Oopps! I forgot to mention...

As my wonderful sister-in-law pointed out. I forgot to mention that we were able to spend one night with my brother Beau and his wife Lenette and their three adorable girls. They live about 2 hours from Todd's family in NC. We got there at lunch time and the kids quickly started playing with their cousins. That night after a yummy lasagna dinner that Lenette made. We (the adults) played some games. Oh my gosh, did we laugh. If you have never played Cranium, I suggest you do. I laughed so hard that I had tears coming down my face. Cranium is on the list of things I would like to get. The next morning Beau and Lenette took us to this cute restaurant/ bakery. We had the best breakfast of French Toast I have ever had. After breakfast we took a little stroll through downtown New Bern. It is a cute little town with lots of history. I would have loved to see more of the historic sites. One place we did go in was the store that was the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola. After our stroll we went back to their place and played some more games. We had so much fun on our visit with them. I wish we could have stayed longer.

Season Happenings

The kids checking out the fish at the Childrens Museum
Having fun with GanGan and PawPaw

Playing Wii on Christmas morning

Ashlyn and Katelyn singing the Good bye song with Ashlyn's teacher.

Baking cookies with my friends

We had a wonderful Christmas season. I will start with the school parties.

The Tuesday before Christmas Ashlyn had a party at school. She gets so excited when Katelyn and I some a visit her. The kids all had their snacks and then a special visitor came. It was Santa with gifts for all the kids. Santa called their names and they went up and got their gift. Ashlyn was the only one who didn't want to go up and get it and she cried. Katelyn cried when she first saw Santa, but that quickly changed when she saw that Santa was giving out stuffed animals.

Later that day Preston had his party. I was able to bring Ashlyn and Katelyn. Ashlyn was eager to play the games and sit in on circle time with Preston. They also made a Hot Cocoa project. The girls were so cute participating and loved seeing Preston in school.

Our Christmas Eve tradition is to spend it with my Dad and Ginger. Ginger makes a wonderful fish dinner complete with shrimp cocktail, stuffed clams, linguine with clam sauce, fried shrimp and fish, and lobsters at midnight. As always, it was a fun night.

Christmas Day the kids opened all the gifts from Santa. The boys got a Wii compliments of Mom, Dad and Grandparents. They were thrilled and played all day. Later that day my Mom and Bob came over for dinner. We had stuffed pork loin, mashed potatoes, asparagus, broccoli, and pear pie for desert.

A few weeks prior to Christmas, Todd decided he wanted to go see his Dad in North Carolina. So Christmas night at around 6:30pm. we took off for NC. We arrived at about 3:30am. The kids slept most of the way and Todd and I were tired. We had a great week with them and as always they spoiled us and the kids. We came home early Sunday morning after driving through the night.

So that was our Christmas season. Hope you all had a wonderful season as well. And may you have many blessings in 2010.

Happy 5th Birthday Ashlyn

Our miracle girl turned 5 this past week. Her birthday was on Monday the 7th, but we didn't celebrate it until this past Saturday. She had a wonderful time. We ate cake and ice cream and opened lots of presents. Her favorite present was a Dr. coat with all the tools needed to take care of her patient.

I haven't updated in a while on how she is doing. She is basically back to her normal self. A few things that she has difficulty with is writing her name. She does a good job tracing it, but can't write it yet. She sometimes forgets words and it takes her a few seconds to come up with it. Other than those things, she is great. She loves school and is learning her letters and sounds, and learning to count things. She is always wants to do more school work when she gets home from school.

She is such a sweet heart and a delight to all her know her. We are blessed to have her as our daughter.

When I reflect on this past year, I am in awe of what God has done for her and us. I think about so many others Mom's and Dad's who lose their children and I wonder why God has chosen to save her. The only answer I can come up with is that God has an amazing plan for her life. I think about the peace that He gave to Todd and I. Peace that is like no other. It was like God putting His arms around us and whispering to us that He was with us, that He was with her and no matter what was happening, to trust Him. We trusted Him and He healed her and brought her though so much. She is a miracle. God is here with us and He does heal!

Thank you to all our family and friends who love her so much and who continue you pray for her. May God richly bless you this Christmas and may you have many blessings in the new year to come.

Stuff....

Ashlyn and Katelyn at Ashlyn's first field trip with school.
Katelyn being silly in the tub.

Me and my sweet girls.

Cute Katelyn.

Everyone in the family is doing great. We just finished the first marking period of school. I can't believe how fast it has gone by. Kiernan did really well. His overall average was an 85. He has difficulty keeping organized, but he is working hard at it and it shows. I am very proud of him. Preston continues to do well in 2nd grade. He is still slightly below grade level in his reading, but he is making great progress. Ashlyn is doing wonderful in school too. Her teacher says she is very shy. She is making great progress as well with all her therapies. The teachers all just love her. Katelyn is as cute as ever. She just loves drawing. Which would be great if only she would keep it on paper and not on my walls, bed, books, etc.

As Thanksgiving is approaching, remember to be thankful for all the little things. Even if you are going through a difficult time. There is always something to be thankful for.

God Bless!!

Trick or Treating

Wonder Women
Ashlyn, Rita, Katelyn, Jordan, Michael, Isaiah, Preston, Kiernan

Snow White

Ashlyn

Having fun!

Getting lots of candy

Pumpkin Carving

Here are some pics of the kids carving their pumpkins. They had lots of fun!!

Happy Birthday Katelyn!

Katelyn turned 2 on Sept. 21st, but we weren't able to celebrate until this past Saturday. One weekend we were all sick the other weekend there was another family function going on. She had a fun party and loved all the attention. One thing that was so cute was that she wanted to try on all her outfits that she got. She would put one on and walked around for everyone to look at her. She is so cute.

It's amazing how fast a year goes. As I stated in my last post, Ashlyn was in the hospital one year ago at this time. It seems like it was just yesterday. It's coming up on the one year since her 4th heart surgery, Oct. 30th. I thank God everyday for the miracle she is.