad read the nativity story straight from the bible and we all exchanged gifts.  We then enjoyed a Christmas lunch along with birthday cake for Jesus and a quiet afternoon nap before going to visit Ted's grandparents.  Mackenzie joined our little family and Ted's grandparents were so happy to see us all.  Having lost my own grandparents so recently, I know how precious time is so I cherished that time spent with Ted's grandparents. 

On Thursday morning, we packed up the van again and drove back home.  The drive home always seems longer, especially when we ended up driving through Chicago during rush hour.  At one point, in the middle of Chicago traffic that was almost at a stand still, all three kids were crying and I wanted to cry right along with them.  Somehow I managed to calm Ollie back to sleep and then put a movie on for Valerie and Almanzo that was just long enough to last until we stopped for dinner.  After dinner, the kids all fell asleep and we carried them into bed when we finally arrived home late that night. 

Friday morning, we packed the van yet again and drove to my parents' house.  We enjoyed Christmas with my family that night and then a Christmas gathering with my mom's family on Saturday.  It's a tradition every year for the cousins to perform a nativity play.  It was bittersweet to celebrate Christmas in my grandparents' home without them, but traditions like this keep their memory alive.  This year, my mom asked me to direct the play and my cousins came up with the most hilarious addition to our yearly tradition - the narrators read their lines southern preacher style and the actors sang their lines.  We were all laughing so hard by the end and the memories we made will last a lifetime. 

Project Life 2012: Weeks 48 - 50

November 25 - December 1



This was an emotionally draining week.  On Monday, I attended the funeral of a friend's newborn son, born the day after Oliver and on Friday, at MOPS, the pastor from Community Church spoke about hope in the midst of grieving as we all tried to process our friend's loss.  My kids, unfortunately, have experienced too many losses in their short life already and understand far more than we give them credit for.  During their play time, I often hear them talking about how great mommy got sick and died and one night, after talking about my friend's sick baby who died, Valerie was in tears.  She had the start of a cold and, as she coughed, she sobbed for daddy and gasped in between sobs, "I not want to die!"  We are grateful for the hope of heaven we are able to talk to our children about, but, still, the hard moments of life are so very hard to grasp, even as adults.  I took few photos this week, but instead stored up memories in my mind of precious moments spent simply living life with our little ones.  So, instead of a photo, I'm sharing a fun little video of our kids, because these are the moments that make the hard ones bearable. 

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December 2 - 8

This weekend, uncle Eric, aunt Laura, aunt Sarah, and cousin Danny came to visit and meet our Ollie.  Valerie and Almanzo had so much fun playing with cousin Danny, who quickly made himself right at home playing with their toys.  They made it just in time for lunch and then stayed for a couple hours to visit.  Oliver got plenty of cuddles with his aunt Sarah and aunt Laura and Almanzo had fun climbing all over uncle Eric.  We just wish they all lived closer so our visits weren't so few and far between!

The kids and I took a mini vacation this week to visit my sister, Kelly, and help her with Karli while she finished up her last semester of college classes.  The kids were so excited to have a sleep over with aunt Kelly and we loved having the extra time to spend with cousin Karli.  One of the nights we made a quick Target run with all four kids and then drove by the big lit up Christmas tree in the middle of downtown.  The kids were in awe of it.  On the way home from our visit, my mom met us to drop off some St. Nick's Day goodies for the kids.  I love that they still spoil us with little gifts like that. 

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December 9 - 15

 

We finally put up the Christmas tree this weekend and the kids just love staring at the lights.  We don't really do Santa in our house, because we want to focus on the One who came as a baby lying in a manger.  We decided last year to give our kids three gifts each, just like the three gifts the wise men gave Jesus.  We have a Fisher Price nativity set my parents bought the kids a few years ago and it's so sweet listening to them talk about the baby Jesus.  When we sit down for a family meal, we light our advent wreath and talk about the nativity story.  I just love watching them soak up these truths and hear their hearts for the Lord already.

We spent the rest of the week wrapping gifts, packing for our trip to Michigan for Christmas, and making these fun ornaments.  The kids had so much fun painting the ornaments to give to their aunts, uncles, and grandparents.  It's a good thing I had washable paint, old t-shirts for paint smocks, and disposable table cloths, because they made quite a big mess!

Our week ended with a college graduation party for my sister, Kelly.  I'm so proud of how hard she worked to gracefully balance being both a mommy and student.  She is totally a rock star in my book!  My parents held an open house at their home after the graduation ceremony and we celebrated with a house full of family and friends.

Wednesday's Walk: Valerie's Surgery

The week before Christmas I had planned on taking it easy and slowly packing for our family of five to spend a week and a half visiting family.  Our plans changed when an ENT doctor visit revealed that our Valerie needed surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids.

I had mentioned to her doctor that she always breathes through her mouth, wakes up stuffy every morning, and often snores at night.  She took one look at her tonsils and said they were huge.  The ENT confirmed this diagnosis and said her adenoids were likely even bigger.

We decided to do the surgery right away, because the younger kids are the quicker they recover.  We also knew that it would benefit her for the rest of her life by making it easier for her to breathe and sleep.  Plus, we wanted to get it done before the end of the year when our medical insurance would change for the new year. 

The surgery was scheduled for Thursday, December 20th. We had to be at the surgery center at 6:15 am.  The youngest kids are always scheduled first since they have to fast for the surgery and Valerie was the first surgery of the day.  Ted and I packed our breakfast and dropped Almanzo off at the babysitter's house before heading to the surgery center.

The drive there was slower than usual, because we got our first big winter snowstorm that night.  Valerie was so brave through it all.  When she told me she was hungry and I reminded her she couldn't eat before the surgery, she said, "Ok, I not ask again, mommy."  We both read the surgery books for kids the hospital gave us before the surgery and spent time talking and praying about it the night before.  So she was knew what to expect, but told me when we arrived, "mommy, my tummy hurts" as the reality set in.

The nurse brought us back to the pre op room right away and we helped Valerie get dressed in the little hospital gown.  Ted sat down with her in his lap while I nursed Ollie and read the little surgery book for kids once more.  Her smile started to fade as the anesthesiologist and her ENT doctor came in the room along with another nurse.

We helped her climb into the hospital bed and covered her with the warm blankets.  She was really quiet and I could see her a little fear in her eyes as she looked around the room and back at us.  She begged her daddy to hold her hand so he sat next to her until the nurse said it was time to go.  It broke my heart to see her break down at that point.  Ted walked with her to the surgery doors and I could here her crying, "No, daddy!  Don't leave me!  I want my daddy!"  

I'm so grateful for the distraction of our little Ollie, because I would have started sobbing if he wasn't looking at me smiling at that moment.  We quietly walked to the waiting room and ate our breakfast as we waited for the surgery to be done.  Those were some of the longest minutes of my life, because all I wanted was to hold my baby girl safe in my arms again.  I knew she was in good hands, but she is still my baby.

When the doctor finally came to talk to us after the surgery, he confirmed that the surgery went well and that it was a good thing we decided to go ahead with the surgery.  Her tonsils were large and her adenoids even larger and were both covered in gunk because they were blocking any drainage from her nose.

A few minutes later (which felt like an eternity to me), the nurse finally brought us back to the post op room.  Valerie was awake, but still quite groggy and not at all happy.  She was much quieter and somber than the Valerie we are used to.  She climbed in her daddy's lap right away and fell asleep, only to wake up telling us she needed to puke.  Poor girl has the same sensitive tummy as her mommy and the combination of anesthesia and pain meds were reeking havoc on her digestive system. 

After about an hour, we finally got the okay to take her home.  The nurse came in with a cute little handmade get well gift that a volunteer made.  Valerie perked up a bit when she saw her new little purse and clutched it tightly all the way home.  The next two days were rough as she continued to throw up.

She never once complained though, just simply said, "I need to puke" or "I not feel good".  I felt completely helpless watching her struggle through recovery as I begged her to take even small sips of water.  I was so worried we'd end up back in the hospital for dehydration, but somehow she made it through okay.

Saturday morning, we were planning to drive to Michigan for Christmas with Ted's family, but were unsure if our plans would change based on Valerie's recovery.  Amazingly, she woke up that morning, asked to eat breakfast, and started singing and playing with her brother as if nothing had happened.

Everyone told me kids bounce back quickly from surgery, but those first two days were so rough I thought for sure she would be the exception.  I breathed a huge sigh of relief and a prayer of thankfulness to our God for protecting her and healing her...and a prayer of petition that we never have to repeat that again...at least not for a long, long time.

Linking up with Jenilee of Our Goodwin Journey for Day 3 of Blog Writing Prompts.