pneumonia

Yup. Stephen's diagnosis early this morning after being taken to the hospital in an ambulance. And a sinus infection.

Poor guy.

We're hoping for a much healthier 2009. Anyone have a bubble we can live in for a few weeks?

Not the Thanksgiving I envisioned

I was looking forward to Thanksgiving.

But the 5 of us, all sick, are just going to be thankful in a quiet home, probably eating pizza. Plans to drive 6 hours south to spend the weekend with my family is not feasible they way Stephen and I are feeling.

My voice sounds like Darth Vader. My breathing too.

We will also spend time praying, especially for Kristi. The chemo has wrecked havoc on her body and she is now fighting a bacterial infection. High heart rate, low blood pressure and low white blood cell count. She is in the ICU and the doctors say the next 24-48 hours are critical. I am so sad her family is going through this, but especially this time of year.

Flashback Friday

1 year ago today I thought I was having a breakdown. I couldn't figure out why I was so emotional. Stephen was away in Miami for the final Nascar race, and by the time he returned, I finally realized that I should probably take a pregnancy test.
And then the craziest year of our lives began.




Baby Jackson at about 10 weeks old.

Quote of the day:
To love abundantly is to live abundantly, and to love forever is to live forever.
Henry Drummond

Soup of the week

To cut back on grocery bills, get our family healthier by eating more veggies and to keep us warm this winter, I have been making 1 homemade soup a week. We usually eat it one night with a good bread and then I have it for lunch again another day.

Today it is carrot soup. I didn't even know I liked carrot soup until Melanie introduced it to me. The kids actually asked for carrot soup this week, it helps to have a library book that talks about how yummy carrot soup can be!

I pulled this from allrecipes.com
Creamy carrot soup
SUBMITTED BY: Grace Yaskovic

1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter, cubed (can substitute for EVOO)
4 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups heavy whipping cream (can substitute for milk)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS
In a Dutch oven, saute onion in butter until tender. Add carrots, potato, broth and ginger. Cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Cool for 15 minutes.
Transfer to a blender or food processor in small batches; cover and process until smooth. Return all to the pan; stir in the cream, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat until heated through.

Tuesday Treasure

Avery has been taking an art class this fall. She loves art, tells us she is going to be an artist when she grows up. She has learned about several artists and then painted with the same style and medium.

Jacob Lawerence


Georgia O'Keeffe


Jackson Pollock


Quote of the day:
It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else.Erma Bombeck

How a two year old copes with moving

Avery and Charlie have been sharing a room since our move from NC.

Charlie has asked me or Stephen every night before bed,
"Is Avery going to sleep with me?"

75 nights in a row, he has asked this question.

Tonight, he did not ask the question. I think he finally feels settled.

Flashback Friday

We were taking a trip to Virginia Beach summer 2007. It was just me and the two kiddos. We were about an hour from our destination (after 2+ hours already in the car) and the kids were just at their breaking points. I pulled into McDonald's and they were selling 3 chocolate chip cookies for $1. I wasn't really thinking about the sugar content and what that would do to their antsy-ness, I just wanted something to keep them entertained. Thankfully it did the trick.


So we finally arrived at Aunt Tracy's house and found this...





Don't miss the chocolate on his leg!

Quote of the day:
If you want to hear God's voice, turn down the world's volume.
Seen on a church welcome sign down the block from us.

Bugs and toes

Avery LOVES bugs. While we were out raking leaves on Sunday (12 bags!) our neighbor entertained the kids with this praying mantis. Avery let the thing crawl all over her and she wanted to bring it inside to take care of it.



Charlie and his turn playing with the mantis.



Jackson's toe 5 days later. Starting to look much better.

My Tuesday Treasure

Dad just sent me this picture he took this summer when they were visiting. I adore this photo. I am 9 months pregnant and the kids were having fun looking like me with balloons in their shirts.

I treasure my family. Every single one of you.

A Hair Tourniquet

A what???

Poor little Jackson had what the medical profession refers to as a hair tourniquet last Friday. A piece of hair wrapped tightly around his toes, so tight a surgeon had to be called into the pediatrician's office to remove the dang thing.

For those who aren't aware (as I was not), loose hairs can get wrapped around phalanges, form slip knots and then tighten as babies kick. Jackson's favorite pastime right now.

His first scar. Quite a story for him as he grows up.

And I must admit, for a brief moment, I thought about shaving my head as well as Avery's.

It is healing nicely and he has complete mobility in that toe. That was my main concern, as the hair cut the back of his toe right down to the bone.

Flashback Friday

A little over a year ago Stephen and I took the 2 kids to the
Asheboro zoo in NC.

Today I am taking the 3 kids to the Baltimore zoo in Maryland.

Man has life changed in 1 year!

Avery as Curious George (thanks Shannon, you saved the day!), James as a train conductor and Charlie as Tony Stewart, the NASCAR driver. Stephen and Thomas had fun taking the kids around trick or treating.



Avery and Charlie with their candy.



Jackson as a frog. This costume got so many comments Lea! It was great!



In the morning, we went to the library Halloween story hour. Avery decided to go as Ariel.



And finally, the BEST news of the day, we have officially sold our home in NC!