Axelson Adventures

Just to compare...

2009-11-11T20:05:00.002-05:00

Beautiful Fall?...Summer end?...Fall?...Whatever!

2009-11-10T12:18:00.006-05:00

This past week and a half, we have had some absolutely beautiful weather in Flo-town! One day, it was just too beautiful to stay inside...I said to Abby, "Let's go outside and enjoy this weather!" She looked at me like, "Mom are you for real?", probably because my normal reaction to going outside is that I have too much to do and don't feel like it! (Sarcastically speaking, I am SUCH a good mom, huh?)

Here's our little monkey, swinging on the tree!

Abby's picture of me reading on a blanket with Phoebe attached at my hip...literally!

My view looking straight up...

And here's sweet sweet Phoebe Jane...

Sweet, cute girls...

We were outside for the better part of two hours! One step into the backyard for many moms...one LEAP for Erin! If we had more days like THAT, I'd be out there WAY more often!

Tutus, tutus everywhere!!!!

2009-11-10T11:53:00.004-05:00

Josh's sister, Alison, has been busy making tutus for the little girls (hers and mine!) Phoebe got a pink one for her birthday, Abby got a Halloween one the same day and her daughter Emma has a few as well. I decided to make some for our nieces on the Harvey side for Christmas, so Abby was able to wear my first completed one at Nana and Poppy's Ward "Trick or Trunk" (Okay, trunk-or-treat--inside joke with the Axelsons...)

Then Abby wore her Halloween one to school on the 30th...It was technically "Favorite Sports Team" Day at her school...Halloween was never mentioned...but thankfully, Clemson colors and Halloween colors are the same--on her cheek is my weak attempt at a Clemson paw, so it wouln't technically be a "Halloween costume"...

The next day, she wore her actual costume, which of course consisted of a tutu of sorts...

Phoebe had hers too...

And just a treat for you all...a pic of Baby Emma in all her tutu glory...

On to a more positive post...

2009-11-05T12:21:00.004-05:00

Just thinking today about how blessed I am to be a mom to 2 beautiful little girls! I get so frustrated sometimes, when Abby talks back hatefully or when Phoebe slaps the spoon full of smashed green "booger peas" out of my hand. (My sister-in-law, Amber, uses that phrase regularly and I laugh to the point of crying when she actually says it in normal conversation...Anyway---I digress!) I get down on myself a lot, worrying about the future and wondering if my girls are going to turn out to be completely disrespectful and moody. And asking myself why I have two of the most STUBBORN children on this earth! But recently I've been thinking about the time that we live in, where there is so much around us that could lead us away from the things that are right--those things that can make us truly happy. And I've realized that ALL the children coming to this earth right now HAVE to be stubborn---if they aren't, they can't stand up for themselves and what is right--OUR privilege, as parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers and leaders is to guide that stubborness and strength in the right direction, so our kids can be strong forces for GOOD, instead of going the other way! And especially in Phoebe's case, she's gonna NEED that stubborn attitude to get through the physical limitations that she will have for awhile!

So bring on the strong-willed kids! I can take it if it means they will be good, honest, hard-working members of a society that they will actually contribute to...I can take it if they will have the guts to stand up for themselves and what is right...I can take it if it means they will live happy lives because they know how to push through tribulation and be successful...HEY! I guess that means I'm stubborn enough to get through these tough and joyous times raising children! Go figure! You learn something new everyday...

What gives?!!

2009-11-05T12:02:00.003-05:00

I am SOOO annoyed right now! Abby just brought me her school picture order form and instead of an awesome, full color picture on real photo paper with the word "PROOF" across the bottom in big white letters--a photo that I can fully steal and scan into the computer and make perfectly good, beautiful copies of for FREE, I get this grainy thing printed straight onto the order form-- something almost completely unusable!!! (How dare they? You'd think they actually wanted me to BUY a package so they could actually MAKE MONEY? (What do you think?)

It's okay, though, because in true 4-yr-old fashion, instead of this smile...

...or even THIS smile....

...Abby gave THIS smile...

Seriously, Josh will not even know it's a school picture without the "PROOF"!!!;0(

Our little "ray of sunshine" turns 1!

2009-10-25T23:06:00.007-04:00

Here's Phoebe the morning of her birthday! She went with me that morning to my weight loss group--TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly). I actually joined the group in Oct 2007 so I could lose the ten lbs required by my doctor to be able to start treatments to get pregnant again. I lost the weight in 10 weeks, started the medication and found out I was pregnant with Phoebe in February 2008. She was born 1 year and two days after I joined TOPS, so I would definitely say that she is our TOPS club mascot! Okay, I digress! Back to her birthday! She came to TOPS with me and all the ladies fawned over her and even sang Happy Birthday, quietly of course, because every time she comes to TOPS, she screams because we are too loud! So she looked cute, huh?

We had her birthday party the next day and I decided the oh-so-clever theme of "You Are My Sunshine"! Got some ideas off of the internet, thought up some of my own and VOILA! Here you go! Sunshine cake (orange supreme cake mix with yummy orange frosting)...

...orange yellow and red homemade deco...

...and of course, all our favorite yellow and orange finger foods...cheese and crackers, peppers and carrots with ranch, fruit salad with pineapple, oranges and apples, reeses pieces, orange slices and Velveeta cheese dip with tortilla chips!

Happy with Dad!

Blowing out the candles...well, I guess I did that!

She liked the cones better than the cake!!!

But she loved the cake too!

She loves to sit in her little rocking chair!

Me and my girls!

The next day, we headed to Greenville to see the Axelson side ;0) and to attend Cousin Ben's baptism...we had to take a family picture...

She was not a happy camper that day, but we were exctied to see her gift from Nana and Poppy...a beautiful quilt, handmade by Nana and Aunt Sue (Thank you!!!)...

...and her tutu and bedazzled t-shirts, handmade by Aunt Ali...

I know she was really happy inside!

Aunt Heidi got her a beautiful pink corduroy dress with embroidered flowers, which she wore to church the next day (I didn't get a pic!) The Johansen kids were in their Primary program and they did beautifully! It was Madi's last year in the Primary program and she had a solo! She was so excited and her solo was LOVELY!

We begrudgingly went home that evening, excited for another Greenville trip 4 days later, but that's another post!!! Here's Phoebe with her new blanket! She wouldn't let us take it off anf has slept every night since then, surrounded by its warmth!

So she's now a one-year-old! Weird! And she's got her two top front teeth about to bust through to prove it (and to explain her grumpiness!!!)

More to come later...

Phoebe's MRI

2009-10-25T22:22:00.006-04:00

On September 22, we took Phoebe to Columbia to have an MRI of her brain and spine as previously discussed a few posts ago. We actually had to check her in to the Children's Hospital, so she could have general anesthesia for the procedure. Here she is when we first got there in various states of dress (or undress;0)...

As you can see, she was pretty happy and unaware of what was about to happen...And I was okay too, even when all the nurses had to wear face masks because of the stupid swine flu...(I don't mean to make light of it--I know a lot of people have died, but frankly I'm SICK of hearing about it!) I wasn't even really perturbed when the nurses reminded me that the medication they would be giving her was the same as the one that Michael Jackson died from (WHY would you say that to the mother of an 11-month-old baby that was about to be "put out"? Was I not nervous enough?) Then came the kicker...the dreaded IV...Two nurses came in the room once we had put that tiny gown on her and said, "It's usually better if the parents step out while we do this." I thought, 'Okay. They don't want us to feel bad that our child is SCREAMING bloody murder and we are completely unable to help comfort her.' So we stepped just outside the door and as we closed it, they asked, "Is there any song that she likes?" I told tham that she generally responds positively when I sing "You Are My Sunshine." So for the next 15 minutes, all we heard was screaming that got progressively louder and nurses singing "You Are My Sunshine", which got progressively more frustrated. One even tried changing the song to the ABC's and was brutally rebuffed with a loud "AGGHH!" from Phoebe. I think they really just wanted us to "step out" so we wouldn't see what they were about to have to do to our child to get her still enough for that IV to go in....A third nurse finally had to go in and help and we heard them say, after 20 minutes of all that screaming,"I've only stuck her ONCE!" Yikes! Apparently, her veins roll like mine, so she ended up being stuck in her foot and arm, before they finally go it in her hand!

Poor Phoebe! Josh had to carry her around until it was time to take her back! I'd be tired too after all that fuss!!!That look just breaks my heart!

So, we took her back and talked to the anesthesiologist. Then the moment of truth...the administering of the medication. Seriously, one second, they pushed it into the IV, the next second, her head drooped and the next second, she was OUT!!! Kind of scary how strong that medicine must be to do that so quickly! We left the room and waited just over an hour and she came back, sleeping so peacefully!! 30 minutes later, she was up eating a bottle and 30 minutes after that, we were on our way home!!!

What a day it was!

Oh and just so you know, the next week, we took her back to the neurologist and guess what the MRI showed?! NOTHING WRONG!!! No perinatal stroke...no nerve damage in the brain or on the spine...that's a good thing, but the doctor used the word "perplexed" several times! So we are now just going to focus on therapy and doing all we can to help her use her arm to its best capacity and call it a day!!! NO MORE TESTS!

And as for her foot, we went back to Shriner's last Friday--she was wiggling out of her special braced shoes--and she is now back in a hot pink cast. Her tendon was still too tight. It needed more stretching, and it's possible she may have to have surgery on it again. We'll see.....

Up to that point she was pulling herself up on everything, in spite of not having a full range of motion with her arm, and she was even letting go and balancing on both her feet before plopping down on her bottom. So now that she has the cast, guess what has happened? She's STILL doing those things like that darn cast is not even there!!! Amazing to me!

We'll keep y'all up-to-date and if nobody's reading this, at least I'LL be able to remember!

Abby's Adventures...mishaps and funnies!

2009-09-25T15:32:00.010-04:00

I thought I would throw this post in just for fun! Abby has been so much fun lately and as I went through some old pics, I wanted to share!

This next one needs explanation...she came running to me yelling, "Mom! Help!" and this is what I saw! That's a dime stuck in between her teeth! Naturally, being the wonderful mom that I am, I grabbed the camera to document this occasion before actually prying the darn thing out! It was really lodged in there!!!

As you can see by the date on the next 3, they happened on the same day...pretty self-explanatory...

The pack WAS brand new and every piece of that gum was in her tummy!!!

Then...nail polish...

Just so you know, SHE locked HERSELF in this doggie kennel cage and was fully supervised the entire time! She was obviously okay with it, becasue you can see that she is saying, "CHEEESE!!"

Her infamous Easter picture...

I don't remember why she was so glum, but what a cute pic!

Fun with cousin Kendal....

Doing your own makeup is always a sign that a girl is growing up...

Yogurt painting-"Mom! Look!"

Another of those moments when you just want to scream, but can't help but laugh...and snap some pictures...

Oh the joys of cheap princess makeup...she had to go to church with pink stained cheeks because it wouldn't come off!

The screaming swimmer...

Fun in a mud puddle...
Trampoline fun!

So, an update on her should come now...

Abby is doing great! Besides a whole lot of independence and some 4-year-old sassiness, she is so much fun to be around!!! She LOVES her 4K class and loves to listen to all things Veggie Tale in the van on the way to school. ("I Love My Lips" is her favorite!) She has graduated to a backless booster seat and is now able to get herself out of it when needed--she still needs help buckling in, though. She's very vocal, and has become quite a singer, but mostly to herself. She can now write her name and make her bed, both things of which she is VERY proud of and you BETTER notice or you get in trouble!!!

That's it for now, but more updates to come...

Catching up...

2009-09-17T21:14:00.009-04:00

Our lives have been crazy lately, with Abby starting school and stuff, but I felt like I should record a few things for posterity and for my sanity! It's been a while since I have posted anything about Phoebe's arm and foot, so I'll start there. After 2.5 months of wearing her special shoes, the doctors at Shriner's said, "She's graduating from 23 hours a day to nights and naps!" Hooray!!!!!So now she basically wears her shoes at night while she sleeps and has total freedom all day..except when she has a therapist visit (which is basically 3 times a week) or when I torture her by making her stand at the couch or kneel to play, or make her use her right hand for anything she doesn't want to use it for! She is army crawling in her own way, by using her left arm and the top of her right wrist. She does NOT like to stretch that wrist out and it is almost impossible to get her to put any kind of pressure on it by pushing down on the palm of her hand. She is definitely feisty and has figured out how to do things in her own way. She has been to a neurologist about that arm and they will be doing an MRI of both her brain and her spine tomorrow, which should help us see what could have caused these things and what we can possibly do surgically...or not do surgically! This MRI will be the second time she's been under anesthesia, which is not something we want to put her (or ourselves)through if we can avoid it, so we'll see. There are two main possibilities according to the neurologist--either her nerves were damaged somehow in the womb or she had a perinatal stroke. The doctor really doesn't think it's either one, though, so we'll just have to wait. I guess to me, it doesn't really matter how it happened. I just want to know how we can get best use of her arm and foot and help her be able to use them as normally as possible! We'll keep you all up-to-date!

If I want to get this post done before next year, I better just leave it at that for now! New subject next time! Here are some recent photos of the girls!

Josh's friend, Tiffany, from work, invited us to her wedding and asked Josh to be the videographer! It was in a beautiful little country church, followed by a reception in the fellowship hall.

Yikes! I can't remember why she was smiling so big. Cute, but almost creepy!

Phoebe always smile like this when Abby plays with her! She LOVES her big sis!

We headed up to Anderson to camp with Josh's family! It was a welcome getaway from some of the Florence craziness!

Phoebe was so cute in her little bed inside the tent! This was what I saw when I woke up that morning!

I forgot how much I disliked the red dirt in the Upstate! Everything was covered in it when we got home! But the kids had a ball getting all messy--they also went fishing, on boat rides and swam a TON!

OREOS!!!!!!

Phoebe's flexible hips! She does the splits all the time! In fact, to get from her tummy to sitting or vice versa, she just brings her legs to the front or back like she has no hips at all!

A modest bath shot--they are VERY into bubble baths!! Bring on the luxury...already princesses!

Abby-4th Birthday (Aug 16) and First Day of 4K (Aug 17)

2009-09-03T20:51:00.005-04:00

Abby hit 2 milestones in 2 days this year! (As you can see by the title!) The weekend before her birthday, we were in Greenville, so Abby was able to have a small party with some of the Axelsons...

Sleeping Beauty dress-up from her Johansen cousins!

And by her birthday morning, she was ready to wear her new lady bug dress from Nana and Poppy!

I made her cake on Saturday...I had always planned on making the BArbie cake for her 4th birthday, because that's what I had on MY 4th birthday!

She was so excited to help and she looked especially adorable! Do you think we look alike?

This was her year for some sports gifts! Two bats, two balls, purple baseball glove, tee and purple soccer ball...she is a great hitter and a FABULOUS kicker!!

(See post for Aug 19, 2008 to see a little montage of our four year old's first three years!!!)

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! She was so excited to wear her new clothes and her backpack!

She is loving school! (I hope the excitement lasts!!!!!)

Fireworks!

2009-08-12T19:26:00.010-04:00

I never finished this post from a while back, so here goes...We went to a fun festival in Hartsville for the 4th of July this year--yummy food, fun games, redneck music and fireworks to boot! SO FUN! We went with Boo and Amber and our friends', Kit and Randee Thames. We walked around for awhile and stood in line for hot dogs and snow cones!

Then we found an out-of-the-way place and put down our blankets to watch fireworks! Amber's entire family showed up as well so we added about 15 more to our group--the more the merrier!

Thames, Axelson and Harvey kids eating oreos!

Abby licking the "white stuff" (powdered sugar) off of Mommy's funnel cake plate! SHe ouldn't let ANYTHING sweet go to waste!

How Phoebe was during the entire fireworks show...(notice Abby screaming in the background--NOT a fan of big fireworks--Phoebe could not have cared less!)

...and how Myah was the entire fireworks show!

The Thames family...our buds! Mikyn and Carsen obviously just thought the fireworks were too loud!

The next night, we hung out at the Thames' house and went swimming!

Phoebe loves to sit straight on the grass!

The girls waiting in anticipation (and on the screen porch with no mosquitoes!) for the fireworks to begin...

Kiddos watching the fireworks from the porch...

We had so much fun and were glad that we got off our duffs and went and did something for a change! We are SUCH homebodies, but we're trying to branch out!!! It was so fun!

Birthday flowers...

2009-08-08T17:59:00.004-04:00

My 33rd birthday was on June 9th and I haven't had such a fun birthday in a long time! From the previous post, you saw that I went swimming with my girls that morning, but then we came home and made a pizza for lunch. Josh did so well this year! A sweet friend of mine who works in the church library with me does beautiful, intricate origami flowers (and animals as well). He noticed her book of patterns one Sunday and "commissioned" a bouquet for my birthday. I hear it took her many hours and she stayed up well into the early morning hours to finish them on time, but they were well worth her effort! (Thanks, Sara!)

We capped off the evening with a yummy steak dinner-steaks on the grill, baked potatoes...mmmm...and my "cake" was an oreo pie...just my style!

Thank you, honey, for knowing what I would want and following through with it! You definitely got it right! You're the best!

The coolest grandparents EVER...

2009-08-07T18:08:00.003-04:00

This summer has been so crazy, but so fun! Many of you know that when we moved to Florence, we stayed with my parents for a few months and then my grandparents decided they needed a change and offered to sell us their home as they wanted to move to an apartment. The complex they moved to was literally a short walk from the house. We have spent so much time with them and I am so grateful for all that they do for us and bring to our lives! They kept Abby for over a year every Wednesday morning for me to attend TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly) and then when Phoebe was born, they offered to come over to OUR house and keep both girls. It has been and still is such a wonderful thing for our girls! My grandpa walks over randomly and trims our bushes and works in our garden...He comes over regularly to use his barber skills to cut Josh's hair...Da always saves things for me (coupons she thinks I might use or articles from the paper she thinks I would want to read)..they are such wonderful people! Several times this summer, they have invited the girls and me to swim in the pool at their apt building. Since you have to be a resident or with a resident, one or both of them will meet us there, always with a basket of goodies and cooler of cold water. We have had such fun with them as they sit in the shade under an umbrella, sometimes in 100 degree weather, and watch us play, then take care of Phoebe so I can focus on just Abby. Here are some pics of one such time...It was actually my birthday and they made it so fun! I wish there was a way I could show how much I love and appreciate them! But I'll just say that we are fulfilling one of the reasons we moved here in the first place...so our kids could know and love their great-grandparents...

I couldn't believe when she offered to take soaking wet Phoebe-I know it HAD to have driven her crazy to get her shirt all wet!!

Seriously! Almost every picture I take of Da, she's either looking anywhere but the camera, talking or closing her eyes!!! Gotta love it!

80's Party!

2009-06-18T19:52:00.011-04:00

We celebrated my brother, Ben's 30th birthday on May 15, and his wife, Marleina, had spent WEEKS planning to surprise him by celebrating the good times 80's style. I had to post some fab pics of everyone, because pretty much everyone went ALL OUT!!!!

The TOTALLY RAD birthday cake!

The birthday boy and his hot 80's chick sweetie

Da and Papa-our AWESOME grandparents!

Mom and Abby, matching hot pink shirts and leggings!!

Josh and Phoebe, lookin' fine!

All the original Harvey kids! (Lovin' the rattail and Top Gun sunglasses, Scott!!!)

The rockin' chicks-Love Kathy's acid-washed, pleat front jeans!

Ben and Brent-Yikes!

The Harvey girls-Mar, Amber, Me and Anna (Amber and I actually found our outfits at TARGET!!)

Cousin Tammy (aka Cyndi Lauper) and Aunt Lyn

Ben and Anna-they were HAHD! (And Anna's hair actually matched that wig, so they look even more alike than normal!)

Boo playing Tristan (with his baby leg warmers) as a guitar! Nice fanny pack, Boo!
Aw...brothers...

This pics cracks me up!

As HAHD as he tried to look the whole night to fit the part, I loved this pic that shows Ben's REAL personality-sweet, fun and sometimes a little crazy! And I have always loved those dimples!!! Happy 30th, brother-a little late of course...

I Love to See the Temple!

2009-06-06T08:45:00.006-04:00

Okay, I 'm going out of order here, but this is my blog and I'll do what I want, right? A couple of weeks ago, we took off for Greenville to get Phoebe's final cast off and get her new shoe-brace thingy (I don't even know what the real name for the thing is!) It was fabulous and we headed straight to the Atlanta area to visit Alison and Ryan. The next morning, we were able to go to the Atlanta Temple and see baby Emma sealed to her parents! It was so neat! All the Axelson grandkids were there (Thanks, Jake and Nadia for keeping them occupied!) and they all looked adorable, as you can see! It was such a beautiful experience, and Sweet Emma was a darling! I love to see the temple!0)

Eternal family;)

Proud parents!!!

Everyone said that Phoebe will be a great skateboarder, but I guess the temple would not be the best place to skate on the rails!!

Good friends are so fun!

2009-05-06T07:39:00.008-04:00

I started this post a long time ago, but I'm finally getting to it!

In April, I got a call one morning and was surprised to hear a voice I had not heard in over 10 years! A sweet French accent which came from one of my companions on my mission to California--Elodie (Sister David)! She and her husband, Mark, and their two boys were in Myrtle Beach for a vacation and since she knew that we were pretty close by (Just over an hour, for anybody who might want to know;o), she decided to call and see if we could somehow get together and have dinner! Well, I was just so excited and in the mood to do something spontaneous, which is not common for a planned out woman like myself, so I called Josh, who was able to get off early that day and we packed up the girls and headed to their condo on the beach! It was such a fun night--pizza and salad for dinner--and a fun time watching the "kids" (including Mark and Josh) play in the sand and the water! Her son, Adam, is just older than Abby and Antoine is a little older than Phoebe. I don't think we ever would have thought when we were missionary companions that 11 years later, we would be taking pictures together on the beach with our husbands and kids, but there we were! It was really a lot of fun!

PS-Here are a few pics of us from the mission just for fun-haven't changed much, have we? Well, I guess I've gained a few pounds, to say the least!! (Elodie, I hope these pics are good enough for you! She complained to me that evening at the beach that people were putting ugly pictures of her from the mission on Facebook!)

A baby's laugh...PRECIOUS!

2009-05-04T19:01:00.003-04:00

This is so hilarious to me, not just Phoebe's laughing, but the whole scene...

"Massive Head-Wound Harry"-I mean Josh!

2009-05-04T18:19:00.006-04:00

Awhile back, Josh noticed that he had a bump on the back of his head. He talked to our ENT friend and Dan told him not to worry about it unless it was bothering him. Well a few months ago, it started to bug him and then it started to hurt. He decided (with a little help from is oh so subtle wife-that's ME;0) that it was time to get it looked at, and was told that he should get it removed even though it didn't appear to be problematic. So last Friday, Josh had a little "surgery" to remove his 50-cent piece-sized lump. I took him and sat in the wating area of the general surgeon's office for a grand total of 20 minutes while they numbed his head and removed the cyst right in the office. We weren't worried, but he was nervous, so I was glad to see a smile on his face when he was done! I couldn't help but laugh, though, when I saw this...

...especially knowing that two days later, he was planning to be at church conducting the meeting! (He didn't go, by the way, but opted to stay home and rest a little more in preparation for his long week at work!)

I've been calling him "Massive Head Wound Harry" from that SNL skit about a guy who walks around with this nasty uncovered head wound, not understanding why everyone who sees him is grossing out! But don't you see a little bit of an Burt and Ernie combination there too? Yeah, I was laughing, but as you will read, not for long...

The day after the "Great Removal", the dressing had to be changed. And the doctor had decided not to do stitches to allow it to "heal from the inside out, so there would be less chance of it coming back", so he "packed" it with gauze. Use your imaginations, friends, but don't think about it too hard or you might hit the floor before you can finish reading the story!

Anyway, so I decided to make the attempt at changing the dressing. Josh was all gung ho and wanted to watch until we removed the outer wrapping and he saw what was on it. Now many of you know that Josh has a weak stomach in certain "situations" (poor guy) and at that sight, he had to "take a moment" (or 10, maybe 15) and regain his bearings;0) I didn't laugh much, but expressed full concern for him;0) I was fine at that point, feeling secure that I could handle it. So he laid down on the bed listening to the ipod and reading a magazine...anything to distract himself, and I took off the rest of the outer bandaging and made the attempt...well...it didn't take me long to realize this was NOT going to happen, because within one minute of pulling, I had to stop, put MY head between MY knees and lay down on the other side of the bed myself, moving the hurricane fan toward me and taking it off of Josh! He chuckled a little, but to give him full credit, he was concerned about me as well! It only took me 2 or 3 minutes of deep breathing to be okay, but we had to laugh at the situation! And as soon as I was okay, we put the outer dressing back on and decided to go another direction....

We finally had to get our neighbor, who is a nurse, to come over and change it and she was GREAT! I don't know how she does it! Then yesterday, my brother, Boo did it, with my mom as his "nurse"!

We've realized that we are way too much alike in a lot of areas! I guess we really are perfect for each other...even though being alike didn't really HELP this situation!

By the way, Josh is fine and except for the fact that he will probably still be wearing bandages on his head next Sunday at church, all is well with him! It's been a crazy couple of weeks, but we can handle it! So Massive Head Wound Harry lives on for a little while longer...and so does the teasing..."Did you forget to wear your helmet?" (NOT funny)..."It's John McEnroe! Where are your arm sweat bands?"..."Hey! Flashdance! or Solid Gold dancer!"...and my favorite..."Man! Did your WIFE do that to you?!"

Hangin' Out With Grandpa!

2009-05-04T18:03:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, my brother, Layne and his family came to visit for the day. Some of the adults were hangin' out inside when Mom's cell phone rang. She didn't even make a move to get it, because she sometimes doesn't want to when we're all around! But then the house phone rang, so she figured it might be important! "Hello?" Then she started laughing and told us all to look outside. This is what we saw...

...they were "cloud-shaping" from the trampoline...and even funnier, the call was to request "curbside service". "We would like 4 cups with crushed ice, water in 3 of them and Sprite in the other, please."

Grandpa is so fun...and funny!

Babies, Babies, Everywhere!

2009-05-04T09:36:00.005-04:00

Okay, this is crazy! (But very fun too!) Josh and I have had 3 babies born in our immediate families in the past 3 months! And one of our close friends just found out they are having TWINS! So many babies and not enough arms to hold them all! Just wanted to show you our beautiful nieces and nephew!

Tristan Lee (Ben (my bro) and Marleina's)-February

Calla Helene (Layne (my bro) and Anna's)-March

Emma Jane (Alison(Josh's sister) and Ryan)-April

Phoebe's Surgery-We HEART Shriners Hospital!

2009-04-27T16:32:00.014-04:00

Phoebe had to have surgery on her foot last Thursday, earlier than planned by the way;o), and we were blessed to be able to have it done at the Shriners Hospital of Greenville, SC! Yes, there was no cost to us, but what I was most impressed with was the wonderful way we were treated and the friendliness of EVERYONE, from the greeters to the surgeons to the occupational therapists to the cafeteria workers to the nurses to the anesthesiologist--we felt like family from the first moment we walked in! We had decided to take Abby with us the first day, one because we wanted her to be with us as much as possible and two, because there were so many fun things there at the hospital for her to do! Almost as soon as we arrived, and after getting her height weight and BP, we were taken to a room to drop off our stuff and went straight to get her cast cut off. She screamed like a banshee, poor thing, just like every other time she's had a cast cut off, but the nurses were very gentle and she calmed down pretty quickly. I do think she could sense that something was different this time, but was a trooper as usual...

We went back to our temporary room to sign some paperwork and were surprised to hear music down the hall. We opened the door and were pleased to see that barber shop quartet was serenading us! It was neat to see all the children and their parents standing in the open doorways, peeking out to catcha glimpse! It was four sweet older men and they all had crinkly smiles and fun personalities as well!

Abby climbed up on the hospital bed with her sister and informed us that she wanted to have a surgery like Phoebe and so did her bear!

We were amazed at the difference the casting has made in her foot, but it still was pointing downward, thus the surgery...

Abby loved the play area, which took up almost half of the second floor of the hospital. Here she is on a loveseat, covered with HUGE dolls, which she LOVED!

Toddler bikes and trikes galore and lots of space to ride like the wind!Herb took us to the rooftop playground where Abby was on the swings for quite a while...

...And then we were joined by Phoebe...

...and Poppy, who had shown up a bit earlier...

...and Daddy too...(Josh says he and his dad were testing the weight limit in this one (It passed, by the way! Didn't move and inch!))

...while Mommy took a rest on the gorgeous green grass...didn't sleep a wink the night before!

It looks like Phoebe was resting too, but it was really the sun in her eyes! She only laid there for a minute before letting us know that this was NOT what she wanted to be doing!

So we had previously decided that Josh would be the one to stay overnight at the hospital, which I guess was not the norm, because the nurses talked directly to me all day whenever they talked about anything that would happen overnight! But he wanted to do it and I certainly didn't mind having a greater possibility of a comfortable night's sleep! I stayed at Josh's parents' house after a difficult time leaving Abby at Heidi and Aarron's-she wouldn't have it and it made me sad to leave her too. (Thanks Heidi for your patience with her and for being so sweet to her at such a crazy time for all of us!) I returned to the hospital at 6 am after SOME sleep and Josh was already up, talking to the dad of Phoebe's cute roommate, Eric, Jr., who was to have foot surgery immediately after her. The nurse came in and handed us her little yellow hospital gown, which fit her personality perfectly, but I must say I was a little flustered to see such a tiny hospital gown!

They came to get us a little before 7 am and took her up to pre-op, where they promptly laid her on a bed with Strawberry Shortcake sheets (Abby would have LOVED it!), walked in with the largest wagon I have ever seen, filled to overflowing with toys and let us pick one for her. Then the nurse gave her tylenol mixed with some "forgetfulness" medicine that starts with an "m" and within 10 minutes, her eyes and head started to droop. It was sad to have to see her that way, but kind of funny too. Josh picked her up and held her and she just stared up at both of us as if to say "Who are you and where am I?" She could barely move her mouth and kept saying her normal "Guh...Guh", but veeerrrryyy sloooooowly....

The nurses kep telling me that there were tissues nearby, but I was surprisingly okay, as long as I didn't think too much...then her doctor came in, made sure he had the right leg by initialing it and we kissed her just before the anesthesiologist whisked her away. It was kind of torturous, but we knew all would be well...

They told us to wait to hear from the doctor and then it would be about 20 more minutes, so we headed to the cafeteria with Josh's dad to get some breakfast while we waited. We no sooner sat down to take the first bite and there was Dr. Westberry, telling us that all had gone perfectly and her foot was in its last cast! The procedure had taken all of 5 minutes! By the time we finished breakfast, walked back to the room and sat for about 10 minutes, we heard the uncharacteristic cries of sweet Phoebe coming down the hall towards us. She was MAD! She had been unable to eat anything after midnight and had slept through the clear liquids allowance time, so she was HUNGRY, and they had given her only 2 oz of Pedialyte in the recovery room--When they took that bottle out of her mouth, she was not about to take it lying down! I've NEVER heard her scream like that!

So we fed her some more Pedialyte and a little formula, pulled her around in a pillow-filled wagon and gave her some gas medicine and she finally fell asleep! We thought the sign in the hall was appropriate!

"Quiet, please. Healing in progress."

She finally did get that blood pressure monitor cord off of her finger! (They would just plug it in instead of having to use the one that "gave her leg a hug")

After a long nap, we hung out in the waiting area and...waited! The doctors and nurses all came to us there and checked on her.

And by noon, we were out of there! Now-cast for 3 more weeks, fitting for special shoes connected by a bracing bar, worn 23 hours a day for 3 months, then worn nights and naps for about 2 years...that's what's in store for Miss Phoebe..and us as well!) We'll try to be troopers and little rays of sunshine just like she is, but I can't make any promises!

All in all, I was very pleased with our experience at the Shriner's Hospital! Thank heaven they are there! Such a blessing to so many children and families!

Thank everyone for all your love, prayers and support!

***Shameless Plug: Many of you know that they may be closing that hospital if the board votes to do so in July! Please help us keep Shriner's Greenville open by donating or writing letters! Find out how at http://saveshrinersgvl.com/ !***

Make sure if you donate that you designate that you want the money to go to Shriner's Hospital GREENVILLE!

What a crazy fun easter we had!

2009-04-13T07:40:00.009-04:00

We had a great Easter weekend, filled with family, friends, fun, easter eggs, Cadbury mini-eggs, hand and foot, reminiscing, tornadoes, hail and blue skies! Interesting combination, you might say! We started the weekend on Thursday night with a trip up to Greenville, carrying two extra passengers-our 12-year-old niece Ta'lor (who had spent her Spring Break here in Florence) and our 7-year-old nephew, Kendal, who was dying to see his cousins! The whole trip up was actually pretty funny! They, along with Abby and Josh, sang "Sing, Sweet Nightingale" from Cinderella and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star as high as they could possibly go and made tooting noises on their arms-I heard more than I'd ever need to hear in my life on that one car ride!

We stayed in TR with Josh's parents and were joined by Alison and Ryan and their boys. They had been waiting all week for the call that their new baby girl had been born, so they could drive to the midwest and pick her up --their birth mother was due April 6--and they were all stir crazy, so they drove the few hours to hang out with the fam! (They ended up getting a call at 11:00 the next night that she was in labor, so they left at 6 am on Saturday morning to drive the long trip to Arkansas!) Emma Jane is beautiful by the way...I'll post a pic soon..Congrats, guys! We can't wait til you get home, so we can meet her!

Anyway, Friday morning, we trekked to the Shriner's Hospital in G'ville for Phoebe to get Shriner's cast #4 of 6! Hopefully only 2 more and then she'll be able to get her heel cord surgery and we can get movin' on getting this club foot totally on the mend! It's going to be a long road, but Phoebe's a trooper and I'm learning to be;0)

We then headed to Pendleton to stay with Scott (my brother) and Cristy and the fam! We had a fabulous dinner of almost all starches--Cristy just decided to pick all her faves;0)--muffins, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob--oh, and chicken on the grill! It was all delicious and then we taught Scott how to play Hand and Foot--our card game of choice--and he and Josh proceeded to KILL Cristy and me 3 games in a row! Through all this, there were tornado warnings all around us, crazy, windy weather and even some nickel-sized hail! It was a BLAST!

The next morning, we went to Pendleton Town Square for their Easter Parade, small but very cute and we took some fun pics! Town Square is where Josh and I sat the first night we met and talked until 3 in the morning-we even had our special bench there, so we took our picture there with the girls! It was fun to think about how much our lives have changed and our family has grown in almost 9 years!

The park was next, and then we hunted for Easter eggs with Scott's family... AND then we hunted for Easter eggs again and ate with Kevin and Susan (Josh's cousin and our very close friends)'s family before driving home that night to be home in time for Easter Sunday!

Sunday was so fun! I bought the girls matching Easter dresses and even bought myself a new dress as well. We took pictures after church and all was going well until we asked Abby to sit on

the grass and hold her sister, so we could take pictures of the two of them! Talk about meltdown! And the meltdown was just about as cute as a perfectly calm picture! Take a look!

And Easter dinner was at our house, with my grandparents, parents, sister, and Ben and Marleina with their two youngest! Another Easter egg hunt as well! Fun was had by all! And I'm glad for a little REST today...

But let me just say that it was wonderful to be so busy and with so many people we love on this special holiday! I am so grateful for my Savior and all that he has done for me! What a beautiful day Easter Sunday was...and even in the scary weather Friday night, it was actually wonderful to know that our Father in Heaven really is in charge! Life is great!

Daddy/Mommy/Daughter Date-The Music Man!

2009-03-30T09:31:00.008-04:00

Abby LOVES The Music Man! We listen to it in the car constantly and her favorite song is "Rock Island"-the one on the train in the beginning-"But he doesn't know the TERRITORY!" In fact, she always asks for it by saying, "Mom! I want the TERRITORY!" (LOVE it!)
So we recently found out that several members of our ward were involved in a production of The Music Man in a nearby town, so we got tickets and took Abby on a date last Friday, March 20th!

We started the night rushing to clean our house, because our sassy, perfectionist, 70-yr-old babysitter (Miriam Dew, the YW President in our ward) surprised us by showing up at our messy house as we were walking out the door to take Phoebe to HER (I'm sure perfectly clean)house! Anyway...we headed to Schoolhouse BBQ for dinner...

We had a lot of this...

...and some more of this...

...and I had a little of this...

...definitely NOT on my normal diet plan, but sooooo good!

Then it was off to the theater...

I don't have pics of the actual show, but here are some from other places to give you an idea...

It was a GRAND night! We were a little worried that Abby would get bored, since her favorite song is the first one, but she was GLUED and except for a few too many requests to go to the bathroom or get water, she did great!

I hope to make Abby as much of a musical lover as I am...and I guess as her dad is too, because though he would tell you he's not-he knows every word to The Music Man and is suspiciously familiar with other faves of mine as well...SO FUN!

Similarities...

2009-03-24T10:36:00.001-04:00

This recent pic of Phoebe...

Reminded me of this one of Abby......

Definitely sisters...ya think?

My girls...

2009-03-24T09:27:00.005-04:00

Okay, so as fun as it has been catching up with old friends and posting embarrassing pictures from the past on Facebook (I'm not done with the embarrassing pics, so watch out college and mission friends...), I think it's time I get back to this blog...I'm starting slowly...easing my way back into it! So here are some recent pics of the girls for your enjoyment...

Headband falling down...

SECOND snow of the winter...a surprise this time!

The lip...

Sweet, Sweet Phoebe Jane...

I couldn't resist taking this pic...

EARLY morning with my girls...

A little thumb-sucker at bed time...

Oh the joy of ice cream in a cone!

Glittery cupcake dresses made by Nana!

Full body shot!

Phoebe doing tricks with Dad...just like her sister did! She can even do this with her cast on!