Trick-or-Treat

We had a blast! The kids just really had a good time. Everyone loved the costumes and the nice manners :) Hudson lasted about an hour around the neighborhood bundled up in a snuggle-me zipped up thing in his carseat on the stroller! We then went back to the house and gathered our candy from our neighbor's (they pass it out for us while we go trick-or-treating) and then went to our house to pass out candy for another hour. The kids had even more fun seeing all the different costumes coming to the door! What a fun night :) with my cute Minnie, Skeleton, Butterfly Princess and Pumpkin!!

Our Little Pumpkins

Four little pumpkins growing on a vine,
sweet and round and just so fine.
One little pumpkin kissed the other,
two cute sisters and two handsome brothers.
Fun little pumpkins smiling and giggling,
tickling and laughing and wiggle-wiggling.
Pumpkins in the morning and pumpkins at night,
pumpkins all around and snuggling so tight.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Carving the Jack-Os

We carved our pumpkins Sunday afternoon! Everyone knew what kind of face they wanted Daddy to cut and had "drawings" of what they wanted it to look like! Paige wanted a smiley pumpkin with a buck tooth. Chase wanted a pumpkin with an "O" face that he would share with Hudson :) Julia wanted a kitty. HAHAHA! Shane ended up doing a normal-faced pumpkin, and then we helped her draw whiskers on it. We had a lot of fun, and then we ate chocolate cupcakes that we decorated with orange icing and sprinkles. We are going trick-or-treating Wednesday night! It's all me on Beggar's night because Shane's not home until 9 p.m. or so from work!

God Is So Good

Psalms 92:1&2
"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord,
and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High.
To shew forth thy loving kindness in the morning,
and the faithfulness every night."

Love is the Greatest of Riches

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one's youth.
Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

—Psalm 127:3-5

Generations of Daughters

When my mom comes for a visit, I always end up thinking about my own relationship with my children, my daughters in particular. Will we be as close as we are now as they get older? Will they continue to respect me as I do them? What does God have in store for their lives, their future marriages, their own children?

My mom and I have always clashed and had a tumultuous relationship to say the least. As we have both grown older, it's mellowed some mainly because in a lot of ways we've just realized we are the way we are. Acceptance of one another is the key to loving unconditionally! Our best example of that, of course, is the way Heavenly Father loves us no matter what.

Though my parents were never perfect and neither am I as a mother, I know that my best example of parenting comes from my Father above. I hope my daughters see how cherished they are for what they are, the way God has made them. We all have room for improvement; however, if my daughters love me the way I am, I know I will continue to love them just the way they are too :) I look forward to our growing relationship as it changes from parental guidance to a friendship that settles in between two adults. My girls are shining daughters of God!

Who Loves Ya Baby

I was thinking the other day that the last eight weeks since Hudson's birth have been a whirlwind of concern and busyness. Did we worry? Tried not to, but there definitely has been a ton of prayer between Shane and me as a couple. Why do people go through certain things and why do certain things happen? Who knows? The Bible tells us we aren't supposed to know all and have all the answers, and I agree. I do know though that we are a super strong couple that endures a lot and loves each other even more out of it. Shane is my rock and my best friend. We are really looking forward to celebrating another anniversary this fall :)

Hudson Update

Hudson was 8 weeks this week, and had his 2-month well check with his pediatrician, shots, etc. He's doing so well. He didn't even cry, just a whimper with shots because shots are a cinch compared to what he's been through!!! He is gaining weight great and grew another inch. My long and lean machine I call him like Daddy.

Hudson also had another cardiology appointment this week. We go every three weeks for an EKG and echocardiogram of his heart. His two holes are even SMALLER! They aren't calling the bottom septum defect moderate anymore. Now they are calling it a small hole like the top. All the pressure and blood flow looked awesome in and out of the heart which if he was having issues with the openings he would, again, by now. There was no evidence of any pressure building from the backflow into his lungs. We are just very relieved to avoid the surgery on the lower hole because his doctor has pretty much ruled out that we are going to have to have it as they thought we would in the beginning! YAY! Praise Jesus, always.

Also with Hudson's hypocalcemia, they are now calling it transient where it was just an infant absorption transition problem with birth. He is completely off all his calcium supplements and maintaining all normal calcium levels on his own!! No more weekly heel pricks to check calcium levels at his endricrinologist's office! WHEW! She still wants to see him once a month for a montly calcium level. She also said that when he gets very ill in his entire life with the flu, etc., we will always have to watch it and make sure he's not showing any seizure symptoms with calcium levels dropping. Praise Jesus, again!

He's such a little ham and all smiles. He adores his big sisters and brother and loves to listen to them talk and sing to him. When it's all said and done, he's a complete Mommy's boy though. He wants Mommy to hold him constantly!!! Paige, Chase and Julia were the same way. I call them "hip" babies. Isn't that the only way to be?! LOL Children are God's little angels on earth. Snuggle and hold them while you can!!

Meeting Grandpa for the First Time

My parents came up for the big program they put on at the kids' school on "Grandparents' Day." It was so nice! I have gone every year, but this is the first year any grandparents came to celebrate with them. My parents picked them up and took them to lunch and then saw the program. They loved it.

They came home to be with Hudson, Julia and me and we had dinner, etc. Hudson adores my parents. He just is all smiles when my dad holds him. He loves to stare at my mom and coo at her. They are in heaven! They stay through Sunday and leave early Monday morning. The kids really enjoyed their visit and love to see them. I was so glad that we were all feeling better and not contagious!!

The grandparents program just happened to fall on my mom's birthday this year which made it even more special. The kids gave her a corsage to wear. We made her a big carrot cake and gave her a few things. She was surprised and loved it.

We'll Take Strep Throat, Fever and Headache Times Four, Please

So Chase began feeling better and passed it onto Paige, Julia and me. He went back to school, and Monday I took him to his 7-yr old well check for his flu shot, etc. The doctor says, his glands in his throat are a little large and he has a low-grade fever, so he can't get his flu shot................!!!!......and we are going to swab him for strep........!!!!!!...........Turns out, he's postitive for strep as are we all :)

ANTIBIOTICS FOR EVERYONE :)

Pray Daddy and Hudson remain unscathed from all this sickness! So far so good! Hudson goes today for his cardiology appointment and then tomorrow for his 8-week checkup with shots.

Just so you know, if I see another doctor, I'm going to scream. LOL. I just want to stay home for two seconds and hold my baby!!

Happy "Early" Anniversary :)

So Shane is my technicologically advanced do-dee-dah hubby. If he's not rebuilding a computer, he's reading about it. Well, we are coming up on our 3-year anniversary on November 5, and my old ipod was a joke. It barely held anything. It was the first generation apple shuffle, so it now belongs to Paige which, believe me, she's not complaining. LOL. So I wanted a new ipod and Shane gifts me as an early anniversary the Apple Ipod Classic, and I found my new love!! I can't stop playing with it and listening to it especially on the treadmill :) He had it engraved on the back with a special message. I was totally surprised! He had to give it to me early because the children knew about it, so it was only a matter of time before the secret got out. There is no such thing as a secret more than 24 hours around here. This thing does it all! It basically has as much hard-drive on it as my computer. You can watch movies on it, videos, you name it. It does everything but order a pizza for you.

My latest new thing too that I ordered through Verizon for my new phone is the Palm Treo. I called it my anniversary present to myself LOL. I had the pink razor that everyone has, and I loved it; but with the children's schedules, appointments, and my own daily lists, I was crying out for a new palm pilot! I had a palm pilot but was going crazy carrying my phone, ipod, palm pilot, blah blah blah...when something rang, I didn't know what was going on half the time LOL. The Treo has it all in one and it's amazing. You also don't have to type everything through a stylus but just like texting with a real mini-keyboard. Needless to say, I am organized beyond belief and now I just took it to another level with this thing!! You can't function in our household without out-of-this-world organizational skills LOL. So now I'm in electronical heaven!! Stay tuned for what I got Shane for our anniversary. Of course, I can't POST it on hereeeeeeee because it HAS to stay a secret! SHHHHH!

Jesus Heals

Hudson is 7 weeks old!

Hudson has done so well with going each week to get his heel pricked to draw blood to check calcium levels. We slowly began weaning him off calcium supplements two weeks ago, every three days having his levels checked. His calcium levels were remaining the same! The whole weaning process made me nervous because, obviously, I didn't want the levels to drop and be back in "seizure" territory with dangerously low calcium. His specialist kept reassuring me how awesome he was doing and that they are closely monitoring it with the heel sticks so frequently!

So as of now he is off calcium supplements completely and doing great. It's all just amazing :)

Every time the Lord works a miracle in my life I am just breathless with the impact and power of it all, almost surprised. When I read the scriptures, I know the magnitude of the Lord but still seem shocked when I see His amazing, powerful, healing hand in my own life...almost as if I am throwing a prayer up to Him with a question mark as to whether He will fix it or answer it instead of praying with statements of expectancy.

With Hudson's situation of the calcium issue and the heart issue, I am EXPECTING the miracle. I KNOW His healing hand is caressing my baby and fixing it all. Even through the hard days and nights in the ICU when things were tough, I just felt God near my son and over our whole family, so close, right there. Heavenly Father is my love, my everything. I feel wrapped in His protection and grace. I am so blessed. My children are such a great gift from God.

Poor Chase

So the flu has struck our house. Its first victim is Chase, and I hope it stops there! Chase is 10 days shy of receiving his flu shot at his 7-year well check too, so it struck us early :/

Since Chase has been down and out since mid-day Saturday, we've been restricting him from touching and kissing on Hudson and others for obvious reasons. Being that Chase is sensitive and melodramatic like his mother, he was near tears tonight.

"What's wrong, Chase-man?"
"I just am really sad because I know I will never be able to kiss and love on Hudson again."
"No, it's not forever, honey, it's just until you feel better. If he gets sick like you, it can be really bad because he's so little."
"I know Hudson is sad too because I can't love on him."

Awwww. Pray for Chase and a speedy recovery!

A Flashback in Time

Just a little trip down memory lane with Paige as a baby :)

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl

Paige turned 10 this morning at 6:56 a.m.! I just can't believe A DECADE has passed when it seems like yesterday I had her! We've had a great birthday weekend. Friday night just the two of us went to dinner and shopped and talked without interruption :) It was such a nice time. She is growing up so quickly and so mature and fun to be with. Saturday night Paige had her best friend spend the night, so the night was full of giggles and nail polish. What a fun way to spend a birthday! :)

We had planned as a family on her actual birthday, today, to go out to dinner to her "favorite place" Olive Garden, but Chase came down with the flu last night with a temperature and throwing up :( so our plans have been altered to just the girls going out to eat. We are planning on bringing back the boys something to eat!

Next month Paige is planning on inviting some friends to a birthday party at this neat movie theater where they all can watch a movie and spend some time in their party room. She wanted to wait because the movie she wants to see doesn't come out until November.

10 beautiful years watching her grow up so far has just been so special and wonderful. Paige is an amazing girl with an incredible spirit and sweetness. I am so proud she's our daughter! :)

Keeping Things in Perspective

One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 119:33-48

"Teach me, O Lord, to follow every one of your principles.
Give me understanding and I will obey your law;
I will put it into practice with all my heart.
Make me walk along the path of your commands,
for that is where my happiness is found.
Give me an eagerness for your decrees;
do not inflict me with the love of money!
Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give
me life through your word.
Reassure me of your promise, which is for those
who honor you.
Help me abandon my shameful ways;
your laws are all I want in my life.
I long to obey your commandments!
Renew my life with your goodness.
Lord, give to me your unfailing love, the
salvation that you promised me.
Then I will have an answer for those who
taunt me,
for I trust in your word.
Do not snatch your word of truth from me,
for my only hope is in your laws.
I will keep on obeying in your law forever
and forever.
I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted
myself to your commandments.
I will speak to kings about your decrees,
and I will not be ashamed.
How I delight in your commands!
How I love them!
I honor and love your commands.
I meditate on your principles.

Amen!

It is very easy to get caught up in a world that detracts from Heavenly Father. Inhaling the last of my newborn's scent while I rock Hudson in my arms during the day, I focus on the moment instead of thinking all that I have to do and could be doing. Life's precious moments aren't tomorrow or later but now, what is happening right at the second around you! Please, Lord, let me hang onto all the moments around me and not focus on worldly appetites of money and "to do lists"!

Big Baby Boy

Hudson is over 12 lbs now at 6 weeks and is really making up for lost time in ICU! He loves his baths and playtime at night for sure. He goes to bed around 7 p.m. and sleeps until midnight, eats again, sleeps again until 4 a.m. or thereabouts. He's usually finally awake for good by 7 a.m. or so. Hudson stays awake pretty much ALL DAY. I've never seen anything like it before lol. I would take that though considering how great he sleeps at night! He's growing so fast. I am amazed always how fast it all goes!

This Just Says It All For Me

When Shane was off last Friday, we scheduled Hudson's heel prick to test his calcium levels so we could both go together. On the way back from Children's to get Julia from preschool, we quickly stopped to get a sandwich on the run. In a rush, I got out of the car with just my wallet and an empty cup of coffee (of course) to throw away. Walking into the sandwich place for a to-go order, I realized I threw my wallet in the trash and was still holding the empty coffee cup.

DUH.

SLEEP DEPRIVATION GALORE.

MENTALLY CHALLENGED.

I went back to the car where Shane was waiting with Hudson.
"Where are the sandwiches?"
"Didn't get them yet. Come over by the entrance door really quick and help me dig in that trash for my wallet."

I think he's learned to not even ask why, how or what happened over the years. It's just better that way.

Chase's 7th Birthday Bash

Chase patiently waited for his birthday party we had at an indoor recreations outlet where they have 5-6 indoor playsets set up to play on. We wanted to have his party the first week of school, but with Hudson in the ICU, etc., we postponed it until the end of September! He was so good about the delay saying he just wanted Hudson home and then have his party with his friends.

A good time was had by all, and he loved the get together. I loved the fact that he could invite a lot of wild boys and not have to have it in our house LOL and the clean up was a snap!! :) I can't believe my baby boy is 7! Where does the time go?!

You Such A Silly Bear

Hudson is the sweetest and silliest. He is entertained mostly by staring at me and then busting out grinning. Shane and I say, "What are you laughing at? It's not funny!" Considering all he's been through, he's the happiest baby. His smile warms the heart!! The two pictures I took of Hudson smiling were on my phone! I blew them up as best I could on the computer :)