THANKSGIVING!!

I realize I am just a little bit late, but better late than never, right?

I hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving and got to spend time with friends, family, or whatever your tradition is for the holidays. 

We had a good one. This was the first time we held Thanksgiving at our house and I actually did a lot of cooking. I was really afraid of how it was going to turn out. I am not what I would call a great cook and I have NEVER done a big meal or family dinner or anything like this. But it all turned out really well, food was good and we had family from Memphis come down and spend some time with us.  I hate that I was so busy and it was such a quick visit that I didn't get any pictures or anything. Oh well. 

I haven't done the "daily things I am thankful for" this year like everyone else has been doing, but I do have so many things that I am very thankful for, so here is a little list. 

1. My AMAZING husband who loves me through all of my craziness

2. My two boys, the greatest gifts ever given to me

3. Family

4. Our home 

5. Jason's job

6. Our health

7. God 

and about a million more things.... 

Now, I am so ready for Christmas. That is my favorite holiday. For some reason, it just seems to be so much more special to me. I just can't wait. Jason is taking quite a bit of time off for Christmas too to use up his vacation time, so it will feel so good to have him home for some extra time together. 

 This year has been the best in a long time for us and our family and next year is just going to be even better.   :)

9 YEARS!!!

Today is mine and Jason's 9 year Anniversary!

9 years ago today, I married my very best friend!  I know that is what everyone says about their spouse, but he truly is mine.  We laugh till we are in tears, we fight, we yell, but in the middle of all our chaos, he can look at me and smile and all I can do is melt!  He is my world and the center of our little boys' lives.
We all miss him so so much when he is gone working, but it just makes the time we have with him so much better. I am so grateful and so proud of how hard he works to give us all a good life, and just give us the very best.

It's been a wild and crazy journey, there have been lots of ups and a few downs, but we just keep pushing on and know that as long as we push together, we can move mountains!!

Jason, I love you so very much and I thank you for coming up and shaking my hand that very first day so long ago, like a true gentleman! It meant more than either of us obviously knew.  ;)

HISTORY REWIND IN PHOTOS

Wow... This is SO long ago. This was at his cousin's wedding. One of the first family events that he brought me to. We had only been dating for a few months here. 

Our wedding rehearsal night. Gah, we were so young! 

That magical day... November 1, 2003

Walking in to our reception.  I think the music was coming on for our dance. 

This is me saying "don't you do it"... 

And of course, in true Jason nature,  he did it... I got him too though ;)

And the FABULOUS ride we left in... 

Not long after...

Proud daddy and his first born son, Beau <3

Fast forward 6 years..and a looong hospital stay, and we have our 2nd precious boy, Brody.

Our two beautiful boys,.. our life! 

Our summer vacation together... Vegas 2012

And that is our life together, so far...

I know this is a long post, but we have a lot to celebrate. Its been a long journey.  We drive each other crazy, and wouldn't have it any other way!

Halloween 2012

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween this year!  The boys had a lot of fun in their costumes and it was Brody's first year to trick or treat....and Beau LOVED showing him how to do it! 

Brody didn't quite know what to think about it at first. He walked up to the first door with Beau but as soon as the people came to open the door, he ran back by me. lol   Once he caught on though, he had a blast.  We live in a small town and tiny little neighborhood and there were only about 3 or 4 houses giving candy :(  so they didnt get a ton of candy, but that is really probably for the best! Brody was a sugary, sticky mess before we even got back home! LOL

Here is Beau. He dressed up as a ninja this year. The costume came with a sword and everything, but he didn't want to carry it around the neighborhood.

 (Ignore the mess on the driveway, there is NO. END.  to the acorns falling out of our front yard tree! ugh!)

And Brody was Superman... sometimes, I think he really thinks he is Superman! LOL

So Sweet! Big brother walking little brother around the neighborhood, showing him how to trick-or-treat.  (Beau kept saying, "Mom, I KNOW you are back there taking pictures... i can hear it! ")  hehe

Showing him how it's done...

I could NOT get Brody to look at me to take a picture.. He LOVES firetrucks!  (I don't think I can emphasize LOVES  enough.. :))

Anyway, they had a blast! Neither of the boys got into bed before 10:00 last night. Beau has a bit of a cold, and Brody was all sugared up so neither slept very well, either. We woke up so late this morning, and to say we were rushed to get Beau to school is an understatement!!! 

But, they had a great night and will have great memories of Halloween 2012! and that's all that matters.  Only thing missing was daddy...he is working, but they got to carve a pumpkin with him when he was home last week.  :)

  

Love My Boys! 

Muffins with Mom

Today was Muffins with Mom day at Beau's school. He has been ready for it for the past couple of weeks and has been making sure I don't forget as well. ha!

He is such a sweet boy... he is my sensitive one and he loves to snuggle and spend time together and just be close to me.. even still loves to sleep with me when I let him.

Here we are this morning at his school.

Of course, he could not have the muffins, so I made some Gluten Free pancakes and we had them for breakfast together.
Oh , and just for a quick update on that, he has been doing much, much better since he has been on the Gluten Free diet. He has had maybe 2-3 stomachaches since but that was right at first and that is normal.. it can take a while to get all the stuff out of your system. Since then though,  he has not gotten sick at all, and hasnt been having the bathroom problems that he used to have. A huge improvement already!

Beau, you are my very special little man and I LOVE being your mom!! 

NEW YORK!!!

Hello again!
I just want to start this out by saying a BIG THANK YOU to my mother-in-law, Robin.  She planned (and paid for- except spending money) a nice little girl's trip to New York this past weekend. It was me, Robin, Jason's aunt Angie, and 2 of Robin's friends.  It was quick but such a nice break and little getaway.
Also, a big thank you to my parents for coming from Arkansas and watching my kids for the long weekend. The kids always enjoy spending time with them. And also a huge thank you to my wonderful husband for working so hard to allow little things like this!

Of course being in New York, we walked and walked and walked some more! LOL   We were so tired, there was no staying out and partying, but that was fine with me. I had so much fun and getting in early and relaxing was just an extra little bonus.

The first day we were there, my phone went dead before I could get to the hotel and get it charged up so I didnt get any pictures of the sights on Friday... which was the 9/11 Memorial!!!!  I hate I didnt get any pictures, but honestly the pictures just would not have done it any justice. It was so beautiful. It really was moving and very touching to be standing in that very spot where such a tragedy took place and all the lives that were lost. If you haven't seen pictures of it, please google it and take a look, although like i said, pictures do not do it any justice.

The other 2 days I did get some pics. We went shopping in China Town, had lunch in Little Italy, spent alot of time in Times Square, and did alot of toy shopping for the kids.
We had great dinners both nights. We ate at Guy Fieri's restaurant on Friday night... Absolutely The. Best. Food. I think I have ever had.  The waitress wasnt the greatest but the atmosphere and food was wonderful!
Saturday night we ate at Sardi's.. probably the best steak I have ever had!  So, lots of good eating! Here are a few quick pictures...

Here is a picture of Times Square

And another of Times Square

Here I am at the entrance of our hotel. 

This is Robin and Angie 

Entrance sign at Rockefeller Center

Rockefeller Plaza 

Ice Skating Rink at Rockefeller Center.. Thought about ice skating, but my legs 

were already hurting so bad from walking so much, that would have been a sight to see for sure! lol 

Next is the Lego store...walls and walls with bins of Legos in every shape, size and color!  There were so many little boys in this store..lol 

The next few pictures are all things that were built completely from legos.. people are so creative! 

Next it was off to FAO Schwarz, the famous toy store from the movie BIG. That movie is so old and they still have that famous keyboard on the floor, and the Zoltar!  :)  That was one of my favorite movies for a long time when i was younger.

I wasn't overly impressed with FAO Schwarz though,.. Toys R Us was much better with the Ferris wheel inside the store that you could actually ride and it was as tall as all 3 floors of the store! Wish I had gotten a pic of it! But Toys R Us had alot of toys also that you could only get at the New York store.. (and London). So I got  a couple of things for the boys for Christmas.  :)


Moving on, while walking down the street, I saw this car and had to take a picture of it for my hubby. He loves this car and will have one soon!!

So that was my weekend trip. It was a blast! Now to recoup..... LOL !  ;)

Updates...

Okay, okay... I know it's been a whiiiile since I posted, but with everything going on lately, I just haven't had anything new to report yet.  We are still waiting on results from another round of blood work and a final word from the GI doctor for Beau, but here is what we know right now...

On the 13th, Jason had his EGD, and they did some biopsies.  He does have some damage from long term reflux. The doctor found that he has a Schatzki Ring, which I understood to be like inflamed tissue that forms a ring in the esophagus.  Over time, the diameter can keep getting narrower and if it causes blockage or he has a hard time swallowing food, they may have to go in and stretch it back out.  It looked ok for now and hasn't caused him any problems yet.  He also just had some sore spots that he is taking meds to heal.

On the 17th, Beau had his EGD and Colonoscopy and also had a small mass removed from the top of his left thigh.  The Colonoscopy results were normal, no polyps, thank GOD!  But the EGD showed definite signs of early Celiac Disease. The way the doctor explained it to me is, the inside of the intestines is supposed to have little hairlike things called Villi that absorb the nutrients from the food you eat, and they are supposed to be tall like shag carpet. In most people who have Celiac Disease, the intestines have been so damaged that those villi are flattened because they go years and years before being diagnosed. Due to the general symptoms, they get misdiagnosed as IBS, or some other GI disorder.  Beau has only had these major symptoms for about the past year, so I guess we have caught it pretty early. I started researching his symptoms when it started getting bad and when I first started to worry, and when I found out about Celiac Disease, I was pretty convinced he had it and so I was the one who even brought it up to his pediatrician. I thank God for leading me to find this disease online, cause I don't know how long it would have been before it was even thought of. Beau's pediatrician didn't seem real knowledgeable about it and actually said from the blood work that she thought he was negative, but she sent us to a GI doctor to find out what else it could be. At our first appointment with the GI doctor, I brought it up again.  Anyway, the biopsies showed that Beau's Villi are still tall like shag carpet, but it looks like someone came in and threw powdered sugar everywhere. He said there are little spots all over that have been damaged by gluten and/or possibly other food allergies.  He repeated some blood work that we should hear back about on Monday. However, he said that regardless of what the blood work shows, he will still go ahead and start him on a gluten free diet.  He knows from the biopsies that Gluten is for sure a problem, but I guess he is wanting to try to pinpoint any other food allergies or other problems, if there are any.  I am not sure if he can tell that from the blood work or if he will just try process of elimination because he did mention that when we first start the diet, he may go ahead and take him off Gluten, eggs, dairy, and corn and then add one at a time back in over a long period of time to try to see if anything else bothers him as well.  We will see a nutritionist when the diet begins to make sure we do it right. Most of the time they repeat the upper Endoscopy in about a year to check for healing in the intestines.
So, it's going to be a long road, but I am determined to do whatever it takes to get him feeling better and let him have the normal, active life of a happy 8 year old boy again!!
As far as the mass that was removed from his leg, I am waiting to hear back from another doctor about the results of the biopsy of that.  I did call the office and they said the results do show that it is not malignant. It shows that it is a Lipoma, which is a benign tumor of fatty tissue, with some ossification (bone).  The surgeon is supposed to be calling me back to talk more about it.

Beau is surely a trooper, I can say that.  He has been through a LOT in his 8 years so far and I can only pray that things get better for him soon.
In spite of everything, he is doing really well in school and loves his teacher and new friends.

In other news, Jason comes home again on Tuesday and we CANNOT wait! This trip has seemed like forever! We miss him!

I will be going to New York with my mother-in-law and aunt-in-law (is that a word? lol)  on October 12 for the weekend. I went with Jason and my in laws in 2009 for Jason's birthday but ... we left on a Friday and the Wednesday right before that, I found out I was pregnant with Brody! So, I was nauseous and crampy from all the walking and stuff and the last day before our flight back home, I just stayed in the hotel room while they went out for a few more hours to see a few more things.  So this time around, I should be much more attentive and see things that i probably missed last time.  I just wish Jason could be there again, but it will be nice to have a girl's trip.  :)

Talk again soon!

 

 

Friday...

Hello Friday! Thank you for visiting!  (Not that I get any more sleep on the weekend than any other day, but at least I can lazy around a little bit in the morning instead of rushing off to get Beau to school.)

So... I had my MRI on my shoulder Wednesday. The results are Tendonitis in the rotator cuff with a small tear. My doctor said it should not require surgery, so we will try physical therapy instead. Good news, but exhausting even thinking about it with everything else coming up. 

Jason is coming home next week, thank God! Can't wait to see him. But it will be a busy week off for him, hopefully he can find some time to relax. Like, maybe when they knock him out to do his EGD!  haha

Beau has not felt well the past few days,.. again, still, whatever you want to call it. 

Lots of stomach pain. He has had diarrhea today. I texted Jason and told him Beau's tummy hurts so bad.. He texted me back and said "maybe he is constipated, maybe you should give him a sedative or exlax"  LOLOLOL ...  I laughed so hard, laughing again now! Ha!  I think he meant laxative! Lord, I hope so, anyway! ;-)

Brody is teething..UGH!  2 year molars. He has had a low fever for a few days and been SO nice to be around! lol  - And he has lost total and complete interest in potty training :(   

 He has had good moments though... 

Like this... 

He had just woken up from nap and I took his temp so he had to take Mater's too... ;)

And this...

He wants SO badly to go to school with his Bubba... He is wearing Beau's backpack. Too cute!

OH! And I am so excited to be joining a Bible Study group with  a friend of mine that we met here. We met Bethany when we stopped in at a salon to get Jason's hair cut. We have just kind of hit it off and she invited me to join this Bible Study. It is a women's only group and childcare is available... Let me say type that again... Childcare.  Is.  Available.   Heck YES, I will be there!!! lol 

Hmmm.  Guess that is all that is going on with us .. for now. Check back soon, something is bound to come up!  

Love our CRAZY life! 

;-)